A/N: I know this chapter seems fearfully long, but it's not…it's mostly dialogue and that always takes up more space…lol oh yes, and sorry that there's quite a bit of dialogue in this chapter—I wanted to balance it out with some descriptions, but there wasn't really any room for it here…well, hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it: )

Chapter 47: Entrevista

Remus rubbed his right temple wearily as he sat at his desk, reading Dumbledore's letter for the third time… How could it be? A boy had been lifted out of the safety of Hogwarts and had been killed…and Voldemort had returned…He had actually come back…

Just then an explosion came from the living room, causing Remus to jump, as he hardly ever got any visitors. He dropped his letter and rushed out to the living room, only to see Sirius Black climbing out of the fireplace.

"Remus", he breathed as he dusted off his already filthy robes. "Did you…Dumbledore…"

"Yes…I got a letter from Dumbledore…only a few minutes ago…" Remus replied. He looked grimly at Sirius. "He's really back…"

Sirius nodded. He studied Remus's countenance. He did not look worried or anxious, but rather, appeared to be fairly disgruntled.

"Remus?"

"Cedric Diggory…he's dead…"

Sudden realization struck Sirius. "You taught him…did you know him well?"

Remus looked away from Sirius as they sat down in the living room.

"Sort of" he replied. "We had a few chats the year I taught at Hogwarts…one of the brightest and most pleasant boys in his year…"

"I'm sorry…" Sirius said quietly.

Remus only sighed in response.

"Listen, Remus…" Sirius started slowly after a few moments of silence. "I offered my old place to Dumbledore, to use as a headquarters…"

Remus nodded as he finally looked up at Sirius. "Yes, I saw it in the letter…so, are you going to move back there?"

Sirius shrugged. "Don't have much of a choice, really…my dog disguise useless now, as Wormtail's probably told Voldemort and company about it…Dumbledore says I've got to hide out…"

"Makes sense…" Remus replied. "Did you want me to come and help you clean the place up? It's been empty for a while now, hasn't it…"

"Yes, well that's a given…you know more household spells than I do," Sirius said with a grin, "but no, that's not why I came. Dumbledore told me to lay low at your place in the meantime…but I was thinking"—

"…a dangerous pastime…"

Sirius grinned. "Yes, quite…well, I was thinking, maybe…since the old house is so big…and since it'll be totally inconvenient for you to travel to London all the way from here…maybe…you could come and move in with me?" He looked hopefully at Remus, who smiled slightly in return.

"Sure"—

"Moony, that's ridiculous! I don't understand you sometimes"—

"Sirius"—

"I mean, you're not inconveniencing anyone…why do you always think that? No one thinks you're a burden, damn it"—

"Sirius!"

"What?"

"I said 'sure'…"

Sirius's face broke into a sheepish grin. "Oh, sorry…bit of a habit…"

"Damn it!"

Remus dropped his book as he heard the now all too familiar screeching of the portrait of Sirius's mum; followed by Sirius's swearing. He had been staying at number twelve, Grimmauld Place for a week and already he was a bit homesick…mostly for the quiet that he missed dearly… Sirius insisted on being in his company for most of the day, leaving him barely one or two hours of solitude a day…

The screeching of Sirius's mum had ceased, and Remus could now hear Sirius talking in loud, annoyed tones.

"How many times have I told you not to ring the damn bell? It always sets off that crazy hag!"

Only one guess at who could've acted so clumsily…

"So does your voice, you git…" came the voice of auror Nymphadora Tonks.

"Ok, calm down, the both of you…" came the deep mellow voice of fellow auror Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Remus sighed and got up, setting a bookmark in the place he had left off in his book. He was sometimes surprised that Kingsley, who was in charge of the hunt for Sirius and who usually played the part of mediator when Tonks and Sirius broke into a squabble, hadn't thrown his hands up and turned Sirius in to the ministry…

"So what brings you here?" Remus asked as he helped Sirius set lunch on the table for the four. "Any new business? Messages for Dumbledore?"

"No…we just got off work early today…" Kingsley said with a grin.

"And Arthur told us that Molly was over last night…and she made you guys meatloaf…" Tonks added.

"…so we thought we'd stop by to help you finish it…" Kingsley finished.

"Awfully kind of you…" Sirius replied.

"Oh, I did hear one thing though," Kingsley started again, "though I'm probably not supposed to know…I overheard Fudge talking to Lucius this morning…you guys know Dolores Umbridge?" he asked, casting a quick glance at Remus before turning to his meal.

"Oh, tell me something horrible happened to her…" Remus said dryly.

Kingsley shook his head. "Sorry mate, no such luck. Quite the reverse actually…"

"What? What happened to her?" Sirius asked.

"They're thinking of hiring her to be the new defense against the dark arts professor, since Dumbledore's having trouble finding one…"

Remus's fork made a loud clatter as he dropped it on his plate, while Sirius gaped at Kingsley.

"That old hag? Teach defense against the dark arts?" Sirius sputtered.

"Yeah, I know…" Kingsley muttered. "Dumbledore's only got a couple of weeks until his deadline. No way he'll find anyone in time…wish I could do it, but Dumbledore needs me, as well as Tonks in the ministry to spy…"

"And you would've been a spanking good professor," Tonks said, "Almost as good as this meatloaf…Remus, pass the potatoes…"

Kingsley laughed. "I'm extremely flattered…"

"Damn, we're out of firewhiskey…" Sirius said as he shut the cupboard door after lunch.

"Don't worry about it, Sirius," replied Kingsley, who lounged back comfortably in his chair, flipping through the latest issue of The Quibbler, "would probably be best that we stay sober for that meeting…"

"That's not until seven o'clock," Tonks said, getting up from her seat and putting her dish in the sink. "I'll go get some…I've got a craving for it myself…"

Just then there was a loud popping noise and everyone jumped, while Tonks hollered. Dominique had just apparated on Tonk's foot.

"Oh, Tonks! Sorry about that!" Dominique said apologetically as she backed away from Tonks, who was wincing in pain.

"S'all right…" Tonks replied, "Damn those heels of yours though…"

"You're a bit early for the meeting." Sirius said as Dominique gave him a swift peck on the cheek.

"Yeah, I got off from work a bit early…" she replied, and turning to Kingsley, Remus and Tonks she asked, "How are you all doing?"

"Great," Tonks replied hurriedly as she counted the gold galleons that she pulled out of pocket. "Just going to go shopping"—

"Shopping, eh?" Dominique asked, cocking an eyebrow at Tonks.

"Yes, for firewhiskey…I'm going to apparate over to Diagon Alley…want to come?"

"Sure, why not"—

"D, you just got here!" Sirius protested.

"Drop it, man…" Kingsley said with a smile. "Never prevent a woman from shopping. She'll hold it against you later…trust me, I speak from experience…"

"Fine…" Sirius grumbled.

"We'll be back shortly…it's just for whiskey!" Dominique added, rolling her eyes at Sirius.

"Do you think you could get some pumpkin juice too?" Remus asked. "I think we're out, and the Weasley children we'll be coming here in a few days' time…"

"No problem…" Tonks replied. "Well, we'll be back in a few minutes…" And with that, Tonks and Dominique disapparated out of the kitchen.

"Try a few hours, if Dominique's gone with her…" Sirius muttered.

"Right, well…I think I'll take a shower then…" Remus said after a few moments, and he got up from his seat and left the kitchen, leaving Sirius and Kingsley alone.

"Maybe I should go too…" Kingsley said after some time, "maybe kick back a bit before that meeting…"

"No wait" Sirius protested, "you can kick back here! Come on Kingsley…stick around, the girls will be back in a bit with our drinks!"

Kingsley chuckled as he sat back down. "You sure know how to tempt your fellow men…just offer 'em a bit of firewhiskey…"

Just then sound of the shower going on could be heard from down the hall. Sirius let out a small laugh.

"There goes Remus, being his prude self…he takes about an hour in the shower…uses up all the hot water…" he said.

"Oh that's annoying…" Kingsley replied, running a hand over his bald head as he leaned back in his chair. "my girlfriend always used to do that when she came over…She stopped though, once I snuck in the bathroom with my wand and turned the water ice cold, gave her a bit of a shock…" he chuckled.

Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise at him. "Boy, Shacklebolt…a few years older, and you could've been a marauder with us. Well, that, and if you were a Gryffindor instead of a Hufflepuff…"

Kingsley laughed. "And what's wrong with Hufflepuff? Tis a great house!"

"Well, you know…" Sirius said airily, "they have a reputation…"

"Oh, right…for being the only house to not have a superiority complex…" Kingsley said with a grin.

"Superiority complex?" Sirius laughed. "How's everyone but Hufflepuff got a complex?"

"Well, Slytherins thought they were at the top with their bloodline, Ravenclaws with their big brains, and Gryffindors with all their might…"

"Actually, when you put it that way…" Sirius said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "that makes sense…I think you're right…" he added with a laugh. "The rest of us were arrogant little berks…"

"Yes, you marauders in particular, from what I heard…" Kingsley replied. "You guys were legends when I came to Hogwarts, and that was a few years after you lot left…"

"I think it was just James and I that were arrogant…" Sirius laughed. "Wormtail got complacent once in a while…but good old Moony's been pretty humble since his diaper days…"

Kingsley laughed. "I can believe that…"

Sirius glanced over in the direction of the hallway, where several doors down, Remus was showering. "Oy—want to give Remus a little shock?" he asked, turning back to Kingsley, looking at him with a mischievous grin.

"Damn…paranoid idiot locks his door…" Sirius muttered as he put down his wand after trying to open the door using the alohamora charm.

"It's like he knew…" Kingsley said quietly. "That man's got a sixth sense or something…well, we can try doing the spell through the water pipes or something…"

"Oh, brilliant…much more discreet too!" Sirius said excitedly as he hurried off to the kitchen, with Kingsley at his heels.

"Bloody hell…" Sirius muttered as he opened the door in the kitchen to where the boiler was kept. The small enclosed space had been the room of the Black family's house elf, Kreacher, and the elf had displayed an interesting choice of décor. Though the actual boiler took up most of the space, the tiny room was cluttered with Black heirlooms, including many photos of Sirius's extended family.

"Er…that Kreacher's pretty dedicated to the family, isn't he?" Kingsley said awkwardly as he looked into the boiler over Sirius's shoulder.

Sirius nodded and pulled out his wand. "Remind me to clean out this place later…but in the mean time"—

But before Sirius could tap the boiler, there was a popping sound from behind them. He and Kingsley turned around immediately to see that Dominique and Tonks had apparated into the kitchen.

"Back so soon?" Sirius asked.

Tonks grinned as she and Dominique placed the groceries on the kitchen counter. "We only went out to get to get you boys your drinks…"

"Yes well, Dominique came with you…" Sirius replied. "Thought she'd make you take a few detours…"

"Your faith in me is so pleasing…" Dominique said sarcastically as she joined Kingsley and Sirius in front of the boiler. "So what's going on? Is the boiler broken?"

Sirius shook his head and smiled as he aimed his wand at the boiler. "No, not at all. But Remus is in the shower…so"—

"That's cruel!" Dominique protested, hitting him on the shoulder. But Sirius put his hand up to silence her.

"Away with you woman," he said somberly, "or you one day shall find yourself meeting the same fate in the shower as your lupine friend…"

Kingsley and Tonks laughed while Dominique scowled at him.

"Right then," Sirius said, turning back to the boiler and tapping his wand on it. "Froide frieren!"

Immediately, the four turned in the direction of the hallway.

Sirius grinned. "Three, two, one…"

"AAAAAH!"

The group, including Dominique, fell into laughter.

"He's jumped out of the shower and is frantically adjusting the knobs," Sirius said in an attempted serious, informative tone. "and now, he's realized it's a joke…"

"SIRIUS! CHANGE IT BACK!" came Remus's shouts, causing the group to double in laughter. Just then though, the sound of the bathroom door swinging open was heard, and moments later, Remus appeared at the entrance of the kitchen, clutching tightly to the towel that was wrapped around his waist, and glaring angrily at Sirius. His face froze though as he took in the sight of Dominique and Tonks.

"Oh!" he said suddenly, immediately tightening the towel. "I…er…I thought you two were gone…"

"It doesn't take that long to buy drinks…" Dominique said, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

Still holding onto his towel protectively, Remus turned on Sirius. "Change it back! Christ, do you know how cold that was?"

Sirius chuckled as he tapped the boiler again, reheating the water. "Don't get your towel in a knot, Moony. No one ever died spending a couple of seconds in the cold…"

"Thank you…" Remus said stiffly, still keeping his fingers wrapped tightly around the wrapping of his towel. Tonks, who took notice of this grinned and pulled out several gold coins from her pocket.

"Oy Remus, five galleons to drop the towel…" she said, jingling the coins in her hand as the others laughed.

"I'll throw in another five if you jump on the table and dance for us…" Dominique added, laughing, though she was cut short by Sirius's sudden glare. "Oh, you know you'd want to see it too!" she said, playfully elbowing him in the ribs.

"As tempting as it is to take up on your offers, ladies, I'm afraid I'm going to pass…" Remus replied dryly, quickly turning on his heel to return to the bathroom, so they couldn't see him flush pink from embarrassment.

"Well, now that you all have your schedules, I need you all to memorize your shifts so you can discard those sheets of parchment. We don't want them to get in enemy hands." Professor Dumbledore said several hours later during the second official Order of the Phoenix meeting. There was a murmur of agreement amongst the group as they looked down at each other's parchments to compare schedules.

"Now along these lines of guard duty," he continued, "Alastor has been kind enough to lend two of his spare invisibility cloaks for the task. They will remain here, in Sirius's custody, and you all will pick them up from him when you go on guard duty, and then promptly return them to him when your shift is over."

"Uh, sir…" Sirius interrupted. The headmaster, as well as the other sixteen members of the order, turned to look at him. Severus Snape could be heard letting out an exasperated sigh in the background. "You haven't given me a shift. I don't see why I can't have one, if we're going to remain invisible…"

"Sirius, I believe you know very well why we can't have you standing guard in the department of mysteries. The consequences of having you discovered are to ghastly to even consider. We cannot risk getting you caught"—

"I'm willing to risk it…" Sirius said firmly, sitting up straighter in his seat.

"Yes, but even so, you have an obligation to your godson. You need to stay alive for him." Dumbledore replied.

Dominique nudged him in the arm, signaling him to shut up, but he ignored her. "Well I also have an obligation to protect him, and if it's dying in the process, so be it"—

"That is enough, Sirius…" Dumbledore said, his voice suddenly turning stern. "We need to move on with business"—

"Uh..sir…" this time it was Remus who interrupted.

"Yes, Remus?"

"Sorry…but er… I didn't get a schedule either…" he said uncertainly.

"Me neither…" chimed in Hagrid. "Reckon that's 'cause aint no invisibility cloak big enough to cover me!'

Dumbledore nodded, smiling pleasantly as a few members laughed at Hagrid's remark. "And that was the next order of business," he replied. "you two were not given guard duty, because I've assigned you tasks that require you to take leave from Britain for long periods of time…you won't have time to guard. And," he added, turning to Dominique, "my dear, you will see that you've only been given guard duty for this week, as you'll be going back to France next week for work. I've also given you a task that relates to Remus's."

Dominique nodded and glanced shortly at Remus and smiled slightly. "So what are we going to do?"

"Well," Dumbledore continued, "Hagrid, you know a bit about your task already. You'll be going out to the mountains with Madam Maxime (Hagrid blushed slightly), and will try to warn the giants of Voldemort's return, and convince them to join our side. Remus and Dominique, your tasks will take you to France. Dominique, I know you're already there for work, so you'll stay in Paris. Remus, however, I need you to go to Aveyron."

"Aveyron?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's in Aveyron?"

"Many potential order members…" Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling. "Madam Maxime has proven to be quite an asset. She's recruited a few professors from Beauxbatons. But that's in Paris. In Aveyron however, there is another wizarding school. It's a small one, actually, and not the…er…conventional one. It's for older students who wish to pursue wizarding education on a higher level. The equivalent to a muggle college or university, if you will…" There were a few quiet sniggers from the back of the room, where professors Snape and McGonagall sat.

"Something funny?" Dumbledore asked, raising his eyebrow at the professors.

"Oh…well…" professor McGonagall's hand immediately went to her hat, which she began to adjust. "the idea of a wizarding university…"

"Perhaps if their schooling system was a bit better, they wouldn't have a need for universities…" Snape said haughtily. "France is the only country I believe, that has wizarding universities."

Dumbledore nodded and smiled slightly. "To each his own, then. I must admit though, as a side note, I'm very happy to see you two agreeing on something for once."

McGonagall and Snape immediately shared a look of disdain, before turning away from each other.

"Well, regardless," Dumbledore continued, "the reason I want you there, Remus, is twofold. First, the werewolf population there has had a steady increase in the last few years. The general attitude towards them, is of course hostile, and in result, has led many of these people who suffer lycanthropy to lead…well, you can imagine how people live when they're disenfranchised…"

Remus nodded in understanding. "So you want me to get in touch with them?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Most importantly, before Voldemort does. You'll remember his tactics in the last war. Offering the shunned those things the wizarding community never offered them. We need to gain their trust, and I think it can be best accomplished through you, Remus. In addition, I feel that our chances of recruiting people in Aveyron are very good, in that I have already recruited one person there, who works at the Aveyron School of Higher Magical Education. She is very enthusiastic and charismatic about the cause, and what's more, she's extremely influential at that school, and also has some ties with the French ministry of magic, which will no doubt, prove to be very useful in the near future, if or when the war becomes fully fledged."

"Now, she claims an acquaintance with you, Remus," Dumbledore continued, "so together the two of you will recruit supporters in the Aveyron community. And given her reputation there, I feel that it won't be too difficult of a task. The only thing now, is getting you a job there…"

"Sorry?" Remus asked. "A job? Where?" He also wanted to ask who this woman was, who claimed an acquaintance with him. He didn't know anyone living in Aveyron. Unless…no, it couldn't be her…could it? His stomach seemed to go into a knot at the mere thought…

"At the school, of course…" Dumbledore replied. "Of course, getting a job there isn't necessary for the success of this task, but it will definitely make life easier for you. You'll be a stranger there, so you'll need to fit in to get people's trust. If you have a good job there, your credibility will increase…"

Remus frowned. "But…I…I don't see how I can get a job there…" he said in a quieter voice. He wished he could discuss the matter with Dumbledore after the meeting in private…

Dumbledore smiled at his former pupil. "You see, the woman whom I was speaking about will take care of that, as she is a respected professor there. Of course, we don't want to jeopardize her position at the school by doing anything fraudulent, so you will go through an honest interviewing process, but she assured us that a position for you there is almost guaranteed, given your teaching experience and expertise in defense arts."

Remus nodded. "Great…when do I get started? And er…who is this woman exactly?"

"Day after tomorrow, she will meet you at 4 o'clock at the school, which is conveniently by the Inn you'll be staying at for the first night. The reservations have already been taken care of, and Ms. Nakofsky will inform you of the details of task."

Remus sat up straighter in his seat. "Nakofsky?" he sputtered. "Kierra?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, she was right in saying you'd remember her. I owe her a few galleons then …Very well, next order of business…"

Remus struggled to pay attention to Dumbledore's words, but he found himself quite distracted by the prospect of his new task. He was going to work in France…he was going to see Kierra after all these years…He wondered what she was like now, if she had changed at all…

Remus's thoughts were interrupted however by a hard nudge in the ribs.

"Moony…I can't believe you're going to France!" Sirius hissed, a bit dejectedly, as Dumbledore summoned Severus Snape to present his report on his dealings with death eaters.

"I know, this is exciting!" Dominique chimed in, in hushed tones. "It's like you're James Bond, on a mission…"

"Who?" Sirius asked.

"Nevermind…"

"Guys, shut it, we're in a meeting, not in class…" Remus whispered, looking sternly at his two friends, and then turning his attention back to Snape.

"Now, the last thing we need to discuss," Dumbledore said almost an hour later, "is guard duty for Harry. Now, Mundungus," he said, turning to a small wizard who wore filthy robes and smelled of liquor, "I've had some complaints from Arabella…"

The man named Mundungus immediately sat up straighter in his seat. "Aw, sir…that Figgy…" he said, laughing slightly, "she's always blowing things out of proportion…"

"She said you left your shift early yesterday…"

"Only an hour early!" Mundungus protested. "Well, alright…three hours early…but…I had this great business opportunity"—

"Mundungus," Dumbledore said calmly, "I believe we had an agreement…"

"Yes, well…oh sir, come off it! Ain't nothin' happening anyway! Watched the boy for an hour…didn't do nothin' but sit in his aunt's flower beds under the window…listening to the television inside…"

"That's not the point, Dung!" Alastor Moody cut in, focusing his magical eye on the small wizard. "you're in this order to protect the boy, and you better do just that! He might be laying around outside one minute, next minute he might"—

"Might what? Pick a fight with his giant cousin and his mates?"

Sirius let out a laugh. "He's been fighting kids? Attaboy!"

"I don't care who he's fighting," Moody growled, "you're missing the whole point"—

"I think you all are missing the point…" Dumbledore cut in, his voice taking on a sterner tone as he gazed at his fellow order members. "We are on the brink of war, and the last thing we need is disunity and bickering on our side. There's already enough politics in this bunch, and the least all of us can do is to keep any of our resentments or reservations about each other to ourselves. Is that understood?" The members nodded in unison. "Excellent. Well then, this meeting is adjourned…I'll see you all in a few days' time…"

"I just talked to Dumbledore, Sirius…" Remus said as he joined some of the remaining order members for dinner, "I'll still be living here…"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus, looking mildly interested in what his friend was saying, before he continued on to his dinner. "Really? How?"

"Well, granted that I get the job, I'll be teaching only a few days out of the week…I'll be back here almost every week." Remus said.

Sirius grunted in return.

"It's not his fault, you know…" Dominique said casually from Sirius's other side. "He didn't ask for the job. Anyway, people are here all the time…"

"But not every day!" Sirius replied. "Anyway, you try spending a whole day here by yourself with that mad elf and those even madder portraits…see how you like it…"

"Sirius, I'm sorry I won't be here…" Remus said apologetically, "but what am I supposed to do? And you knew it wasn't going to be all fun and games when we came in here. I mean, we're here for work in the first place!"

"Yeah I get your point…" Sirius said coolly. "geez, sounding exactly like you did back in school. Some things never change, huh?"

"No…some things never do change…" Remus repeated sarcastically, rolling his eyes at Sirius before turning to his own dinner.

"Shut up the both of you." Dominique said curtly. "After tomorrow we won't be seeing each other for a while. You guys don't want to part on bad terms, do you?"

"No…" Remus and Sirius said in unison.

"Then get over yourselves."

The three ate the rest of their dinner in silence, as the rest of the order members talked cheerfully over their dinners.

"So, Moony…" Sirius said after some time, as they began to work through dessert, "going to be working with the old girlfriend, eh?"

"Er…yes, I suppose I am…" Remus replied, not bothering to look up from his slice of pie, as he felt both Sirius and Dominique's eyes on him.

"Well?" Sirius asked when Remus did not elaborate on his answer.

"Well what?"

"Are you excited about it?" Sirius asked impatiently.

Remus shrugged. "Well, I suppose…I'm looking forward to seeing her after all these years…"

"I mean, what are your plans, damnit?" Sirius persisted. "Going to pursue her or what?"

Remus frowned at Sirius. "No, of course not…" he replied. "Just because we dated years ago, doesn't mean anything…anyway, for all I know, she could be married…"

"Ms. Nakofsky's what Dumbledore referred to her as…" Dominique commented. "I do believe that was her surname back in school…"

Remus shook his head. "Drop it, you guys. I'm not going to France to hook up with her…I'm going there to work"—

"…on her." Sirius finished.

Remus glared at him and Dominique as they fell into laughter.

Remus looked around the halls of Aveyron School of Higher Magical Education. For a chateau, it was fairly small in size; yet it was reminiscent of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in its medieval style of architecture. The walls and grounds, consisting of heavy, smooth stones, were not nearly as extensive as those of Hogwarts, and were not decorated with as many portraits, but it still preserved the exciting rush one felt when walking into a building for the first time. Or maybe it was just his pre-interview jitters…the same jitters he had felt when he walked into Hogwarts for the first time many years ago, and again when he took up a teaching post there recently…

After walking around the chateau for over fifteen minutes, Remus changed his mind about considering the chateau to be small. It was fairly extensive after all, with many more confusing twists and turns in the corridors—it was almost like a ten story labyrinth. He looked at his wristwatch and grimaced. He was supposed to be at his interview in five minutes, and he still couldn't find Kierra's office. What a way to be professional, coming for an interview late. Perhaps he could ask someone. Only, the chateau seemed to be practically abandoned, what with no students there over the summer…

Just as he rounded the corner though, he saw two pretty young women standing in the middle of the corridor; one with dark red hair, the other with brown. They had glanced shortly at him as he appeared, but continued to converse cheerfully with each other in French. As Remus neared them however, the brown haired woman bid her friend goodbye and headed down the staircase behind her. The redhead waved to her friend, and turning on her heel, she continued down the corridor by herself. Suddenly remembering his interview, Remus quickened his pace to catch up to the woman.

"Excuse me, Miss…" he called after her. The woman stopped walking turned around. She looked at him curiously. Remembering that he was in France, and he indeed knew some French, Remus smiled nervously as he drew closer to the woman.

"M'excuser, madame…" he started. "Uhh...où je peux trouver le bureau de madame Kierra Nakofsky?"

The redheaded woman smiled warmly at him. "You can speak English if you're more comfortable with that," the woman said with an English accent. "I'm Kierra, and I'm just heading to my office. Come with me."

But Remus did not follow her. He simply gaped. He hadn't even recognized her at first glance. But now…as she walked on…that was her body shape, that was even her walk…

Kierra turned around when she realized he wasn't with her, and looked at him curiously again. "I'm sorry…I…er…have a meeting in a couple of minutes, if you could just tell me on what business you're here"—

"Interview..." Remus replied, smiling slightly at her. She had no idea who he was, did she….

"Er, yes, it's an interview I have to go to"—Kierra stopped talking abruptly though as the thoughts caught up with her words. It was her turn to gape. The resemblance started to surface—"Remus?" she sputtered.

Remus nodded, smiling broadly. "Kierra—oof!" Kierra had thrown her arms around him, embracing him tightly.

"It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed, finally letting go of him and stepping back to take in his appearance. "God…I didn't even recognize you at first…I mean I did a little…when you first came up here…I thought you looked a little familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it…but yeah…you look so different!" she laughed.

Remus laughed as well. "Yes I suppose I don't look like an eighteen year old anymore. That's the last time we saw each other, wasn't it?"

"Yes…hard to believe it was so long ago…we've gotten old…" Kierra laughed.

Remus nodded. "I didn't recognize you at first either. From what I remember, you had brown hair…" he said, indicating at her locks of red.

Kierra grinned. "Yes, well, I went through this phase a few years ago where I'd dye my hair a different colour every few months…and well, red stuck with me…"

"It looks very nice on you…" Remus said with a smile.

Kierra smiled as she indicated for him to follow her down the corridor. "Thank you! Alright, let's take care of that interview, shall we? After that, we should go out for coffee if you're free. We have much to catch up on."

"Of course," he replied as he followed her in to her office. It was about the same size as his own office when he was at Hogwarts, though with one extra advantage: it had more windows. Remus always loved rooms with lots of windows.

"Lovely view you've got…" Remus said as he looked out one of the windows, which overlooked a sparkling blue lake in a large green garden.

"Yes, it's beautiful…" Kierra agreed. "One of my biggest distractions when I'm in here working though…especially in the school year when some of the younger, immature students fly up here on their broomsticks to say hello."

"Alright then, have a seat, Remus," she said, as she took a seat behind her desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment from inside her desk and began to look over it.

"Thank you"—Remus pulled out a chair from opposite end of the desk and was about to seat himself, when there was a knock on the door. Kierra opened her mouth to answer, but the door had swung open before she could do so.

"Bonjour, Kierra!"

Two young women had allowed themselves in the office, each with what looked like mail in their hands.

"Oh"—they looked at Remus and then looked apologetically to Kierra. Kierra in turn, only rolled her eyes at the women, but smiled.

"This is Remus," she said, "he's my old friend I told you two about…he's going to be working here in the fall!"

"Oohh…" said one of the women, running her hand through her dark brown hair. "You are the man from L'Angleterre?" she asked, in a heavy French accent.

"Uh..yes…I'm from England…" Remus replied, smiling weakly.

"Oh, sorry, Remus…" Kierra said, "This is Jude"—she pointed to the girl with dark brown hair—"and this is Elinor"—she said, indicating at the other woman with blonde hair. Good friends and colleagues of mine."

"Er…nice to meet you…" Remus said, standing up to shake their hands, forgetting once more that he knew French.

The women then turned their attention back to Kierra, telling her in French that some of the owls delivered her mail to the wrong offices, and so they were returning it to her. As they headed back to the door, they looked once more at Remus.

"Nous sommes désolés…" Elinor said apologetically. "Ve…ve sorry…ve interrupt…"

"It's ok…" Kierra said to them. "Au revoir ladies!"

The women smiled and waved goodbye as they headed out of the office, though they seemed to be stifling laughter.

"Cet homme a un derrière magnifique!" ("He has a nice backside!") Jude could be heard saying.

Remus blushed furiously and Kierra laughed.

"Il comprend français!" ("He understands French!") Kierra yelled. Elinor's laughter could be heard, followed by Jude making a loud shushing sound.

"They're a riot, those two…" Kierra said as the sounds of her two friends died out. "I suggest you don't tuck in your shirt though when you're around Jude…" she added with a wink.

Remus laughed, though it felt more forced than natural.

"Right then…interview…" Kierra said, turning back to the parchment on her desk. "So, you have a bit of teaching experience…mostly private tutoring, I can see…but you did teach in a school for one year…at Hogwarts..." she looked up at Remus and grinned. "I always imagined you teaching there. And from what I heard, you did a spanking good job!"

Remus laughed. "Thank you…but no doubt you got that from a biased source. Your niece was a very bright student, and uncommonly kind to everyone, including her professors."

"You deserved it, I'm sure…" Kierra said, smiling warmly at him. "she always spoke very highly of you. You were one of her favorite professors. Ranked you right in with Mad Eye Moody…"

"I'm thoroughly flattered…" Remus said. "So I take it you're fairly close to Nora then?"

"Oh yes…very. We keep in touch regularly." Kierra replied. "I'm actually her favorite aunt," she said proudly, "which is saying a lot, considering Nora's mum has four sisters that I have to compete against."

Remus laughed. "That's great to hear. And it's great to hear you're more inclined towards children now…"

Kierra looked up at Remus a bit questioningly. "Sorry?"

"You used to hate children…remember?"

Kierra laughed. "Oh yeah….gosh, that was so long ago…no…I no longer dislike children. I think I love them now…seeing Nora grow up and all…and I actually get to see another one grow up too!" she said excitedly. "Nora's mum is expecting actually…another girl…first week of September, I believe…"

"Really? Well congratulations… another niece for you!"

"Yes…I'm very excited…"

There were a few moments of silence, where Kierra glanced down at the parchment again. "And you resigned from your post from Hogwarts? Because of a near accident…" She looked up at Remus, who bit down on his lip, and looked at the floor.

"I've recently gotten in touch with Dumbledore…" Kierra said, in a quieter tone. While we were discussing Order business, we got talking about you coming here. And he filled me in on everything that happened the year you taught…"

He looked at her immediately. "So you know about"—

"Sirius? Yes…I know. Can't tell you how happy I was to hear he was innocent."

Remus nodded and smiled.

"…and I know about all the stuff encircling it…how it was a full moon the night it happened…and Peter got away…"

Remus nodded again. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to say. Was he supposed to defend himself and say he would never lose control while working here? But she wasn't sounding accusatory…

"So about that," Kierra started again. "No one here is going to know about your condition…If anyone finds out…well…I'll take care of that…"

"One thing though, Dumbledore never discussed with me…" Remus said, "wolfbane potion…Severus Snape had been making it for me when I was teaching, and recently started doing it again since we reformed the order. But while I'm here"—

"I know someone who can make it for you…" Kierra cut in. "He's be the only other person who knows about your condition, but he can be trusted, so don't worry. And if a full moon ever coincides with your teaching schedule, or if you're unwell during that phase of the moon, I'll take your classes for you, since our classes don't overlap time-wise."

Remus nodded. "Great…"

"Alright," Kierra said a few minutes later as she sorted through a large pile of parchments and pulled one out with Remus's name on it, handing it to him, "you've got two defense against the dark arts classes…they're both large classes, of about a hundred each. That's all, really. And I made them so they're late in the afternoon, should you ever be sick from the full moon the night before…it'll give you time to recuperate…."

"Wow…thanks…that was really considerate…" Remus said, looking down at his schedule in awe.

"No problem…"

"So what do you teach here?" he asked.

"Ancient Runes…" Kierra replied. "But lately I've gotten into magical architecture, so I've recently picked that class up, as the professor who taught that retired.

"Magical architecture?" Remus asked. "That's an interesting subject…"

"Oh yes…I love it…" Kierra replied as she got up. "Come on, it's a bit stuffy in here…why don't we go out for some coffee?"

Half an hour later, they sat at one of the outdoor tables of the Café De Coeur, a few miles away from the school.

"Remus, I'm really excited about visiting the order…you have to take me back with you one weekend…I really want to meet this Tonks…she sounds awesome!"

Remus laughed. "She is…she's extremely funny. I think you'll like her a lot."

"And Sirius too…I can't wait to see him after all these years…does he even remember me?"

"Sure he does…he is looking forward to seeing you too, and Dominique as well. She's very excited…first free weekend she has, she promised to come down here from Paris…" Remus replied.

"Still can't believe she's lived here in France all this time!" Kierra exclaimed. "Really wish I kept in touch with her…It'll be great to see her again…"

"Definitely…hey, I'm going to get some more tea…" Remus said as he got up… He headed inside the café, and asked the barista at the front counter for another cup of tea. As he waited for his drink, he looked out window and watched Kierra drink her coffee as she observed passerby, occasionally smiling at ones she recognized. He could see why she decided to stick with red hair—it was beautiful, especially when the sun hit it, making her dark red-purplish hair shine like gold. Remus blinked. Shine like gold? He turned away from the window and went to pick up his drink from the counter. The heat from the sun must have been getting to him…

As he came outside, he spotted Kierra at their table, only now another chair had been pulled up and a tall man with dark brown hair sat with her. Drawing nearer, he saw that he had very chiseled features, and was quite handsome.

"Ah, Remus!" Kierra beamed as he joined them. "Meet the man who's going to brew your potion!"

"This is Remus…" she said to the man, "he'll be teaching with me this fall…I told you all about him…he went to school with me..."

The man nodded and smiled. "Yes, I remember, you told me…"

"And Remus," she said, turning to Remus and beaming, "…this is Edmund, my fiancé…"