The crowd went still. All eyes were now on Diana, her words ringing to their ears.

"Diana," her mother's warning tone reached her. "Whatever do you think you're doing, you stupid child!"

"You heard me mother," Diana whispered gravely, pulling the veil off her face and taking out her wand. "I object!"

"DIANA, NO —" her mother screamed, Evan reached out for his wand, her brother had rushed to his feet.

But they were all too late.

Diana had already Disapparated, vanishing into thin air.

***

By the time Diana found her way to that town, the sun had already sunk into the sky. She stepped into the darkness, aware of her surroundings. No stars to light up the sky, not even the lustre of the moon could break through the impervious mask. They were somewhere behind the haze of black clouds  covering the sky.

     Her mind was a blur with stress, her breaths coming out rapidly as she walked across the town. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, her white dress dragging behind her.

    Wanting to escape the attention she was receiving, Diana decided to walk from one shadowy alleyway to another, trying to find her way to his house.

     After the attack on his family, they had went into hiding and temporarily moved to another place, hidden in a small Muggle village. There had never been a record of witches and wizards living there, mostly because of its many churches and the history of its people burning witches centuries before.

     But Diana knew he lived here now, and she wasn't going to rest until she found him.

     Diana was growing tired. The town was large, and she couldn't go around asking anyone for direction to his house, because maybe he was living here with his parents under fake names. Hours had already passed, and she was growing tired, her feet burning in pain from all the walking.

     So, taking out her wand, she cast a spell to get rid of her high heels, turning them into flat shoes so she could keep on walking. 

      And that was when she saw it, and she just knew; just as she reached the end of the town, she saw a small wooden house with two floors, almost crooked if you paid close attention to it. It looked odd, as though it wasn't assembled with hands.

     But rather... with magic.

     This had to be it.

     No lights were coming from inside the house. It was near midnight. Were they not home? Or were they already sleeping?

     Either way, Diana had to take her chances.

She tiptoed around the house. There were two rooms upstairs. And at last, from outside she saw a Gryffindor flag hung on the wall of one of the rooms, even though its window was closed and everything else was dark inside.

     So, with the help of everything her mother had disapproved of, her old unladylike habits came to her aid and she began to climb up the tree right beside the house. The branches were thick and old, so she could rest assured that they wouldn't break under her weight. Although her lacy veil and long dress certainly weren't helping, getting stuck to the leaves and branches every few seconds.

"Damn you!" Diana whispered angrily under her breath, trying to untangle her veil for the third time, until she finally reached the room on the second floor.

She climbed up to its windowsill outside and sat there, beginning to fumble with the window and slowly pushing it up, opening it.

Everything was dark and quiet inside, except for a gentle sound of someone's steady breaths, in and out.

This was it.

Diana's heart was pounding. She could barely breathe. Slowly and gently, she began to put one leg after another across the open window and step inside. But just then, her foot got stuck over a book laying on the floor, and she fell over with a loud thud.

"STAY RIGHT THERE! DON'T MOVE!" The person who was sleeping had shot awake, standing on his feet with a wand in his hand, pointing it directly at Diana threateningly.

She tried to get up to her feet —

"I said don't move!"

"Remus — it's me — please — it's me!"

Stepping forward into moonlight, Remus's face came into sight, and she could see the shocked look in his eyes as he immediately recognized her, and then took in the long white dress and messed up veil over her head.

"Diana..." he whispered, lowering his wand through shaky hands. He was shirtless, only in his trousers. "Wha — what are you doing here?"

"I'll explain everything. I promise," she said out of breath. "But please first lock the door and cast the silencing charm. I don't want your parents bursting in and hexing me."

"They won't be home tonight, but fine," he said coldly, but did as she asked and then placed his wand back down on the nightstand beside his bed.

"Well?" he tried to say in a stern voice, but his complexion was betraying him.

     "I'm sorry, Remus," Diana said, falling silent after. She watched him, waiting for him to say something, and yet he didn't.

     But perhaps that wasn't fair to him. This was her responsibility. It was her words that had hurt him. She owed it to him.

      "I couldn't go through with it," she went on, in the darkness of the room. "I couldn't let myself that kind of life. A life where my only purpose would be to pop out heirs and keep the pure blood on going. And not just with anyone. With that monster."

     She took a shaky breath, trying to find the strength to go on.

     "I know it might be too late to have you back, after all the things I made you go through. After all the terrible things I said to you and made you feel. And most of all I'm sorry that I put you and your family in danger. I never wanted that for you. I..."

     Another deep breath.

     "I love you, Remus."

     She managed to glance up at him, but Remus still hadn't moved. He was still watching her, his expression unreadable.

     "Look, I don't expect you to take me back. But please know that it wasn't an easy decision for me to run away like that. And I know there's going to be consequences. They're going to come after me and try to get me back. I know that. I-I just wanted your forgiveness. I don't expect you to say anything, or —"

     Remus cut her off and caught her by surprise as he quickly moved forward, grabbing her face with his hands and slamming his lips against her, kissing her.

     It took Diana a moment longer, but she closed her eyes at last and kissed him back, though a single tear drop ran down from the corner of her eye.

     Remus pulled back ever so lightly, pressing his forehead down on hers, closing his eyes and taking in the sweet scent of her. "I love you too."

     Diana smiled, the feeling of relief washing over her like a bucket of ice-cold water. She went on her tiptoes and pressed herself against her bare chest, kissing him again with a burning passion.

     Her hands went up through his brown hair, desperately trying to bring him closer her even though there was no space left between them. Remus wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss until they were both out of breath.

     Diana groaned in despair when Remus broke the kiss, but her breath hitched in her lungs as he felt his lips slowly dragging down to her neck, trailing kisses against her soft skin as he went.

     Before she could stop herself, a soft moan left her lips as he bit down on her collarbone, sure that a bruise would be left on the spot the next morning.

      He then brought his lips back to hers again, kissing her more passionately. Slowly, he took a step forward, causing her to take a step back with their lips still attached. He led her backward until the back of her legs felt the bed behind them.

     The next thing she knew, Remus had pushed her down on the mattress, laying on top of her. Diana's heartbeat had picked up, wanting more, craving more. She wrapped her fingers through his hair and then bit his lower lips, causing a deep groan to escape his throat.

     He pulled away long enough to take the veil out of her hair and tossing it on the floor. He kissed her again, but Diana let out a breath as she felt his hand lifting her long skirt, his warm fingers suddenly touching the skin over her thigh.

     She bucked up her hips in anticipation, but Remus had stopped his fingers, keeping them on a certain spot. Diana glanced up at him, seeing that he was looking at her with hesitation, waiting for her approval. Too desperate for his touch, Diana quickly nodded before kissing him again, moving her lips against his once more.

     He trailed his fingers upward, torturously slow. She felt her back arch in anticipation, knowing where his fingers would soon reach. Her head rocked back against the pillow as he did, another moan escaping her.

     Remus pulled away, but before Diana could drag him back to her, he had grabbed her waist and turned her around in a sudden motion, so that she was sitting on the bed with him sitting right behind her. Her heart was pounding, her mind a blur, her skin on fire.

     He then pulled her silky blond hair to one side, giving him better access as he leaned down to press a soft and sweet kiss against her shoulder, his fingers slowly reaching toward the laces at the back of her corset, loosening them one after another.