a/n: I love you, je suis une pizza, for picking up on that reference to "Beauty and the Beast"! Imagine Sirius (as Gaston) singing with Remus (as Lefou) lol… : ) Also, I noticed there was a bit of surprise at how I ended the last chapter. C'mon guys…I hinted at it in the previous chapter (Breakfast at Moony's)! I made some references to Edmund...wasn't anyone suspicious of him? lol sorry…anyway…I'm doing the line skipping format now, I had gone and viewed my fic on hpff and I took pity for all of your eyes…lol so this chapter isn't nearly as long as it looks :P
Chapter 48: Blue Moon
Remus had never been so glad to be back at Twelve Grimmauld Place. He had just spent his afternoon with Harry and his friends, along with Sirius, fixing an old, yet lethal grandfather clock that tended to shoot heavy bolts at passerby. It took a good three hours to fix up, but it was a fun three hours, notwithstanding the occasional questions from the kids regarding his disappearances which he chose to ignore…as well as the occasional interruptions by Kreacher, who made a point to mutter obscenities such as 'mudblood lovers' and 'halfbred monster' under his breath as he passed through the room. No, despite it all, Remus was very glad to be back in the safety of the Order. Close to Sirius and the other order members, and the kids of course. He felt very safe here…
"Well, all the kids have locked themselves upstairs in their rooms…" Sirius said as he entered the kitchen, where he found Remus washing dishes.
"No doubt discussing what they picked up on those extendable ears…" Remus said, not looking up from his work. Sirius joined him by the sink, leaning back against the counter and staring fixedly at Remus.
"Yes dear?" Remus asked casually as he placed a cleaned cauldron on the counter.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Do you need any help?"
"Sure…you can put the dishes away…you know where they all belong don't you?" Remus asked with a grin.
Sirius scowled in return as he picked up the clean cauldron and headed to one of the cupboards. "This is my house, you know…"
"I tease…" Remus said as he continued to wash dishes. "So, what's the matter?"
"What makes you think something's the matter?"
"Well, you usually don't offer to clean with me unless you want to talk about something…"
Sirius grinned. "Fair enough…"
"So, what's up?"
"Well…" Sirius frowned as he stacked dry dishes on top of one another. "I just…well, I'm sorry about the whole Kierra thing…"
Remus jerked his head back to look at Sirius, though he never stopped his work. "What's to be sorry about?"
"Nothing!" Sirius said, waving his hands defensively in front of him. "I just feel bad that I was making fun of you about her all those times…I mean, I know you didn't care for her or anything…but I don't know…I just felt kind of bad about it anyway, what with her being engaged and all…"
Remus didn't answer immediately. He wished Sirius hadn't brought up those stupid jokes about him and Kierra getting together. Not that he liked her or anything; he had gotten over her many years ago…But still, it was all just a little embarrassing—getting teased by his friends about getting together with Kierra…him finally meeting her, and admittedly he was slightly attracted to her, only because she was much prettier than he had remembered her to be. But he just thought her pretty…he didn't like her…Even so, his minor attraction certainly made the situation more difficult to handle. She was engaged; for several months now. And to a man who was not only handsome, but actually intelligent, and amiable. Remus felt slightly unnerved at how incredibly decent Edmund was—so well mannered and kind, not to mention cultured…and it was very clear that Kierra loved him dearly. Well, they'd be happy together, and Remus would be happy for them.
"Er…Remus?"
Remus looked blankly at Sirius for a moment, but then shook his head and smiled slightly. "Sorry…I"—he sighed—"bit tired…"
Sirius nodded, though he looked at Remus appraisingly.
"Don't worry about it, Padfoot…" Remus started again, returning his attention to the dishes. "I'm fine…"
Sirius cocked an eyebrow at him, causing Remus to let out a small laugh as he rolled his eyes at his friend. "Really!" he asserted. "I am! It just took me by surprise, that's all. But I'm happy for her…"
"Really?"
"Really…and I told you, I met Edmund. He's a really nice guy…"
"You're a nice guy too…" Sirius said with a frown.
Remus laughed again. "Thanks…as are you…but they're…they're for each other…they'll be happy together."
"Why? Has he got something you don't have?" asked Sirius.
"Well, he's much better looking"—
"Moony, I do recall the ladies being quite fond of you back in the day…"
"But not for my looks…" Remus replied, blushing slightly at Sirius's comment. "And you make it sound as if I was a ladies' man…we both know that was you and James…"
Sirius laughed. "Yes, well, can't argue there. But still…you said he's all nice and smart, and all of that shit…you have all those qualities…"
"He's awfully suave too…" Remus added.
"You're suave!" said Sirius.
"I am not…"
"Are too…"
"No…"
"Moony, there's nothing wrong with being suave! Why is it so hard for you to take a compliment?"
"Because…" came a voice from the entrance of the kitchen. Remus and Sirius turned around to see Tonks walking in with a letter in her hand. "He always thinks he's undeserving of everything good…"
"That's not true…" Remus protested.
"Actually, that's very true." Sirius laughed. "You take modesty and humility to an extreme, Moony…"
Remus grimaced as the other two laughed. Stupid Blacks, always acting like this… If they weren't bickering with each other like little siblings, they were ganging up on him to tease him.
"I've got to head back to the ministry to give some stuff to Kingsley," said Tonks, when the laughter subsided, "but this just arrived for you, Remus." She said, handing the letter to him. And as she headed out of the kitchen, she added, "and uh, Sirius…there's a bit of owl droppings to clean up in the living room…"
Sirius had a look of revulsion on his face as he followed after Tonks. "Are you bloody kidding me? That's the second time this week a delivery owl has taken a shit in my house! Well, I'm not cleaning it up! It's Remus's letter—he can clean it up!"
Now alone with his letter, Remus broke the waxy red seal which bore the initials "K.N." in elegant script. He unfolded the parchment, only to find a very brief letter written:
24 August 1995
Dear Remus,
I received a letter from my brother this morning, informing me that my father passed away. I'm coming up to London tomorrow—want to be with my family and all—and I'll be in town for about a week. Just thought I'd tell you because I'll be stopping at the headquarters too—to meet everyone, and to sit in on a meeting. I hope this isn't too weird to ask, but would you be able to come to the funeral? Since you knew him a little…I mean, I know you didn't get to know him well…but…I don't know…it'd be nice if you could be there. It's on the 26th. Anyway, perhaps I'll see you in a few days.
Sincerely,
Kierra
"Well, I went ahead and cleaned up the shit…" Sirius said as he reentered the kitchen alone. He wore a scowl on his face as he went to the kitchen sink to wash his hands, but immediately changed to a look of concern as he saw Remus's dismal look. "What's the matter? Who's the letter from?" he asked.
Remus didn't answer, but instead, handed the letter over to Sirius, who read it over in a few seconds.
"Oh." He said simply. He looked up at Remus, and after a few moments of silence, he asked "Do you remember her father?"
Remus scratched his chin and squinted, trying to recall. "I do…a little. When she and I were dating…I went to her house a few times during the summer, remember? After we graduated? And I always ran into her dad. He was nice…we used to have good chats."
Sirius smiled slightly. "Only you, Moony, had good chats with the parents…the rest of us…"
"Sirius, you never stayed with a girl long enough to even have to consider meeting their parents…" Remus replied with a small smile. "Well, except with Dominique. I bet her parents would've liked you…"
Sirius snorted. "Is that a compliment or an insult? Dominique told me about her parents, you know…"
"I'm not quite sure…I guess the latter…"
"Well, in that case, sod off, Moony."
Remus rolled his eyes as he tucked Kierra's letter away in his pocket.
"So, are you going to go?" Sirius asked after a moment.
Remus shrugged. "I suppose I will. Only, it's the day after tomorrow. The kids will all be leaving for Hogwarts that day, right? I'm supposed to escort them…"
"I'd go in your place, as Snuffles, but the headmaster said no…" Sirius said, putting a particularly bitter emphasis on 'headmaster'.
Remus smiled sympathetically. "He does it because he cares…"
"He's got about a thousand other kids to take care of at his school…" Sirius said.
Remus sighed as he headed out of the kitchen. "There's no arguing with you, is there?"
"Not at all…"
"I wonder how your animagus is a dog. You should've been a donkey…or a mule…"
Sirius watched after Remus's retreating figure, and it wasn't until his friend had disappeared that he understood his comment. "Oh yeah?" he said, following after Remus. "I'd like to see you become an animagus! Wonder what you'd turn into!"
Kierra followed her brother Harvey upstairs to the small attic in her late father's house, pulling an empty rubbish bin along her side. She felt miserable right now. Physically, emotionally, mentally… She hadn't slept in 48 hours. Her head pounded, her eyes burned and felt sore. Thankfully, Nora, Janine and Edmund were downstairs busy with funeral preparations and had not seen her breakdown. She had remained surprisingly composed since hearing of her father's death, but being in their old house…without the presence of her parents…the feeling was overwhelming for her. She was glad though that no one but her immediate family—her brother—saw her cry…
"You've got to be kidding me…" Harvey muttered as he lit up the attic with a wave of his wand. "This is going to take forever to clean up…"
Kierra set the bin down on the floor and glanced around the dimly lit attic. Harvey was certainly right. Dust-covered boxes and chests took up nearly every inch of the attic, stacked across the walls, and piling up to the ceiling. They were certainly going to be up here during the better part of the day, Kierra thought as she pulled out her own wand.
"Lumos maxima…" she said, flicking her wand and producing a very bright light from the tip of her wand.
An hour later, the rubbish bin had reached its maximum capacity, and Harvey had gone downstairs to empty it out. As he reached the attic once again, he found Kierra kneeling over a large wooden chest, excitedly pulling its contents out, item by item. He smiled as he watched her. Going through their family's old heirlooms had certainly picked up her mood…
"What have you got there?" He asked as he joined her and knelt down beside her.
"Some of our old stuff!" Kierra replied with a grin as she pulled out a miniature toy broomstick, which looked no more than two feet long. "This was your first broom, wasn't it?"
Harvey smiled as he took the small broom in his hand. "I can't believe I was able to fit on this thing at one point…maybe I ought to save this thing for the baby…when she gets a bit older, maybe…"
Kierra giggled as she watched her older brother stroke the broomstick with fondness. Though it was a bit fuzzy in her mind, she did have memories of Harvey being quite attached to that little broom. She had one vague memory of her brother putting her on the broom when she was little and using their mother's wand to get it to fly…which resulted in the broom malfunctioning, soaring up several feet into the air, and dropping little Kierra to the ground. She considered herself very lucky to have broken her fall on her brother.
"Hey, look at this!" Harvey exclaimed. He pulled out a very dusty looking chess board, and immediately began to rummage through the chest, in search of the chess pieces. He frowned as he set all the glass pieces he could find on the board. There were several pieces missing—three pawns from the white side, two from the black side, as well as the black side's queen and a bishop from the white's side.
"Guess we can't get much use out of this…" Harvey muttered as he picked up the set and dumped it in the rubbish bin. But just as he did so, one of the white pieces slid off the board and hit the floor, and immediately the glass cracked, breaking the piece into several fragments.
"Damn…"
Harvey knelt down and began to pick up the pieces of glass, but stopped to examine one of them more closely. He looked up at Kierra and cocked an eyebrow at her.
"What?" she asked, looking at her brother curiously. He had a very amused look on his face.
"Queen Kierra?"
"Sorry?"
Harvey chuckled as he handed her the broken piece. It seemed to be the base of the broken—Kierra was sure it was the queen—piece. She pulled it up close to see what Harvey found so amusing about the broken piece. And as she turned it upside down she immediately saw it…Engraved at the bottom in tiny cursive script was 'Queen Kierra'.
"So which sappy boyfriend of yours gave you that one?" Harvey asked when he saw the grin spreading on Kierra's face. Kierra laughed as she continued to look at the engraving reminiscently.
"Remus…"
Harvey's brow furrowed. "Er…sounds familiar…"
"Lupin…"
"Oh! Nora's old teacher? The one you dated way back?"
Kierra laughed again and nodded. "That's the one…"
"The one you're working with right now at school?"
Kierra nodded again. "Yup…"
"Funny world we live in…" said Harvey. He watched as Kierra put the shard of glass with the other broken glass on the floor and pull out her wand.
"You speak the truth brother—reparo!"
The broken glass immediately repaired itself, taking on its shape of a queen piece. Kierra picked it up and put it in her pocket. She laughed when she saw her brother cock an eyebrow at her.
"It's a keepsake!" Kierra protested. "He's a friend now, you know…"
"Is he?"
"Yeah…I actually told him to come to the funeral…he knew dad a little, you know, when we were dating..." Kierra replied. "Then I'm going to go with him to the order for a meeting."
"Aah…the order…as in the phoenix?"
Kierra smiled wryly as she nodded. "The order, as in the one you won't join…but yeah, same thing…"
Harvey sighed as he continued to empty out the contents of the chest. "I told you, Kierra…if Nora weren't so young…or if Janine wasn't expecting…"
Kierra smiled as she pulled out her old stuffed hinkypunk and tossed it in the bin. "I'm kidding. You've a right to be hesitant in joining…"
They continued to work quietly for several minutes, breaking the silence only in bouts of coughing fits from the ample dust in the room. Harvey had begun to neatly stack his old comic book collection in a clean box, when Kierra let out a small squeal. Harvey immediately jumped to his feet and pulled out his wand, looking around the attic dangerously.
"Where is it?" he asked. But he frowned when he saw that Kierra was still sitting on the floor, looking fondly at a tiny wooden box she had pulled out from a new trunk.
Kierra giggled. "Did you think I saw a mouse again?"
Harvey grumbled and sat back down, tucking his wand away.
"I found my old jewelry box!" She continued as she began to pull out brightly colored, cheap looking jewelry from the decorated box.
"You had terrible taste…" Harvey commented as he glanced over his sister's shoulder to look at the contents of the jewelry box.
"Did not! This stuff was in style then! I've got to show this to Nora…I wonder if she'll want any of it"—
"Oh God no...I don't want my daughter wearing that rubbish"—
"Harvey! This stuff's coming back in style"—
"Why? It's quite tacky"—
"Says the man whose wife has to dress him every morning…"
Harvey laughed. "She does not dress me every morning…I can dress myself up…I did today…"
Kierra looked her brother up and down. "Yeah, it looks like it…"
Harvey scowled in return. "Well, I'll give you some credit. This necklace is alright looking, except for all the rust…" he said as he pulled out a silvery locket which had rusted to a dark red with age. Hanging from the rusty silver chain was a large silver heart, which had also tarnished. In the center, circumscribed by the rusty heart was a bright blue orb, which reminded her a bit of a moon, and also a crystal ball…
"It is pretty…" Kierra remarked as she took the necklace in her own hands. "I want to say I had good taste…but I don't think I picked it out…"
"Really? Then who?"
"I think this is another Remus product…"
"That guy spoiled you…" Harvey laughed. "Why did you guys break up again?"
Kierra shook her head as she pried the locket open. "Stupid reasons…"
"I take it then, you initiated the breakup?"
Kierra laughed. "Sod off…"
She looked again at the inside of the locket, and this time something caught her eye. Handwriting…something beginning with an 'A'….and there was an 'N'…or maybe it was an 'O'…she couldn't tell…it was rusted from the inside…
"Know any good deoxidizing charms?" she asked, looking hopefully at her brother.
Harvey pulled out his wand. He stared at the necklace, in deep thought, trying to remember the spell. He smiled slightly and extended his hand out to Kierra, in which she dropped the necklace.
"Enverniso!"
Immediately, the rust fell away, and the necklace was sparkling like new. Kierra excitedly took the necklace back in her hands and tried again at the engravings.
"Amour Éternal" she read aloud, automatically falling back into a French accent. Her jaw dropped a few inches…
"Not all of us know French…" Harvey said after a moment. "Care to enlighten me? What's Ah-moor a-tuh-nahl?"
Kierra laughed at her brother's botched up pronunciation. "Eternal love…"
"Eternal love?" Harvey repeated. "So much for that, eh?"
Kierra only laughed in response as she tucked the locket away in her pocket. She wondered if it would be scandalous of her to wear the necklace…it was quite pretty, after all…Perhaps she'd run it by Edmund to make sure he didn't mind her wearing old jewelry given to her by a boyfriend from over fifteen years ago…
She wondered though why she didn't remember when Remus gave her the necklace. She was positive it was from him…he seemed to be quite fond of engraving things. But when…under what circumstances did he give it to her? There had to be an occasion…that was just the Remus thing to do. He had given her a book for her birthday, the chess set…she was sure it was for Christmas…yes…she had never been good at chess…that was part of the joke…or…no, was it? She remembered some dirty joke being involved with it, but couldn't recall exactly…Well, the point was, he bought her presents for occasions. No matter, she thought as she took the refilled rubbish bin back downstairs to the kitchen. She'd see him later today. Maybe she'd show the necklace to him to see if he'd remember it…
Remus walked alone as he followed the party out of the cemetery. He didn't recognize anyone there except for Kierra, Nora, and of course, Edmund. And then there was a couple that Remus took to be the parents of Nora, as the man looked a bit like Kierra, and the woman with him looked very pregnant. Everyone else seemed like old family friends or relatives. But he dared not disturb or talk to any of them. He had watched the entire funeral from a backseat, and once or twice he observed his acquaintances. It pained him to see his former student shed tears, though it was with some relief that he sighed when Kierra put her arm around her niece. He only wished now that Edmund would turn his head a few degrees to the right to see his fiancée's tears. Couldn't he see that the woman needed comfort? Remus watched the small group intently, hoping Edmund would put a comforting arm around Kierra. Several times during the service he fought the temptation to go up to the front pew and embrace Kierra himself…
But just then, the sudden touch of someone's hand on his arm made him snap out of his reverie. He turned around to see Kierra standing in front of him, accompanied by her niece's family, as well as Edmund.
"Remus, so glad you came…" Kierra murmured as she hugged him.
"How are you doing?" he asked softly as the pulled away.
Kierra smiled slightly. "I'm alright, thanks…I wanted you to meet some people." She turned to indicate the people with her. "You've already met Edmund…"
Remus nodded and smiled, shaking hands with Edmund.
"And you remember Nora…"
Nora smiled shyly at her former professor as she took his hand and shook it. "Of course I remember," Remus replied, smiling warmly at her. She had grown up quite a bit in these past couple of years, no longer looking like a little girl anymore. "How are you Nora?"
"Good, thank you…" she replied.
"And here," Kierra beamed, "is my brother Harvey, and his wife Janine…"
Remus turned to the couple and shook both their hands in turn. "It's nice to finally meet…Kierra's told me quite a bit about you."
"And we about you…" Janine replied with a smile. "From Kierra and Nora…you're the famous defense against the dark arts teacher!"
At hearing this, Nora blushed slightly and hid behind Edmund, who took notice, and only looked at her questioningly.
Remus laughed, choosing to ignore Nora's blushing, as he wasn't quite sure why she was doing so.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Remus," Harvey said after a few minutes of chatting, "but we've got to make some rounds, say hello to the others…"
"Of course," Remus replied with a smile. "Nice to meet you as well." And with that, he waved them goodbye as he watched them go…well, all except for one. Kierra still stood by him. A moment later, as the party continued to walk away, Edmund turned around to see Kierra still standing with Remus.
"Coming?" he asked her.
"Yeah…I'll join you all in a sec." Kierra said, and with that, her fiancé continued along with his family-to-be. Kierra turned back around to face Remus and smiled at him. "Hey, thanks again for coming today, Remus…" she said in a softer tone.
Remus smiled back at her. "No problem…hey, are you sure you're going to be ok?" he asked, with a look of concern in his eyes.
Kierra smiled sadly and nodded. "I have some comfort in all of this."
"Really, what?"
"Well…a few weeks ago, I came up here to introduce Edmund to my family. My dad really liked him…and I was so afraid he wouldn't…" Kierra muttered. "So, I guess I feel some closure…on some level…in that…we left each other on good terms and everything…actually, I'm not sure what I'm saying…do I even make sense?"
Remus laughed lightly. "Yes, you make perfect sense. I understand completely…you have no regrets on how you've parted with him."
"…and so, parting on good terms should make the healing process easier, right?" Kierra asked him. She looked at him so earnestly with her soft brown eyes…
"Well…" he started slowly, "a bit, yes…but"—
Kierra had turned away suddenly. He saw her hands go to her face.
"Kierra"—
She turned around once more to face him. She was smiling, and wiping the corners of her eyes, causing her eyeliner to smear under her eyes. "Sorry…" she muttered. "Something…um, my eyes…something got into my eyes…"
Remus nodded. He was about to open his mouth to speak up, but Kierra suddenly pulled something out of her pocket—what appeared to be a locket. He suddenly had the feeling of déja vu…
She was still smiling at him. "Do you recognize this?"
"It does look familiar…"
Kierra opened up the locket and offered it to Remus, who took it and peered inside.
"Amour Éternal" he read aloud. "Amour Éternal? Er…wait…did I…?"
Kierra nodded and laughed. "Harvey and I were cleaning up our dad's house yesterday, and I found it. Can't say I remember when you gave this to me though…"
"Valentine's Day…"
"Valentine's Day?" Kierra thought back. Of course! It had been Valentine's Day…He had given it to her over their lunch date…but…
"That's so weird!" she commented. "I remember you giving this to me…I remember getting it…but I don't remember wearing it. I vaguely even remember having it…I'm sorry…" she added apologetically.
Remus laughed. "It's alright, it was so long ago, I can barely remember myself…"
"Unless…" Kierra paused to think back. She looked down at the locket and examined it. The latch that would hold the chain together was broken. Suddenly she remembered it all. "Unless I did wear it…until we got into a fight and broke up, in which case I tore off the necklace and never wore it again…"
Remus smiled as he reminisced. "We did have a fight didn't we? Something to do with…when we all thought Sirius had gotten Dominique pregnant…back at school…"
Kierra giggled. "Why would we have gotten into a fight about that?" But the look on Remus's face said it all. "Oh….." she said at the sudden realization. There was a moment of silence where neither looked at each other, and they both blushed out of embarrassment, remembering the level of intimacy they once shared.
"Yes, I remember it now…" Kierra said finally. "I was so mad at you that night, I literally tore that necklace off, and dumped it in my trunk. I must've forgotten about it though by the time we got back together…"
"Understandable…" Remus replied.
There was another moment of silence, though this one more pregnant than the last. Remus looked at his watch and realized it was almost time to go back to Grimmauld place for the Order meeting. He looked up again at Kierra to tell her he should go, but immediately stopped to gaze at her wide eyed when he saw tears welling up in her eyes.
"Oh Kierra"—
He pulled her close to himself, and before he knew it, Kierra was sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulder. He felt the presence of passing guests, who murmured quietly as they walked by.
"I'm sorry…" she sputtered.
"No, it's ok…"
Remus stroked her head gently as she cried. He had no idea where the sudden burst of grief had come from, when moments ago they were laughing and reminiscing. But then again…
"I miss him, Remus"—
"Shh…"
Still stroking her head with one hand, Remus reached into his pocket with his free hand. "Handkerchief?" he offered.
Kierra sniffed as she pulled away from his shoulder to take the handkerchief.
"Thank you…" she muttered, as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "I'm sorry"—
"No, it's alright…"
After a few more moments of silence, with Kierra wiping her tears, she offered the handkerchief back to Remus.
"Keep it." He said simply. He looked at her intently. "Are you sure you're going to be ok?"
Kierra nodded quickly and smiled. "Yes, I will be. Thanks…"
Remus smiled back at her. "Alright. Kierra, it was good to see you…I've got to head back though—that meeting's going to be starting in a bit."
A look of sudden realization overtook Kierra's face as her mouth fell open. "Oh, the meeting…"
"You don't have to go, Kierra…No one expects you to…"
"But it's a big one"—
"I can fill you in on it—don't worry."
"I feel so bad…I told Dumbledore I'd come"—
"He'll understand." Remus said with a tone of finality. "Look, don't feel like you have an obligation to be there. You're clearly not up for it, so don't push yourself. No one will be mad at you for missing the meeting."
"Are you sure?" Kierra asked. She looked at him with mixed uncertainty and guilt.
Remus smiled at her. "I'm absolutely certain."
"I'll miss the others…"
"You can come in a couple of days if you'd like, before you head back home. There's no meeting, but Sirius and Dominique will be there, and several other order members stop by regularly and we can introduce you then. How does that sound?"
A small smile graced her features as she nodded. "Alright…I'll see you tomorrow then."
Remus smiled back and put a hand on her shoulder. "Til tomorrow then…"
"Kreacher!"
Remus winced as he looked up from his copy of the Daily Prophet.
"KREACHER!"
Remus rolled his eyes, and dropping his paper on the coffee table he got up to head to the kitchen, where he found Sirius, burrowing his head into the oven. Smiling, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned casually against the doorway of the kitchen.
"Has Kreacher gotten himself lodged into the oven?" he asked.
There was a loud thud from the inside of the oven, followed by Sirius letting out a string of curse words at Remus. He pulled himself out of the oven, and rubbing the top of his head, he stared menacingly at his friend.
"Do you really think I'd be trying to retrieve the pathetic bastard if he were stuck in the oven?" he asked.
Remus smiled genially in response as he watched Sirius tear off his oven mitts and toss them on the kitchen counter. "Alright then…that eliminates one possibility as to why your head was in the oven and you were shouting Kreacher's name…"
"That little toe rag has done something to the oven…I've been trying to bake this pie for over an hour…and it hasn't even warmed up yet! I swear, when I find him"—
"You could always try turning the oven on…" Remus said as he switched the oven on and grinned wryly at Sirius. Sirius in turn, looked quite put off.
"I did turn the oven on"—
"You set the oven on 350 degrees, but I don't think you actually had the oven start baking…you have to pull the knob, see?" Remus indicated.
Sirius scowled at him. "Fine—since you're such a mastermind in the kitchen, you finish the cooking. I'm thinking we should go French today"—
"Cooking?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow. "But there are leftovers from last night…"
Sirius shook his head. "You don't serve leftovers to guests…"
"Guests?"
"Yeah, Kierra and Edmund are coming tonight for dinner!"
"Tonight? I thought they were coming over in a few days"—
"Change of plans…Didn't you see the letter they sent? I left it on the table for you…Why else do you think I'd bother with cooking?"
Remus sighed as he went to the pantry to see what he could whip up. "Dinner for what, ten? I'm assuming the others will stop by as well…"
"I only know of Dominique coming," Sirius replied, "but the others might pop by without notice, as they usually do…so alright, see what you can make…I'm going to try to tidy up this place some more…"
"You're really going all out to impress your guests aren't you, Padfoot?"
"Shut it…"
An hour later, Sirius found his dining room full—Tonks, Kingsley, Arthur and Moody had just arrived together from the ministry, and sat down at the table with Dominique and Molly, whom had arrived several minutes before them. Just as Tonks got up from her seat though, to ask Remus if she could help him in the kitchen, the door bell rang, much to the latter's relief.
"Why don't you get the door instead?" he asked her. But as the wailing of Mrs. Black began to echo through the house, he turned to her once more and added, "Or perhaps shut Mrs. Black up…"
With that, Tonks hurried to the portrait to help Sirius shut it up. Remus made to go open the door, but upon looking down at his self and realizing he was still wearing Molly Weasley's "#1 MUM" apron, he immediately stopped in his tracks to untie it. Only, it was proving to be quite difficult, as the knots were made tightly in the back…
"I'll get it…" Dominique said with a grin as she got up from the table. Mrs. Black's shouting had finally subsided and Remus heard Dominique opening the front door. The next thing that happened seemed like a domino affect. As Remus heard the door creak open, there was another shrieking noise—two women's voices this time though. It seemed as though Dominique and Kierra had gone into hysterics, with all their squealing and crying. That in turn retriggered Mrs. Black's screeches, which in turn, triggered Sirius's loud swearing as he once again attempted to shut the portrait up.
"Damn women!" Sirius could be heard shouting down the hall. Remus, still fumbling with the knots from the apron, grinned at Sirius's swearing, which he thought to be fairly justified. Women did scream an awful lot…
"I'm assuming Kierra's here now…" Kingsley said with a grin as he and the others got up to go meet her. "Either that, or there's two pigs at the front door waiting to be butchered."
"Dost my ears deceive me?" Dominique asked as she entered the kitchen with Kierra and Edmund at her side. The two ladies were pink faced with glee and exhaustion, no doubt from all their squealing. "Did Kingsley just compare us to pigs?"
Kingsley in turn chuckled. "I jest, ma'am…"
"Though rightly so…" Remus said as he joined the others. "Kierra, Edmund, good to see you. I trust you made it here safely?"
Kierra grinned as she shook his hand. "Yes, we did. Thanks…By the way, nice apron."
Remus blushed as he once again tried to free himself from the apron while the others laughed at him. "It's not mine"—
"Oh, Remus…here, let me get it for you"—Molly hurried over to Remus's side and undid the apron in seconds.
"Ah, thank you, Molly…" Remus muttered quietly, still feeling slightly embarrassed at wearing a "#1 MUM" apron in front of everyone. "Er…let me introduce you all…" he said, turning to Kierra and Edmund and then indicating at the group. "This is Molly Weasley, and of course Kierra—you remember Dominique, and this is Arthur Weasley, Molly's husband. And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora"—
"Remus! How many times do I have to tell you, it's Tonks!" Tonks exclaimed as she looked ominously at Remus.
"…Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be just called Tonks…and this is Alastor Moody. Kierra, you remember"—
"Of course I do!" Kierra replied, grinning at Moody. "You were our mentor, back in auror training!" She extended her hand out to Moody, but he didn't take it. Not before looking her and her fiancé up and down with his magical eye. Kierra looked at him warily, while Edmund looked from Kierra to Remus quite nervously. At long last, Moody decided that neither of them were death eaters acting as impersonators and he shook their hands in turn.
"I remember you, Nakofsky." He growled, staring at her with his normal eye while his magical eye shifted back and forth between Edmund and Remus. "I hear you've gone into teaching now…what subjects?"
"Er…ancient runes…and magical architecture." Kierra replied, wondering what he would think of that, seeing as he was known to be obsessed with defense against the dark arts and tended to think less of most other subjects.
Moody nodded, now focusing both eyes on Kierra. "Good, good…safe subjects…"
Kierra smiled wryly but did not respond. She knew exactly what he meant by that…
"So, Edmund is it?" Moody asked, turning to Kierra's fiancé. "So, what do you do?"
"Oh—I'm a potion brewer." He replied, though with a note of uneasiness in his voice. He still looked frightened of Moody's eye. "I just started working at the wizard's hospital in Aveyron. Before that I was teaching potions at the college Kierra is at…that's where we met, actually…"
Moody's eyes seemed to penetrate through Edmund's. "For a French man, you sound pretty English. What's your deal?" Moody asked gruffly.
"Moody"—Remus cut in, upon seeing the scandalized looks on Kierra and Edmund's faces—"Edmund is actually from England…he's just been living in France for a few years now."
"Not a few years…fifteen years!" Kierra said defensively.
"Oh, right." Remus muttered. He thought he was helping…
Edmund laughed nervously. "Yeah…I've been living in France for a while now, but I was born and raised in Leeds…the English accent won't go away."
"That's kind of why we got to know each other in the first place, actually." Kierra continued, turning to Dominique. "We were the only Britons in the entire college, so we immediately connected with each other."
Dominique opened her mouth to respond, but at that very moment, a cough could be heard from behind them. They all turned around to see Sirius standing at the doorway.
"Oh—Sirius!"
Sirius fell back a few feet when Kierra threw her arms around him, pulling him in for a tight embrace. This certainly wasn't the awkward effect he was hoping to produce by entering in on them in the midst of their conversation.
"It's….great to see you…" Sirius stammered as Kierra pulled away from him. He looked her up and down. Remus was right. She had changed a bit in appearance. She was definitely prettier than he last remembered, and she looked much more mature in her business suit than in her jeans and t-shirts or Hogwarts uniform she used to wear as a teen.
"You too…" Kierra replied. She stared back at him, trying to hold back the tears. He looked so unbelievably different. If she hadn't known him for as long as she had, or if the Daily Prophet hadn't published his pictures in their paper so often, she probably wouldn't have recognized him. True, he did look a bit better now than he did in his prison photos from a few years ago; he definitely looked healthier and not so skeleton-like anymore. But still, he no longer had elegant locks of silky black hair, but instead his hair had grown long and untamed, making him look a bit wild. His handsome face and radiant complexion now looked weak and sallow—and she could barely see traces of his once beautifully chiseled features. However, one thing remained unchanged. She had noticed it in the Daily Prophet a few years ago, and still saw it today—his gray eyes were still the same: penetrating, yet impenetrable—cold and unfeeling, yet fiery and passionate.
"Er—Kierra"—
"Oh!" Kierra quickly wiped her eyes. Without realizing it, she had begun to cry. "I'm sorry …" she squeaked, as a result of her crying and attempting to laugh at the same time. But the crying got the better of her. Tears ran down her cheeks uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry no one can give you back your twelve years…" she blurted as she stared into those gray eyes. "I'm sorry this all happened"—
Sirius had been staring at her incredulously when she broke into tears, but at her apology, he knew not what to do except hug her. As he did so, he felt his shoulder getting wet from Kierra's tears. The shock seemed to make his heart skip a beat. He had never seen anyone shed so many tears for him, except maybe Dominique. Not that he wanted pity or anything…but it was Kierra…the two were never really good friends. Even when they went to school together, even after Hogwarts…they never became close. They had just moved in the same social groups. Their friends had married. He had married her friend. She had dated his friend. They were always were limited to the "friend's friend" relationship, and hardly moved beyond that. And now here they were—she was sobbing against his shoulder for him, and he was comforting her.
"Hey, I'm not that much of a fright to look at, am I?" he asked her quietly, causing her to make another one of those noises that sounded halfway between a laugh and a sob.
"You're not…" she replied as she pulled away from him and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief Remus had given her the day before. "I'm sorry…it's just been….long time, no see…eh?"
Sirius smiled and nodded. Ok…and now the awkwardness had set in. The two of them stood about a foot apart, avoiding each other's eyes. And what was worse, everyone else was standing around watching, probably feeling just as awkward….
"You know," Dominique piped up, "in all my years in knowing you guys, I think that's the first time you two have ever hugged!"
Sirius silently made thanks that Dominique had broken the tension as he laughed lightly with the others.
"That's not true…" he replied, scowling at Dominique (though at the same time throwing her a grateful look when no one was looking), "I mean…I can't think of any instances right now, but I'm sure we've hugged before…"
"Actually…" Kierra interjected in a rather quiet, timid voice, "I don't even think I hugged you on your wedding day. I remember being all emotional with Dominique…but I think with you, all I had done was give you a congratulations…"
Sirius laughed. "Well, I suppose we weren't the best of friends way back when, but that's alright…we can catch up now."
"Of course…"
"So…uh…how about introducing me to the gentleman you've brought with you?"
"Oh!" Kierra turned around quickly to Edmund and looked at him apologetically, who in return, smiled good naturedly at her. "I'm sorry—Sirius, this is my fiancé, Edmund. Edmund, this is Sirius Black."
Edmund, smiling in the timid way that he did upon meeting Mad Eye Moody, shook Sirius's hand.
"So, I hear you make potions," Sirius said casually. "You the one making Remus's wolfbane potion?"
"Yes, I am…although if anyone asks I'm just conducting experiments with wolfbane, not treating anyone with it. They're fairly hostile towards werewolves in France, and I might run into some trouble if anyone finds out I'm treating people. Er…so…what do you do?" The moment the words left his mouth, a look of regret overtook his face.
Sirius smiled dryly. "Ah…I'm a runaway convict you know…so my main occupation is hiding out here. In other words, I sit on my arse all day and do nothing. You must've seen my picture…I'm positive the ministry here got the French ministry involved…"
"Yes, they did…" Edmund replied. "I remember seeing your pictures. I mean"—he looked around uneasily—"I mean, I know you didn't do any of those crimes…Kierra told me…"
"But I could commit those crimes, if I wanted to…" said Sirius quite casually.
"Sorry?"
"I mean, if I wanted to be a traitor…if I wanted to kill people…thirteen people, with a single curse…I could, if I had wanted to."
"Oh—of course! Of course…if you wanted to, I'm sure…" Edmund replied. He looked to Kierra questioningly, who smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Sirius," she cut in, "if you're anything like the man I knew over fifteen years ago, you wouldn't hurt a fly."
"You'd be surprised at how unnervingly unchanged he is…" Remus muttered, who received a scowl from Sirius.
"Remember Remus, back in our sixth year? When I almost killed old Snivellus?" Sirius quipped. When Remus frowned at him, he quickly added, "Mind you, it involved a fair bit of using you and jeopardizing of our friendship—that part of the prank which I always regret—but still, I was quite capable then"—
"Yes Sirius, you're capable of killing us all this very moment and defeating Voldemort at the very next. Don't be so modest about it…" Remus turned to Edmund. "You'll have to excuse Sirius, he enjoys his jokes…"
"I don't like him at all…" Sirius said in an undertone later on during dinner.
"Why? Because you scared him into thinking you'll come down to France to kill him in his sleep?" Remus asked just as quietly, glancing around the table to make sure that the others were immersed in their own conversations.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I was just joking around. Like Kierra said, I wouldn't hurt a fly. Well, unless the fly was sucking the blood out of my mate…I'd swat him then."
"Edmund's not sucking my blood, if that's what you're implying." Remus said as he took a sip of wine from his goblet.
"Not implying anything. I just think the guy's an idiot, that's all."
"You're not giving him a chance. He's a nice guy."
"But an idiot. Come on Moony, you don't like him either. Admit it."
"He's making my potion…how can I not like him?"
"Snape made your potion a couple of years ago…did you like him?"
Remus paused to consider the matter. "Well, no. But that was different…we had a long history…he's had a bit of a reason to hate me."
"You never did anything to him though!" Sirius hissed.
"Well no, but I was tainted by association…with you and James…"
"Thanks a million, Remus. But this is the same situation!"
"How so?"
"You've got reason to not like him!"
"Who's 'him'? Snape or Edmund?"
"Edmund."
"Why should I not like him?"
"He's bloody engaged to your ex girlfriend"—
"Sirius—how many times do I have to tell you, I don't care!" Remus glanced around quickly again, realizing that he had raised his voice slightly in frustration. Thankfully, Tonks was entertaining the guests with her metamorphmagus abilities by taking on the appearances of famous witches and wizards, and the diners had their attention towards her.
"Look," he continued, lowering his tone significantly. "I'm perfectly alright with Kierra and Edmund. They're good people, and they deserve each other. So would you please stop hating Edmund on my behalf? It really isn't necessary…and you said yourself the other day, you knew I didn't care for her…"
Sirius looked disbelievingly at him. "I don't understand you, Moony." He said, ignoring Remus's last comment. "I mean, look at those two," he said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of Edmund and Kierra, who were sitting together on the other end of the table. While they were watching Tonks aptly, laughing with the others and making requests like the others, they sat very close together; Edmund had one arm wrapped around Kierra, and the other hand intertwined with Kierra's two hands. They laughed together when Tonks imitated one of her work colleagues who had a tendency to flirt with Kingsley, by sitting on top of the dinner table with her legs crossed, simpering as she batted her long lashes at Kingsley, talking about the latest word of the hunt for Sirius Black.
"Oh, Kingsley!" Tonks cooed in a high pitched, mocking voice, "you're so brave, going after that Sirius Black like that…"
Sirius winced as he heard his name in the context of a pick up line, but immediately turned his attention back to Remus. "See? Did you see those two? How close they are, and how"—
"How much they love each other?" Remus interjected. He sighed as he looked on to the happy couple. Still looking at them, he continued, "Sirius, I do see them. And they're so happy together. I'm happy for them."
Sirius sighed with resignation, and remained silent as he watched Remus watch the happy couple. Sure, he said he was happy for them…and he probably was. But he didn't have to be. He didn't have to be happy and supportive of this engagement…but that was Remus. He elected to. He made himself become happy and supportive, whether or not he really wanted to. Because it was the right thing to do…to do what you should do. And that was Remus. He never allowed himself choices. He did what he thought had to be done. No room for choices or dreams or hopes in Remus's world. His world consisted or reality, and the most rational way to deal with it.
Sirius finally looked away from Remus in order to pour himself some more wine. They always joked about Sirius's maturity being stunted in Azkaban, preserving his youthful, immature self in this thirty-three year old body. But he was one up on the mature, grown up Remus. At least he knew a dream when he saw one, and he knew how to pursue it if he wanted it.
Blue Moon,
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
-Richard Rodgers, 1934 "Blue Moon"