Blood of the Moon {Remus Lupin}

Chapter 101

I will NOT make a joke about werewolf Dalmatians... :)

Auriga was having an afternoon brewing session with Remus and Tonks, with a week until the next full moon. They were topping up their supplies of polyjuice and healing potions, which had begun to run low after a group excursion to the food shops and the last couple of full moons. Auriga was planning on making that batch of wolfsbane tomorrow. They hadn't dared to go back to Diagon Alley yet, knowing security had been tightened.

There were actually a fair few competent brewers at Oakenmore Way. Auriga knew the twins were talented and intelligent, and she'd made them watch her brew wolfsbane and polyjuice before, but they were more interested in their applications in pranking. She'd made a note to keep an eye on the ingredients stocks. Sirius too had the ability, but they hadn't needed the extra pair of hands. And Molly, ever the hard worker, had needed a break.

Tonks on the other hand hadn't taken the news of her father well, and relished the distraction. She wasn't eating quite so much, and her hair, while pink, was dull and not at all vibrant. She'd practically glued herself to Auriga's side, and they were taking steps together to mourn their fathers.

There was a sudden thundering down the stairs, and Sirius burst into the kitchen, making Remus nick his finger with the knife. It began to bleed and Auriga gasped. "Don't get it in the polyjuice!" she exclaimed, making Remus chuckle as he quickly healed it.

"Always pleased to know how much you care," said Remus, making Tonks produce a weak smile.

"Well who wants nine Remus Lupins around?" Sirius teased his friend, taking a seat at the kitchen table. It seemed only Auriga saw the excited glint in his eye, as the others were still diligently brewing.

"I don't know," said Tonks, her voice monotone. "It sounds like Auriga's idea of heaven." Had Tonks not been stood next to three bubbling cauldrons, she would've received a large shove from Auriga. Having noticed her lack of reaction, Remus smiled to himself, keeping his eyes down.

Unable to bear the sheer frustration of being tormented, Auriga changed the subject. "What are you so excited about anyway?" she asked him, stirring the blood replenisher.

Remus's eyes went wide. "That's supposed to simmer!" he exclaimed.

Auriga shrugged. "It needed stirring."

"But the book-"

"And that, Mr Lupin, is why I got an O in potions NEWT, and you got a-?"

"An E," said Remus, somewhat glumly. "I don't understand. Why would you not follow the instructions?"

"The dittany and billywig stings were separating out and the point of simmering is for everything to mix together," Auriga explained, and Remus nodded, still a little confused.

"Why did you work in the Ministry if you're so good at magic and stuff?" asked Sirius with a frown.

Auriga shrugged again. "There are loads of people who are very talented at 'magic and stuff'," Auriga explained. "But there aren't so many who can speak as many languages as me and so well. And there aren't so many who are as well-spoken and presentable. IMC is the fastest way to the top."

"You'd be lucky to find anyone so modest, too," Remus added. Auriga grinned at him.

"Just stating the facts and the logic," she said.

"Well, I do love logic," said Remus, looking up at her, his eyes sparkling.

"Do you now?"

Tonks made a retching sound and Sirius cackled with laughter. "Anyway," he said, dabbing at his eyes. "I've thought of a name for your wolf." Auriga sighed and crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows. "Tufty."

"Oh for fucks sake," she muttered as Remus bent over double with laughter. "I'd prefer Mrs Moony to that."

"Language please, Malfoy," said Sirius, waving his finger at her. "And I don't appreciate you putting the finger up at my stroke of genius."

"Why can't we just call her, 'my wolf'?" Auriga asked, chopping more billywig stings.

"Because that's boring," said Sirius as Remus finally recovered.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, actually," said Remus, restoring the lightly serious mood. "What are your thoughts on Valentine's?"

"Oh, my favourite!" exclaimed Auriga, unable to help her childish excitement as she carefully put her knife down.

"Really?" asked Remus, his face lighting up. Lee came in with Fred and George, and they took their seats.

"Absolutely!" said Auriga. "Did you ever read his penultimate paper on the combination of alchemeic foundations with potions?"

Remus's face dropped a little as Sirius sniggered. "What are you talking about?"

"Professor Louis Valentine?" said Auriga, furrowing her brow. "Revolutionised eighteenth century potion making...Who are you talking about?"

"The holiday?" said Remus. "Where you spend time with the person you love?"

"Ohh," said Auriga, having a vague recollection of somebody at Hogwarts mentioning it to her. Probably Tonks. But she'd seen how excited his face was when she'd talked about how much she liked it. "Yes! I love it!"

"Oh, brilliant," said Remus, cheering up once more. "Fantastic." They went back to their brewing for a moment.

"Well, I think Tonks and I can take it from here," said Auriga lightly.

"Yes," said Remus quickly. "Yes, I have a book..." He trailed off already halfway out the door. Auriga watched him all the way down the hall and up the stairs until he was out of earshot.

"Really?" Auriga hissed across the table to Sirius. "The favourite holiday of Mr No-one-will-ever-love-me-because-I'm-a-werewolf is Valentine's day?" Sirius shrugged and Auriga rolled her eyes. How was that in any way logical? "When even is it?"

"Same as last year," said George unhelpfully. Auriga looked at him blankly.

"You really don't know?" asked Tonks, astounded.

"Why would I know that?" asked Auriga. "My parents picked the only boyfriend I had before Remus, and his favourite pastime was beating the living daylights out of me." Auriga sensed the mood in the room had dropped. "That was a joke," she added, and Sirius nodded slowly. "My point is, I've never wasted time on thinking about love, so what was the point of Valentine's Day?"

Fred cleared his throat, eyebrows raised. "It's-uh..." He trailed of as Sirius shook is head.

"What?" asked Auriga, looking between them. "Fred Weasley-" She tried her best teacher voice, but it didn't work. "Tonks?" she asked, turning to her friend.

Tonks looked helplessly between Sirius and Auriga, desperately trying to figure out how to survive. "It's tomorrow," she said eventually.

"Tomorrow!" exclaimed Auriga. "What am I supposed to do? I just give all my declarations of love as they come."

"Well," said Sirius. "Having been friends with Moony for years, I'd suggest a few silencing charms on your room and hey presto!"

Auriga's face went very hot. "Oh Merlin!" exclaimed Tonks, also turning pink. Lee burst out laughing and Fred got up and walked out, hands covering his ears.

"Why don't you just play him a song on the piano?" suggested George. "You must have written one that you can recycle for him?"

"That is a fantastic idea," exclaimed Auriga. One sprang to mind immediately. She'd want to tweak a few notes, make it sound less heavy and more like him, but that wouldn't take long at all! "Sirius, can you-?" she waved at the potions littering the table and he nodded, jumping forward. Auriga ran all the way up the three flights of stairs to the music room, flexing her fingers as she did. This was going to be one intense rehearsal.