Upon her return from her honeymoon, Holly still had five days before the students returned to school. She had already moved her few personal possessions from the castle back home. However, Remus had decided to wait until they came back to move in. After spending a few hours telling everyone about their honeymoon and handing out gifts, they decided to pack his things. By dinner, they were finished. They ate with Sirius and the Weasleys, then went to their new home.
When they arrived, Holly made them some hot cocoa. They sat down, and Holly looked over at his trunks; she asked "Are you sure you got everything?"
"I'm pretty sure I did. After living there for nearly three years, I can't be totally certain nothing got misplaced."
"At least if anything does turn up missing, you'll know where to look."
"Yes, and I'm sure if Sirius finds anything of mine, he'll make sure I get it back. You know, after all he's done for me, I need to thank him somehow, other than just saying it. But what do you get for someone who's got everything he wants?"
"That is a difficult question...he's got enough money to buy anything he wants. The only things he doesn't have are the freedom to really move about in public, and someone to love. Money can't buy either. Maybe we'll think of something, though."
"An invitation to dinner here a few times would be something he'd like. He could come here by floo network without worrying and it would give him a chance to get out of that house."
"That sounds good. If we think of something else he'd like, we can do that too."
After they'd finished their cocoa, they decided to unpack his things. They levitated the trunks to their bedroom, and got his clothes unpacked and put away. As she was hanging some clothes in the closet, Holly stepped back and said "Even though I've loved this place since I moved here, it sometimes felt more like just a house than a home. Seeing your things here with mine tells me that won't be a problem anymore. I have a real home again...not just a building with rooms and belongings, but a place where someone I love is waiting for me and wants me there. A place where I'll feel loved, cared for, and accepted. I've missed that."
"I feel like I belong here too, for the same reasons...knowing you want me here, that I'm accepted here."
"You do belong here. This is our home together, not just mine. Just because I bought it doesn't mean it's only mine. It became yours when you put this ring on my finger. That's just how I do things."
They finished unpacking his clothes, but decided to leave his books and other possessions until the next day. Around 11 p.m., they changed into pajamas, both tired from the busy day.
The next morning, Holly woke up and felt as though she were being watched. She realized she was cuddled up against Remus' chest, and his arm was across her belly. She turned her head a little and he realized she was awake.
"Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes I did. Have you been watching me sleep?"
"I sure have, for about half an hour. I enjoy it. I did this several times last week. I wake up with you against me and almost can't believe it's real. Feeling you breathe reminds me it is."
She raised up a little and kissed him "That should help too."
"Yeah, it does. My dreams don't kiss as well as you do" he laughed.
She crawled out of bed, and while she was in the bathroom, he went to the kitchen, lit the fireplace and started breakfast.
A few minutes later, she came into the living room, fully dressed and ready for the day. She inhaled deeply as she walked toward the kitchen door.
"Breakfast smells wonderful. What are you cooking?"
"Bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee."
"Is it done yet?"
"Almost. It will only be a few more minutes."
She walked over to the coffeepot and poured herself a cup, then sat down at the bar. She loved to watch Remus cook. She thought to herself 'of course, I love to watch him do anything' . She sipped her coffee and about the time she got half finished, he brought a plate over to her. Then he got his plate and coffee and sat down next to her.
The meal was perfect, as everything he'd cooked for her had been. As they ate, they talked, deciding to spend the day unpacking his things and just relaxing.
By noon that day, the last of his three trunks was unpacked. Most of what he had brought was books and a few mementos from different people. Now it was all arranged in either the bedroom or the living room. They spent the rest of the day, and in fact the rest of the holidays relaxing and enjoying being together.
School resumed, and Holly was very busy. She found she loved coming home to Remus every night. The first week he had dinner either cooking or finished when she got home.
About a month after classes resumed, she came in with a big stack of papers to be graded. As she stepped out of the fireplace, Remus saw her and caught the stack she had in her arms.
"Looks like you're swamped. You must be preparing your classes for their exams."
"Yes, I am. They've got about eight weeks, and I'm trying to help them make the most of it. These papers are essays and answered study guides."
"After dinner, would you like me to help you grade some of them?"
"Sure. I'll let you grade the study guides. I have answer keys for each set, and if you have a question about something, ask me."
"That will be easy enough. At least this way, you won't be up all night working."
"True, and I appreciate it."
"Before I forget to mention it, I went to Hogsmeade during break today. I was passing by Gladrags, and in the window they had a watch that I think will be a perfect gift for Sirius."
"Did you get it?"
"No, because I'm not as certain about his tastes as you are. I'd like you to look at it first."
"Okay, we'll go this weekend."
"Sounds good to me."
They ate dinner, and afterwards started on the papers she'd brought home. He helped her, and only needed questions answered a couple of times. Since both of them worked at it, they were finished by midnight.
That weekend, as planned, they went to Hogsmeade. When they arrived at Gladrags, she showed him the watch. It was a very nice silver pocket watch with a pattern of brushed stripes inlaid on the case. It was a simple, classy design that would look good with anything.
"What do you think? Would he like this one?"
" I believe he would. This would be a very useful gift, because his got damaged in the fight at the Ministry last year. I don't think he's replaced it yet."
"Then we'll buy it for him. We can invite him to dinner tonight and give it to him then."
"Alright. How about steaks and all the trimmings for dinner. It's not his favorite meal, but he does like it."
"That sounds good. Want me to help you cook?"
"Sure. It's more fun when we both work on the meal."
They bought the watch, apparated to the edge of Godric's Hollow, picked up a few things at the market, then walked home.
Remus wrapped the watch, then contacted Sirius by floo network. He invited him over for dinner in a couple of hours. Sirius accepted ,of course, pleased with the chance to get out of Grimmauld Place.
Then, Remus and Holly started working on the meal. He put the steaks on to cook while she cut up the vegetables for the salad. The also prepared baked potatoes and dinner rolls.
A little before 6 p.m., Sirius showed up. The meal was not totally finished, so he offered to help. Holly turned down his offer, and told him that everything was under control.
Sirius sniffed the air "What have you got cooking? I see the salad and bread, but there's something good coming from the stove."
Remus said "Thank you. I have to admit it does smell good. I've cooked some really nice steaks and baked potatoes to go with the salad and rolls."
"You cooked? If it's as good as it was last time, I'm in for a treat. What's the occasion? Is Holly pregnant or something like that?"
"No, Holly's not pregnant as far as we know. It's certainly a possibility, but we don't think so. The occasion is just that we wanted to thank you for all you've done for me, and for us."
"I haven't done anything you wouldn't have done for me."
"While it's true I'd give you the shirt off my back if you asked me for it, I want you to know I appreciate you letting me live with you for the past three years. I also appreciate you being rough enough with me to make me realize how much I love Holly. Without your words, I'd have probably talked myself out of the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"You're welcome. I'm just glad you two found each other. It's good to see a smile on your face again, Remus. It's been a long time since I've seen you really happy."
"I can honestly say I've never been this happy. The best part is, I get to wake up next to this angel every morning."
Holly smiled and blushed a vivid red " I don't know if I'd call myself an angel. But dinner's ready if you are."
They carried the dishes of food to the dining table, then sat down and passed everything around. A few minutes into the meal, Sirius said "You've still got it, Remus. This is even better than Molly's cooking, and that's saying a lot."
"Thanks, Sirius."
Holly chimed in. "He's been spoiling me. I get to eat like this every night. Not that I'm complaining. I love it, in fact."
Once the meal was finished, Holly gathered the dishes and took them to the kitchen. When she returned, Remus told Sirius "I have something for you. The meal was a thank you for what you've done, but I wanted to give you something that would last."
He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small square box. He handed it to Sirius.
Sirius took it, but before he opened it, he clapped his friend on the shoulder and said
"Your friendship has been all the thanks I need for what I've done. I appreciate the sentiment, and I will accept the gift because it means so much to you. But I want you to know, you've never owed me anything."
He then opened the box, and lifted out the pocket watch.
"This is really very nice, Remus. I haven't had the chance to replace the one that got broken last year. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Holly saw it and showed it to me because she thought you might like it. I'm glad to see that you do. As for what you said earlier, I appreciate your feelings, but this was just something I needed to do."
"I know. By the way, Holly, you've got great taste. This is exactly the sort of thing I'd buy myself."
They spend another couple of hours talking, then Sirius decided he was ready to go home. He thanked them again for the meal and the gift, then left.
Soon, February warmed into March, and along with the change in weather came the usual increased workload for Holly. Her students were now only four weeks away from their OWLs and NEWTs, so she was giving them plenty to study. She'd also had a few more students sign up for tutoring, which meant a lot of late evenings at the castle. Several times, Remus came to her office between her last class and first tutoring session to bring her dinner. She could eat at the castle, but he absolutely loved cooking for her. Since she loved his food and he wanted to do it, she didn't argue.
April brought with it two weeks of exams for her fifth and seventh year students. In a way, it was a relief for Holly, because she was finished helping them prepare. But the relief was short-lived, because her other classes had to be ready for their finals. At least she made those tests, so she knew what they would be facing.
One night in early May, Holly came home from work a little early. When she landed in the fireplace, the first thing she heard was Remus humming. As she stepped out, she was able to get a whiff of something cooking. She tiptoed across the living room, set her briefcase and bag down on the table, then slipped off her shoes. She walked quietly across the room to the door of the kitchen, and glanced in. He had his back to the door, so she carefully walked in and put her arms around him from behind. At the same time, she said "I'm home."
"You're early"
"Yes, I am. So I thought I'd sneak up on you."
"It worked. I didn't know you were here till I felt your arms around me."
"Since I am home early, and I don't have quite as much to do as usual, would you like some help?"
"Sure. Do you want to chop the vegetables for the salad or shred the cheese for the lasagne?"
"I'll chop the veggies. Did you get these from the garden?"
"Yes. I picked these a couple of hours ago. These tomatoes are part of what made me choose this meal. They were so ripe they were just begging to be used, and I know how you love lasagne and salad."
" I do, and these look wonderful. I could eat them just like this. But I won't since you are preparing one of my favorite meals."
"I appreciate that, because there weren't anymore ripe to replace these with. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm making a chocolate pie for dessert."
"That sounds great. I'm so lucky, and so very spoiled. Not many women come home to a husband that not only can cook, but does it well and enjoys it."
"So you married me for my cooking talents?" Remus asked sarcastically.
Holly laughed "No. Everyone knows I married you for your body."
She walked over to him and kissed him. "Honestly, honey, I married you for the only reason I'd marry anyone...for pure, true love. You are my best friend, my soul mate, the only person in the world who has ever made me feel whole and happy. And you do all of that just by wrapping your arms around me."
He looked into her eyes and replied "You are the only person in the world who ever told me I am human strongly enough for me to believe it. You're the calm in the storm, my soul mate, and the one person in my life I can't live without. I cherish you with every breath, every heart beat. I'm yours forever."
She hugged him a little tighter. "Same here...I'm not going anywhere. Now, shall we finish our dinner?"
"Yes, because I suspect we're both hungry."
Once all of the preparation was done, she went to the bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She came back and found him on the sofa, listening to the wireless. She joined him, and they listened to the program together. As it was going off an hour later, Remus checked on dinner.
Everything was done, so they sat at the bar to eat. The meal was wonderful; the lasagne was perfect, the salad was fresh and the bread was soft and buttery. While they ate, he asked her about her day.
"It wasn't too bad. Some of them, the younger ones especially, are getting restless. They know they've only got a couple of weeks left of term. But I managed to keep them focused."
"This time of year and the first part are always the hardest, at least from my experience, and from what I heard. It makes sense that it would be; most of the kids would rather be somewhere having fun. But at least you've only got two weeks left."
"Yes. I'll be glad when it's over too. I've enjoyed my year, but I'm ready for a break too. I won't miss those foot-high stacks of papers to grade either."
"It looks like that's how much you've got tonight. Want some help?"
"Sure. But I want to relax a bit before we start."
They finished dinner, and returned to the sofa. The wireless was still on, playing a different program. As before, she sat beside him. He pulled her close, and leaned down to kiss her. When they parted, she slipped from his embrace, then surprised him by straddling him. She wrapped her arms around him, looked deeply into his eyes, encouraging him. She kissed him passionately, leaving no doubt what she wanted. She pulled away, kissing his cheek, then kissing her way down his neck to his collarbone. As she moved to meet his lips again, she felt his hands untucking her shirt.
At that same moment, their fireplace hissed. Remus looked over her shoulder, and saw Professor McGonagall's head in the fire. Holly had heard it too, and was off his lap in a second.
McGonagall spoke " I'm sorry to interrupt your evening, but we need Holly back at school. Actually we could use both of you if you can come. Professor Dumbledore is away, so we're really shorthanded. Somehow, Death Eaters have gotten into the castle. We've got about a dozen in here, and there could be more that we don't know about."
Remus replied "We'll both be there in just a minute."
McGonagall thanked him, then disappeared.
Holly had already gotten up, turned off the wireless, checked the stove, and was walking into the living room when Remus got up. They walked to the fireplace and used the floo network to get to school.
They landed in the teachers' lounge, then ran out into the hall. They made their way to the Entrance Hall, where there was chaos. Several groups of faculty and students were fighting the Death Eaters. But there were sounds of battle coming from the stairs as well.
A few moments later, a handful of Death Eaters, including Fenrir Greyback, Draco Malfoy and Professor Snape ran down the stairs, firing off curses randomly. Holly joined the group that was trying to stop them, and managed to hit Draco. She sent curses at the others as well, and only narrowly missed Greyback. As this was going on, Harry Potter ran down the stairs, frantically firing at Snape. The Death Eaters ran out of the castle with Harry right behind them. The few Death Eaters that were fighting ran out behind them; there were some that had been stunned who were captured to be turned over to the Ministry.
This brought an end to the fighting. The staff and students began to regroup and check on each other. The healthy gathered the wounded and brought them up to the hospital wing. Holly and Remus each assisted in bringing someone upstairs. There were quite a few injured, but only a few of them severe. When they arrived at the hospital wing, they discovered that among the worst was Bill Weasley. He had been bitten by Greyback. They went to see him, and his family was already there. When they approached the bed, Mr. Weasley asked Remus what to expect.
Remus replied "I don't really know might happen. Greyback wasn't transformed, so I don't think Bill will be a true werewolf. But those are cursed wounds, and they will not likely ever heal fully. And, he may have some wolfish characteristics from now on."
Mrs .Weasley is obviously upset about it all, and comments about how he had been such a handsome boy. She also expresses concern that "he was going to be married". Fleur assured her that she is still going to marry Bill, that the scars only show he is brave, and that their feelings for each other won't change.
Remus spoke up " A few years ago I would not have believed it possible for a werewolf to be happy or fall in love either. But it can, and does, happen. He is fortunate to have found a woman who can love him for himself, and accept all of him."
A moment or two later, Harry walked in with the worst news of the night.
"Dumbledore's dead. Snape killed him. I saw it; I was behind the invisibility cloak, immobilized."
A stunned silence fell over the group. Holly and Remus wept at the loss of the man who had been like a father to them, who's helped them so much.
As they stood there, they could hear music filling the air. The sound felt as if it were their grief somehow turned to song. It seemed to come from everywhere. Though she'd only heard it once before, Holly recognized the sound as phoenix song. Fawkes' expression of grief at the loss of his master was terribly sad, yet beautiful. Somehow listening to it helped ease their pain just a little.
In the days following the battle, many students were brought home by their parents, but at least as many remained for the funeral. The Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave about an hour after the service to bring home those who had stayed behind.
By the day of the service, most of those injured in the battle had been released from the hospital wing. Among those was Bill Weasley who, as expected, still had some unhealed wounds. Despite this, he was still the same friendly, easy-going young man they all knew.
Dumbledore's funeral was held a week after his death. It was a warm, sunny day and the sky was a beautiful clear blue. The service was to be held outside, and hundreds of rows of chairs had been set up near the lake. Witches and wizards from everywhere came to pay their respects to a man who had touched the lives of so many people.
A little man in plain black robes delivered the eulogy. Though Remus and Holly listened, each were lost in their own memories of Dumbledore. The first time they'd met him, his kind eyes and warm smile, the times in their teen years when he'd helped them through their difficulties.
Remus knew he owed his education to Dumbledore; so few people would have been willing to take the chances he had. Without that opportunity, he'd have never met his friends, never become the man he was today.
He squeezed Holly's hand gently and looked at her. Her face was puffy, tears were streaming down her cheeks.
She was thinking of how much Dumbledore had done for her after her parents' deaths. He'd seen to all the legal details for her, ensuring that no one took advantage of her. But most importantly, he had helped her grieve. He had established an open door policy to allow her access to anyone she felt comfortable talking to, anytime. He had spent many hours talking, and just as often, listening to her as she worked through her feelings. Once she'd graduated, they'd lost touch until last year, when he'd hired her. Little did he realize he would facilitate her meeting the man she would marry. She smiled at that thought, and remembered how pleased he'd been to hear of their engagement and to be asked to perform the ceremony for them.
By this time, the little wizard had stopped speaking and was stepping away from the table where Dumbledore's body lay. Bright white flames erupted around Dumbledore's body, and the table it rested on. The flames rose higher, obscuring the body. The smoke they produced spiraled into the air in various shapes. When it cleared, the fire vanished, and in its place was a white marble tomb.
From the forest, a shower of arrows came sailing through the air, stopping short of the crowd. This was the centaurs' tribute to Dumbledore.
A moment or two later, the crowd began to disperse. Holly and Remus lingered in their seats, allowing the crowd to thin. Then they made their way up to the castle and to her old quarters. They sat and talked for a while, discussing what to do next. There was much to be done; the castle had sustained some damage that needed to be repaired. Professor McGonagall had asked that everyone who could help remain at the castle to assist. They decided they would stay to help with the repairs. Holly would go back to their house to get a few things they would need to stay for a few days. If they were needed for a longer period of time, they could leave and return later.
Holly went to the Headmaster's office and spoke to Professor McGonagall . She told her they would be staying to help, and asked if there was a way to get a bigger bed. McGonagall told her there was a suite of rooms on the other end of the hall from the one she'd been using that was for a married couple. Therefore, it was larger and had a bigger bed. Holly accepted it, got the password, and went to tell Remus.
Four days after the funeral, Remus and Holly received more bad news. Sirius has been recaptured and imprisoned in Azkaban. Apparently he had gone to Godric's Hollow to visit James' and Lily's graves and had been reported by someone. The Aurors had arrived before he'd had a chance to get away. Since the dementors no longer guarded the prison, he would not receive the dementor's kiss, but would remain imprisoned indefinitely. They were both saddened by this news and went to visit him as soon as possible.
The repair work on the school progressed steadily, and by mid July it was finished. The teachers would have a few weeks of summer to relax and prepare for the new term.