Chapter 2- Sitting. Waiting. Wishing.

"The Lord knows that this world is cruel

I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool

Learning lovin' somebody don't make them love you"

-Jack Johnson's "Sitting. Waiting. Wishing."

The first day of summer '77

Remus shook his head.

"Sirius, where are our trunks?"

Sirius was too preoccupied to answer. His face was beaming and his eyes were shifting across the crowds.

"Look at this, Moony!" he shouted. "We're in France! There's beautiful people and beautiful buildings," he paused and pointed North. "I think I can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance."

Lupin heaved a sigh, "That's a tree, Sirius."

They were walking through a massive crowd of Muggles- all of which that were giving Sirius a glaring look. Remus pushed him along.

"Now, where are our things?" he said. His trunk had been missing since yesterday and he was very perplexed in his friend's way of doing things.

Sirius nodded over his shoulder, "After your parents wrote back the last night, I wrote the land-lady."

Remus was suddenly very relived. He had wondered what Sirius had planned to say when they showed up on the doorstep of The Perfect Charm.

"But-" Sirius said. Remus's heart fell. "I'm not sure if she got it because she never replied. I sent our trunks anyway."

"And how, pray tell, do you plan on getting us board at this home?" Remus muttered. He knew this was a bad idea. It was an awful, terrible, rotten idea.

"Our charms, of course!"

Horrid, dreadful, appalling idea...

As Sirius blabbered on and practically skipped down the road, Remus slipped his hand into his pocket. He felt both Sirius and his own wand there. He knew they weren't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. But he didn't really trust that Sirius could remember this. With much persuasion, he got the wand from Sirius and had decided he would leave them with the land-lady.

If they got to stay, that was.

It didn't take them long to find the place. The Perfect Charm was indeed, quite perfectly charming. It did not resemble The Leaky Cauldron in any manner. It was white and tall but looked like a house. There was a sign on the front that read its name. Remus guessed that only wizards could read it.

They marched up the stairs, Sirius grinning madly, "Leave everything to me."

Upon entering, the first things they saw were a front desk, a teenage boy and a massive window with the view of the beach. It looked like a banana hut getaway- not the typical stay in London. Sirius gave the boy with sandy blonde hair and a drawn face a smile.

"Bonjour!" Sirius said, roughly. The boy smirked and nodded. Sirius glanced around.

"Listen, we don't know a bloody word of French. You speak English?"

The boy smiled and tapped the side of his nose, "Ah. Yes," he said, just as roughly as Sirius had said his greeting. "Reservation?"

Remus gave Sirius a wary and accusing look, "Told you."

Sirius shot him a glare, "Shove it, Moony. Kind sir!" he said, turning his attention back to the boy. "Is Jan the land-lady here?"

The boy's smile fell and he said, "I will handle your reservation. Name?"

"Ah, you see, old chap," Sirius laughed, falsely. "We haven't exactly... Is the land-lady not about?" His tone had gone a bit desperate.

"I am her son."

"Oh," Sirius paused. "Well, you see, my name is Sirius Black-" the boy scanned the book. "And I wrote Jan the land-lady a few days ago. I assume she received our letter. You see, it-"

The boy shook his head, "You're not here."

"Yes, I figured as much, but, you see, we have already sent our bags here and we were wondering-"

"You want a room?"

"Yes, two beds."

The boy sighed and began to scan the book again, "Ah, you are in luck. The holiday crowd hasn't arrived."

"Splendid!" he said, giving Remus a look that read "told-you-so".

"Now," the boy said. "How long do you plan to be staying?"

Sirius grinned, "The entire summer."

The boy nodded, "Well, then, your total would come to..." he gave a long pause. "1971 galleons, 13 sickles and 9 knuts."

Sirius's grin fell and Remus smacked his forehead.

"That can't be right," Sirius insisted said in a whisper.

The boy nodded, "Simple. 27 galleons a night-"

"27..." Remus muttered.

"For seventy one nights-"

"Good Merlin..."

"If my calculations are correct, Messieurs-"

Remus nodded, "They are. We just didn't... Let's go, Sirius."

Sirius's face was hard to bear.

"Sirius."

He swallowed, "Is... there... is there any way that-"

The boy pulled a face. Sirius nodded.

"Right... right."

They turned to go but a voice spoke when they reached the door.

"Sirius Black. You're letter did no justice on your charm."

They spun around to see a woman that resembled the boy in front of them. She was smiling kindly, leaning against the doorframe. Her sandy hair hung down and she wore a green dress. Her English was flawless.

"Jan the land-lady?" Sirius asked carefully.

She beamed, "Please, do drop the title. I mean, if you are staying here this summer, it might get old."

Sirius moved towards her but whispered, "We just can't afford-"

"Mr. Black, I'm quite aware of your limits. I've spoken to Albus Dumbledore about both of you-"

"You talked to Dumbledore about us?" Sirius cried, aghast. She smiled again.

"Certainly. I mean, if you are to work here-"

"Excuse me, Madame," Remus said politely before rounding on Sirius. In a hiss, he said, "You told her we were working for her?"

Sirius looked like a puppy. A very guilty and yet helpless puppy.

"Only a few things," she intruded. "A bit of cooking. Repairs. Cleaning outside. Going into town. This place does get awfully busy in about a week. The wizards do love France and I need all the help I can get."

Remus's jaw had fallen. Sirius scratched the back of his head.

Jan smiled, "He said you were a great student, Remus Lupin. Very studious and a nice boy. Prefect, weren't you?"

Remus vaguely nodded. She arched an eyebrow at Sirius.

"But not you. Troublesome. Mischievous. Attitude," she stared at him a moment. "A brilliant heart though. And charm."

He nodded, "Loads of charm."

She watched them a second before smiling, "For working for me, you will receive room on the top floor and meals. But this is a business, not a funhouse. I expect you boys to do what I ask. Are we clear?"

They nodded, hurriedly.

She smiled, showing pearly teeth, "Right. Your room is on the top floor with the other employees. Go on up and unpack, your trunks are already there. You won't start work until the day after tomorrow. You may get settled and explore the town a bit," she glanced at her son. "Learn the boarding home."

They nodded, simultaneously.

"This is my son, Pierre," she nodded to the boy. He smiled a bit. "Any questions, ask him. He's been here his whole life. Dumbledore asked me to remind you 'No Magic and No Trouble'."

"Yes," Remus said. "Of course. Could you keep hold of your wands, in case..."

"Surely," she said, taking them from Remus's offering hand. "Dinner's at seven. Feel free to browse about. Get to know the place."

With a kind nod, she hurried away, leaving the three boys standing there.

"She's always a hurry," Pierre said quietly. They nodded again. He handed them the key quickly and told them the location of their room.

"Not many guests now," he said. Remus thanked him. The boys set out down the hall of the home.

"Look at this place," Sirius said, throwing his arms out and hogging the entire hall. An elderly couple squeezed by and Remus gave them an apologetic smile.

"It's perfect, Moony. Nice weather, beautiful women, easy job," he said as a girl their age passed. She was wearing black shorts and a white tank top with a towel draped around her neck. She arched an eyebrow at the raving Sirius.

"Best of all, no one understands anything we say."

The girl smirked and Remus smiled. As she continued down the hall, Remus muttered, "You really should stop that. You're an embarrassment, you know."

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "It's just," he paused and smiled at the floor. "This summer is going to be really great."

He couldn't help but smile too. He gave Sirius's shoulder a push and they continued down the hall.

"I'm still not sure," Remus muttered as they tramped up the stairs. "It seems like too good of a thing."

"No such thing as a too good thing, Moony. We've bought the ticket," Sirius said with a dashing smile. "Now just enjoy the ride."

"Sirius-"

"Don't talk to me. I'm enjoying the sun."

Remus gave a heavy sigh. He ran a hand through his light chestnut brown hair. Sirius was lying in the chair, his head back and arms causally tossed on the armrests. His was wearing nothing but swim trunks. Remus, on the other hand, was sitting out in the scrourching sun wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He felt incredibly overheated.

"Sirius, I think I'm going inside-"

"Come on, Moony! It's a beautiful day!" Sirius cried, lifted his head. He gave a smile, "Who wants to be cooped up in that hotel room all day?"

Remus thought back to their room. It was decorated with greens and blues. There were two beds opposite each other, a dresser, a desk and a closet. There was a bathroom down the hall. He thought it was cozy but not too small. He wouldn't mind staying up there.

"I don't know," he said, offhandedly.

"Moony," Sirius glared, suddenly. "Would you stop being such an idiot?"

Remus's brow furrowed and he muttered, "Shove it, Sirius. You're the one who wanted me to come."

"Yeah, well," he mumbled, dropping his head back. "Maybe I'm starting to regret it. Maybe I should've just followed James and Evans all over the bloody continent. Or maybe I should have just stayed back at my flat. Leave you with your 'problems', Remus."

"Thanks," Lupin said, shrugging with great effort. "Thanks for that, Padfoot."

"Merlin, I don't want this trip to be spent with both of us huffing in our seperate corners!" he hissed. "Now, get in the beach mood."

Remus was ready to shoot off a comment, but something caught his attention. He saw the flicker of a light on his jeans. Curious, he watched the beam move about a little before stopping. He glanced around, trying to find the source. Finally, the glitter found his eye.

It was a jewel. The jewel was set in a ring that was on the finger of a girl who was lying, very similarly as Sirius was, on a beach chair. Her hand was uncerimonisouly tossed on on the armrest. Whenever she moved her hand, the ring glistened. And then, after a moment of staring at the ring, he finally noticed the girl that it belonged to.

Her her was lolled to the side in a relaxed way. Her eyes were closed, Remus guessed this conisdering she had large sunglasses on. He realized who she was. It was the girl that they had passed in the hall. Now, her blonde hair (it was the color that Remus always imagined that angel's halos were) was carelessly piled on the very top of her head. She had a navy blue bathing suit top on with a white flared skirt covering her bathing suit bottoms. Her arms (which were not tanned) were relaxed on the armrests and ankles were crossed on the footrest. Her body was petite but not microscopically thin like most of the other girls that they had seen. There was a tiny, almost invisible smile dabbed on her lips.

At that moment, Remus decided she was the prettiest thing that he had ever seen.

"Moony?" Sirius was saying. "Hey, Moony? Are we still friends?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, absently.

Sirius smiled, "Good. Would you get me a drink?"

Remus nodded, "Yeah, okay."

"Thanks, mate."

Sirius closed his eyes and let his head fall back. Remus's eyes shifted from Sirius to the girl and back. They were practically in the exact same position. It looked as though they were copying each other's movements. There was just something about them...

He stood quickly. At the sound of him moving, Sirius's head shot up.

"Nothing nasty?"

Remus shook his head and walked around Sirius's chair. He passed the girl, but never took his eyes off of her. She didn't seem to notice. He hurried into the boarding home and rushed through the halls. When he finally reached the front desk, his breath was shallow.

"Pierre," he said. The sandy-headed boy turned and raised an eyebrow.

"A girl- our age, blonde hair, rather short- she's staying here. What's her name?"

Pierre smiled, "No one of that nature is staying here-"

"But I saw her," Remus insisted. "She's out by the pool."

"If you are interested, why don't you just go-"

Remus dropped his head, "Because I don't do that, Pierre. I'm not like Sirius."

Pierre smiled, knowingly and said, "Neither am I."

Pierre thought a moment before continuing, "There is no girl like that that has rented a room. We only have the elderly couple, a small family, and a wizard man and his Muggle wife."

"But-"

"However," he said, holding up his hand. "We do have a worker here that fits that description."

Remus swallowed, "So, she works here?"

"Yes."

"What's her name?"

"Sylvia."

He thought a moment, "Sylvia."

Suddenly, Pierre smiled greatly, "You want to meet her?"

Remus gulped again, "No, no. It's not important. I was just curiou-"

Pierre laughed, "Too sorry. Here she comes."

Remus blanked. He didn't turn to see her come but remained watching the counter where his elbows were placed. He heard the pat of her feet on the floor. He saw her toes when she walked up next to him.

She didn't have pretty toes.

"Good afternoon, Pierre," he heard her say. Remus kept his head down.

Pierre said, "And the same to you, Mademoiselle Sylvia."

"How are things in the book-keeping world?" she asked with a life.

"Dull. Things in your cleaning and cooking world?"

"Dull," she laughed again.

She had a rich laugh. Remus thought her laugh was nicer than Lily's.

He heard a pause and suddenly, the girl said, "Who's this?"

He saw the sway of her skirt and she turned towards him. Finally, he looked up. She was looking at him with the same smile that he had seen outside. A quiet one. He nodded.

"I'm Remus."

Her small smile suddenly turned into a beam.

"I'm Sylvia."

He was sure he looked horror-struck but she took no notice. She kept the conversation going.

"Are you hear for business or pleasure?" she asked, teasingly. There was a vague hint of a French accent in her voice. It was barely there, laced within an accent similar to Remus's.

"Business," he nodded. "I work here now."

Her eyes widened, "Oh. Oh, so you're the letter boy. Ah, I see know," she laughed. "That was some letter."

"I didn't write it," he said, his mind flying back to Sirius. The image of both Sirius and the girl seating the same way was imprinted in his mind. "My friend. He wrote it. He wanted us to have a fun summer so he came up with this hair-brained idea."

She laughed again. She blinked when she laughed.

"I wouldn't have thought working at a boarding home to be the idea of a 'fun summer', but to each his own I suppose."

"I didn't think so either."

She nodded, a smile still pulling at the side of her mouth.

"I've got to start dinner," she said. "But it was nice meeting you..." she paused and looked him over. After seeming satisfied, she said, "Remus, for now."

She walked away and Remus watched after her.

"What does she mean 'for now'?" he asked Pierre, slightly paler than before.

"Well," he smiled. "She usually calls you whatever she likes. She gets to know you better, learns your nicknames and uses whatever she thinks is best."

"Oh, lovely. More nicknames."

The rest of the afternoon, Remus thought. He thought and pondered and deliberated. He wasn't really sure about what, but he was sure thinking hard. Sirius took no notice.

"So, Moony, my boy," he said, patting him on the back as they marched upstairs to change for dinner which was being served to the small population of the boarding house in approximately ten minutes. Sirius was oblivious to his own sunburn that stretched across his stomach and arms and nose. "You've been awfully quiet today. Still in shock?"

Moony nodded, "Yeah. That's it."

Sirius sighed, "If you're worried about the werewolf thing-"

"Sirius!"

"You shouldn't be. I mean, honestly," he laughed. "We can just do what we did at Hogwarts. No worries. And who knows the signs of werewolves-"

"Sirius!"

"-anyway?"

"God, I don't know, Sirius!" he said. "Maybe just anyone who took their O.W.L.'s? I mean, it was a question on there!"

Sirius shot him a cold look, "You're the only one who notices these things."

"Are we going to fight this whole trip?" Remus asked suddenly. "We've been here four hours and we're already yelling."

"Fine," Sirius said, suddenly stopping. "I swear that we won't argue again for the rest of the summer. Savvy?"

He laughed but realized Sirius was dead serious. He swallowed.

"Alright. Deal."

Sirius shook his hand with a confident grin.

They know each other since their first year. Remus remembered it like it had just happened. Sirius and James were throwing grapes at each other in the Great Hall. Peter was faithfully laughing at their side. It was the second day of school. Remus was trying to find a place to sit but was loosing the battle terribly. Suddenly, Sirius dropped the grape and received a blow in the head.

"Hey," he said.

Remus, not realizing that he was being spoken to, continued searching.

"Hey!" Sirius yelled. Many Gryffindors stopped and stared at the yelling Sirius.

Remus wondered suddenly how many people had stared at Sirius.

"You can sit here," Sirius told him. Remus stared at him, too, shocked.

"Me?" he murmured. "Why?"

Sirius laughed loudly, "Hey, James! He's funny, too!"

After that, he had linked an arm around his shoulders and pulled him towards the table. The rest was, well, history. Remus never knew what motivated Sirius to come and set his arm on his shoulder.

But it was sure the best thing that ever happened to him.