Remus carefully cradled Kitty in his arms, relieved that she would never have to suffer through another transformation. He sighed softly as her head rested against his chest, he hadn’t been this close to her in nearly three weeks, not since the night he attacked her in the forest. He missed feeling her hand in his as they walked down the hall, or her leaning against him as they sat in the common room studying their history lesson and wondering how much havoc the marauders could cause during their next adventure. Remus tightened his grip on her as he recalled the look in Sirius’s eyes when he told Remus what he had done to her. Sirius had been the one that saved her from him, he had risked his own life to protected hers, and he had been the one to stay by her side almost day and night while she was in the hospital recovering. Sirius almost seemed to be sharing Kitty’s pain, it was so obvious that he loved her. . .

“Lie her down here” Diedre said softly, disturbing Remus’s thoughts. She pulled down the covers and smooth the pillows as Remus gently placed Kitty on the bed and covered her with the soft, warm blankets. Diedre noticed how tenderly Remus treated her daughter and she hoped there was some way they would be able to diminish his suffering. It simply wasn’t fair that such a good natured child should have to bear such an overwhelming burden, and all because the Ministry would not allow the Sidhe to help them. After all, they had known of the cure for werewolfism for centuries, if only they would agree to talk with them, if only Albus had known about the boy sooner.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Diedre asked as she saw Remus cover Catri and stand up, heading towards the door. He paused and stared back at her, fear and confusion clouding his hazel eyes. “In bed,. . .now, you need your rest as much as she does.” Diedre insisted, crossing the small room in only a few steps.

Remus’s eyes grew wide “In bed?. . . With her?” he balked.

“Of course with her” Diedre responded, becoming slightly annoyed at his response “you both need to heal, you both need to draw on the power of the touch.” she paused as she saw the lurking terror in the boy’s eyes “Remus, child, what is it that’s upsetting you so?”

“Its, … its just” Remus stammered “she’s a girl, and I’m a guy, and. . . .and. . . I” Remus looked over to where Kitty was sleeping. He had almost no experience at all when it came to sex, he only knew what he had been told by Sirius and other boys. But he knew in his heart if he were left here alone with her he would never be able to resist touching her, she was simply too beautiful, too vulnerable not to hold. He blushed as he pictured himself holding her in his arms, stroking her soft skin as he erupted all over her. “I just can’t”

Diedre smirked as she shook her head, the poor dear, it was evident what a trying night this had been for him, and looking at his response to her orders, it was painfully obvious the boy was completely out of his depth. She took a long, hard look at Remus, he would grow to be a handsome man one day, but for now his childhood flesh was only just turning into that of a man. His arms were still soft and full, not the muscular flesh that they would become, and his face looked as though it had never seen a razor, much less needed to use one. Sighing deeply Diedre took Remus by the hand and led him to the bed, “Listen closely to me child, I know the Ministry does not teach you what they should, and this is very important.”

“You do know that I and my daughter are not human don’t you?” she asked as Remus nodded “Good. We are the Sidhe, and our people are ancient, we have existed long before humans appeared on this world. We know things that others do not, we remember what others have forgotten, we teach and protect our children so they may continue the cycle. My daughter is a healer, just as I am, and was my mother, and her mother. We understand how important it is to touch and to be touched.” she explained as she squeezed Remus’s hand “I can see your memories of my child Remus, and without fail, they revolve around touch, the way she holds your hand, touches your face” she smiled as Remus blushed crimson and avoided her eyes. “And yes, I can see your longings as well child, but those are natural, you are becoming a man, just as she is becoming a woman. There is nothing shameful or wrong in your desires, in fact, they echo her own.”

“She, her. . .they do?” Remus asked weakly, almost fearful to think that such thoughts could find their way into her mind.

Diedre smiled widely “Do you think my daughter is without a heart? Without a soul? Of course she longs to be touched by you. She also longs to touch you, not only out of desire, but out of knowledge, she knows her touch can heal your injured heart” she said as she placed her fingertips over Remus’s heart “She can feel your pain child, she cannot stand to feel you suffer.” Diedre rose to her feet and stood in front of Remus “To bed with you young man. Let Catri know you care for her, but do not force her to accept or respond to you. That is were men make their mistake, if she is willing, it will be evident to you, you will not have to guess. And given the situation, I have the feeling you will do little more than sleep, you are both exhausted.” Diedre added as she kissed Remus’s forehead and covered him with the blankets.

Remus lay stone still as he heard Diedre close the door behind her, he had no idea what he should do. He had dreamed of lying in bed with Kitty for weeks now, ever since he first kissed her, but that had been a dream, it couldn’t hurt anyone. But this was real, she was warm and soft and lying next to him. He thought to the morning he had woken up with her in his arms, only to realize his friends had set him up, trying to get him over his shyness. He remembered vividly the thrill he felt when she had woken up and looked up into his eyes, smiling tenderly at him as he pulled her closer. “No forcing, but touching is good” Remus repeated softly, still somewhat confused at her mother’s response to the situation. If it had been his mother and sister, blood would have been shed, he had always been taught to keep your hands to yourself no matter what. After all, no decent girl would allow anyone like him to touch them, right?

Remus took a deep breath and held it as he looked at Kitty, he immediately focused on her lips, she kissed him in a way no one else ever had. It literally felt like electricity flowing through him when her lips touched him. He very gently brought his finger to her lips, sighing as he felt how soft and full they were, he closed his eyes as he felt the tingling between his legs begin. He slid next to her and kissed her softly, enjoying the strange freedom her unconscious state brought him, he didn’t have to worry about making a fool of himself or fumbling over his own inexperience, all he had to do was hold her.

Remus slipped his arm around her and pulled her close to his heart, he stroked her hair lovingly as he felt her warm breath on his chest. He truly didn’t understand why Sirius needed more than this from the girls he dated, why he needed to actually to go inside of them, personally, Remus had never felt more at peace or content in his life than he did at this moment. He found himself wondering if this is what James and Lily felt when they held onto each other, if they knew this same peacefulness. Yawning, Remus pulled Kitty tightly against him, as he rested his head against hers and drifted off to sleep.

Remus sat up quickly before his dream could go any further, he knew what happened next, he remembered all to well the feel of her body pressing against his, awakening his senses as he explored the softness of her hollows. Her arm had been draped carelessly across his abdomen, her fingers just grazing his thighs, it was all his body had needed. He felt the longing of his flesh keenly as he looked at her still sleeping form, at first all he had done was stroke her cheek, smiling as she nuzzled closer against him. She hadn’t actually woken up until his hands began to travel down her torso, he had traced the length of her curves with his palms as she looked up sleepily at him. He could still vividly recall the soft sighs and arching of her back as he became bolder, his inexperienced fingers trembling as they touched her breasts, revealing her tender nipples as he rubbed over them gently with his thumbs. He had stared at them and at her, in absolute awe, he had never experience feelings like the ones she brought out in him.

Remus sighed as he though of her responses to his body, her caresses and tender kisses as she rubbed her hands down his chest and across the flesh of his belly on her way to discover what was causing his tunic to rise so awkwardly. He had to laugh, she had actually asked if she could touch it, as if he would have told her no. She had been so gentle with her touches, letting her fingers lightly trace their way along his shaft before daring to touch the head. He had gasped loudly when her dainty hands caressed his sex, she stopped immediately, thinking she had hurt him somehow. He had reassured her over and over she hadn’t, that in fact, he was enjoying it immensely. For her part, she seemed enthralled with the way a mere touch from her could send him into such spasms of desire. It had taken several minutes before he simply couldn’t stand the teasing any longer. He had placed his hands over hers and guided her into a new motion, one he knew very well, the motion of self-satisfaction. He kept saying her name over and over as she instinctually quickened the rhythm, he grew harder than he had ever been in his life as his desire crested. Remus moaned softly as Kitty gasped, his passion had exploded in her very hands, he felt his body quaking with release as she caressed his face and kissed him tenderly.

Remus shook his head and jumped out of bed, he crossed his bedroom and quickly headed for the bath. He splashed cold water on his face until the memory had faded from his mind, as he looked into the mirror he realized the extra fur had finally left him. Remus held his head in his hands, he had to put those thoughts and memories out of his mind. “Must be this time of year” he mused sadly “she’s right, its always worse for me.” He stared at his reflection again, his eyes seemed so hollow, so empty. Damn it all, he was tired of being alone, of having only dreams and memories to take comfort it. He wanted someone to share his life with too, but he was poison, anyone he touched with love suffered for it.

Trying to force the thought from his mind, Remus quickly grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from the writing desk in his room and poured his desires and memories of Kitty onto the scroll. He re-read it several times before crumpling it up and tossing it into the fireplace. "Let the longing fade as the parchment burns" he whispered as he headed towards the shower to prepare for the long day ahead of him.

Sirius awoke to gentle tapping on the door, he smiled as he remembered last night, he closed his eyes as he imprinted the memory of Cat in his heart. This is how he wanted to remember her forever, soft, warm, contented and so very, very beautiful. He took a deep breath as he opened his eyes to see the bright streams of sunlight catching the fiery highlights of her hair. Her caressed her flawless ivory skin as he lifted the strap of her camisole back up. She moaned softly as she nuzzled closer against him. Sirius wanted to stay here like this forever, but the tapping at her door had only gotten more insistent the longer he lingered. Sirius raised his hand and pointed it towards the door, the moment he did so, the knob quickly reappeared and the door opened.

Sirius smiled as soon as he saw Harry’s worried face peer into the room. “Good morning Harry” Sirius whispered as he grinned happily. He could see the relief spreading across his godson’s face. “Yes Harry, she’s fine... but she still needs to rest” he explained as he carefully slid himself out from under her, he hesitated as he heard her stir unhappily, a frown flitted across her face as her arms searched for him, but found only a pillow. “I know beloved, I want to stay as well” he whispered into her ear as he bent over to kiss her goodbye. “Come on Harry” he said as he draped his arm over Harry’s shoulder “your mum is going to be fine. Trust me.”

“With a smile like that?” Harry grinned “She better be more than fine. Will she be strong enough to leave soon?” he asked as a shadow crossed his face “I don’t want her to push herself and get hurt again.”

Sirius smiled happily “Well aren’t we the protective son?” he teased as he hugged Harry fondly “and yes Harry, more than likely within a few hours. She’s over the worst of it now. It will only get better from here.” Sirius gazed affectionately at Cat, wishing he could take the place of the pillow she was now clutching in his place “Soon my dearest” he whispered as he closed her door and left with Harry.

“He never stopped hoping you could be together, he always wanted you to be his wife, to have a family with you.....Family is so important to us all....”