Once in a Blue Moon (COMPLETE)

A/N: Still no word as to when my beta will be back online, so once again this is unbeta'd. I hope it isn't too riddled with errors.

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Out of Reach
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It soon became quite clear to Remus that Alana had made the right decision with regard to Eve’s schooling. The little minx was already a very powerful young witch, with a speciality for drawing with the entire packet of crayons at once.

Unfortunately, at three years old, she was unable to understand what it was she was doing, and had no comprehension of why she shouldn’t do magic in front of muggles.

Remus had explained to Alana about the various wizarding schools available for her daughter. Alana wasn’t sure about sending Eve to a boarding school, but there was plenty of time for her to make that decision in the future.

In the meantime, Remus looked after Eve whist Alana was at work, and tried to teach the youngster about how to control her magic.

Remus later reflected that those first weeks of his job were amongst the happiest of his life. He had never really thought about teaching as a profession, at least not until he had seen the advert, and he knew that he would never be able to teach somewhere like Hogwarts, but he found he was thoroughly enjoying his position as a private tutor.

He had been working for Alana for nearly a week when Romulus popped into her kitchen. Alana, who was not prepared for the ghost’s appearance, promptly dropped the dish she was holding, causing it to shatter on the floor.

Remus pulled out his wand, quickly repaired the bowl and levitated it back onto the table.

“Sorry,” Romulus apologised. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here. I’m Remus’s brother. Romulus Lupin, at your service.”

Alana stuck out her hand before realising that as a ghost he could not shake it. Romulus shrugged and gave a small bow instead.

“You really need to learn to knock or something,” Remus muttered. “And why wouldn’t she be here? It’s her house.”

“We thought she’d still be at work, since you’re not home yet,” Romulus replied.

“I said I’d stick around for half an hour, just whilst Alana makes dinner. I’m keeping the minx out of mischief.” He nodded to Eve who was drawing a picture of something that looked vaguely like a castle on a large sheet of paper.

“That’s very good,” Romulus said as he looked over the drawing. He smiled at Eve and crouched down so that he was on eye level with her. “Is that Hogwarts?”

Eve nodded and continued to magically control the crayons, copying the picture that Remus had briefly shown her that morning.

“I think she’s going to be a magical artist when she grows up,” Remus commented. “She’s very talented.”

“Definitely better than you,” Romulus replied.

“Did you come here just to insult me?” Remus asked with a smirk.

“Hmm? Oh, no, Sirius sent me. He’s ordering takeout for dinner and wanted to know what you wanted. Any preferences?”

Alana laughed briefly, then flushed as the two men turned to see what was causing her such amusement. “Sorry,” she said. “But, it just seems so strange.”

“Strange?” Romulus asked with a frown. “How so?”

“Well, you’re a ghost. You’re supposed to be all wailing and moaning and rattling chains, not popping in to discuss children’s drawings and takeout.”

“Well, I’m just a glorified errand boy these days.” Romulus grinned widely. “Though I think you’ll find that I am quite capable of discussing any number of interesting topics. I don’t go in for the wailing and moaning bit, and as for the chains… I’ve had my fill of those in Azkaban.”

Alana paled slightly.

“I see you’ve heard of the place,” Romulus commented.

“It’s a prison, isn’t it?”

Romulus nodded and turned to Remus. “So, takeout… what do you fancy?”

Remus grinned.

“Let me rephrase that,” Romulus muttered, before Remus could send him back to Sirius with a less than suitable message. “What do you want for dinner?”

“So, you can just pop in and out of any place you like?” Alana asked as she sat down at the table.

“Any place that isn’t warded against ghosts,” Romulus confirmed. “Though popping up in muggle areas isn’t recommended.”

“Can you turn invisible?” Alana asked.

“Why would I want to do that?” Romulus replied with a frown of confusion.

Remus snickered to himself.

“It must be nice to be invisible,” Alana said.

“Not that nice,” Remus interrupted. “A friend of mine from school has an invisibility cloak, and while it was fun some of the time, after a bit it got to be a right pain.”

“But ghosts can’t turn invisible?” Alana questioned.

Romulus shook his head. “Afraid not.”

Alana nodded thoughtfully. “Good.”

“What’s so good about it?” Remus asked with a grin. “Afraid my big brother is going to spy on you?”

Alana blushed bright red. “No. But if ghosts can turn invisible, who’s to say who might be lurking around?”

Romulus laughed and leaned across the table. “I promise, if I could turn invisible, you’d be the first one I’d spy on.”

“Hey!” Remus exclaimed whilst Alana turned an even deeper red than she already was.

“What?” Romulus asked with a grin.

“Could you quit flirting with my employer?” Remus asked. “I’d like to keep this job, if you don’t mind. Tell Sirius to order for me, he knows what I like.”

Romulus grinned, winked at Alana and disappeared.

“I’ve finished my drawing,” Eve announced, lifting up the paper and displaying her work. “Oh, didn’t the ghost want to see my drawing?”

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid he had to go,” Alana said. “Perhaps if you ask Remus nicely, he’ll persuade his brother to come and visit again.” She looked at Remus hopefully.

“Shouldn’t be too difficult to talk him into stopping by,” Remus replied.

“Really?” Alana asked. “Is he, you know, like you?”

Remus frowned. “He’s not a werewolf, if that’s what you mean. Just a ghost.”

“No.” Alana shook her head. “I meant is he like you and Sirius… you know…”

“Oh, you mean, is he gay?” Alana nodded. “Nah, he’s straight. But being dead is a bit of an obstacle for him. The last girl who hit on him was one of the Hogwarts ghosts and he ran a mile.”

“He did?”

Remus nodded and chuckled. “Moaning Myrtle stalked him for ages.”

“Moaning Myrtle? That’s not her real name, is it?”

“I doubt it,” Remus replied with a laugh. “She used to be a student at the school, but she died there, and now she haunts the place. That’s what everyone calls her.”

“She died at the school?” Alana squeaked. “And you think I should send Eve there?”

Remus smiled and shook his head. “It’s up to you whether you send her there or not, but most students do make it out of there alive, I promise.”

Alana looked slightly relieved at that news and turned back towards the cooker. Remus helped Eve put away her crayons and began to gather his things together.

“So, how old was your brother when he died?” Alana asked as she added some seasoning to the stew.

“Nearly twenty four,” Remus replied after a moment of thought.

“Oh.”

“Why do you ask?”

Alana shrugged. “I just wondered. I thought that maybe he was around my age. I didn’t realise he was so young.”

Remus smiled. “He’d be a year younger than you, if he were still alive,” he told her. “But he isn’t. He’s very much a ghost.”

Alana smiled back. “But a very handsome ghost,” she said. “There’s no harm in a bit of flirting, is there?”

Remus grinned. “No harm at all, as long as you understand that’s all it will ever be. Wizards can do a great many things, but even the most powerful wizard in the world can’t bring the dead back to life.”

Alana nodded that she understood. Remus hoped that she did.

-o-xXx-o-

“I think we might have a problem,” Remus told Sirius as they sat listening to the evening’s Quidditch League game on the wireless.

“Hmm?” Sirius murmured sleepily. He was half asleep, his head resting on Remus’s shoulder, as he answered.

“I think Alana might fancy Rom.”

Sirius snorted. “As long as she doesn’t start to fancy the younger Lupin brother, I don’t see we need to worry about it.”

“It’s not funny,” Remus replied. “She’s a muggle and he’s a ghost.”

“Romulus isn’t stupid. He knows it would be insane to encourage her.”

“That’s a matter of opinion. He was flirting with her when he popped in earlier.”

“I’m sure he was just being friendly.”

Remus frowned. He hoped that Sirius was right. Alana was a muggle; she knew little enough about their world as it was, she didn’t understand that ghosts were earthbound spirits forever, or that only wizards and witches were given the option to become so.

“What if he wasn’t?” Remus asked. “What if he likes her, too?”

Sirius sighed. “Romulus is the most sensible bloke I know, except for Dumbledore. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”

“I hope so,” Remus replied before turning his attention back to the game.

-o-xXx-o-

Remus apparated into the backyard of Alana’s house – a near miss with the muggle postman on his third morning had persuaded him that the rear of the house was far more suitable for such things.

He let himself into the house with the spare key and walked through to the living room.

Usually when he arrived for work, he found Alana ready to leave for her own job, and Eve playing on the floor.

On this particular morning however, he saw that although Alana and Eve were in the living room, they were not alone.

“No!” Alana exclaimed with a laugh.

“Yeah, so all of them wound up in detention apart from Remus, the one who had orchestrated the whole thing.”

“Telling tales on me, Rom?” Remus asked as he approached Eve and bent down to ruffle her hair.

“Rom’s been telling me about the mischief you got up to at school,” Alana explained.

Remus quickly covered up the frown of annoyance at hearing someone else calling Romulus ‘Rom’. That was his name for his brother and no one else, except for little Cecily had ever called him it. He hadn’t minded Cecily using the name, she was only a child after all, but hearing someone else, a grown woman, using the pet name caused a sharp stab of jealousy.

“Rem?” Romulus asked curiously. “You all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Remus replied with a forced smile. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“See what I mean?” Romulus said to Alana. “No manners at all. Can’t even manage a simple good morning for his big brother.”

“Good morning, Romulus,” Remus said with a roll of his eyes. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Visiting,” Romulus replied. “You said Eve wanted me to come and see her drawing, so I figured I’d stop by.”

“I’m not sure that Alana really needs a nosy spook like you hanging around gossiping when she needs to get ready for work,” Remus suggested.

“I don’t mind,” Alana said, a little too quickly for Remus’s liking. “I’ve not had many visitors since Eve started doing magic; it’s nice to have someone else to talk to, without having to worry about her doing something like that.” She pointed at Eve, who was magically summoning crayons from their packet.

“We’ll have to introduce her to some other young witches and wizards,” Romulus suggested.

“You don’t know any other children her age,” Remus reminded him, trying to ignore the casual way that Romulus had included himself in the plans.

“Hmm, I guess not,” Romulus agreed. “Cecily is nine now, and eager to go to Hogwarts. Though Eve might have a playmate with Regulus’s young sprog, when it’s born.”

“Regulus?” Alana asked.

“Sirius’s younger brother,” Remus explained. “Though since the baby hasn’t even been born yet, it might be a while before Eve has him or her for a playmate.”

“Well,” Alana announced. “I should be going to work. You going to stick around all day?”

Romulus shrugged in answer to the question. “If I don’t drive Remus right round the twist I’ll probably be here when you get back.”

Remus turned to Romulus as soon as Alana had left, but his words were cut off almost immediately. “Don’t start, Rem,” Romulus warned.

“She’s a muggle.”

“It’s not like I’m breaking the Statute of Secrecy. She already knows about our world.”

“That doesn’t mean she understands it all,” Remus pointed out.

“So, we can teach her. Explain things to her, so she does understand.”

“It isn’t your place to teach her.”

“Why not?” Romulus countered. “Because I’m dead? Where does it say I have to spend eternity loitering around an empty house in Hogsmeade?”

“I’m not saying you should,” Remus argued.

“Yes, you are!” Romulus snapped. “I’m not your own private ghost, I can hang out with whoever I want, as long as I don’t wind up before the Ministry.”

“But Alana’s a muggle!”

“So you keep saying. I’m not stupid. I know what she is.”

“Then stop encouraging her.”

“Encouraging her? I’m not doing anything other than stopping by a few times to talk to her.”

“A few times?” Remus questioned. “Have you been back here since you first stopped by?”

Romulus shrugged. “I came back that evening, but Eve was already asleep, so I couldn’t see her drawing. Alana said I could come back this morning, so Eve could show me the picture herself.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” Remus asked, nodding absentmindedly at Eve as she displayed her latest creation for his approval.

“It’s not doing anyone any harm,” Romulus insisted.

“It does if you let her think there can be anything more between you than casual conversations,” Remus pointed out.

“I only met her a few days ago,” Romulus reminded him. “All we’ve done is talk.”

“And that’s all you can do!”

“Thanks for the reminder, Remus,” Romulus snapped back. “Do you think I don’t know that?”

“Then why torment yourself, and her, by wanting what you can’t have?”

Romulus sighed and looked at Eve. “Did you know that Alana used to crave Fortescue’s ice creams when she was carrying Eve?”

Remus frowned in confusion. “Why would I know that? And more to the point, how do you know that?”

“She was at the Parlour when I took you to buy your school things,” Romulus told him. “She was the woman sitting at the next table; don’t you remember?”

Remus shook his head. “Not really. I remember us getting ice cream, but I don’t remember her.”

Romulus smiled. “She doesn’t remember us either. She was very intent on her food at the time.”

“How is it you remember her?” Remus asked, dreading the answer even as he asked the question.

“She caught my eye,” Romulus replied with a casual shrug. “If you hadn’t been so intent on your own ice cream, you’d probably have noticed that I couldn’t stop staring over at her.”

“So, you fancy her?”

“Any bloke with eyes in his head would,” Romulus replied, before remembering whom he was talking to and amending his words accordingly. “Any straight bloke, that is.”

Remus nodded thoughtfully. “I think that you’ve just given me the very reason why you shouldn’t come round here any more,” he said quietly.

“Do I give you advice on your love life?”

“All the time,” Remus reminded him with a grin.

“And do you ever listen to me?”

“Um.”

“It’s my life, and I’ll visit Alana for as long as she wants me to.”

“But it’s not your life, is it?” Remus asked. “You’re dead.”

“Again, the reminder isn’t needed.”

“You can’t lead her on like this.”

“I’m not leading her on. It’s not like she doesn’t know I’m a ghost. She can see that for herself.”

“But…”

“Don’t bother, Remus,” Romulus said with another sigh of impatience. “You can sit there and scold and complain as much as you like. It won’t change the fact that there’s nothing you can do to stop me visiting.”

-o-xXx-o-

Sirius let out a low whistle of appreciation as Alana descended the stairs, all dressed up for her date.

“You look wonderful,” Remus assured her with a smile.

“You think so?” Alana asked nervously. She smoothed her hands over the dress, clearly unsure as to whether she’d made the right choice.

“You look gorgeous,” Sirius said with a grin. “Come on, give us a twirl.”

Alana obliged, prompting another whistle as she revealed the low cut of the back of the dress. “You don’t think it’s a little too… er…?”

“Definitely not,” Sirius replied. “You’ll be turning heads all night in that little number.”

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Alana hesitated. “What if Eve wakes up?”

“She’ll be fine, we’ll all be fine,” Remus promised. “Now stop worrying, or you’re going to be late.”

“You don’t think the dress is a little revealing?” Alana queried anxiously.

“You look wonderful,” Remus repeated.

“That’s a matter of opinion,” Romulus interrupted from where he’d suddenly appeared near the front door.

Alana, already nervous, halted her progress across the hall. She stared at Romulus with a stricken look on her face.

“What’s wrong with it?” Sirius asked. “She looks stunning.”

“She looks like a tart,” Romulus argued. “She’s wearing too much makeup, the dress is too short, it reveals way too much cleavage; if she bends over she’ll risk exposing the rest of it. As for the back…”

“Maybe I should go change,” Alana whispered, edging back towards the stairs, although pointedly not turning her back on the three men.

“Nonsense,” Sirius said, pulling her back towards the door. “You look great, you’re going to have a lovely evening and you’re not going to worry.”

“Maybe I should get a jacket or something.”

“We’re in the middle of an Indian summer and it’s boiling hot,” Remus reminded her. “Besides, you don’t want to ruin the outfit.”

“But…”

“No arguments,” Sirius continued, steering her out of the door and towards the waiting taxi.

Remus waited until the door was closed before turning to Romulus with a glare. “What the hell did you say all that for? She was nervous enough and all you’ve done is upset her.”

“I was just expressing my opinion,” Romulus replied with a casual shrug. “You and Sirius don’t look at her the same way straight men do.”

“You mean we don’t look at her the same way you do?” Remus countered.

“Don’t start that again,” Romulus growled.

“You like her,” Remus accused. “More than you’re admitting. You’re jealous that she has a date tonight.”

“What if am?”

Remus groaned and shook his head. “You’re a ghost!” he snapped. “You’re dead.”

“Not that bloody dead,” Romulus muttered.

“Dead enough that you can’t have a proper life with her,” Remus pointed out. “You’ve been in a foul mood ever since she said she had a date tonight. You can’t expect her to give up her life.”

“I never said I wanted her to.”

“Well, I hope you’re satisfied,” Sirius snapped as he walked back into the house. “The poor woman looked like she was about to burst into tears.”

“I didn’t mean to upset her,” Romulus whispered, looking suddenly contrite. “I just…”

“Fancy her,” Sirius supplied. “Yeah, we figured that out for ourselves.”

“How did everything turn into such a mess?” Romulus wondered out loud as he glided over to the window.

“I’m going to check on Eve,” Remus said and he walked towards the staircase.

“I’ll do it,” Romulus said.

Remus shrugged, knowing that his brother wanted some time away from the hostility that had filled the entrance hall. “Call us if there’s anything wrong,” he said.

Romulus nodded and disappeared upstairs.

Remus followed Sirius into the living room and turned on the muggle television. He flicked through the channels until he found a variety show that looked like it might be amusing, and then settled down on the sofa beside Sirius.

“This is nice,” Remus murmured as he tucked his head under Sirius’s arm and cuddled up against him.

“Hmm.”

“You think Rom’s going to be okay?” Remus asked.

“I think the two of them are even more screwed than we were,” Sirius muttered.

Remus was about to say something else when he heard Romulus’s voice coming through the baby monitor. At first he thought he was calling down to them, but quickly realised that that wasn’t the case, and he was simply talking to Eve.

“Still awake, huh?”

“Bet she is now,” Remus chuckled.

“Can you keep a secret?”

Remus exchanged a quick glance with Sirius and turned up the volume on the monitor. He knew he should feel guilty about eavesdropping, especially since his brother probably had no idea what a monitor was, let alone that there was one in the room. But curiosity was currently hog tying morals and bundling it into a darkened closet, and he and Sirius listened with breathless anticipation.

“I thought your mum looked really pretty tonight.”

Sirius snorted. Like they didn’t know that already.

“I wish I were the one taking her out to dinner, instead of being stuck like this.”

Sirius leaned across and turned the volume back down. They would hear if she began to cry, but regular talking would no longer be picked up. “We don’t need to hear this,” he whispered, knowing that Remus would only begin to feel guilty if they continued to listen.

Remus nodded reluctantly and curled up beside Sirius, eventually drifting off to sleep to the sound of the television.

Sirius stayed awake and carefully moved Remus so that he was positioned more comfortably on the sofa, his head cushioned on his lap. He was idly stroking Remus’s hair when he heard the front door quietly opening.

“You’re back early,” Sirius commented quietly, gesturing to where Remus was fast asleep so that Alana wouldn’t wake him.

Alana tiptoed into the room and sat in one of the chairs, kicking off her shoes and wriggling her toes in obvious relief.

“Didn’t go that well, huh?” Sirius asked sympathetically.

“Not really,” Alana admitted. “I don’t know, I spent half the time worrying about Eve, and the rest worrying about what Romulus had said.”

“You didn’t?”

“I couldn’t help it. I know you’re all capable of looking after her, but I’ve never left her at night before.”

“You shouldn’t worry about what Romulus said either,” Sirius scolded affectionately. “You look great, and he thinks so, too.”

Alana brightened considerably at that. “He does?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why did he say what he did?”

“Maybe you better ask him that,” Sirius suggested. “He’s upstairs with Eve if you want to talk to him.”

“I might just do that,” Alana agreed, standing up again, but forgoing the shoes in favour of walking barefoot.

Sirius waited until he heard her footsteps on the stairs before reaching carefully across for the baby monitor and turning the volume back up.

“Has she been behaving?” he heard Alana whisper a few moments later.

“She went to sleep about half an hour after you left and hasn’t woken once,” Romulus replied.

“Good. I would hate to think she was acting up.”

“Did you have a nice time?”

“It was okay.”

“About what I said before… I didn’t mean it. You look beautiful, and I’m sorry for upsetting you.”

“So, why did you?”

“Jealous, I guess.”

“There’s no need to be.”

“Isn’t there?”

“I’m not saying we wouldn’t have our problems, but I’m willing to give it a go.”

“Problems? Do you have any idea what you’re suggesting?”

“Yes.”

“What’s that?” Romulus sounded curious, and Sirius could tell from his tone that his question didn’t stem from the conversation.

“A baby monitor,” Alana replied. “I’m just turning it off.”

There was a small click from the monitor in Sirius’s hand and then it went quiet.

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop,” Remus commented with a yawn.

“Don’t you mean we?” Sirius asked as Remus sat up and blinked owlishly.

“I hope he knows what he’s doing,” Remus said, ignoring Sirius’s question. They were both equally guilty of eavesdropping after all.

“Do any of us ever really know what we’re doing?” Sirius replied.