Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters within the books, J.K. Rowling does. I own all characters you do not recognize. I am not making any money for writing this, just a bit of enjoyment.

Beta: Thanks to the wonderful Phoenix, JenKM1216, and Cherrypit8 for all their hard work!

A/N: This story has been nominated in round six of the Multifaceted Awards. If you would like to vote for this fic, here is the link: http/multifaceted. 3-Conversation

Victoria chose a seat at a small table off in a corner of the pub by herself. Most of the customers were now centered around the bar. In spite of herself, she looked to see if Remus was there. He wasn't.

Victoria sighed as disappointment filled her. She opened her copy of the i Evening Prophet/i which she had charmed to look like a regular Muggle newspaper to anyone else. After reading that there was no new information on any of the Death Eaters or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, she had trouble concentrating on the rest of the words in front of her.

Wesley arrived with her hot chocolate, and Victoria thanked him with a genuine smile. She stared down into her mug's contents for a while before taking a small sip. Victoria felt someone standing next to her and looked up, assuming it was Wesley.

"I'm still okay, but thank…" she trailed off. It wasn't Wesley; it was a rather nervous-looking Remus Lupin.

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Remus came down the stairs, fresh from his shower and feeling slightly better. As he neared the bottom of the staircase, he immediately spotted Kat. She was sitting by herself attempting to read the evening news. She didn't seem to be succeeding as her eyes weren't moving.

Nervousness rose in him as he slowly approached her table, watching Wesley give her something that smelled like hot chocolate. Remus paused a little way away from her, watching her ponder her drink as he searched for a good excuse for standing her up. Finally, deciding that honesty was the best policy, he made his way to her side as she took a small sip of the hot liquid.

He hesitantly opened his mouth to speak, but she seemed to sense his presence and looked up, saying, "I'm still okay, but thank…" before trailing off in surprise. She must not have been expecting him, but then, why would she? His fear of her anger grew a bit more.

"Would you mind if I have a seat?" Remus asked apprehensively.

"No. No, I don't mind. Please," she said with a small smile, gesturing to the chair across from her at the tiny table.

As soon as he was seated, Wesley came bustling over. "Can I get you anything, sir?"

"Hot tea and some toast, please," Remus requested, hoping to calm his stomach, which had started doing strange things when she smiled.

"No problem. Would the lady like anything else?" Wesley asked Victoria.

"Nope, I am still good, thanks," she said.

Once Wesley was out of earshot, they both said, "I'm sorry," at the same time before stopping and looking at each other in surprise.

"Ladies first," Remus said with an uncomfortable laugh.

"Okay, I'm so sorry that I missed dinner. I had to make funeral arrangements for my sister," Victoria said, her voice becoming thick with emotion as tears shone in her soft gray eyes. "I didn't think it would take so long."

"I am so sorry; I didn't realize," Remus replied, unconsciously reaching across the table to take her hand in a comforting, intimate gesture. When he realized what he had done, he made to withdraw his hand, but Kat squeezed it, and he decided not to move it after all. They looked at each other until Wesley returned with Remus' tea and toast, breaking the spell.

Remus pulled his hand back to accept his drink and food and thanked Wesley.

When Wesley left, Remus began to fix his tea, wondering what had just happened between them. To break the awkward silence, he said, "I missed dinner as well. I actually only woke up a short time ago. I don't usually drink, and I really did a number on myself."

"Did the drinking help dull the pain at all?" Victoria asked, willing to exchange her hot chocolate for something with a bit more of a kick if it did.

"No, it really didn't," Remus said with a sad smile, knowing what she was thinking by her hopeful tone of voice. "It only made things feel much worse."

"Then I guess I will stick with my hot chocolate," Victoria said with a heavy sigh.

"When is your sister's funeral going to be, Kat?" he asked gently.

Once again, her alias took her by surprise, but she recovered quickly, replying, "Three days. When are your friends' funerals going to be?"

"I honestly don't know yet. It happened so suddenly—just last night. The authorities are still trying to work it out," Remus said a bit hoarsely.

"So their bodies haven't even been released yet? That is just so horrible! I'm so sorry that it was so bad," Kat said, tears coming back with a vengeance as she fought to blink them back.

He knew that her tears were for his situation as much as for her own, and it softened his heart all the more. He decided to change the subject so as not to make her cry any more.

"Let's talk about something else… If that's okay with you," Remus said softly.

Kat nodded as she blew her nose on a napkin. "Yes, please, I don't know how I have any tears left to cry. I am going to end up in the hospital for dehydration soon," she said with a forced laugh. "What do you want to talk about?"

Just as she finished the question, Wesley came up to them apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, but it is closing time."

"But it is only eleven o'clock," Kat protested.

"That's the time the pubs here close, it's the law," Wesley replied before turning to tell the other customers that it was closing time.

"What time do they close in America?" Remus asked curiously.

"They stop serving at two o'clock in the morning, and then they close at two thirty," Kat replied, awed. "I guess I should go back to my room."

"Yeah, me too," Remus said, suddenly nervous again. "Would you like to come back to my room with me and continue our conversation? Or are you too tired?"

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep. We can talk and maybe watch a movie," Kat agreed.

They walked up the steps, Remus in the lead. He nonverbally lowered the wards as he made sure to move ahead of her, so he had the door opened by the time she reached him.

"Ladies first," he said again, gesturing her inside with a small bow and a wolfish grin.

"Why, thank you!" Kat said with a laugh. And they say chivalry is dead."

Once they were seated at the small table and chairs, each with a soda, Kat asked again, "What would you like to talk about?"

Her eyes avoided the bed as her stomach did flip-flops. She really liked this guy, and it made her feel supremely guilty. She wanted to sleep with him, and her sister was sleeping at the morgue; what the hell was wrong with her?

"We can talk about each other," Remus suggested, smelling her arousal. It matched his own. These were dangerous waters as they were both in need of comfort, and he couldn't disclose much truth about himself. He didn't care at the moment how dangerous this could turn out. He was quick thinking when sober; he could come up with answers, and he really liked this woman. Perhaps it was her current, seemingly, vulnerable state that drew him to her.

Mentally shaking himself, Remus asked the first question that came to his mind. "Do you have any other sisters or brothers?"

Remus cringed visibly as soon as the words were out of his mouth. How could I be so stupid?

Kat smiled in amusement as he cringed at his own question, obviously thinking he would upset her again. It was really very cute.

"No, there was just Cassie and me, though my friend Caitlin was the daughter of my mother's best friend, so we grew up like sisters."

"Why didn't she come with you then?" Remus asked, surprised.

"She was badly hurt a few months ago and is still recovering. I don't really want to talk about that either," Kat said flatly, thinking she would need to Floo to visit Caitlin tomorrow. Out loud, she asked, "What about you? Any siblings?"

"Afraid not. I was an only child," Remus said regretfully. His parents had been apprehensive about having more children once he had been infected. They were terrified that he might accidentally contaminate another child during the full moon.

"What part of America are you from?" he asked, steering the conversation back to something a bit less precarious.

"New England, actually. Boston, Massachusetts, to be exact. I can't wait to get home," she said wistfully.

"You miss your friends? Especially Caitlin?" Remus asked rhetorically.

"That and my job, it is really fascinating," Kat said excitedly before freezing. She was in it now. There was no way she could tell him she was an Unspeakable; even if he was a wizard, she still couldn't divulge what she did. But he was a Muggle, and there would be questions she couldn't answer without having to Obliviate him, and she didn't want to do that.

"Really? What do you do?" Remus asked curiously.

"Research," she blurted out, thinking fast. Just tell part of the truth—the part that couldn't hurt anything. "Top secret research for my government; I really can't get into it."

Mentally patting herself on the back, Kat asked, "What do you do for a living?"

"Nothing as glamorous as you," Remus said teasingly. "I am in security. I'm on a leave of absence since… well, since what happened."

Kat took a large drink from her soda, not wanting to think about any of that pain. "Want to watch a movie?" she asked, standing up.

We will have to sit on the bed in order to properly see the movie, Kat thought anxiously as a thrill of trepidation and desire ran through her. She wasn't sure if she was really attracted to him or if she just wanted some comfort. But, either way, he didn't really know her, and so she couldn't sleep with him. They were both adults, and they would just have to act like it.

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Remus stood up behind her and, catching a stronger whiff of arousal, fought to control his own lust as his body responded to hers. It was six days before the full moon, and he was having a hard time controlling his more animalistic instincts.

As Kat finished looking around, he watched her turn back toward him with an uncertain smile. The smile slowly faded from her face, and he knew she could see his reaction to her written all over his face.

Her breathing deepened, her full breasts rising and falling rapidly, as her eyes darkened. The scent of arousal spike sharply, and he couldn't stop himself from gently pulling her into his arms. He brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly, and waiting to see if she responded to his advances. She did, parting her lips to meet his tongue with her own. She slid her hands up his chest to wrap her arms around the back of his neck.

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Kat turned hesitantly back to face Remus only to see him looking hungrily down at her as though he wanted to devour her. He was only inches from her, and she felt short of breath as her pulse quickened.

Liquid heat raced through her veins as Remus reached out and pulled her to him. She knew she should stop him, but she didn't want to. She wanted and needed him, needed this.

He kissed her gently, moving his lips sensuously over hers. She responded in kind, opening her mouth and meeting his invading tongue with her own as she slid her hands up his chest to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

After a few moments, Remus pulled back from her, breathing raggedly, and cupped her face in one hand, rubbing his thumb across her swollen lips.

"Kat?" he breathed questioningly, asking her permission to go further.

It was as if he had dumped ice-cold water over her. She wasn't Kat; she was a witch, an Unspeakable, and not here on vacation. She was here because her sister had been murdered, and Remus had no idea who she really was.

"I-I-I can't. I-I have to go," she stuttered, pulling away from him and backing toward the door with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry for this, for everything."

"Kat, don't go. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" Remus began earnestly, feeling horrible.

"Yes, you should have, I wanted you to," she whispered, grabbing her purse and newspaper. "But, you don't know me, and I can't do this. We can talk about it tomorrow. I think we both need to cool down first. I am so sorry," she said again as she yanked open the door and left, crying.

Stunned, Remus looked at the door for a moment, wondering what the hell had just happened. He was startled out of his confusion when he heard a tapping at his window. A brown owl sat outside on the windowsill.

Remus moved to open it, glad that Kat wasn't there so that he didn't have to explain getting a message from an owl. The bird flew in and landed on the back of the chair he had been sitting in. Walking over, the werewolf took the letter from its leg.

"Thank you," he called out as the owl took off and flew back out the window. Remus opened the letter. It was from Dumbledore. The Potters' funeral would be held the day after next; Peter's funeral would be two days after that.

Remus sighed and sank down into the chair, feeling more alone than ever. He was fairly certain that he could have come up with a plausible excuse for the owl if Kat had stayed. What had gone wrong?

He wished she had talked to him about what had bothered her; he really needed someone to talk to right now. Surely she needed someone as well? She was as alone here as he was, perhaps more so. When was her sister's funeral? Remus mentally went through their conversation. It was three days from now, in between the Potters' and Peter's funerals. If she would indeed talk to him tomorrow, he would offer to accompany her there.

She had said that he didn't really know her, but she didn't know him either, not the real him, Remus mused guiltily. Would she have still allowed him to kiss her if she knew he was a wizard, a werewolf, and penniless? Highly doubtful. Remus felt worse than ever. He got up and readiedgot ready for bed, wondering if Kat was hiding any secrets or if she had just been referring to the fact that they had only just met.

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