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Chapter 26- Stories and Ideas
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A Tale of Merope By George H.M. Rannier
Once upon a time there lived a family in a humble shack in a small wood on the outskirts of a small town. This family consisted only of a father with his son and daughter. The son and father were very alike, in that they were rather unlikable and weren't amenable to society.
No, in fact the two men of the family had shunned society, thinking themselves 'better than' and not even attempting to interact with any outside their shack. Even to each other they weren't very talkative. The father you see believed himself to be a great man from a great lineage, as was taught to him by his father, and his father before him. As such, that is how he raised his own son.
Generations before the father this family had been great, they had been prestigious, and their word had been taken as law. They had special magical abilities that were passed down through the first son's and great family fortunes and heirlooms to remind them of this.
As time went on, however, and each new first son began making poor choices, financially and otherwise, the family slowly fell from grace until it was just the three of them in the humble shack in the small wood on the outskirts of the small town.
Little by little the family began to lose a bit of themselves as well. Keeping the bloodlines close had been seen as a way to keep the family secrets within the family, however through the generations this particular family's tree being kept so close a funny thing happened. The offspring started losing their magic.
The family was not yet producing Squibs, but unfortunately their overall abilities were growing weak. The father of this particular family had attended Hogwarts, but only making it through to his third year before leaving in shame. His inability to continue his magical education would have been more shameful had more of his family been around to witness it. They were not however.
The father grew up to become a man, getting by by doing odd jobs here in there of the manual sort. Eventually he settled down into the shack he lived in and married his second cousin at his remaining family's insistence.
The father's wife produced two children for him, and those children grew up in that humble shack in the small wood on the outskirts of the small town, never knowing if there should have been more to their life.
The son was quite content to live his life where he was. Remaining miserable and magically stunted with only his family history for his lessons and that special ability that had been passed down the family line to him as the first male of his generation.
The daughter however was prone to dreaming of more.
Her whole life had consisted of picking up after her father and brother. Once her mother had passed on it was her sole responsibility to take up the traditional female role in the house. It was as she would be staring out the window towards the manor home on the other side of the small town that she would daydream of him.
This him of course was the Lord of the land's son. This young lord was a very becoming man. He was attractive, educated and well mannered. Everything the daughter wished for. She would watch for him, this young lord, when he would go out for his daily rides. She would try to catch his eye and have him be intrigued by her enough to stop to talk with her.
This was not something that would happen naturally, however. You see the young man was a Muggle Lord and raised to think of the little destitute family living on their land not worth their time. The family of three was simply a scourge they could not be rid of.
The daughter knew she could make the lord see reason however, for as limited as her magic was, she did have the ability to brew a potion. A love potion.
One day as the young lord was riding through the wood, she stopped him and offered him a drink, stating he must be parched from his ride.
The lord did drink, and he suddenly found himself completely enamored with the daughter. So much so that he kept returning to visit her day after day, and she continued to have him drink from her goblet day after day, until finally they eloped.
It was all the daughter had dreamed of. She was the wife of the lord that she had been in love with, and soon enough she was the pregnant wife of the lord!
The lord's family did not understand the pairing but couldn't deny that their son was truly in love with the daughter. They could see it in the way her looked at her and spoke of her.
As her pregnancy ran its course however the daughter found she no longer wanted him to love her only because of the potion she'd been making him drink, she wanted him to love her for real. And so, she stopped giving him the love potion.
As the potion wore off the young Lord could not understand what had brought him to marry the vagrant girl from the woods. Regardless of her current state of being with his child, he cast her out and annulled their marriage wanting never to see her again.
Bereft, the daughter returned to her father and brother, but they too wanted nothing to do with her. She had consorted and married a Muggle after all, and her family had been Pureblood through and through until that point.
In an act of desperation, she stole from her father a family heirloom and ran away to London to try and find work and accommodation for herself.
Unfortunately, the daughter's life went from bad to worse as she was turned away from place after place when she was in search of shelter and employment. She pawned her family heirloom, receiving very little of it's worth, and resorted to returning to the Muggle world at the end of her pregnancy.
A Muggle orphanage was where the daughter was resigned to having her child. A son in fact. The first of his generation and the second of his name.
As the last decision that the daughter made before passing away from the ailments of her childbirth was to name him after his Muggle father, in hopes the young Lord might find him one day.
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"It does read as a traditional fairy tale." Dumbledore observed.
"Good. That was the way I intended it." Hermione beamed. She'd had Luna read it over first and make a few changes, adding a few flourishes as well. Luna had a knack for inserting fantasy into her real life, she'd done that for the story of Merope as well. Now Hermione was hoping that Dumbledore would approve of her publishing the story.
She wasn't looking for his permission though. She was an adult with a publication willing to put her story in it. As she wasn't looking for any monetary compensation for her story; the Quibbler, Xenophilius Lovegood really, was more than happy to put her story in there. He didn't yet know what the stories would really be about, but Luna assured her that he wouldn't have any issues when it came to the finale of adding that bit in as well.
Hermione had brought her story along with her when she and Harry came with him to discuss the progress on the Goblin's harvesting of the Basilisk. They had been there as the contracts were drawn up. The Goblins had been eager to get started and as they had demanded 20% of the profits made off the beast for themselves, she knew that they would be ensuring that all parts retrieved would go for a high market price. She and Harry were each negotiated down to 30%, the school receiving 20%. She had been the one to demand a fair share go to Harry, he'd been against it, but without him they wouldn't have been able to get into the Chamber, nor find the snake.
Either way they were set to make a large amount off the body of the snake. The Chamber itself belonged to the school as it was made by one of the founders and lay underneath it.
Professor Lupin and Sirius had gone back down there with Harry and mapped out the labyrinth of tunnels. Harry hadn't been able to find anything else down there, like secret rooms or any kind of manifesto left behind by a school aged Tom Riddle. He'd looked put out by that, but the light of excitement had been shining in his eyes about doing the mapping with the two men as they told him more about all they'd had to do to map the school when they were students.
The girl's toilet had been officially closed. The students were all told that it would be undergoing renovations.
Ginny and Ron got a chance to see the space before the Goblins had moved in to deal with the snake. Harry and she snuck Neville and Luna down there as well. Luna had been as speechless through the whole adventure as the rest of them. Hermione herself had found it as shocking to see the Basilisk the second time as it had been the first. It was just so large!
The Headmaster had just told she and Harry that he planned to keep the find quiet for as long as possible. Both of them knew that he believed Voldemort was still out there, he probably wouldn't be too happy about his secret chamber and beast being no longer a secret.
Once she was finished with her articles though there would be very little that the public wouldn't know about Tom Marvolo Riddle though, and that made her maliciously happy.
"I was wondering." Hermione started. "You knew Tom Riddle when he was a student here."
"I did."
"Would you be willing to share one of your memories of him with me?" she asked. "Only, I know you have a Pensive, and it would help to see what it was about him that drew people to him. Made them believe his ideals and listen to him."
The Headmaster stared at her intently while he contemplated her question.
"I wouldn't mind seeing that either." Harry spoke up from beside her. "And, I know you showed some memories to Sirius over the Christmas Holidays. I wondered if you would show those to me as well?"
There was a flash of pain in Dumbledore's eyes. "I have been waiting for you to ask, Harry. Expecting it rather. And I have decided I would like to show you, but Miss Granger." he turned to her. "I do need some time to contemplate showing you any memories."
"But." she started, if Harry was able to see them, what harm could it do for her to as well?
"I am not saying no." he placated. "I simply would like to think over any negative ramifications that may come from this. I know it would help your stories greatly, and I would like you to have as much information as I can provide, because you are right. When you came in here after the break and stated your case it made sense. The shroud of mystery that he created around himself only helped to spread the terror he'd created. Exposing him, his history and everything he'd done to ensure he was revered in our society, if we tore down the shroud then there is less of a chance that if he came back he would have the same impact."
Hermione felt hopeful at that. She cast a glance to Harry, from his expression she knew what the reason was for their Headmaster to withhold information. Probably to do with what he and Sirius had discovered over the holidays. She had a suspicion that Harry's godfather might be trying to narrow down where Voldemort fled to after Halloween 1981.
He'd agreed to let her see the school records; she was sure that he would eventually allow her to see his memories too. "How long before you believe you will be able to make a decision about it?"
He gave her a pleased smile. "One week. I will have another report from the Goblins then as well."
"Alright. Thank you." she stood up and Harry came with her.
Halfway back to Gryffindor Tower she stopped Harry and checked the nearest classroom to see if it was occupied before tugging him inside and closing the door. "If he doesn't tell me, will you?" she asked impatiently.
"Tell you what he showed me in the memories?" he asked unnecessarily, seeming concerned at the thought.
"Yes." she exasperated. "Come on Harry. I've done all this research and I want these articles to be as detailed and accurate as possible. Ginny knows what it is that you are keeping from me. You've known me longer; I've been here for you since we first stepped foot in this school. If you are holding back this information because you resent me not realizing how bad your home life was or something-"
"Whoa!" he cut her off. "I don't resent you! Hermione, you were one of my first friends. I'd love to be able to share this with you. Ginny's been nagging me to tell you, but it really isn't up to me to share this information. You heard it from Sirius himself. If you get Dumbledore to agree to show you those memories, then I'll tell you everything. But until then I just. I can't." he finished.
She observed him for any sign falsity, studying every worry line and flicker of emotion in his eyes before she sagged down onto the closest bench seat in defeat. "Well. Fine." she sighed.
Harry took up in the bench seat beside her and put an arm over her shoulders. "One week he said."
She nodded. "One week." she was glad he'd been keeping it from her for a larger reason than resentment. "Ginny's been nagging me to tell you all that I've discovered about him as well." she started quietly. "I guess it would only be fair."
"It would make it so we'll have less to discuss in a week anyhow." he said keenly.
She turned to study his face once more. They had been pretty close since they first started school, they'd always been there for each other. He and Neville were really her first friends too and their transition into adulthood had been pulling them all in different direction, but it felt so natural too. Little by little they had all been getting invested in their other interests and she had to wonder if she could read him as easily now as she would have this time last year. So much had happened since then, in his life in particular.
He still looked like the same Harry that had fended off bully's for Neville and let her cry on his shoulder when girls had been mean. The same boy that needed her help when it came to the Yule Ball in their fourth year and teamed up with Neville to tell her off about the time turner she'd been using in third year that caused her to have a bit of a break-down.
He was still the same, but there was just more to him. She could see the earnest in his eyes and the thoughtfulness of his expression. He was like a brother to her, or a cousin at least. And she trusted him. Whatever it was he was keeping from her he wouldn't have done it unless it was really important.
"Let's get back to Gryffindor then." she nodded.
()()()
Ginny, Ron and Neville looked up from their assignments when Harry and Hermione came through the portrait hole. "Alright?" Ron asked them.
"Yes, everything was sorted out with the Goblins." Hermione slid into the seat next to him.
Ginny caught how Hermione was leaning closer to him than she would have a few weeks ago. She couldn't help narrowing her eyes slightly at her friend. So far as she knew Ron hadn't made up his mind yet if he wanted to get back with her. She saw the longing there, but understood his hesitation as well. She was trying not to get involved but was angry at Hermione about it all.
"Alright?" Harry asked her quietly.
Turning to him she felt her slight animosity fade and warmth from his gaze wash over her. "Alright." she told him and leaned over for a kiss.
"Talked to Hermione, she's giving in to your nagging." he teased with a waggle of his eyebrows and a cheeky grin.
"Really?" She looked back over at the girl who was now explaining the deal worked out with the Goblin's. Ginny didn't care too much about it, she was just glad the thing was dead. Seeing it for herself had been rather frightening. It was HUGE! It had to be centuries old and starving at the time they'd found it and if one curious eye in the group of them that went down there had taken a peek it would have been awful.
"Yeah." he started playing with the end of a lock of her hair. "We'll head up to our dorm in a minute and she said she'll bring her research over. I want Ron and Neville to know too."
She put a hand on his leg to show her support. "I don't like keeping secrets from our friends. I'm glad you've convinced her to tell you."
He gave a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Thanks for wearing her down first."
Ginny chuckled and Harry leaned over to ask Neville to come up to the dorm with the two of them, nodding at Hermione so she would understand.
The three of them headed up first and went into the dorm room. Ginny settled herself back against Harry's pillow while he sat at the end of the bed and they were listening to Neville talking about his work in Greenhouse five when the door from the loo opened and Seamus walked in with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He nodded at Harry and Neville but must not have seen Ginny there because he went over to his dresser and whipped off his towel, tossing it on the bed.
Ginny bit her lip to stop from chuckling as her eyes were refusing to look away from his backside. He had quite a plump bum! He was pale all over and she couldn't help noticing how the light hair that started at his ankles went up much higher than Harry's did. There was less of it on his bum, but it stopped just above his tail bone. Any thicker and she'd think he was half fawn.
Harry and Neville stopped talking. "Er, Seamus?" Neville managed awkwardly. It had the opposite effect that he was going for though because it caused the boy to turn around.
Yep, her eyes went there.
He was flaccid though. And uncut. She couldn't help the tilt that came to her head as she got an eyeful. She'd seen Harry's before, obviously, and there were a few unfortunate incidents with her brothers over the years that she'd quickly covered her eyes over, but she couldn't help looking. "Hey Seamus," she grinned. "Nice to see you."
"Ginny!" He cried and grabbed his towel. "What are you doing in here?" he asked once he was covered up. He didn't look embarrassed too much, just surprised.
"Sorry." Harry cringed. "I didn't know you were up here having a shower. We'll go somewhere else." he started to get up.
"Nah." Seamus chuckled and waved him off. "Not a problem. You'll be putting in a good word for me, won't you." he winked at Ginny.
Ginny laughed. "Sure, Seamus. Very impressive."
"Yeah? Good enough for an orchard?" He waggled his eyebrows.
The smile slipped off her face then. "What was that?" He knew about the orchard. Her eyes shot over to Harry, who was now staring daggers at Seamus. She swallowed deeply. Had he been coming back to the dorm and telling them about... everything?
"I told you I'd hurt you if you ever brought that up." Harry growled at him.
"Oi, you're the one bringing your girlfriend up here and letting her get an eyeful of my goods. Figured the least I could do was even it out a bit, unless she wants to give me a flash as well." Seamus argued.
He had to take a step back as Harry stood up and pulled his wand out of his pocket. Neville jumped in front of him though. "Come on, mate." he said to Harry. "Seamus, can you just grab your clothes and get dressed in the loo?"
"Fine," Seamus turned back to his drawers and slammed them open and shut before stomping off to the loo again and slamming that door too.
Harry was still glaring at the door as he sat back down. Neville took his seat as well and cast a worried glance at Ginny.
She had a whole mix of emotions rolling through her. She and Harry had been intimate in a multitude of locations. They'd done all sorts of things together that she'd felt entirely comfortable doing with him, but she didn't need other people knowing about it. Didn't WANT other people knowing about it. It was private. Their first time in the orchard had been special to her, she thought it had been the same for him too.
"Ginny." Neville's voice cut through her daze. "It wasn't Harry that mentioned it. He hasn't been talking about the two of you."
Harry stopped glaring at the loo door and his head whipped around to her. "No!" he looked distraught. "No. I didn't say anything, it was-" he cut himself off.
"It was who?" she felt like crying. She hated crying, but she was hurt. Seamus knew about them. He knew, so Dean knew, that meant that the girls in her dorm were going to know. Harry would get a reputation as a player or something, but she'd be getting slut shamed.
The door opened and Ron and Hermione came in, the latter carrying a thick folder. She must have read the room right away. "What happened?"
"Ron." Harry growled. "Would you like to explain to Ginny why Seamus just mentioned something about an orchard to her?"
Ron's steps faltered and he stared at her with eyes wide and mouth open. "Uh..."
"Ron?" Ginny asked. What on heaven and earth would motivate Harry to share that with her brother? Or for her brother to pass that information along to his dorm mates.
Ron's cheeks colored furiously. "I'm sorry." he cringed. "I, we threatened them against ever mentioning it."
"How do YOU know?" A switch flipped inside her sending her from sad to irritated in the time it took to draw a single breath.
"Oh, like you tried to hide it." Ron argued defensively. "You know I can see the orchard from my room. Those tree's shake Ginny."
Oh, she realized. He'd 'seen' them. Well, not seen them, but inferred what they'd been doing. The view Ron would have had from his room he would have only been able to see the branches shaking. "But. Why would you mention it to Seamus?"
"Look," he threw his hands up in defense. "Harry and I were just talking, and he and Dean overheard. We swore we'd injure them or hex them if that ever got out. I don't need anyone talking about you like that."
"Except for you?" she yelled. "What Harry and I get up to when we're alone together is between us. If he does mention something to you in confidence, I expect you to keep your trap shut." she rounded on Neville. "You too."
"Ginny." Harry shifted down the bed and took her hands in his. "I haven't been talking to anyone about it." his eyes were portraying his distaste for the idea. He cupped the side of her face and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I haven't been bragging, I swear. The guys have all been able to tell when you and I have been alone together, but I swear to you they can only guess what we've been getting up to."
She wished they could be alone together right then. Neville was looking like he would like to disappear into the floor and Ron and Hermione were both fidgeting uncomfortably.
She blamed herself a bit for this too. Before Christmas she'd told him that he should start sharing things with his friends, that included relationship things. She and Hermione had had a rather candid discussion a few months back and she'd simply trusted her to keep it to herself. It had just been such a surprise to hear it come out of Seamus' mouth. Seamus and Harry weren't close friends, that made it entirely different.
"Ginny?" he leaned closer, so their foreheads were touching. "Ginny, please believe me. I would never."
"Yeah." she nodded. "Yeah, I believe you." she told him quietly. He looked so worried, leaning forward she gave him a soft kiss. "It's fine. I was just shocked, that's all." That was true, Harry had sounded so sincere and appalled by the idea that he might be coming up to his dorm and 'bragging' about their adventures that she was able to relax again.
"Why would Seamus even bring that up?" Ron asked.
Ginny chuckled. "I man have saw him in his birthday suit." she told Ron.
"What?" Ron asked dumbfounded. "How- Why?"
"He came in from the loo and dropped his towel." Neville explained, he was clearly glad they'd all moved on from that awkward situation. "Didn't notice her before then."
"What's a 'birthday suit'?" Hermione asked innocently.
That got them all laughing. It took her another moment before her cheeks tinged pink and she clued in.
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Remus trailed his fingers over her side. It was lovely waking to see her in the morning light coming through the window of her flat. He hadn't felt this great in years. So free and happy. He had his best friend back, he had an academic task to work on and he had an amazing girlfriend.
Girlfriend.
She was his girlfriend. This amazing, young, fit woman was his girlfriend. And it had been her to claim that title, she hadn't waited around for him to ask her if that's what this was. He rather felt like a blushing awkward teenager when it came to relationship talks. The sex part he had down crystal freaking clear.
He'd been so relieved that she hadn't had any issues with how his impulses had been taking over for that activity. She'd been rather keen on it; she'd even confided that she'd been too conservative in her previous relationships in asking for it to be just like that. Of course, what could he do after receiving that bit of information than take her again.
It was these mornings though that he loved. He'd only managed to stay the night with her a few times, waking up beside her made him feel like he didn't have a care in the world. He knew right now that she wasn't completely asleep; he'd heard the change in her breathing as he began caressing her side. He couldn't resist though, there was this lovely dip below her ribs before the curve of her hips and he had to touch it. Then he had to press himself flush against her back and move his hands to cup her breasts, lower his head to kiss her neck, smell that comforting scent of her; warmth and sleep were somehow a scent of their own that occupied his oral faculties on these mornings.
He pulled back from her neck and looked down to see she was smiling with her eyes closed. He kissed along her shoulder and rested his head there as she became more awake. She gave a stretch and moaned, shifting away from him to lay on her back. Her hand came up into his hair and she gave a slow scratch there as her eyes opened. "You're a lovely sight in the morning."
"I was just thinking the same thing." he grinned and lay his head down just above her breast.
It was a Sunday morning and they were in no hurry to get anywhere. It was the one weekend a month where she wasn't on duty and he'd arranged to not be in charge of detentions or patrols, there was two weeks until the next Full Moon as well, so he was in good shape without potions. He'd taken her out for a proper date the previous night, a Muggle one; dinner and a movie. It had been fun, particularly when she found the movie slightly uninteresting and started snogging him instead of watching it. Her father was a Muggleborn, so it wasn't a new and illuminating experience for her to be at the cinema.
He traced a finger over a few beauty marks that were on her chest. He was so comfortable here with her. He didn't want to do anything but lay there all day.
"Coffee." she murmured, her hand still working over his scalp. "Food. Sustenance."
"Then more shagging."
Her chuckles vibrated through her chest to his cheek. "Yes. When do you have to be back at the school?"
"Dinner at least." he cupped her breast and started massaging it, tracing circles around the areola and tweaking her pebbled nipple gently. "How badly do you need coffee right now?" His mouth moved to the nipple on her other breast and he moved to situate himself between her legs.
Both her hands moved into his hair then and down to his neck, massaging along the way and encouraging him along. "I think I can manage to live a little longer without."
He hummed and rubbed his hand up and down her thigh to bring her leg up around him. "How much longer?" he teased.
"About seven or eight inches." she rolled her hips.
He looked up at her with a smirk. He hadn't ever been able to figure out if was her pheromones that got him going all the time, or the other way around. The initial desire was there, but that she was always ready for him, he found that amazing.
He hooked his arm under her leg and brought it up over his shoulder before lowering himself between her legs and kissing along the outline of her curls. "How much longer?" he queried smugly. She loved it when he went down on her, he knew she'd stave off breakfast so long as he was having himself a feast between her thighs.
"Yes please," her hips bucked again in anticipation.
Remus grinned. She was a wanton little minx, and he loved it. He traced his thumb over her most sensitive area, dipping it inside her before circling it over her clit and hearing her whimper with want. It was music to his ears. Delving his head lower he took her in his mouth. He rolled and flicked his tongue against her just how he'd learned she liked as her hips rocked with his movements. Pulling up the top sheet over him he drew it over his head and up to her chest. He wanted to be completely encompassed by the scent of her.
Every clench of her thighs, roll of her hips and pant from her lips was encouraging him along and making him crazy with want. There were things he wanted to do to her that he hadn't done yet. Things he didn't know if she'd be up for, or think were okay. But he couldn't help fantasizing about doing them to her.
Drawing his hand up to just by his chin he dipped a finger into her; swirling it around in her hot wetness. He wasn't sure how she'd react to this next part, but he wouldn't know until he tried. Pulling his finger out of her slowly he traced the pad of that finger around her rear entrance. He could hear her heart beating faster and her breath hitching, she was excited, and she wasn't stopping him. Slowly he teased her there as his tongue continued lapping at her clit. She pressed her hips down, causing him to put more pressure against her anus.
He grinned and pressed on, inserting his finger just a little bit into her there then stopping and only using his tongue on her. Then he moved his finger forwards a little more, then more.
She was rocking back against it, making him pump it in and out of her. Her movements grew desperate and he could tell she was getting close to cumming for him. She started cursing and panting above him, thrusting her hips against his mouth, then back down onto his finger and repeating the movement.
"YES!" she screamed.
He immediately moved his mouth from her clit to her vagina to lap up the delicious nectar her orgasm brought about. He groaned at the taste of her and slowly eased his finger out of her before kissing his way up her body, groaning louder when he pushed his raging erection into her. She was like a hot, wet velvet glove.
"Liked that did you?" he purred in her ear as he thrust into her with steady slow movements. Her only response was an expletive and weak arms coming around his middle to hold on lazily to his lower back. He was proud of how good he'd managed to get her, now he was going to take his time getting his cock massaged by her.
It felt so good to have her wrapped around him while he took his time. He wanted to build her up again before he got his. Feeling her clamping down around him when she came was incredible. It took a minute, but her energy came back and she braced her arms and legs around him tighter and rocked back against him. She kissed along his jaw to his ear. "Do it again." she whispered in his ear.
He gave a hard thrust into her at that. He'd been wanting to go slow and take his time, but that wasn't going to happen now. She'd been rather wet and his movements in and out of her caused some of that wetness to trail down, giving him plenty of lubrication to push his finger back inside her. She cried out in pleasure and her nails raked down his back.
The angle was slightly awkward, but the image in his mind of it being a different part of his anatomy where his finger was was making his pleasure centers fire on all cylinders. It wasn't long before he felt the familiar fluttering of her walls about to compress around him again.
Her back arched against him as her second orgasm took over her. He withdrew his finger and gripped her hip holding her in place as he thrust into her with vigor until spilling himself inside her with a loud groan. "God you feel good." he moaned into her neck as he held her to him as the last waves of pleasure coursed through him.
"That was..." she trailed off.
"Yes?" he asked nervously. She'd enjoyed it, he knew that, but it was still a line that had been crossed there.
"'Mazing." she sighed contentedly.
"It was okay?" He pulled up to rest on his elbows. He needed to see her face to see if she'd been truly okay with it. The satisfied smirk on her face was assurance enough for him.
"Bit awkward to use words for that one, isn't it?" her tongue was sticking out slightly between her teeth.
He snickered. "Yes, asking if you were okay with me sticking a finger up your arse would be an odd conversation." He buried his face in her neck.
"Bit surprised how much I liked it actually." she murmured.
He withdrew and lay down beside her. "So, you've never done that before?"
"No," she shook her head. "But it was. It felt really good." she blushed.
He appreciated how far down her blush went. She was already flush from the sex and she wasn't hiding anything with her skills. He'd asked her not to change anything about her features when they were together. He didn't want her pretending to be anything, he wanted to see every beauty mark and scar that she had. They'd been together for two months now and he felt that he had a good sense of who she really was, and he was very much falling in love with her. That was something that had only happened to him once before and it had been when he was in school. He'd been too immature then though to know what it all meant. With Dora it all felt real though.
He gave a swallow. "So, does that mean that you're open to…" It really was awkward to say these questions out loud.
"I mean," she looked down and bit her lip nervously. "I'm not saying 'no', but maybe we could, build our way up to it?"
"Yeah?" he felt relieved. It wasn't that he was desperate for it, but he couldn't help wanting to try things with her. "You can say no though, you know, that right?"
She met his eyes and smiled. "I know." her finger traced the side of his face. "I like that you want to do all kinds of depraved things to me." she grinned and pushed him to lay on his back before she straddled and sat astride him. "How is it that you are so dominating in bed, and come off as so meek everywhere else?"
Years of practice, he thought. That answer would only spur on more questions. "You just make me turn into a sex crazed maniac." he ran his hands up and down her sides.
She leaned down and gave him a final kiss before hopping off the bed. "Coffee time." she pulled his button down on and left him there as she went to the kitchen.
Remus gave a sigh. He didn't know when he should tell her. She'd have to know soon. They'd been together through two cycles already. He figured it might be something to talk to Sirius about, see what he suggested.
()()()
"Do her parents know about the two of you?" Sirius asked him.
"Uh... no." Remus hadn't even thought about telling her parents. He didn't have any, it hadn't even crossed his mind. Which was ridiculous because he'd met her at her parent's home. He knew Andromeda as well from the past war efforts, and Ted had been a great host. How would they take it that he was a thirty-five-year-old dating their twenty-four-year-old daughter? Would they think he was being lecherous?
"Whoa, calm down." Sirius nudged his shoulder after seeing the color drain from his face. He'd come over through to Remus' suite for a night cap. He told him all about what Harry had shared with him about the meeting with the Goblins.
It was great that they were getting on so well and Harry had someone to write to while he was in school. It did make Remus wonder if Harry knew exactly how often Sirius was at the school visiting though. And in reverse, he wondered if Sirius sometimes came to the school so often because it was the last place he'd been properly happy, or because he felt closer to Harry, and by extension James, by being there.
"What I meant was, is it really that serious if you haven't been introduced to Andy and Ted as her boyfriend yet?" Sirius clarified.
"I hadn't thought of that." he said honestly.
"Well," he shrugged "maybe wait then. Once you know just how serious it is between the two of you, then let her know. For what it's worth, I knew Andy pretty well and I am sure that she would be okay with it. If Dora's as smitten with you as you are with her then the two of you will be having puppies in no time."
Remus scrunched his face up at Sirius then. "Can I get some honest opinions from you please? This is actually important to me. I'm worried I'm going to scare her away once she finds out and you joking about it all isn't helping stop me slipping into panic mode."
"Remus," Sirius exasperated, "you have nothing to worry about. Dora and you are getting along famously. Remember how she kept needing assurances that you wouldn't be prejudiced against her because of her being a Metamorph? I highly doubt that she would have anything against you being a Werewolf. You've been together at all times of the month through, what, three cycles now?"
"Coming up on, yeah," Remus bobbed his head in agreement and thought.
"Okay. So, she knows that you aren't just going to somehow become one in the middle of the night and attack her. You've also held this job down for four years, so she knows that Albus trusts you around kids. She will take it just fine." he promised. "I do just think that you should wait until she introduces you to her parents properly. It'll be sort of a seal on your relationship."
Remus nodded. It was a fair assessment. And now that it had been brought up, he wasn't sure which would be worse, telling the woman he was falling in love with that he was a Werewolf, or meeting her parents in a boyfriend capacity. "How's your woman?" he asked, needing a distraction.
Sirius took a long drink from his tumbler. "Pretty sure that's done actually. We haven't made much time for each other since Valentine's. Saw each other maybe twice since then?"
"You don't seem to upset by that." he commented.
"Well, we weren't ever doing that doe eyed thing that you and Dora do. It was mostly just about sex and a bit of companionship." he said sadly. "Went on a few dates at first, then it was just about meeting up, doing the deed and then carrying on with our days."
"Think she was of the same opinion?" Remus wondered.
"Pretty sure, yeah. Either way I'll find out for sure the next time I see her." He paused and rubbed a thumb over the rim of his glass. "I've ah, I've been thinking about taking a trip to Albania."
"What?" Remus asked. They'd talked about going to Albania, but not until summer when he could go as well.
"Perhaps over the Easter break?" Sirius suggested. "Sort of get a jump on trying to locate him. The only other thing I had planned was taking Harry to Godrich's Hollow, and that is going to be woefully depressing."
"So, you want to pile on?" Remus scoffed.
"No," he rolled his eyes. "I just want all this over with. I'd like to narrow down where he might have gone. I'm going to do some research on Helena Ravenclaw and the Bloody Baron to see where in Albania she hid the Diadem and I thought, well, it's a coastal country. Might be a nice vacation spot."
"Oh, you mean mornings by the beach, afternoon's hunting down Dark Lords. Yeah, that sounds like a smashing time."
"Be real." Sirius sighed. "It's a small country. There are only so many places that he could hide. I think just going there and getting the lay of the land would be beneficial. Get us all more prepared for once we figure out the deal with the Horcruxes. I'm assuming he'd be staying in a rather secluded wood or something. Going out there, renting a car and driving around. It wouldn't hurt anybody. We could stick to the Muggle areas, get stories from locals."
Remus frowned in thought. That wasn't such a bad idea. Getting legends from the local Muggles couldn't hurt. "That. Well, that does sound like a good idea."
"Thank you." he cheersed his glass. "I think Harry would love it too. I imagine he hasn't traveled at all, getting to the mainland would be a treat for him."
Remus wouldn't mind taking a vacation either. It had been ages since he'd gone anywhere. He'd done a few trips to Paris, went to Lisbon once, but other than that he'd just stuck to the island. Maybe Dora might want to take a trip that summer. "You'll do the Godrich's Hollow bit first, right?"
"Was planning on that, yeah. Don't want him to have a great holiday and then get depressed right after. I'll need a trip after that as well." he took another swig. "Any more luck on the project?"
He had, "Remember when we talked about putting the soul fragments into an Inferni?" Sirius cringed. "Well, I think that once we get the transference bit sorted that that would be our best bet." Collecting the pieces of Tom Riddle's soul into one place would be a very interesting accomplishment. They had been all one soul at one point, it would be interesting to see if they did meld together again or if one piece was stronger than the others and stayed dominant.
"And bring that with us to Albania to call out the Wraith?"
"No. I had another idea for that." This Remus felt conflicted about. He wasn't sure if everyone was going to go for it, but it just might work.