The Greatest Adventure

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my crazy OCs.

Thank you, saiyanwizardgurl, for improving this chapter with your editing.

Chapter 2

The next evening...

Sylvie saw him before he noticed her. He was standing with his back to her, but in one moment, he turned aside slightly, and then she saw his face and her heart made a leap. She did not need long staring to know that he was the guy from the night before - the one that she had thought an Inferi.

Now, under the bright sunlight, that thought seemed so ridiculous that she almost laughed at herself. An Inferius! He was just a normal guy - quite pale, yes, but definitely human. The fact that she had spent a good part of the day thinking about him seemed so ridiculous now. Yet, she had to see him closely. She was very curious about the Inferi effect - was it due only to the complexion of his skin?

She decided to use the fact that he was chatting with none other than Amelia Bones and headed towards them, so Amelia could introduce them to one another. Unfortunately, Madame Bones left before she could reach them. Sylvie hesitated for a moment, but continued walking - she crossed the garden and stood behind him.

He had a good physique and was quite tall - taller than she had thought at first. At least six feet. "Good evening," she said.

He turned quickly, and so did the woman he was chatting with - a girl who seemed to be Sylvie's age. They both stared at her. She saw how he took a deep breath and knew that he had recognized her.

"It's you!" he said.

"Hello."

He immediately stretched a hand. "My name is Raymond Lupin. Quickly, tell me your name, before you run off again."

She shook hands with him. "Sylvie Sent Claire," she introduced herself to him.

"What a nice name. Hello, Sylvie." He turned to his friend. Is she his girlfriend? Sylvie wondered briefly. "Andie, this is Sylvie. The young lady who thought I was an Inferius."

"I thought so," the dark-haired girl answered. "Nice to meet you, Sylvie. I've heard of your quite spectacular meeting with Auror Moody."

"You did?" Sylvie felt herself blushing.

"My father works in the Ministry," Andie answered, and there was a sudden shade on her face. She smiled and asked, "How do you find England?"

"Fascinating, though rainy," Sylvie answered honestly.

Andie smiled again. "Yes, Lynette and Philip are lucky to have picked such a shiny day for their wedding."

Sylvie nodded. "You know Philip?"

"No, not really. We've met, but I was invited here by Lynette. We were all classmates at Hogwarts - she, I, my husband, and Raymond."

"You are married?" Sylvie exclaimed.

"For less than a month," Andie nodded, and her smile became genuine. "Excuse me, both of you," she said hurriedly, "but I have to find Ted. See you later, okay?"

"Why did you tell her that?" Sylvie asked after Andie had disappeared into the crowd. "About the Inferius thing?"

"Because it was funny."

"It was humiliating for me," she disagreed, and he shook his head.

"No, it was funny. Really, an Inferius? Where did you get such a ludicrous idea from?"

Sylvie could not stop herself from laughing. "Because you look like one."

"I do?"

Half-smiling, she looked at him. Last night she had not managed to notice how handsome he was, but she had not been mistaken about his coloring. Really, his black hair was in shocking contrast with his fair skin. His face was so pale that under the moonlight, he could easily be taken for a bloodless creature.

"You do," she confirmed. "You do look like an Inferius." He looks like an angel...

The thought had come uninvited into her head and Sylvie frowned, trying to push it away. It was hardly the appropriate way for an engaged woman to think about a man who was not her betrothed. Yet, the truth was undeniable - he looked just like she has always imagined the angels should look like. But it was not the innocent young angels with their harps that she saw when she looked at him - it was the warrior-archangel, Michael, with his sword and all. His eyes were so amazing that Sylvie could not stop looking at them - blue and so shining that they looked translucent.

Raymond felt that his staring at her could be interpreted as rudeness, but he could not keep his eyes off her. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, small and slim, with something inscrutable in her face - that face had fascinated him from the moment he had laid eyes on her. No one had ever had this effect on him - not even Emma Potter.

Surprised, Raymond realized that this evening, the girl looked somehow grown up. Maybe it was because of the hair style - her hair was held back and high on her head by a golden slide - as well as the dark lipstick and the black mascara on her eyelids. Yesterday, she had not worn any make-up. The yellow dress made her hair look an even darker shade of red.

He spoke first. "So, what do you do, Sylvie?"

"I'm here on a program for exchange of Auror trainees between England and France."

"Ah, yes, I thought you were French."

"Is my accent that bad?"

"No." She raised her eyebrows. "Well, almost no."

"That's better." She laughed. "I hope my stay here will help me improve it. And what do you do?"

"I've just graduated from Hogwarts this summer."

Dear Morgaine, is he a minor? Sylvie was appalled. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen, almost eighteen," he said, and she exhaled with relief. The next moment, the thought of Walter came to her mind. What am I doing here, thinking of another guy? I am engaged! "I am now a trainee at St. Mungo's."

Sylvie grinned. "You look like a warrior, not a Healer." A little voice in her head was screaming like mad, but she did not listen to it - she just could not. "Come on, let's dance. I love this song."

"What is it called?"

"'Sealed with a Kiss.'"

"How very appropriate. Let's dance."

And without releasing her hand, he led her to the dance floor. When they were there, he took her in his arms, held her to him completely immobile for a moment, and she felt that his heart was beating as fast as her own.

"You're a romantic soul, Sylvie," he said, listening to the lyrics.

She laughed. "Tell that to my fellow-students and they will ask you whether you mean the same Sylvie they know."

"I will," he said in a voice that made her wonder whether he was being serious or not, and then he kissed her.

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The next morning...

"Hello."

Sylvie turned around and smiled up at him. "How did you find my room?"

He shrugged. "I asked Lynette."

She gave him a stern look. "Raymond, you can't walk around and ask people where my room is. It seems - I don't know!"

"It's not just any 'people,'" he said calmly, "it's Lynette. Lynette, my classmate. I've known her for years."

"That's not the problem!"

He sat on a chair and stretched his long legs in front of him. "Then what is the problem?"

"The problem is that I was engaged and everybody knows that."

"I didn't know that," Raymond replied. "You are engaged?"

"I was. Until yesterday."

He looked at her and noticed her worried face. "Until you met me?"

It wasn't a question, but Sylvie answered nonetheless. "Yes. It isn't because of you, though. The problem is in me. What's the point in marrying him if I'm going to fall for the first hot guy I meet?"

"There is no point," he agreed. "Absolutely no point."

"You see that I can't marry him. I'll tell him as soon as I go back to London."

"Do you love him?"

She shook her head. "I thought I did. Thank Merlin for meeting you just in time to stop myself from making an awful mistake." Then, she laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not proposing to you."

"Pity."

She grinned. "You know, you could have looked at least a little more heartbroken."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Raymond answered, and tried to feature a heartbroken expression on his face. "Is that better?"

"Much better."

He reached for her hairbrush that was lying on her night-stand and started examining the hairs in it. "They are red," he said. "I thought it was just hair-dye."

Sylvie raised an eyebrow. "And what do you know about a woman's hair-dye? Should I feel jealous?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Good."

"Now, Sylvie, tell me about that fiancé of yours."

She shrugged. "Walter Avery. A nice man."

"An Avery? And a nice man?" Raymond's lips thinned. "You are making some kind of mistake. Let me tell you: you deserve something better than that."

"Really?" She was furious. How dared he insult someone he did not even know, and then tell her that he was better than him? "And where do you suggest I go to find something better?"

"Go to Trafalgar Square, raise your hand and start stopping strangers," Raymond shrugged. "I daresay that there would be a lot of volunteers, and each one of them would be better than Avery."

"How funny," she said coldly.

"I wasn't joking."

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The same afternoon...

"What are you doing here?"

Sylvie did not turn her gaze from the clear waters of the lake. "I'm looking for an Inferius - real Inferius, not like you."

"I am real," he reminded her.

"Yes, but you are not an Inferius."

"We have to leave now," he said. "Everybody is leaving. Our newlyweds left for their honeymoon, and now life must go on."

"Don't remind me!" she groaned. "I have a double lesson with Vance tomorrow morning."

"See? We have to go back to London."

He held out his hand and steadied her to her feet. They went to sat 'goodbye' to Philip's parents and thank them for the invitation, and then they left the manor to Apparate.

"Want to have a coffee with me?" Raymond asked after they had landed safely in London.

Sylvie smiled. She did not feel engaged anymore, she was nineteen, and why the hell not? "I'd love to."

So they went to a small café - not quite famous and not quite good, but full of Muggle students. Raymond liked the vibration, the buzz, the feeling of belonging. He was sure that she would like it, too. And she did! They drank their coffee and talked about themselves, about their lives and ambitions, about Beauxbatons' education compared to Hogwarts - about everything...and in one moment, Raymond looked at her and asked, "Do you think...would you like...I mean, could you imagine...spending your life with me...because I've known you for two days, but I think you're all I've wanted."

Sylvie looked at him, waiting to see the ironical smile she had become accustomed to, but he looked deadly serious and for some reason, that made her laugh. "But you - " she said, "you - ha-ha, wait a bit, are you proposing to me?"

"Ah, no! First you answer, and then I propose to you."

She stared at him, mouth agape. "If that is not insolence," she burst out, "I don't know what it is."

"Common sense."

"Common sense!" she exploded. "Don't you have any romantic side at all?"

Raymond looked like he himself was wondering the same thing. "No, I don't," he finally said.

Sylvie shot him a look. "And what makes you think I'd want to marry a man - well, a boy, actually - who hasn't got any romantic side?"

"I don't remember proposing to you."

The next five minutes were pretty much the same, and Sylvie finally said, "YES!" The moment she said it, she realized the importance of her own words and how she really loved him - neither of them had said it yet. And then he asked, "Really?", and she repeated, "YES," and then they burst out laughing, and remembered that they had not said, "I love you" to each other, and that they had done the whole thing backward, and he took her face in his hands, and said, "Sylvie, I love you," and she told him the same.

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Nine hours later...

Officer Frost looked suspiciously at the man with a top hat and a scarred face who entered the police station. "Yes?" he said. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here because of Sylvie Sent Claire," the newcomer growled. "I heard you've taken her for - whatever she did."

"Sylvie Sent Claire?" Frost frowned. "Which one is she?"

"Small. Red-head. With a fierce temper."

"Ah, yes. She and her companion were arrested for disrupting the public peace while drunk."

The newcomer snorted. "And what exactly does that mean? No, no, don't bother answering. Just bring her - I mean, bring them here."

"It isn't that easy. There are some procedures that should be - "

The next moment, he was blinking confusedly, while the other was placing some kind of stick back in his pocket. "Well, I think that's all," the policeman said.

Five minutes later, Moody was looking at Sylvie's disheveled hair and smeared make-up. Her Muggle jeans and blouse looked like they had been washed and dried without ironing. Her companion - a tall guy with black hair - did not look much better. Part of her lipstick was smeared across his face and he was still buttoning his jeans. Both of them were very pale and looked like they were having a hangover, but their faces were beaming.

"Come on," Moody said, and the three of them went out.

They walked silently to the nearby park and then Moody gave Sylvie a stern look. "What was that for?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I think that the Muggles took the bath that we took in their fountain too hard," she said. "And two or three broken tables, too."

"Merlin!" Moody burst out. "And why did you break the tables in question?"

"Because we were celebrating," the black-haired guy said and took a deep breath of the fresh air in the park.

"By getting drunk?"

"Yes."

"Bloody French," Moody muttered.

"I am English."

"You are?"

"Yes, I am."

Moody gave him a stern glance. "And what were you celebrating?"

"Our wedding," Sylvie said, successfully managing to send Moody in a state of complete and utter surprise, wide-open mouth and all.

"What are you talking about, girl?!" he bellowed. "This is not Avery!"

"No, he isn't," she agreed. "This is Raymond."

She searched through her pocket and took out the marriage certificate.

"It's true," was all Moody said. "You really did it?"

"Yes."

"And why the hell weren't we informed?"

"Because we weren't informed," Raymond said. "We met two days ago."

Moody looked at them, but decided that he did not want to know anything else. He placed a Sobering spell on them, so they could Apparate safely, and growled, "I'm giving you a three-day long holiday, Sylvie, to get used to your new circumstances and so on. But if you're not in the Auror Department on Thursday morning, you're out of the program!"

With this, he Apparated away. Sylvie and Raymond looked at each other and grinned. He took her by the arm and Apparated ten meters away from his house. Then, he started digging through his pockets, hoping that he had not dropped his key in the fountain. He hadn't. So, he took her in his arms and carried her inside. They both grinned at the thought that someone might be awake and see them. Fortunately, they met nobody on their way to Raymond's bedroom. He switched on the lights with his wands and placed her on the bed.

"Welcome to my life, Mrs. Lupin," he whispered and smiled. A brilliant smile answered him.

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Early the next morning...

"Sylvie?"

"Mmm - " was all she said. He tried again, "Sylvie!"

"Shhh," she muttered, "I'm sleeping."

"I know, but I have to go."

She turned to him and opened an eye. "Go? Where?"

"You have a holiday, but I don't. I have classes in forty minutes."

"Oh." Then, she was suddenly awake. "What?"

"I'll be back early in the afternoon."

"You can't!"

"I have to."

"But you can't leave me here with your parents!"

"They are not dangerous. They don't eat people."

She tried to stand up, but he stopped her. It was quite easy, because he was quite tall and muscular, while she was small for her age. "But what am I going to do with them?"

"Just tell them the truth. Show them the certificate. They won't kill you."

She shrank him with a look. "It wasn't supposed to be this way!"

"I know, but I have to go. I can't miss classes like that. If the roles were reversed, would you have missed your classes?"

Sylvie sighed and shook her head. "No."

"So, I'm going and I'll be back as soon as possible." He stood up. He was already dressed and ready to leave. Sylvie started counting the things that she should have done yesterday. First of all, she had to tell Walter about her marriage. Second, she had to go to her room and take her things and Sekhmet out of there. Third, she had to contact her parents and tell them about her marriage. Fourth - well, when she saw Raymond again, they would think of the fourth thing.

An hour later, she went out of Raymond's room, now their room. All she wanted was to sneak into the kitchen and get a glass of water without anyone being aware of her presence in the house. No matter what Raymond said, she just did not feel ready to face...

"What are you doing here?"

Her new relatives... too late. Sylvie stopped in the middle of the staircase and looked down. There were two children in the hall, looking amazed at her. She did not need much time to decide that the boy was Raymond's brother, Remus, although the two of them looked nothing alike. Raymond was black-haired and blue-eyed, while Remus had dirty-blonde hair and amber eyes. The girl with him was olive-skinned, with dark hair and eyes. One day, she'd be a great beauty, if Sylvie knew something about those things at all.

Her fear disappeared. They were only children and Sylvie suddenly felt the urge to play a little with them, just like she would have done with her own little brother. It was obvious that they did not know about her marriage yet.

"I spent the night here, don't you know?"

"You spent the night?" he repeated.

"Yes, and I'm thinking of moving in."

"But - but he can't. My mum would never let him do this, and this place will be turned into a battlefield."

"Battlefield?" Sylvie repeated. "No problem, then. I'm an Auror - at least, I'm going to be one in a few years."

"You are?" he said in bemusement, only to shake his head. "But it wouldn't be proper, would it? I mean, you're a lady - I mean, well, you know what I mean. It just wouldn't be proper."

"No?" Sylvie grinned. "Then I'll have to speak with your brother. He's the one insisting I stay."

"He did?" Remus nearly choked. "Merlin, he's gone and done it now! I know that Emma Potter was a hard blow for him, but really, deciding to move another girl in just to show her that he doesn't care?"

"Remus," she began gently, giving up the game. She had not thought he would be this upset. Who the hell is Emma Potter? Raymond will have a lot of questions to answer when he gets back here. "I'm sorry I teased you like that. I am Sylvie Sent Claire - well, I am not anymore. I am Sylvie Lupin. The reason I'm staying is because I married your brother yesterday. He really should have told you."

His mouth dropped open again, but this time he was quicker to recover. "My brother, meaning - Raymond? You married Raymond Lupin?"

"You don't have to sound that surprised."

"But...I don't believe it. Raymond getting married? He wouldn't."

"And why not?"

"He just wouldn't. He's seventeen. He's got all the girls he could want chasing after him. What would he need a - ?"

"Careful, laddie," Sylvie warned stiffly. "You're getting very close to insulting me."

Color flamed his cheeks. "I - I beg your pardon, Miss Sent Claire. Truly, I meant no offense."

"It's Mrs. Lupin now, Remus," she said, going back to Raymond's - their room - and coming back with her marriage certificate. Remus and the girl whose name she still did not know put their heads together, and then Remus took his wand out and said "Finite incantatem."

Of course, nothing happened, and Sylvie fully enjoyed the moment when the two heads, one fair, the other dark, turned to her with the same expression of bemusement that slowly gave place to a startled realization.

She held up her hand in front of them and tapped her wedding ring - a simple jewel that she and Raymond had bought from the first jewelry store they could find yesterday. "It happened last evening in London. So you might as well believe it, laddie. I've no reason to lie about it, and you can ask your brother as soon as he comes home."

"Then he really married you? He really did?"

"Yes, Remus, he really did." She grinned, coming down a few steps to lock arms with him. "Come along and I'll tell you all about it. And you can introduce me to your friend here."

"Ah, yes. This is Angela - Angela Peters. She's in my year at Hogwarts."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lupin," the black-haired girl said politely, and Sylvie grinned.

"Promise me that you'll call me that as often as you can. Both of you. I must get accustomed to my new name. Now, come here. I'll tell you all about the wedding, and you might tell me how this Muggle device works. Yesterday, Raymond put some items into it and they started singing, but I can't figure out how - "

"You mean the cassette recorder?" Remus asked, and Sylvie nodded.

"Yes, I believe that's what he called it."

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A. N. So, that was it. What do you think? Please, tell me!