Remus' POV – late September 1978
Well I don't think the dinner with Jenny's parents could have gone any better I thought sarcastically. Zhao had ushered me out of the room before Mr. Chang could hurt me and stopped me from going to see Jenny. He told me that it was best that I didn't see her yet, she would be too angry or upset. That was a bit stupid, I was able to calm Jenny, I could talk to her, I was her fiancé wasn't I?
"Let our Grandmother calm her first. She knows what she must do," Zhao said after I told him my views. We sat behind the stables where Zhao was looking over the large Chang estate. Old Grandmother Chang had tottered off towards the dark forests in the distance. I was worried about Jenny. She had just run off and I didn't know where she had gone. I wanted to be with her to comfort her but Zhao had told me to stay behind and let the Grandmother talk to Jenny. The Grandmother seemed to know where she was going.
"I'm sorry my father reacted like that." Zhao said humbly. "He has old ideas." Zhao sounded like he was incredibly ashamed of it. I didn't blame him. Very few people could accept that I was a werewolf and what was I to expect from Jenny's parents? I shouldn't have expected much more then Jenny's initial reaction.
"It's fine, I'm used to it," I told Zhao. He nodded and looked up. The estate was beautiful. Even in the dark, there were pools of colour, where lanterns were lit in the estate, and where all the white lilies and various other flowers were. I only knew what a lily looked like, because it was James' favourite flower and every year on Lily's birthday he'd buy her some lilies and roses. The sound of running water filled the hot, humid air of the night.
"This is a beautiful place." I told Zhao. He smiled.
"It's been in our family for generations, a thousand years I think. I don't know, Jenny and Lee know more about our history then I do," Zhao said. He turned to me like he was going to confide something in me. "I want you to know that I couldn't think of anyone nicer to let my sister marry," Zhao said. I gave him a smile.
"Thanks, that's very nice of you." I said.
"Can I tell you something?" Zhao asked.
"Of course," I told him, "what is it?"
"You can't tell my parents." Zhao said.
"Like they would listen to me anyway. I didn't understand the argument Jenny had but I get the feeling that they don't like me much." I said with a smirk. Zhao smiled.
"No, I'm not sure if you actually got it but father told Yue-Yin, I mean Jenny, that he never wanted to see her again." Zhao said quietly. "She's always been a disappointment to Father, though none of us actually realised until recently when she told him she was dating you." I looked at the floor. It was my fault then that Jenny wasn't getting along with her parents. I had caused her to lose her family. I felt my heart give a painful tug, I destroyed Jenny's life!
"But he'll get over it." Zhao said, kicking a piece of dirt, "But Remus, I think I'm going to be a father." Zhao said, turning to me. I looked at him surprised.
"Who have you told?" I asked
"No one." Zhao said, "Well, you know and of course my wife knows; she's the one who told me she was pregnant but I want to tell you this because after tonight don't blame yourself. When Father finds out about my child he will get angry with me as well. He doesn't want me to bring children into this world while it's so dark."
"But you can't help that." I said.
"I know. But just so you know that what happened between Yue-Yin and father is not your fault." Zhao said. I nodded.
"What will you call your child?" I asked.
"I do not know but if it a girl I want to call her Cho." He said, "I've liked that name for a while and my wife seems to agree that it's a nice name."
"What does your wife do?" I asked Zhao,
"She is a Chaser on the Chinese Quidditch team." Zhao said with a smile. There was a tapping coming from the gardens and Zhao and I looked up to see the Grandmother returning on her own. She came to us, gave me a smile, and she took my hands in hers and held them tightly. She said something in Chinese and gave me a smile and a slight bow. I turned to Zhao for help.
"She says that she wishes you and Yue-Yi...Jenny the best of luck in the future and that she hopes you invite her to the wedding." Zhao said with a smile. I liked the grandmother. She seemed like a quirky little person.
"Can you tell her that I'll take the best care of Jenny and that she is always welcome to come to England." I said to Zhao. Zhao translated for me and the grandmother grinned and nodded. She said something then laughed.
"She says she'll see you in a month." Zhao said chuckling. The grandmother let go of my hands and pointed to the woods in the distance. Zhao nodded and the grandmother hobbled away towards one of the buildings.
"What did she say?" I asked curiously.
"She said follow the path towards that Dragon statue then follow the dirt path. Jenny is where she used to hide as a child." Zhao said.
"Thanks." I said with a thankful smile. Zhao nodded.
"Go and comfort my sister before I curse you." He said. I nodded and ran off towards a large stone Dragon statue that was covered in moss. I could just make out a small dirt trail that went to the forest. I got my wand out.
"Lumos." I said, a light came out of the end of my wand and lit up a small circle of floor. I went towards the woods and soon I was quite deep in the woods. There were sounds of cracking twigs and the usual sounds that you would hear in a wood at night. I kept walking until I came to a small wooden building where Jenny was sitting thoughtfully on a stone bench. She didn't seem to notice me and was staring at her hands.
"Jenny." I said gently. Jenny looked up and smiled.
"Come here." She said patting the bench next to her. I walked over and sat next to her. I put an arm around her and she hugged me tightly with her eyes closed.
"I'm sorry you had to listen to that." She said, like she was about to cry.
"I didn't understand a word," I told her truthfully. "but Zhao told me what happened. It should be me that's sorry. I didn't mean to you to be...rejected by your dad." Jenny lifted her head and looked at me.
"It's fine. I don't care what he says anymore. I just want to leave this country. I remember now why I was so eager to try and forget this place." Jenny said looking around.
"I think this place is incredibly beautiful." I said. I honestly thought it was; the plants, trees, the architecture helped to enhance the estate. Everything about China was so beautiful, including the people it spat out.
"I want to go home." Jenny said.
"Ok, we can apparate to the Chinese ministry and get an early portkey back home." I told Jenny. "I don't want you feeling so depressed and upset. We won't stay here if it'll make you feel like that."
"Thanks Remus," Jenny said. "I don't know what I'd do without you, or grandmother." Jenny said. I grinned and stood up. I lifted Jenny to her feet and held her in my arms.
"You'd be rich, and famous and you'd be a celebrated healer." I told her, "But as you're stuck with me you'll be poor and beautiful and have lots of little werewolf children, if you want them of course." I said, kissing Jenny on the lips. Jenny laughed the laugh of someone who was quite depressed.
"I don't think I can handle more then one werewolf." She said honestly.
"That's why we force Lily and April to adopt them." I said cheekily. I was only trying to cheer Jenny up and it was working. She grinned and put her arms around my neck.
"We'll make it work." She said, putting her head on my chest. I smiled and kissed the top of Jenny's head. "Yeah, we will." I said gently. "Come on, let's go home."
When we got home, we found April raiding my fridge. She was in her auror robes, and had her wand tucked behind her ear. Jenny gave me a funny look and went to April and pinched her sides. April let out a scream of surprise and turned around. Jenny and I started laughing.
"Holy shit, give a girl some warning." April said leaning against the worktop of the kitchen and looked at us in shock.
"And you're supposed to be an auror?" I asked her. April smiled and went to my freezer and pulled out a pot of ice cream.
"April, what are you doing here?" Jenny asked her.
"I'm hungry." April said simply. "and my fridge is empty, Sirius can't be arsed to get up and take me out and my usual supply of food has gone on her honeymoon." April said getting a spoon.
"So you're eating my ice cream?" I asked her. April gave me a grin.
"How was China?" She said accentuation the last word.
"Oh, don't get me started!" Jenny said taking off her coat and leaving the room. April looked at me with an amused look.
"That good huh? What happened?" She asked the last part seriously.
"Her parent's disowned her." I said with a frown. Jenny had started to joke about it but I knew that she was really hurt deep down. She was putting up a brave face. April frowned and picked up another spoon then followed Jenny out. I went to the door and watched. I'd heard so much about these girl rituals of cheering up. Jenny was sitting on the sofa with her arms around her legs. April sat down next to her and looked at Jenny.
"Here, take this spoon." April said handing a spoon to Jenny. Jenny looked at her and sighed. She took the spoon that April held out. I stayed by the door, not wanting to interrupt.
"Remus told you?" Jenny asked her.
"Please, he didn't have to tell me. I can see it remember?" April said. "There's enough hurt in you to kill you." Jenny smirked as April opened up the tub of ice cream.
"I hate being friends with a Legillimens some times." Jenny said. April nudged her. "Get used to it. I'm gonna be reading your thoughts more and more, mon cherie" April said with a smile. "Eat." April was a Legillimen? No wonder she knew so much about us when we didn't talk to her. That's how she figured out that Jenny and I were engaged when we hadn't told anyone, that's how Lily and April had those silent conversations. Why had April not told us? Yes, all the guys knew that she could read our minds or that she had a gift for guessing what we were going to say but a Legillimens...how cool! Jenny took a spoonful of ice cream and ate it.
"Don't worry. At least you got your grandma, she's the best person in your family." April said.
"I know" Jenny said, "I just wish that my father would accept Remus. Some of the things that he said."
"What did he say?" April asked. Jenny repeated the words in Chinese and April nodded. She seemed to understand it then she frowned.
"Ow, harsh." April said.
"I know." Jenny muttered. "And that was before I announced the engagement." Those two were so strange. All the girls, Lily, Jenny and April had some weird connection and they all seemed to understand each other, no matter what language they spoke. There was a flash of gold and red on the worktop next to me and I started in surprise. Sirius stood there in the middle of my kitchen with a phoenix on his shoulder.
"Good afternoon Moony, weren't expecting you till tomorrow." Sirius said happily
"Our visit was cut short." I told him.
"Ok, well I was going to go to China to fetch you and Jenny but you're here which saves a trip." He said. "Dumbledore wants us. All of us, you, me, Jenny, April, Peter, James and Lily." Sirius said.
"But you're not going to interrupt James and Lily's honeymoon are you?" I asked him, he was not going to disturb our best friend's honeymoon? That was just cruel.
"Of course not!" Sirius said, "That's why Dumbledore said wait until they get back before they join."
"Join what?" I asked him. He wasn't making much sense at all.
"I'll tell you later. Peter's meeting us there. I got to pick up you and the girls." Sirius said. "Oh, by the way, this is Fawkes. Fawkes, say hello to Remus. He's a werewolf." The phoenix let out a few notes of soothing song. I closed my eyes for a moment and let the notes wash over me. I felt so much better already.
"GIRLIES!" Sirius said walking into the main flat with his arms spread wide. Fawkes flew to my shoulder and I followed Sirius but not as dramatically. April turned and grinned.
"Sirius!" She said hugging him.
"Oh, haven't seen you in a week." Sirius said holding April tightly.
"Too long." April said. Sirius pulled her into a deep and what looked like, passionate kiss. Jenny stood up and came to my side.
"What are you doing here Sirius?" Jenny asked. I put my arm around Jenny and Sirius turned to us.
"Dumbledore wants us."
"Why?" April asked him. She looked at him and made a slight o with her mouth, "That." She said.
"What?" Jenny asked.
"We have to go." April said. "We'll fill you in when we get there." April held her hand out for Jenny, who took it. I held onto Fawkes and suddenly everything went red and gold. My body was filled with a strange warmth as we travelled and suddenly came to a stop in the headmaster's office in Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore sat at his desk and smiled when he saw us. I looked around and noticed Peter sitting in a seat looking quite sullen. He'd been like that since Kiana had been sent to Azkaban. He was scratching his arm slightly and turned to see us.
"Hi." He said. We all gave him a smile and I was about to say something when Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Now that we're all here I may begin. April and Sirius you already know what I have to ask you and I hope you have made your decisions on what you want to do, you were slightly confused last week." April and Sirius smiled.
"We want in." April said. Dumbledore nodded. He turned to Jenny and me.
"Please sit down." He said, "I believe you had an unpleasant experience in China."
"How did you know?" I asked Dumbledore.
"An old man's intuition." Dumbledore merely said. "Now, Peter, Remus and Jenny. I have called you here because I would like you to join an organisation of mine called the Order of the Phoenix. It is a group that has banded together to try and fight the coming of Voldemort. So far our members are few and far between. I approached Sirius and April with this earlier this week and they suggested I ask you if you would like to join. If you would like to join you will be sent on missions and assignments and your lives will be at risk."
"They already are." Jenny said,
"But even more so. We have links and contacts all over the country and we are trying to develop some abroad. Would you be interested in joining."
"Yes." I said. It was something to do. Jenny looked at me and when I gave her a smile to show her I knew what I was doing she nodded.
"I'll help but only because I don't want the world to become narrow minded and more evil then it already is." Jenny said. Dumbledore looked at Peter. He shifted uncomfortably and nodded.
"Ok. I'll do it." He said. It sounded as though we were forcing him to join.
"No one is forcing you." Dumbledore said. "If you wish to not join-"
"We have to get rid of the Dark Lord don't we?" Peter said. Dumbledore smiled.
"Oh yeah!" Sirius said. "Next up Lily and James."
"Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think Lily will want to join." April said hesitantly. We all looked at her.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because she's slightly hesitant about these things. Don't take my word for it though, James has really changed her and she might join straight away." April said quickly.
"It does not matter." Dumbledore said. "I will take your choices now as your final choices as we desperately need one of you to go on an assignment and as April and Jenny have training to go to I must ask one of you boys to carry it out." Dumbledore said looking at me Sirius and Peter. I didn't know if I should go or not. I would like to go but Jenny seemed so depressed after her argument with her dad that I couldn't leave her on her own. She needed me to be there with her.
"I'll do it." Sirius said after a few moments of silence. He didn't sound like his usual self where he usually jumped in without questioning what he was about to do. "What do I need to do?" He asked. He sounded as though he was having a few doubts.
"You may be gone for a while." Dumbledore said. "It is a very dangerous task." April looked at Sirius slightly annoyed.
"We haven't seen each other for a week and you're about to go off again!" April said slightly annoyed.
"Sorry but this is for the greater good." Sirius said putting his hands on April's shoulders. "We talked about this last week."
"I know but I want to spend some time with you." April said. Why did that sound familiar? I thought for a bit and realised that had been all that Lily had said to James last year. Wow, they've swapped roles. While Lily and James were off having the time of their lives April was pining for Sirius.
"I will have to talk to Mr. Black on his own." Dumbledore said "But first, I have an exciting new announcement for Remus." I turned to Dumbeldore.
"What about?" I asked him curiously.
"About your transformations." He said, What could possibly be new and exciting about my transformations? They were painful and dull and boring unless Jenny or one of the Marauders were around.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It seems the Ministry has developed a new potion called the Wolfsbane potion. It was originally made as a way of calming uncontrollable animals but it has been most effective at calming a werewolf during his transformations. It is currently in its early stages but I see it being a very big success. It will cause a violent dangerous creature to curl up in the corner and sleep through the transformations." Dumbledore said. I sat there for a few minutes in silence. Did I just hear right? Something to help my transformations easier? Something specifically for a werewolf? I replayed what Dumbledore had said in my head to make sure I hadn't missed a single word and I wasn't jumping to any conclusions. Jenny looked as shocked as I did. She wasn't a werewolf, obviously, but anything that affected me would affect her.
"What potion? I've never heard of that before." April said. She took a few steps closer and a hand on Jenny's shoulders.
"It is a new potion and I have been asked to find a werewolf who may be willing to try the potion." Dumbledore said. He looked at me. "Remus?" I thought for a moment. A potion to ease my transformations would be amazing. I looked at Jenny, who looked at me. She grinned and held my hand tighter.
"Um, I would be willing to try it." I told Dumbledore. He smiled and then nodded.
"I will inform those at the Department of Mysteries of your choice." Dumbledore's eyes gave a twinkle and he looked at me. "I hope that it will ease your suffering"
"Thank you professor." I said gratefully. I could have hugged Dumbledore.
"I will have Professor Hamish brew some for you but when Lily Eva-Potter returns I will ask her to begin to brew some for you. She was a highly skilled Potions student if my memory serves me correctly."
"Her speciality was Charms." April said.
"I remember. My, it is amazing, She is now Lily Potter, who would have thought of that?" Dumbledore said as if thinking out loud. We all laughed, except Peter, and Dumbledore smiled.
"You made them head students on purpose." Sirius said.
"No, I assure you that I did not see it coming" Dumbledore said sincerely. "Now, you may leave I will need to inform Sirius in on his mission and I would like to talk to Remus about the Order and a small proposition I have for him." I looked at him curiously. The others nodded and the girls got up.
"I'll see you later." I said to Jenny as she got to her feet.
"Ok." She bent down and gave me a quick kiss before going, with April and Peter, to the fireplace and disappeared using floo powder.
"Professor?" I said standing up. Sirius joined me and we stood in front of his desk together.
"Firstly, Remus I believe that no one has offered you a job because you are a werewolf?" Dumbledore asked. I nodded. "Would you like a paid job?" I nodded again. Where was he going with this. I glanced at Sirius who looked slightly confused as well.
"What are you asking Professor?" I asked.
"Would you like a full time job with the Order. We need someone to help to organise the meetings and assignments. As I am Headmaster here, Moody is busy with his auror duties and many others have jobs and families I was interested into seeing if you would like to help me to keep things in order. I will be able to pay you as much as you want." Dumbledore said. My eyes widened at this. I had literally just joined the Order and Dumbledore was offering to let me have this job.
"Of course Professor." I stuttered. Dumbledore smiled.
"Call me Albus. Please can you see me in a few days time and I'll tell you exactly what I would like you to do." I nodded and looked at Sirius.
"Good luck." I said to him. He gave me a quirk grin.
"Thanks" he said. "See you in a bit." I nodded and went to the fireplace and took a handful of Floo powder from a small pot on the fireplace. I said the destination I wanted to go to, my house, and I was sucked into the Floo network. I kept my eyes closed and my limbs close to my body. I hated travelling by Floo. I was spat out of my fireplace and found Jenny sitting on my sofa looking a bit depressed. I knew what it would be about. I walked over to her and sat down next to her. She didn't look at me but she leaned against me and I put my arms around her and held her close.
"I don't understand why people hate werewolves so much." Jenny said,
"It's because we're evil." I said, trying to joke. Jenny sighed and looked at me.
"But you're not." She said. "Do you ever wish we were more like a normal couple?"
"Define normal?" I said to her. I stroked her hair gently. I knew it must be hard on Jenny dating me but now she wanted us to be normal! I thought she loved me as me.
"You know, without your transformations." She said. I hooked a finger under Jenny's slightly soot covered chin and forced her to look at me.
"No." I said. I meant it. If I didn't have my transformations then I probably wouldn't have Jenny. Yes I did wish I wasn't a werewolf, it would have made life so much easier. Jenny gave me a weak smile and leaned up to kiss me. I gently returned the kiss. I suddenly became quite aware that I was fairly dirty and both Jenny and I were covered in soot. I pulled away suddenly.
"What?" Jenny asked. I got up and went to the bathroom. Jenny lay on the sofa watching me curiously. I twisted some of the taps and water began to run out of them. "Remus, what are you doing?" She asked me uncertainly as I marched back to her. I grinned and picked her up, putting on arm behind her back and hooking on arm under her knees. Jenny laughed and put her arms around my neck.
"Remus, what are you doing?" She asked. Was she really so clueless?
"We're having a bath." I told her.
"We?" She asked curiously. I gave her a grin.
"You're dirty, I'm dirty and I'm too cheap to run two baths." I told her cheekily.
"Mr. Lupin, I did not know you had such a foul mind." She said, jumping free of my arms and turning to face me.
"Can you blame me?" I asked her, my eyes travelling down her perfect body. Jenny smiled and kissed me. I closed my eyes and returned the kiss, I felt Jenny put a hand in my hair as my hands searched for the hem of her shirt. I found it and I began to slowly pull her shirt over her head. We had to pull apart as she took the shirt off and as I let her take my own shirt off. She looked at me with a smile.
"We've never actually done this before." Jenny said with a smile as I turned off the tap before the water flowed over the edge of the bath. I could feel my body tingling. I wanted to feel Jenny's skin on mine. I felt her hands on my back as I got up from switching off the taps. Her hands moved around to my front and I felt her lips on my neck. I turned and put my arms around Jenny.
"You want to go in first?" I asked her gently. She gave me a suggestive smile and her hands went to my trousers. "Ok, I guess I'm first." I said Jenny grinned.
"Yep." She said with a smile and a wide grin.
I rubbed my hair dry as I went to get some spare clothes. I put the clothes on and looked at myself in the mirror in my room. My body was a bit fuller then usual, if that makes sense. Usually I was thin because of the transformations and I was pleased to see that I didn't look so thin. I pulled a clean shirt over my head and continued to rub my head with the towel when I heard a scream from the bathroom. I turned quickly and looked for my wand. Damn, it was with my clothes in the bathroom. I ran to the bathroom to see a tall cloaked figure standing over the bath with one hand in the bath.
"Remus!" Jenny shouted, swallowing a mouth full of water at the same time. I didn't have time to find my wand. I ran to the man and hooked an arm around his neck. He gagged slightly and let go of Jenny, who was being held under the water. The deatheater ran backwards into a wall and something stuck into my back.
"Ah!" I shouted in pain as I let go. The Deatheater glanced at me then at Jenny, who was pulling a towel towards her.
"Remus." She said. She didn't get a chance to say much more as another deatheater came into the bathroom and pushed her back into the bath, splashing water everywhere. She let out a scream but that was the wrong thing to do as she just seemed to swallow more water. I got to my feet and started for the deatheater when the one I had attacked held his wand out.
"Crucio!" He shouted. The curse struck me and my body was filled with unimaginable pain. It was like my transformations but the pain intensified about ten times. I crumpled to the floor and curled up slightly to try and block the pain. I had to help Jenny but the pain was too intense. I spotted a wand on the floor a few inches from my hand. I grabbed it and tried to turn around.
"Stupefy." I muttered. A red light struck the deatheater that was cursing me and the pain stopped immediately. The deatheater that was trying to drown Jenny turned quickly and looked at his friend. I got to my feet slowly and looked at him dangerously. How dare they enter my house and try to kill my fiancé. I approached the deatheater and he grabbed his friend before doing an illegal apparition. Taking his friend with him. I stumbled to the bath.
"Jenny." I said, falling to the floor in pain but holding onto the edge of the bath. I reached into the bath and hoisted Jenny out of the bath. I wrapped a towel around her as I did. "Jenny!" I said frantically. I felt panic rising in me as she wasn't breathing and her eyes were closed. No, she couldn't be dead, what was that Muggle thing that got people breathing again? Lily had taught it to me once, She had taught all of use Marauders, why didn't I pay attention. I remembered James paying attention because it gave him an opportunity to 'practice' on Lily. I racked my brain for how she had done it. I had a vague idea of what she had done. I lowered Jenny down and tilted her head back and opened her mouth. I pressed my mouth against hers and breathed into her mouth then pressed on her chest a few times. Jenny didn't react to it. She was still lying motionless. I was starting to panic more and I noticed my hands were shaking slightly.
"No, Jenny." I said quietly. I tried the Muggle thing again. I had just pressed on Jenny's chest when a cough racked her body. Jenny moved her head to the side and water came out of her mouth. "Jenny!" I said relieved. I pulled her into a tight hug. Jenny let out a strained moan and I let go of her slightly. She was shaking as if she was in shock and she pulled the towel around her tighter as she looked at me, her face was paler then it should be.
"What-" She started to say.
"You nearly drowned" I said kindly, putting a hand on her shoulder. Jenny put a hand to her neck where a large red mark was marring her perfect skin. I got up and helped Jenny to her feet. "Here, come with me." I said. I was a bit shaky on my feet after the curse. Jenny stood up and hugged me tightly. My shirt soaked up the water from her wet body instantly. I didn't quite realise that Jenny was crying until her body shook slightly in the unmistakable movements of a sob.
"It's ok." I whispered into her damp hair.
"I nearly died" Jenny muttered. "I saw everything." She said turning her head and holding me tightly. "I was so scared."
"I was scared as well." I said to Jenny, "I thought I'd lost you." Jenny kept crying and I just held her. Why was Voldemort after us? What did we do? What made our group so special or important. I put a hand on the back of Jenny's head and stroked it gently. Jenny's sobs eased slightly and I closed my eyes. I had been so close to losing Jenny. Too close to losing Jenny. I let go of her and picked her up in my arms gently. Jenny didn't protest and put her head on my chest as I carried her to the bedroom. Jenny wasn't having the easiest of times at the moment. Disownment and near death were definitely not things I wanted to experience. I handed Jenny some clothes after I placed her on the bed and she put them on silently then curled up under the duvet. I sat next to her and put a hand on her head.
"Just go to sleep, I'll watch over you." I said gently. Jenny was asleep before I finished the sentence. I sighed and just watched Jenny sleep.
A/N:-Ok, Next is Sirius then April. I hoped you liked this chapter, please tell me what you think. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been incredibly busy and am currently suffering from lack of sleep
Well I don't think the dinner with Jenny's parents could have gone any better I thought sarcastically. Zhao had ushered me out of the room before Mr. Chang could hurt me and stopped me from going to see Jenny. He told me that it was best that I didn't see her yet, she would be too angry or upset. That was a bit stupid, I was able to calm Jenny, I could talk to her, I was her fiancé wasn't I?
"Let our Grandmother calm her first. She knows what she must do," Zhao said after I told him my views. We sat behind the stables where Zhao was looking over the large Chang estate. Old Grandmother Chang had tottered off towards the dark forests in the distance. I was worried about Jenny. She had just run off and I didn't know where she had gone. I wanted to be with her to comfort her but Zhao had told me to stay behind and let the Grandmother talk to Jenny. The Grandmother seemed to know where she was going.
"I'm sorry my father reacted like that." Zhao said humbly. "He has old ideas." Zhao sounded like he was incredibly ashamed of it. I didn't blame him. Very few people could accept that I was a werewolf and what was I to expect from Jenny's parents? I shouldn't have expected much more then Jenny's initial reaction.
"It's fine, I'm used to it," I told Zhao. He nodded and looked up. The estate was beautiful. Even in the dark, there were pools of colour, where lanterns were lit in the estate, and where all the white lilies and various other flowers were. I only knew what a lily looked like, because it was James' favourite flower and every year on Lily's birthday he'd buy her some lilies and roses. The sound of running water filled the hot, humid air of the night.
"This is a beautiful place." I told Zhao. He smiled.
"It's been in our family for generations, a thousand years I think. I don't know, Jenny and Lee know more about our history then I do," Zhao said. He turned to me like he was going to confide something in me. "I want you to know that I couldn't think of anyone nicer to let my sister marry," Zhao said. I gave him a smile.
"Thanks, that's very nice of you." I said.
"Can I tell you something?" Zhao asked.
"Of course," I told him, "what is it?"
"You can't tell my parents." Zhao said.
"Like they would listen to me anyway. I didn't understand the argument Jenny had but I get the feeling that they don't like me much." I said with a smirk. Zhao smiled.
"No, I'm not sure if you actually got it but father told Yue-Yin, I mean Jenny, that he never wanted to see her again." Zhao said quietly. "She's always been a disappointment to Father, though none of us actually realised until recently when she told him she was dating you." I looked at the floor. It was my fault then that Jenny wasn't getting along with her parents. I had caused her to lose her family. I felt my heart give a painful tug, I destroyed Jenny's life!
"But he'll get over it." Zhao said, kicking a piece of dirt, "But Remus, I think I'm going to be a father." Zhao said, turning to me. I looked at him surprised.
"Who have you told?" I asked
"No one." Zhao said, "Well, you know and of course my wife knows; she's the one who told me she was pregnant but I want to tell you this because after tonight don't blame yourself. When Father finds out about my child he will get angry with me as well. He doesn't want me to bring children into this world while it's so dark."
"But you can't help that." I said.
"I know. But just so you know that what happened between Yue-Yin and father is not your fault." Zhao said. I nodded.
"What will you call your child?" I asked.
"I do not know but if it a girl I want to call her Cho." He said, "I've liked that name for a while and my wife seems to agree that it's a nice name."
"What does your wife do?" I asked Zhao,
"She is a Chaser on the Chinese Quidditch team." Zhao said with a smile. There was a tapping coming from the gardens and Zhao and I looked up to see the Grandmother returning on her own. She came to us, gave me a smile, and she took my hands in hers and held them tightly. She said something in Chinese and gave me a smile and a slight bow. I turned to Zhao for help.
"She says that she wishes you and Yue-Yi...Jenny the best of luck in the future and that she hopes you invite her to the wedding." Zhao said with a smile. I liked the grandmother. She seemed like a quirky little person.
"Can you tell her that I'll take the best care of Jenny and that she is always welcome to come to England." I said to Zhao. Zhao translated for me and the grandmother grinned and nodded. She said something then laughed.
"She says she'll see you in a month." Zhao said chuckling. The grandmother let go of my hands and pointed to the woods in the distance. Zhao nodded and the grandmother hobbled away towards one of the buildings.
"What did she say?" I asked curiously.
"She said follow the path towards that Dragon statue then follow the dirt path. Jenny is where she used to hide as a child." Zhao said.
"Thanks." I said with a thankful smile. Zhao nodded.
"Go and comfort my sister before I curse you." He said. I nodded and ran off towards a large stone Dragon statue that was covered in moss. I could just make out a small dirt trail that went to the forest. I got my wand out.
"Lumos." I said, a light came out of the end of my wand and lit up a small circle of floor. I went towards the woods and soon I was quite deep in the woods. There were sounds of cracking twigs and the usual sounds that you would hear in a wood at night. I kept walking until I came to a small wooden building where Jenny was sitting thoughtfully on a stone bench. She didn't seem to notice me and was staring at her hands.
"Jenny." I said gently. Jenny looked up and smiled.
"Come here." She said patting the bench next to her. I walked over and sat next to her. I put an arm around her and she hugged me tightly with her eyes closed.
"I'm sorry you had to listen to that." She said, like she was about to cry.
"I didn't understand a word," I told her truthfully. "but Zhao told me what happened. It should be me that's sorry. I didn't mean to you to be...rejected by your dad." Jenny lifted her head and looked at me.
"It's fine. I don't care what he says anymore. I just want to leave this country. I remember now why I was so eager to try and forget this place." Jenny said looking around.
"I think this place is incredibly beautiful." I said. I honestly thought it was; the plants, trees, the architecture helped to enhance the estate. Everything about China was so beautiful, including the people it spat out.
"I want to go home." Jenny said.
"Ok, we can apparate to the Chinese ministry and get an early portkey back home." I told Jenny. "I don't want you feeling so depressed and upset. We won't stay here if it'll make you feel like that."
"Thanks Remus," Jenny said. "I don't know what I'd do without you, or grandmother." Jenny said. I grinned and stood up. I lifted Jenny to her feet and held her in my arms.
"You'd be rich, and famous and you'd be a celebrated healer." I told her, "But as you're stuck with me you'll be poor and beautiful and have lots of little werewolf children, if you want them of course." I said, kissing Jenny on the lips. Jenny laughed the laugh of someone who was quite depressed.
"I don't think I can handle more then one werewolf." She said honestly.
"That's why we force Lily and April to adopt them." I said cheekily. I was only trying to cheer Jenny up and it was working. She grinned and put her arms around my neck.
"We'll make it work." She said, putting her head on my chest. I smiled and kissed the top of Jenny's head. "Yeah, we will." I said gently. "Come on, let's go home."
When we got home, we found April raiding my fridge. She was in her auror robes, and had her wand tucked behind her ear. Jenny gave me a funny look and went to April and pinched her sides. April let out a scream of surprise and turned around. Jenny and I started laughing.
"Holy shit, give a girl some warning." April said leaning against the worktop of the kitchen and looked at us in shock.
"And you're supposed to be an auror?" I asked her. April smiled and went to my freezer and pulled out a pot of ice cream.
"April, what are you doing here?" Jenny asked her.
"I'm hungry." April said simply. "and my fridge is empty, Sirius can't be arsed to get up and take me out and my usual supply of food has gone on her honeymoon." April said getting a spoon.
"So you're eating my ice cream?" I asked her. April gave me a grin.
"How was China?" She said accentuation the last word.
"Oh, don't get me started!" Jenny said taking off her coat and leaving the room. April looked at me with an amused look.
"That good huh? What happened?" She asked the last part seriously.
"Her parent's disowned her." I said with a frown. Jenny had started to joke about it but I knew that she was really hurt deep down. She was putting up a brave face. April frowned and picked up another spoon then followed Jenny out. I went to the door and watched. I'd heard so much about these girl rituals of cheering up. Jenny was sitting on the sofa with her arms around her legs. April sat down next to her and looked at Jenny.
"Here, take this spoon." April said handing a spoon to Jenny. Jenny looked at her and sighed. She took the spoon that April held out. I stayed by the door, not wanting to interrupt.
"Remus told you?" Jenny asked her.
"Please, he didn't have to tell me. I can see it remember?" April said. "There's enough hurt in you to kill you." Jenny smirked as April opened up the tub of ice cream.
"I hate being friends with a Legillimens some times." Jenny said. April nudged her. "Get used to it. I'm gonna be reading your thoughts more and more, mon cherie" April said with a smile. "Eat." April was a Legillimen? No wonder she knew so much about us when we didn't talk to her. That's how she figured out that Jenny and I were engaged when we hadn't told anyone, that's how Lily and April had those silent conversations. Why had April not told us? Yes, all the guys knew that she could read our minds or that she had a gift for guessing what we were going to say but a Legillimens...how cool! Jenny took a spoonful of ice cream and ate it.
"Don't worry. At least you got your grandma, she's the best person in your family." April said.
"I know" Jenny said, "I just wish that my father would accept Remus. Some of the things that he said."
"What did he say?" April asked. Jenny repeated the words in Chinese and April nodded. She seemed to understand it then she frowned.
"Ow, harsh." April said.
"I know." Jenny muttered. "And that was before I announced the engagement." Those two were so strange. All the girls, Lily, Jenny and April had some weird connection and they all seemed to understand each other, no matter what language they spoke. There was a flash of gold and red on the worktop next to me and I started in surprise. Sirius stood there in the middle of my kitchen with a phoenix on his shoulder.
"Good afternoon Moony, weren't expecting you till tomorrow." Sirius said happily
"Our visit was cut short." I told him.
"Ok, well I was going to go to China to fetch you and Jenny but you're here which saves a trip." He said. "Dumbledore wants us. All of us, you, me, Jenny, April, Peter, James and Lily." Sirius said.
"But you're not going to interrupt James and Lily's honeymoon are you?" I asked him, he was not going to disturb our best friend's honeymoon? That was just cruel.
"Of course not!" Sirius said, "That's why Dumbledore said wait until they get back before they join."
"Join what?" I asked him. He wasn't making much sense at all.
"I'll tell you later. Peter's meeting us there. I got to pick up you and the girls." Sirius said. "Oh, by the way, this is Fawkes. Fawkes, say hello to Remus. He's a werewolf." The phoenix let out a few notes of soothing song. I closed my eyes for a moment and let the notes wash over me. I felt so much better already.
"GIRLIES!" Sirius said walking into the main flat with his arms spread wide. Fawkes flew to my shoulder and I followed Sirius but not as dramatically. April turned and grinned.
"Sirius!" She said hugging him.
"Oh, haven't seen you in a week." Sirius said holding April tightly.
"Too long." April said. Sirius pulled her into a deep and what looked like, passionate kiss. Jenny stood up and came to my side.
"What are you doing here Sirius?" Jenny asked. I put my arm around Jenny and Sirius turned to us.
"Dumbledore wants us."
"Why?" April asked him. She looked at him and made a slight o with her mouth, "That." She said.
"What?" Jenny asked.
"We have to go." April said. "We'll fill you in when we get there." April held her hand out for Jenny, who took it. I held onto Fawkes and suddenly everything went red and gold. My body was filled with a strange warmth as we travelled and suddenly came to a stop in the headmaster's office in Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore sat at his desk and smiled when he saw us. I looked around and noticed Peter sitting in a seat looking quite sullen. He'd been like that since Kiana had been sent to Azkaban. He was scratching his arm slightly and turned to see us.
"Hi." He said. We all gave him a smile and I was about to say something when Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Now that we're all here I may begin. April and Sirius you already know what I have to ask you and I hope you have made your decisions on what you want to do, you were slightly confused last week." April and Sirius smiled.
"We want in." April said. Dumbledore nodded. He turned to Jenny and me.
"Please sit down." He said, "I believe you had an unpleasant experience in China."
"How did you know?" I asked Dumbledore.
"An old man's intuition." Dumbledore merely said. "Now, Peter, Remus and Jenny. I have called you here because I would like you to join an organisation of mine called the Order of the Phoenix. It is a group that has banded together to try and fight the coming of Voldemort. So far our members are few and far between. I approached Sirius and April with this earlier this week and they suggested I ask you if you would like to join. If you would like to join you will be sent on missions and assignments and your lives will be at risk."
"They already are." Jenny said,
"But even more so. We have links and contacts all over the country and we are trying to develop some abroad. Would you be interested in joining."
"Yes." I said. It was something to do. Jenny looked at me and when I gave her a smile to show her I knew what I was doing she nodded.
"I'll help but only because I don't want the world to become narrow minded and more evil then it already is." Jenny said. Dumbledore looked at Peter. He shifted uncomfortably and nodded.
"Ok. I'll do it." He said. It sounded as though we were forcing him to join.
"No one is forcing you." Dumbledore said. "If you wish to not join-"
"We have to get rid of the Dark Lord don't we?" Peter said. Dumbledore smiled.
"Oh yeah!" Sirius said. "Next up Lily and James."
"Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think Lily will want to join." April said hesitantly. We all looked at her.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because she's slightly hesitant about these things. Don't take my word for it though, James has really changed her and she might join straight away." April said quickly.
"It does not matter." Dumbledore said. "I will take your choices now as your final choices as we desperately need one of you to go on an assignment and as April and Jenny have training to go to I must ask one of you boys to carry it out." Dumbledore said looking at me Sirius and Peter. I didn't know if I should go or not. I would like to go but Jenny seemed so depressed after her argument with her dad that I couldn't leave her on her own. She needed me to be there with her.
"I'll do it." Sirius said after a few moments of silence. He didn't sound like his usual self where he usually jumped in without questioning what he was about to do. "What do I need to do?" He asked. He sounded as though he was having a few doubts.
"You may be gone for a while." Dumbledore said. "It is a very dangerous task." April looked at Sirius slightly annoyed.
"We haven't seen each other for a week and you're about to go off again!" April said slightly annoyed.
"Sorry but this is for the greater good." Sirius said putting his hands on April's shoulders. "We talked about this last week."
"I know but I want to spend some time with you." April said. Why did that sound familiar? I thought for a bit and realised that had been all that Lily had said to James last year. Wow, they've swapped roles. While Lily and James were off having the time of their lives April was pining for Sirius.
"I will have to talk to Mr. Black on his own." Dumbledore said "But first, I have an exciting new announcement for Remus." I turned to Dumbeldore.
"What about?" I asked him curiously.
"About your transformations." He said, What could possibly be new and exciting about my transformations? They were painful and dull and boring unless Jenny or one of the Marauders were around.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It seems the Ministry has developed a new potion called the Wolfsbane potion. It was originally made as a way of calming uncontrollable animals but it has been most effective at calming a werewolf during his transformations. It is currently in its early stages but I see it being a very big success. It will cause a violent dangerous creature to curl up in the corner and sleep through the transformations." Dumbledore said. I sat there for a few minutes in silence. Did I just hear right? Something to help my transformations easier? Something specifically for a werewolf? I replayed what Dumbledore had said in my head to make sure I hadn't missed a single word and I wasn't jumping to any conclusions. Jenny looked as shocked as I did. She wasn't a werewolf, obviously, but anything that affected me would affect her.
"What potion? I've never heard of that before." April said. She took a few steps closer and a hand on Jenny's shoulders.
"It is a new potion and I have been asked to find a werewolf who may be willing to try the potion." Dumbledore said. He looked at me. "Remus?" I thought for a moment. A potion to ease my transformations would be amazing. I looked at Jenny, who looked at me. She grinned and held my hand tighter.
"Um, I would be willing to try it." I told Dumbledore. He smiled and then nodded.
"I will inform those at the Department of Mysteries of your choice." Dumbledore's eyes gave a twinkle and he looked at me. "I hope that it will ease your suffering"
"Thank you professor." I said gratefully. I could have hugged Dumbledore.
"I will have Professor Hamish brew some for you but when Lily Eva-Potter returns I will ask her to begin to brew some for you. She was a highly skilled Potions student if my memory serves me correctly."
"Her speciality was Charms." April said.
"I remember. My, it is amazing, She is now Lily Potter, who would have thought of that?" Dumbledore said as if thinking out loud. We all laughed, except Peter, and Dumbledore smiled.
"You made them head students on purpose." Sirius said.
"No, I assure you that I did not see it coming" Dumbledore said sincerely. "Now, you may leave I will need to inform Sirius in on his mission and I would like to talk to Remus about the Order and a small proposition I have for him." I looked at him curiously. The others nodded and the girls got up.
"I'll see you later." I said to Jenny as she got to her feet.
"Ok." She bent down and gave me a quick kiss before going, with April and Peter, to the fireplace and disappeared using floo powder.
"Professor?" I said standing up. Sirius joined me and we stood in front of his desk together.
"Firstly, Remus I believe that no one has offered you a job because you are a werewolf?" Dumbledore asked. I nodded. "Would you like a paid job?" I nodded again. Where was he going with this. I glanced at Sirius who looked slightly confused as well.
"What are you asking Professor?" I asked.
"Would you like a full time job with the Order. We need someone to help to organise the meetings and assignments. As I am Headmaster here, Moody is busy with his auror duties and many others have jobs and families I was interested into seeing if you would like to help me to keep things in order. I will be able to pay you as much as you want." Dumbledore said. My eyes widened at this. I had literally just joined the Order and Dumbledore was offering to let me have this job.
"Of course Professor." I stuttered. Dumbledore smiled.
"Call me Albus. Please can you see me in a few days time and I'll tell you exactly what I would like you to do." I nodded and looked at Sirius.
"Good luck." I said to him. He gave me a quirk grin.
"Thanks" he said. "See you in a bit." I nodded and went to the fireplace and took a handful of Floo powder from a small pot on the fireplace. I said the destination I wanted to go to, my house, and I was sucked into the Floo network. I kept my eyes closed and my limbs close to my body. I hated travelling by Floo. I was spat out of my fireplace and found Jenny sitting on my sofa looking a bit depressed. I knew what it would be about. I walked over to her and sat down next to her. She didn't look at me but she leaned against me and I put my arms around her and held her close.
"I don't understand why people hate werewolves so much." Jenny said,
"It's because we're evil." I said, trying to joke. Jenny sighed and looked at me.
"But you're not." She said. "Do you ever wish we were more like a normal couple?"
"Define normal?" I said to her. I stroked her hair gently. I knew it must be hard on Jenny dating me but now she wanted us to be normal! I thought she loved me as me.
"You know, without your transformations." She said. I hooked a finger under Jenny's slightly soot covered chin and forced her to look at me.
"No." I said. I meant it. If I didn't have my transformations then I probably wouldn't have Jenny. Yes I did wish I wasn't a werewolf, it would have made life so much easier. Jenny gave me a weak smile and leaned up to kiss me. I gently returned the kiss. I suddenly became quite aware that I was fairly dirty and both Jenny and I were covered in soot. I pulled away suddenly.
"What?" Jenny asked. I got up and went to the bathroom. Jenny lay on the sofa watching me curiously. I twisted some of the taps and water began to run out of them. "Remus, what are you doing?" She asked me uncertainly as I marched back to her. I grinned and picked her up, putting on arm behind her back and hooking on arm under her knees. Jenny laughed and put her arms around my neck.
"Remus, what are you doing?" She asked. Was she really so clueless?
"We're having a bath." I told her.
"We?" She asked curiously. I gave her a grin.
"You're dirty, I'm dirty and I'm too cheap to run two baths." I told her cheekily.
"Mr. Lupin, I did not know you had such a foul mind." She said, jumping free of my arms and turning to face me.
"Can you blame me?" I asked her, my eyes travelling down her perfect body. Jenny smiled and kissed me. I closed my eyes and returned the kiss, I felt Jenny put a hand in my hair as my hands searched for the hem of her shirt. I found it and I began to slowly pull her shirt over her head. We had to pull apart as she took the shirt off and as I let her take my own shirt off. She looked at me with a smile.
"We've never actually done this before." Jenny said with a smile as I turned off the tap before the water flowed over the edge of the bath. I could feel my body tingling. I wanted to feel Jenny's skin on mine. I felt her hands on my back as I got up from switching off the taps. Her hands moved around to my front and I felt her lips on my neck. I turned and put my arms around Jenny.
"You want to go in first?" I asked her gently. She gave me a suggestive smile and her hands went to my trousers. "Ok, I guess I'm first." I said Jenny grinned.
"Yep." She said with a smile and a wide grin.
I rubbed my hair dry as I went to get some spare clothes. I put the clothes on and looked at myself in the mirror in my room. My body was a bit fuller then usual, if that makes sense. Usually I was thin because of the transformations and I was pleased to see that I didn't look so thin. I pulled a clean shirt over my head and continued to rub my head with the towel when I heard a scream from the bathroom. I turned quickly and looked for my wand. Damn, it was with my clothes in the bathroom. I ran to the bathroom to see a tall cloaked figure standing over the bath with one hand in the bath.
"Remus!" Jenny shouted, swallowing a mouth full of water at the same time. I didn't have time to find my wand. I ran to the man and hooked an arm around his neck. He gagged slightly and let go of Jenny, who was being held under the water. The deatheater ran backwards into a wall and something stuck into my back.
"Ah!" I shouted in pain as I let go. The Deatheater glanced at me then at Jenny, who was pulling a towel towards her.
"Remus." She said. She didn't get a chance to say much more as another deatheater came into the bathroom and pushed her back into the bath, splashing water everywhere. She let out a scream but that was the wrong thing to do as she just seemed to swallow more water. I got to my feet and started for the deatheater when the one I had attacked held his wand out.
"Crucio!" He shouted. The curse struck me and my body was filled with unimaginable pain. It was like my transformations but the pain intensified about ten times. I crumpled to the floor and curled up slightly to try and block the pain. I had to help Jenny but the pain was too intense. I spotted a wand on the floor a few inches from my hand. I grabbed it and tried to turn around.
"Stupefy." I muttered. A red light struck the deatheater that was cursing me and the pain stopped immediately. The deatheater that was trying to drown Jenny turned quickly and looked at his friend. I got to my feet slowly and looked at him dangerously. How dare they enter my house and try to kill my fiancé. I approached the deatheater and he grabbed his friend before doing an illegal apparition. Taking his friend with him. I stumbled to the bath.
"Jenny." I said, falling to the floor in pain but holding onto the edge of the bath. I reached into the bath and hoisted Jenny out of the bath. I wrapped a towel around her as I did. "Jenny!" I said frantically. I felt panic rising in me as she wasn't breathing and her eyes were closed. No, she couldn't be dead, what was that Muggle thing that got people breathing again? Lily had taught it to me once, She had taught all of use Marauders, why didn't I pay attention. I remembered James paying attention because it gave him an opportunity to 'practice' on Lily. I racked my brain for how she had done it. I had a vague idea of what she had done. I lowered Jenny down and tilted her head back and opened her mouth. I pressed my mouth against hers and breathed into her mouth then pressed on her chest a few times. Jenny didn't react to it. She was still lying motionless. I was starting to panic more and I noticed my hands were shaking slightly.
"No, Jenny." I said quietly. I tried the Muggle thing again. I had just pressed on Jenny's chest when a cough racked her body. Jenny moved her head to the side and water came out of her mouth. "Jenny!" I said relieved. I pulled her into a tight hug. Jenny let out a strained moan and I let go of her slightly. She was shaking as if she was in shock and she pulled the towel around her tighter as she looked at me, her face was paler then it should be.
"What-" She started to say.
"You nearly drowned" I said kindly, putting a hand on her shoulder. Jenny put a hand to her neck where a large red mark was marring her perfect skin. I got up and helped Jenny to her feet. "Here, come with me." I said. I was a bit shaky on my feet after the curse. Jenny stood up and hugged me tightly. My shirt soaked up the water from her wet body instantly. I didn't quite realise that Jenny was crying until her body shook slightly in the unmistakable movements of a sob.
"It's ok." I whispered into her damp hair.
"I nearly died" Jenny muttered. "I saw everything." She said turning her head and holding me tightly. "I was so scared."
"I was scared as well." I said to Jenny, "I thought I'd lost you." Jenny kept crying and I just held her. Why was Voldemort after us? What did we do? What made our group so special or important. I put a hand on the back of Jenny's head and stroked it gently. Jenny's sobs eased slightly and I closed my eyes. I had been so close to losing Jenny. Too close to losing Jenny. I let go of her and picked her up in my arms gently. Jenny didn't protest and put her head on my chest as I carried her to the bedroom. Jenny wasn't having the easiest of times at the moment. Disownment and near death were definitely not things I wanted to experience. I handed Jenny some clothes after I placed her on the bed and she put them on silently then curled up under the duvet. I sat next to her and put a hand on her head.
"Just go to sleep, I'll watch over you." I said gently. Jenny was asleep before I finished the sentence. I sighed and just watched Jenny sleep.
A/N:-Ok, Next is Sirius then April. I hoped you liked this chapter, please tell me what you think. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been incredibly busy and am currently suffering from lack of sleep