Chapter 9

Things were seemingly perfect in Shaia Fletcher�s world. She had Sirius, she was in love with Remus, James and Lily were happy, and Peter was just� Peter.

The N.E.W.T.S. were creeping on her like she couldn�t believe and she spent every available moment in the library. Remus constantly teased her about it, but he never really minded. Usually after she was done studying in the library for the night, he�d have an extra hour or two to spend with her, cramming for their tests and the like. He had never realized how truly brilliant she was.

Christmas passed with the handing out of gifts, the exchange of hugs and kisses, and the wonderful feeling that everyone had when knowing they had given the perfect gift. Shaia had never felt as special or as loved as she had spending that Christmas with Remus Lupin.

January came and went in a very fast whirlwind. Of course, Shaia had no time to pay the world attention. She had Remus, and that was all that suddenly mattered. Not even the fact that he disappeared for one night a month seemed to bother her. In fact, it fascinated her in a way she had never been before.

On top of the studying she had to do for the N.E.W.T.S., she also spent a lot of her time in the library studying werewolves. Every book she could possibly find having to do with the subject she read from the front cover to the back. She found out many interesting facts in order to understand her boyfriend better.

She was becoming amusedly aware of the fact that she was in love with someone considered to be so dangerous. It only made her love for Remus grow stronger. It was amazing.

She had also decided in her many endless nights at the library, she was going to study Animagi. Perhaps she could even become one. She read a book about it and found that usually the person who desires to become an Animagi must first choose an animal that he/she connects with. Shaia always felt her kinship was with that of the feline species. Much of her studying went forward into that as well.

Of course, Remus would never know.

Yet as she continued to study and practice, she found it immensely frustrating. How could three of her friends have accomplished such a fantastic feat in a short amount of time? By May, she was ready to give up.

He saw her sitting in the library one beautiful day. Remus had been so happy for the past few months that he had forgotten to think about his transformation once a month. He always kept a close watch on what night it would be, but it didn�t disturb him as much as it used to. But one thing did. He couldn�t let Shaia in on any of it. Any more than he already had at least.

One night, while studying in the common room, sitting very closely to her on the couch, he happened to flip through one of her many textbooks. It contained animal related spells including transfigurations, charms, potions, and certain plants and herbs that aided in these studies. Remus didn�t find it on purpose, but it was there, staring him in the face. He couldn�t believe Shaia had never seen it or mentioned it to him.

That was his goal that wonderfully golden May day. No one could have ever expected that he would be having his transformation in three nights� time. He was in such high spirits because of Shaia even his own friends noticed a sudden buoyancy in his normally calm, reserved demeanor. The bright sun was definitely helping to brighten his mood. Not to mention the thought that in one month, he would be out of Hogwarts and on to bigger things. He would be graduated and out there, hopefully with Shaia by his side.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team had since won the Cup, resulting in a huge party thrown in the common room. It only ended when Lily insisted James get to bed, and he had of course given in.

Studying for the N.E.W.T.S. was becoming every seventh-years�s all time consuming activity. Shaia, Lily, Remus, James, Peter, and Sirius could usually be seen crowded together in the common room, sharing notes, textbooks, and old homework. Shaia was usually the most dependable with good notes and old work. Remus would always beam with pride when she knew exactly what assignment her friends were describing and would then proceed to pull it out to share.

But on this ordinary Saturday, Remus was going to impress Shaia. He�d found a spell to end all. It was going to ensure his and Shaia�s safety in what he hoped would be their life together.

Her hand was on her forehead, as she was frustrated with her studying. The quill in her hand was moving rapidly across the paper. He smiled to himself as he sat across from her at the table.

�Hey, you,� he said quietly to her. She looked up from her work, her brown eyes alight.

�Hey, yourself. What are you doing? I thought you despised the library,� she said, her tone playful.

He sat down across from her and Shaia felt his leg bump hers. He shrugged. �Is it so wrong for me to venture down here to check something out?�

She shook her head, peering back down at her work. �Only if it�s a book and not� something else.�

Remus could only cough to hide his laughter, but Shaia smiled anyway. She continued to copy down notes and finish her homework. �So, I have something to tell you.� She looked up, wondering what he was up to. All he did was grin mysteriously.

�Oh yes?� she asked. �What is it?�

�Oh, impatient are we?� Remus asked, sitting back and relishing in his torture.

�Yes, of course I�m impatient! You know me better than that,� she protested, setting her quill down. �I�m not busy, what�s going on?�

He peered over the top of the book she was reading. It appeared to be a text discussing magical monsters and their powers. Remus couldn�t suppress a grin. He had to give it to Shaia. She was awfully curious, and when she wanted to know something, usually she found out. He wouldn�t have been the slightest bit surprised if she knew more about werewolves than he did. She seemed to understand when he told her about certain things in confidence. In the confidence of the Astronomy Tower that is. Everything there was now open to interpretation.

This thought made Remus squirm in his chair uncomfortably. He suddenly had the irresistible urge to drag Shaia up there.

But he was going to tell her what he had found out in hopes that she would agree to it. He leaned over and sighed, fingering through the titles of her books. The one that he had seen the spell in was not here, but he remembered the title all too well.

�So what�s going on?� she pushed, getting fidgety. �Come on! Tell me!�

Shaia was the most impatient person he knew. It was a trait he found endearing. He looked around for any sign of the book and once again gave up. �All right, you know that book you had the other night? The one about the spells for animals? I think it was called Spells and Charms for Magical Creatures and Monsters?�

She looked up at him in surprise. �Very good. Yes, I remember that book. What about it?�
He sighed heavily, looking straight at her. �Do you remember any specific spells from that book?�

She stared straight forward, thinking hard. �Well� if I really recall� um� no.�

He smiled at her and replied, �There�s a spell in there about wolves. Do you remember?�

Again, she stared ahead in deep thought. �Is it wolves or werewolves?�

She was trying to be playful, but for reasons that he desperately wanted to convey to Shaia, he remained serious. He only shook his head and tapped his fingers on the table. �It was the only spell in there about werewolves, Shaia. Think hard about it. Do you remember?�

This time, she knew Remus was being earnest. Her face was set and her brain was working, but somehow she could not conjure up the memory of such a spell. She sighed. �Sorry, Remus I have no idea what you�re talking about.�

He groaned loudly. �Do you still have that book?�

�No,� she answered and before he could reply, she was out of her seat. �But I can find it, I know exactly where it is.�

Remus looked around and decided if he was going to talk to her about this now, he might as well do it privately. He got up to follow her and she went directly to it, pulling it off the shelf. Sitting down on the table adjacent from the shelf, Shaia and Remus opened the book as he flipped through the pages.

�I know I saw it in here somewhere,� he whispered to himself. Shaia looked up suddenly, as if seeing Remus for the first time.

�Are you going to tell me what this is all about?� she asked.

He looked at her quickly and then focused again on the book. �Well, I�d rather you read it. I can�t explain it at as well as the book can.�

�What�s it called? I might have heard of it.�

�Honestly, Shaia, I forgot,� he said, skimming the pages.

�Then how do you know where it is?�

Remus stopped flipping and placed his hands over the book. �Okay, okay. I�ll tell you. It�s called the Adligare Lupa, or the Wolf Connection Spell.� She looked puzzled, so he continued. �What it�ll do is connect a werewolf to a loved one so that when in wolf form, the two people will be safe together. If you and I were to do it, Shaia� we would be safe forever.�

Shaia wasn�t sure how to take it all in. It sounded like a wonderful idea, like an answer to a deep, dark prayer. Yet it also sounded dangerous.

�I don�t know, Remus� what about the risks involved?� she asked, not meaning to sound as frightened as she did.

He heard it and took her hand reassuringly in his. �Listen to me, I don�t want you to get hurt. I wouldn�t even suggest this if I knew you could. I want this for us. For our lives� our future.�

Shaia looked right up at Remus, into his misty brown eyes. �Our future?�

�Sure,� he said, shifting himself on the table. �Haven�t you ever thought about our future?�

Her face lit up at the thought. �Oh, Remus� I think about it all the time.� She leaned in and closed her eyes, placing her lips on top of his. He took it in hungrily, touching her cheek tenderly for his own comfort. Shaia pulled away first, staring into his eyes.

�So what do you think?� he whispered, looking down at their clasped hands. �Do you think it�s something you�d be up to doing?�

She faltered for a few seconds, scanning it over eagerly in her mind. The thought of never being in danger with the man she loved more than anything in the world appealed to her very much. A future with Remus was all that really mattered, and if there was a way to deal with his monthly transformations, she was completely for it. But then again� it did sound risky.

She pulled away from Remus and nodded toward the book. �Let me see the spell.�

Remus felt his heart leap for joy. She wanted to look at it� was she actually going to agree? Flipping through the book, Remus could feel his breath quickening. He was so excited, so enthralled� he had to find it. He had to make sure it was in here. That was all that mattered. He had to find it so Shaia could see and they could be together.

This meant forever.

�Remus! STOP! You skipped it,� she said, chuckling at his zeal. She put her hand on his and flipped the pages back expertly. �Adligare Lupa,� she recited under her breath. She took the book from Remus� lap and studied it carefully. �Aconite� mandrake�� she read the ingredients aloud to herself. Remus was watching her face carefully to see what expression would cross her face.

�This is very complicated,� she said pensively, �and a bit dangerous. You have to be in werewolf form to perform the spell?� He nodded. �And the next full moon is in?�

�Three days,� he finished for her. �I know.�

She bit her lip and stared at the pages. �We have to give our blood the night before, and it takes almost forty-eight hours to brew this particular potion��

Remus put his hand on top of Shaia�s. �If you don�t want to do this, tell me.�

She looked up at him worriedly. She�d been reviewing everything in her head, and he knew she was seriously considering it. �No, it�s not that. It�s just,� she looked back down at the book and sighed. �Wouldn�t it be easier for me to just became an Animagi?�

He ran his fingers through his hair. �Shaia, it takes years to train for that, not to mention the fact that you�d have to transform into a larger animal to subdue me.�

A tear rolled down Shaia�s cheek. �I�m so lost in all of this.�

Remus turned to her, collecting her protectively into his arms and pulling her close. She buried her face into his neck as he rested his cheek on her hair. He gently started playing with the strands. He dug his fingers into her hair, allowing each curl to linger briefly around his fingers. Every touch he could get from her he relished in. His skin burned on hers, his breathing ragged, his heart racing. Everything was right, everything was in its place. This was his Shaia. The woman he was going to spend eternity with. He loved her and he was never going to let her go.

Shaia placed her soft lips onto the curve of Remus� neck. He felt, with the utmost rapture, her eyelashes flutter against his skin. She closed her eyes and let her cool fingertips caress his cheek, and a shiver of excitement shot up his spine.

All he could do was savor the moment and she as well. Sighing against the fabric of his robes, Shaia brought her head up to meet him in the eye.

�I�ll do it.�

Shaia spent the next two days locked in her dorm, brewing the aconite potion and studying the spell very carefully. It wasn�t complicated, but it took a lot out of her. Remus was doing his part to help out, of course, but she knew that the weight of the spell rode mostly on her shoulders. Unfair as it seemed, again, she was not the one cured to be a werewolf.

Their blood had to be taken that night before they performed the spell and Shaia was very nervous. As much as Remus tried to assure her that it was safe, she couldn�t help but feel nervous. How many times had he said, �If it was an unsafe spell they would have put it in the Restricted Section, not the accessible part of the library�? Shaia still wrung her hands in anxiety.

They agreed to meet in the common room the night before the full moon. Unfortunately, Shaia was not close enough to having the potion done and couldn�t give it to Remus that night. Of course, by this time she was scared out of her mind. She told him this when they met that night.

�I don�t want you to be scared,� he told her, taking her hand as they stepped out of the portrait hole. �Just remember that this is for us. This is forever.�

The thought played a huge role in her mind, but she could never focus on it entirely. There was only one thing she was constantly thinking about.

What if it went wrong?

After their task in the Astronomy Tower, they spent the next few hours together. Once they were sure everything was in order, they left. Both were solemnly aware of what was to occur right there in exactly twenty-four hours.

The next day, all either person could think about was the spell. What was going to happen? Would it all work out? What if it didn�t?

The day passed faster than Shaia really cared for it to. Even her History of Magic class, the most boring class in the history of Hogwarts flew by uncharacteristically. All she could focus on was how much could go wrong. It helped when Remus shot her reassuring glances every now and then. He was also feeling nervous, but thought it best to put on a brave face for her. After all, it had been his idea. To back out now would be cowardly on his part.

Shaia barely heard anyone talking that night at dinner. Lily and James were fighting playfully about Divination homework (�Why don�t you just fake it?� �I don�t know� should I?� �Yes. Tomorrow, Lily Evans will be� lied to by a loved one.� �What? No, I won�t.� �Lil, that�s the point,�), Sirius and Peter were being very secretive, pouring over a faded piece of parchment. Sirius occasionally looked up and winked at Shaia. Remus was lost in deep, cloudy thoughts. He sat up and looked at Shaia when James leaned in to kiss Lily quickly. They smirked at the two and then just as hastily looked away. Shaia caught sight of her bandaged hand and her stomach started to churn. The potion was ready. It was time.

Remus followed Shaia back to the common room and stayed behind while she checked on the potion. They weren�t to go up to cast until midnight, but the sooner Remus drank the wolf�s bane, the better. As he waited calmly on the comfortable Gryffindor couch, Sirius and Peter entered and saw their friend.

�Are we marauding tonight?� Peter asked very quietly as Sirius looked on expectantly.

Remus looked up at the dorm stairs. �Yes, after midnight though.�

Sirius frowned. �Why midnight? Where are you going? I thought you would be in the Shrieking Shack again.�

He shrugged. �Just meet me there after midnight.�

Sirius opened his mouth to protest further, but Peter spoke before he could. �All right. Sounds like a plan.� Sirius closed his mouth and said no more.

Shaia reappeared at the top of the stairs with a smoking goblet. She handed it to Remus, who drank grudgingly. Grimacing at the taste, he handed it back to her, smiling weakly. She ran her hand comfortingly through his hair to relax him. She desperately needed it as well. It was only hours away. The tension was building.

They sat together in the common room for a while with the others, acting as if nothing strange was occurring. Shaia couldn�t help feeling as though Sirius was staring right through her, peering inside. It almost seemed like he was trying to figure out their secret. How did he even know she had a secret?

The common room began to think out through the course of the night until only the six friends remained. James and Lily sat by the fire, playing Exploding Snap. It was very entertaining to watch the two stealing kisses after they put up almost every card. They even got caught kissing in the blast once. Sirius was doing Potions homework with Peter, who was doing his Herbology. Remus and Shaia remained silent sitting next to each other, holding hands.

Another loud bang and a fit of giggles indicated the end of another game by the fire. James collected the cards as Lily stood up. They walked to the edge of the stairs together, kissed, and left. Peter then shut his books, smiled at Remus, and left the common room. The only people who remained were Remus, Shaia, and Sirius, who was still bent over his work. It was nearing midnight.

Shaia sat closer to him. �Is there anything you need help with?� It was a futile attempt to rush him to bed.

�No,� he answered simply, not looking up from his essay. �Just have to finish this,� he completed the sentence on the page and closed up. �Goodnight.�

Once they were sure that Sirius was gone, the two shared a very nervous glance. The tension was very heavy between them, but they were too far into all of this to stop.

Remus stepped close to Shaia, so close there was no light possible between them. Her breath on his face felt heavenly. He tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist in a protective gesture. Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking. She placed them on his shoulders and leaned into him. All she needed was reassurance. Anything to let her know it would be okay.

�We should get going,� he said quietly into her ear. She nodded, brushing the tears off of her face and turning to grab her stuff. Remus grabbed her hand quickly and turned her back around to face him.

�Hey, don�t cry. It�s all right, I�m scared too,� he said, wrapping her tightly against him. �It�s okay, we�re going to be together. This is for us.� He felt hot tears seeping down his cheeks as he kissed her hair. �I love you.�

�I love you,� she repeated softly.

Remus pulled away slowly and took her hand in his. �We should get going.�

As Shaia surveyed the wonderful man next to her, she noticed for the first time how pale and worn he looked. She never paid much attention to the way he looked during these days of the month because it never really mattered to her. She touched his face lightly and smiled, whispering, �Let�s go.�