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Chapter 21

Remus Apparated in the middle of an empty grave yard, well almost empty anyway. Ariana sat about thirty feet away from him with her head bent over.

Now that he was here he was uncomfortable and unsure how to proceed. He was obviously interrupting a very private moment and he felt like a heel. He turned to leave quietly so she wouldn't hear him when he Disapparated but he stepped on a giant tree branch that had fallen and was laying in the middle of the ground.

He turned guiltily back toward Ariana and watched as she whipped her head around in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, still startled.

"I was looking for you. I needed to talk to you but I see I'm interrupting. We'll talk later, ok?" He answered.

She looked at him a moment and then excitement lit her face, as if something had just occurred to her. She jumped up off the ground and ran toward him so she could throw her arms around him in an unexpected hug.

"I'm glad you're here! I have someone I want you to meet." She said as she dragged him to where she'd been sitting. Remus looked around the deserted grounds in confusion.

She bent over to retrieve a book and flipped it around so it was facing him. His gut slammed with panic when he saw the face smiling warmly at him. The very face that had haunted his dreams for years.

"Remus Lupin I'd like you to meet Broderick Grant." Ariana said and watched as all the color drained from his face.

"Er...Umm." Remus said awkwardly, unsure what to say. "Where did you get that?"

"Dumbledore gave it to me. It's just a spell." She replied.

"Ariana?" came the voice from the book.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Can I talk to Mr. Lupin alone? Please?" Broderick inquired.

Ariana looked at Remus questioningly to make sure it was ok before he nodded. She handed over the book to him and moved a couple of feet away to give them privacy.

"Sir, I just want to..." Remus was silenced by a raised hand.

"Listen, I haven't much time before this spell wears off and we have a few things to talk about." Broderick interrupted.

"First off, Dumbledore has told me quite a bit about you. And for all my wanting to dislike you I just can't. You seem to be a truly genuine and bright man. My daughter needs that."

"Secondly, he also told me you are in love with Ariana. Is this true?" Broderick asked.

Remus looked over his shoulder to make sure she was out of earshot before answering. "Yes, sir. Very much so."

"Excellent. She needs all the love she can get. I hear she did not have the happy childhood her mum and I wanted for her." Her father said through clenched teeth.

"Lastly, I need you to quit blaming yourself for my death..."

Now it was Remus turn to interrupt. "That was my fault."

"Yes." Broderick agreed. "And no. I knew it was a full moon and I knew werewolves lurked in the forest. But I was young and thought I was invincible enough to take on whatever, whenever."

"But..."

"If you are going to have any kind of solid future with her you're going to have accept it and move on. That's what makes you stronger. Say it. Say you'll move on." Broderick said.

"I'll move on." Remus promised.

"Good. Love her well Remus. Now take care of my only daughter, or I might just come back to haunt you." He said good-naturedly.

"Mr. Grant, you are admirably accepting." Remus said.

"Taking what's thrown at you makes you a better person." Broderick said.

"So we have your blessing?" Remus asked timidly.

"Absolutely. Now if you don't mind, may I see Ariana again? The spell will wear off in about two minutes."

"Of course. Ariana?" Remus called loudly.

"It's time to say good bye." He said gently when she came to stand in front of him.

She took the book from him and looked into her fathers smiling face.

"I love you, daddy." She said, not caring if she sounded like a child.

"I love you too , sweetheart. Don't worry though. Every is going to be ok. Remus seems like a good man." He replied.

"He is. I wish I could hug you one last time." She said as tears coursed down her cheeks.

Remus watched helplessly, feeling as if his heart was being ripped out.

He couldn't stand to see her so sad. Then an idea hit him. He grabbed his wand from his cloak pocket and aimed it at the book before waiving it quickly in a star shape and white smoke burst out the tip.

Ariana dropped the book in surprise as the man in the photo suddenly became life sized and oh so real. Well as real as could be considering.

She looked at her shocked and full-sized father to Remus who was smiling as thought quite pleased with himself.

"How?" She started to ask him.

"Dumbledore's not the only one with a bag of tricks." Remus teased. He felt his heart soften when she smiled dazzlingly at him. "Go on. You're wasting time." He prompted.

Ariana turned back to her dad and threw her arms around his neck. He watched them hug, swaying back and forth until finally Broderick pulled away and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Then he turned to Remus, offering his hand.

"That was very special. Thank you. It meant a lot to me. Be good to her Remus." Broderick said as they shook hands.

Ariana reached out for her fathers hand and clasped it firmly while he said "Remember you have my blessing. Move into the future, don't dwell on the past."

And with that Broderick Grant disappeared back into the portrait, now just an ordinary unmoving picture. But the rest of the snapshots continued to move. She smiled at Dumbledore's thoughtfulness and made a mental note to thank him.

"You ok?" Remus asked Ariana.

"Yes. I'm glad you go to meet him Remus." She said.

"Me too." He answered as he squeezed her hand. "Ariana, can we go somewhere to talk? There is much to say."

"Yes. There is." She agreed.

"Good." He said and wrapped his arms around her and Disapparted for his home.

Author Note: I chose to make the moving portrait of Broderick Grant just a spell becauseDumbledore had to get some photographs from muggles and the portrait was one of them. The snapshots that were still moving, were wizard photos.