a/n: aaah all my reviews got deleted from the last chapter, so make my day and leave some here :) am I sad that reviews make my day? lol ah well...newhos..I like the name of this chapter..gone...imagine the nsync song playing in the background..lol..
Chapter 34: Gone
"Gone??" Sirius asked incredulously. James and Remus nodded sadly. "Gone where? For how long??"
Remus only shrugged. "I don't know...Lily just told me...while I was at Kierra's...she told me she'd contact me if they found her...so I guess they haven't yet..."
"I'm going to look for her..." Sirius said urgently. "and I swear, if I find the person who's responsible for this"—
"Sirius..." Remus began, "No one took Dominique...she...she left on her own accord..."
"What??"
"She disapparated out of Lily's bathroom while she was getting ready..."
"How could she leave me like that??" Sirius muttered as James sat him down on the couch.
"Come on Padfoot, she probably just got all nervous and stuff...I don't think she left for good...don't worry about it..." James said.
"I don't get it," Sirius continued, "how could she be nervous? How could she have any doubts?? I've been treating her like a queen since the day I met her...doesn't that count for anything??"
"Course it does Sirius...she just freaked...it's normal for girls to do that...er...I think it is...isn't it?" James asked, turning to Remus.
"Sounds about right...girls are very sensitive...they get nervous and flip out very sporadically...usually at the worst possible times..."
"You see?"—
"They're very strange creature, females...they always want to communicate their worries to you, but they never know how...and they get scared when they see the slightest hint of difficulty in a relationship...they never want to compromise, no...the guy is supposed to make all the bloody sacrifices"—
"Remus"—
"...and they never know what they want...and when they do, they can never come out and tell you!"
"Remus!"
"What?"
"Did you have a row with Kierra or something?" James asked.
"Er"—
"That's not good, mate! She's leaving for the states tomorrow! You don't want her to leave all angry with you..."
"Wait...you already knew she was leaving??"
"Yea she told all of us yesterday"—James stopped short and frowned—"oh bloody hell, I'm not helping the situation out by telling you that, am I?"
Remus shook his head. "Don't worry about it, you needn't take any blame for this..."
"Argh...Lily's right, I've got such a big mouth and I need to learn to shut up sometimes..."
"And speaking of the devil of a girlfriend you've got..." came a voice from behind them.
The boys turned around, only to see Lily standing at the doorway with Alice. Before anyone could say anything, Sirius was hurtling over the couch and running towards the girls.
"Did you find her??" he breathed.
Lily raised an eyebrow in surprise and then turned to Remus and frowned. "You just can't keep a secret, can you??" she scolded.
"I didn't have a choice! James saw the wand and I had to tell him...and then Sirius saw us...and we weren't snogging..." Remus stammered.
Lily looked at him puzzlingly. "Er...ok"—
"Forget about James and Remus snogging! Where's D??" Sirus interjected.
"They made out??" Alice asked with sudden interest. "I'm telling Kierra!!"
"We weren't making out"—
"It just looked like it"—
"No it didn't, really Prongs"—
"anyway why would Kierra care? They got in a fight"—
"What do you mean they got in a fight?" Lily demanded. "Kierra never said anything to us..."
"Well, that explains why she was acting weird when we mentioned Remus..."
"She did?" Remus asked. The idea of Kierra being distressed at hearing his name brought unusual comfort to him...
"Ok, shut up all of you!! Can we please get back to the main issue at hand??" Sirius bellowed. "Where is Dominique?!"
"She's at Lily's." Alice replied. "She came back with Dumbledore..."
"Dumbledore?"
"Yea...she went to him...and Kierra's there, keeping an eye on her." Alice said. She then turned to Remus with a very concerned look on her face. "Ok...so what happened with you and Kierra??"
"Nevermind that," Remus replied irritably, "some of my best friends are getting married. Do you think we can go to the wedding now??"
"Yes! Thank you!!" Sirius exclaimed as he pat Remus on the back and headed out the door.
As Peter stood at the steps of the white, flower adorned gazebo, he looked onto the crowd of very bored guests. He looked at his watch. Where were his friends? They were all missing...they were all an hour late...
"Ok...um...let's uh...let's call it quits with the knock-knock jokes then..." Peter said over the magical microphone as he nervously watched the restless crowd.. "Er...ok! How about a little sing-along? I know you all like the Weird Sisters! Let's sing 'Don't Go Hexing My Heart'...how about it?"
"Good God Wormtail, the Weird Sisters are hardly appropriate for a wedding!!"
Peter's gaze shifted to the direction of the familiar voice. There was Sirius, James, Dumbledore ('Dumbledore?? Why's he with them??') and Remus. He sighed with relief as he hopped out of the gazebo and ran over to his friends.
"Where have you all been??" Peter exclaimed. "You're all over an hour late, and I had to entertain the guests with corny knock-knock jokes!"
"Well, I'm glad we came when we did..." Sirius replied. "the world is not ready to hear your singing voice..."
"Amen to that..." James chimed in as he pat Peter on the back. "Thanks though for stalling for us...Dominique ran off"—
"What??"
"No we got her back though, don't worry...the girls are with her..."
"Oh, ok..."
"Well, shall we proceed with the ceremony then?" Dumbledore asked.
Sirius nodded. "Yes, let's do it."
Dominique stood nervously at the make-shift alter, listening to Dumbledore's voice. It was so calm and soothing...so pacifying and serene. His words were probably as calm as his tone of voice, but Dominique wouldn't have known. The words didn't seem to register in her head. All she could do was watch Sirius anxiously.
He didn't look at her. He had been watching Dumbledore, clearly listening to his speech. Sirius knew she had run away. What did he think of her? Well...he couldn't hate her...he was allowing the ceremony to continue...but he was probably mad at her...or just annoyed...or maybe he was simply relieved that Dumbledore had convinced her to marry. Well, whatever his temper vouched for, she was certain of one thing. He would never wholly trust her. He certainly wasn't to blame.
'What was I thinking??' Dominique thought regretfully to herself, though she knew very well what the answer was. Fear was all she had felt when she disapparated out of Lily's bathroom. Dominique never sought anyone's advice on the subject of marriage, and so she suddenly began to feel doubtful of her own decision. What if they didn't live happily ever after? Even though Sirius was positively the best boyfriend she ever had, what if he changed? What if there were things she still didn't know about him? What if he was too good to be true?
"Dominique"—
Dominique, though she had been staring at Sirius during the entirety of Dumbledore's speech, looked at him now as if she were seeing him for the first time. 'Oh, the vows...' she thought.
"Dominique," he started again, looking at her very seriously, "From the moment you entered Hogwarts in our seventh year, I remember singling you out as the most beautiful, the most magnificent creature that ever graced the earth. I never thought I'd say this, but I think I was a victim of love at first sight. Maybe I didn't realize it then, but now I see it's been there the whole time. I fell in love with you...and your whole essence...and the aura around you. I honestly don't know what else to say...except that I hope you know how much I love you, and that I would die before I'd allow myself, or anyone else to hurt you."
Dominique felt Dumbledore's eyes falling on her, it was her turn to talk. She stared at Sirius, suddenly forgetting the little speech she had prepared. It suddenly seemed so irrelevant and inappropriate in light of Sirius's words.
"I"—Dominique's paused as she felt her voice crack—"I know you'd never hurt me!" she exclaimed as she began to cry. "I'm sorry...I love you....I always will"—Dominique felt herself leaning forwards, and next thing she knew, she was in Sirius's arms, still crying.
"That's a good enough vow for me..." Sirius said with a smile as he hugged Dominique. "So you'll be my wife in sickness and in health until death parts us?"
Dominique smiled through her tears and nodded. "Yes..."
Dumbledore smiled approvingly over the couple and nodded. "Well...I think it is now safe to pronounce you husband and wife! You may now"—Dumbledore glanced down at Sirius and Dominique and frowned—"er, continue kissing the bride.
"Mum, dad, come on already!!" James whined.
"Can we at least finish our cake?" Mrs. Potter asked with a note of exasperation in her voice.
"Take it with you, come on! They're only a few tables down!" James said, as he rocked back and forth on his heels quite anxiously.
"Honey, are you sure you never dropped him when he was little?" Mr. Potter asked his wife with a grin as he got up from the table. "he's such a strange child, that James..."
"Hey!!"
"He gets it from you..." Mrs. Potter replied with a laugh as she followed her husband and James towards another table that was closer to the gazebo.
"What's so strange about meeting the Evans?" James asked. "I've been wanting to meet them for ages."
"Yes, you would..." Mr. Potter replied. "But it's just not natural...boyfriends never want to meet the parents of their girlfriends...and then having the parents just meeting each other...what's wrong with you, boy?"
"Dad! Do you not want to meet them or something??" James asked incredulously.
"Of course I want to meet them!" Mr. Potter replied. "Your mother and I both want to...but we're just concerned about you...you're so eager for all of us to meet...that's just a bit abnormal for a young man your age..."
"Oh whatever on!" James said resignedly as he led his parents to the table where Lily Evans sat.
"James! Hey!" Lily said excitedly as she got up to greet him.
"Mum, dad, this is Lily Evans..." James said proudly, as if he were presenting his parents with an award.
"We figured..." Mr. Potter said. "Nice to finally meet you, my dear. James has been telling us all about you..."
"...for the past five years..." Mrs. Potter added.
"Mum!!"
"Oh as if she didn't already know..." Mrs. Potter laughed.
"It's nice to meet you." Lily replied, suddenly feeling quite shy.
"Aren't you going to introduce us dear?" came a voice from behind her.
"Oh!" Lily turned around, and smiling at her were her parents, who were just coming from congratulating Dominique and Sirius. "Mum, dad, er...this is James...and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Potter..."
"Wonderful to meet you at last!" Mr. Evans said happily, extending his hand out to Mr. Potter. "Wonderful to meet more of you magical people! The only ones we know are Lily and a few of her friends..."
"And it's nice to finally meet you James..." Mrs. Evans said with a warm smile as she shook his hand. "You look exactly the way Lily described you to be!"
James's eyes brightened at hearing this. "Really? How'd she describe me?" he asked with sudden interest.
"Mum, think you can get me another slice of cake?" Lily asked. "You know, I'm too embarrassed to go and get another slice..."
"Oh nonsense dear, you weren't embarrassed to get those first three slices! Go on, I want to get to know your boyfriend!" Mrs. Evans said as she pushed her daughter away. "Now"--Mrs. Evans turned her attention back to James--"a few years ago, when she wasn't particularly fond of you, I believe she described you as a black haired boy with glasses. But recently, she got more descriptive..."
Remus watched from a distance as Sirius smeared icing along Dominique's cheek, who in turn only laughed and smeared some on Sirius's nose. Despite his depression and moodiness, Remus couldn't help but smile at his friends. They were definitely going to be happy together.
"Moony!!"
Remus smiled and walked towards them as Sirius waved to him.
"Think you could go without saying goodbye to us?" Sirius asked as he put an arm around his friend.
"Wouldn't dream of it..." Remus replied.
"So you guys are going straight to St. Mungo's from here?" Dominique asked.
Remus nodded. "They're going to run some tests on my dad...I think we're going to be there all night..."
"He'll be in our thoughts..." Dominique replied.
Remus smiled. "Thanks. Just uh...don't think of him too much...since you're going on your honeymoon and all...that would just be weird..."
"Ew, Remus..."
"Just kidding! Well, I need to get going...I'll see you in a few weeks, Mr. Black" Remus said as he shook Sirius's hand "and you, Mrs. Black..." he added with a grin.
"Crouch is such a jerk..." Kierra muttered as she walked along the dirt road that led away from the wedding.
"I'm sorry...." Lily said apologetically. "I really tried asking him...but he has his policies...at least a week's notice for any absences..."
"git..." James said absently.
"But hey, Peter can still help you move"--
"No, he couldn't get off work either..." Kierra said dully.
"Well what about Remus?" James asked. "I mean, his dad is supposed to be getting bed rest tomorrow, and his mum will be home to take care of him...so Remus should be free to help out..."
"No way am I asking him for help..." Kierra replied.
"But you can't move by yourself!" Lily said.
"I don't have that much stuff...it won't be hard..."
"Yes it will..."
"Well, it'll be even harder if Remus is helping..." Kierra said with a sigh. "it'll be all awkward...I'd rather not deal with it..."
"You know, I think you two are being really stupid about this...breaking up like that..." Lily commented.
"I'm moving to another continent!" Kierra exclaimed. "We had to break up sooner or later...better now in person than later on through floo or something..."
"Good point..." James said. "But still, you guys fought...that's not the best way to end things...you may never see each other again..."
"Look, can we just drop this please? I'll move by myself and that's that." Kierra said with finality. "I don't want to think about Remus right now...I'm leaving tomorrow and I want to say proper goodbyes to you now..."
"What's a proper goodbye?" James asked.
Kierra shrugged. "I dunno..."
"You'll come visit though, won't you?" Lily asked.
"I'll try to..."
"But not too often," Lily cut in, "Britain's not safe anymore...Voldemort is virtually unkown in the States...you'll be much safer there...away from him, and all of his death eaters..." she added, remembering Kierra's past encounters with Lucius Malfoy.
Kierra sniffed heavily and hugged Lily. "I'm going to miss you so much, Lily...always taking care of me..."
"Hey what are mums for?" Lily said, as she felt her eyes well up with tears.
"I don't know who's going to wake me up every morning for work now..."
Lily laughed through her tears. "I'll send you howlers..."
Kierra pulled herself away from Lily after a few moments and turned to James. "I'll miss you too..." she said as she hugged him, "and all your pranks..."
James laughed as he put his arms around Kierra. "No hard feelings then, eh?" he asked. "You know all those years I used to pull your hair, hide your stuff"--
"all the times you tortured me?" Kierra asked.
James grinned. "yea...I always meant it in good humor..."
Kierra smiled. "I know..."
James frowned slightly. "Come to think of it...I was a real ass to you..."
"But a lovable ass all the same..." Kierra laughed. As she pulled away from James she smiled sadly. "hey I need to get back home now so I can finish packing" she said, "leaving early in the morning..."
"Alright...well, keep in touch...send us lots of letters..." Lily said.
"You got it..." Kierra said. She smiled and waved one last time to her friends before she disapparated back to her house.
Lily sighed. "It's a shame, you know...with Kierra and Remus..." she said as they continued walking down the dirt path.
"I know..." James replied. "and speaking of the devil..." he nudged Lily and pointed to their right, where Remus was walking with his parents. "Oy!"
"Hey guys...leaving as well?" Remus asked as he joined his friends.
"Yea, Dominique and Sirius left for Cairo a little while ago...so we thought we'd take off..." Lily replied. She glanced at James casually, but did a double take when she saw the expression on his face. He wore the same look he usually had when he was planning something mischevious. 'Oh dear...' she thought.
"Hey listen, Moony..." James started, "We just saw Kierra off"--
"She already left?"
"Er...yea...I mean, she went home, to finish packing..." James said, noting the slight anxiousness in Remus's voice. "Anyway, she's moving tomorrow morning you know...and we all promised we'd help her move..."
"She won't want me there"--
"...but none of us can make it anymore...Crouch won't let us off from work...but since you're free..."
"I'm telling you, she won't want me there"--
"...she asked if you could come help her."
Remus looked at James increduously. "She did?" he asked, turning to Lily.
"Er..yea, she did..." Lily said quickly.
"Why didn't she ask me herself?" he asked.
"Erm...well...because she was kind of shy...you know, with what's happened and all..." Lily said, trying to keep a straight face as James looked on to her, smiling approvingly.
"Oh...ok." Remus replied. "Er...how is she moving?"
"Air Merlin I believe..." Lily replied.
"Air Merlin?" Remus asked. "Er...don't they come directly to your house to pick you up?"
"yea..." James replied.
"I'm not going to her house..."
"Why not?"
"It'll be weird...and besides, it'll be so awkward with her parents..."
"Moony, do you really think Kierra would need our help moving if her parents were around? They're still in Bulgaria with her brother Harvey! He's a bit sick...so they're going to stay there with him, and go straight to the States to visit Kierra when he's better..." James said.
"I see..."
"So it won't be too awkward..."
"Right...well, I should go catch up with my parents...I'll see you guys later..." Remus said, and with that he bid his friends goodbye and left.
As Lily sat in the back seat of her parents' sedan, she recounted the events of the day. Losing the bride, finding the bride, two friends breaking up, one of them moving to the states, and two friends getting married....definitely a long day. Lily sighed as she thought of the wedding. It was certainly beautiful and very enjoyable, once they had found Dominique, of course. Sirius and Dominique would be very happy together...they'd probably have a dozen kids...Lily smiled inwardly at the thought of miniature Siriuses and Dominiques running around... 'I wonder if the world is ready for that...' she thought.
"Lily dear," Mrs. Evans started, looking back at her daughter from the front seat, "James is an absolute sweetheart...you've landed yourself an exceptional boyfriend..."
Lily smiled. "thanks, mum..."
"...and we had such a nice chat! Such a friendly young man...and so much energy"--
"Hi, I'm Mark Evans, your husband!" Mr. Evans cut in, causing Mrs. Evans and Lily to laugh.
"Oh honey, you know what I mean!" Mrs Eans siad, "You liked him too, you know"
"I did.." Mr. Evans said, "he's a nice boy..."
"As I was saying," Mrs. Evans continued, "he's so energetic, so lively...and he has such a funny laugh"--
"Oh mum, you weren't telling him those corny jokes you told us yesterday, were you?" Lily asked.
Mrs. Evans laughed. "No of course not, I was telling him stories about you"-
"Mum!!"
"He thought they were all funny!"
"Which ones did you tell?"
"Oh- you remember that one time when you were about four, you used to hate wearing dresses...and you wanted to be a boy...and so you took your playdough and made yourself a little"-
"Mum!!"
Remus nervously stood at Kierra's doorstep. This all seemed so weird...He was so used to apparating or flooing over...but now it seemed inappropriate....
He yawned as he knocked on the door again. He hadn't slept all night, having stayed up with his parents in the hospital...And now he was facing a day of moving around Kierra's stuff, not to mention dealing her majesty's moodiness that she tended to have when she was upset with someone. And of course to top it all off, the full moon was in a few days, and Remus was feeling a bit peaky. Yes, this would be a very long day for him.
Remus's thoughts were interrupted when the door swung open.
"Remus! What are you doing here?" Kierra stood at the doorway, looking very sleepy. Her hair was a mess, and she was still in her nightgown....
"Er...what do you mean..." Remus stopped. James Potter. Bona fide Trickster. Sirius had dubbed him so in their fourth year. And now he had recruited Lily to help him with his dirty work..."I'm sorry...you never asked me to come here, did you?"
"If I did, don't you think I'd be less surprised?"
"Right..." Remus replied, making a mental note to smack James, and to ask Alice to smack Lily. "Well, I'll uh...go then. See you..." he said as he turned to leave.
"Wait..."
Remus turned back around and looked at Kierra questioningly.
"Why did you come here?" she asked.
"James said you wanted me to come and help you move since they couldn't make it...clearly he was just pulling my leg..."
"Oh..."
"Well, I'll just go"--
"Or you can come in..." Kierra interjected, opening the door a bit wider to allow him inside. She sounded more polite than friendly. "I'm going to make some coffee..."
"Oh, that's ok...I don't drink coffee..."
"I know. I was going to make it for on in..."
Resisting the temptation to disapparate on the spot, Remus followed Kierra inside. The living room was crowded with boxes and furniture from Kierra's room.
"We have some cereal in the pantry if you want some," Kierra said as she started working on her coffee, "it's that nasty wheaty stuff you like..."
"I'm not hungry, thanks." Remus replied.
Kierra turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. "You always eat breakfast."
"I know...I'm just not in the mood for anything right now..."
"Did you eat at home?"
"No..."
"Then why aren't you hungry?"
Remus sighed. "I just told you I'm not in the mood..."
"Well ok then...I was just inquiring...I wasn't aware that you started changing your habits..." Kierra replied.
Remus rolled his eyes. "I never changed my habits. I still eat breakfast. I still eat nasty wheaty cereal, just not today. Give me a break."
"Alright, I'm sorry, keep your pants on..." Kierra replied as she sat down to sip her coffee. "...totally forgot that you PMS around the full moon."
Trying his best to resist the temptation of telling her to sod off, Remus simply exhaled quietly. 'She's just testing me,' he told himself. 'She just wants me to explode at her...' He looked down at her, about to ask her when they were leaving, when he noticed Kierra grinning at him.
"And what are you looking so smug about?" he asked her.
Kierra laughed as she rested her empty mug on the table and stood up. "I guess I'm almost as predictable as you are..."
"Sorry?"
"You think I'm just testing you...seeing how far I can push you before you blow up and tell me to sod off or something..."
Remus stared at her blankly. How the hell did she do it?
"Well, you're absolutely right," Kierra said with a small smile, "making me almost as predictable as you."
"Almost?"
"Well, you could read my actions, I can read your mind. And mind you, I don't know squat about legilimency".
"Right." Remus said. "So, when are we leaving?"
Suddenly, a deafening screeching noise came from outside.
"Right now..." Kierra replied.
After about half an hour of loading, they were aboard Air Merlin and heading towards the states. Remus looked out window as they flew through the clouds. It was certainly different... He wondered if muggle planes felt the same. He glanced over at Kierra, who was looking at the latest issue of Witch Weekly. Well, perhaps this was golden opportunity for him to catch up on his sleep...
"Remus, are you asleep??"
Remus opened his eyes and frowned at Kierra. "I was happily drifting towards it..."
Kierra smiled wryly. "Well, we're arriving in a few minutes; no point in going to sleep now."
Remus sat up straight and looked at his watch. "But we've only been here twenty minutes....I thought we'd be flying at least a few more hours..."
"Those are muggle planes, silly..."
"Er, muggle planes take even longer...about a whole day or something to get to the states..."
"Oh well...wizarding planes can go much faster...and this is Air Merlin, one of the fastest magical jets ever...it goes like a thousand kilometers an hour or something..."
"You're exagerating..."
"I am not!" Kierra protested. "How else would we get to America in half an hour?"
Remus shrugged as he took a sip of pumpkin juice from the silver goblet the flight attendant had given him earlier.
"Ah, right...nothing witty to say, just take a little drink..."
"You should just become a seer, Kierra..." Remus said wearily as he put his goblet down and reclined back in his seat, "you obviously possess the inner eye..."
Kierra rolled her eyes and also sat back. Just then the flight attendant appeared, smiling broadly.
"I just wanted to let you two know that we'll be landing in the next minute..." the attendant said, who seemed to be talking to Remus, rather than Kierra.
"Er, ok...thank you ma'am." Remus said.
"Oh, please, call me Natalia..." the attendant said, still smiling broadly as she ran her fingers through her dark brown hair.
"Natalia...that's a pretty name..." Remus commented.
The attendant blushed. "Oh, thank you...here, let me take your goblet..." She leaned over to collect the silver goblet, but just as she picked it up, her hand slipped and the goblet, along with its remaining contents, spilled onto Remus's lap.
"Oh! I'm so sorry"--Natalia pulled a handkerchief from her skirt pocket and reached forward--
"You know, Remus is a big boy..." Kierra said sweetly as she snatched the handkerchief from Natalia and handed it to Remus. "He can wipe his crotch himself..."
"Thank you, Kierra..." Remus said curtly as he took the handkerchief.
Unabashed, the flight attendant continued, "you know, that'll probably leave a stain...if you want, I can get those cleaned for you...I've got the perfect cleansing potion in the back room"--
"Or..." Kierra interrupted, pulling out her wand, "we can just forego the displeasure of seeing Remus with his pants off...scourgify!" The pumpkin juice stain disappeared at the wave of Kierra's wand. "Well," she said as she tucked her wand away, "thank you anyway, Natalia. You can go back to the cockpit now."
Natalia gave a fake smile and turning on her heel, she left.
Just as Natalia shut the door of the cockpit behind her, Remus turned to Kierra. "What the hell is your problem??"
Kierra smiled and closed her eyes as she reclined against her seat. "I don't have one..."
Remus stared at her increduously. "You don't have one??"
"Look, if I didn't smack some sense into that tart, she would've been giving you a lap dance by now, and while you may like that, I frankly didn't want to see it..." Kierra said curtly.
Remus only glared at Kierra, whose eyes were still closed. 'Let it go...' he told himself.
Half an hour later, Remus and Kierra were at the new flat, unpacking boxes.
"Kierra...you were criticizing me for eating nasty, wheaty cereal, and here you have it packed up in this box..." Remus said as he helped unpack boxes for the kitchen.
"Oh yea, I brought that for you," Kierra replied as she unpacked a box of pots, pans and other cooking utensils. "No one in my family eats it...I think we only had that box because you liked it so much...anyway, take it back to England with you, alright?"
"Er...sure..." Remus replied, setting the box on the table. He glanced at Kierra and grinned as she studied the saucepan she pulled out of the box. "Since when did you learn how to cook?" he asked.
Kierra frowned at him. "Since always..."
"Really?"
"Yea..."
"How come you never cooked for me? I've made dinner for you dozens of times..."
"Well..."
"Kierra, You don't even know the difference between batter and butter..."
"Oh shut it Remus. Just because you're a Stefano Lockhart in the kitchen, that doesn't make me a kitchen dunce..."
"Oh yea? Then what kind of pot are you holding?" he asked.
"Er..." Kierra looked down at it. It was a large, heavy bowl...she remembered her mum using it once for cooking crab ragoon... "Well, it's uh...a frying pot..."
Remus smiled. "Then what's the difference between that and a frying pan?"
"Look, if I wanted to be interrogated about pots and pans, I'd be in culinary school!" Kierra retorted as she waved the pan threateningly at Remus.
Remus only laughed and backed away. "It's called a wok, by the way...it's used for deep frying..." he said as he grabbed another cardboard box labeled "books" and headed for Kierra's room.
"It's called a wok, by the way..." Kierra muttered in a mimicking voice as she unpacked a box of utensils.
"I heard that!" Remus called out from the bedroom.
As Kierra opened another cupoard to put her plates in, she came across the local phone book that her landlord must have left for her. Kierra pulled it out and began flipping through it randomly. It seemed to be divided into a section for muggle business with phone numbers, and a wizarding section with lists of fireplaces and addresses. 'Hmm....' Kierra flipped to the wizarding section, and began searching under the R's....
Remus couldn't help but smile when he opened Kierra's last "books" box. He picked up the book sitting on the top. "The Sorceror's Lover". The box was full of romance novels. 'If this is her idea of tasteful literature...'
"Remus"--
Remus dropped the book and looked up. Kierra was standing at the doorway. She looked down at the box he was unpacking and suddenly began to turn pink.
Seeing this, Remus couldn't help but grin. "I was just admiring your collection of books..."
"Oh shut up..." Kierra snapped, grabbing the box and shoving it into the closet.
"What did you come in here for?" he asked, feeling slightly sympathetic when he saw her go pink.
"I was going to tell you to stay for dinner...I'm cooking...."
"food?"
"No, I'm going to fry shoes Remus. Yes I'm going to cook food!" Kierra snapped.
Remus laughed. "What did I ever do to you to deserve such a punishment?"
Kierra scowled at him. "Ha ha, very funny. In case you've forgotten, you've never tried my cooking..."
"Yes I have..."
"When?"
"Remember when you tried making me toast that one time? And you burned it"—
"That doesn't count as cooking!
"Right...what are we having?"
"It'll be a surprise..."
"I was afraid of that..."
"Shut up and keep unpacking." Kierra replied. "And don't come in the kitchen until I say it's ok!"
"Right then..." Remus replied. "Can't wait..."
"Hi...do you guys deliver?" Kierra asked, struggling to balance herself as she leaned in her fireplace.
A young man in a white apron knelt down to face Kierra. "Why, you're British!"
"Er...yea, I am..." Kierra replied awkwardly, suddenly feeling very aware of her foreign sounding accent. "So do you guys deliver or what?"
"We sure do..." the man replied. "What can I get you?"
"Er...I dunno...what do you guys have?"
The man looked at her curiously. "Well..we have a really big menu...do you have anything specific in mind?"
"Well..." Kierra started, "I need dinner for two...a few courses...I don't know..."
The young man smiled. "Let me guess...you're one of those non-cooking types that's told your boyfriend you can cook, so you're trying to impress him?"
"Yea, that's about right. Only he's not my boyfriend...well he was, he's my ex...look nevermind that, can you just cook something nice and deliver it to 3782 Parasol Lane?"
"No problem...anything particular you like?"
"I thought we established that I can't cook...just a few courses..anything...just get it here in a couple of hours?"
"Alright...one dinner date delivery. Got it...we're really busy though so it might be three hours..."
"That's fine..."
"Alright, I'll see you in a bit then."
"Thanks!"
And with that, Kierra pulled herself out of her fireplace. She glanced towards her room and saw that the door was still shut. As quietly as she could, Kierra tiptoed back into the kitchen and pulled her pots and pans out.
"I thought I told you not to come out until I said so!"
Remus only rolled his eyes. "I could only stay holed up in there for so long, Kierra. I got it cleaned up and organized...I even categorized your clothes by season and color...I was that bored, ok?" Remus added quickly as Kierra raised an eyebrow at him. "I did every possible thing to pass time...I even paired all of your socks"-
"Remus, you're wonderful..."
"thanks...and I paired all your underwear with their respective matching bras"-
"oh Remus, you shouldn't have..." Kierra said dryly.
"But I did..." Remus replied. "and you know Kierra, I'm thoroughly hurt that I was seeing half those knickers for the first time..."
"So sorry to have deprived you...hey, what do you think you're doing??" Kierra demanded as Remus walked down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen.
"Trying to get to your bathroom...do you mind?"
"Oh, alright..."
"You're really going clandestine with this cooking thing, aren't you? Makes me wonder...my parents know I'm here, you know...if you poison me, they'll find out..."
"Just go take your piss, Remus.."
Kierra jumped as she heard a loud knock on the door. "Salieri's!" A man's voice called from behind the door. Looking back to make sure Remus hadn't come out of her room, she quickly went to the door and opened it.
"Hey, come on in..." Kierra said quietly. "How much do I owe you?" she asked the delivery man as she led him into the kitchen.
"Er..." the deliver man looked at her curiously for talking so softly. "50 galleons even..."
"50 galleons? This better be good food..." Kierra muttered.
"Oh it is..." the young man replied. He glanced around Kierra's flat, and noticing all the boxes he asked "So, did you just move here?"
"Yea..." Kierra replied as she searched her pockets. "damn, I think I left my money in my bag...er...ok, take the food and put them in those pots on the stove..."
"Er...why is there water boiling in all of them?"
"Well..."
"Ah, trying to make it look like you're cooking?" he asked with a grin.
Kierra smiled sheepishly. "Yea..."
"You know, I've delivered to a few ladies who are trying to impress their boyfriends, a lot of guys who try to impress their girlfriends, but never anyone who's trying to impress their ex..."
"Well he was making fun of me...and he's a fantastic cook and everything..." Kierra muttered as she began digging through her purse.
"Why is he here anyway?" he asked emptied the contents of one of his boxes into a frying pan. "Er, sorry...I don't mean to pry"--
"No it's ok...he's helping me move...all my other friends had work and couldn't take off to help me move..."
"Ah, the ex is a bum without a job..."
"No," Kierra said quickly, "I mean...he doesn't have a job, but he's not a bum, he's been looking for one..."
"Tough job market?"
"I guess you could call it that..."
"So why'd you two break up?"
"Are you usually this chatty with strangers?"
"Just the pretty girls with accents..."
Kierra blushed. But before she could reply, Kierra heard her bathroom door creak open. "Quick, hide the boxes.."
Quickly the young man stuffed the boxes of food in the nearest cupboard, and shut the door just as Remus appeared in the kitchen.
"Kierra, I was"-he stopped in midsentence when he saw a young man standing in the kitchen with Kierra. He looked slightly younger than themselves...he had short blond hair and pale blue eyes. "Er...hi..."
"Hi..." the young man replied.
"Er...this is Remus..." Kierra said quickly to the blond, and this is..."
"Todd..." the man replied with a smile. Turning to Kierra, he said "well, I should get going..." He headed towards the door. Just as he opened it though, he remembered. "Oh..the money.."
"Right. Oh, here..." Kierra said, handing him a bag of money. "50 even."
"What, no tip?" he asked with a smile.
"Oh, sorry...I totally forgot..gimme a second"-
"Or you can just give me your number..."
"...or you can just go soak your head..." Remus cut in.
"Remus!" Kierra snapped.
"What exactly are you here for anyway?" Remus inquired as Kierra dug through her purse for change.
"Just...services..." Kierra muttered as she handed Todd several extra galleons.
"Services?"
"Yes, services." Todd said with a wink. "And I will be more than happy to perform them again for you...Kierra, is it?"
Kierra nodded. "Alright, bye Todd..." As the door shut, Kierra turned on to Remus. "What the hell is your problem??"
Remus only smiled and plopped onto the couch. "I don't have a problem!" he said in a voice that sounded uncannily like Kierra's.
"You think you're so cute, don't you?" Kierra said.
"Well," he continued in a mimicking voice, "if I didn't smack some sense into that tart, you'd be giving him a lap dance by now! Oh wait...I guess you'd be the tart then--ow!" Remus laughed as he rubbed his arm where Kierra hit him.
"Go to my room and alphabetize my books" she ordered.
"but I'm tired"--
"Well I'm not done cooking!"
"What did that guy come over for?"
"Just a utility worker or something..had to check the fireplace.."
"But he looked like a preschooler, they wouldn't have some kid doing that work..."
"Apprentice I suppose...it's not rocket science you know, checking a fireplace.."
"Then why'd you need someone to do it for you? Surely you could've done it yourself"--
"Out!"
"Would you like them in order of author or title?"
"title..."
"Kierra...I hate admitting this...but...I'm impressed..." Remus said as they ate dinner later that evening. "You cook better than me...how come you never told me?"
Kierra shrugged. "I'm not that good..."
"Oh, you're being you pass the bruschetta?"
"Er...the bruschetta?"
"Yea...did you really make it from scratch?"
"Er...yes..." Kierra said slowly as she glanced around the table. Bruschetta...what the hell was a bruschetta? There were four dishes in front of them- bread, chicken, salad, and some kind of rice... 'ok one in four chances of getting it right...' Kierra picked up the plate of rice and passed it to Remus.
Remus in turn, looked at Kierra curiously for a moment, before taking the rice and thanking her.
"Well," he said as he finished his wine, "I think I should head out now. Your flat looks ready...unless you have any other things for me to alphabetize..."
"No, that's it. Thanks so much for helping me out though. I don't know what I was thinking when I told Lily and James I could move on my own..." she said.
"Don't worry about it." Remus replied. "Oh, by the way...that bruschetta was tasty...do you think"-
"Oh...secret recipe..."
"I understand...I was just hoping you could tell me the name of the restaurant...maybe I'll grab some more before I go..." Remus said with a grin.
"Sorry?"
"Bruschetta is bread, Kierra...not rice..." Remus said.
"Oh..." Kierra felt herself color pink, and ever redder when Remus laughed at her. "Oh shut it, Remus...if you hadn't been making fun of me..."
"I'm sorry..." he said through his laughter. "very ingenious though...but I suggest that next time you're trying to impress someone, you should learn the names of the dishes first..."
"I wasn't trying to impress you..."
"Oh, sorry...what was it you were trying to do then?"
"Just shut up, Remus.."
"Right then..." he replied, still smiling. "Anyway, I should go," he said, as he reached into his pockets, "here, let me pay for some of the dinner"-
"No way...it was my treat.."
"It was 50 galleons...that's too much..."
"No, don't worry about it..."
"Come on Kierra...girls aren't supposed to pay for dinner....let alone 50 galleons"-
"Remus, please, it's not like we were on a date or anything...and there's no need to persist"-Kierra added when she saw the look of protest on his face-"I don't know why you need to prove your competence as a boyfriend to me...I mean really, the whole macho act isn't very becoming of you..."
"Isn't becoming of me?" Remus asked. "So not only do you think I'm an incompetent boyfriend, but I'm a pansy or something as well??"
"What? No"—
"Then what the hell do you mean?? Proving my competence...I wasn't trying to prove anything"-
"Ok then! I'm sorry I said that!" Kierra retorted. "Geez, don't get your panties in a knot..."
"And what do you mean that being macho isn't becoming of me??"
Kierra rolled her eyes. "just look at yourself..."
"Look at myself?"
"Yes, look at yourself! Look at my flat! Macho men usually aren't skinny little toothpicks"-
"I'm not a toothpick"-
"Please, you have the body of a 15 year old girl"-
"Right...the 15 year old girl you've been stalking since your sixth year..."
"...and macho men do not lecture girls on the differences between frying pans and frying pots..." she continued, ignoring Remus's comment.
"Kierra, there's no such thing as a frying pot. I told you, it's called a wok..."
"See?? Macho men don't know what woks are!" Kierra exclaimed. "Nor do they organize their ex's closet by season and colors...oh, and nor do they tell their ex's potential boyfriends to go 'soak their heads'...honestly, what decade are you living in, Remus?"
"Potential boyfriends? Are you talking about Todd?"
"Well, who else did you say that to?"
"But he's like eight years old or something...they've got laws here against that sort of stuff..."
"Oh please, he was not eight...he looked at least sixteen.."
"Still, that's two years younger...he's a minor...and you're an adult...well, legally anyway..."
"And what is that supposed to mean??" Kierra asked.
"It means that the only thing that classifies you as an adult is your age..."
"You think I'm immature??"
"You said so yourself yesterday!"
"And you agree?"
"Do you see me arguing?"
Kierra narrowed her eyes and frowned at Remus. "You know, you should've stuck with Megan..."
"Sorry?"
"Megan! You know...Megan whats-her-name...the blonde bimbo you were dating before me...you should've stuck with her..."
"And this is coming from where?"
"When you were deciding between the two of us, and you called me immature...and later on you told me you didn't mean any of that stuff and you were sorry...I guess you didn't mean it then..."
"Oh come on, don't go using that against me"-
"You know what, that actually puts me in mind; you actually were a pretty incompetent boyfriend..."
"Really? How?" Remus asked.
"Well for one thing, I can't even trust your words. You act like you're all sincere, but obviously, you've proven to be otherwise..."
"You're fuming over that one little thing"-
"...and to think, I broke up with Kyle Watson, just for you. I would've broken up with anyone to go out with you...and in the end...well, you obviously proved to be a bit overrated..."
"Overrated?" Remus asked increduously. "How was I overrated?? Unless you thought I was some sort of god prior to going out with me, then you're mistaken. I don't see anything your previous boyfriends had that I didn't have..."
"Cocky, aren't we?"
"Not at all. I'm stating the facts."
"Well, you have your facts wrong," Kierra replied. "I've had much better."
"Really? Who?"
"Well, there was Kyle"-
"Who talked nonstop about Quidditch and bored you to death?"
"He was sweet!" Kierra retorted. "And then there was Jack Riley, and Fred Henesey, and William Taylor..."
"Wow, I completely forgot about what a slut you were..." Remus muttered.
"Excuse me??" Kierra exclaimed. "I can't believe you're calling me that...you, of all people...you know, I don't know why I ever liked you in the first place...you think you're so cool because you got good grades and have popular friends..."
"Please, I never thought I was cool..."
"Yea right...gosh...I don't know what I ever saw in you...you walk around like you've got a pixie up your butt or something...And you know what? Incompetent is a complete understatement to describe you. You're a spineless jellyfish...can't even stand your own ground...you know what? Jellyfish have more spine than you"—
"You know what," Remus interjected, "I think you've said enough...and if you want to think all of that about me, fine. But I don't think any guy you ever dated would have let you in their bed in the middle of the night, just to listen to you cry until you fell asleep. Nor would they have saved your butt from some bully when you just had a fight with them...and certainly none of them would have come all the way here just to help you move, when they haven't slept in 48 hours."
"Yes, they would've"-
"Not if you had just broken up with them..."
Kierra made no response to this. She simply watched Remus head towards the door. As he opened the door, he glanced over his shoulder.
"Have a nice life..." he muttered. And with that, he left, slamming the door behind him.
Kierra stared at the door, unblinking, for several seconds. That was it; he was gone...she would never see him again...
Just then the door swung open.
"Remus"—
He wasn't quite sure what he was doing. He wasn't sure why he had walked back into Kierra's flat, or why he was walking towards Kierra, or what in fact, he should say.
"I..." he looked at Kierra anxiously, who in turn looked at him with equal apprehension. "I...um...I forgot my cereal..." he murmured as he seized her by the waist, pulling her in for a kiss.
Kierra's mind raced as she felt his tongue sweep through her mouth. They just broke up yesterday...They said horrible things to each other today...why was she letting him to this? Better yet, why was she running her hands through his hair?
"I'm sorry..." Remus breathed as he pulled away from her. "I'm sorry...I should go"-- Remus stopped in midsentence as Kierra pressed her lips against his. What was he doing here? They were done now, he was supposed to leave...but he couldn't...her fingers clutched tightly to his shirt, pulling him closer to her...
"Kierra, I have to go..." Remus said once more, as he tried to regain control of himself-"I really should go"- Remus leaned his head forward and kissed her again.
Admitting defeat, he tightened his hold on Kierra's body, sliding his hand up her blouse, caressing her warm skin. As he felt Kierra's hips grinding against his, Remus slid his other hand down to her butt; and pulling her against himself, he picked her up. Eyes still closed and lips still locked, Remus slowly carried her to the living room sofa, and together they toppled onto the couch.
As Remus trailed kisses down Kierra's neck, he felt her legs part slightly underneath him, allowing legs to fall between hers. He had long since forgotten why he was in a flat in the U.S. in the first place. He had forgotten why they had broken up to begin with. All he knew was that they had broken up, and what they were doing now was wrong...but the gilty tug from his conscious soon disappeared as his hand slid up Kierra's thigh and underneath her skirt.
When Remus opened his eyes, the sun was shining brightly though the window. He glanced down at Kierra, whose head rested against his chest. What had they gotten themselves into? He should have woken up in his own bed in England, not on the carpet of Kierra's living room...Careful not to disturb Kierra, Remus slowly pulled himself away from her and sat up. How would Kierra feel when she woke up? 'Confused at the very least.' Remus thought, 'regretful, perhaps...angry at me, maybe, for not being in control...' Awkward. Awkwardness was definitely guaranteed from both of them when Kierra woke. After all, they had a bitter break up- and an even worse fight last night...and yet somehow common sense managed to escape both of them... But now they'd face the consequences. Kierra would wake up, and they would probably fight some more, over whose fault it was, probably. Perhaps it would be best, for both of them, if they didn't have to deal with it...
Kierra rolled underneath her covers, hugging her pillow. She loved this part of waking up...waking up, but not getting up...She stroked her pillow as she snuggled against it. Then it suddenly hit her. Kierra opened her eyes and glanced around herself. Her pillow, her comforter, her bed... Kierra blinked a few times as she recalled last night. She hadn't fallen asleep in her bed. Nor had she slept on a pillow or with a comforter. Kierra pulled her covers away, but a sudden rush of cold forced her to draw them up to her chest. She was still naked.
"Remus?" She called quietly. No answer. Kierra climbed out of bed, wrapping her blanket around herself. She stepped out of her room and went to the living room. The cushions, which usually rested against the couch, were in fact still on the couch...as was the quilt that she normally folded and left on it. Kierra distinctly remembered the cushions falling askew onto the floor when she and Remus rolled off the couch and onto the floor. She also remembered falling asleep underneath the quilt...
Kierra turned around and headed to the ktichen. There on the table was the box of wheat cereal she told Remus to take along with him. She picked it up and opened it, peering inside and taking a whiff of it. She immediately closed the flap with a shudder. She absolutely hated the smell of wheat cereal..it smelled so healthy...
Box still in hand, Kierra walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. So he was gone...it was probably best, Kierra reasoned. After all, it probably would've have been too awakrward to deal with each other...and Remus was probably feeling regretful, or angry at her for not controlling herself...Yes, it was best this way. He'd move on with his life in London, and she'd start a new one here...
Kierra rested her head agaisnt one of the cushions, and still holding onto the box of cereal, she cried silently.