Better Than Chocolate - The Bittersweet Symphony of Moony and Jayne

He had started out as cautious as a tightrope walker, but when he allowed his feet to give out from under him, the tumbling that followed was actually the most enjoyable experience of his life. Remus had spent most of the last thirteen years mourning the loss of his friends and the death of what his life could have been. For the first time since Hogwarts he had a girlfriend, a relationship.

Even in those feckless schooldays he had kept girls at arms-length. At the time he couldn't risk anyone finding out his secret and he didn't want to become too attached to anyone. Unfortunately his elusive nature made him only more appealing and being so caught up in his own paranoia he was only vaguely aware of his reputation as a bit of a heartbreaker.

As his life wore on he had commended himself on having the wherewithal to remain prudent in matters of the heart; after all, he had been devastated by the loss of his friends whom he had let get too close. But now, with Annabel, all bets were off. He was in love. There was nothing to hold back and rather than the ghost of who he could have been, he was beginning to rediscover who he actually was.

The night of the Quidditch World Cup he sat in Annabel's living room, listening to the WWN and waiting for her arrival. She had a meeting with her clients and was running late.

"Hi, I'm home," she called as she walked in and dropped her bags on the floor.

"Hi, how was your meeting?" he asked, as he met her in the kitchen and kissed her hello.

"Oh, it was fine, they want to make changes to the drawing room and--" She stopped, studied him for a moment and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He was eyeing her fervently, she was dressed professionally for her meeting, her hair twisted up, a white button-down blouse, a navy blue skirt which hit a few inches above her knee and a pair of navy blue heels with her toes peeping out the front.

"Sorry? Oh, no, I wasn't looking at you like anything," he said, feigning innocence.

"Right." She eyed him suspiciously. "You must be starving."

"You could say that," he said with a nefarious grin. She grinned back and was at an amused loss for words as he leaned over and kissed her neck just where it curved into her shoulder inside the collar of her blouse.

"I'll get changed and we..." she began but he continued kissing her neck as he ran his hands down her back and over her arse with a gentle squeeze. "We could go have..." she murmured, as he found the hem of her skirt, slid his hands up the back of her thighs and lifted her onto the kitchen table. "Dinner," she finished absentmindedly as he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her. He fumbled slightly as he reached to unbutton her blouse and slid his hands inside. The chattering of the WWN was announcing the details of the World Cup match as Remus had her right there on the kitchen table.

"Mullet is flying towards the goalposts and oh, that is definite cobbing on the part of Zograf."

Her hair was down; skirt was hiked up over her hips; blouse open and one shoe had fallen to the floor.

"Mullet will take the penalty shot for Ireland."

The post, stacked up on the table, slid off the side and a stack of books fell over.

"Levski passes to Dimitrov and Dimitrov passes to-- no his pass is intercepted, Moran has the quaffle..."

She pulled Remus's t-shirt up over his head and ran her hand across his chest.

"Moran passes to Troy, Troy to Mullet, Ivanova intercepts and Moran is right there and intercepts again!"

She gently bit his chest at the collarbone and he gave a soft moan.

"Moran shoots at the goal, Zograf is off the mark, Moran scores! Ireland is now leading 170 to 10!"

His hands firmly grasped on her arse, he rocked his hips faster into her...

"Aiden Lynch goes into a hard dive, does he see the Snitch?"

Their moaning and panting escalated; he kissed her voraciously, biting her lip.

"Krum is chasing Lynch down!"

"Oh, God, Remus!"

"Krum catches up to Lynch, they are neck and neck!"

"Oh, Annie!"

"Lynch is not able to pull out of the dive in time, he hits the ground hard!"

"Oh, God!" she gasped.

"Krum has the Snitch, Krum catches the Snitch but Ireland WINS! Unbelievable!"

"Oh, YES!" he moaned.

"Ireland wins the Cup! Ireland wins the Cup!"

After a few minutes of recovering themselves Annabel made an attempt at smoothing her hair and asked, "So is this how it's going to go every night then?" It was as though she were confirming a business appointment.

"Well, yes, I suppose," he responded in an equally businesslike tone. "As long as you come home looking quite as dead sexy as you did tonight, or last night, or the night before that, then yes, I should think so."

"Very good, I'll make sure to keep that in mind," she said with a wicked grin.

"Excellent, you do that. Shall we go for dinner?"

"Right, I will go, perhaps, put some clothes on," she suggested.

"If you must," he said passively, pulling his t-shirt back over his head. She smiled at him and he leaned over to kiss her, whispering, "Annie, I love you."

"I love you too, Remus." For a moment she looked completely content and then she furrowed her brow a tiny bit and asked, "Is it mad that we've been together only a few weeks?"

"No. Then again, to be honest, I think I knew I was in love with you before any of this ever happened."

She arched her eyebrow at him with interest and said, "Is that so?"

"Yes, I was positively petrified by the idea, but I couldn't help it. There was just something there," he said, convinced.

"There was, wasn't there?" Annabel asked happily.

They went for curry at a small restaurant on the next street and spent dinner chatting and laughing.

"What an incredible match! Krum catching the Snitch even though there was no way they could win," Remus was saying when he noticed her looking at him oddly. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh nothing," said Annabel with aloof amusement.

"What?" he asked.

"You may be a brilliant wizard, but you are still just like every other bloke."

"Pardon?" Remus looked slightly hurt.

"You do realize that you are talking about a game that was playing while we were having sex, no?" she inquired with amused interest.

"Oh, no, I wasn't listening to it, I just heard it in the background," Remus defended. "Oh Annie, I'm sorry, I really, I swear I wasn't paying attention, it was just on in the background," he repeated lamely. She was laughing at him.

"Relax. I'm only teasing you, I heard the match too, it was a little hard to ignore."

"Something else was more than a little hard," he mumbled quietly. His self-approving grin reminded her of a teenager.

"Oh my god, are you joking?" She shook her head, laughing and said, "Evidently repression leads to regression, what are you, fifteen?"

He grinned at her. "Are you appalled?"

"No, I suppose on some level I'm pleased to know that underneath the studious and sensitive façade is a man, just like every other man in the world, who is ultimately nothing more than a horny teenager."

"It's not a façade," he retorted defensively. "I am studious and sensitive."

"And horny."

"Yes, that too," he said unabashedly. "But--"

"Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Studious and sensitive are nice and certainly have their appeal, but they don't necessarily make for much fun," she explained.

"I see, and all you're looking for is a good time?" he asked in a mock accusatory tone.

"Oh yes, that's it, I'm using you for sex," she said sarcastically.

"Perfect, let me know how I can be of service," he said with a grin. They finished dinner and walked home slowly, Remus with his arm wrapped tightly around her. They both felt elated, warmed by the glow of their new love and completely at ease. Once at home they made love again and fell asleep in one another's arms.

The first jolt to their revelry came early the next morning when Remus woke with a start; he had the feeling that he was being watched. On the footboard of their bed stood a brown owl with the Daily Prophet, waiting to be paid.

"Oh, I'm sorry, how long have you been there?" he mumbled sleepily as he reached onto the nightstand and grabbed a Knut which he inserted into the pouch on the owl's leg. "Thanks," he said and the bird hopped from the footboard to the windowsill and flew out the open window. Remus flopped back down and pulled Annabel to him.

"Mmm, good morning," she said and gently kissed his neck.

"Good morning, love." And then he opened up the paper. "Oh, Merlin."

"What?"

As an answer he angled the paper so that she could see the cover. The Dark Mark loomed and glittered eerily on the front.

"Oh my god, what happened?" she asked, no longer sounding sleepy. Remus skimmed the article reading aloud the relevant facts of the previous night's calamity.

"Death Eaters!" she exclaimed.

"This is not good," Remus said emphatically.

"But no one was killed, I don't understand. Isn't the Dark Mark..." she began.

"It doesn't sound like anyone much understands, but no matter what, this does not bode well for things to come. I mean, for the Death Eaters to have the audacity to parade around...for Merlin's sake, the entire Ministry must have been there!" he declared.

"Oh my God, Remus, Harry was there, wasn't he?" she asked in alarm.

"Yes, I think he was. I'll write to Sirius and we should go to Diagon Alley today. I'll be able to hear what people are saying, granted it's unlikely that any such information will be wholly reliable, but it couldn't hurt to keep my ear to the ground." He looked at her thoughtfully and added, "If anything happened to him I'm sure it would have been in The Prophet, what with his being the most famous boy in the wizarding world and all."

"Unless they're trying to cover something up," Annabel said decisively. "It doesn't sound like the Ministry was entirely forthcoming."

"I'm sure he's fine, but we'll find out for sure. It's all anyone will be talking about."

"I'm going to take a shower, then we'll go?" she asked anxiously.

"Alright," he said with a small smile. "I'll join you."

*****

Over the course of the next few months, Annabel and Remus' lives melded together. Their differences as muggle and wizard were nothing to their similarities in character, humour, interests and desire. What they had to offer one another was invaluable. Annabel was as avid a reader as Remus and given her newly gained access to a library of magical texts and histories, she rarely slept. Alternately, she took Remus to various events around London; concerts, plays, galleries and exposed him to all of the culture the non-magical world had to offer, something that was severely lacking in his Muggle Studies classes at Hogwarts. He took her to Diagon Alley and she took him to Paris. Neither could have been more pleased. While Annabel's personality was fiery in contrast to his placid demeanour their passion for one another was equal on all accounts. They spent the autumn alternately enjoying the blissful beginning of what had quickly become an intense relationship and worrying about developments within the Wizarding World.

By mid September they had dropped the charade of his spending nights in his own flat; he was living with her all but one night of the month. He did, however, insist upon keeping his flat, in which he spent his lunar transformations. Annabel reasoned that he could use every magical charm in the world to seal himself into Georgie's bedroom and she swore up and down that she wouldn't even approach the door at night. She even offered to spend the nights of the full moon elsewhere. She hated to see him spend what little money he had on a place that he hardly needed, but his stubbornness on this point was unflagging.

The worrisome developments within the Wizarding World ranged from frustrating to nerve-wracking to downright frightening. Downright frightening being Harry's name mysteriously entering and ultimately exiting the Goblet of Fire and the dark force at work behind this disturbing catalyst. Nerve-wracking was the leaked rumour that in the First Task of the Tournament Harry would be expected to face a full-grown dragon and finally, frustrating being the official passage of anti-werewolf legislation that squelched what little hope Remus did have of finding a job.

Remus and Sirius were in frequent correspondence with regard to the developments at Hogwarts, but by the time Sirius got Remus' letter about the dragons, Harry had already told him. Remus explained to Annabel several different ways that Harry could triumph over a dragon. He assured her that Harry was clever and talented enough to come up with at least one of them, but she wasn't satisfied until she read The Daily Prophet the day after the First Task and saw the pictures of him flying out of harm's way. She was haunted by the idea that Harry had been alive all the years she had thought him to be dead and that something terrible could befall him at any moment.

As far as the anti-werewolf legislation went, something of a solution presented itself when Annabel noticed a bulletin posted at the British Library seeking to hire a full-time librarian.

"I don't know;" Remus said, sceptically. "I don't have any real experience."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, incredulous. "You know more about books and research than anyone I've ever known, and I know an awful lot about books and research."

"Yes, but I don't have a resume or anything to..." he began, but she cut him off.

"What are you, joking? You're a wizard, go in there, use some magic and make them give you the job."

"Yes, suppose I could do that," he said slowly, "but it wouldn't be right."

"Darling, it is lovely that you are such an upstanding wizard, but you will be so much happier if you are working rather than sulking about waiting for me to come home each day. You are more than qualified to do the job; it's just a question of getting the job. Besides, it's not as though you would need to do any dark magic, just a little forgery and persuasion. From what you've told me of your schooldays, you were expert in both."

He gave her a self-satisfied grin and admitted, "I was a bit of an expert. I could do this."

She looked at him gravely and said, "Remus, if you don't want to do this, that's alright, but if you do, there's no reason you shouldn't."

He surveyed her thoughtfully and acknowledged, "It would be nice to keep occupied and it would also be nice to have even a little bit of money coming in."

"Alright then," she said brightly. "I can act as a reference, or as several if need be. Look, I just want you to be happy, and I know sitting around the flat all day makes you a bit miserable."

He smiled at her and took her in his arms and kissed her. A moment later the telephone rang and Annabel pried herself from his embrace looking at her watch.

"That's probably Georgie," she said and picked up the phone. "Hello?...Hi, what's going on?"

Remus knew by the way she hoisted herself up onto the counter and immediately began twirling the phone cord around her foot that it was, in fact, her sister. He listened to Annabel's end of the conversation about her work, Georgie's classes, and a rock and roll band for a few minutes before settling in on the couch to watch the telly; a habit that was a little too easy to pick up living with a muggle. About a half an hour later he heard Annabel hang up the phone and she joined him on the couch.

He studied her appraisingly and said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she said, she had a feeling she knew what was coming.

"When are you going to tell your sister about me?" he asked.

"I knew you were going to ask that," she confessed.

"And?"

"I don't know what I'm waiting for, but I need to tell her. I'd like for the three of us to spend Christmas together," said Annabel.

"And don't you think you should tell her before she comes home on holiday?" he asked.

"Yes, of course." She sounded slightly embarrassed and said, "It's really stupid...I worry that she'll think I'm turning my back on her."

"Annie, she's your sister, don't you think she wants you to be happy?" he said and stroked her cheek.

"Yes, of course. I know it's silly, she always tells me I should date."

He looked at her for a few seconds and said, "Look, it's not that I'm worried that I'm not that important to you, this isn't about childish insecurity. It's just that I'm looking forward to meeting your sister and I don't want her to be discomfited."

"I know, I don't want that either, I will tell her tomorrow," Annabel said decisively.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I am."

He took her hand and said, "I love you, so much, and she's the only family that either of us has. It's just important."

She stared at him for a moment and finally said, "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked in surprise.

"For turning my world upside down."

He grinned at her and said, "It's my pleasure." She crawled across the couch, straddled his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back. As much as they enjoyed experiencing the world out and about together, most nights they preferred to stay home.

Author's Notes:

"This Heart's On Fire" written and performed by Wolf Parade.

I lurve this song.

Enjoy some lyrical goodness:

Sometimes we rock and roll

I'd rather stay at home and

Build a life

This heart's on fire

Please review!