Domino One

Dumbledore sat in his office, admiring the sun gleaming down on the crystal white snow surrounding the castle. The lake on the west side of the property was completely frozen over and young students, recently returned from their winter holiday, ice skated and threw snowballs happily, bringing a smile to the aging headmaster's face. Far below, he could see Ana and Lily laughing as they gracefully pulled clumsy Peter Pettigrew around the ice, nearly doubled over in supporting his weight.

"Was it really so long ago that we were so young?" asked Professor McGongall, having stepped into his office unnoticed.

He smiled, startled, but didn't turn. "Ah, Minerva, you are young still. Not even 'over the hill,' as they say." She joined him at the window, smiling down as she viewed the sight below. "Did you enjoy your holiday?" he asked.

"Yes, very much," she nodded, still watching the action below. "Thank you. And how was yours?"

"Productive," he answered. "I administered Ana's tests to measure her progress."

"Honestly, Albus, over Christmas holiday? Poor girl."

"She insisted," he shrugged with a small smile.

"And how did she do? Can she resume fifth year classes?"

"Some," he nodded. "She could tutor a seventh year in potions, if she wanted to, and she's a wicked charm thrower," he smirked admirably at some vague memory. "She's at a fifth year level in Astronomy and Herbology, but Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration are still giving her problems. She's probably only at a third year level."

"Which is still something to be quite proud of considering the amount of time she's been here!" exclaimed McGongall, wide-eyed. "She definitely has her father's brains."

"Her mother was no spring chicken either," he reminded her.

There was a pause as Minerva thought for a moment, smoothing out her robes nervously. "Have you talked to her yet?"

He nodded. She will resume classes with the fifth years on Monday, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration. Along with Divinations, she will still be tutored on a-"

"No, Albus," interrupted McGongall quietly as she repeated herself. "I mean, have you talked with her yet."

There was a pause as he turned to look at her, his blue eyes as quiet as the rest of him. "No, not yet. I don't intend to for some time."

McGonagall didn't push the issue. She simply nodded.

"It is in her best interest that she not know."

"I trust your judgement," the professor shrugged. "But I disagree."

"And she is happy," he continued, ignoring her. "Apparently, she has found love in the most unexpected of places."

"Mr. Pettigrew?" frowned McGonagall, apparently horrified, as she gazed down at the figures skating on the ice far below.

Dumbledore laughed. "No, no, Minerva. Mr. Lupin."

She paled slightly. "And you have no problem with this?"

He smiled, his bright blue eyes sparkling once more. "I do not."

* * * * *

And for a while, Ana was quite sure that everything around her was one elaborate, elegant and simply beautiful vision. She was happy. It had been a long time since she had felt so- at least to the extent that she did over that Christmas holiday and the beginning of the new year. She missed her mom. She missed her dad. She missed home, and normal life. But if ever in the history of time there was a fifteen year old girl who experienced love any more than Ana Anblick, it has certainly been forgotten since then.

Ana had had boyfriends before, despite her home-schooled and rural situation. Of course, they were "middle school" boyfriends, simply dating for the sake of dating. But be she seer or guardian, or just another witch at Hogwarts, Ana knew in her heart that she was in love. And she was happy. And so was Remus. At least for a while. A very short while.

The morning after the Yule Ball, he promptly took Ana aside and tried desperately to break it off. Realization of what he was hit him like a ton of bricks. No one could really love a werewolf… But after five minutes of futile arguing, they were kissing again. Even when he went home for Christmas Holiday, he sent owls reeking with insecurity. He even had the nerve to break up with her by owl. But Ana just laughed. She actually laughed. And when she met him upon his return at the gate, before anything else was said, they were in each other's arms.

And oddly enough, no one got sick of them. James and Lily, who had finally confessed that they themselves had been "an item," as Ana called it, since the beginning of the year were beginning to take bets on how long their "break ups" would last. Sirius told Ana once in a private conversation that he had never seen anything so close to true love (or what the world perceived as true love) in his life. And Peter, too, smiled and joked, and wished them well. But there was a certain emptiness behind his words that would never be filled, not even years later.

By late January, neither Ana nor Remus (nor the rest of the school that paid attention) could imagine anything besides them being together. They had fallen in love, very fast and hard, driven by something unseen (Ana often wondered if it was the stars), and so complete that even Remus had more or less stopped his attempts to fight it. He began to trust her. He always had, of course. But now it was more. He even began to trust himself. He didn't just love her. He loved who he was when he was with her.

"Fascinating," breathed Ana one Saturday morning as she lay sprawled out on Remus's bed, examining a book from the library with captivated interest. Remus looked up from his transfiguration book, startled by the break in the silence of the empty dormitory. Ana rolled over, sat up, and looked at him. "You are a magical marvel, you know that?"

Remus grinned. "Absolutely. But why in particular?"

Ana flipped the book around to expose a picture of a werewolf romping across the page. Remus winced slightly. "Your body… it completely regenerates itself!"

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Yeah…"

"-Not just regenerates, but completely reconstructs itself…" she read as he nodded his head apprehensively, "…resulting in superior strength, optimal health and immune function, and near physical perfection…." But Ana had to stop as Remus started cracking up. "What?" she laughed, still excited.

"Ana, I'm a dark creature. I'm something less than human."

"More than human," she grinned. He rolled his eyes (but was unable to suppress a small smile) and went back to his book. "Take off your robes," she said suddenly.

He glance up, startled at the direct comment. He forced a smirk. "Bit early, isn't it?"

She tossed a pillow at him. "Just your shirt."

"Why?" he asked, pointedly unmoving.

"Just do it," she laughed, getting off the bed.

He watched her for a moment, wondering if he should listen. Past experience taught him that Ana almost always got what she wanted. Not just because of stubbornness, but because she had making requests down to an art. Even the most unusual requests sounded reasonable when she said them. 'Natural-born leader…' he thought to himself as he reluctantly stood. Untying his shabby robe, he dumped it like a moldy rag to the bed, exposing his khaki pants and white undershirt. He glanced at Ana who waited mock-patiently as he took of his shirt.

"Happy?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

She snorted as she walked around him, studying his back and chest. They were rigid with firm muscles, painted with shadows as the mid-morning sunlight poured in through the window. Taking his arm, she bent it to view his bicep and twisted it to expose his tricep, both of which bulged out. She scoffed in disbelief as she viewed his washboard abs. "Geez, Remus," she smiled, "Do you have any idea what your body fat level is?"

He giggled (or "laughed slightly" as Sirius would claim, having the mind set that men did not giggle) as she poked at his abdominal muscles. "Most of us werewolves don't have a very high percentage of fat in our bodies… the most fat you'll see is-"

"-Right before a transfiguration!" laughed Ana in fascinated revelation. "Brilliant! A natural energy source!" Ana circled him some more. "Do you loose weight then too? I can't imagine your body doesn't use energy…"

Remus nodded, watching her mind run in circles. His head bent to one side, he followed her with his hazel eyes, listening to her with amazement. "I have to eat quite a bit the few days before a transfiguration," he said quietly, wondering just how many biology books read in her free time.

She stepped back in front of him and took his hand in hers. She opened his palm and gazed into it before turning it over to gaze at the other side of his hand. She looked up, startled. "Your scars… they…"

"Change every time," he nodded, closing his hand around hers. "Whatever person I am when I go into a transfiguration is forgotten. The transfiguration covers scars and diseases through the power of the moon. But when the moon's power fades, ... whatever injuries I have as a wolf, stay with me - there's not enough power in the fading moon to heal the wounds. It's not like animagi… it's a more thorough transfiguration…"

Ana looked up at him with wondering brown eyes, as she held his hand to her chest. She kissed a scar on his shoulder gently as she rested her head against his chest, lost in thought.

Finally, she spoke. "Take me there."

"Where?"

"Wherever it is you go. On the night of full moons."

He stepped back. "You're joking, right?"

She shook her head, slowly. "Come on, it will be fun!"

He cringed. "Fun? Ana, the Shrieking Shack is not fun…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Shrieking Shack? That place in Hogsmeade?"

"You're not supposed to leave the castle grounds," he pointed out.

"Oh, no one knows except us," she sighed. "And besides, it's been months since anything's happened…"

He shook his head and pinched his nose in visible agitation. "We're not going," he sighed wearily, "and that's final."

* * * * *

Ana was the first to emerge in the basement of the Shrieking Shack an hour later. Remus was close behind, his face wearing a dull glare. Holding her wand out, she gave a dim light to the dark basement and looked around. Remus watched her carefully. His heart pounded in his chest as a sickening feeling washed over him. He stayed close to the tunnel entrance.

Slowly, Ana walked through the dark, gloomy house. It was silent as a tomb, save for her light footsteps shrieking loudly on the tired steps to the upper level, itself equally dark from the boarded up windows. But she could see the remnants of a sofa- well shredded and torn to tiny bits of lint and dust, covering the broken coffee table and musty floor. Her steps left footprints in the layer of gray grime. She looked around the room wide-eyed but silent, taking in the scene with a scrutinizing glance, shivering against the cold chill that ran through the darkness.

Pictures dangled on the oak wall, though crooked, and a few books still remained (though on their side) on the long inlayed bookshelves surrounding the fireplace. A piece of the mantle had collapsed (or had been torn down), its once shining mahogany gleam, Ana noticed, now ripped and splintered. Off to the side of the adjacent, abandoned dining room, she could see the stairs leading up one more level.

And it was there, that Ana caught the first few glimpses of blood.

The scratches on the stairs started small at the bottom, and grew increasingly larger and deeper as the staircase stretched upwards. Droplets of blood scattered in a similar matter, more being at the top of the stairs than the bottom. Suddenly a thought occurred to her in the darkness of the room. Kneeling at the bottom of the stairs, she held her wand up to the scratches. They were smaller… Tentatively, she reached out her hand. Her fingers laid easily into the crevices. They were human claw marks. And as they grew larger and larger as the staircase stretched upward, growing to twice the size and depth of the marks at the bottom, Ana understood.

"I didn't make it up to the room that time," a dull voice said from behind her. Remus stood at the top of the basement stairway, his hands in his robes, looking around with disinterest. "I was lucky to even get to the shack. It was two years ago… I lost track of time… " His voice drifted off.

Ana ran her hands over the marks repeatedly. Very briefly, a vision flashed before her of a younger Remus, stumbling for the staircase, visibly beginning to transfigure. Ana grimaced at the gory details, and the vision faded quickly.

Trying to shake it off, she stood and climbed to the top of the stairs. She was met with a short hallway, a water closet, and just one closed door. She knew before she opened it what she would be faced with. Her heart beat quickening, she turned back to the top of the stairs and looked down at Remus, who wore a very peculiar expression as he looked around the room.

"Will there be blood?" she asked quietly from her place at the top of the stairs, her voice echoing throughout the empty shack. "In the room. Will there be blood?"

Remus didn't look at her, but nodded. "Some."

Ana turned back down the hallway and stepped towards the door. With every step she took, her head began to pound, and distant, echoing voices swelled through her mind.

With a breath, Ana stepped into the room.

Visions flew before her mind as she examined the room from the doorway. Four and a half years of blood scattered across the room… the floors… the walls… the shredded bed…

Sun shone in through the cracks in the boarded-up window, exposing deep, angry scratches in the walls and bite marks on the bedposts.

As the door creaked shut behind her, Ana came face to face with the deepest scratches of any in the home. Easily over an inch deep, they coated the back of the door, exposing the light oak coloring of the once darkly stained wood. A lump swelled in Ana's throat.

Ana rested her head on the scratches of the doorway, lost in the misery of the place. She had never had any idea it was like this. Slowly, she turned to face the room one more time before she descended back to Remus. Guilt washed through her as she imagined his feelings, being in this horrid place. As urgent as the feeling was to run away from this place, she moved slowly, and reluctantly down the hallway, praying that the visions would cease. And so they did.

Remus was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. He looked at her, his eyes more lost than she had ever seen them, but at eye contact, he looked away, seemingly annoyed.

"You've been having more visions," he muttered.

Ana sighed and shut her eyes tightly. "My eyes are blue, aren't they…"

"And teary," he said quietly.

There was a pause as Ana fought for words. "Remus… I-"

"It's okay. You know now, I know you do. You know what I really am…"

"I've known for a while!" she insisted.

He looked at her, her blue eyes radiant against the light from her wand. "You understand."

Ana nodded, and sunk to the stairs. "I'm sorry I made you come here… I didn't know how much emotion was locked in this place…"

Remus sat next to her, leaning against the fragile banister gently. "You can feel it?" Ana nodded slightly. "Anger? That's the wolf…"

"No," she whispered, frowning slightly at him. "Sadness. It's so sad here… it runs through me, Remus… I don’t know why… I guess it has something to do with the whole seer thing, but I can feel it…" She looked around as she rested her head on his shoulder. "The dust, blood and claw marks don't help either."

"Yeah, the interior designer is scheduled to come on Tuesday," he smirked.

She forced a smile as she ruffled his hair gently. "I'm serious! Maybe if you didn't have to come to such a drab environment, your transfigurations wouldn’t be so dreadful."

He looked at her dubiously in response.

"Okay, okay, fine," she muttered, looking around. She spun in a circle, getting a full glimpse of the living room. "Give me some light for a moment," she said.

Remus moved to her side and with a snap of his fingers, held three swirling balls of blue flames in his hand, giving light to the room.

"Show off," she smirked as she extinguished her wand and looked around. "The dust has to go," she muttered, and with a wave of her wand and well-executed charm, the floor went clean. Remus gave her an impressed look. She continued to look around. With another charm, she summoned all the pieces of the sofa to the side of the room, and tried to put them in the correct places. "Oh dear…" she muttered, evaluating the finished product. "We're just going to have to transfigure a new one."

"We?" laughed Remus.

"Well you have seen my most unfortunate transfiguration skills, no?"

He smiled and nodded givingly. "But, Ana, it's a lost cause! It's the Shrieking Shack we're talking about, not some weekend remodeling job!"

She shrugged as she smiled and took a half-eaten cushion off the sofa. Setting it on the floor, she stared at it momentarily before contemplating what to do. Suddenly she smiled, and transfigured it.

"A rock?" asked Remus, looking at the large rock before her curiously.

"It was supposed to be a beanbag," she smiled through her disappointed sigh.

He grinned and pulled out his wand. He promptly corrected her. He would have to correct her many times as she remodeled the Shack's living room, not only after her attempt at more beanbags, but when her "table" turned out to be a small artificial tree, and when her "chair" just plain blew up. But the candles she got right, and she placed them all over the room. It took her nearly two hours of charming, transfiguring (and Remus's corrections) until she collapsed into the beanbag (which was still rather firm) and grinned.

"Not a bad place you got here, Mr. Lupin."

Remus couldn't help but smile. The place was completely different. It was a home. It was a living room, with furniture and a fresh coat of stain and a well-swept floor. He could still look at the shredded and bloodied staircase and know where he was, but if he searched his soul, he could look at the decorated room in front of him, and smile. Of course, the transfigurations and spells would wear off by the next full moon, so there was no fear of the wolf destroying it. So he could honestly enjoy his surroundings in peace. Somehow, he felt that maybe if it was still the same dismal shack, it would have been just as wonderful. He glanced at Ana.

"I have a pretty good decorator," he replied.

* * * * *

It truly is an extraordinary emotion: pride. Remus would always smile and cheer up what few friends he had when they got down on themselves. Peter, more than the rest of the group (having grown up under particular circumstances), often became down on himself. He was weaker than the rest of the group. He was slightly overweight. Girls generally avoided him. Remus would always be there for Peter. Simply by saying a formerly missed compliment, Remus could boost his self-esteem, even if just for a time. He was good at it. His parents (his mother in particular) had always made a habit of trying to raise Remus's self esteem. But it was two different worlds, to try and raise the self-esteem of a person with solvable problems, and to battle the feelings of futility.

Yet, Ana had both covered. She could make both Peter and Remus feel better with nothing more than a smile. "Doesn't it even bother you a little that I'm a werewolf?" asked Remus on the way back to the castle, her hand tucked in his as they stepped through the ankle-deep snow.

He looked at her, shocked. "Of course it bothers me!"

He thought for a moment, baffled. "The pain." He decided finally, though there was so much more. But pain summed it up completely.

She nodded, squeezing his hand tighter. "Then yes, I am bothered because you're a werewolf, Remus. I'm bothered because you're in pain."

He blinked a few times, trying to argue something useful, but they just walked, their footsteps crunching through the snow as the sun set behind the castle.

He loved to argue with her. Most people could argue that good arguments led to good "make ups," but with her, it was different. She would win. Almost always, she would win, or at least say something so profound, that it immediately made Remus feel better about himself. Himself. For so many years, he was the wolf… it was a part of him. James, his best friend since the beginning of his first year at Hogwarts, loved him like a brother. He loved Remus and cursed the wolf. But Ana, Remus realized, smiling, as he stopped, and watched the last few beams of golden sunlight turn into shadows across her face as he kissed her, loved not only him as a person. She loved him, wolf and all.

Yet pride remains an extraordinary emotion. Time mends it. A moment destroys it.

…Moments usually brought on by one particular person, that is…

Remus and Ana were standing in the main door way of the castle, taking off their winter cloaks and stamping their boots on the carpet when they heard a voice.

Both Ana and Remus looked up, searching for the voice. The grand hallway was deeply cloaked in shadows, as the house elves hadn't lit the candles yet. But Ana could make out a tall, slim figure dressed in black, slinking behind one of the pillars. She rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Snape?" she frowned.

"A moment of Lupin's time," he sighed, coming out from behind the pillar.

She raised an eyebrow, still expecting some snide comment to come flying from his mouth. "You're asking, now?" she asked, confused. "You usually just -"

"Can it,Guardian," he growled as he approached Remus from outside the shadows like a snake from its den. He wore an unnerving smile, which concerned Ana greatly. Any smile on Snape's face, unnerving or not, would concern her. "This is between me and your boyfriend, here. Why don't you go look in some crystal ball, or something…" he said, never taking his eyes off Remus. "Or better yet," he added slyly, "why don't you go and try to make peace with Berenice again. I'm sure she'd love that." Ana had tried to apologize to Berenice shortly after the Yule Ball. Unfortunately, she found herself hovering 10 meters off the ground in the hall outside the library for the next two hours until someone was kind enough to remove Berenice's levitation charm.

Remus shook the snow off his cloak, unconcerned to the way Snape was acting. "Whatever you want, Severus, you can say it to her, too," he sighed.

A twisted smile came over Snape's face. "I was just going to offer you something you might be interested in…"

Remus looked up, slightly curious.

"You see, I've been watching you very, very closely…" Snape said silkily. "And I've noticed… certain things… if you know what I mean."

Remus looked calm, but he spoke hoarsely. "What sort of things?"

"Oh, I don't know," he replied innocently, "The pale shade of your skin… the bags under your eyes…shabby robes…your tendency to detach yourself from others… Ah yes, and most importantly, your mysterious disappearances every so often…"

Ana and Remus exchanged a glance. "What's your point?" asked Ana sharply.

Snape ignored her. "And look at those scars… my, my…."

Remus dug his hands under his cloak sheepishly. "Get to the point, Snape," he said, visibly agitated.

"My point, Lupin," he hissed, "is that I've figured out just what is going on with you…"

"Remus, let's go…" said Ana, taking his arm and pulling him away.

"And I want to help," Snape added coolly.

Ana and Remus stopped, startled.

"You want to what?" Ana asked, shocked.

"How can you possibly help?" frowned Remus angrily.

Snape shrugged again with innocence that did not suit him in the least. "It's just that your family does have money… I've seen the way your parents dress in the Alley. You're from a mildly respectable family, Lupin, but look at you. Shabby robes, all torn and tattered like your pale skin… and then there's the bags under your eyes. I can help you Lupin," he said, taking a step closer to them. His voice was hardly a whisper. "I can get whatever it is you use, and for a fraction of the cost… so you don't have to squander your parents' money. You might be able to afford new robes! And I could fix it so that the stuff doesn't give you those bags under your eyes, or maybe even put a little color in your skin…"

Remus frowned in utter confusion. "What the bloody hell!?" he exclaimed, but Snape just continued.

"And if you can't pay on time, I won't leave scars… I'll just increase the interest…" he said, smiling devilishly, his black eyes shining against the darkness. "What is it that you use, Lupin? Mushrooms? Willow moss?" He leaned closer. "Muggle crap?"

Ana couldn't contain herself anymore. She started cracking up. Even Remus smirked. "No… Snape… no… You've got it all wrong."

He blinked, startled, but then smiled again, patting him in the shoulder in an awkward gesture. "I didn't think you were into the stronger stuff… but you are full of surprises aren't you…"

Ana snorted, cracking up a little louder than before.

"I'm not on drugs, Snape," muttered Remus, shaking his head, relief striking across his hazel eyes.

Snape blinked in confusion. He glanced quickly at Ana and the quickly back at Remus. "OH, of course you're not…" he said, winking and nodding, backing away. "No, no… you would never go on drugs… they're wrong… so terribly wrong…" he nodded, still winking as he stepped back. But in walking backwards in the darkness of the room, Snape tripped down the short staircase of the main hallway, tumbling down three stairs and to the marble floor with a 'SPLAT.' Something round rolled out of his pocket, like an oversized marble. Remus moved to go and pick it up as Snape got over his initial daze. Examining it, he sighed.

"You want to explain this?" he asked Snape.

Snape, standing quickly at the rush back to reality, flushed red and snatched the ball out of his hand. "None of your concern!" he snapped angrily, spinning on his heals, and gliding away in a hurry, his black robes swooshing behind him.

Ana was still giggling as Remus looked up at her after Snape left. "What was that?" she said, smiling.

"A rat," he replied. "It's a listening device. He was recording our conversation."

Ana almost died laughing. "He wanted to get you confessing to being on drugs!"

Remus nodded, though grimly as he moved towards the grand staircase. Ana caught up with him, giving him a playful hug from behind. "My Moony… I couldn't even imagine you drunk, let alone stoned or high." Suddenly her eyes became wide with Sirius-mischief. "You'd be damn hilarious drunk, you know that?"

He frowned. "Moony?"

"You like it?" she smiled. "I've been looking for a nickname for you."

He frowned further. "Moony???"

"What's wrong with it?" she gasped, her deep brown eyes laughing.

"Well, it's certainly not "Sex God," or "Rambo"…" he joked.

She smiled. "Moony suits you just fine." He just shook his head (sighing) as they walked towards Gryffindor Tower.

After a while of silence, he spoke. "He's going to find out, you know."

"Snape?"

"He's coming up with theories now, and pretty soon he's going to find the right one…"

"And what difference will that make?"

"He'll tell everyone… get me kicked out of the school…"

"Dumbledore won't let that happen," she sighed, her fingers toying with his. "And even if the World does know, Moony, I will still be here."

Memories floated before Remus of a time long passed. Of being chased by neighborhood children, spat at by full grown witches and wizards, and kicked out of village stores with his parents. He held her hand closely in his. He could feel himself changing every moment that he was with her. Normally, he would be concerned. He would run to James and Sirius and Peter and Lily and spill his guts, telling them everything and trying disparately to come up with a way to hide what he really was.

But as they walked slowly, her head resting on his shoulder, he found himself for the first time in his life, truly and completely, and unlike any other time, not caring. If the world were to turn against him, Ana would still be there, smiling, and holding his hand. And even if he was not fully convinced, and even if his worst fears still plagued every waking moment of his life, he could still close his eyes, and she would be there.

After all, pride is an extraordinary emotion. Time can mend it to its fullest. And a single moment can destroy it. But Love? Love can heal it.

And love can be found in the oddest of places…

* * * * *

James had just fallen asleep that night when he felt someone shaking him roughly.

He opened his eyes and rolled over to find a very groggy Sirius standing over him, the lines of his normally playful face now deep with concern. James reached for his glasses at his bed table and was about to ask what was wrong when he heard another voice in the room.

James looked up at his friend. "Another dream?"

"Third one this week," nodded Sirius as he looked over at Remus’s bed. He was tossing and reaching out for something in the deep of his nightmare. Peter was sitting up in bed, looking at him warily.

"What are we going to do?" he asked James and Sirius quietly, his voice heavy with nerves.

"We should wake him up," James said simply, getting off his bed and walking across the room to Remus's side. He watched him thrash his arms out wildly as he cried out in his sleep. "This one seems worse than the others…"

"I heard you're not supposed to wake up someone who's having a nightmare," squeaked Peter quietly.

"That's sleepwalking, Peter," grumbled James impatiently. Peter kept quiet.

"Well we have to do something!" insisted Sirius going over to James's side and staring down at Remus. His fingers were bent at contorted angles as he reached for something, a strained and fearful look displayed across his pale, sweaty face.

Suddenly a knock came at the door. It opened slightly. "You guys still awake?" asked a female voice as she peaked in. It was Ana. Seeing them awake, she stepped in, carrying one of Remus’s books. "Sorry, I just wanted to give this back to …."

She stopped short. She inhaled sharply as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Geez, it’s cold in here…" she said, visibly shivering.

Sirius, James and Peter looked at her. It was never cold in their room. In fact, it was usually stuffy. Sirius glanced quickly at Remus before stepping up to Ana, taking the book and leading her back towards the door gently, but swiftly. "Ana, it’s after hours, you can’t be here. You really should…."

Sirius stopped as he stared into her eyes, letting the book fall heavily to the floor. Even James, despite his location several feet away from her, could see it. Her eyes glistened a brilliant blue in the dim candlelight.

"Ana… your eyes…" he said in an awed whisper.

"What’s going on in here!" she asked in a sharp whisper, looking around with visible agitation. "Something’s wrong…. I… "

"Can feel it?" asked Sirius, eyeing her up suspiciously.

Suddenly, Remus’s voice echoed through the room loudly. "STOP! WAIT! PLEASE, NO! NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sirius dodged around Ana and shut the door. Ana skirted over to his bed. "Remus?" she asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper. He continued to flail his arms, reaching for something that only he could see. Ana could help but notice how lost he looked as she sat on his bedside. And his pain… fear… she could almost feel it. In fact, she could feel it. Feelings of despair were washing over her for no apparent reason. Fear was one thing, but aimless fear was another. It wrenched in her chest, quickening her heartbeat and almost bringing her to tears. Yet, she was calm and concerned about Remus. "Oh Moony," she sighed as she brushed the hair out of his face gently with her fingers. It was sweaty and slicked back easily. "I’m here, Remus," she whispered in his ear as she leaned over to kiss him on the temple. He started to calm slightly as she ran her hands gently over a scar on his right cheek, continuing to talk to him quietly. Sirius moved to sit on the other side of the bed. Again and again she ran her hands along the scar as she felt her fingertips growing warmer… hotter…to the point of burning pain. But something held her to it- a magnetism she couldn’t explain as she began to grow drowsy.

She hardly remembered wearily collapsing to Remus’s chest. The next thing she knew, she could hear Remus.

"Ana!"

"She’s waking up…"

Ana opened her eyes to see Peter, James, Sirius and Remus all looking down at her. The room was dim, sending dark shadows dancing across the top of the canopy over Remus’s bed.

"It’s okay, Ana," said James gently. "Remus is awake now, see?"

She forced herself to sit up, sending the blood draining from her pounding head. She looked around in confusion. "What happened?" she asked, trying to shake off the feeling of exhaustion that had washed over her.

"You were sitting by Remus, and you just passed out…" said Peter quietly watching her warily.

She turned and looked at Remus, who met her eyes momentarily, and lowered them.

"Are you all right? Maybe you should go to Madam Pomphrey," suggested James. He paused, uncomfortably. "Your eyes are really blue… It's almost creepy."

"Oh, I’m fine…" said Ana, looking at Remus meaningfully. She couldn’t have just imagined it…

There was a pause in the room as James, Sirius and Peter looked from Ana to Remus questioningly.

"You sure?" James asked nervously.

Ana nodded. "Remus, can I talk to you for a minute?"

He frowned wearily. "Ana, it’s after 1 AM."

"Please?"

They exchanged a moments glance. He sighed as he got off the bed. "I’ll be back," he said to the rest as he and Ana walked down the stairs to the Common Room. It was abandoned, as expected, and they sat across from each other by the fireplace. Shadows flickered off their faces as Ana gazed over at him.

"Was I really there? I was really in your dream?"

He nodded. She sat in silence, trying to figure out what she had done.

"And I would appreciate it if you stayed out of my dreams from now on," he said suddenly, his voice laced with unexpected bitterness.

Ana looked up, startled at his sudden hostility. "It’s not like I wanted to get inside your head…"

He frowned deeper. "That’s it!" he said, almost shouting. "You’re going to Dumbledore and Pyrre tomorrow, and you’re telling them everything. You’re losing control Ana… no… you never had it to begin with. You’re getting stronger, and you need to learn how to deal with it."

Ana couldn’t help but raise her voice. "Why are you getting so upset about this? It was an accident!"

"You were unconscious for nearly five minutes after I woke up! We were about to take you to Madam Pomphrey! You could have killed yourself!"

"Killed myself?" she laughed. "Whatever, Remus."

"Whatever," he said, mocking her angrily. "Ana, you have got to start taking yourself seriously!"

"Remus, give me time…"

"Until what? Until you’re in a coma in the H-wing?"

"That’ll never happen."

"You don’t know that."

Ana just stared at him, letting the openness of the Common Room swallow them in silence. "Remus," she started gently, "Why were you in Hell? What was going on?"

He threw his hands up in weary frustration. "Changing the subject…"

"Answer the question," she said firmly, anger blazing in her still bright blue eyes.

"You want to know? You really want to know?" he gasped bitterly, the lines in face deepened by the fire lit room. "Cause werewolves GO TO HELL, Ana. So I’m afraid. Imagine that."

Ana flinched. She had read it in the DADA book. Denial was a very covert emotion. "No, Remus…" she whispered, going up to him, and trying to wrap her arms around him. "Just legends…"

He pushed her away gently, but held her, his hands tight on her shoulders, at short distance . "Ana, I’m sorry," he said, lowering his voice to a staggered whisper. "I’m sorry you had to see that…my dream… you never should have seen that… I never wanted you to see that…"

She looked up at him, wide-eyed with seriousness. "You’re not going to Hell, Remus… I’m not letting you," she said softly, but firm enough that for just one short moment, Remus believed that just by saying it, she had made it so. But by the circles that were forming under her brilliantly blue eyes, and the ones that were undoubtedly forming under his, he found reality once more.

He sighed as he kissed her forehead and stepped away. He sat down on one of the tables, letting his legs hang limply. "Let’s not worry about that right now… we have to figure out what you’re going to say to Dumbledore…"

She looked up, startled. "That’ll come in it’s own time, Remus… please…."

He shook his head. "I’m going to tell him tomorrow, with or without you."

She took a step towards him. There was a certain dullness in her watery eyes as she gazed at him from her position about a half a room away. "Remus, don’t do this…"

"Ana, when I was up there… when I woke up… when I found you lying next to me unconscious…" He paused for a lack of words. His eyes shone deeply in the firelight as he slid off the table and walked to her, taking her hands and wrapping them it in his. "I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life Ana…" he smirked. "And that’s saying something! I don’t want to lose you…I….."

There was a pause as Ana looked at him wide-eyed. She knew what he wanted to say, but to her disappointment, it came out differently.

"…I don’t think there’s anyone who understands me quite like you…"

Ana lowered her eyes. "Remus, please let me do this in my own time…"

He pushed some of her soft, dark hair behind her ear. "It’s for the good, Ana… You've helped me so much since we first met. I want to help you, but I don't know how. They do, Ana! But they can’t help you unless they know…"

She looked at him. He was perfectly content with the decision. She shook her head astonishment as she pulled her hands away and took a few steps back. "I can’t believe you’re going to do this…"

"You’ve kept them in the dark long enough."

Her voice surpassed whispered pleading. It was a normal volume, but it shook and echoed with anger in the dark room. "Remus Lupin, I am asking you nicely, please, don’t do this."

"What are you afraid of?" he asked, stepping up to her and gently taking her shoulders into his grasp.

She stepped out of his hold quickly. "Nothing. It’s just no one’s business, and it’s not your decision to make. Remus, stop."

His arms dropped to his sides wearily. He looked at her for a moment, calculating, analyzing… and the things that Remus did when trying to figure out what to do.

Finally, he sighed. "I’m sorry, Ana. No. I’ll tell him after breakfast. You have until then to decide to do it yourself." He stopped to watch for a reaction. She gave him none.

"Goodnight, Ana…"

She didn’t answer.

* * * * *

The crystal blue sky shimmered into a warm golden glow as the sun rose early the next morning. Ana watched dully as she lay on her bed, hearing some of her roommates starting to stir. In the back of her mind, she dreaded what Remus was going to do. She knew that he was serious, and that his intentions were good, but she felt so relentlessly angry. Yet, that thought wasn’t the one to keep her up all night.

"Werewolves go to hell!"

His voice echoed through her mind as she tried desperately to gain some sort of comprehension or grasp on the concept. Even in her memory, she could still hear the eerie calmness in his young voice. Unfortunately, her memory brought her back to his dream. She kept seeing him laying at her feet, smiling at her as if he knew all along that she would come.

"Are you an angel, Ana? My angel?"

Ana closed her eyes as the sun became brighter, filling the room with its harsh boldness. She tried to quiet her mind, tried to stop the visions, but they just kept coming. The memories haunted her without pity, even after losing an entire night’s sleep.

She was the first one awake and the last one out of bed as she showered and got ready for classes. Lily would give her suspicious looks every once and while. Ana could feel her stares. But she never said anything.

Walking down the steps to the common room, Ana was disappointed to find that she was still nearly the first one down there, despite her stalling. She was not surprised to find Remus waiting for her, his hair scrupled and his face unshaven. He looked just as lovely as she did, obviously having lost a night’s sleep. Butterflies lurched in her stomach as he looked up at her, his tired eyes both loving and apologetic. He had not changed his mind.

"You coming with me?" he asked, cutting the silence of the room directly, albeit gently.

Ana looked at him dully. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, accomplishing nothing but giving Remus an expressionless glance.

"Ana, please… come with me. It’ll be all right, I promise." His voice was quiet and coaxing as he tried to smile. He looked too guilty to smile properly.

Finally, Ana sighed. She had the idea stuck in her head all night. She raised her head and set her shoulders as she shook her head silently.

Remus’s eyes dropped to the ground as he nodded. He didn’t say anything, but Ana couldn’t help but feel like she had disappointed him. She didn’t need to remind herself that she probably had.

* * * * *

Oddly, she didn’t feel anything until Dumbledore took a seat next to her in her divinations lesson that morning. It was almost as if it was being dealt with, and that Ana had nothing more to worry about. But as Dumbledore studied her quietly, she couldn’t help but feel very small and pathetic.

"Ana, I think you already know that I spoke with Mr. Lupin this morning." He took her downcast eyes for an acknowledgement, but neglected to say anything more for quite some time. Ana knew he was waiting for her to respond, but somehow, she just couldn’t find the words.

"I believe," he said, breaking the endless pause with his gentle and solemn voice, "that Mr. Lupin did a very, very commendable thing." Ana rolled her eyes. "You don’t think so?"

She laughed a bitter laugh. "With all due respect sir, people have tried to kill me before they had evidence that I was a True Seer. And now the truth is out. I might as well just put a target on my robes and walk down Diagon Alley."

"And do you think, Ana, that if you do continue to hide the truth, Voldemort will just forget about you? You will remain a threat, even if you are just a seer."

Ana looked at him sadly, her brown eyes untouched by the bright morning sunlight as it poured in the room. "That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one whose life is in danger. Either way, my life is in danger… now it’s just going to be worse…."

Much to her astonishment, he smiled. It was a small smile, mostly hidden under his long, white beard, but his bright blue eyes danced behind his spectacles. "You remind me so much of your father…capable of seeing so much, yet failing or refusing to see the positive."

Ana groaned internally. This conversation was going nowhere. Dumbledore, sensing this, continued on, but kept his smile. "Ana, it is a fact that your life will never be as safe as a person of non-magical blood, living far from the terrors of Voldemort, or," he paused briefly, "as far from his terrors as one can be... But what are you going to do with that situation? It can’t be reversed until Voldemort is gone, and the closest we have ever come to that is when your father was in power. I could understand why you would want to hide from the world, keep your powers to yourself, but Ana, what good would that do?"

She shook her head fiercely. "I can’t control them, Professor, I don’t know what I’m doing…"

"You will learn. We will help you. I have already owled Kezia. She has agreed to come and assist us in our efforts." Suddenly, Ana felt very, very tired. It was one thing to explore her powers. It was another to have a Guardian standing over her shoulder. "Remember, Ana, she was once in your shoes. She knows what you’re going through. She can give you what neither Professor Pyrre nor myself can."

Ana looked at him questioningly. "Guaridan Lessons?"

"Much simpler. A person to relate to."

* * * * *

The more time that passed, the more Remus paled with worry as he gazed at Ana’s empty chair in Advanced Potions. She had, as of the second semester, joined their class, meeting and far exceeding the knowledge needed to pass. She even challenged Snape in her ability and understanding. She loved Potions. It was one of the many things Remus couldn’t begin to comprehend about his girlfriend.

As Professor Stikupas prodded through the lesson, and the clocks on the stone wall ‘ticked’ away quietly, Remus became increasingly agitated. He couldn’t help but feel he had done the wrong thing. He reasoned with himself, reminding himself of all his motives….to help her…to encourage her…that he cared enough about her to do this… but as the minutes passed, and Ana’s seat remained vacant, doubt began to take over.

When Ana finally did enter the dungeon, the class was well over half completed.

"Miss Anblick, where in God’s name have you been!" barked Stickupas. He liked her. Everyone knew she impressed him. He was sincerely more bark than bite, at least when it came to his prize students.

She held up a piece of parchment in her hand, which he summoned immediately. He read it after it floated in his hand and nodded with acceptance, although grudgingly as she moved to her seat.

Remus looked at her quietly. She looked tired, moreso than their meeting earlier in the day. She sat immediately to his left, along a shadowy wall. Remus couldn’t get a direct look at her face or her eyes. He tried, but then the realization dawned on him that she was purposely refusing to look at him. He leaned back in his chair with frustration as Professor Stikupas’s voice suddenly changed from its normal gruff drawling to a booming proclamation.

"AND FINALLY," he began, "You have the esteem pleasure to be assigned your final project today." The entire class groaned. "QUIET!" he snapped. "You will work in partners on a special project of your choosing for the rest of the semester. In the library, you will find a book entitled 1,000 of the Most Common and Yet Inanely and Ridiculously Complex Potions Created Since 1 AD. Your assignment: choose a partner. Make a potion of your choice from the book. Learn everything there is to know about that potion, and write an essay on it. 90 inches of parchment minimum from each person…" He eyed the class up dubiously. "A Kindergartner could do it. Are there any questions?"

Silence whirled through the room, aside from the constant ‘creaks’ let off by chairs as students began to turn to make eye contact with their best friends, mentally making their plans to work together. Remus spotted most people trying to look at Ana. She had been in the class less than a month, but everyone, even Slytherins knew that working with her would pay off in a high grade. And as talented as Snape was, he wasn’t one for teamwork. Even James and Sirius were shooting glances her way, though she appeared to be lost in thought, staring vacantly at her desk. Remus tried to ignore her.

Professor Stikupas’s voice boomed over them. "When I call your name, tell me who you would like to work with. First come, first serve basis, and no changes, unless you come and talk to me personally… better be a damn good reason too…" he summoned his clipboard off his desk. He began at the beginning of the alphabet, of course.

"Ana Anblick?"

She looked up, startled. Everyone stared at her, most smiling, some trying to look attractive. Some Slytherin boys had resorted to rolling up their sleeves and flexing their biceps in her direction. She straightened in her chair as she looked around. She glanced at Remus, who made no move to straighten up. He simply raised his eyebrows in smug apathy.

She raised an eyebrow of her own to that.

The next few words that came out of her mouth were by far the most shocking, most disturbing and utterly horrifying words Remus, or anyone else, could imagine, and see as how they sat in the smelly pits of the dungeon, that was saying something. She smiled sweetly.

"I will work with Severus Snape."