The next morning I got up a little earlier than usual to go check on Remus, knowing the day of and the day after the full moon were the two hardest days of the month for him. He was only just waking up when I walked into his office, a fresh cup of tea in my hands to give to him with a bit of pepperup potion added in.

"Morning," I said, giving him a quick kiss before handing him the tea and getting his clothes and things ready for him, just as I had for years before he left after James and Lily died.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise," he said groggily, sipping the tea. "Pepperup potion?" he asked, already looking much better after his first sip of tea.

"Of course. I know generally it's mainly used for a cold, but I remembered that it used to help you quite a bit the morning of the full moon, now go on and shower, I'll wait in your office," I said, giving him another quick kiss after he stood up to go into his bathroom and leaving his bedroom to sit on the couch in his office. We walked down to breakfast together as we usually did once he was ready and it seemed my tea with the pepperup potion helped him feel a bit better, which I was glad for. That particular day seemed to drag by even slower than usual and I was glad I had a few moments to check on Remus before dinner, letting my third year class out a bit early to make Remus tea again before dinner. Once I knew his first year class was finished I went to his classroom, tea in hand and knocked on his classroom door quietly.

"Hey, I brought you more tea," I said, walking up to his desk where he was sitting with his face in his hands.

"You are a godsend, Avery," he said, taking the tea from me and I leaned on the side of his desk.

"I figured I wouldn't see you at dinner and since this helped this morning, why not have a little more," I said with a shrug and he smiled at me weakly.

"I appreciate it," he said and stood up, though I could hear his joints popping as he did.

"I've missed you so much these last twelve years, but one thing I haven't missed is having to see you go through this every month," I said, following him up to his office.

"I'm not very keen on going through it either, I assure you," he said and I rolled my eyes at him with a good natured smirk, sitting next to him on the couch.

"You should go on to the Great Hall," he said, sitting back with his eyes closed.

"I'll go in a moment. I know you'll need to go to the Hospital Wing soon," I said, leaning my elbows on my knees.

"Unfortunately so," he said with a sigh. Once I was in the Great Hall for dinner I saw Harry looking around, eyeing Remus' empty spot at the staff table before looking my way. After dinner I was at my desk in my classroom grading some essays when I heard a knock on my open classroom door and was surprised to see Harry standing there, looking a little uneasy.

"Harry, come in," I said, flicking my wand to close the classroom door behind him.

"Where was Professor Lupin tonight? I didn't see him in the Great Hall and he wasn't in his office," Harry asked me, walking up to my desk and sitting in one of the chairs I pulled up in front of it with my wand.

"He wasn't feeling well today and just needed some extra rest, nothing to worry yourself over," I said, giving Harry as much of a genuine smile as I could. He did look so much like James, but Remus was right when he pointed out that Harry had Lily's eyes and now it was all I could see of him.

"Oh, well, in that case, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?" he said, seeming a bit uncomfortable.

"Of course," I said, interested to hear what he might say next.

"You said you knew my parents, too?" is what Harry started with.

"Yes, I did, your mum was my best friend and your dad was one of Remus' best friends. We loved them like family," I said, memories I'd held back for years coming to the forefront of my mind.

"What was she like? My mum?" Harry asked.

"Well, she was incredibly smart, she and Remus were top of our year while we were here. And one of the kindest friends I'd ever had, she even stood up for Severus from the constant pranks your father's group of friends played on him. Well, until one time in our fifth year, but that isn't important," I said.

"What happened?" Harry asked and it took all I had in me not to let out an exasperated sigh.

"Severus called your mum a mudblood. I don't know the whole story because I was in the Hospital Wing from a Quidditch injury, but from what Remus told me about it later it was a pretty nasty altercation and she never spoke to Severus again. He regrets it to this day, but there isn't a thing he could do about it now," I explained.

"You played Quidditch here? I didn't know," Harry said, instantly more interested in the conversation.

"Yes, believe it or not I was quite a fair beater in my day. And your dad was one of the best seeker's the school had ever seen. Why he didn't go into Quidditch professionally I'll never know," I said, smiling to myself at the memories resurfacing.

"Is it true what everyone says? About which of my parents I look like?" Harry asked, seeming a bit more uncomfortable about that question.

"Yes, you have the exact same bright green eyes Lily did," I said, leaning back in my chair a bit.

"That's how Professor Lupin said he recognized me, by my eyes," Harry said, smiling to himself slightly.

"I can imagine so. Though you look so much like James I knew who you were immediately the first time you stepped into the Great Hall before being sorted. I had really hoped you and Lily, my Lily, would grow up together, but Voldemort had other plans," I said, sitting back up slightly and leaning my forearms on my desk.

"We've talked a few times, actually. She's cool for a first year," Harry said and I laughed quietly.

"She probably knows this castle better than any other student in this school, she's grown up around it. If you ever need to find any kind of, oh I don't know, secret passage or something, she probably knows exactly where one is. I used to catch her sneaking away to Honeydukes when she was little," I said, hinting that I knew about the Marauders Map.

"But, how would she know about those without the map?" Harry asked, giving himself away.

"Let's just say I'm quite familiar with it myself," I said with a smirk and Harry still looked confused.

"Why do I have a feeling you're not telling me something?" he asked me uncertainly.

"I promise you'll know exactly what I'm talking about soon enough. Now, it's getting late, you don't want to be caught out of bed," I said, standing up as my way of dismissing him.

"Thank you, professor," he said, stopping at my classroom door before leaving. I went into my bedroom, ready to get some sleep, and looked out the window at the full moon, hoping Remus would be able to get a little bit of rest that night too. Early the next morning I went to the Hospital Wing to check on Remus, saying hello to Madam Pomfrey on my way in.

"I was wondering when you would come," Remus said, sitting up when I pulled back the curtain around his bed to sit next to him.

"You don't have to get up," I said as I sat down. "Harry was looking for you last night after dinner. He actually asked me quite a few questions about his parents," I said, taking Remus' hand in mine.

"Did he now?" Remus said, looking as though he was searching my face for some kind of reaction.

"Yes, and I answered all of them, he deserves to know things about his parents and if there's no one else to tell him then why not us," I said with a shrug. "How are you feeling this morning?" I asked, wanting to get the subject off of me.

"As though the Hogwarts Express ran me over. Twice," he said and I couldn't help but laugh a bit at his response.

"I'm sorry, just be sure and get your rest. I'll leave you alone, get some sleep," I said, standing up.

"I love you, Avery," he said once my back was turned and I stopped and turned to face him.

"I love you, too, Remus," I said quietly, a knot forming in my throat all of a sudden and I hurried out of the Hospital Wing, a large range of emotions going through my head. I knew the students could tell I was distracted the entire rest of the day. The next couple of weeks went by very uneventfully until it was time for the next Hogsmeade trip two days before Valentine's Day. I was closing up my classroom when I saw Remus in the hallway doing the same.

"You're stuck going to Hogsmeade, too?" I asked, walking over to him.

"Yes, I just hope I don't have to be the one to find any students snogging each other in an alley," he said sourly, walking to the courtyard with me.

"I've caught far too many students doing just that, even on weekends when it's not almost Valentine's Day," I said with a grimace.

"Oh good, I'll let you handle it then," he said with a smirk and I smacked his arm lightly. As usual we walked around Hogsmeade together, stopping into a shop every now and then. Unfortunately I knew we needed to make a couple of extra trips towards Madam Puddifoots since it was February 12th and on our third time around there we saw the unmistakable silhouette of two students snogging. I sighed and dragged Remus along with me so I wouldn't have to be the bad guy all alone.

"All right, you two, beat it," I called out to the students, a fifth year Ravenclaw and a sixth year Hufflepuff hurrying back to the main road. "I should've known better than to think we wouldn't find at least one," I muttered, turning to go back to the main road myself and practically slamming into Remus' chest.

"You know, most students have already gone back to the castle," Remus said, putting a hand on my hip and taking a step towards me.

"Remus, no," I said, putting my hand on his chest to push him away, but he kept stepping towards me as I backed away, my back eventually hitting a brick wall behind me.

"Oh come on, just for old time sake?" he said, now having both hands on my hips.

"We can't, what if someone sees us?" I said, looking over his shoulder, but seeing no one passing by the alley. Before I knew what was happening, Remus' lips were on mine, surprising me with the force he was using. I found myself kissing him back, but realized what was happening a split second later and pushed him away with all the strength I had. He just smirked at me before I stormed off to go back to the castle. I could hear him calling after me the whole way back but refused to even look at him. Once back at the castle I made my way to the seventh floor, knowing Remus was still following me. I passed in front of that ugly tapestry until a door appeared on the opposite wall and by then Remus had caught up with me, following me into the come and go room. As soon as I heard the door close I turned and slammed Remus against it, my body molding into his and I crashed my lips onto his just as he'd done in Hogsmeade. He easily reciprocated the kiss, his hands finding their way to my hips again and he lifted me up as though I weighed nothing, my legs immediately going around his waist.

"We shouldn't be doing this," I said between kisses as he carried me over to the bed in the room.

"You're not stopping me," Remus said, lifting my shirt over my head before laying me on the bed, hovering over me as we continued the heated kiss.

"I don't want to," I said, pulling his shirt off next and throwing it to the floor. I pushed him over and got on top of him, easily straddling his waist, and began unbuckling his belt.

"Avery, wait. Are you sure about this?" he said, breaking away from the kiss and leaning up on his elbows.

"Remus, it's been twelve years. I think perhaps if I'm trying to have sex with my husband he shouldn't stop me," I said, sitting up. I knew if I thought about it too much I would chicken out so it was frustrating that he was now the one questioning me about it. Without another word he kissed me again and before long we found ourselves in an all too familiar rhythm, as though it hadn't been over twelve years since we had been intimate. Soon enough we were just laying next to each other, both of us breathing hard and I couldn't help but start to laugh.

"What exactly is so funny?" Remus asked me, looking at me as though I'd gone crazy.

"Remus, it's been over twelve years since the last time I was spontaneous like that," I said with a grin.

"You know what, me too," he said breathlessly. When I looked over at him he was smiling with his eyes closed, seeming to be very at peace. I turned to my side, leaning on my elbow facing him and he opened his eyes to look at me.

"I love you," I said quietly to him, pushing his now unruly hair out of his face and he gave me a smile that made me absolutely melt.

"I love you, too," he said, leaning up slightly to kiss me.

"Come on, we need to get out of here before anyone comes to look for us," I said, getting out of the bed and getting dressed again to go back to my office. Once we were back at our classrooms we parted ways for the evening, both of us grinning like idiots.


As always, thank you for reading! This chapter was pretty exciting to write so I hope you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear what your thoughts on it were :)