Chapter 8: Saving Things That Matter
November stretched and yawned loudly. She appreciated that she was generally left alone the morning after a 'date night.' Last night had been particularly bizarre, with Lucius regaling her with stories of Muggle torture and her improvising her own. She had gone to bed with the mental equivalent of a bad taste in the mouth.
But in the fresh morning light things seemed cleaner. Something also floated around her brain, trying to show its importance to her but she could not figure out what it was.
She wandered out to the shower, unaware she was being watched.
"She's finally up," hissed Charlie, poking his mother in the side.
"Mercifully! She sleeps like the dead! I'll put in the cake."
Remus smiled as he continued taping paper chains around the room. He knew November didn't remember, but he did.
Today was her birthday.
November was considering the virtues of just staying in her room all day when her bedroom door burst open.
The sight of Sirius put her in an immediately black mood.
"Someone is full of ambition on this lovely winter day."
"November's not winter," she mumbled, trying to ignore him.
"You do realize that greenhouse or not the plants will die if you don't water them?"
"And what is your sudden concern with my plants? Water them yourself."
Sirus was becoming annoyed. He had volunteered to lure November downstairs but this was not going well at all. Drastic measures would have to be taken.
Out of the corner of her eye, November saw Sirius snatch her ring from the bedside table. She spun around, ready to breathe fire.
"Give it back, now!"
"Come and get it!"
From the kitchen, Arthur winced as thundering footsteps approached. He had tried to suggest Lupin might be a better choice but no one listened to him. Shouting grew louder as they approached and something smashed into the wall of the hallway. There was a pained sound as Sirius burst into the dining room, November close behind him, minus one shoe.
She froze in the doorway, not seeming to comprehend why there was a group staring at her. The exclamations of "Surprise!" didn't even seem to make it in. But when her eyes focused on a familiar face something finally clicked.
"Charlie!" she flung herself into the arms of her friend.
"Happy Birthday, November!"
"Birthday?"
"November 28th," Charlie laughed, holding her back at arm's length.
"Merlin's Beard, it is!"
She spun on Sirius. "So you…?"
"Were trying to get you down here for your own damn party!" He handed her ring back and kissed her lightly on the forehead. His own forehead was sporting a growing purple knot.
"I'm so sorry! Let me heal–"
"Won't hear of it!" he cut her off. "War wound!"
Molly found this to be just the right moment to restore order and direct November to blow out her birthday candles.
"It was Dad's idea for me to be here," Charlie explained through a mouthful of cake, pulline up a chair with November. "Thought it might 'lighten your day.'"
November thanked Arthur profusely. But as she turned back to Charlie, certain golden eyes caught her attention. It was immediately clear to her that Remus had been watching her. The way that his eyes flicked away but then instantly back gave him away. A blush crept over her cheeks and she focused back on Charlie.
"He spends a lot of time doing that, in case you haven't noticed," Charlie ribbed gently, before she could speak. "The party was his idea as well."
"Oh really?"
The oldest Weasley knew her well enough to know that she was interested in the former comment much more than the latter. He leaned much closer to her.
"Titus would not mind. You know that. What is stopping you?"
"From what?" she murmured, fighting the urge to look at Remus.
"From pushing him to a wall and shagging him silly."
The bluntness of the reply shocked November, not because of its content but because of its perceptiveness. Her eyes darted to Lupin's and the deep red that covered her face began to grow across his as well. There was no way he could know what was being said but he knew it was about him.
Smoothly, he offered to help Molly bring something out of the kitchen and quickly disappeared, still glowing red.
"Tell me, Charlie Weasley," she replied after finally collecting herself. "How often do you get everything you want?"
"As often as I take it," he grinned back at her.
"It's more complicated than that."
"No doubt. You're both tying yourself in knots."
Something seemed to change over in November and she laughed aloud. "And who was the last witch you were with? When did you become such an expert?"
Charlie grinned back at her and let the conversation slide. There would be no moving her until she wanted to be moved. But the suggestion was in her mind and apparently more loudly than he would have guessed.
The party wound down late, with Sirius surprisingly sober, and the Weaselys were thanked and seen off. Without planning or forethought, Remus and November found themselves together alone in the kitchen. November worked on a charm to get the dishes to wash themselves.
"I really appreciate this," she said quickly, before Remus could leave. "Charlie told me you planned it all."
"That was about all I did," he returned easily, smiling at her. "But you're welcome. I thought you should have a memorable birthday in a less positively memorable year."
"It was very nearly perfect," November murmured.
"Tell me what was missing and I will do my best to remedy it," Remus replied, moving very close to her. He held his breath. If she dared, he would as well.
"OY! Need any help?" Sirius called from the hall.
Quickly, November stepped back from Remus; the moment died. "Butterbeer!" she replied quickly. She forced a smile and left behind the dishes that were washing themselves and Remus.
Mid-December brought Death Eater business and so November 'informed' Lucius Malfoy that she was traveling for the next few weeks as a way to lighten move herself out of the way. She had gleaned useful information but Severus had made it clear with what was coming it would be better for her to be out of the way.
With time and freedom, Diagon Alley became a haunt of Remus and November's. One particular afternoon, snow began to fall thickly around them as they picked their way through the icy puddles and shop stalls.
"And it was, of course, at that moment that I realized I had on no trousers!" November exclaimed, ending a story of a minor crisis of hers at the Ministry.
"But you had on a long shirt," Remus laughed.
"Well yes and I tried to play it off as a dress. This did not save me from a lecture from Mad-Eye though about work appropriate clothing though."
Remus laughed loudly. "I cannot imagine who was more embarrassed!"
"Oh, very definitely him. What with the magical eye and all."
The two of them cracked up and turned down a long side alley. But as their laughter died away, another sound came to November's attention and she paled.
"Lucius!" she hissed, grabbing at Remus and pulling him to a standstill.
The deep, cultured drawl landed on his ears as well and he immediately began to calculate any route out. The alley they were in was a dead end and a particular antiquities dealer lay at the end. Given past experiences and gleanings from November, it was almost certain Lucius would be headed there. They had nowhere to hide and of course you could not Apparate out.
"Change your hair! Do something!"
"I can't!" she hissed back, looking ill. "I could set it on fire or blow off my face!"
"Then pretend–"
"I'm supposed to be on holiday somewhere not here. And if he finds me with you…He would kill you!"
There was real fear in her voice and the sound of the Death Eater grew closer. Something had to be done. A pure impulse idea flashed into Lupin's mind and he acted without thinking.
November felt herself being almost half lifted and half directed to the brick wall behind her. Remus' thin but sinewy arms wrapped around her and mechanically her own arms slipped around his neck. Then Remus Lupin's lips crashed onto November Cadougan's.
All they needed was a kiss or two to cover their faces until Lucius passed, but this was more than a disguise. This was an opportunity. Sparks that had gone between them now roared to life. Remus savored the first long kiss. He grasped at November's hips, pressing himself closer to her. His kiss turned into a flurry of kisses, and she responded passionately to them. All of the fighting for self-control had broken down and his tongue parted her lips.
When Lucius Malfoy turned up the alley for the shop he was seeking, he was unpleasantly surprised to find a couple making out halfway down the alley. The woman's face he could not catch but there was something familiar about the male. He watched bemused for a moment as the woman worked her hands through the man's thick hair and the man grasped at her back, hands obviously aching to roam.
"And this is what you have to look forward to when visiting places for common Mudbloods, Draco," he drawled aloud to his son. He passed them as far away as he could and the pair entered the shop without giving them a second thought.
Remus felt a shock leap through him as he realized what was happening. He had sworn to protect her from this and now…
Remus jerked away roughly, needing the force to disentangle himself quickly. The shocked expression on her face was more than he could handle so he turned away. He needed some excuse and so he crept toward the door of the shop. Lucius' voice could clearly be heard inside.
"Come on," Remus whispered, taking her by the arm and leading her down a few blocks, before turning off into another alley. He tried his best to hide his raging erection. After catching their breath for a moment, for both were panting though not from exertion, Remus spoke again. Even as the words came out of his mouth he wanted to gouge out his eyes. "I'm glad that worked."
"Worked?" November had totally spaced on the original reason for all of this.
"Malfoy. He had no idea it was you and here we are now. Safe and sound."
"So…that's it then?" She stared him down and he was forced to turn from the power of her gaze.
"Yes. That's it." His sense of shame was too great, and so he lied.
There was a long silence and when he looked back up, she was gone.
Petrificus Totalus!
Remus had hoped to return unnoticed but apparently no such thing would happen. The spell hit him in the entryway and he hit the floor.
He had really expected this. What he hadn't expected was that it would be Sirius cursing him. Sirius Black stood over his friend and glowered darkly down at him. At last he crouched beside his petrified friend.
"I understand if you would like to sleep with November and you know I would never raise a finger to stop you. The two of you are ideal and should have long ago."
This is not what I expected thought Remus.
"But if you expect me to sit idly by as you take advantage of her, I cannot emphasize how wrong you are."
Not taking advantage of! Embarrassed! Panicked!
"Should she come to me in tears again, that day will be very painful for you. As if her life is not miserable enough without you leading her on! Friend or not, you can be a real git, Remus."
Sirius began to walk away before returning slowly. "I've arranged for her to move in with Nymphadora. She will leave after Christmas. I am sure you can understand why."
He left Remus in the hall, frozen solid but mind racing and screaming in protest.
The worst part of the following week and a half for Remus was that he could do nothing to fix what he had broken. Sirius would not let him be alone with November if he could help it and November herself avoided him pointedly. But all Remus wanted, at this point, was to apologize. It was too late to explain or save himself but he just wanted to mend things as best as he could before…she left him. Something about her leaving, about her moving away, seemed very final, as if it would put a definite end to all of this and he didn't want it to end like this.
But then, shortly before Christmas…
A head had appeared in the fireplace where he was reading and he had nearly jumped out of his skin. It was Mad-Eye Moody.
"November up?"
"I haven't actually spoken to her in–"
"Spare me your drama, boy!" the head roared at him. "Arthur's badly hurt! We need somewhere to bring him and November's the best healer on short notice. Get her NOW!"
Remus was out of the chair in a second and burst into her room without knocking. An alarmed November shot up in bed, wide-eyed.
"November, Arthur is hurt and they need you to heal him. Mad-Eye's in the fireplace in the library." He knelt beside her bed trying to soothe her.
She was out of bed and running down the hall in a moment before realizing the house was freezing. "Get my bathrobe!" she called back to him. It was the first thing she had said to him in a week and a half.
When he brought her robe to her she had moved to the kitchen and was building up the large fireplace. She threw the fuzzy robe around her and pushed him back. Green flames roared to life and Mad-Eye and Kingsly stepped through, bearing a bloodied Arthur between them.
Remus watched November visibly blanch. She began to work quickly, pulling her hair back tightly and ordering Remus to boil water. A barrage of questions began about the injuries and their cause.
"Reason to believe it was Nagini."
"The snake?"
Mad-Eye nodded.
"Alastor!" she cried loudly. "Poison is completely different! I –"
"You help him or he dies," Alastor snarled, grabbing the front of her robe and pulling her to him. Kingsly stepped smoothly in front of Remus as he began to dart toward the pair. "I didn't bring him here to bleed out on your table, woman!"
November was shaken but she nodded, the aggression seeming to have given her a sense of focus. Slowly, she held her hands out over Arthur and began to murmur. If she could close the wounds and slow the flow of blood that would be something. She felt his pulse slow, not dangerously so, and she focused on the larger of the wounds.
As soon as it was clear she was helping in any way, Moody went stomping through the house. He returned shortly with a stack of medical spell books and began rifle through them. November was beginning to look tired.
"Remus! Take her into the other room. I'll take it from here."
November let her hands drop and she swayed on the spot. Deftly, Remus took her in his arms and steered her through into the dining room. With a wave a chair moved for her and he placed her gently in it.
She grabbed at his arm and he knelt beside her. "In the greenhouse. Morning's Breath. Arthur needs a tea of it when he wakes."
Remus quickly relayed the message to the pair in the kitchen. "Good thought! He won't wake for some time but he's out of danger now." The whirling eye stopped to stare at him. "She saved him."
He nodded numbly before leaving the kitchen and finding himself on the stairs. He curled up across a few steps and tried not to let his mind wander too much. Footsteps behind him caused him to raise his head. It was Sirius looking groggy.
"Wot's goin' on?"
Remus was tired of explaining so with a flick of his wand he passed the memory to Sirius.
Sirius swore under his breath after it had played out for him. "You want me to sit up with 'Vember?"
Remus only nodded and lay his head back on the step. Slowly, he drifted into sleep.
It was close to dawn before another sound woke him. Someone wailing. He poked his head into the kitchen to see Molly hugging Arthur's prone figure and crying loudly. As he watched November appeared and pulled her from her husband. The older woman clung to her, crying that his hand had been on danger all night and she knew something had gone wrong. November understood Molly though and soon had tasked her with various small things she could do to keep her busy. Remus caught a glimpse of November's face and decided that whatever the consequence, now was the time to help her escape the chaos.
"If it would not be too much trouble, I can't quite find that plant of yours, November."
She seemed to understand him and quickly excused herself, following him out. They walked through the greenhouse in silence. She reached a plant, knelt and picked a handful of it, and handed it to him carefully, not letting her hand touch his own.
"There you are."
"November…" Remus could feel the words welling up in him and though he knew this was not the best time, he couldn't stop them. "I was an ass. Pure and simple. It was all wrong and it was my fault. I would never take advantage of you. If you must leave please, please, believe me and accept my most sincere apology. I just can't bear to lose you like this." Hoping for some sincerity points, he even got on his knees. "I adore you and I acted on impulse. It was dishonorable."
November watched him carefully, kneeling in the dirt in front of her, before she spoke. "I believe what I appreciate most is your grammatically correct use of 'an ass.'"
A smile slowly spread across her face and Remus grinned with relief. "I was, you know."
"I know."
He got slowly to his feet and she allowed him to hug her. She was so tired.
"Bed?" he asked simply.
"I should wait until the kids arrive."
"They won't be here till morning."
"In that case, yes. Bed."
November slept deeply and her dreams revolved around Remus on one knee in front of her and a bleeding Arthur Weasley, a morbid combination really.
It seemed inevitable that this would happen. Molly had gone back to the Burrow to gather together things for the kids and herself. She would only be gone for a few hours and of course that was when the kids arrived. Remus had tried to let November sleep but he was at a loss as far as how to comfort a teenage girl and the twins. Ron just gaped.
November was downstairs quickly, still in her pajamas and pulling Weasley children to her.
"So sorry, November," mumbled a glassy eyed George. "Don't mean t' fall apart on you."
"I owe you gentlemen and you know it," she replied, patting their cheeks. "You gave me more than this those years ago."
Ginny had wrapped her arms around November on her appearance and showed no sign of letting go. She cried silently.
"You want to see your dad? He's not pretty but he's whole."
"Thanks to her." It was the first time Remus had spoken but he knew November would downplay all of it.
"Thanks, 'Vember," Ron managed. "Could we see him?"
Arthur was sleeping in one of the spare rooms. He was swollen and cut but he was alive and obviously resting peacefully. It seemed to help them to physically see their father and they moved back down to the dining room.
"Your mother will be back soon enough with some things for you. I assume other guests will be joining us?"
"Harry," Ron answered, looking less dazed.
November smiled. "Sirius will be pleased." Remus saw her gaze shift to him and she smiled. "Remus should tell you about how Mad-Eye scared him out of his wits while I get you tea."
The pair crossed, hands brushing, and November hid herself in the kitchen leaning back against the wall. Laughter sounded from the kitchen and she smiled to herself. He was a good storyteller and it would distract them. The kitchen fire roared green next to her and she watched as Harry Potter stepped through. Another burst and Molly followed.
"My dear! How are you?"
"Embarrassed," she answered sheepishly, indicating that she was still in her pajamas. "Sorry, Harry."
"Oh stuff!" Molly exclaimed. "She saved Arthur's life!" Molly explained to Harry.
"Mom?" There was a flood of red heads and November found herself shuffled into a corner next to the Boy Who Lived.
"I'm glad you could help him," Harry offered as means of conversation.
"Ah, yeah. Well, I owe them a lot."
Harry watched the greetings going on in front of him, a big hugging knot of Weasleys. "Did you know my father?"
"No. Not directly. I was a few years younger and Ravenclaw. I knew your mother better." She watched his expression curiously. It was hard for her to imagine that he had never known his own parents. "We traded places for the Halloween Feast one year. She was the best witch in the school for Transfiguration."
"And you can change faces."
November smiled, surprised. "Indeed. So it was a natural pairing that didn't involve the mess of Polyjuice, But that was really the most interaction I had with her. My acquaintance with your father's circle has grown only recently."
"Professor Lupin seems glad for that."
November jerked a little, looking at him. There was a friendly but mischievous look in his eyes. She had met this kid twice and if it was that obvious maybe…
"Harry!" Sirius was in the door and Harry darted over to his godfather.
Everything seemed to hit her in a moment: hugging Weasleys, Harry and Sirius, the warmth of the kitchen, and Remus James Lupin. This was her home. In the chaos someone took her hand and she felt herself being Apparated. When she opened her eyes she was in the Alcove. Remus was at the door and ready to leave.
"I just wanted to help you get some space. I don't want to…" He searched for the right word but came up short. There wasn't really a word for what he wanted.
"Do you think I should stay?" November asked suddenly.
"I believe–"
"No. Give me your honest answer, Remus Lupin."
There was so much that question contained and he wasn't sure how to go about it. But she had asked for honesty and this he could give her.
"Oh, November, I wish you would."
She stared down at her hands, spinning the ring on her finger. "So do I. It's home here."
Remus felt light as a balloon. He didn't dare touch her but he wanted to spin her around. "So I'll be seeing you around?"
"Yes." She looked up and met him with a smile. "Yes, you will."
