A/N: Okay, now this is just too weird! After hearing "The Streak" on the radio after reading my LOTR story titled that, I flip channels on TV last night and find the Hetty Wainthropp Mysteries on PBS - with Dominic Monaghan playing Jeffrey (a very young Dom, and apparently a semi-regular on it)! Can we have a little Twilight Zone music in the background!

Julia - "Ron took it pretty well" - actually, in the books, Ron hints that he'd like to see Harry get together with Ginny (which you probably wouldn't remember), but it always surprises me how many people write stories with Ron having trouble with the idea.

Chapter 7

As Harry made his way to Dumbledore's office on the morning of the 20th, it struck him that he was looking forward to this holiday more than he had expected to. There was still an ache in his soul when he thought about Sirius, but it had eased a bit over the last few months and was more tolerable now. It had surprised him, but somehow talking to Professor Watson about Sirius and his parents had been different than talking to anyone else about them. Without realizing it, it had helped lessen the pain now that he was able to remember them with fondness. He had few fond memories of his own, but sharing hers had made a difference that he didn't understand and couldn't explain.

As he reached the gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office, he saw Professor Watson coming toward him, a bag slung over her shoulder. He waited for her to reach him and then they gave the password and continued up to the headmaster's office. Dumbledore was waiting, smiling gently at them. "All ready, then?" They both nodded and he waved them toward his fireplace, holding out a pot of Floo powder. They wished each other Happy Christmas and then Harry led the way to Grimmauld Place, holding Hedwig's cage firmly in his hand.

Upon landing in the kitchen, Aurelia found Harry dusting himself off and extending a hand to help her up from the floor. She, too, began knocking the soot from her clothes as she took a look around. 'The House of Black, huh?' she thought. Sirius had made rude mention of it more than once in their talks. 'This ought to be interesting.'

Harry was busy trying to soothe his ruffled owl who was squawking scoldingly at him. "Sorry, Hedwig, but I need you here to contact Ginny and Ron."

A voice hailed from the hall and they turned as a man entered the room, his face tired and worn, but his eyes crinkled with pleasure as he spotted Harry. He moved to embrace the boy, but then caught notice of Harry's companion. "Well, Harry, who have we..." He stopped in mid-sentence and stared hard at the woman he was facing. Uncertainly, he asked, "Aurelia?"

For a moment, she just blinked at him in puzzlement, wondering how he knew her name, and then a flash of insight hit her and she almost couldn't breathe. "Remus?" she whispered hoarsely. They simply stood staring at one another and, after a moment, Harry began to shift nervously. This wasn't exactly the reunion he had anticipated, though Dumbledore had warned it might not go as expected.

"Surprise," he said weakly. "I, um, thought you'd be glad to see each other. Maybe I should have warned you..."

Remus recovered himself and straightened. "It's all right, Harry. I am pleased to see Aurelia again. I just am...dumbstruck. It's been so long. I didn't know...how do you know her, Harry?"

Aurelia answered for him. "Dumbledore drafted me to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year." She paused and then took a deep, steadying breath and added, "It's good to see you again, Remus."

They stood awkwardly looking at each other, the floor, Harry and the kitchen in turn, not entirely knowing what to say. Finally Harry suggested, "Guess we should find you a room, Professor."

Remus nodded. "Yes, of course. This way." He turned and led the way from the kitchen, up the stairs. "Do you suppose it's safe to let her use Fred and George's room?" he asked Harry over his shoulder.

Harry grinned. "Only if we check it carefully first." He turned to the Professor and added, "If you have any problems, just scream and we'll come to the rescue. Fred and George Weasley are sort of the Sirius Black and James Potter of my day. They opened a joke shop recently in Diagon Alley."

Her face tweaked in a slight grin and she nodded her understanding. They led her to her room and Remus told them, "Well, while you two get settled in, I'll go make some lunch for us." He moved quickly away and after a moment, Harry said, "I'll see you back downstairs. Do you think you can find your way?" She nodded reassuringly and he closed her door behind him.

She sat down on the bed and stared blankly around the room, not really seeing it. 'Remus? What on earth was he doing here? No, wait, this is the headquarters of the Order – he must be part of it. But why would he be here now? It was almost like he lived here.' She had thought facing her deceased friends' memories would be the hardest thing about coming out of her solitude to teach at Hogwarts, but now she realized that facing her living friends might be even more difficult.

She stood and paced around the room for a moment, trying to gain control of her emotions. Harry surely had meant well by bringing her here and springing this surprise on her, but he had no idea the pain it dug up. Well, there was nothing that could be done about it now. Maybe after a few days she could find a decent excuse to leave, but at least for now she was stuck here and would have to try and make it tolerable for herself and the others. She took several deep breaths and then headed back to the kitchen.

Remus was alone when she arrived and she stood self-consciously just inside the door. Finally, she asked, "Is there something I can do to help?" He turned to face her and said, "No, I think I have it under control. Please, have a seat. Tell me what you've been up to. How are you liking teaching at Hogwarts?"

She appreciated the attempt at normal conversation and she stuck with the safest topic. "It's taken a bit of adjustment, but I'm beginning to enjoy teaching. Though I am working at a handicap, having to keep one eye looking over my shoulder."

He looked puzzled at her comment, so she explained, "I understand that the past five teachers of Defense only lasted for a single year! I'm a little leery to find out why, and whether I will be the next on the list..."

He laughed aloud. "Oh, that. Well, you aren't a supporter of Voldemort and you aren't a fraud and you aren't a Ministry of Magic puppet, so perhaps you'll break the curse on the position and last longer."

"So, what have you been doing these past few years, Remus?" she asked quietly. He stiffened slightly; explaining his life was virtually impossible without revealing his lycanthropy.

Just then Harry entered the room and he allowed Harry's arrival to divert attention from the question. Placing sandwiches on the table, along with bottles of butterbeer, he told them, "I think we're all set." The three of them turned their attention to their food and lapsed into silence.

Aurelia had noticed that Remus had avoided talking about the past few years just as she had. Perhaps his were as difficult to explain. When lunch ended, she tried to find a more neutral subject of conversation and commented, "So this is Sirius' family home? Care to show me around, Harry?"

Harry glanced at Remus, who told him, "That sounds like a good idea. I'll just tidy up and then find you along the way."

Rising, Harry told his professor, "Okay, let's go." He hadn't missed the stiffness in the others' behavior toward one another. This wasn't at all what he had expected from old school friends, and he was quickly beginning to regret his little surprise.

Harry had never really paid all that much attention to the house before, but he told Aurelia what little he did know of it. Certainly the damaged wall in the entry hall required explanation. "Um, that's where there was a picture of Sirius' mum. She would scream obscenities at everyone and call them names, especially Sirius. But she had used a permanent sticking spell to prevent the picture from being removed, so we all used to stay quiet whenever we were near enough to set her off."

"So what happened to the picture then?" she asked.

Looking a bit uncomfortable, he told her, "When we came back here after Sirius was killed and she started in, Remus kind of lost it and just blasted the portrait into oblivion. Didn't do the wall any good, but at least we were rid of her. I think in a strange way we all kind of thought of it as a tribute to Sirius' memory. Maybe that's why no one's bothered fixing the hole."

She silently gazed at the large, rough hole that was left, then told him, "You're probably right. There was no love lost between her and Sirius. I was always glad that James' parents sort of unofficially adopted Sirius, and treated him like a second son. He needed someone to care for him like that."

They moved on to the other rooms, stopping in front of the Black family tapestry, with certain family members excised. "Just as well," she commented after Harry had explained the Blacks' way of deleting undesirable family connections. "He never wanted to be what they considered acceptable anyway."

They heard a sound behind them and discovered Remus had entered the room. When they looked at him, he noted, "The Black house is an interesting place to see, if you knew Sirius, but not a particularly happy one. Still, it serves us well as headquarters for the Order. I think Sirius got perverse pleasure knowing his family would turn over in their graves if they knew what he was using it for."

There was another awkward silence, which Aurelia finally broke. "I'm feeling a bit tired. Would you mind if I lie down for a bit?" Both shook their heads and she exited the room quickly, glad to walk away from the tension.

Once she was gone, Harry looked sheepishly at Remus. "Um, sorry, Moony. I really thought you'd enjoy my surprise. Guess I should have thought it through more."

"It's all right, Harry. By the way, I can't be certain – did you tell her about me?"

Harry shook his head. "No. When she wondered aloud why you hadn't become an Animagus like the other Marauders, I realized she must not know. And I didn't think it was my place to tell her. So I've kind of abbreviated certain stories to get around that part. I was sort of surprised she didn't know since she knew Sirius so well and hung around with all of you."

Remus sighed. "Sirius did occasionally put his foot in things, but he always pretty much left it up to me who I told about my lycanthropy and who I didn't. Some found out or figured it out anyway, but mostly I didn't dare tell anyone. I was afraid it would mean having to leave Hogwarts, and it probably would have. The other parents wouldn't have wanted me there if they had known."

"But she was your friend. Don't you think she would have understood?"

"Perhaps. But you haven't seen the way people react when they find out. There's just too much fear. The Marauders were the only friends I ever had who didn't run when they discovered my secret. Everyone else, even if they sort of stuck around, was never the same in the way they treated me and eventually they managed to drift away." He sighed sadly, then added, "I have some errands I need to run. I'll be back shortly."

Harry tried laying down for a nap, but couldn't relax. After about a half hour, he rose and made his way to Professor Watson's room and knocked at her door. He hoped he wouldn't wake her, but he had rather gotten the feeling that she wasn't really so much tired as wanting to escape the tense atmosphere.

After a moment, the door opened and she stood looking at him curiously, "Yes, Harry?"

"Er, may I come in, Professor?"

She nodded and opened the door wider to admit him. "Something on your mind?"

He shifted nervously, then took a deep breath and dove in. "Professor, I'm really sorry I surprised you like this. I guess it was a pretty bad idea. I didn't mean to make things so awkward for you..."

"Harry, sit down," she interrupted. He took a seat on a desk chair and she paced the room for a minute, choosing her words. "Harry, please don't feel bad about this. You had no way of knowing. It's just...there are a great many things going on here that you don't know or understand, and I'm really not ready to explain them to you." She paused for several minutes, then continued, "I am glad to see Remus, but I guess the intervening years have built up some kind of a wall between us. And I'm not really sure how to get around it and be back where we were in school." More softly she added, "I know I've got quite a few secrets and I get the impression he does too. Maybe one of us will have to break down and take the first step in sharing those secrets if we are ever to get back to being friends."

Harry cocked his head and asked, "Would it matter if you found out something really bad about him?"

She looked up in surprise, then considered the question. "I suppose it would depend on how bad it was and what it was. Some things can be accepted, while others can't."

Harry stood and started to leave, but then turned back to say, "I've seen Remus at his worst. It doesn't change the person that he is inside. He's like family to me, no matter what."

She wasn't sure of the point behind Harry's comments, but she let him leave without questioning him. Once the door closed, she fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. 'Could I do it?' she thought. 'Do I have the courage to tell him the secret I've kept for so long and risk the consequences?'

She lay there a long time, and surprisingly, in light of the turmoil in her head, she did doze off for a while.