Chapter 49: Premonitions and Providence
She was wearing a long, white gown that flowed down to her feet, and left a train of silky white fabric behind her. It wasn't the most comfortable dress. The silky fabric tightly hugged her torso, disallowing her to breathe easily, and seeming to cut off the circulation of her blood to her arms, which were also tightly bound by the silky white fabric of the dress. But it was worth it, because she looked beautiful. The neckline of her dress dipped low, revealing a fair amount of cleavage. She smiled broadly as she turned to her left, where Edmund stood next to her, beaming down at her. He offered her a bouquet of off-white colored flowers, and she took them.
She put the flowers to her nose and inhaled their soft scent. It was a little too soft, Kierra thought as she inhaled again. Why was the smell so faint? But she had little time to ponder over the matter, as Edmund now took her hand in his and led her forward. Neither of them spoke as they walked down the aisle. Wait—they were in the church from which they would be married! But why was Edmund walking her down the aisle, instead of Harvey? And where were all the guests? Kierra looked from side to side, only to see the many rows of empty pews. Where was everyone? Better yet, where was her veil? She was supposed to have a veil! And now that she thought about it, this wasn't the wedding gown she had picked out. In fact, was it even a wedding gown? It was so inappropriately low-cut, no bride could ever agree to wear such a revealing dress on her wedding. Sure it was white—only, was it? As Kierra looked down at her dress again, it didn't look so white anymore. It seemed to go to the same off-white shade as her bouquet of flowers…
As they reached the altar, Kierra and Edmund stopped and turned to face each other. Edmund smiled calmly at Kierra, but the latter felt slightly uneasy.
"What are we doing here?" she asked softly.
"Practicing, of course!" Edmund replied, still smiling broadly at Kierra. "We need to make sure we get it all right now…we don't want to mess it up later."
Kierra nodded, though she still didn't quite understand. A sudden movement though, caught through the corner of her eye, made her turn around immediately, and what she saw made her jump back and nearly trip over her gown.
"Dad!"
He was taking a seat in the back pew, and upon settling himself, he looked up at the couple and smiled at them.
Kierra looked at him uncertainly. He was there, sitting…yet, he didn't seem real…he didn't seem solid. But it wasn't his ghost, was it? No…she had seen ghosts before, they were more transparent. Her dad looked more solid than a ghost, yet not solid enough to be real.
"Dad?" she asked, with even more uncertainty in her voice. He just continued to smile serenely at her. He suddenly glanced back though, and following his gaze, Kierra looked up to see another person entering the chapel.
"Mum…" she murmured. She felt her eyes well up with tears. It had been over a year since her mother's death…she never thought she'd see that face again…
Her mother took a seat next to Kierra's father, and she too looked up at the couple and smiled peacefully.
"You guys…" Kierra murmured. "What are you…" her voice trailed off. Why were they just sitting there, smiling at her? Weren't they going to talk to her? Didn't they miss her, the way she missed them?
Of course not, they were together now…
Kierra felt Edmund's arm wrap around her waist. She looked up at him and smiled nervously. There was something so eerie about this situation. Not so much her parents sitting there in front of her—well no, that too—but something else…something wasn't right about this…why did it feel so empty in that chapel? Why did she feel so empty and hollow inside?
She turned back to face her parents, but now, something else caught her eyes, across the aisle to the other side of the room, in the middle row of pews sat another not-so-solid figure. One she hadn't seen in many years…
"James…" she breathed.
James Potter sat nonchalantly in the middle pew with his legs propped up on the pew in front of him. He reclined in his seat, his hands resting behind his head, and his glasses resting crookedly on his nose. He looked so young—about 21 or 22—but that was how he had left them, hadn't he? He was just a young man…He too smiled at Kierra. But it was not the boyish, mischievous grin that she had missed dearly at times. Nor was it the tranquil-looking smile her parents wore. No…it was a sad smile, one that she had rarely seen on his face... Like he was happy, but with something troubling him in the back of his mind…
"James…" she said again.
His smile brightened slightly at the sound of his name.
"What are you"—
James laughed lightly, causing Kierra to jump back in surprise at the sudden sound. His appearance was a bit shadowy, but his voice was very distinct. It was exactly as she remembered it…
"I wanted to see you…" he said quietly, smiling that boyish smile of his.
"I missed you." Replied Kierra.
James laughed again. "Why?"
Kierra laughed as well, though she was not quite sure why. Perhaps it was just the contagiousness of James's laugh… "I'm getting married, James…" she finally said.
James's face once again fell to a sad smile as he nodded. "Yeah, I can see that…"
Kierra continued to stare at him, wondering what could be troubling him. But her thoughts were put on a hold when she felt Edmund's arm pulling away from her waist. She turned to her fiancé, only to see him walk back down the aisle and exit the chapel.
"Edmund!" she called after him. "Where are you going?"
But he didn't answer. He continued on out of the chapel. A moment later, Kierra's parents got up as well and followed Edmund out.
"Mum—dad!" Kierra exclaimed. Where were they all going? She picked up her dress at her knees and hurried down the altar, but in her rush she tripped over her skirt, sending her flying face forward to the ground. She lifted her face quickly just in time to see her parents going out the door, and to see James getting up as well.
"Mum…dad…don't leave me!" she cried. But they did not acknowledge her cries. Could they even hear her? They had to…James had, so why couldn't they? As Kierra picked herself off the ground, she watched James head towards the door. Was there even any point in calling his name?
"James…"
James looked over his shoulder as he pulled the handle of the door and grinned at her. "Don't worry," he said simply, "it's not so bad…"
"James"—
But it was too late—the door had slammed shut, and Kierra found her self all alone in the dark chapel. She glanced around the dark room, unsure of what she was even looking for. Finally, she decided there was no point in standing there in that gloomy little chapel—it was giving her goose bumps just being there. She headed outside, in hopes of finding her parents or James, or even Edmund.
She came outside, but only to meet more darkness. It was late at night, and there wasn't a single star in the sky. Well no, there was one star in the sky—but only one. Kierra thought this strange as she searched the vast expanse of sky above her. There was the moon, which was full tonight, but that was all. How could there only be one star in the sky? This star alone shone brightly in its solitude—it was actually one of the brightest stars she had ever seen. But as she continued to stare at it, its luster seemed to slowly diminish, until it hung very dully in the sky and eventually disappeared into the darkness.
Kierra wondered what happened to stars when they died out…if only she had paid more attention in astronomy when she was in school, she'd know…Her eyes lingered on the spot where the beautiful star twinkled moments before. Suddenly she remembered that she had left her bouquet in the chapel. She stood hesitantly in the moonlight, wondering if she should go back inside to get it. In all honestly, she didn't really feel like it—mainly because she was too scared to go back to the emptiness inside. And there was still a chance she would see the others outside…maybe if she lingered a bit longer…
Kierra rolled over tiredly in bed, desperate for a few more minutes of sleep. But the sound of her alarm clock continued to nag her until she pulled herself out of bed to shut it off.
'No more morning classes…' she thought to herself as she headed to the bathroom. She made a face when she saw that the toilet seat was left up. If she had a galleon for every time she told Edmund to put the seat down…but alas, he had already left for work and so she had no one to chastise…
As Kierra washed her face, she thought back at last night's dream. It had certainly felt strange. Being in that empty chapel with those four people—three of whom which were dead. It seemed so strange that they were all gone now…she still had a hard time believing that her father was gone, his image was so fresh and raw in her mind. But his mother, and James…it had been some time since either of their deaths, they felt like distant memories. But last night she saw them—it had been so strange—the numbness she had felt at the times of their deaths rose once again in her. She hadn't seen any of them die…their deaths were so sudden…she hadn't even gotten a chance to say goodbye. And now, they had appeared to her in her dream…but had it actually been them? Or was it just a figment of her imagination, as dreams tended to be?
Kierra glanced at her clock as she threw her robes on over her dress. She had five minutes until her first class started. If only she had a few extra minutes to go through her dream interpretations book…it had been such a bizarre dream! It would have to wait until the day was done, Kierra thought as she hurried out the door.
"Good afternoon, Sirius!" Dominique said cheerily as she burst into Buckbeak's room where Sirius was emptying out a sack of ferrets onto the floor.
Sirius glanced over his shoulder briefly before turning his attention back to Buckbeak. "Hey Dominique…" he replied.
Dominique furrowed her brow as she watched him pet Buckbeak's head, who was too busy devouring his lunch to notice her enter the room. He looked grumpy and exhausted—a mood he tended to be in a lot these days. She wondered if he even remembered today…
He turned around, only to find Dominique still standing at the door, looking at him somberly. He forced a smile as he passed her through the door. "You're back a little early…" he finally said as he led Dominique towards the kitchen. "I thought you had a concert last night."
"I did…but I thought I'd come here straight away…I really wanted to see you." She replied hastily as she picked up her pace, trying to keep up with Sirius.
"Well, nice of you to come by." Sirius began to rummage through the cupboards. "Anything to drink? Butterbeer? Firewhiskey"—
Dominique laughed. "Firewhiskey? Sirius, it's not even noon!"
Sirius shrugged as he pulled out two bottles of butterbeer and handed one to Dominique. "Time is futile."
Dominique's eyes met briefly with Sirius's as she popped open her bottle. The latter looked away though as he brought the drink to his lips. She watched as he closed his eyes, taking a sip of his butterbeer—no, more like a heavy swig—the way the muscles in his neck pulsated as he downed each gulp. She fought the temptation to ask what he meant by time being futile. Perhaps a change of subject. Perhaps today…or…no, she wouldn't bring it up. She wanted to see if he remembered…
"So…" Dominique took a sip of her own butterbeer. "Remus left for Aveyron last night, didn't he?"
Sirius set his butterbeer down on the table with a hard clunk, catching Dominique off-guard. "Yeah…" he answered ruefully. "Starts his classes today…"
"Ah, I see…and he's coming back in a couple of days, isn't he?" she reminded him, realizing that perhaps bringing up Remus wasn't such a great idea.
Sirius nodded and took another gulp of butterbeer. "He's coming back Thursday …"
"Great."
"Bet he'll have loads to tell us…" Sirius drawled, aiming his empty bottle at the rubbish bin. Quite effortlessly, he tossed the bottle, landing it straight in the bin. "He really loves to teach."
Dominique smiled. "Yes, he does…I remember when he was working at Hogwarts, all of his letters always had some mention about school. The kids really seemed to like him."
"The kids really seemed to like who?"
Dominique and Sirius turned around to see Molly Weasley enter the kitchen.
"Oh, hi Molly!" Dominique greeted her. "We were just talking about Remus"—
"Did you just get here?" Sirius interjected, furrowing his brows at the intrusion.
Molly smiled wryly as she passed the table where Sirius and Dominique sat and headed to the kitchen area. "Yes, I thought I would just let myself in. I didn't want to provoke your mother."
Sirius nodded, but did not make a reply. He simply glared at the woman who had begun to busy herself in the kitchen.
"I just remembered that I forgot some of my cutlery here, and Arthur's having a few people over tonight for dinner. A few people from the ministry…trying to stay on good terms with them, you know…"
"Of course…" Sirius said, getting up to join Molly. "I think I saw some steak knives in one of these drawers. I'm positive they were yours…"
Molly went to the drawers that Sirius had indicated at and continued her search. "So, the kids are fond of Remus, you were saying?"
"Oh—yeah" Dominique said with a grin. "We were talking about how he's probably doing at work. I know he was a bit anxious when I last talked to him, about the students liking him…but I think he'll do fine."
"Definitely," Molly agreed. "Ah, here they are"—she pulled out a handful of steak knives from one of the bottom drawers and wrapped them in her apron—"but yes, Remus will do great. He taught all but two of my children, and they all liked him…which reminds me…I need to send a howler Fred and George's way…"
Dominique laughed. "Oh dear, what did they do?"
Molly sighed. "According to McGonagall, they almost killed some 4th year Slytherin, with some sort of new, lethal invention of theirs…They have so many, I can't even remember what it was. Anyway, they've landed themselves a couple of weeks' detention…"
Sirius chuckled. "They're quite a pair. They remind me a bit of myself and James when we were at Hogwarts…"
"Oh, you two couldn't have been that bad…" replied Molly.
"No, I think Fred and George can't be that bad…" Dominique offered with a laugh. "Though they do sound like your successors…especially when they had your map"—
"Map?" Molly cut in. Sirius gave a sharp look at Dominique, who in turn looked to him regretfully. She hadn't known that Molly didn't know about the map…
"Sorry…" she muttered.
"What map?" Molly repeated, looking from Dominique to Sirius for an answer.
At last, Sirius sighed. "The marauder's map. My friends and I made it when we were at Hogwarts…"
"You and James?" Molly asked.
Sirius nodded. "And Remus and Peter…it's just a map of the entire school…and it shows you where everyone is at every given moment…we just used it for pranks. Anyway, old Filch confiscated it, and thankfully never figured out how to use it, since it's password protected. When your sons came to Hogwarts, they somehow got a hold of it and figured out how to use it…"
"How? How do you know all this? They told you?" Molly demanded.
Sirius shook his head. "No, Harry did. They gave it to him back when I escaped…I think because they wanted him to be able to sneak off to Hogsmeade…so yeah, he was just explaining to me when he was here a few days ago how he got it…"
Molly nodded, a sudden understanding appearing to dawn on her. "So that's why Fred and George were so short of breath when they met you…it wasn't out of fear…it was out of respect!"
Dominique laughed. "Oh, I love these two already—I really want to meet them!"
"You just missed them…" Sirius replied. "all of the kids left for school a few days ago…but hey, during the holidays, Molly, you could bring your kids over…and Harry could come here"—
"Absolutely not." Molly cut in.
"Excuse me?"
Molly sighed and looked derisively at Sirius. "He'll have to get special permission and whatnot…"
"I think Dumbledore will be able to swing it…" Sirius replied tersely.
"Dumbledore's a busy man," said Molly, "and don't you remember who's at Hogwarts? Umbridge is going to be keeping a close eye on"—
"Harry…" Sirius finished, forcing himself to keep his tone even. "Even more reason to bring him here for the holidays…he can get out of that hag's grasp"—
"She'll be keeping a hawk's eye on him…if she sees him leave, she'll want to know where…do you want our headquarters to be discovered?"
"Course…forgot that this is headquarters before it's my house…" Sirius muttered under his breath.
"Sirius, try not to be so difficult." Molly snapped. "Ultimately, this will be Dumbledore's decision, and I'm positive he'll want to keep Harry close by, at Hogwarts…don't you agree, Dominique?"
"Oh! Um"—Dominique looked nervously at Molly, and then at Sirius, both whom were looking at her expectantly. "Well…um…I can see how it might be good for him to be at Hogwarts…but…the headquarters is fairly safe too, Molly…and…I don't know…maybe I'm a little biased…I'm hoping to meet him here myself…." She laughed lightly, wishing the tension in the room would lessen.
"Well," Molly said, gathering her cutlery once more, "I'm only thinking of Harry's safety. I suppose we'll just wait until the holidays come to see what the headmaster wishes…"
"Right." Dominique cut in before Sirius could start. "Let's wait until we cross that bridge, shall we?" She looked over at Sirius warily, who was glaring at Molly.
"Right…" he said simply.
"Well, I should head out then…" Molly said rather stiffly. Dominique quickly got up and followed her out of the kitchen.
"Sure…we'll see you later then, Molly. Say hello to Arthur and the family for us!" Dominique said politely. As she shut the door after Molly and turned to head back to the kitchen, she sighed. Finally, all alone again with Sirius. Perhaps she should just remind him what day it was…he had probably just lost track of the days, and hadn't realized that today was their wedding anniversary…
When she returned to the kitchen, Sirius looked up at her and scowled.
"Who does she think she is anyway? Barging in here and telling me how to raise my godson?"
"Sirius," Dominique said quietly as she took a seat by him, "Harry doesn't need raising…he's fifteen years old…"
"Oh, you know what I mean…" Sirius grumbled. "He's still my responsibility. Just because she saw to him for a few years while I was in prison doesn't mean anything."
"She just cares about him, Sirius. She's a mother, it's in her nature!"
"She has plenty of other kids to take care of." Sirius replied.
"But she's spent quite a bit of time with him…she can't help it…she's attached! You have to understand from a mother's perspective…a woman's perspective…that's just how we are." Dominique added, smiling weakly at Sirius.
"That's fine if she's attached…but she can't just go and take him for herself! You know, just the other day, when the kids were all going off to school, I wanted to go see Harry off"—
"…and you did, Sirius. You told me"—
"I know, I went as Snuffles"—
"Who's Snuffles?"
"It's what Harry and their friends refer to me as when they're out…"
"Aww…."
"I know…" Sirius said with a proud smile. His smile fell though when he remembered to continue his story. "Anyway, I went and saw them off…and when we came back here, Molly went off on me for coming along…says I didn't act dog-like enough…"
"Oh Sirius, you weren't showing off for the kids by doing tricks, were you?"
Sirius looked down at the table and ran a hand through his long, mess of hair. "Maybe…just to entertain them…I saw some frightened looking first years on the train…thought they needed to be cheered up a bit…"
Dominique laughed. "Oh, Sirius—you have to be careful though"—
"D, I'm sick of people telling me to be careful…It's all I've been hearing these past few months…'be careful not to get caught, Sirius', 'be careful with Harry, Sirius'…why are people telling me to be careful with Harry? Do they think I'm an idiot or something? That I'm ten years old? He's like a friend to me…like a son to me…"
"I'm sure people understand that"—
"If people understood that," Sirius cut in, "they wouldn't be advising me. No adult tells another adult how to raise their children…and Harry is like a son. And I know he sees me almost like a father...it just really ticks me off when people think I'm talking crazy…you know a few weeks ago, when Harry first came here? Molly actually had the audacity to say—mind you, in front of Harry too—that I'm getting confused between him and James…that I actually think I have my best friend back…she was talking to me like I was mad!"
Dominique frowned. This conversation was going nowhere. "Well," she started slowly, "do you feel like you have your best friend back? I mean…since you said he's like a friend to you…"
"No, of course not. I mean…he's like James in a lot of ways…but I think I can distinguish the two from each other." He said bitterly. "James was my best friend. But Harry…I mean…I regard him as a friend…but like I said earlier, I also sort of regard him as a son…I didn't have that with James."
Dominique nodded and let out a sigh. She wondered if he was done ranting yet…
"Listen Sirius, just forget about it, ok? There's no use of getting angry over it…" Dominique said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. "Let's just talk about something else, hmm?"
"Sure…"
"So…know what day it is?" Dominique asked, smiling coyly at Sirius.
"Er—Monday—why?"
Dominique frowned. "You don't know…"
"Don't know what?" Sirius asked.
"The significance of this day!" Dominique exclaimed, frustrated.
Sirius paused to think. Then is suddenly hit him. He smiled impishly as he took Dominique's hands in his own. "Of course…"
Dominique giggled as she felt his grasp. "You remember?"
Sirius nodded as he drew Dominique closer to himself. "Yes…it's Monday…the day everyone is too busy at work to come here…so…with Remus gone, and Kreacher off in his room snogging my mum's bloomers, we have this house all to ourselves—hey! What?"
Dominique had snatched her hands away from Sirius and was now glaring at him.
"What?" he asked again, looking at Dominique with mingled curiosity and irritability. "Was there something else about today that I'm supposed to know about?"
"Of course there is!" Dominique snapped.
Sirius looked at her expectantly. "Well? Do you plan on telling me?"
Dominique rolled her eyes as she got up from her seat. "If you can't remember, why the hell should I bother telling you?"
"Fine, if you want to be immature about this—and where the hell are you going?" Sirius called after her.
"To cool down!"
Sirius made no reply, and only watched Dominique tear out of the kitchen.
Just then, Dominique popped her head back in. "Oh, by the way," she added, "Molly was right—you do have Harry and James confused! And I doubt they're that alike. At least James never got in trouble with the ministry!" And with that, she stomped off towards the door, setting off Mrs. Black's earsplitting shrieks.
"Hey—the charges were dropped!" he shouted after her. And fuming at Dominique's sudden outburst, Sirius retreated down the hall to tend to his mother's portrait.
Remus paced around his office, glancing up at the clock every few moments. Maybe he should've waited in his classroom instead. Class would be starting soon, and now he would be making a grand entrance in front of all his students. But if he waited in his classroom as the students filed in, he would have to deal with the awkwardness of waiting with his students…
He knew he was being overly analytical, but he couldn't help it…he wanted to make a good impression. He looked at his clock again. 12:58 p.m. Time to head to class. He ran a hand through his hair as he grabbed his briefcase and left his office. He tiredly rubbed his left eye with one hand as he made his way to the classroom. Room 14. If only he were more well-rested. He never should have stayed up so late, practicing his French—going over his lesson plan in French—just to make sure it was still up to snuff. And it was. He knew it was; yet he found himself reading the French translation of "New Theories in Defense Against the Dark Arts" at two o'clock in the morning, just to make sure he had it all down. Kierra had been pestering him every moment she saw him, asking him if he had been reviewing his French. Apparently it was a very big deal to speak 'proper' French in this school…so really, he had no choice but to stay up half the night to review it. The only consequence to this of course was his fatigue…and of course, it didn't help either that the full moon was in a week.
'You know this stuff backwards and forwards….' Remus told himself as he entered the classroom. He smiled at the small group of students that were chatting amongst themselves when he came in. Kierra had originally scheduled him to teach the larger, more basic defense classes, but then at the last minute did a switch and gave him the more advanced classes that were much smaller in size. This particular class seemed to have no more than twenty students—his own personal preference—the smaller, the better.
However, this group of students was a bit older than what he was used to. At Hogwarts, and even in his private tutoring experiences, he usually taught students from ages 11-18. Most of these students seemed to be in their early twenties. True, he was quite a bit older than them, but still, they were all adults now.
"Bon jour, les étudiants. Ceci Avancé la Magie de Défense, et je suis Remus Lupin." He said with a small smile. "J'espire cela—
Remus paused in his introduction to look at the class. The majority of the students were either grinning broadly at him, or trying very hard to suppress their laughs. He wondered if there was something in his teeth. Or perhaps is accent was really awful…
"Er…je suis desolé" he apologized, "Quelque chose mauvais est-il?" He looked uncertainly at the class, wondering what was wrong.
"You ah ze new guy, no?" a petite brunette in the front row asked.
:"Er….yes, this is my first class here…" Remus answered, switching to English. He glanced around the class, all of whom looked very amused now. "Is there something funny about that?"
The brunette spoke up again. "Oiu…you see, monsieur, at our school, ze staff like to pull eh prank un ze new professors…"
"Vich professor 'ad you?" asked the blond boy sitting next to the brunette. "Monsieur Francois? 'E always 'as the worst pranks… "
Remus shook his head. "Nakofsky, it seems. She's the only professor here I've been in touch with. I'm afraid though, that I don't quite understand the prank…"
"You see, sir," started a blond girl in the middle row, whose accent seemed to be very light, "you were speaking to us in Francais…did Professor Nakofsky tell you that our classes are in French?"
"Er—yes—why?" Remus asked.
The girl laughed lightly. "We 'ave all of our classes in English…We always 'ave…"
"Oh…" Remus said simply as laughter stirred through the classroom.
"Professor Nakofsky always does very stupid pranks that aren't very funny…" the girl continued. "She iz known for it."
Remus smiled, not quite sure what to make of the situation. So, Kierra had pulled a prank on him? Well, it hadn't been a very good one…it hadn't even been remotely embarrassing…
"Alright then," he addressed the class, quieting them down, "now that we've gotten that all settled, let's get started, shall we?"
Soon, Remus had become quite occupied with his lessons and had forgotten about Kierra's silly prank, and his first-day-of-school-jitters. He was too busy going over advanced defensive charms with his class.
"So, now that you all know where the fidelius charm gets its name, can anyone explain how it works?"
He was met by silence.
"Come—no one?" he asked. "Take some guesses. If fidelius is derived from the concept of fidelity…" he trailed off, hoping that someone would raise their hand. Finally, a blond named Janette did so.
"Zis iz a charm wid ze secret keeper, I think…" she said uncertainly.
"That's correct." Remus said with a smile. "Can you tell us anything about the secret keeper's role in this particular charm, Janette?"
"Well, ze secret keeper must be a very loyal person, because zey are to keep secrets wiz'in their soul…"
"Right," said Remus. "So the purpose of the fidelius charm is to conceal a secret within the soul of a chosen person, and as Janette put it perfectly, this person is called the secret keeper. He or she obviously must be chosen carefully, because the only way the secret can be uncovered is if the secret keeper decides to reveal it. One of the main characteristics to look for when choosing a secret keeper of course then, is loyalty."
"Now," Remus continued as he turned to the blackboard and began writing on it, "the fidelius charm is an extremely complicated and advanced charm, so I want you to take careful notes here. In a week, when you all have had enough practice, we're going to test it out—each of you will find a partner in or out of this class, though preferably someone who has taken this class and has mastered the fidelius charm, and you all will be performing the charm, alright?"
"Very cool…" Remus heard one of his students mutter as he continued to write on the board. "so if you find someone loyal enough to you, zey can keep all your secrets! They could 'ide your diary!"
Remus smiled as finished writing notes on the board and turned around to face the class. "Not exactly, Miss Rousseau…though I suppose you could hide the location of your diary in a person's soul, this charm is too painstakingly complex to use on such a small secret. The fidelius charm is usually used on much bigger secrets. For example, hiding a valuable, or hiding the location of a person"—
"A person?" a student in the back asked.
"Well, yes…" replied Remus. "remember, the fidelius charm is used to hide any kind of information. The location of where a person is classifies as a piece of information, right?"
"But what if you ask the secret keeper where a person iz, and zey don't tell you…and you end up in the location where ze hidden person iz…will you see them?"
"Excellent question. And the answer is no, you won't see them. That's the power of the charm."
"Professor, 'ave you ever used zis charm?" another student piped up. The rest of the class looked intently at him.
"Outside from classroom purposes? No…" he answered truthfully. "Alright, so, kindly read the first two chapters of your book for next class. That'll be all for today."
As the classroom slowly emptied out, Remus gathered his papers and set them in his briefcase, feeling quite glad that no one had looked at him strangely for quickly dismissing the question of his use of the fidelius charm. They seemed to be more interested in their upcoming assignment of performing the charm by the way they were excitedly discussing it as they left the class.
Overall, his first class had gone well—after the minor confusion of Kierra's sorry excuse for a prank was cleared up, of course. What kind of prank had that been anyway? Remus smiled inwardly as he headed to his office to get ready for his next class. Even he, Remus, had a record for performing better pranks. Of course, he had rarely initiated them—but still—he was a marauder, and had seldom sat out on a chance for mischief with his friends. Perhaps he could teach Miss Nakofsky a thing or two about pranking etiquettes…
Kierra hurried down the spiral stone staircase, wishing that the chateau were a bit smaller. Class had started a minute ago, and she had another four flights to go down. It was three minutes past the hour when she finally made it to the designated floor. She walked quickly down the halls, smiling briefly at passerby. Of all classrooms, she just had to assign herself the one at the end of the hall…
Room 147. Finally, she had reached it. As she neared the heavy wooden door, however, she found a sign magically stuck on it that read 'Magical Architecture has been moved to room 637'.
'637?'
Kierra swore under her breath as she turned back around. That was another six floors up—where she had come from! But who, Kierra wondered, had put the sign up? Who, besides herself had the authority to change classrooms? Oh, well, there was the headmaster of course. Perhaps he had done it, though why she was not told about it was beyond her…
At long last, Kierra reached the sixth floor, huffing as she tried to catch her breath. She swung open the door of room 637 and stepped inside, feeling thoroughly embarrassed for arriving to class ten minutes late.
"Bon jour, everyone…" she said briskly, taking a quick look the class, which looked slightly startled at her entrance. "I'm so sorry I'm late, but"—
She stopped abruptly as she took in her surroundings. Remus was standing at the front of the room with his wand out, looking like he was about to do some demonstration for the students.
"Er—can I help you?" he asked her, dropping his wand at his side. All of the students turned around to look at her curiously.
Her brows wrinkled up as she looked at Remus. "Um…I'm sorry…this is 637, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. Are you auditing my class, Kierra?" Remus asked amusedly.
She frowned. "No, I'm not auditing your class." She snapped. "I have my class…it was supposed to be up here…"
"Was it?"
"Yeah…well, no. It was scheduled somewhere else…down in 147. But someone put a sign up there, saying the class was moved up here."
"147 you say?" asked Remus.
"Er—yes. Why?"
"Did you go inside to see if anyone was there?"
"No…why?" Kierra asked again, wondering what these queries were leading to.
"Well, I believe I passed that room on my way up here." he replied. "I'm certain I saw some students going in there for a class…"
"But what about that sign?" Kierra asked.
"I didn't see one up when I passed by. Maybe someone tagged it on right before you got there…"
"Why would anyone do that?"
"To throw you off, maybe?"
"Why would anyone do that?" Kierra repeated.
"For kicks…"
Several of Remus's students laughed at his comment, causing Kierra to blush slightly. She looked squarely at Remus, who seemed to be trying very hard not to smile at her. All in vain—a small smile crept around the corners of his mouth. Kierra gave him a sharp look before turning on her heel to leave.
"They want kicks? I'll give them a few kicks…" she muttered.
"…or maybe they wanted to give the tables a turn." Remus offered.
She turned back around and stared at Remus.
"Hope you find your class." He said, smiling pleasantly at her. And with that, he turned his attention back to his own class, discussing the factors that allow a person to create a patronus—in English.
Kierra's eyebrows went up several centimeters as her eyes lingered on him.
'Damnit…'
Kierra turned once again on her heel to leave, quietly shutting the door behind her. Damnit, damnit, damnit…The handwriting on the sign…why didn't she bother to look at it? She knew his handwriting…she knew the headmaster's handwriting…she would have been able to tell. Damnit.
Kierra arrived at room 147 twenty minutes late. She tore the sign off the door, which she immediately recognized to be the handwriting of Monsieur Lupin, and entered her class. Several of the students had been getting out of their seats when she came in, but immediately sat back down at her appearance.
"Sorry…" she said immediately as she dropped her briefcase on the desk with a loud thud. "So sorry I'm late. Seems I had a bit of a misunderstanding today with the locations of the class…won't happen again."
Remus made his way down the chateau halls at the end of the day, very much oblivious to his surroundings. He had so much work to do before heading back to London. Already he had a briefcase full of papers to grade, and next week's class lectures to prepare, and even more papers to grade from his other classes he would be teaching tomorrow. And his wolfbane potion of course…he had to get that from Edmund, today in fact. Remus was so busy scheduling out the rest of his evening that he didn't take notice of his steps until he stubbed his toe against something rooted in the floor, which caused him to fall forward, hitting the stone floor knees first and then breaking his fall with his hands. He immediately sat up, despite the throbbing pain in his knees which were probably scraped with cuts now, and looked around. His eyes fell on a lovely pair of legs which, as he gazed his shift upwards, he discovered belonged to an equally lovely face that was presently wearing a very complacent smirk.
Remus grabbed his briefcase and pulled himself to his full height, which was barely a few inches more than the woman in front of him.
"That wasn't very nice." said Remus with a scowl.
"Nor was the little prank you played on me." Kierra replied, still wearing her smirk. She was standing with a few of her work colleagues; all of whom Remus had met previously, but none of whose names he could remember. "Making me run all around the castle…and I was wearing heels today" she added, kicking her right leg out with which she had tripped him, to show him her heels, which looked like a modest two inch heel in Remus's opinion.
"Those aren't that high…"
Kierra scowled. "Yeah, you would know…" Her friends sniggered at her remark.
"Your prank wasn't very nice either…" Remus replied. "I stayed up half the night practicing my French, you know…"
One of Kierra's colleagues rolled his eyes. "Oh Kierra," he muttered, "we ah never going to let you do ze new teacher pranks again! You are ze most uncreative person I 'ave ever met!"
"Shut it, Pierre…" Kierra said shortly, though she smiled sweetly at him.
"No, I'm inclined to agree…" Remus said; finding out Pierre's name suddenly caused him to remember the names of the other two colleagues standing with them. He turned back to Kierra though and added "So I thought I ought to literally teach you a lesson in marauding. You know, show you how it's really done"—
"Mah-ruh-ding?" the woman whose name Remus thought was Elinor asked.
"Trouble making..." Kierra replied shortly. She smiled sheepishly at Remus as she remembered the innocent look on his face when she had first barged into his classroom. "Yes, you'd have known all about that…I forgot."
"Yes Remus," the other woman named Jude chimed in, "Kierra told us about ze joke you played on her…it was much funnier than her joke!"
Remus laughed lightly and smiled at Kierra, which looked uncannily like the smirk Kierra had worn a minute ago. She in turn smacked Remus on the arm for his imitation. "So how were your classes then?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.
He smiled earnestly at her and nodded. "They went alright I think…"
The group continued to chat about their classes for several more minutes. Every now and then his colleagues would fall back into French, speaking very swiftly with each other. He understood them for the most part, but admittedly found it a bit difficult to contribute to the conversation, as his French didn't sound nearly as fluid as theirs, and so he found himself remaining almost silent during those brief reversions to French. He also noticed Kierra grow quiet during those times as well, making him feel a bit better about being a foreigner in this school. Something of his feelings of estrangement must have shown on his face though, as Jude had smiled briefly at him and switched back to English.
"Oui," she said with a sigh, "I 'ate ven I lose things…and it was my favorite bra too!"
Remus raised an eyebrow. Is this what they had been talking about? He had heard something about purple and sequins…and something about doing push-ups. Er no…wait, maybe no 'doing', maybe it was just…push-ups. Perhaps he wasn't at such a loss after all for having mediocre French…
"It 'as been missing for about a month now! I 'ave another bra in purple, of course…but zat was ze only one with sequins zat I 'ave ever 'ad! I will miss it…" Jude continued, looking so genuinely concerned about the issue that Remus had a hard time suppressing a laugh.
"What?" Jude asked, turning to Remus.
"He thinks your accent is funny…" Kierra answered simply before Remus could so much open his mouth.
"That's not true"—
"My accent?" Jude asked defensively. "I only spoke in ze English so you wouldn't feel left out!"
Kierra laughed. "He knows French, for the hundredth time, Jude!" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Then why do you always speak English to him?"
"It's a habit!"
"And just for the record," Remus cut in, "I don't think your accent's funny at all. Kierra here"—Remus good-naturedly-yet-gruffly nudged Kierra in the arm—"she was just joking, really…I just thought your story was funny, that's all."
Pierre laughed lightly. "Don't we all" he said, "though I am somewhat tired of hearing Jude's lost an' found stories…zey are somewhat routine now…"
"Are not!" Jude snapped.
"Are too…" Elinor said good-naturedly. "You do seem to lose things a lot…"
"Especially your undergarments…" Kierra added. "Though I doubt you're at a loss. Sequins, I ask you…"
"Oh, let's not get started on ze sequins again…" Pierre muttered, rolling his eyes.
Jude blushed. Remus looked at his watch to save himself from having to say anything, and upon seeing the time, decided it was time to go.
"Oh, are you leaving?" Kierra asked, as she noticed Remus glancing at his watch. He nodded. "I'll walk you then. I should head home as well."
Remus and Kierra bid the others goodbye and headed outside and walked under the pink and orange sky.
"I swear that Jude is so scatterbrained…" Kierra muttered as they reached the end of the school grounds and crossed the bridge over the lake which separated the school from the rest of the town. "A few days ago she lost an earring. A couple of weeks ago she lost a pair of knickers…"
Remus simple nodded and said "yeah". He wasn't quite sure of what else to say about a woman he hardly knew in regards to her underwear, especially when she spoke so openly about it.
"I know we could just disapparate," Kierra said after a few moments of walking in silence, "but the walk home is just so pleasant, especially around sunset. And it's not that long of a walk anyway."
Remus nodded. "Of course not." He replied. "I actually prefer to walk when I can. Our kind can be so lazy sometimes, using magic for every little thing."
"True, true…" Kierra replied. She laughed a little. "Unfortunately for me I'm marrying the laziest of wizards."
Remus smiled slightly as they continued to walk through Fait Alley. "Edmund's the sort who apparates around the house, isn't he?"
Kierra laughed. "He does do that from time to time, when he's in a hurry. Which reminds me, I've got to go off on him when I get home. He left the toilet seat up again the morning"—
"You guys live together?" Remus asked abruptly. Kierra stopped short. They had reached the flat she shared with Edmund. She looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"I mean," Remus said quickly, "that just came as a surprise, that's all. You never told me you guys lived together. Nothing wrong with it…"
Kierra slowly nodded and then began to dig through her purse, in search of her keys. "Yeah…we've been living together for almost a year now. That's why I was wary of my dad approving of Edmund, as I told you a while back. He didn't like the idea of us living together…said we were 'living in sin'…ah, found 'em…" Kierra said, pulling out her keys. "Luckily," she continued, "dad liked him a lot when they met…so, I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Sure"—
"Unless you'd like to come in!" Kierra interjected, pointing a thumb at the flat. "I've yet to show you around"—
"Maybe another time." Remus replied. "I should be heading back to my own place."
Kierra nodded. "Alright then. And you're heading back to Sirius's for the rest of the week, after your classes tomorrow?"
"That I am. But not before we do a bit of Voldemort-awareness-raising. We're scheduled to have dinner with Elinor's family, aren't we?"
"Yes, tomorrow at 7. I talked to her and her husband a week ago, and they seemed a bit receptive about Voldemort's return. It'll be great if we can get them on board with the order. Elinor's husband, Jacques, actually works for the French ministry of magic, in the department of magical law enforcement. They'd be a huge asset in getting the minister's support."
"Such a shame we've got to resolve to the French ministry, since our wonderful minister of Britain is a complete dunce and too narrow-minded to see the danger our world is in." Remus muttered.
Kierra shook her head and sighed. "Fudge is an idiot. In a few months, he'll be sorry he ever snubbed Dumbledore…"
"I hope you're right." Remus replied. He smiled feebly as he looked at Kierra once more. "Well, best I head off now. I'll see you tomorrow then."
Kierra smiled back. "See you then."
As Remus bustled around the kitchen of his own flat twenty minutes later, he wondered if he had been a bit rude to Kierra on their walk from work. He had been in all honesty too tired to go inside her place. He had wanted nothing more than to get away from her, in fact. He wanted to be alone, to reflect on his day, to write Sirius and Dominique, to bury himself in a book, to just be away from Kierra. Not that he was upset or anything with her for her prank, but rather, he didn't want to spend any more time with her than necessary. And she shouldn't be spending time with him either, he thought as he began to finely chop an onion. She was getting married. She should be spending time with her fiancé…
Just then a knock came from the door. Remus hastened to wipe his hands and answer the door. Just as expected, it was Edmund standing in the doorway, holding a large, smoking cauldron.
"Edmund, hello!" he said brightly.
"Hello Remus," replied Edmund, switching the weight of the cauldron from one hand to the other, "sorry I'm a bit early, I know"—
"No, it's alright. Here, let me take that from you"—Remus relieved Edmund of the burden and placed the cauldron on the coffee table—"thank you so much for making this for me."
Edmund smiled and waved a hand of dismissal. "It was nothing. Oh and that should be enough to tide you over until the full moon. It's in a few days, right?"
Remus nodded. "Yes, that's perfect. Er…won't you come in?"
Edmund shook his head. "Thanks but I ought to get going. I promised Kierra I'd help her address the wedding invitations."
"Oh…when is the wedding?" asked Remus. He had been quite conscious of Kierra's engagement to Edmund, but had seemed to forget entirely about the wedding—the momentous occasion where Kierra would take Edmund as her husband, and he would take her as his wife. They would be eternally bound to one another by matrimony…
"In December," Edmund replied, "over the holidays…easiest to get all the family in at that time of the year…"
Remus nodded and gave a small smile. "Ah, I see. That's not far away, is it? Just a few months…"
"Yeah"—Edmund sighed. He ran a hand through his hair—"looking forward to when it's all done. Kierra's been so snippy these past couple months, planning the wedding and all."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's the whole wedding obsession. She's quite neurotic these days. She was in a right state yesterday, when we picked up the invitations—they spelled her last name wrong…they forgot the 'K' and it was like the end of the world for her."
"Oh, that's not a big deal. I don't think many would notice." Remus assured him.
"I told her that but she still fussed. Went on about the 'K' being a part of her background. Polish pride or something…" Edmund replied with a small laugh.
"She's Polish?" Remus asked. He suddenly felt a bit stupid—he had known her since they were about eleven years old, and not once did he ever consider Kierra's last name and its possible origins. Of course, it was Polish, wasn't it? Well, not that it really mattered, of course. That was hardly significant…
"Yeah…" Edmund replied, smiling at Remus with what was unmistakably a look of smugness. "I remember when she first introduced herself to me a couple of years ago, the first thing I said to her was 'you're Polish, aren't you?' She laughed and said yes, that her grandparents were."
Remus simply nodded and forced a small smile. Well, kudos to Edmund for knowing that scrap of information about Kierra. He certainly hoped he knew a bit more about his fiancée.
"Right, well…I should go then. I'll see you later, Remus." Edmund said finally.
"Right. Good to see you, Edmund. Have fun with the wedding planning…" Remus bid him.
Edmund grinned at Remus and then disapparated at the entrance. Remus shut the door and turned his attention to the cauldron sitting on his coffee table. It was still smoking. Remus sighed as he went to the kitchen to retrieve a goblet…
"I'm home!" Kierra called as she shut the door. She received no answer. But it did smell awfully foul in their flat. She sniffed the air and made a face as she took in the odor. It was probably that wolfbane potion Edmund had been brewing. Which meant…
"Went to Remus's to drop off potion" Kierra read. She dropped the note back on the bed, and then plopped down next to it. Perhaps she should just get started on the addresses for the invitations without him. But then, Kierra suddenly remembered her dream from last night. With Edmund out of the house, now was a perfect time to look it up. Not that he didn't know about her fascination with dream interpretation. He knew, alright. But it was just him. And maybe a few of her friends knew that she dabbled in it. But that was all. It wasn't something to be flaunted. Dream interpretation, after all, fell under the branch of divination. It was a silly field to most, including to her. Kierra generally didn't care for crystal balls and palm reading. But dream interpretation interested her greatly…
Kierra fell onto her stomach and leaned over the side of the bed, and reached under it. Her hand immediately fell on a hardcover book, which she grabbed and pulled to her side. She sat up now on the bed and blinked, feeling slightly dizzy from the blood rush to her head. As her head began to feel once again balanced, Kierra opened to the contents page of The Dream Oracle. Ok, now she just had to remember the dream…Her mind raced, trying to remember the details of the peculiar dream. Well, she was wearing her wedding gown. It was white, and quite suffocating. Kierra quickly looked up 'white', which as she had thought, symbolized purity. So she was pure? Kierra snorted. But then she remembered the dress turning off white. And then there were the off white flowers…yes, that had to be important…but there was nothing about color changes, or off-whiteness in the book…
Edmund had been with her, she remembered. But that meaning was obvious; she was going to marry him. And they had been in an empty chapel, practicing for their wedding. She looked up 'mock ceremonies'. According to the Dream Oracle, she was feeling nervous about the upcoming event. But she wasn't…she had no uneasiness about the upcoming wedding. Although, in the dream, she had felt quite uneasy…but that was the dream, not reality. And she didn't have to look up uneasiness in a dream to know what that signified. More worries and anxiousness. But she wasn't anxious…
Kierra turned to the section on seeing dead loved ones. "Seeing loved ones in dreams often reflects an emotional attachment to the deceased ones…" she read. Kierra frowned. This book wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know. She was hoping to catch something more insightful and profound in this dream. Yet she read on…
"Communicating with the dead in dreams: Generally reflects a strong connection between the living and dead individuals. Also may reflect a certain amount of distress in the individual, which most likely will exist on the subconscious level…"
So she was subconsciously distressed about something? Or she soon would be? Perhaps that did make a little sense, given what James had said to her in the dream when he left the chapel. "Don't worry, it's not so bad."
The only other thing Kierra remembered from the dream was going outside, and seeing a bright star, and a full moon. She thought briefly of Remus as she flipped to the section on celestial objects:
"Celestial objects in general represent aspirations, or can also represent people that the individual is close to. The brightness reflects strength and perseverance, while dimness reflects weakness and/or death. If various objects are seen together in dreams, the larger and brighter ones tend towards the more dominant figures in a person's life, whether people or goals.
Kierra frowned at this description. The star had been very bright, which represented strength, but then it dimmed, and eventually faded away, which would represent weakness. How could that be? Unless, Kierra thought grimly, the star represented a person in her life. Someone close to her…who persevered, but then died…or would die later. Kierra swallowed hard. Dream interpretation was a wooly business, she told herself. Maybe it referred to her father, since he had just passed away.
But then she was left with the moon, which according to the book, would be more dominant, and would play a more central role in her life. That would be Edmund, of course, wouldn't it? Yes, it made perfect sense. Her father was represented by the bright and shiny star. He had taken care of her and loved her. But the star dimmed and died out, just as her father had. And the only thing illuminating the sky in the darkness was the full moon—Edmund. They were to marry, and he would replace her father…
But that didn't make complete sense. Edmund couldn't replace her father. Certainly, he was wonderful, and she loved him dearly. But no one could replace her father. Kierra held her parents above anyone, and there was no way Edmund could outshine her father the way the moon outshined the star…
Kierra frowned, feeling a slight headache coming on. Perhaps Edmund wasn't the moon. Perhaps he wasn't the star either. Who knew? Just then, she was saved the trouble of pondering the subject further. She had heard a popping sound from down the hall, which meant that Edmund was back from Remus's. Kierra fell onto all fours to hide her book and to retrieve the wedding invitations she had also stuck under the bed.
'I really need to stop sticking things under the bed…' Kierra thought as she began to rummage for the invitations. Finally though, as she pushed aside a large box of chocolate (she wasn't quite sure how it had gotten there) she found the box that contained the invitations and envelopes. But just as she pulled it out from underneath the bed, something sparkly caught her eye. It was barely visible—thrown back far back under the bed. Kierra lay on her stomach and stretched her arm out, trying to grasp it. It was so far in, perhaps she was better off going to Edmund's side of the bed and trying there. At last though, Kierra's fingers closed around the soft, meshy fabric. When she drew back from the bed and sat up, she examined her finding. It was a purple bra, outlined by shiny purple sequins.
"Kierra, I'm home!" came Edmund's voice. "You there?"
But Kierra did not hear him. Jude's voice was ringing in her ears...
"It 'as been missing for about a month now! I 'ave another bra in purple, of course…but zat was ze only one with sequins zat I 'ave ever 'ad! I will miss it…"