The Ultimate Power

Heart of Spells

Story Summary:
After Harry's sixth year and Dumbledore's death he is determined to track down the remaining Horcruxes and finish Voldemort once and for all. When Harry returns for his seventh and final year at Hogwarts he receives unexpected help from the new, mysterious seventh year. Why does she know so much about them when they know so little about her? Why are Harry and a certain professor so intrigued by this new girl? And how is everyone affected when she's suddenly gone? Sometimes, the people we know the least about leave the biggest impacts upon our hearts. Sometimes, those people can show us what the ultimate power really is. THIS IS AN AU AFTER HBP. CANON COMPLIANT FOR BOOKS 1-6.

Chapter 06 - I Find No Peace

Posted:
10/26/2010
Hits:
224


I find no peace, and all my war is done.
I fear and hope. I burn and freeze like ice.
I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise;
And nought I have, and all the world I season.
That loseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison
And holdeth me not--yet can I scape no wise--
Nor letteth me live nor die at my device,
And yet of death it giveth me occasion.
Without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain.
I desire to perish, and yet I ask health.
I love another, and thus I hate myself.
I feed me in sorrow and laugh in all my pain;
Likewise displeaseth me both life and death,
And my delight is causer of this strife.

-Sir Thomas Wyatt (I Find No Peace)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I Find No Peace

Beginning of August, 1997

Holli had been at the Leaky Cauldron with Remus for about three weeks and she had never felt better in her entire life. They had continued practicing Apparition and Remus told her he thought she was just about ready to try for her license. He had also been teaching her how to use her wand along with helping her gain control of her wandless magic and beginning on the basics that most first and second years at Hogwarts learn.

Right then, they were seated on the couch in Remus' room, books left scattered and forgotten upon the table in front of them. They were discussing a new topic that had been brought up and would present itself the very next night: the full moon.

"I'll have to leave here by eight o'clock to make sure I'm safely away from anyone in time," Remus was saying. Holli had noticed how much sadder his eyes had become since he had broached the subject.

"Is there anything you need or would like me to do?" Holli asked softly.

"Nothing but to be far away from me when I change," he responded with a fake smile that looked more like a grimace.

Holli decided not to comment on the subject anymore and redirected the conversation.

"So," she ventured, "what about Tonks?" She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a smile pulling slightly at her lips.

Remus' head jerked up at the question, looking the smallest bit aghast. He recovered quickly and began shaking his head.

"I forget how much you know sometimes," he responded. He heaved a great sigh and said, "We're no longer - together - if that's what you would have called it. It barely lasted a month."

The corners of Holli's mouth turned down in confusion.

"I thought she was head over heels in love with you, though. From what I read at the end of the last book, the two of you looked as though you were going to try to give it a bit of a go. What happened?"

"The give did not exactly want to go; it didn't work out. She discovered she wasn't as in love with me as she thought she was. I knew she would. It was only a matter of time and I figured I'd give her that much." He was going to end it with that, but seeing that Holli still looked slightly confused, he sighed and said, "Holli, I'm a middle-aged werewolf who can't keep a job for more than a year if I'm lucky, with nothing more to my name than a couple of threadbare pairs of trousers, a few frayed shirts and a mangy old suitcase."

"And all of that means it's impossible for anyone to ever love you? I'm not quite sure I understand your logic Remus," Holli responded, exasperated.

Remus rolled his eyes over toward the window and said, "Not impossible, no; just damn hard. One in one hundred billion kind of hard."

It was quiet for awhile, neither knowing exactly what to say. Finally, so softly Remus almost missed it, Holli said, "She's out there, somewhere, Remus. You'll find her someday."

Remus moved his eyes back to Holli's and found that they were glowing with fire; lit by two personal suns. For some reason, he desperately wanted to believe her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, Holli did not go next door to get Remus. She figured he might want to sleep a little extra with his coming transformation that night. She waited in her room until noon and when she still had not heard from him, Holli went next door to check and make sure he was all right.

After knocking and hearing a muffled 'come in', Holli entered Remus' room to see him lying in his bed with the pillow thrown over his head.

"Oh, Remus, I didn't wake you, did I?"

Remus removed the pillow from his head and squinted up at her.

"No," he replied in a scratchy voice, "I was just lying here."

Holli looked Remus over for a moment. He was extremely pale, what little she could see of his eyes were bloodshot and the look on his face was pained.

"Not feeling well, are you?" she asked softly.

"I'll be fine. Sometimes I'm a tad ill before the full moon. Nothing to worry about," he replied.

"All right then. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm all right."

Holli walked away from his bed and into the small bathroom and filled a cup full of water. She brought it back into his room and set it on his bedside table.

"Thanks," he murmured with a slight smile.

"Anytime," she responded. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No, it's fine. You can leave," is what his mouth said. His eyes said the complete opposite.

She smiled and pulled a chair over to the side of his bed. Holli picked up the book she'd seen him reading every now and then and opened it to his marked place.

"See the difference," she began to read, "between the impression a man makes on you when you walk by his side in familiar talk, or look at him in his home, and the figure he makes when seen from a lofty historical level, or even in the eyes of a critical neighbor who thinks of him as an embodied system or opinion rather than as a man."

Holli watched as Remus slowly closed his eyes and finally fell asleep with a small smile upon his lips.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Holli was in the hallway, where she'd been for the past ten minutes, pacing back and forth, mumbling consistently to herself as the multitude of thoughts came in and out of her head along with the rhythm of her pacing feet.

"Damn it, Holli. Just go in. Just knock on the door and go in. But, he didn't tell me that he wanted to be checked in on. Well, that's because you didn't ask, you stupid girl. Right; hell, why didn't I ask? I mean, I'm pretty sure he would've said no anyhow, but still. I should've asked. It would've showed concern and all that riff raff. Yes, Holli, old girl, you could've asked him and even if he had have said no, well, then you could've just ignored it now. If he'd said no then you wouldn't have wasted ten insufferable minutes out in this bloody hallway. Yes, I know. I would've just knocked and, to hell with what he said, waltzed right in. Would've been far better instead of..."

With a huge sigh, Holli leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest, rested her head on top of them and gazed across the space at Remus' door. She wanted to check on him and make sure that he was all right; assure herself that he was at least void of any serious or permanent injuries, if not absent of scratches and bruises.

But, her thoughts and sense of preservation kept stopping her hand inches from his door. He had not, in fact, told her that he required checking in upon. She did not want to disturb Remus and make him angry if he was perfectly fine and just sleeping off the ramifications. He did this every month, after all, the poor man.

Then, suddenly, another thought appeared at the forefront of her mind. What if he wasn't even in his room? What if he was still...where ever it was he had disappeared to last night? What if he was injured and couldn't Apparate himself back? Maybe he, knowing that she would eventually seek him out, had anticipated such an occurrence and had left something inside his room, telling her where he had gone so she would be able to help him.

With that thought, she made up her mind. Holli jumped to her feet and gently knocked on the door.

"Remus," she called softly. "Remus, are you in there?"

When there was no answer from the other side of the door she slowly reached down and grabbed the door knob. The sudden thought occurred to her as to whether she would even be able to open the door considering the magic which was instilled. Funny how that thought didn't cross my mind earlier on, she thought.

There was no reason for her to worry however, for the door opened easily enough.

"Hmm, curious that," she remarked offhandedly.

Holli's eyes immediately searched the room for evidence of either Remus or some sort of note. They landed on the bed where there was a large lump of sheets slowly rising up and down; if not a little unevenly.

Cautiously, Holli made her way to his bedside so as to avoid waking him. In the corner next to the bed she saw a pile of clothes which looked like the ones he'd worn the day before. From that, she gathered that under the blankets there was very little - if any - part of him which wasn't exposed. Extra cautious then.

Slowly, she raised the top part of the sheets, where his torso was positioned, away from his body.

Holli gasped at what she saw. Among the small scratches and bruises which she had assumed she'd find there were several large gashes which stretched out of sight from where she'd raised the blankets. From the view point she had, Holli could see two huge bruises. One positioned high up upon his chest, close to his collarbone. The other stretched from the center of his abdomen, all the way around to the small of his back.

Remus was bleeding a fair amount and the sheets were soaked and stained. Apparently, he'd barely had enough energy to Apparate back and conceal himself beneath the blankets, let alone enough to try to heal his injuries or stop the bleeding.

Seeing Remus like this, so beaten down and broken, brought tears of distress and sorrow to her eyes. It wasn't fair. What kind of world could do something like this to such a sweet, kind, and gentle person? Holli just didn't understand. What could Remus have possibly ever done to deserve this? It just wasn't fair!

Well, she knew this much: she had to help him. Otherwise, he might just bleed to death. Holli could do it; she knew she could. It wouldn't be perfect and when Remus had his strength back, he'd probably have to touch it up. But she could do enough to take some of the pain away and stop the bleeding. She hoped. First thing first, though, she had to practice at least a little.

Holli ran to the bathroom off of Remus' room, closed her hand and the next second, she was holding a sharp bladed knife. She then grabbed the bottom of her shirt and tugged it up and over her head. Taking deep breaths, she took the knife and slowly pushed the tip of it into the corner of the scar that ran from her side around to the middle of her back.

Holli hissed out a breath of air as she sliced the knife about an inch down the beginning of the scar. Dark crimson blood oozed from the wound and down the side of her jeans. Slowly, she pulled the knife out and placed it on the sink.

She placed her hands over the knife wound and concentrated all her energy upon it. Holli pictured it closing itself; stitching back up. She watched in her mind's eye as the blood slowly stopped flowing; as the blood cells beneath her skin retreated from the surface.

As Holli removed her hands from the wound, she turned so she could critique her work in the mirror. It wasn't half bad for a first try. The bleeding had stopped and it was somewhat mended. Enough to suffice at least. If it wasn't for the very reason in which she was trying desperately to master healing spell work, she probably would've been a little proud of herself.

Holli practiced three more times on various parts of her body before considering it fair enough and rushing back to Remus' side. She began working on his injuries slowly, concentrating everything she had on Remus and Remus alone.

It was a slow process. There were so many gashes and scratches to work on. By the time she was finished, she was exhausted.

Holli pulled a chair up beside Remus' bed and examined her work. It wasn't perfect; not by a long shot. But it would do for now. She had stopped all of his bleeding and the wounds were in no threat of becoming infected anytime soon.

Relieved that Remus was okay for the moment, Holli collapsed back into the chair and fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He dreamt of the lake and the beech tree. Warm, lazy days wasted away sprawled beneath its leafy shadow. Him and his friends with no homework, no war, no worries. They could stay there forever if they liked and for all he knew, they just might. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the sun was just the right position in the sky and it never moved. No moon. Exhilarating.

Remus knew deep down that he was dreaming, but he didn't care. This was the only good part of his transformations. He slept; relaxed and rested deep down to his bones. There was no pain now. When he woke, he knew there would be almost too much to bear. He wanted to sleep forever.

As soon as that thought came to his mind, Remus awoke and the pain hit. He gritted his teeth against the first wave , but it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would have been. He lay with his eyes closed for as long as possible while he took a mental assessment of his injuries. It felt as though he might have a few decently sized bruises, the odd bumps here and there and one large wound somewhere around his side.

Very slowly, Remus opened his eyes and glanced down upon his mangled body. There were the many cuts and scrapes all over his skin which hardly bothered after all these years and he was correct in his assumption about the bruises. Two large purple-black blooms blossomed along his torso. They could probably be considered the worst looking bruises he'd acquired over the years.

Remus continued along his exploration until he reached the foot long gash along his waistline. He suppressed a moan of despair as he gazed at it. Just another scar to add to my collection of many, he thought resignedly. Yet, it already looked as though it had been partially healed. Odd, he thought. He certainly did not remember doing that.

Suddenly, he heard a soft mumble next to his bed. Remus glanced over to see Holli, curled into a tight ball within one of the room's small chairs, sleeping soundly. He watched her for quite some time, his mind mulling over many different thoughts at once.

Finally, he decided to try to remove himself from the bed, but realized too late that it was still too painful for him to move. When a moan escaped between his lips, Holli stirred within her chair.

"Remus?" Holli mumbled with her eyes still half closed and voice groggy from sleep.

"Yeah," he answered. His throat was dry and scratchy. Wonderful.

At his response, Holli sat up straight in her chair and became immediately alert.

"You're awake? Are you all right? Are you in pain? Do you need anything? Are you still bleeding? God, just tell me what I can - "

"Holli," Remus interjected, cutting her off before she could gain anymore steam. "Calm down. I'm fine, but thank you for the concern."

Holli deflated back into her chair with a heavy sigh. She looked as though all the air had left her body.

"I'm sorry," she said. "After this morning, though, I was - well, I was extremely worried."

"Speaking of this morning, did you do this?" Remus asked, motioning to one of the healed gashes on his arm.

"Yes. I didn't know what else to do. You were bleeding to death so I practiced a little and then tried to heal the worst of it the best I could. You'll have to touch it up quite a bit, as it's not very superbly done but it managed to stop the bleeding."

"Practiced?" Remus asked, going slightly pale. "On me, yes?"

"Of course not," Holli scoffed as though that was the most idiotic question she had ever heard while rising from her chair. "You were already close enough to death as it was without me experimenting on you."

"Then how - " but Remus cut his own self off, for Holli had just turned ever so slightly and he saw a clear view of the blood staining the side of her jeans.

"You practiced on yourself?" he exclaimed, ignoring the irritation this caused his throat.

"Yes. It's not as though I was damaging myself any further," Holli responded as she raised the hem of her shirt and showed Remus the bright red patch of newly healed scar tissue. "And even if I had been, I still would have done it to help you."

Remus shook his head in exasperation and asked, "Holli, do you know how dangerous that is? You had no idea what you were doing and you could have seriously injured yourself."

Holli simply shrugged her shoulders and replied, "It doesn't matter now, Remus, and it really wouldn't have mattered to me then, either."

"Yes it does," Remus said with a sigh, "but I'm not in any condition for a decent argument right now, so I'll drop it for the time being." Remus gave Holli a pointed glare before turning and grabbing his wand and adding, "Now come here."

"Why?" Holli questioned even as she slowly made her way over to his bedside.

"Well, after doing all this for me, I figure the least I can do is try to make it look like it did before you tampered with it," he answered as he pulled the hem of Holli's shirt up slightly. He waved his wand over the scar slightly and mumbled "Episkey".

"Thanks," Holli whispered.

Remus simply hummed in response.

"Now you need to focus and take care of yourself."

"I will," Remus replied, "but I have a question first. How did you manage to get in here?"

Holli provided Remus with a puzzled look before saying, "I wondered that, too, but I figured that you'd fixed the door last night so that I could. You didn't?"

"No, I did not," Remus said. Then added, "Not that I'm not grateful that you did somehow, but still..."

They pondered over this for a few long moments before Remus said, "I suppose it could have simply been your magic. If you were worried or concerned about finding me, maybe you simply channeled you magic to the door without realizing it. That would definitely explain how you managed to open it."

"Huh. Well, I suppose so," Holli responded as she leaned over to fix Remus' pillows behind his back almost unconsciously. "That would also mean that I don't have quite as much control as I thought I did."

Remus gave Holli a grateful smile as he leaned back against them and said, "We should probably work on you being able to control your magic when your emotions run high before anything else. When you get to Hogwarts we can't have you surging out unconscious power every time you become angry or upset in some way. That would be dangerous to yourself and everyone else within the castle, as well."

Holli nodded in understanding and replied, "Yeah, I know. The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone."

They were silent for awhile, both thinking about different things. Then Holli broke the silence by asking, "So, you hungry?"

Remus' stomach suddenly growled in response. Holli laughed.

"Starving," Remus replied as he chuckled along with her.

"All right, then. I'll run downstairs and fetch us something and you can do whatever you need to do while I'm gone," Holli said with a smile. "You need any help before I go?"

"No, go on. I'll be fine."

"Okay." With that, Holli walked out of the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By the time Holli returned, Remus was dressed, healed and seated comfortably within his bed once more. Holli grinned at him when she walked through the door, two trays of food floating behind her.

"Glad to see you managed all right," Holli commented as she handed Remus his food.

"Yes, well, I am an adult," Remus replied dryly. Holli's lips twitched as though she was trying to fight back a smile.

"Hmm," she said as she gave him a searching look. "Yes, I suppose you are."

Remus gawked and sputtered incoherently as Holli threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh Remus, your expression was priceless!" Holli continued as she snickered.

Remus huffed out a breath of air as he shook his head and stuttered, "Yes, well - I - you just - oh, never mind!" He finally gave up and threw his hands in the air while he began to chuckle as well.

All was quiet for awhile as they let their amusement die down somewhat and began to eat their food.

Finally, Remus glanced up at her and said, "You do realize that you are now among the few and great, yes? Not many people have the ability to fluster me so completely that I can't even manage to form a coherent sentence. Yet, you have done it more times than I can count in just a few short weeks."

"Well then, I do feel ever so lucky," Holli replied with a broad grin.

Remus snorted laughter in reply as they finished up their food and Holli took his tray.

"I sweet talked Tom a bit when I was down there and managed to acquire us a little treat," Holli said as she fumbled with a third tray that Remus had somehow overlooked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Told him you weren't feeling well and we needed something sweet to perk you up."

With a flourish, Holli produced two bowls of ice cream.

"I thought you'd enjoy the chocolate," she said as she handed him the bowl. Remus accepted it gratefully and suddenly felt like a small child again in the hands of his mother, eating chocolate in his bed, in the middle of the day instead of as dessert. It was an odd feeling considering Holli was twenty years younger than he.

"Thanks. Chocolate's about the best pick-me-up you could find."

Holli smiled at him then snapped her fingers as she said, "Damn, I forgot to grab the spoons Tom gave me. Oh well." She closed her hand and when she opened it again she was holding two spoons. She handed one to Remus and began to attack her ice cream.

Holli ate her ice cream slightly quicker than Remus his self did as he chose to savor his, lingering in the taste of the cool treat. With his slightly heightened senses, Remus could experience flavors like no other and chocolate had a taste that nothing could compare to: creamy, smooth and sharp with just a hint of bitterness from the cocoa that most others would never detect. Remus' first taste after the bite had been pure love.

While Remus was lost in his thoughts he absentmindedly traced his finger back and forth along the underside of the spoon's handle. His finger encountered a series of indentations. He flipped the spoon over and looked at what he realized were letters. The Moon's love will never fade.

"Holli?" Remus said.

Holli glanced up from where she was placing her bowl back on the tray. "Yeah?"

Remus cleared his throat. "Did you mean to put words on this spoon?"

"What?" she questioned. "Of course not. What are you talking about?"

Remus showed her the underside of the spoon and she simply stared.

"Well that's - odd," she mumbled then turned and grabbed her own spoon. She stared at it for a moment, her eyes darkening slightly then handed it to Remus.

Death is never the end.

"I had no intentions of putting words on those spoons. Even if I did, though, why would I put something on them that I don't even understand? I would have chosen to put something much more intricate on them such as 'Chocolate-filled Remus' and 'Unbalanced klutz'," Holli said as she grinned but it faded quickly.

"Yes, I know," Remus replied. "I'm even considering the possibility that it was the same as the door situation and you just didn't realize you were doing it. Still, though, I would have expected something slightly more 'intricate' as you said. Mine at least seems to apply to me with mentioning the moon and all so I would assume that your does as well."

Holli scowled. "Well that doesn't bode well. I don't know about you but I don't like mine all that much."

Remus sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Merlin, I'm not used to having to think this hard after a full moon. My brain is protesting the treatment."

Holli gave him a gentle smile and said, "You need rest. I'll come back later and see how you're doing, all right? Then we'll talk this over when you're feeling more like yourself, yes?"

Remus deflated warily back against his pillows and mumbled in assent. Holli gathered the remains of their meal and headed for the door.

"Let me know if you need anything at all," she told him. After he nodded, she smiled and said, "Rest well, Remus." Then she was gone.

Yet sleep was hard to come and when Remus finally drifted off into an uneasy slumber, his dreams were filled with flashes of spoons, moons, billowing veils, and Holli's drawn and ashen face, peaceful not even in death.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next month passed in a blur for Holli and Remus. Their days consisted of practicing Apparition and Holli's wand work along with periodical trips into Diagon Alley while their nights were filled with studying, chatting idly, or sitting in companionable silence.

A week after the full moon, Holli awoke to a series of loud poundings coming from her door. When she had finally opened it, she had seen an already dressed and beaming Remus Lupin.

"Remus?" Holli had mumbled. "What are you doing? It's like six o'clock."

"Get dressed," Remus had ordered her. "Come on, hurry up!"

Holli had tried to argue but to no avail. Remus had been too insistent to allow her to produce more than two words. Reluctantly, Holli had dressed and followed Remus out of the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley grouching the whole time.

The complaints had ceased as soon as she had realized exactly what Remus was so excited about. He had arranged for her to take her Apparition test that morning. Holli had passed, but just barely. In mid spin, she had tripped over her left foot and stumbled. Luckily, this had not effected where she was supposed to Disapparate to and she emerged unsplinched. The test administer had warily awarded Holli her license to the elation of her and Remus. Holli had later admitted that it had been worth the six o'clock wake-up call to Remus at their celebratory breakfast and had thanked him somewhere around forty times within half of an hour.

Their conversation had turned to the spoons and their messages a fair few times but they were mystified as to what they could mean. Gradually, with no answers presented to them, the spoons faded from their minds, becoming all but forgotten.

With two weeks left before she went to Hogwarts, Holli had become increasingly frustrated with her wand. Nothing she attempted seemed to work right with the thing and she slowly became more dejected with each wave. She much preferred her own brand of wandless magic, but Remus and McGonagall had both said that she would need to know how to use one for everything at Hogwarts. Yet the wand was becoming nothing more than a vile nuisance to her.

Remus had insisted that it was all in her head; that she had become too comfortable with her wandless magic and she needed to break herself of the habit. Holli, though, secretly thought that she wasn't meant to use a wand at all. The botched spells were the wands way of telling her to give it away to a better home like some sad little puppy dog. Holli wanted to snap it and burn the pieces instead.

The night of the thirtieth found Holli and Remus sequestered within Remus' room. Remus had informed Holli a week before that they would be arriving at Hogwarts a day early to allow Holli to familiarize herself with the castle a bit and have the freedom to speak with McGonagall before the other students arrived the next night.

They were supposed to be studying Holli's charms text and experimenting with her wand a bit more as she still hadn't managed to grasp the usage very well. Instead, Remus was studying the text; Holli was staring into the fire.

"Yes, that's what I thought," Remus said. "You're not arching your wand enough when you perform this spell."

Holli glanced at Remus, mumbled something unintelligible and returned her gaze to the fire.

"So I think that if you try it again and arch your wand a bit more and use a less forceful flick, you'll be fine," he continued into the silence.

"Sure," was Holli's only form of reply.

"Holli?" asked Remus.

Holli adjusted her gaze to Remus. "Yes?"

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "Why?"

"Well," Remus ventured, "you just seem a bit - troubled."

"Just thinking," she replied.

"Can I ask about what?"

Holli's sharp eyes studied Remus for a time before she let out a wary sigh and said, "A lot of things really. Mainly, though, about tomorrow and what comes after it."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not even really sure myself." Holli shrugged. "It's just - I have no idea what its going be like, coming into the school as a seventh year without knowing anything at all. At least by this time, anyone who came in their first year - even if they were Muggleborn and had no idea that the wizarding world existed - knows just as much as anyone else probably does. What happens if I can't keep up with it all, Remus?"

Remus stared at her, feeling slightly lost. "I don't know, Holli, but I don't think you're going to have to find out. You're smart and you're talented and you do know things. We've been working on getting you acquainted with this world for two months. I'm positive you'll be fine."

Remus smiled at her but she didn't return it as she stared at him.

"You promise," she barely whispered. Remus could hardly hear her.

He leaned over and placed his hand atop hers on the tabletop. "I swear."

Holli finally smiled.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: The passage Holli reads to Remus is from the novel 'Adam Bede' by George Eliot.

Updates are going to be coming less frequently now. The Prologue and first four chapters were ready quickly because I already had them written and they just needed a few tweaks here and there and some editing. Now I'm actually writing the chapters as I come to them. I work a full-time job and am taking some college courses as well, so my time is limited. I've designated Sunday nights when I'm at work by myself with very little to do to write the biggest parts of my chapters but it still takes awhile. I'm probably looking at updating about once a month. Hopefully more, but don't say I didn't warn you if it begins to approach a month since I last updated. I try as hard as I can but real life intervenes at times. If you ever want to look for updates on when I think I'll have the next chapter ready to post, you can look at my profile page on FFN here: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2002223/Heart_of_Spellz

I try to keep it updated and if anything ever happens to postpone the update of a new chapter, I'll post it there.

Also, as a side not, I became bored one night and decided to make a banner for my own story (pathetic, yes, I know) and if you decide you want to have a look, you can find the link on the same page!

Reviews are all those warm fuzzies you begin to feel around this time of year and I would love to know what you think so far! Love it? Hate it? Let me know!