Lupin's True Love

July 20, 1973

In the middle of the sunbeam, Veronica sat at her wooden desk with a blue notebook and several books scattered around her. She scribbled furiously for a second before turning back to the books. She flipped through the pages before beginning to write even faster. She barely looked up when a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in." She practically screamed at the closed door.

Evelyn was shocked when she opened the door. She moved toward the desk. "I can come back later if you want."

"Sorry, Mom. I thought you were James." Veronica turned to look at Evelyn.

"Has that boy been bothering you again?"

"Not since I threatened to hang him from the dormer on the fourth floor. By his toes no less." Veronica smiled as Evelyn laughed.

Evelyn glanced at the mess on Veronica's desk. "I thought you had finished all your homework, dear."

"I did. My friend, Jessica, gave me How to Make Your Own Pensieve for my birthday and I promised her that I would make one. But now that I see how useful it can be, I'm making it to help me with the strangest dreams I've been having."

"What dreams?" Evelyn sank onto the edge of the neatly made bed.

"I'm not sure. I mean I think I'm at Hogwarts but the people I'm with aren't Lily or James or even Sirius." Veronica shrugged. "I guess I'll live without knowing for now." She turned to Evelyn. "You wanted me for something, Mom?"

Evelyn held out a letter. "You received this in the post this morning."

Veronica eagerly took the letter. "It's from Lily." She ripped into the letter.

Veronica,

Get ready to PARTY!!! My parents said I could have a sleepover tonight. I've already contacted Jessica, Emma, and Patricia. They said they'll be here. Dad says that he'll be around to pick you and Patricia from your house around one this afternoon. My house isn't hooked into the Floo Network so I guess we'll have to deal with the slow way. We're going to have loads of fun. See you at the party.

Lily

P.S. Please ignore my sister. She has hated me and my powers since the day I received my letter to Hogwarts. I think she'd jealous because she never received one.

Evelyn smiled at Veronica squealed slightly. "I take it that it was good news?"

"Lily's having a sleepover tonight. May I go?" Veronica gazed expectantly at Evelyn.

"I suppose if you're good and behave yourself, you can go." Evelyn braced herself as Veronica hurled herself into her arms.

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior. I've got to pack. Lily's dad is going to be here in about two hours." Veronica hurried to her closet.

"No he's not."

Veronica skidded to a stop. "He's not? But Lily said he was coming..."

"Thomas got the Evans home hooked into the Floo Network so you and Patricia will be able to go over there right after lunch." Evelyn watched as Veronica began to dance a jig around her room. "I'll leave you to pack. Patricia should be here in a bit."

Veronica barely noticed as Evelyn stepped from the bedroom. She rushed into her walk-in closet. It still amazed her that her closet was so huge that she only had a quarter of it filled with her clothes. She had refused to allow Evelyn and Thomas to take her shopping at the beginning of the holidays since they would be shopping again by the end of the holidays. She pulled her favorite and second favorite faded blue jeans from their hangers and shoved them into a purple overnight bag. She moved to her sweaters, all ten of them. She stared at the various shades of blue and purple and finally settled on a deep violet and second lighter purple sweaters to take with her. These were followed into the bag by her underclothes and her fringed leather jacket, should they decide to go see the town where Lily lived. She grabbed her shiny black knee boots from under her school robes and carried them to the bed where she threw them and the overnight bag. Lily had given her a small vanity bag so into this Veronica put her tiny bit of make-up, lip-gloss and mascara, her brush, comb, violet and silver hair ribbons, knowing Lily and Patricia they would want to braid her hair, and her amethyst earrings. The matching necklace went around her neck. She moved toward the bed and grabbed her lilac nightgown from under her pillow. From the dresser drawer she pulled out a lilac collared shirt to wear under the darker sweater as well as a slivery white one for the lighter sweater. Finally she hurried into the bathroom and grabbed her shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush. Usually she would make it through the Floo Network with very little soot but sometimes she was covered completely. These items were thrown into an enchanted bag to keep the contents from spilling over everything else in the overnight bag. Veronica was sitting on the edge of the bed pulling on her black knee boots when Tinker arrived with a soft crack.

"Miss is leaving?" Tinker watched as Veronica quickly zipped her boots closed.

"Only for tonight, Tinker. My friend, Lily, is having a sleepover tonight but I'll be back sometime tomorrow." Veronica picked up the overnight bag and started to the door.

"Anything Miss wants Tinker to do while Miss is gone?" Tinker started toward the messy desk.

"I'll put that stuff away, Tinker." Veronica quickly dropped the bag and hurried over to the desk. "All I need for you to do while I'm gone is to care for Griff and Lacewing, if she comes tonight. In fact if Lacewing comes here, please send her on to the Evans house."

Tinker bowed low as Veronica finished stacking the books and her notes neatly on the desk. "Yes, Miss."

"Thank you, Tinker." Veronica grabbed her bag and hurried down the stairs and into the parlor.

James stepped into the parlor as Veronica finished placing her bag beside the fireplace. He leaned against the doorjamb as she checked the Muggle grandfather clock in the corner. "Going somewhere, Vee?"

Veronica jumped slightly before whirling around to face James. "I swear. One of these days you're going to sneak up on me and I'm just going to hex you."

"I'd like to see you try." James smirked slightly. "I heard you running around your room like a herd of elephants."

"Are you calling me FAT?!!!" Veronica picked up a log from beside the fireplace and brandished it at James.

"Now why would I do that? I know better than to tell a woman she's looking a bit heavy." James ducked as Veronica swung the log at his head. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again!"

"I'll remember that, you moron." Veronica dropped the log and brushed her hands free of the loose dirt.

"I'm not a moron." James glared at Veronica.

"Guess again." Veronica whirled around to face the fireplace as a whoosh and a cloud of soot flew out onto the marble hearth. "Patricia!!"

"I am so ready to PARTY!!!" Patricia dropped her bag beside Veronica's and began to dance in place.

"Party? Where?" James glanced between Patricia and Veronica as they tried to get the soot from Patricia's clothes.

"Lily's." Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Can't I come?" James fell to his knees. "Please?"

"Nope." Veronica glanced at Patricia and nodded once.

"GIRLS ONLY!!" Together they pushed James over and laughed as he scrambled back onto his feet.

"Well, if that's the way you're going to be, I'm going to see if I can have Sirius, Peter, and Remus over tonight for our own party." James stalked out of the parlor.

"I don't think so." Patricia rolled her eyes slightly.

"You wouldn't believe the stuff he's gotten away with this summer." Veronica and Patricia followed James to the kitchen.

"Like what?" Patricia giggled slightly when James glared back at them.

"I'll tell everyone at the party later. We're going to need a good laugh." Veronica stuck her tongue out at James as they entered the kitchen.

"I hope you have everything, dear." Evelyn looked up from the Daily Prophet.

"I do. This is Patricia Bloom, Mom." Veronica motioned for Patricia to sit in the chair beside hers. "Patricia, this lovely lady is James' mother, Evelyn Potter. How she spawned that boy I'll never know."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Patricia reached across the table and gripped Evelyn's hand.

"And you, dear. Who's ready to eat some lunch." Evelyn ignored James waving his hands in the air. "You are always ready to eat, James." Hook placed a platter of sandwiches on the table as Tinker filled the goblets with pumpkin juice. "Eat up."

James reached for the platter. "Mum, can I have Remus, Sirius, and Peter over tonight? I mean since Veronica's going to see her friends."

"I don't see why not, dear. We'll contact them after the girls leave." Evelyn sipped her pumpkin juice.

"That's great. I'll get Hook to set up the camp beds in my room." James never saw Veronica roll her eyes slightly.

Veronica jumped slightly as the clock began to chime the hour. "We've got to go, Mom."

Evelyn hurried along behind Veronica. She took the Floo powder from the mantle and handed it to Veronica and Patricia. "You only need to say 'Evans Residence' and off you go."

Veronica picked up her bag, grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, and stepped into the fireplace. "Evans residence." She disappeared with a green flash and a whoosh. She felt her bag banging against her back as she whirled around the fireplaces. Suddenly she began to slow. She threw out her hands to the side and slid to a graceful stop in the Evans fireplace. She saw Lily look up and squeal. "SURPRISE!!"

"No wonder Dad never left. He must have known." Lily hugged Veronica tightly as Patricia landed in a graceful heap in the fireplace. "Patricia!"

"Lily!" Patricia threw her arms around her twp friends. "Where are Jessica and Emma?"

"They'll be here in a bit. Mother went to get them." Lily pulled them further into the room. "This is going to be so much fun." She turned to lead them upstairs but a horsey faced girl about the age of fifteen stood in the doorway. "Petunia, I want you to meet my friends. This is Veronica Croft and Patricia Bloom."

"What do I want to know your freaky friends for?" She stared down her nose at Veronica and Patricia. "I never thought they'd be so filthy."

"Why you..." Patricia reached for her wand.

"Patricia." Veronica stepped up to Petunia Evans and stared straight into her blue eyes. "You know if you traveled by Floo powder you'd be dirty too. I'm going to tell you this only one time, Petunia. Mess with my friends and you're in BIG and I mean BIG, BIG, trouble. With a nice big capital T." Veronica's eyes flashed violet for a moment. "Now. We're here to have fun and not fight with ignorant little Muggles." She turned back to face Lily and Patricia. "I believe you were going to take us to your room, Lily."

"Yeah. Follow me." Lily waited until they were out of the hearing distance of Petunia. "I can't believe you just told her that."

"Well she deserved it." Veronica sighed slightly. "You know how I get all protective of my friends."

"I know but if she tells Mother we might all be in trouble." Lily opened the door to her room.

"Then we'll tell you mom what Petunia said about us." Veronica gazed around the room. She moved toward one of the posters on the wall. "You are definitely using your brain, girl." She pointed at the poster of the Muggle band The Monkees. "They are so hot right now."

"Much better than The Beetles." Lily giggled as Patricia looked between the two of them.

"The Monkees? The Beetles? What? Are all bands in the Muggle world named after animals?" Patricia looked at the poster. "Why don't they move?"

"Muggle pictures don't move, Patricia, and not all bands are named after animals. I mean there are The Stones and Jimmy Hendrix." Lily sighed dreamily.

"Okay." Patricia shook her head as the door swung open. "Emma! Jessica!"

Mrs. Evans stood behind the squealing girls. "Lily, why don't you introduce your friends so I'll know who's who?"

"Sure, Mother. This is Veronica Croft. She's the one who stays with the Potters during the holidays." Veronica waved from the back of the group. "You already know Jessica Stone and Emma Radcliffe since you picked them up from Jessica's house. And this bundle of energy is the one we call Patricia Bloom."

Patricia bounced forward. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. However your daughter Petunia was very rude to us when we arrived."

"You girls may call me Rose. Well I guess it's a good thing she's going to be staying at her friends house." Mrs. Evans smiled at the girls. "Now. I want you to tell me who grew up in Muggle homes and who grew up in Wizarding homes."

Veronica waited until Rose Evans entered the room completely and sank to the floor. She followed suit while Patricia bounced onto the pink and lace covered bed. Jessica and Emma leaned against the bed while Lily sat beside her mother.

"My family is a pureblood family but we don't care about it." Patricia laughed slightly.

"I'm a Muggle-born just like Lily." Emma stared at the floor. "But my folks aren't nearly as nice about it as you."

"I'm what they call half-blood. My dad's a wizard but my mom's a Muggle. He told he before they got married." Jessica smiled broadly at Rose.

"I guess I'll finish." Veronica smiled shyly. "I was raised in a Muggle house until this year. Now I have a house elf that helps keep my things straightened and a phoenix that lives on a perch in my room. It's amazing to see the difference between the two."

"A phoenix?" Lily leaned forward. "Do you think it'll come here?"

"Griff might. You never know with him. I mean I was having tea with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter a while back and he came right in to meet them. Although he didn't like Peter, he's very well behaved." Veronica leaned back against the desk chair as a tapping sounded from the window. She turned and saw Griff standing on the railing of the small balcony. "See what I mean." She climbed to her feet and opened the window.

Griff fluttered into the middle of the circle. He hopped over to Rose and allowed her to pet his red and black feathers. "He's beautiful."

"Let me introduce him to everyone." Veronica sank to her knees. "Griff, the lady petting you is Mrs. Rose Evans. Her daughter Lily is sitting beside her. Next is Jessica. Then you have Emma. And finally there's Patricia."

Patricia waved her hand in greeting as Griff rubbed his head against Lily's knees. They sat admiring him for several hours. He also allowed each of the girls to pet his feathers. He let out a soft song and everyone hearts lifted slightly. Finally he decided that he'd had enough attention. Giving Veronica one last nip on her right ear, he flew out the window. Lily closed it behind him.

"That was amazing, Veronica. He's a very beautiful bird." Rose smiled softly at the thought of actually petting a mythical animal. "I'm glad Lily's getting to experience this stuff. I wish I could." She climbed to her feet. "I'm going to make supper. Veronica and Patricia. You both seem to have some soot in your hair. Why don't the two of you take a shower and get cleaned up before supper? One of you can use mine and the other can use Lily's. Lily will show you they are."

Veronica reached into her overnight bag and pulled out one of the sets of clothes from it as well as the bags that held her shampoo and brush. Lily led her and Patricia to the bathrooms. Veronica took Lily's and Patricia took Rose's. Before the others even knew it they were back and ready to party.