Remus never liked side-along apparition, especially if it was a few days after the full moon. His body was still tender from his transformation, and although he no longer would need the help of his cane, he was still weak, and risked the danger of getting splinched, or lost in the "void", as he called it. However, for Isabella, he would risk losing an arm, and he knew how bad that was, but he just loved her so damn much.
Love was blinding—he could only shrug about that.
They arrived to their destination in the span of five seconds, Remus feeling nauseous, but it only lasted for a moment. He didn't even have a chance to check his surroundings before Isabella was upon him, patting him down and checking him for injuries. It made him smile.
"I'm alright," he assured her, grabbing her wandering hands and raising them up to meet his lips in a kiss, "just a bit dizzy, is all."
"I would have suggested the Floo Network, given your state, but this place isn't connected to anything," Isabella said absentmindedly, rising a hand to brush a lock of hair away from Remus' eyes.
"Where exactly are we, love?" Remus asked curiously, looking away from Isabella and up to survey his surroundings, never letting go of her hands.
Isabella smiled nervously, biting the inside of her cheek as she watched Remus' eyes dart from left to right.
They were standing in a forest, tall, ancient trees towering high above them, shooting up into the sky and seeming to brush the undersides of clouds. The smell of pine, rain, and wet earth danced about in the afternoon breeze, refreshing the senses and clearing up the mind. There was a certain magic about the air that told Remus that this forest was ancient, and that the land he stood upon was not ordinary. It made him anxious and nervous; he could nearly feel the magic crackling and skirting across his skin, giving him goose bumps.
"We're in Scotland," Isabella said quietly, looking around the forest, through the trees, seeing something that Remus couldn't, "the glens specifically."
"It's beautiful," Remus admitted, drawing his eyes down to Isabella, "but why are we here? What's going on, Isabella?"
Slowly Isabella removed her hands from Remus' grasp, and then began to rummage through the inner pocket of her robes. It only took her a moment to find what she was looking for, which was a small piece of parchment, folded up in half.
"You need to read this," Isabella said, handing Remus the piece of parchment, "but not right now; not here."
"I don't understand."
"It's… the place I've brought you to," Isabella began, "it's under the Fidelius Charm."
"You're a Secret-Keeper?" Remus asked, surprised.
Isabella nodded, a small smile on her lips. "There are many things I haven't told you—I've had to withhold some information from you, like certain secrets Severus has given for me to keep… but this one, that slip of paper… I trust you Remus, and I've decided to share something with you that is, well, important enough to be under the Fidelius Charm."
Remus did not know what to say. This was something big. Not just anyone was made Secret-Keeper…
"Isabella," he began softly, "this is… I don't even know what to say, but know that I am honored that you trust me enough to share this information with me."
"No secrets between us unless absolutely necessary, yeah?" Isabella said with a smile, and Remus nodded. "Come my love, I want you to open the parchment over there. I'm aware that I can just orally say the name of the place… but this is more… mysterious, don't you think?"
Remus just smiled.
Mutely he followed behind Isabella as she led him through the trees. There was no definite path that she was following, but by her careful steps, and with how easily Isabella managed to lead Remus out of the trees and into a plain of rolling, green fields that stretched on for miles, he could tell that this was not her first romp in these woods.
As they stood in what seemed to be a clearing, Remus could feel a different type of magic dancing across his skin. There was something in front of him, even though his eyes saw nothing but hill after hill of luscious green grass. He supposed this was where the little piece of parchment came in.
"Before you read it," Isabella said softly, "promise me you won't freak out."
"Freak out?" asked Remus doubtfully, "what is there to freak out about?"
"You'll see," Isabella said cryptically.
Remus arched an eyebrow in question, but Isabella merely motioned to the parchment with her eyes, and Remus opened it. There were only two words written in Isabella's curvy script, but never in a million years did Remus ever imagine that two simple words would confuse him so much.
"Ravenclaw Manor?"
Isabella nodded, and immediately after Remus had spoken those two words, a very beautiful manor house glittered into existence right before them, taking up a good portion of the large plain that had been empty moments earlier. Remus was in awe as he stared at the large manor house; never had he seen such a building so beautifully crafted. The manor was at least five stories high, with ivy-covered walls, and tall, silver gates. There were various trees on the property, along with intricate gardens, and Remus could have sworn that he heard the loud, beating of wings from somewhere behind the manor, but he could not be sure.
"Are you freaking out yet?"
"I'm getting there."
"Should I give you a minute?"
"Two would suffice."
"Is it too late to say that there are winged horses at the back of the property?"
"No, you're still good."
"How about if I said that I'm Rowena Ravenclaw's heiress?"
"I'm freaking out now, thanks."
"You're welcome."
I'm a Secret-Keeper, but not just any ol' Secret-Keeper— I'm Rowena Ravenclaw's bloody Secret-Keeper! Oh, this is grand, thought Remus as he walked through Ravenclaw Manor, a child-like curiosity shining in his eyes now that he had gotten over the initial shock of being one of the few people to know of Rowena Ravenclaw's home—and to be in the presence of one of Rowena Ravenclaw's heiresses. This was just incredible, his mind was still reeling, trying to take in all the fine little details—oh, how he just wanted to jump and break out into a song!
"… and here we conclude our tour of Ravenclaw Manor," Isabella had been saying, and with a flourish of hand movements, she presented Remus the glass doors that led into the back of the property.
"You mentioned winged horses," Remus said with a grin, "I'm assuming they're through those doors?"
Isabella nodded, opening the glass doors and stepping out, Remus eagerly followed behind her. He nearly tripped at the sight that greeted him. There was a group of beautiful, chestnut colored, Aethonan horses grazing on the pastures behind the manor, a sight that made Remus' heart jump. He loved horses, which was a fact proven by the Gypsy Vanners that he owned, but those were nothing in comparison to genuine, winged horses.
"Amazing," Remus breathed, staring at the horses with wide eyes.
"There are about 10, I believe," informed Isabella, "however, there could be more. The Aethonans come and go as they please—they're wild, you see."
"Are they friendly?" asked Remus.
"They are," Isabella told him, a small smile on her lips, "There's this story my grandfather once told me about the horses and how they came to call these hills their homes. Would you like to hear it?"
"Of course," said Remus with a smile, looking down at Isabella.
"Alright… way back when, there lived Owen Ravenclaw—he comes out being my great, great, great, great uncle or something, anyways, one morning he's out in the woods, hunting, when he comes across one lone Aethonan. The horse was looking for food, but it was the wintertime and the lands were coated in snow, so it couldn't find much. Owen Ravenclaw saw that the horse was malnourished, so from his bag he pulls out a single apple, and offers it to the horse. The horse takes the proffered fruit, and Owen decides to give up on his hunt and head back home. He reaches the manor, and goes inside for a nice warm dinner—a day passes and he forgets about the horse, but then in the middle of the night he hears the flapping of wings. The horse had come back, but it had brought another. Owen Ravenclaw sees that both horses are in a poor state, so he leaves out apples for them. The horses take the apples and leave, and Owen goes back to sleep. However, right before the break of dawn, he's awoken by the familiar flapping of wings. The two horses were back yet again, but this time they'd brought more of their kin."
"And that's why they're here?" asked Remus with a chuckle.
Isabella nodded. "Obviously the original horses of the story are no longer living, but their nieces and nephews and grandkids remain, coming back for apples and just… living here, I guess. During the wintertime we always make sure to have the house elves leave lots of fruits and vegetables for them, along with hay and water."
"Remarkable," Remus mused.
Isabella chuckled. "I guess so."
"Does Talia know about them?"
"No," Isabella said with a shake of the head, a rueful smile on her lips, "Talia does not know about the Aethonans… or the manor, for that matter."
Remus stared down at Isabella with furrowed eyebrows, softly he said, "What do you mean?"
"Talia does not know about Ravenclaw Manor. She does not know that she is a descendant of Ravenclaw—there is a reason this place is under the Fidelius Charm."
"Is that why no one lives here," Remus asked in return, and Isabella nodded.
"There aren't many of us left," Isabella told him, playing with the hem of her sleeves nervously, "some of them have renounced their heritage because they think it dangerous, and most of them have died during the war against You-Know-Who. It's just… being a Ravenclaw, or being related to any of Hogwarts' founders—it's not something you want to boast about. There are people who would kill to get into this manor, to learn all its secrets, to posses the power and knowledge that is deep within its walls… That is why the Ravenclaw name was changed to Ravencroft, and why this manor was placed under the protection of the Fidelius Charm. Only house elves live here full time—a shame, really."
"I never would have imagined…" trailed off Remus, a pensive expression on his face.
Isabella gave him a small smile, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "C'mon, I can summon a couple of apples and we can give them to the horses—would you like that?"
Remus nodded, following behind Isabella as she walked closer towards the winged horses, but then a sudden thought entered his mind, which made him stop in his track. Isabella noticed that Remus wasn't behind her, and she too stopped walking, turning around and giving him a curious look.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, now that you've put things out in the open, will you tell me why the Malfoys have been appointed as Talia's godparents?"
Isabella rolled her eyes. "Merlin… I thought we had a moment going on here, Remus."
"I'm genuinely curious; I have a right to know why such people are so closely tied to my daughter."
Isabella's eyes narrowed. "Such people?" she repeated, arching an eyebrow.
"I know that you're rather fond of them, but their track record isn't exactly clean," Remus reasoned.
Isabella sighed. She had to admit that Remus did make a point, but he wasn't seeing what was outside of the box.
"The Malfoys are purebloods," she began, "Their name tied to yours ensures security, protection—only a fool would dare to cross the goddaughter of Lucius Malfoy."
"Well shit."
"Well shit indeed, my dear Remus. I planned ahead."
AN: What do you think? I'm rather fond of this chapter.
Reviews make me happy, and a happy Ellie is a motivated Ellie, which means more updates for you.
If you're interested, I've got other stories posted, one in the Supernatural category, and one in the True Blood category.
:)