UNDER THE MOON, Remus Lupin

lxxvi.

FAIRFARREN
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(short)

"Easy, girl!" Alice hushed soothingly. "Easy..." she rested her palm on the dragon's snout. "It's just me. You know me. I'm your friend. I'm the one who gives you a secret second dinner."

The dragon with gray and green scales slowly started to calm, its eyes falling shut, leaning into Alice's touch. She smiled and continued to run her palm over the nose. Sage approached with a grin. "Why hello there, Tinkerbell!"

Tinkerbell immediately got hyper again, attacking Sage with her snout, head-butting him lovingly in the stomach. "Oomf—"

Alice groaned. "Sage, I just got her to calm down!" She complained, shaking her head. "Now you can do it."

Sage laughed as Tinkerbell knocked him over. "Easy, Tink!"

"You have snot all over your shirt," Alice giggled, kneeling down next to Sage and ruffling his blue hair.

Sage sighed and beamed up at Alice. "Guess I'll have to go home and change before date night," he teased.

"Definitely. I refuse to be seen with you like this."

Tinkerbell appeared to have not appreciated Alice making fun of her "dad" and head-buttered her with a snout full of snot. Sage howled with laughter, pointing at Alice. "Well, just look at you now!"

"Tink! What happened to girls support girls!?" Alice huffed looked down at her snot-coated blouse.

Tinkerbell just laid down with her nose on Sage's stomach. "Clearly she has a favorite," Sage grinned.

"Alright you two, enough messing around," Charlie chuckled as he wiped his hands, approaching them. "The good news is, Finley no longer has Wallace's wand jammed up her nose."

Sage gently removed himself from under Tink and stood up. He wrapped an arm around Alice's shoulder and smiled. "Bet she feels a lot less congested."

"You think?" Alice elbowed Sage playfully.

"Yeouch!"

Once Charlie sent them home after reviewing their "work" for the day (which was basically just playing with the little dragons like Tink), Sage and Alice went home to change their clothes for date night.

Alice and Sage started dating a month ago. Maybe it could've happened sooner, but Alice wanted to make sure she was healed and healthy before committing to something with him. Sage made Alice really happy. He was probably the most understanding person ever, he was super cuddly, and he was so great with dragons. Sage was good for Alice. In every way possible. He was such a free-spirit. Nothing held Sage back, he was full of energy and happiness and he was a literal border collie in human form. Alice couldn't believe how lucky she was to have someone who still loved and supported her after she'd been so horrible to everyone, including him. He saw her at her worst and he still loved her for it. For him, Alice was truly and completely grateful.

Sage always made date night fun and interesting. He never let it just be a sit-down meal. There always had to be something extra like rollerblading or a fireworks show. Today, he had really outdone himself by convincing Charlie to let him take Alice on a dragon ride with Tink. He took Alice high in the skies, above human vision, and let them coast through unseen. Alice laughed and screamed with joy whenever Sage would make Tink spin or dive. It was the most fun Alice had ever had. She was with two of the things she loved most.

Did Alice still think of Remus? Why yes, of course. She hoped he was doing okay. She hoped he didn't resent her. But most of all, she hoped he thought of her fondly when remembering how they used to be. Alice used to hate Remus for everything he'd done. Now there was no use hating him. She had everything she could ever want. So why would she want to hate him too?

When Alice and Sage returned home, Sage took a shower, singing loudly and annoyingly because he knew it irritated Alice. She just rolled her eyes and went to their bedroom, sitting down at the desk and pulling out her quill and her a piece of parchment. She'd been meaning to write to everyone for a while.

Dear Zephyr,

I miss you so much! How is everything? Things are so amazing here! I know you're not a fan of dragons since you're scared of literally everything, but I think you'd really like Tink. She's a total sweetie! I want to hear all about you and Clint! (From your perspective obviously, Clint is a fibber.) You better be taking care of Angus! He'll tell me everything when I come back, we have telepathy.

Love, Alice

Writing letters had become as easy as talking for Alice. The majority of the people she loved and considered family were back home. Aria was still in school, as well as Harry. Sirius was still home, Zephyr and Clint got jobs at the ministry and an apartment together, and as far as Alice knew, Angelina was doing fantastic, Fred and George were getting rich, and the rest of the Weasleys were happy and healthy. That's all she needed to know.

Sage came up behind Alice in his towel and kissed the top of her head. He smelled like coconut and vanilla. "Hey! You're using my shampoo again!" Alice snickered.

"I am most certainly not," Sage said playfully, placing a few more kisses on her head. "... Maybe I am."

"Sage!"

"It smells yummy!" he whined, tilting her head back to look up at him. "Just like you taste."

"You can't butter me up like that! Get your own man shampoo and leave my girly shampoo out of it."

Sage groaned and shook his head, leaning down to kiss Alice upside-down. "Mmmnnmm." He broke the kiss and grinned. "Last one to the bed is a rotten dragon egg!" And took off.

"You're such a child!" Alice yelled, her lips curving up and she sprinted after him to the bedroom.

"Sounds like someone's a sore loser!" Sage taunted as he dove at the bed.

Alice shrieked as she ran in after him. "Cheater!" She fell onto the bed with Sage, feeling more carefree and happy than she'd ever felt in her entire life. This was where she belonged. Anywhere that Sage was, anywhere that dragons were.

She belonged.

THE END

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