Hello, next chapter. Um...yes there will be a happy middle, and my sequel will end...happily (I've got it all planned out in my head, which is not a smart idea but hey) anyway, I'm reaching the middle, and would like to say thank to everyone who reviewed because it's really nice. Criticism is ALWAYS welcome. Oh and, I don't own anything you recognise weeps.

This Love

Chapter Five – Meetings and Journeys

CRACK!

"Uhhhh," moaned Ally, who was more than half asleep, "Je ne voudrais pas aller a l'ecole, Mama," she mumbled, half asleep. She turned over and snuggled next to the person sleeping beside her, who was warm and soft, immediately forgetting that someone had apparated downstairs.

Someone had apparated downstairs? she thought, drowsily, the words didn't seem to hold any sort of significance to her until she played them over again in her mind. Someone had apparated downstairs!

She jumped out of bed, causing the other person to moan, grabbed her wand from the bedside table and was about the open the door, when she realised she was totally naked. Merde! She grabbed the nearest clothing, which just happened to be a pair of boxers and a huge baggy t-shirt, both belonging to the person, who wasn't even conscious, who was lying spread eagle on the bed. She pulled them on quickly and opened the door, slowly and silently, with her wand pointing out the door.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, her bare feet made hardly any noise, but she was conscious of every single noise that she made. She finally reached the hall, wincing at the cold stone beneath her feet, then she heard noise coming from the kitchen. She opened the door and pointed the wand at the intruder, who was sitting down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea.

Simon Lupin knew that his little brother had forgotten that he had promised to join his family for dinner, because his little brother always forgot. Simon, therefore, apparated over to his brother's little cottage, in the morning before said engagement, to remind said little brother of that fact and also have breakfast at said little brother's house and expense. And maybe a smoke, because Mrs Simon Lupin did not like her husband to smoke in front of the children. And also because Simon had not seen his little brother for about a month now.

He had sat down at his brother's kitchen table after making himself a cup of tea and was about to read newspaper. After all, Remus was shockingly bad at getting up in the morning, and had probably not even noticed the loud crack when he had apparated in. He had not been expecting someone that was not Remus to walk into the kitchen pointing a wand at him.

Nor had he expected the person to be so pretty. Or female.

Remus had had a couple girlfriends over the years, to Simon's knowledge, none of them very serious; Simon had met a few of them. There was Ashley, who had been plain, in Simon's opinion, dull, and overly enthusiastic about the composer Wagner. Then there was Jemima, who was possibly worse than her name implied (no offence to any Jemimas, this is Simon' POV, not mine) who had like horses and had been obnoxious. Simon had reckoned that Remus simply did not allow himself to have nice, decent girlfriends, to punish himself, or because he did not think he was worth them. Or maybe because he was willing to see the good side about anything and since he had a major flaw (lycanthropy) he was willing to overlook other's if they overlooked his. Or maybe he was overanalyzing everything.

But this girl was young and pretty.

She had white blonde hair that was pleasantly tousled making it obvious she had just gotten out of bed, her skin was pale and her eyes were unusually dark and intelligent. She had a straight nose and freckles were dotted about it, giving her a school girl look. She was slim and petit and she was wearing Remus' boxers, that Simon idly noticed he had given Remus for Christmas which had lots of little snitches imprinted on them, and a huge grey t-shirt that had slipped off one of her shoulders.

And she was so unexpected that Simon had just stared at her, taking in her appearance, his cup of tea half way to his mouth. She too was staring at him, but he realised that most people wouldn't expect burglars to make cups of tea while engaging in common thievery. She suddenly smiled and put her wand down.

"You must be Simon," she said in a French accent. Simon was very confused, was she a mind reader? How did she know that? "You look like Remus," she explained, answering his unasked question. "He's sleeping," she said further. Then she paused, and looked thoughtful. "I'm Ally Summers," she introduced herself and stuck out her hand.

Simon stood up and shook her hand. "Simon Lupin, but you already know that," he said, smiling. "Summers isn't a very French name," he commented, curiously, wondering why the name rang some bells. Ally smiled and sat down at the kitchen table, and filched a piece of toast from his plate.

"My parents actually aren't French; I just grew up in France. My mother is Madeline Summers, maybe you know her? She was in Gryffindor," she explained, munching on a piece of toast. Simon smiled, intrigued, this girl had gone from pointing a wand at me, to acting as if I am one of her best friends. He instantly liked her, remembering that he had liked her mother.

Merlin she must be young!

"I remember Maddy; she was a year ahead of me. Head Girl, too," he reminisced, sipping tea. Neither one of them even suggested waking Remus, he was not a morning person. "You have her name," he realised suddenly. Ally's eyes flicked up from the newspaper she had been glancing at and she looked into his eyes.

"My parents aren't married. But my step dad is great," she said. Well if she doesn't care, I don't care, he thought. I wonder if she knows about Remus being a werewolf. He took another sip of tea.

"How old are you?" he asked, looking at her intensely, as if trying to figure her out. She had finished his piece of toast and was licking butter off her fingers.

"I'll be twenty in a few weeks," she said, stopping licking her fingers to look at him. His mouth dropped open.

"You're a teenager?" he asked, incredulously. She raised her eyebrow at him.

"You say that like I've got the plague. I'm of age, and Remus is only thirty one," she defended herself. Simon was still in shock. His brother, the one who was up to his eyes in morals and excuses about not getting close to people in case he hurt them, was sleeping with a teenager!

But then again, Ally was extremely attractive, and, to Simon at least, she seemed to have a quality that drew you in. Maybe because she seemed so at ease with him, he felt like he had known her forever.

But even so!

"But you're just out of-" he started, but before he could even finish, she had interrupted him.

"I graduated when I was seventeen. That's almost three years ago. I'm not a child," she said, patiently, pouring orange juice into a glass.

"But you know-" Stop! he told himself. If Remus hasn't told her he's a werewolf then I have no reason to ruin this for him. Ally took a gulp of juice then set the glass on the table, giving Simon an inquiring look.

"Oui, I know he's a werewolf," she clarified. It was Simon's turn to raise his eyebrow. "But I'm more concerned about his need to tidy up," she said, smiling again. Simon laughed. Yes, he definitely liked her.

Remus chose this moment to enter the kitchen, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and a yawn. His eyes were half shut and he stretched his arms over his head, leaned down and kissed Ally on the lips, and shuffled over to the sink, not even noticing Simon. He turned the tap on, filled a glass with water, turned the tap off and sat down next to Ally.

Suddenly he turned to face Simon, looked at him blankly for a second, then... "SHIT!"
Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

This can't be happening. It can't be. I've just had the best two weeks of my like for a decade, and now...she is going to meet my parents.

My parents.

Who are so overprotective about me, they will probably rip her to shreds. Uh, don't think that. But, poor, gorgeous, naïve Ally does not know what's going to hit her. Actually, I don't know how my parents will react, I mean, I've never brought a girl to meet them before. Especially after...how long have I known Ally? Not even two months...and now she's going to meet my parents... Simon already likes her, and I'm sure Linda and the kids would love her, too. But my parents...

Ally broke into Remus's train of thought, by kissing him. "It will be fine," she soothed. Remus smiled involuntary. Simon snorted at them, and took a drag from his cigarette.

Simon had reminded Remus about lunch at their parents, and encouraged Ally to come along, who, after being assured that she wouldn't be a nuisance, had said she would love too. Remus was the only one who seemed a bit nervous.

"Does it not strike you odd that Ally, the girlfriend, is not the nervous one, instead it's Remus, the son?" asked Simon, amused at the role reversal. Ally rolled her eyes. "We should get going," he remarked, looking at his watch. Remus paled.

Simon took a pinch of powder, threw it into the fireplace where flames suddenly shot up, shouted "The Lupins!" stepped into the fire place and disappeared. Remus did the same. Suddenly as Ally was all alone, the implication of what she was doing hit her; she was going to see her boyfriend's parents, her boyfriend who turned into a werewolf every month and that she could not screw this up.

Mon Dieu, she thought, stepping into the fireplace.

So...big confrontation coming up....tell me what you think!