forte [r.lupin]

fortissimo

It had been thirteen years since Feyre had seen Remus. They broke up over differences about the "future". In reality, both were too caught up in losing Sirius, James, Lily, and Harry all in one night that a fight had ensued barely a week later.

°°°

Heels clicked against the cold, stone floors of Hogwarts, and the sound echoed throughout the halls. Students loitered around corridors and flames flickered on the candles they burned. A slender woman moved swiftly through the building as she made her way up stairs as the tail of her robe fluttered as she moved. A mop of blonde curls rested on her head, and a small smile was hidden in the curve of her lips.

Feyre walked with her head held high. Her eyes glued straight ahead for she could almost feel the memories of the past seeping through the walls. You cannot cry.

Her hands shook at her sides when she reached a tall wooden door. She could hear the faint sound of voices beyond, and the weight of what she was about to do came crashing upon her. However, with a deep breath, she turned the knob of the door and entered.

Her entrance was ignored, and the two in the room continued their conversation in soft voices. A lanky young man hovered over a desk. His shoulders were hunched as his hands gripped the corners of the wooden workspace. His jet black hair was the first thing she noticed, and a gasp escaped Feyre as realization hit her.

James.

The back of the boy's hair stuck up, and the messy bangs almost fell in his eyes before he raked his fingers through it to push them back. Round glasses were perched on the curve of his crooked nose, and a wry smile was perched on his lips. Feyre's brown eyes moved to the freckles dusting his cheeks, and she was met with shining green eyes.

Lily.

Her breath caught, and she had to force herself to regain her composure. A soft cough was sounded off from Harry's right.

"Harry, could you excuse me for a moment?" Feyre's eyes flickered to meet the face of her broken ex-boyfriend. "I have a woman to speak with," his voice became edged with something hard as he slipped past the thirteen year old.

Age had done Remus well, but Feyre could recognize the growing grey hairs and the dark circles around his eyes. Honey colored irises met hers as he gestured them to move outside the room. Feyre nodded before she moved past him and out the door. He stood a good foot or two above her, and his smile still held the defeated frown she also carried after all these years.

"Feyre," his voice sounded tired as he hunched brokenly before her.

"Remus."

"It's been thirteen years. What do you want?"

The blonde female knit her eyebrows together, "Sirius."

A groan escaped the male as he ran his hand over his face, "I know. I think so too. Animagus."

"You don't know what I was going to say," she muttered as she paused to stare at ther feet.

"I had once made it my mission to understand you, Fey. It's natural."

Her shoulders hunched and a few tears prickled the corners of her eyes, "Please. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this, but I keep seeing -"

"He's in there. Harry, I mean. Would you like to meet him?"

A flash of the dark-haired boy's image ran through her mind. Brown orbs focused on the ground as she began wringing her hands together, "I can't." Her voice broke and she chided herself on sounding so weak.

"It'll make it hurt less. I promise you," he said softly as his hand reached out toward her before it dropped to his side when she flinched away.

"Seeing him only made me think of James. It's my fault. I should have taken secret-keeper! He was my best mate!" Feyre's voice rose in volume and a hiss escaped Remus's lips.

"Shush. He was my friend too. You weren't the only one who lost five people that night."

The silence that followed was suffocating, but it was broken by the soft sound of sniffles escaping the blonde woman.

"I'm sorry. It's been thirteen years! I haven't seen anyone in thirteen years, Remus. God, I miss you. I miss holding you and talking to you. I can't think straight and this damn Auror job has me here every night walking the halls. Living memories over again and I can't ta-" Feyre's voice broke again as she held herself tighter, "The dementors taunt me with his laugh. Taunt me with the way he was by my side."

Something softened in Remus as she spoke. Her blonde hair fell in her watery eyes, and, with one swift movement, he was pushing it behind her ear as he brought her closer to him.

"I miss you, too," he whispered in the silence that surrounded him. He could faintly smell the jasmine radiating from her as he tucked her into his arms.

They stood there momentarily as the world continued on around them.

Remus stood back and looked down at her, "You don't have to say hello to him today. You do, however, have to join me for tea back here in an hour."

°°°

Feyre never liked suprises. She hated not knowing things were going to happen.

She hated not knowing that Peter Pettigrew was, in fact, alive.
She hated not knowing that the man she was supposed to be capturing was not a murderer.
She hated not knowing where Remus was during a full moon.

And above all, she hated that no one woke her up for this.

A bushy haired thirteen year old, a freckled boy with a broken leg, and Harry Potter frazzled her with the hurried stories they told. Her eyes were tired and the sound of their voices were slowly digging a steady thrum of pain into her head.

"I'm sorry, kids, but the Minister has set his eyes on the fact that Sirius is a murderer who should be executed."

"With all due respect, miss, you have to understand that he is wrong!" The young girl let out a soft sound of frustration, and Madame Pompfrey rushed in with wide arm movements and mutters about hurt children and interrogations.

"Sit!" The old woman hovered over the kids as they sat, and Feyre took it as her time to leave.

"I'll talk to you all once again in the morning."

°°°

The silence in Remus's office was deafening that next morning.

Feyre could hear the sound of his breathing as she took a seat near the door. He was moving slowly around the room putting things away. The beating of her heart was loud in her ears, and all she could think was how he was there. He was safe.

"You don't need to stare, Fey." The man before her chuckled as he grabbed an oddly shaped picture frame off of the shelf, "I'm fine."

The blonde huffed as she stuck her nose slightly upward into the air, "I was not staring. Simply enjoying the view."

The flirty comment sent a beautiful blush across Remus's pale face, "Not as nice as mine."

A giggle escaped Feyre's lips, and with bright eyes, she looked upon Remus with a hope that hadn't been there for thirteen years.

AN:
Thanks so much for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I did (even though I didn't post for 98636089 years).