I took a sip of my punch, and then glanced over at the punch bowl beside me. There was still quite a lot of punch left, considering how most of the students decided to take beer instead. Not many opted for the firewhiskey, though those that did were either passed out on the floor or were too busy making fools of themselves.
"Hey, Moony!" Padfoot approached me, grinning from ear to ear as he held up a bottle of whiskey. "I think you could use this."
"No," I said firmly, though I smiled as I put my cup out of his reach. "You already gave me enough."
"Not enough to get you drunk," he pointed out.
"Seems like you've gotten drunk enough for the both of us," I grinned. It was true, too; his cheeks were flushed and he swayed slightly on his feet. And, aside from the obvious, he'd been busy with Marlene. I didn't know why he did that; I knew he would regret it tomorrow.
He laughed. "I'm 17, though, so it's alright! Unlike some people." He gave me a look. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"We both know that you've had that stuff before you turned 17."
He snickered. "I'm not really gonna argue much with that."
"Hey mates!" Prongs stumbled toward us, flinging his arms around us in both a friendly gesture and so he wouldn't fall over. He laughed. "Some party, huh?"
"All thanks to you!" laughed Padfoot, slapping Prongs on the back. "Catching that Snitch without anybody even noticing!"
He grinned. "Just thought it'd be fun to surprise everybody." He paused and glanced around. "Say, have you either of you seen Lily?"
"She went to the library," I answered. "Said it was too loud in here."
"See you guys later, then." He made a move to leave, but I grabbed him.
"Whoa, hold on a second there. You can't roam the halls like that."
"Like what?" He frowned.
"Drunk."
"Oh, I'll be alright." He waved me off. "I can act sober when I need to."
I raised an eyebrow at him. Then I looked at Padfoot for support.
"It won't be a party without you!" he said.
"It's no longer a party for me without Lily." He got out of my grip, and seeing the expression on my face, he grinned, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine! See you two later."
And then he walked out of the portrait hole before I could argue any further.
"Should we stop him?" I asked. Padfoot contemplated.
"Nah, let him go." He paused. "I can't believe he's going to the library to ditch this party, though. He's getting pretty serious about Evans."
"Yeah," I agreed, "seems like it's becoming more than just a crush."
"Speaking of crushes…" Padfoot grinned that mischievous grin I knew all too well. "You got something you wanna tell me, mate?"
I felt my face heat up a little. "What are you talking about?"
His grin widened even more. "You very well know what and who I'm talking about, Remus Lupin. Don't you think that I haven't noticed what's been going on between you and—"
Shrieks and peals of laughter overrode him, and we turned to see what looked like a spray of beer shoot into the air.
"What the…?"
"Let's go see!" Padfoot said, lighting up like a child. He dragged me toward the dispersing crowd, and I didn't resist; he'd completely forgotten about our conversation. And I intended to keep it that way. "Aw, is it done raining beer?" he frowned, stopping.
"Sorry you missed it, babe."
I immediately looked up. There stood a dirty-blonde, sipping on her drink and blinking at us.
"Alex?" Padfoot and I shouted simultaneously. She grinned and skipped over to us.
"Hey!" she said brightly. Her shirt had slipped down one of her shoulders, her eyes were glazed, her hair was mussed, and she held a bottle of beer in her hand.
Strangely enough, she was as intoxicating as she was intoxicated.
"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Padfoot asked.
"I got locked outta my Common Room. So I came here." Her speech was slurred, and she swayed a little on her feet.
"How'd you get in?" I asked casually, so that she wouldn't notice me trying to take the beer away from her.
She noticed.
"Uh-uh!" She waggled a finger at me, taking the bottle out of my reach. She tapped me on the nose. "That's my drink, not yours!"
I frowned. "You're very drunk right now, Alex; I don't think you should drink anymore."
"Oh, lighten up! We're having a paaaartay; a few drinks don't hurt!"
"Bless your soul!" grinned Padfoot, raising his cup. She grinned and smacked her cup against his before each of them downed their drinks. I sighed. "Aw, c'mon Moony, the girl's right; we're having a party! Let loose and have some fun!"
"Mhm, that's right!" Alex said before I could respond. She flung her arm around me, stumbling a little so that I gently put a hand against her back to keep her upright. "Learn to live a little, baby!"
I couldn't help but laugh a little. "I think that spending time with you everyday has gotten me a bit tired."
"Honey, you've only seen me during the day. Try me at nighttime and you'll be sleeping all through the day tomorrow." She smirked that smirk that meant that she was thinking something inappropriate. Padfoot laughed loudly and clapped me on the back as my face flushed.
"If you're not going to take up that offer, Moony, maybe I will." Padfoot winked, elbowing me in the side. I rolled my eyes.
"It's time to get down tonight!" Alex whooped as she raised her cup in the air, and she moved her head back and forth, as if she as listening to music. Then she started to sing, "Oh do a little dance, make a little love"—my face burned redder—"get down tonight! Get down tonight!" She seemed to be lost in her own little world now, completely oblivious to us as she did a little dance to the music, humming to herself. Padfoot and I exchanged looks of both amusement and concern.
"Is that what you call singing, love?" joked Padfoot.
"Hell yeah it is, and if you gotta problem with that, you better get the hell up outta here before I take you out!"
"If I recall correctly, this is my Common Room."
"You recall incorrectly; it's mine now."
"Alex, please," I said, moving toward her, reaching out worriedly. "I think you should go to sleep."
She paused, and a devilish smirk crossed her face. She stumbled over to me, giggling, as she played with the collar of my shirt. "With you? Of course, darling, if you so insist." She leaned in closer toward me, her strong alcoholic breath hitting me hard. "I get to see that booty shakin' tonight!"
Padfoot wolf-whistled and let out a roar of laughter as I blushed furiously. Gently, I took her hand and pried her fingers off of me.
"Alex—"
"Evening, Black, Lupin. Mind if I borrow Alex for a moment?"
I looked over Alex's shoulder to see a smiling Stebbins. Padfoot looked at me. Before I could answer, Alex twirled around, her hand parting from mine. "If you want me, you'll have to catch me!"
Then, giggling, she ran off in a drunken fashion. Stebbins grinned and chased after her. Bewildered, I turned and stared after them, and watched as Stebbins caught her. He lifted her off the floor, hands wrapped around her waist, making her squeal and giggle.
Something about it annoyed me. Angered me. My hands unconsciously rolled up into tight fists, and my shoulders shook slightly.
"You're just gonna let him get away with it?" Padfoot asked me quietly. Confused, I looked at him.
"Away with what?"
"Your woman."
I stared at me and did a double take, shaking my head furiously. I couldn't have possibly heard him right. "My woman?"
"You heard me."
I stared at him in disbelief, mouth hanging wide open. What was he talking about? He couldn't have possibly been referring to Alex? "Alex is not 'my woman'."
He raised an eyebrow at me. "She's not? Oh, then I suppose that must mean that she's Stebbins' woman, judging by the way they're going at it."
I immediately whirled around. Stebbins had one arm around her waist and was whispering something in her ear. She had one hand in her back pocket, the other holding her drink. She didn't look seduced by his words; she looked more amused than anything.
Despite this, despite the fact that she did not seem affected by his words and that she was probably only half-listening, a sudden violent surge of anger overtook me when Stebbins tucked a lock of Alex's hair behind her ear. Without thinking, blood pounding hard in my ears, I strode toward them.
I pulled Alex to me by her elbow, and she stumbled onto my chest. She drunkenly mumbled "Remus?" as a low, feral growl rumbled in my chest and through my lips. Stebbins froze momentarily, looking frightened. Then, when realization hit him, he shouted angrily,
"What the bloody hell was that for?"
"For trying to take advantage of her."
He gaped. Then his shocked expression turned to one of anger as he hissed, "I'm not taking advantage of her!"
"Oh? Really? My bad, it just looked as if you were telling her what you planned on doing to her tonight."
His face turned from either embarrassment or anger. Judging by his expression, it was probably from anger. "How dare you say such a thing? You've known me for six years, Lupin; you know I wouldn't do that."
I knew it. I knew that Stebbins was actually a good guy, and even though he was a flirt, he would never go as far as Sirius would. He would never, truly, take advantage of someone drunk.
But I didn't care. I didn't care that he was a nice guy, that we'd had our moments together, and that I respected him. It didn't matter. He had put his grubby hands on Alex—and as soon as he did, it didn't matter who he was or where he came from; what mattered was that he had touched her. He had invaded her space and, yes, really had taken advantage of her. Perhaps not to the furthest extent, but I knew that a sober Alex would've beat his arse if he'd even laid a finger on her. And I sure as hell would've helped her out.
"So you would do the same thing to her—touch her and whisper in her ear—while she was sober?"
"Well…of course!" He puffed out his chest a little, his glinting eyes on mine. In a silent challenge.
"We'll see how that works out, won't we?" My voice had grown soft now, but even I heard the dangerous undertone in it.
"We will," he said confidently. Then he looked at the drunken girl on my shoulder. "See you later, Alex."
"Why're you going?" She frowned. "We were just startin' our partay!"
"It seems as if Lupin wants him all to himself. But don't worry, I'll save you later." He winked.
"Oh?" She sounded surprised, but I heard the mischievous edge. "You want me all to yourself, Remus?" Her voice had become a soft purr, and she looked up at me with a devious look.
I was about to look away and blush, but when I felt Stebbins's eyes burning into us I turned to her with an impish little smile. "Of course I do." I reached out and played with a strand of her blonde hair, feeling my heart pound. I couldn't believe that I was doing this. It was weird. I shouldn't be doing this. But it felt so nice, so reassuring, so…right. "I've always had you all to myself, haven't I?" I'd intended to catch Stebbins's eyes at this, but I couldn't; I could not keep my eyes off the girl in front of me.
She looked absolutely captivated. Despite her state of mind, her eyes were alight with what was initially shock, but now wonder. She wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned in toward me, tilting her head. I could smell alcohol on her breath.
"Of course, baby." She voice was soft, delicate. Her words sounded as if they were dipped in sweet honey. "I'm all yours."
I was vaguely aware of an angry hiss and a breeze of somebody furiously walking passed me. And then a hiss of, "We'll see how this works out tomorrow."
Slowly, cautiously, with my hands shaking slightly, I wrapped my arms around my waist. Very lightly, so lightly that I was barely even touching her.
She made sure that I had a firm grip on her. She moved toward me, her chest pressing against mine. Immediately my face burned, and it was at this point that I realized that this was going somewhere I didn't want it to.
…Or did I really want it to go in that direction?
No, no, of course not! Alex was my friend, only my friend! But I knew somewhere, deep down, that I was actually secretly enjoying this. No, not the sexual part per say. I was enjoying this. Having her in my arms, feel her breathe against me, her chest rise the same time mine did. It just felt so comforting, so, so…
Right.
"Is this the part where you show me your tongue moves?" Her breath tickled against my ear, and it was then that I was brought back to reality. I nearly jumped away from her when I finally took in the fact that we really were inappropriately close to one another. And as soon as I jumped away, her body heat left me, making me shiver.
"No," I said, my face slowly heating up as I realized what we'd been doing, what I'd been doing. She frowned all sadly. "…C'mon, let's sit down."
She smiled and nodded, grabbing my hand and skipping toward the couch. She jumped down on it, and enthusiastically patted the space beside her. Unable to stop a smile at her eagerness, I took a seat beside her.
"Now are you going to show me your tongue moves? It's more comfortable over here, I must admit." She smirked at me slyly. I blushed.
"No, I'm not going to show you my 'tongue techniques'."
"Oh, you will." She grinned widely. "Maybe not now, but you will."
I didn't really know what to respond to that. She seemed so sure of herself, as if she'd seen the future herself. So I was quiet for a moment as I gently traced her fingertips. She then clasped my fingers through hers, and ours hands were together now. It was comfortable. I liked it.
I looked up at her, and she smiled brightly at me.
"About Stebbins…" I started slowly. "What was…?"
"Hmm?" She moved closer toward me, cocking her head. "What about him?"
I said nothing. Then, "He didn't do anything offensive to you, did he?"
"Aw, nah, we were just playin'." She paused, looking up intently at my face (as intently as she could with those hazy eyes of hers) and suddenly broke out in a knowing smirk. "Somethin' wrong about that?"
I felt my face heat up. "W-what? I never said anything was wrong."
"But you looked it. And you were arguin' with him," she pointed out. She paused, and her smirk widened. "I do have to admit, though, I love it when you're mad."
My eyebrows furrowed slightly. I must've misheard. "What?"
Her smirk was devilish. "It's real sexy when you get mad, 'cause then your voice gets all low and you growl. Well, actually, the growl was a first. But it's damn sexy it is."
Oh, right. I'd growled at Stebbins. I felt a little annoyed at myself for losing control at him like that. The full moon was only two days away; I was having trouble controlling my anger…
My anger wasn't the only emotion I was losing a hold of. There was another emotion that was dominant, especially tonight, and I knew it had something to do with Alex. It wasn't just anger I'd felt when I'd seen her and Stebbins together…it was something more. And not only that, but as I looked down at Alex as she babbled on about my anger being sexy, I felt some sort of feral instinct deep inside me rumble. It wasn't anger. It was something else, something that I didn't know, something that I'd never felt before.
It was when I felt her finger tracing along my collarbone that I jolted out of my thoughts. I looked down to see that she was tracing one of my scars, and rather intently by the way she was looking at it.
"Hey, Remus?"
"Yes?" I murmured, surprised at myself for enjoying the soothing feeling of her fingers against my scars.
"How'd you get these scars anyway? Are you getting in fights without me knowing about it?" There was a playfulness in her tone and I knew that she hadn't meant it as a serious question.
But it was actually a very serious question in my case.
I tried to smile and answer lightly, but I ended up with a bitter scowl and with a strained voice as I said, "Something of the sort."
She said nothing, though she raised her eyebrows slightly at my expression. "Oh." Yet she still continued to trace over my scars. She moved up toward my jaw line, following the path.
I felt a stab of guilt, but I knew that I couldn't tell her the truth. I just couldn't. It wasn't like I didn't trust her, because I did trust her. I trusted her as much as I trusted Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail. It was almost frightening, really, to think that I trusted this girl that I've known for three months as much I trusted the friends I've known for five years.
Even though I trusted her, I couldn't bring myself to tell her. Maybe it had to do with the amount of time we've known each other, or, more likely, that I didn't want to her think of me as something…different. To view me as someone different, a different creature. That was exactly what I'd thought my mates would think about me, though it turned out otherwise. They even took it a step further, becoming unregistered Animagus…just for me. So why couldn't I tell Alex, a girl who probably would never think badly of me? I didn't know. But I was certain that I could not tell her such an important secret. Not yet, at least.
And especially not when she was drunk.
"Alex…" I said slowly, choosing my words carefully, "what would you do if I was…different?"
She looked up at me with a finger paused along my jaw line. "You are different, silly!" She smiled. "Everybody's different!"
I couldn't help but smile a little, and felt a little less nervous. "No, I don't mean it like that." I paused, trying to think of how to phrase this. "If I had something like a disease."
It was a good way to put it. A disease. A curse.
She drew away from me now, an eyebrow raised. "You don't have AIDS, do you?"
I laughed at this. This was Alex, the good old Alex who didn't always think in a way McGonagall would deem appropriate. "No, trust me, I don't."
"Good, 'cause I sure don't wanna catch that." She smirked a little, and I knew what she was implying. I chuckled a little in amused exasperation, shaking my head.
"Okay, fine, so maybe not a disease. A disability?" Then, suddenly, I blurted out, "What would you do if I was a mythical creature?"
I was silent for a moment as I let her stare at me in confusion. Then amusement.
"A mythical creature you say, huh?" She tapped a finger against her chin. "Like a unicorn? I would probably just ride you…wait, I'd do that regardless of whether or not you're a unicorn."
My face heated up so much that I had to be hotter than the fire that crackled in the fireplace. I didn't even know what to respond to that. I couldn't. So I hid my face a little with my hand, a little worried that my cheeks would burn a hole right through my hand. She giggled.
"Never mind," I grumbled, looking away. I felt a little annoyed, but I knew that I really shouldn't have. She was drunk, after all, and it wasn't the best time to ask her serious questions. At the same time, though, you learn a lot from what drunks admit.
She stared at me silently for a moment. "If you really wanna know…I wouldn't care at all." I looked at her. She looked back at me very sincerely. "If you've always been a vampire or somethin'"—I gave her a slightly amused look—"during the time I've known you, that doesn't make you a different person. You're still Remus Lupin. So I don't give a hoot of whether or not you have a disability or are some mythical god or whatever."
I felt a sudden rush of gratitude toward her. I didn't have a chance to respond as she suddenly stuck her wrist in my face.
"Here, have some. I taste good."
I laughed and took a hold of her wrist, raising my upper lip so that my teeth showed. I pretended to gnaw at her wrist. She squealed and giggled. I smiled and let go of her hand. She grinned widely. The next thing I knew her head landed onto my lap, and she was giggling up at me. I raised an eyebrow.
"Here." She pointed at her neck. "You can do it properly now."
"Not with your hair in the way," I joked and brushed her hair back. She smiled and tilted her head so that her beautiful eyes were looking up at me. The shadows of the fire danced along her cheeks so that half of her face was orange.
"I wanna go to bed, Remus," she murmured. She did look tired, even exhausted. Despite her exhaustion, though, her eyes were wide, maybe even forcibly, as they stared up into me. Something about the way her eyes sparkled told me that I already knew the answer to the question I asked,
"And where do you plan on sleeping?"
She grinned naughtily. "In your bed, of course."
I considered it a moment. Then I said, "Alright." Her eyebrows rose in shock and she was at a loss of words. I couldn't help but smirk slightly at her reaction. "Well, are we going or not?"
She got up, still looking befuddled. I got off the couch too. We stood there for a moment, and slowly Alex's amazed expression became impish. She grinned widely, throwing an arm around my shoulder. I laughed and put an arm around her in return.
"I knew you couldn't resist," she said softly in my ear. I chuckled.
And so, arms around each other, we walked off toward the boys' dormitory.
I will not further elaborate on the last sentence...hehe. You'll just have to wait for the next chapter to see what happens.
So, if you didn't figure it out by now, this Chapter was from Remus's POV. Usually I would tell you guys about this in an author's note at the top of the page, but I kinda just wanted you guys to wonder what was going on :P There are two reasons why I chose to do this Chapter from Remus's POV:
1) Alex is drunk. She's not gonna be a very good narrator when all she's saying is how the world is spinning around her. It'd be a pretty pointless Chapter.
2) I wanted to show Remus's feelings. I think it's pretty darn clear how he feels about Alex, and obviously it's a lot more stronger than how Alex feels about him (so far, anyways.)
So, yeah. I hope you enjoyed! Hopin' for 50 reviews by the next chapter! :D
