Chapter: It's The Life That We've Chosen

Shalan's Say: Yeah… nice title huh? XDDD This chapter will be filled with lots of fluff… muahahaha… maybe…. YAY! Reviews! Remember, if I don't get at least one I won't post the next chaaapter!

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Her fingers danced across the table as she drilled a beat into the metal. She sipped the tea in her hand thoughtfully as she hummed to herself. Her reddish blonde hair was pulled back in a long, loose ponytail over her long black cloak. The thick blue turtleneck sweater she wore beneath it was a little too warm for the heat of the tea shop she was sitting in. Her knee high boots tapped against the ground as her foot jiggled in time with the soft music playing overhead. She picked at the light brown leggings she wore as she checked the clock again. All in all it had taken her nearly three hours to get ready to leave… and she had still arrived an hour early.

"Check please-" she held up her hand and the waiter nodded. She sighed, she was always early to everything. She examined herself in the little mirror she had brought with her. Her eyes were sky blue today, the color of excitement and happiness. She smiled a little. At least they were pretty.

"Alina?" She looked up as she heard her voice spoken. Her breath caught in her throat. His brown hair was neat and shining in the dim light of the shop, his hazel eyes sparkling as he smiled. "I got here early so I stopped in to have some tea…" he shrugged. "It looks like we've had the same idea."

"Well I was just about to leave," she stood up as she paid the bill in pounds. Remus sucked in air as she stood up. He couldn't believe that a girl this beautiful would want to have anything to do with him. "So do you want to start early?" She looked up at him, slyly sliding her fingers into his hand.

"Ye-yeah sure," he nodded, a flush in his cheeks. She led him off, towards the station. "I assume you don't have an Oyster Card right?" She looked at him over her shoulder. He shook his head. "That's what I thought, so I borrowed Dad's." He took the proffered card. "You do know how to use it right?"

"Yeah, it's easy." He chuckled, Muggle things were always so odd.

It was in this way that one of the best days of his life began. They traveled around London, first visiting the Tower then heading off to the shopping district. She laughed when he decided to argue with a little boy about vampires and werewolves and who would win in a fight.

"No, I'm telling you a vampire wouldn't win! You remember that!" Remus told the boy as he was dragged out by his mother. Alina was in tears next to him, sobbing with laughter. "Oh, be quiet." He smiled over at her. She took his hand and let herself be pulled to her feet. He linked his arm through hers. "To Diagon Alley?" He looked over at her and she nodded, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Remus, that was hilarious!" She chuckled as they walked out of the store. "I thought you were going to Confund him!"

"I was thinking about it, he was annoying me to no end." He sighed as she hailed a taxi. "Why are you so at home here?" He tilted his head. He hadn't seen her wand all day, nor had he seen anyone remotely magic related.

"Because my mother is a Muggleborn and my father is a half blood. I was just raised in the Muggle world so that I would know the best of both." She shrugged as they stepped into the cab. As she gave directions Remus watched her, everything about her was simply amazing. He just couldn't get over that. She was talented, brilliant and beautiful… and she wanted to throw all that away? For a werewolf?

"Alina… are you really sure that you have feelings for me?" She turned to look at him as they arrived at The Leaky Cauldron. Her look was so angry that he couldn't help but shut his mouth.

"Remus. Lupin. You have got to make up your mind!" She said as they got out of the car.

"Wha-I-"

"Do you want me or don't you?" She set her foot down right there, her hands on her hips. "Because if you don't I have to go home and tell my parents that no one is coming to dinner so that they don't have to finish cleaning the house. If you don't then I'll just go home and end this stupid chara-" He grabbed her shoulders and yanked her towards him, kissing her on the mouth in the same way he did that night in front of the headmaster's office. Her knees buckled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He slung an arm around her waist, tangling the fingers of the other hand into her hair, letting it fall from her clip as the kiss deepened. People walking by couldn't help to look as they passed, even in the Muggle world, a couple that entwined on a street corner was a sigh to behold.

"Remus…" she sighed, her breath escaping as vapor from her lips. The bags that she had been holding had dropped into the snow beside her as she tightened her grip on his neck, pressing her face into his throat. "I don't care… what you are… I don't care what other people think about you… what I do care about is you loving me… loving me more than you ever will love anyone else, because I've loved you since second year…" her breath was hot against his skin as he brushed his cheek against hers, kissing her temple lovingly.

"Okay… okay then…" he sighed lightly, stroking her hair. "You're making a scene Alina," he smiled. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make you cry…" he brushed her cheekbones with his thumbs as he cupped her face. "I promise, I'll stop being such an insensitive jerk and pay attention to you…" their lips met again. "But I have to meet your parents before I do anything besides kiss you." He chuckled as she deepened it. "We're going to be late for dinner if we don't hurry." He pressed their foreheads together.

By the time they arrived at her house both were red faced and laughing, she tangled her fingers through his as she dragged him up towards her house.

"You're going to love my parents, they're the greatest!" She reached for her bags that he had in his hand. He jerked them away from her. "Remus!"

"I'm the gentleman I'll carry your bags into the house!" He moved his arm further as she reached for them, swinging around and running right into him.

"Remus Lupin, give me my bags!" She reached around him, her eyes seductive. "Please give me my bags." Their lips brushed.

"That is not going to work. I wouldn't be a proper gentleman if I didn't carry your bags! I'm not going to let you!" She kissed him. "Maybe if you kiss me again I'll think about it." Their lips met again, in that same skin tingling, breathtaking way. "I've thought about it."

"Yes?"

"No." He smiled and walked past her towards the front door. "Are you going to let me into your house?" He looked over his shoulder at her. The look of horror on her face stopped him dead in his tracks. She was staring into the sky above her house, her blue eyes now a deep indigo. "Al-" he looked up, though he didn't need to, to know just exactly what she was looking at. "Alina!" He ran forward and caught her as her knees buckled. The bags that they had just been fighting over tumbled to the ground as he dropped to his knees, cradling her in one arm while he held his wand aloft.

"The-the Mark…" tears filled her eyes as she buried her face in his shoulder. His eyes scanned the yard and the front of the house, but he was sure that if the Death Eaters were still lingering they would have attacked them by now. "Re-Remus!" She broke down into hysterics as he tried to calm her.

"Alina, Alina calm down…" he placed a hand on the back of her head, pressing his lips to the side of her head. "Your parents may have made it out, they may have made it out alive." He closed his eyes and hoped with all his might that he was right. "Do you want me to go look before you? See if anyone is in there?"

"N-No, Remus you'll get killed…" she clutched the front of his cloak. "Don't go in there… Remus… DON'T!" She fell into the snow as he stood, walking towards the front door, every spell he know running through his mind.

The house had been ransacked. That much was clear. He cast a glance around the rooms, then started as someone clutched the back of his cloak.

"Alina?" He muttered, hoping to dear god it was her.

"Yes?" She said meekly, her wand in her hand. "I wasn't going to just let you come in here by yourself." She sniffed, tears still dripping down her face. "Hominous revelio." She lifted her wand. When nothing happened they walked more assuredly.

"Well it looks like they aren't here…" Remus sighed, putting his wand down, but most certainly not away. A scream from behind them put them on their guard again, Remus whipped around, yanking Alina behind him. A stunning spell whizzed past his cheek as he sent one back.

"ALINA!" Remus felt her shift against him, peering around his shoulder.

"DADDY!" She shrieked and stumbled forwards, pummeling into his arms. "Daddy I was so scared that you and Mummy-" she choked, collapsing against him. Remus, however, was not so quick to lower his guard.

"Ask him a question that only he would know the answer to." The werewolf said in an undertone.

"Remus don't be-"

"Just do it!" He barked and she turned to her father.

"Uhm… what was your pet name for me when I was a little girl?" Alina said slowly.

"Princess Persnickety." He replied easily and Remus gave a half smile at her nickname. "He's smart Alina, you picked a good one." He smiled. "Kenneth Caron."

"Remus Lupin," Alina hurried off to wrap her arms around her mother as the two men shook hands. "I apologize for that, I just wanted to make sure that you were-"

"The real deal, I know, I work for the Ministry so I'm glad that at least one of our practices got to someone," Kenneth smiled. As Remus examined him he found that Alina's father was the exact opposite to Alina and her mother. Where they were soft and small he was big and hard. He stood nearly a foot taller than Remus with big broad shoulders and long arms and legs. The werewolf thought wryly of a work horse.

"Mrs. Caron," Remus bowed to her. Instead she swept him up in her arms and kissed both of his cheeks.

"You did very well, I'm so proud that you protected our daughter like that… the first think you do is pull her behind you, how chivalrous!" She was still in tears, much like her daughter.

"Oh, thank you…" he said dumbly, feeling rather as though he had walked in on something private as he watched father, mother and daughter embrace. "Well I'm going to be going…" he took a step back.

"You aren't going to stay for dinner?" Alina's mother turned towards him, he blinked.

"Well-I-uh-and-"

"Of course he is…" Alina disappeared out the front door and returned with her bags. "He's a gentleman after all…" she smiled at him as he looked over at her. "Looks like I carried the bags in after all…" she looked off to the side.

"I guess you did…" the formerly tense air seemed to clear and he smiled with relief.

"It looks like we're going to have to move again Alina." Her father looked at her mother. "We'll leave the divining to you," he smiled softly.

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James threw the ball in his hand into the air and sent it flying at an occupied Sirius. The black haired pureblood yelped as he fell forward into the snow, much to Lily and Mariette's delight.

"JAMES!" Sirius rounded on him, he twirled out his wand and send a number of bewitched snowballs chasing his best friend around the back yard. James ducked and the snowballs slammed into the sidewall.

"You've got to be faster than that Sirius!" James laughed as Sirius himself began to chase him around, sending snowballs his way.

Mariette sighed heavily, yawning into her mitten as they watched the boys chase each other around like puppies. Lily glanced over at her pursing her lips. She wondered… if Mariette knew about Sirius' feelings.

"You want to go inside? We've been Apparating everywhere today… you must be exhausted." Lily chuckled, even her limbs felt a little heavy after all the strain.

"I am fairly tired…" Mariette stood, stretching. "Sirius Bla~ck!" She called. He jerked around at her voice and slipped, tumbling to the ground. "Good night!" She cackled as James doubled over, laughing madly. Lily chuckled and followed after her, waving at the both of them.

"So, Mariette…" Lily linked arms with her. "How are you feeling about this whole thing?"

"What whole thing?" Mariette tilted her head.

"You know… your parents and going back home and everything after graduation?" Lily elaborated.

"Oh… I'm not sure how I feel about that…" Mariette furrowed her brows. "I'm not even sure if I'm going to go back." She seemed thoughtful. "If I didn't go back… He would have them hunt me down. I'd be on the run forever and I'd never see my siblings again." She sighed heavily.

"That's true… I mean, about the whole being hunted for your life…" Lily looked at the ground. So Sirius might have a harder time than she thought.

"Hmmm… but I haven't decided yet… so we'll see, good night Lily." Mariette hugged her. "If I don't go with them… it will be because of you…" she squeezed the redhead lightly then disappeared into the room she was staying in. Lily stared at the door for a moment, tears in her eyes. To think… that she might be able to make that much of a difference.

"Lily?" A large, warm hand pressed against the side of her head, pulling her into a one armed hug, her face buried in his shoulder. They stood that way, in complete silence, for some time. He slid his hand into his pocket and guided her off, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice broken by emotion. He smiled softly as he directed her into her room and set her on her bed. "I'm… so stupid…" she started to cry again and he dropped down on his knees in front of her, his hands coming to rest on her knees.

"You're not stupid, you're the brightest witch I know," he clasped her head in his hands. "What's happened? Did you get into a fight with Mariette?" His deep voice was calming, soothing, and for the first time in her life Lily Evans looked up at James Potter, seeing the serious side of him that she hadn't seen before. Gone were the jokes and jests, instead his hazel eyes were worried, curious even. His face was set with concern as he brushed his thumbs against her eyebrows, putting gentle pressure on the edge of her frontal bone. She calmed down slightly under his comforting touch and took in a deep breath of air.

"I just… it's so nice to think that… I could make such a difference in someone's life that they'd… Mariette…" she choked again and he shushed her until she was calm again.

"Don't force yourself, it's okay if you cry you know… I just wanted to know what was bothering you," he stroked her hair away from her face. "Here," he pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped her face with it gently.

"You know… I've never seen you like this…" she smiled, putting her hand on his. "You've always been a jokester." His cheeks flushed slightly. "Not to mention you've always been a bit too arrogant to notice anyone else's feelings."

"That's harsh," he flinched.

"It's true, James Potter, you have been quite the supercilious jerk," she lifted her eyebrows. "But you have changed quite a bit," she lifted her hand to touch the side of his face.

"Have I changed? Or did you just not know this side exists?" He let a smirk play at the corner of his lips.

"I'm not sure… but I'm glad either way… because then it would just be a physical attraction," she chuckled, sniffing.

"You're physically attracted to me? I thought I had a big head?" His lifted an eyebrow.

"You do…" she gasped lightly as he pushed her back onto the bed she was sitting on until he was on all fours above her. Her vivid green eyes were wide as she stared up at him, her gaze blank. "James." She swallowed, hard, there was something in his hazel gaze that made her heart pound and her stomach flutter.

"Yes." His normal voice was not what she had been expecting when he spoke.

"May I inquire as to what you're thinking?" Her voice was lower than normal, it sounded a little husky, possibly from crying or maybe from the feeling that her heart was about to jump out her mouth.

"You're the one thinking things…" he muttered, lowering his lips to her ear. "I just wanted to make sure you were telling the truth," he nipped the tender lobe then sat back with a grin on his face.

"JAMES POTTER!" Her face turned about the color of her hair as she punched his chest. He laughed and stumbled to his feet as she stood up. "Leading me on like that!" She fumed. She felt like her ears were about to set on fire.

"What did you expect? Me to do this-" he jerked the thrashing woman into his arms and planted a kiss firmly against her lips.

"Ja-ames!" She seemed to be even more infuriated than she was before. He cackled and dodged her next blow. "This is what I'm talking about!" He whirled out of her way.

"I dodge bludgers all day don't you think you could at least throw something at me?" He watched her face. She was shouting like she was angry but she was trying to suppress a smile, he knew he had gotten to her.

"I. Am. Going. To. Hurt. You!" She tackled him to the rug in a wrestling match that lasted several minutes, however, he was stronger and faster than she was and by the end he was pinning her to the ground, holding her hands above her head.

"What was that about hurting me?" He crowed as he kept her hips pinned to the ground by sitting on her thighs. "What do I get for winning?"

"Nothing!" She fumed. "Arrogant… self righteous…" she continued muttering under her breath as he watched her with a smile on his face.

"Fine then, I'll just take it by force!" He leaned down and kissed her again. He was fairly pleased with himself for taking her mind of her worries, at least he knew what they were now… though at the moment, worries were not what he had on his mind.

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Sirius stared at the hangings on his bed, his silver eyes furious. He was going back to Hogwarts tomorrow… and he hadn't succeeded in doing a single thing that he had sworn he was going to do. He sighed heavily and rolled over, staring out the window in his room. His ears pricked as he heard his door open and close. He tensed then relaxed as he felt familiar hands against his shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing little sucking kisses against the nape of his neck.

"Mari, what are you doing in here?" He turned to face her, his silver eyes sparkling. She stroked a hand against his face as their lips met. Suddenly everything that he had been worried about seemed to insignificant compared to the urge to tear off her clothes and kiss every inch of her body.

"You didn't seem like yourself," her fingers raked their way through his sleek black hair as he kissed her, sliding his hands beneath the pajama top she wore. "Sirius, stop being an idiot," she choked as his lips trailed down her neck, making their way to meet his hands as they cupped her breasts through their lace confines.

"I can't help it, every time you're near me I turn into a dithering pile of hormones…" he completed his mission of unbuttoning her pajama top and watched it fall open as he nudged her onto her back.

"Sirius!" She laughed as he ran his mouth against the flat plane of her stomach. "I want to talk to you!"

"I want to kiss you so you better talk fast," he lowered his lips back to the swell of her breast.

"I wanted to talk to you about my parents…" she said and watched the effects. He lifted his head, his steel eyes shining in the dim moonlight of the bedroom. "There, that's the side of you that I wanted…" she pressed her hand against his face.

"What about them?" His face contorted. "You're killing my buzz." He grumbled.

"Get over your buzz this is much more important. You'll have plenty of time to do whatever you want with your buzz later." She sighed, pulling her pajama top closed again, much to his chagrin.

"Okay so what is it?" He frowned lightly then saw the cheerless look on her face and his annoyance waned. "Mari?"

"I don't know if I want to go back to them… I think I may… oh I don't know… I want to do something… different… I don't want to end up like the rest of my family, following some dark wizard's orders… Lily is my best friend and if I had to kill her…" her voice cracked. Sirius sat back and seated himself next to her, running a hand through his hair. He closed his eyes. What would he do if he was forced to kill James? Yes, that might be enough to make him not want to become someone's puppet.

"If you don't want to go back Mari… you could stay with me," he said sheepishly. Her eyes widened, her lips parting in surprise. "I understand if you don't want to but if you ever wanted a different home I-" she jolted forward and wrapped herself around him, kissing his face and neck and shoulders, anything that she could. He was starry-eyed as she crooned to him in French between flurries of kisses.

"Mari-Mariette!" He tried to talk but her mouth met his in a searing hot kiss that set his body on fire. "Mariette is that a yes?" He laughed as he caught her face. "Just answer me before I can't think coherently." Tears were welling up in her eyes as she smiled, stroking his hair back from his face as she looked at him adoringly from between his hands.

"Sirius Black. I love you." She whispered. He stared at her blankly.

"What was what I didn't catch it…" he tilted his head, his silver eyes sparkling.

"I love you." She said again, louder this time.

"I'm sorry I think I've gone temporarily dea-"

"I LOVE YOU SIRIUS!" She shouted at him, making him laugh out loud.

"Haha! That's what I thought you said!" He buried his hands in her hair and yanked her lips to his, there was no way he was going to let this moment get away.

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Sooo… hope you liked that chapter… it was ridiculously fun to write XD I loved Lily and James's wrestling match. She knew she was going to lose XD Sirius and Mariette just crack me up… and I just like Remus and Alina… he's such a gentleman.

READ AND REVIEW FOR GOD'S SAKE!

Shalan