- Eternal Curse -

0.3 Chapter Thirty Three

Thirty Three

"Surprise indeed!" He panted. Annie's hair fell over her face, golden waves dangling in his eyes from above, making them water. Carefully, he tucked it behind her ear with a grin. She smiled back sheepishly as they both stared at each other, chests heaving. They were like that only for a few moments until Annie flinched as if awoken from a trance, shifting her weight off his torso and onto the carpeted floor. She reached behind her, pulling the cloak tight to her chest like a bundled up baby in her arms. Remus got to his feet and took her by the hands, pulling her up from the floor.

"What are you even doing here anyway?" He asked. "Since when do you go home for Christmas, especially by hijacking the train."

"Well, I changed my mind last minute. It gets rather lonely you know. I must admit it was a very rushed plan but I really didn't expect to find myself on the train by the skin of my teeth and without luggage did I?" They had begun walking down to the compartment together, side by side, hands briefly engaging in light contact before pulling away every few moments.

Returning to the others, Remus slid open the door and allowed Annie to step in before him, then shutting it behind him. They had all looked up to discover the source of the sound they expected to be Remus and Remus alone.

"Annie!" Lynn got to her feet pulling her into an embrace, saying with a small laugh, "I thought you'd missed it, I'd given up hope when I couldn't hear those unnerving whispers behind me as we boarded."

"You knew she was coming?" Sirius asked the two girls. James cleared his throat, indicating he was also in on the dysfunctional plan. "You too? Well, thanks for keeping me in the loop."

"To be fair Padfoot," Annie interjected, handing over the cloak back to James as she spoke, who snatched it away with an unsettling amount of relief. "He only found out a few hours after I did." Sirius huffed in response, eyeing her closely as she settled next to Remus by the window. If you paid close attention, you could speculate the twitch in the corner of his mouth was a pang of jealousy.

"Wait! Oh, bugger." Annie let out a small whimper, her posture going rigid. They all looked over at her, puzzled. "I really didn't think this through did I? Where the bloody hell will I stay after this, I didn't even think about the plan after catching the train." There was a silence as the group all took turns subconsciously sifting through the different possibilities that could sort their dilemma.

"Stay with me," Remus stated abruptly. Looking up at him, Annie took a moment before replying,

"Stay with you? Are you... are you sure your parents would allow it? I wouldn't want to be a burden." Remus simply shook his head, stifling a laugh by pretending to clear his throat innocently.

"Annie Dean, a burden? Never."

"So that's decided," She asked in conformation. "I'm staying with you?"

"Yes, I suppose you are!" There was a slight hint of bewilderment in his voice that made Annie smile like a bumbling fool. The rest watched the two with a mixture of confusion and glee, apart from Sirius on the other hand who had begun to fiddle with the retractable armrest, his expression pulled tight into an unnoticeable frown.

Annie's eyes fluttered as she rested her head against Remus' side. Her gaze darting around the scenery out of her window. As the exhaustion took the better of her, the one thought revolved through her mind. Maybe this plan wasn't as bad as she thought it would turn out to be.

~~~

"Annie." A soft voice carefully jolted her awake, pulling her out of the clouds. "Annie, we're at Kings Cross. It's time to go." She murmured disapproval of being awoken from her slumber as she struggled to open her eyes. Once she did, the world came back into focus. The train had stopped and she could see pupils unloading onto the platform. This made her sharpen up slightly and with Remus' help, she was pulled to her feet once again. The others were leaving the compartment already, which egged her on to get out of there with the rest.

Stepping down onto the platform, her friends gathered to say goodbye. James' parents had already wandered over, pulling their son into an embrace. Annie felt a pang in her chest, looking at their happy faces. The kind of family that only dealt with arguments over the assembly of furniture. She looked away, afraid it was becoming unsettling. As she did so she caught the other solemn gaze of Sirius who was too deprived of physical touch as she was. His expression faltered, replacing it with a reassuring grin that was obviously forced. Annie returned it politely and turned her gaze to the sudden menacing footsteps behind her.

"Sirius, come. We're leaving." Seethed Walburga Black, Regulus stiff at her side. Before Sirius could leave they hurried to give him one last hug with the mutual understanding of how tough it would be for him during the few weeks they were apart. As he departed, Fleamont Potter stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder, whispering something to Sirius that certainly lifted his mood. Then he took off after his Mother and out of sight.

"Hello, Remus! How was your first term back?" Euphemia asked with her regular warm smile. "Oh! Annie, how are you dear? You haven't been home for Christmas since - well I won't remind you I'm sure it's still hard for you."

"I'm quite well thank you, Mrs Potter. I just decided on a change of scenery is all."

"Cassian didn't mention you were coming home when we were in a meeting the other day, did he 'Phemia?" Fleamont interjected. Annie cleared her throat uncomfortably and shook her head.

"Well, that would be because he dosen't know I'm back in London. I'll be staying with Remus and his family up in Wales instead." Remus smiled supportively at this. "I hope you don't mind but could you refrain from telling him I'm back? If he knows he'll make me come home and that's the last place I'd want to be." Fleamont hesitated, taken aback by the request. Yet Mrs Potter wasn't phased and simply responded,

"Of course Annie, I wouldn't even think about it." With that, Annie let out a shaky sigh of relief, pleased her cover wouldn't be blown.

"On another note," Mr Potter said, changing the subject briskly. "You lot should really come over for boxing day. I told Sirius just now before he left.

"That would be lovely, Sir. I'll let my Dad know when I get home." Remus assured, smiling.

After the encounter with James' parents. They gave their last goodbyes before heading back from Platform Nine and Three Quarters and onto the streets of London. On the way, Remus informed Annie on how they'd get home via the Knight Bus.

And in a matter of moments after standing on the edge of the pavement, the deep violet triple-decker bus rocketed into view and right in front of their faces.

"Where to?" The conductor asked in his thick cockney accent. Stumbling over his words for a few seconds, Remus got the composure to read out his address.

"Quay Road, Aberystwyth." He said as they hopped onto the bus. The conductor gave an affirming nod before letting the two travel up to the second story to find a plump sofa available, adorned with crocheted blankets and a thick layer of dust. The sun had fully set now and the only light available came from the warm street lights. Annie had barely slept the night before so found her head resting against his shoulder. Although this time he put his arm around her shoulders and his chin nestled on the top of her head. He then held her as tight as possible as the bus sped off into the night, flinging the sofa across the bus. With her head secure under his protection, she managed to shut her eyes once again, this time with a big smile across her face.