Disclaimer:oh, really people, you have to know this by know...

Okay, so was going to update for Brielle Lupin's birthday, but then I got very sick, and my beta was too busy to get me the chapter and such. I'm sorry Brielle! But here's your belated b-day present - I hope it's to your liking!

One of my lovely betas also has a note for you all, that she wanted me to give you guys:

So you know that little voice in your head that tells you to do things? No, not burn things ... that's a different little voice. Mine's been telling me "you should beta this story!" However, it's also been telling me "you should write about the characters that are arguing in your head! You should do your laundry! You should study for midterms! You should go find a boyfriend! You should call your mother!" Well, two out of six isn't bad, right? (Hey, it's the same as one out of three, which is what Hermione got when she announced that Remus was a werewolf in the first place.)

Well, having proved my dorkiness with that parenthetical remark (and by using the word "parenthetical" in the first place), enjoy this chapter. The next one will be here before you can say Jack Robinson, I promise.

So love on my beta. Because she is special.

Author's Note: Wow, you all had wonderfully strong reactions to the last chapter. Which makes me happy. Good or bad, if you reacted that much to it, I must be doing something right :). Here's the thing: if you're not logged in under your your penname, I can't respond to your review. Some of you don't have penname's, which is cool, I understand. I didn't respond to some of the reviews because I couldn't. So here's my master plan: if you don't have a username, or don't want to log in, you can leave your email address in that little box above the review box. If you leave your email address, I will assume that you want a response to your reivew and I will email one to you. I didn't this time around because I wasn't sure if people were okay with that, but from now on, if you leave your email address, you will get a response from me. Sounds good? If you don't want a reponse, just don't put down your email. Special Thank You's to squirrely doughnut, tatjana, ShadowCaster, TheLadyofShalott1 (it wouldn't let me put the underscores in... weird), and NYCGAL for all submitting reviews even though I couldn't respond to them. If you want me to respond to them still, just let me know in your next review and leave your email, and I'll be happy too :) Or you can just email me directly and let me know, I won't mind - and I don't bite either (well, that's not entirely true, Remus has had a bad influence on me...)

Also, I want to thank so many of you for the wonderfully long reviews you've been giving me. I know some people don't have time, or don't like to give long reviews, and I don't mind at all, but the really long ones are so gratifying and helpful - I love hearing what you specifically enjoy about the story, it means so much. So thank you all again.

Another general note: Yes, I know. The sadness. Don't worry. It will be resolved soon. And the sex will more than make up for it, I promise. That's right people - the next chapter is rated NC-17 for pretty graphic, fabulous werewolf sex. Again, if this bugs you, let me know rather than running to and getting me in trouble. Or just skip over the section - I will label it in the next chapter for your convenience if you don't want to read it. Though, I have a funny feeling that you all want to read it... (admit it, you're all just as pervy as I am, otherwise, why would you read fanfic? giggle)

All right everyone, enjoy the chapter. The next one should be up as soon as I'm satisfied with it, which I hope will be in a few weeks. Hang in there. Oh, and I hope you enjoy Sirius and Guinvere's trip to the grocery store. They're morphing dangerously into cuteness, just like I'd hoped :)

Chapter Eight – Registry, Protest, and Run-ins

Remus was almost ready to leave. He had to go to the Werewolf Registry with Charlie today, and he didn't want to be late. Sirius would be with the boy, but the Registry didn't look kindly on people when they arrived late. It was the kind of thing they liked to put on your record so they could bring it up at a later date, as if it was some sort of testament to your character. Like only evil, foul people were ever late.

He did not bother saying goodbye to Ivy – she had been very distant with him in the past few days. Whenever he spoke to her, she had a hard time responding, like she had something that she wanted to say, but she couldn't get it out. He was glad that she couldn't for many reasons, none that he cared to linger on.

On the stairs, he passed Severus Snape, who was storming up them in his usual fashion.

"Classes going well, Severus?" he inquired mildly, coming to a halt on his way down.

"Only as well as can be expected, what with how utterly useless many of these children can be," Snape replied in his deliberate drawl, stopping on the stairs as well.

Remus smiled at the shot of normalcy that he was receiving via his colleague. "And what about your assistant?"

At that question, something in the back of Snape's black eyes almost lit. "He's… better," Snape decided, choosing his words carefully as if to avoid any real emotion. "He actually seems to be getting involved in his work now. He can be very helpful in class with the students. I am not overoptimistic, but if he continues in this direction, I can see him making definite progress in his life."

"That's wonderful news, Severus," Remus exclaimed. "I'm glad that he finally warmed up to his situation. I'll keep my fingers crossed."

Snape scowled. "It doesn't do well to put your faith in silly superstitions such as those, Lupin."

Remus smiled. "It's just a figure of speech, Severus."

Snape suddenly paused, as if he remembered something. "Today you're going to the–"

"Yes," Remus finished for him. "Yes, I'm going there today."

Snape shot him a look of significance. Remus wondered if that was the closest to sympathy that the man had ever come, and was nearly flattered. He nodded to his fellow professor.

"I'll see you later, Severus."

"Yes, indeed. Good day."

Remus continued on his way until he was in his office, where he could use the floo network. He walked over to his fireplace, threw in some powder, and shouted, "Ministry of Magic", and before he knew it, he was clambering out of a fireplace in the main floo hall at the Ministry. He quickly made his way to one of the lifts and waited patiently as people exited on each floor.

When the doors opened and Remus heard the words, "Level 4: The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures", he did not wait to hear the subdivisions of the level. He quickly left the lift and made a quick turn to the right, having walked this path many more times than he cared to admit.

He saw Sirius standing with a young boy and two adults who must have been the boy's parents. They were waiting in front of two oak doors that led into the Registry offices. Sirius looked relieved when Remus came into his sights.

"Sirius," Remus greeted, smiling.

"Remus, I'd like to introduce you to someone who has been rather keen on meeting you," Sirius began, then switching to an undertone to whisper, "Thank God you're here. Guinevere couldn't make it, she's held up somewhere, or she's just mad at me. I can never tell." He turned to the boy and nodded, indicating that it was all right if he approached the tall man standing in front of them. "Charlie, this is my friend Remus."

Charlie waved up at him, a little hesitant. "Hi."

Remus' eyes shone warmly, and he kneeled in front of the boy so he wouldn't seem quite so tall to him. "Hello, Charlie. What's that book you've got there?"

The boy held it out so he could see the cover. "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea."

Remus glanced up at Sirius, who mouthed the words 'told you', and grinned back at him. "Jules Verne. One of my favorite authors."

Charlie looked skeptical. "Really? You're not just saying that to make me feel good?"

Remus laughed. "No, I wouldn't lie about that. Although, I think you've beat me on age – I didn't read that book until I was nine."

The boy smiled. "Beat you by two years, then."

"Two years? That is impressive." He took a moment before he changed the topic to something not quite as enjoyable. "I understand that this is your first time to the Registry."

Charlie nodded quickly. "It's my first time to the Ministry too."

"Ah, so this must be quite a lot for you to digest."

"Yes. I think Sirius is annoyed with all the questions I've been asking."

"I most certainly am not," Sirius chided. "I told you to ask whatever you wanted. This is a lot for anyone to handle, especially someone who's not a part of our world."

Charlie smiled bashfully at Sirius, and turned back to Remus. "I hear they're not nice here," he whispered.

Remus could tell that the boy would only appreciate honesty, so didn't sugarcoat his answer. "Yes, that's true, but not everyone is terrible. And if you stick with me it will be a lot easier. After your first visit to the Registry they won't call on you very often, but when they do, it is important that you show up. And I will always be there if you want me to join you. This place is not the kind that you want to brave alone."

Charlie's eyes sparkled with gratitude before sobering quickly. "When we got to this floor I heard the voice mention some different divisions. One of them was the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures – "

The unspoken question lingered in his voice, and Remus didn't give him the chance to ask it. "You will never have to deal with them, I promise. Some werewolves choose to be dangerous to others, and the Committee has to deal with them, but you are not like those people. You have nothing to fear from them. And not all Departments are hostile to us. Werewolf Support Services are there whenever you need them."

Charlie looked up curiously to Sirius. "Aren't you part of that section?"

Sirius shook his head. "We're a division that's not completely government funded. Sometimes the Ministry departments can't do enough for all of you. So we work to make sure that you're all covered, and we don't just work with werewolves. It helps to have a division that can take care of all of you, vampires and giants included, so that when there are uprisings and prejudice issues everyone can go to the same place to make claims. Especially since there are no sections in the Ministry for the protection of certain magical beings."

Charlie glanced around carefully, soaking in all of the new information. "I don't see Werewolf Support Services here."

Remus rolled his eyes angrily. "That's because they are part of the Being Division here. Everything else involving werewolves is part of the Beast Division. It's one of the more hypocritical moves the Ministry made when this level was organized."

"That's not right," Charlie decided.

"No, it isn't," Remus agreed, "but it's the best they will do for us."

"I hate to interrupt this…" a male voice broke in.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we got a little caught up," Sirius apologized. "Remus Lupin, this is Mr. and Mrs. Walden, Charlie's parents."

Remus shook both of their hands, noting that the father's firm grip seemed to be a warning, while the mother's grip was a gentle thank you. "I assure that your son will be safe with us. It's probably best that you wait out here, though. We don't want to make a fuss by having too many people with Charlie."

Mrs. Walden nodded immediately, cutting off her husband who looked like he wanted to protest. "Of course, Mr. Lupin, of course."

"Please, call me Remus, Mrs. Walden."

"Then you must call me Amy."

Remus smiled and placed a hand on Charlie's back. "Are you ready?"

The boy nodded bravely, staring ahead at the doors to the Registry.

"Then let's get this over with," Sirius insisted encouragingly. He opened the doors, and he and Remus led Charlie in.

Once the doors had shut behind them, Charlie looked around to see a large front desk ahead of them and a smaller one off to the side. Remus tried to avert Charlie's attention from the smaller desk, as he knew what it was. The Werewolf Capture Unit kept their people at the front of the Registry to make sure that they could answer all calls quickly. Their people were easy to spot. They were usually large, burly men with more than one deep scratch or partial bite mark on their faces, arms, and necks.

Remus turned Charlie away from that area, as many of the men from the Unit were already eyeing them suspiciously. They all seemed to be on tea break and were chatting at their front desk as the trio had entered. Remus did not want to allow them a moment to speak.

He led Charlie to the larger desk where a scrawny woman sat reading a magazine. She looked rather bored, and Remus had to clear his throat twice before she looked up and noticed them.

"Oh, Mr. Lupin. Coming to check in?"

Remus nodded. "And to register the boy."

She looked out over her horn-rimmed glasses at Charlie. "He's not yours, is he?"

Remus cringed inwardly at the suggestion. She was insinuating that Charlie was Remus' son, but the part that made Remus' stomach turn was the fact that she was also suggesting that he had bitten him. "No. But it's his first time here, and he wanted to go with someone who knew their way around."

She tapped her wand against the large file cabinet behind her. Drawers opened and closed. "What's the name?"

"Walden," Remus answered. "Charlie Walden."

A file quickly flew out of one of the bottom drawers and landed in her hands. She glanced over it quickly. "Ah, yes, the new muggle boy." Not bothering to see if she was hurting the boy's feelings, she grabbed her quill and began scratching information onto the file. "He's had his first transformation?"

"Yes."

"With or without Wolfsbane Potion?"

"Without."

She glanced up quickly at that. "Will he be receiving it in the future?"

"Yes."

"Has he bitten anyone?"

Charlie opened his mouth like he was offended and wanted to say something, but Remus shot him a look, and the boy quieted immediately.

"No."

"Did he obtain any major injuries during his first transformation?"

"No."

"Does he have any terminal illnesses or history of medical trauma?"

"No."

"Is he taking any potions or muggle medications, if so, what and for how long?"

"No."

"Any severe allergies?"

Remus had been going on assumption, knowing that Charlie would stop him if he was wrong, but this time he glanced to Charlie, who shook his head.

"No."

"Are there any health issues that should be on his record in case of an emergency?"

He checked again with the boy. "No."

"What are the names of the boy's legal guardians?"

Remus nodded to Charlie that it was all right for him to answer this time. "Amy and Leonard Walden."

She showed him the file, her quill pointing to a specific line. "Are these their places of employment, and your home address?"

Charlie looked astounded that the information was already there. "Yes."

The woman closed the file and handed it to the boy. "You'll be needing this. Proceed to the next station."

Charlie took the file, but waited for Remus. The woman tapped one of the drawers and another, much thicker file came flying into her hands. She opened it and skimmed her way through. "Nothing different from last time, right Mr. Lupin?"

Remus cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, marital status has changed."

Her eyes widened, and she stared up at him. "Really? Who's the little lady?"

"Ivy Dumbledore."

She gave a short, humorless laugh. "So you're the one that nabbed the headmistress of Hogwarts! Looks like I'm gonna have to watch out for you more than I had ever expected. Aren't you the one that the protestors are going after to get you fired and divorced?"

Remus stared at his file, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Yes, I suppose."

"Well then," she exclaimed, changing some of the information in his file before handing it to him, "you take care, I suppose."

Remus quickly took the file from her, and proceeded to the next station with Charlie and Sirius in tow.

"There are protestors who are trying to get you fired?" Charlie questioned. The news seemed to have worried the boy, and Sirius shook his head quickly, hoping to keep their trip as pleasant as possible.

"They won't be able to do that, the Ministry won't allow the protests to get out of hand. They can't force him to resign."

Remus did not say what he thought because he knew that it would bother Charlie. However, if Sirius had been the only one there, he would have had quite a lot to say to his friend's optimistic remark. He was beginning to wish he had stayed home today.

They had reached the Examinations Office, and Remus knew they would get separated at this point. He turned to Charlie.

"You're going to get a doctor. That doctor will be the same one that you go to every time you come here to check in. Some of them are very nice, but some of them aren't. I will have to go for my own examination, but Sirius will be with you for yours. Okay?"

Charlie nodded again, drawing himself up so that he could feel a little taller. A woman sitting behind the office desk, stood up in her white uniform and pointed to Remus.

"Doctor Adderby is ready to see you, Mr. Lupin. Room 12."

Remus gave one last look to Charlie and Sirius before walking down the hall and stepping into Room 12. His doctor was already waiting for him, looking over some old charts.

"Do you know that I have been checking you over since you were five?"

Remus cracked a small smile at the balding, stout man in front of him. "Hello, Thomas."

"You look a little different from the first time I met you."

Remus raised an eyebrow at him. "Only a little?"

"You have a few grey hairs now."

Remus laughed at the mention of 'a few' grey hairs. Truth be told, his hair was liberally streaked with grey now, something that had never really bothered him. Especially when Ivy told him that he looked distinguished. He felt an inward sting and quickly banished any thought of his wife.

"And you've allowed your experiences to age you more than you should."

Remus nodded heavily at the truthfulness of that statement, as he sat on the exam table. He knew that he'd always developed those extra lines before most of the people his age did. He blamed the transformations, but once Minerva had said to him that she felt it was also because he let the pain and worry that he'd felt through his life, show physically. It was an interesting theory, but what was he supposed to do about that?

Dr. Adderby approached him with his wand held ready.

"But your eyes have always been the same. Always wise beyond their years, always keen and curious, and always thinking too fast and too much."

Remus chuckled. "Spoken like a true physician."

"Well, I hope so," said Dr. Adderby.

He tapped his wand against Remus' chest, and Remus could hear his heartbeat.

"Heartbeat good."

The wand tapped his arm, and Remus felt a lot of pressure around it. After a few seconds, two numbers appeared in the air.

"Blood pressure good."

The doctor whispered "Lumos", and checked Remus' ears and throat.

"Stand up, now."

Remus did as he was told. The doctor whispered a few more words, pointed his wand at Remus and let it trail from the top of his head to his feet. A bright flash lit the room, and then there was a skeletal imprint hovering between them. Remus sat down on the table again, while the doctor examined the imprint.

Once he got to Remus' left leg, he stopped. "I don't like this one. You come usually once a year, but how long has it been since I checked your skeleton?"

Remus breathed out a sigh as he tried to think back. "Long time. Years and years."

Dr. Adderby shook his head. "Damn. You should have told me about this. You broke it several years back, didn't you?"

Remus nodded uneasily.

"And you didn't go to a doctor to set it, did you?"

Remus' eyes drifted to the floor. "Well, no. Things weren't going well, and I didn't have the ability or the means to see a doctor about it."

"You know better than that, Remus. There are places that you can go to for help if you're having trouble."

"I didn't have the time. It was a big struggle to stay alive eight years back. And I didn't want anyone to see me like that anyway. I was practically living underground for about five years there."

Dr. Adderby was still scolding Remus with a glare. "I know things can get rough, and I know that you're one of the few who feel that it's important to be dignified, but there is nothing wrong about asking for help when life kicks the shit out of you."

"It was just a broken leg – "

"Well, that broken leg might cause you problems later on."

Remus cocked his head to the side. "How so?"

The doctor pointed to his leg on the imprint before them. "Well, it healed quite well, all things considered, but it wasn't taken care of. You probably tried walking on it too fast, knowing you, because you wanted to be up and about as soon as possible. You probably tried to walk on it while it was still broken too, didn't you?"

Remus did not meet the doctor's gaze.

"I think it will take some time, but eventually that bone is going to weaken with your transformations. You might not be able to walk correctly on it in time. There's a chance that one of your transformations will leave the bone in the wrong place and continue to do that. Transformations get funny as you get older, you know that."

Remus nodded shortly, trying not to let his mind go there. "How long does the leg have?"

"I can't say. Five years, ten. Maybe longer, but you never can tell."

"Damn."

Dr. Adderby didn't like seeing Remus that down, but he had noticed that his patient seemed off today. Like there was an invisible cloud hanging over the room that only Remus could see. So he tried to figure out what the deal was. After all, he was the man's doctor, and he was up to a little psychology today.

"Heard you got yourself married."

Remus' head shot up. "What? Oh, yes."

"I think I remember you talking about her when you were younger. You have been friends for a long time, haven't you?"

Remus wasn't sure where the conversation was going, but he wasn't going to be rude to the man for asking simple questions. "Yes, we have. We had a long falling out for many years, which was all my fault, but we managed to find each other again. We got married this summer."

"That's great. I'm really happy for you, no one deserves it more."

"Not so sure about that."

The doctor frowned. "What that you should be married or that you should be happy?"

"Both."

"That doesn't sound like you, Remus."

"It's been a rough patch lately," Remus responded ambiguously.

The doctor decided to change the subject again. "I also read somewhere that you've got a lad over from America observing how the school is run. That's got to be interesting." He waited for Remus to say something, but got nothing in return. "So how is that going?"

"Fine."

Dr. Adderby smiled. "You really have to learn how to lie better, Remus."

Remus looked up and tried to smile. "Only to the people who know me."

"That bad, eh? I take it you don't like the man."

"Oh, he's fine, I suppose – "

"Remus."

" – All right, I can't stand him. He spends far too much time with my wife, and his intentions are most definitely not honorable."

The doctor nodded knowingly. "Have you told your wife that?"

Remus threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly. "Why does everyone keep going on about that?"

"Marriage is supposed to be based on honesty, Remus."

"He's assisting her, it's not my place to tell her that she should get a new assistant."

"It is if he's behaving inappropriately."

Remus did not say more.

The doctor set his wand down on the table behind him. "He's really gotten under your skin, hasn't he? I can tell, you aren't acting like yourself. You're a bit more primal than usual." His concern outweighed his fear that Remus might be getting angry with him for pressing, and he continued. "How do you feel around him, Remus?"

The start was hesitant. "I wasn't so bad at the beginning, but lately…" He watched as the man's eyes narrowed into slits. "Lately… I've wanted to kill him. I dream about it at night."

Dr. Adderby's eyes widened slightly. "You have to be very careful, Remus."

"I know that, Thomas. Believe me, you're not the first person to say that."

"If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm always here. I'm your doctor, and I'll always be here to help. You call on me day or night."

Remus managed a careful smile. "Thank you, Thomas. I will let you know if I need any help at all. Are we done here?"

Dr. Adderby nodded and handed Remus his file. "And don't let the protestors get you down. They're all heavy-winded, small-minded simpletons, if you ask me. And the Ministry hasn't bowed to them yet in our history."

Remus smiled gratefully, though his mind was saying, there's a first time for everything…

"I'll see you later, Thomas."

"All right, Remus. See you next time."

He met Sirius and Charlie at the end of the hall. Charlie did not seem upset, which alleviated some of Remus' anxiety.

"How was the doctor, Charlie?"

"She was fine," the boy answered. "She wasn't very friendly, but she wasn't mean to me, so I guess that's good."

"Wonderful. Let's continue on, then. Shall we?"

Charlie nodded and followed Remus down another hallway that had peeling yellow wallpaper. It wasn't anywhere near as clean as the doctor's hallway, and it smelled terrible.

"What's here?" Charlie whispered.

"Wolfsbane Testing," Remus answered.

At the end of the hallway, they reached a door, and Remus opened it. A man with beady eyes, a monocle and a potbelly sat at the desk, filling out forms. When Remus, Charlie and Sirius stepped in, he looked up angrily.

"Mr. Ebbins," Remus greeted, handing his and Charlie's files over.

Mr. Ebbins looked over their files swiftly, snorted, and looked back up. His monocle made his right eye look much bigger, and he glared at them through it. "Have you been taking your Wolfsbane Potion, Mr. Lupin?"

"Yes, and I believe that Professor Snape has sent in the required letter to confirm that I have been taking the potion, so you shouldn't have to test me."

Mr. Ebbins looked quite offended at this, and he wiped the sweat off of his forehead before standing up. "Well, I think that I should check you just in case."

Remus tried to remain polite and calm, but his anxiety came through in his voice. "Is that really necessary?"

Mr. Ebbins cracked a victorious smile. "'Fraid so. In fact, I think I might do both tests, just in case."

Remus wanted to protest, but he could tell that Ebbins was in a torturing mood today, and getting upset would do him no good. So he followed the man to a station at the back of the room where several cauldrons were boiling, and different ingredients bubbled.

First, Mr. Ebbins took out a needle. Sirius' stomach turned on his friend's behalf, as he knew how much Remus hated needles. But he could tell that his friend was not flinching for Charlie's sake, though he looked away as the needle went in.

Once Mr. Ebbins had recovered enough blood, he emptied the vial into a flask and began to carefully measure out some of the ingredients stewing nearby. After adding them to the flask, the color was a strange shade of dark orange, and it simmered slightly.

"Well, that seems right," Ebbins decided. "Now onto the other test…"

Remus only had a moment to brace himself.

Mr. Ebbins flicked his wand at Remus, and immediately his knees buckled, his hand grabbing the edge of the table to keep up him upright. His scream turned into a roar as he gritted his teeth against the feeling. He felt fire licking through his veins, burning him from the inside out. The pores of his skin burned, and his eyes burned, and the inside of his mouth dried out and tasted of sandpaper.

But he balled his hands into fists and rode the feeling out, not allowing himself to give way to the pain. He did not want Charlie to see that, and he would be damned if he gave Ebbins the satisfaction.

Charlie and Sirius watched in shock as Remus' veins began to glow from the inside. The color was an electric silver, and it shone through his eyes as well. Finally, the light died out, and Sirius rushed to Remus' side, helping his friend to stand back up.

"Sorry for the extra measures," said Ebbins in a voice that held no note of apology, "but we have to be most careful with you. After all, you work in that school full of children. If something were to happen to anyone because you weren't taking your potion, I would feel simply awful…"

Sirius had a good mind to go over to the man and smash the smug look off of his evil face, but he felt Remus' grip tighten on his arm, and looked back at his friend.

"Don't, Sirius," Remus pleaded in a hoarse, soft voice. "I'm used to this by now, it's okay."

And those words hurt him more than hearing his friend cry out in anguish.

"He's not going to do that to Charlie?"

Remus shook his head. "No, he hasn't taken Wolfsbane. And when he does, they'll take a letter from the family and the brewer of the potion as testament. They just felt like grinding the axe with me today."

Mr. Ebbins called out from his desk as he finished Remus' paperwork for the file. "The boy must be tested for Wolfsbane allergies."

Charlie looked to Remus and Sirius fearfully.

"Don't worry," Remus assured him. "He's just going to inject you with some Wolfsbane to make sure that you don't have a bad reaction to it."

Charlie nodded, but he still looked unsure. Mr. Ebbins made his way back to them, and prepared another needle, this time drawing some liquid from a nearby cauldron. He cleaned off Charlie's arm, and jabbed the needle in.

Charlie sucked in a breath. "Do you have to jam it in so hard?"

Remus and Sirius both glanced at each other, impressed at the boy's fight-back instincts. Mr. Ebbins merely snorted in laughter and jammed the needle in further.

Charlie's eyes watered in pain, but he bit his lower lip and glared at the man through the blur. Slowly, Ebbins injected the Wolfsbane into his arm, and when the needle was empty, he withdrew it. After a quick tap with his wand, Charlie's skin was mended, as though the needle had never even pricked the surface.

"You are done," Ebbins announced. "If there is any itching, pain, rash, or discomfort, you must let us know immediately."

Charlie nodded and stood up quickly, clearly just as eager to leave as Sirius and Remus were. They left the Wolfsbane Testing Office, and passed several more checkpoints that merely involving the stamping and adding of forms to their files. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they found themselves at the front desk again.

Remus handed their files to woman still sitting there. "How'd it go?" she asked with a nasty sort of sugary smile.

"Nothing extraordinary to report," Remus bit back just as sweetly.

She tapped the file cabinet behind her and the files flew into their respective drawers. "Come back and visit us again soon."

"Oh, count on it."

The lack of sincerity between them would have been laughable to Sirius if he hadn't known what had gone on in there. He had always heard about this place, but after actually spending a session in there, Sirius couldn't imagine how Remus dealt with these people every year.

"Let's get out of here," he said quietly.

Remus nodded and they led Charlie out of the twin oak doors, and back to his parents.

Charlie's mother embraced him immediately, despite the boy's protests. "Oh, my good boy! How are you? Is everything okay?"

"He's fine Mrs. Walden," Remus assured her. "He was very brave, you should be proud."

"Thank you so much," she said gratefully.

"Yes, thank you," Mr. Walden echoed. "This means a lot to us. We don't know anything about this world, and you and Mr. Black have been a great help."

"It's our pleasure," Remus insisted. He then turned his attention to Charlie. "And I mean what I said, all right? Any time you go here, you just let me know, and I'll be there."

The boy nodded with a smile. "Can I come and visit your school some time?"

Remus grinned. "Yes, I'm sure we can arrange that."

The boy beamed, and his parents thanked Sirius and Remus for another five minutes before finally leading the boy away.

"Can you make it out of here all right?" Sirius called out as they walked toward the lift.

"Certainly," Mr. Walden called back. "Your transportation makes much more sense than ours does. We should have a floo network in my workplace!"

Sirius laughed in return and waved goodbye to them until they were out of sight. Then he turned back to Remus, who was leaning against the wall, looking weak and tired.

"You all right?"

Remus waved him off. "Yes, I just need a minute."

"Thank you for coming today. You have no idea how much it means to him."

"Of course I do, Sirius. Everyone who comes in here the first time wishes that they had come in with someone who knew how to get through it. That place is a maze, and filled with so much red tape, you could swim in it."

Sirius shook his head. "It sure is. I never realized what they put you through in there."

"Let's not talk about it now, Sirius."

Sirius knew that meant that Remus never wanted to talk about it, and he couldn't really blame him for it. "Want to come back to my place for a bit? You look like you could use a drink. And I promise to have you back home before dinner."

The offer was tempting, but Remus knew that Sirius would want to talk about everything that was happening with Clayton and Ivy, and every other damn thing that was wrong in his life. He couldn't handle that right now. "No thanks. I really need to just go home and go to bed. I don't think I can manage anything else today."

Sirius looked disappointed, but he didn't press the matter. "All right. Let's get back to the fireplaces and get the hell out of here."

Remus straightened up. "Now that, I can agree with."

He followed Sirius down the hall to the lift, and counted the seconds until he would be in bed, asleep.

Later that evening, Sirius was sitting alone in his flat, reading one of those books that he'd always told himself he would read someday. Well, today had seemed as good a day as any, so he finally picked it up. He was on page one hundred fifty-six, when he heard a knock at his door. He was mildly surprised, seeing as he wasn't expecting any company, but he got up, stretched, and walked to the door.

He was very surprised to find his partner on the other side, carrying quite a load.

"Hi," he said hesitantly.

"Hi."

There was a long pause.

Then Guinevere started up at full speed.

"I figured you'd be home later in the evening today, so I waited until then to talk to you, I just thought it would be better since I knew you'd be over your hangover by then, and you'd probably be feeling better, and I thought that I could – "

"Whoa, slow down, dear Guinevere," Sirius said slowly, hoping that the rate of his speech would calm her down.

It did more than calm her down. It shut her up rather quickly with a nervous laugh. The uncomfortable silence settled again.

"So…" Sirius began. He looked to her for a cue, but she simply stared back curiously. "Er…. I'm really sorry about Friday, and everything I said – "

"No, it was my fault!" Guinevere interrupted, moving like she was going to hold up her hands, and then clumsily shifting as she remembered that she was holding a great deal in her arms. "I was totally impossible, and I deserved everything that you said to me."

"No, you didn't," Sirius insisted. "I was being a right bastard, just like you said."

They stopped again. Sirius noticed her shift the things in her arms this time.

"Do you want to come in here and set that stuff down for a second?"

She nodded thankfully, and he stepped aside, letting her put everything down on the coffee table. She turned around and stuck her hands in her pockets awkwardly. Sirius scratched the back of his neck.

"Er… I don't exactly remember everything that I said to you when I came back…. I was really smashed, so if I said anything – "

"You didn't," Guinevere assured him. "Well, you did say a lot, but nothing mean or anything."

"Right…. And I assume that you were the one who took care of me?"

She shrugged. "It was the least I could do. I just moved you so that you were passed out in a more comfortable position."

"And you cleaned me up…" Sirius' eyes started flickering from one corner of the room to the other, like he was feeling trapped or suffocated.

"Yes," she answered, understanding why he didn't want to talk about it. But even though the subject made him uncomfortable, it didn't change the fact that she had a lot she wanted to say about it. And there was a lot that she wanted him to tell her.

"Sirius, I'm so s – "

"Please," he said, holding up a hand. "Don't."

Her eyes asked him why.

"No one knows about that except you," he said quietly. "Not Harry, or Remus, or Ivy. I never wanted anyone to see that. I don't even wear short sleeves because I don't want them to see the number."

"Sirius, it doesn't matter how you look," she pleaded. "And it doesn't change the fact that you're still very handsome – " she stopped herself, wondering how she was going to get out of that one without looking stupid. He already had his eyebrows raised in amusement. "I mean, lots of women would find you attractive, scars and marks don't make a difference–"

He cut her off by laughing sardonically. "It's not about how it looks," he said carefully. "It's about what it means…. I don't know if you know what the marks on my back are, but–"

"I do," Guinevere said softly.

Sirius nodded. "Well, there you are."

"But Sirius – "

"It not a big deal, Guinevere," he said sharply. "So what if my back looks like it was hand-carved by the devil? I'm the only one who has to live with it. And I can handle that."

"But you shouldn't have had to!" she finally shouted. He stopped short, staring at her. "I don't care what you think of yourself. You never deserved that. But you keep punishing yourself for it, don't you see?"

She walked around behind him and placed a hand against the center of his back. Sirius bolted away from her touch and spun around to face her, a caged look on his face.

She walked behind him again. This time his eyes followed her.

"It's just skin. It's not evil or frightening. But it's painful for you, and that's okay." She slowly rested her palm against his back again. This time, he didn't fly from her touch. "I'm not afraid or disgusted," she said calmly. "No one else will be either."

Sirius took a deep breath. He had always been a tactile person, but human contact was something that he had not received a lot of in the past sixteen years. And though he knew that everything would get awkward very soon, at that moment, he just tried to enjoy the fact that he didn't feel cursed.

Guinevere felt his deep breath under her hand, and felt happiness that she had not anticipated at the fact that she had gotten him to let down a barrier. She suddenly realized what Sorsha had been talking about when she had accused Sirius of having secrets. She had always felt that he showed everything to the world, but now she realized how mistaken she was. Sirius did not show anything to anybody. He did not want anyone to know that his thoughts went deeper. That he could be morbid or melancholy. That he had secrets.

And she had managed to get past some of the shielding. Maybe she would meet the real him someday.

When she noticed that there had been silence for a long while, she finally dropped her hand. Sirius turned around and faced her. His eyes went to the floor.

"Anyway… thanks for what you did."

"Any time."

She thought better of that statement, and raised one finger at him.

"But don't think that I'm going to be the one who drags you out of bars or puts you to bed every time something acts up. I'm not your mother–"

She saw Sirius flinch, and her mind immediately brought up what he'd said about his mother two nights ago. She winced. "Oh, damn, I'm sorry–"

He shook his head, the corners of his mouth tilting upward. "It's okay."

"No, I'm such a klutz about things like that," she said dismayed, as she sagged down on the chair to her right. "I really should just learn to keep my big mouth shut."

He sat down on the couch nearby, his lips finally giving way to a real smile. "Well, I can't deny that if you did, my life would be much easier."

She narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth–

Sirius raised a hand. "Ah-ah. Don't go saying something you'll regret now."

She closed her lips slowly, her mouth shaping into a smile against her will.

Sirius finally looked to all of the things she had piled on his coffee table. "So what's all this?"

Guinevere's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Oh, this…. Well, I remembered how fond you were of that musical artist when we were all younger, and it occurred to me that you've been out of loop about all of that stuff for quite some time. So, with a little help from my brother, I brought some things."

Sirius looked carefully over everything littering the table. "This is all for me?"

Guinevere picked up a few square-ish cases on the table and handed them to him one by one.

"People don't use records anymore, they use CDs, which stands for…" she racked her brain for a moment, and finally came up with, "compact disc. They're smaller than records and can hold more music without you having to flip them over. So I got you some of the old Bowie CDs that you used to listen to, and then some of his newer material that you may not have heard."

Sirius looked over the small stack of CDs that she had handed him. He recognized a few of the covers, but some of them were clearly made after he'd been in prison or while he'd been on the run. He actually hadn't had any music of his own since Lily and James died. This meant more to him than she could possibly realize.

"I got one of Bruce's old CD players and charmed it so that it would run without electricity or batteries. And Bruce added a few CDs that he claimed you needed as well. Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, I think."

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, I remember those guys."

He stared at Guinevere carefully. She began to shift in her chair.

"What?"

He shrugged. "Every time I think that I know where we are, you find some way to surprise me."

She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

"Well… you make things confusing. Every time I think that I know who you are, you change everything on me, and become a different person to me. It's intriguing."

Sirius almost laughed at her word choice. "Intriguing?" She laughed nervously and looked out the window. "Look, Guinevere… can we be… friends?"

Her head snapped back to him, her eyes blinking faster than a hummingbird flaps its wings. She opened her mouth, but no sound would come out.

Friends? He wants to be friends? If we do, what happens next? What does that mean to Sirius Black?

Well, he's good to all of his other friends. They've always seemed to love him very much. Maybe I should stop being worried about what comes next, and just decide to deal with what's happening now. Yes, that's probably the best way to handle it. What do I really want to happen right now?

"I think that would be… fine."

Sirius nodded. "Good."

After another moments silence, Guinevere stood up and he followed in suit.

"Well, I should probably get going. I have to do some silly paperwork for my brother. He was always rather stupid about filling out things like that."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I won't keep you. But hey–" He waited until she was looking him in the eye. "Thanks for all of this. It really means a lot."

Guinevere waved a hand at him. "Oh, it's nothing really."

She was surprised again when he stepped forward and gave her a hug. She could tell that she was returning it rather awkwardly, but when he let her go, she knew that they were both thinking the same thing – it was a start.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow, then," she said, shocked to find a smile on her face.

"Tomorrow," he repeated, walking her to the door.

She bid him farewell and bounded up the stairs to her flat, feeling inexplicably light.

Remus thought the day was going to be peaceful. The morning had been particularly uneventful, unless he counted the panic attack one of his students had at facing the boggart in his third year class. He made that a regular part of the lesson plan for his third years, seeing as most of them enjoyed it, and he noticed it allowed them to feel more capable in defense at an earlier age. But one of his smaller boys just could not handle what he thought he was going to see, and started screaming bloody murder. Remus had to remove him from the room while the rest of the class had a wonderful time destroying the thing.

Remus had tried to get the boy to tell him what he was so afraid he was going to encounter, but the mousy-haired kid had refused to confide in his professor. Then while all of the students were collecting their things, he heard one of the boy's classmates talking to another:

"Andrew is scared to death of werewolves. I think that was why he didn't want to face the boggart and he panicked like that. Probably scared of what Professor Lupin would say."

Remus pretended that he hadn't heard anything and left the classroom as soon as possible. He wasn't upset at the boy for being afraid, he could certainly understand that reaction, but it still stung whenever he learned that someone was afraid of him for that. He wished that Andrew could have at least told him what he was scared of, so that Remus could have calmed his fears.

But instead he was heading down to lunch, hoping that Ivy was eating in her office, as he had no desire to sit through another lunch where she kept staring at him with that superbly hurt expression. Waiting for him to speak, as she picked at her food and made him feel guiltier by the second. Damnit, he had nothing to say!

As he arrived at the Great Hall, however, he heard a rush of feet on the stairwell. Looking up, he saw Minerva, Ivy, Clayton, Snape, and Flitwick come barreling down steps, all looking panicked. Madam Hooch joined them at the foot of the stairs, and Remus tapped her on the shoulder.

"What's going on?"

Ivy heard her husband's voice, and looked to him fearfully. "Remus, I don't think that you should come with us."

Minerva nodded. "Yes, I think it would only exacerbate the situation."

"What situation?" he demanded.

Minerva faltered at the genuine expression of confusion on Remus' face. "We sent all the faculty members notes to let them know. We did it only a few minutes ago."

"Well, I've been walking for a bit. I just finished a class in the kitchens where the boggart was."

"Oh, of course," Minerva started, straightening her glasses on her nose. "Well, the protestors have arrived. They're at the front gates and we must go and speak with them and try to get them to leave. We don't want them to have any contacts with the students."

Remus' mouth gaped open in shock.

"We'll be back shortly, Remus, no need to fret."

"I'm going with you," he finally said, his voice coming out hoarse.

"Remus…" Ivy faltered.

"No, if I don't show up, they'll make it seem like the school is protecting me. I have to talk to them."

"They'll turn anything you do against you, no matter what, Remus," Minerva reasoned. "If you stay here, if you go out and talk to them, they'll find a way to make you look terrible."

"I'm not going to wait inside while their standing out there protesting my existence," Remus said levelly.

He sounded like he was in control. He sounded like their ever-rational, always-in-control Remus Lupin. Minerva looked to Ivy for the decision, but Ivy looked back at her pleadingly. She was his wife first and foremost. She didn't want him to go out there.

So now Minerva had to make the decision that was not based on emotion. And taking everyone's opinions and what had just been said into consideration, she made the choice that she felt was fair.

"Come with us, if you must. But mind what you say."

Ivy bit her lip so hard she tasted salt.

She watched Remus join the group, wishing she'd had the guts to pull rank on him and force him to stay behind. But Minerva was in a better place to judge the situation than she was. She would just have to handle the matter as a professional.

Snape uncannily read her mind. Leaning toward her, he whispered firmly, "Just say what needs to be said to them. Don't make it personal. They will deliberately try to pull down your guard because they know how close you are to all of this."

Ivy nodded in gratitude to the Potions Master. It was times like this that she felt that she was completely incapable of filling Albus' shoes. Minerva and Severus always knew what to do. They should have been running the school. She was just confused, and angry, and he doesn't talk to me at all, and I don't know what I did wrong, and I just want to world to stop while I figure out why–

…Don't make it personal.

She took a deep breath as she stepped outside and continued walking down the path, toward the front gates of the school. As they approached, the sounds of voices shouting rose to greet her ears like a wall of white noise. There were hundreds of them, easily. Ivy moved to the head of the group, and heard the protestors quiet down as they saw her draw near.

One woman stood at the font of the group. She was tall, much taller than Ivy, and her hair was done up in an elegant twist. Nothing else about her was quite as elegant, however. She had a long, pointed nose, bony hands, and her thin mouth curled into a cruel expression of triumph as Ivy stepped up to the gate. Ivy waited for the woman on the other side to begin the exchange.

"Headmistress Dumbledore, I presume?" she said in a drawl that ended each phrase in a high, grating tone.

"Yes, I am the Headmistress," Ivy stated blandly, staring up at the woman with appropriate control and steadiness.

"My name is Cynthia Dammers, Headmistress. I have come here with my many supporters to demand – "

"You are in no position to demand anything," Ivy said shortly. She then calmed her voice, making sure that she was coming off as hot-and-cold as the woman standing on front of her. "I have come out, however, to request that your party leave this area immediately."

"We are not breaking the law, my dear," Ms. Dammers answered with a nasty smile. "We have the right to protest anywhere we choose."

"No one is denying that," Ivy assured her. "It would simply be appreciated, as your presence will distract the students from doing their work."

Ms. Dammers tilted her head to the side, her smile growing like a panther ready to pounce on its prey. She used her wand to charm her voice, so that she could be heard clear across the grounds.

"What's the matter, Headmistress? Are you afraid that the children will learn the truth about the monster that you are keeping holed up in your school?"

The crowd began to shout in agreement, raising up various signs that they had crafted, sporting words like "non-human", "beast", and "damned".

Ivy heard him before she saw him. He was at her back, taking careful steps forward.

"If you have something to say about the 'monster', he would appreciate it if you would direct it at him, instead of harassing the Hogwarts community."

Remus' head was held high, his shoulders squared, his voice, thankfully, calm. Ivy didn't know how he was managing it, but she stepped aside to let him talk. He clearly thought this was his fight, and she wasn't going to speak for him when he had something to say for himself.

Ms. Dammers looked positively delighted. She had probably been waiting for the chance to talk to a real werewolf during a protest since these demonstrations had started. Christmas had come early.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin. I'm surprised to see you out here."

Remus' face betrayed no emotion whatsoever. He merely looked unimpressed. "Really? Why's that?"

"Well, surely the fact that everyone on this side of the gate would like to see you branded, jailed, or dead, it certainly must unnerve you."

Remus was well aware that he was being baited, and that nothing he said would make this situation turn out for his benefit. But he had to make sure that she knew that he wasn't afraid of her. No matter how many followers she brought to the gate. "Actually, I'm quite surprised that you haven't brought a lynching party. I thought you'd be a bit more organized than that."

Ms. Dammers sickening smile faltered ever so slightly. She quickly regained her composure.

"Please, tell us all what you do here, Mr. Lupin. I so long to hear your job description."

Remus shook his head, the corners of his mouth tilting upwards in a small smile. Ivy had a brief moment to wonder what kind of a poker player her husband would make. "Ah-ah, Ms. Dammers. You know perfectly well what I do here. I think we're wasting time, and that's something that neither one of us can afford to do."

"I know you can't, Mr. Lupin," Ms. Dammers answered back venomously. "Once I've let everyone know what you are teaching the children of Hogwarts, you won't have time to pack the clothes on your back, they'll throw you out so fast."

Remus feigned youthful ignorance at her threat. "And what exactly am I teaching, Ms. Dammers?"

She looked like she wanted to start preaching her protest sermon, but she held out a little longer, excited at the exchange she was participating in.

"You teach Defense Against The Dark Arts, do you not?"

"Until someone tells me I don't anymore, Ms. Dammers. Or until I retire."

"And that would mean that you teach the students defense against you, wouldn't it?"

"It does, Ms. Dammers," Remus answered evenly.

She cracked her bony fingers one at a time as she spoke. "And it doesn't bother you that you have to teach these children how to defend themselves against you?"

Remus' spine stiffened briefly. He was having an alarming sense of deja-vu. This seemed to be the question of the year. "No, it doesn't concern me in the slightest."

"And at what time do you teach them this defense?"

"I cover the basics in their third year, and then go over it in more detail for the fifth years."

"You must love those first two years when they don't know the difference, don't you, Mr. Lupin?"

Remus narrowed his eyes. "I don't quite follow you."

"Get them while their young, isn't that what they say?" Ms. Dammers began. Her voice was rising in pitch as she began to engage the crowd. She was ready to start the riot now.

"Isn't it true that you're teaching these children all sorts of dark magic, all the while making them think that they're only learning defense?"

Remus was shocked by that accusation, but showing that would do him no good, so he tried his best to continue speaking calmly. "I don't know any dark magic, Ms. Dammers. And I would certainly never allow it in this school."

"Really? Then it isn't true that all of your students come out of your classroom with all the knowledge of the Dark Arts that only a werewolf could provide? All the dark magic that is hidden within you from the moment you receive your bite?"

Remus had never heard a more ridiculous theory in all his life, but the crowd was buying it hook, line, and sinker. They screamed and chanted and even started pressing up against the gate. He felt Ivy's arm on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off. Never mind that he didn't want to talk to her, having her herding him away would certainly not look good for the school when this little incident appeared in the Daily Prophet tomorrow.

"Tell the truth, Remus Lupin! Tell the world what you are doing to these children! Leave this place at once, and stop corrupting the youth of tomorrow, you soldier for the devil!"

The crowd was going crazy, and now Severus and Madam Hooch were both at Remus' arm, attempting to pull him back from the din. Remus firmly stood his ground, though, refusing to move an inch while this chaos continued.

And then, suddenly, a voice broke out over the crowd, over Ms. Dammers' outraged preaching, even over the blood pounding in Remus' ears.

"All right everyone! Show's over, it's time to calm down."

Everyone was so startled by the voice that they paused, trying to determine where it came from. Slowly, a path parted down the center of the protestors all the way to the front gate. Remus saw a head of black hair approaching.

A woman's voice was now rising up to join the other. "All right everyone. It's time to leave. These children have to get back to their classes, and if you won't let them, we will get Magical Law Enforcement down here. Just look where I'm pointing and exit the area that way."

Sirius strode up to the front gates, and watched Ms. Dammers sputter with rage at his diffusion tactics.

"You cannot tell us to break up this protest! We are allowed to be here by law!"

Sirius smiled graciously. "Well, then you didn't read the law book very carefully, sweetheart. That applies for all areas of the wizarding world except Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Here you're only allowed to protest for a total of six hours, preferably when classes aren't going on. And since you and your group got here 'round six in the morning, I'd say you wore out your welcome a while ago."

"But we weren't protesting until half an hour ago!" Ms. Dammers shrieked.

"Well then, you should organize more quickly," Sirius said amiably, wicked Marauder grin in place. He turned to the confused crowd. "In the mean time, PACK IT UP AND MOVE IT OUT!"

"Yes, this way everyone…" Guinevere was standing at the back on top of a large rock, directing traffic to avoid a rush. "Careful now, don't trample each other, no one's in a hurry. That's it, very good."

Ms. Dammers gathered all of her protest items and stuffed them into a large carpetbag. She turned to glare at Ivy, Remus, and Sirius. "You haven't seen the last of us, Mr. Lupin!" she shouted. "We will have you on the streets soon, mark my words! Back where you belong!"

Remus waved to her innocently, which only made her storm off in a great huff. Sirius turned to him, an impish glint in his eye. Remus managed to smile back.

"Six hours? Only at Hogwarts? That was good, Sirius, very good."

Sirius shrugged. "I didn't actually expect her to buy it, I assumed she'd have more political knowledge than that if she were a protest leader. But I think she saw the Ministry insignia on Guinevere's robe and flipped. Guinevere's said she knew that robe had to be good for something, looks like she was right. I would have come up with something more convincing, but we only got the owl from Ivy a little while ago and it sounded urgent."

Ivy had silently undone the wards around the gate and opened it to let Sirius in. When it swung back, she rushed to him and threw her arms around his shoulders.

"Thank you! I was so worried about what would happen if we couldn't get them to leave."

Sirius rubbed her back soothingly. "Well, relax. They're all gone for now. Your Big Brother made all the nasty people go away."

Ivy laughed softly, sounding rather frail if Remus had allowed himself to admit it. Soon Guinevere came up to join the group.

"Everything all right?" she questioned, looking at Ivy with a concerned expression.

Sirius nodded gently. "Yeah, I think we're all right here now. You got them all out of here pretty quick."

Guinevere shrugged. "I spent a summer directing cattle on my uncle's farm. People aren't much different."

Sirius snorted in response, highly amused by the thought of someone as slight as Guinevere directing large herds of cows. "Well, if everything's okay here, I think we should probably get back to the office."

Guinevere stopped him. "We don't have to. Codger gave us the rest of the day to keep an eye on this place."

Sirius paused. "Oh. Well then… who's for tea in the kitchens?"

Most of the staff and Guinevere raised their hands, and they all started parading up to the front doors. Ivy secured the gate behind them and turned around to look for Remus. But she couldn't spot him.

He had disappeared on her again.

Sirius and Guinevere were friends.

It was a slow friendship to be sure, and they still weren't exactly used to the idea, but they were both trying very hard. And that was saying a lot considering how horribly they had been treating each other since… well, since they were eleven.

So Sirius had decided that he would go with Guinevere to the grocery store. This was partly due to the fact that he remembered her saying that she got claustrophobic there sometimes, and also due to the fact that she said she wanted him to tell her what he would like for dinner on Friday. Sirius couldn't very well think of that without food directly in front of him, so she decided that it would be okay for him to join her just this once, provided that he didn't make a nuisance of himself.

They were walking down the aisle with pastas and marinara sauce. Guinevere stopped at one of the shelves and tsked.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"They're out of my favorite brand of pasta in linguine," she sighed.

Sirius did not understand why this was such a problem. "So just get a different brand."

She shook her head at his ignorance. "I use that brand for a reason. It cooks the best and the flavor goes well with the lemon and white wine sauce that I make."

"In my experience, pasta tastes like pasta."

"Well, maybe after spending more time in my kitchen you will come to understand the subtle differences in the great pasta hierarchy," she teased stiffly.

Sirius smiled at her rocky try at humor. She was doing rather well at being personable, she just needed to loosen up.

"Well, if you can't use another brand, then why not do the same brand and use spaghetti? Or those," he suggested, pointing to a box of twisted pasta.

Guinevere smirked.

"What?"

She shrugged. "It's just my experience that only children usually like that kind of pasta."

Sirius shot her a mock-offended look. "Oh, so now I'm childish for liking pasta of an odd shape?"

Guinevere stared coyly at the ceiling. "Not, necessarily, it's just amusing, that's all. And it says a lot about you, you know."

Sirius raised an unconvinced eyebrow. "Such as?"

Guinevere continued to glance upward, her torso shaking with laughter that was dying to get out. "Well, I like linguine because it has a smooth texture, it's easy on the palate. Most of what we like about food has a great deal to do with the texture. It's just… telling that you happen to like one of the various types that are more rough and uneven."

Sirius was not going to take that lying down. Reaching over the cart, he grabbed a box of the pasta off the shelf and dropped it into the cart. "Well, I suppose that you'll learn to like the rough sort too." He could already see the look forming on her face as he stepped behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and pushed her forward, the cart going with her. "On we go, then."

"Just a minute!" she scolded. She shoved her weight back, causing Sirius' hands to slip from her shoulders. They landed on either side of her, on the shopping cart bar that she was holding onto as well. Her back was now shoved up against his chest, his arms holding her trapped at the back of the cart.

Guinevere didn't notice this, and proceeded to take a box of fettuccini off of the shelf. She didn't put the other box of pasta back, however, much to his amusement.

"There," she stated, tossing her box into the cart. "I wasn't done with the pasta. You can't just be ridiculously crude and then also prevent me from getting the proper groceries."

"Oh, forgive me," Sirius hummed.

She went to push the cart forward, but his hands were still on the bar, keeping it firmly in place. It was then that Guinevere noticed how close they were. And to her credit, she did not slap him, have a panic attack, or scream at him and run off in a huff. She merely turned her head back to glance at him, looking defiantly unfazed.

"Are you quite through?" she snapped reproachfully.

"Oh, quite," Sirius replied with a grin, releasing the cart and letting her continue, as he strolled at the back.

They eventually wound their way back to the produce section, as Guinevere had wanted to get more fruit than she had originally considered. Sirius was looking through the various kinds of apples, and getting upset that his favorites were not in season yet. He walked up behind Guinevere with one apple in hand and started talking to her back while she checked boxes of raspberries for mold.

"Do you think that Braeburn apples might taste close to Macintosh?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You're positive?"

"Yes Sirius, very positive."

"Well, why don't they have any good apples?"

Guinevere was about to respond when another voice chimed in.

"Guinevere?"

Sirius and Guinevere both looked up to see a woman that Sirius recognized. He couldn't place her face, though, at least not until –

"Sylvia?" Guinevere called out uncomfortably. The other woman rolled her cart closer, though she was rather slow, and seemed to be waddling. Sirius looked down and noticed that the woman was pregnant.

"Sylvia…" he echoed. "Oh, Sylvia! You were in our house, our year."

Sylvia rolled her eyes in good humor. "I'm flattered you remember, Sirius."

Sirius could already sense something very out of place. Guinevere was standing stiff as stone. He moved from behind her to her side, and saw that her eyes had taken on a glazed sheen.

"So you're…?" Guinevere's voice died out on her as she looked at Sylvia's swollen belly.

The blond-haired woman smiled and looked down as well. "Yeah, I can't believe it myself. It took a while, but I finally got him to do it. He's due in a month, isn't it amazing?"

Sirius was trying to put the pieces together. He remembered Sylvia now. She had been one of Guinevere's best friends, an unusual pair, as there were not normally good friendships that existed across houses at school. But they were clearly not friends anymore, not with the way that Guinevere was standing, not with that numbed look on her face.

"Are you still with…?" came the next hoarse question.

In answer, Sylvia began to look around. When she spotted what she was looking for, she called out, "Alec! Alec, come over here!"

A man approached Sylvia. He was rather handsome, tall with sky blue eyes and a rugged five o'clock shadow. His brown hair was cropped short, his clothes fitted, and his shoulders square and strong.

When he spotted Guinevere, however, he did not look so happy.

"Look who I found!" Sylvia said cheerfully.

"Allo, Guinevere," came the strong accent that sounded almost French, but not quite. "'Ow are you?"

"Oh, fine," Guinevere responded dazedly, looking back and forth between the two of them, and then down at the unborn baby.

All the gears in Sirius' head clicked. He suddenly remembered with surprising clarity, everything that Bruce had said to him a few weeks back –

Got married when she was twenty-five. Guy named Alec. He was a foreigner.-

I never liked him much. He had some accent. French or Italian or something.-

He started blaming her for things. Claimed that she wasn't emotionally ready to be a wife, started staying away from the house. It went on for a few years like that.-

Finally, he tells her that he's found someone who 'understands him' and runs off. She finds out later that it was a friend of hers from school.-

Sirius felt his spine stiffen to match Guinevere's posture. He had to think of something to do. He couldn't let her face this alone.

He let his instincts take control, and lifted a hand up to Guinevere's back. She didn't seem to notice, which Sirius felt was probably a good thing. He smiled at the couple in front of him, and started talking for her.

"Well, Sylvia, we haven't seen you around here for a few years, I'm sure. What puts you back in the neighborhood?"

Sylvia smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. Sirius had a funny feeling that she did that subconsciously to every man she talked to.

"Well, we'd been living near Alec's family up in Switzerland, but when I got pregnant, I knew that I had to be close to my mother. So I told Alec that we had to move back here and he said okay."

Sirius smiled warmly with ice in his eyes. "That easy, was it? So nice when men are accommodating like that."

Alec clearly didn't like the way Sirius' expression matched what he said. "I'm zorry, you are-?"

Sirius leaned forward to shake his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sirius Black."

Alec's eyes widened. "Ze one from Azkeban? Ze one 'oo Guinevere 'ated zo much as a child?"

Sirius never let his buoyancy falter. "Yes, that Sirius Black. I'm pretty sure there's only one of me."

Sylvia gaped at him for a moment. "And now you're her–"

"Boyfriend," Sirius quickly finished, before Guinevere could say "partner" and ruin the delicate house of cards he was building. "Or love slave, whichever you prefer."

Guinevere side-glanced him with a slow look of incredulity and shock, but she was too numbed by the people in front of her to sharply put him back in his place. He was grateful – this was for her own good. He snaked his arm around her waist, and pulled her to him.

Sylvia was having a problem with the charade, however. "Boyfriend? But she hated you in school!"

Sirius grinned disarmingly. "Yeah, but you know what they say about opposites attracting and all that ridiculous preachy garbage. Seems some of it must be true because we met again this year after all that time, and something just clicked. I can barely keep my hands off her."

He turned her to face him, pulling her focus to his face, rather than the two other people nearby. "Right, darling?" he cooed.

He was overdoing it, but really he wanted Sylvia and Alec to leave more than anything, and he knew if he made them uncomfortable they would want to go. So, against his better judgment, and knowing that he was probably about to get smacked, he lowered his lips to Guinevere's neck and started brushing over the pale skin. When the slap didn't come, he moved his hands to close around her back tightly, pulling her closer to him.

Guinevere was frozen in shock, and he knew that wasn't going to help them convince anybody. So he nipped at her throat with his teeth.

That did it. Guinevere reacted.

She started laughing hysterically.

She was laughing so hysterically, in fact, that Sirius had to pull back from her neck. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes as she grabbed hold of both his arms and started guffawing into his chest.

He gave the only proper reaction that he could in the given situation. He smiled.

"God, I love this woman," he said good-naturedly, turning back to Sylvia and Guinevere's ex-husband. "I start feeling her up in the middle of the grocery story, and she can't stop laughing! Isn't she fabulous?"

Sylvia and Alec did not seem to know what to do, and were staring back with stunned expressions. Guinevere was still in stitches, her head buried in Sirius' shirt. He grabbed the cart and steered it with one hand, leading Guinevere with the other hand on her back.

"So long, folks! We have to get these groceries out of here before they spoil. Good luck to you both, and congratulations! I hope you have a healthy baby piranha, or whatever they're called."

Once they were out of sight, Sirius stopped and looked down at Guinevere. She was still laughing uncontrollably, and Sirius knew that it wasn't just because she thought his behavior was amusing. He grabbed her by the hand. "All right, you, come with me."

Leaving the shopping cart behind, he dragged Guinevere outside and pulled her to side of the building, out of sight of the passersby. Standing in front of her, and holding her shoulders so she didn't loose her balance, Sirius tried to talk her down.

"Easy, you. Deep breaths. That's it, Gwen, deep breaths."

Sure enough, her laughter started to die down, and Sirius started having trouble telling if she was laughing or crying. It was probably both. When she was finally capable of being silent for more than two seconds at a time, he placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. She stared quietly at him for a moment.

Then, without warning, she laced her fingers around the back of his neck and pulled his head down until his forehead was resting against hers.

"Thank you," she whispered desperately after a long moment of silence.

"Welcome," he replied with a small smile. "And if I did anything back there that was way out of line, you have full permission to beat me up a little."

She tried her best to smile back. "No, you saved me in there. I don't know what I would have said to them."

"No one would have," Sirius assured her.

"You did," she said softly, finally releasing him. She let one hand travel down to his arm, still not ready to break contact.

"You want to go back in for your groceries?" Sirius asked after another long silence.

She shook her head. "I don't want to go back in there right now."

Sirius thought for a bit. "Well, how's this? Remus and Ivy are going shopping for various things tomorrow in Hogsmeade. Clothes, supplies and the like. We could go with them, and then afterwards we could come back here and get your groceries."

Guinevere didn't look so sure.

"Come on, you'll enjoy yourself," Sirius insisted. "Ivy always makes everyone feel better."

"Except her husband," Guinevere said quietly, staring at the ground.

Sirius winced at that. He knew that Ivy would be truly hurt to know that the problems she was having with Remus were so easily visible to a casual observer. Then again, Guinevere was a very attentive person, whether he wanted to admit it or not. She probably noticed more than anyone realized.

"They're having some problems right now," he tried to explain. "It's all because of the American bloke they've got running around, and the protestors. But we should go with them tomorrow. It would be good for Remus too, in case he runs into protestors out here."

Guinevere nodded mutely. "But let's go home now. I need a hot bath."

Sirius nodded. "Sounds good. And we'll meet up tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

They stared at each other for another moment, and then vanished from sight.

There we are, folks! I hope that was to your liking. As you can see, the plot is thickening, and there are twists and turns around every corner. But don't worry - you're in for a little happiness next chapter. Please review! I don't know why I keep saying that - you guys are really wonderful about that. I'm so grateful to have a group of such dedicated readers, you are all fabulous. Siriusly. And no, I did not just make that joke. Well, maybe I did...