Chapter 10: Nighttime Romps

Thanks for your continued support, Jenea Cappoen, as a reviewer and Lola as a beta-er. Also thank you Mlle Patria; I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

And I'm sorry for taking so long to update (two months?!?) I hope to have my next one out fairly soon, but life's getting hectic, so I may not. R&R

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After I gave the team their normal pep talk, "you know how Slytherin plays; keep away from the big ones and watch out for one another," and they dressed, I led them onto the pitch. I almost laughed when I saw that Remus would be refereeing, but I sobered up enough to make sure I could keep my hands from noticeably trembling when I had to shake with Montague. Just like that, we kicked off. Most of the game was a blur to me, as always, because I only paid enough attention to objects other than the quaffle to keep tabs on the score and make sure the rest of the team did what I had told them at practice. But most of my attentions were on the red ball being passed around like lightning that was shot through the Slytherin hoops more often than not. The score was 90-30, with Gryffindor in the lead, when one of the Slytherin beaters decided that taking out the other captain was the wisest course of action.

I had the quaffle, about to make another goal, when he got control of the bludger. He hit it with all of his might, aiming it precisely. It shot through the air and smashed into the intended target. The last things I remember were a blinding pain, yells in triumph as Harry caught the snitch, and screams as my body left the broom, some seventy-five feet above the ground.

I awoke a surprisingly short time later, to several jabs into the back of my head. I moaned in pain, trying to swat away the offending object. But hands clamped on my arms and a soft whisper into my ear stopped me.

"Don't worry, love, Madam Pomfrey just needs to check you out. She'll be done in a few moments." My eyes popped open to the most amazing sight I could have been hoping for. Remus's face was mere inches from mine. I smiled through the pain at that, and he responded with a tight smile of his own.

"You gave us a real scare there, Andrea." I heard Madam Pomfrey's voice. "But I think you'll be fine. Here, let me do this…" She trailed away and I felt a cool wave of magic encase me, soothing the aches and pains that had been there mere moments before. "Now, someone should probably take her to the hospital wing. She may not be able to walk for the sedative spell."

"I'll do it." Remus answered immediately as he somewhat shakily lifted me off of the ground, instructing me to keep my arms around his neck.

As I left the ground and noticed the huge crowd around me, I cringed. At least I hadn't done anything too embarrassing. Remus carefully navigated the throng of students, making sure that my head didn't bump anyone. As he silently carried me to Madam Pomfrey's usual office, I turned to Remus.

"I'm okay." He paused in his steps, turning his head to look at me.

"Yes." He brought his face down to mine and kissed me intensely but quickly. "I almost thought I had lost you…"

"But you didn't. Relax, please. I hate seeing you all wound up."

He looked at me strangely for a moment but soon gave in, sighing. "I guess you're right; I just don't know what I'd do if you...if you…"

"The same goes for you." He kissed me lightly again, then continued walking. "So, why didn't Madam Pomfrey bring me herself?"

"Oh, I imagine you didn't see Albus standing just behind her. He wanted a full report."

"Do you ever think that Albus knows more than he's letting on....about us, I mean."

"I don't hope to ever know, but, if he does know more than we think, we can only hope that he continues to fake being oblivious."

I agreed quietly, and we were silent the rest of the walk. By the time we had reached the hospital wing, I was barely awake and clinging to his shoulders. He laid me down on the bed, pressed his lips to my forehead, and sat in the chair next to the bed.

This time, I truly fell into the darkness.

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I awoke again, more comfortably than I had the last time, keeping my eyes shut tight for a few moments before peeling them apart. It was late afternoon, probably around 5:00. There were thin light blue curtains pulled around my bed that didn't quite block the noise of several students being told to go to dinner by a very agitated voice. Feeling completely fine, I sat up, hearing a sharp, startled cry on my left. I jumped at the sound, looking for the source. I found it quickly enough as I felt a hand on my shoulder, urging me to lie back down. I shook it off, instead swinging my legs off the bed and hopping up, jogging steadily out of the enclosed space to more protestations behind me.

"Madam Pomfrey? I feel better now." I had finally reached the other side of the stupid curtain, when I stopped in confusion, almost causing Remus to run into me. There were more people in the room than I had anticipated. At first glance, I saw Albus, Minerva, Bill, Kaylynn, and Lilith, but, upon further inspection, I noticed that the whole of the Gryffindor Quiddich Team, still robed, was tittering just outside the door, along with what was probably the rest of my house and many Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws and…Montague, looking very out of place. Upon seeing me, chaos broke out among my classmates. Madam Pomfrey intervened, shutting the door against their noise. Now, I stood in the room with only about seven people.

"Madam Pomfrey?" I repeated, "I feel better now." There were many more shouts about my being out of bed.

"Very well. I should like to speak with you alone, Andrea. The others may stay, but I ask that they wait in the other room while I examine you." The others were still surprised and slightly outraged, but they did what she said.

"Wait, could Re--Professor Lupin stay? I need to talk to him about something." Madam Pomfrey nodded, and Remus trudged back to me gratefully.

When everyone that shouldn't be there was gone, we started talking. "I know that your…condition allows you to heal much more quickly, but I still should check you out."

I responded in like, then turned to Remus. "I know you're worried…that I might be hurt," I censored, remembering the nurse right behind me, "but I'm sure you've realized how quickly your wounds heal. Well, I got that gene from my dad, so I'm totally healed, okay? There's no need to worry."

Remus looked skeptic, but he merely nodded as Albus walked in and Madam Pomfrey finished checking me out. "Well, everything seems to be in order. You are free to leave, if you wish."

"Yes, thank you so much, Poppy." I headed toward the door, but Albus got to me before I could get very far.

"May I speak with the two of you?" He asked in a stern voice. I looked at the ground as my eyes widened and I gulped, but I followed the man obediently to the DADA classroom. When we reached the room, he motioned for us to take a seat. "I think you know why I wanted to talk to you together…Andrea, I realize that very few people know the extent of your situation, so we will need to, as the muggles say, stage a cover up." Albus paused, and I stared at him in confusion. At first, I had though he was talking about my relationship with Remus…but now I wasn't so sure. "You will need to seem like you're still recovering. Since I know you would rather not stay in the Hospital Wing and that tonight happens to be the full moon, I though that maybe you would like to stay with Remus…that is, if you want to. I'm sure I can arrange other accommodations, if you'd rather."

"No, that's great. If Remus would like me to stay."

"I don't know…I can be dangerous. All werewolves can."

"Remus, you have taken your wolfsbane. And did you think I would be in my human form?" I retaliated quickly.

Remus thought for a moment, then gave up, sighing, "okay, stay if you want."

We quickly made a contingency plan, and Albus left just before the sun set. Remus insisted that I change first, watching me strip down and morph and doing so himself, not long after.

That night was amazing. I had always loved my wolf form because of the heightened senses and overall playfulness that struck me whenever I changed, and it was even better with someone else. Remus and I, acting like young pups, pouncing around his living space and chasing each other in circles until we both lay panting in heaps on the ground. But, since the night is longer than the three hours it took for us to really wear ourselves out, we did other things, too. We talked as only dogs could, sometimes silently and sometimes getting caught up in the heat of the moment and just howling. Before we realized it, the sun was coming up, and Remus was morphing, followed by myself. We threw on the closest comfy clothes we could find, which happened to be one of Remus's shirts for me, and we laid back on the bed, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

I arose to the delicious smell of food and bright light streaming through the windows. I closed my eyes, following my nose to the intoxicating smell wafting from the dining area.

"Good afternoon, sunshine. Sleep well?" An almost too cheery voice greeted me.

"Yes. What time is it?" I asked, easing my eyes open to the much more bearable light in the room and the sight of Remus handing me a heaping plate of food…shirtless. Remus, not the food.

He sat across from me, and we dug in, finishing every scrap of food that the house elves had brought us. We sat back, and I spoke up. "That was fun; when can we do it again?"

He looked at me strangely and considered before answering. "Well, I guess, since it went so well, we could do it again. But only if it doesn't interfere with your schoolwork or teaching."

"Great. Then I'll come back tonight."

"No. today is Sunday. You have classes to attend and teach tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is Halloween. Since it's such a big holiday, we never have classes."

"Oh. Yeah. I guess I forgot." I smiled, standing up from the table, giving Remus a kiss, and flouncing out of his room to go to my sisters.

I spent the rest of the day in the Gryffindor common room assuring my classmates that I would be fine and ready for Quiddich practice soon, going to sleep after some time to make sure I was rested and ready for that night.

Soon enough, I was treading down to the rooms I had become very accustomed to entering. Both Remus and I changed into our wolf selves, ready for another night of roughhousing. We played and pounced, reminding me of young puppies and making me laugh…bark. Our fun slowed gradually, eventually finding my love snuggled around me happily. Life didn't get much better than this.