Dakota sat by the lake, her long hair pulled into a braid that fell over her shoulder. It was still relatively warm out for this time of year at Hogwarts so she had removed her robes, opting instead for just her uniform in hopes of enjoying what little bit of warmth the season had left to offer. This had become her and Remus' meeting spot, where they met a couple times a week over the last several weeks to do homework. At first it was just their potions assignment, though it was at the point now that when they needed to work on it they had to meet in the dungeons. However, now they were finding other reasons to meet. They would work on Transfiguration, Charms, DADA, and any other classes they could use a study buddy in.

Remus came around one of the many large trees that sat around the lake. Dakota was already there waiting for him and he couldn't help but smile. They had really became very good friends over the last few weeks. His friends kept pushing him to start a relationship with her, and even though he found her very attractive, his romantic interest had fell upon her friend, Anna, that sometimes joined them for study sessions. He was waiting for the right time to ask Dakota to help him and put in a good word.

"Look what I brought." She glanced up at the sound of his voice and was pleasantly surprised at the sight of butterbeer and chocolate frogs.

"Just what I needed today!" She laughed and took a butterbeer from his outstretched hand.

It was just a week until the full moon and Remus was starting to feel the effects. When her hand brushed against his, he had to make himself breathe and not act stupid. This happened last month with her also. It just seemed like before he got sick every month, his testosterone was super high, which in turn made him extremely horny. He tossed the chocolate frog at her playfully, to keep the physical contact to a minimum in hopes that he wouldn't drive himself crazy.

Between studying, eating, and laughing about a joke Remus made about their DADA professor, neither of the two noticed Sirius trotting up in his animagus form until he grabbed Remus' Defense book and jumped a few feet back.

"Hey!" Remus had to stop himself from calling Sirius out by name. Sirius stopped and stared at Remus, who rolled his eyes, "Give it back."

Sirius dropped his chest to the ground, leaving his butt up and his tail wagging.

"Give. It. Back." Now was not the time, Sirius.

Dakota laughed, "He doesn't understand you, Remus." She stood up and approached him slowly. Sirius didn't move as she got closer, dropping the book at her feet and wagging his tail so she would pet him.

Remus rolled his eyes again, giving Sirius a look that plainly said, "Really?"

Dakota scratched him behind the ears and he had to admit it felt damn good. He rolled over and she continued scratching, this time on his exposed belly.

"See, Remus? He just wants a little attention."

"Be careful, Kota, you might catch fleas."

Sirius rolled back over and jumped up, barking at Remus in insult.

Dakota laughed, "See? You insulted him."

Before Remus could answer, the dog ran off and into the Forbidden Forest. Why did Sirius enjoy toying with him like this? He knew he just wanted him to ask the girl out, if not to date her to at least sleep with her. Remus really liked Dakota as a friend, though, and unlike Sirius he didn't find pleasure in seeing how many girls he could sleep with in a month.

Dakota sat back down next to Remus, her bright blue eyes sparkling on her lightly freckled face. She handed him his book back and joked, "You just have to speak their language."

Remus snorted at the irony. Canine just happened to be his strong suit. "I guess I'll just have to get you to teach me."

She reached across his lap to get her butterbeer that had been misplaced during Sirius' romp and Remus had to bite his lip. She smelled like strawberries. He loved the smell of strawberries. Ok, maybe James and Sirius were right and he just needed to get laid. It had, in fact, been a while so maybe that was his whole problem.

"I have to cancel for Friday, by the way. Henry has us practicing." Henry was the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain and was almost as big of a hard ass as James when it came to the sport.

"Oh yea? Did you guys find a new Seeker?"

She took a swig of her butterbeer and relished in the flavor washing down her throat, "We did! He's a sixth year, Chase Harman. Seems like he's going to be pretty good."

He laughed, "James will be devastated to hear that." He unwrapped his chocolate frog and took a bite before it could jump away.

"Harman is a punk, there's no way he can compete with Emma." They turned in time to see Sirius flick a cigarette away before he took a seat on the other side of Dakota. Emma, the Gryffindor seeker, was good. Dakota felt like Chase would definitely give her a run for her money though.

She cocked her head, "Afraid of a challenge, Black?"

He laughed a bark-like laugh. He also had forgone his robes for the evening. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the top and his tie was loose and hanging around his neck, "I've already told you, Jinks, I'm ready to win."

She turned back to Remus, "Why don't you play?"

He shrugged his shoulders. The reality of the situation was that he couldn't, seeing as how sick he got each month, but he couldn't exactly tell her that. "I find my thrill in spectating."

"So you'll be cheering me on our first match, right?" She smirked at him, knowing that their first match was set against Gryffindor.

"Like hell, he will!"

Dakota laughed, "Ok, he can cheer for you but he gets to come to my victory party when you lose."

"How about he gets to cheer for me and you come to my victory party when you lose."

"Ok, let's make a deal. Loser has to attend the winner's victory party after the match." She reached her hand out for him to shake and he noticed that her nails were painted a Ravenclaw blue.

Without hesitation he took her hand in his and shook. "Deal."

Their hands were still clasped and they were staring at each other intently with matching smirks when Remus interrupted, "Soooo…now that that is settled, Padfoot, can we get back to our Defense homework?"

Dakota dropped his hand and pulled her quill from her bag, turning her attention fully to Remus and pretending the exchange never happened. "Chapter 5?"

Practice that Friday was brutal. Henry was determined that they were going to win the cup this year, and with him being a seventh year, it was his last chance. Once he finally gave the signal that it was over for the day, Dakota crowded into the locker room with the rest of the team to change back into their school uniforms.

Henry approached her at her locker, leaning against the next locker in line. "I'm counting on you, Jinks." He lowered his voice, "I need you to pile on the points incase Harman isn't up to the job."

"Relax, Henry, you wouldn't have gave him the position if he wasn't up to it."

"Look how well that worked for us last year." The memory of last year's seeker failure still haunted them all.

She nodded, "This won't be like that. He flew very well today." She put her hand on his forearm, "Hey, this isn't just your last year, we're in this together."

Henry nodded and made his way over to another Chaser, Dakota assumed to tell the exact same thing he had just told her.

She was shutting her locker when Chase appeared. He was an extremely handsome sixth year. His shaggy blonde hair hung a little in his face and his eyes were a sparkling green color. He was on the tall side for their age and his chest and shoulders had well defined muscles. "I heard what you said to Henry, and I just wanted to say thanks."

"Don't thank me until you back up what I just said. He will kill us all if we lose the cup again."

He smiled and she noticed that he had pretty, straight teeth and a very nice smile. "I won't let you down." She smiled in return and collected her belongings to head to the girls shower. "Now that I have you here though," She turned back around for him to finish, "I was wondering if you would go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?"

She paused for a second, slightly caught off guard, before smiling, "Sure. I'd love to."

He was now smiling like an idiot. "Meet you in the common room at ten?"

"See you then." She nodded before continuing on to her shower.

Anna was flopped across her bed when Dakota walked into the dorm room. "Thank God practice is over! You've been gone allllllllll daaaaaay!"

Dakota laughed and sat on the edge of her bed, immediately joined by Neptune. She ran her hand down the cat's back and enjoyed the vibration of his purrs. "I was only gone for a couple of hours."

"Yes, but it felt like all day. I have learned that I do not have a life without you, dearest friend, you can never leave me."

Dakota laughed and nimbly pulled the braid from her hair. "Well, then you will hate me this weekend."

Anna paused and glared, "Why?"

"Well. It's Hogsmeade weekend."

Her glare deepened. "Annnnnd?"

Dakota smiled cheesily, "Annnnnd, I sort of, well, have a date."

Anna stared for a second, "With Remus?"

"Seriously? Whenever you guys are around each other you practically drool on each other. I wouldn't do that."

She visibly relaxed, "Then who?"

"Our new Seeker, Chase."

"Oh, he's cute."

She stood up, much to Neptune's protest and gathered her things for a shower. "Yes, he is. I think it could be fun."

Anna waggled her eyebrows, "Like, fun, fun?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She laughed and started toward the bathroom, "Be looking through my clothes for an outfit to wear!"

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