Bliss
I woke feeling something warm circulating my body, something buzzing and vibrating, when I turned it was to find Remus awake and staring at the ceiling.
‘Remus?’ I croaked, my head starting to pound from drinking too much the day before.
Remus turned to face me, his eyes were a little harsh, dark and filled with joy. His mouth began to pull up into a smile as he delicately moved a stray piece of hair away from my face. ‘Angelina.’ He whispered, before placing a soft kiss to my lips. We stayed like that for a while, Remus just placing small, soft kisses against me, running his hands lightly over my skin, never pressing for more than simple intimacy.
I loved the mornings where neither Remus nor myself had anything to do urgently, we could take our time getting up, we could make breakfast and eat together on the dock looking out over the lake in front of our home and just enjoy the peace and quiet for a while. No pressures to do anything we didn’t want to do, no responsibilities to anyone or anything but each other. But this felt so different, this felt like we had a responsibility to be with each other, one I had no issues with at all.
Remus smiled against me and half laughed, making me frown slightly. ‘I got married yesterday.’ He chuckled and kissed my cheek. I couldn’t help but join in, laughing with him for a while and nestling closer to his chest, watching the city come to life below us. ‘My darling wife.’ He repeated.
‘That’s me.’ I giggled and placed my hand of his chest, I could feel his heart thumping against his ribcage and it felt as though it was beating faster than usual. ‘So, just so I’m fully prepared, do you have any plans beyond this room today?’
Remus laughed heartily. ‘Admittedly, I only have a couple of things I’d like to do here, but we still have time, so I am more than happy to indulge in anything you may have planned.’
Without any more words being exchanged, I gave into desire and kissed Remus with as much passion as he had shown me the night previous, I ran my hands over his lean body and for the rest of the day all I could focus on was the feel of my husband. We only left the bedroom to make something to eat, or to shower, but even those activities seemed to bring something out in the both of us that we hadn’t anticipated, not that any of it was unwelcome in the slightest.
Remus had been kind and attentive in every sense, he listened to me telling stories about the wedding, the little things I remembered, he watched me replay moments in my head and then teased me into telling him what I was thinking. He read to me as the sun began going down and the night would come in, every time we made love, I could feel a deeper connection being formed, like something was pulling us together into one single being and it was gloriously addictive. Remus was gloriously addictive.
‘I’m glad you think so.’ He chuckled, still panting slightly beneath me. My legs were so shaky from straddling him and Remus carefully helped me to lie down next to him. ‘I have to say, the last time I felt this tired was before I started taking Wolfsbane.’ I couldn’t help but burst into a fit of giggles, Remus following me soon afterwards until we were both exhausted of everything. ‘I think we should go into the city tomorrow.’ He said, though his voice was incredibly hoarse as he rolled towards me, throwing his arm over my cooling skin and nestling into the crook of my neck, softly kissing the skin and letting his beard scratch over the already sensitive area.
I didn’t quite remember if I responded, but I was sure he got the picture anyway.
Remus was excited about walking around with Angelina, though she was never really keen on the cold, at that time of year, it wasn’t so bad and they could both wander around in just their long coats. She was incredibly beautiful, a warm glow surrounding her very being as she laughed about one thing or another, Angelina was everything he could ever have hoped for and the thought alone made him happy.
They wandered around the small cafes, stopping for lunch and talking about the city, the lights, the wedding, the cottage, the future and everything in between. They avoided the war and everything bad that might happen, instead focussing on the positive and it seemed to keep Angelina in a much more stable frame of mind.
The most important thing to Remus was that Angelina was happy and healthy, nothing else mattered to him quite like that, it felt like a coincidence that he was the one who could provide her with both of those things.
They spent the days walking around the city and the forest, finding and exploring different paths leading to all sorts of strange clearings, they saw the unicorns again and as Angelina had suspected the last time, they could walk straight up to them and stroke them. At night, they would sit around the cabin, eating, drinking and loving each other, it was the life Remus had always wanted and Angelina was more than willing to live it with him.
Jocelyne called in Sirius’s help to look after the house while Angie and Remus were away, she struggled to figure out how one woman had the time to look after such a large garden, two owls and still have time to run a shop and do research.
‘I mean, she’s honestly some kind of superhuman, isn’t she?’ Jocelyne complained while Sirius just laughed and let Rilee out of the owlery to fly around for a while.
‘It is impressive,’ he agreed. ‘And that’s before you step foot inside the forest.’
‘What’s in the forest?’ Jocelyne half laughed, wondering what on earth Angie could be keeping in there on top of her garden, but Sirius suddenly had a guilty look on his face. ‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ He shook his head, pulling his wand out and beginning to watering his side of the garden as per the instructions Remus had left.
‘Doesn’t seem like nothing,’ Jocelyne pushed. ‘What’s Angie got hidden in the forest?’
Sirius considered her for a moment. ‘It’s not Angie, it’s Remus… he’s got a shed… he transforms in there.’
‘In the forest?!’ She exclaimed. ‘I thought he went away to do that.’
‘Angie wouldn’t allow it,’ Sirius sighed. ‘This was the compromise.’
‘So, you’re telling me my best friend has just married a man who is not only a werewolf, but a werewolf who transforms inside a shed putting her at risk?’ Jocelyne wasn’t sure where the anger was coming from and neither did Sirius.
‘Come on, you know it’s not like that. The shed is sturdy enough contain him, it’s far enough away that she can easily make it to the apparation site should anything go wrong and he takes his wolfsbane before he leaves the cottage every time.’ Sirius reasoned. ‘Angie didn’t like the idea of him apparating away once a month where anything could have happened, she also didn’t like the idea of him locking himself up. This was the compromise.’
Jocelyne didn’t speak for a while, she just kept thinking on what happened the last time something went wrong with his condition, her best friend nearly died. They continued to work for the rest of the morning, carefully noting what they would need to do the day after and trying to figure out whose turn it would be to come and tend to the house.
Every so often she would look at the silver fir trees, almost trying to figure out where the shed was, if it was strong enough and how Remus was so okay with being so close to the cottage. It just didn’t seem like him to give into Angie where his condition was concerned.
‘Do you want to see it?’ Sirius finally asked, handing her a glass of water. Jocelyne just frowned. ‘The shed, do you want to see it? It might help settle your worries.’
She thought for a moment before nodding. Sirius led the way through the thick trees and the further in they got, the darker it seemed to be, Jocelyne looked up for a moment to see that very little natural light was getting through the canopy above. They walked for just over half an hour, the walk getting a little harder the further in they went, but soon Sirius stopped them just before a small clearing, he brought his wand out and lifted a concealment charm on the area, revealing Remus’s transformation shed.
Jocelyne just looked at the small and cramped looking structure and blinked.
Sirius just smiled and went over to the door which had a huge padlock on it and no visible keyhole. ‘No idea where he keeps the key, probably back at the house.’ He commented. ‘But this is where he comes once a month and they both seem relatively happy with the arrangement.’
‘Remus is happy with this?’ Jocelyne asked, not believing him. The wood looked worn and flimsy to say the least, but then she supposed it was supposed to look like that in case anyone stumbled across it.
‘I wouldn’t say he’s ecstatic, but it complies with Angie’s wishes so it’s the best he can do, I suppose.’ Sirius had a slightly sadder expression on. ‘I think they both worry about it from time to time, but as long as they continue to take proper precautions, I don’t see the problem with it.’
Jocelyne still wasn’t exactly convinced, as much as she loved Remus, he was still dangerous to an extent and Angie hadn’t seemed to have learnt that lesson at all.
After Jocelyne had properly inspected the structure, they went back to the house to lock up and head home. She told Benji about the shed and he had warned her to keep the information to herself, that there was no need for anyone to know about it beyond their group.
‘What do you mean?’ Jocelyne asked, she was midway through making the twins dinner when her husband came home, exhausted as usual.
‘Look, just don’t tell anyone about it, okay?’ Benji turned, heading upstairs to get changed before stepping foot into their recently cleaned kitchen.
‘Benji, what aren’t you telling me?’ She demanded, following him up to their bedroom. Neither of them had managed to clean up the clothes that were lying all over the floor just yet, but neither seemed to care.
‘Jocelyne, please just leave it alone.’ He said, removing his shirt and jeans, trying to find something more comfortable to wear. Jocelyne was never put off by his body, it had collected scars, some more viscous than others over the years, but he was still her handsome and brave husband.
‘Well, I would have done, if you hadn’t have told me to leave it alone.’ Jocelyne reasoned and Benji just rolled his eyes at her. ‘Benji, is she hiding something in that shed.’ The look he gave confirmed it all. ‘What is it?’
‘I can’t tell you.’ He said, a little more firmly as he put his joggers on. ‘Look, I’m not supposed to know about it, it was Sirius who told me to keep an eye on her. I don’t know for sure what it is, but he said it was Angie’s future and it has to be protected.’
‘Her future?’
‘Yes,’ Benji grabbed his old grey t-shirt and put it on a little gingerly from an unseen injury he was carrying. ‘But like I said, I don’t know exactly what it is. The best thing we can do is keep the information in-house.’
Jocelyne eyed her husband. ‘Seems like you two are keeping a lot of information in-house.’
‘Don’t be like that.’ Benji sighed, not wanting to start an argument. ‘You know I would tell you everything I know if I could, but most of the time, I don’t even know what it is I know anymore… I’m just trying to keep you three safe.’
‘Benji, we’re a team, you and I are a team and we keep our children safe. Don’t think that you have to do anything alone, I’m right here.’
Benji just looked at his wife and smiled, gently. ‘Okay.’ He said and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek. ‘Okay, you’re right, we’re a team… you should know what I know.’
Jocelyne finished making dinner, they put the children to bed and talked quietly late into the morning hours. Some of it was difficult for Jocelyne to understand, Benji only had partial pieces of information and suddenly she had a new appreciation for just how difficult his job really was.
They had been in Reykjavik for a little over a week, with only a few days left before they would need to go home for his sake. James had told him about a spring that had been built close to the cabin and taken Angelina there on a couple of evenings when it was nice out. No one was around and so he didn’t feel so ashamed of his body being exposed, Angelina loved his body and that was what counted in the end.
They had managed to get through a bottle of Firewhiskey with Angelina feeling the effects worse than him, not that that was really a problem as far as he was concerned, but it did make her uncharacteristically brave.
‘Come on, Remus!’ She laughed and stripped off her clothes, throwing them haphazardly to the side of the spring, before submerging her naked body beneath the water and relaxing into it.
He just laughed, watching her feel her youth for a while, it wasn’t something she would feel very often and with the future looking darker, there was less and less chance that she would be allowed these moments to be so carefree. Remus tried his best not to think of such things and instead began shedding his own clothes to join her.
The water was incredibly relaxing and the surrounding trees made him feel as though they would never be disturbed, that they could quite easily forget everything about the outside world and remain in the spring forever. It was tempting to say the least, perhaps it was best they never went back home, Angelina would be safe, she would never have to fight any wars, she could live out her days in Reykjavik with a new garden, a new home, with her new husband by her side, encouraging her in every way she needed and she could live the long, happy life she deserved.
Remus watched her floating on her back, looking up at the green lights surrounded by the black sheet of sky, glittering with stars and he honestly felt like crying he was so unimaginably happy for her. He sat back on one of the rocks that had been carved into a perch at the side of the spring and just watched as she floated around for a while, without a care for anything.
Eventually she brought herself upright and turned towards him, a cheerful grin on her face.
‘I think I might have an idea.’ She said, biting gently on her bottom lip. Remus felt his heart accelerate a little. Angelina slowly wandered over to him and with very little indication for what she was about to do, she lifted herself to straddle him, resting her forearms on his shoulders and playing with his slightly damp hair.
‘What’s your idea?’ He asked, playfully. Remus had his hands on her hips beneath the water, gently running circles over her skin with his thumbs.
Angelina just smiled and placed a gentle kiss to his lips, before running her hands through his hair and watching him.
‘The lights,’ she smiled. ‘I think I might have an idea about the type of magic they emit.’
Remus frowned for a moment, before suddenly laughing and letting his head lean back against the side of the rocks. ‘Okay,’ he said, as she only frowned at him in response. ‘Tell me about the lights.’
‘Why are you laughing?’ Angelina was visibly confused by his response.
‘Because… forgive me for thinking the most beautiful creature in the world took her clothes off, straddled me and kissed me, if only to start a conversation about magic.’ He chuckled, letting his hands drift up her waist and watched her darkened blue eyes scan him, he almost recognised it as that confused look she would have so many years ago when trying to assess social situations.
‘I mean, we can do something else… if you want?’ Angelina was losing her nerve and Remus could only sigh and smile at her.
‘I want you to tell me about the magic that comes from the lights,’ he brought his hand up to stroke her cheek. ‘You were so excited about it a moment ago and I want to feel that excitement with you.’ She still didn’t seem so sure. ‘Tell me about the lights… please?’ He placed a gentle kiss to her lips and tried to coax her back into feeling excited.
‘Okay, fine.’ Angelina chuckled against his mouth, slowly pulling away and gently biting her lips once again. ‘So, we know that the light emits a calming effect on creatures, right?’
‘We do.’ Remus nodded and smiled, just watching as the excitement started to creep back into view.
‘We also know that there are no known cases of werewolf attacks,’ she continued, idly playing with his hair while she spoke. ‘But it’s not just that there are no attacks, there has never been a single recorded werewolf living in Iceland at all.’
‘Never?’
‘Nope, not a single one.’ She said. ‘But visitors from all over the world have come here, some have stayed and some have chosen to return year after year to observe the lights and claim to feel much happier about themselves as a result. However, and this is where the exciting part comes,’ Remus chuckled, waiting for her to continue. ‘I checked out some of the rejected reviews of the city and there are a lot of people citing that once they left, they felt the inclination to become more like the person they felt they could be.’ Remus was suddenly much more interested in what she had to say about the lights. ‘You remember when we got back the last time, you told me you loved me and you wanted to be a different person?’
‘I remember.’ Remus wasn’t too comfortable talking about the last time they got back from Reykjavik and the things he went through as a result.
‘I wanted to be different as well, I thought it had something to do with the brother, but I think he had a bit more to do with my agitation when I got back.’ Angelina took a breath. ‘The lights are calming for some creatures, because for the most part, they aren’t naturally aggressive. You weren’t born a werewolf…’ she looked up for a moment. ‘I thought maybe it was soul magic, then I thought maybe healing magic, but what if it’s a combination of the two? What if the people we are while we’re here is who we are supposed to be? What if this is our happiest state?’
Remus just watched her staring up at the sky, his eyes dragged over her chin, her neck, her chest and back up again, he let his breath go. ‘Perhaps you’re right.’ He whispered, unable to quite find his voice. She looked down at him and had an apologetic look on her face.
‘Sorry, I know it wasn’t really what you were looking for, it’s just an idea.’ Angelina said, a little sheepishly.
‘No, it was exactly what I was looking for.’ He smiled and placed a soft kiss against her mouth, feeling her smiling against him.
Maybe Angelina had a point, maybe this was how they were supposed to be, happy, carefree and entirely wrapped in each other’s worlds. He couldn’t deny, it wasn’t the worst idea in the world, to simply stay in the spring and never worry about a single other thing in the world than Angelina’s happiness. Bliss. The dream of life.