This one-shot is a gift for my teammate, HP Slash Luv!
One of the ideas she requested was a fic based off of a Taylor Swift song. I thought it sounded fun, so here we go!
(Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter)
Plink. Plink. Pink.
Lilly dropped her textbook onto her standard-issue Hogwarts bedspread and flitted over to the tower window. A dark form stood on the grass below, holding out his wand mid-levitation spell.
Plink.
She smiled as the last pebble struck the glass. The smell of wolfsbane drifted through the window on the warm June air as she pushed it open to the night sky.
"Remus." She magically projected her voice with a flick of her wand. Her whisper carried effortlessly on the breeze to the ground far below. "The purple hollyhocks. Twenty minutes."
The silence of the night engulfed the seventh-year dorm; the only sound the soft snores of her housemates as she tiptoed past the drawn curtains of their four-posters.
She threaded her fingers through her long red hair as she padded through the darkness of the common room. As she slipped between the velveteen armchair and its matching loveseat, a bodiless arm shot out from the darkness to grab hold of her shoulder.
She clapped her palm over her mouth to cover the shriek that tried to escape. Tratorious nerves, trying to blow her cover. "James! I know that's you," she hissed.
She felt the hand tug her down; pull her onto the soft fabric of the loveseat. A flash of light illuminated dark, messy hair under the veil of intricately woven fabric before she found herself enveloped under the invisibility cloak, James' wand creating a halo of light under the tent of fabric.
"Sneaking out to see me, are you? That's terribly flattering."
Lilly rolled her eyes. "You know I'm not. Now let me go so I can get on with it."
James shrugged. "Your loss. You know it would be a good time." He waved a folded piece of parchment around in the closed space, hitting the sides of his cloak. "Watch out for Slimy Sev. He's on the prowl tonight."
"Sure, Dad." She tapped his nose with her fingertip and turned to duck out from under the cloak.
"-wait." He wrapped his fingers around her forearm. "Are you sure about this? You'd never have to worry with me, you know. It would be so much simpler. I could make you so happy."
Her heart twinged at the earnest expression on his face. Not that long ago, she would have given anything to hear those words from his lips. Then a night under the stars, the smell of moonbeams and the taste of rose petals had changed her forever.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. She tried to ignore the glint of jealousy and disappointment in the corner of his eye as she turned away towards the portrait hole.
As she cracked open the castle doors and slipped out into the warm night, her heart sped up in anxious anticipation. Her footsteps echoed on the cobblestone as she scurried towards the castle garden, her eyes scanning her surroundings on a loop and her wand in her fist.
Past the whomping willow. Around the flitterbush and down the aisles of the enchanted topiary maze. Towards the soft glow of the lightning bugs illuminating a lanky form.
"I was afraid you were standing me up. What held you?"
"James." She made a face. "I didn't mean that how it sounded."
A deep, slightly feral chuckle sent a shiver up her spine that settled at the base of her skull. "It would be alright, you know, if you wanted him to. Merlin knows he's the safer choice."
"Safe? Do I look like I'm after safe?" She stepped forward until her toes found the tips of his worn leather boots.
Remus studied the glittering purple blossoms sprinkled throughout the hedge. His ragged fingers traced the outline of a petal. "You can't waste your life on me. I doubt I'll be able to hide what I really am from the world forever. Sooner or later, it's going to get out. Sev will tattle on me in a fit of jealous rage."
She lifted her fingers to the deep scar running along his temple. "Stop worrying about tomorrow. Just worry about tonight."
Conflict raged wild in his eyes as she let her hand slip down to cup his chin. "Remus. I don't care about your little wolfy problem. I'm a capable witch; I can handle myself. What I do care about is you stringing me along. How many nights have we snuck out here under the starlight, yet you still won't meet my eyes?"
His answering growl rippled through her skin and his eyes flashed gold. He wrapped his arms around her waist in a surprising show of possessiveness. "Is this what you want? To be caged in by a monster?"
Her gasp caught in her throat as she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck. "You will never be my cage. You will only ever be my freedom."
She could almost see the wolf staring at her through his eyes. Victory within her grasp. "Please, Remus; just say yes."
A toothy snarl ripped through his chest as he ducked his head towards hers and seized her lips. He tasted musty; wild- like a juicy cut of game. He pulled back sharply, his dark eyes staring into hers as he panted lightly.
A sly smile played on her face. "I wasn't done."
Remus put a finger to her lips. He looked over his shoulder at a point in the darkness. "It's Snape- I can smell him. We're dead if he finds us."
She pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle her giggle as he pulled her deeper into the rows of hedge, farther from the danger of discovery. "I know a secret path through back to the castle. He'll never know we were here."
As they approached a side entrance of the castle, he paused and pulled her back up to his chest. "Oh, and Lily?" Razor sharp teeth nipped playfully at her bottom lip. He rested his forehead against hers and looked at her through half-lidded eyes.
"Yes."