Chapter 7: Afterglow and Confessions

Was that my stomach or yours that just growled?" Remus asked Rosemary as they lie in bed enjoying the afterglow.

"Hard to say." She answered. "Are you hungry? For food?"

"Now that you mention it, yes. I'm starved."

"Don't go away. I'll be right back!" Rosemary said as she slipped into his jumper and hastened down to the kitchen to put together a meal. He found the sight of his otherwise naked lover wearing his shabby old garment surprisingly erotic.

He took this opportunity to use the loo. He laughed out loud at the carnage Rosemary had created when she ransacked the room looking for that vile little sheath. Her medicine cabinet was wide open with most of its contents lying in the sink. The aroma from various broken bottles of toiletries was overpowering.

"Accio wand." His wand flew into his hand with a decisive smack. A few 'reparos' and 'wingardium leviosas' later and the room was back in what he hoped was good order.

"Help me!" came a plaintive plea from the bottom of the steps. Remus hurried to the top of the steps to find Rosemary trying to manage a platter of food, a bottle of wine and various glasses and cutlery.

"Wingardium Leviosa" he levitated their meal up the steps and set it on the bed.

"If I had known that having a wizard around the house was so handy I would have found myself one years ago." She kidded as she came up the steps gratefully empty-handed.

They sat on the bed and ate fruit, cheese and savory biscuits. They drank a bit too much wine and talked until well into the night.

"You have to know that you're divine in the sack." Rosemary said, "Where did you learn to do those things that you do? I know it wasn't from the blue section at Flourish and Blotts." She said with a wink.

Remus bounced a grape off of her forehead.

"I don't know, just wolf instincts I suppose." He answered evasively.

"Liar. Moves like that don't come naturally; they have to be learned. I'll bet you were some older woman's boy toy when you were an impressionable young man." She teased.

Remus shifted uncomfortably and avoided eye contact. He suddenly felt very transparent. Rosemary's jaw dropped.

"I KNEW it!" she exclaimed with delight. "I'm right then, aren't I?!"

"Guilty as charged." He confessed with a laugh. "I was a 7th year and she was, I don't know, late thirties, forty. Attractive in her own way."

Rosemary was nearly falling over laughing.

"It was a VERY educational relationship." He added wistfully.

"Obviously!" She laughed. "I can't believe it. You shagged one of your professors?!"

"NO, not a professor, and no more questions. If I tell you any more I shall be forced to kill you," he said with mock gravity.

"Whoever it was must have known a lot about anatomy. She certainly taught you everything you need to know about a woman's body."

Bull's-eye. Rosemary was dead on a mark she didn't even know she was aiming for.

He practically choked on what he was eating. 'How does she do that?' He wondered. "ENOUGH! I'm taking this to my grave. Don't ask any more!"

"Have it your way. If I ever happen to meet this woman though, I'll probably kiss her right square on the lips in gratitude."

"Now THAT has interesting possibilities," he said with a leer. They both laughed.

"You know, I never even told Sirius about that relationship." Remus mused on a more thoughtful note. "What is it about you that makes me tell you everything?" He felt as if he was under the influence of veritaserum ever since he met her.

They talked about their wonderful day where everything went wrong. Remus told her about the Marauder's antics and about the deaths of James and Sirius. He told her about the bite that changed his life forever. Rosemary in turn told him about her difficult childhood, her unfaithful dead husband and her friendship with the Weasleys. In due course they fell asleep contented in each other's arms.

Later, in that nether state between sleep and wakefulness, Rosemary reached over in bed and was troubled to find herself alone. She looked over and saw Remus sitting on the window seat smoking a cigarette and blowing the smoke out the open window. He was deep in thought.

"Didn't peg you for a smoker." She said as she wrapped herself in a dressing gown and joined him on the window seat.

"I'm usually not." he replied, not looking at her.

"Share?" she said reaching over for the cigarette. She took a deep drag, clearly savoring it. "Remind me, why did I give these up fifteen years ago?"

"Perhaps because they'll kill you?" He offered.

"Ah yes. That was it." She replied. She reached over and returned the cigarette to its owner. "Having second thoughts?"

"Gods no!" he replied startled that she would even think such a thing.

"Then what weighs so heavily on the mind of my lycanthropic lover?" She gently inquired. "I hope it isn't the incident at the café."

Remus looked out the window at nothing in particular. "Yes…not really…. I don't know." He didn't see any way around disappointing her.

"What then?"

Remus sighed. "Do you remember when you asked me what was so horrible about being a werewolf?"

"Yes."

He took another drag on his cigarette. He knew that what he was going to say next might hurt her and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"My answer was not entirely truthful."

"Really." Rosemary answered dispassionately. "Perhaps now would be a good time to come clean."

"I told you about the pain and you saw the discrimination."

"Yes."

"What I didn't tell you is that there are certain restrictions set on werewolves. I didn't tell you at the time because I didn't anticipate us getting so close. I'm so sorry. I should have told you before…" Remus gestured towards the bed. He paused for a moment searching for words. "I'm afraid I may have started something I can't see through. I don't want to hurt you."

"Wait, just slow down." She moved closer to him. "What kind of restrictions?"

He flicked what remained of the cigarette out the window and ran his hands through his hair. "Ro, I'm so sorry. I don't know if you want anything like this, but I should have told you anyway so you could have decided if you really wanted to start a relationship with me. I really am so sorry. I should have told you before."

"Tell me now."

Remus' eyes dropped. "Werewolves are prohibited from marrying and having children. The penalties for reproducing are horrible." He finally admitted.

Rosemary felt as if she had been punched. "Oh no." was the only answer she could manage. I was her turn to stare at nothing outside the window.

Remus cautiously observed her response. He found her expression, her mannerisms and even her scent confusing and unreadable. "I'm so sorry I've disappointed you."

"Disappointed?" Rosemary was roused from her own thoughts. "Disappointed is just about the only thing I don't feel right now."

"How do you feel?" he asked, not sure that he really wanted to hear her answer.

"I have so many thoughts on this I can hardly sort them out. I'm angry at the entire wizarding world for being such bigots. I'm heartbroken that you can't have everything that you want. I'm acutely embarrassed that I made light of your condition at the Weasley's this morning. And, to be perfectly honest with you, I'm relieved. I thought you were going to tell me that we couldn't see each other anymore."

Remus let out the breath he had been holding.

"Don't beat yourself up for another second about not telling me sooner. I promise you, it wouldn't have changed what we did or how I feel."

"Are you sure?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't know if I want marriage and children. I've only known you for one day. The only thing I know for sure is that I want you. But…." Remus hated the word 'but'. Nothing he ever wanted to hear ever followed that word. He braced himself for disappointment as she continued, "I do feel much better now about forcing you to wear that despicable sheath." She stood up and playfully smacked the back of his head. "How could you even think about taking that kind of risk?"

"It would seem that my ability to think clearly disappears when you take off your clothes." He offered a weak smile. He pulled her on to his lap and held her close. "I have so little to offer you and so many complications. If you were smart you would send me packing immediately."

"So little to offer? Are you kidding?" She looked at him incredulously. "Perhaps you hadn't noticed, but I really, REALLY enjoyed myself tonight."

Remus chuckled. "You know that's not what I meant, Ro." He looked at her hopefully, "You really, REALLY enjoyed yourself?"

"Yes. Really, really." She answered him. She ran her hand along the side of his face and through his graying hair. She looked into his striking amber eyes and realized that he had no idea how wonderful he was.

"Actually, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I also have a confession to make." She paused before continuing. "I can't believe I'm telling you this."

" I knew a lot about you before I met you today. The Weasleys talk about you all the time and Harry, poor Harry; he thinks the world of you. All summer I heard 'Remus said this…Remus did that'. Molly told me you were going with them to see the children off to school and, this is the kind of embarrassing part, I stopped by hoping to meet you."

"Really?"

"Do you think I'm lying?" she laughed "Of course really."

"It's not that I don't believe you. It's just unbelievably fantastic." He said as he slipped one hand into her gown and caressed her body.

"Mmmmm, that's nice." She delighted in feel of his gentle touch. "There's a reason I'm telling you this and now you made me forget what it is."

"We were discussing the fact that I have nothing to offer you except the prospect of 'really, really' good sex."

"Really, really great sex." she corrected him, completely losing herself in the feel of his roaming hands.

Finally remembering her point, Rosemary smirked evilly and asked, "Are you shagging Molly Weasley?"

"WHAT?! Have you gone daft!?" He stood up quickly dropping her flat on her bum. She sat on the floor laughing and held out her hands for a lift up.

"Well, it's just that Molly thinks you're the greatest thing since sliced bread and you've admitted that all you're good for is a great shag. I'm just putting two and two together." She said trying very hard to stifle a laugh and sound as if she were drawing a logical conclusion.

"Come to think of it," she continued as she settled back onto his lap, playing with his chest hair, " a lot of people think you're something special. No wonder you're so thin. You must be exhausted from shagging them all. Arthur says that Albus Dumbledore has a great deal of respect for you."

"Oh that's just too disgusting. Stop!" Remus was laughing in spite of himself.

"You need to take better stock of your personal resources" she chided him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He thought Rosemary sounded a lot like Hermione when she took to lecturing.

"Obviously." She wasn't joking around anymore. "Here's the situation as I see it. You have talents and abilities and it seems that everyone knows it except you. Whenever anyone has a problem you're always the one who's there to take care of it. When Molly was upset about Percy and when she was frightened by the boggart she said that you were the one to sort things out for her. I don't think Harry would have even begun to come to grips with Sirius' death if you hadn't helped him. You put your life on the line regularly against the Deatheaters to protect strangers who won't even treat you decently, let alone thank you for it. I think that says a lot about what you have to offer."

"I don't understand." She continued. "How can you be so good at taking care of other people and be so bad at taking care of yourself?" She took his hands and pulled him to his feet leading him back to bed. "Instead of worrying about what you have to offer me, why don't you just, for probably the first time in your life, concern yourself with what I can offer you? Let me take care of you."

"But we don't have any more of those appalling wrappers." He was surprised and a bit amused that he found this disappointing.

'Sex is the very least of what I can offer you.' Rosemary thought to herself. She'd made her living knowing potential when she saw it and she saw plenty of it sitting right in front of her. She shook herself out of her reverie and flashed a decidedly decadent smile.

"Don't worry, I have a few talents I haven't shown you yet."

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A/N: There should be more than enough clues here for you to figure out who schooled Remus in the fine art of pleasuring a woman. Care to venture a guess?

Also, some of you have noted that things seem to be proceeding rather quickly between Remus and Rosemary and that it seemed a little unrealistic. I quite agree. Things are moving rather fast. One might almost think that there are outside influences at work here. The pace is no accident. Keep reading. All shall become clear in later chapters.