Author's note: The next two chapters are highlights in the Lucy/Remus romance, during their seventh year at Hogwarts. Like, On the Pitch, they tie in with Dear Harry. I believe this one conicides with chapter 17 or 18.


Lucy Lou, I Love You

Remus Lupin woke suddenly cold despite the roaring fire in the stone hearth and dozens of quilts piled over and around him. He felt as if something had been wretched away from him, something ripped away from his soul. It was amazingly frightening considering he had no idea what and caused this abrupt onset of sorrowful and miserable emotions overtaking his heart. Closing his pale blue eyes and breathing deeply he searched his mind for a fragment of a dream that might have caused this heartrending feeling. Not locating anything, he attempted to shake the overwhelming sensation and moved to snuggle closer to Lucy. She was not there. The soft lump next to him was not the tiny dark blonde girl he had fallen asleep cuddled up with but a large quilt rolled up to resemble a body.

"Lucy?" he whispered, his voice aching with worry. He did not receive a reply. Frantically, launching himself into an upright position his eyes sought out the tiny feminine form of Lucy Morgan in the dim light of the fire. A deep sigh of relief escaped his full lips as his blue eyes found her, curled up on the window seat. The iridescent light of the almost full moon playing on her tiny features twisted slightly in anxiety. A thick pale green quilt draped around her small body before pooling on the floor below her, one lightly tanned leg and her small arms peeking out from under the green that surrounded the rest of her. A few strands of dark blonde hair escaped from a loose bun at the base of her delicate neck. Her big copper eyes stared unblinkingly through the ice-covered window as a small shiver crawled up her spine.

Noiselessly, he stood, tugging a patterned blanket around his bare shoulders. He watched her captivated by her rhythmic breaths and unmoving form. Lucy never sat still, not even in her sleep. After coming to stand by her side, he twisted a thin strand of hair around his calloused finger before tucking it behind her ear and resting his hand on her petite shoulder. She did not move; her breaths remained as even as ever, her eyes stayed focused solely on the world outside slowly filling with snow. "Lucy," he murmured and she pulled her plump bottom lip into her mouth sucking on it thoughtfully, but that was her only sign of acknowledgement of his presence. "What's on your mind, love?"

She did not withdraw her gaze from the white world outside and her voice was barely above a whisper. "My name. I told Martin I was going to change it. I was just trying to be cruel, but now, I don't know, I am thinking maybe I should. It just seems like the best way to make the break final. Permanent." There was an immense sadness, a longing, a deep-seeded desire for something she had lost, even though it never had existed, she had only desperately tried to believe it was real, that caused an aching in her bones, in her heart. And her heartache was excruciatingly obvious in her somber expression, her faint voice, her unwavering gaze on the world outside.

The fact that he could see her pain made him feel as if someone had drove a dagger into his chest. Lucy Morgan hid her emotions. Lucy Morgan did not need someone to console her. Lucy Morgan could handle everything on her own. And this show of sorrow was only an inkling of the heartbreak she was feeling, the heartbreak that was killing her. Remus pressed his lips to her hair trying to offer some sort of comfort; Lucy merely closed her eyes and let her head fall against the icy glass of the window. "Have you thought of what you might like to change it to?" he asked softly, not changing the subject to what was really bothering her. She didn't want that. She didn't want to cry anymore.

"No," she answered faintly, her warm breath fogging the cold window.

A smile tugged at his lips as he thought of surnames that would sound well with Lucy Lou. "What about Lupin? Then you would be Lucy Lou Lupin. It's an alliteration." He asked lightly, partly as a joke, partly in extreme sincerity.

Lucy did not respond for a long moment and his stomach clenched in a most painful fashion. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to decipher the meaning behind his words. Finally, a strangled little laugh escaped her lips and she looked up at him. "Was that a proposal, Moony?"

He didn't know. He really, truly didn't know. Was it a proposal? Was it a joke, just to lighten the mood? Did she want it to be a proposal? Was he ready to be engaged? Or even more, to be married? "Uh," his mouth seemed to be unable to form any words. It seemed perfectly content just hanging open as he stared at her sad little closed mouth smile.

She watched him struggle, watched him deal with the expected question he had so easily posed, watched it confuse him as much as it confused her. Committing to this relationship had been difficult enough for her, coming to terms with the reality that it was okay to fall in love was one of hardest things she had ever done. Was she really ready to take it even further? She had just spent hours screaming about the atrocity that was marriage. She had just ended any semblance of a relationship with her parents because of marriage. Because she did not want to be married. Yet, here she was seriously considering throwing her arms around this man's neck and screaming "yes" until her voice became hoarse and refused to make sound any longer.

"Yes," he decisively answered and as the word left his mouth, he realized he had never been more positive of anything in his life.

Her jaw fell completely shattering the tiny bow shape her lips took on when she smiled that sad little smile. He smirked slightly as he turned the tables on her. Lucy didn't know how to answer him. She wanted to say yes, she really did. But she wasn't ready for this. She just wasn't. So, instead of trying to put that into words she slowly rose to her knees, the thick green quilt slipping from around her as she wound her arms around his neck, kissing him.

Remus stood in shock for an infinite moment as her tongue gently asked for entrance. She eased the patterned blanket off his shoulders and it pooled in floor around his bare feet, mingling with her green one. Their skin, newly exposed to the cool air of the room, broke out into goose flesh as their tongues danced around each other, tasting the familiar tang that belonged to only them. "Lucy," he moaned against her hair, his hands memorizing the feel of her skin, as she slowly nibbled her way down his jaw, sucking on that little patch of skin just behind his ear. His heart pounded in his chest with a dull ache. She wasn't going to answer him; he could feel it. "Please, Luce, you have to say something. Anything." ­

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She nodded resting her head on his shoulder and hugged his body to her. "Moons, I-" her voice broke and she placed a tiny wet kiss on his neck to delay her answer. Sliding down to sit on the edge of the of window seat, her legs bent under her, she pressed her forehead against his bare abdomen breathing deeply, her arms tightly wrapped around him. He carefully stroked her hair waiting for her to speak, his long fingers entangling in her dark blonde locks. She tilted her head up and he held her cheeks in his hands. "I love you, Remus. I swear; I do. I just, that's so big." Her voice was less than a whisper now. He kneeled down on the pile of blankets in front of her, briefly brushing his lips across hers.

"I'm sorry, sweets, I shouldn't have asked that. I was just-" she shook her head fiercely and he stopped speaking.

"No, Moony, no. That's not what I mean. I want to… eventually, but gods, Moons, we're barely eighteen." Her copper eyes locked on his pale blue ones. They mirrored her trepidation.

"I know," he breathed against her lips. "What if we just promise that one day we will? Not anytime soon, just one day, we will make it official, okay?"

Lucy nodded slowly, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder. "So, it's the same just… tweaked a little?"

"Yeah, we stay the same, but it will make my life a lot easier years from now when I do decide to make a real proposal, with a real ring, because you already promised to say yes." He whispered cheekily, his lips brushing across her temple with each word.

"Then, I don't need to get my name changed because I will have yours, eventually?" she asked in a pleased tone, her warm breath tickling his ear.

"Exactly." He leaned back in her arms to see her face, his fingers interlacing behind her back.

"Lucy Lou Lupin. I like that," she murmured before kissing him again, smiling against his lips. He slid his hands from behind her back and up to her breasts, cupping the small firm mounds and grazing his thumb across the little hard peaks that were her nipples. She shivered in desire, her head falling back a bit, and a tiny sigh escaping her parted lips. "You're cruel," she whispered, looking at the ceiling with unopened eyes. He smirked knowing she wouldn't see it because her eyes always fluttered closed after he did that.

His chest rumbled as he chuckled, "only a little," in her ear before kissing his way down her neck. Lucy moaned throatily as his mouth found her breast, her tiny hands tugging at his shaggy hair. She slipped her legs out from under her, dropping them from her seat and attempting to wrap them around him, but he halted her movements, sliding his large hands down to her thighs and dropping his head lower and on to her stomach, kissing her cool skin vehemently. She called out his name leaning back against the frigid window, which immediately turned a frothy white as the contrasting temperature of her skin made contact. The harsh shiver that quaked through her body brought Remus' attentions away from his affections and back to her face.

As he lifted his gaze, she sat up slipping off the edge of the seat, squeezing between him and the wall. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she gave him a tiny push and guided him down to the floor. She straddled him and covered his neck, his chest, his stomach with vicious little kisses, leaving tiny little marks in precise locations. He groaned gutturally as her mouth moved lower. "Luc-" he started his voice husky with desire, but she cut off his words by bringing her focus back to his mouth, kissing him passionately. Not wanting to let her dominate for long he rolled her over pinning her shoulders to the floor. She gave an annoyed little squeak but the majority of it was muffled as he brought his lips crashing back down upon hers. When they were both aching with need he plunged within her. She gasped in surprise but it quickly turned to moans of pleasure urging him on as their bodies swayed in their erotic dance. She screamed and arched up against him as waves of ecstasy washed over her and soon his deep voice melded in with hers as he erupted inside of her.

Afterwards, they laid sedated, side-by-side, slick with sweat and panting slightly. Lucy rolled over sitting up a little and kissed him, just above his collarbone, before resting her head on his chest. He smoothed her hair and kissed the crown of her head. "Moony?" she whispered.

"Mm?" came his sleepy reply.

"I was thinking." He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at that statement; she was stalling, again.

"Yes, love?" he urged her on.

"Well, does it ever feel weird… when I call you Moony when, uh, I am… well, having an orgasm?" He fought down a chuckle. Only Lucy would ever ask such a thing.

"Why?" he asked.

She sighed heavily, her breath washing across his skin, sending it into delightful fits of tingling. "I don't know, I was just thinking, Moony is what the guys call you and that's a little weird… you know, me screaming out a nickname that Sirius probably gave you."

He did chuckle this time, drawing an intricate across the bare surface of her back. "It will probably be weird now."

"Sorry," she muttered a little self-consciously.

"'S alright. Maybe you should just try calling me Remus. That is my name you know."

A little hum buzzed in her throat before she propped herself up on her elbow, chewing on the side of her lip. "But, Remus is so… McGonagall calls you Remus. Thinking about Sirius and James while we have sex is bad enough. Could you imagine picturing stern-faced Minerva McGonagall while we are shagging? God, I don't think I would be able to have sex, again." His hoarse laugh made her grin and look embarrassedly to the left, her cheeks staining red. "I'm sorry. I am totally killing the afterglow."

"No, no," he chuckled tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Your odd little thoughts are intriguing." Smiling up at her, he watched her cheeks flush red again. "Okay, so, Moony is a no because Sirius calls me that. Remus is definitely a no because from this day forward an image of Professor McGonagall will pop into my head every time you utter that name in your sexy voice. I am just going to assume Lupin is out of the question because both Slughorn and Snape refer to me by my surname. So what's left?"

Her petite little shoulders bounced up into a shrug. "I don't know."

"What about John? My middle name is John." He traced her bottom lip with his thumb and watched her copper orbs tilt upwards as she pondered the newly proffered option.

The corners of her mouth quirked up morphing her plump little lips into a tiny rosy-red smile. "How about Johnny? That way it's a little more personal."

He lifted himself up onto his elbows and brushed his lips against hers, "very good," he breathed against them. She smiled brightly at him, revealing her straight white teeth, as he slumped back down to his back on the floor. Lying down on her side beside him, she rested her head on his bicep and draped her arm across his middle. He turned slightly wrapping his free arm around her and bending his other so he was able to play idly with her hair until she drifted off into peaceful slumber. "Gods, I love you, Lucy," he whispered quietly kissing her head once more before falling into sleep himself.