Chapter 9 - Reality Bites
"I wonder who that could be?" Rosemary gave Remus a confused look as she got up from the breakfast table to answer the door.
"Oh my god, Bill!" Remus heard Rosemary say from the foyer. "I'm so sorry I forgot!"
"I'm sure glad to see you!" Bill Weasley said as he followed Rosemary into the kitchen. "After what happen at the Leaky Cauldron yesterday I was fit to be hexed when you didn't show up at our meeting this morning. Mum's afraid that you and Remus are dead and Tonks is convinced that you're off shagging like jackrabbits."
"You know about the Leaky Cauldron?" Rosemary was amazed at the speed of wizard gossip.
"Everybody knows!"
"Good morning Remus." Bill felt a little awkward as he came upon the shirtless werewolf eating his breakfast. He hadn't intended the jackrabbit comment for Lupin's ears.
"Bill." Remus returned the greeting politely but without enthusiasm. His territorial inner wolf wanted to know exactly why the other man was in the room.
"Is Griphook upset?" Rosemary asked Bill as she offered him some coffee.
"No thank you." Bill declined the coffee. "And yes, the old goblin is in a right state about you standing him up this morning."
"Shite! How bad is it?"
"He'll still meet with you, but from now on all of the meetings have to be at Gringotts instead of your office -- It could have been worse."
"I suppose. Can you meet me at the Leaky Cauldron at one and take me to his office?" Rosemary asked.
"Sure -- and you should contact your clerk. She's in a panic about you not showing up and not calling in. She's as bad as Mum." Bill advised as he got up to leave. "I'll clear things up with Mum and see you this afternoon."
"Thanks Bill." Rosemary said as she saw him out the door. She returned to the kitchen and was confronted by the steady gaze of a very suspicious werewolf.
"Yes?" She asked him slyly. She found his possessive reaction to be somewhat amusing.
"Does Bill Weasley spend a lot of time here?
"Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't" Rosemary said wickedly teasing him. "Is that a problem for you?"
"Well, umm…" Remus stumbled for an answer.
"Are you jealous of Bill?" Rosemary asked with a laugh.
"I'm not jealous." He answered defensively. "I'm just … aggressively monogamous."
"What the hell does that mean?" she asked, still laughing.
"It means…" Remus wanted out of this conversation in a hurry. "Never mind. It's a werewolf thing."
"No, Bill does not spend a lot of time here. Hardly any at all in fact." Rosemary sensed his embarrassment and snuggled into his lap. "I Someone /I distracted me and caused me to miss my meeting with Gringotts this morning. Bill was worried and came looking for me."
"Oh, I see." Remus said, beginning to regain his sense of humor. He rained kisses down her neck, resisting the strong urge to mark her. "And what kind of business would you have with a wizard's bank?"
"I have some wizard clients. I need to negotiate a better Galleons to Pounds exchange rate with those thieving goblins." She answered breathily as he nipped her ear.
"Clients? A clerk? That sounds a lot like a job. I thought you were an unemployed ne'er-do-well like me."
"Where did you get that idea?" Rosemary asked as she returned the favor and nipped at his ear.
"You said that no one would hire you when I met you yesterday."
"Oh, that's right, you didn't let me finish. No one would hire me so I started my own business ten years ago, a mid-sized venture capital firm. It's a smashing success if I do say so myself." She broke off her kisses, took his face in both hands and looked him right in the eye. "Remus darling, to quote Percy -- who's made something of a second career out of counting my assets-- I've got more money than Malfoy. Whoever the hell that is."
"Is that so?" He asked skeptically.
"That's so." She replied with authority.
She hopped off his lap to let in the owl that was furiously pecking on the kitchen window.
"There's mail here for you too." Rosemary said to Remus as she relieved the stately bird of its burden. "Keep yourself handy Boo. I may need you to carry replies." She said slipping the owl a piece of bacon.
Remus looked at the exchange and shook his head in disbelief. He was a fully trained wizard and he didn't have an owl, and here was this strange and wonderful Muggle collecting the post from her own owl as if it were an everyday Muggle occurrence.
Rosemary sorted through the mail. "Harry for you. -- Harry for me." She said distributing the letters. "Hermione for you -- Ron for me -- It's nice to know that we're still the stuff of adolescent fantasies."
"Speak for yourself." Remus laughed.
"Ministry of Magic for you -- and two from the Ministry of Magic for the 'Unidentified female companion of Remus J. Lupin, Registered Werewolf #RJL062168SF'. I suppose that would be me." Rosemary said glibly. "Is that the same number that they put on your arm?" She asked casually.
"Umhmm." He said as he munched on a piece of bacon. The question didn't bother him, much to his surprise.
"The first three letters are your initials, the numbers appear to be a date, what are the last two letters?"
"The numbers are the date I was bit and the last letters are the initials of the werewolf that bit me." He looked up at her curiously. "How did you know the numbers were a date?"
"I've written them down often enough. You were bit the day I was born."
"That's a curious coincidence." He said, returning his attention to his breakfast. Remus found that fact interesting but not cause for concern.
"Are you sure it's a coincidence? First the instant attraction and now this. Don't you think it's a bit odd?" Rosemary was tapping her finger against her lips as she always did when she was trying to sort something out.
"Stop!" Remus said good naturedly as he grabbed her hand. "What possible connection could there be between a Muggle being born in London and a wizard getting bit in Wales? And besides--" He said kiddingly, flashing his best charming smile, "--how could you not be instantly attracted to me?"
Rosemary looked at him and broke out into gales of laughter. Any concern she had was instantly forgotten.
"Since, we're cracking the Lupin code here, perhaps you wouldn't mind telling me what does the J stands for?"
"Never!." he said resolutely.
"Suit yourself." She broke into a hearty laugh as she scanned the next letter. "Albus Dumbledore for Remus Joaquin? Lupin."
"It's pronounced 'wa-KEEN'" Remus corrected her as he snatched the letter out of her hand and mumbled a string of expletives about the Headmaster.
"Oh, that is awful! I can't say that I blame you for wanting to keep that under wraps." She said as she wiped a tear of laughter from her cheek.
"I think it was a difficult birth and my mother named me that for revenge." Remus quipped good-naturedly. "What does the Ministry want with you?"
"The first letter is from the Office of Magical Law Enforcement. They want me to give a statement about the incident at the pub yesterday." Rosemary replied. "Oh, this is rich!" Rosemary said incredulously as she opened the second letter. "You've got to listen to this. It's a form letter from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." Rosemary read the letter out loud.
To: The Unidentified Companion of Remus J. Lupin
It has been brought to this Department's attention that you have been seen in the company of one Remus J. Lupin, and, according to our sources, the relationship between yourself --"
Remus put up his hand to interrupt her. "Is this the letter where they tell you that werewolves are dangerous and possessive mates and then offer to cut off my bullocks if I won't leave you alone after you naturally send me packing after reading their letter? The one that comes with the stupid booklet on lycanthropy?"
Rosemary shuffled through the parchments. "Yes indeed, that's exactly what it is. I take it you've seen this before?"
"Many times." He answered.
"Really? Exactly how many women have you publicly seduced?" Rosemary teased.
"They were all just practice for you, love."
"That was pretty smooth." She laughed.
"Thanks. I thought so too." Remus smiled. "You have to answer the letter saying that you know I'm a dangerous and possessive werewolf or they'll detain me until they speak with you."
"You're kidding!" Rosemary wasn't joking around anymore.
"I wish I was."
Rosemary went to her desk and took out a sheet of her best stationary. She paused to think for a moment and then carefully crafted her response. She read over her letter and, after deciding it was satisfactory, handed it to Remus for his approval.
~~~@~~~@~~~
Mr. Walden McNair
Dept. for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures
Ministry of Magic, London
Dear Mr. McNair,
Thank you for your letter of concern regarding my relationship with Mr. Remus. J. Lupin (registered werewolf #RJL062168SF) and for the informative booklet on lycanthropy. I found them both to be very entertaining.
Please be assured that Mr. Lupin informed me of his lycanthropy long before I made the decision to shag him senseless. At this time I must decline your offer to castrate Mr. Lupin as a measure to curb potential sexual aggression and possessiveness, for currently I am rather enjoying both. However, if the day should ever come when I feel castration is an appropriate course of action, please be advised that I will cheerfully perform the procedure myself.
Thank you once again for your concern.
Sincerely,
Ms. Rosemary D. Oliver-O'Brien
(aka Unidentified female companion of Remus J. Lupin)
~~~@~~~@~~~
Remus laughed long and hard after reading the letter. "You're a scary woman Ms. Rosemary D. Oliver- O'Brien. A very funny, very scary woman. What does the D stand for?"
"Diana."
"Damn. I was hoping it was something dreadful." He laughed.
"That letter was for your entertainment. I'll draft something a little less controversial for the Ministry."
Remus went to hand the letter back to Rosemary but reconsidered. He became serious and thoughtful as he debated with himself and then reached a decision.
"Bugger the Ministry. Send this one. If we're lucky Walden McNair --the old death eating son of a bitch-- will have a heart attack when he reads it." Remus said bitterly. "I'm so bloody sick and tired of the Ministry."
"What's wrong, love?" She was a bit taken aback by his sudden change in temperament.
Remus sat back and stared off for a moment before answering Rosemary. "Yesterday and last night were incredible."
"And that makes you angry?"
"Well, yes. In a way it does." Remus could feel that he was having another one of those moments with Rosemary in which he shared much more than he intended. "Is that what life is like for other men everyday?"
"I don't know." Rosemary responded quietly. "I suppose it is for some."
"It's just that every time I find some happiness, there's the Ministry with some official policy that says 'No, not for you werewolf.'" He braced his forehead in his hands. "With the wolfsbane potion, I could deal with being a wolf for three days a month if I was allowed to feel like a man for the other twenty seven."
Rosemary felt his pain acutely and wondered how he bore it for so many years. She moved into his lap and held him close. "What do you need to feel like a man?"
"What does any man need? A home, worthwhile work, a partner…a family." He looked at her for a long moment. "You make me want things I can never have."
"What prevents you from having those things?"
"Are you listening to me? I can't have those things because I'm a werewolf." He replied more angrily than he intended.
"How does being a werewolf prevent you from having any of those things? You seem perfectly capable of achieving all of those goals." Rosemary asked quietly but with purpose.
"Because the Ministry--"
"Ah, the Ministry is what actually prevents you from having what you want." Rosemary interrupted.
"What bloody difference does it make?"
"Maybe a big difference." Rosemary said, tapping her finger against her lips. "Lycanthropy may be forever, but politicians come and go. You have the ability to get everything you want. What you need is a change in the political scenery."
"How are a werewolf and a Muggle, the lowest of the low in wizard society, going to accomplish that?" He scoffed.
"I don't know." She answered honestly. "We both have a lot of resources to draw on. What we need is leverage."
"Oh, is that all?" Remus said sarcastically. "You're just going to add 'get leverage over the Ministry' to your to-do list for today?"
"Something like that." She winked. "I'll come up with something. It's a long ride to London and I do my best thinking in the car." She said it with such sincerity and confidence that for a moment Remus almost dared to believe that it might be achievable.
"You're too naïve to know that what you propose is impossible." He said quietly.
"Perhaps.-- What are your plans for today?" She asked changing the subject.
"I need to go to Hogwarts to take care of something. I should be done by four. If your business is concluded we can meet at the Leaky Cauldron then."
"OK.-- You don't sound very enthusiastic about going to Hogwarts." Rosemary noted.
"I'm not really. My task will most likely require a significant amount of groveling and humiliation." He said with an ironic smirk.
"Is it worth it?"
"If I'm successful, the payoff will be well worth the damage to my self-esteem." Remus smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
"Well, I'll leave you to it then." Rosemary said as she returned the kiss. "And for what it's worth, as long as I have a home, you have a home."
He felt her words wash over him.
'What the hell are you getting yourself into Moony?' He asked himself as he pulled Rosemary against his chest in a desperately tight embrace. Desire and hope were dangerous emotions for a werewolf to have. At the very least they would lead to disappointment and, if he dared to step out of the rigid boundaries set by the Ministry, they could lead to his death.
The last time he dared to live like a man was when he took the teaching position at Hogwarts. It was fantastic until he was found out. He tendered his resignation immediately rather than face the humiliation of being fired. The year of depression and despair that followed was torturous. If Dumbledore hadn't recalled the Order and given him a purpose in life he wondered if he would have had the strength to go on.
No one knew better than Lupin that a taste of honey really was much worse than none at all. Yet here he was, tasting the honey again, contemplating the possibility that he too might have the things that other men take for granted. It all came down to one question. Was he willing to risk everything he had, precious little as it was, for the chance to live like a man?
He inhaled the scent of her hair and smiled when he detected the faintest aroma of chocolate left from their frolic the night before. Yes. The answer could only be yes. He was willing to put everything on the line for a chance to be happy.
May fortune favor the foolish.' He laughed as he made the decision to commit himself to do whatever it would take to make a new life possible. He wondered if today's task would be the hardest or the easiest.
Today he was going to Hogwarts to ask Severus Snape for a favor.