A/N: First off, sorry for the delay in posting new chapters. I've been away from the computer for most of the last week. :) I should have another update over the weekend. Thanks for your patience.

­Chapter 17

When Remus heard a noise coming from the bed, his eyes popped open, and he saw the room was dark except for a lamp on the table. As the room came into focus, he could see Wendy thrashing against her blanket. He grabbed her wrists and found he had to crawl on top of her to stop her legs from kicking. She continued to fight against him and was muttering incoherently.

Wendy could feel something heavy on top of her and opened her eyes. "Get off!" she shouted.

"Wendy, calm down. You're safe," he insisted as he maintained a tight grip.

"Remus?" she asked as she began to calm down.

He released his tight grip on her wrists and gently brushed her face with the back of his hand. "Yes. You're safe at home." Relief washed over him. She seemed to be cured; her temperature had returned to normal.

"I'm at home?" She was not entirely sure of her surroundings.

He rolled next to her and brushed her hair from her face. "Yes. How much do you remember?"

She furrowed her brows, lost in thought. "The potion. Severus brewed it for me, didn't he?"

"He did. Though he was not happy about doing it your way. How do you feel?"

"I'm not sure. I'll start with thirsty and see where it goes from there. How's my back?" she asked as she rolled onto her stomach.

Remus nervously pulled back the bandage and ran his hand across the smooth pink skin. "How does that feel? Does it hurt?"

She shivered at his touch, but felt no pain. "No. How does it look?" she asked nervously.

"A little pink, but otherwise fine." He watched her roll onto her back and slam her eyes shut. "Something wrong?"

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "No. I'm just glad it's over. Thank you for watching over me." She reached for his hand.

He pulled away from her. "Let me get you some water." He returned from the bath with a glass of water and found her sitting up with the lamps lit. As he handed her the water, he said, "You look much better." Her color had returned and the circles under her eyes were not as pronounced.

"Thank you." She quickly drained the glass. "You, on the other hand, look horrible. Were you that worried about me?"

He sat on the bed next to her and pulled her into his embrace. "I was." He fought back the tears before continuing. "I thought I was going to lose you."

She returned his embrace, though not as vigorously. "Remus, can't breathe," she gasped.

He loosened his grip slightly. "Sorry. I love you, Wendy, and I want to tell you that now before anything else happens."

She was stunned silent.

"Wendy?" he asked as he pulled back so he could look into her eyes to make sure she was well.

"I'm sorry. You just surprised me. Do you mean it?"

He placed his hands on the side of her face and leaned his forehead against hers. "I do. I have loved you for a long time. I just…I was afraid you wouldn't return the feeling and it hurts too much to say it and not hear it in return."

She smiled and placed her hand behind his neck. "I have already told you I love you and I'll say it again: I love you, Remus John Lupin." She kissed him gently at first and then slipped her tongue into his mouth. "Now the question is, do you believe me?"

He crushed her in his embrace again. "I do." He found he couldn't control the few tears he could feel running down his cheeks.

"Ribs," she warned. When he pulled away, she wiped away the tears. "Why are you crying?"

"They are tears of happiness and relief. I never imagined I would find anyone who would love me." He couldn't keep his hands from touching her, reassuring himself that she was real.

"And you call yourself a Gryffindor?" she chided gently. "How strange that you would find a Slytherin who would tell you that?"

"I have come to wonder whether you truly belong in Slytherin. Our houses share many qualities, you know," he replied playfully.

Wendy became defensive. "Oh, no, I most definitely belong in Slytherin. I'm not in the Order to improve life for everyone, to protect the Muggle-borns or Muggles themselves. I'm here to seek revenge on my brother and the others that turned my world upside-down. I became an Auror mostly because it would embarrass him. And the fact I could play around with Dark Magic and not get in trouble. I'm sure you've noticed that I have one of the best collections of books on Dark Magic you are likely to find in a private library. I have many books that are banned, but since I'm an Auror, no one will ever search my house. It's purely self-serving, so, as you can see, while you may interpret my motives as noble, they aren't."

"Well, you won't fault me if I choose not to believe a word of that explanation, will you?" He smiled warmly at her.

She couldn't help but smile back. "I suppose not. And I assume you attach the same Gryffindor sentiments to what Severus does? He didn't give you a hard time about coming to brew the potion, did he?"

"Much less than I had anticipated, but then again, the two of you are from the same House. As for what motivates him, I have no idea. I don't know him near as well as I know you."

"That's good. I would be troubled if you did," she replied before kissing him again. "You know what I would like?"

"What's that?" he asked expectantly.

"I would love it if you would draw a bath for me. I feel wretched. And then a nice meal."

He felt slightly embarrassed. How could he think of his needs at a time like this? "Of course."

She could tell that he was slightly disappointed. "Once I've got my strength up, I know what I would like to do. That is, of course, if you will have me," she asked shyly.

"Goodness, yes. I've wanted you so badly." He gave her a look of longing.

"I suppose we should talk about Lucius," she said as he got up and headed towards the bathroom.

"You aren't seriously considering seeing him again, are you?" Remus asked. Surely after this latest incident she would realize how foolish that whole endeavor was.

She sighed. Once again, she was forced to confront the legendary Gryffindor sense of right and wrong. "Yes. I think he can still be a useful source. He doesn't seem to suspect that I was in Little Hangleton the other day. I'll be careful when I next meet with him to make sure."

He poked his head out of the bath. "You know I don't like you with him." That was a very significant understatement.

She eased herself to her feet and walked slowly to the bath. "Yes. I don't particularly like being with him, either, but is there a better option?" She wrapped her arms around him from behind.

He was surprised that she had made it to the bath on her own and jumped when she touched him. He turned to face her. "He doesn't seem to be confiding in you very much. I don't think the risk is worth it." Couldn't she see how much this hurt him? That there had to be a better way?

She looked into his eyes. "Not now, but the fact he mentioned the meeting, and what he said when he mentioned it, leads me to believe he's starting to place some trust in me. It shouldn't be long. It would be a shame to give up everything I've worked for."

Remus sighed; she still didn't get it. He hoped he could talk her out of it later. "You will be careful with him, won't you?"

Running her hands along his body, she replied, "I'm always careful around people like him. Believe me, I would much rather be spending all my free time with you. And I will never bring him in here. This is our room."

He turned off the tap and embraced her. It still hurt to think of her with Malfoy, but he knew he couldn't live without her. He had been thoroughly miserable these past few weeks. "I will try to live with that." At least for now.

"I'll keep busy with work as much as possible. Though, I think he has been equally busy now that some of his cohorts have escaped. I haven't noticed him around the Ministry as much, but that could just be me not being there that much." She pulled away and slipped out of her clothes and into the bath.

He wanted nothing more than to climb into the tub with her. "Do you know how hard you make it for me to resist you?"

"No, I hadn't thought about that. Why don't you have Cappa see to dinner, and I'll be down in about twenty minutes?"

"Are you sure you don't need me to wash your back?" he asked playfully.

"No," she giggled.

"Wash your front?"

She splashed him with water. "No. Just go. I nearly died and that's all your thinking about?" While she was glad to see he was in a good mood, she wasn't in the mood to play around quite yet.

"I'm a man and I'm staring a beautiful, naked woman in a bathtub. It would be unnatural if I didn't have that thought," he joked and leaned towards her, trying to steal a kiss.

She shoved him away. "Just go."

After bathing and eating, Wendy had to admit she was feeling much better. "Thank you for saving my life," she said at the end of the meal.

"I think you already thanked me for that," he replied sheepishly.

"No, I thanked you for taking care of me. Without your help, that dementor would have had me. How did you get us home?"

"I used your wand and the locket."

"Quick thinking. I'm glad you thought of it. I'm not sure how we would have gotten out of there otherwise. That distance is a little far for Side-Along Apparition."

"That it is. I probably would have gotten us to the nearest village and summoned the Knight Bus, but they might have found us first. Are you sure no one can track your Portkey?"

"Now, Remus, you should know enough about me to not have to ask that question," she replied slyly.

"More Dark Magic?" he asked.

She could hear the disapproval in his voice. "Just a little. It bothers you, doesn't it?" Hatred of all Dark Magic was definitely a Gryffindor trait. There were times when that which was technically classified as Dark Magic could be quite useful.

"Yes. Look at what it did to you." He reached across the corner of the table to take her hand in his.

She sighed. "I know." She almost got lost in his eyes. "You do realize this injury is precisely why I was against getting involved with you in the first place, don't you?"

"Yes, but it's too late now, isn't it?" He didn't sound at all disappointed as he asked that question.

"Definitely. I'm sorry about all the Dark Magic, but you know the saying 'fight fire with fire'? I think it applies here. We can't stay on the defensive the whole time. I'll also see what I can do to encourage Lucius to use his suite as a meeting place, rather than here. I'll tell him I have a new housemate, one of my coworkers that has found himself temporarily homeless." She got up and sat in his lap. "Perhaps my new housemate would care to join me upstairs?"

"I take it you're feeling better now?" he asked hopefully as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Much," she replied before kissing him deeply. Even she found the speed of her recovery surprising.

He carried her upstairs and gently placed her on the bed. "I have missed you," he whispered in between kisses.

"It has been very lonely here without you. I suppose we should check in tomorrow. Though, I think I'll take another day off from work." She pushed off his shirt and threw it across the room.

"That sounds like a splendid idea," he replied. For weeks, he had dreamt about this moment. As he unfastened her robe, he noticed that she was not wearing undergarments. "You planned this, didn't you?"

She pulled him closer to her. "Only since I got out of the bath. The longer I've been up, the better I've felt." Deftly, she undid his trousers. "I've missed you," she whispered.

All sense of reason vanished, leaving only desire. He let his hand cup her breast and coax her nipple to hardness before suckling. When he heard her inhale sharply, it aroused him further. Pulling away from her, he pushed his trousers off the rest of way and threw them clear of the bed. "I missed you, too."

She moaned and growled, "Take me!"

While he normally would have insisted on more foreplay, he had an incredible amount of unresolved sexual tension and would do whatever she suggested.

The next morning, they Apparated to Grimmauld Place. Remus let them into the house and they checked the kitchen for Sirius or any of the other members of the Order. The kitchen was deserted and they started searching the house floor by floor. It was a brief search, since Sirius was in the library.

"I wasn't even aware you could read?" Wendy drawled when she saw Sirius sitting in the chair by the fire, book in hand.

"So, you're still alive. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Snape stopped by and said that the cure might kill you. For once, I was actually hoping he was right. I guess I'm not that lucky." His voice was especially bitter after how badly her involvement with Malfoy had hurt Remus.

"You should know it would take more than your cousin to kill me," she replied dryly.

He assumed she was referring to Bellatrix. "I've heard that it was a rather obscure book on Dark Magic that saved your life." He closed the book he was reading. "There are a lot of interesting and obscure books here, but I guess you know that, don't you? I've heard that you liberated some of the more interesting books. I wonder if one of them had the cure?"

"None of the books from your library were that interesting. I took the books that Albus would have insisted on destroying. I do notice that there are some volumes missing, and that proves my point."

"I wonder what else you took from here?" he asked suspiciously.

Wendy glared at him, but refused to rise to the challenge. She had a much better idea. Turning her attention to Remus, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "Come, darling. Black will report that I'm not dead. I'll help you pack your things."

Sirius was confused. "What's going on here? What do you mean 'pack your things'?"

Wendy kept her arm wrapped around Remus' waist as she stood next to him and was quite pleased that he placed his arm on her shoulder. She gave Sirius a very smug grin.

Sirius' eyes quickly passed between the two of them. "You didn't! You aren't?" he was unable to form a complete sentence, as he understood what was going on between the two of them.

Remus smiled at his friend, hoping to calm him. "Sirius, this attack led both of us to realize how we feel about each other. We're in love."

"In love?" Sirius asked incredulously. Even though he had heard Remus talking about loving her, he would not consider her behavior something a person in love would do.

"Come now, Sirius, I've told you I love her. You seemed to support that before. What happened?"

"She and Lucius Bloody Malfoy, that's what," Sirius replied belligerently.

"Yes, well, we're working through that," Remus replied evasively.

"Working through that? Are you insane?" Sirius was near apoplectic. How could that be something you could work through?

"Well, we are looking at the fact that my association with Lucius can possibly provide some valuable information. There was great potential for learning something useful from the meeting the other night. Unfortunately, we didn't take the dementors into account. That, and they were a bit more suspicious than I thought they would be. I wasn't expecting to run into your cousin. I should have detected any wards that they were using." She was still vexed by that. Even if they were using spells she was not familiar with, she should have been able to detect the traces.

"I guess you aren't the Dark Sorceress you thought you were," Sirius said snidely.

She frowned at him. "Oh, bugger off!" she spat at him. Turning to Remus, and in a much gentler voice, she said, "You talk to him. I'll go upstairs." She made a great show of kissing him quite passionately before leaving.

Sirius had a queasy look on his face as she left. "You do realize Malfoy has kissed that mouth?"

Remus sighed and took a seat across from Remus. "I do. We're working on reaching an understanding on what sort of relationship she will have with him." He raised a hand to stop Sirius from further protestation. "Please, don't judge me. Sometimes affairs of the heart cannot be comprehended by the mind. I think this is one of them. With everything at the Ministry, she has been much too busy to see him. For that, I am grateful and I think that she may continue to find a way to be busy."

"There are times I just don't understand you, mate," Sirius replied.

"Well, I'm actually planning on convincing her not to see Lucius anymore, but that may take a little time. I had hoped the fact that she had almost died would have done that, but she's a bit more hardheaded than I had anticipated."

Sirius leaned forward. "Remus, I know you've had it rough, but you can do better than her."

"You don't know her. Surely you noticed how miserable I was without her. I don't want to live like that again. Just, trust me to work it out. Please?"

Sirius thought this was a recipe for disaster, but he could tell that he wasn't going to talk Remus out of it. "There's always a place for you here."

As Wendy had suspected, Lucius seemed to have much less free time. The part of her that loathed Lucius was glad of this, but the part of her that wanted information on the Death Eaters was quite disappointed. Of course, Remus had been trying to convince her that any contact with Lucius was not worth the potential danger, but she continued to insist that she had to follow that line of information. While Lucius might not tell her anything directly, he had always underestimated how clever she could be. All she had to do was arrange a meeting with him. It would be quite simple, wouldn't it? Then why did she have so much doubt?

Whatever the Death Eaters were doing, they were not making a display of it. The Ministry continued to be plagued with the embarrassment of the escapees remaining at large, though the Daily Prophet conveniently was not reporting this fact. As a matter of fact, the newspaper did not seem to be reporting much that was newsworthy. This greatly concerned everyone in the Order.

They were meeting on March tenth, hoping that any of the information they had gathered separately might yield more clues when pooled together. Unfortunately, it didn't. No one seemed to be making any progress.

Kingsley asked, "Wendy, have you learned anything else from Malfoy?"

She shook her head. "No. In fact, I haven't seen him since he came by after I was injured. I actually take that as a good sign. If he hadn't believed I picked up a bug in Wales, he probably would have arranged to see me again. I think that since I've been at work that pretty much proves to him that I wasn't in Little Hangleton. Unfortunately, I can't approach him, so that complicates things."

"Well, if you learn anything, let us know. Next time, we'll organize a larger expedition to spy on the Death Eaters. Just a reminder, those of us working in the Ministry need to be more mindful of departmental bounds. Some of you have been seen associating with those outside your department, and it's starting to draw the wrong sort of attention. I shouldn't have to remind you about that.

"The only other news I have is that things are getting worse at Hogwarts. Albus still has ways of communicating with us, but getting a message to him is quite difficult."

"What about the book?" Wendy asked.

"We haven't been able to make any progress on deciphering what magic was used there."

"I could take a look at it," she offered.

"I'll pass on the offer, but I think you have you enough responsibility right now."

"Kingsley, I've already been researching it in my library, but without the book to examine it's a bit difficult," she said insistently.

"It's in good hands. Let's just leave it at that."

Wendy sighed and decided to drop the subject. With nothing else to put out, the meeting ended. Since she had come straight from work, this was the first she had seen Remus since that morning. Once everyone had filtered out of the kitchen, she gave him a big hug and kiss. "So, how was your day?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It was a day." To him, one day seemed very much like another.

"Well, perhaps I can do something to make it special." She gave him a seductive grin and led him out of the kitchen.

He started to think his day was definitely looking up. When she led him up the stairs and away from the front door, he wondered what was happening. He had expected her to take him home. "What's going on?" he asked as they climbed the stairs. She didn't reply, but led him into the drawing room.

"Surprise!" shouted those that had been at the meeting.

"Happy birthday," Wendy said in a near whisper and gave him a kiss on the cheek before moving away so everyone else could deliver their birthday wishes.

After a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday", Wendy helped pass around cake and punch. As people began socializing, she noticed Remus making his way toward her.

"Were you responsible for this?" he asked.

"In part. I mentioned it to Kingsley, Tonks and Arthur. Arthur got the other Weasleys involved and you have Molly to thank for the cake," she replied modestly.

"How did you know it was my birthday?" He hadn't told her. The only other person that knew was Sirius, and he knew the two of them weren't on speaking terms.

"Oh, come now. As an Auror, things like that are easy enough to find out. I've known since October when your birthday was," she replied as she took a bite of cake.

She had known since October. That was very surprising. "And when is yours?"

She smiled slyly. "Oh, no, you won't get an answer that easily. I want you to figure it out."

He reached his arm around her. "I could always tickle it out of you," he said as he lightly tickled her ribs.

She squirmed away, trying not to drop her cake. "I would hex you before then."

"So, how long do we have to stay to fulfill politeness?" he asked playfully and set her plate on a nearby table.

"Let everyone finish their cake, then we can go home."

"That's good," he replied before pushing her against the wall and kissing her very passionately.

She pushed him away and whispered, "Not here. They're watching." She could especially see the disapproving glare Black was giving them.

"Let them watch," he replied as he nibbled at her neck. Behind him, he could hear Molly quietly ushering everyone out. "It seems we won't have to wait that long. I'll have to thank Molly later," he whispered.

With the room now deserted, he led her over to one of the sofas. Once she reclining on the threadbare piece of furniture, he slipped his hand under her robes and ran it up her leg. He was quite pleased to find that she had forgone stockings in favor of knee-high socks. In between kisses, he said, "I do believe this is the best birthday present I've ever received."

"You haven't finished unwrapping it, yet," she replied playfully.

"Give me time," he said as he opened the front of her robe.

She put her hand on his to stop him. "Should we be doing this here?"

He nibbled at her neck, knowing how it drove her wild. "And why not? I'm sure the others have gone home and Sirius will be sulking upstairs. I'm sure we will have complete privacy, but to make you feel better…" He dug his wand out of his pocket and locked the door.

Once he had slipped her robes off, she pushed him away so that their positions were reversed. "I'd hate for the birthday boy to have to work so hard on his special day." Slowly, she began to undo the buttons of his shirt, taking time to kiss the revealed skin. When she reached his trousers, she didn't stop.

As she tended to him, he closed his eyes and gripped the sides of the couch. "Wendy," he pleaded.

She knew that he was close. "Yes, darling?"

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her across his body so he could kiss her. Once his lips met hers, he pushed his tongue into her mouth, pleased when she returned his kiss with enthusiasm. "You drive me insane," he panted.

"Good," she replied as she settled over him. Quickly, she drove him to frenzy.

As he neared completion, he pulled her against his chest and thrust into her while giving her a crushing kiss. Upon breaking the kiss, he squeezed her and felt the orgasm rush through him. Once the tremors subsided, he could feel her kissing him softly.

"Happy birthday, darling," she whispered.

"Definitely the best birthday ever," he replied as he enjoyed the comfort of her weight on him.

"I'm glad you're happy."

He brushed her hair, trying to hook it behind her ear. "You could do one more thing for me," he said hopefully.

"And what might that be?"

"Don't see Malfoy anymore."

"Remus…" she started.

He placed his finger on her lips. "Please? The thought of sharing you hurts too much."

She nuzzled against him. "I'll try to stay away, but I can't make any promises. I'd need a good reason to completely stop seeing him without drawing too much suspicion. I'll let George know I'd like more field work."

"I would really appreciate that." Hopefully this would force Malfoy to find a new diversion.