Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter.

A/N: I do apologize for my absence. I have gone through a lot of changes in my life in the past few months and had slight writer's block which I am now over. I hope you like my newest chapter. I had to rewrite it after I lost most of the progress when my hard drive died.

Chapter 12: 'Did Someone Drop You On Your Head?'

Remus had gone home the next morning only to get a few changes of clothes. I had convinced him to stay with me every minute he could for the coming days. The days were quite uneventful. We spent most of our time laying in my bed reading or walking around Diagon Alley peaking in the shops with no reason. It had been almost a week since Remus had gone through his change when the owl flew up to the window. It had been raining all day and we were lying upon my bed reading one of his books. The pace at which we read was almost synchronized.

As the owl tapped his beak against the window Remus arose much to my disappointment and went to let the creature in. The bird hopped in and onto my table and shook the water off its feathers. "Remus, my papers are all on that table," I said almost scolding him.

"Well, it isn't my fault. I didn't put him there," he said taking the soaked envelope out of the Owl's beak. The ink on the front of it had begun to run and I couldn't quite make out the name. Remus held his arm out for the owl to jump on and moved him over to the coat rack in the corner of the room. "Is that better?"

"Very much so, thank you," I said throwing my legs over the side of the bed. "Who is it for?" I asked as I stood and made my way over to him.

He had already begun ripping the back of the envelope open when I asked the question. "I do believe that it is for me," he said holding the messy envelope up. It did faintly say Remus but you really couldn't make it out at this point. He tore the parchment out of the envelope and unfolded it. Miraculously the ink on the letter was pristine. Most likely it had a charm on it to keep it dry. I made my way over to my dresser taking a small box of treats out and taking them to the small owl that sat perched on my coat rack. "This is wonderful news!" Remus exclaimed.

"What does it say?" I asked him as the owl began to nibble the treats in the palm of my hand. Remus' eyes continued to scan the parchment as he reread the letter a second time. "Well, don't keep me in suspense here, Remus. What does it say?"

He took a few more moments and I knew it was on purpose when a smile spread mischievously across his face. It was only when I let out a loud sigh that the smile broke slightly. "Okay, Okay, It says that one of my best friends wants me to visit him."

"Which friend is that?" I asked a bit puzzled. From what Remus had told me he had no friends that were still alive.

"Sirius Black," he said in a whisper. "I told you about him, remember?"

"I do remember but how will you be able to visit him? He is in hiding and you could give his position away," I said making my way over to the bed again and sitting down.

"That's the best part. No one will be able to find him where he is staying now. It's the old Black family mansion and it has a powerful cloaking spell on it. No one can even see it. And I doubt anyone is following an old werewolf like me anywhere." He moved over to retrieve the owl and sent him on his way out into the rain once again.

"Now I am positive that is not true," I said skeptically.

"How is it not true?" he asked latching the window and turning to look at me.

"Because I would love to follow you where ever it is you are going," I said with an odd smile that caused him to laugh. He sat down on the bed next to me, the parchment still in his hands.

"Do you really want to go?" He asked placing his hand on mine. I nodded in response and he smiled a halfhearted smile. "I do want you to meet Sirius and this would be the perfect opportunity I guess. Well, if you really want to go with me gather your things," he said standing up and grabbing the travel bag he had brought his things over in.

"Are we leaving now?" I asked bolting up after him.

"Well, yes, Sirius wants to see me as soon as I can make it over there. I really don't have anything going on at the moment so I figure no time is better than the present," he said putting his things into the travel case.

I moved my hands to my hips and began tapping my foot. "What do you mean you have nothing going on at the moment?"

He laughed and refrained from packing for a moment to place a hand on my cheek. "You are coming with me and you are the only thing that would keep me from going to see him right away so why not be able to spend time with both of you. We are going to be there a few days and I can't see you getting away from me in that place, well, not without fear of getting lost or something worse. Plus we will have even less interruptions there."

I thought for a moment about things. Would I rather be alone with Remus or meeting Remus' best friend? "I guess now is as good a time as ever," I said gathering a few robes and placing them in my own travel bag. I took one of my cloaks out of the closet and Remus took it from me throwing it around my shoulders and pulling me into him giving me a deep kiss. His hands traveled down my back and he began to nuzzle my neck. I giggled softly and pulled away from him grabbing my bag. He looked at me with disappointment. "We better not waist any more time," I said handing him his own cloak.

"You are pure evil," he quipped putting on his cloak and picking up his bag.

"You love it," I said raising my eyebrows and heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked grabbing my wrist and pulling my body into him. I slammed my eyes shut as I felt that old sensation of apparating. When I opened them I was in front of a vacant lot with one of Remus' arms wrapped around me. "Now I want you to read this to yourself," He said handing me a piece of parchment that was with the letter from Sirius.

I read the scribblings to myself and looked back up at Remus. "I don't get it," I said with bewilderment. Remus only smiled and pointed ahead. The large house that now stood where a vacant lot once was was dark and old and the rain didn't make it any more pleasant to look at.

"Don't just stare at it. Come on," he said grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the door. I tripped over myself and he dropped his bag to catch me. I fell into his arms as he moved as quickly as light. "One of the perks of being what I am I guess," he said with a shrug as he helped me to my feet once again. "Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away I guess." He picked up his bag which was now covered in mud and we held hands as we walked up to the door.

He bounced on the balls of his feet as he lightly rapped on the door. "Calm down, Remus," I said gripping his hand tightly. He smiled at me before turning back to the door. He was giddy as a school boy. At that moment he looked so youthful. I didn't know what to think as I looked at the excitement in his face.

I turned away from him as I heard a latch turning in the door. Then another one as it was unlocked. It gave a long slow squeak as it was pulled open by a tall man with black hair that fell over a somewhat gaunt face. He held a finger to his lips to tell us to be quiet and he led us past a hall way into a large parlor. As soon as I had shut the door behind me he sprang into action like nothing had happened. "Moony!" he exclaimed as he hugged Remus causing him to drop his muddy bag on the floor. "How have you been? You look better off than the last time I saw you," he said in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm fine Sirius and I'm pretty sure anyone would look better than I did the last time you saw me," he laughed returning the hug. I felt somewhat out of place standing there drenched and holding my travel bag in front of me with both hands. "Oh, Sirius you have to meet Iola," he said turning to me and catching me slightly off guard. I jumped a little then smiled and held my hand out to Sirius.

"Well, Iola was it?" he asked turning on the charm. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Sirius Black and welcome to my humble abode. Don't mind the painting in the entrance hall. As long as you are quiet she shouldn't give you any trouble," he said before kissing the back of my hand with a handsome grin. He was very handsome even with his sunken and gaunt features that he must have acquired during his time in Azkaban.

I suppressed a laugh and turned to my head to look at Remus. "Uh, I think you can turn off the charm act Sirius. She's not interested," he said rising up on the balls of his feet.

"How do you know she isn't interested in a handsome and obviously charming man like me?" Sirius asked as if I wasn't in the room. He never took his eyes off me as he addressed Remus.

"Because I'm already interested in someone else," I piped up making it known that I was there and didn't have to be treated like I wasn't around.

Sirius looked bewildered for a moment. "She can speak? She can speak and she isn't blind and she is interested in you?" he said turning to Remus with a serious look on his face.

"Very funny Sirius. I'm dying inside. Really I can't control myself." Remus' voice was drenched in sarcasm as he spoke. "Come on now. Don't be such a git. Iola this is my best friend in the world, Sirius Black."

Sirius bowed to me and flopped on a couch behind him. A cloud of dust rose in the air as he did so. I coughed and sneezed and shook my head to try and recover from it all. "So Miss Iola what last name do they give creatures as fair as you?"

"Blodwyn," I said simply. I still stood in the middle of the room holding my bag in my hands. Remus took it from me as I watched the surprised look form on Sirius' face.

"That is such a filthy lie!" he exclaimed springing up from his spot on the dusty couch.

"Did someone drop you on your head? You do not accuse me of lying when you don't even know me," I said as he moved closer to me. He was now looming over me but I stood my ground and didn't move away from him.

"What about Corbett Blodwyn?" he asked me through clenched teeth.

"He's my brother," I stated becoming a little uneasy. I knew that if Sirius was going to do anything that Remus would stop him, or at least I hoped he would.

I was not prepared for what happened next. Sirius wrapped his arms around me and spun me around quickly. "We went to Hogwarts with Corbett. He was a few classes behind us but he was a damn good Keeper for a second year. I saw him a few times before everything with Peter and James and Lily happened. What has he been doing with his self?" he asked placing me back on the floor.

"I didn't know you went to Hogwarts with my brother."

"Well, I wasn't in the Quidditch crowd I don't really remember him as well as Sirius does apparently," Remus said as he tidied up a little. "Here, have a seat," he said indicating the chair he had dusted with a charm.

"Moony, you were always a better host than me," Sirius said flopping back down on the couch and causing another dust cloud. I sneezed a few times before the dust had cleared. "Sorry about that no one has really lived here for a while."

"Well, Corbett is doing fine other than the fact that his flakey girl friend left him because she is in love with his best friend. He's better off anyway. I didn't like her," I said as I made my way over to the chair by Remus. "I have a question. Why does he keep calling you Moony?"

After I had heard all the stories as the two old friends reminisced about school and their friends it was well into the early hours of the morning or late hours of the night depending on how you like to look at it. I had started to fall asleep in the chair when Remus awoke me by kissing me lightly on the cheek.

"I've got a room ready for you. I already dusted it and everything," he said and I nodded with a dreamy sigh. He picked me up in his arms and I wrapped my arms around his neck as he brought me to my room. He placed me on the bed and went to look through my bag. "Do you have a dressing gown in here?" he asked softly almost to himself and I woke up a little.

"I do," I said sitting up slightly. "It's the light pink one."

"Sorry," he said bringing the dressing gown over to me. "I really didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright," I said placing my hands on his as he held the dressing gown. "Sit down. You know you can." He sat obediently next to me. "Do you have to sleep in your own room or are you going to stay in here with me?"

"Well, I was going to go talk to Sirius a little while longer and then got to another room so not to disturb you, but if you want me to sleep in here I will."

I silently kissed him on the lips as I moved myself to be a bit more comfortable. "I'm so happy I get to see you with your friend," I said as I gazed into his eyes. "You seem so youthful around Sirius. It makes me a little jealous that I couldn't know you all when you were kids. I still get to love you as an adult though," I said kissing him again.

He pulled away from me with an odd look on his face. "Do you think I'm old, Iola?" he asked solemnly.

"No, well, not really. I mean I'm no spring chicken either," I said still holding his hands in mine.

"Well," he said standing and walking to the door. "You're a hell of a lot younger than I am." I was worried that he wanted to leave. He surely made it seem that way. His hand had almost reached out to grab the door knob as if he didn't want to really talk about his age with me.

"Remus, I don't care how old you are. I was merely commenting on the fact that I love how you are around Sirius. It makes me envious to not have known you back then. And I'm twenty-nine years old. I'm hardly child anymore and you should probably stop treating me like one right now!" I demanded in a slightly raised voice.

He let his head loll forward into the frame of the door and he let out a long sigh. "I'm so sorry Iola. I never meant to treat you like some sort of child. I know you aren't. I'm the one acting like a child, getting all defensive about a silly comment just because it feels like so long ago that I had time to spend with Sirius. I'm sorry for acting like a Pratt."

"Oh, Remus, you were acting like a Pratt but only for a moment. Now, go back down stairs to your friend. I'm going to put on my dressing gown and go to sleep. Don't worry about waking me when you come back in. It would only make me happy to be woken up by you," I said walking over to him and kissing him softly on the cheek.

He smiled at me and slipped out the door with a soft creak. I had only just put my dressing gown on when I heard a soft knocking on my door. I opened it to find Remus on the other side again. "I thought you were going downstairs."

He smiled as he slipped back into my room and wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me in close to him. "When I got down the Sirius was already asleep on that dusty old sofa." He kissed me quickly and I threw my arms around his neck. "I'd much rather be in bed with you right now when I really think about it."

"Remus, I like Sirius. He's fun. But I'd really much rather be with you right now also." I kissed him again and broke free of his grip jumping onto my bed. It squeaked and rattled as I landed on it. Remus followed me opting to gently lay down on the bed rather than the more radical jump.

He smiled at me as I nestled myself into the crook of his arm. "You know, Iola, I don't think I could love another being as much as I love you." He kissed the top of my head and it that was all I needed to send me back into the sweetest slumber I could have had.