The Love Of A Wizard

Disclaimer: The characters belong to J.K Rowling (except the muggle characters, they are mine). Trust me, I am not making money from any of them.


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Chapter 1
Encounters

Claudia grew up in the suburbs of America. Her life was as normal as anyone could expect. After high school, she attended college and met her husband. They married on the beaches of California and honeymooned on the Hawaiian islands. The greatest day of their lives was the day their daughter Emma was born. They had a perfect life together for more than 3 years.
The day the phone call came that her husband had been in a terrible car crash was the worst day of her life. He had been driving in the rain and another driver hit him head on. He was killed instantly. From the news of his death, Claudia\'s life was thrown into complete chaos. She moved back with her mother and tried to put the pieces of her life together.
After a few months of visiting with family and consoling her daughter, Claudia received another shock. Her husband had had a large life insurance policy. She and her daughter would never have to worry about money ever again.
But the pain was still very raw and Claudia decided to do something that would give them a fresh start. Six months after her husband\'s death, Claudia and Emma packed their belongings and moved across the Atlantic Ocean to the English country side. There she bought a house of 4 bedrooms and on miles of land. Here, they could let nature heal their wounds, away from the ever tearful family members who stopped by daily.
Claudia and Emma began to look after stray animals that wandered onto their property. Dogs and cats of all shapes and sizes were housed, fed and cared for in their home. A few times, people from nearby towns would come to visit in hopes of adopting an animal from her. She was known as the animal healer.
So it came to pass that one morning Claudia woke up and began her morning routine of feeding and watering the animals. She used an old golf cart to get around her property, the land was vast. Rolling hills and a small pond hidden behind a veil of trees. This was her paradise. No more does she dread visitors, she welcomed them and made many friends because of it. Stopping by the pond was one of her duties, to feed the ducks that had made a home of it. She was throwing bread to them as they swam in circles competing for the biggest piece when she heard a muffled sound.
This was a sound she had heard before, a dog that was injured made this sound. She stood very still and listened. The ducks were still quacking and making splashing noises, that it was hard for her to hear where it was coming from. She walked around the pond and looked into all of the bushes. Just as she was about to give up hopes, another sound from the dog reached her ears. She looked to her left and there under a broken tree lay a massive black dog.
He looked as if someone had tried to put him through a shredder. Pieces of skin and fur were hanging off of his neck, shoulders and back. Claudia ran to get the golf cart and backed it up next to the tree.
\"Come on sweet boy.\" She whispered to him. \"I\'m going to help you.\" As if he understood, he allowed Claudia to pick him up and load him onto the back of the cart.
It took Claudia a bit longer to reach her house, due to trying to keep him from falling out. When she reached the house Emma met her on the porch with her little hands holding a baby kitten. She waved to her mother.
\"Hi Mommy!\" Her eyes spotted the large dog and her eyes filled with tears. \"Mommy! The doggie is hurt. Can you fix him?\" She looked up at her other and waited. Emma was always fearful of death after her father\'s passing. A simple thing like a dead bird would fill her with such sadness that she would mourn for a week.
\"Well honey...\" Claudia started trying to sound cheerful. \"he is hurt pretty bad, but if we hurry, I bet we can help him.\" Claudia prayed with all her might that this dog would not die. Emma became attached to the animals they cared for, for sometimes she had no one else.
\"Go and get me water and my medical kit. Bring it to the laundry room please.\" With these words, Emma was off. Full of hopes for the big dog and eager to help in any way possible.
\"Let\'s get you out of here, shall we?\" Claudia was speaking more to herself than the dog, but it got up and out of the golf cart as if he understood. She led him to the backroom where the laundry is done and made a bed of blankets and towels and began to inspect his wounds. For a better part of three hours, Claudia cleaned, medicated and dressed wounds all over the dog\'s body. He even required stitches on two different places on his neck and shoulder. The most amazing part of all of it was that the large black dog did not seem to be bothered by any of this. He lay on the floor following Claudia\'s movements with his eyes. Never once did he growl or bite her.
The next day she and Emma went into town to by some supplies. Her care for the big black dog took almost every bandage she had and he still needed antibiotics. While she was visiting with people from town, she asked about the big black dog. No one seemed to know where he came from and no one knew anyone who had been looking for one.
On the way back to the house, as the green rolling hills quietly slipped past, Emma asked her mother if they were going to keep the big black dog.
\"Of course. If we can\'t find the owners, we have to take care of him. I just wish I knew what hurt him so badly.\"
They turned onto the rocky road that ran for almost a mile before it reached the house. As they made their way up the drive, Emma was pointing out pretty flowers in the fields.
\"Mommy, who is that?\" Claudia followed her gaze toward to house and saw a man walking ahead of them toward her house.
\"I don\'t know.\" Her brows met in the middle and she sped up a little. Her mind was racing. Never had someone walked to her house before! It was so far from anywhere, where did this person come from? She slowed the car when she reached him and rolled the window down. The man turned and she saw a very handsome, yet scruffy man standing in torn pants, a beat up shirt and a cape? Well, this was England. She didn\'t know enough of fashion these days to know that this truly as odd. His hair was brown and long, falling in an untidy mess below his shoulders. There were flecks of gray in it that caught the sunlight. His eyes were captivating. He smiled and in the most softest voice she had ever heard asked her,
\"Are you the woman who cares for animals?\"
She couldn’t speak at first. Her heart was pounding. Why was it pounding? She quickly recovered and smiled.
\"Yes. Yes I am. Can I help you?\"
\"Yes please, I lost my dog and someone told me to check with you. I hear you have a talent for injured and lost animals.\" There was a smile playing on his face. What a nice face it was.
\"Yes, correct again. What does your dog look like?\"
\"He is a very large, somewhat ugly looking black dog\" With this Emma smiled and squealed.
\"Mommy!..\" Claudia turned to her daughter and gave her a look that told her to be quiet.
\" If you would like, you can come up to the house and we can talk there.\" With that she continued driving to the house. If this was his dog, which it probably was, would she really return it? He obviously allowed this animal to come to harm and she would have to get to the bottom of how the dog was injured before returning it to him.
She was unloading the supplies from the car when he arrived on her porch. He gave her another smile.
\"I am sorry to just drop in on you. I have been very worried.\"
\"Tell me, does your dog have a name?\"
\"Yes....his name is Sirius.\" His eyes met hers and he smiled, yet again.
\"Sirius? That\'s an unusual name. Listen,\" She put her hands on her hips and looked sternly into his handsome face.” Your dog, Sirius, has indeed been injured. He was attacked by something. Do you know how he got hurt?\" His eyes dropped for a moment and then he smiled again.
\"Sirius is a bit of an escape artist I must admit. He got away from me and took off. As to his injuries, I really do not know. Is it bad?\" There was real concern in his eyes.
\"He will recover. But he can\'t go anywhere yet. Another couple of days and he will be ready to go home. Would you like to see him?\"
\"Yes. Thank you. I\'m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Remus. Remus Lupin.\" He extended his hand to her and she took it.
\"Claudia. Claudia Moore. Come in.\" She led him into the house and through to the back. She opened the door to the laundry room and stepped back allowing her guest to enter first. He walked through the door and went straight for the dog. He leaned over and whispered something into the sleeping dog\'s ear. The dog lifted his head and his tail wagged.
\"Well, it looks as if he knows you.\"
\"Yes, we are old friends, Sirius and I.\" His hand petted the dog on the head and he rose again.
\"You said it will be a few days before he can leave? I didn\'t make arrangements to stay I’m afraid.\" His voice was thick and hoarse. His eyes met Claudia\'s and such warmth filled her she spoke without thinking.
\"You are welcome to stay here of course. That way you can watch over Sirius and when he is ready you can head off together.\" WHY did she just say that? He stared at her and considered this for a moment. Another one of those smiles brightened his face again.
\"Alright.\" Emma came into the room at the news and clapped her hands.
\"Yeah! Visitors!\" Claudia and Remus laughed and the big black dog, Sirius, let out a tremendous bark. This made everyone laugh all the harder.

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A/N: This does in fact start off alittle slow. But for you die hards out there with a little patience...it will pay off! Please review, I so love hearing from al of you!