Well, this chapter took longer than the last...well, oh well. I hope I
didn't keep you guys waiting too long...looks around in fear And I don't
own anything pertaining to Harry Potter. If I did, I would buy every
single LOTR merchandise known to man. And a monkey...Question: After writing
the first paragraph of this chapter, it has come to my attention that
perhaps I should change the rating to a more...adult rating. What do you
guys think?
Ch. 4- Calling Her Name
The light from the fire glimmered in his eyes as he danced. Every blade of grass swayed in the soundless tune, the moonlight dancing across the trees, the wind rustling them in its own orchestra of invisible instruments. She danced with him, her hands twirling endlessly in front of him, a lustful smile on her face. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, dancing in the fading firelight, his very soul crying out for her. She moaned and turned around to face him, her face hidden in the shadows. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his hair, whispering his name in his ear. He smiled as his hand crept down her back. Slowly, they lay down on the soft grass as the fire died, the moonlight their only witness.
"Remus! Hey, would you stop that? REMUS, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS PURE!"
Remus woke with a start, his eyes somewhat blind in the fresh morning light. Bewildered, he whirled around mumbling, "Wha...wassamatter?" His eyes slowly focused on Sirius' concerned face. Remus narrowed his eyes.
"What's the matter? Remus, not only have you slept in for ten minutes later than myself, which is utterly wrong, you've been moaning and calling Aya's name in your sleep...FOR MOST OF THE NIGHT, THANK YOU. My god, you're worse than bunny slippers," Sirius snapped, crossing his arms in frustration and anger.
"I...I did? Oh...well..." Remus decided not to mention his dream, however pleasant he thought it was. It was best to leave Sirius out of such things.
"Yeah, you have," James called from his bed, "and you've made quite an annoyance of yourself. Yes, like I really want to hear you moan 'Aya, oh, Aya' all night." Peter, from his own bed, nodded in affirmation.
Remus rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He had thought the dream to be real. "What time is it?" he asked groggily. Stretching, he stood and drew his luggage onto his bed and rummaged through it, searching for his school robes.
"Hmph...well, if you want to know, it's seven forty in the morning. Lily, of course, has been up since seven, as usual. As for the three of us, we have been up since five thanks to your need for talking in your sleep, so thank you for depriving us, namely me, of the ONE thing we truly need today," Sirius said with a low growl. Remus didn't listen to the last part: he was too busy getting ready. Quickly, he slipped his gray uniform pants and white shirt over his boxers that he wore with his pajamas and slipped his robe on.
As he put his shoes and socks on, he asked without stopping himself, "What about Aya?"
James grinned: "Well, we heard from Lily that she got up around six thirty, got dressed rather quickly, and has been in the common room. Lily chose not to bother her." Remus was out the door before James finished his sentence. "Oh, and good morning to you to, James!" he called angrily at Remus, who remained oblivious.
Remus found Aya sitting in an armchair near the fire, a tattered, leather-bound book in her lap. Her black hair draped down her face as she read, her eyebrows raised in amusement, a slight smile on her face. She looked peaceful. Remus' heartbeat increased. Gathering courage as he made his way over to her, he asked, "What're you reading?"
Not looking up, she replied, "Lord of the Rings, of course. I'm at Lothlorien, where Sam is trying to make a lament for Gandalf by describing his fireworks."
Remus raised an eyebrow, "Is that all three parts in one volume?" She nodded, not taking her eyes off the book. "Wow, I didn't even know they published it like that," he breathed as a foolish grin came across his face. "Breakfast's in twenty minutes, you know. If you want, we can go down there right now and save some seats for Lily and the rest," he blushed.
Aya looked up and smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Sure, that would be nice. Why not?" She closed her book, stood, and stretched, yawning slightly. "How come no one else is up and about?" she asked, looking around for the first time at the common room, "I haven't really noticed that no one's been here."
"Well," Remus replied, "no self-respecting student is actually conscious at this time. Usually people get up at ten to eight and somehow manage to get downstairs to breakfast at eight. How they do it without apparating is beyond me. Come on, let's get down there, then." He motioned towards the portrait hole, allowing Aya to go in through it first. As he crept out of the portrait hole, he clasped her hand unconsciously, until he remembered his dream. The fire, her lustful eyes...his heart thumped in his throat, and he quickly let go of her hand as perspiration broke out on his forehead. Definitely not a good idea, he thought with a grimace, Why did I even dream that? Not saying I didn't enjoy it, though. He blushed madly, praying Aya wouldn't notice his blush. They made their way down to the Great Hall in silence, Remus hardly aware of where he was going.
"Um, Remus?" Aya asked. Remus looked up from his shoes to her face, his eyes staring into hers. She waved her hand in front of his face. "Remus? Hello? Er...I think we're here."
Startled, Remus said, a little too loud, "What! Oh, um...yeah, we're here, aren't we?" He knew he was blushing; he could feel his heart beating in his chest rapidly as he looked at her. What...why am I acting like this?
Aya looked at him with a soft smile, asked, "What's wrong?"
"Hm?"
"Your eyes are all glazed over...are you tired?"
He shook his head, replied, "No, I'm just...hungry! Yeah, hungry! Come on, let's go in." Grabbing her hand, he pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
"Aya! Remus! Hey, you two," Lily called, waving her arms, James and the rest of the Marauders following behind her. Her voice traveled over the din of the other students in the process of their own breakfast.
But the two of them were barely aware of her words. "So, you like to read fantasy and scifi novels, Aya?"
She nodded, fingering her Lord of the Rings book in her lap. "I'm also very fond of the Dune series, but I never got past God Emperor of Dune...my school's library didn't have it. The librarian gave me Lord of the Rings because I was the only one who ever checked it out...I spent all my time there at the library."
Remus raised an eyebrow as he gazed at her. "All your time? I guess your friends loved the library, too, huh?"
Aya blushed, then looked at her lap. "I didn't...I didn't have any...friends," she said quietly.
"Oh..." he said slowly, "...shit..."
Damn you, Remus! What were you thinking, you stupid bastard? She'll hate me now, he thought, blushing madly and slapping himself on the face.
"Remus! Remus, stop it, I'm fine. Hey, come off it now, I said stop it," she said, holding his hands back. She felt a momentary tremble run through her at the touch, wondered at it.
Sighing heavily, he said, "Well, you know what? We'll be your friends here."
She looked up at him, gazing into his amber eyes, couldn't help herself from saying, "And...and you?"
"Remus, baby, how's it going, ya?" Sirius said, slapping the poor boy's shoulder before he could even answer her question. He glared at Sirius, then looked over at Aya; she was smiling at Lily, who was asking how she thought of Hogwarts so far. Sirius winked at James, then gave a mischievous grin at Remus, who was seething quietly with rage. I wanted to answer her, dammit, Remus thought, gritting his teeth, then resumed quietly to his breakfast.
He was about to say something to Lily, when she looked up, brightened, said, "Hi, Professor McGonagall. Here with our schedules, no doubt?"
Aya looked up to see McGonagall standing with her arms crossed, burdened with a load of papers. The professor glanced quickly at Aya, then handed out the schedules, saying, "Here you are, Miss Centaria. These are your schedules for this year. Any problems, well...deal with it for now."
Aya raised an amused eyebrow, then took her schedule without comment. Opening, she whispered quietly, "Transfiguration...Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms...Astronomy...Potions and...Divination. Hm, so they want me to be an Auror, then."
Remus looked up from his own schedule. "What's your schedule, Aya?" He smiled happily as she showed it to him, said, "Mine's the exact same, except for astronomy. Never really did like it. I'm doing Muggle Studies." Sirius snorted.
"Muggle Studies? Psh, you use your time more effectively watching grass grow. That class is boooooring!" Remus frowned at him, rolling his eyes.
"Well, some people find it interesting, block head," he answered.
As Aya looked at them, she recalled a quote from Dune: "Prophecy and prescience—How can they be put to the test in the face of the unanswered questions?"
"Now, then, students," McGonagall said, "We will begin where we had left off from yesterday. Turn to page three hundred and ninety four."
It was now the twenty-second day of school. Remus, beginning to grow sickly with the approach of the full moon, was bedridden, putting all his faith in the trustworthy Lily for notes.
Groaning, James flipped open his own textbook to the desired page, then glanced over at Lily with a wry smile, who was frivolously taking notes for both herself and Remus. Startled, he glanced at Aya, who was laying with her head down, fast asleep. He raised an eyebrow at her; she had been acting strange.
"Lily," he whispered, nudging her, "Why don't you wake Aya up?"
Startled, Lily looked over at the sleeping Aya, then whispered back, "I just woke her up, like, five minutes ago."
"Well, wake her up again, silly," James hissed back.
"Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, is there a problem?" McGonagall stood now in front of their desks, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Uh...um...well...er..." James stuttered.
"I would've expected better English from you, Potter, but now you've proved me wrong for once. Get back to note taking and actually paying attention to my class."
"Okay, okay, fine," he said, staring glumly at his textbook.
"Now, then, as I was saying..." McGonagall turned back to the class.
"Aya..." Lily whispered, nudging her awake, "Aya, wake up. You can sleep after class, but not during."
Slowly, Aya raised her head, lifted her quill as if it were a heavy weight, and began to write in nothing but gibberish, her eyes slightly glazed as she stared straight in front of her.
Lily sighed, thought, I might as well write notes for her too.
"Aya, dearest, the Great Hall's this way, not into the wall," Lily said gently, guiding Aya by the arm towards the door.
"What's up with you, kid?" Sirius said, looking at Aya, "You slept through most of your classes today and you've been rather spacey...I can't tell you how many times I chucked paper at your head!"
"I bet it's cos Remus isn't here!" James said with a laugh, nudging Aya, who stumbled. "Then again," he said, catching her, "maybe not...are you feeling alright, Aya?"
She shook her head. "Not...not really. I think I'll skip dinner, if it's all right. You know, get a bit of a head start on my homework, then I think I should go to bed...I guess I'll see you later then, guys," she said, waving to them as she moved off in the direction of the Gryffindor housing.
Peter, watching her go, said, "Something's up." Shrugging, he turned into the great Hall, followed by James, Sirius, and, lastly, Lily. As she turned to go in, she thought, Something's definitely up...best let it alone for now.
"Password?"
"Lovely lemons sparkle," Aya whispered, swaying slightly. The portrait swung open, allowing her to crawl slowly through into the common room.
The warm fire, usually a comfort to her, only added to discomfort; she was feeling feverish. Sighing, she moved on up the stairs to her room, half-aware of her passing until she entered an unfamiliar room. Eyes adjusting to the darkness, she fumbled over something, sending the thing clattering to the floor with a loud crash.
"Who's there?" a groggy voice called out in the darkness.
Standing up straight, feeling embarrassed, she stuttered, "Um...uh...I....got lost...and uh..."
"Lumos," the voice whispered.
A flare of bright light hurt her eyes for a minute, blinding her. Squinting in the light, she felt the blood rush to her face as she saw who the figure was.
"Aya? Aya...what are...what are you doing here?" Remus whispered, staring in disbelief at her.
Her eyes widening, she stuttered, "I was...um...I was just...I didn't mean to...come in...I thought...I was going into my room and...um...."
Remus got slowly out of bed, steadying himself on the bed before walking over to her, fighting off his own embarrassment. "Well, can I escort you back, then? To your dorm room?"
"I thought guys couldn't come up to the girl's dorm," she said mischievously, eyeing him.
Stuttering, he said slowly, "Well...if the girl really wants the guy to, then it's okay...trust me, James found that out quite easily last year." He knew he was grinning like an idiot, tried to stop himself, but utterly failed. "Would you like me to?" he repeated.
Unable to stop herself, she nodded, shifting her feet uncomfortably. "Yes," she whispered, "I would...like that very much."
He took her by the hand and led her outside, conscious of his boxers and shirt, but disregarded it all the same. As they reached the stairs leading to the girl's dorm, he put a cautious foot on the stairs, fearful of its outcome...
Nothing happened.
Sighing gratefully, he guided her up the stairs, feigning off the nauseous feeling in his stomach. He escorted her to her door, opened it, and allowed her in first; then he followed, shutting the door behind him. She stiffened as she turned the candles on with a flick of her wand.
Suddenly aware of what he had done, he blushed, said quickly, "Um...I'm sorry! Really sorry! I didn't..."
She shrugged him off with a wave of her hand. "It's fine," she whispered, then sat down on her bed by the window. Putting her chin in her hand, she looked up at him, staring into his eyes, transfixed by them; conscious of her stare, she looked away, finding comfort in the wall. "So, um...feeling any better?" she asked, looking up at him.
He nodded, said, "Yeah...I guess." Lying through my bloody teeth, he thought glumly.
An awkward silence ensued.
"Aya..." he said, conscious of the word, wondering at how right it felt on his tongue. "Um..." he trailed off.
"Yes?" she whispered, looking up at him. "Oh! You're ill...here, come sit down so you won't have to stand so much." Grateful, he padded over to her, then sat down next to her, a gentle touch on her shoulder sending shock waves down their spines.
Another awkward silence ensued.
Aya twisted her fingers in her lap, feeling uncomfortable; she wanted to be there...and yet didn't want to. She looked ahead of her, stifling a yawn.
Remus turned to her, gazing at her black hair, her pale skin. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, knew subconsciously that his hand was inching closer to hers, then touched it. She blushed as he grasped her hand, then grasped it in return, her heart beating rapidly. They turned to each other, gazing into each other's eyes, inching closer and closer, hearts pounding...closer...
Their lips almost touched...
"Aya! Hey, Aya, are you in here?"
The door burst open to reveal Lily making her way into the dorm, a smile on her face. "Hey, Aya, I forgot to give you the notes...from...from..." Her eyes widened as she saw them, then yelled out, "OH MY GOD, REMUS! AYA!!!! OH...MY.....GOOOOOOOOOD!"
Remus stood immediately, blushing crimson, still holding onto Aya's hand. "Lily...Lily wait...um...this...this isn't...um..."
Then Lily realized her mistake. "Um...I'm going to leave you two...alone...for a bit. So, um...keep at it, and pretend I wasn't here, okay?! Bye!" She turned and exited, slamming the door behind her. They could her jumping up and down outside before she jumped down the stairs, yelling, "YES, YES, YES, YES!!"
A long, unbearable, mother-of-all awkward silences ensued.
Remus sat back down again on the bed, shell-shocked beyond belief. Aya, unable to contain herself, started laughing, a soft, clear laugh that sent wonderful chills down his spine. He laughed with her, wondering why he had come so close...so close to her...
Their laughter died down to silence as they sat hand in hand on the bed, each staring at their feet. Then, Remus looked up at her, leaned over, and kissed her, pulling back awkwardly, blushing madly, thought, What...what was I doing? Idiot...iiiiidiiiiooooot.
And then Aya leaned over to him and kissed him back, giggling a little, then whispered, "I really...oughta go to bed...I don't think I'm going to class tomorrow."
He nodded stupidly, then stood, finally letting go of her hand. "Um...well, if you're...if you're not going to class tomorrow, maybe you and I could...hang out together, or something. I'm still feeling under the weather...so, you know, we could...hang out! Yeah!"
She nodded, whispered, "That would be fun. Tomorrow, then."
Grinning triumphantly, he nodded, whispered a goodnight to her, then stole out of the room, smiling a little.
Tomorrow, he thought happily.
"I still can't believe that they..."
"Shut up, Sirius! You'll wake him up!"
"Oh, come off it, Wormtail! Don't tell me you're shocked by it, anyway."
"No, I just...don't want to wake Moony up, is all..."
"Riiiiight."
"Why don't you guys take your discussion outside," James said as he put his shoes on.
"Oh, I get it," Sirius said, "Just because old Prongs has 'been around the block' means that he can side with Moony on this!
"I don't see you having a real girlfriend, Padfoot," James retorted.
"Ouch, Prongs. That actually kind of hurt a little," Sirius said, sarcasm dripping on his words.
"Come on, outside with you," James said, standing.
"Oh, it's just not fair! Just cos Moony's a werewolf, and he gets to stay out of school...so not fair!" Sirius retorted. Sighing, James opened the door and pushed him out, allowing Peter to leave before shutting the door behind him.
Remus sighed as he rolled over to face the closed door, his vision slightly swimming from nausea. He sighed, thought, Being a werewolf isn't that much fun, Padfoot.
He waited patiently for her, propping the pillow up so he could sit up straight. He drummed his fingers, thought, Those guys are usually the last ones out of the common room dorms...Aya should be here by now.
He sighed. Maybe she's not coming. The thought chilled him. "She's not going to come," he whispered to himself, feeling depressed.
Then the door creaked open. "Remus?" a familiar voice asked, "You awake, Remus?"
&&&
Woah, it's been a LONG time since I updated...sorry...I got a little wrapped up with my Child of Link story...SORRY...if you have any pity for me, please review...please?
Ch. 4- Calling Her Name
The light from the fire glimmered in his eyes as he danced. Every blade of grass swayed in the soundless tune, the moonlight dancing across the trees, the wind rustling them in its own orchestra of invisible instruments. She danced with him, her hands twirling endlessly in front of him, a lustful smile on her face. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, dancing in the fading firelight, his very soul crying out for her. She moaned and turned around to face him, her face hidden in the shadows. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his hair, whispering his name in his ear. He smiled as his hand crept down her back. Slowly, they lay down on the soft grass as the fire died, the moonlight their only witness.
"Remus! Hey, would you stop that? REMUS, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS PURE!"
Remus woke with a start, his eyes somewhat blind in the fresh morning light. Bewildered, he whirled around mumbling, "Wha...wassamatter?" His eyes slowly focused on Sirius' concerned face. Remus narrowed his eyes.
"What's the matter? Remus, not only have you slept in for ten minutes later than myself, which is utterly wrong, you've been moaning and calling Aya's name in your sleep...FOR MOST OF THE NIGHT, THANK YOU. My god, you're worse than bunny slippers," Sirius snapped, crossing his arms in frustration and anger.
"I...I did? Oh...well..." Remus decided not to mention his dream, however pleasant he thought it was. It was best to leave Sirius out of such things.
"Yeah, you have," James called from his bed, "and you've made quite an annoyance of yourself. Yes, like I really want to hear you moan 'Aya, oh, Aya' all night." Peter, from his own bed, nodded in affirmation.
Remus rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He had thought the dream to be real. "What time is it?" he asked groggily. Stretching, he stood and drew his luggage onto his bed and rummaged through it, searching for his school robes.
"Hmph...well, if you want to know, it's seven forty in the morning. Lily, of course, has been up since seven, as usual. As for the three of us, we have been up since five thanks to your need for talking in your sleep, so thank you for depriving us, namely me, of the ONE thing we truly need today," Sirius said with a low growl. Remus didn't listen to the last part: he was too busy getting ready. Quickly, he slipped his gray uniform pants and white shirt over his boxers that he wore with his pajamas and slipped his robe on.
As he put his shoes and socks on, he asked without stopping himself, "What about Aya?"
James grinned: "Well, we heard from Lily that she got up around six thirty, got dressed rather quickly, and has been in the common room. Lily chose not to bother her." Remus was out the door before James finished his sentence. "Oh, and good morning to you to, James!" he called angrily at Remus, who remained oblivious.
Remus found Aya sitting in an armchair near the fire, a tattered, leather-bound book in her lap. Her black hair draped down her face as she read, her eyebrows raised in amusement, a slight smile on her face. She looked peaceful. Remus' heartbeat increased. Gathering courage as he made his way over to her, he asked, "What're you reading?"
Not looking up, she replied, "Lord of the Rings, of course. I'm at Lothlorien, where Sam is trying to make a lament for Gandalf by describing his fireworks."
Remus raised an eyebrow, "Is that all three parts in one volume?" She nodded, not taking her eyes off the book. "Wow, I didn't even know they published it like that," he breathed as a foolish grin came across his face. "Breakfast's in twenty minutes, you know. If you want, we can go down there right now and save some seats for Lily and the rest," he blushed.
Aya looked up and smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Sure, that would be nice. Why not?" She closed her book, stood, and stretched, yawning slightly. "How come no one else is up and about?" she asked, looking around for the first time at the common room, "I haven't really noticed that no one's been here."
"Well," Remus replied, "no self-respecting student is actually conscious at this time. Usually people get up at ten to eight and somehow manage to get downstairs to breakfast at eight. How they do it without apparating is beyond me. Come on, let's get down there, then." He motioned towards the portrait hole, allowing Aya to go in through it first. As he crept out of the portrait hole, he clasped her hand unconsciously, until he remembered his dream. The fire, her lustful eyes...his heart thumped in his throat, and he quickly let go of her hand as perspiration broke out on his forehead. Definitely not a good idea, he thought with a grimace, Why did I even dream that? Not saying I didn't enjoy it, though. He blushed madly, praying Aya wouldn't notice his blush. They made their way down to the Great Hall in silence, Remus hardly aware of where he was going.
"Um, Remus?" Aya asked. Remus looked up from his shoes to her face, his eyes staring into hers. She waved her hand in front of his face. "Remus? Hello? Er...I think we're here."
Startled, Remus said, a little too loud, "What! Oh, um...yeah, we're here, aren't we?" He knew he was blushing; he could feel his heart beating in his chest rapidly as he looked at her. What...why am I acting like this?
Aya looked at him with a soft smile, asked, "What's wrong?"
"Hm?"
"Your eyes are all glazed over...are you tired?"
He shook his head, replied, "No, I'm just...hungry! Yeah, hungry! Come on, let's go in." Grabbing her hand, he pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
"Aya! Remus! Hey, you two," Lily called, waving her arms, James and the rest of the Marauders following behind her. Her voice traveled over the din of the other students in the process of their own breakfast.
But the two of them were barely aware of her words. "So, you like to read fantasy and scifi novels, Aya?"
She nodded, fingering her Lord of the Rings book in her lap. "I'm also very fond of the Dune series, but I never got past God Emperor of Dune...my school's library didn't have it. The librarian gave me Lord of the Rings because I was the only one who ever checked it out...I spent all my time there at the library."
Remus raised an eyebrow as he gazed at her. "All your time? I guess your friends loved the library, too, huh?"
Aya blushed, then looked at her lap. "I didn't...I didn't have any...friends," she said quietly.
"Oh..." he said slowly, "...shit..."
Damn you, Remus! What were you thinking, you stupid bastard? She'll hate me now, he thought, blushing madly and slapping himself on the face.
"Remus! Remus, stop it, I'm fine. Hey, come off it now, I said stop it," she said, holding his hands back. She felt a momentary tremble run through her at the touch, wondered at it.
Sighing heavily, he said, "Well, you know what? We'll be your friends here."
She looked up at him, gazing into his amber eyes, couldn't help herself from saying, "And...and you?"
"Remus, baby, how's it going, ya?" Sirius said, slapping the poor boy's shoulder before he could even answer her question. He glared at Sirius, then looked over at Aya; she was smiling at Lily, who was asking how she thought of Hogwarts so far. Sirius winked at James, then gave a mischievous grin at Remus, who was seething quietly with rage. I wanted to answer her, dammit, Remus thought, gritting his teeth, then resumed quietly to his breakfast.
He was about to say something to Lily, when she looked up, brightened, said, "Hi, Professor McGonagall. Here with our schedules, no doubt?"
Aya looked up to see McGonagall standing with her arms crossed, burdened with a load of papers. The professor glanced quickly at Aya, then handed out the schedules, saying, "Here you are, Miss Centaria. These are your schedules for this year. Any problems, well...deal with it for now."
Aya raised an amused eyebrow, then took her schedule without comment. Opening, she whispered quietly, "Transfiguration...Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms...Astronomy...Potions and...Divination. Hm, so they want me to be an Auror, then."
Remus looked up from his own schedule. "What's your schedule, Aya?" He smiled happily as she showed it to him, said, "Mine's the exact same, except for astronomy. Never really did like it. I'm doing Muggle Studies." Sirius snorted.
"Muggle Studies? Psh, you use your time more effectively watching grass grow. That class is boooooring!" Remus frowned at him, rolling his eyes.
"Well, some people find it interesting, block head," he answered.
As Aya looked at them, she recalled a quote from Dune: "Prophecy and prescience—How can they be put to the test in the face of the unanswered questions?"
"Now, then, students," McGonagall said, "We will begin where we had left off from yesterday. Turn to page three hundred and ninety four."
It was now the twenty-second day of school. Remus, beginning to grow sickly with the approach of the full moon, was bedridden, putting all his faith in the trustworthy Lily for notes.
Groaning, James flipped open his own textbook to the desired page, then glanced over at Lily with a wry smile, who was frivolously taking notes for both herself and Remus. Startled, he glanced at Aya, who was laying with her head down, fast asleep. He raised an eyebrow at her; she had been acting strange.
"Lily," he whispered, nudging her, "Why don't you wake Aya up?"
Startled, Lily looked over at the sleeping Aya, then whispered back, "I just woke her up, like, five minutes ago."
"Well, wake her up again, silly," James hissed back.
"Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, is there a problem?" McGonagall stood now in front of their desks, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Uh...um...well...er..." James stuttered.
"I would've expected better English from you, Potter, but now you've proved me wrong for once. Get back to note taking and actually paying attention to my class."
"Okay, okay, fine," he said, staring glumly at his textbook.
"Now, then, as I was saying..." McGonagall turned back to the class.
"Aya..." Lily whispered, nudging her awake, "Aya, wake up. You can sleep after class, but not during."
Slowly, Aya raised her head, lifted her quill as if it were a heavy weight, and began to write in nothing but gibberish, her eyes slightly glazed as she stared straight in front of her.
Lily sighed, thought, I might as well write notes for her too.
"Aya, dearest, the Great Hall's this way, not into the wall," Lily said gently, guiding Aya by the arm towards the door.
"What's up with you, kid?" Sirius said, looking at Aya, "You slept through most of your classes today and you've been rather spacey...I can't tell you how many times I chucked paper at your head!"
"I bet it's cos Remus isn't here!" James said with a laugh, nudging Aya, who stumbled. "Then again," he said, catching her, "maybe not...are you feeling alright, Aya?"
She shook her head. "Not...not really. I think I'll skip dinner, if it's all right. You know, get a bit of a head start on my homework, then I think I should go to bed...I guess I'll see you later then, guys," she said, waving to them as she moved off in the direction of the Gryffindor housing.
Peter, watching her go, said, "Something's up." Shrugging, he turned into the great Hall, followed by James, Sirius, and, lastly, Lily. As she turned to go in, she thought, Something's definitely up...best let it alone for now.
"Password?"
"Lovely lemons sparkle," Aya whispered, swaying slightly. The portrait swung open, allowing her to crawl slowly through into the common room.
The warm fire, usually a comfort to her, only added to discomfort; she was feeling feverish. Sighing, she moved on up the stairs to her room, half-aware of her passing until she entered an unfamiliar room. Eyes adjusting to the darkness, she fumbled over something, sending the thing clattering to the floor with a loud crash.
"Who's there?" a groggy voice called out in the darkness.
Standing up straight, feeling embarrassed, she stuttered, "Um...uh...I....got lost...and uh..."
"Lumos," the voice whispered.
A flare of bright light hurt her eyes for a minute, blinding her. Squinting in the light, she felt the blood rush to her face as she saw who the figure was.
"Aya? Aya...what are...what are you doing here?" Remus whispered, staring in disbelief at her.
Her eyes widening, she stuttered, "I was...um...I was just...I didn't mean to...come in...I thought...I was going into my room and...um...."
Remus got slowly out of bed, steadying himself on the bed before walking over to her, fighting off his own embarrassment. "Well, can I escort you back, then? To your dorm room?"
"I thought guys couldn't come up to the girl's dorm," she said mischievously, eyeing him.
Stuttering, he said slowly, "Well...if the girl really wants the guy to, then it's okay...trust me, James found that out quite easily last year." He knew he was grinning like an idiot, tried to stop himself, but utterly failed. "Would you like me to?" he repeated.
Unable to stop herself, she nodded, shifting her feet uncomfortably. "Yes," she whispered, "I would...like that very much."
He took her by the hand and led her outside, conscious of his boxers and shirt, but disregarded it all the same. As they reached the stairs leading to the girl's dorm, he put a cautious foot on the stairs, fearful of its outcome...
Nothing happened.
Sighing gratefully, he guided her up the stairs, feigning off the nauseous feeling in his stomach. He escorted her to her door, opened it, and allowed her in first; then he followed, shutting the door behind him. She stiffened as she turned the candles on with a flick of her wand.
Suddenly aware of what he had done, he blushed, said quickly, "Um...I'm sorry! Really sorry! I didn't..."
She shrugged him off with a wave of her hand. "It's fine," she whispered, then sat down on her bed by the window. Putting her chin in her hand, she looked up at him, staring into his eyes, transfixed by them; conscious of her stare, she looked away, finding comfort in the wall. "So, um...feeling any better?" she asked, looking up at him.
He nodded, said, "Yeah...I guess." Lying through my bloody teeth, he thought glumly.
An awkward silence ensued.
"Aya..." he said, conscious of the word, wondering at how right it felt on his tongue. "Um..." he trailed off.
"Yes?" she whispered, looking up at him. "Oh! You're ill...here, come sit down so you won't have to stand so much." Grateful, he padded over to her, then sat down next to her, a gentle touch on her shoulder sending shock waves down their spines.
Another awkward silence ensued.
Aya twisted her fingers in her lap, feeling uncomfortable; she wanted to be there...and yet didn't want to. She looked ahead of her, stifling a yawn.
Remus turned to her, gazing at her black hair, her pale skin. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, knew subconsciously that his hand was inching closer to hers, then touched it. She blushed as he grasped her hand, then grasped it in return, her heart beating rapidly. They turned to each other, gazing into each other's eyes, inching closer and closer, hearts pounding...closer...
Their lips almost touched...
"Aya! Hey, Aya, are you in here?"
The door burst open to reveal Lily making her way into the dorm, a smile on her face. "Hey, Aya, I forgot to give you the notes...from...from..." Her eyes widened as she saw them, then yelled out, "OH MY GOD, REMUS! AYA!!!! OH...MY.....GOOOOOOOOOD!"
Remus stood immediately, blushing crimson, still holding onto Aya's hand. "Lily...Lily wait...um...this...this isn't...um..."
Then Lily realized her mistake. "Um...I'm going to leave you two...alone...for a bit. So, um...keep at it, and pretend I wasn't here, okay?! Bye!" She turned and exited, slamming the door behind her. They could her jumping up and down outside before she jumped down the stairs, yelling, "YES, YES, YES, YES!!"
A long, unbearable, mother-of-all awkward silences ensued.
Remus sat back down again on the bed, shell-shocked beyond belief. Aya, unable to contain herself, started laughing, a soft, clear laugh that sent wonderful chills down his spine. He laughed with her, wondering why he had come so close...so close to her...
Their laughter died down to silence as they sat hand in hand on the bed, each staring at their feet. Then, Remus looked up at her, leaned over, and kissed her, pulling back awkwardly, blushing madly, thought, What...what was I doing? Idiot...iiiiidiiiiooooot.
And then Aya leaned over to him and kissed him back, giggling a little, then whispered, "I really...oughta go to bed...I don't think I'm going to class tomorrow."
He nodded stupidly, then stood, finally letting go of her hand. "Um...well, if you're...if you're not going to class tomorrow, maybe you and I could...hang out together, or something. I'm still feeling under the weather...so, you know, we could...hang out! Yeah!"
She nodded, whispered, "That would be fun. Tomorrow, then."
Grinning triumphantly, he nodded, whispered a goodnight to her, then stole out of the room, smiling a little.
Tomorrow, he thought happily.
"I still can't believe that they..."
"Shut up, Sirius! You'll wake him up!"
"Oh, come off it, Wormtail! Don't tell me you're shocked by it, anyway."
"No, I just...don't want to wake Moony up, is all..."
"Riiiiight."
"Why don't you guys take your discussion outside," James said as he put his shoes on.
"Oh, I get it," Sirius said, "Just because old Prongs has 'been around the block' means that he can side with Moony on this!
"I don't see you having a real girlfriend, Padfoot," James retorted.
"Ouch, Prongs. That actually kind of hurt a little," Sirius said, sarcasm dripping on his words.
"Come on, outside with you," James said, standing.
"Oh, it's just not fair! Just cos Moony's a werewolf, and he gets to stay out of school...so not fair!" Sirius retorted. Sighing, James opened the door and pushed him out, allowing Peter to leave before shutting the door behind him.
Remus sighed as he rolled over to face the closed door, his vision slightly swimming from nausea. He sighed, thought, Being a werewolf isn't that much fun, Padfoot.
He waited patiently for her, propping the pillow up so he could sit up straight. He drummed his fingers, thought, Those guys are usually the last ones out of the common room dorms...Aya should be here by now.
He sighed. Maybe she's not coming. The thought chilled him. "She's not going to come," he whispered to himself, feeling depressed.
Then the door creaked open. "Remus?" a familiar voice asked, "You awake, Remus?"
&&&
Woah, it's been a LONG time since I updated...sorry...I got a little wrapped up with my Child of Link story...SORRY...if you have any pity for me, please review...please?