A/N: First, I want to say thanks to all the readers who got to chapter 51 early and didn't tell me off for all the typos--I was so tired when I finished I didn't feel like editing. When I went to look over it a few hours later, I was thoroughly embarrassed at the number of mistakes and prayed that no one had read it yet...lol anyway...
On another note, as the release of HBP and the end of this fic draw nearer, I've decided that I most likely won't be doing a sequel. At least not right away. I guess it depends on what new info we get from HBP and whether or not it'll contradict my storylines. I'd condense the plots from the sequel into this fic, but besides not having enough time, they're much more complicated and darker, and would require a fic of its own. The other thing is that I really want to try my hand at a few other storylines before I further immerse myself in kierra and remus's troubled love lives (and Dominique's too!) So if I ever do get tempted to re-delve into these characters' lives, I have a plot ready. I just think it'll be some time before I get to it. Hope you stick around regardless of what comes! Anyway, enough rambling. Chapter 52, here we come:
Chapter 52: Sirius the Oxymoron
The next two months passed with little incident in Remus's home; neither in the flat he shared with Kierra, nor in the house he shared with Sirius. He was finally getting used to living with Kierra, and getting used to Sirius's lewd jokes about their living arrangements. Jude was rarely seen in the castle, as she had taken to avoiding Kierra and Remus at school, and Edmund, according to Elinor, was looking for a job in Paris. Kierra seemed unaffected by the news or at least gave the impression that she didn't care, and continued to leave her underwear lying around the flat and dress in unladylike manners. Most students at the Aveyron Academy maintained that he was a poof, which was just as well, since he had recently considered becoming one…
While he had gotten used to living with Kierra, he still couldn't help the occasional wanting pangs he received several inches below his naval. But he refused to even consider going down that path again—breaking up with Kierra had been extremely painful the first time around and he didn't want to risk their friendship. Anyway, Kierra was too busy enjoying her single life at the moment to bother with a relationship. Not that he wanted to be in one with her…just to be with someone…he just happened to feel these pangs around Kierra because she lived with him. Had he been living with any other woman, surely the affects would have been the same. Only what other woman was there? There seemed to be no one out there for him, leading Remus to believe that perhaps he were better of seeking male companionship instead of female. Now, the only matter to take care of was getting his self to actually be attracted to men…
"Remus!"
Remus's thoughts were interrupted by Kierra's voice, which seemed to be coming from the living room. He came out of his room to find her standing by the door with Elinor, her husband, and two children, whom Remus presumed to be their children.
"Oh—Hello!" Remus said, startled to find the family standing there. He smiled and looked briefly at Kierra, who was beaming. "Wasn't expecting"—
"Jacques and Elinor have got to go to Paris, Remus," said Kierra, "Jacques has gotten in touch with Roxanne Dante. She's the"—
"Senior undersecretary to the minister, I know." Finished Remus. "Dumbledore mentioned her at the last Order meeting. Are you going to see her then?"
Jacques nodded. "She left a message for us, asking if ve could visit 'er tonight for dinner. We'll most likely stay in Paris for ze weekend, in 'opes zat we can get convince 'er zat you-know-who is back."
"We're very lucky to 'ave an audience with her," added Elinor, "She is so high up in the French ministry…"
"Let's just cross our fingers though. She keeps up with about every wizarding paper in Europe, which would include the Daily Prophet, and you've seen how they've been discrediting Dumbledore and Harry Potter…and they're the two most important figureheads in this movement against Voldemort." Said Remus. He cocked an eyebrow when he saw Elinor, Jacques and their children flinch at hearing the name. Honestly, the man's even struck fear in French wizards…
"Right…" Elinor said after she recovered from hearing Voldemort's name. "But see, you guys said this 'as started from the work of Rita Skeeter last year, no?" Remus nodded. "Well, we did some research, and we found zat she did a horrible piece on Roxanne a few years ago—remember, when there was a bit of a strain between the French and British ministry? Zere is no doubt zat Roxanne saw it. So we think that if we bring in Rita Skeeter's name, she'll be less likely to take ze Prophet seriously!"
"Excellent." Remus said, beaming. He looked briefly to Elinor's children, wondering what had brought the whole family over to their flat. But just then, he saw it. Resting against the wall was a small pink suitcase that looked like it had been designed especially for kids…
"Anyway, we thought it would be best to leave the children behind for this trip," said Elinor. "Kierra's just given us her consent, but we wanted to make sure it was alright with you if Alejandro and Georgiana could stay here. It would just be the weekend, and we'll try to get back as soon as possible on Sunday…"
Remus smiled. "Of course they can stay."
"Excellent." Jacques said, and beaming at his children, he began to give them instructions in French about the behavior that was expected them. Georgiana, who appeared to be a year or two older than the tiny Alejandro, nodded quickly, occasionally stealing glances at Remus and Kierra. Alejandro, who looked about three years old, was staring off into space, picking his nose.
"Alright, we'll be back as soon as we can on Sunday!" Elinor said, as she kissed her children goodbye.
"We'll see you then," said Remus as he showed them to the door, "you two have a safe trip!" And with a final wave to their children, Elinor and Jacques left the flat.
"Well," Kierra said brightly, turning to the children, "let's get you two settled! Alejandro, don't pick your nose"—
Alejandro withdrew his finger from his nostril, staring at Kierra, expressionless. His light blond hair was an untidy mess that reminded Remus of Harry and James Potter. Alejandro shifted his bright blue eyes to Remus, and slowly backed away to hold his older sister's hand.
"Oh come now, why do you look so scared?" Kierra asked as she picked up Alejandro and headed to the kitchen. "Remus doesn't bite!"
Remus smiled slightly, and then turned to Georgiana, who had already made herself at home, sitting on the living room carpet, and unpacking her little suitcase.
She looked almost exactly like her brother, except her hair was light brown.
"Mummy put a reductor charm on all my things," she said in English too brisk for a five year old French girl. "Can you please make them big again, Uncle Remus?"
Remus beamed. Uncle Remus. He loved the sound of it. "Of course," he replied, pulling out his wand.
"Magic!"
Remus turned around at hearing Alejandro's shrill cry. He ran to his sister's side as fast as his little legs could carry him, and took a seat next to her, watching Remus avidly. Kierra came in a moment later, wiping her hands in a towel.
"Alejandro loves magic." Georgiana explained when she saw the amused look on Remus's face.
Remus nodded. "Right. Well...it's just an enlargement charm I as going to do...nothing special." And with a wave of his wand, the contents of Georgiana's suitcase
enlarged to their normal sizes, which was followed by a squeal of delight from Alejandro.
"Again!"
Remus smiled as he put his wand away. "Not again. Your clothes will become too big for you to wear!"
Alejandro frowned but did not protest. Instead, he reverted to picking his nose again.
"Alejandro!" Kierra exclaimed. "I just washed your hands!"
"Ew—bogeys!" Georgiana said with a look of revulsion on her face as Alejandro pulled a finger-full from his nose. Kierra pulled him away by his clean hand and led him to the kitchen to wash his hands again.
"No more putting your finger in you nose. Do you understand?" Kierra could be heard saying through the sound of running water. Alejandro made no response.
"Uncle Remus," came the voice of Georgiana, and Remus turned to her. "Will you play with me?"
"Of course!" Remus beamed, kneeling down on the carpet next to Georgiana. "What do you want to play?"
"I brought my dolls," she replied, pulling out several plastic dolls from her pink suitcase. Remus raised an eyebrow. They were all wearing dresses. He would have to play a girl.
"Oh, bad memories from first year…" he muttered, shuttering at the memory of his first week at Hogwarts, when a group of seventh year Gryffindors had kidnapped him and Peter, and forced them into dresses before returning them to the great hall. Georgiana looked up at him curiously, clearly not understanding.
"Don't you like dolls?" she asked, frowning slightly in a way that made Remus feel almost guilty for not liking dolls.
"No of course I do!" Remus said brightly. "I love dolls. In fact I used to have one…" Well, that was somewhat true. His mother collected dolls when he was little, and he technically owned the collection when his mother passed on years ago…
"Really? I didn't know that!"
Remus and Georgiana looked up to see Kierra standing over them, holding hands with Alejandro. She grinned at Remus, who blushed in return.
"Er—well, they weren't mine…they were my mum's…" he began to explain, but Kierra cut him off.
"It's alright, Remus. We all know you're a bit of a weirdo…Anyway, no time for playing now. It's late. They should go to bed now."
Remus looked at the clock and saw that is was nearly 10:30; probably way past their bedtime.
"But Aunt Kierra"—
"No buts, Georgiana," Kierra said kindly but firmly, "I know your parents don't like you kids staying up late. You'll have plenty of time to play tomorrow morning, alright?"
Georgiana looked at Remus, hoping to make an alliance with him. But he smiled and shook his head at her. "She's right. We can play all day tomorrow though."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Georgiana smiled slightly and pushed her light brown hair out of her face as she pulled out her sleeping bag and pillow. Alejandro immediately fell onto the fluffy pile and giggled.
"Pillows!" he squealed, grabbing a pillow by a corner and whacking it over his sister's head, who gave a small cry, followed by a laugh.
"Ok, no pillow fights!" Kierra said, pulling the pillow out of Alejandro's small hands. "Remus, why don't you take him to the bathroom, and I'll get their beds ready…"
"The…bathroom?" Remus asked, looking at Kierra uncertainly and then at Alejandro.
"Yeah…I'm not sure if he's toilet trained. Just go with him and see if he needs help. And make sure he washes his hands!" Kierra said as she watched Remus lead Alejandro to the bathroom.
"Yes ma'am!" Remus called through the bathroom. Alejandro managed to go by himself, only requiring Remus's assistance for grabbing toilet paper and being hoisted up to the sink to wash his hands. As they were drying up, Remus could hear Georgiana flipping rapidly the pages of a book.
"Please read it to me, Aunt Kierra!" she said. "This is my favorite book! My mother reads it to me"—
"Alright…" came Kierra's voice.
Remus came out of the bathroom with Alejandro and found Kierra and Georgiana sitting on the children's makeshift beds, reading a story book together.
"'Sss…you can't defeat me! I am the king of Ssssserpentsss…' said the basilisk to the tiny insect…" Kierra read in a deep dark voice. She paused, and brought her voice up to a high squeak. "'Bzz…I may be…bzz…small in size…bzz..but I have a power you have not! Bzz..' Oh, hey Remus!" she said, still in her squeaky voice. She made a face as Remus laughed, and reverted to her own voice. "Can you help Alejandro change?"
"Sure…" he replied, catching Alejandro's pajamas that Kierra tossed at him, and leading Alejandro to his room to help him change. "Come on Alejandro…" As he helped the toddler get the buttons of his shirt into the proper buttonholes, Remus continued to listen to Kierra's story telling. She had just howled like a wolf, causing Georgiana to giggle. He couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy as he heard the two girls laugh. How did Kierra all of a sudden get so good with kids? She was supposed to hate them. And there she was, exerting authority over them like they were her own kids, reading bedtime stories…doing voices to entertain—
"Uncle Remus!"
Remus looked down at Alejandro, who had fallen over and was giggling. He had both his legs stuck in one leg of his pajamas. Remus couldn't help but laugh with Alejandro as he picked him up and placed him on his bed. "Alright, let's try this again. One leg at a time…"
The following morning, Remus grunted loudly as he felt something land hard on his stomach. Whatever it was had begun to jump up and down on his bed, once or twice landing on Remus's legs.
"Play-time! Play-time!" Alejandro chanted in rhythm with his jumps. Despite the pain of having been trampled over by a three year old, Remus grinned as he pulled Alejandro down to sit on his lap. Just then, Kierra appeared at the door, toothbrush in her mouth.
"How long have you all been up?" Remus asked, as he set Alejandro down on the ground and began to get out of bed himself. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was 9 a.m. A bit early to be up on a Saturday morning…
"'Or'anna sti' a'leep" Kierra said through her mouthful of toothpaste. She dashed to the bathroom and spitting out her toothpaste, she returned a moment later. "Alejandro's been up for ten minutes. I go off to the loo for a minute and the little terror's gone and eaten half the sugar cookies in the pantry."
Remus rolled his eyes as he passed by Kierra at the door. "No wonder. He nearly knocked the wind out of me just now…" A few minutes later, Remus found him self dressing up to go out and buy groceries, as Alejandro had thought he was old enough to pour his own glass of milk. Though the shattered glass had been instantly repaired, they were now out of milk. Just as Remus had reached for his overcoat, Kierra stumbled into his room, looking quite lost.
"Have you seen my wand?" she asked, glancing around his room. "I could've sworn that I left it on my desk last night. Little punk must've taken it…"
Remus shook his head and followed Kierra out into the living room. Just then, she stopped in her track, looking slightly panicked. "What if he threw it away?"
But before Remus could answer, Kierra had dashed off to the kitchen to rummage through the bin. Remus watched her for a moment, slightly amused, before he turned away and looked at the sleeping Georgiana. Their futon style sofa had been pulled out as a bed for the two siblings to sleep on. Georgiana was curled up in a ball on one side of the bed, hugging a stuffed unicorn. Just as Remus turned to go to the door, something underneath the futon caught his eye. He crawled onto all fours and reached underneath the bed. He smiled as his fingers closed around Kierra's wand.
"Kierra—oof!"
Remus grunted as he felt a familiar weight fall on his back. He glanced over his shoulder to find Alejandro straddling him like he was a horse, and holding onto the back of his shirt like they were his reigns. His eyes were glimmering with excitement…or maybe sugar…
"Horsey!" he squealed, giving Remus's shirt a tug. "Go!"
Remus laughed as he reached back and tried to pull Alejandro off. "I have to go"—
"Horseyyyy…."
Remus saw Alejandro pout. He sighed and faced forward. All his children would have to do is pout to get it their way. He would be a horrible father…
Alejandro cheered with delight as Remus crawled around the living room in circles for him, occasionally getting up on his "hind legs", while holding his passenger on board with his free hands, and letting out a loud "naaay" for fun.
"Uncle Horsey!" Alejandro laughed, tugging Remus's shirt as he had begun to lose energy and slow down. "More!"
"Uncle Horsey's pooped…" Remus muttered, slowly trudging back to their starting point.
"Hey, Uncle Horsey?" asked a higher, more feminine voice. Remus looked over his shoulder to see Kierra standing behind them, grinning broadly. Why did she always catch him in odd moments?
"Er—found your wand!" Remus said, handing Kierra her wand as Alejandro slid off his back and set off to wake up his sister. Remus stood up and pretended to dust his clothes, trying to act as if he hadn't done anything silly moments ago.
Kierra grinned as he headed towards the door. "Hey"—she started quite casually—"can I ride you too?" She pressed her lips firmly together in order to keep from laughing as Remus wheeled around. How she loved to see him go red…
Only he wasn't red when he faced her. Not even pink. He looked…normal. Except he had a small smile on his face and was looking rather coolly at her…"Sorry, you had your turn a long time ago."
And before Kierra could react, Remus had left for the store. She frowned slightly, not paying heed to the pillow fight Georgiana and Alejandro were currently engaged in. Remus was supposed to be a modest little…nun. He was supposed to blush furiously, and mumble something like "Oh…I don't know...I'm sorry…I don't get it…" Not throwing the joke back at her. And certainly not one almost as dirty as hers! Of course, it was just a joke, so it meant nothing to her, but still…it was annoying when jokes backfired. It always made her feel a bit stupid…
Remus shifted the weight of the milk bottle from one arm to the other as he stood in line at the checkout, glancing at the covers of magazines that sat on a nearby stand. There was a photo of a beautiful brunette woman posing on the cover of Mademoiselle. She was sporting shimmering orange top, which might as well have been off since it was see-through, revealing her bra. Next to the model's face in big bold letters, was 10 Tried and True Ways to Get Him Begging for More. Is this what they talked about in muggle magazines? Or was it women's magazines in general? Remus made a mental note to swipe one of Kierra's Sorcière à la Mode copies that came in via post every couple of weeks. No wonder women always knew so much about men—they were reading things like these. As Remus rummaged in his pockets for muggle money, he realized that this explained why Dominique knew so much about the ways of men—her flat in Paris was literally cluttered with these types of magazines.
As Remus hurried up the steps to the flat he shared with Kierra, he wondered how it was possible that editors were able to fill over a hundred pages of their magazines with information on fashion and men…didn't it ever get redundant? I mean, what if they accidentally gave the same sex tip twice in the same year? Remus thought to himself amusedly. The thought of sex however, immediately reminded Remus of Kierra's little quip she had made about ten minutes ago. She hadn't really been serious, had she? Of course not…but she had looked a bit startled at his reply. Probably not the most Remus-like thing to say, he reasoned. Perhaps it had been inappropriate to say…it might have made her uncomfortable, mentioning their past, even if it was in a joking manner. What was he thinking? Joking like that… Idiot… he thought to himself as he let himself into his flat. Perhaps he should apologize to her for being so crude. Only she seemed a bit too occupied to be bothered with an apology at the moment…
Music was blaring loudly from her room and there was laughter, presumably from her and the children. Just then, the sound of Mrs. Danglar's cane whacking at the wall came followed by a "Tu'n ze music down!" Kierra had obviously not heard, as no effort was made to lower the music. Remus placed his groceries on the kitchen table and quietly approached Kierra's room, and stopped at the doorway. Georgiana and Alejandro were on Kierra's bed, bouncing to the rhythm of the music, waving their arms maniacally in the air. Kierra, who had her back turned to Remus, was facing the children, hairbrush in hand, and was singing along loudly with the song…and doing an accompanying dance that looked a bit inappropriate for young children to see. Georgiana and Alejandro looked up to see Remus and waved to him, but Kierra was too involved in her performance to notice his entrance. Putting his finger to his mouth to signal the children to not say anything, Remus tiptoed into the room until he was right behind Kierra—
"You know you want to make me shout! Take my finger! Shout! Throw my hands back! Shout!"1
Remus winced slightly. God, she had a horrible voice for singing… Still, perhaps her dancing skills made up for it, he thought as he watched her swivel her hips around. He moved up closer and began to dance with her, exaggerating a few of the head-bobs when he felt appropriate. Georgiana and Alejandro continued dancing on the bed, jumping up and down on the mattress, only now they were giggling. Kierra laughed, presuming that she had done something funny, and sang louder and danced with more exaggeration.
"Hey hey hey hey! Hey Hey Hey—Hey!"
Kierra had bumped her hip against Remus and jumped backwards from surprise, dropping her brush on the floor. Remus stopped dancing and grinned at Kierra, who had flushed to a bright pink.
"You got back quickly!" she said shrilly as she hurried over to the other side of her room to turn off her muggle music device, ignoring the protests of Georgiana and Alejandro.
"Well, I only had to pick up milk…" he replied, still grinning at Kierra. She scowled at him in return.
"By the way, post came in while you were gone. We got mail from Dominique and Si—Snuffles." Kierra finally said, deciding to change the subject as she led Remus into the kitchen and picked up two envelopes from the table and handed them to him.
"The seals are broken"—
"Well, obviously…I read them!"
"Why?"
"Didn't you hear me? I said we got mail from them. They were addressed to both of us."
"Oh, right…" Remus said, glancing up briefly at Kierra and raising an eyebrow at her. "Sorry, I didn't know"—
"They're my friends too, you know…"
"I know…" Remus frowned at her briefly as he opened the first letter, wondering why she was getting so testy. Was it simply because he caught her dancing around and singing? Perhaps it was that time of the month for Kierra… "So you know then that Dominique can't visit anytime soon because of her rehearsal schedule?" he asked as he read through Dominique's brief letter.
"Mmm hmm…"
"So…what shall we tell Dominique about our Christmas plans? Can I assume you're going to your brother's?" asked Remus, scanning the last few lines of Dominique's letter, asking them what their plans were for the holidays.
"Yeah," Kierra replied as she peered around to make sure Alejandro and Georgiana hadn't inflicted any damage on her bedroom in her absence, "and you're going back to Grimmauld place aren't you?"
"Yeah…" Remus replied absently, folding up Dominique's letter and opening up Sirius's. "Everything alright with Sirius?"
"Er…just about…" Kierra said slowly, glancing up at Remus and looking at him expectantly. He looked at her, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"Just about?"
"Well, you know…he's a bit moody, isn't he? Maybe he was just feeling irritable when he wrote"—
Kierra's voice drowned out as Remus read Sirius's letter:
27 November 1995
Remus and Kierra,
Hope you two are well. Thanks Remus, for the heads up on your absence this weekend. I'm sure babysitting a couple of kids is an excruciating task that no way in hell could Kierra handle alone. (No offense, Kierra…I'm sure you caught onto the sarcasm.) Consider yourself lucky that there wasn't any big order meeting planned, or that you didn't have guard duty or a full moon to worry about. Just make sure you're here next week for the meeting—It'll be a Hogsmeade Weekend at Hogwarts and it'll be the perfect time for Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape to get away from the school to come for the meeting. Kierra, try to come if you can. Understandable if you can't. Remus…incidentally, were you ever planning on coming up here on a weekend that won't be spent on guard duty or under a full moon? It seems every time you get a free weekend, something comes up that prevents you from making it. And so far it's always been something to do with helping out Kierra, the old girlfriend…Pretty crazy coincidence, eh? You know, if there's anything that's your downfall Remus, it's your habit of lying. Always keeping a secret…Always ashamed about something... And I'd think that by now, after you, James, and I had that fallout over who was spying, you'd learn to be more open and trusting of your friends, so they could trust you too. So you'd rather spend more time sipping champagne with Kierra than sipping firewhiskey with me. You don't have to put up a front with me. I know what she looks like, mate. I don't blame you. Anyway, see you next week if you're not busy.
Cheers
Sirius
That idiot. That stupid, unhinged…prat. He had written this to him and Kierra…Sure, he had probably gotten so wrapped up in his feelings that he forgot he was addressing his letter to the both of them, but still…there was no reason to…he didn't have to rant about it…he had no right to think…he wasn't…he didn't prefer Kierra to Sirius!
"Er—Remus?"
Remus wheeled around to see Kierra—she was balancing Alejandro on one hip, and with her opposite, free hand she held Georgiana's hand. She wasn't exactly looking him in the eye, but was instead glancing around his middle. "I was just going to take them to the park…I think it's a bit stuffy in the apartment…"
"Oh, alright"—
"You can stay home, if you'd like…"
Remus had opened his mouth to consent, but instead found himself asking if he could come along too. "Well…ok…if you want…" She said quickly, leading the children to the door. "Don't feel like you have to though"—
"No, I just read er—Snuffle's letter"—
"Who's Snuffles?" Georgiana giggled.
"Er…a friend of mine." Remus answered with a smile. Georgiana laughed again. "What a silly name…"
"Listen," Remus started, following Kierra and the children out the door, "he was just…whining. Just annoyed that I haven't been spending all my free time with him…So he's blaming the easiest person…you."
"Me?" Kierra asked as they crossed the street towards Reine Parc, the neighborhood park.
"I've only had a few weekends where I've been absolutely free of responsibilities from the order, and I've spend them all here…and incidentally, they were because of you…" he said slowly.
"Me?" she repeated.
"Well…when you found out about Edmund…and then when you needed help moving…and now this weekend"—
"You didn't have to stay to help," Kierra said briskly, "I've babysat them before…"
"For a whole weekend?"
"No…just a few hours…but that's hardly important"—
"If you didn't need help, you could've told me when I wrote to Sirius canceling my plans to go to London. But you didn't, so I assumed"—
"Well, don't assume next time!"
Georgiana and Alejandro looked up at Kierra timidly, and then to Remus, but neither of them noticed that they were being stared at. "Look, if you're all upset because you think I'm hiding the fact that I like you, don't worry yourself over it, because I don't." Remus said tetchily, though trying hard to keep his voice steady. "Snuffles just likes his joke. He has nothing better to do than to drop little hints about you, as if I've been sitting around brooding over you these past sixteen or so years. Believe me, Kierra. I'm not attracted to you, and I don't prefer your or Snuffles over one another. Nor have I been sabotaging events in our lives to keep me here on my free weekends. I have absolutely nothing against you, Kierra, but I hope you're not going to shun me simply because you take everything Snuffles says literally."
Kierra said nothing. Georgiana and Alejandro had lost interest in the conversation and were now running several feet ahead of them, chasing a butterfly. "Sorry…" Remus said hoarsely. "Didn't mean to be rude"—
"No, it's ok…you…you're not rude." Kierra said quietly.
Remus looked at her skeptically. "So…you don't think I'm going to come on to you then?"
Kierra smiled slightly. "No…sorry, you're right…I shouldn't have…well, shouldn't have taken Sirius so…seriously…" she laughed. "He's an oxymoron."
"More like a moron…" Remus muttered, causing Kierra to laugh again.
The day had been bright and sunny, allowing for Alejandro and Georgiana to play to their hearts' content, while Kierra lay out on the grass with Remus with her capris rolled up several inches to work on her tan. ("Don't look at me like that Remus, you've probably got the whitest ass in the country!" Kierra said with a scowl.) They complained about how tiresome it was to watch Alejandro and Georgiana, but agreed that it was still fun and quite rewarding at times too. ("Oh come off it," Kierra laughed, "you know you love being called Uncle Remus!") They argued over whose rear was paler, Remus's or Snape's (and finally agreed that Sirius probably beat them both), discussed their plans for recruiting into the Order a few werewolves Remus had recently gotten friendly with, and had reminisced through seven years of Hogwarts, though they decided to drop the subject when they recalled the time they had made love in an empty classroom while the entire school was outside watching a quidditch match, and the mere memory had made then both blush crimson.
Soon, the sun began to dip, and clouds filled the sky. By the time they reached their flat, the sun had set completely, and it had begun to rain very hard. Remus made a large cauldron of soup for dinner, much to the dismay of Alejandro, who stuck his tongue out at Remus when he saw the vegetables in his bowl. The evening had largely gone by quietly, save for the tantrum Georgiana threw when Alejandro popped the head off one of her dolls, which had only subsided when Remus assured her that Ginny the Gymnast would be O.K. when he fixed her, and would definitely make it to the Olympics. By ten o'clock Remus was in his room, finishing up his letter to Sirius; he needed to be reprimanded a bit for his careless letter—if he were going to write like that, he should've at least not addressed it to Kierra—but at the same time, remind him that he greatly missed Sirius's company, and that he wished he could join him at 12 Grimmauld Place. Just as he sealed the letter and dropped it on top of the letter he had written to Dominique, a strike of lightning from outside lit up the room, and a moment later a loud clap of thunder followed it. Remus heard a squeal coming from the living room, followed by the sound of scurrying footsteps and a door creaking open.
"Georgiana!" he heard Kierra exclaim. "Are you alright? Did the thunder scare you?" There was no answer, so he assumed that Georgiana had nodded in response. "Oh, it's just a storm! As long as you're inside during a storm"—
"But what if he comes?" Remus heard Georgiana squeal.
"Who?" Kierra asked.
"The werewolf!" Georgiana hissed. "Remember? In the story you read last night"—
Remus heard Kierra laugh. "It's just a story!"
"But…the werewolf came out to attack in the storm, Aunt Kierra!"
"Georgiana, it was a full moon in the story."
"But it was a storm too!"
"A coincidence then. Werewolves only come out during full moons."
"Is tonight a full moon?" Georgiana squeaked.
"Nope. You're safe." Kierra replied in a reassuring voice.
"When's the next full moon?"
Remus heard Kierra laugh again. "It doesn't matter. You don't go running around in the middle of the night, do you?"
"No…"
"Then you have nothing to worry about." Kierra said with finality.
There was a moment or two of silence. Then Remus heard Georgiana pipe up again, "Aunt Kierra, where do werewolves go when it's not a full moon?"
"Well…" Though their voices were slightly muffled due to the barrier of the wall between them, Remus had the distinct impression that Kierra had lost a bit of her confidence. "they…they're humans! Normal people, like you and me…they lead normal lives…"
"They're people?" Remus heard Georgiana ask disbelievingly.
"Of course!" Kierra laughed. "They're perfectly normal! Just once a month, during the full moon, they turn into werewolves. But usually, they're smart enough to remember when the next full moon is, so they can go and hide somewhere, so they don't hurt anyone."
"You mean…they don't want to hurt anyone?"
"Of course not! No animal ever wants to hurt anyone"—
But I thought you said they were people…"
'Yes…well, they are…it's just once a month, they turn into something of an animal…and so their minds become like animals…they don't think about what's right and wrong. So if they do something bad, they don't realize it…does that make sense?"
"Sort of…" Georgiana said uncertainly.
"So don't worry. Like I said, most werewolves are very good people the rest of the month, and they try their best to stay away from humans during the full moon. You're safe, ok?"
"Ok…" Georgiana said. "Aunt Kierra?"
"Hmm?"
"How do you know? Do you know werewolves?"
"Er…well…I did know one…"
"Really?" Remus heard Georgiana ask excitedly. He held his breath. What was Kierra doing? She wouldn't…
"Yeah!" he heard Kierra say, "And he was a really nice man….what? He was! You know what else? He was a good kisser too!"
"Eww! Aunt Kierra!" Remus heard Georgiana exclaim, which was followed by a burst of giggles from both girls. Remus relaxed slightly. Good kisser indeed. Kierra was something else…talking so freely about her experiences with werewolves…
Just then, another clap of thunder boomed from outside, and a second later, Alejandro came bolting into Remus's room, blanket in one hand, and Georgiana's stuffed unicorn in the other. Before Remus could say anything, Alejandro had run to his side, clutching Remus at the knees and looking up at him fearfully.
"Ah—Alejandro, it's alright…" Remus said with a smile, running his hand through the boy's hair. "It's just thunder."
"Why is it so angry?" he whimpered. "And…and where's my sister?"
"Your sister's in Aunt Kierra's room…I think the thunder frightened her too. And the thunder isn't angry. It's just…"
"Sad?" Alejandro suggested earnestly.
Remus laughed. "Well, to be honest, I don't think thunder has feelings. It just happens to make a loud noise…"
"It sounds scary!" Alejandro said crossly as he climbed into Remus's lap, clutching tightly to his sister's unicorn.
"And so it does." Remus fought the temptation of telling Alejandro to think about his favorite things, realizing he wouldn't be able to sing about it as well as the muggle performer Julie Andrews, nor did he think it would seem right if he had said that "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens"2 were amongst his favorite things…
Just then, Kierra and Georgiana appeared at the door, the latter looking quite frightened. "Roxy!" she cried shrilly, running towards Alejandro and Remus. For a moment, Remus wondered if Georgiana had an imaginary friend, but a second later he saw her hugging her unicorn like there was no tomorrow.
"We were wondering where Alejandro had snuck off to!" Kierra said brightly, and with a wink she added, "and Roxy, of course…Did the thunder scare you too, Alejandro?"
Another clap of thunder sounded, and her question was answered as Alejandro buried his face in Remus's chest. "I want Uncle Remus!"
But before Remus could say anything, Georgiana had piped up again. "But I don't want to sleep all alone!"
Remus gently pulled Alejandro off his lap and smiled at him. "Why don't you stay with your sister? You can use each other's company…"
Alejandro pouted, and then turned to Kierra, who smiled but shook her head. "You two are big kids!" she said. She looked onto Georgiana, who had decided to follow her brother's example and began to pout. Kierra looked at Remus, raising her eyebrows at him. "Well?" She asked.
"Why don't we all just go in the living room…Kierra and I will stay with you two. How does that sound?" Remus said, turning to the kids. Alejandro's face lifted slightly, and Georgiana's broke into a full smile as she dashed ahead of the rest to claim a spot on the futon.
"This is going to be fun…" Kierra muttered as she followed Remus into the living room.
"We'll just stay until they fall asleep…" Remus muttered quietly to her so they couldn't be overheard. Kierra smiled slightly.
"Good plan…"
Kierra groaned slightly as she tried to turn over. But something was keeping her from doing so—there seemed to be a weight sitting on top of her rear. She opened her eyes, but shut them immediately at the sudden pour of sunshine. Very groggily, Kierra propped herself up on her elbows and slowly opened her eyes to glance over her shoulder, only to find Remus using her butt as a pillow. She frowned as she took in her surroundings. Georgianna was laying next to her, balled up in her usual way, while Alejandro had cuddled up behind Remus; only he was laying upside-down, so his feet were tangled in Remus's hair. Kierra knew they all looked a sorry sight right now, but the thought didn't bother her. She was too tired. Kierra fell back onto her stomach and wriggled her butt slightly, in order to get Remus to slide down to her hamstrings, but to no avail. He seemed quite attached to his current position, the bugger. Well, just one more story she could embarrass him with…
Half an hour later, Kierra gently pushed Remus aside and rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb the other occupants. It was nearly 10:30 a.m., and she expected that Elinor and Jacques would be back soon. As she made her coffee, she couldn't help feel proud of herself. Not only had she gotten up before Remus, but she was positive that he had fallen asleep before her. Well, it was a bit hard to tell…They had been laying on the futon for over an hour, trying to coax the children to sleep, and eventually they had both drifted off before Alejandro or Georgiana could. But Kierra was sure she had seen Remus slump over a few minutes before she had drifted off…
"Well, that was about the worst night's sleep I've ever had…"
Kierra nearly jumped. She turned around to see Remus stumble into the kitchen, rubbing the back of his neck. "That bad?" she asked with a grin.
Remus nodded, looking at her with a mix of confusion and tire. "Yeah…felt like I've been sleeping on"—
"Someone's bum?"
"Sorry?" Remus nearly choked.
Kierra laughed as she sat down to enjoy her coffee. "Mine."
"Oh! I actually…I did?" Remus asked, turning a light shade of pink. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to"—
Kierra waved a hand dismissively at him, satisfied at his embarrassment. "It's alright. Your face just now made it all worth it."
Remus scowled at her as a knock came from the door. He hastened to answer it, pausing briefly halfway to the door to run his fingers through his messy hair in attempts to straighten in out.
"Bonjour Remus!" Elinor said brightly when he opened the door. She was standing with Jacques, who looked quite tired out.
"Bonjour"—Remus swiftly kissed Elinor twice on each cheek, keeping with custom of the area—"how was Paris?"
"More like how was Roeun," Jacques said with a tired smile as he shook Remus's hand. "Roxanne took us to her lodge there, an' ve spent the entire weekend at her lodge, boating and fishing with her…"
Remus smiled. "That sounds like fun…"
"You can think that if you'd like…"
"Jacques! Elinor! Bonjour"—Kierra had appeared at Remus's side and greeted them—"you guys smell like fish!"
Elinior and Jacques laughed. "Long weekend ve 'ad at Roxanne's…" Elinor replied. "But it was worth it, hearing her rant about what an idiot Minister Cornelius Fudge was…she seemed very convinced that you-know-who has returned! We promised to see her again in the next few weeks"—
"But zis time we invited her to see us," Jacques finished. "No way we are going to ever spend a weekend fishing again…we told her she should meet our children. How were they, by ze way?" he asked, glancing over to the futon bed where Alejandro and Georgiana were still sleeping.
"No problem at all," Kierra said with a grin. "They're a bit tired out though from last night. There was a nasty storm, and I think it frightened them."
"Ah yes, zey tend to get in a right state when zere is a storm!" Elinor said as she and her husband picked up their sleeping children from the bed and headed back to the door.
"Why don't you guys stay for a bit? Have some lunch!" Kierra said, following them to the door.
Jacques shook his head and smiled. "Thank you…but we ought to get home…get ze smell of fish off us, and perhaps catch up on our sleep."
"Thank you so much for watching zem for us, though…" Elinor said, reaching into her purse and retrieving a small bag, suede bag and offering it to Kierra, who shook her head. "I insist! Don't pretend those two were little angels, Kierra. I know zey can be little terrors!"
Kierra laughed. "It was fun all the same."
"At least let us take you two out for dinner then tomorrow," said Elinor, "we 'ave so much to tell you about our meeting with Roxanne. We 'ave a lot of ideas on 'ow we can get further inside ze ministry…of course, we will write to Dumbly-dorr first…"
"Of course…" said Remus with a smile. "Sounds good."
"Well, until tomorrow then." Jacques said, and nodding his head to Remus and Kierra, he and his family took their leave.
Kierra sighed as she shut the door. "Well, that was one fun-filled weekend…"
Remus smiled as he poured himself some coffee, but then made a face as he drank it. "This stuff is disgusting."
"Blame the States," replied Kierra, "they got me addicted to it…it's strong though, that's what I love about it."
"This is true." Remus said as he took another sip. "Is this what keeps you going through the day? Coffee?"
Kierra smiled. "To be honest with you, yeah. In fact, yesterday—oh this is terrible—but yesterday, I had about six cups"—
"Six cups?"
"Those kids were really energetic! It's hard keeping up with them!"
"That can't be safe…"
Kierra shrugged. "It's just coffee. I'm not shooting up drugs or anything."
"Well, that explains a lot. I had trouble comprehending how you could be so cheery all day. I got pretty tired out myself."
"Understandable, the way Alejandro was clinging to you like a monkey all weekend." Kierra said with a grin.
Remus smiled. "I liked him. If I were to ever have kids, I'd want someone like him. He's very affectionate…" He frowned at Kierra when she giggled. "What?"
"You're so cute…"
Remus blushed. "Er…"
"You want to have kids!"
Remus felt his face go warm. "So? Don't you?"
"Well, yeah…but you seem to want it more…" And after a few moments, she added, "I think you'd be a good father…how come you never adopted?"
Remus shrugged. "I could never afford it. And there would've been no way to do it in Britain anyway…I'm on the werewolf registry, and adoption agencies would never even consider…well, someone like me."
"But what about now?" Kierra asked. "I mean, I know you're busy with work, and the order…but no one here knows about your condition…well, Edmund…but he's been sworn into secrecy."
"I know…but I don't want to risk anything. It's really important that we get the job done here for Dumbledore. Anyway, I wouldn't want any children without a mother around to help…All children should have both a mother and a father."
"Jacques was a single father for some years…"
"Sorry?" But then Remus remembered that Kierra had told him months ago that Elinor had only recently been married. So how did they have a three year old and a five year old?
"Well, yeah…he was widowed. Wife was really adventurous…got killed while she was off climbing a mountain…and then he met Elinor a few years back, and they married…"
"Was it hard for Elinor? I mean, getting married and already having two kids to take care of?" asked Remus, having a hard time imagining someone young and elegant like Elinor marrying a man with children.
"I think it was in the beginning, but she got into it, and she loves them to pieces…but yeah, while Jacques was single, he managed his children just fine! I'm sure you would too."
"Well, that was a bit different though…I mean, he had no choice but to raise them as a single father…he had to get through it and it's great that he's done a job of it…but I mean, if you can get married and have a spouse…then you should do that before having a kid…"
"Or if an unmarried woman gets pregnant and has to raise a child on her own…" Kierra added.
Remus frowned. "I don't know…I think she should marry the guy who got her pregnant…"
"Why?"
"Well, why not?"
"The guy can still help take care of a baby without marrying…"
"But by not marrying, he's not obligated. Marriage is a binding contract"—
"You're reducing marriage to some legal, business sort of institution…"
"Well, that's what it is, isn't it?"
"Where's the love in that?"
"The love is there. I mean, it doesn't have to be there. People who marry don't have to love each other. I mean, they should…it definitely helps to make the marriage work…but love is not a prerequisite for marriage." Explained Remus.
"I can't believe you're saying"—
"Wait let me finish…So if you strip marriage down to its basic components, it's two people signing a contract that they agree to fulfill their obligations to one another. If they aren't fulfilled, the law can be brought in. It's the safest thing for a woman to do if she gets into the situation you're talking about."
"Even if the woman doesn't love the guy?"
"If she didn't love him, why'd she let him into her pants in the first place?"
"So you should be ready to marry a person if you're going to sleep with them?" Kierra asked, cocking an eyebrow at Remus.
"Essentially, yes."
Kierra smirked. "Ok, so by your logic, in one point of your life, you were ready to marry me? I mean, if you had gotten me pregnant when we were at school…you would've married me?"
Remus paused, and Kierra stared at him intently, ready to shout "ha!" triumphantly when he couldn't answer. Instead, to Kierra's surprise, he nodded. "If that had happened…yeah, I think I would've. I mean, if you had agreed to also…" he added quickly.
"You would've married me?" she repeated, looking at him uncertainly. "That young?"
"Sirius and Dominique did…"
"Yes, but Sirius and Dominique…they're impulsive, irrational little nutters."
"But they did it. And they were happy…"
"For about two years…and then Dominique wanted a divorce…"
"But they worked it out in the end." Remus said testily, wondering why Kierra was pointing at their marital troubles. "Anyway, all couples have their ups and downs. Theirs got particularly bad simply because of the kind of people they are. They're both independent on the outside, but deep down, they're very dependent on the care and attention of others."
Kierra sighed. She glanced briefly at Remus, knowing he was annoyed at her for pointing out Dominique and Sirius's past marital problems. "Right…I don't know how we got off talking about Dominque and Sirius's marriage…I thought we were talking about you and children…"
Remus shrugged. "A subject we'll never be able to agree on. To each his own then…"
Later that afternoon, as Kierra sat down at her desk to grade papers, her mind kept wandering back to 1979, when she and Remus had been a couple…What if he had gotten her pregnant? Would he have moved with her to the States and then to France? Would he have really married her? Would they still be married today? Kierra frowned as she thought of the future that could've happened to her. Married to Remus…Married to Remus for sixteen years… Kierra laughed out loud at the thought of having a teenage kid with Remus. And without allowing herself further thoughts on the subject, she continued to grade her papers.
A/N:
1 lyrics were from "Shout" by The Beatles
2 "favorite things" from "Sound of Music" sung by Julie Andrews ;)