Fearn't Ever Further

.~*~.Fearn't Ever Further.~*~.

Chapter Five

Of Mates and Cubs

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This chapter is not from any particular first-person POV.

This chapter is mostly flashbacks.

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Remus smiled as he looked at the scene in front of him. There, in the beautiful garden of the Manor, Olivia was sitting in her swing, Malcolm pushing her. Giggling, she shouted, "Higher, Malcolm, higher!" To that he responded merely by laughing and indeed pushing her even higher.

There was nothing left of the scared little girl that they had met in the orphanage. Olivia now looked self-confident and very much like an adult, what she indeed was -- she had turned seventeen just a week earlier, an event that had been joyously celebrated among their family. She and Malcolm had had a joined birthday party, being that their birthdays were so close. She was now wearing one of the dresses Draco had given her as a present. It was dark green with white linings, fitting her hair very well, and she had a white rose in her hair to go with the dress. Being only interested in men, Remus couldn't really evaluate her sexual attractiveness, but he did indeed know that she was beautiful at the moment.

At that thought, his eyes flickered to Malcolm. The boy was now taller than anybody else in the family, and looked just as grown-up as Olivia did. Sure, they were both of age and could in theory do whatever they liked, but like everybody else in the family, Remus was keeping an eye on Malcolm. If he dared to hurt his not-so-little-anymore girl in any way, he'd be hurt in return. Especially concerned Remus was about Olivia's vision, the one Severus had told him and Lucius about. If Malcolm and Olivia were indeed only engaged by the time their first child was born, the said child couldn't be planned. Both were responsible young people, true, but as it was now almost certain that "an accident" would happen, Remus was at least determined to make sure that accident wouldn't happen for quite some time yet.

Suddenly, the werewolf felt a pair of arms being wrapped around his waist. "What are you thinking about?" murmured the owner of the arms into his ear, after which a kiss was planted on top of his head.

"Not much in particular," replied Remus, leaning back against his husband's chest. "I just was hoping that it will still be quite some time until we become grandparents, as fascinating as the thought in itself is." He smirked a bit, knowing very well that Lucius was currently scowling at the poor, unsuspecting Malcolm. Feeling the embrace around his waist tighten a bit, Remus sighed happily. "Everything has been going so well for the last year or so," he murmured. "Except for the tsunami, of course."

"You're right," Lucius responded. Then, with a hint of amusement in his voice, he continued, "Most probably it's simply because we haven't been home for long enough for something awful to happen."

"Oh, be quiet," Remus laughed, tugging the blond's side with his elbow. "And besides, we haven't been away from home that much, now have we? Only a couple of times on werewolf business..."

***

18th of October, 2004

*

Olivia glanced nervously around the enormous hall. Lucius simply stood calmly on her side, his eyes fixed on his husband. Remus was standing in front of his husband and daughter, looking as confident as ever. He was wearing his official robes, the golden parts of his hair shining even more than his golden robe. In his hand he held the Wolf's Staff; everybody who entered the hall glanced at it for a while or two. The three Malfoys were standing on a small stage, while everybody else either took seats or remained standing on the lower part of the hall. The only other people on the stage beside them were a dark-haired woman on the other end of the stage and a grim-looking man behind her. Neither of them had said a word yet.

As even more people came in, Olivia began to look more and more nervous. Despite the recent changes in the official attitudes, people's own opinions still stayed, and many werewolves would have wanted to get revenge on non-lycanthropes. Thus to be one of the only two "full humans" in the same room with a thousand or so werewolves was bound to be a bit unnerving.

"Don't worry, Olivia," said Lucius quietly, having noticed her nervousness. "None of them is going to hurt us. They have far too much respect for Remus to ever lay a finger on us. And besides, it is very unlikely that even the most hostile ones would attack anybody with a thousand witnessess, never mind that everybody attending the convention has been checked and double-checked for hostility for humans."

"And all because of us, I guess," Olivia said, managing to smile a bit, although she still wasn't relaxed. "Since if I'm not badly mistaken, you and I are the only full humans in this building at the moment."

"Well, of course," said Remus, smiling a bit as he turned towards them. "I am, after all, the Keeper of the Wolf's Staff. It wouldn't do for my family to feel threatened." Then he turned serious. "Okay, this is quite simple," he then said. "You of course know all that's going to happen, Lucius, but as for you, Olivia... All will be here any moment now. Once that happens, I'll have to establish my position by being challenged and hopefully winning the alpha males of the continents. Then the alpha female will have to establish her own position, after which she'll challenge me. After all that has been taken care of, nothing else is expected of any of us, so we can just go around and talk. The main point of this convention is just that, clearing out the ranking order again. All official matters will be dealt with on some other time."

Olivia nodded. "I understand," she said. "The alphas of the continents have already established their own positions, haven't they? With the alphas of the countries and such."

"Exactly." Remus smiled again as he nodded in confirmation. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

At glancing around, they noticed that about every seat in the hall was taken, and a lot of people were standing around wherever there was free space. They were truly from all around the world. Even though they were currently at France -- countries with large werewolf populations took turns in hosting the conventions, and now it was France's turn -- Caucasians did not make up most of the crowd. Instead, there were people of all colours and cultures around; the only thing they all had in common were the amber eyes. And now, a thousand pairs of amber eyes watched as Remus walked to the front of the stage.

Olivia unconsciously took a step towards her Father as she watched her Dad facing all the other werewolves. Lucius merely smirked a bit. He had, after all, seen this happening before, too. It never ceased to fascinate him how his usually so quiet and mild-mannered husband seemed to adopt an aura of power and undeniable superiority whenever he was met with other werewolves. This unfamiliar strength was what was unnerving Olivia at the moment; she was pretty much used to seeing her Father as the dominant one of the couple. Now, however, there was no doubt that Remus was the one in charge.

"I am Remus Malfoy, the Keeper of the Wolf's Staff, the alpha male of all werewolves," said Remus, his calm voice carrying over the suddenly absolutely silent audience. There was no need for him to use charms to strengthen his voice, as there were no other sounds and all of his audience had werewolf hearing. "Anybody wishing to challenge me may step forward now, or stay forgotten."

Remus's amber eyes darted around the hall, then settled to look at the first line of seats right in front of the stage. The six men seated there stood as one, then, in a neat line, made their way up to the stage. The one who was first on the line stood before Remus, eyeing him in clear challenge.

"I am James Rose, the alpha male of North America," he said. "I challenge you."

Not saying a word, Remus merely looked at him. The man looked back. For a moment they were engaged in a staring contest, amber eyes blazing on both sides. Then, at last, the other man stepped back and lifted his chin, exposing his throat to show his submission. Smirking a bit, Remus nodded, and he stepped aside.

Olivia and Lucius glanced at each other, then returned to watching Remus. It wasn't very often that they saw Remus looking so triumphant. Obviously Remus the Alpha was far from the usual Remus.

One by one, every alpha male came to face Remus. And, one by one, they all lifted their chin, exposing their throat in a sign of resignation. Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia... The alphas of every continent came to challenge their own alpha, and none won him.

At last, when the alpha of South America had submitted to him, Remus turned towards their silent audience. "I am Remus Malfoy, the Keeper of the Wolf's Staff, the alpha male of all werewolves," he said levelly. "By the submission of the other alphas, I will remain as such. Anybody wishing to challenge me may step forward now, or stay forgotten." Nobody stood to challenge him.

Then, the darkhaired woman on the other end of the stage stepped forward. "I am Ramona Mortense, the alpha female of all werewolves," she announced. "Anybody wishing to challenge me may step forward now, or stay forgotten." She then let her gaze wander to the first line, nodding. Just like the alpha males had done before, the alpha females of every continent walked to the stage. And, one by one, they all submitted to her. After this, before making any announcements, she stepped towards Remus to challenge him.

For a long time, the alpha male and the alpha female eyed each other. Amber eyes blazed with inner flames, neither giving up their staring. Nobody dared to say a word. They just watched the match, the only match that day nobody could foretell the winner of.

At last, the woman raised her chin, too. Then, she turned towards the audience. "I am Ramona Mortense, the alpha female of all werewolves," she said just as calmly as Remus had made his own announcement. "By the submission of the other alphas, and my own submission to the alpha male, I will remain as such. Anybody wishing to challenge me may step forward now, or stay forgotten." Again, nobody stood to challenge the alpha, knowing that they could not win.

Then, the tense atmosphere seemed to ease in only a second. The alpha female turned again towards Remus, smiling broadly. "It's been a long time, Remus," she said happily. "I see that Lucius is still with you, but who's the young lady? I don't recall being introduced to her."

"She's Olivia, our daughter," replied Remus. "Olivia, this is Ramona Mortense, the alpha female of all werewolves and an old friend of mine." Locking his eyes at the man behind Ramona, he added, "But who's your companion, Ramona? I've never seen him before, I think."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I completely forgot," the woman said cheerfully. "This is Luigi Chemanéz, my mate. Luigi, this is Remus Malfoy, the Keeper of the Wolf's Staff and our alpha, like you already know. The blond man is Lucius Malfoy, Remus's mate, and the young lady is Olivia Malfoy, their daughter."

Luigi nodded at the three with a slight smile. "Such a pleasure to meet you," he said. "I've heard a lot about you from Ramona."

Lucius raised his eyebrows. "If anything I know about Ramona is true, I should hope you haven't believed anything she's told," the Slytherin said calmly.

"Ever the same, Lucius, I see," said Ramona, chuckling. "Now, what about taking this conversation into some more comfortable place? Nobody's looking at us anymore, but still, the stage..."

Olivia glanced around to see that all werewolves had indeed forgotten about them already. They were forming small groups all around the enormous hall, chattering cheerfully.

"Getting down there sounds like an excellent idea," Remus agreed. "You'll of course participate in the dinner tonight. Am I also correct to assume that you'll join me in the official meeting tomorrow, Ramona?"

"Absolutely correct, my friend," she replied with a smile as they all started to walk towards the stairs leading down from the stage. "But what is your family going to do tomorrow?"

"Oh, don't worry about us," Lucius said dryly. "I have arranged myself a meeting with Jamie Shaw -- a truly ingenious Potions Master, although his disability to handle Wolfsbane and silver tools is kind of a disadvantage to him. And as for Olivia, well, Draco said he'd wanted to do some French shopping anyway as Harry is on a practice camp. So, he'll take Olivia into Paris for tomorrow."

"Ah, Harry Potter," Luigi said, smirking a bit. "A Quidditch star and the Man Who Won. You indeed have a very interesting little family, I must say. Are you also interested in Potions?" he then asked from Olivia.

"Oh, yes," she replied happily. "I've already done four of my tests in order to become a Potions Mistress. Severus says I'm making fine progress. He's my godfather and tutor, Severus Snape," she then added.

"Interesting names, I hear," said suddenly a low voice right behind her. Startling, she spun around, seeing a tall werewolf standing in front of her. There was an air of definite threat around him.

"What do you know about Severus?" she asked. It took all her self-control not to tremble.

"Oh, nothing," the man replied levelly. "It's just that if Severus Snape is your tutor, you must be Olivia Malfoy, then." As she nodded cautiously in confirmation, he smirked. "Interesting," he said again.

Out of the corner of her eye Olivia noted that her parents, Ramona, and Luigi had stopped to watch the scene, all looking very serious. Reassured by this, she asked, "And what's so interesting about that?"

"Nothing at all," was the answer. "I just was interested to see what the heiress of Malfoy looks like -- and feels like," he then added with a smirk. And, with this, he reached out a hand to grasp her arm.

This, however, proved to be a very bad move. Although nobody had raised a wand, the strange werewolf suddenly found himself flying through the air and smacking against the side of the stage. As he stared at her, stunned, Remus stepped forward and placed calmly a hand on Olivia's shoulder.

"Let that be a lesson to all who had even planned laying a paw on my daughter," he said coolly, letting his gaze dart from one werewolf to another. "No werewolf can touch her without her consent." And, as if to emphatize his point, he than snapped the floor with the Wolf's Staff. In an instant the threatening werewolf was again flung into the air, this time not dropping down until he had been carried out of the whole hall. Once outside, he fell onto the ground, and despite his swearing and trying, found himself unable to re-enter.

"That was a nice trick, Remus," Ramona said dryly. "I had no idea you could do that."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Ramona," the brunet man said, rolling his eyes. "With the Staff, I could use any werewolf's magic like my own if I wanted to. Why exactly did you think I couldn't make a spell only targeting on werewolves?" Now turning to Olivia, he asked, "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, smiling faintly. "A bit startled, that's all."

A man in official-looking white robes and a badge in the shape of a wolf's head hurried towards them through the curious crowd. "I'm terribly sorry about the incident, Alpha," he said to Remus, his eyes shining just as amber as almost everybody else's. "I assure you that that intruding man was not on the guest list. We are just trying to find out how he managed to get in --"

"In other words," Lucius cut in calmly, "you hadn't checked the guests' backgrounds carefully enough, and right now somebody's busy editing the guest list not to include that man who approached my daughter. Oh, and don't give me that look," he then added, sounding almost bored. "I've worked in the Ministry long enough to know how these things work. Just make sure nobody's rude to Olivia anymore."

For a moment, the official was speechless. Then he just inclined his head. "Yes, Mister Malfoy," he mumbled, nodded a bit at Remus and Ramona, and then hurried out of sight.

"Well, wasn't that interesting, the way Lucius took charge," Ramona said, smirking a bit. "So, tell me, Remus... Which one of you two is the alpha?" With this, she casted a sly look at both male Malfoys.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Ramona," Remus sighed, exasperated. However, a little smirk was tugging at his lips as he led his little "pack" further into the crowd of werewolves.

***

"Well, Ramona never was one to hesitate," Lucius said, smirking a bit. "And Luigi isn't that bad, either."

"It's nice to see you don't disapprove of all of my friends," Remus laughed. "It was a bit of a surprise to me, though, that she'd chosen Luigi for her mate. Sure, it isn't odd that she was mated with another werewolf -- most are, I'm more the exception than the rule -- but a Muggle werewolf? She never seemed to be the type to mate with a Muggle. But then again, you never know, right?"

"Right," chuckled Lucius. "Lilian's approaches at Christopher are becoming less and less hostile all the time. I don't think it'll take long until she finally openly reveals her goals."

"Merlin help Christopher, the poor guy won't have a chance," chuckled Remus. "I guess he can survive it, though -- if he couldn't, Lilian wouldn't even bother with him."

"I still wish you had done more to that werewolf than just flown him out of the room," Lucius said darkly. "Hell, he dared to try to grasp Olivia! You should have just simply beaten him."

"It's not that simple, my dear," Remus scolded him. "That man probably had some friends there with him. The last thing I wanted was to provoke a fight with Olivia in the middle."

"You're probably right about that after all," admitted Lucius with a tiny sigh. Then he smirked a bit. "Although I can recall one trip you went to that I didn't participate in," he said slyly. "You never even told me what happened at Ruka, anyway. Should I maybe be jealous of some strange person in the North?"

"Oh, come off it," Remus laughed. "You could have come along, too, if you hadn't absolutely refused to set a foot into 'such a Muggle enviroment'. It was fun in the end, you know. Olivia and Sirius surely agree with me on that. And you can ask them whether there were any strangers to be jealous of, too."

***

2nd of December, 2005

*

Remus glanced around. Everything was cold and chilly, not to mention snowy. Glancing up he saw several tiny dots of colour racing down the bluish-white hill, becoming larger and larger as they got nearer. A minute later two of the dots stopped next to him, now having grown into people.

Both Sirius and Olivia were grinning like mad. It was obvious that they were enjoying the experience. Remus was finding it very enjoyable, too. He wished that Lucius would have agreed to come along, too. But then again, Lucius probably wouldn't have enjoyed it that much. He was that way sometimes.

After a couple of times more, they decided to go for a break. "I had no idea downhill skiing could be so much fun," said Olivia excitedly as they sat at a hill restaurant, waiting for their orders to come up. "And it isn't hard, either! Sure, I fell a couple of times in the beginning, but I haven't fallen even once today!"

"I must say, though, that I understand why Lucius didn't come along," Sirius said, chuckling a bit. "Can you imagine him sitting in the snow, arms and legs all sticking up, waiting for somebody to help him up?"

"Come on, Sirius," laughed Remus. "You're the only one who ended up that badly, I and Olivia simply fell a couple of times... That makes me wonder, though. Aren't you supposed to be the athlete in this group?"

They all laughed. Then Olivia smiled brightly. "I'd like to take a look at some souvenirs today," she said. "I saw this little girl yesterday with a really cute plushie. I bet it's from a souvenir shop, and I want it!"

"Very well," chuckled Remus, amused at her excitement. Sixteen or not, she was truly a little girl when it came to certain things. "You can get all the souvenirs you want later today."

*

Later that afternoon, Olivia smiled broadly as she walked out of the souvenir shop, clutching a huge plushie against her chest. A couple of little girls shot her envious looks, and she had to use all her self-control not to stick a tongue out at them. Sirius and Remus followed her, looking amused.

Suddenly, Sirius turned around, looking thoughtful. "I'll be back in a minute," he said, then headed back towards the souvenir shop. The Malfoys glanced at each other, then shrugged and stopped.

After some time, Sirius came back, clearly hiding something in his pocket. Remus raised an eyebrow at him. "Come on, Padfoot," he said with a teasing tone. "What is it you bought?"

Sirius hesitated a bit. Then he drew out the thing he had been hiding, presenting it to them.

Olivia gasped. On her godfather's palm she saw a pair of shoes, small enough to fit a baby. They were black, with a black and white wolf's head embroidered on the top and soft, white fur lining both the insides and the edge of the shoe. "Oh," she breathed. "How sweet they are!"

Remus, however, gave Sirius a serious glance. "You still didn't answer," he said quietly. "What's that?"

Sirius responded with a serious gaze of his own. "It's hope," he simply stated.

And to that, Remus couldn't say anything.

***

Lucius looked serious now. "I truly hope Severus can get over it some day," he said quietly. "They both want a child of their own, that much is obvious -- the only thing stopping them is Severus's fear."

"So true," sighed Remus. Then, however, he smirked. "It's not always the part about being parents that problematic," he said mischievously. "Sometimes it seems like having parents is the bigger problem."

At that, Lucius laughed. "Hey, it worked out all right in the end, didn't it?" he asked teasingly. "And only because of us being parents, if I may remind."

"Oh, I do remember," Remus laughed. "I remember it all too well."

***

5th of April, 2005

*

Remus frowned a bit as he recognized the owl pecking on the window of the sitting room. As he let the bird in, took the letter from it and started to read, he frowned even more. And when he reached the end of the letter, he sighed deep and sat on the couch his husband was seated on, seemingly deep in thought.

"What is it?" asked Lucius, raising an eyebrow. "There are very few things that can get you this disturbed."

"My parents," muttered Remus. "Seemingly they have decided to see their new grandchild for themselves. Therefore, they have invited themselves for a dinner. They'll come tomorrow."

"What?!" Lucius's eyes widened in shock. Then he stood up abruptly. "That's it! I'm leaving now. Don't expect me back home until next week or so... or however long you need to get rid of every trace of them." It was not a secret that he and Mrs Lupin did not get along. In fact, he and Remus's mother hated each other. It was not as much because she was a Muggle as it was because she saw Lucius as little more than filth that the blond couldn't stand her. Oh, she loved Remus with all her heart and tolerated the fact that he preferred men, true enough, but she simply couldn't stand his husband. In her eyes Lucius was the only reason why Remus wasn't married to some nice girl; he'd spoiled her innocent little boy.

However, this was something Remus couldn't tolerate. "Oh, no, you don't," he said firmly. "Sure, they are coming here mainly to see Olivia, but they are expecting you to be here, too. Mother especially said that. Here, you see? 'Make sure that good-for-nothing husband of yours is there, too. I'm sick of him hiding from me.' So no, I will not allow you to flee. It can't be that bad."

"Very well," muttered Lucius. "But then I will invite the Blacks over, too. I know that you're going to spend all the time just talking with your father, and I don't want to face that bitch alone."

However, this was most certainly the wrong thing to say. Remus was now very angry. "'That bitch', like you called her, just happens to be my mother," he snapped heatedly. "If you aren't enough of a man to face your mother-in-law alone, then be that way. However, you will not invite Severus here for support, as that'd only lead to chaos -- like you very well know. If it's really that bad to be alone, you can invite Daniel or Maria, or maybe Audrey -- but nobody wielding a wand, do you hear me?!"

"Fine," muttered Lucius under his breath, storming out of the sitting room. As soon as he was out of Remus's hearing, however, he calmed down, then smirked in a way that would have made most people shiver. Then he fished his cell phone out of his pocket. After dialling a certain number he raised the phone to his ear, waiting for response. As he heard the voice in the other end of the line, he smirked again. "Hello, Christopher," he started, the satisfied smirk well in place. "I was wondering whether you could help me..."

*

"Your parents are coming here?" asked Olivia, looking at her werewolf father in confusion. "I didn't even know that your parents were still alive! I thought they were dead, like Father's."

"For quite a long time, I thought so, too," Remus said with a sad smile. "When Voldemort's first reign started, it became obvious that they might be targeted, as my mother is a Muggle. So, they decided to retreat into the Muggle world. As I refused to leave the Wizarding World, I lost touch with them -- they'd put a charm on themselves so that no owl could reach them. So, for years, I didn't know if they were alive."

"Then how did you find them again?" the girl wondered. "I mean, as no owl could reach them and they had no contact to the Wizarding World, it seems impossible that you might have met again."

"Well, it took time," he admitted. "However, when Voldemort was finally destroyed, the Daily Prophet made a special celebratory edition. A copy of it was sent to all homes with magical people. As my father still was a wizard even though he hadn't used magic for two decades in fear of being detected, they received it, too. Seeing that it was safe again, they went to the Diagon Alley and bought an owl, and then immediately owled me to find out where I was and what I was doing." He laughed, then continued, "I wish I could have seen their faces when they received my first letter in years and were invited to my wedding."

"Well, it must have been quite a surprise," she agreed, grinning a bit. "I mean, you were a teenager when they last heard of you, right? And suddenly you were twenty-eight and going to get married." Then she frowned. "Father didn't seem too glad about them coming," she commented. "Why not?"

"Well..." Remus shrugged. "For some reason he and my mother have never got along. I'm not that much in contact with them myself; we send a couple of owls back and forth every year. Note that it took them almost a year and a half before they decided to come to see their new granddaughter. It's not that we weren't in good terms, no, we just have rather separated lives, given that they still live as Muggles and have Muggle friends and family, while I've got my own family and friends. But anyway... The first time my mother met Lucius, in our wedding, they didn't like each other at all. It was hate at the first sight. The ceremony went well, probably because neither dared to cause a scene and upset me, but the reception ended with my mother screaming at Lucius in front of all the other guests and then Lucius hexing her."

"What about your brother?" asked Olivia then. "He's a wizard still, isn't he?"

"Yeah. I've pretty much lost touch with Romulus, however. It's been a few years since I last saw him."

"Well, it's apparently good that you belong to the Malfoy clan, then," she commented with a smile. "Seeing that you're not in touch with the Lupin family. How did you ever get Clarissa to come?"

"That's just part of the problem. With my parents, mother likes me and dislikes Lucius, and with my father, well, he has no problem with either of us. As for Romulus, however... He doesn't want to have anything to do with anything associated with the Malfoy name, so he absolutely refuses to ever visit or even write back. Apparently he doesn't want to entirely lose touch with me, however -- he was always very protective of me when we were little, and although we fight whenever we meet, in the end we love each other. I suppose. So, when I informed him that I would never talk to him again unless he allowed his daughter to come here, he decided that his hatred for Malfoys and Slytherins wasn't worth losing his little brother."

Now, Olivia smirked. "Your family is weird," she announced. "Draco and I do fight occasionally, but I can't even imagine not seeing him for years and being satisfied with the situation. And I assure you, I would never be happy with just owling you twice a year -- or you not coming to see my child."

"Well, that's just the way they are." Remus shrugged and smiled. "It is indeed weird. On the outside almost all of our family are cold and emotionless -- Severus is still known as the worst bastard to ever teach at Hogwarts -- and mostly Slytherins. Still we have close relations with everybody, even Lucius's ex-wife, what most would assume impossible. And my family, all open and warm, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, think that an owl twice a year or less is the perfect solution for upkeeping family bonds."

"So Gryffindors suck. Tell me something new." At his raised eyebrow, she just smiled innocently. "Aww, don't look like that, Dad. You know I didn't mean you or Sirius or Harry, just Gryffindors in general. Besides, I bet that given the chance you would now be Sorted into Ravenclaw. There's not much of a Gryffindor left in you nowadays, but indeed quite many Ravenclaw traits."

"So I'm not brave or fearless anymore?" asked Remus dryly. "And you mean that as a compliment?"

"Quite to the opposite, I'm sure," a new voice joined the conversation. Lucius smirked at them from the doorway. "Rather you have abandoned overdaring stunts or carelesness about safety -- your own or other people's -- in favour of considering things properly before acting and searching for the logical solution."

"Carelesness about other people's safety?" echoed Remus. "That sounds more like a Slytherin trait."

"Oh, no," Lucius said. "True, Slytherin's aren't too concerned about other people's safety when it comes to reaching their own ends. However, unlike Gryffindors who would just run headfirst, a Slytherin would never ignore a danger when it's caused to them or someone they care about."

"I see." Remus nodded, smirking. Then he raised an eyebrow. "Now, are you quite prepared for facing my mother?" he asked dryly, although there was a hint of steel in his voice.

"Quite," replied Lucius, a look of dissatisfaction on his face. Then, however, he smirked as well. "Oh, and by the way... I invited somebody for dinner, too."

"Oh? And who's that?" asked Remus. "Audrey or Angelina?"

"Oh, neither," Lucius said cheerfully. "You said, 'nobody wielding a wand,' didn't you?" As he saw Remus's eyes widening, he smirked and nodded. "Yes. I invited Christopher."

"Why, you --" Then, however, Remus just shook his head and half sighed, half chuckled. "You will be the death of mine," he muttered. "Very well, call Christopher for help. But you'd better not hex her this time."

"I will not hex her if she doesn't start screaming at me," replied Lucius. "However, I will not tolerate being called a malicious bastard, a murderer, or a paedophile -- not even by your mother."

Now, Remus merely sighed, knowing full well it would be of no use to try to talk to Lucius any more.

***

6th of April, 2005

*

"Oh, Remus!" exclaimed a woman with a friendly smile and greying hair as she stepped out of the fireplace. "You look really good! It's good to see you so healthy and well." With that, she hugged him fiercely.

"Thanks, mother," chuckled Remus, prying himself out of her embrace. Not one to let a perfect occasion slip by, he added, "Peaceful life with Lucius has done me a lot of good."

His mother, however, just snorted. "That sly bastard will just poison you in the end," she told him gravely. "You'd do better to just divorce him right away... Where is he, anyway?"

"Right behind you, Mrs Lupin," Lucius told her levelly. "I'd like to tell that you're heartily welcomed, but I can't force myself to lie." Remus of course glared at him, but he simply ignored that.

"Ah, Lucius," Remus's father said happily. "It is good to see you, too." The two men shook hands. Then the older one turned towards his son. "And you're truly looking good, too, Remus," he said, smiling at the werewolf, who indeed looked very healthy. "Lucius has obviously taken good care of you."

Remus rolled his eyes, smiling a bit. His father truly loved to tease his mother about this.

"Where is that daughter of yours, then?" asked his mother then, completely ignoring Lucius. "It's her we came here to see, after all. Didn't you tell that she is sixteen now?"

"Soon seventeen, yes," Remus replied, smiling. "She is already in the dining room with our last guest." At his parent's questioning glances, he said, "Oh, nothing much. Just a friend of Lucius's, nothing else."

"Most probably some Death Eater or whatever it was," muttered his mother. "And if it is that nasty one who looks like a vampire, I will not go even near him, I assure you."

It took all of Remus's will power not to sigh aloud. Along with Lucius, his mother hated everyone she associated with Lucius, including Severus. It wasn't even fair to compare Severus with a vampire; he wasn't that pale anymore, and didn't even dress solely in black, like he'd used to.

Hoping that Christopher's presence might hold Lucius and his mother down a bit, Remus then started to lead them all towards the dining room. He noticed his mother eyeing the moving portraits warily. Even though they used owls nowadays and occasionally Floo, otherwise they were living in a strictly nonmagical enviroment, and she most certainly wasn't used to seeing portraits following her with their gazes.

When they entered the dining room, they found the table set and ready, and Olivia talking with Christopher. The girl was wearing one of her less Malfoy-esque dresses, dark blue with silver linings, to avoid making her grandmother hate her just because of her family name -- that might just as well happen. As they entered the room, she looked up, as well as Christopher, both watching the guests closely.

"I think it'd be best if I introduced you," Remus said, smiling a bit as he noticed his mother already glaring at Christopher. "Olivia, Christopher, these are my parents, Julian and Michelle Lupin. Mother, father, these are Lucius and my daughter, Olivia, and Lucius's friend, Christopher Bay."

As could be expected, his mother started to talk to Olivia right away. "You can call me Grandma," she told her cheerfully. "My, you're truly a pretty girl! And your hair is just the same colour as Remus's was when he was little." At this, she glanced sharply at Lucius, who kept his face absolutely emotionless. She knew very well that Lucius was proud of his almost white hair, and couldn't resist to stab him.

Olivia, of course, noticed this, and did not approve. "Really? I could have never guessed," she said with a pleasant smile. "Usually people say that I resemble Father more. That's quite logical, considering that he is biologically my father and Dad isn't," she then added in a just as adorable tone.

Lucius smirked proudly as a look of shock flashed on Michelle's face before she continued with her fussing. At his insistence they all got seated. Lucius was sitting on the end of the table and Julian on the other end, as they were the eldest men present. On one side sat Remus and Michelle -- both next to their husbands, of course; anything else would have led into a chaos -- and on the other Olivia and Christopher, Olivia next to Lucius and Christopher next to Julian. As the house-elves started to serve the food, Remus tried to keep a conversation going. However, even though he tried his best, Lucius wouldn't talk and his mother would only talk to Olivia or him. Christopher and Remus's father, however, had begun to talk.

"Well, isn't this surprising," Julian said after some time. "Given what I've heard of you, Lucius, I would have never expected you to have a Muggle friend." At this, he nodded towards Christopher.

"You're a Muggle, too?" asked Michelle from Christopher, sounding very surprised. As he nodded, she said, "Well, that truly is surprising! Lucius here, he's the most intolerant person I've ever known." Then she turned towards Olivia again and frowned. "But what's that? Are you drinking wine, my dear?"

Surprised at her question, Olivia nodded. "Why, yes. Draco started drinking wine on meals when he was seven -- not much or strong, mind you, but wine still -- so neither Father nor Dad saw any reason why I couldn't. Besides, I'll be of age soon. Why so? Does that bother you?"

"Definitely," her grandmother said, sniffing a bit. "No child should touch anything alcoholic. Of course, I probably couldn't expect anything better. After all, your father has already spoiled poor Remus."

"Pardon me, Mrs Lupin, but I do not agree," Christopher remarked calmly. "At first, Olivia is by no means a child, and at second, Lucius is definitely not spoiling Remus. I admit that I have only known Lucius for half a year and Remus even less, but I still dare to say that Lucius is doing everything in his power to make Remus's life as good and enjoyable as possible. I can't see how he could be bad influence on anybody."

"Well, you obviously haven't paid enough attention," Mrs Lupin said, sniffing again. "Lucius has indeed spoiled my little boy's senses. Remus was such a nice boy; he would have made a fine husband for some nice girl. Now, however, he is married to this -- this criminal."

Remus opened his mouth to protest and say that he had never been interested in women that way, but Christopher got words out first. "Mrs Lupin," he said casually, "are you a homophobe?"

Now, Michelle's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "I love my son no matter what. If he is happy with a man, I can accept that. It's his choice of men that I disapprove of."

Remus glanced warily at Lucius, fearing to hear his response. To his great surprise, however, his husband merely raised an eyebrow, not saying anything. This was most certainly unusual.

"Excuse me, Grandma," Olivia now spoke up. "Could you tell me why exactly you hate Father?"

Everybody else in the table stared at her, stunned. Well, Remus, Christopher, and Julian did, anyway. Lucius stayed quiet, though, while Michelle immediately started to talk.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" she asked. "I mean, I heard nothing of my son for two decades. Nothing at all! The last time I'd seen Remus had been when he was eighteen, just graduated from Hogwarts. We knew that he was stil alive and not married, as Julian had this magical self-updating family book we checked every now and then. But when we then owled him, he told that he was getting married! Sure, I knew that he was thirty-eight, but to me, he was still just a teenager. It seemed so wrong. And when we went to the wedding, I met Lucius. He was cold, self-satisfied, proud, stubborn... everything that Remus wasn't, and everything I hated. I couldn't even imagine that he could ever make my son happy. On top of that, he obviously despised me just because I couldn't do magic. And he was a man! What could I tell to my friends? They don't know anything about magic, and they're all pretty old-fashioned. I have to admit that they all still think that Remus is married to a nice girl called Luciane and lives so far that he can never come for a visit with his wife," she mentioned. "And Lucius hated me, anyway -- still hates me, and I hate him, too. At least Romulus's wife is nice," she sniffed then. "That's not much of a consolation, though. Remus is still my baby boy, and he could do so much better. I just wish he wasn't wasting his life with Lucius."

"Well, you're wrong, Mother," Remus said quietly, still pretty shocked by this sudden outburst. Despite trying many times, he had never managed to find out just why his mother disliked Lucius. "Lucius does make me happy, more so than I could have ever even imagined. Nobody could be better for me than he is. And -- this is the most important thing to me -- I love him. Really, truly love him -- and he loves me."

"Father doesn't hate anybody because of their lack of magic, either," Olivia continued. "Just look at Christopher. He's never had a bit of magic in him, and I dare to say that he is Father's second best friend right after Severus. And what about me? I'm not a witch, Grandma. A couple of simple spells is the best I can do. There's no way I could ever learn to use a normal wand -- and Father doesn't care. He makes sure I'm taught to use my other talents properly, and is proud of me and my accomplishments. And he's never, not even once, loved me any less because of my lack of magical skills."

From this the conversation became even more interesting. Lucius stayed amazingly quiet, never raising to the bait, and Remus's mother talked about all her feelings and fears so openly that it shocked everybody. No question seemed to be too much for her, she answered each and every one. This conversation seemed to affect her, even so much that in the end she just gazed sharply at Lucius and told him to "take good care of her little boy", sounding like she indeed meant it and believed that he could do it.

Once the Lupin's had left -- as it was late and the way was long, they'd had a house-elf prepare a guest room for Christopher, Remus sighed deep, shaking his head. Then he walked to Lucius, who remained seated. As he pushed his husband a bit, the blond fell backwards against the back of the chair, and stayed there. He didn't seem to have even noticed the push.

Now, Remus turned towards Olivia, frowning. He knew exactly what had happened. "Now, young lady," he said sternly, "just what did you spike their wine with, if I may ask?"

"Nothing much," she replied sheepishly. "For Grandma I got one of my own mixtures, some cheering potion and truth potion to get her to talk openly. It was perfectly safe, I tested it several times," she added defensively as she saw his expression. "And for Father, well... some strong sedatives. Nothing that would make him fall asleep or anything like that, but he was drugged badly enough to be unable to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. As he was eating, he continued eating, not noticing anything else."

Again, Remus shook his head, clicking his tongue disapprovingly. Then, however, he smirked a bit. "Well, there's even less doubt now about whether you're Lucius's daughter or not," he said.

"Amen to that," muttered Christopher, shaking his head as well.

***

At that, Lucius laughed. "Yes, Olivia is the most extraordinary girl," he said with pride clear in his voice, glancing at their daughter, who was still enjoying her swing. "We're lucky to have her."

"Exactly my feelings." Remus smiled, leaning back into his husband's embrace. "She's truly grown up during this past year. Sure, she can still be a little girl at times," at this, he nodded towards the two laughing teens, "but then again, what's so bad about that? I saw James pushing Lily in a swing when they were twenty. But Olivia's now more mature and self-confident than ever, never mind that she's developed her skills a lot, especially her talent with potions. Not that she hasn't been encouraged to do that," he then added, glancing mischievously up at the blond man. "You and Severus have certainly seen to that."

"Well, if she's got the talent, what's so wrong about making use of it?" laughed Lucius. "She's even better than I am. Soon she'll reach the point when I can't teach anything to her. She'll only have Severus then."

Remus smiled, knowing that it was true. Olivia maybe wasn't a Potions Mistress yet, but she was quickly becoming one. Once she passed her last tests, there would be little left for Lucius to teach to her.

Especially talented Olivia was in turning spells and charms into liquid form, most probably because she had more use for that skill than most brewers. Severus took great delight in instructing her in that specific art, as even though both Lucius and Malcolm could do it well enough, they didn't really feel the need, both being quite skilled with wand magic. However, Severus, with his dislike for wands, and Olivia, with her limited magical powers, were finding the brewed spells most useful.

Although it had to be admitted that the potions didn't always work like they were supposed to...

***

8th of May, 2005

*

"Darn it." Olivia threw the door of the master sitting room closed with certainly more strength than was needed. "I'll never get it right." With this announcement, she settled in her favourite armchair and reached for the mangas scattered on the nearby table. She'd developed an affection on Muggle manga, and although neither Remus nor Lucius read those, they could hardly avoid knowing a lot about her favourite series.

"What's the problem, dear?" asked Remus calmly, looking at her in question. Lucius merely glanced up from his own potions journal, but he was listening even as he returned to his reading.

"The Tempus potion." At Remus's blank gaze, the girl shook her head. "Sheesh, Dad, you can't be that slow. I'm trying to turn the Tempus spell into a potion. Makes glowing numbers appear in the air, showing you the time. Really useful if you don't have a proper clock. Sounds familiar?"

"Yes, yes, I'm not that dumb," the werewolf replied, chuckling a bit. "So, what's the problem?"

"Well, what do you think?" The manga album forgotten in her lap, she started to explain. "The base was easy enough; I just used the ingredients needed for all time-adjusted potions, added a bit of this and that, and voilá. It works. However, it only had a twelve-hour cycle, plus it started to show the wrong time pretty soon as it got old. Very well. I changed the amounts of the ingredients around a bit, and got it settled into a twenty-four-hour cycle, which was not that hard. It was just basic adjusting, really. So, I then settled to making it stay accurate even if it hasn't been brewed just recently. That was a bit harder, but after finding the right preservation ingredients that didn't clash with the original recipe, it was fine. So, now I've finally got the proper recipe down, but it's no use to me at the moment."

"And why's that?" asked Lucius, raising an amused eyebrow.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked, sounding very frustrated. "I ran out of European Gillyweed powder and only have Japanese left. And now I have a perfect Tempus potion, but it doesn't help me at all because I can't read kanji!" And with that, she turned her concentration to the manga in her lap.

Remus and Lucius glanced at each other, both smiling. Their daughter did have the most unusual troubles.

***

"Olivia's not the only thing that has gone to the good direction this year," Lucius noted then with a grin. As Remus looked confused, he chuckled. "Just think about it. That thing about your mother is the biggest fight we've had all year. I do think that's rather good developement for our relationship."

"Well, nothing has happened that could have upset us," reminded Remus. With an affectionate smile, he added, "I have to admit that you've been very sweet on many occasions."

"Like our anniversary?" asked Lucius, raising an eyebrow. "Note that I actually remembered it."

"Oh, I noticed it all right," chuckled Remus, then turned serious. "I'm sorry for spoiling it, though."

"You spoiled nothing, love," the blond assured him, placing a kiss on top of his head. "It wasn't your fault."

***

25th of August, 2004

*

Remus shivered. He knew he should have got up, but he found himself absolutely unable to find the strength to do so. The full moon was just three days ahead, and he could already feel that it would be worse than average. He was tired and slightly nauseous, and would have liked nothing more than to stay in bed.

Like he soon noticed, that was not an option. The mattres shifted a bit as Lucius -- who obviously had already left it at some point -- came back, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Remus felt his husband crawling nearer, no doubt to wake him, and considered for a moment just telling him to get lost.

All such thoughts fled his mind, however, as Lucius drew back the sheets he'd pulled over his head and brought his mouth right next to his ear. "Happy anniversary, love," the blond said softly.

In an instant Remus was sitting straight on the bed. Their anniversary! Of course he hadn't forgotten it; he did have a present for Lucius, no problem with that. However, he hadn't, well, acknowledged it that morning. Now, however, he was very aware of the fact.

"Happy anniversary to you, too," he said, smiling. Suddenly, the nausea was leaving him. Then, however, he furrowed his eyebrows. "How exactly did you get up from the bed, anyway?"

"Quite simple, my dear," Lucius told him with a smile. "I asked a house-elf for help to avoid waking you."

Remus shook his head at that. Trust Lucius to do such a thing. Reaching for his wand on the nightstand, he pointed it at a certain direction and then muttered, "Accio present." In an instant a small parcel flew into his hand. He offered it to his husband, smiling, and Lucius smiled in return, giving him a gift as well.

Remus immediately opened his own present. Finding a tiny jewellery box inside, he smiled a bit. As he opened the box, he found a pair of earrings. They were small arcs of gold, in the shape of a crescent moon, tiny diamonds covering them completely. Smirking at Lucius's choice of shape, he took away the tiny golden studs he'd been wearing on his ears for the night and instead put on these litte moons.

As he glanced at Lucius, though, he found his husband looking half amused, half horrified. "What exactly is this?" asked the blond, raising an elegant eyebrow at him. "If this is what I think it is..."

"Most probably you're right," Remus said, grinning as he, too, looked at the small, round object on his husband's palm. "It's the newest model in the cell phone market. You'll find the screen and buttons when you open the lid. It's covered with gold, so it should be suitable even for you."

"This is a clear conspiracy," muttered Lucius. Then, however, he smirked a bit. "Well, I suppose that as I have this, I could as well try to learn to use it," he said. "Then I can contact any of you even if there are no fireplaces near." Placing a kiss on Remus's lips, he then said, "Thank you, love."

"Thank you, too." Remus smiled. "So, Mister Malfoy... Do you have any plans for today?"

"Oh, yes, I do, Mister Malfoy," Lucius replied, smirking. "I'm planning to spend the whole day with my gorgeous husband and make sure that he enjoys himself."

"What about you enjoying yourself?" asked the werewolf. "It's your anniversary, too."

"Oh, I'll be perfectly content with just trying to distract you," the blond wizard assured him, smirking a bit. Then he turned serious. "I noticed yesterday that you're already having problems with the full moon," he said concernedly. "So, I thought that I might just as well try to make you forget that discomfort."

Now, Remus beamed at him. Drawing him into a tight embrace, he whispered, "I love you, Lucius."

"I love you, too, Remus," was the soft response.

*

The day was absolutely perfect as far as Remus was concerned. Olivia was spending the day with Severus in his lab at the Black Manor, so it was just them in the Malfoy Manor. They walked in the garden, talked, and cuddled -- Remus was reluctant to do anything more than that, fearing that the wolf might rise, but Lucius seemed happy with just hugging and kissing. They didn't leave the Manor grounds or see anybody else, but that hardly mattered -- some peaceful time alone with his husband was all that Remus needed.

As dinnertime drew nearer, though, Lucius surprised him again. "Get yourself presentable," he said teasingly to his husband, who was perfectly well dressed as always. "I have a reservation for two in a nice Wizarding restaurant. I made sure there will be nobody besides us, so nothing will bait the wolf."

"You've thought about everything, haven't you?" asked Remus with a tiny smile as he took his cloak.

"I'm just doing my best," Lucius replied with a self-satisfied smirk. Offering his arm to his husband, he then said, "Hold on me; I'll Apparate us there. It's certainly more comfortable than going by Floo."

A moment later they Apparated into a small restaurant. It looked very nice, noted Remus. However, he also noticed that he had never been there before, although it looked rather old -- not in a bad sense, though. This was odd, as he was almost certain that Lucius had already taken him into all the finest Wizarding restaurants in the whole United Kingdom, and a couple of Muggle ones, too.

He got the solution to this problem as he heard Lucius talking with the man who immediately approached them. They both spoke French. He raised an eyebrow at his husband when they were led towards their table, getting an innocent look in response.

"Lucius," Remus said as they had got seated -- Lucius even pulled the chair out for him -- and the waiter had taken their orders, "where exactly are we?"

"Well..." The blond smirked a bit. "I thought that as we don't go to any restaurant frequently, it wouldn't matter if I chose a restaurant that was wholly new to you. So, we're near Nantes at the moment."

"You Apparated us both all the way here?" Remus's eyes widened. "But -- you must be exhausted!"

"Not too much," Lucius replied, shrugging. "And certainly not as much as you would if you had Apparated here, even alone. I know you're tired because of the full moon." Flashing him a smile, Lucius added, "Don't worry, I'll be more than well able to Apparate us both back, too. Looks like they got my instructions right, too," he added then casually, eyeing the table.

It wasn't until now that Remus noticed that the table was set, not with silverware, but with shiny golden cutlery. Even the candlesticks were made of gold instead of silver, like those on the other tables. Glancing up at his husband, he found Lucius simply smiling at him, candlelight dancing in the silver eyes.

Remus swallowed. Then he said quietly, "Thank you, Lucius."

"Anytime, love," replied the blond, still smiling.

The food was perfect; Remus had never eaten anything better. Whether it was thanks to the restaurant's cook or the equally perfect atmosphere and Lucius's smile on the other side of the table, he didn't know. Most probably it was partly because of both. The fact remained that he was very happy, though.

They didn't talk much, just enjoyed the food and each other's presence. Then, however, Lucius suddenly stopped eating and put his hand in his pocket. "There's still something I'd like to give to you."

"Oh?" Remus was surprised and certainly looked like it. "And what would that be?"

"This," replied his husband softly, handing him a golden chain with a small locket on it. It looked a bit familiar, but Remus couldn't exactly place it anywhere. So, curious, he took it and opened it.

When he saw the inside of the locket, his breath caught in his chest. Now he knew where he'd seen something like it before. It was exactly like the one Philip and Joyce, with his aid, had got for Lucius years before. On one side, he saw a tiny photograph of himself, Lucius, and Olivia. On the other side, two emerald pins and a sapphire one held three locks of hair; one blond, one reddish golden, and one golden with grey streaks. How Lucius had even managed to get a lock of his hair, Remus didn't know.

Lucius watched him closely, waiting for his reaction. A frown crossed the blond's face as Remus shuddered, closing his eyes for a moment. "Remus, love?" he asked softly. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid so," whispered Remus, now looking his husband in the eye. He heard Lucius gasp, and couldn't really blame him. The wolf was roaring just beneath the surface, having risen in the sudden rush of emotions caused by the locket. Therefore there was a yellow circle around his amber eyes if the eyes hadn't changed colour completely. As it was not the full moon, the wolf couldn't break through completely; however, it would be best if he got into a familiar enviroment fast and got it to calm down.

"That's it. We're leaving," Lucius said calmly, rising from his seat. As the werewolf halfheartedly tried to protest, the blond continued, "No buts. I've arranged everything with the restaurant owner. Just let me Apparate you home; we're not staying a moment longer."

So, Remus allowed Lucius to take a hold of his hand and Apparate them both home. Once there, he drew deep breaths, leaning backwards as Lucius wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. In the familiar surroundings, his husband holding him and murmuring soothingly, he was able to calm down enough to push the wolf down a few steps. It was still roaring because of the strong emotions, but it was behind a barrier now and couldn't get through anymore. Sighing deep, he leaned even further into Lucius's embrace.

"I'm sorry, Lucius..." he muttered, turning around to hide his face in his husband's robes.

"There's no need to be sorry," replied Lucius simply, hugging him even tighter.

***

Now, Lucius again hugged Remus, one hand rising to pet the greying hair. Remus turned his head to smile up at him, receiving a similar smile in return. Then they both turned to look at Olivia and Malcolm, who were both still very much enjoying themselves in the fresh air and sun.

Everything was perfect at the moment. They could only hope it would stay that way.