Moondreams

MOONDREAMS

"I saw you, Anna," he says, "in the courtyard.

I look at my hands in my lap, concentrating on my nails and nothing else.

He continues, "My dear, don't misunderstand me. Remus is a good man. Life has not been kind to him." He is smiling slightly, but his words are full of a warning I don't fully understand. "You are both teachers, and Hogwarts is not without it's rules."

I cannot look at him. "Yes, Headmaster."

He comes around the desk, kneels before me, and cups my chin in one strong hand. He lifts my face to his. His eyes are so blue, so brilliant and sparkling. They nearly blind me.

"Anna," he says, "you can still call me Uncle."

I love this gentle man with all my heart. "Oh, Uncle Albie...." I begin. "I'm sorry."

He shakes his head, still smiling. "No, you're not." He sighs. "I, too, have been in love. It can make all our wisdom disappear." He snaps his fingers, and the candles around the room flicker as if in response.

"Be careful, Anna. That is as much as I can tell you at this time."

I kiss him on one wrinkled cheek. "Yes, Uncle."

Against my Uncle's wishes, I am in the courtyard. Remus is beside me. His hair is like honey in the sunlight. He is, indeed, a good man - kind, gentle, intelligent. I am happy beyond words.

I tell Remus what Uncle Albus has said.

"Ah, yes," he chuckles, "the Headmaster would say that."

"But, why?" I ask.

"I suppose he only wants you to be careful."

"Of what?"

"Of me."

"And," I ask hesitantly, "what would you say?"

"I would say be careful of me, as well." He takes my hand, placing light, sweet kisses on each of my fingers.

I lean into him slightly. We sit there in silence, watching the swallows flit in and out of the archways.

Remus is gone again. Hagrid tells me he visits his ailing mother once a month, every month. A dutiful only son. I don't believe him.

I busy myself with my classes. Teaching Home Economics at a wizarding school is not much different from teaching it at a muggle school. Though I often find myself needing herbs not readily found in the kitchens, greenhouse or hospital wing. This time Madam Pomfrey sends me deep into the dungeons.

I hear movement within the classroom, and knock on the door.

"Enter." Professor Snape does not sound pleased to be interrupted on a weeknight.

I move further into the room. The Potions Master is intently pouring a bubbling mixture from flask to flask. I catch a whiff of the concoction. It is sharp, metallic, and hurts my nose.

"Aconite?" I ask.

Professor Snape steals a glimpse out of the corner of one eye. "Very good Miss Greythorne," he snarls. "What brings the Home Economics teacher into my lair?" He pronounces the words with undisguised disdain.

I am unperturbed. "Madam Pomfrey informs me you have the only remaining store of lavender balm in the castle."

He nods towards a door in the corner of the room. "It's in there. You can find it for yourself."

"Thank you, Professor." I chance a look at the potion on my way to the herb stores.

"Yes, Miss Greythorne?"

"That's not the Wolfsbane Potion, is it?"

"And, what if it is? I do not think my job is any of your business." He pauses, smirking. "Or, perhaps it should be your business. Considering the company you are keeping."

"Meaning?" I ask.

Professor Snape holds up a hand. "I should say no more. If your Uncle had wanted you to know, he would have told you."

"I'd check my attitude if I were you, Professor," I say. "Coyness does not become you." I head to the stores to retrieve what I came for.

Remus is back.

He's at the other end of the table, talking to Professor Flitwick. He looks weary, but every now and then he will glance my way, catch my eye, and smile.

Unfortunately, Uncle Albus is sitting between us, as are Professors McGonnagal and Snape. Our looks do not go unnoticed.

I have had a couple of days to reflect on what Professor Snape said to me in the dungeons. It has weighed heavy on my mind. I have done some research, and I believe I have figured it out. Not that it matters.

Leaving the table, I approach Professor Snape. "May we talk later, in private?"

"Hmmm?" He does not appear surprised. "Yes, I suppose so."

He barely looks at me.

I pass behind Remus. He reaches his hand back to brush mine as I walk by. I am nearly out of the room when I hear him excuse himself. We meet up in the Great Hall.

"Take a walk with me." It is not a question.

I slip my hand in his. It is warm and moist. He is nervous.

Why must life give you a gift beyond all others, and then conspire to take it all away? There are never any clear answers.

We head outside.

"The Headmaster spoke with me today," he says. "Apparently his words to you went unheeded."

"I am well aware of that."

We are down by the lake. The sky is growing dark and the stars are slowly appearing - winking at us lazily from on high.

He puts his arms around me, leaning his cheek on the top of my head.

"And, apparently," he continues, "I am not to see you anymore."

"That will be hard," I reply, "considering we both work here."

He laughs. "You know what I mean."

"And, it's silly."

"I know."

"It will all work out."

"I hope."

"I know."

He kisses me long and slow. And bittersweet.

I met with Professor Snape later that night. He thought I was crazy, but agreed to help me. Why, I do not know. He never liked me much. Hagrid says he doesn't like anyone. He respects my Uncle, and that is saying a lot. I suspect that might be the reason he agreed, though if Uncle Albus finds out he had a hand in this....

Which leaves me sitting in the Hog's Head, waiting for him.

A plump witch approaches my table. She places a flagon of mead in front of me. I start to protest I hadn't ordered one, and she leans in closer. I catch a whiff of unpleasant things best not known.

" 'E's in tha back." She jerks her head towards the rear door.

I nod and rise, leaving a solitary sickle on the table.

It is dark in the alley. He is waiting, shifting nervously. Odd, for him.

"You wait here," he hisses. "It will be taken care of." He glances back towards the pub door. "No one is ever to know."

"You can trust me," I say, and for the first time we understand each other.

The Potions Master departs in haste. I am left alone. But, not really.

I hear a low rumble from the corner of the alley.

It does not take long.

It is my first time. I am afraid, but having taken the flagon left me earlier in the week, it is not painful.

It is not hard to find Remus. The very scent of him invades my nostrils and takes up residence in my head.

Professor Snape is good to his word. The door to the office is ajar, and I nudge it open.

He is there.

He sniffs.

He knows it's me.

He approaches, tail wagging furiously. He nuzzles my ear.

He knows every secret passage out of the castle. I know a few myself. Together we escape the walls that bound us, and the ties that conspired to keep us apart.

We run through the trees, under the moonlight.

We are free.

Together.

Wolves mate for life.

Surprisingly, so do werewolves.