Dread. Fear. Anxiety. These were the emotions of one Remus Lupin. It was the weekend of the much anticipated sleepover and two of Ashlynn's friends would be arriving momentarily.

This quite frankly scared the hell out of Remus. The last week or so had been hectic enough trying to care for just one child! He had discovered that adolescent girls, thin as they make look, could chow down on food like nothing he'd ever seen. Ashlynn had awakened him several times with nightmares during the week, and she invariably ended up crawling in to bed with him at the wee hours of the morning. And he didn't even want to delve into the details of the laundry crisis. . .How many changes of clothes do kids usually go through, anyway?

So logically the thought of adding two more kids to the chaos, if only temporarily, made him want to dive under the nearest rock, not to emerge until the girls were long gone.

DING-DONG!

Remus swore under his breath. The doorbell. Maybe he could make a break for it. . .If he ran out the back and through the garden – oh, what was he thinking. Running from little girls.

"I'll get it!" Ashlynn screamed, darting past him and into the foyer. He followed at a much slower pace, and entered the room just in time to see her fling open the door.

"Hi, guys!" she yelled happily.

Framed in the doorway was a middle-aged witch, two children in tow.

"Girls, why don't you take your things to Ashlynn's room while I get acquainted with Mr. Lupin," she suggested.

"Okay, Mrs. Woods. Follow me guys," Ashlynn ordered, charging up the stairs.

Once the girls had disappeared up the staircase, the woman turned to Remus. She was rather tall with copious amounts of wavy honey colored hair.

"I'm Marian Woods, Madeline's mother," she introduced. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Lupin. I've heard much about you from my nephew. He attended Hogwarts while you taught there."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well," Remus answered, shaking her hand.

The woman smiled gratefully.

"I just want to thank you for taking Ashlynn in. When my husband and I heard of what happened, we were shocked. If you hadn't stepped forward, we probably would have taken the poor dear in ourselves. It's simply awful what happened to her family, and what she's been through. . ."

Mrs. Woods trailed off uncertainly, and an uncomfortable silence followed. Remus wondered if he should say something, but as he opened his mouth to speak the girls came cantering down the stairs at full speed.

"No running in the house!" Remus and Marian chorused together. The girls giggled.

"Now girls, be good for Mr. Lupin," Mrs. Woods warned.

"Yes, Mum," the shorter of the two girls replied.

Remus supposed this must be Madeline. She was a petite child with well-defined features and straight chocolate hair, which contrasted sharply with the warm honey shade of her mothers' tresses.

"When have we ever misbehaved?" the second girl added innocently. Mrs. Woods let out a good-natured snort.

Remus assumed this girl to be Alexandria, Ashlynn's other friend. She looked a lot like Madeline, except her chocolate hair was streaked with natural highlights. But the most curious feature about Alexandria was her eyes – they almost seemed to transform from blue to gray to green with the light.

"Now," Mrs. Woods began, "I'll be back to fetch them both on Sunday night, and I'll take Alex home to her parents. I hope you all have fun. Mr. Lupin, you should know that Madi is allergic to bees, and she has medication with her should she be stung. Alex needs to take her asthma medication before bed, as well. The girls have my number and Alex's parents' number should you need to reach us. Have a nice time!"

With a wave to Remus and a quick hug to each of the three girls, Mrs. Woods whisked out of the house. As Remus pulled the door closed behind her, the trio stood waiting impatiently.

"Remus, I'm hungry," Ashlynn complained.

"I'm starving Mr. Lupin," Madi chimed in.

"Me, too," added Alex, not to be outdone.

"Alright. I was going to take you girls to rent some videos, so we can just stop to eat on the way there. Go on out to the car."

The three girls ran out ahead of him, as he stopped to lock the door of the house.

"I want the front seat!" Ashlynn yelled.

"No, all three of you sit in the back," Remus told her, ushering everyone into the backseat of the car. "Seatbelts, all of you."

After much grumbling and whining, he had everyone buckled in and they pulled out of the driveway. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he watched Ashlynn jabbering away to Alexandria, gesticulating frantically. Madi was watching in amusement.

"What are we going to eat?" Ashlynn had finally finished her conversation, and was leaning forward into the front seat.

"Hamburgers. Put your seat belt back on, please."

By the time they parked in front of the restaurant, Remus was overjoyed to be out of the cramped car. Those girls were talkative! He made a mental note to find some aspirin when they got back, for he was sure he would need it later.

Even though the kids are noisy, Ashlynn looks happier than I've ever seen her. He thought. Though of course I haven't known her for that long. . .

Dinner was uneventful. They ate hamburgers and had tea, for Remus had banned soda pop for the evening. The last thing he needed was three hyper preteens running amok around his home. He could only imagine what sort of damage would be done.

"Are we ready to go?" he asked. "Does anyone need to use the bathroom?"

"No."

"Nope"

"No."

"You're all sure?"

"Yes."

They were half way to the video rental store when a tiny voice drifted up from the back of the car.

"Mr. Lupin?"

"Yes, Madi?"

"I have to go to the bathroom."

Remus rolled his eyes.

"You can use the restroom in the store," he told her. "Why didn't you go while we were in the restaurant?"

"I didn't have to go then."

As soon as they entered the store, Madi took off running for the restrooms along the back wall. Remus let the other two girls go pick out videos for themselves, while he went off in search of some videos for himself.

"Remus?"

"What?"

Ashlynn was standing beside him, clutching a tape in her hands.

"Can we rent this?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you're too young."

"Why?"

"Because you are," he said. "And don't ask me why again."

After several arguments over which videos to rent ("No, Alex, we've all seen that one already!") and pleas to buy the outrageously priced popcorn and candy ("We have popcorn at home, guys." "It's not the same, Remus!" "We're not buying it, Ashlynn!") Remus managed to drag the three heathens –er, children, out of the store and into the car.

When they arrived back at the house, it was ten thirty. Remus was tired, and he was sure the girls had to be winding down.

"Girls, why don't you lie down and watch a movie? We have to get up early in the morning to get started on Ashlynn's room."

"Okay, c'mon guys," Madi said, leading everyone into the living room.

Remus got them settled onto the floor and popped some popcorn. With any luck they'd fall asleep soon. He was exhausted.

Sure enough, by the end of the movie, the kids were asleep. Madi had somehow curled herself up under the coffee table, and Ashlynn and Alex were snuggled under a quilt in the middle of the floor. Stepping over the kids, Remus switched off the television set.

He collapsed onto the couch, pulling a threadbare blanket over himself. Within minutes, he was out like a light. This parenting business was tough work.

Author's Note: Constructive criticism is appreciated. Also, I'm still looking for a beta reader. Drop me a note if you're interested!