Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Forever and Always	By : cls2256 Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 6832 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or any of its characters or details, nor do I make any money from this fanfic.

Chapter List
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- 59
“This spaghetti is good, Remus,” Penelope said “Thank you.”
These words spoken were some of the only words said during dinner on their last night together at the cottage. The polyjuice was due to finish the next morning, and everyone seemed somber about the idea of the four of them after tomorrow would not be together.
“Boxed pasta and jarred sauce,” Remus said with a small smile “a real delicacy.”
The next few minutes were filled only with the sound of chewing and forks clanking, each one of them occasionally looking up from their meal and meeting eyes with another. This seemed all too much for Penelope; she set her fork down and started sobbing into her palms.
“I don’t want to go without you guys,” Penelope blubbered, gesturing to Remus then to Mia. “Please— come with us. We’ll find more hair— we’ll get more passports…”
Say yes, Mia. Say yes and you can escape all this.
“We can’t go, we can’t leave the Order…” she muttered softly
“But we’ve become like family...” Penelope sniffed
It was true, over the last month the four of them had grown extremely close. Mia had always thought her, Remus and Penelope had been a tight niche from living at the flat, but there was something about the four of them spending nearly every waking moment (as well as going through a crisis) together that brought camaraderie. Even Remus and Eric elected to stay up some nights later than the girls, drinking scotch and sharing ‘war stories’— something that Mia never expected the two men to ever do together.
“This isn’t goodbye forever,” Remus interjected “Just goodbye for a little while.”
Penelope nodded stiffly, then pushed her mostly eaten plate to the middle of the table and rose. “I’m going to go finish packing.”
The table watched as she walked out of the dining room and disappeared around the corner. When they heard the bedroom door shut, Eric let out a sigh, frowning. “She was a mess last night also— cried all night.”
“I’m glad you two will be heading somewhere safe,” Remus said “But we will certainly miss having both of you around.”
Eric chuckled, taking a bite of pasta and winking at Remus “We’ve come a long way over the last year, haven’t we?” he said, gesturing to him with his fork.
Remus smirked, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his stomach “yeah, I guess we have.”
“It’s too bad you guys aren’t coming with us,” Eric said through a mouthful, swallowing and taking a drink of water before continuing “I would love to take you guys to a Reds game— baseball, of course. It’s America’s favorite past time— sometimes, the stadium sells hotdogs for 10 cents…”
As much as a baseball game seemed lovely, Mia didn’t want to hear about it. She didn’t want to hear about all the things she could be doing— and enjoying— if she had just had the sense to speak up and tell Remus she wanted to leave too. She had made a promise to the Order, so did Remus. This war was worth dying for, the cause worth dying for— but did they actually have to die? Could the Lupin’s really make that much of a difference at this point in the war that they needed to wait around for word to go on a mission that may kill them both in the process? Dumbledore was dead. Voldemort had taken over the Ministry. What more could the Order of the Phoenix feasibly do?
Maybe she was being selfish— a coward. How disappointed would Sirius be to know she was considering running away from the organization that he had given his life to (and life for)? How would her mother feel to know she would back out of something she had fought to be a part of? Remus said if she wanted to go to America, he would take her, but would he judge and resent her for it? Was it a crime to wish for peace? To curl up at night with her husband and not have some shred of fear in her that if shit hit the fan, it could be the last night they spent together? She couldn’t listen to Eric’s chatter about baseball games or his favorite restaurants any longer. She rose from the table, pushing her plate inward as Penelope had.
“I’m going to go help Penelope.” She interjected.
Eric had stopped talking abruptly, but before either he or Remus could say anything, Mia was already half way to the second bedroom. She opened the door without knocking, finding Penelope sitting on the bed, tears running down her face as she was looking at a small object. Penelope looked up suddenly, hastily tucking the object behind her back and shifting to cover it clumsily.
“Hey, what’re you up—”
“What is that?” Mia asked curiously “Behind your back?”
“Nothing,” Penelope said quickly “nothing.”
“If it were nothing, why did you hide it? Give it here!”
Mia wrestled with Penelope as she squawked in protest. (“Mia, stop! STOP!” “Give it here! Let me see!”). Mia ripped the small item out of Penelope’s firm grasp, leaping up and across the room to avoid losing ahold of it as Penelope lunged after her.
“Be careful!” Penelope cried “Don’t crack the face!”
Mia held the item up to eye level— it was a watch with a black leather band and a smooth silver casing. At the base of the watch was stamped the letter’s S.B.
“This looks like Sirius’s old watch…” She said, furrowing her brow “S.B… Penny— is this actually his?”
Penelope nodded, looking down at the ground and sniffing.
“You’ve had his watch, and you never said anything about it?”
Her temper began to rise; how could Penelope have not mentioned this to her? How could she have kept the fact that she possessed such an important item a secret? Not only that, but what was Penelope doing with his watch in the first place?
“How long have you had this?!” Mia hissed “How long have you had this and didn’t tell me?!”
“He gave it to me—“ she whispered “after the party at our flat…”
“Why on earth would he give it to you?”
“Because you weren’t the only one who he cared about, Mia!” Penelope snapped “He gave it to me because he wanted me to have it!”
“Ohmygod…” Mia said under her breath, setting the watch down gently on the dresser next to her “Were you in love with him? Was he in love with you?”
“I’ve told you— we weren’t really at that point.” She said “but we cared about each other, and we were there for each other in a difficult spot in our lives. That’s why he gave it to me, as a thank you for being there.”
“I can’t believe you never told me!” Mia cried “how could you keep that from me?!”
“Everything ok in here?” Eric appeared in the doorway with Remus, an entire head taller, towering behind him. “We heard yelling…”
“Oh, yeah, we’re just fine—“ Mia spat “I just figured out your girlfriend is a big fat liar, though— been lying to me for a long time!”
“I am not a liar! I did not lie to you!” Penelope cried “I just didn’t tell you about the watch because I knew you’d be upset he gave it to me!”
“Ladies!” Eric hollered, holding his hands up “let’s not fight— come on, it’s our last night…”
“Yes, let’s not fight,” Mia said snottily. “Let’s also just ignore the fact that she’s had that watch for over a year and DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING!”
She pushed past Eric and Remus and stormed across the hall, entering her bedroom and slamming the door shut. She threw herself onto the bed and shoved her face into a pillow. She let out a series of angry screams into the pillow as Remus slipped inside the bedroom, shutting the door softly behind him.
“You don’t really want to pick a fight with Penny on your last night with her, do you?” Remus asked warily. When Mia didn’t answer, he sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose before speaking again. “Look, Sirius wanted her to—“
“Don’t talk out your ass, Remus— how would you know what he wanted?”
Remus cleared his throat and shifted his weight uncomfortably, focusing his gaze on the floor in front of them.
“Wait— you knew?” Mia hissed “You knew she had it and you didn’t say anything?!”
“Because it wasn’t my place to say anything,” He said calmly “she told me about him giving it to her in confidence, and specifically asked me not to say anything.”
“You are my husband!” Mia cried “You are supposed to tell me everything!”
“Yes, However I care for Penelope very much— she is my friend,” Remus said sternly “and if she asks me to keep something between just her and me, I will honor that.”
“I can’t believe this,” she whispered, sinking back onto the bed. “This is such bullshit!”
Tears hit her like a ton of bricks. She grabbed the pillow she had screamed into and reburied her face, but this time crying. Her whole body wracked with sobs; Remus sat down next to her, rubbing her back gently as he shushed her.
“That is Sirius’s coming of age watch— from the Potter’s” she whined into the pillow “That watch meant everything to him.”
“I know— I recognized it,” He replied softly “But this outburst isn’t really about the watch, is it?”
She paused, still crying into the pillow. After a moment, “No, I don’t think so.”
“I think you should go back in there and talk to her,” he said “Don’t spend this night angry over something so trivial.”
Mia wiped her face onto her shirt and sniffled loudly. “I overreacted, didn’t I?”
“Yeah…” Remus let out a soft chuckle, smiling warmly at her “You are always quick to fly off the handle.”
“I’m going to miss her so much…”
“I know, I know.”
He rubbed her back for another few minutes until her tears had dried up, and then escorted her back to the second bedroom. This time, she sat down next to Penelope and hugged her, both of them burying their faces into each other’s necks as they sobbed.
“I’m sorry,” Penelope whispered “I should’ve told you about the watch ages ago.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Mia said through a sob “I shouldn’t’ve overreacted.”
“Here, you want to look at it?”
Penelope handed Mia the watch; she immediately admired how well-crafted it was. The stitching on the leather band was immaculate, and upon closer inspection, she noticed the face contained a small Gryffindor crest just above the Roman numeral for 6.
“Why don’t you girls take this room tonight?” Eric offered “I’ll just crash on the couch.”
“You sure?” Penelope asked “Remus’s sofa is terrible…”
“It’s not that bad…” Remus muttered softly, mostly to himself.
“Yeah, you guys should get some time alone,” Eric stepped over to Penelope and kissed her softly “I’ll be alright out there for one night”
“Well, I could use some assistance with feeding our ‘guests’,” Remus said, miming air quotes around the word guests. “Eric, what do you say you and your hand gun accompany me to the cellar?”
“I’d be delighted,” Eric said “Can I shoot Greyback in the leg?”
Mia and Penelope giggled as the men bantered back and forth, listening to them arguing about shooting their hostages or not. (“What about in the shoulder? I’ll avoid any arteries!” “NO.” “Then what’s the point of going in armed?! Come on, let me get just one shot in…”) When the girl’s laughter subsided, an awkward pause fell between them. Mia began picking at her fingernails anxiously.
“I’m sad you are leaving tomorrow.” She said softly
“Expressing your feelings,” Penelope winked “Good work.”
“Shut up!”
The girls broke into easy laughter once more, hitting each other with the bed pillows as they jeered back and forth. They spent the rest of the evening just the two of them, eating the rest of the candy they had stowed away and reminiscing on old over memories of their days at school and life at the flat until they both fell asleep, sprawled out over the bed on top of the empty wrappers.
“Alright, you have everything?”
Eric and Penelope joined hands and nodded to each other, then to Mia. “We should— I triple checked,” Penelope said “What about you guys? Have enough canned food and supplies packed?”
“I think so,” Mia said “We’ll have to ration our food, but we should have enough to last a few months.”
“Penelope, you should drink the polyjuice now— just in case you run into anything on your way to the airport,” Remus said ”And then drink some when you get there to prolong your time.”
Penelope nodded, scooping some of the thick viscous potion into a cup. She added a couple of Ashley’s hairs and stirred; the potion turned a shimmering blush pink, and wafted a pleasant sweet almond scent. Mia watched the potion swirling in the cup from over Penelope’s shoulders in amazement.
“Harry’s hair turned the polyjuice gold,” she said, amused “I fucking love potions…”
Penelope downed the polyjuice potion in a few gulps; before their eyes, her features morphed into the face that matched the picture on her borrowed passport. Ashley resembled Eric very much so; flaxen hair and a strong jaw line. She was shorter than Penelope, but much larger chested— the buttons on her blouse were now pulling apart as the material stretched over her breasts. Eric goggled at her, reaching an uncertain hand up to her cheek. He touched her face and hair with slight hesitation, moving slowly.
“Holy shit, you look just like my sister…”
“Well, for the next few hours, I am your sister” Penelope laughed
“WHOA! You even sound like her,” Eric said breathlessly “So fucking cool…” He looked at his wrist watch “We should get going, it’s an hour drive to the airport from here— what are you guys going to do?”
“I’m going to set a time release on the chains in the cellar, and wipe their memories,” Remus said “once the chains release, Mia and I will be long gone.”
Penelope threw her arms around Mia, hugging her tightly. “I love you.”
“I love you,” Mia replied “Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything, what do you need?”
“Watch over Lionel. I’m going to send him to America to stay with you for a while. I don’t think it’s safe for us to keep an owl around, and I’m sure he’d be happier with Frankie.”
“Of course,” Penelope said “I’ll take good care of him.”
Remus and Eric shook hands, giving each other an understanding nod. Mia then wrapped her arms around Eric, squeezing tightly “Take care of her for me— she knows you love her, right?”
“Of course she knows,” Eric said “We said it the other night, not that it wasn’t obvious— I’m essentially giving up my life for her.”
“You don’t regret any of this, do you?” Mia asked “Going on the run with us, I mean.”
“No,” Eric pulled away and grinned at her, flashing his pearly white teeth. “Not a single thing.”
They broke their embrace and finished their goodbyes; Mia fought the annoying stinging of tears as she watched Penelope and Eric climb into the Jeep. After he started the ignition, Eric poked his head out the window, giving them a two-fingered salute.
“You guys be careful. Just so you know, my invitation still stands— if anything goes to shit, you are welcome in Cincinnati with us.”
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Remus said as both he and Mia waved. “Drive safe.”
Remus wrapped an arm around Mia’s waist, holding her tight as they watched them drive away, listening to the crunching gravel and soft engine hum grow softer and softer, until they could no longer be heard.
“You alright?” Remus asked softly
“Yeah,” she replied, albeit she was unsure if this were true. “Let’s get ready to go.”
“Alright, you lock up the house— I’ll go deal with the cellar vermin.”
Mia covered all the furniture in the cottage, and sent Lionel off to America through the window, trying her hardest not to cry as she watched her beloved tawny owl grow smaller and smaller against the horizon until he disappeared from view.
This isn’t goodbye forever, just goodbye for a little while.
She locked up the house with the strongest locking charms that she could conjure, and then sunk down onto the rotting wood stoop outside. She sat her small velvet pouch next to her, sneakily concealing all their camping supplies and belongings that would hopefully carry them through the next indeterminate time period. After a few minutes, Remus emerged from the cellar.
“The chains will release in an hour, and I erased about a week’s worth of memories from all three— just to be safe.” He said, clasping his hands together. “You ready to go? House is locked up?”
She nodded and stood up, gripping her velvet pouch tightly as she wrapped her arms around him. After a moment of uncomfortable compression from apparition, her feet hit the ground and fresh air filled her lungs. They were now standing in a clearing next to a small pond, surrounded by a million trees beginning to turn to their autumn color. This spot was quiet, beautiful; the only sound around them was leaves rustling and birds chirping pleasantly. She did a full 360 rotation of their surroundings— it was a place she did not recognize.
“Where are we?”
“Somewhere in the Forest of Dean,” Remus replied “Start putting up some enchantments— give us a decent amount of space for a fire and the tent. I’ll start unpacking.”
She obliged, muttering various incantations to deflect dark magic, repel muggles, and make them invisible to anyone who was not either of them. Remus had the tent set up in a matter of minutes, eager to show her the amenities Cepheus Gamal typically enjoyed on his camping excursions.
The tent on the outside was small, only encompassing a 4x4 area. Once ducking through the entrance, the inside was much larger, featuring a central furnished living area and kitchenette, and two bedrooms, one on either side of the living space. The tent felt as if they had stepped into someone else’s home, the strong scent of frankincense made it seem foreign— like this wasn’t home. The aroma was ingrained into the fabric of the furniture and canvas tarp— this particular scent she didn’t typically gravitate towards, but wasn’t offended by it either. The tent lacked no amenities for comfortable camping, other than an absence of indoor plumbing that she would surely miss.
“Well, this would’ve at least been enough room if had Penny and Eric stayed with us,” Remus said “What do you think?”
Mia sighed as she looked around. Despite the comfort that they could live in with this tent, it still didn’t have the comfortable home-y feel that the cottage had. She wondered if it were the tent itself, or if it was still her resentment on not being able to admit that she wanted to leave the country with their friends for an easier, happier life.
“Looks like we’re going to be staying awhile,” she sighed “I guess let’s make ourselves at home.”
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Forever and Always