A/N: I realized something. That summary was so long that I forgot to write my disclaimer last chapter. But everybody knows I don't own the characters, everybody knows I don't own anything. And if you sued me that's exactly what you'd get. I'm going to start writing the chapter titles on the fics from now on.

Chapter 2: Charming, Prince Charming

Jetlag hit Remus as he walked into his hotel room. The flight had been a long one, since they'd had to go over the Atlantic Ocean and the continent. With a sigh Remus collapsed onto the fluffy bed and conked out.

He awoke the next morning around ten to a grumbling stomach. Groaning, he realized he had not eaten anything since those sandwiches two days before. It wasn't unusual for him to skip meals for days at a time, but it had been a long while since he had done it. Obviously his stomach had grown used to Molly shoving food down into it at least once a day. Lazily Remus reached a hand up and slapped it down on the nightstand a few times, searching for the phone. He yelped when he found it, the hard plastic bruising his skin. Next he looped a finger under the receiver and pulled it to his ear. A dull monotonous dial tone rang through his skull. Wincing a little, Remus sat up and grabbed the room service booklet. Quickly he found the pages he was looking for, the ones containing all the information on ordering food, and punched in the number for the front desk.

After a second of ringing someone picked up. A pompous male voice proclaimed "Hollywood Hilton front desk. How may I help you?"

"Hello. This is Remus Lupin in room 127. I'd like to place an order for some waffles to be delivered to my room please."

"Alright, sir. Someone will be up with your food in about twenty minutes."

"Thank you." Remus set the receiver down on the base and thought for a moment. Perhaps the best thing to do while he waited was to get a shower. Reluctantly leaving the warmth of his sheets, the werewolf strolled across the floor to the bathroom.

There were two things he realized as he peaked inside. One, there was no shower, only a large bath tub. The bath tub was of the old style with clawed feet, and shiny porcelain sides. It had very elaborate taps, designed to look like little eruptions of water. Two, this hotel was very fancy.

Now that he saw he could only take a bath, Remus was unsure on what to do. He wandered back into the main room, his hand to his chin as he was deep in thought. Somehow his eyes fell on the mini bar, which a moment later he discovered was fully stocked. Smiling a little mischievously, Remus grabbed a miniature bottle of brandy, a glass, and a small candy bar before heading back into the bathroom. He turned the tap marked with a large capital H and set his glass and bottle down beside the tub. Then Remus opened up his candy bar and tossed away the wrapping. Putting the chocolate between his teeth, he went in search of soap.

On top of the counter, in very nice paper wrapping, was a small bar of soap good for one use. Next to it was a small white bottle of shampoo, and next to that was a similar bottle marked conditioner. Beside all of that was a little white plate with golden edges holding small bath beads. Remus picked one up in his hand and lifted it to his nose. With a sniff he noted that it was jasmine scented. Interested, he tossed one back behind him. A second later the small plunk as it hit the water indicated that he had made it into the tub. Quickly he undressed, leaving all his robes where they fell to collect later. Seizing all the other bath necessities, Remus turned and got into the bath.

As he sank into the warm water Remus sighed contently. The bath bead he had thrown in had filled the room with the scent of jasmine and the bath tub with bubbles. Turning off the tap, the werewolf relaxed in the water. He reached over and picked up his brandy, pouring some into the glass. As he brought the glass to his lips, Remus couldn't help slipping down into the water a little more. He was now completely submerged, except for his head which was sticking just above the water. With the free hand that wasn't holding a glass of brandy, Remus sweept up some bubbles and blew them. They scattered through the air, most of them popping. A few of the bubbles he blew landed back among the other bubbles and got lost. Drinking more of his brandy, the man in his bath watched one adventurous bubble float up on a wave of air. It soared higher and higher, zigzagging back and forth as it went. Light glinted off of it's shiny thin surface. Suddenly it popped, a few wet drops of bubble liquid falling away from it. Remus sipped a little more from his glass with a smile tracing his lips. People might call him feminine, but you just couldn't help loving the finer things in life.

There was a knock on the door to his room. A voice called "Room service." Remus jumped from the water, grabbing a fluffy soft towel to dry himself with. Next he slipped on one of the complimentary robes hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Making sure the belt was securely tied, he strolled in and opened the front door.

A bellhop, dressed in the colors of the hotel, walked a little into the room. He handed Remus a tray with a plate covered in a silver topper-thingy (A/N:-- I have no idea what they're called!) and a check. Taking the tray, the werewolf set it down on the bed and picked up the check. Quickly strolling over to the nightstand, he grabbed his wallet and pulled out twenty American dollars. For a moment he looked at it, smiling. Dumbledore had given him four hundred Muggle pounds for this trip just as spending money, and at the airport Remus had exchanged it for American dollars. He now had almost eight hundred dollars in American money. It was a good thing he was used to living so frugally or he might have spent it all at once.

"Keep the change." he said as he handed the man the check. Very quickly the bellhop looked inside and nodded. Then he put the check, and the money, into a pocket of his jacket. He turned and left the room, muttering something as he did which Remus assumed was a farewell of some sort. He waved.

Taking the tray with him, Remus reentered the bathroom. Carefully he balanced the tray on the end of the bathtub and slipped off his cotton robe. It was much to cold to be standing there naked so he hopped back into the water with a small splash. Grabbing the tray he lifted the top off his food and set in down. On the plate before him were two waffles stacked one on top of the other, butter melted on the top with maple syrup dribbling down them. Beside that plate was a small plate of toast and hash browns. Next to the waffles on the other side was a paper napkin and a fork and knife. There was also a glass of orange juice, but Remus set that aside for later. He started to eat his breakfast, taking a sip of brandy now and then. Once he had finished one waffle (they were rather large waffles) and half of his toast and hash browns, Remus set the tray down on the floor, picked up the chocolate bar he had left atop his orange juice, grabbed the orange juice glass, and started his small dessert. The chocolate was Swiss, the orange juice was fresh squeezed, and Remus was in heaven.

Between the jetlag and the exploration of his new living quarters, which he would be staying in for the next two weeks, Remus actually forgot his troubles. Sitting there in the warm water eating the best chocolate he'd ever tasted, aside from Honeydukes', it seemed hard to remember them still. But Sirius's face came to him as he closed his eyes. So Remus decided not to close his eyes for a while. After all he only had to shut them to sleep. A sound from outside brought him away from his thoughts. Something light was hitting the small bathroom window panes, lots of somethings. To hear better the werewolf began to close his eyes in an effort to shut out the other distractions, but remembered the reason he was keeping them open anyways. In its place he only half shut his eyes, concentrating on the sound outside instead of the warm water, the delicious chocolate, the sweet orange juice, or his deceased friend's ever-persistent face. It sounded like rain.

"That fits." Remus said sourly to himself. "The one time I come to Los Angeles for the summer and it rains. Probably hasn't rained here in the summer for twenty years and now it's raining. Hmph." Remus sipped on his juice some more.

Twenty minutes later, squeaky clean and full of waffles, Remus emerged from his bath and sat fully dressed on the bed. Such a bed it was that it sunk under him a little bit, accepting his weight. He took a moment to admire the bed, gazing at the intricate design of the comforter and bouncing to test the mattress. After a few moments Remus seemed satisfied and lay back on it. His body descended into the mattress a good couple of inches. It was bliss to be so deep into the bed. Without properly thinking about it, Remus closed his eyes and drifted off into an easy sleep.

He woke up extremely quickly. Cold sweat was pouring off of him in droves. Slowly Remus lifted up a shaky hand to brace his head against. He heard his own unsteady breathing as the only sound in the whole room. The comforter which had at first seemed so pleasing and wonderful was clinging to his legs, constricting him and forcing him to stay in the bed. Of course it wouldn't have mattered if the blankets weren't holding him. There was no way he could stand up on his own wobbly legs.

Remus had just had a nightmare, a horrid one. It had to be horrid for him to wake up like this. When he was younger, he had many nightmares. James had told him once that he screamed in his sleep at night, and that he often flailed around and thrashed the curtains. Just like the rest of his life, Remus had struggled to control his dreams. Eventually he had figured out just how to maintain his emotions enough to prevent dreams from giving him a real response. After that, no matter what he dreamt, he slept like a log. Now, to wake up in such a state of terror, whatever the nightmare had been must have been terrible.

But he couldn't remember it. It was all too blurry to make out. The one thing Remus remembered of the dream he had just had was darkness; all-consuming, frightening darkness. Black night that stretched on forever. Black…

A small choke of pain gripped Remus's fragile heart. After so many heartaches it was easily broken, as was his spirit. Perhaps his demeanor never showed it. On the inside Remus could be crying and screaming, but nothing was ever reflected outwards. As was now.

Dragging his sleeve across his forehead, Remus wiped away the sweat. He checked his breathing, untwisted the blankets from his legs, and decided on a walk. A nice calm cool walk to enjoy the sights and clear his head. He looked down at himself, dressed in blue jeans and a polo shirt. Making sure to grab the room key, Remus walked from the room. Someone held the elevator for him and he was able to get to the lobby very quickly. Next he opened the hotel door, and stepped into the pouring rain.

'Oh…yah…' thought Remus as he looked up at the gray clouds dumping water on him. He was already soaked to the bone through his clothes, and he had forgotten to bring a jacket. With a heavy sigh he decided it was pointless to try and head back in, only time consuming. Sulkily he buried his hands into his pockets and walked down the street.

Despite the bad weather, the streets were packed. Many people, most with umbrellas and hoods, bustled around the sidewalks trying to get to their destinations quickly without getting soaked. Most were failing miserably. All along the street cars were whizzing past, all with window-wipers and headlights on. It was just that kind of day. The kind of day that any healthy sane person would be at home curled up in front of a fire drinking warm cocoa.

"Damn LA weather!" a man dressed in a suit, a business man obviously, complained as he whipped out his one person umbrella. "Can never tell what it's going to do next." He shoved past Remus to get into a cab that had stopped for the light. Too morose to care, Remus carried on.

Soon his drifting had carried Remus out of the busy heart of the city. He had moved, somehow, into a more residential part of LA. Small uniform houses were squashed together. They were nice houses, the wandering werewolf decided. Each one had a large window that showed to the street, giving you a nice view inside most of the cozy little dwellings. Smoke was coming out of half of the chimneys, and suddenly Remus had an urge to break through one of those windows and lay in front of one of those fires. It was an odd impulse to be sure. He mastered it and walked on.
Since he had been staring at the ground, Remus did not instantly notice that he was no longer alone on the street. It was the click click click of heels that alerted him. Somewhere in front of him someone else was walking. The man pretty much ignored the noise and the person altogether. That is, until he heard a cry of pain and a smack like a body falling.

Remus looked up instantaneously, and noticed the person who had been walking ahead of him. It was a woman in her late thirties like him, dressed in a dark blue and slightly flowery dress. She was currently sitting in a puddle, her legs out in front of her. The black hat she was wearing blew off and started to go down the street. The woman gave another little cry as it tumbled away, reaching for it but seemingly unable to get up and go after it. Something of the wolf inside of him scented injury and weakness, and it was right. Upon closer inspection, not both of the lady's feet were pointed to the sky. One was twisted so that it lay against the ground, in a position it shouldn't have been able to achieve. If Remus or the woman thought at that moment that things couldn't get worse they were both sadly mistaken. At that moment a car came driving much to fast beside them. It skidded a little in the gutter and sloshed water up in a curtain. This curtain turned into a waterfall a moment later as it splashed down on the poor woman, who blinked and gaped dumbfounded.

Remus, realizing what a louse he must seem just standing there, rushed down the street for the woman's hat. He caught it as it went sailing up in a draft of wind, soaring right into his hand. Running back up to the woman he held it out to her.

"I'm afraid it's a bit damaged, ma'am." He pointed out unnecessarily. She took it, still looking thunderstruck. It seemed a moment for her to remember her courtesies, but then she swallowed and smiled up at him.

"Thank you very much, sir." She replied.

"Not at all madam." Remus answered, giving her a smile to match hers. Perhaps it was that accent that charmed her, or perhaps the stunning way a little of the sun slipped from behind a cloud and lit his hair up for a moment, or maybe the way the rain touching his face highlighted his eyes, or the daydream-like smile. Whatever it was, at that moment the woman knew she would be hooked on this man for some time. A bolt of pain went through her twisted ankle and she grabbed at it, wincing.

"Ouch. I don't suppose you could help me up?" she ventured. The man standing above her slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Of course! Where are my manners? Here." he extended a hand to her, pulling her lightly to her feet. Leaning onto her good foot the woman gingerly tested the damaged one. Again she winced. "You should get that checked out, and you should get warmed up too. Is your house nearby?"

"No." the woman explained, "I was visiting a friend in this neighborhood. I'm supposed to meet a cab down that way." She indicated the direction she meant to go in.

"Well, why don't I help you down that way to your cab? Then you can head to a doctor." Remus offered. The soaked woman smiled at him, warmly enough to dry his own saturated clothes.

"Thank you very much." She slipped an arm around his shoulders and leaned against him. Slowly they made their progress down the street, around the corner, and down to a small café near by. As they walked very strangely up, it became evident that there was no cab. "Oh no! I suppose he must have left when I didn't show in the ten minutes I told him."

"Perhaps he hasn't come yet." Remus suggested. Then he signaled to a man eating at the café. "Excuse me, sir, but have you seen a cab here, waiting?"

The man swallowed his bite and nodded, "Yah, he left three minutes ago."

"Oh." cried the woman sadly.

"Hm. Well I can't leave you hear like this. Do you suppose you could call somebody else to come and pick you up?"

"No. My friends have all gone to work by now, even the friend I was visiting. I have no family near here."

"Well then…This may sound a bit strange, but I believe I could take you back to my hotel. You could dry off there and then I'll call a cab and you can get to a hospital to fix your ankle."

The woman chewed it over. It was obvious that she really didn't have much of a choice, other then sit here and wait for another cab. Trusting someone she'd just met seemed like a very bad idea. She knew she'd probably regret it later, and it was a stupid move really. But, she reasoned, what else could she do? Besides, he looked nice enough.

"Alright, if I wouldn't be too much trouble." She turned her head down and looked up at him from the tops of her eyes. Remus smiled again.

"Not at all. Only, may I make one small suggestion?"

"What?" She asked. He didn't give her an answer but instead bent down and put a hand behind her knees. She felt his other hand behind her back and suddenly she was in the air. Was she flying? No, he was carrying her. The woman turned a stunned face to meet his warm smiling one.

"Ah yes. You are much easier to carry this way. We'll get there in no time." Without another word the man walked off with her in his arms. Remus made good time strolling down the streets that they had come, then back the way he'd tread earlier to the Hilton. He acted like the weight in his arms was nothing, even though the woman weighed in at one hundred and thirty pounds. Soon they were at the hotel door.

"Would you mind opening it up?" asked the man, breaking the silence for the first time in minutes. She obliged wordlessly. They crossed the lobby, receiving a few odd stares. An elderly woman saw them and murmured something about newlyweds. Remus got into the elevator and carefully pressed the level four button. When the doors opened he went straight to his room, opened the door, and set the woman down on the bed. With a kick backwards, he had closed the door. The woman gulped, wondering what on earth she had agreed to.

About fifteen minutes later all her fears had been dashed. When they got into the room the man had called room service and had them bring up a few extra blankets, two cups of hot chocolate, and some cloth bandages. They were brought up by a bellhop who, upon seeing the woman, promptly smiled devilishly and made the sign like closing a zipper across his mouth. The room owner scowled at him and shut the door in his face without a tip. He had handed one cup of the warm cocoa to the woman and left the other on the tray before wrapping her up comfortably in the blankets that had been brought up. Very carefully he slipped off her broken heel and bound the injured ankle in a bandage. She was sitting there wiggling her toes and sipping the hot chocolate when she finally spoke again.

"So…thanks. For everything." she said quietly. Remus noticed how her voice sounded like music; first high, then low, then high again, but always melodic.

"Of course. Any gentleman would have done the same." he replied, sipping his own cocoa. He was sitting at the end of the bed, while she sat in the middle. Remus was far enough away to ensure comfort in the presence of this relative stranger.

"No, not any gentleman. Any gentleman would have left me at the café with cab fare and change to use the payphone. Only a prince would have brought me home and fixed me up."

In response to this, the man jumped to his feet. He swept an imaginary hat off his head, bowed low, and said "Pleasure to be of assistance, madam." throwing in the French twist to the word and adding, "Charming, Prince Charming. At your service."

To this the woman tossed her head back and gave a tinkle-y laugh. Her dark brown sort of reddish hair flew out behind her in a wave, sweeping down to bounce against her back before settling down again. Remus smiled, glad he could make her laugh like that. Her laugh had been a treat, something that he wanted to make her do again and again. He sat down at the edge of the bed again, taking a drink of hot-that was fast becoming warm-chocolate.

"Charmed, I'm sure." the woman responded, giving another small tinkle of laughter. "Ah, but surely you have a real name. I can't call you Prince Charming for ever."

"Hmm, no I suppose. Disney might come and sue me for it, huh? Alright. My name is Remus Justin Lupin." Remus told her, unsure why he mentioned his middle name. All he knew was he wanted her to know everything about him. He extended his hand and she took it, enjoying the warmth of his rather large but delicate hands. She answered his unasked question as they shook.

"Claire. Claire Joy Subunit."

A/N: That's chapter 2! Do you like my original character? Now first I must mention that no, I don't own the Hilton or Disney and stuff. Just to be on the safe side. The next chapter may take a little time to get up, since I'm not quite sure what's happening in it yet. I realize that what happened in this chapter probably wouldn't happen in real life. No woman is that stupid. However, for the interest of a fic, it happened. Please review, don't be shy! You can even flame me if you want, I won't care. Free Christmas cookies to all who review! Ah, I mean holiday cookies…Merry Chrismahanukkwanzaka.