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!

11. Devestation, Miracles, and Death

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm really sorry everyone. Real life took a nasty turn for me recently, and I completely forgot to keep up with things. Everything is better now, however, so I bring you a new chapter. I like to think that this chapter makes up for being late because a lot of fabulous things happen in it. And some not so great ones too, because you know me and angst…. But it's still happy! Does that make up for it? No?

Well, how about this: the next chapter will be posted either on, or a couple days before my birthday on August 6th (because I'm a dork and put up chapters for you as a birthday present to me. Because I love you all so very much). Which means that your next chapter comes in less than two weeks! How's that?

Also, I'm very sorry I haven't responded to all the reviews. As I said, life kicked me in the stomach and I got behind. If you asked a question that I didn't answer, say it again in your next review and I will respond. If you emailed me your review, feel free to do it again! I never tire of hearing from all of you. Really and truly.

Oh, and to answer a question that seems to be coming up a lot: No, Sirius and Gwen are not getting together in this chapter. You know me, people! I like making you wait for it. wink

Enough with my lame excuses, on to chaptery goodness!

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Chapter Eleven – Devastation, Miracles, and Death

A few months had passed. They were now in the thick of winter, and students were coming back from their Christmas break. January was the cause for warm fires, thick coats, and enough snow to build fortresses all over the grounds. Hagrid was very pleased when he found Harry and Ginny building one right outside his house to defend themselves from some of Ginny's classmates. Sirius snuck up on them and mashed a huge handful of snow into Harry's hair, which made Ginny laugh so hard that she slipped and fell into the bank behind her. She decided to make snow angels instead, and Harry joined her.

Clayton was still at the school, but Ivy didn't spend as much time with him, instead giving him the projects she needed done and letting him take care of things himself. When she needed extra help, she would ask Remus, who was more than happy to oblige. She told Remus that she wouldn't send Clayton home, as he still needed training to run his school, but she didn't get upset when the two glared at each other, or when Remus made barely disguised insidious comments in the Texan's direction. Clayton was taking the treatment with a scowl and as many indirect insults that he could think to dish back.

Sirius and Guinevere still ate dinner together every Friday. Really they ate together more often than that, as Guinevere had taken to calling Sirius up whenever she made too much food. She seemed to make too much food more and more frequently. Bruce visited Sirius as often as he did his sister, and the two had become good friends, which was helpful when Guinevere was being particularly difficult. Guinevere and Sirius still fought on a regular basis, although their arguments were not as cruel as they had been before. He went grocery shopping with her every other week, and absolutely refused to admit that their situation had become quite comfortable.

Severus was having a lot of progress with Draco now. Though the young man was far from personable, he had become much easier to handle, and finally started taking on some real responsibility. He assisted Severus in class, and could even be seen helping students with their work while they mixed their potions, although he tried his very best to make it look like the job irked him.

Everything seemed to be going fine since all of the hysteria October had brought down on them. The protestors had continued their rallies, but Ivy had managed to use some contacts and keep them away from the school. Only one incident had threatened to destroy the peace…

It was in December, and everyone had been getting ready to go home, as Christmas break was approaching fast. Remus and Sirius were walking outside in the bitter cold, as Remus had just been down to talk to Hagrid about some of the magical creatures he was using. He needed to know whether or not they could do a few joint lessons, so that Ivy could be sure that the students could handle the beasts. Sirius had dropped by with Harry as usual, and decided to go visit Hagrid with him.

On their way back, Sirius looked up and checked the darkening sky.

"The moon's going to be up soon. We better hurry or you won't make it to your office for your transformation."

Remus glanced upward. "I was afraid of that. Oh well, it's too late, the moon will be up before we can get back. You'll just have to sneak me up to my office after I transform, Ivy will help you. She's probably frantic by now, wondering why we aren't back yet."

Sirius smiled and followed his friend back toward the main doors. As they got closer, they saw the doors open, and sure enough, Ivy stepped out looking anxious.

"There you are!" she called out. "Hurry up and get inside, you shouldn't transform out here when it's so cold!"

"It's going to happen any second, Ivy, there's no point in – " Remus suddenly stopped, grabbing hold of Sirius' arm.

"Padfoot…"

Sirius put a hand on his shoulder in confusion. "What is it, Moony?

"Something's wrong…" Remus said slowly.

The moon crept up behind them like a thief.

"Is it pain? What is it, you have to be more specific," Sirius asked in a frenzy. Many terrible things had happened in their lives after Remus had uttered the words "something's wrong". They always hit Sirius like oracle premonitions and soothsayer's warnings.

Remus hunched over as his spine began to crunch, biting back a scream, as years of transformations had allowed him to do. Sirius bent over to see yellow eyes staring back.

"Remus…?"

"The Wolfsbane Potion," Remus whispered. "I don't think it's working, Sirius…"

Sirius' eyes widened and he backed away a step. He saw Remus' eyes look pleadingly toward the door, where his wife was waiting patiently, her face etched with sadness. She wasn't used to seeing him transform, and it wrenched her insides when she heard bones crack over the harsh winter air.

"Ivy…" Sirius started, looking to her in panic.

She could read the look on Sirius' face easily enough. "What's wrong, Sirius? Is he okay?"

She took an instinctual step forward. At that moment, Remus let out a snarl, fur sprouting on his arms and face.

"Ivy, get back!" Sirius commanded.

"What's wrong?" Ivy cried.

"Back!"

Sirius turned to his friend, pulling him up by the sleeves of his coat. "Moony, can you hear me?"

Remus' clothes were ripped apart at the seams and he was not responding. He raised his head to Sirius, his golden-yellow eyes full of bloodlust and fury.

"Get inside!" Sirius shouted to Ivy. "I'll get him to the Forbidden Forest!"

She was in shock, but thankfully did as she was told. Before Remus was fully transformed, Sirius turned into his Animagus form and made a mad dash toward the forest, knowing that the wolf would follow. He ran an intricate path among the dense foliage and snow, and when he was sure that the wolf was in the forest, he gave him the slip and ran back to the castle. Only at the door did he change back, finding Ivy waiting frantically on the other side.

As he closed the door behind him, he heard a howl.

"What happened, Sirius?" Ivy asked immediately, grabbing hold of his arm as though he could somehow ground her.

Sirius tried his best to catch his breath, still gasping from the run and the cold. "Wolfsbane Potion… it wasn't working…. I had to get him to the forest…. Everyone in the school will be safe as long as they stay inside…"

Ivy turned on her heel and started walking back toward the staircases. "We have to talk to Severus," she stated hurriedly. Sirius followed her down to the dungeons.

Ivy burst through Severus' office door without any sort of announcement, which the Potions Master found extremely rude.

"Headmistress, haven't you ever heard of knoc– "

"The Wolfsbane Potion didn't work, Severus."

Snape was on his feet instantly. "What do you mean?"

"He didn't keep his mind when he transformed. Sirius had to herd him into the Forbidden Forest."

Snape paled, if that were possible. "He wasn't near any of the students…"

"No," Ivy sighed. "He didn't get to anyone. But I need you to tell me why this happened."

Snape, for once in his life, was at a loss for words. "Nothing should have happened," he said quietly. "The potion was brewed the same way I always brew it."

"Do you have a sample left?" Sirius asked impatiently.

Severus nodded. "Yes, the cauldron hasn't been emptied yet."

Ivy's jaw set. "All right. Good. Severus, you are going to analyze that potion and find out why this happened." She pulled out her wand and headed back the way she had come.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked.

She turned back once she had reached the door. "To find my husband."

"Ivy – "

Headmistress – "

But Ivy was not in the mood to discuss everything she already knew about werewolves in their transformed states. "I know he won't recognize me, so spare me the lecture. Perhaps you both have forgotten that there have been protestors focusing their attentions on this school. For all we know, they could have spies or even werewolf hunters in those woods. We have to get him back here, or at least to the Shrieking Shack. If we get out to him, we can stun him heavily or try to use body-binding charms, but leaving him out there for the night is not an option."

"I should be the one to go, Headmistress," Severus reasoned.

"No, Severus," Ivy cut in, not giving him the chance to tell her why. "I need you here figuring out what went wrong with that potion."

She quickly left the room, not giving him another chance to speak.

Sirius was following closely at her heels. "Ivy – "

"Go get Hagrid, Argus, Minerva, and anyone else who might be useful."

"I'm not letting you go out there alo– "

"No time to argue. If we find him, we will send up green sparks with our wands, red if we're in trouble."

"If?" Sirius gaped. "Ivy, coming into contact with a full grown werewolf is always dangerous, even if he's stunned or body-bound. We should all be in pairs, at least."

"Fine. Go in pairs and catch up to me."

Sirius grabbed Ivy by the shoulder and spun her around to face him.

"You can't go out there alone."

Ivy's gaze had turned alarmingly cold. "Last time I checked, I was in charge of what happened within these grounds. Now do as I ask, or don't help me at all, but I'm going to find Remus as soon as possible."

Sirius let her go against every instinct he possessed. Fighting with her would turn the whole situation ugly very fast, and likely get them both killed. So he separated from her, racing to get the people she had mentioned.

Ivy was walking through the forest, thankful for the trees shielding her somewhat against the chilling winds. She had her wand lit, winding around roots and shrubs and trying to look carefully so she wouldn't get snuck up on. She knew she hadn't been out there for more than twenty minutes, but it felt like an hour.

Something cracked behind her, and she jumped in midair, whirling around to see where the noise came from. She found nothing.

A howl sounded far away. She sighed knowing that he had to be somewhere else, and at the same time felt ashamed. She didn't like to admit that she was scared of finding him like this. Scared of what it would feel like when he looked at her and didn't know her.

And then she heard a low growl very close by.

Turning to her side, she found a large werewolf with teeth sharper and harder than cracked diamonds. The fur on the back of his neck was standing up and he was staring her down like she was nothing more than a fragile doe. Golden eyes flashed in the dimmed moonlight as he stalked closer and closer…

Ivy was frozen to the spot.

The werewolf shifted back onto his hind legs. Ivy knew from textbooks that this meant he was ready to strike. The danger was so real, and yet her mind kept telling her it can't happened like this, not this way…

And just as it seemed that she would be mauled to death by a man who had told her that he loved her only two hours ago, something strange happened. The werewolf paused, his nose going up in the air. He sniffed carefully and his front legs fell back to the ground. He started to circle her cautiously, his nose out, brushing against her hand, her foot, her stomach. Ivy trembled, barely daring to breathe.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The werewolf went stiff as a board and fell on his side.

Sirius rushed to Ivy, Hagrid in his wake.

"My God, you could have been killed!" he scolded, more out of fear for her than anger. He started checking her over for any signs of injury. "Did he hurt you? Did he bite you?"

She shook her head. "No…. He was just… smelling me…. I don't understand. Does that make sense to you?"

"Yeh should be dead, Ms. Dumbledore," Hagrid clarified. "It don't make any sense ter me."

"He's right," Sirius told her. "Now, let's get him into one of the empty dungeon classrooms. We can fortify the door and he won't escape…. He is not going to be happy when this charm wears off."

Sirius magicked the werewolf onto a stretcher and they got him into the castle as quickly and quietly as possible. Ivy and Minerva were sealing the doors as they heard the wolf inside begin to stir. By the time they were done they heard the sound of a body smashing up against the door and vicious howling. Snarling and growling were added to the mix as well as ripping sounds that only Sirius could identify. Ivy turned away and buried her head in Sirius' shoulder as the noises got louder.

"It's okay," Sirius hushed. "He's done worse, far worse. He's just upset because he's alone and he doesn't know where he is. He'll be a little beat up tomorrow and we'll take him to the hospital wing. But you should get some sleep tonight."

Ivy wished it were that simple. She went up to her office in a dazed panic, knowing somehow that this incident had much worse implications than anyone thought. Sitting at her desk, she went through paperwork until she had dozed off many hours later, waking up only when the door to her office opened.

Severus approached her, disheveled and worn, and Ivy could tell that he had not slept a wink all night. She checked her clock – it was six in the morning. He had been working for over eleven straight hours.

He held out a vial to her containing something so small that Ivy had to strain her eyes to see it.

"Severus, what am I looking at?"

Severus' eyes narrowed angrily. "Five grains of sugar."

Ivy took a moment to let it register. Sugar.

"How did you find it?" she asked, astonished.

"I used a reversion spell. It's complicated to work, but it pulls out potion ingredients in their original state. It would have been easier to do if I had tried it right after the potion had been brewed, the only reason it took so long was that the ingredients had had time to settle. I apologize for the delay, Headmistress – "

She waved off the apology, looking intently at the vial. "Sugar makes it useless…"

"Undoubtedly, Headmistress. Your husband has complained about that on occasion."

"How did it get in there?"

At this, Severus' spine stiffened sharply, the guilt on his face making Ivy far more worried than she would have been from anything he could have said.

"I…. I don't know, Headmistress. I don't keep any sugar near my cauldrons or in the storerooms. I never keep any ingredient nearby that can damage that potion in particular, and I promise you that I brewed it exactly the way that I always do."

Ivy shook her head, running a hand across her tired eyes. "No one is accusing you of causing this, Severus. I know how meticulous you are, and I know that you would never allow anything to happen in this school that could potentially harm the students. What I need to know is what happened."

He nodded heavily, looking just as tired and dismayed as Ivy felt. "I understand, Headmistress. I will continue to look into this problem and I will give you regular reports back. And I will check each batch of Wolfsbane Potion from now on to make sure that no damaging ingredients are present."

Ivy sighed, knowing how much extra work this would be for her Potions Master. Still, he was the only one to do it. "Thank you, Severus."

Snape turned around and left, but Ivy had no time to process their conversation. Not even a minute later, Sirius came barging through the door. "He's awake, he wants to talk to you."

Ivy leapt up and followed Sirius out.

"He was not happy when he found out what happened last night."

Ivy grimaced in frustration. "Well, who told him?"

"He asked, Ivy, I wasn't going to lie to him. It would have made him even more angry, and that's not what he needs to be with the state he's in."

"How badly is he hurt?" she asked instantly.

"Madam Pomfrey will only take care of him today, unless the students have bad enough injuries that they require her assistance," was Sirius' indirect but horrifying answer. "Severus and Minerva are there right now, trying to fill him in on what seems to have happened with the potion."

When Ivy got to the Hospital Wing, she found Remus out of bed, which alone made her gasp. Then she got a full look at him and wanted to faint.

Remus' right eye had blood in it and he was shifted favorably onto his right leg, as though the left one was painful to put weight on. There was thick bandaging wrapped from his left shoulder all the way down around his chest, and his other shoulder looked swollen and discolored as though he had dislocated it and it had only recently been put back in its place. Claw marks ran up and down his arms, as well as one deep set that ran from underneath his ear, all the way across his neck. Blood had matted his hair above his left temple, and there was blood trickling down his leg somewhere from the thigh, staining the trousers he had been given to wear.

But when he saw Ivy, he didn't collapse against the bed behind him and sigh in relief. Nor did he call her gently over to him and hug her tightly. Instead, as Ivy began to scold him for being out of bed, he strode over to her, fury in his face, grabbed her by both of his injured arms and shook her like a rag doll.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he shouted, his voice ringing off the high walls of the wing.

He was shaking her so hard that Ivy's neck snapped back painfully, and she could only gape at him in shock. She couldn't understand where his strength was coming from, not with how ghastly the injuries looked and yet he was shaking her fiercely, so angry that she couldn't bear to look him in the eye.

"Why would you do that" he growled violently. "Why?"

"I…" Ivy stammered. Her brain was going hazy and her stomach fluttered fearfully. Everything suddenly took on a surreal sheen. Colors seemed over bright, there was ringing in her ears, the presence of others in the room was suffocating her. Why is he so angry?

"Why?" he screamed again, and she cowered back from him, unable to escape because his grip was too strong.

"Stop…" she managed to whisper, her eyes shifting to the ceiling as though it were a prayer.

"Everyone tried to stop you, and still you wouldn't listen!" he shouted. "You should have died last night! Do you understand? I would have killed you!"

Ivy felt very small and very frightened. She wanted to run away or collapse, anything to stop her from seeing him like this. He had never been this angry, never in all the years she had known him. Even when he had forced her from his house before they had stopped speaking all those years ago, he had not been this furious.

"I had to – "

"What?" he cut her off, pulling her around and jamming her up against the hospital bed behind him. "You had to what? You had to do something suicidal for my benefit? You couldn't wait for Sirius, or anyone to go with you?"

"You were – "

"What if I hadn't killed you?" he now shouted. "What if I had bitten you instead? You have absolutely no idea what this is!" He shook his head incredulously, unable to stop, completely hysterical. "Oh, yes, you can accept me for who I am, marry me, swear that you'll spend the rest of your life with me, but you still don't understand what this is! If you did, you would have never taken the risk! You don't know the pain, and the fear, and the worry, and – my God, do you know what would have happened if you had been bitten?"

Sirius took a step back from the stupor that he plunged into as soon as Remus had opened his mouth. It twisted his insides up, it made him feel ill. He wanted to step in on Ivy's behalf, seeing the shock on her face. She was scared out of her mind. But then Sirius realized that he had to let it alone. He had certainly never seen Remus this enraged before, but his friend clearly needed to do this. It was years of pent up anxiety, and this time they had come so close…

"I – " Ivy tried frantically once again.

"I would rather die than ever have you go through this! This is a curse, do you understand?"

"Remus, please – "

A hand went to the back of Ivy's neck and he pulled her face toward his, grip so tight that her head began to hurt from the pressure. "I have spent my entire life trying to rid myself of this. From even the remotest possibility that this could happen," he hissed harshly. "I fight against it every day, it haunts me in every moment, waking or not. What happened last night was like something out of my nightmares. What right do you have to make me live through those?"

And Ivy could see it. She could see the bottoms of his eyes glistening, she could feel him trembling, and she realized that he was far more scared than she was.

"Remus…" she started, finally getting the chance to speak, her voice quaking with the onset of tears. "I had to get you out of the forest. There could have been hunters in there, or…"

"You had no reason," he rejoined angrily. "No excuses."

Ivy pleaded with him without words. He had to understand why she had gone, why she was afraid for him every day now…

"Remus, I couldn't leave you out there when…"

His hand went to her check, his eyes losing the spark that had driven him through his whole tirade. "If I had – if I – "

But he couldn't finish. He pulled her fast to him and buried his head in her shoulder, his arms winding around her like a vice, his chest heaving erratically as he began sobbing into her hair. Ivy dug her fingers into his back. He never cried, not really. Not ever.

But she could feel tears soaking her shoulder now.

"I can't lose you," he whispered. "I just can't…. I don't care if it's selfish, it would kill me…"

"I'm selfish too," she told him quietly, her hand gently stroking the back of his head, the way she would calm a child. She felt tears spilling down her own cheeks as well, which thankfully cleared her painfully blurry vision. "If I weren't selfish, I would have never gone out after you like that. I'm sorry, I understand now, I swear."

"Never again…"

"No, never."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

"Can't lose you that way after everything that we – "

"I know."

She felt him sag against her, and realized that he had used up far too much energy through this whole ordeal. He was a mess, he needed to rest. So she moved away from the bed and pushed him onto it. He didn't argue or complain, he didn't even make a sound, but he wouldn't let go of her hand once she had pulled up the blankets.

So she got onto the bed with him and laid down on her side, facing him. He managed the smallest of sighs and closed his eyes, finally calmed and feeling the true extent of his fatigue. Ivy looked up briefly at Madam Pomfrey to make sure that it was okay for her to be there, but the woman smiled and quickly left them to attend to other problems. Everyone else left silently, knowing that none of this was any of their business. Sirius crept up briefly at Ivy's side and squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. Ivy looked up at him and smiled, letting him know that she could handle everything from there.

He closed the door of the wing behind him, leaving them alone.

"You're going to let me heal some of this, aren't you?" Ivy asked after a minute of silence. There was a great deal of trepidation in her voice – she didn't want to get him upset again, but she had to know if he would let her.

He opened his eyes halfway. "I feel better just by having you here."

"I know, but – "

"If it's what you want."

Ivy trailed her hand along his neck where he had scratched so deeply, gold light spreading from her fingertips as the blood disappeared and the wound closed itself. Remus breathed deeply at the feeling of melted butter running through his veins, like hot cider on fall afternoons.

Ivy shook off the stinging feeling that she felt, the echo of his pain, and touched a finger to his chin. "One at a time," she decided.

He nodded in agreement and closed his eyes again. Ivy followed in suit and they both fell asleep to the sound of snow falling outside.

---

That incident in December was now just a grey memory, one that no one lingered on for fear that Remus Lupin's eyes would dim. He was shocked with himself for what he had said, and so everyone allowed him to pretend he hadn't said anything.

Except Ivy and Sirius. It was too important for them to ignore.

And Remus was glad to find that it didn't bother him so much. Perhaps they had needed to know for a long time, and he found that he could handle that. He could give them that piece and trust that they would lock it away and never tell a soul.

But they would always know.

Remus' last transformation had gone by without a hitch. The Wolfsbane Potion worked this time, although he had insisted on being in the Shrieking Shack for the transformation, just in case, despite Severus' assurances that nothing could go wrong. Sirius decided that he would stay with Remus this time, just in case, as Charlie was now getting the Wolfsbane Potion himself, and he was already on his fifth transformation.

Ivy was excited for the return of the students. Winter break at Hogwarts could be very cold and empty, and she was looking forward to having so many warm bodies in the building again. She eagerly met with each professor to discuss their syllabus for the rest of the year, making sure that Clayton dutifully took notes for himself on what was talked over.

The stone walls were now filled with chatter, and clothing trunks were hastily carried to dorm rooms by faithful house elves. Everyone was thrilled to be back, even with the threat of exams and their incredible workload. They were all just happy to be together again. That was what made Ivy love her school so much.

And now they were waiting for a guest. After all, Remus had promised that he would get the chance to see the castle. He and Ivy waited at the door as Sirius walked past the gate and onto the grounds, accompanied by a smaller figure to his right.

"Is that him?" Ivy asked, smiling.

"No, Ivy, it's the invisible one on his left."

She smacked him in the arm. "Jerk."

Remus made a face –

" – And no fake wincing like I hurt you. I know that you have no bruises or scratches on that arm from the transformation last week."

"… Damn." He smirked at her. "You're getting too good at this."

"I'm your wife," she reminded him smugly, "I better know when you're faking."

Remus gaped at what she had just intimated, and pointed to the two figures steadily approaching. "There is a small child coming here, can I count on you to behave yourself? Or are you feeling particularly wicked today for no apparent reason?"

Her fingers sneakily threaded between his, her cold hand pressing into his warm palm. "I only get wicked when you get cheeky."

He laughed. "Fair enough. I will refrain from cheeky comments, if you promise to conduct yourself in a proper manner."

"Control freak."

"Unprincipled harlot."

"Stuck-up bookworm."

"Egocentric diva."

"Sycophantic cretin."

Remus side-glanced her, the right corner of his mouth tilting upward. "Do you even know what that means?"

Ivy thumped him in the arm again, and he chuckled.

"What are you two arguing about up there?" Sirius called, now much closer.

"Nothing," they called in unison, both grinning. Remus gave Ivy's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Well, you both better be in good moods today," Sirius warned jokingly, "because this young man has been dying to get a glimpse of this place."

They finally reached the top step, where Sirius made introductions. "All right, Charlie, so here we are at the front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You already know Remus, who's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher here, and this is Ivy Dumbledore, the Headmistress."

"Pleased to meet you," Charlie said instantly with a smile.

Ivy's eyes twinkled. "Hi Charlie. I'm glad you've come to visit us, I've heard so much about you."

"I was afraid I wasn't going to make it."

Ivy raised a questioning eyebrow.

"My mum made such a fuss about my going without her," Charlie explained.

Ivy nearly laughed at the precocious nature of the child. She understood what Remus and Sirius seemed to enjoy about the boy. "Well then, let's not misuse our time. You managed to get here, now it's our job to make sure that the day isn't wasted."

She opened the doors and beckoned everyone after her. Sirius followed immediately, but Charlie tugged on Remus' sleeve, holding him back for a moment.

"Yes, Charlie?"

"She's your wife, isn't she? Sirius told me that your wife was the headmistress."

Remus nodded. "Yes, she is."

Charlie tilted his head as he looked at her. "She's very pretty."

Remus smiled. "Well, thank you." He put a hand on Charlie's back and gently led him inside.

Ivy showed him all the main areas of the school that she would have given anyone on the essential tour. The Great Hall, the library (Charlie's eyes had gone wide with excitement and Ivy found the look all too familiar), the Astronomy Tower, the owlery, and a good window to see the Quidditch Pitch by.

Then she started taking him to see certain classrooms, even though some of them had classes in session. Taking him to the dungeons had been quite a trip, what with Severus' dismayed look, angry twitching, and insistence that they "get that child out of here at once before he injures himself, and good God, get him away from that cauldron".

Remus paused the tour by tapping his wife on the shoulder. "I have to – "

Ivy glanced around and finally found a clock at the end of the hall. "Oh, yeah, you really do have to go, sorry, I lost track of time…"

She noticed that Charlie looked a little crestfallen that Remus was leaving, and suddenly had a great idea. "Why don't you take Charlie with you? I'm sure he'd love to see you teach a class."

Charlie looked ecstatic at the idea, and Remus just couldn't say no. "All right. I hope it won't be too boring for you…"

"No, it sounds really great, I'd love to go!"

Remus nodded, and motioned for Charlie to follow him. Charlie briefly glanced around to see if Sirius would follow, but Sirius shook his head. "You go on, don't worry. I aced that subject and I'm pretty sure that Remus teaching it would put me to sleep – " He grinned at the glare that Remus shot him. " – but you go have fun. We'll catch up with you later."

Charlie nodded enthusiastically and bounded down the hall after Remus. The two of them were in deep conversation by the time they turned the corner.

Sirius watched them go in amazement. "He's so incredible with children…"

Ivy nodded knowingly. "I'd say he's the best balanced here, as far as the staff are concerned. The students respect him without feeling intimidated by him."

"I don't just mean that," Sirius corrected, looking back at her. "He's just amazing with all children. He's got that calming affect going for him, I guess…"

Ivy laughed a little to herself. "So are you, you know. Good with children, I mean."

Sirius waved a disaffected hand at her. "That's just because I'm a big kid myself, everybody knows that."

"Charlie doesn't view you that way," Ivy pointed out. "He just loves you."

"Well, he's a great kid."

"Yeah."

"So what are we going to do for the entire period?"

Ivy smirked. "Well, I know that you're going to say that you're hungry…"

"Of course."

"So why don't we go down to the kitchens and get you fed?"

Sirius immediately turned in the direction of the kitchens, and Ivy wondered if he would always know exactly how to get there from any given point in the castle. "Sounds fantastic."

There was a moment of silence as they started walking before Sirius broke the silence, as he was want to do.

"So how've you two been?"

Ivy shot him a genuine smile, one that reached her warm eyes. "We're okay. Really, we are."

"So all that business about Remus being an idiot with that Texan prat – "

"Who has a name," Ivy reminded him. "But yes, that all settled."

"And all that business about you never risking your life and listening to me next time I tell you not to go looking for a full grown werewolf alone – "

"Is also settled," Ivy answered agitatedly. "No, he was much better after what happened in the Hospital Wing. He said a lot of things that he needed to say."

"No shit," Sirius sighed. "I'm just glad that you're both all right. I was worried about you back in the fall."

"Believe me, so was I," Ivy conceded.

"… Do you think…" Sirius did not know if he wanted to ask this question, or even if it was okay for him to ask it. "Do you think that there was a chance that… that it could have ended?"

Ivy let out a large breath, like she'd been expecting the question, but hadn't expected it to hit so hard. "God… do I? Sirius…. I've asked myself that a few times. Could I have really walked away from him – because I almost did. I almost walked away, but he pulled me back…"

Sirius' eyes went wide with fear. It couldn't happen. Not to them. If it could happen to them, it could happen to anyone. Ron and Hermione. Ginny and Harry. Hell, it could have happened to James and Lily…

It had happened to Guinevere.

"… Even if I had walked away, would I have been able to stay away?" Ivy continued, asking the question as much to herself as to him. "Would I have been able to turn everything on its head again, and tell myself again that I was leaving him behind because it just hurt too damn much?"

The question lingered in the air for a long time.

But Ivy sighed. "Sirius, I hate that man as much as I love him. I hate him because somewhere along the line, somewhere between every long talk in front of that damn fireplace, every meaningful glance that we couldn't translate, every simple touch that made my head spin for no apparent reason – somewhere along that line, he took my heart from me. I don't remember giving it to him, so he must have taken it. And the worst part is, he knows just how to squeeze it. For better or worse, he knows exactly what to do, exactly what will make me smile, make me laugh, make me see sunshine on rainy days, and he knows exactly what will make me cry, make me scared, make my entire world fall down around me…. And it's hard knowing that he has that power. And I know he would never intentionally misuse it, but it could happen on accident. He could break me, he knows how…"

Sirius thought he should say something. He couldn't.

"The bottom line is, I knew that I loved him when I saw that he had that power, and I realized that I secretly wanted him to have it. Some hidden part of me was overjoyed that he was the one person who had me figured out, like I was some damned manual he found in the school library, and he just never returned the fucking book."

She shook her head as they rounded another corner. "And I left sixteen years ago, thinking that he had let me go, and that meant I had to leave. But he wasn't lying when he said he was selfish…" Her voice dropped to a whisper, and Sirius could see her biting her lip, trying to hold something back, maybe tears.

"… He never gave my heart back to me. Maybe he didn't know he still had it, maybe he never knew he did, not the way he knows now. But he kept it, and I moved on, and never realized that the reason I felt so lost and dead in the world was because I was a half-person, I guess. And then I came back here, I came home and found what I was missing, and I was so mad at him for keeping it from me, but it didn't matter because I loved him so much – "

She took a deep breath, calming herself down. She would not break down in the hallway, not because Sirius had asked her a simple question that required a simple answer. She hadn't given him the answer yet.

"I wouldn't have stayed away, even if I had left. It couldn't have ended, no matter how much it hurt because he stole something from me that belongs to him now. And he can bring me joy or pain, it's up to him. And I'm okay with that because I just love him too fucking much…"

She paused for a moment and had the grace to laugh at herself. "So I guess my marriage is pretty normal, then."

Sirius blinked. "No, I wouldn't say that, Ivy. I wouldn't say that ever. But I will say that you're lucky. Damn lucky."

Ivy smiled. "So when are you gonna find yourself a nice girl?" she said in her best matchmaker voice.

"No, no, no, no, no," Sirius said immediately. "We're not turning this into a conversation about me."

"Well, you better think of a different topic before we get to the kitchens, or you won't be happy with how much I'm going to bug you." She stopped and revised her tactics. "How's work?"

"Fine," Sirius said, instantly relieved. "Got some really interesting cases, people that I think we can really help."

Ivy wasn't stupid. He said "we".

Her eyes twinkled in a familiar fashion. "Do tell…"

---

Charlie listened with rapt attention to Remus' every word. He was absolutely engrossed, and he nearly fainted when the students pulled out their wands and practiced incantations. He watched Remus write notes on the board, and was very upset that he hadn't brought a notebook to write all of this down in.

When the class was over, Charlie was devastated. Couldn't they have had just ten more minutes?

Remus answered questions for the lingering fifth years, and when they were gone, he started shuffling the essays that his class had handed in at the beginning of the period. Once they were in order, he placed all of the papers into his briefcase and turned to Charlie.

"So what did you think?" He wasn't about to ask the boy if he was bored, not with how Charlie looked ready to take on a vampire at that very moment, just from the knowledge he had learned.

"It was amazing! You teach the best subject in the world, you're so lucky!"

Remus laughed quietly. "Yes, I'm very lucky. Lucky for a lot of things. But I wish every student was as engrossed as you were, it would make the classes much more interesting for me."

The boy was suddenly silent, and Remus wondered if he'd said something to upset him. "Charlie?"

"I just…" Charlie started, staring at the floor. "I just wish I could be in your world. I wish I had magic. I would love to learn what the kids learn here. And I would love to live in this castle."

Remus pulled his chair up next to the boy and sat down. Now was the time to listen, he knew. He had always been good at knowing those moments.

"Was it easier for people to accept you as a werewolf in this world?" Charlie asked.

Remus shook his head. "I would like to tell you differently, but most of them are afraid of us, and hostile. Like I said, I have been lucky."

"But how can I tell people who don't even know they exist?"

Remus pressed his lips together. This was going to be a very difficult conversation. "They probably wouldn't believe you, and if you tried to show them, it would scare them very badly."

The boy's mouth twitched. "Then where do I belong? What can I do? What do I pick?"

"You don't."

Charlie looked up at him quizzically.

Remus knew that Charlie was a smart boy; he trusted that he would be able to understand this. "You need both worlds, Charlie. You'll have to live in your own, that's probably where you'll work, that's where you'll learn, that's where your family is. But you can take from our world too, you can meet people who understand you, who aren't afraid or think that you're something from a ghost story. How much you become a part of this world is up to you. You know it exists now, and you can have access to it, just ask any of us."

Charlie smiled. "If you sent me a letter, would an owl come to my house?"

"Certainly. Why?"

"I liked it when it happened the first time. My dad freaked out."

Remus chuckled. "Well then, we'll have to send a letter at least once a month to make sure that your father is sufficiently inconvenienced."

"Really? You promise?"

"I promise. I can even send you some of the notes that I use for myself when I'm teaching, if you'd like to learn more about this subject."

"Yes! Yes, please!"

"It's all settled then. I'll send you notes for the class, and you can write me back with questions, and what you thought about the lessons."

Charlie beamed. Remus knew that had to have been the way his face had lit up as a child when he had been told he could come to Hogwarts. He knew he had done the right thing.

"Come on," he said. Getting out of his chair and picking up his briefcase. "Let's go find Sirius and Ivy. We'll take you to meet Hagrid."

"Who's Hagrid?"

"You'll love him. Trust me."

---

Ivy could not recall a time in her life when she had ever been this nervous. Hell, terrified was a better word, really.

What will he say? Oh my God, was this a mistake? How did I let this happen?

Nothing was coherent, nothing made sense. All that existed was her heart, which was pounding out of her chest, and her stomach, which kept tying in knots and shaking so she couldn't get a proper breath.

It was amazing how twenty minutes could change your whole life. That was all it had taken to change hers.

But no, that wasn't really true. It took less time than that. Much less.

After all, her life had changed from the moment that she met him, hadn't it?

But what will he say?

She didn't know if she could take the answer right now, but she couldn't keep everything locked up. She couldn't keep this from him. Even if it made him angry, or scared, or confused. He had to know. She wanted him to know.

Didn't she?

Remus and Sirius were sitting down in the kitchens. It was the weekend and Sirius had wanted to talk to Remus about some of the cases that he was dealing with, see if his friend could come up with any good advice, any ideas that he hadn't thought of yet. They were both rather alarmed when they saw Ivy come barreling into the room looking like something shot at and hit.

"Remus, can I talk to you?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

He tilted his head in a worried fashion. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just have to talk to you alone right now."

Sirius wanted to make a smartass comment about being left behind, but Ivy looked too frantic. Remus stood up and guided her over to the other end of the kitchens. Sirius wouldn't be able to hear them over there, as the kitchens were a large area considering how many people the house elves had to cook for, and Remus wanted to keep her near an oven or a fireplace because she was shaking like she had the flu.

"Ivy, what's – "

"I might have really screwed things up," Ivy said instantly.

Remus frowned. "Screwed what up?"

"Us. Everything…. I just don't know, you'll have to tell me. But I don't know how to start…"

He ducked down, trying to find her eyes. "What are you talking about? What's happened?"

"I don't want you to be mad at me. I wasn't thinking, it was all my fault, I usually take care of things like that, I just wasn't thinking because we had been arguing and then suddenly we weren't anymore and I didn't think – "

"You already said that," Remus cut in, trying to calm her down by being short with her. "Now you have to tell me what's going on. What did you do that would make you this upset?"

She looked up at him for a moment, opened her mouth like she wanted to say something. But Remus could actually see the words catching in her chest. Right below her heart, right above her diaphragm, they stopped and refused to go any further.

"I can't," Ivy said, the words coming out like a dry sob. "I don't know how to say it. Every way seems so inadequate for changing everything this much, especially if you're not okay with this…"

Remus grabbed hold of her shoulders and pulled her gently toward him, though part of him wanted to shake her a bit because she was getting hysterical. "Changing what? What's changed?"

Her eyes locked with his. She wouldn't answer, but she was praying that he somehow understood. What could she have done that was so terrible that she can't bear to tell me?

So he started trying to see if anything was different. She looked the same, despite the fact that she looked a little ill, and as though she hadn't slept well. He didn't remember her tossing or turning in her sleep, though, so he wasn't sure why she would be tired. She hadn't been spending a lot of time with Clayton, and he had no reason to be suspicious about that anyway. No one they knew was injured or hurt that he was aware of…

He took a deep breath, sighing at how easily she could always manage to confuse him –

What was that?

He pulled Ivy into to him, burying his face in her neck and inhaling deeply. Ivy whimpered anxiously, instinctively trying to lean away from him, not understanding how that would let him know…

Remus continued to breathe. He moved to the other side of her neck, her shoulder, down close to her breast, and then his nose came back up, trailing the edge of Ivy's jaw line while she stood still as a statue in dread.

Remus' eyes widened.

My God…

He had wondered why she hadn't died that night in the Forbidden Forest. She should have. He should have killed her or bitten her, something should have happened. But Sirius told him that the wolf had stopped when they had gotten there, he had been eyeing her, smelling her…

It didn't make sense at the time. The wolf did not know Ivy was someone to protect.

But the wolf would know this.

Ivy would have been safe in the forest that night from every beast and monster that dwelled there. The wolf would have fought to protect her from everything, would never have laid a claw on her.

And Remus' world would never be the same.

But Ivy was still staring up at him, breathing shortly, checking his eyes frantically like she was hoping to read something, anything. Something to let her know what he was going to say, so she could prepare herself for the blow…

Remus reached down and placed a hand against her stomach. He felt her unconsciously lean into the touch, craving the warmth.

"What are we going to name her?" he asked softly.

Ivy's eyes lit like shooting stars, and she had never looked more beautiful to him than she did at that moment.

"It's a girl?" she whispered.

He nodded, the smile on his face so honest and warm that she burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck.

"I was so worried that you'd be mad at me!"

Remus almost laughed, but he knew that wouldn't make her feel better. "Good heavens, why?"

"I've always been so careful about that, we'd never discussed it, so I wasn't going to let it happen. It was just that night…"

"I know," he said gently, his arms hanging around her loosely, as he no longer knew what was appropriate. "We both knew that something had changed."

"But I never thought – "

" – Me neither."

"I mean, this means that – "

" – I know."

Ivy had a brief moment of wondering how often they said that to each other – I know. Two very important little words. He knew.

And thank God he did.

She tilted her head up slightly. "You can actually hold me, you know, she won't get squished."

And then he did laugh, laughed hard as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her carefully. He didn't know it was possible to be so terrified and elated about the future at the same time.

He also didn't know that it was possible to love someone so much before you had ever met them.

Suddenly, every silly gesture between James and Lily during her pregnancy made so much sense. Every look that confused Remus, every phrase that sounded odd, how proud James had been of his precious Lily, and how every little thing worried him into a coma.

How had James survived that?

Sirius had walked up behind Ivy, trying to catch Remus' eye over her shoulder. What's going on? he mouthed in confusion.

Remus thought of letting Ivy tell him. It was really her place…

To hell with her place. He was too damn proud.

She's pregnant, he mouthed back delicately.

Sirius blinked at him quizzically.

Clearly, those weren't the words he was expecting because he didn't understand. Remus tried again.

Sirius' jaw dropped to the floor. He looked like he might faint before Remus did.

Ivy pulled away from her husband, knowing that Sirius was behind her. Well, she hadn't been planning on keeping the secret for long, anyway.

When she turned around, she found Sirius beaming at her. "You ready to be a godfather again?" she asked.

He walked to her, grasping both of her hands in one of his. "So now I've finally seen her – the most beautiful woman in the world!"

"Yeah, sure. That's what you say now before I get all fat, and my feet swell up."

"Rubbish." He put a finger under her chin, brushing it with his thumb. "My Little Sister's going to have a baby…"

He pulled her into him and gave her a tight squeeze around the shoulders, then immediately dropped his hand to her stomach. "How far along are you?"

"Three months, plus one day," Ivy recited dutifully. "Madam Pomfrey says that she's due on July ninth."

"She told you the gender?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"No, that was me," Remus corrected.

Sirius snorted. "How the bloody hell do you know?"

Remus shrugged. "There's a difference in the scent."

Sirius' brow furrowed in thought. "So if she's due on the ninth… wait, I bet I can figure out the conception date, just give me a second…"

"And how would you know how to figure that out?" Ivy asked amusedly.

Sirius paused his train of thought for a moment. "There was a midwife who lived in a cabin really close to Godric Hollow. Sometimes when I was over at James' house during the summer, his mum would have us bring the lady pies and stuff. She used to give me weird bits of information like that."

"And why do you care?" she asked.

"It's fun to figure out," Sirius insisted.

Ivy looked back at Remus, who shook his head in amusement.

"So…" Sirius started up again. "If the baby's due on the ninth then you would've had to conceive some time around… let's see…"

His eyes went wide again, as he pointed back and forth between the two of them. "You…"

Two sets of eyes drifted to the ground sheepishly.

"That day?" Sirius interrogated in shock. "You two were going at it like you were about to call it quits, you were both livid, you vanished in a huff, and then you came back here and you – "

" – It's called 'make up sex', Sirius," Ivy clarified jokingly.

"That's not exactly what I would have called it," Remus said significantly.

Ivy looked at him, knowing what he was referring to. "No… I guess we really couldn't call it that." She understood, but Sirius was far too hilarious to watch at this point, and she had to tease her Big Brother again, just a bit. "Wait, Remus, didn't we decide to file it under 'mind-blowing' – "

"Okay! That's enough!" Sirius cried. "You two are very, very sick individuals. I'm going to go wash my brain out in the courtyard fountain and then go talk to Flitwick. He'll be able to clear my head of any inappropriate thought, he'll tell me about some wonderfully mundane article that he found in Charms For the World of Tomorrow, or something…"

Sirius grabbed up his cloak and stalked out of the kitchens, muttering to himself.

Ivy felt Remus walk up behind her. "After all the fuss he makes about me not giving him details, you'd think he would have been thrilled to know that."

"But we scared him that day," Ivy reminded him. "He really thought that we were getting a divorce."

She felt gentle hands turn her around. "Never," he said quietly. "Could never let go of you. You wouldn't have even made it to the door."

She tilted her head curiously at him. "You wouldn't have let me leave?"

He shook his head slowly, his nose brushing against hers. She was grateful for the hands at her back, keeping her steady. "Need you too much. It's kind of pathetic, really. You're right up there with shelter and sunlight and air – "

Ivy smiled and grabbed him by the tie, pulling him down to kiss him tenderly. She felt his tongue carefully stroke hers as though she were made of glass, and knew that she would have to get used to being treated that way over the next several months. But she didn't mind so much.

When she finally released him, she listened to him breathe. "I guess I rank above air," she taunted with a mischievous smile.

"Mm-hm," he gasped, resting his forehead against hers. After a moment, he smiled.

"What?" Ivy asked.

"We're going to need more room," he said with a smirk.

Ivy giggled at the cliché and tugged the tie once more, pulling his lips back down to hers.

And Remus sighed into her mouth, amazed at how quickly life could change, and how much of this he never would have dreamed for. And though he never was the type to believe in miracles, he realized he better start.

Because life was suddenly full of them.

---

Bruce always knocked with a specific rhythm, so Sirius just automatically let him in, knowing who was on the other side of the door. Tonight was no exception, and as Sirius was busy trying to screw hooks into the wall adjacent to the door (it was easier than looking for a coat rack and he was so bloody bored), he simply opened the door and went back to his screwdriver and large brass-looking things that people could hang coats on. He could hear Bruce bound in with his usual buoyancy.

"What are you doing?" came the first, obvious question.

"I'm practicing my talent for the Miss Magical of the UK Pageant."

"… And your talent is screwing things into walls? Or is it just screwing things in general?"

Sirius lost it at that one. He laughed into one hand, trying to keep the screwdriver straight with the other. One of the things that he really liked about Bruce – he knew how to dish Sirius' sarcasm right back to him. It was nice to spend time with someone who always had a comeback, but wasn't scathing (like Guinevere), or too smart (like Remus).

"But really," Bruce started, stepping over to where Sirius was working, "can't you just swish the wand and be done with that?"

"I could," Sirius admitted, "but I wanted something distracting that would take up more of my time. This is much more difficult." He glanced over at him. "How do you people get by?"

Bruce grinned. "One day at a time, just like everyone else." He looked down at the hooks and screws still on the floor. "Do you want some help?"

"Nah," Sirius replied. "It'll just give me less to do, which will defeat the purpose of doing it without a wand. Thanks, though."

Bruce nodded. "Hope you don't mind that I'm dropping in here before I visit dear old sis. I don't know if I can handle her yet."

"She in a mood?" Sirius asked, motioning him over to couch and going quickly to the liquor cabinet to pull out the whiskey and shot glasses.

"It's Gwen – she's always in a mood."

Sirius glanced up at the ceiling. "Fair enough. Anything in particular this time?"

Bruce took the glass of whiskey Sirius offered with a thankful nod. "She hasn't been bothering you that much lately, has she? I've noticed a definite dissipation in the hostilities between you two."

Sirius didn't really know where that comment was going, so he teased Bruce instead. "'Dissipation'? 'Hostilities'? Rather big vocabulary you got for a farmhand, wouldn't you say?"

Bruce smirked and shrugged. "Hey, I went to school, you know. Studied all those fancy dead authors that everyone raves about."

"Don't let your sister hear you talk like that."

"Eh, she knows about me and literature. She usually just resorts to calling me 'ill-bred' and 'unworthy of being her twin'. I don't see it so much about being 'worthy' as I see it about being halves. Twins are funny that way." Bruce grinned wickedly. "I like to think that I'm the fun half."

Sirius shrugged. "I don't think many could argue with you there."

"But really, you two seem to get along much better now," Bruce said, setting his glass down after another sip of liquor.

Sirius shrugged again. "Yeah, we've gotten used to the situation, I suppose. She's not so terrible when she isn't taking offense to everything you say."

"Which I know isn't often," Bruce said sympathetically. "Thank you for spending time with her. I can't tell you how grateful I am, she really needs friends…. She also told me that you helped her when she ran into her ex a few months ago."

Sirius glanced up sharply. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing that Guinevere told him that. "She told you about that?"

"Only because I ran into the bastard the other day, and wanted to warn her that he was in town. She said that she already ran into him and that bitch friend of hers a while ago, and that you pulled her out of there before she made herself look ridiculous."

Sirius was instantly relieved at the fact that Guinevere hadn't given details. He didn't know how Bruce would have reacted to knowing Sirius' strategy for getting Guinevere out of the supermarket, but it was definitely a conversation that he did not want to have. "Well, it was the least I could do. The man's clearly a complete wanker, and I didn't want to see Guinevere try and stumble through that conversation, it would have been too cruel."

"Yeah…" Bruce's mind seemed to travel for a moment before he looked back down at Sirius. "She's really gotten used to you."

"Mm?" Sirius murmured, feigning complete ignorance at the subject the other man was trying to broach.

"Guinevere has," Bruce clarified, knowing full well that Sirius knew exactly who he was talking about. "The other day when I came over for dinner, she set a place for you by accident."

Sirius felt some of his whiskey go down the wrong pipe, and tried not to cough, but kept the glass firmly in his hand so he would have another place to look. "Oh, heh… well, I guess – "

"It was really funny when I brought it up. She turned bright pink."

"Yeah, well…" Sirius looked up at the ceiling, but then he remembered who was above his ceiling and how that must look. He decided on the floor instead. "I guess it would be pretty embarrassing to set a table for more people than you intended…"

Bruce rolled his eyes, knowing that Sirius wouldn't notice the expression. "Last week when she made pasta, she used the corkscrew kind."

Sirius continued to look at the floor intently, emitting some sort of noncommittal laugh at the comment.

"… She never uses anything but spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine," Bruce blurted out importantly. "So I figure you're the one who started that…"

Sirius almost felt like he was being accused of something, and although he didn't know what it was, he knew he didn't like the feeling. "It was sort of a joke," he tried to explain. "We were at the supermarket, and she got all worked up over a certain kind of pasta not being there…. It's not a big deal really, just a sort of joke…"

"Yeah, you said that," Bruce sighed. He rubbed at the back of his head and drained his glass. "I should probably go up there…"

Sirius nodded and stood up. "Yeah, don't want to piss her off…. Thanks for dropping by…"

Bruce smiled. "Yeah, no problem. Thanks for always letting me."

There was a stamp on the ceiling and Sirius jolted nervously before realizing what the noise was. Bruce looked at him quizzically.

Sirius grinned. "She always does this…" he attempted for his explanation. When Bruce continued to look at him in a puzzled manner, Sirius just gave up, walked over to his window, opened it, and stuck his head out.

She was waiting dutifully above his head. "Have you got my damn brother down there, or not? He's late, and I do have better things I could be doing with my time, you know…"

"Such as?" Sirius questioned with a smirk.

"Planning a hypothetical herb garden for this useless flower box outside my kitchen window," she shot back.

Sirius fought back the urge to laugh. She was getting faster with her retorts every day, it was really exhilarating to listen to. "Why would you want to do that in the dead of winter?"

"Who are you to question when I do my garden planning? I keep everything on a tight schedule, you know that. And it just so happens that the only time I have to do hypothetical herb garden planning is right at this very moment."

Sirius pushed the window open all the way and sat on the ledge. "Oh, the pain and complexities of being you!" he cried melodramatically.

Guinevere gave him a sardonic half-smile. "You have no idea…. Now, where's my daft brother?"

Sirius' door opened at that very moment and Bruce stepped out with his coat in hand. "Right here. You know, you should spend more time with this chap, he's got nothing to do down here. He's screwing hooks into walls."

Guinevere raised her eyebrows. "That's what all the noise was? Good God, I had vainly hoped that maybe you had decided to clean the place…"

"It's always clean down here," Sirius huffed. "Compared to your place it's cleaner than the virtue of Joan of Arc."

"And you know about that how?"

"I read it," he called up defensively. "I read about it in a book. There are lots of books down here, in case you hadn't noticed. Why does everyone act like I don't read or try to learn anything? I do, I just read fast – "

" – Otherwise known as skimming," Guinevere interjected.

"No," Sirius grumbled crossly, "I read fast and soak up material easily. That's why school was painless for me."

"Anyway," Bruce interrupted before they could start arguing, "What I meant to say was you should do something during the week days. Play board games or something." As he was walking up the stairs, he glanced over his shoulder at Sirius. "She likes chess."

Sirius snorted. "Remus was always the chess master, not me. Although James used to have delusions that he could beat him, which was naturally impossible…." He paused for a moment, shaking himself of the memory that had surfaced too vividly. "I'm sure dear Guinevere would love playing chess with me – she'd have me beat in five moves."

"Which would make playing chess no different than our real life relationship, wouldn't it, Sirius?" Guinevere called down smugly, as Bruce disappeared into her flat. "Beaten in five moves?"

"Wench."

"Shirtlifter."

Sirius gawped at her in mock offense. "So we're taking jabs at my sexuality now, is it?"

Guinevere shrugged disaffectedly. "If you can say that I sleep with people for money, then I have every right to say that you have sex with men."

"At least yours is a profession!" Sirius complained.

She sighed. "You know, Sirius, I really don't have time to argue about this. I have company, after all."

Sirius laughed. "Oh, that's fine. Just run away, you coward."

She ignored his attempt to provoke her, instead noticing how thin his shirt was. "And get inside or put a bloody jacket on. You're making me cold."

With that, she pulled her head back in and shut her window.

Sirius thought of staying out there on the ledge for another ten minutes, just to piss her off, but then he remembered that she wouldn't know he was doing it, so that defeated the purpose. He stretched idly and slid off the ledge back into his flat, closing the window behind him.

Five minutes later Guinevere stuck her head outside her window to make sure that Sirius had gone inside.

---

The protestors had been getting restless. Everyday there was some new report in the Daily Prophet about the latest rally, the next move. There was always some comment about Professor Lupin and how Headmistress Dumbledore was pulling strings to avert eyes from what she was allowing her husband to do at the school. Remus had stopped reading the paper.

That day during dinner, Minerva approached the table and called Ivy away. Remus watched over his shoulder, ignoring Clayton's glare, which he didn't bother to hide while Ivy was not present.

He watched as Ivy talked to Minerva in hushed tones, her hands bracing her back gingerly. She was nearly five months along now, and showing quite nicely through her green maternity robes, her hair falling gracefully into her face from the loose twist she had pulled it into. Her back gave her trouble and her feet had swelled a little, but Remus couldn't deny that pregnancy agreed with her. She glowed from the first locks of hair on top of her head all the way down to her aching toes. Her smile alone seemed to have raised the spirits of the whole school, and every student was acting as though they had a sibling on the way.

Some of the students (particularly the older male ones) gave Remus sly congratulatory looks when Minerva gave the news in January during dinner one evening. Remus tried not to linger on what they might be thinking about to look so smug…. It was just odd… they were still children, for God's sake, even if they were of legal age…

They hadn't thought of a name for her yet, much to Sirius' constant dismay. He threatened to start up a contest at work for names, if they didn't think of one soon. He didn't like calling her "our girl" anymore, and insisted that she needed a proper title.

Remus found that heightened senses were a blessing in this case, and normally could tell what Ivy wanted or needed before she asked for it. And he waited on her hand and foot because, honestly, how could he do any different when she was being so brave and tender and selfless?

If she needed cheddar cheese and lemon wedges at three in the morning, he certainly wouldn't argue.

If she started crying when she spilled sugar on the rug, she had his shoulder to bury her head in.

If she felt overwhelmed by work, he could forge her signature on any number of documents, turn out letters that sounded as though she had written them carefully herself.

And if she suddenly had a tormenting whipped cream and ice cube fetish… well, that just made things more interesting for him…

He snapped out of his train of thought when he noticed that Ivy seemed upset. She was shaking her head vehemently at Minerva, motioning sharply with her hands, tugging on loose strands of her hair nervously. He stood up and walked over to them, just in time to hear the words, "Well, I'll have to go out there…"

"No, Ivy, you absolutely cannot – "

"Why? What's going on?" Remus asked.

Ivy jumped at his voice, while Minerva looked away. It had to be bad, Remus realized. Minerva never looked away.

"Nothing," Ivy answered in a shrill pitch. "We have something to take care of, that's all."

Remus' eyes narrowed. "What?"

"It's nothing, really," Ivy said again in a pleading tone. "Don't worry about it."

A twangy voice joined in on the conversation from the table. "Wouldn't have anythin' ta do with the shoutin' I keep hearin' outside, would it?"

Ivy glared at Clayton for divulging the information.

Remus focused his fine-tuned hearing and listened, and he noticed that he could hear a voice outside. A voice that sounded like it was being projected from a far distance…

"This monstrosity has access to our children!"

His jaw set. "The protestors."

Ivy's head dropped down. "Please, just let me take care of it…"

Remus ignored her request and left the Great Hall in a rush, hearing her shuffling patter behind him as she hurried to keep up with his stride.

She managed to catch up with him and grabbed him by his sleeve at the door. "Don't go out there," she begged in a whisper. "Don't do this, we can't let them see you now. The situation has become too dangerous lately, you know that."

He took her hand from his sleeve and squeezed it reassuringly. "I won't do anything stupid. I just want to know if there's any way to end this. I have to talk to them, I promise that's all I'll do."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going with you."

He shook his head. "I don't want them to use you to try and provoke me."

"No choice, I'm coming. I'll bring Minerva and Hagrid, but I'm still coming."

Remus heaved a troubled sigh, but there was nothing for it. So he left the castle with Ivy at his side and cautiously approached the gates.

The protestors shouted with renewed fervor as he reached the gates, and Cynthia Dammers was waiting at the front with a joyful smile in place. Signs were raised, the crowd pushed forward, and Ms. Dammers quieted them for a moment.

Remus stepped forward, but Ivy took hold of his arm, never leaving his side. He thought he smelled something putrid amongst the crowd, but couldn't find a place where it could be coming from. Maybe it was just the collective scent of so much fear and enmity.

"I don't see the need for this, Ms. Dammers," Remus called calmly. "People will believe what they believe, so why do you need to be here in front of this school, disrupting our lesson plans?"

"Oh, Professor Lupin," she shouted back harshly, "it is so good of you to play the part of the gentleman for us. That must be how you've managed to stay among the decent, hard-working people of our world for so long, and tricked this fine woman into marrying you – "

"Ms. Dammers, who hurt you?" Remus asked suddenly. "Who made you so bitter and hateful that you feel the need to come here and ruin the lives of others? Was it a werewolf? A vampire?" He motioned behind him, where Hagrid and Minerva now stood. "A giant? Because I can't think of any other reason for anyone to be filled with so much loathing and resentment toward people they don't know."

Ms. Dammers glared at Remus as though she wanted to rip his vocal chords out with her bare hands. But she had a better weapon.

Her words.

"You see them, you see what they have done!" she cried to the crowd. "Trying to turn our children against us, trying to trick us into thinking that they're receiving a good education! And now you can see!" she raged, pointing to Ivy. "Now you can see what it all leads to! The headmistress of Hogwarts has been compromised. Look what these fake innocents have between them! Leave a werewolf around any woman for long enough and he'll mark his territory! An abomination of nature! A child of demonic, cursed descent!"

Remus had been prepared for that particular blow, but that didn't make it any less agonizing, especially when he felt Ivy shudder and clutch his arm tighter, her free hand landing protectively on her belly. He didn't really care much about what they said in regard to him. They could call him names, tell lies, make him sound like a monster. But acting like they could righteously bring his wife and unborn child into this made him blindingly furious.

It seemed that Ivy could feel him tense up, however, because she squeezed his arm and whispered, "You promised."

He nodded to her, never taking his eyes off of Cynthia Dammers' smug face.

"Ms. Dammers, we politely request that you and your party leave these premises, and allow us to get back to work," he said with surprising calm.

She smiled again, making Remus itch to pull his wand from his pocket and hex her. "Of course, Professor. But I fear that things will only get more difficult from now on. The following is gaining momentum – you will not be safe for long."

Remus pursed his lips together. "Until next time, then."

"Yes, until then."

The protestors filed out slowly, packing away their signs and shouting obscenities back in their direction as they left. Remus looked to Ivy confusedly.

"Why did they listen to me? They didn't have to leave, why didn't they stay and continue the protest?"

Ivy shrugged and pulled on his arm. "I don't care, Remus, let's just get back inside."

But she wasn't looking him in the eye. He stayed put, holding her in place. "What aren't you telling me?"

"It's nothing," she pleaded. "Let's just go inside."

"Ivy…"

She bit her lip. "There's a Disillusionment Charm cast on the gates. I can sense it. She must have cast it early in the morning when they arrived."

Remus blinked in surprise. "What for?"

"I don't know," Ivy answered back testily. "But I'm sure that we won't like whatever it's covering up, if they left it."

"If that's the case then we should it handle now," Remus pointed out. "If the charm is timed, it could wear out later, maybe tomorrow, when the students are more likely to see it."

"But – "

"It's probably just some signs posted on the gates, or some other rubbish," Remus continued. "Let's just get rid of it now, so we don't have to worry about it later."

Ivy turned around to look at Minerva. "What do you think?"

The older woman sighed. "We might as well," she decided. "I will perform the counter charm and we'll see what we're dealing with."

Minerva approached the gates cautiously with her wand in hand. After a few moments, she muttered the incantation –

And nearly tripped backwards at the sight.

"Dear God…"

Strung up on the gates was the body of a male werewolf, ripped to pieces the way a werewolf hunter did the job. Insides on the outside, muzzle torn open and mutilated, each limb chained to the gates with silver links. The golden eyes were glassy, open and angry, the claws extended. He probably fought to his death. Blood was running down the gates, a muddy brown against the iron as light faded from the evening sky.

Ivy gasped and covered her mouth like she was going to be sick, her other hand tightening around her stomach fearfully. She made a strangled noise in the back of her throat and reached for her husband –

But he wasn't there.

Remus had stepped back as though he had been slapped. That was the scent he had caught. It wasn't fear or hate. It was death.

If these are the lengths they are willing to go to…

He spun around, breathing raggedly with a hand against his chest – why did it suddenly feel like something was squeezing there? - and started back toward the castle. He thought he heard someone call after him, but everything seemed abruptly fuzzy, the scent of the werewolf on the gates blocking out everything else in his mind.

"Remus!" Ivy called again. She looked to Minerva, who nodded.

"Go to him. Severus and Hagrid and I will take care of this."

Ivy set off after her husband, but it was very difficult keeping up with such a tall man when one was five months pregnant and much shorter. She hurried as fast as she could, followed him into the castle, up the stairwell, around three corners, and finally ended up at the door to his office. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself and then turned the doorknob.

The door wouldn't open.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. She knocked, feeling very stupid that she had to do so.

"Remus?"

She thought she heard some sort of gasp on the other side of the door.

"Remus, can I come in?"

There was a long pause.

"…I think it's best if you don't."

"Why?"

"I need time to think."

Ivy wanted to laugh, which she knew was out of nervousness. Why did he sound so morbidly calm? "Think about what?"

"About what this means for us…. We might have made a mistake…"

Ivy was truly amazed that those words made her want to throw up more than seeing that poor being strung up in front of the castle. But he couldn't be saying that. It had to be a reaction of panic, and he would stop all of this in the next few seconds and have a breakdown, and they would talk about what they could do, and everything would be all right…

But Remus wasn't saying anything.

"Remus, don't do this."

"I should have really thought about what this would mean for a child," he said distantly, his voice barely audible from behind the door.

"No…" Ivy moaned. He couldn't do this now. Not now, not when she needed his strength…

"If these protests continue…. We should have thought more carefully about this."

"When?" Ivy cried, thankful that the students were probably all in their dorms by now for the night, and wouldn't see this episode. "When should we have done that, Remus? By the time we found out, it was already done!"

"…Should have been more careful…"

Ivy felt her anger flare up. "Who? You or me, Remus? Which one of us should have been more careful?"

When he gave her no answer, Ivy pounded her fists against the office door and shrieked.

"God damn you! You come out here and talk to me right now! Do you hear me? Open the door, right now, Remus!"

She got no answer.

Ivy had one last chance. She tried to use wandless magic to open the door. It didn't budge. The locking charms had been fortified.

Giving one last pointless pound with her fist, Ivy sobbed against the door and felt her knees give out. Turning around so that her back was braced by the doorframe, she slid to the floor as tears came trailing down her flushed cheeks.

---

When Remus woke up, he found that he was still his office chair. It appeared that he had dozed off, probably about an hour after his fight with Ivy. He had just felt so heavy, like everything had waited until that moment to ambush him and drag him to the ground.

But the morning brings clarity, and now he had a frightful amount of it.

Ivy…

She should have known that he didn't know what he was saying last night, he was in too much shock. But if she had really listened to anything he had said…

He leapt out of his chair and made for the door. Getting rid of the heavy locking charms that he vaguely remembered putting in place last night, he opened it –

And nearly jumped out of skin at the sight on the other side.

She was heaped against the wall beside the door, her head ducked down and resting against the doorframe. One hand lay on top of her belly, the other was wrapped around her opposite shoulder, her legs folded under her.

She had stayed out there all night.

He suddenly felt a trickle of memory running at the back of his mind. A memory that as he was drifting off last night, he could hear her crying on the other side of the door…

Had he really been that far gone? So completely consumed in his own terror and grief that he had chosen not to notice her weeping outside his office all night?

But then his mind recalled the image of two frozen yellow eyes tied to iron bars, and he shivered. Yes, he had been that far gone yesterday. He only had himself to blame, but he couldn't push the image from his mind.

It didn't change the fact that he had left his pregnant wife on a cold stone floor, crying all night.

He had to stop this once and for all. No more running, no more silence. He was so tired of hurting the people that he loved.

He crouched down beside Ivy and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face, his fingers gently sweeping around the shell of her ear to tuck them in place. He heard her groan tiredly, the hand on her stomach rubbing subconsciously in a reassuring manner. He smiled. She would be such a good mother.

Swollen eyelids opened slowly, but she didn't jerk or gasp or shout when she saw him. Instead, she just stared carefully into his eyes. She was being cautious even though she could see his smile. She did not trust it to last.

A raw voice squeezed out so tensely, it seemed like she might cry again at any moment.

"Do you really think I should have been more careful?" she asked softly.

She sounded so ashamed that it broke Remus' heart.

"No," he said tenderly, pulling her into his arms. He stroked her back, which he knew had to be sore, especially after spending the night in her current position.

"You sounded like you didn't want – "

Remus put a hand to her mouth and hushed her. "Don't ever think that. Everything that I have in the world is right here."

Ivy shut her eyes tightly in relief, letting her lips fall haphazardly against his. It wasn't a kiss of passion or even romance, it was a kiss that said show me what I am to you, let me feel how much I'm needed…

And so he showed her.

"I thought of a name for her," Ivy said a minute later.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "You did?"

She nodded. "I don't know if you'll like it, but…" She paused for a moment. "Delilah."

Remus smiled, let the sound of the name drift in his mind. "Beautiful."

"Really? You like it?"

"It's perfect. And now we can get Sirius to leave us alone about naming her," he teased. "But first, we're getting you upstairs."

He helped her to her feet and braced her back as she straightened herself out.

"You're taking a warm bath and spending the rest of the day in bed," he ordered.

"That sounds good," she agreed. "You'll stay with me?"

He nodded. "At your beck and call all day."

"Then let's get out of here," Ivy said quickly. "No reason to stand in this cold hallway all day."

She leaned against him and they started down the hallway, as Remus silently tried to predict what outrageous food combination they would be having for breakfast this morning…

---

There we are! I hope that was worth the wait, everyone. And please let me know what you thought (seeing as this is a pretty pivotal chapter, I'd love to know what you think)! Next chapter coming up in less than two weeks!