Cloaked Foresight

by The Jedi Wizard Hobbit

Sequel to Echoes In Eternity! Surprises are in store for Remus Lupin, and not all of them are pleasant. Sirius has... issues at his new job. And how will Ivy adjust to her new life? So much plot, so little point in trying to sum up! Just read and enjoy!

2. Dislike, Leather, and Dinner

A/N: PLEASE READ!

I am so sorry you guys! I feel really terrible, but the delay for this chapter couldn't be avoided. You see after high school graduation you think you get loads of time to do whatever you want, but no, you get visits from relatives and lots of time spent getting stuff for dorms and spend time with your parents, who are already missing you even though you're still there! Anyway, I'm back. This chapter actually took a while to write as well because I didn't outline this story the same way I outlined Echoes (which was by chapter and very efficient). Now I realize that the Echoes way worked better and I am at this moment changing the outline so I won't have that problem anymore. After all, that's what this all is about, right? Figuring out what works so I get better at this! Yea!

This will probably be harder once I get into college, but I promise all of you that I will never give up on this story. My mind wouldn't allow it because it's all there waiting to be put on a page. So while it may take some time, I promise you all that this story will get finished, and that I will never settle for anything less than the quality that you're used to. Even my lovely beta-readers, who are going to college in two different states, have promised to beta for me amidst their own busy schedules. They're just as dedicated as I am! So don't give up, even if the chapter takes a while. It will come, I promise!

IMPORTANT QUESTION – ALL READERS SHOULD LOOK AT THIS! This story was written mostly before book 5 came out, which is why it's so AU now. Most of it doesn't bother me, but one part does – Sirius' family. I wrote them very differently, and now I think that I should remedy that, because it gives Sirius more depth as a character and would add interesting levels to this story. Since I only mentioned his family once in Echoes it would be very easy to fix. If you guys don't mind, I will delete the one paragraph about Sirius' family in Echoes, and in this story his family will be portrayed the way they are in OotP. What do you guys think?

ALSO, many of you have commented on my choice for Harry's occupation. I understand everyone's concern, but remember it is customary for people to get in between jobs before professional training. And after defeating Voldemort, I have a funny feeling that Harry will want a break from dark wizards for a while. Don't forget, it was probably a very terrifying and taxing ordeal. I'm just giving him his due year to recover. Plus, it's funny!

AND, someone suggested that I put my response to your reviews at the end of the chapter, but most of you seem to like it when I put the responses first, and I agree. I will put review responses first as usual, so sift through, find the response to your review, and then find the chapter and read on!

IMPORTANTLY,This chapter will have some beta-ing problems as my computer has a virus that is affecting Microsoft Word, and messing up all of my italics and boldings and formating. I would take more time to fix it, but you guys have waited long enough for this chapter!

Bell: I knew you would be the first to review! I'm always so glad to have you as such an avid supporter! I'm happy that you think the story is moving well, and that you like the Sirius/Gwen interaction so far. It has been lots of fun to write them, and I think that people will enjoy it. As for the states man, lots of people thought that he would be related to Ivy or an old boyfriend, and that was a definite possibility in early brainstorming stages for the story (you guys are starting to know my style too well (), but it didn't work in the end. However, I think you'll find him… interesting… Yea! You like Jekyll and Hyde! Isn't it great? When I heard the songs I fell in love immediately. I'm glad you like it too. Now read on and enjoy!

anubis04: Thank you so much for your review and comments! I hope you like the flashback in this chapter (and the rest of it, of course). Read and have fun!

Sirius-Ella: Yea! You liked the chapter… more importantly you like Sirius ;) Yes, we all want to pull him from the computer screen and keep him in a private closet somewhere. He's a special boy (though I am Remus girl, you can't resist Black – he's just that cool). I think you'll continue to like what's in store for our favorite canine… thanks a lot!

angelface58: Thank you so very much! I know what you mean about some the stories on here, but I'm glad that this isn't one of them, and I'm even gladder that you're enjoying the sequel because sequels are hard to get people to like. It makes me feel like I'm doing my job. Hope you like the chapter!

George is hot – MrsMoony: Of course I was expecting a review from you ;) I'm glad you loved it! Keep reading it should get even better!

Senna2: I'm so glad you liked it! As for Ivy being headmistress, she got the job because Albus died, remember? Then again, you might have been one of the readers who blocked it out (not that I'd blame you – I didn't like killing him). And I'm glad that you liked the motorbike (you're absolutely right, may they never be parted)… well, we all love the motorbike. So expect to see more of it in the future ;)

Chineselaquer: Well, as you can see from the author's note, this story will never be abandoned (yea! Angels calling!), so set your fears to rest! I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I hope you like this chapter too!

whiteLillian2000: Thank you so much! I'm very flattered. I hope you continue to read the story and enjoy it!

Elrenia daughter of Elrohir: Thanks so much! Well, you didn't have to wait as long for this chapter, but it has been a while. I hope the wait is worth it!

pokie4389: Thanks a lot! I hope you like this chapter too!

Micky2: Thanks! There will be some married smut, but not all the time ;) I should get someone for Severus, shouldn't I? Alas, I feel unequal to the task. Maybe in another story. But one of your requests will be granted, in this chapter, in fact, so read and enjoy!

BlueFeather11: You have a happy dance too? Yea! I'm glad you like it so far. And you're right about the mystery man… he's gonna be trouble. Read and find out!

BookCrazee68: Thank you so much! I'm so happy that you like the sequel and I am totally impressed/flattered that you've read Echoes more than once. I'm glad that you like where Sirius and Gwen are going, they're fun ;) I hope that this chapter continues to please!

LOTRMoonyFanatic: I'm glad that I was able to provide you with a break – here's another one! I'm happy that you're enjoying Guinevere, I'm having fun with her, and it's nice to know that people like her. There's lots more from their pasts coming up, so read and enjoy!

Padfootluvr21: Thank you! I'm glad you'll be able to read this one as it goes too, and I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Thank our friend for me, for getting you to read Echoes!

Shiz: Hm, could your name possibly come from the name of a school in a recent musical ;) ? I'm glad that you're reading the sequel and hope that you enjoy it as much as Echoes. Thank you so much!

Ariandir: No need to apologize for reading Echoes in one sitting! I'm just flattered that you read it and are enjoying this one too. I think you'll like what's coming up (yes, there' definitely some potential for Sirius and Gwen… I think it'll be fun). And I'm honored that you like the way I write Snape – he's hard to write, so it's wonderful when someone tells me I'm doing it right. Yea, muffins and rum, two of my favorite things! Hope you like this chapter!

peipponen: Thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. You're right, some people make Remus way too old, I try to make him a bit younger because he is! But some people don't want to believe that… oh well. There's some Ron and Hermione I this chapter that I think you'll like ;) Who doesn't love Ron? He's precious! And don't worry about Sirius in leather… it will come… Read and enjoy!

Moni: Thank you so much! To answer your question, my favorite character is Remus with Sirius running a close second. That's why I write them so much ( . To answer the second question, there will be lots of Sirius in this one 'cause of he and Guinevere, but Remus plays a very large role in this story, probably as much as Echoes, now that I think about it. So worry not and read on!

HarryPotterFreak1234: Here are the review responses on top, just like you requested (I think you're right about that anyway, it's much easier)! I'm glad you like the story so far! There will be more Sirius in this one, but there will be plenty for Remus and Ivy, I promise. Lots of people thought that the mystery man would be an old boyfriend of Ivy's, but even though that was a possibility in my brainstorming, it just didn't work (but you knew me well enough to know I'd consider, which impresses me ;)). However, he is a jerk and Remus does get jealous – you'll love it. He is fun to write when he's all jealous… hehehe… Anyway, read and enjoy!

aurora13: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're liking the story. I hope you like this chapter too!

Maleena: I'm glad you're still reading even though the story's not canon. That normally bothers me too, but I had to stick with this story 'cause I love it too much even though it's completely AU now that Sirius is dead. Thanks for sticking with me, I'm glad that you like it so much! Hope you like this chapter too!

Werewolf-Luva: Glad you're back to read the sequel! Here's your update! I'm glad you enjoying the story!

Taym Godel: Thanks you so much for all your comments and support. You're one of the many people who predicted one of the many possibilities I had running around in my head about who the American would be. Sadly, those possibilities didn't work out, but he's slimy enough, I think. You'll have to be the judge ;) . Sorry your fic fell through, but I shall have to read some of your poetry (though I warn you, I'm not very good at understanding poetry – I wish I was, but my friend SadDiamonds, who actually one of my beta-readers, is the real poet)! Thanks a lot, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Muse-kun: I'm so glad that you like the story and think it matches up to Echoes well! There's something between Sirius and Guinevere, but you'll have to wait to find out. Then again, I don't Sirius would ever stop being a player, girlfriend or no – he's such a natural flirt (. Hope you like this chapter!

LonelyWolf: Thanks so much, I'm glad you like the humor. You actually pointed out some of my favorite parts in the chapter. I honestly don't know where it all comes from, but when I act I do mostly comedy, so it must have something to do with that… Anyway, the next chapter awaits you – I hope you like it!

Lijahlover: Wow, I'm so flattered, it's ridiculous! After reading your review for this story and Echoes, I think I might die from how flattered and humble I feel right now. Thank you so much! I hope you continue to like the story!

Lizzie Black: Thank you so much! I read all of my reviews, so it wouldn't matter where you left one, but I'm so glad that you reviewed. Yea, it was hard to kill Albus, but I had too. I get worried that JKR will do it sometimes, but I try not to think about it, I love Albus too much. Oh, I responded to the job thing with Harry in my author's note at the top of the page. You're not the only one who's worried for the poor fella, but don't worry – oh, and there's some Harry/Ginny coming up ;). I'll have to check out that fic you mentioned. Thanks again, and enjoy the next chapter!

sol: I'm sorry! Here's more! Here's more! Please, no beatings! I hope you like it (

gigglepot: Yes, I'm back (this should be up on checkmated as soon as they beta it… which could take a while, since it took them five months to put up the last chapter of Echoes). I'm glad that you're warming up to Sirius and Guinevere, I think they'll be fun. The arguing will continue ;). And there is a flashback in this chapter and fun Ron/Hermione stuff. Yeah, we all love Sirius in leather, don't we? How can we not? I hope you like this chapter too. Enjoy!

vamperfly: I'm so glad that you found my stories and that you're enjoying them! Here's the update. And you're right, Sirius and Gwen is going to be interesting ;) Hope you like this installment!

Kate The Chocoholic: YES, a sequel! Thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter!

deathbycookie15: Yes, the bike! Doesn't that make you excited? It made me excited and I was the one writing it! This fic will be lots about Sirius, but Remus and Ivy still have lots to do too. It should be pretty well balanced. I'm glad you like Guinevere. I love the name too, and it works so well for her. And she will be good for Sirius… well maybe not at first, although conflict is eminent ;) I hope you like what's coming up!

Gemini ice 39: Thank you! I'm glad you like this story and Echoes, and I hope it continues to please!

aries: Here it is! Just for you! I hope you like it!

Jess Pallas: Thank you so much! I'm so flattered that you like my writing style and the way the characters are written! There's a chance of an update… now! So go and have fun in fanfic land!

Marine Aquastar: Well, now I have to read your story and review. You left a great review, and you flattered me far too much. I am bound by principle to read your story, which I'm sure is magnificent. Give me some time, and I promise I will read it. You actually brought up two subjects that lots of people brought up – Harry's job (which I talk about in the authors note at the tope of this page) and who the mystery man is going to be. While your prediction about him being an old boyfriend was an early possibility while I was brainstorming, it didn't work, so he doesn't know Ivy – but that was a great guess, since it almost happened, and you still won't like him very much (neither does Remus, as you'll soon see). Of course they'll be all right in the end – it's Remus and Ivy! I hope you like this chapter and that you'll let me know what you think of it! Thanks again!

melipy: I'm glad you came over and found me! And I'm glad you like the story. It's being beta-d at checkmated as we speak, they just take a really long time to beta things nowadays. You're actually one of lots of people who were concerned about Harry's job, but there's a section in the author's note of this chapter that should explain things. Why didn't Hermione move in with Ron and Harry – 'cause that would suck for Harry! Besides, Ron will probably be moving out soon anyway ;) Read and find out! I hope you like it!

Without further ado…

---

Chapter Two – Dislike, Leather, and Dinner

THEN – Marauder First Year

It was only his second week of school and Sirius was already having a hard time keeping focused during class. He enjoyed spending time with his new friends so much that it was difficult to stop himself from talking or sending some sort of message during lessons. Already he had figured out how to get erasable messages to move from his own parchment to another's, which had been a source of amusement for him and James all through Transfiguration class. Word was spreading quickly among the teachers that Potter and Black were going to be trouble.

Word had spread among the students as well. All the first years already knew who they were because of the rather nasty trick that they had played on a boy named Snape on the train ride to the school. Neither James nor Sirius had known who the boy was, but James had heard things about the boy's family from his father and Sirius figured he had gotten what was coming to him on the train. It hadn't been nice of him to make fun of that boy Remus for having tattered clothing, nor was it right for Snape's friend to knock that Peter kid on the floor simply because he was small and couldn't defend himself.

So Sirius and James had felt it was their responsibility to help the boys by getting back at Snape and his friend. All they did was make them grow long white beards and give their robes pink polka dots…

It had alarmed Sirius at the time how similarly he and James thought even though they had only known each other for a few hours. It seemed inevitable that they would be great friends. And on top of his first growing friendship, the incident on the train had given him and James two new friends who both, much to Sirius' delight, seemed to have a head for mischief as well (although the boy Remus would never admit it, and the Peter kid was a bit slow on the uptake).

He and James had been assigned detention on their first day of school for what had happened on the train. Sirius didn't mind at all, especially when he caught the smile on Headmaster Dumbledore's face as the two bearded boys trudged up to be sorted.

So now he was sitting in Potions class waiting to be partnered with someone from Ravenclaw house since the potions master had insisted that they work with children outside their 'comfort zone'. The old master shouted from his desk across the room.

"Black, you'll be working with Carnahan! Snap to it!"

Sirius was about to ask who that was, when a pretty dark haired girl approached his table with her supplies in hand. Of course, Sirius didn't happen to notice that the girl was pretty at the time, since he was not very interested in girls at that point in his life. If anything, she made him feel very uncomfortable.

The girl began speaking. "Well, I suppose that we're partners for the rest of the year in this class. I'm Guinevere Carnahan, what's your name?"

"Sirius Black."

"Oh, after the star," the girl said in an impassive voice.

"Yes, I suppose," Sirius mumbled while staring at the girl strangely.

Guinevere could see that the boy was not impressed with her usual show of intelligence, which disheartened her, but didn't really surprise her. So far all of the Gryffindors she had met were a bit lacking in the brain department. Not that it was quite fair for her to make that judgment, seeing as she had taught herself to read at the age of three.

Sirius and Guinevere began to work on their potion, a pixie repellant that would be used later in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. As the period went on, Guinevere found herself becoming more and more annoyed with Sirius Black. He spent most of his time joking with James Potter, who was the next table over. Frankly, she would have much rather worked with their friend Remus Lupin. At least that boy had the decency to do his work despite how often Sirius and James tried to distract him. He also seemed to be more intelligent than the two of them. If Sirius and James had any aptitude between them, they seemed determined to hide it behind the personas of two class clowns.

Sirius realized quickly that he was not going to be fond of Guinevere Carnahan. He had never been able to abide people who acted like they knew everything. Even though it was clear that the girl was considerably smart, he was not one to appreciate a showoff unless he felt that it was all in good fun. Guinevere, however, always seemed to be trying to prove herself to an invisible audience, and it drove Sirius mad.

Guinevere dropped a precise measurement of belladonna into the cauldron and turned to Sirius. "We'll have to wait about twenty to thirty minutes for the potion to ferment before we can add the rest of the ingredients."

Sirius peered at the instructions on the board and looked back at her. "If we added powdered deadly nightshade to the mix it would ferment faster. We could be done in ten minutes."

Guinevere was astonished, for two things had shown themselves at once: 1) Sirius did have intelligence, and a great deal of it too. She wouldn't have been able to come up with that shortcut if she'd been given the whole day to work on the potion. 2) Sirius Black was also the kind of person who was only concerned with taking the easy way out, no matter what the consequences. He would never think before he acted unless someone was there to stop him.

"You must be out of your mind!" she chastised.

Sirius' brow furrowed quickly as he tried to figure out what the cause of her scolding was.

"Putting deadly nightshade in this mix would make this potion hazardous to plants. The whole point of making this repellant is to keep pixies away from one's garden, so doing that would ruin the potion completely!"

"No, it wouldn't," Sirius retorted. "We're not going to be using this repellant in a garden, we're using it in Defense Against the Dark Arts. If we were using it in a garden then it would make sense to take that into consideration, but since we aren't, it doesn't make sense to do more work than we have to."

"We need to know how to make this potion correctly! I can't believe that you don't even care about doing things the right way. I'll be amazed if you last a month at this school with your attitude!"

Sirius was astonished, for two things had shown themselves at once: 1) Guinevere had quite the bug up her arse to be so anal at age eleven. 2) He and Guinevere Carnahan were not going to get along at all. He wasn't sure how he was going to survive his first year of Potions now that they were partners.

James and Remus had noticed Guinevere's raised voice and both glanced up at Sirius to make sure that he had everything under control. Sirius gave them a reassuring look and turned his gaze back to his partner.

"Well, of course my dear Guinevere. Whatever you say."

It was the first time Sirius had mocked Guinevere Carnahan in that particular way. It wouldn't be the last.

---

"So what was going on with that girl in Potions?" James asked Sirius as they sat in the Great Hall eating dinner that evening.

"Oh, nothing James, she's just a stuck up know-it-all. I'll just have to get used to her."

At that moment a redheaded girl passed behind Remus, who was seated on the other side of the table, and sat down at the opposite end of the table. James' gaze followed her the whole way.

Sirius blinked a few times at James and smiled. "So what was going on with that girl?"

James finally shifted his eyes away from the redhead. "What? Oh, nothing… er…"

Sirius nodded and allowed James to start filling his plate with dessert before asking the next question. "What's her name?"

"Lily Evans," James answered immediately. He quickly looked up at Sirius with panic in his face. He had been caught.

"She's nothing, eh?"

James avoided Sirius' gaze and started shifting food around on his plate. "She's smart… and nice…"

"Jesus, mate, why are you worrying about this stuff now? Aren't you a bit young?"

James' face set resolutely. "My dad said that when he met my mum he knew right away that she was the one."

"Your dad probably wasn't eleven when he made that decision."

"You can laugh at me if you want to, Sirius, but you can't make me feel bad about it. She's special."

"That's right, James, she's special. All girls are special. Special in that 'keep away from me' manner."

He waited for James to respond, but his friend said nothing. Sirius quickly realized that James took this very seriously, and that it was probably not the best idea for him to be making fun of him. So he took another approach.

"Remus knows her pretty well."

James' eyes shot to his quiet friend sitting across the table. Remus, who was suddenly aware that he had been thrust into the conversation against his will, looked up abruptly and tried to blink stupidly. James was not fooled.

"How do you know her?"

"I don't know her well," Remus began uncomfortably. "We've just been helping each other with our essays because we both know how to do the homework. That's all!" he added when he noted the warning glare that James was shooting him.

"Has she ever mentioned me?" James asked hopefully.

Remus swallowed. "Yes…. She thinks you're trouble."

Sirius snickered, but James looked downtrodden. "Trouble? How can she think that, she doesn't even know me yet!"

For a split second the half-smirk that appeared on Remus' face whenever he was about to be ironic was showing. "Well, you sort of have a reputation…"

"Oh, great!" James huffed. "He gets to be the saint because he does his homework and doesn't talk back, but you and I give some kids polka-dotted robes and suddenly we're branded for life!"

"Ja-ames," Sirius called mischievously, "I think the key here is to look at this as an advantage rather than a setback. So she's friends with Remus. You can either get in a huff about it or you can realize that this might work to your benefit."

He pointed to the other end of the table, where Lily Evans sat talking with a girl sitting one table over. A girl with dark hair and violet eyes. Sirius smacked a palm to his forehead in fury and groaned.

"What?"

"Out of all the girls you could've picked to fall in love with, you had to pick the friend of my mortal enemy!"

James looked over at Lily talking with Guinevere Carnahan. He became worried. "Sirius, you have to try not to vex her too much. If you do, Lily will hate us because she'll tell her about us." Sirius was about to protest, but a widening of the hazel eyes from behind a pair of wire-rimmed glasses stopped him short. "Please, Sirius."

Sirius sighed in frustration and yanked on handfuls of his hair. "All right, I'll try to be good for your sake. But I swear that when I start fancying women I will never make anything this complicated. It's not worth it."

NOW

Guinevere sat at her desk with a cup of coffee and her last case file. It was very early in the morning, but she normally got the office before most so she could start the day when everything was peaceful and quiet. She looked over her paperwork to make sure it was all in order, and continued to sip at her coffee while everyone filed in for another day of work. It was Thursday, and Codger had promised her a new assignment today, which she was looking forward to.

She heard a distinct, heavy footfall that was becoming more familiar to her each day. A swagger in the very sound of the walk. She was afraid it would one day drive her mad.

But on that day a peculiar scent wafted around the partition that separated her from her new partner. The scent was unmistakable, but she was afraid to peek around the wall, afraid of the past coming back to haunt her.

The smell of leather.

She had to risk it. She was far too curious by nature not to look. As she shifted her chair to the right, she leaned far over to peer around the partition and sneak a glance at the figure standing behind it.

He was standing at his desk with a stack of letters in his hand, discarding the useless ones into a wastepaper bin and placing the ones he wanted to keep between his pinky and ring finger. But something in the picture was out of place. It was a well-fitted black leather jacket, stopping right at his waist. Guinevere tried hard to shake off the feeling of deja vu; it looked so much like the jacket he had worn in his youth. It also looked like he had bought it used because it was properly broken in and worn to perfection.

Sirius dumped the letters he had saved onto his desk, and took a moment to clasp his hands together behind his head and stretch. As he did so, his shirt lifted up ever so slightly so that Guinevere could see a thin strip of flesh from his abdomen –

She averted her gaze quickly. Normally, she a made a point of not noticing attractiveness in men simply out of principle. She didn't like to inflate other people's egos and thought of it as a rather shallow way of looking at someone. But Sirius Black was attractive, in fact, very much so. It was one of his traits that she found the most infuriating. Why someone like him should be blessed with such good looks was beyond her. Even twelve years in Azkaban prison hadn't destroyed his body beyond repair. He actually seemed to have built it back up during the time he had spent shut up in Hogwarts, waiting for his name to be cleared.

What annoyed her the most was that even she could occasionally become distracted by the those good looks, the strong shoulders, the angular jaw, the slim hips, the black-blue hair that was cut so that bits of fringe fell into the dark blazing eyes. Yes, she found it most annoying.

As a matter of fact, she was so annoyed at that moment that she lost her balance in her chair and it tipped over, causing her to crash to the floor.

Sirius immediately dropped his arms and looked down to see Guinevere sprawled on the ground. He eyed her with concern. "Are you all right?"

"Ye-yes," she floundered, trying desperately to get up as quickly as possible, as she felt that doing that would somehow make her seem less guilty.

Sirius rushed to help her up, looking at her chair as he pulled her to her feet. "Why'd you tip over?"

"Er, there was a piece of parchment I was trying to get on the ground, and I just leaned over too far and the whole thing crashed with me."

Sirius made a point to look around for the piece of parchment that had caused all the trouble so he could give it to her. But he didn't see any parchment on the floor at all. He decided not to pursue the matter.

"You're sure you're all right?"

Guinevere nodded a bit too quickly. "Yes, yes I'm fine! Really!"

Sirius backed away from her and started to shrug his jacket off, but she stopped him.

"You might want to leave that on," she said, ducking behind the partition and emerging with a large box, which she placed in his arms. "We've got something else to do before we get our debriefing from Codger."

Sirius shook the box in an attempt to determine what lay inside it, as Guinevere went behind the partition again and emerged with another box, which she kept in her own arms.

"What's all this?"

"We've got paper-dumping duty." When Sirius blinked confusedly at her, she elaborated. "Every month all the official paperwork for this place gets turned over to the Ministry so they can keep it on file. Instead of having owls carry it over in smaller packages, they ask us to send it in bulk – like this – through the special floo delivery network next-door to us."

"You do this monthly? Don't most branches run by the Ministry have to turn in their paperwork every day?"

"Very good," Guinevere said, impressed. "How'd you know that?"

Sirius shrugged. "I worked in the Department of Magical Transport my first couple years out of school."

"Which subsection?"

"Broom Regulatory Control."

Guinevere winced. "That sounds boring."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Better than the Apparition Test Center, which was on the same floor. We had every kind of medic running back and forth on any given day because some kid spliced himself during the test. Besides, it paid fine, and I could do my work for the Order of the Phoenix without my absences becoming suspicious, since they gave you loads of sick days. And I guess it was the first part of my life that I actually felt was mine. I could do whatever I wanted, my choices, my future, my way…"

His voice trailed off and his eyes clouded over slightly, and Guinevere decided not to ask him any more questions, though his musings confused her. In Guinevere's experience Sirius Black had always done whatever he wanted. The idea that he didn't seem to think so was brand new to her. She supposed she should ask about it another time.

She started walking toward the hall that led to the front door, motioning with her head to get him to follow. "Well, the Ministry doesn't ask for our paperwork because we're not totally under their jurisdiction, and because they'd rather not know what's going on here. If they don't know, they never have to claim responsibility for anything that happens here. It shouldn't take a lot to realize that they don't really like us, with the way they've stuck us out here and how they never send people over to make sure that we have everything we need. We have practically no funding and no one asks about us. It's kind of like we don't exist."

Sirius eyes had narrowed steadily with Guinevere's every word. He looked rather furious by the time she had finished. "It's ridiculous the way people view this place. It's like it's a joke, just something they don't want to have to deal with because it makes them uncomfortable. If they had any idea how hard it was for these people…"

Guinevere stopped and glanced back at him curiously, wondering if her next question would upset him. "I've never seen a werewolf transformed without being under the influence of the Wolfsbane Potion. Remus told Codger about what you and your friends did for him during the full moons. My point is, I just wondered… what's it like? Seeing it and being around them and everything?"

Sirius took a deep breath. "It's very sad…. You see the person really struggle to keep hold of himself, try to hold onto his humanity. Of course, they always have to succumb in the end, no matter how hard they fight – and Remus did, believe me. And then, when we were in our Animagus forms, it was just like spending time with an overgrown puppy… a very dangerous overgrown puppy. We never had control over him, but we could keep him in check, and we'd just run alongside him while he howled at the moon. He loved being outside. I think the cruelest thing you can do to a werewolf is to lock him up. They love the fresh air and the wind. But you have to pray that no person ever comes near, because if they do no beast alive can stop that wolf from hunting his prey."

Guinevere nodded in interest as another thought occurred to her. Her eyes lit up. "What's your Animagus form?"

Sirius' eyes flicked from side to side. "Shh, not so loud."

They had just reached the front, where Doris sat with her bunioned feet up on her desk. She was leafing through a copy of Witch Weekly, her face an ugly mosaic as she had actually increased her already overabundant usage of makeup since Sirius had come to work there. When she saw him coming she giggled and immediately straightened up, her eyes narrowing as they fell on Guinevere, who was walking alongside him.

Sirius seemed to be ignoring her, but Doris was delighted, normally only having two chances each day to see him as he arrived for and left work. She was determined to not let this extra chance go to waste, and as Sirius passed by her desk she took her sturdiest quill and gave him a swat on the backside to get his attention.

Guinevere tried not to laugh as Sirius blinked widely and incredulously before turning around to face his assaulter. Immediately his demeanor changed, and he smiled with that sort of charm that belonged exclusively to him. "Why hello, Doris, I didn't even recognize you sitting there! There's something different about you. Is that new eye shadow?"

Doris giggled much higher than the first time and nodded to him. "The color is called Obsession." She let her lips linger over the final word as if she were beckoning him to look much closer.

Sirius cleared his throat uncomfortably and donned a tight-lipped smile. "How lovely." Doris was about to speak again, but he cut her off. "Well, Doris, I'd love to stop and chat but we've got a lot of work to do today, starting with dropping off these papers. I'm sure we'll have another opportunity to talk some other time."

Doris smiled and batted her eyes, not seeming to take the hint that she had just been brushed off. As they exited the building, Guinevere looked at Sirius and laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Something occurred to Sirius as they were walking. "Why don't we just shrink these boxes into a pocket and then blow them back up to original size before we drop them off? Doesn't that make more sense?"

Guinevere tried to shrug under her heavy load. "Most people do, but I think it's rather ridiculous, after a while. I mean, I get tired of using my wand for everything, don't you?"

Seventeen-year-old Sirius began to poke up from the edges of Sirius' mind. There was a very wrong way he could answer that question, which would entail all kinds of innuendo, but Grown Up Sirius smacked Seventeen-year-old Sirius into his rightful place. If it had been another woman, he wouldn't have hesitated, but he certainly wouldn't try it in front of her.

Her voice suddenly broke his thoughts. "I really can't believe you."

Sirius, who had been looking rather relieved at his narrow escape from Doris, now looked to her defensively. "Believe what?"

"You! This act you put on all the time to make women fall for you! It's obvious you don't even like Doris, so why don't you say something? But some things never change, I guess, and Sirius Black cannot afford to be seen without his charm. You are ridiculous; you're just a big joke! And one day, a woman that you like is going to see right through your façade and it's going to drive you crazy because you won't have anything to use on her."

Sirius could think of nothing to say to that, so he took a different tactic to comeback at her. "Well, at least I make an attempt to get people to like me! In case you hadn't noticed, it's much easier to work with people twenty-four/seven when they think you're a nice person! The only person who likes you at all in that office is Codger, and that's just because he knows you're good at your job."

Guinevere avoided his gaze as he spoke, and when they arrived at the front of the building next-door, she opened a large slot above the ground by pulling up a sheet of metal, and kicked in her box.

Sirius followed her actions while Guinevere held up the metal sheet. "But tell me honestly, my dear Guinevere, is there anyone in that office who knows your first name besides me? Or are you just Carnahan, that lady who's good at her job and doesn't talk to anyone, who gets to work before everyone else does because she has no life of her own, who tries her best to act like 'one of the guys' because she's afraid that being a woman makes her too vulnerable in a world full of men?"

The metal sheet slammed down on his final words. Guinevere finally managed to lift her gaze up from the dirt and looked him in the eye. Her eyes weren't hateful, nor were they enlightened. They were just… sad… and strong. Sirius immediately felt guilty.

He ran a hand across the back of his neck and stared off to the side. "I didn't…. What I meant was…" He sighed. "Too far, James and Remus were always right about that. I always take things one step further than I mean to. I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't apologize. I provoked you and you responded. Anything that I heard from you was my own fault."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have kept going like that, I should've backed off-"

"It's over, let's just let it go. I don't think either one of us is permanently damaged."

He followed her back to the office in silence, but when they reached the door, he stopped.

"I can't go back in there, she'll start talking to me. Maybe you could distract her, and I could slip by unnoticed."

Guinevere actually smiled at the suggestion. "Distract her? With what?"

Sirius gave her a pleading look. "I don't know, just anything!"

He waited for a response. Finally, she shrugged. "I'll try."

Guinevere walked into the office first, with Sirius following behind a few seconds later. Doris did notice him, but was unable to stop him, as Guinevere was demanding her attention. Sirius walked quickly back to his desk and sighed in relief as he plopped into his chair. A minute later, Guinevere came in smiling smugly.

Sirius swiveled in his chair to look at her. "I can't believe you actually did it! What did you say to her?"

Guinevere waved a hand as if to shrug off his praise. "Oh, nothing. Just some crap about my needing her to keep a look out for letters coming from my family because I was worried about my brother."

Sirius tilted his head. "You have a brother?"

Guinevere nodded and started to her desk, when Sirius' voice stopped her.

"It's too bad that you were a Ravenclaw. You would've been a great Marauder."

"A what?"

Sirius smiled and shook his head. "Nothing."

Guinevere decided to ignore his last comment and sat down on her side of the partition at her desk. Sirius had been sitting with his own thoughts for a minute or two, waiting for Guinevere to go and see Codger, when he heard her voice from the other side of the partition.

"Sirius?" she called quietly, leaning out so he could see her face.

"Yes, Guinevere," he answered, leaning to the side as well.

"What's your Animagus form?"

Sirius grinned wickedly. "I don't think we know each other quite well enough for me to be telling you all of my secrets, Guinevere…"

Guinevere leaned back so that she was again behind the partition as sudden realization struck her: Sirius had just deliberately flirted with her. She couldn't believe it. Had she been in a worse mood she would've done something to counter it, like reprimand him or slap him. But he obviously was just trying to mess with her head. She realized that it wouldn't have done any good to counter him anyway, and decided to take Sirius' behavior the way she always did – with no consideration whatsoever.

---

"Where is she? He'll be here any minute!"

"Don't worry Minerva, Ivy told me she just had a few things to clear up before she came downstairs. She should be here momentarily."

Ivy had thought it best not to have the entire staff meet the American on his first day, so she had asked only the house heads and Remus to be with her to welcome him. Now they all stood at the entrance to the castle, some of them bored, some of them interested, all of them wishing that Ivy would hurry up and get there so they didn't have to roll out the welcome mat without her blessing.

There was a familiar patter of feet and Remus turned around to find Ivy trotting down the stairs with quick precision. She did not seem happy.

Always keen on her duties as deputy headmistress, Professor McGonagall immediately informed the headmistress, "He should be arriving very shortly, Ivy."

Ivy nodded. "Thanks, Minerva."

Remus leaned into her, trying to speak quietly as he could. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "Oh, nothing, I've just got so much to do right now, and I wish that I didn't have to be here to welcome this guy. On top of all the things I've got to prepare for the beginning of this year, I have to make sure that the Texan is comfortable and that he'll work well with all of us here. I just hope he's nice."

"He will be," Remus assured. "You're worrying too much. He's supposed to help you too, you know, it's not just a one-way street."

Ivy leaned her head on his shoulder exhaustedly. "I just want the next week to be over right now. I want to move on to more important things that aren't so tedious."

"It'll be over sooner than you think."

She smiled, though he couldn't see it, and reached her closest hand up to grab the edge of his robe so she could feel her fingers run through the soft threadbare fabric. "Thank you for putting up with me in all this craziness."

He wrapped an arm around one of her shoulders, still trying not to appear too affectionate especially while Severus was in full view. "Don't be ridiculous. There's nothing to put up with. Besides, I like you in all this craziness – you shine in it."

Ivy looked up at him in awe. "Why did you marry me?" she whispered. "I don't deserve you."

Remus shook his head. "Don't you dare," he warned. "We've already had this conversation, and it did us no good. We both feel we don't deserve each other due to our massive inferiority and doormat complexes. We'll just have to leave it at that."

She smiled and leaned in to kiss him, but at that moment the door opened and Remus had to step away. In stepped a shrouded figure, whose cowboy boots just peeked out from the bottom of his robes. He dropped his bags on the floor unceremoniously and whipped off his hood.

"Hot damn! Don't know how you people can stand this weather up here, but I'm gonna have lots to get used to! 'Specially with all this rain!"

The man, who appeared to be in his early thirties, was tall and even under his bulky robes it was obvious that he was powerfully built. He had sharp, chiseled features, square shoulders, and sandy hair that was cut short. The features of his face were perfectly arranged from his baby blue eyes and alarmingly straight nose, to his strong chin and a smile that even Sirius Black could envy.

Ivy stepped forward. "Hello sir, and welcome. I'm Ivy Dumbledore, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The man held and his hand out and shook Ivy's enthusiastically, starting to speak again in his rich southern drawl. "You'll have to pardon my saying so, Miss, but no one told me that when I was going to study under the headmistress of this fine school, that she would be as absolutely beautiful as you. Frankly, I was expectin' one of those old, strict, busybody types." His eyes went briefly to Professor McGonagall, who straightened up even further than Remus had believed was possible.

Ivy's cheeks tinged slightly in embarrassment. "Well, thank you very much for that."

The man's eyes widened and he stepped back slightly. "I'm so sorry, where are my manners? My name is Clayton Lee Wilcott, Deputy Headmaster of the Starlight Canyon School of Sorcery."

Remus noticed Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick snort at the sound of his name and also saw the expression on Professor McGonagall's face growing more annoyed each second. Severus kept his face stony and impassive. Remus had already heard enough, however. He could usually sense things like insincerity in people, and this man oozed it. It was clear that the only person that he was interested in impressing was Ivy, seeing as her opinion was the only one that mattered.

Ivy, unfortunately, did not seem to notice this. She quickly started introducing Clayton to the rest of the group.

"Well, Mr. Wilcott-"

"It's Clayton, please, Miss."

"All right, but then you have to call me Ivy."

"Why, thank ya kindly."

"Clayton, this is our Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall who is also the head of Gryffindor House and our Transfiguration teacher."

Clayton seemed to squirm a bit under Minerva's sharp gaze, but he held himself together. "It's a pleasure to be sure, ma'am."

Minerva gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Yes, to be sure."

Ivy moved down the line. "This is Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff House, and also our Herbology teacher."

"G'day ma'am."

Professor Sprout offered a smile similar to Professor McGonagall's, and shook Clayton's hand firmly.

"This is the head of Ravenclaw House and our Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick."

Clayton looked down and gave Flitwick a double take. "Howdy, sir! Well, I'll be, he sure is a tiny fella!" he added to Ivy, although everyone could hear him. "No offense meant, a course! And you sure do have a lot of houses in this school!"

Professor Flitwick nodded stiffly as Ivy explained.

"Each of our houses value different qualities in their students. By sorting them into houses we find out what kind of students they are, and we also give them the benefit of being always near to other students like themselves."

"Well, that seems like a right fine idea."

"Now, this is Professor Snape, the head of Slytherin House, and also our Potions Master."

Clayton offered his hand to Severus, which was not accepted. The Potions Master eyed the man harshly, making him shift uncomfortably.

"I've always had a great deal of respect for your area of work, Professor. Potions is a very difficult subject, more art than science. I hope to learn a lot from you this year."

But Severus was not a fool for such flattery. He continued to eye Clayton suspiciously. "Yes," he drawled.

Ivy could see that their conversation was not going to be a pleasant one, so she quickly moved to Remus. "And this is my husband, our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin."

Though Clayton's smile remained in place, the expression in his eyes changed. Not enough for everyone to notice, but certainly enough for Remus to detect it. Clayton already did not like Remus. No more than Remus liked him.

"I've heard a you, you're the werewolf, right? A werewolf teaching the Dark Arts… kinda seems poetically fittin', don't ya think?" Clayton looked briefly at Ivy to gauge her reaction. "Also must be hard having your wife as your boss, knowin' that she's the one writin' yer paycheck. But you must be the kinda guy who's real good with all that stuff or this lovely lady wouldn't a married ya."

Ivy laughed and nodded.

He's testing our marriage, Remus realized. He wants to know how close we are, so he can figure out how fast to move in.

It quickly occurred to him that he was being very paranoid. He simply couldn't help it. All of his instincts were revolting against this man.

Remus smiled. "Well, feeling threatened by one's own wife shows a sign of immaturity that I like to think I've surpassed. Besides, I enjoy my job very much. As for my position being somewhat poetically fitting, that I suppose, is all in the eye of the beholder."

Clayton pushed further. "Yeah, but the students are probably fascinated by it. I've always been very interested in the subject of dark creatures myself." He paused for a moment, eyeing Remus with the look of a cat stalking a pretty bird in a cage. "What I wouldn't give to see your dark side…"

But Remus was not a twittering bird. And if their new guest was trying to assert his dominance, Remus had no intention of giving him the impression of the tame, docile, gentlemanly exterior that worked so comfortably around his peers and students. He grinned somewhat cruelly at Clayton, his gaze piercing and callous, and then whispered to the man in a low slippery tone, "I'll show you my dark side if you show me yours, Mr. Wilcott."

Clayton's eyes widened in understanding. "Well, well, Professor Lupin, your reputation does not do you justice. I had you pegged as a man of mild temperament and simple values."

Remus laughed silently and shook his head at the man. "It is not wise to judge any person as simple or well-tempered. After all, we all have our own complexities, don't we?" He watched as Clayton gave him a slow nod and a poison smile. "And as for reputations… well, I have struggled for many years not to have much of one, so for you to have knowledge of my personality would have probably required some digging on your part…. You should be careful – people might think that you're up to something, Mr. Wilcott…"

In that moment Remus had made it clear to Clayton just what he was up against. The gauntlet had been thrown. He wasn't sure what Clayton was intending to fight for, but at least Remus had shown him that he was not about to roll over and bare his throat to this overgrown puppy.

Ivy, however, managed to miss all of it. A house elf had approached her about something very important involving the start of term feast, and she didn't see any of their exchange.

"Well, Mr. Wilcott, Mr. Filch is waiting at the end of the hall and he'll take you to your room. We'll see you at dinner and tomorrow morning you can come to my office and we'll start discussing your duties for the start of the year."

Clayton slowly tore his gaze from Remus, shifting his whole demeanor as his eyes came to rest on Ivy. "Well, I very much look forward to it, ma'am! I'll just be off now so I can get rid of all this clutter I brought with me." With that he grabbed his bags from the floor, walked to the end of the hall, and followed Mr. Filch upstairs.

Ivy turned to face everyone. "Thanks everybody. I think our welcome worked out just fine, so I'll see you all at dinner and I hope that all of you will stop by and have a talk with me before the year starts so I can make sure that we're all on the same page."

All of the teachers went their separate ways, leaving Remus and Ivy alone. Remus had every intention of telling Ivy just what he thought of their new visitor, but Ivy whirled around to him and spoke first.

"He seems like a great guy! I feel better already about this whole thing, don't you, Remus?"

The words Remus wanted to say died in his throat. He didn't want to upset her when she was feeling so relieved. "Er… yeah, he seems fine, I suppose."

"This is going to work out so much better than I thought it was going to. Everything's going to be fine this year! Clayton will be a great help and I'll have less to do because of it." She grabbed Remus by his sleeve. "You see? I won't have to spend all my nights up at my desk. We'll have more time."

Remus sighed in defeat. "Well, that's good news."

Ivy started to walk away. "I have some things to clear up before I go to dinner. You coming?"

He nodded absently. "Yeah, coming."

When he really thought about it, Remus knew he didn't have anything to worry about. Even if Clayton was trying to butter Ivy up now, he knew that she wouldn't fall for his act in the end. She'd see through him soon enough.

But the thought of him there all year still made Remus feel sick to his stomach.

---

Later that evening, after dinner was done and most had gone to bed, Ivy waited at the front of the school again. She was not alone either. Severus Snape was at her side, watching, waiting.

"So how do you feel about all this?"

Severus did not bother to look in Ivy's direction as he responded. "There is nothing to feel about it. Only things to do. I expect that this will be a lot of work, though."

He was about to continue when the door opened and two people stepped inside. As the hoods of their cloaks were pulled back, the faces revealed were that of a middle-aged man with a bulbous nose and ruddy cheeks and a young man with white-blonde hair and cold eyes.

The older man approached them. "You must be the headmistress and Professor Snape, I presume?"

Ivy stepped forward. "Yes, we are."

The man smiled good-naturedly. "Well, then I suppose that this lad is in your care now. We've done all we can for him up to this point. I hope you have something for him to do."

"Oh, don't worry," Severus assured the man. "He'll have plenty to do."

At the sound of his old potions master's voice, the young man looked up sharply. His eyes fell on his old teacher, and for a moment something like relief lit the young man's features. This look faded quickly and was immediately replaced with his typical insolent glare.

The middle-aged man pulled a roll of parchment from the briefcase he was carrying. "If you'll just sign this, then, just to say that you received the boy and that he'll be in your charge now. Then I can leave and let you get started on whatever it is your planning on having him do."

Severus and Ivy both signed the parchment with the quill the man provided, and watched as he pulled up his hood and prepared to leave. Before going to the door, he whispered to Ivy. "Take care of him, please. He's a nasty little bugger, but he's got nothing left in the world. I've kind of grown to like him, and I just want to make sure that you know he isn't as bad as he wishes he was."

Ivy nodded to the man and offered a small, comforting smile. "Don't worry, we know. He's always been quite the handful, but we're used to his routine. He'll do fine here."

The man sighed gratefully. "Thank you, Miss. The hospital might send someone to check on him from time to time."

"Thank you, sir," Ivy said as she let the man out. The door closed behind her and she turned again to the young man. "Welcome back, Draco."

He did not seem surprised or grateful at his surroundings. Instead, Draco gave her his usual sneer and a stare that let Ivy know just how much cooperation she could expect from him. She didn't feel up to the argument.

"You'll be working as Professor Snape's assistant this year. He'll be in charge of you and let you know what your duties are."

Draco seemed disgusted. "Being a professor's assistant is a job for poor people and house elves."

"Nevertheless, Mr. Malfoy," Severus interjected, "you will be acting as an assistant. I suggest that you get used to the idea, seeing as you have few other opportunities for employment."

Draco looked at the floor, his mouth and brow twisted in anger. Severus glanced at Ivy, who gave him a look of support, though she knew he didn't need it.

"Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room. Don't forget your luggage."

Draco looked up at him. "The house elves are supposed to do that. It's there job, not mine."

Severus took a domineering step toward the young man. "From now on you had best learn that the only person responsible for you is yourself. No more servants doing your bidding, no more friends to help you gang up on the defenseless. You are alone, Mr. Malfoy. If you do not wish to be, my suggestion would be that you try to make yourself more… likeable."

Ivy thought she noticed the tiniest hint of a smile at the corners of Severus' mouth with his last comment. She had to admit, it was a comical piece of advice coming from him, a man who'd never seemed to care if anyone liked him at all. She wasn't sure that Draco would appreciate the joke, though.

"Come, Mr. Malfoy. Tomorrow you will report to my office so I can give you your first set of jobs that I expect to be done before start of term."

Severus gave Ivy one final look to let her know that he had everything under control, then strode down the hall, a dejected and luggage-laden Draco Malfoy at his heels.

Ivy chuckled to herself as she climbed the many stairs up to her office. She still had a hard time thinking of it as her office after how many years she'd spent going up there to visit Albus, but she knew it was just a matter of time before she started thinking of it as home. Keeping with the theme Albus had enjoyed of using muggle candy names as passwords, Ivy uttered "pixie stix" and waited as the staircase ascended to the door of the office.

She entered the office to the voices of dozens of pictures that lined the high walls. Many of them were mumbling incoherently and sleepily while others actually greeted her by name. When she arrived at her desk the portrait of Albus that hung behind it began speaking.

"Hello, my dear girl. Did the day pass well?"

Ivy smiled as she gave her desk a once over. "Yes, it was fine, thank you."

"Any problems with the Texan or with young Mr. Malfoy?"

"Not so far. Though I'm worried about Draco already. He's not going to adjust to this well."

Albus chuckled. "No, I suspect not. Then again, he was never one to make anything easy. However, I'm sure that Severus will straighten out his attitude very quickly."

Ivy nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. I just have my usual misgivings, that's all." She looked beyond her desk, up the stairs to the door that led to her living quarters. "I better go up there and make sure that my husband is still talking to me. I thought I'd be up here much sooner; Draco came late. He's probably asleep by now."

Albus smiled. "Then I'll say goodnight."

"Goodnight, Albus."

Ivy climbed the stairs and opened a large oak door that led to a homey living room space. On one of the side tables that sat next to a large burgundy sofa there was a sprig of lavender with a note on top of it reading:

You should come by and visit here more often – the natives are really quite friendly. There's some tea on the coffee table if you want it.

Ivy sighed, taking the lavender gently between her fingertips and bringing it up to her nose. The therapeutic scent began washing away the day's activities and Ivy looked toward the coffee table to see what lay there. But a light coming under the door from her bedroom caught her attention. Ignoring the tea, she walked to her bedroom door and opened it.

Remus sat on their bed, his back propped up by a pillow, reading in the soft candlelight. He wore what he normally wore to bed every night, a soft pair of cotton pajama bottoms. His hair fell charmingly into his eyes, though he didn't seem to notice.

Ivy suddenly became aware of how dim the candle was and cleared her throat to speak. "You know, you'll ruin your eyes reading in light like that."

He looked up, already knowing that she'd been there from the moment she'd set foot in her office. He was glad to see her smiling at him teasingly. He smirked back. "Not these eyes. Are you coming to bed?"

Ivy nodded. "Yeah, just give me a second." She quickly placed the lavender on her bedside table, which he smiled at, and retreated to the bathroom. After changing into a sleeveless cotton nightgown, she hopped onto the mattress and scooted close to him.

"What are you reading?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder so she could see better and tracing the fingers of one hand along his upper back.

Remus turned the page. "A Tale of Two Cities."

"Ah," Ivy mumbled, "Dickens. I used to read him all the time when we were younger."

Remus turned his head slightly toward Ivy, though his eyes never left the book. "I don't remember ever seeing you read Dickens when we were at school."

Ivy shrugged and kissed his shoulder, snuggling closer as he encircled an arm around her waist, though he still kept his eyes glued to the page. "Well, not many kids read muggle books at school here - they still don't, now that I think about it – and I didn't want to be the odd one out."

Remus smiled. "You should have told me. I've read him ever since I was quite young, before I even started going to school. I'd read all of his books by the time we'd left Hogwarts and I've reread one book every year since I was twenty. If you'd told me you were reading him we probably would have worked him into our fireside chats that we used to have."

Ivy laughed. "Oh, I remember those. They were nice."

"Yes, very nice."

Ivy paused for a moment and when she spoke, her voice held a hint of sadness. "Have we changed very much since then?"

At those words, Remus looked up from his book and stared directly into her eyes. "No, not so much." He smiled comfortingly, his eyes glimmering, and Ivy felt his arm tighten around her waist as if to assure her.

She sighed. "We were just a bit naïve, I guess. Sneaking into the common room till all hours of the morning and never once realizing that all those meetings and all that time together might mean that we liked each other as more than just friends."

Remus searched her face, examined the way her hair curled round her ears and neck, the hue of her skin in the candlelight, as if he believed that by memorizing her he could turn back time. He put the book down slowly and matched the rhythm of his breathing to hers, something which always calmed him down at night when he couldn't sleep. It had always been easier for him to rest with her near.

"I know I loved you then, even if my subconscious was the only part of me that was fully aware. We were just too young to understand what it all meant."

Ivy smiled, suddenly remembering a conversation that she'd had with Lily years ago…

"I mean, I am ridiculously comfortable around him, but… I don't know, Lily. You're a lot older then me in many ways. I suppose I think I'm too young to understand what love should feel like… I guess that doesn't make much sense-"

She looked up at him. "Yes, you're right, we were too young. James and Lily were always maturing faster than everyone. They got it before the rest of us did. But we have time now."

Ivy leaned in to kiss him, placing a hand on his chest. As their lips touched, Remus winced, causing her to pull back.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot!" Ivy removed her hand, seeing a dark bruise on his chest where she had placed it. She gingerly brushed her fingers over the spot. "That looks awful. How have you been doing?"

Remus shook his head. "It's really not that bad. Just the usual pain and bruising from the transformation itself. I'm recovering quite well, considering that it was only two days ago. I'm just glad that it wasn't during the start of term. It would've been terrible if I'd had to miss the first days of school."

Ivy was now checking him over for other bruises. "You know, I could heal all of this faster for you."

She moved her hand back to the bruise on his chest, but he grabbed her wrist and glared at her. "Ivy, we've discussed this. I've been dealing with this my whole life and I can handle it. Especially with the help I get now from the Wolfsbane Potion. If all I have to deal with is the simple aches and pains, I'd rather you not waste your energy and strength repairing all of that."

Ivy averted her gaze from his, as she always did when she was trying to get around something. "Well, if it's not that bad then I don't really see the harm in my trying to-"

His grip on her wrist tightened causing her to stop. He was using up strength and she didn't want him wasting what energy he had on trying to subdue her.

"Ivy."

She slowly looked back up to him. When she finally met his gaze, his eyes softened and he seemed more tired. "Maybe for the harder transformations you can help, but I'm fine for now. All right?"

Ivy nodded and he released her. She leaned against him, feeling his arm return to her waist, though this time she was more careful about making sure that she wasn't lying on any bruised flesh.

"Which was your favorite character?"

"What?"

She motioned with her head toward the book on Remus' lap. "Dickens – who was your favorite character?"

Remus pondered for a moment. "I was rather fond of David Copperfield. You?"

Ivy nodded thoughtfully. "David Copperfield makes sense for you. For me, I guess it's a tie between Nicholas Nickleby and… Ebenezer Scrooge." She elaborated when he shot her a quizzical glance. "You've gotta love a reformed sinner."

He chuckled, picking up the book again, and opening it to the correct page. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I did always love the part where he comes to his own grave and begs to live."

Ivy closed her eyes. "Will you read to me?"

"I'm in the middle of the book," he warned.

"I don't care. I've already read it anyway."

"All right, I'll read. Oh, we're at a good part, the second time when we hear about the quilt being sown…"

Ivy smiled and let her mind empty itself as he began. Remus' voice slowly drowned out every other sense and feeing until she had relaxed into a lovely stupor. He read to her long after she'd fallen asleep so she could hear him in her dreams.

---

There was a knock at the door and Guinevere flicked her wand to turn the stove off as she went to answer it. As she suspected, she opened the door to find Sirius Black waiting on the other side. In his hand he held a large bouquet of flowers and he greeted her with his usual knee-buckling grin.

"Your right on time!" she said, moving aside so he could step in.

"Yes, well I figured the 'fashionably late' tactic wouldn't stand so well with you," he jested. "And, of course, it was so difficult to get over here being as far away as I am."

"Very funny. May I ask who the flowers are for?"

Sirius became solemn. "Oh, they're for my uncle. His favorite wife just died today."

Guinevere blinked. "Favorite…?"

He nodded nonchalantly. "Yes, he's got quite a few of them, but his favorite just keeled over the other day. Total surprise, of course. He feeds them so well, everyone just assumed that they'd all live to be a hundred. None of them talk much, but they always seemed happy."

Guinevere stared at Sirius in confusion. He smiled. "Joke, Guinevere. It was a joke. The flowers are for you."

He held them out to her and waited for a response. Guinevere quickly changed her expression and raised an amused but annoyed eyebrow at him before accepting the flowers and glancing over them. "So what are they for?"

"A peace offering. An apology."

"Apology for what?"

Sirius shrugged. "The motorbike. I know it's an annoyance to you, and I'm sorry."

Actually, though Guinevere would have never admitted it, she was getting rather used to the motorbike humming its way back and forth in the night. After only a few days, she was becoming accustomed to seeing her new partner disappear into the dusk, now with his new jacket to accompany him.

Guinevere shook her head. "Don't worry about it. The flowers are beautiful." She realized that she was still sporting her apron from the kitchen and began to feel silly next to a man who would've looked good in a dirty sheet. She handed him back the flowers. "Just do me a favor, go into that closet over there, get a vase to put the flowers in, and set them on that small table by the door. I'll get dinner ready. I figured we could eat in the kitchen since it's nice in there and there's only two of us."

"Works for me."

Guinevere backed away. "Okay, be with you in a second." She whipped off her apron quickly and ducked back into the kitchen.

Sirius took a look around the flat in attempt to locate the closet that Guinevere had mentioned. In doing so, he found that she was not lying when she had said that she was a terrible housekeeper. Though the flat was wonderfully furnished and comfortable, Guinevere put even the most dedicated pack rats to shame. Books were stacked on nearly every surface, and framed pictures and decorative wares were hidden behind piles of papers. Sirius assumed that many of the papers had to do with work, but the books were of such a wide variety that Sirius didn't even attempt to scan most of the titles out of fear that he would find Guinevere to be a much deeper person than he had suspected.

He found the closet in the corner of the room and opened it, finding extra blankets and pillows, ugly pottery that he assumed were old Christmas presents she had meant to take back, and more books. After carefully searching through the closet, careful not to cause an avalanche of clutter, he found a lovely crystal vase, and brought it to the small, oval-shaped table by the door, which at the moment only held a dish with some potpourri in it. It was the only table in the room that held so little.

Guinevere appeared again, finding Sirius carefully arranging the flowers in the vase so that all of the vibrant colors could be easily seen. She cleared her throat to get his attention. "Dinner's on the table. I hope you like fettuccini alfredo."

Sirius backed away from the flowers and momentarily examined them before deciding that they looked fine. "Sounds great."

He followed Guinevere into the kitchen, which was far less cluttered than the rest of the house, most objects finding their proper places. A small, circular table sat in the middle of the space with four chairs around it. Two places were set across from each other with plates of pasta, two glasses of white wine, and two small garden salads. Had there been candlelight, Sirius would have felt that he was in a gourmet restaurant.

"This looks fantastic."

Guinevere shrugged. "Told you, I'm better at cooking than housekeeping. I'm sorry, I didn't know if you preferred white or red wine, so I just chose what I thought would go best with the dish."

They both sat down to the meal. Sirius placed his napkin in his lap. "I'm usually fine with either one. I've always been easy when it comes to alcohol."

Guinevere smirked. "Oh yes, I can recall." She paused waiting for him to begin. When he didn't, she nodded to him. "Well, go on, tell me what you think of it."

Sirius took a bite of the pasta and closed his eyes briefly before swallowing and speaking. "It's delicious. Now I see your ploy, you're determined to win me over with wonderful food."

Guinevere tilted her head. "Oh dear, you've figured me out! I shall use the fine methods of the culinary arts to win over your soul before your mind."

They both chuckled for a moment, a joined sound that subsided uncomfortably. To anyone looking in on them it would've seemed that these two barely knew each other at all.

Guinevere cleared her throat. "So what did you think of your first assignment?"

Sirius set down his fork. "Well, I've actually never seen a vampire before, only learned about them in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was glad to meet one face to face finally. Now I know what to expect, and it was pleasantly surprising. He was just a regular chap."

Guinevere took a sip of wine and nodded. "Yes, some of them are much less violent and volatile then others. He was particularly calm, which was probably a good thing for your first time meeting one. A lot of them cycle like werewolves, more unstable during certain times of the year. In fact, it always seems that the people who are labeled 'dark creatures' always have a very strong connection to the earth and heavens."

"Makes you feel like maybe there's something we're not getting, doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

"So what happens to him after we do our job?"

She set down her glass. "After we're done talking with him and letting him know the situation, he gets relocated. Unfortunately, his predicament is the kind where the Ministry likes to intervene since they feel that the residential location of vampires is of great concern for public welfare. All it takes is one vampire attacking some farmhouse or a Leaky Cauldron patron and the rest of them get relocated at the slightest disturbance."

Sirius frowned. "But Edmund didn't do anything. For all his neighbors knew it could have been a dog in their back yard making noise."

Guinevere sighed. "Yes, but regrettably they knew that Edmund was a vampire. They're allowed to file a suit, and when they do that the Ministry automatically relocates the vampire. It was an act put in place while Fudge was in office."

Sirius stared into his wine glass morosely. "But that was his family's land. That was the house he grew up in. They actually have the right to take it from him? Where will they put him now?"

"Yes, they have the right to take it, the act stipulates it. They usually relocate them to some ghetto. Someplace where no one would suspect anything about their unusual lifestyle."

Sirius looked up at her with a hard glare. "Then what good are we really doing? We just sit there with the man and try to make him feel better about the fact that his life is going to be ruined?"

"No, while Codger is negotiating with Ministry officials we find him a new place to live that's better than a place that the regular Ministry department would suggest. You see the act also stipulates that if a Ministry employee can locate a suitable place that won't cost the Ministry much to take care of per year, the vampire can choose that place or the one that is suggested by the Department of Dark Creature Control and Containment. It was a clause added by the Ministry so that employees with vampire relatives could find good homes for their family members."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "And it's also a very convenient loophole."

She nodded. "There are a few people in the Ministry who sympathize with our agency, and help to slip loopholes into the acts that threaten the rights of dark creatures so that we can do more good for them."

A thought occurred to Sirius. "How long have you been working there?"

"About ten years. I was always an advocate for the rights of these people, so I suppose it was just a matter of time before they recruited me."

"You were recruited?"

"Yes. Codger approached me after I spoke at a protest rally that promoted the repeal of the Werewolf Taxation Act. I immediately accepted since it was the kind of work I'd wanted to get into. And I've been doing it ever since."

Sirius pulled his slipping napkin back onto his lap and twirled some pasta around his fork. "What else have you done? No husband, no boyfriend, no children?"

Guinevere looked up sharply. "I hardly think that's something that I want to discuss with you."

Sirius blinked. "Why? It was a harmless inquiry."

"Because it's none of your business, that's all."

"What, is it a touchy subject?"

She scowled at him. "I never said that it was, I just don't feel comfortable discussing something like that with someone like you."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Someone like me? What does that mean?"

"Well, with your reputation with women, it seems a bit obvious as to where this discussion could lead."

Sirius put down his fork. "Is that honestly what you think of me? That I just go around shagging women?"

Guinevere rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Oh please! I remember you bragging about that sort of thing when we were younger! Who was number twenty-eight to snog with you on the rooftop! Making all the boys guess how far you went with some girl on the Quidditch pitch! It was so base and disgusting, I felt like vomiting every time I heard it!"

He gave a short laugh. "You actually took all of that stuff seriously? Please, we were boys! Boys always talk about stupid things like that, and ninety percent of it isn't true. The only reason you singled me out was because I had more of a reputation, and that was only because I had the sort of personality that people paid attention to."

"Of course they paid attention to you! You're Sirius Black! A man's man, a woman's man, and everything that exuded confidence and brilliance. The boy who could have any girl in the school, but always kept his distance so that all of them worshipped him from afar!"

Sirius snorted. "Do you realize that you are blowing up at me for asking you a very simple question? And will you please stop judging me by the person you knew in school?" he shouted.

Guinevere stopped abruptly. She hissed out a breath and looked at her plate. "Oh God, I'm sorry. That was stupid and I'm not making this better. I am really trying hard to get used to all of this."

Sirius shook is head. "It's okay, you've had a lot to deal with in the past week. I just don't want to argue about what happened at school anymore. It's irrelevant at this point, you know? We can't go back and change anything, so why keep at it?"

Guinevere knew he was right. The Sirius she was talking to was not the same Sirius she knew. The Sirius she knew would have enjoyed the argument, no matter how painful it got. This Sirius was drawing the line. He wanted to be productive, he was concerned, he asked questions. She was beginning to see the differences in him, and it was about time that she showed him the differences in her.

"You're right, I know. I don't want us to argue. We've got to be a team now. And if we do argue, it can't be about things like this. I'll make the effort to stop bringing the past up. I guess I've just always had trouble letting go of things because I don't have much to move on to. I've been a bit stagnant for the past few years."

Sirius paused for a moment, soaking up what she had said. "Well, what do you like to talk about?"

Guinevere thought briefly. "Work… and that's pretty much it, I guess."

He gave a small smile. "We need to get you a hobby, then."

Guinevere laughed softly. "Yes, I suppose so…. Well, I do have one interest that I've never admitted to anyone."

Sirius raised his eyebrows in interest. "What's that?"

Guinevere spoke softly as if someone might be listening in the shadows. "Well, I sort of have a strange fascination with a muggle sport called football. Well, football here, and Americans call it soccer."

"Really?"

"It's not as complicated as Quidditch, I suppose, but I watched a match at a muggle relative's house once, and I got completely hooked."

Sirius stared at her in astonishment with a grin on his face. "Well, I never would have guessed that in a million years."

Guinevere smiled.

At the end of dinner, Guinevere cleared the plates and Sirius helped her clean up. After they were done as she saw him to the door, she decided to make a suggestion.

"Do you think that we should do this again next Friday? You know, make a sort of weekly thing? It might be good for us to talk outside work so we can know each other a little better."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Guinevere opened the door. "Well, see you on Monday then."

"See you then."

Sirius stepped out and walked downstairs to his flat. Guinevere felt somewhat relieved now that he was gone, now that there was no more chance for her to mess up. She walked into her bedroom, laid down on her bed, and fell asleep immediately.

---

Molly Weasley had just pulled the pork roast out of the oven when she heard a knock at the door.

"Ginny, dear! Will you get that for me?"

"Sure, mum."

Ginny opened the door to find Harry Potter on the other side. He grinned shyly. "Is everyone here already?"

Ginny smiled. "No, they've all decided to not be the first ones here like you."

Harry peered around her shoulder. "But Ron is here, right?"

She stepped aside to let him in. "Yes, he is, and so is Hermione. You better get in there quick before they start snogging again – seems that's all they do these days. I hope they spend more time at Hermione's then at your flat. Otherwise, I'd feel really sorry for you."

Harry laughed, but did not move toward the other room. "Yeah, Ron hasn't been spending much time at our flat, lucky for me. What about you? Are you looking forward to your last year?"

Ginny nodded. "Oh yes, I'm very excited. Ivy asked me to take the same position that Hermione had last year as her assistant. I'll know everything that's going on this year, so I'll be able to tell all of you the gossip."

Harry raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Know anything yet?"

"Actually…" Ginny looked around as if she were making sure that no one was watching. "I do know a couple of things. There's an American who's come to observe Ivy – I mean, Professor Dumbledore – for the year to see how the school is run so he run his own school better. She seems delighted about it, but Rem– er, Professor Lupin seems less than thrilled. Also, Draco Malfoy is going to be Professor Snape's assistant this year because St. Mungo's wanted him to start working."

Harry suddenly felt uneasy. He had never trusted Draco, even after all that the young man had been through in the last year. He had always felt fine with Draco around his friends when he knew that he would also be around to defend them, but the thought of the young Malfoy always being near Ginny without him anywhere nearby made him anxious.

"You let me know if he bothers you, all right?"

Ginny waved a dismissing hand at him. "What, so you can defend my honor? Please, I get enough of that from Ron, and I'm also perfectly capable of taking care of myself, in case you don't remember."

Harry did remember. In many ways, she was the strongest member of her family, completely unafraid and always putting herself out on the frontlines. He worried about her more than anyone in her family simply because of her determination.

"Besides," Ginny began again, interrupting his thoughts as her eyes came slowly back to him, "why would you be so concerned for me in the first place?"

Harry opened his mouth, but had no idea what to say. Luckily, he was saved, as there was another knock on the door.

"Ginny, dear! Will you-"

"I've got it, mum!" Ginny shouted. She turned back to Harry. "You better get in there before the rest of them start piling in."

Harry nodded and slowly backed away as Ginny went to open the door. He walked into the living room where Ron and Hermione were, as predicted, kissing on the couch. Harry cleared his throat obnoxiously.

Ron shot up nervously. "What? We weren't-" When he spotted Harry, he smiled. "Oh, hey Harry. Sorry I left before you, I just wanted to get here a bit early…"

He glanced over at Hermione, who smiled at him before turning to Harry. "Hi, Harry. How are you?"

Harry laughed. "You know, you're the only person who asks me that anymore? I think everyone's afraid of what I'll say, that my scar still flares up or I'm having strange nightmares involving lots of death. But I've been fine. Thanks for asking."

Ron chuckled before looking toward the other room. "Who's coming in now?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't know, I didn't come with them."

"Oh, so then it was you who came in earlier."

Harry nodded.

"So who were you taking to, then?"

"Ginny."

Ron glanced at Hermione, who raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. "You know Harry," Ron said, "you should go visit her at Hogwarts. I don't have an excuse, but you could go with Sirius when he goes, and I know she'd appreciate seeing you. 'Cause she was so attached to all of us and everything. I'm sure it would be nice for her."

Harry looked at Ron strangely. "Right…. So, I heard she's Ivy's new assistant."

Hermione smiled. "Isn't it wonderful? I'm so excited for her! I've told her all of the things she can expect on the job and made up another list for her of new duties she might have to take on now that Ivy is headmistress. I believe I was quite thorough-"

Ron snorted. "Really, Hermione, you're out of school now, but you're still concerned with everything that goes on over there. You don't have to worry about it anymore! That's what graduating is for!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, Ronald, just because you've never placed the same value on education that I do doesn't mean that I'm going to stop begin concerned with what others will learn. I'm sorry you don't care about the future of the wizarding world, but-"

"What future? O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts don't determine everything about our future, and neither does my sister being Ivy's assistant!"

"Well, I can't do anything about the fact that you never consider the impact of your decisions, however, I do! And I will always do whatever I can to help them over at Hogwarts because I worry about the students, especially when so many of them take school as lightly as you did! Therefore, I would appreciate if you would stop teasing and pestering me about my habits, because they are my own and nothing you can say or do will change my principles, so you might as well get used to-"

At that moment, Ron pulled Hermione's face to his and kissed her long and soft. Hermione's clenched fists went limp at her sides and her furrowed brow relaxed above her fluttering eyelids. When they pulled apart, Ron kept her face cupped in his hands and his nose an inch away from hers. Hermione kept her eyes closed as if she were waiting for him to come back. Smirking triumphantly, Ron tilted his head toward Harry and said, "I love being able to do that."

Hermione's eyes snapped opened and she slapped Ron's arm and shoved him away, though Harry could tell from her expression that she wasn't really mad.

Ginny stuck her head into the room. "Dinner's ready and everyone's here. You all better get in there."

The three went into the other room where the dining room table was set for fourteen. The entire Weasley family, plus Harry, Hermione, Remus, Ivy, and Sirius, all sat down to a feast of food. Once the greetings were done and everyone had complimented Molly's fantastic cooking, while Molly insisted that Ginny had helped and Ginny shook her head to indicate that she hadn't helped much, everyone started in on dinner and discussions raged.

"So, Ivy, are you excited about this year?"

"Oh, Molly, I really don't know yet. Ask me again in a week."

"So who's this partner of yours that I've been hearing so much about?"

"Oh, no one of concern, Arthur. Just an old classmate who I used to fight with on occasion."

"On occasion? You fought at least once a week for seven years!"

"Yes, thank you, Remus for clarifying that for everyone."

"Did you really help restore his motorbike, Harry?"

"Fred! George! Don't you go asking anymore about that bike! I can't stop you from getting one, but I can tell you that you won't be parking it anywhere near this house! Think of the influence it would have on your sister!"

"Mum!"

"Oh, don't worry, mum, we wouldn't bring it around the house. We'd meet Ginny at Hogsmeade and take her out on it then."

"George!"

"I'm Fred!"

"I'm George!"

"Don't worry yourself, mother, they won't get one. I know they don't seem sensible at times, but even they know that one motorbike between the two of them wouldn't be enough, and two would be a waste of money."

"Oi, get stuffed, Percy!"

"So, Charlie, I heard that you might be bringing a dragon to the school for the seventh year Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

"Yeah, it looks that way. I think it's a good idea for them, you never know when you might need to be able to deal with one of them. I'll probably bring one of the smaller ones, don't worry, Hermione. I'm not going to let anyone get hurt."

"Anyway, Bill, how'd you get them to let you off work long enough to come back here?"

"Actually, I'm on the trail of someone who's been passing himself off as a bank employee and trying to get into vaults. He's in England right now, so I though I'd stop by for dinner. Sorry I didn't get to see you graduate – come to think of it, you're the only sibling I haven't seen graduate so far. I'm planning on making it to Ginny's, but you never know with my job lately."

"How's Ollivander's working out for you, Harry?"

"Oh, it's great, Mr. Weasley. He definitely needs the help, and it's an interesting place to work. We get some of the oddest customers imaginable…"

After the plates had been cleared, and just before Mrs. Weasley started getting out dessert, Ron stood up from the table and waited for everyone to quiet down.

"Since we're all here tonight, I though I might as well let you know that last week I asked Miss Hermione Granger to marry me, and she, surprisingly, said yes."

Around the words "asked", "marry", and "yes" there were many collective gasps from the table. Mrs. Weasley promptly began crying, Remus, Ivy, Sirius were beaming, Harry elbowed Ron in the ribs for not telling him earlier, and everyone asked when the date was. Hermione explained that they weren't sure, but that they weren't going to wait very long.

After dinner was over they received many congratulations and everyone started to make their way home or up to their rooms. Hermione sighed in the doorway as the twins left and turned when she felt a touch on her arm. Ron was at her side, staring at her bushy mane of hair fondly.

"Well, they all handled that better than I expected," he said.

"Harry was angry that you hadn't told him."

"Yeah, but I didn't want him to hint it to anyone on accident. Besides, he was only fake angry. Mum's still crying. And Ginny's absolutely thrilled about the fact that you're going to be sisters."

Hermione laughed. "That makes me happy too. I always thought of your family as mine since I had no brothers or sisters."

"I think Harry does too."

"Well, he has even more reason to, without parents or a loving home."

"Makes you wonder about things."

"Don't say anything, Ron. You'll jinx it."

"I won't say a word… except for the fact that I'll think he's an idiot if he doesn't do something about it."

"Give him time, he's still unsure of himself." She turned to face him. "Can we go now?"

"As soon as you kiss me."

"I'll kiss you after you've said goodbye to everyone."

"Damn."

---

Well? Did you like? Was it full of fluffiness, and fun, and bickering? Still to come, expect more bickering, developments with Mr. Wilcott (cringe), and an appearance by... Snuffles! Also lots of other fun stuff with... well, everybody... Please review! It makes a Jedi Wizard Hobbit happy especially as she gets ready to go to college and learns to write papers and stories... all over again sigh.