Thank you to all of my patient readers: the mystery is close to being resolved. Additional thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review: Emmy, Taleel, and Julian. It is wonderful to have such kind, generous feedback!

Chapter 23

Remus stepped out from the grate with a deep, heart-felt sigh of relief. There had been no reason for the meeting to run so long. Also, although it was certainly kind of Emmeline to ask after Edwina, their conversation, Molly's well-meant, lengthy advice, and his final conversation with Sirius all combined to keep him over an hour longer at Grimmauld Place than had been strictly necessary after an already prolonged meeting. He looked at the moon clock on the desk and groaned. It was almost 11. Edwina would surely have gone to bed long ago.

Remus had been counting on a little time with her that evening. They had left things on such a good note that morning that he had felt hopeful and even excited at the prospect of how things would go that evening. But not much could happen if she were already sleeping.

Blackie bounded into the room and jumped up on Remus to greet him. Remus patted the dog's giant head and stepped to the side, so Blackie would jump down. With a wave of a light brown, stubby wand, Remus turned up the lamp on the table. He could see that there was a note waiting for him beside it.

A deep, visceral fear gripped Remus as he lunged forward to snatch up the piece of brown parchment. She couldn't have left to go back to her family. Things had been good…she knew he had the meeting…not again…

Remus had to close his eyes and steady his erratic, thumping heart before he could allow himself to reread the note to be sure that everything was alright: "The house is now CLEAN. If you want dinner, there is something in the cold cupboard. I find that "Oblitterare" is an effective spell for dishes."

He had known she would spend the entire day cleaning. Edwina had no patience for slovenly habits and she was fiercely house-proud. He ought to have expected that she would have been disgusted by the mess that he had tried to hide from his four day binge.

Remus felt the oddest urge to smile, however. A row over the state of the house was so incredibly normal. He had best do up a good breakfast for her and make a full pot of her tea. Strong enough to stop a troll in its tracks, just how she liked it.

Edwina woke with a start and reached out her hand to feel the empty space beside her. She immediately sat up and looked over at the moon clock. He hadn't come home yet?

"Hungry, love?"

Edwina swung her head round to where her husband was sitting with a very large, heavy volume opened across his lap in the Jacobean chair. "When did you get in?"

"Very late, much later than I had hoped. I'm sorry that you had to go to bed alone."

Edwina had been extremely irritated when she had fallen asleep the night before. No fewer than six dirty beakers, which had clearly held some sort of alcohol at some point, had been left around the house. Three filthy shirts stuffed down behind the bed. She didn't even want to know why there had been a lone shoe on top of the wardrobe. But after she had spent a day cleaning up what looked like either the aftermath of an erumpent running loose in their cottage or the wreckage of a drunken binge, he hadn't even come home. Edwina narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "I see. Your meeting ran late?"

Remus saw the warning signs and hastily closed his book so that he could stand up. "I'm sorry, Winnie. I really couldn't get away, though I wished to." Remus could see that she was still seriously unimpressed, so he spoke in a very gentle tone, "The house does look wonderful, Winnie. You must have spent all day cleaning up my mess. Thank you."

Edwina nodded and said cryptically, "Doxies in my house!"

Remus frowned with embarrassment. "Were there? I really am sorry, Winnie. I didn't clean anything before I went to stay with Sirius."

"That was obvious."

"I'm sorry, Winnie. I won't let it get like that again."

Edwina snorted and then said with a half smile, "If I ever went on holiday and came back to that Remus, you had better hide."

Remus understood that he was forgiven and said, "Don't worry; I will be very good from here on. I found a few mushrooms, so I've made a full breakfast for you."

Edwina's face lit up with pleasure, "Really?"

"Yes, really. Even made your tar tea."

Edwina laughed, "Is that what you call it?"

Remus nodded and raised his wand abruptly and then jabbed its point toward the bed and spoke aloud three words before the Japanese lacquer tray appeared beside Edwina along with a lovely aroma of bacon.

"This looks wonderful. Thank you."

Remus smiled and then whirled his wand and pointed to the dressing table, where the pewter tea pot, a small cream cow, and a teacup suddenly appeared. He walked across the room and poured out some milk into the cup before reaching for the teapot. "I am afraid that I have to leave for work in about twenty minutes, Winnie."

Edwina looked back at the moon clock. She really needed to ask how to read it properly. "When will you be back this time?"

Remus handed her the teacup and began to speak, but was stopped as Edwina's small hand grasped the front of his robes and pulled him down to her. He pressed a second light kiss on her lips as he reached out a hand for the bedpost to catch his balance. When he spoke, his nose was still grazing her cheek, so he saw her unfocused eyes widen as he said, "I will leave at 6 and come directly home to you."

Remus pulled back and stared at her uncertainly, waiting for her response. Edwina spoke quietly, "Good. I want to go see Great-Aunt today. I think I need to do that."

Edwina pulled her glasses and her wand from under her pillow and was putting them on as Remus brushed back his hair and cleared his throat. "What's that?"

Remus looked down at where she was pointing and then hastily tucked the necklace back under his shirt. "St. Edmund of East Anglia, patron saint of all werewolves (Readers: please see note below)."

"Oh." Edwina stuffed a large forkful of eggs in her mouth and began chewing as she watched him watching her. For several minutes neither said anything as he leaned against the bedpost and she ate hungrily.

Edwina finally asked, "Are we going to be awkward again?"

Remus shook his head and smiled, "I hope not. Is the tea right?"

Edwina took a sip and nodded.

"Edwina, I would like to talk to you about my theory. I spent much of yesterday thinking it through."

Edwina swallowed abruptly and said with a gasp, "Tell me."

"I spoke to Sirius last night. I had him question me about the time I spent in Norway, which I had apparently talked to him about once before. What I remember does not correspond with what I told him three months ago."

Edwina choked on the swallow of tea that she had just taken. "Your memory has been modified, too?"

Remus nodded, "I believe so."

Edwina stared up at Remus and asked hesitantly, "But…wouldn't it take…well how would someone be able to attack you? You're so powerful."

Remus smiled ruefully, "There are plenty of wizards who could, Winnie, and if I were caught unaware then it wouldn't matter how well I can use a wand."

"Do you think that my father did it?"

"Yes, Winnie, I do. I'm not sure of my facts really. But if your father had a reason to obliviate your memory, if you knew something that could be dangerous to him, he might have chosen to take out your memories of that time. Sirius tells me that although I was supposed to be gone for five days that I came home to see you after only two."

"Oh!"

"I was apparently home for only part of a day and then returned to Norway. But I don't remember that time at all. I think that your father didn't expect to find me here and therefore had to modify both of our memories."

"But why would he take that whole year from me, but not from you?"

Remus did not have a good answer, but suspected that Wolfred Leighton had an excellent reason for his actions. "I don't know, love. I can't explain that. But I suspect that the reason he took both the memories and the year is due to our relationship. Perhaps he had a plan to try to break up our marriage. I'm really not sure."

Edwina had completely forgotten the tray with the only partially eaten breakfast. She slid off the bed and stood up next to Remus, looking him in the eye, "You don't have any ideas or you aren't sure that I can handle knowing what you think?"

Remus shook his head and placed a hand on her back, "I really am not sure, Winnie. However, I think that your father is hiding on the continent somewhere."

Edwina nodded, "Yes, he could be. He's done something awful, hasn't he?"

Remus shook his head, "I don't know."

"You don't think…he wouldn't have decided to…Death Eaters?" Winnie had whispered the words, but Remus had heard clearly the fear in her voice.

"No. I don't."

"Because, because when I asked Aldebaran if he were…if he had…"

Remus was shocked, "You asked your cousin if he is a Death Eater? Winnie!" Remus could not imagine that Aldebaran Shipley would be able to control his temper even for Edwina when accused of being a follower of Voldemort.

"Y-yes and he said that I was a silly, daft little cow." Edwina blinked back a tear and said an unstable voice, "He was angrier than he's ever been with me. I forgot that he wouldn't believe that He-who-must-not-be-named is back again."

"I'm not surprised, Winnie. You cannot go asking your family something like that, ok? That is not a good idea."

"But Aldebaran wouldn't hurt me, Remus, and I had to know."

"I know he wouldn't have hurt you, Winnie, but if he were a follower of Voldemort you don't think that he would actually tell you, do you?"

Winnie was now sitting on the edge of the bed with Remus' hands on her hips as his eyes bored down into her own. "I…I didn't think that he would lie to me."

"Aldebaran is never going to tell you something that you don't want to hear, Winnie."

"But after I asked about him, Aldebaran said that he wouldn't be surprised if father was."

"I really don't think so, Winnie. I think perhaps your father has disappeared for another reason."

Remus looked at the clock and saw that it was past time for him to leave. He would have to do a direct apparation in order to be on time. "Winnie, love?"

Winnie hung her arms around his neck and said softly, "Yes?"

"We will sort this out. We will find the answer."

"Yes. I know we will because I won't rest until we do."

"There is something else we need to talk about."

Edwina leaned into the hand that Remus was using to caress her head for a few moments before replying softly, "Yes?"

"Tonight is the full moon. Therefore we will only have a few hours together before I change."

"OH! I had forgotten. What do we do? I mean, what do I do, can I help you?"

Remus smiled sadly, "No, you cannot help me. I have a room that I go into and I remain there until the morning. You cannot come in there with me."

"You aren't safe?"

"I do not want to risk anything, Winnie. In the morning I will be very tired, so I won't be able to do much beyond eat a little and sleep."

"Where is the room?"

Remus nodded his head to the corner of the bedroom, "Concealed there. We will talk more about this tonight."

"If I could help you then I would want to."

"I know darling. I'm sorry, but I am already late, so I have to go."

"I understand. We'll talk then." She allowed him to kiss her and then pulled back to look at him. She touched her finger to the small gold medal dangling from a dingy cord around his neck, which had fallen out from his robes once again. "Take care of yourself today?"

Remus nodded and said gruffly, "I will." He felt her reluctance to let him leave as she kissed him goodbye and was immeasurably reassured.

Author's Note:

St. Edmund of East Anglia was king of East Anglia by the age of 14. He was later captured by the invading Danes and martyred in the year 869 A.D. at the age of 28 by the novel method of being shot until covered with arrows and then beheaded. St. Edmund, whose memorial is the 20th of November, is the patron saint of kings, plague and torture victims, wolves, and werewolves. Wizards and witches may find more information about St. Edmund in book Famous Wizards Martyred throughout History: from Aconteus to Zosima, whereas muggle readers interested in further information are recommended to look up St. Edmund the Martyr on either Wikipedia or the Catholic Encyclopaedia at "new advent" dot "org".