By the Numbers

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Author's note:

Remus uses different words to activate the Marauder's Map because I have a hard time believing that Fred and George somehow came up with the exact phrase on their own. (Not that they're stupid, but honestly, what are the chances that they would be able to guess correctly?) The intent of the words is the same, as I think that is what the map responds to more so than the words themselves. That's my theory, anyway. :o)

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"Sirius Black has been spotted in the castle."

Remus froze, and his face turned white. His hands suddenly felt very cold. "She didn't say if anyone's been hurt," he said hoarsely.

"No, she didn't. I'm sure we'll find out what happened as soon as we get to the Great Hall." I got up and started looking for my clothes. The manner in which I had shed them, while fun, was not at all conducive to getting dressed in a hurry. I was looking for my left shoe when I noticed that Remus was still sitting on the edge of the bed. "Remus?"

"It's my fault," he said in a dead voice. "It's all my fault."

"Remus, what are you talking about?" I scooped his clothes up from the floor and walked back across the room. "Here, get dressed. We'll go find out what's really happened, rather than sitting here thinking the worst." I stroked his hair in I what hoped was a comforting manner.

He looked up at me as though he had forgotten I was there. He stood up, grabbing my hand and kissing it gently. He started pulling on his clothes, still in a trance. I spotted my missing shoe under the desk, and went to retrieve it. By the time I turned back to him, some life seemed to have come back into Remus' face and he was ready to go hunt for his former friend.

*****

I was musing on the strange turn the night had taken while searching for signs of Sirius Black in the Astronomy Tower. Aurora Sinistra was chatty and clueless as usual, and I was only half listening to her ramblings.

"I bet Sev that Gryffindor would win, and now he owes me dinner at the Three Broomsticks."

"That'll be nice," I murmured vaguely. I doubted that 'Sev' knew he had committed to this wager. I just hoped he wouldn't blame me for it. "Do you see anything out of place, Aurora?"

"No, everything looks the way I left it," she said after checking behind the largest telescope. "I don't think anyone's here."

"I don't think so either." I gazed at the waning moon though one of the telescopes, and shivered. I was beginning to hate its pull on Remus; I was jealous of the moon.

"So, you're with Lupin now. I've never known anyone who was with an animal like a werewolf." I was amazed at her tactlessness.

"He's not an animal, Aurora," I snapped. "He can't control what happens to him during the full moon. The rest of the time, he's just a man."

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Can I ask how it's going with him if I don't call him an animal?"

I felt a tiny bit remorseful for snapping at her, but her ignorance annoyed me. "What makes you think we're together, anyway?"

"If you really have to ask, you're thicker than everyone thinks I am. The two of you look at each other as if you've either just finished shagging or are about to start regardless of who else is around."

It would not have surprised me in the least if I had burst into flame right then. "We don't really look like that, do we?"

"You do," she said smugly. "It's all anyone talks about in the Staff Room when you're not around. Well, unless Minerva or Sev are there. Sev always makes some mean comment about whoever brings up the subject, and you know how Minerva hates gossip."

I didn't doubt that most of Severus' 'mean comments' had been directed at Aurora herself. It mystified me that she still thought he enjoyed her company; he could be very cruel. She really was thick.

"Well." I didn't really have anything to say to these revelations. To my knowledge, I had never been the subject of such speculation before.

"So, is it just animal-sorry-lust, or are you really in love with him?" Her eyes glittered at the thought of delivering this scoop in the next gossip session.

"That's rather private, don't you think?" I was incredibly irritated by this entire topic of conversation.

"Right. Keep it to yourself, then." She shrugged, but I had the feeling she was just going to fabricate the details no matter what I might have said.

*****

I marched directly to Remus' side upon re-entering the Great Hall and grabbed his hand. Let them talk: I didn't care anymore. Remus seemed surprised, but squeezed back in greeting. He looked very pale and unhappy, but Dumbledore began to address the assembled staff before we could speak to each other.

"Unfortunately, we have found no sign of Black in the castle or on the grounds. Effective immediately, increased security measures are to be implemented. Please, keep yourselves vigilant at all times for anything that seems odd or out of place. We must do what we can to maintain the safety of the students in our care. If anyone comes across any information that might be important, please, bring it to my attention as soon as possible."

"Remus, you're hurting me," I whispered in his ear. He immediately loosened his crushing grip on my hand.

Everyone started filing out, under Dumbledore's order to try to get at least a few hours of sleep even though it was nearly morning. I started toward the doors, but Remus didn't even budge when I tugged on his hand. The look on his face when I turned back to him was rather alarming.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," he said quietly. "I should never have thought I could live with myself, when I have been so dishonest with you. You deserve better than anything I can give you."

"What are you trying to say, Remus?" My heart had sunk to somewhere around my knees.

"Just that, maybe, you and I, shouldn't...anymore." He couldn't even look at me, much less get out a full sentence.

"Stop that! I don't want to hear this anymore. Every time you say things like that, like you think I deserve better than you, it makes me want to scream." It was a huge struggle to keep my voice down. "You have no idea how much that hurts me. What does that say about the fact that I love you? That you think I'm settling for you, when nothing could be further from the truth? It's insulting."

"I-I didn't mean to insult you," he stammered. I think he was stunned by my unusual ferocity. "It's just-"

"No. I'm not having this conversation right now. We're both very tired. I'm going to get some sleep." I let go of his hand and walked away, leaving him standing there as I went up to my own room, alone.

*****

The following week was very strange. Everyone was jumpy, half-expecting Sirius Black to leap out from behind a tapestry at any moment. Hagrid was not the source of comfort he usually was for me. Instead, he was completely obsessed with his upcoming trip to London, where the Hippogriff that had attacked Draco Malfoy was going up before the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The very name of that committee left very little room in my mind for hope of a happy outcome. Poor Buckbeak, and most especially, poor Hagrid. He got so attached to his 'dangerous creatures.'

I had a better understanding of Hagrid, now that I was so very attached to Remus, my own occasionally dangerous creature. He was mine, even if things were rather strained between us. He seemed always on the verge of revealing something, but would change his mind (and the subject) the second he opened his mouth. It resulted in some very strange, disjointed conversations. I tried to have faith that he would tell me whatever it was when he was ready, but curiosity was driving me mad. By the following Saturday, I had nearly reached the limit of my patience.

Remus was grading his third years' vampire essays, while I was attempting to research for a lesson about amicable and sociable numbers. As I was feeling neither amicable nor particularly sociable, it was proving much more difficult than I had anticipated. I closed my book with a sharp crack. He looked up, startled. "Remus-"

"Lupin," Severus' voice roared through the fireplace. "I want a word."

"I'd better go. He sounds angry." He shoved aside the scrolls of parchment and stood.

I made a face. "He always sounds angry. Don't let him provoke you."

Remus took a pinch of Floo powder from the small jar on the mantle and sighed. "Have I ever mentioned how much I detest nearly every form of travel used by wizards?" He tossed it into the fire and said, "Snape's office." He stepped into the flames and spun out of sight.

Trust Severus to interrupt just as I was about to bite the bullet and just ask Remus what was bothering him. I should have known better than to ask a question that I didn't really want the answer too, but I had to find out. I didn't think it was healthy for us to have such secrets from each other

For a little while, I rifled through the pages of the thick reference book, making random notes that would more than likely be completely useless later. I gave up and stared into the fire until I dozed off.

"Do you really want to know my secrets?"

"Yes."

"Be careful what you wish for..." Remus started to transform, his body melting and lengthening and

changing until he was no longer Remus. The wolf snarled, showing long, vicious white teeth. I couldn't move. The wolf crouched down, preparing to leap.

"Anna, wake up." I opened my eyes to find myself looking into Remus' concerned face. "You were having a nightmare."

I touched his cheek, reassuring myself that it was really him. "You showed me the wolf. Your wolf. I was afraid of you. I've never been afraid of you." I couldn't stop shaking.

"You will never see me like that, if I can help it," he said fervently. "Never."

"Please, Remus, I just need to feel that you still have arms." He demonstrated that he did, indeed, still have arms, as I laughed a bit over my own ludicrous statement. "It was just a dream, you know. I'm not afraid of you."

He squeezed me tightly once more and then let go. "It's okay to be afraid of the wolf in me, Anna. I am."

"Remus, I was going to ask you-no, to be honest, I was going to demand that you tell me whatever it is that you seem to want to tell me. But I don't want you to feel obligated to share anything unless you want to. But I hope you trust me enough to know that your secrets are safe with me."

"It's not that I don't trust you. Some secrets are just better left that way." He hesitated for a moment before seeming to come to a decision. "I can share this with you."

He pulled a ragged piece of parchment from his pocket. I groaned. "That's not another love letter, is it?"

He chuckled, a bit of mischief returning to his eyes. "No. Just watch."

He touched the tip of his wand to the parchment. "I sincerely pledge that I am planning to engage in creative disobedience." Lines spread out across the parchment, and formed an amazingly detailed map of Hogwarts and the surrounding grounds, populated with tiny labelled dots moving about.

"Where did you get this?" I couldn't help but be impressed. I thought it was very clever.

"Well, just now I stopped Snape from confiscating it from Harry by confiscating it myself." He paused, grinning a trifle guiltily. "Originally, I helped make it."

I was even more impressed. "'Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," I read from the title of the map. "You're Moony, of course." I grinned up at him. "The others are James, Peter, and Sirius, aren't they?"

"Yes. Just nicknames," he said quickly.

"This is how Sirius knows how to get into the castle, isn't it? From the exploring that you must have done to make this so complete."

"Mmm," he murmured noncommittally.

I looked at him sharply. "Remus, if there's more, you should tell Dumbledore."

"I know," he said without meeting my eyes.

"I'm not asking you about it, Remus. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, remember?"

"I don't ever want to disappoint you," he said quietly.

As much as I was confused by that apparent non-sequiter, the look in his eyes when he finally looked directly at me went straight to my heart. "You haven't yet."

*****

"Hermione? Shouldn't you be in class?" Hermione Granger was sitting on the sixth floor landing, looking rather shell-shocked. "Are you alright?"

She looked up. "I quit."

"Quit what? School?" I had been afraid that the Time-Turner might have been getting to her. She looked so utterly exhausted, she reminded me of Remus on the day after a full moon.

"Of course not." She sounded scandalized. "Just Divination."

"Oh." I sat down beside her, repressing the urge to laugh. "You know, Hermione, I quit Divination, too."

"Really? Why did you?"

I shrugged. "Probably the same reasons you did. It just didn't make sense to me to try to see things in a clump of tea leaves when numbers are so much more precise."

She nodded in understanding. "I got tired of Professor Trelawney telling Harry he was going to die every class."

"Every class?" Constantly predicting the death of a student didn't sound like an appropriate teaching method to me, but Sybill was rather odd.

"Well, nearly. She has him seeing the Grim everywhere," she said, choking back a giggle.

"Well, that's just silly. Re-Professor Lupin tells me that a Grim never leaves the graveyard that it is guarding. So no need to worry about Harry." I had received an impromptu lesson on animals commonly regarded as death omens just a few nights before, as Remus was preparing to teach his first years about them after the Easter holiday.

"I should probably go to the library and study Cheering Charms. I forgot to go to Charms class today." She looked deeply ashamed.

"How did you forget to go to class?" That was very unlike her, but I was certain that the Time-Turner probably had something to do with it.

"I-I got distracted. Malfoy made me so angry, calling Hagrid pathetic. Maybe I shouldn't have hit him."

"You hit Draco Malfoy because he insulted Hagrid?" It would be unseemly for me to praise her, but I was quite proud of her for standing up for Hagrid, especially against the Malfoy boy. I had noticed his subtle cruelty to her and several other students in my class, and was certain he was more obvious about it when there were no teachers around.

Her face turned bright red. "You probably have to give me a detention, now that you know what I did."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Hermione. I didn't see you do anything to anyone." I grinned at her. "Sounds as though you're having quite a day, though."

She sighed. "I hope nothing else happens. I don't think I could take it."

"You know, I bet Professor Flitwick would spend some time helping you out with Cheering Charms if you ask him." I got up to leave. I had an enormous pile of study materials to get together for my students before the Easter holiday.

"I already talked to him." She stood, too. "Now I need to go tell Professor McGonagall that I walked out on Professor Trelawney. I hope she's not too disappointed in me."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much." I knew Minerva was more likely to be thrilled than disappointed, given her attitude toward Divination in general, and Sybill Trelawney in particular.

*****

"You know, I never got to properly thank your house-elf for sneaking me into the Gringotts Ball," Remus said when I invited him home for Easter dinner. "I'd like to give her a little something, as a thank you. Not clothes, obviously. It wouldn't do to insult her."

"Mina snuck you into the Ball?" I was surprised. She certainly hadn't mentioned it.

"How did you think I got in?" He looked at me thoughtfully.

"I hadn't thought about it really. I was just so thrilled to see you, I didn't care how you got there." He smiled, but it didn't fully reach his eyes.

"Well, I didn't have an invitation, and I certainly wouldn't pass for a high society gentleman." He indicated the somewhat threadbare robe he was currently wearing.

I was completely oblivious to his meaning. "Oh, I suppose it would be difficult to get past Gringotts security without an invitation, especially if they didn't know you."

"You really don't see the exterior of people, do you?" he asked, with a small grin.

"What do you mean?" I was utterly confused by this turn of conversation.

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Don't be difficult." He leaned across the couch and put his hand over my eyes. "Now, describe me as if I were lost and you're telling someone who's never met me what to look for."

"Remus, this is silly." I tried to push his hand away, but he easily resisted my efforts. "Fine." I gave up. "Let's see...always needs a haircut; tall enough to be a good dance partner, but not so tall that I have to reach up too far to kiss him; fantastic smile that always makes me want to kiss him-"

He took his hand away, laughing. "Stop that. I'm serious, and you're just being ridiculous so that I'll leave you alone."

"I am not!" I was indignant. "You asked me a question, and I'm answering it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Now I want you to leave me alone."

"Do Snape."

"What?"

"Describe Snape for me." He was grinning.

"You're aggravating me, you know." I decided to humor him, anyway. "He's...tall; terrible sense of humor, he almost never smiles; sharp eyes, never misses a trick; devoted to potions, Dumbledore, and Hogwarts, in that order; the sinister attitude is mostly a façade, I think-" I stopped, noticing Remus' fading smile. "You asked."

"You like him, don't you?"

"Well, we always got on well enough, before-"

"Before I came along, right?" He sounded defensive.

"Really, Remus, now you're the one being ridiculous. I've never had more than a casual friendship with Severus. He could never be what you are to me. I certainly wish him well, but the whole thing with him stealing that letter is just...creepy. It doesn't bear thinking about anymore. Maybe Aurora will win him over in the end, and he'll leave me alone for good." I shrugged.

Remus growled, "He had better leave you alone."

I rolled my eyes. "Excessive possessiveness is not an especially attractive trait, you know."

At least he had the grace to look slightly ashamed.

"Did you have a point with this whole exercise in description?" I asked.

"I did, actually. It's just that I think you're special." He smiled and laced his fingers between mine.

I was inordinately pleased, if still confused. "That's sweet of you to say, but I don't follow your line of thought at all."

"You just have a unique way of looking at the world. Most people look at Snape and see a thoroughly disagreeable, slimy git. You see someone smart, loyal, and not quite as vile as he appears. On the other hand, I know you can't stand Aurora Sinistra, who has a fairly pleasant demeanor and is rather nice-looking. I don't know exactly what you see underneath that, but you're just not taken in by appearances." His smile suddenly turned shy. "I like that you see beneath the surface of people."

"You think Aurora Sinistra is nice looking?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Anna, focus. I'm complimenting you." It was his turn for eye rolling.

"Sorry, I was distracted by the discovery that you find over-processed hair and excessive use of cosmetic charms 'nice-looking.'" I was less than half-serious; even though I hadn't told Remus much about the conversation Aurora and I had had in the Astronomy Tower, I knew he didn't care much more for her than I did.

"I didn't say I thought she was particularly attractive. I just meant, in a general sense..." I wondered if there was something perverse about the pleasure I got from making the usually composed Remus Lupin blush and stammer in such a manner. "What I mean is...You're more..."

I finally stopped him with a kiss. "Remus, I know what you meant."

"I must really love you, to want to be with you even though you treat every piece of furniture as a bookcase," he said, pulling a book out from between the couch cushions beneath him. The sharp corner had been poking him in the ribs. His own books always made it back to their shelves when he was done with them. That neatness had a tendency to exasperate me as much as my general untidiness did him. We agreed to disagree on the matter, although that did not prevent good-natured teasing. "I just don't understand how you can have a mind ordered enough to do astronomical sums in your head and yet you live in such chaos."

"I'll alphabetize everything I own first thing in the morning." I pulled him down with me onto the rug in front of the fireplace. "Better?"

"Much." He then proceeded to demonstrate an excellent use of a book-free horizontal surface.

Some time later, he asked, "What would a house-elf such as Mina like for a gift?"

"You're thinking of Mina right now? That's a little...disturbing, Remus," I said, still a bit breathless.

He laughed. "No, I was just thinking about going to your house for Easter. I want to make a good impression."

He must really have been nervous: I'd never known Remus to care much about anyone else's opinion of him. "Don't worry. You've met almost everyone already. Mina likes you, obviously, or she wouldn't have smuggled you into Gringotts. Cassie likes you. Her parents will be there, and they're great. They'll love you just because I do."

"I was mostly concerned about your father," he said, absently winding a lock of my hair around his finger. "He didn't seem to care much for me when we met before."

I was a little worried about that, too. "Well, I admit, New Years Eve was not exactly a shining moment for him. He doesn't usually act that way, though, and he did promise to behave himself."

"Did he?" Remus chuckled. "I'll try to do the same."

"I can't imagine that he won't like you. He just wasn't prepared to give you a chance, before." I sat up and looked down at him. "Do you think your parents would have liked me?"

"Oh, most definitely." He smiled wistfully. "My mum always had her nose in a book, like you do. She was an editor for Obscurus Press. My Dad spent a lot of time at work, fundraising for research into a cure for lycanthropy. For obvious reasons, he took it very seriously. He was a lot of fun, though. We used to pull pranks on each other, charming things to appear out of nowhere at the most startling moment possible, or to make obnoxious noises in public." He grinned. "I guess that's where I got my sense of humor."

"That would explain it." I smiled as a sudden vivid image popped into my mind: young Remus, slipping some enchanted object into his father's briefcase, barely suppressing his glee at the mayhem it was sure to cause.

I didn't know if it was more tragic or less that it had been an accident. There was no one to blame: wizards can run the same risks as Muggles when we choose to drive on their roads. He had blamed himself for a long time, since they had been playing at being Muggles on their way to visit him at the Muggle school where he had his first job. He was finally able to put most of the guilt behind him and remember his parents' mostly happy lives rather than their fiery death.

"What about your mother? Was she much like you?"

I laughed. "No, not at all. She was very graceful and refined. She despaired of ever making me into a proper lady."

"Well, I, for one, have no use for a 'proper lady,'" said Remus, giving me a most improper kiss.

I sighed blissfully and nestled into his arms.

"You still haven't helped me with my house-elf gift question."

"My goodness, you have a one-track mind. Let's see. Mina is absolutely fascinated by Muggle kitchen gadgets. Especially ones that need electricity. Dad had the kitchen rigged with an outlet, so she can actually use them. My grandmother gave her a blender for Christmas last year and Dad said she served something pureed at every meal for months."

"Does she have a toaster?"

I did a quick mental inventory of the kitchen at home. "No, I don't think so."

"Fancy a trip to Muggleworths on Saturday?"

"That sounds like fun." I chuckled, imagining Mina's joy at receiving such a gift. "I hope Dad likes toast."

*****

"Wait a second." Remus stopped me just as were about to arrive at the Apparition point inside the Hogsmeade limits. He looked rather agitated.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He took a deep breath. "I just need a moment to prepare myself.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Remus, you're not going to be burned at the stake. It's only dinner."

"I know." He laughed, too, if a bit sheepishly. "I'm not sure why I'm so nervous."

I squeezed his hand. "I promise that I will still want you even if my father absolutely hates you. Although I am certain that he won't."

"Let's go, then." A moment later, we were standing in the tiny garden between the Apothecary shop and the house. I offered Remus a sympathetic smile as he held the kitchen door open for me. I was glad that he returned it quite easily; apparently he felt a bit more confident.

Mina was enthralled by the toaster. Remus and I exchanged a grin as she immediately started rummaging through the cupboards in search of bread and items that could be served on toast. My father must have heard the commotion, and came into the kitchen to investigate.

"Anna, darling. You're here!" he exclaimed, crossing the kitchen to sweep me into an enthusiastic embrace. "I've missed you. You should come home more often."

Trust my dad to make me feel welcome, loved, and guilty all at once. "Hi, Dad." I returned his hug and kissed him on the cheek. "You remember Remus Lupin?"

Remus stepped forward, offering his hand. "Hello, Mr. Vector. Thank you for having me to dinner."

To my great relief, Dad shook Remus' hand enthusiastically. "Welcome, welcome. Anna tells me wonderful things about you. Shall we head into the parlor? Everyone else is already here."

I walked into the parlor first, and immediately froze. My father only just avoided crashing into me. "What's wrong, Love?"

"What is he doing here?" I hissed. Standing near the piano, trying to escape a conversation with the animated Ivan Vablatsky, was Severus Snape.

"Severus is my guest; please treat him as such." He spoke quietly but sternly, as if I were a child who needed to be scolded into minding her manners.

I opened my mouth to say something unnecessarily harsh, but was stopped by Remus' hand on my arm. "Shall we go say hello to Cassandra? I haven't seen her since Halloween."

Dad nodded approvingly at Remus. I was not at all pleased that they were already conspiring with each other in such a manner, but at least they seemed to have found something in common. I just wished it were something other than trying to make me behave. I glared at Remus as he led me toward where Cassie was trying to teach Geoffrey, Dad's apprentice, how to read omens in the fireplace.

He paused for a moment, picking up a framed photograph from an end table. "I just want us all to have a nice dinner. Without any scenes. Please."

He looked so earnest that I couldn't deny him. "All right. I'll be nice."

"Thank you." He smiled, looking at the picture he held. "You do look like your mother."

"I suppose." I had stared at the woman in that picture, with her contented smile and occasional sedate wave, too many times over the years to see more than a vague image of someone I had once known. Through Remus' fresh eyes, I remembered her as she had been when she wasn't posing for a portrait: poised and genteel, certainly, but also full of fun and ready to laugh. I wished I could have introduced Remus to her. She would have liked him.

"Anna, Remus, come over here and show Geoffrey how to properly make up predictions. He's doing it all wrong." Cassie called across the room.

Remus turned out to have quite a talent for inventing plausible-sounding forecasts, full of just enough woe and doom to have satisfied Sybill Trelawney.

"Stop it, or you'll have me out of a job," Cassie laughed, as Remus foretold of a 'creature of shadow and flame' appearing in Geoffrey's near future.

"Oh, he got that from a Muggle book. Don't be too frightened, Geoffrey." He looked far too impressed by the menacing description of the Balrog that Remus had cadged from Tolkien.

"Don't question the fire omens, my dear. The fates have informed me that you will soon be accosted by a man with a club." Remus' impersonation of Sybill's misty voice was uncanny.

"Aren't you going to introduce your young man to the rest of us, Anna dear?" I turned to see Ivan approaching the fireplace with what could only be a new model of a Quidditch club.

My mother would have been appalled at my lack of manners. I introduced Remus to Cassie's parents, grateful that Severus seemed to have left the room. No doubt my father was showing him some fascinating new potions paraphernalia in the shop.

Remus was immediately pressed into service testing out the effectiveness of the new Quidditch club on its companion product: indoor practice Bludgers that would vanish before hitting anything, and then reappear as if flying from a different direction.

I pulled Cassie aside. "You have to distract Severus. Just keep him away from Remus and me. Please."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's a lot to ask. I don't know if I'm up to something of that magnitude."

"Please, Cassie," I begged. "I'll owe you. He hasn't been at all pleasant to me lately. I don't know why he chose to come here, but it can't be good."

"Oh, that sounds lovely," she said sarcastically. "'Entertain the psychopath so that my sweetheart and I can have a peaceful meal.' No thanks."

"Cass-oh!" Inspiration struck. "You have to do it. You still owe me for going with you on that double date last summer, when I got stuck with that dreadful man who kept bursting into sappy love songs for no reason and then wouldn't stop sending me owls until I started returning his letters coated with Forgetfulness Potion."

She scowled. "Fine. I'll do it. But we are so even now. I'm never asking you for anything ever again."

I grinned. "Fabulous." This might have been the first time I'd ever gotten the best of a deal with Cassie. She could be very crafty.

The testing of the prototype Bludgers came to a crashing halt as one failed to evaporate before smashing though a window.

"Well, looks like these need a little more work before we can sell them," Mr. Vablatsky said jovially as he pulled out his wand and fixed the window.

His wife shook her head in resignation. "That's why I won't let him play in my house anymore until he can get those things to recognize windows. The sound of breaking glass was really starting to unnerve the cat."

*****

There was a moment of silence as we all sat down to dinner: it was one of the oddest meals I had ever seen, which is saying quite something as I have dined with Albus Dumbledore on many occasions. Ham, potatoes, carrots, everything was chopped and arranged on slices of toast on each plate. I didn't dare look at Remus, as I didn't want to hurt Mina's feelings by laughing at the meal she had obviously worked very hard to make special.

"What is this?" Geoffrey poked at a piece of toast, cut into the shape of a star and spread with marmalade. There were also hearts with strawberry jam.

"It's toast, of course." Dad acted as though it were completely normal to have meals served in this manner. "Must be some new trend amongst the local house-elves Mina is trying out on us."

"Actually, Remus gave her a toaster. She went a bit above and beyond for him when he came by at New Years." I picked up what was essentially an open-faced ham sandwich and cautiously took a bite. I saw Mina peeking around the kitchen door. She beamed when I said, "It's good."

"The way this family treats its servants is most unusual." Severus shook his head.

"Well, Mina has been here even longer than Anna has." Dad winked at me.

Trying not to drop my food in my lap consumed most of my attention during the meal. Dad and Remus were getting along famously: it appeared that Remus had fully won his approval with the gift to Mina.

I hadn't thought about it much until Severus pointed it out, but we did tend to treat Mina quite differently than most families treated their house-elves. I supposed it was because my mother had been Muggle-born, and her family hadn't had servants at all. She hadn't quite known what to do with the house-elf that her new in-laws had bestowed upon her, and so treated her more as an assistant and a part of the family, rather than an indentured servant.

From across the table, I heard a foreign sound: Severus laughing. He and Cassie seemed to be getting along quite well. Wonders would never cease.

I hadn't realized before, since everything had been on toast and I hadn't needed to use it, but the table was set with the good silver. "Oh! Remus, stop!" He was reaching for his fork in order to eat his pie. I snatched it out from under his hand before he touched it. "That fork has something on it. I'll get you another." I could feel several pairs of eyes looking at me curiously as I went to the kitchen to replace the silver fork with one that wouldn't burn Remus.

"I is not putting dirty forks on the table, Miss Anna!" Mina was incensed that I should insult her housekeeping in this manner.

"I know. I'm sorry. He's just...allergic. To silver." I knew she was still miffed, but I would just have to make it up with her later. I stepped back into the dining room and my heart stopped.

"A werewolf?" My father sounded shocked. "Severus, that's a rather serious accusation."

"It's true." Remus spoke softly, but with obvious effort. "I thought Anna might have told you."

"I hadn't quite gotten around to it." I seemed to be having a hard time breathing. The desire to hex Severus was very difficult to resist. "I wanted you to get to know him, first."

"A werewolf, dear?" Celinka Vablatsky looked quite pale as she edged her chair back from the table a bit. She seemed to be preparing to escape if necessary. Her husband patted her arm reassuringly.

"I'm sure Anna wouldn't bring anyone home who she thought might be dangerous." Ivan looked a bit dangerous himself, as he eyed Remus from across the table.

"Of course I wouldn't." I crossed the room and stood behind Remus, my hand on his shoulder. "I just didn't want him to be judged for something that isn't his fault, the way you're all doing right now. It isn't fair."

"I knew he was a werewolf as soon as I met him," Cassie piped up. "I could see it in his aura. But he shouldn't have to tell anyone unless he wants them to know. And it's not really anyone else's place to do so, either." She shot Severus a glare that could easily have matched one of his own.

My father looked like he had a headache. "He does seem nice, Darling, but a werewolf? Anna, do you even understand-"

"Stop treating me as if I am a stupid child, and stop talking about Remus as if he isn't even here." This reaction was the reason I hadn't told my father. "Geoffrey, if you want to leave, leave. Stop whimpering like that. He isn't going to bite you."

With a strangled yelp, Geoffrey leaped out of his chair and fled the room.

My father frowned. "Anna, really. There's no reason to be rude."

That was the final straw. "You don't think you're all being rude to Remus? Even if you don't care about hurting him, don't you care about me? You're my family. You're supposed to be the ones who want me to be happy and he-. You-you-" I couldn't stop a great hiccupping sob from escaping.

Remus reached up and took my hand. "It's all right. Please, sit down."

I sat. "It's not all right. I won't let you be treated like this."

He squeezed my hand. "I'm used to it. They only want to protect you because they love you. I understand their point." He turned to my father. "Mr. Vector, I am so sorry that you had to find out this way. I can understand your concern, but I honestly love your daughter more than anything. You have my word that I will not allow anything to harm her, myself included."

"Your word?" Severus, apparently, couldn't stay out of it any longer. "What is the value of a promise from a Dark creature, Lupin?"

"Severus, please." My father and Remus spoke at the same time, in the exact same tone of voice. This was immediately followed by identical snorts of amusement from Cassie and her father.

"You know, the fact that he is a werewolf is not the only thing I can see from his aura." Cassie was squinting at Remus in the intense way she had when she was really trying hard to read somebody. "He would do anything not to hurt anyone, not just Anna. I think don't think we should worry too much. Anna's not stupid, she knows him better than anyone, and if she trusts him, we should, too."

"Are you sure, Cassandra?" Celinka still looked a bit alarmed, but she had great faith in her daughter. "I wouldn't want Anna getting into something dangerous. She's had more than enough troubles, you know."

It was driving me absolutely wild to be spoken about as if I weren't in the room. "Have you all finished deciding whether or not I am competent to leave the house without constant supervision?"

"Really, Anna, I don't know where you get this temper. Your mother was very level-headed." My father was shaking his head.

"I'm not her." I wanted to throw something across the room, but didn't quite have the heart to smash the nice china. I settled for crumpling my napkin in one hand and crushing it into my untouched apple pie.

My father blinked at me in surprise. "Anna, will you join me in the study, please? Excuse us." He rose and indicated that I should follow him out the door. Remus squeezed my hand once and then let go. I took a deep breath and followed my father to the study.

*****

I walked into the room prepared for battle. I was stunned when my father grabbed me into a huge bear hug. "I'm sorry. I've been very unfair to you."

"Dad..." I didn't know what to say.

"I still miss your mother every single day. In some ways, you are so much like her that I forget that not only are you not a little girl anymore, you are your own person entirely." He hugged me again.

"You have to remind yourself that I'm not a little girl anymore?" I was so relieved that I couldn't resist teasing him. "Dad, I'm nearly thirty."

"Good heavens! How did that happen?" He grinned briefly. "I love you very much, and I want you to be happy. You youngsters will have enough problems with the rest of the world if you're really going to make a go of it. Your family should support you, and I, for one, will do anything I can to help you. But I won't pretend that I'm not concerned, because lycanthropy is a very serious affliction."

"I know-" I started to interrupt, but he put up a hand to stop me.

"Just listen, please. I like Remus, I really do. I can see that he loves you, and I'm glad. But you both need to be careful. He is probably used to taking precautions, but you need to be less impulsive and just...just be careful. I'm not the only one who would be upset if anything were to happen to you." He looked so uncharacteristically solemn, I couldn't help but take his words seriously.

"I promise to be careful. But Remus is just as much of a worrier as you are." I hadn't realized how similar Remus and my father were until today. It was sweet, but also a little unnerving.

"Shall we rejoin the party?" He offered me his arm.

I paused before taking it. "Will you please stop throwing Severus across my path, now?"

"What are you talking about, Darling?" He honestly looked confused. "I haven't done that since New Years."

"Well, you invited him here today." I thought it was obvious.

"Not everything is about you, my dear." He smiled in a slightly guilty manner. "He and Cassandra seemed to be getting along delightfully until he spilled the beans about Remus' secret."

"Oh, honestly," I said, exasperated. "Why is it your mission to find a woman for Severus?"

"He just needs a nice girl, someone to have fun with. He is entirely too serious for his own good." I couldn't believe that he was saying this without a trace of irony.

I didn't really have a response, so I just shook my head and headed back to the dining room with my father.

Remus was explaining to Ivan and Celinka how the Wolfsbane potion worked. They both looked fascinated and somewhat calmer, although Celinka, especially, still looked wary. Cassie and Severus were nowhere to be seen.

I returned to my seat next to Remus, and took another slice of pie. Remus gave me a questioning look, which I returned with a cheerful smile.

"All right, then?" he asked quietly.

"Perfect." I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Cassie came back in and flopped down into her chair. She looked decidedly cross as she addressed my father. "Severus had to leave. He thanks you for inviting him, and will owl you soon." I looked at her curiously, but she just shook her head slightly at me, scowling. I would just have to wait until later to find out what had happened between her and Severus.