In the Present

A HariPo fanfic

by mew-tsubaki

Note: I haven't finished To the Future and already I'm starting its second companion story. AGH! However, J.K. Rowling's characters are in good hands by now, so I hope everyone enjoys this Rena story. But to reach the present, one must glance at the past, where our story begins… READ & REVIEW!!!

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The Seventh Wax

Knock, knock. "Is the professor in?"

Remus's heart raced, but he calmed himself down and set aside his stack of papers. "Come in, Luna."

The Lovegood girl entered his office, her usual mysterious smile plastered on her face. "See? I remembered your free period is always before lunch."

He shook his head, chuckling. Merlin, when had he last chuckled so much? He pushed that thought aside, pushed his chair back, and stood. "Well, I would hope so by now. This is –what? –the third time you've come to see me." It occurred to him as he walked around his desk how those words sounded. But do they mean anything to Luna? He looked at her, but all he found was that strange smile of hers. Maybe not…

"I was thinking that we could pay the kappa family a visit," Luna stated. "They've come to really like me."

"Are you sure that's not because they like the smell of your blood?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I am delicious. I don't plan on them ever finding out, though." The witch tugged on his hand. "Come on. Let's go!"

Her enthusiasm was hard to resist –as always, Remus told himself –and she quickly and easily snuck him out of the castle. The November breeze blew through the trees and their hair, and Luna shivered. When they reached the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, they stopped, and she shivered again. Remus shrugged out of his over-robe and draped it around her shoulders. "You're going to catch a cold if all you ever wear is that sweatshirt," he stated.

Luna blinked and pulled the cloak onto her arms, pulling the flaps closer to her to close the robe. "Thank you, Remus." She grinned, her cheeks and nose red from the cold.

The werewolf's heart thudded so hard in his chest, he was surprised that she couldn't hear it. "So where is the kappa pond?"

"It's a half-mile from here," she answered as he ducked a low-hanging tree branch. "Although, it's easy to get sidetracked. There are many interesting things in here."

"You haven't run into any of the centaurs, have you? They're always looking for a fight."

Luna shook her head. "No, but I have heard them stampeding in the distance before. But I also think they remember me." She tucked her chin in when a very strong gust of wind chilled her to the bone. "I came in here nearly every day."

"Why?"

"It has a peaceful atmosphere. No one will hide my things or clothes, and I don't have to listen to some of the nasty things that people would shoot at me." She paused ahead of him and didn't turn.

Remus didn't like how quiet she had become. He closed the gap between them in a few short strides for him, and he touched her elbow. "Luna, why didn't you say anything?"

She shook her head. If he had expected her to be teary or crying, then he should have expected less. Her expression was impassive. "Why bother the teachers? I eventually got my items back at the end of each year. I even began to think of the teasing as a game. If I were weak, then I would have lost." She raised her eyebrows. "I showed them, didn't I?"

"Luna, that wasn't teasing. That was bullying."

Luna frowned then. "It doesn't matter what it was. I'm happy with what I do now." She shivered again. "I think it's going to snow to-"

Remus interrupted her when he wrapped his arms around her. "The cold isn't healthy for you." He rested his chin on his head. "And neither is a job that leaves you without human interaction. If –When you begin to think you might lose, you might be weak, come to me. So stop excluding yourself."

When she didn't say anything, he pulled a bit away and looked down at her. She gazed straight up at him. "Chivalry isn't dead."

He blushed as she laughed. "Why, you-!" He caught her in his arms again. "You're trouble, you know that?"

"I'm not trouble. I'm Luna," she retorted.

"No, you're a mischief-maker."

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Soon enough, they reached the kappa pond. It pooled several hundred meters from the Black Lake, with dark bluish-green waters. There were quite a few kappa, varying only in size.

Remus stopped at the edge of the clearing, while Luna went to the water's edge. "Are you really sure about this?"

Luna looked at him over her shoulder. "Come here, Remus. You should pet them." As she said that, a kappa waddled up to her and presented its bald head to be patted. She stroked its head as if it were any plain old dog or cat.

The wizard gulped. "I dunno… What if it turns on us?"

"They haven't before," was all she offered.

Tentatively, Remus stepped forward. When nothing attacked him, he joined Luna at her side and knelt down to better look at the creature soaking up her affection. "Is there anything special I should know before trying to touch them?"

"I don't think there's anything I have to teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Luna quipped.

"Right…" The were reached out and placed his hand cautiously on the kappa's head. It wasn't slimy as he had thought it would be. It felt like a cold, polished rock. The kappa enjoyed the attention, too, so much that he began to tilt his head.

Luna gasped. "Watch what you're doing!" she scolded, and Remus immediately stopped. "You've got to remember that they carry water in the top of their head. If they spill it, they'll die."

"Right. Sorry…" Remus didn't touch another kappa again, instead choosing to just sit beside the witch. "So this is your escape, huh?"

She crooked her head. "I suppose."

"But now I know where it is." He jokingly nudged her. "Now you have nowhere to go!"

"No, I do." Her blue eyes roved over the entire clearing before they came to rest on him. "I've got right here."

Her eyes on him incurred heat into his cheeks, but he was distracted by her words. They didn't make sense. Had she intended it that way, or did he just not understand her…? She abruptly stood, and he scrambled to his feet. "Is something the matter?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "But we've been out here for a while. We should probably head back."

"Um, of course…" Remus trailed a little bit behind her, just watching her. He recalled listening and laughing at her observations of others before the school year began, when he had gone shopping with her and Neville. She was so insightful when it came to other people. So why, the brunette wizard thought, is it so hard to learn anything past her surface?

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It was a quiet journey back to his office, much to Remus's chagrin. He knew Luna well enough by now to know that her being silent was not just her being lost in ponderings. He could at least feel that something did not quite sit right with her.

At the door, Luna took his over-robe off and passed it back to him. "Thank you again," she said.

"It's no problem," he replied, and his heart twinged again. If something didn't sit right with her, she wasn't going to say it. "I'll…see you, Luna."

He thought she was going to nod, but instead she looked at the floor. "Kappa aren't that bad, are they?"

Remus smiled. "No, they're not."

She looked at him with her regular smile now. "See? Once you get to know something better, all your questions are answered."

He was taken aback. That statement could easily describe her or the kappa.

"I'll see you, too, Remus," she stated, and she grabbed his free hand and gave it a squeeze. Then she turned around and left the corridor.

Now I have a headache…, he grumbled on his way downstairs to eat. He involuntarily glanced at Neville on his way to his seat. And Neville doesn't realize just how lucky he is to have such a special girl.

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Luna dropping by was usually like that: either taking Remus out for a walk in the forest or just talking with him in his office. Remus was careful to not bring up her Hogwarts experience again, because he didn't think she'd want to talk about her personal life again, and she had been nice enough to leave his out of their conversations. But he did stress quite a bit about any danger she was getting into.

"You're a worrywart," she told him during the third week of December. She swiveled in his chair.

"And you're brazen," he replied, stopping her tornado with both his hands on the armrests. "And stop that. You're going to break my chair."

"I don't break things."

"You mean you haven't yet."

She lifted her chin. "Well met." The reporter gazed out the window. "The snow's been piling up. It's getting colder."

Remus looked out the opening, too. "You're right." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "And Christmas is coming up, too. Hard to believe that next week is vacation…"

"Good reporters never take a break, though." Luna suddenly stood and opened her messenger bag. She passed him a paper. "My article on the kappa is done. I was mainly comparing their habitat to the better kept one of the merpeople, but I also included an idea about their beast status. Go on, read it."

He admitted to himself that he was skeptical, but he didn't let is show on his face. He started reading. "This is really good," Remus complimented when he was halfway through. "Your writing is very solid, and –hey! You included that part about the water in their head because I nearly killed one, didn't you?"

"Maybe…," she said in a sing-song tone. "Do you like it?"

Remus finished reading, and smiled at her. "Perfect job. An A+."

They both laughed, and she poked his arm. "Someone can't drop his teacher face," she teased. She sighed contentedly and took his arm to lean on. "So. Christmas is coming up."

"Yep." Remus lowered the article. "I haven't gotten anything for anyone yet. My classes have kept me relatively busy." He raised an eyebrow at her. "And you're very demanding of my time, as well."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Well, you never said if you mind or not."

"You know I don't mind. You can read that on my face."

Luna giggled. "Yes, it is rather prominent." She looked up at him, just staring.

"Is there something on my chin?" he asked, and he felt the stubble on his jaw and around his mouth.

She blinked, and quickly averted her gaze. "No, no. You're fine." She lifted her wrist and glanced at her watch, and sighed. "I've got to go."

"On a Saturday?"

"Yes." She released him and gave him a half-grin. "I don't think you'll see me until after the holidays."

Inside, his heart plummeted to his stomach. "O-oh, okay," he managed, trying to cover the catch in his voice. "Well, then, Happy Christmas, Luna."

"Happy Christmas, Remus." She patted his cheek, and her full smile returned. The witch plucked her article from his hands, stuffed it in her bag, and left.

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After dinner, Remus yawned. He was definitely ready for a break from teaching. I don't think I'm really meant for work with kids, he thought. He straightened his back –and wished he hadn't. My back…!

He rose from his seat, scanning the staff table. Sirius was nowhere to be found, and Charlie was on his own, too. Remus saw why, as Neville was just about out the door. The D.A.D.A. professor caught up to the Herbology one.

Neville looked over his shoulder. "Oh, Remus. Calling it an early night, too?"

"Yes… It's been quite the school year so far. And we're barely halfway through it."

"Huh… Halfway through already…" Neville grinned, looking up at the ceiling. "My second year of teaching almost gone so soon… It's weird. I mean, I guess it's not that weird. Gran never did like my teaching Herbology, but she's glad I can support myself. And Luna's been writing for her dad's paper for almost three years, since she started during her seventh year."

Remus was impressed. "Really?"

"Yeah. And her stuff's good. Really good."

"I know what you mean," the werewolf replied. "'Did you read her final copy of her kappa article? Her writing truly stands out."

"She finished it?"

Remus froze. Neville had stopped a step behind him, and the were could feel the younger wizard's eyes on him. "Well, I…bumped into her. She was on her way to see you today." Shit, Remus mentally scolded himself, wanting to hit his head against the wall. I just definitely brought up something I shouldn't have!

"She didn't drop by today," Neville stated.

That actually gnawed at Remus a bit, while another part of him didn't mind at all. Hadn't Remus just been a stop on her way to her boyfriend? "Well, she probably got distracted by some new topic and the research involved," Remus offered.

Neville smiled then. "Yeah, that's Luna all right."

"I mean, she's been at the castle quite a bit, doing research for the kappa piece."

"You've seen her come and go, then." Neville frowned. "I've seen her in and out of the forest, too. But the last time she visited me was when she announced that she was working with kappa. I wish she didn't have to be so busy with work."

Remus nearly froze again. Th-The last time…she's seen him…was…more than two months ago? His mind raced wild alongside his imagination. So, Luna had been visiting him this whole time… Wasn't that peculiar? He smiled. "Cheer up, Neville. Over the holidays, everything will brighten up."

"You think so?"

"I think so," Remus answered, while his conscious kicked him for it. Hopefully, things didn't go too well for them.

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Weird. We're already heading into Christmas territory. Huh. This story has moved along really fast, but I love it. Yay, Rena!!! Okies, now move along and review please!! And onto Christmas we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-mew-tsubaki