The Greatest Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I never will.

Chapter 3

"And then I thought he was an Inferius," Sylvie finished, and Remus and Angela burst out laughing.

"I bet Raymond liked that," the boy said, and Sylvie grinned sheepishly.

"He did. In fact, he found it so funny that he lost no time in telling one of his friends all about it."

The children grinned at her, and Sylvie felt herself blushing. "He looked like one," she said furiously, "he's so pale and dark-haired that he looked bloodless."

They burst out laughing.

"An Inferius," Remus said, "why didn't I think about this?"

"Where are your parents?" Sylvie asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice. She did not want to face her new parents in-law like that - damn Raymond, he should have stayed with her during the introductions. Of course, she knew that he had to go to classes, but damn him anyway.

"Dad was supposed to have a day off today, but he had a Firecall about an hour ago. Mum is still in her room, though, writing. She works as an editor and has to be at work in two or three hours.

Two or three hours? Wonderful. Now, if only Sylvie could stay in her room by then...

"Can you cook?"

What? Startled, Sylvie shook her head. "No."

"I didn't think you could." Remus sighed. "It would have been just too nice. Never mind, come on." He looked at her expectantly.

"What?" she asked.

"Let's make breakfast. I am famished."

"But your mother - "

"Mum?" Remus frowned. "She has an article to finish. When she chases deadlines, she doesn't care whether we all die from malnutrition or not. Come on, we have to fix something for ourselves."

Something in his face made her suspicious. "Can you cook?" she asked.

Remus shook his head. "No."

That could turn out to be interesting. Besides, he had said that his mother would not poke her nose out of her room. Sylvie's relationship with cooking was never a friendly one, it was more like investigation. She was inclined to accept Remus' offer but - "I have to go and take my things and Sekhmet," she said.

"Who is Sekhmet?" Angela asked curiously.

"She's my Kneazle."

"Oh!" The girl's eyes opened widely. "I've never seen a Kneazle before!"

So Sylvie Apparated the three of them to the room in the hostel where she was currently residing. They intended just to pack her things and take Sekhmet, but the moment the ginger Kneazle saw Remus, she went mad: she jumped aside, then threw herself on Sylvie's bed, over her pillow, and started hissing at the boy, pointing her claws at him.

"Sekhmet!" Sylvie said angrily. "What are you doing! Come here and apologize immediately!"

Sekhmet's only response was climbing on the top of the highest bookshelf, from where she continued glancing nervously at Remus and hissing.

"What's wrong with you, stupid cat?" Sylvie wondered aloud. "She's never behaved this way before," she continued, digging through her clothes. She started handing them to Remus and Angela, who were placing them in a trunk. The moment Sekhmet saw her mistress touching Remus' hand, the Kneazle jumped on the carpet, threw herself at Remus and with the speed of lightening, started scratching him fiercely.

"What the hell was that for?" Sylvie yelled furiously at her pet, grabbing her and pushing her aside of Remus. "I'm sorry, I don't know what has gotten into her."

"It's okay," Remus said hurriedly.

But it was obviously not okay. He looked very sad and miserable, while Sylvie was healing his arm and Sekhmet had retired on the bed, still hissing and baring her teeth at him.

For some reason, the Kneazle refused to go anywhere near the boy and she obviously felt insulted by Sylvie's scolding, so when they were ready to leave and Sylvie went to pick her up, she hisses again and avoided her mistress' arms. She then jumped on the table and Sylvie had to use a Summoning Charm on her to take her. Then, Sekhmet started struggling in Sylvie's grasp, throwing horrified looks at Remus.

"Fine!" Sylvie finally got irritated by that struggle. "You can stay here, if that's what you want, stupid beast. Au revoir!"

She just going to close the door behind them, when Sekhmet jumped on her shoulder. Smiling smugly, Sylvie locked the door.

"We have to go to the manager," she said, "to legalize my leaving. We'll see whether he's going to refund the rent that I deposited for this month."

The manager of the hostel was less than thrilled to hear that he had to seek for another tenant for the room and before they could even mention about the deposited rent, he started talking, "Oh, no, we're not refunding money, we never refund money. What will happen to our business if everyone - "

Sylvie and the two children left, before he could finish his speech.

Sylvie Apparated the three of them near the Lupins' house, now her house, and looked at it with interest. She had seen it only once, when Raymond had brought her here yesterday, and it had been dark then. She decided that she liked the sight of it - painted in blue, old-fashioned and well-kept. She liked the garden best, with all the flowers there.

Remus took his key out and unlocked the door. "You'll need to have your own key now," he said, and she smiled. It was great that Raymond's brother had accepted her so heartily. She could only hope that their parents would do the same.

"Remus? Is that you?" a female voice called from the back of the house.

"That's my mother," Remus said. "Yes, Mum," he called back.

"I have to go," Angela said hurriedly, ruffled Sekhmet's fur once, nodded at Sylvie, and left.

"You said that she would be in her room the whole day," Sylvie hissed at Remus, all her fears coming back.

"She must have finished her article earlier," Remus said. "Come on, I'll introduce you to her."

Sylvie paled slightly. "I - I think that Raymond should be the one doing this," she said. "I insist, actually. I think I have a great idea. I'll go to his room - our room, and - "

"Remus, I told you - "

The woman stopped talking, when she saw the unexpected guest. Sylvie thought she would have recognized her everywhere. Black hair and shining blue eyes, pale skin, a killer smile - there could be no doubt, it was Raymond's mother. Somehow, Sylvie had not expected that the woman would be this young. She calculated that Julia Lupin must be forty or something, to have a son Raymond's age, but she looked no older than thirty-five. Unbelievable! And those deep eyes, the same like her son's, translucent, shining, intelligent, surrounded by long lashes. Sylvie felt her fears rising. She immediately realized that her mother in-law's will was as strong as Raymond's, and that would mean troubles, if the two of them don't get along.

"Oh, I didn't know we had a guest."

"She isn't a guest, Mum! She's Raymond's wife!"

"She's who?!" Julia Lupin gasped, pressing a hand to her heart.

"Can we go to the living room? I'll introduce you to each other."

Julia seemed to collect herself. She let her hand fall. "Come on," she said, "let's go."

They entered the living room with the light coming through the big windows, and Sylvie found herself standing against a woman, who looked as confused as she herself felt.

"Mum, this is Sylvie, Raymond's wife."

"Hello," Julia said, shaking hands with the girl.

"You have a lovely house," Sylvie said, looking around slowly.

"Thanks," Julia said, looking at Remus for help, "Well, this is - this is quite unexpected."

"I know," Remus said, "I'm sorry I didn't warn you earlier, but you were busy."

"Where is Raymond?" Julia asked.

"Attending classes," Sylvie said. "I should have been attending classes too, but my boss gave me a three days off, considering the circumstances - "

"Well," Julia said, "have a seat. Would you like a drink? A soda-water, or a Coca-Cola?"

"No, thanks," Sylvie answered nervously, sitting in am armchair. Sekhmet wriggled out of her grasp, went straight to Julia, and jumped in her lap. "Oh no! I'm so sorry! Sekhmet, come here!"

"No, leave her be," Julia said, and started petting the ginger creature. "I love cats."

Sekhmet started purring contentedly, licking the woman's fingers. Sylvie watched in amazement. "She likes you! I can't believe this! She's never been this way with anyone else but me."

"She seems very nice," Julia said, and Sylvie shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Will you think she's this nice, when you find out that she scratched your son, she wondered silently.

They looked at each other over the ginger cat's head.

"So, is it true?" Julia finally wondered. "Are you married to my son?"

Sylvie nodded.

"It's true, Mum," Remus said. "I saw the marriage certificate. I checked it. It's true. They got married yesterday."

"But that's so unexpectedly! He's never mentioned anything about you before. Oh!" She looked full of remorse. "Perhaps I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay." Sylvie felt herself smiling in response. "He couldn't have. We only met three days ago."

Julia's eyes widened. "Now, I know for sure that you are kidding me!"

Sylvie shook her head. "No."

No? God, what was Raymond thinking, Julia thought, appalled. Was Emma Potter really this important to him that he felt like drowning his desperation by marrying the first pretty girl he saw? She looked at the clock on the wall and realized that there would be at least three hours, before her son returned and she could ask him about it. The fur of the ginger cat in her lap bristled and Julia realized that Sekhmet was reacting to her own tension. She automatically started stroking the ginger ball.

"Look, Mrs Lupin," Sylvie was saying, "I know what you think - that it was a stupid mistake, that Raymond is too young, that the whole thing is juvenile. But it isn't. We love each other and we are meant to be together. I may not know much about Raymond - or any of you, when it comes to this, - but I know this much. And Raymond will never regret marrying me. I'll make him happy, you'll see. But I'll be glad, if you just wait with your judgment on me until we get to know each other a little better. Because the truth is, I am scared to death."

Julia Lupin sighed. The girl was sincere, she could see that. It would be easier, if Sylvie was some kind of 'cool' girl - jerky and not caring what the others thought of her. "I'm just preparing lunch," she said. "Would you like to come with me in the kitchen? I'd like having a company."

Three minutes later, Sylvie was looking fascinated at the household appliances in Mrs Lupin's kitchen. She had taken Muggle studies at Beauxbatons, but nothing could have prepared her for the amount of devices here.

"Can I help you?" Sylvie asked impulsively, her hands itching to touch all these strange things.

"Sure, why not," Julia asked. "You can start with these eggs."

Sylvie looked at the little ovals in horror, realizing that her offer had been made too rush - she had no idea what to do with those white balls.

"What's the matter?" Julia asked.

"I - I don't know how - "Sylvie stammered.

"Your mother didn't teach you how to cook?" Julia's voice sounded disbelieving.

Sylvie almost laughed at the thought of the ever so elegant and aristocratic Madame Saint Claire in the kitchen, cooking eggs along with the family house-elves. "No," she admitted candidly, "she taught me what to order, when I go to a restaurant."

"I suppose that's something."Her new mother in-law smiled. "Come on, I'll show you."

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Two hours later...

"Raymond! Finally!"

"I've seen you've already met your new daughter in-law," Raymond said calmly, leaving his bag on the floor. "Is it this bad?"

She took him by the arm and dragged him on the second floor, in her bedroom. Raymond only sighed. "That bad, huh?"

"Why did you do it?" his mother asked. "Is it true?"

"Yes, it is."

"But - but how? I mean - you just went to see Lynette's wedding and now you come back married yourself?"

"I know, I know it was a bit too fast - "

"Oh, only a bit, I'm sure," she interrupted him in a sarcastic voice."

"And yet, I'm sure. She's the one I've always been waiting for. The only one."

Julia was so stunned that she did not say anything, just looked at him with wide eyes.

"You're going to like her, Mum, I know you will," he continued. "She's exactly that kind og girl you always wanted that I meet."

"But - but, Raymond, it's so - so fast. How on earth could you be so sure - ?"

"And how much time did you need to know what you felt for Dad, when you met him?" Raymond asked, looking at his mother intently.

She did not answer immediately. "Well, you have me in a hole here. Very little time, indeed - a few hours - a few days, maybe."

"You see! You knew what your feelings were immediately. Just like me."

"That's right." Julia hesitated, but decided to ask anyway. "But are you sure that it isn't just for getting back at Emma than anything else?"

To her relief, Raymond did not looked angry, not even irritated. He slowly shook his head. "No," he said, "that isn't it. I won't deny that the whole Emma thing was very hard to deal with, but it's all over now. For good. I don't know how to explain this." He struggled for words. "Imagine the moon that you see in the night. It is real, isn't it? You can see it clearly. But when the sun rises, you won't see it anymore. That's what it is like. Emma was the moon. And when the sun shone, I suddenly stopped seeing her anymore. I won't think of her like that ever again. Yes, I don't wish her any harm, yes, my feelings for her were real, but now I see nothing else but the sun - Sylvie."

Julia sighed with relief. Everything would be easier now, when she knew for sure that her son was really in love with his new wife. "She's a very nice girl," she saw slowly, "I like her."

Raymond flashed her with a smile. "You do?

"I do," she confirmed, "but I'm not sure - her parents won't be thrilled by the news, I suppose. We don't have any money, and they are - "

Raymond's face darkened. He had gone through disapproving parents with Emma and that had ended badly. He certainly wouldn't go through the same with Sylvie. He needed to know where he stood with his new in-laws, and he needed to know it now.

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Half an hour later...

"Mademoiselle Sylvie!"

The tiny creature was practically bouncing with delight, while he was watching Sylvie and Raymond entering the hall.

"Nice to see you, Kayes." Sylvie smiled pleasantly, as thrilled to see him as he was to see her. She had not known how much she had missed her home until now. "This is Raymond, Raymond Lupin. He's my husband."

"A husband, Mademoiselle Sylvie?" the old house-elf almost squealed.

"This is Kayes," Sylvie went on with the introduction. "He took care of me and my brother, when we were very young," she said.

"Nice to meet you, Kayes," Raymond smiled.

"A husband!" Kayes went on, his eyes more and more shining at the pleasant perspective that he could see in front of him. "A husband! Do Master and Mistress know about this?" he asked, suddenly worried. It was Mademoiselle - no, Madame Sylvie, and his experience had taught him that he could expect anything by her, including a secret marriage to a man, who was not the same one that Master and Mistress had been so worried about, Kayes was sure of that.

"No, they don't," Sylvie asked. "Are they here?"

"No, Madame Sylvie."

"And what about my brother?" she asked.

"Sylvie!"

Raymond turned to see a boy practically flying down the stairs and giving Sylvie a fierce hug, which she returned in full force. The boy didn't look like her at all - he had auburn hair and blue eyes. He was told to be Remus' age and yet, he was almost as high as his sister - well, it was not a great thing, given the fact that Sylvie was so short.

"But what's happened, then?" Marc was asking. "We didn't expect you here. Did they throw you out of the program?"

"No, I just had three days off."

"So you could hurry back? Missed me, didn't you?"

"Not at all."

"And you didn't think of me?"

"Not for a moment!"

He grinned. "That's my girl!"

Then, he suddenly took notice of the stranger standing near the door. "And who is he?"

"This is Raymond," Sylvie said. "My husband."

"I thought your betrothed's' name was Walter."

"It is," she agreed, "I just married another man. Raymond."

Marc sighed. "Good. I suppose Maman and Papa would be glad to know that Avery is in the past. He is, isn't he?"

"He most definitely is," she confirmed.

But all Raymond wanted to know was, "Why isn't he surprised?'

"Because he doesn't believe a word of it," Sylvie explained.

Raymond sighed. That was to be expected, after all. If someone had told him just four days ago that Monday would see him a married man, he would have laughed.

"We'll stay in my room," Sylvie said. "Come on, Raymond."

He followed her over the stairs and Kayes looked at them with a wide smile. He was already imagining the babies that would run all over the manor, while he would look after them. They would be pretty children, there was no doubt about it, with Mademoiselle - no, Madame Sylvie and this new husband of hers as parents -

"Sylvie! You can't mean to install your boyfriend here! Mum won't stand for it."

"Mum will be delighted to see him, kid. You may depend upon it. Raymond really is a part of this family."

"Sure, and I'm Merlin himself. "

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