I don't own anything harry potter related, we have J.K. Rowling to thank for that. The only thing I own is the character Vestra.
Chapter 1: An Old Friend
It was running through the woods. Branches snapped and gave way as he blazed a trail through their thick and grabbing fingers. Perfectly balanced, his paws felt the pungent earth between his padded toes as he ran. Scents carried on the wind told him of the terror of the smaller animals, concealed in the cover of the brush, dreading his coming. The moon floating overhead cast ominous shadows through the branches above him. The beast below stared at it, longed for it, as he passed underneath never letting it out of his sight. Its tongue lolled out panting, and saliva dripped from his muzzle, still caked with earth and warm blood. Pine needles grasped and clung determinedly to his matted fur. Bursting suddenly into a clearing, the animal stopped and stared at its master, enveloped in pain and longing. The moon, in all of its foreboding glory, stared down mockingly at the terrible and ruined form beneath it. Its unfeeling presence loomed malevolently down upon this pitiful creature it controlled, if only for a short time. Instinct and the most primal of yearnings reared up in the poor beast as all the desire and frustration welling up inside it surfaced in its gut and rose to its throat. In a flood of incomparable release it gave a cry into the night, expelling all its disgust and desperation into one long, horrifying howl.
Remus Lupin awakened in the early morning, in his bedroom at number 12 Grimauld Place. "It was only a dream," he told himself. "Only a dream..." Disoriented and dizzy, he forced himself to remain very still, like a rabbit in hiding, until his eyes adjusted to the light. His heavy, labored breathing soon returned to normal, but his body continued to shiver even though the sun pouring through the window warmed his face and bed. When he finally opened his eyes he remained staring upward at the ceiling and allowed the spell to pass completely before making any sudden movements. Raising himself up slowly, he mopped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his night gown.
The house was completely quiet as he descended the stairs, wobbling slightly, on his way towards the kitchen. His mouth was as dry as if it were full of cotton. Not trusting himself to do any magic yet, he took a glass down from the cabinet by hand and filled it with ice cold water from the tap. As he turned toward the dining room he spotted someone sitting at the table already eating breakfast as if they were starving. He instinctively steered away from the unwanted company, and was going to return quietly to his bedroom when he realized that the person eating so ravenously at the table was a woman. Flaming red hair indicated that it was probably not Tonks as she seemed to prefer pink, but neither was it Ginny nor Mrs.Weasly either. Curious, he entered the dining room with his water and watched the woman, who was beginning to slurp her bowl of what appeared to be porridge, rather loudly. Despite of the knot of tension and nervousness he still felt in his stomach, an amused smile crept over his face as he recognized her.
"I didn't hear you come in," He said, feeling slightly disappointed when she wasn't startled at the sound of his voice.
"Well, I didn't care to awaken the Black family's longest winded matriarch," the woman replied with her mouth full. Lupin smiled again and pulled up a chair beside her.
"You know, we were expecting you to show up sometime last night like everyone else," he said eying her closely.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I was detained. Don't worry," she added catching the anxious look in his eyes. "I've already talked to Dumbledore and he filled me in on the meeting." Lupin looked at her quietly for a moment before making an attempt at small talk. "It's been awhile Vestra, you look good, healthy… I mean," He said in a friendly manner. It wasn't a lie either; the woman had flaming red tresses that almost made the Weasly's hair look dull by comparison. Her robes were an earthy brown, giving her the impression of a stick burning on one end. She had an oval shaped face and large yellowish-brown colored eyes. There were worry lines etched on her forehead and around her eyebrows, but no one could have contested that she was still a very beautiful young woman.
She looked up from her food with an amused expression on her face. "Funny," she said, giving him a knowing look "You look like hell." Lupin was suddenly painfully conscious of the fact that his ordeal earlier that morning had left him pale and shaky. His prematurely graying, brown hair fell lifelessly into his eyes and his night gown was just as patched and decrepit as the rest of his clothes. Neither of them spoke for a while as the silence between them stretched on awkwardly. She began chewing her food loudly, and then suddenly she asked:
"So, everyone made it here alright then?"
"Yeah, Harry and the rest of us made it back without any problems, unless of course you consider Moody trying to make us fly halfway around the world a problem," He said with a grin.
"Well then, at least Harry's safe, that ought to put Black in a considerably decent mood," she snorted derisively, before finishing her last bite of porridge.
"I don't understand why the two of you can't get along, I swear, sometimes you're alike enough to be related," he commented frowning slightly.
"Have you actually met any of Black's relatives?" she asked. Lupin grinned as she scrunched up her nose, apparently disgusted by the idea. "Also, Mr. Lupin," she added in a very teacher-like tone of voice. "Unless I spontaneously sprout fur and a tail, I respectively ask that you not compare me to Mr. Black in any shape, form, or fashion."
Lupin didn't press the matter any further, but thought it wiser to launch straight into the narrative of last nights events before the other occupants of the house awakened and interrupted them. The woman listened distractedly as if she was bored, but did not interrupt him or comment on anything he said. Luckily, he had just finished telling her about Sirius answering Harry's questions, when Mrs. Weasly entered the room yawning widely.
"Oh," she said, slightly surprised to see anyone in the dining room. She eyed the stranger sitting next to Lupin curiously. "I wasn't aware anyone was awake yet. Did you just come in?" she asked the woman.
"Molly, I don't think the two of you have met yet," Lupin said standing "this is Ms. Vestra McGivens. Vestra, this is Molly Weasly, house matron and cook extraordinaire."
"How do you do?" Molly asked, eying the young woman dubiously. "We were expecting you last night."
"So I've heard," Vestra replied. The woman eyed her empty bowl forlornly, as if staring at it would cause another helping of porridge to suddenly appear.
"Well," Mrs. Weasley continued, undaunted by the woman's uncommunicative attitude. "Remus, you'd best go get some clothes on everybody'll be down for breakfast soon," she said. Vestra perked up considerably at the sound of breakfast, and Lupin hoped she'd be polite to Molly long enough for him to get dressed.
Remus immediately regretted having to ascend the staircase, feeling quite sure that he was going to be ill before he reached the last step. He was still feeling light headed and unsteady, but with the support of the guard rail he was finally able to make it to the top. When he made it into his bedroom he closed the door and his eyes while the dizziness passed. He inhaled sharply and opening his eyes, began to rummage through the contents of his closet. Being that there was not much in it, it didn't take long. Soon he extracted a white shirt and green sweater that was substantially less threadbare than the rest of his wardrobe. He quickly brushed his hair and was in the process of applying toothpaste to his toothbrush when he stopped suddenly with his hand in midair, reminiscing.
Remus had been pleasantly surprised when Dumbledore told him that Vestra would be joining the Order as a field member. He hadn't seen her in six or seven years and was shocked to realize how much she was beginning to resemble her mother. She'd only been to Grimauld Place once before, while the rest of the Order had been out on business of their own. Sirius, having been once more left behind, was the only person left to greet her. Judging by a couple odd bruises on Sirius and an owl from Vestra apologizing for some extensive furniture damage, it had not been a pleasant meeting for either of them. Vestra hadn't returned to Grimauld Place since.
As if in response to his train of thought, Lupin was interrupted from his musings by a series of gruff and threatening shouts, one voice was unmistakably Sirius'. Lupin threw the bedroom door open and almost ran headfirst into Bill Weasly, who was making his own way down the hall with Ron and Hermione behind him.
"What's with all the noise?" Hermione whispered loudly. "They'll wake up Mrs. Black!" No sooner had the words left her mouth, than the distinctive shrieks of Mrs. Black filled the house. A litany of curses and insults ricocheted off the walls, informing every visitor as to what the Mistress thought about their presence in her house.
"Please shut her up!" Ron grimaced, clasping his hands over his ears. Remus hopped gingerly down the stairs two at a time, followed closely by the two Weaslys and Hermione.
With an enormous effort on the parts of Bill and Remus, Mrs. Black was finally subdued back into silence. The four cautiously entered the dining room to see what had started all the commotion. The scene was a tense one. Sirius and Vestra glared at each other from opposite sides of the table, while Mrs.Weasley glared at them both in turn, her red curls quivering with wrath. Fred and George had apparently apparated downstairs to see what was going on, and each looked extremely hopeful that Mrs.Weasley would soon be yelling at someone else for a change. Remus, sensing a blow up, moved to speak to Vestra before Molly got a chance.
"I don't know what happened between the two of you, but this has got to stop," he said frowning and sounding very teacher-ish. Vestra didn't respond, but continued to stare steadfastly at Sirius. It was Sirius who spoke first.
"She started it! I was just…"he began, but Mrs.Weasley cut him off.
"I don't care who started it, the two of you should be ashamed of yourselves," Molly fumed, her voice raised as much she dared. "Honestly, bickering like a couple of children, and with Harry trying to sleep too," She said, aiming a particularly annoyed glance at Sirius. Sirius immediately looked down guiltily, and swallowed whatever excuse he had been preparing. Far from looking repentant, Vestra merely sat down and began eating a piece of toast that she'd apparently been working on before Sirius had come into the dining room. Deciding he didn't want to know what had happened, Remus tried to think of something to talk about to change the subject and lighten the atmosphere. Bill beat him to it.
"It's good to see you again Vestra, have you been busy?" Bill asked with stressed politeness, his freckles moving slightly as he offered her a courteous smile. The woman cocked an arched eyebrow in his direction but continued to eat her toast. "We used to go to school together, you were in Charlie's year though," he explained pleasantly. The other occupants of the room turned to listen to their conversation. Bill was quite the diplomat; he must have had years of practice with his mother, Remus thought.
"Erm, yeah," she said, brushing crumbs off of her hands. "I uh, began working for the ministry right after school, you work for Gringotts now huh?"
"Yeah, it's not very fascinating though. What do you do for the ministry?" Bill asked, taking a seat next to her and ignoring the fact that everyone was staring at them.
"Bit of everything really. Usually I'm an ambassador for interspecies communication, but I also qualify as a substitute teacher and a junior auror in training. I'm pretty much a ministry gofer," she was very nonchalant about her professions, but more than one person was surprised at her list of credentials.
"What subject do you teach?" Remus interjected, curiously.
"Defense against the Dark Arts," she replied giving him a quite deliberate smile. "Though you shouldn't flatter yourself professor, you hardly inspired me to become a teacher." she added, practically smirking.
"Professor?" Hermione asked with a quizzical expression. "You're too old to have been one of Professor Lupin's students, aren't you?"
"Yeah Moony, how is it that you two know each other?" Sirius interrupted, casting a contemptuous glance in the young woman's direction.
"You don't think Dumbledore hires just anybody for teaching positions do you? Don't be silly; professor Lupin had some teaching experience before he taught at Hogwarts." Vestra said, directing her answer at Hermione and ignoring Sirius altogether. "The year before I went to school, Mr. Lupin was my tutor. Naturally, he emphasized on DADA," she said giving Remus a slight nod and a smile.
"Does that mean you'll be teaching this year at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, with a note of skepticism in her voice that indicated that she wasn't convinced about the young woman's abilities.
"No, but that's not from lack of Dumbledore trying to get me the position. The ministry has appointed someone from within their own ranks for the job," She replied with a sour look that closed the subject. Then looking down at her watch, she stood up abruptly, oblivious to the questioning looks from the group. "I have to be going," she announced to no one in particular.
"What? So soon?" Remus asked, also standing.
"I was supposed to meet Mad Eye here around breakfast time to brief him on some things, but it appears he's as irresponsible when it comes to being on time as I am.
"I'll walk you out," Remus offered. Vestra offered him a kind smile and grabbed another piece of toast off the table before putting on a light traveling cloak.
"Thanks, It was nice to meet everyone, well almost everyone," she said with a pointed look at Sirius.
The sun was a decidedly nice change from the stuffy darkness of Grimauld Place. The two strolled down the steps chatting amicably. When they reached the street Remus stopped, fixing Vestra with a questioning stare.
"What?" she asked, automatically on the defensive.
"I have to ask, what happened between you and Sirius last time you visited?"
"Nothing worth mentioning," she replied, thrusting an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
"That's a relief. I was afraid that he might've hit on you or something." Remus didn't meet her look of surprise, but stood examining a bird perched on a nearby tree. "I probably should've warned him that not all women are susceptible to his particular brand of charm. Though, he wouldn't have believed me anyway," he said with a shrewd smile that would've rivaled a Cheshire cat.
Vestra laughed quietly before replying. "I suppose twelve years in Azkaban would make anyone desperate."
"That's not what I meant. Anyway, I'm sure you've got a very nice boy waiting for you to get off of work," he said, grinning mischievously.
She wrinkled her forehead slightly, looking uncomfortable about the direction the conversation was taking. She answered him anyway. "I'm afraid I don't have much time for boys Professor, nice or otherwise," she said seriously.
He started to say: "I'm not a teacher anymore you don't need to call me prof…" but she cut him off.
"Why did you quit teaching?" she asked, quite obviously pleased at the opportunity to change the subject.
"Oh, well someone let the particulars of my condition slip out to the public," he said frowning.
"So? Dumbledore knew you were a werewolf when he hired you."
"I didn't want to take advantage of Dumbledore's generosity. He has enough troubles without adding werewolf phobic parents to the list," he replied with a sad smile.
Vestra watched a car go past before continuing: "Seems to me that Dumbledore likes a fair bit of trouble, or at least he thrives on it. I doubt he would've hired you if he thought he couldn't handle a few whadya call 'em? 'Werewolf phobic' parents. So, what have you been doing since Hogwarts?"
"Just a couple odd jobs here and there." He sighed, pulling a twig off an overhanging branch, and twisting it between his fingers.
"Let me guess, you still feel the need to be honest about your 'condition.' Not exactly a smart way to go about keeping a job."
"People aren't stupid Vestra, they'd find out eventually. It's better to be upfront about it," he said patiently, as if he were explaining quantum physics to a toddler.
"I think you give people too much credit Professor, you always did," she said. "Or too little," she added reflectively. Then, without another word she gave him the briefest of hugs, took a quick look around, and dispparated with a quiet pop. If he was surprised at her abrupt departure, it didn't show. Remus merely turned around, walked up the stairs and back into the gloom of Grimauld Place.
With his stomach growling from lack of breakfast, Remus entered the kitchen to find it almost deserted except for Sirius who was sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea. Sirius looked up as he came in, an impish smile instantly materializing on his face.
"You didn't tell me you knew her," he stated with mock indignation.
"You didn't ask," he replied, helping himself to leftover eggs and toast.
"I suppose I can't blame you though, if I knew someone that good looking I'd wanna keep her to myself too. Still, seeing as how I'm not in a position where I could even meet a woman, you could be a little less selfish…" Sirius rambled in a teasing tone.
"What? Sirius, there's nothing going on between me and Vestra! For crying out loud, she was ten years old the first time I met her!" Remus interrupted him, blushing and at the same time, making an attempt at what he hoped was a very intimidating look of outrage.
"Well mate, she sure as hell ain't ten anymore," Sirius laughed, apparently pleased to have received such a reaction from a normally even tempered Remus. Still chuckling, Sirius downed the rest of his tea, clapped his friend on the shoulder, and left him alone in the kitchen with his memories.
There you have it. I hope someone out there likes it, please review and tell me if I should continue :). I realize that for some people this story may have gotten off to a boring start but please bear with me. This is my first Remus inspired fic and I felt that I needed to make some things kinda clear in the first chapter.