She had felt this prick of auspicious awareness before- the sense that not all was right. Closing the distance between her and the house placidly, Piper's unease piqued until standing in front of the door to her house she reached a tentative hand to the door. Her fingers were wrapped around the handle but she hesitated to pull it open.

A sudden blast propelled it open, whipping Piper's hand away, with a shocked scream she just managed to remove herself far enough from the danger as the door banged the wall beside it with fervent momentum.

"And where might you have been?"

Piper raised startled eyes to meet the glare of a formidable middle-aged man wearing a worn suit. Piper knew only too well the propaganda of the calm sting in her father's tone.

"I just-I-I…" Piper struggled to stutter an excuse. "Took a walk."

"Is that right?" His voice reverberated as if he were shouting in the mountains, rather then speaking, quite near whispering in a controlled and calm voice. Piper was nodding imperceptibly as he flexed his fingers casually on the wand that he held loosely at his side. He flicked his wrist and muttered an inaudible curse. Piper knew what was to happen only a moment before it did. A tiny orb of blue, emitting orange sparks shot rapidly out of the wand and hit Piper's shoulder, as her startled cry rent the air.

The orb melted into her skin and burned, literally burned her shoulder. Tears sprang to her eyes at the horrific heat that overwhelmed her shoulder. She flung her opposite hand to grasp it, but when her fingers were scalded by the burning skin, she let out another cry and dropped her hand immediately. Squeezing her eyes shut she crumpled to the floor and allowed her hand to hover as close to the burning as she would dare. Gritting her teeth in response to persisting sensation, she heard her father's calm and malicious voice from some where above her.

"Don't lie to me Piper. I can tell when you're lying…Now," he paused and Piper felt a stiff finger push her chin up. "Look at me," he ordered. Piper obeyed, tears burgeoning in her bottom lid as her mind screamed and demanded release from the scalding pain in her shoulder, "Where were you?" He asked again.

"Dad please," she stammered. "Lift the curse please," she begged.

"Answer me, and I will!"

"I-I told you, Dad. Please!" She screeched.

She heard an angry intake of breath above her, as the burning in her shoulder doubled in heat and intensity, She let out a strangled cry,

"Don't raise your voice to me! Where were you?"

"Remus!" She screamed. "His house!" Immediately the burning in her shoulder dissipated until all that remained was a stinging memory of the burning torment.

Her eyes fearfully searched the depths of the coal black eyes her father possessed. She felt, rather than saw, the anger that radiated from him. He brought his arm back in a long swooping arc before whipping it back down in a fury and smacking Piper smartly across the face, with such ferocity that it snapped her head in its direction.

"Did I not instruct you to avoid that werewolf?"

Cowering against a post in the porch she sheltered her head with her arms. When no disturbance of any sort occurred, Piper raised her head cautiously from its protective fort. Her father's harsh gaunt face peered down at her menacingly. Gone was the malicious pleasure of prior torment, now replaced by ripe, genuine anger.

"What were you doing with him?"

"I told you," Piper said inaudibly.

"You fancy him?" he sneered. "You think you have a little romance?" He laughed derisively. Piper was shaking her head imperceptibly at the accusations. "You ignorant fool. You are such a stupid little child." His condescension faded as he continued, "Fortunate that your mother should be dead and unable to bare witness to your shame. Befriending werewolves...of all things. Disgusting."

The unspoken defense to this verbal attack swelled inside Piper, but she dared not utter a word of it. A silent eternity passed before Piper's father straightened his back and gestured toward the door.

"Get in," he sneered. Piper obeyed rising quickly to her feet and taking long quick strides entered the desolate house. Her father followed closing the door quietly behind him. With her hand already resting on the banister that would lead her upstairs, her father began speaking as he stalked off to the dining room that had been transformed into a study for his purposes.

"I'll be back in a few moments," he yelled to her from within his den. Piper stood frozen on the first step. "I have a meeting with a few business investors." Business? Thought Piper. What business? "You are not to leave this house whilst I am gone," he demanded and after a pause, continued laconically," I shall be gone for a few hours as after our meeting I've been invited to brunch." From the den sounded the ruffling of parchments and the snapping of a briefcase being shut. From the den her father reemerged, briefcase in hand. Without so much as a glance at her he disappeared with a loud CRACK!

After her father vanished Piper reset her course to the kitchen where she rushed to the sink and grabbed from the countertop a gray rag that in it's better days had been white. She ran this cloth under the faucet and soothed her stinging shoulder with cool dampness, drenched with water. Moving away from the sink, still holding the rag on her shoulder, she collapsed in an armless wooden chair that accompanied the small dinette in the kitchen. Piper closed her eyes in blissful relief. She was nearly nodding off when sharp and repetitive tapping rent the air. Snapping her eye open, she accidentally dropped the rag onto the floor as she lurched forward. Her mind was frantic. Was he back? No- Piper's eye greeted two bright yellow ones that started back at her on the other side of the kitchen window. Pip immediately recognized the aged owl as that of Remus! She rose from her chair and went to open the window. The small tawny owl hopped into the kitchen, perching himself on the sink faucet, and offered to Piper his right leg, tied to which was a small note.

Fumbling momentarily with the knot, Piper finally relieved the old owl of his message and unfolded the parchment.

Good Morning Piper,

It is a beautiful morning, wouldn't you agree? I hope I'm not sending this owl to early. I contemplated, but Remus assured me you would be awake, but what does he know?

Anyway, the intention of my letter is to invite you to brunch. Not only is it a beautiful morning but a beautiful day, as today is my son's birthday. (Well actually his birthday was yesterday but we're celebrating today). And we'd like for you to join us.

Send word as soon as possible.

Adelle Lupin

Flipping the parchment, Piper conjured a quill, and wrote: I'd love to Adelle.

She tied the letter to the old tawny's leg and set him off again. Piper watched wistfully as the bird rose higher and higher into the air, flying gracefully despite his age, like a beacon of hope.

Sighing, Piper turned away from the apparition and ran to her room. Trifling through her drawers she pulled out a longer T-shirt with arms that would cover the scorch marks on her shoulder better then the skimpy tank top she currently wore. Piper left the same shorts on because they were the only pair she had and it was far too hot to wear pants. She brushed her shoulder length brown locks with vigorous intensity before throwing the brush down on her bureau and rushing down the stairs at break neck speed and whizzing through the door with little hesitance, and finally leaping from the porch before she set off through the woods at a half-jog half-walk.

Her only regret as she hurtled through the forest was that she had no present for Remus this year. Granted, she didn't get out and shop a lot, and she had stopped drawing pictures for him as a gift when she was seven. But what could she do? There was no help for it. She had nothing to give. Maybe she would give him a late present, if she could get her hands on something for him before school started again.

School.

Piper hated school almost as much as she hated home. People at school didn't particularly gravitate towards her. Frankly, she creeped them out. Piper wasn't exactly a socialite. She kept to herself for the most part and this seemed to put people off. But even with only a few friends, (and those few father wary of her) she was content. It hadn't taken her long to realize that she was not a "people" person. Perhaps it was because she'd spent the better part of her childhood almost entirely isolated, perhaps it was because she had seen how scary people were behind closed doors, but for whatever reason she was as fearful of her classmates as they were of her.

And the only person that she was entirely comfortable with was residing in the weathered flat just in front of her.

Jogging up to the door, she allowed herself inside and was greeted with a vacant hallway. But from somewhere to her left she heard distinct tinkering noises consisting of miscellaneous clicks and clangs, snaps and clinks of different utensils being utilized for their specific functions.

She sidled into the kitchen and found Adelle Lupin chaperoning a levitating mixing bowl. Adelle's back was to her and Piper indulged in watching her work quietly.

Adelle had the fine features of an aristocrat, soft but defined. Although the strain of her years had tried to belie her beauty with crow's feet and wrinkles on her high forehead, her vivacious eyes and glittering smile betrayed her crone disguise. The way she moved, gracefully and skillfully always surprised Piper. It was hard to believe that this apparition of womanly grace was inhibited with…her condition. Although today, thankfully, she seemed fine.

Suddenly Adelle spun around. When her eyes initially fell on Piper they widened with panic like shock. But a quick wave of recognition washed over her and she grinned widely.

"Hello, Piper, dear," she greeted as she crossed the tiny kitchenette and embraced her.

The fragile arms engulfed her as Piper said, "I'm sorry Adelle, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Nonsense, dear," she replied while pulling away. She touched her fingertips lightly to her perfectly coiffed gray hair and continued, "Remus should be down in a minute. I'm just finishing up breakfast here in the kitchen."

"Could I help?"

"Oh, it won't be necessary, dear. I've got everything quite under control."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked.

"Yes, dear."

Footsteps suddenly sounded, hollow upon the surface they walked, ascending a stairwell in a room adjacent to the kitchen. In moments Remus was standing in the kitchen entryway.

"Morning, Mum. Hello Piper," he greeted.

The three of them breakfasted on an assortment of muffins, blueberry, poppy seed, and apple nut, while light conversation was traversed. It was an enjoyable morning, pleasant and relaxed, enhanced by favorable company.

All in all, Piper enjoyed herself.

She had been there for little more than an hour when Remus escorted her to the door. She was leaving in reluctance, but she feared her father's return, He had said he would be gone for several hours, which could mean as little as two or as many as twenty-four or more. But due to a thoroughly instilled sense of caution, Piper was making certain that she was home well before the two hour mark.

"Thanks for coming," Remus said a bit awkwardly. They had known each other for years, which made these excruciatingly formal farewells rather unnecessary and overdone. But Adelle insisted on proper manners and appropriate words of welcome and departure. Remus humored his mother although he found it annoying. But what could he do when his mother was spying on them from the kitchen entry, just waiting for him to make a mistake so that she could emerge from the kitchen, upbraid him and demonstrate the appropriate thing to say right in front of him?

"Thanks for having me," Piper responded with a feigned expression of modest shyness. There was a laughing light in her eyes as she said in a falsely high voice, "I hope you will have me back some time." She fluttered her eyelashes which received an answering chuckle from Remus.

He shrugged and replied, "If you play your cards right. You know you still haven't given me my birthday present." Piper glanced over Remus' shoulder toward the kitchen entry and found that Adelle had given them an unprecedented degree of privacy. Remus must have somehow known this even though his back was turned to the entry. He wouldn't dare be so bold or rude it he knew his mother was watching.

"What do you want?" Piper asked.

"Only a token of our friendship," Remus replied.

"Define 'token'".

"Token is a very general term, admittedly," Remus mused. "It can mean a number of things. It's usually a small object of gesture that I supposed to represent or embody an emotion or concept."

"Such as?"

"Well a token of gratitude could be a 'thank you' card- a material token. Or a hug- an immaterial token."

Suddenly possessed, Piper stepped closer to Remus and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned forward and planted her lips firmly on his, For a long moment they stood, lips locked, surrounded by silence, except for the loud beating of Piper's hear which had apparently relocated itself to the bottom of her stomach yet somehow managed to pound right next to her ears, how did that work?

Her arms slid down Remus' shoulders, and very slowly she stepped away from Remus, who stood before her, eyes half closed, mouth hanging half open. It seemed to take him a moment to realize she wasn't kissing him anymore.

Kissing him? Is that what she had done?

His eyes fluttered open to reveal a blank expression.

Unbelievably Piper found her voice. "An immaterial token of friendship, right?"

At first Piper feared he had gone deaf. He was seemingly bereft until finally he replied, "Yes, yes I imagine that's what that was."

"So…" Piper exclaimed on and exhale, heat suffusing in her cheeks, "Now I know what a token is."

Finally a lopsided grin graced Remus' face and he said, "I'm always happy to educate."