August 1977

The next day, Chloe found herself packing her things to spend the night at the Potter's beach house. Remus and Chloe spent the day there with James and Sirius, playing Exploding Snaps, flying brooms out on the beach, and watching television. Chloe nearly died laughing at James and Sirius's fascination with the "box with the moving pictures that can talk." Apparently, the two purebloods couldn't believe that the pictures could talk to each other, but couldn't talk to anybody outside of the box. After the group had returned from a delicious dinner at a pub in the closest Muggle village, they returned to the house. As the other three continued into the house, Remus stopped in the hallway, digging into the closet for his jacket. Chloe, noticing that Remus had disappeared, went back to wear he stood, pulling the black jacket out of the closet. "Where are you going?" Chloe asked softly.

Remus sighed, then reluctantly answered, "It's 7:30; the sun will be down soon. I need to be locked away before the full moon comes out, Chloe, remember?"

Chloe looked down at the floor, feeling sad for the pain this was causing him. "Oh, right… I'm sorry, Remus."

Remus smiled gloomily at Chloe, brushing the back of his fingers against her cheek. "It'll all be ok, little buttercup. I promise. I've done this every month since I was four; I'll be ok."

Chloe shifted her weight nervously, wrapping her right hand around her left elbow and squeezing it nervously. "Yeah, I guess so." She paused for a few moments, and Remus stood quietly, watching her, knowing she had something else that she wanted to say but felt too uneasy to say it. Finally, she said anxiously, "I – I'm just not so sure about staying here without you. I – I'll miss you."

Remus couldn't help the amused smile that spread on his lips at her words as Chloe looked around at the ground restlessly. Remus put his arms around her and held her tightly to his chest. "I'll miss you too," he whispered in her ear. "Here." He handed her the jacket he had just pulled out of the closet. "It's not raining anymore so I won't need it. You can put it on when you feel nervous. There's nothing to be nervous about though; you know James and Sirius now. I'm sure you won't even notice I'm gone."

Chloe snorted slightly as she laughed. "I doubt that," she said with a grin. "But I'll try," she added.

Remus hugged her again. "Good," he said with a grin. "Sirius!" Remus called, releasing Chloe.

Sirius sauntered down the hall to them, a smirk on his face. "Yes?" Sirius drawled.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Try not to let things get out of hand tonight. I'm heading out. Tell James I said bye, and try to be gentle with Chloe."

Sirius slipped up behind Chloe, snaking his arms around her waist from behind and nuzzling her neck with his nose, ever so slightly ghosting his lips over the crook of her neck. Chloe jumped at the sensation, letting out a tiny yelp. Sirius help onto her tightly to keep her from running away. "Maybe she doesn't like it gentle, Moony," Sirius said with a wink. After a glare from Remus, Sirius stood up a little straighter, lifting his head from her shoulder. "All right, all right, relax. I'm only teasing. She'll come back to you tomorrow in the same condition that you left her here, if not better. Go on, or the moon's going to sneak up on you before you're ready."

Remus continued to glare at Sirius for a moment, then Chloe said quietly, "He's right, Remus. You don't have a lot of time. I'll see you tomorrow."

Remus's face softened as she spoke. "All right," he muttered. "See you tomorrow."

Remus turned and walked out the front door, then disapparated on the front step. Chloe sighed, then started, surprised, when Sirius suddenly placed a kiss on her cheek. "Don't you worry about a thing. Everything will be all right. Come on back into the living room, I know the perfect remedy for your nerves." Taking Chloe by the hand, Sirius led her into the living room, where James waited patiently in one of the armchairs. "Prongs!" Sirius said loudly, the sudden noise making Chloe flinch. "Let's liven this place up, shall we? We need firewhiskey!"

Chloe looked timid at the mention of the alcoholic beverage. "Oh, I don't know, Sirius, I've never…"

Stopping her mid-excuse, Sirius interrupted, "Don't worry about what you've never done before, just focus on what you're doing now. And right now, we're going to loosen up all that tension in you with a few drinks." Waving his wand, James summoned three bottles of firewhiskey and three glasses to pour the alcohol into for them to drink. Chloe watched this objects fly across the room, scratching at her chin anxiously. Sirius rubbed her back gently. "Hey, it'll be fine, really."

Chloe nodded as Sirius nudged her towards the couch, the two sitting down side by side as James poured the drinks. Handing out the glasses, James said, "Here we are now." Raising his glass, James said, "To magic!"

Sirius laughed, echoing his best friend's toast. Chloe hesitated, then drank a few sips of the liquid. The drink burned her throat as she swallowed, and Chloe nearly choked on it as she began coughing. Sirius slapped her back a couple of times, then rubbed the back of her shoulder blade gently. Once Chloe was breathing properly again, she whispered, "That was nasty."

Sirius and James laughed softly. "You'll get used to it," James said with a grin. "Drink up."

Chloe shook her head as Sirius got a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Come on, Chloe. Go pull for pull with me."

Staring at Sirius, confused, Chloe asked, "What does that mean?"

Sirius barked out a short laugh. "It means that when I take a drink, you take a drink, and you don't stop drinking until I stop." Chloe shivered, suddenly cold. Putting her drink down, she wrapped her arms around herself. "You ok?" he asked, suddenly concerned.

Remembering Remus's jacket where it lay beside her on the couch, Chloe grabbed the jacket and quickly put it on, the smell of Remus on the fabric relaxing her slightly. "I think so," Chloe mumbled.

James and Sirius watched her a moment longer, then James declared, "Ok, then all three of us, pull for pull. Who's ready?"

Chloe sighed, then asked, "I don't have a choice, do I?"

The two men laughed. "Nope!" Sirius declared, popping the 'p.'

Two hours later, Chloe was quite drunk, sitting on Sirius's lap on the couch, while James perched on the back of the armchair, whining about how a girl named Lily Evans would never say yes to a date with him. "I just don't understand," James complained. "I've never done anything to her; I'm always so nice to her and telling her how perfect she is. What reason could she possibly have for hating me?"

Sirius laughed softly, nuzzling the soft flesh of Chloe's neck with his nose and making her giggle. "James, do me a favor?"

James raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "What's that?"

Sirius looked at James and said loudly, "Shut up about Lily already! You're killing the mood here."

James stuck his tongue out at Sirius, making Chloe laugh. Suddenly, Sirius took Chloe's chin in his hand and turned her face to him, surprising her by pressing his lips to hers roughly. Though shocked, Chloe couldn't help the slight moan that escaped her throat as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. She turned towards Sirius more, allowing him better access to her body. His hands roamed over her body, exploring every inch of her. When the kiss broke, Sirius didn't let her catch her breath before kissing, nipping, and licking along her jaw and down her neck. Chloe gasped at the sensation, tangling her fingers in Sirius's black hair and pulled him closer to her, making him growl with delight. James whined, "But I mean it, Sirius, what does Lily find so repulsive about me?"

Sirius sighed, pulling away from Chloe and disentangling her fingers from his hair. Chloe whined softly at the loss of contact, making Sirius smirk. "I don't know, Prongs," Sirius grumbled. "But just because you can't get Lily to get it on with you doesn't mean you have to spoil the mood for Chloe and I over here. I like to get laid too, you know."

With that, Sirius returned to snogging the daylights out of Chloe. She moaned softly, her fingers once again pulling at Sirius's hair as his hands wandered about her hips. James whimpered, "Ok, but I want to go out on the beach."

Sirius pulled away, leaning his forehead against Chloe's, then kissing her forehead before looking over at James. "Fine," Sirius consented with a sigh.

A few minutes later, Chloe found herself out on the beach with a half-drained bottle of firewhiskey in one hand, the other thrown out to balance herself as she attempted and failed to walk in a straight line. She threw her head back in laughter as James flapped around. Sirius grinned mischievously from behind Chloe. Suddenly, James stops at the edge of the water and spins around, nearly falling over as he did. "Hey," Sirius yelled at the other two. "I've got a brilliant idea. Who wants to go skinny dipping?"

James jumped into the air with a whoop, then instantly began stripping off his shirt and trousers. Chloe said slowly, "I don't know, Sirius…"

Sirius laughed, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her behind, then slowly ran his hands up to her shoulders and down her arms, taking hold around the bottle of firewhiskey in her hand. "Then you haven't had enough to drink," he said seductively in her ear.

Chloe giggled and threw back another large swallow of the alcohol as James pulled off his underwear and jumped into the water. James yelled back at his two friends. "See? I'm incredibly sexy! Why the hell won't Lily go on a date with me?"

Chloe and Sirius laughed loudly. Chloe collapsed against Sirius as they laughed, then shouted, "Maybe because you're an arrogant ass around her all the time who says things like, 'I'm incredibly sexy'? Just a thought."

Sirius nearly died laughing as James pouted from the water, then started pulling up the bottom of Chloe's shirt. "Now, come on," Sirius purred in Chloe's ear. "Let's go skinny dipping, yeah?"

Chloe nodded slowly, then Sirius pulled her shirt off. James whistled at her, making Chloe laugh. Before long, Sirius and Chloe were both naked and in the water with James. Sirius pulled Chloe up against him, and Chloe could feel him hard against her thigh in the chilly water. She gasped at the contact, making Sirius bark out a laugh. Chloe purred when Sirius touched her skin. Pulling him in for an intense, passionate kiss, Chloe asked him, "Maybe we should get inside, Sirius? It's awfully cold in this water."

Sirius grinned, then kissed his way down to where the water covered her skin at the waist. "Somewhere alone, perhaps?" Sirius asked mischievously, wagging his eyebrows at her.

Chloe nodded. As the two got out of the water, James shouted after them, "Hey, what about me?"

"Sleep in your parents bed tonight! Or on the couch," Sirius yelled back. "Just do something." Sirius led Chloe back into the house, up the stairs to James's room, and the two collapsed on to the bed, Sirius kissing every inch of Chloe's skin that he could reach. Chloe arched her back, pressing her body against his. Sirius paused his kisses, staring into Chloe's eyes. "May I?" Sirius asked, suddenly very solemn. Chloe nodded, and Sirius swooped down and started snogging her brains out once again.

When Chloe woke up the next morning, she was startled to discover she was laying in bed naked with an equally naked Sirius Black. Flushing, she pulled the blankets further over her body, trying to hide her nakedness. Out of the blue, she heard soft groan coming from Sirius. Glancing over at Sirius, Chloe saw a what looked like regret on his face. Feeling ashamed, Chloe jumped out of the bed, taking one of the blankets with her, wrapping it around herself as she ran out of the room to try to find her clothes. Downstairs in the living room, Chloe found James still passed out on the couch. Finding her overnight bag with Remus's jacket laying on top of it, she grabbed both, ran into the bathroom, and slammed the door. She heard Sirius knocking on the door as she dressed. "Chloe, open the door," Sirius said gently through the locked door.

Chloe answered with a harsh, "Go away, Sirius," as she pulled a shirt over her head. She quickly brushed her hair and washed her face in the sink. She looked awful after the night before, the bags under her eyes betraying how little sleep she got.

Sirius said, "Please, Chloe, open the door. Let me explain."

Chloe sighed, then, now fully dressed, opened the door to find Sirius standing there in the first pair of boxers he found in the floor. The shorts were a little too tight on him, making Chloe suspect they actually belonged to James. "There's nothing to explain, Sirius. It was all over your face. You regret having been with me last night."

Sirius sighed. "Yes, but not in the way that you think," he insisted.

Chloe replied in a low voice, "Well, I regret it too. I knew I shouldn't have gotten drunk last night, the way my parents always went on and on about how horrible alcohol is. I guess for once they were right about something. I should have never slept with you."

Sirius huffed in frustration as Chloe stormed out of the bathroom past him. He grabbed her elbow and spun her around. "No," Sirius said, raising his voice to her. The volume of his voice and the sudden pull on her arm made Chloe flinch. "Sleeping with you is not what I regret. I wish I hadn't taken advantage of you. You're such a sweet girl, but you were drunk and vulnerable and going through a really rough time. I, of all people, should have understood that getting drunk and having sex with me was not a good thing for you right now. I'm really, truly sorry for taking advantage of you last night."

Chloe didn't move; she simply cowered under his stare. There was a loud knock on the door, and Sirius let go of Chloe's elbow. Immediately, Chloe ran down the hallway and threw open the door to reveal Remus standing there. Chloe launched herself at Remus, throwing her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. Remus wrapped his arms around the girl, smiling. Remus's smile faded quickly though when he noticed the tears threatening to escape Chloe's eyes and Sirius watching forlornly from a few feet away. Remus frowned, growling at Sirius, "Sirius, what the bloody hell did you do to her?"

Sirius merely hung his head in shame. Chloe shook her head. "Remus, please, just take me home," she begged.

"Where's James?" Remus demanded angrily.

Sirius answered quietly, "Passed out on the couch."

Remus stepped inside the house, tugging Chloe gently along with him. "Why the hell is he passed out? Sirius, did you two get Chloe drunk last night?"

Sirius's eyes snapped up, and the fury in them made Chloe shiver against Remus's side. "We most certainly did not," Sirius snapped. "All three of us got smashed together. I won't deny that things between Chloe and I got carried away, or that I was wrong for taking advantage of the fact that she was drunk, but I most certainly did not plan for things to go the way they did."

Remus pulled Chloe's arms off his waist, Remus left her by the door and stalked over to Sirius. "Do you mean to tell me," Remus hissed. "That you bloody slept with Chloe while you two were drunk?"

Sirius looked away from Remus, looking ashamed. The shame on Sirius's face put Chloe over the edge. She grabbed Remus's hand and yanked at it as hard as she could in the direction of the door. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she pleaded, "Remus, please, just get me out of here." Remus stopped in his tracks, but he didn't turn back. Remus glared angrily at Sirius, his chest heaving and his hand fingering his wand as he seemed to contemplate cursing his best friend. Chloe pulled on his hand again, begging, more desperately this time, "Remus, please, take me home."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, clearly mentally kicking himself at the sound of the tears in Chloe's voice. Finally, Remus turned back to Chloe, cupping her face in his hands and wiping her tears away. Remus asked, his voice hoarse, "Did Sirius hurt you?" Chloe shook her head. "You're sure?" Remus asked again. "Do you remember saying yes? Actually, verbally consenting to have sex with him?"

Sirius shouted, "Hey! I am a lot of things, Remus Lupin, but I am not a rapist!"

Chloe flinched at the yelling as Remus yelled back, "Oh, shut up, Sirius!"

Shaking her head, Chloe insisted, "Remus, he didn't rape me. I agreed to it; he asked me and I said yes. Remus, please, don't hurt him. Just get me away from here."

Finally, Remus nodded, and he walked with her back to the front door. As the two stepped outside, Sirius called after them, "Chloe, I meant what I said. I'm so sorry for hurting you and taking advantage of the situation, but I swear, I never meant to. Just please don't shut me out; I care about you."

Chloe hugged Remus tightly when they stopped walking during Sirius's speech. Remus shook his head, "Sirius, just shut up. I know you didn't mean to hurt her, but now's not the time."

Sirius nodded slowly, then Remus turned around on his heel and disapparated himself and Chloe back to his house. Now in the living room, Chloe sobbed as Remus sat down on the couch, pulling her down to sit in his lap. She curled up in a ball as he rocked her back and forth, shushing her. He mumbled soothingly in her ear, "It's ok, Chloe. It'll all be ok." When she had calmed down some, Remus asked, "What's wrong, buttercup?"

Chloe sniffed, wiping tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand, then whispered, "He hates me now. He regrets it; he wishes it'd never happened. He doesn't want me anymore…"

Chloe looked up at Remus's face for a moment, and saw that the werewolf was near tears himself. "Oh, Chloe," he groaned. "Sirius doesn't hate you, and he certainly still wants you. He regrets the way he went about things, not the act itself. Doesn't make it right, but it does make it a little better. Please, Chloe, don't cry because you feel unwanted. You are so incredibly wanted."

Chloe shook her head. She stumbled over the words between ragged breaths as she said, "My parents… they don't want me. Anymore. They hate me… for – for my magic. Th – They say I'm evil." She took a deep breath, trying unsuccessfully to steady herself. "Dad – Dad tries to beat the – the devil out of me."

Remus frowned, stroking her blonde hair. "Your parents are the ones who are evil," he said grimly, clutching the small girl more tightly to his chest. "Please, Chloe, believe me. James, my parents, and I — oh, hell, even Sirius — we all love so much, and we never want anything bad to ever happen to you again. It really is ok that you slept with Sirius if you want to go out with him. Sirius likes you enough I think he'd actually date you if you'd let him. Just… just don't let him use you, and don't you use him either. You've both been hurt, and I don't want to see either of you get hurt by anyone ever again." Chloe nodded slowly. Remus pulled Chloe's head closer to him and kissed her hair tenderly. "Chloe, things won't always be like this. The pain will go away; it will fade with time and distance. Please don't lose sight of that. You are so loved." When Chloe simply nodded again, Remus squeezed her, then asked, "Want me to make you some lunch? It's getting to be afternoon now, and I don't think you've had anything to eat yet today."

Chloe sighed, then answered, "I guess I am a little hungry." Remus nudged her to her feet, then stood up and walked into the kitchen, setting about making lunch for the two of them.