The Last Kiss

The Reunion

~1~

Lupin walked in, a rather large box under his arm. "Here's the last of it. We found all this locked up in a trunk in the attic. If Moody wasn't helping us clear out headquarters, we never would have found it." He placed the box in an empty chair by Harry's desk.

"Thanks." Harry replied, looking at the box as if by acknowledging it, he was required to fully accept his loss from years ago.

"Well, I have to get going. Are you still coming over for dinner tonight?"

Harry nodded, his eyes still glued to the box. "Seven, right?"

"Yes," Lupin answered, closing the door behind him.

Why, he didn't know, but Harry found the uncontrollable urge to see what Sirius had had locked up in his attic. Leaving his warm, plush, desk chair, he walked over to the box and began digging through it. There were photographs of the Marauders, old letters, a few books, a tattered black and blue flag with only the letters 'ight' visible, and a child's drawing of what looked like a kid on a stick with a ball in their hand, though it didn't look like a quaffle. At the bottom, buried under everything else, was a tiny wooden box, hardly big enough to hold a few Every Flavour Beans.

Picking up the box, Harry admired the delicate carvings adorning the little box. Before he opened it, he glanced at his clock. He couldn't waste anymore time. Deciding he would investigate it further at the end of the day, he quickly placed the box on his desk, and changed into his Auror robes before heading out the door.

The day flew by, and before he knew it, Harry was getting ready to go home and relax before heading to Lupin's for dinner. As he hung up his Auror robes he noticed the box still sitting on his desk. He had almost forgotten about the tiny item. Picking it up, he carefully opened the box to find a small violet sitting inside. That's strange, it isn't the least bit wilted. The petals were soft as his fingertips gently stroked the tiny flower.

It was odd, the gentle tingle that ran up his fingers with every touch of the petals. He sat there, petting the violet, not fully realizing that with each stroke the tingle was becoming stronger, running further and further up his arm. When it finally dawned on him that the tingle was now running up his shoulder, he stopped petting the small violet and almost panicked. Wait, this is just a flower, what am I getting worked up about?

Holding the flower in his hand, the room began to spin as everything around him dimmed. The tingle was now making its way through his entire body. His other hand grabbed the arm of his chair as his eyes slowly closed.

**~~~~~**

Professor Renae Wallis sat at her desk reading the Colonial Seer as a warm spring breeze drifted in the open windows of the large colonial auditorium. It was her third year as the Transfiguration teacher at Blakmore Academy of the Magical Arts. In her fifth year as a Ravenclaw Hogwarts student, her parents, diplomats for the American Ministry of Magic, were recalled to the States. Though she quickly adjusted to life at Blakmore, she always missed her Hogwarts friends, one in particular.

Before she could allow her mind to drift back to a certain old friend, the sound of entering footsteps snapped her back to the present. Fifth year Beckwith and Proctor students were filing in for the last class of the day. Renae had been grateful she was able to finish her day with them; the Avery students reminded her too much of the Slytherins back at Hogwarts.

"Good afternoon, Professor Wallis," a young Proctor sat down in the front row, the afternoon sun shining on her charcoal gray robes and navy blue uniform.

"Good afternoon, Miss Hemmings," Renae replied, remembering wearing the same uniform herself as a Proctor only six years before.

As she began class, she suddenly got the feeling that there was something different about her classroom. As she reached for her wand, it rolled off her desk. The chalk, which usually wrote key points of her lesson on the board, began to write dirty jokes instead, sending the class into hysterical laughter as she fought to stop it.

Finally managing to get the students started on an exam, she walk over to her desk.

"What in the?" Her quill was gone, her papers were strewn all over the desk, and her books were glued shut. It all seemed familiar, too familiar. A Beckwith boy began giggling as she stood there, hands on her hips. After giving the boy a cold glare, he quickly stopped and his face dropped as he looked down at his paper. Reorganizing her papers, fixing her books with an ungluing charm, and turning her paperweight into a quill, she started grading papers.

Thump.

She looked up to see her students quietly working on their exams. Shaking her head she told herself, "I'm hearing things."

Thump, Crash!

Slamming her quill down, she turned to see two books and a brass candleholder on the floor behind her. As she walked towards the shelves from which they fell, a large white rat ran across a shelf sending everything on it crashing to the floor. A gasp came from several students as it jumped onto the floor, a crystal ball shattering behind it.

"Honestly!" She aimed her wand at the rat as the creature scurried across the floor. Before she could stop it, the rat disappeared. "What?"

"Aahhh!" a Beckwith girl jumped up as the rat fell off her lap. How it managed to materialize there, Renae could only imagine.

Chaos erupted as she tried to stop the rat, which now ran wild around the room, disappearing and reappearing every time she tried to hex it.

Ha ha ha!

She spun around; sure she had heard a voice behind her. No, it can't be!

Papers flew into the air and students were standing on their chairs as the rat ran around the room as if its tail was on fire. The Beckwith boy, who had giggled earlier, now fell to the floor with a dull thud, bent over in laughter. She had enough.

"STOP!"

Silence fell over the room, except for the sound of books falling off yet another shelf. "Everyone OUT! Class is dismissed!" Cheers rang out. "Go quietly, or you will have a five meter essay due tomorrow!" The students quickly gathered their things and left without a single sound. Two students had to help the still prostrate boy up off the floor and out the door.

As the door closed behind them, the white rat ran past her feet.

"Sirius Black! I swear to Merlin I'll strangle you with my bare hands if you don't show yourself right now!" The only sound in the room was that of the rat's feet on the hard wood floor.

"Sirius, I meant it! I know you're there! This isn't..."

****

Walking up behind her, he reached out and touched her shoulder. She screamed and spun around, her wand pointing between his eyes. He grabbed her shoulder to keep from collapsing as James' cloak fell to the floor. "You should have seen the look on your face!"

She stood there, her hand on her heart as if it would hold it in place. He continued to laugh as she composed herself. "Nice of you to stop in so unexpectedly, Sirius."

He gave her an exaggerated bow. The next thing he knew, she had pushed him onto his backside. He could have sworn he heard his tailbone crack as he landed on the floor. "Oww!" The rat crawled up on his lap. She laughed as it began to nibble on his robes.

"I see you haven't changed," Sirius said, turning the rat back into her quill.

"Nor you! You glued my books together when we were fourteen! I thought you would have had something new by now."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

She pointed to James' cloak on the floor beside him. "So, is James in on this too?"

"No, he asked me to give it to Dumbledore, but I borrowed it first."

"I'm sure James would be proud to know you used this to effectively get my students out of their exam," she said, picking up the invisibility cloak.

Standing up, he chuckled. "Yeah, wait till I tell him!"

Laughing, they wrapped their arms around each other. The familiar scent of violets drifted up from her skin and he found it more powerful than any aphrodisiac. She let go and smiled at him with her hazel eyes before overlooking the wreck that become her classroom. "How am I ever going to explain this to Headmistress Tarlton?"

"What, the mess? I'm sure you can handle it, Professor."

"I'm not talking about the mess, I'm talking about you!"

"Oh, well, she already knows I'm here," he grinned.

Renae pulled her wand out and begun putting the room back in order. "And she sent you to disturb my class?"

"Not exactly, but I don't think your students minded."

"Ha, ha," she poked him with her wand, "now help before you find out what you'd look like with real chicken legs!"

He put his hands on his hips in mock surprise. "Are you saying I have scrawny legs?"

She laughed. "I've only seen your legs once, and let's just say you should stick to pants!"

Sirius pulled out his wand and helped repair the damage he had caused. As they finished, she put her papers in her satchel. "So, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you since James and Lily's wedding."

"I'm here to ask you to come back with me."

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass on such a romantic offer," she answered as they made their way into the corridor, girls giggling and pointing at Sirius along the way. Renae blushed for a moment as another young professor smiled at them as they walked past.

"Ha ha, Renae. It's not for me, it's for Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?"

"He's needed at the Ministry and McGonagall will be acting Headmistress, so..."

"He wants me to fill in her position." He nodded. "Sirius I have ten weeks left until end

of term, how can I possibly leave now?"

"Dumbledore's already arranged everything with Tarlton, all you have to do is accept."

He watched her lift a hand to her temple, her curly light brown hair spilling over her shoulder as she lowered her head in thought. Oh, the number of times he saw her do that, each time it captivated him. Stop it Sirius, you already know what that'll lead to.

"I don't know, things aren't going well over there right now," she said, looking over at him.

"Like it's much better here."

"Yes, well, at least in the States, You-Know-Who doesn't have as much control."

"But he still has his followers, or have you forgotten how they found your muggle born mother?" The moment he said it he wanted to kick himself. Damn it Sirius, think before you speak!

She stopped and glared at him. "Thank you so much, Sirius, for bringing up that little bit of history. Yes, I know that no one is really safe anywhere any more, but the last thing I need is you reminding me of my mother!" Sirius felt as though he was sinking into the wood floor. She could still cut him down with her stare.

"I, I'm so sorry Renae. I wasn't thinking."

"That's a surprise." Her voice had a bite to it, which he well deserved.

They continued to her office in silence. Entering the circular room he took her arm. "Renae, Dumbledore wants you because not only are you the only one who could possibly fill McGonagall's shoes, but you're also one of the best people to look after the students; considering many of them are losing their parents even as we speak." The look she gave was not very reassuring. "Plus I'll be there."

"Oh, well, let me pack my bags!" Her sarcasm was always equal to his own.

"I'm being serious. I have missed you, you know."

Slowly her face softened. "Alright, alright. When do we leave?"

"Tonight."

"What?"

"Dumbledore's already in London and I have to be back to work tomorrow. He had to pull strings to get me here to escort you back. The Ministry's low on Aurors right now."

"You're crazy!"

He laughed. "You said I hadn't changed!"

~~~*~~~

After hastily packing her things, Renae was soon on her way, with Sirius, on a carriage flying over the Atlantic. The irresponsible boy that still thrived inside the Auror sitting beside her didn't surprise Renae, but the serious side he now showed, did. For most of the trip, he talked about his investigations and the fellow Aurors lost either by death or by switching allegiance. She had always wondered if he would ever be able to take anything seriously, and here he was showing her a side that was extremely so. The one thing holding her back was now gone. He had grown up.

As they sat beside each other, his hand would occasionally brush against her, bringing the old feelings flooding back to her. She found herself wishing he would hold her hand or put his arm around her; but it was just wishful thinking for her chance had past many years ago. Now they were only friends. You know you've always waited for him. She shook her head. It's too late.

~~~*~~~

Pulling into Hogsmeade, Sirius helped her load her trunks into a Hogwarts carriage. "Ah, Renae, there is one thing I forgot to mention earlier."

"Oh, what's that?"

Sirius knew quite well how she would take his news. He conveniently kept this bit of news to himself, he knew her too well, and he needed to get her to come back with him.

"There's a new potions teacher this year, an alumnus. You may remember him, Merlin knows I do!"

"Who?" Sirius opened the carriage door for her, thinking of how to break it to her.

"I'll give you two words," he looked at her as he paused for dramatics, "slimy git."

She dropped her satchel as she climbed in. "Are you serious? Not Snape!" He nodded.

"You wait until now to tell me!" She nailed him in the arm.

"Oww!"

"You knew I would refuse if I had known Snape was here, you pain in my ass!"

He rubbed his aching arm. "Bloody hell, I forgot how hard you hit!"

Sirius remembered the last time she hit him. It was their fifth year, her last at Hogwarts, and he had asked her to the Yule Ball.

**(Flashback)**

He ran up behind her as they left the dungeons. "So, Renae, have a partner for the ball yet?"

"No, why?"

"Go with me, then."

She stopped, her eyes nearly bulging out. "What?"

"Come on, go with me. You'll have a good time!"

Laughing, she started walking again. "Yeah, and then you'll break my heart like all the others. I'd rather leave our friendship intact, thank you."

"What makes you think I'll do anything to hurt you?"

"Because I know you, and you know you. Name one girl whose heart you haven't broken."

That's easy, he thought. "Lily..."

"And don't tell me Lily Evans, she's spoken for."

"You, then."

"Ha, I haven't given you the opportunity, so I don't count either."

He took her arm as they got close to the library. "Renae, I'll be a perfect gentleman, I swear to Merlin," he said, putting his hand over his heart.

Her hand reached up and cupped his cheek. "Sirius, you know you're dear to me, but we both know you don't take any girl you go out with seriously. I won't end up any different. Why risk what we already have?"

"Because it doesn't have to be that way," he pulled her close enough for him to take in the delicate scent of violets that always permeated her skin, "you're not like the others."

For a moment they stared into each other's eyes before she quickly closed her eyes and stepped back. "I don't want to risk it, I'd rather be your friend than a statistic."

"But..." She nailed him in the arm. "Oww! Now, what did I do?"

"Get off it! I'm not going with you, alright."

"Alright," he answered, as she quickly ran down the corridor.

**(End Flashback)**

Since that day he decided he'd rather keep it to himself and keep her friendship than risk it all by telling her he loved her. After she went back to America, it had become easy to put his true feelings aside; but as she now sat next to him, he found the old feelings returning. Merlin, she's still beautiful. If only I could stop loving you. He shook his head. I am in so much trouble.

"Something wrong, Sirius?" Renae was looking at him as if she was trying to determine whether or not he was crazy.

"Huh?"

"Is something wrong? You had that look."

He adjusted his collar, his usual nervous habit. "No, I'm fine. Just a little tired," he answered, loosening his tie. Why are these carriages always so stuffy?

"Oh, okay," she said, looking rather unconvinced.

~~~*~~~

What in the world was that?

He remembered using Dumbledore's Pensieve before but this flower seemed to make him relive two people's memories, not just see them! Being a spectator was one thing, but hopping between two people's minds was another. Slowly he opened his hand and stared at the tiny item. How did something so innocent become so powerful? The tingling began to creep up his arm again. Knowing what would surely follow, Harry quickly went to place the violet back its box. But before he could let go of the flower, he felt the world dim and spin around him once more...