Remus walked out of the gate and was outside the boundaries of Hogwarts. He had agreed that there was no time to waste in sending letters back and forth. He was going to apparate to Greece and talk to Kalliope immediately. He only hoped she would be willing to come back with him.

He took a deep breath and disapparated, reappearing on a wide expanse of beach on the Mediterranean. He took a quick look around to get his bearings. He smiled; the temple was on top of a hill only a short distance away.

He enjoyed the peaceful walk to the temple. The soft sound of the surf and the warm sea breeze were very relaxing, and they reminded him of the last time he had been here. It seemed like so long ago...

He stopped for a moment to take off his shoes; he remembered how good the warm sand had felt between his toes. When he started walking again, shoes in his hand, he smiled, there were so many memories connected with this place. But something was different. He noticed a camp set up further down the beach. After studying it for a few minutes as he continued to walk towards the temple he realized it must be one of the tribes.

There were various magical tribes, often of a nomadic nature, that still lived along the coast. Most of them stopped at the temple throughout the year to pay homage to the goddess. Or in the case of the male tribes, to pay homage to the bodies of the priestesses.

Things were different here. The temple and the people that worshipped at it were suspended in a different time. The way things operated hadn't changed in thousands of years. The priestesses still raised their voices in the same hymns of praise to their goddess, they still made the same offerings, they still trusted in a deity that had existed before the beginning of time. He loved their way of life; they had accepted him without questioning his condition. The only bias they had against him was that he was a man. He could live with that, as long as he could see Kalliope again.

The walk down to Severus' office was silent. Serena was too terrified to say anything and Severus was too busy trying to keep his temper in check. He was grateful that he had had a good deal of time to try and calm down. He wouldn't have wanted to deal with his daughter when he was still violently angry. But he was still upset, and extremely disappointed that she would go behind his and Morgan's backs.

When they reached his office he removed the protection wards that were placed around the door and held it open. Serena timidly entered before him and stood nervously in the center of the room.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself young lady?" Severus asked as he closed the door.

"Dad, please don't blame Mark for any of this. It was my fault. I wanted to keep the relationship a secret from you and Mum. Please don't blame him." Serena looked at the floor, not daring to glance up at her father.

"It most certainly is your fault. Now, what am I going to do with you?" Severus crossed his arms over his chest and waited for a response.

"I don't know sir." Serena mumbled.

Remus was almost to the temple, he paused a moment to take in the beauty of the scene before him. The brilliant blue sky matched the brilliance of the sea, everything seemed so tranquil. He held a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked over the landscape. There were two figures approaching the temple from the other direction. He watched them as he came up alongside the temple; they obviously hadn't seen him yet. His breath caught in his throat and his heart seemed to skip a beat. It was Kalliope.

She still hadn't seen him. He watched from the long shadows created by the temple. There was a girl with her, whom he guessed had to be a young priestess or a ward of the temple.

He smiled to himself; his gentle, sweet tempered Kalliope was giving the younger girl quite a tongue lashing.

"You will not go down to that camp again! That area is strictly off limits for you now Sophia, you are a sworn virgin of the goddess and I will not have you down there doing who knows what." Kalliope had been less the pleased when her charge had put up a fight about returning the temple. It had only taken a few words from Cadmus to send her into this enraged "mother" state.

"Kalliope, you're not my mother! Stop treating me like this," Sophia indignantly wrenched her arm out of Kalliope's grasp.

"You're right I'm not, but I am your guardian and a senior priestess, as a novice and a child you should show me a bit more respect than this." Kalliope put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot angrily against the dirt path. She wished the girl would just obey her and not fight back like this.

Remus stepped out of the shadows, as amused as he was by the conversation he felt that he shouldn't be observing it. "Hello Kalliope."

"You're suspended from the quidditch team until after the next Gryffindor game," Severus looked down at his daughter.

"WHAT?! You can't do that!"

"I most certainly can young lady."

Serena was furious, "that's not fair!"

"Neither is your lack of honesty. It will be a long time before your mother and I feel that we can trust you again. Sneaking around behind our backs was not a wise decision on your part."

"But Dad..."

"There is no point in arguing with me, you're in enough trouble as it is."

Serena decided to try Dierna's suggestion and try crying. Not that it took much effort on her part, she was already extremely upset. "Please Dad; don't suspend me from the quidditch team." She sniffed and let the tears flow.

Severus had to force himself to harden his heart. The crying trick that his daughters pulled tended to be his downfall, but he was not going to let it get to him this time. "The tears won't work this time, I'm not changing my mind Serena. You're lucky I'm not taking you off the team entirely, which will happen if there are any more problems like this."

"But I'm really sorry; I promise I won't do anything like that again. I'm sorry," Serena sniffed miserably.

"That's not good enough, not this time."

"But I promise..."

"That is enough Serena!" Severus was beginning to lose his patience, "don't argue with me, not now. I can guarantee that you won't win and you'll just end up in a lot more trouble then you're already in."

Serena tried to stop the tears, but she was too far gone now, and far too upset. It seemed like her relationship with Mark was ruined, but she clung to one feeble hope. Her father hadn't forbidden her from seeing him again; maybe they could still be a couple. She sank down into one of the chairs in front of her father's desk and buried her face in her hands as she continued to cry. None of this was fair!

Remus stepped out of the shadows, as amused as he was by the conversation he felt that he shouldn't be observing it. "Hello Kalliope."

Kalliope spun around and her mouth fell open in surprise when she saw Remus, "by the goddess..." She ran at him and flung her arms around his neck, "Remus, is it really you?"

"It certainly is," Remus smiled down into the deep brown eyes that were more than capable of melting his heart. "How are you?"

"Well enough," Kalliope replied as she detached herself from him and straightened her loose robes. "It's been a long time..."

"Too long." Remus smiled at the girl who was with Kalliope. She was standing directly behind the senior priestess, but was peering around the older woman in interest.

Kalliope felt a tug on the sleeve of her robes and turned back to her young charge; she slipped an arm around the girl's shoulders and drew her forward. "Remus, this is Sophia, my ward and a novice at the temple. Sophia, this is Professor Remus Lupin, please treat him with more respect than you showed me earlier," she raised an eyebrow at the younger girl who blushed slightly at the reproof.

Sophia observed the strange man with interest. He was obviously not from the area, and he certainly wasn't a tribesman. A thought crossed her mind and she tugged on Kalliope's sleeve again and stood on her toes to whisper in the woman's ear.

Kalliope choked back a laugh, "no he's not," she said smiling good naturedly at her charge. "Now, get back to the temple and help tally the offerings, I will be up shortly."

"Yes Lady," Sophia shot one more curious glance at Remus before she turned and headed back to the temple.

"I'm not what?" Remus asked, he was confused.

Kalliope smiled, "she thought you might be one of the immortal race."

"I don't understand..." Remus was now completely lost.

Kalliope laughed, it was a light sound that completely captivated Remus, "it's your name wizard. She thought you might have been one of the founders of Rome."

Remus joined her laughter, "do I really look that old?"

Kalliope shook her head, "of course not, but we do have our share of long-lived magic folk around here, it wouldn't be out of place."

"I suppose it wouldn't, although that would make me about the same age as Rheia wouldn't it?"

Kalliope laughed softly, "Not hardly, I finally got her to tell me how old she really is."

"Really? How old is she? Sometimes I swear she's been around since time began."

"Not quite, but close to it. To put it simply she told me that 'Menelaus really was a nice man, though a little blinded by his wife's beauty to do the right thing'."

"You can't be serious?" Remus walked at Kalliope's side as they headed up towards the temple.

"I am, and so was she. But I have a feeling you didn't come here to discuss this, why are you here wizard?"

"Something has happened in the wizarding world, the dark one has escaped from prison."

"That's horrible, has anyone been hurt?" Kalliope looked concerned.

"Not yet, but that's not the real reason I'm here."

"And what is the real reason."

"One of the students at the school saw the escape in a vision."

Severus let Serena cry herself out. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her tears. When her tears quieted to the occasional sniff he walked over to her and took her chin in his hand, forcing her head up so that she would meet his eyes, "now, I want some truthful answers out of you. Has your relationship with Mark gone any farther than that somewhat distasteful display I observed in the ally in Hogsmead?"

"No sir."

Severus sighed with relief, "now, do you plan on continuing your relationship with him?"

"I want to, but..."

"But what?"

"I didn't think you would let me," A few more tears ran down Serena's face.

Severus closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, "Serena, your relationship with him does not bother me as much as the fact that you concealed it from me and your mother."

"So I can keep seeing him?" There was a touch of excitement in Serena's voice.

"I suppose..."

"Thank you Dad!" Serena jumped out of the chair and flung her arms around her father. "But do I still have to be suspended from the quidditch team?" She pouted.

"If the tears didn't work on me pouting most certainly won't," a slight smile played at Severus' mouth, "but remember, that suspension includes practices, not just the next game. I better not catch you down on the quidditch pitch until after the next game."

"Fine... but I still don't think that's fair."

"It doesn't matter what you think is fair. This is my decision not yours."
"Lady Kalliope!"

Kalliope looked up at the temple where a young priestess was rushing down towards her, "What is it Alexandra?"

"My Lady," she panted slightly, "Lady Rheia wants to see you and the wizard immediately,"

Kalliope inclined her head slightly, "we will go to her now, thank you for the message."

"How did she already know I was here?" Remus asked as he offered a steadying hand to Kalliope as they finished the assent up the narrow rocky path to the temple.

Kalliope shrugged, "the same way she knows everything that goes on around here, she is a powerful priestess, she sees all."

"And what about you, do you see all?"

"If you mean did I know you were coming, then no. I may be the chief oracle here but the goddess does not show me everything, only that which I need to know."

"I suppose it's not really something a man can understand."

"That is true, the art of seeing requires a stronger connection with the earth than any man possesses," Kalliope shot a look at Remus when they reached the doors to Rheia's chambers. "I take it you remember the correct way to treat our head priestess?"

"Of course."

Kalliope opened the doors and entered the darkened rooms, Remus walking several paces behind her. Kalliope bowed her head in reverence to the Mother and Remus made a similar gesture.

"Come closer children," Rheia beckoned to them, "time is short."

"How can we serve you mother?" Kalliope asked.

"You will go with the wizard back to the school; your knowledge and gift as an oracle are needed there."

"Of course mother," Kalliope didn't waste time wondering how Rheia knew Remus had asked her to go back to Hogwarts with him. The old woman knew everything.

"And you will take the child with you, without your supervision she would run right back down to the warrior's camp. I do not need to tell you how important it is that she does not continue her relationship with Scamander."

"Yes mother, but do you think it is best to take her away from the temple?"

"Do not question me child, you will take her with you. Perhaps the chance to see a culture in which men have more stature might make her more aware of her own background and the importance of her vows to the goddess."

"I will obey you orders mother, I am sorry I questioned you," Kalliope kept her head lowered and eyes on the ground out of respect for Rheia's position.

"Now then wizard, come closer," Rheia beckoned to Remus. She grasped his wrist in her bony hand, betraying a physical strength he did not expect to find in someone as old as her. "Watch over my priestess and her ward, I do not want any harm to befall them in your country."

"I will do my best for them."

"A man's best is often not enough, swear to me you will guard them."

"I swear it."

"Good," Rheia released his wrist, "now, Kalliope, go get yourself and your ward packed, you leave at dawn for Hogwarts."