Chapter 51: Remus and Pierre, Sittin' in a Tree; K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Remus walked briskly down the first floor hallway of Aveyron Academy at 7:58 a.m. He held tightly to his briefcase with his right hand, and suppressed a yawn with his left. He had been awake late into the night, trying to comfort Kierra, leaving him few hours to rest. And now he had gotten up, about two hours before his normal wake-up time, in order to do a quick run down of Kierra's lesson plans, as he was going to substitute her classes for the day, which was where he was heading to at the moment—Kierra's magical architecture class. He entered the class at 8 a.m. on the dot, only to find her class staring expectantly at him. The wizarding community in France was small, and even smaller in Aveyron. He wondered if anyone knew, or had suspicions...

"Good morning all..." He said, beaming at the class. Most of them looked familiar, as they were also enrolled in his advanced defense against the dark arts class. There were a few "good morning professor Lupin"s heard from the class--most of them were still staring at him expectantly.

"Well," he said, knowing that he owed them an explanation of his appearance in their class, "Professor Nakofsky isn't feeling well this morning, so she's asked me to oversee your lessons for today." He rested his briefcase on the desk and popped it open, and began to look for the instructions Kierra had given him. "Right. So architecture isn't exactly my expertise, so Kierra's—er—Professor Nakofsky's arranged for you to work independently this morning. If you all will turn to chapter two in your books and begin to read. She wants you to write up an abstract on your reading—providing six inches of summary, and another six inches on your opinion of the topics discussed in the readings. As I've said—er—yes, Rose?" Remus had been so busy fussing with the lesson plans in his briefcase, he had not noticed that a hand had gone up.

"Please, professor…vere is Professor Nakofsky?"

Remus smiled pleasantly at her. "She's out sick Rose, as I said earlier"—

"Are you sure?" piped up another student, whose name Remus was sure was Jean-Benoît. "Because Julie Nadeau lives near Professor Nakofsky, and she said she heard some shouting last"—

""Zat is what I head too!" chimed in Edouard Balladar from the back. "From Alain"—

"Right, that's enough." Remus said firmly, snapping his briefcase shut with a hard thud that matched the tone of his voice. "I can honestly tell you that your professor isn't well, and finds her self incapable of attending class today, so that should be enough for you. Now, if you all would please turn to your books and begin to read…I'll be collecting your abstracts at the end of the hour."

Remus sat himself at Kierra's desk and glanced up briefly at the class, only to receive, though to no surprise, several glares from the students. Remus shrugged this off as he turned to his own work. They would get over not knowing Kierra's whereabouts soon enough. Like it was really their business anyway… Though, he could understand their concern. She certainly appeared to be a favorite amongst students, having received the Aveyron Academy award two years in a row—an honor bestowed upon the professor, chosen by the graduating class, who displayed excellence in teaching. But he didn't need to see the plaques in the staffroom to see her popularity. Yesterday had only been the first day of class, and Remus had only seen Kierra in passing a few times during the day, but on each occasion she had been surrounded by a pack of students who were talking to her eagerly. During her lunch break, Remus had stopped by her office to say hello, and found her with three other students, chatting about the architects who designed enchanted castles...

Remus looked up to see another hand go up. He took a deep breath, hoping it wasn't anything about Kierra.

"Professor," said the blond student whom he did not recognize, "zer is a part in ze chapter zat talks about 'ogwarts and 'ow it achieves commodity, firmness and delight. It uses ze example of ze staircases"—

"I'm sorry," Lupin said, shaking his head, "commodity, firmness and delight? I know what those words mean, but in the context of architecture…can you briefly fill me in?"

"Well," the blond girl said, glancing down at her book for reference, "zey are ze three architectural principles…architectural principles people base their work on…commodity refers to ze functionality of a building, firmness refers to ze structural strength, and delight refers to ze aesthetic value…meaning, how pleasing it is to ze eyes…"

Remus nodded in understanding. "Alright. So you want to know how the staircases at Hogwarts achieve these three goals?"

The blond nodded.

"Well, they obviously achieved firmness, as they were built thousands of years ago and still stand today. It's definitely a delight, because they are made beautiful, not to mention that it was always funny to see students befuddled by the sudden shift in direction of the stairs. And well…as for commodity, it serves its purpose, doesn't it? They get people from point A to B."

"But how is it functional if it keeps shifting…preventing a person to get from point A to B? What's the point of it?"

Remus paused to consider the matter, determined to think of a good answer to satisfy the student. It was a matter of pride in his school, after all, and he wouldn't have these students under the misapprehension that Hogwarts was build with shoddy craftsmanship.

"Well," he said slowly, "I suppose the architects who designed Hogwarts did so because they wanted to keep students from loitering on the stairs. Staircase congestion is the most annoying, as you all would know. So if they made the staircases change randomly, it would encourage students to hurry along their way…"

"Cool…" the blond girl said appreciatively. "Thank you, sir."

"Professor," Jean-Benoît piped up again, "Did you attend Hogwarts?"

Remus smiled slightly, as he saw Jean-Benoît smirk at Julie Nadeau. He had enough teaching experience and knew an attempt to throw the class off on a tangent when he saw one. Nevertheless, Remus nodded and said "Yes, I did go there."

"Professor Nakofsky said she went there too!" said Julie. "Did you know her then?"

Remus shifted slightly in his seat. He wondered what else Kierra had said about her time in Hogwarts. "Yes, we were in the same year. Same house too, actually."

"Were you two friends?" asked the blond girl who had brought up the subject of Hogwarts in the first place.

"Sort of…Alright, you lot. Get back to work, please. You don't have much time left.' He said, pointing at the clock that hung overhead.

Julie pouted. "I vant to 'ear more about 'ogwarts, professor…There's an entire section dedicated to it in this chapter…it vould be so nice to hear about it from someone who 'as actually been there!"

The rest of the class nodded their heads vigorously in agreement. Remus smiled. "I'm sure Kierra will be more than happy to share her anecdotes of her days at Hogwarts when she's back. And no doubt her stories will be much more interesting and colorful than mine…"

"Oh come on, professor"—said Jean-Benoît.—"sir!"—he added quickly when Lupin looked at him warily. "Please? How can you deny us"—

Remus sighed. "Alright, but during the last few minutes of class, and on the condition that you've all turned in your abstracts."

The class groaned in response, and set off to continue their work. Twenty minutes later, the last abstract had been turned in, and the class was looking at Remus as expectantly as they had when he had first entered the class. Remus looked at the clock and sighed. He had about ten minutes until the end of class. "Alright…what would you all like to know about Hogwarts?"

Jean-Benoît's hand shot up. "So…it says in our book that the stairs that lead to the girls' dormitory turn into slides if boys try to climb them. How come?"

"Well, the founders of the school thought that boys were less trustworthy…so it was just a precautionary act for the safety of the female students."

"So you already knew about that?" asked Jean-Benoît, his face falling into a smirk. "How did you find out? The hard way?"

The class fell into laughter, and Remus too, laughed. "No, I'm afraid my story is not as interesting as you'd hope, Mr. Gustave. I read about it in Hogwarts, a History when I was a boy."

"So boys can't go in girls' rooms, but girls can come up to the boys' rooms?" asked a redhead named Miranda Lefou.

"Correct…and don't bother asking the question you want to ask, Jean-Benoît." Remus said, waving a hand dismissively at the boy who had raised his hand again. Several students sniggered, and Jean-Benoît blushed, but grinned in spite of himself.

"Is there really a willow tree that attacks people who get too close to it?" Miranda asked. Remus nodded in response. "Zis 'ogwarts is ze craziest school I 'ave ever heard of!" Miranda said. "All of zese weird and dangerous features…"

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." Remus said, smiling wryly.

"You 'ave more dangerous things in ze castle?" Miranda asked, looking astonished.

"Oh yes, there's the forbidden forest that's got creatures of every sort in it…the lake with its merpeople, giant squid, and grindylows…"

"A giant squid?" Julie asked, looking slightly disconcerted. "I hate squids…"

"What else is there?" Jean-Benoît inquired. "What did you like most about 'ogwarts?"

Remus paused to think. "Well..I don't know. The library was always nice when Madam Pince the librarian wasn't breathing down your neck for touching her books…I always liked the quidditch pitch…"

"You play quidditch, professor?" asked Daniel Chatelet, whom Remus had heard to be the best seeker the school had seen in many years.

"Ah, no…I haven't played a match of quidditch in my life, funny enough. Yet I really loved the quidditc pitch…it was outdoors…nice expanse of land to take walks on…of course, I saw some good matches too…" he added quickly when he received some funny looks from the students.

"Take walks?" asked Jean-Benoît, cocking an eyebrow at Lupin. "By yourself…or did you take girlfriends there?"

"Oh…I didn't have girlfriends…I mean…I did…but not many…" Remus replied, feeling himself blushing. "This is getting a bit personal, don't you all think?" he asked with a slight smile.

"Not at all." Julie said with a grin. "We love hearing about professors' days at school"—

"Especially their love lives." Jean-Benoît finished. "So how many girlfriends did you have at ze school, professor?"

"Alright, you lot…when I said we could talk about Hogwarts, I meant we'd talk about its architecture, not…my life in it…" Remus said firmly.

"Are zere a lot of secret passageways in 'ogwarts?" asked Miranda. "I 'eard zat there were…"

"Yes, there are…" Remus answered in a slightly calmer voice, glad to be back on topic. "I was fortunate enough to discover probably all of them during my years there with my friends."

"Do you think Professor Nakofsky knows 'ogwarts as well as you do?" Jean-Benoît asked. "With all ze secret places?"

Remus smiled. "Well, no doubts she knows much more than me about its architecture…but in all honesty, I think she spent far less time prowling around the castle at night with her friends like I did. Though no doubt, I'm sure her knowledge of the grounds is extensive…she'll know a couple of hidden places like the kitchens and the secret passageway that led to the village…I took her there once"—Remus stopped mid-sentence as he realized what he had said—"er—she…had just wanted to see them, from what I remember…" he finished lamely, now hoping that this class was too thick to put two and two together to figure out that he and Kierra had dated. But he knew they weren't. On the contrary, they were a very sharp bunch, particularly Mr. Jean-Benoît Gustave. To his great relief though, the bell had rung, and the class was dismissed.

Kierra bustled around Remus's kitchen (or was it her kitchen now too? She wasn't quite sure…) putting cleaned dishes away. She paused for a moment to check the cooking on the stove. Perfect, she thought, smiling for the first time that day. She was cooking (muggle style of course. She was just no good with magical techniques…) dinner for her and Remus, and she hadn't burned anything yet. She was quite proud of herself. She pulled her wand out from behind her ear and tapped the dirty counter. "Scourgify" she muttered. To her dismay, a few shards of onion peels disappeared from the counter, but the rest of the mess stayed. Oh, she was hopeless… She quickly wet a rag and began to wipe the counter, pausing once to catch her reflection in the microwave, which she was very surprised to see in Remus Lupin's flat. She ran a hand through her dark brown hair, which she had dyed this afternoon on a whim. She had to admit, it didn't look nearly as good as the red she had kept for so long, but she just felt like a change. Perhaps it was because she was moping around the flat all morning, sulking over Edmund. Or maybe it was because Edmund had been the one who told her to keep her hair red when she first dyed it. Wanker…she thought angrily.

Edmund doesn't deserve someone as good as you, she reminded herself as she scrubbed the counter clean. Actually she had been repeating Remus's words from last night over and over in her head throughout the day. They would provide her comfort for a few hours, but then she would remember Jude's bra, and images of Jude in her bed with Edmund would run through her mind. She wondered how long it would all last. But no matter how long it did take for her to get over Edmund, she wouldn't let Remus pity her. They had only been reacquainted with each other for a few months now, and already she had cried twice on his shoulder. He probably thought her some incompetent, emotional human hosepipe. Even when they were dating, she had on many occasions worn her heart on her sleeve and cried openly in front of him. And as Kierra set plates and glasses on the table, she realized that not once in her whole life had she seen Remus cry. The image of Remus crying made Kierra shudder slightly. Crying seemed to be beneath Remus, who kept his emotions held back like a dam. He'd have plenty of reason to cry, of course…having plenty of losses. As she heard Remus apparate into the flat, she wondered how awkward Dominique and Sirius would feel if she asked them if Remus had ever cried…

"Kierra!" Remus smiled warmly at her as he appeared with a popping sound into the living room. She peered out of the kitchen and grinned at him.

"Hi Remus!"

He gaped at her. "Kierra—your hair's brown! And"—he took a whiff of the air—"and it smells like food cooking"—he glanced around the flat. He was always tidy, but with Kierra coming over last night and with their somber sleepover party, he hadn't any time to clean up—"but our place is all clean! What happened?"

Kierra bounced into the living room excitedly. "Did you say our place?"

"Er…you wanted to move in, right?"

"Yeah…I just…I don't know. I guess I didn't expect you to adjust like that…I even feel weird calling this our place." She admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Are you sure about that?" Remus asked, looking Kierra up and down. She was sporting more of his clothes. "Because you seem to be comfortable with the idea of collective property…"

"Oh!" Kierra blushed, tugging at the shirt she had borrowed from Remus's room. "Sorry about that…I just really needed a shower, and I had no clothes to change into…and I really needed something to go out in, because I wanted to dye my hair…"

"Ah yes…I can see that. So, got sick of the red then?"

"Yeah…just wanted some change. So…I dyed my hair, and I just felt renewed…so I cleaned up the place, and made dinner!"

"So you cook now?" asked Remus, looking at her amusedly.

"Yeah…I've been able to cook for a while now, thank you very much." Kierra said airily. "But I do it muggle style, culinary magic is overrated anyway…"

Remus grinned. "If you say so…"

"So, how was today? Did you manage teaching for two?" Kierra asked as she brought out the food to the table.

"It was alright." Remus replied. "That architecture class of yours is pretty interesting, I have to admit…"

Kierra smiled. "It's my favorite class. And thanks so much for subbing. I promise to come to work tomorrow."

"Don't feel pressured or anything…" Remus said. "If you need more time off…"

"No, no…I'm perfectly fine," Kierra said quickly. "I don't want people to start talking…I mean, that's if they haven't already…" she said slowly, looking at Remus worriedly. "I mean, they haven't been talking, have they?"

Remus sighed.

"Oh God…people are talking? What did you hear? Did anyone ask you anything?"

"Some of your students tried to pry some information out of me…I think some of them heard shouting at your flat last night…and they saw that chest of clothes out on the sidewalk…"

"Oh no…" Kierra groaned. She sunk into her chair and buried her face in her hands.

"No, no…it's not as bad as you think… I mean, I've heard bits of stuff today in the halls, and no one seems very close to guessing what happened."

"Why? What did you hear?"

Remus smiled humorlessly. "They were saying things like, 'Oh, I heard shouting'…'she's living with Lupin…I saw them walking together towards his flat!' 'But Lupin's a poof!' 'They're shagging each other!' 'But Lupin's a poof!' 'Kierra must've left Edmund because she loves Lupin…but he won't have her because he's a poof!'"

Kierra looked at him, open mouthed.

"From what I've heard…apparently I'm a desperate poof who was trying to get with our colleague, Pierre, but couldn't because he's obviously straight, so then I tried to get your fiancé, but also couldn't, so I settled with shagging you instead, thus ending your engagement to Edmund…" Remus said, frowning slightly.

Kierra gaped at him for a moment, but then frowned. "Er—how exactly did Pierre get into this?"

Remus shrugged. "I think it's because I said to a student yesterday that Pierre seemed like a very nice man. That's what I heard someone say in the halls."

Kierra shook her head, smiling slightly. "Are you sure that's what the students think? Because that sounds like the funniest load of shit I've ever heard…"

Remus laughed. "It is, I know. But I'm sorry to say that's what the students are saying. Actually, I'm not sorry at all. I suppose it's better that they're making these wild theories that they probably don't believe anyway than to have them know what actually happened."

Kierra nodded in agreement. They began to eat dinner in silence. After a few moments, Kierra couldn't take it. She had to know… "Did you see Jude today?"

Remus dropped his spoon in his soup and had to fish it out. "Well…yes…I saw her from a distance, in the halls."

And how did she look? Do you think she knows?"

Remus looked down at his soup. He did not want to tell her what he saw…that Jude looked completely normal, as if nothing had happened…that he had seen her conversing pleasantly with Elinor, who would also know by now about last night's events, as he had sent her an owl to cancel their dinner plans to discuss the order of the phoenix. And most of all, he did not want to tell her that at the end of the day, he had seen Edmund meet Jude at the entrance of the castle and walk off together. She didn't need to know all of that. It would hurt her too much…

"She looked sulky.' Remus said finally.

"Sulky?"

"Yes…she probably knows that you found out, and well, she probably feels like shit now…serves her right…" he added.

Kierra nodded and did not inquire furher, much to Remus's relief, and they lapsed into silence again. A few moments later though, it was broken, but this time by Remus.

"Er…why do all the students think I'm a poof?" he asked, causing Kierra to snigger. Much as he was offended by being mistaken for one, he was glad that it had at least made Kierra laugh.

"Well…" she said slowly. "I'm not sure…I guess…er…let's put it this way. You're too good to be a guy."

"Er…what's that supposed to mean?"

Kierra shrugged. "The typical guy is such a dunderhead…with stupid masculine tendencies. Like being horrible dressers, insensitive, bad communicators, messy, just all those negative qualities you tend to find in men, you don't have them….that must be it."

"Really?" Remus asked, feeling himself flush slightly. "Er…thanks, I think…"

"Ok" said Kierra softly, pulling her ear away from the door and turning to look at Remus. "I'm positive he isn't home. Come on…" And from her pocket she withdrew a key to unlock the door to Edmund's flat. Remus took a deep breath and followed her inside.

"I'm not sure if this is such a good idea…you do know this is called breaking in and entering, don't you?" Remus asked quietly.

"Yeah, so? I'm just taking what's mine…" Kierra said, tiptoeing into Edmund's flat, which was completely dark.

"So? Do you know it's punishable by law?" Remus continued, though he followed her in to the dark flat anyway.

"Lumos." Kierra muttered. She turned to Remus. "Oh sorry"—she lowered her wand, as to not blind him with the lights—"let's hurry this up…he'll probably be back in a few hours."

Remus nodded and hauled out a trunk with seven key holes on it and set it flat on the floor. He pulled out a set of keys and stuck one of them in the last keyhole and opened the trunk.

"Very nice of Moody to lend it to us." he muttered, peering inside the trunk, which revealed a very large pit, almost like an underground room, which was now empty. "Alright, let's start with all the big things. Should I go ahead inside? You can pass me your stuff…" Remus said, turning to Kierra.

"Yeah, sure…" and with that, Remus climbed inside the trunk. He felt himself fall onto a hard, cold floor. He looked around the large room that was contained in one of the compartments of the trunk. It was very spacious, and would probably fit most of Kierra's things. Maybe they wouldn't need to use the other compartments of the trunk, which were much smaller and normal sized. He could hear Kierra grunting, and the sound of furniture being pushed across the floor. Hopefully she was taking something that was in fact hers. He really did not want the two of them to get convicted for theft… Committing a crime would certainly not help them in their campaign for the order to raise Voldemort awareness in the French community…

Of course, Moody had begged to differ. Surprisingly, when Remus had asked Moody if they could borrow his trunk so Kierra could break into her ex-fiance's flat, and move out, Moody immediately consented and fell into a rant about what a tosser Edmund was…how Sirius had told him what happened, and how Sirius was absolutely right about his suspicions of Edmund…Remus then spent the next twenty minutes listening to Moody, as he unloaded his trunk, about how he remembered Kierra as a girl, and how she deserved much better, and how she had a right to break in and do whatever she wanted to the prat's flat…

"A good fingerprint-erasing charm will do the trick." Moody had said gruffly, causing Remus to wonder whether Mundungus Fletcher was spending too much time with the Order and rubbing off on Moody. When Remus reminded him that he, Moody, had once worked in law enforcement, Moody went off on him for not caring enough about Kierra's welfare.

"Wha—she broke up with ME!" Remus had exclaimed when Moody muttered that Kierra was better off with someone like him, and then proceeded to ask why he had dumped her in the first place. Of course, Remus had never told Kierra about his long discussion with Moody that had predominately been about her. Moody and Kierra had always seemed to have unspoken bond with each other. Moody seemed to have a strange attachment to Kierra, and Kierra seemed to have a strange respect for him. Actually, Remus remembered this bond forming around the time that Kierra had been cut from auror training…Moody had been her mentor. Even though they were dating at the time and Kierra had come crying to Remus's house when it happened, she had never told him about her conversation between Moody. It must have been that conversation that brought forth some sort of mutual amenity between them…

"Oy—Remus! Incoming!"

Remus looked up to see Kierra trying to shove a large bookshelf through the entrance of the room/trunk. Remus smiled slightly and moved forward to grab a hold of the shelf and slowly ease it into the room inside the trunk.

About an hour later, all seven compartments of Moody's trunk had been filled and they were on their way back to their flat. ("I'll be much more comfortable calling it our flat when I've paid for my share of the rent" Kierra muttered). As they trudged along Fait Alley in the darkness wit the trunk between them, Kierra turned to Remus. "So…are you going to keep getting your potion from Edmund then?" she asked.

"No" Remus said briskly. He had actually given this matter a lot of thought since the breakup. Edmund had made just enough potion to tide him over for the full moon, which was tomorrow…

"But"—

"Do you think Edmund would make it if he found out you moved in with me?"

Kierra's face fell. "I'm sorry"—

"No, don't worry about it." Remus said lightly. "I've got it all figured out. I've gotten in touch with Snape, and asked him if he could have potion ready for me when I'm in London"—

"He agreed?" Kierra asked, astonished.

"Yes…mind you, Dumbledore's name was thrown around a bit in the conversation, but I got him to agree…so I've got a set schedule as to when I'm going to be in London, and I have to stick to it."

Kierra nodded. "And what about when you're here?"

"Mundungus Fletcher."

Kierra frowned. "That little bloke in the order?"

Remus nodded. "He has…some contacts, shall we say…in the black market, and he told me he might be able to hook me up with someone in Paris."

Kierra laughed. "Black Market wolfbane potion? Do you trust it?"

"For the hefty sum I'm going to be paying, I have to trust it…"

Kierra frowned again. "Why couldn't you just go through the hospital?"

"Because they'd know I'm a werewolf, and then I'd have to be put on the werewolf registry here…which is completely open to the public." He said in a slightly bitter tone.

"Which would destroy the whole purpose of you being here…" Kierra finished glumly. They walked the remainder of the way in silence.

Remus shuddered as he drank the last of the wolfbane potion that Edmund had made for him. He looked down at the empty cauldron, wondering if Edmund would come for it, or if he should go himself to drop it off. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 5:30 p.m., which meant Kierra would be back from work any minute.

As Remus put the cauldron in the sink and tapped it with his wand to rinse itself out, he wondered how her day had gone. He had only spent his lunch break with her, along with Elinor and Pierre, the latter whom had looked at Remus nervously and sat as far away from him as possible until Kierra bluntly told him that Remus was straight and didn't have any ulterior implications when he said that Pierre was a very nice man. (Pierre became considerably nicer to Remus after that.) Kierra filled Pierre and Elinor in on the details of how she found out about Jude, and when she had finished, Elinor admitted that Jude had confessed to her yesterday of her dealings with Edmund because she heard rumors flying around the school about Kierra and Edmund splitting up. It seemed by today though, the entire school knew that Kierra was through with her fiancé because of some affair. (Remus's involvement in the event seemed definite to all, but the matter of him being anyone's lover and the matter of his sexual orientation remained a mystery to all).

"I feel so embarrassed…" Kierra had sobbed, pushing aside her sandwich. "Everyone knows…my students know!"

"Think of it as a compliment." Pierre had said thoughtfully. When everyone looked at him strangely, he sighed. "Remember last 'ear ven Kitty 'ad an affair vit the caretaker?" Elinor and Kierra had nodded, while Remus had a fleeting image of Filch having an affair with Alicia Sinastra, the astronomy professor at Hogwarts. "Well," Pierre had continued, "No one really found out or even cared about it! The difference between you and Kitty is that you are popular and very much loved 'ere! The students buzz about your life because you're so interesting and likeable!"

Remus remembered Kierra feeling slightly better by Pierre's words, but later on in the day, he had seen Edmund come once again to the castle to meet up with Jude, and no doubt Kierra had found out about that. He only hoped that she hadn't taken it too badly…

Just then, as Remus had seated himself on the living room sofa with a thick hardcover book, a popping sound came and Kierra apparated in front of him, looking quite pleased.

"Guess what?" she squealed, so shrilly in fact that their next door neighbor, Celine Danglar, an old widow, tapped hard on the wall that they shared with what they presumed to be her cane. "Sorry Mrs. Danglar!" Kierra called into the wall. She turned excitedly to Remus, waving a letter in the air.

"Guess what?" she was practically bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Harvey and Janine…they had a baby girl—Jacqueline!"

"Really? Wow! Congrat—oof!" Remus grunted as Kierra jumped onto the couch next to him with so much energy that her knees landed painfully hard against his thigh. She didn't seem to notice this, as she drew out a picture from her pocket and presented it to Remus, grinning broadly. He took the picture into his hands and looked at it. The baby was laying in her mother's arms, wrapped up in fluffy white blankets and revealing only her tiny pink face. She had wisps of blond hair laying flat against her head, and her bright blue eyes blinked a few times at them, and her mouth twitched slightly.

"She's smiling!" Kierra said excitedly. "I know it doesn't look like one…but she's a baby, she can't move her mouth much yet…but it was definitely an attempt at one!"

Remus laughed as he studied the picture. "You're right, I think she is. She's beautiful, Kierra…"

"She looks just like Nora, doesn't she?" Kierra asked, pocketing the photo.

"She definitely has her eyes…"

"God bless Janine for having such gorgeous eyes…" Kierra said solemnly. "And those adorable, chubby cheeks are Nora's too!"

Remus laughed. "I think all babies have chubby cheeks."

"Yes, but Nora's seem to stay. I love them though…make her look so cute, I always want to pinch them!" Kierra squealed, smiling brightly at Remus.

He laughed again. "Poor Nora, then…"

"You know, I think I'm going to pay them a visit this weekend…to see Jackie…"

"Jackie? What about Jacqueline?" Remus asked with a frown.

"Jackie's short for Jacqueline…"

"I know that! I meant…Jacqueline sounds nicer."

"It's too proper! Jackie sounds better…"

"It sounds boyish…like Jack…"

Kierra rolled her eyes. "I feel sorry for your kids, Remus. You're probably going to give them names like Fitzwilliam or Fanny or Napoleon…"

"Napoleon?"

Kierra shrugged. "I don't know…we're in France, so…"

Remus swore under his breath as something crashed at his feet. But before he could so much as pull out his wand, Kiera burst into the kitchen and gasped as she looked at the floor.

"My vase! Remus! I was almost done with it!" she cried.

"Calm down!' he said to her, and turning to the vase, he waved his wand and said "reparo." At once, the vase repaired itself into one piece. He picked it up and handed it to Kierra with a smile. "Next time, don't leave it sitting on the edge of the kitchen table. Actually…" he waved his hand at the table, which currently had paint bottles, brushes, Kierra's wand, and a paint-stained apron strewn across it. "It would be nice if you didn't turn this entire flat into an art studio…I mean, I just don't want to break or smear anything!" he added hastily when Kierra scowled at him. Her expression softened slightly.

"Sorry…" she said with a smile. "I'll try to be tidier." And with that, she began to clear up the mess at the kitchen table. Remus frowned slightly, feeling guilty now. He had opened his mouth to apologize, but as Kierra leaned forward to reach for a paint bottle that had rolled away, Remus let out a gasp instead and shut his eyes.

"What?" Kierra asked, looking terrified.

Remus opened his eyes, but looked anywhere but at Kierra. "Nothing, sorry…"

"What is it?" she asked again, looking at Remus curiously.

"Well…it's just…yourclothesarereallyshort…" he said quickly.

"Huh? Oh!" Kierra pulled down the oversize t-shirt she was wearing, smoothing it over her thighs—well, the small amount of thigh that it covered, anyway.

"I'm sorry…" Remus stammered, feeling himself blush. "I just…"

"No, don't worry" Kierra said, "I swear, I'm wearing knickers underneath. See?" and she lifted her shirt up a few inches to reveal her lavender colored brief-style underwear.

"Kierra!" Remus exclaimed, turning away at once.

"What?" she laughed, tugging down her shirt once more. "I've got swimsuits smaller than that"—

"That's not the point"—

"What? You can see a girl in a skimpy little swimsuit, but you can't see her in her underwear? That makes no sense!"

"No, but…you don't have to feel obligated to flash me!" Remus finally managed to say.

"I wasn't flashing you…and I was wearing briefs…not like a thong or anything!"

"No…but that puts me in mind, Kierra…I was taking a shower earlier, and well…"

"And what?"

"Well…you sort of…left your…er…laundry handing all over the place…"

"Oh! Well…I had to dry my clothes somewhere…" Kierra protested. "And as neither of us seem to be able to master a drying charm…"

"Right, I'll try to learn one this weekend then." Remus said.

Kierra glared at him as she passed by him, muttering something about really being a poof after all.

"Look," said Remus quietly, in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, really, I am…I know I'm probably coming off as a bit annoying, but…er…it's just that…I've never lived with a woman before." He said quickly. "It's just sort of weird for me, having to see…well, you…er…feminine sorts...of things…everywhere…" he finished lamely.

Kierra broke into a smile. "Do they freak you out or something?" she asked, biting down on her lip to keep from laughing.

"No!" Remus said defensively, catching Kierra's attempt to suppress her laughter. "I'm just not used to it, that's all…"

"Oh" Kiera said, nodding in understanding. "I'm sorry…I'll try to…er…keep my stuff in my room then…I don't mind."

"No, it's ok!" Remus said at once, now feeling thoroughly stupid for bringing this up in the first place. "I should just suck it up and deal with it. I mean, if I can deal with Sirius leaving his underwear lying around, I can deal with yours. And at least yours are clean…" he added as an afterthought.

Kierra made a face of revulsion and then laughed with Remus. "Right, well, still…I'm a right slob…I should try to be somewhat tidy. I owe you that much. Anyway…" Kierra disappeared into her room and reemerged from it with bags in each of her hands. "I should go now…Janine and Harvey will be expecting me now."

Remus looked at her luggage and raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you just going for the weekend?"

Kierra jingled the bag in her left hand, causing it to make a rattling sound. "baby presents!" she said happily. "I found so many nice toys, and all these cute dresses! She'll just love them!"

Remus smiled. "I'm not sure that newborn babies have the capacity to love clothes…"

"Oh yeah? This girl's mother is Janine…and her sister is Nora. She will love clothes, trust me."

"If you say so. Well, say hello to them for me"—

"I will"—

"Oh, Kierra?"

"Mmm?"

"Your clothes…"

"Oh!"

Kierra dropped her bags and hurried into her room. She appeared a moment later, hopping into a pair of jeans. "This is why I need a flatmate…" she muttered as she zipped up her jeans.

"Remus!"

Sirius jumped up from the couch, quite startled, as Remus landed hard in the fireplace of 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Sirius!" Remus breathed, getting up and dusting himself. "Just thought I'd visit after all…wanted to surprise you though."

"But what about Kierra?" Sirius asked as he led Remus to the sofa and motioned him to sit down.

"Oh, well…good news, actually. Her brother and sister-in-law had a baby girl a few days ago, and well, she felt so much better since she got the news…she went to go visit them today. So I thought since I don't have any obligations toward her now, I should come and see you all, as I had planned."

"Excellent." Sirius said with a grin. "It's been a couple of weeks since you've been here. If only you came over a couple days earlier though…you missed a fabulous order meeting." He said, rolling his eyes.

Remus grinned. "Well, Snape wasn't at this one, was he? His classes already started."

"Thank God he wasn't there." Sirius said with a sigh. "But you know who was…that slimy ass wipe, Edmund…"

Remus looked at him, wide-eyed. How could he have forgotten? Edmund was made an order member when Kierra had joined. And of course, Dumbledore couldn't kick him out because of some personal issues he was having with Kierra. Plus, he knew too much about the order's business anyway…

"So what happened?" Remus asked. "I take it most everyone knows about him and Kierra…"

"Well, what else could we do?" Sirius said bitterly. "Act as if nothing had happened. Dumbledore even came here early to tell us that…"

"Really?"

"Well, no…he came early to tell me not to do anything rash when Edmund arrived. What did he think I'd do? Hex him into oblivion for ruining Kierra's life?"

"Yeah, maybe…"

Sirius scowled at him. "Dominique took the news pretty badly, you know. She was devastated."

"Did she already leave?"

Sirius nodded. "Left this morning. She was a bit peeved at me too, you know…because I didn't tell her straightaway. But we had our anniversary when your letter came, and I didn't want to spoil it for her. So I waited til the next morning…anyway, she wanted to visit you two in Aveyron, but she doesn't know if she'll have time. She said if she doesn't, she'll for sure write to Kierra."

Remus nodded. As he did so, something shiny across the room caught his eyes.

"Sirius"—

"I bought it for Dominique as an anniversary/I'm-sorry-for-forgetting-our-anniversary gift."

"Bit extravagant, don't you think?"

Sirius smiled knowingly as he twiddled his thumbs. "Well, anything to keep the ladies happy…"

"And if it means buying their love…" Remus said with a grin.

Sirius scowled at him. "So, how's living with the ex?" he asked, deciding to punish Remus a little for his comment.

"It's gotten better," Remus said, "She was moping about at first, but the moment she found out about her new niece, she was totally uplifted. She's been doing her pottery and painting and all of her other art stuff like crazy, and shopping for baby things quite a bit…been very busy."

"Well, that's good. But…I mean, how is it living with her? Weird at all?" Sirius asked.

"Well, a little…but not because it's Kierra. I mean, I haven't lived with anyone in a while"—

"You live with me right now!" Sirius cut in.

"Yeah, but this is a big house…I meant you know, flats…sharing small spaces. And I've never lived with a woman before…so…it's going to take some getting used to."

Sirius laughed. "Good luck with that, mate. I remember when D and I first got married and moved in together, it was absolute hell…"

"Really? I thought the hell didn't start until that co-worker of yours started hitting on you."

"Yeah well, that was an emotional hell…" Sirius said with a sigh. "But…living with Dominique and getting used to all of her weird, feminine ways…it was just a hell like no other."

Remus laughed. "Does D know?"

"Course not…and don't tell her either!"

"My lips are sealed."

"Good…and it's not like it was too terrible. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love her and all, but geez…she's a complete freak, the way she went psycho over toilet seats being left up! But you know…it turned out alright though. Living with her did have its compensations…"

"Like what?"

Sirius laughed. "Ones that you couldn't benefit from, mate, since Kierra's just a friend." He said in a mimicking voice. Remus scowled at him, but Sirius continued. "Unless of course, she's a friend with benefits"—

"Sirius!"

"Oh, sorry…" Sirius said, looking slightly apologetic. "You're right…she just broke up with Edmund the wanker. Well, give it some time…maybe a month or so…she'll be tolerably over him by then…but she won't have much confidence in herself. She'll be really vulnerable…you can swoop down on her then, mate"—

"Sirius, I am not going to woo her…and especially not when she's feeling most vulnerable…and how have you figured that all out anyway?"

Sirius shrugged. "Women are generally vulnerable a few months after a big breakup." And after rolling his eyes at Remus, he added, "and you'll never get anywhere with a woman if you call it wooing…geez Moony…"

"Oh, Janine!" Kierra sighed as she joined her sister-in-law at the table in the kitchen, where she was nursing baby Jackie. "Sometimes, I just want to pack up all my stuff and move back here to London, where everyone is! Where everyone speaks English…properly!" she added, thinking about her years spent in America.

"Well, why don't you?" Janine asked. "When does your contract expire anyway?"

"Now for another three years."

"Oh…" Janine said glumly.

"I mean, I do like it there…but…" Kierra sighed. "I think this whole Jude/Edmund fiasco has got me all wound up…I can't believe they've got the power to make me want to run away…"

"Oh sweety…" Janine put the hand she wasn't using to support her baby on Kierra's back and stroked it. "You're just a bit upset right now…and it's perfectly normal for people to want to go back to their families, where they're most comfortable…the urge to move back will pass soon enough, I'm sure."

Kierra smiled gratefully at her sister-in-law and sighed. "I certainly hope so."

"It will." Janine said, squeezing Kierra's hand reassuringly and smiling.

There were a few moments of silence, which was only broken when Jackie let out a tiny burp. It had been soft, yet enough to cause Janine and Kierra to squeal with delight.

"She's so cute!" Kierra said as she took Jackie in her arms to give Janine a break. She planted a kiss on the baby's chubby, pink cheek. "I just want to take her home with me and keep her!"

Janine laughed. "I'm sorry…you're just going to have to make your own. Oh, that reminds me, how's living with Remus?"

"How did that remind you of Remus?" Kierra asked indignantly.

Janine rolled her eyes. "I don't know…you used to date him, didn't you? Dating leads to sex…sex leads to babies…oh I'm sorry, did I spoil the surprise for you? I thought you already knew where babies came from…" Janine said innocently, looking quite amused when Kierra's mouth dropped open in shock. Kierra then scowled at her, but she continued, "So…how's living with him? Is it weird?"

Kierra paused to consider the matter. "Well, no…not really. I don't think so… Though, I think he might be finding it a bit awkward, living with a woman. He practically flipped at the fact that I had some bras drying off in the bathroom. You'd think he'd never seen them before…"

"Woah, Kierra…he flipped"—

"Oh, no, not like that! I mean…it scared him. Not…turned him on or anything…" she said, blushing. "I swear, he's so…not like a guy. I was wearing this big t-shirt today, and apparently it showed too much…and he made a big deal out of it…and he practically cowered when I showed him my underwear"—

"You showed him your underwear?"

"Er…well…they were briefs, you know…what?" she asked when Janine shook her head in dismay. "He covered his eyes and yelled at me!"

"Kierra, look…nothing against Remus or anything…he seems like a wonderful person…and to be honest, I'm really impressed with…well, his modesty, I guess you could say. But…he's still a guy, so just…just keep that in mind, would you?"

Kierra looked at Janine exasperatedly, but sighed and nodded her head. "Sure."

As Kierra tucked Jackie away in her basinet later that evening, Janine's words played over and over in her mind. "He's still a guy, so just keep that in mind, would you?" So what if he was a guy? They weren't in any danger of each other now, were they?