Friends and Family

Cause the one thing most important is the one we take for granted

And until your life is on that line I think it's the way god had planned it

To open up your eyes and make you realize

That to some life is money

But what's money without life

Cause all's I need is the air that I breathe

And my friends and family to believe in me

"It's okay… it's okay… daddy's right here… he's here… I'm scared, daddy. Make it stop… please?" A six-year-old Vala lay in her bed, whimpering to herself. She pretended her dad was in the room for comfort, and hid under the covers to block out the sound and flashing light. "I hate storms, daddy." She patted the spot next to her, and clutched the sheets in fright. She bit her lip and cried softly, "I hate storms."

Lord Thunder banged his mighty drums as Lady Lightning struck another tree. They were on a mission to destroy all that lived and breathed. Vala knew it was only a matter of time before they came for her. She hated storms. Hated was a near understatement, Vala despised storms.

Vala huddled under the blankets and whimpered quietly to herself. The storm seemed to last, but then a voice rung out; a voice most unlike Lord Thunder's.

"Vala?" It spoke. "Vala, are you all right?"

She pulled the sheets off her head, and stared teary-eyed at her dad.
"Oh, daddy!" she cried, "Make it stop!"

Her dad looked down at her collarbone and remarked, "I see you still wear it."

Vala looked down and noticed that her childish body had been transformed; it appeared as she was now. She also noticed the milky blue orb strung on a silver chain hung loosely around her neck. She touched it, and a faint glow emitted.

"I told you that whenever you're alone or afraid to hold that and turn to the sky. I told you I would always be there to protect you… Didn't you believe me?" he asked in a whisper. "Did you believe death would deny that promise?"

The glow grew stronger, and it stung her eyes to gaze upon. "I… I don't know what to believe anymore."

"I'll be there," he assured, his voice growing faint.

"Wait, don't go!"

He smiled softly, and his image became fuzzy.

"Wait for me, daddy! I don't want to be left behind again!" Vala cried, struggling with her sheets, which had twisted into several strong snakes. "Don't leave me!"

He shook his head sadly, and disappeared.

"No!" Vala shrieked, falling out of her bed. She woke up to find her sheets twisted around her, and she reached to her neck; it was still there. She'd worn the necklace since her parents' death, but she hadn't given it much thought for the past months. It was odd that all of a sudden her father appeared to remind her of it.

"I don't understand," she whimpered, bowing her head.

~+~+~+~

"Did you sleep well?"

Vala looked drowsily up from her cup of hot cocoa. "Yes," she smiled, but the rings under her eyes defied the lie. She sat comfortably curled up in one of his more comfy chairs, and fought the urge of falling asleep.

He observed her silently, and nodded knowingly; he never did listen to the spoken words. "Would I be as ignorant to assume you've forgotten Christmas?"

"Of course you would," she replied casually, sipping her cocoa. That's right, she thought, it's Christmas. "Always assuming the worst, my dear Remus."

He skeptically rose an eyebrow and refuted, "Then where's my gift?"

"I haven't got it on me, you greedy bugger."

"Oh, my mistake," he replied, smiling warmly.

Did he have to smile? Now I feel worse about lying. Sure, Remus knew she was lying, but he didn't have to smile like he believed her.

~+~+~+~

"I'm going out!" Vala shouted, pulling her coat on. "I'll be back in a good hour or two!" she added, opening the door.

"Be careful! And don't forget to bundle up!" Remus responded.

"Yes, mother," Vala droned.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she lied cheerfully, finally slipping out the door. Christmas vacation had done her well; she could finally relax. Vala glanced down the deserted, country road. Actually, it wasn't much of a country road as they lived in a wooded area, but it was the exact kind of road you would expect to find in the country. It was loose dirt in the summer, which came up in clouds if you drove down it too quickly, in the fall it was covered with crisp leaves from the overhanging trees, in winter it iced over, and in spring it was lined by little tulips and daisies. Diagon Alley was miles from home, but given the proper shortcut and flirting with the right wizard in the right pub could get you there in twenty minutes. Vala pulled up the hood of her cloak and briskly walked down the country road, minus the country exterior of course.

Vala walked half a mile and turned onto a well-padded-down path. She knew it was stupid to enter the Woods during the winter as night was early approaching and the path was uneven as well as slippery, but she was buying her time. She picked up her pace as she drew deeper into the Woods. Shady characters lived around here, and she wasn't too keen on confronting any of them. I never liked these Woods much, she thought to herself. It wasn't that she was afraid, she just simply hated Woods. Woods of all kinds. Especially the Forbidden Forest. Vala shivered, partially from the frost and another from the memory of Saxon.

She shook her head. You're on vacation, forget about that, she commanded.

Vala quickened her step and in a short ten minutes she was out of the Woods. "Ah yes," she whispered, looking over the familiar stores. Her eyes strolled over the storefronts until she spotted a familiar one with a faded sign that read "The Lucky Clover." It was a pleasant little Irish pub with Renaissance barmaids and a bartender that never forgot a face.

Vala pushed open the door, with a vivid green paint that stuck in your memory for years, and entered the friendly pub. She hadn't even expected to see anyone she knew, but horrible coincidences like that always kick key characters in the ass.

"Vala!" the accented voice greeted. One could guess that it was Irish.

Vala smiled with chapped lips and rosy cheeks. "Merry Christmas, Grant, what a pleasant surprise… Hey, I thought you were staying at Hogwarts for Christmas?"

He shrugged. "I only like to stick around for Christmas and New Years." His paused reflectively, but immediately snapped back. Tugging her towards a barstool, "Here, let me buy you a drink."

"Grant, I'm only-"

He waved a hand impatiently. "To the Irish you're legal from the time of birth. Hey Ronnie, two over here!"

"Really, Grant, I'm fine," Vala insisted.

"Nonsense! Every good Irishwoman likes a drink!"

"But I'm not I-"

"You are today, lass!"

Ronnie set the two large mugs down in front of them. "Payin' for this one, Grant?"

"'Course not!" Grant exclaimed in shock. "What're cousins for anyhow?"

"Search me," Ronnie shrugged. "I didn't ask for one."

Grant whapped Ronnie's arm, "Off with you!"

Ronnie scowled playfully and hurried off to serve an impatient drunk.

Curious… it's only four and he's drunk? How pitiful, Vala reflected silently. "Cousins?" she echoed. "You never told me about any cousins."

"'Course I do. We Irish are breeders, big families are customary," Grant answered, taking a drink from his beer. His eyes flickered to her.

"But… I thought you were an only child."

"I am." Grant shifted uncomfortably. "My father isn't… your ordinary Irishman. Not Irish at all, actually… He drinks enough to earn the title, but he's a bit of a mutt."

"I see," Vala replied, sipping her beer. No need to push confessions any further. "Grant… Do you think you could give me a ride to Diagon Alley?"

"Sure, what for?"

Vala blushed a deep rosy color and admitted, "I forgot to buy Remus a gift."

"Shame on you… Now drink that beer like a good Irish lass and I'll take ya to the Leaky Cauldron."

~+~+~+~

"I don't know how comfortable I am with this… Couldn't we take a car or something of the sort?"

Grant only rolled his eyes. "Since when are you afraid to try a little Floopowder? Besides, Muggle toys were reserved for Muggles and the toying of overly curious wizards."

Vala frowned. "In the Wizarding World there's a spell for everything, but we shouldn't let magic take all the fun out of life. Sometimes your disasters can became the greatest times of your life," she said.

Grant stared at her for a moment, and then some. "Ye-es… May I ask where you picked up that little bit from?"

"Um…" Where had it come from? Surely she hadn't made it up. "Remus and Lily ha-" but she fell silent.

"Lily? I've heard of Remus, but Lily is new… Is she a friend of yours?" he asked curiously.

"No, no… she's a figment of my imagination," she flustered, and despite herself, grabbed a handful of Floopowder.

"Do you hold conversations with your imagination, Vala?"

"No, of course not," she snapped, throwing the powder onto the fire and walking in. "Diagon Alley!" She never liked traveling by Floopowder, but anything was better than confronting Grant. He was a sweet guy, but he had a horrible tendency of getting you right where it hurt. That Grant was great with a blade. The kind you picked up and stabbed people with right between the ribs. He would never flat out kill you. No, he'd rather see you squirm. He'd rather see you sweat. And in that respect Grant was like a cat, always playing with his food before finally eating it.

Lost in thought, the trip was over before she realized it had begun, and she was thrown from a chimney. She landed in a cloud of smoke, coughing and hacking the soot from her lungs. Why people smoked she would never know. She stood up, smacking the black dust from her cloak, only to fall again by the tumbling Grant.

"Many apologies, lass… Here, let me help you with that."

"I'm quite capable, Grant- and did you just touch my butt?"

"Not intentionally, just helping you dust off."

"Not intentionally my-"

"May I help you?" A stern looking woman interrupted.

Vala froze, which was a shame as she was just about to smack Grant. Slowly, she dropped her hand and sized up the woman.

Grant stood up and half-whispered, "Are these those disasters you were talking about?"

"Uh… Not quite."

~+~+~+~

"Just walk down to the end of this street and turn right at that next corner… It should be the third shop down."

"Thanks!" Vala hollered gratefully, to the not so stern woman. Don't get me wrong, she was stern looking, but her personality was really quite pleasant. She was a proud grandmother who never hesitated to show you the photo-albums dedicated to each of her twenty-six grandchildren. She also made excellent chocolate chip cookies, so listening about Jimmy's first spell, or Valerie's Quidditch status didn't seem so bad. She even offered milk with the cookies. So in conclusion, she got on well with Grant. She would have been the perfect grandmother if, in Grant's mind, she also served beer.

Grant had a definite step to his walk, but at the same time a bounce. Yes, he may be smiling now, but say the wrong thing and those Irish eyes will laugh at you. And not the pleasant, gleeful laugh, but a laugh of confidence and rivalry. Of course, he was intimidating in other ways. And he was liked by nearly everyone. Chances were if he was fond of you, you would soon find yourself a good friend of his. Not that that was anything of significance as he had many friends.

The boy had class, and more importantly, he had charm.

In Vala's half-daze, Grant asked, "Why would he want a teapot?" This was an important question as they were on their way to pick one out for the bugger.

Vala shook her head. "Sorry… er… he likes to make tea?"

"Sounds pretty weak to me. Tell me, what relation are you to Remus?"

"I thought I explained this…"

"Not like that. I mean, mentally what relation are you to him?"

Vala thought for a moment. She'd thought that question over and over again and had never fully achieved an answer she liked. "Why… he's like a brother… but not quite. He's got that protective brotherly quality about him, but at the same time he's almost like a father."

"Very well. Then wouldn't you like to get him something he might appreciate? Maybe even something… personal?"

Revelation washed over Vala's face. What a novel idea. Why hadn't she thought of it? But soon her brightened face fell downcast. "But… I still don't know what to get him."

"Well, let's have a look about." He grabbed her hand and began walking down Diagon Alley. Nothing ever disturbed Grant. He was always so cool-headed. "I hardly believe he's interested in Quidditch or rats… or even silver necklaces." Grant smirked at Vala.

She slapped his arm. "Don't tease."

"Who's teasin'? Oooh…" Grant dropped Vala's hand and pressed his nose up against a display window. "Look at tha' beauty…"

Vala rolled her eyes. "I hardly believe he's interested in that."

"Oh, but I am…"

"Come along," Vala commanded, tugging lightly on his arm. Boys… Vala tsked. It was odd, really. Grant was the type of guy who aced his way through Hogwart's more infamous class, Sex-Ed. And not because he was a pervert, he just had a great understanding of the course. But he was shy. He wasn't the type of guy who exclaimed his excellence in the class. He was very private about it, and never had real conversations about it. So it shocked Vala that he acted so open with the storefront, so regular. She knew he wasn't, but there was that guy-stereotyping again. She suspected that sometimes he just had to fit in, even if the in was perverted jerks.

Grant whimpered for pity, and reluctantly followed Vala. Soon, though, another display window caught his eye. "What about a pet? He's seems like your animal guy."

"He's not, and I'm afraid it'll only remind him of Sirius."

"What… Why?"

"Hmm… I'm not sure," Vala answered truthfully. "But Sirius always had these dog-like qualities about him. What Remus needs is a real friend…" She sighed sharply. Recently she had devised a plan to come closer to Remus, but she was still hesitant to go forth with it.

"Okay… Then how about we steer into a random store. I'm not a fond friend of frost-bite."

~+~+~+~

"Put them on."

"No," Vala refused. "I couldn't."

"You can and you will," Grant insisted, slipping a fine, black leather glove on Vala's yielding hand. "It's winter, you shouldn't be without them." He slid the one on her other hand and reflected, "Your hands are nicely shaped… Think of them as a Christmas present."

Vala sighed, though a smile had washed across her face.

"Now," he padded her hand, "We can begin looking for Remus' gift." He turned to his left. "How does he like objects of fortune?" Grant asked, bending down to look into a crystal ball.

"Oh, he already has one of those," Vala said dismissively.

"He does?" he asked, tapping the sphere.

"Like this, Grant," she corrected, tipping it on its side and back again.

"Uh… Nothing happened."

Like the sphere, Vala tipped her head. "Curious. Remus' works like that… it shows several old fables and fairy tales."

"Are you sure they were fables and tales?" he challenged softly.

"Of course they are…" But the question had given Vala a thought. "I wonder…" she shook her head. That's ridiculous, of course they're only tales.

Moving along- "What about this?"

"Uh…" Vala blushed. "I don't think he'd appreciate that."

"Doesn't the bugger have a sense of humor?"

"No, and neither do I," she said stiffly.

"…Apparently," Grant mumbled.

Vala bent in half to look at the next item on display. "Oooh… What about this?"

"What is it?" Grant asked, scrunching up his nose.

Vala peered over the edge of a round bowl full of misty water. Gingerly, she traced a finger along the edge. "Look at this pattern… Doesn't it seem it was just made for him?" The mentioned pattern was a line of trees lit up by the moon. Looking closer, you could pick out little white stars, but an even closer look revealed that they were not stars at all and instead the gleaming eyes of shady creatures. "It's serendipity… we have to get it."

"But what is it?"

Vala smiled faintly, a distant glint in her eyes, "That's the best part of all… It's a Pensieve."

~+~+~+~

"Here's my stop… Are you sure you can manage your way back? It's getting awful dark."

"I'll be fine," Vala insisted, impatience growing on her.

Grant didn't look as convinced. But under Vala's confident stare he softened. "Fine… But you carry your wand out and if anything happens you send some warning sparks up."

"I'll be fine," she stressed, rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious, Vala. This is about the time when fights start breaking out and bartenders get sick of their all-day drunks… The hostile ones anyhow. You be careful and don't you talk to anyone."

Vala frowned. "You're starting to sound like Saxon." But followed it up with a friendly smile. "You outta watch that." And she kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Grant. I really appreciate it." With her gratitude out of the way she hurried away and into the Woods.

Going home was harder than leaving. The Woods, even under the light of a near full moon, was quite dark. Not extremely dark because the fallen snow had brightened the ground up considerably, but still dark.

The saleswoman had put a charm on the Pensieve so it wouldn't spill, but it was still a struggle to carry. A Pensieve. Vala had heard of them, but the witch had filled in all the gaps. Whenever the keeper had an unpleasant thought or a merciless memory all they had to do was to place his or her wand against his or her temple and add the memory to the Pensieve. It seemed simple enough, even if Grant didn't quite get it. Vala was sure he'd love it, for not only was it beautiful, but it would help Remus relax.

Once again, Vala was lucky. Her crammed thinking helped her get back home without a single worry. Twenty minutes had passed unnoticed. In fact, five hours had passed unnoticed. She would have denied even an hour had passed if the once murky blue sky hadn't fallen to blackness. With this revelation she stepped up the sidewalk with caution, Remus' gift tucked under her arm. Slowly, she reached for the doorknob, but before she could catch it the door swung open.

"Two hours?" Remus asked. "Two hours!?" he repeated eccentrically.

~+~+~+~

"Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? Anything, Anything!"

Vala sat on the dusty couch; her heels pressed up against the side and her hands folded in her lap. She timidly watched Remus pace back and forth. It was kind of scary to see him so… well, wound up. He was like a little wind-up toy and all she could do was sit back and watch him run out of energy.

She didn't dare offer her tidbit. Everything he said sunk in. She had been yelled at several times before, but only by her parents. This was different. It was hard to see such a cool-tempered man angry, and it wasn't so much that he was angry, it was that he was disappointed. Like he had expected more from her. She was doing all she could to save him, what was a mistake here and there? But alas, he didn't know about that bit of information, and if Vala had it her way he never would. Vala's wild, timid eyes softened. She was doing this for him. Please don't be mad at me… please don't make me regret any decisions.

Remus sighed. "Don't you have anything to say?"

She looked up at him, and bit her lower lip. Pooling eyes often deceived and she would do all she could to fight them. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she picked up the large, round object next to her and held it up. "Happy Christmas?" she offered meekly.

Remus sighed again, but it wasn't the empty kind; it was all his disappointment and annoyance leaving him in the form of a breath. The sigh signified that he'd given up and that he couldn't stay angry with her any longer. A smile twitched for a second, but it was all Vala needed.

"I saw that," she teased. No use in hiding it anymore.

The twitch twisted into a grin and from there a faint smile. Remus carefully unwrapped the gift, but didn't quite give the expression Vala had been waiting for. His light brown eyebrows drew together. "Thanks for the…" fruit bowl? "It's very… er… lovely," he finished lamely.

"It's a Pensieve, Remus," she pouted.

"Oh…" then realization. "Oh!" A breathtaking smile rolled across his face, the one rarely shared. "I love it… But now for your gift!"

"Oh, you didn't have to-"

"Nonsense!" he exclaimed, pulling a large, white package from behind an armchair.

"You and Grant," she mumbled, shaking her head, though a cheerful smile crossed her.

"Who?" he asked curiously, making his way back to his seat.

"Just a friend- here, let me help you with that."

"This one first," Remus directed, taking a small black velvet box from his pocket. He dropped it into her hands with the comment, "Now these aren't just to wear around the house."

"What is it?" she asked in a very childlike manner, which served as a quick flashback.

"Open it," he commanded, shifting the package and sitting down.

She didn't have to be told twice. "Oh, Remus… they're beautiful!" Inside the box was a set of princess-cut diamond earrings. She'd never owned real diamonds before. She was about to hug him, but he stopped her.

"There's more." He handed the second package to her. She eagerly took it from him, but he kept her from opening it. "I… um, I really think Lily would have wanted you to have this. I think it would have meant a lot to her if you would wear it… She… she never really had a sister, but she looked upon you as one."

Vala tilted her head slightly and nodded soundlessly. She missed Lily… She missed them all, but especially Lily. Her excitement replaced with solemnity, she opened the box. "Oh my…" She choked, looking up at Remus. "I couldn't."

Remus gulped, but explained, "She wore this the day she and James were married… Now that you're getting married I think you should wear it. She'd be honored if you did… It's only a shame that she's not here to see you in it." A sigh escaped him.

Vala's gaze fell back to the dress. She was at a loss for words. Why was he giving it to her? She didn't deserve it. No, Saxon didn't deserve it. She graced a hand over the fine lace, which shook from nerves. I can't marry him in this…

"But she will," Vala whispered. "She'll always be there."