"So how does it feel to know that you can use your wand whenever and wherever you want to?" Marlene asked me as we headed up to the Common Room. I was surprised by how talkative she was being with me still, even though Padfoot wasn't walking with us. Marlene had been acting very nice and generous towards me today, and although I'd been initially confused, I had quickly realized that she must've been acting extra nice to me since it was my birthday. Padfoot had probably warned her to watch her tongue. Of course, Marlene was usually respectful towards me, but there was typically a moment or two when something rude would slip out of her mouth. Today, though, she had yet to say a single crude thing. I was really rather impressed.

I smiled and shrugged. "I don't know, it's hard to say since I'm still in school. It'll probably really hit me once I get home and realize that I can use magic there too."

She smiled understandingly and nodded. "Yeah, I was like that too. My birthday was in October, so when I went home for the holidays it was the first time I was using magic outside of school. I started bewitching everything in sight. My mum was ready to throw me out of the house, I think."

I laughed. "I suppose I better be careful then." She smiled and nodded. A brief moment of silence lapsed between us. Luckily, we had just arrived in front of the Fat Lady. After muttering the latest password, Marlene and I stepped into the Common Room and—

"SURPRISE!"

I saw all sorts of lights flash around the room as fireworks burst every which way and streamers and balloons fell down from the ceiling. An overwhelming number of familiar faces greeted me into the Common Room. Upon the ceiling was a red and gold banner that read 'Happy Seventeenth'.

"Just what is going on?!" I laughed in disbelief, hesitantly taking a few steps forward. I glanced back at Marlene to see if she was in on this, and judging by her twinkling eyes and amused grin, she had known about this all along. So this was why she'd been trying to keep me busy all day.

"What d'you think is going on?" laughed Padfoot, stepping out from the crowd. He was grinning ear-to-ear. "This is your surprise party, of course!"

"I guess this means we did well on the 'surprise' aspect of this whole thing," Prongs grinned, mussing up his hair. Briefly I wondered if there was a certain redhead in the room he was trying to impress. "You shoulda seen the look on your face, mate!"

"Oh, shut up," I muttered, grinning.

"Well, come on in," Wormtail said, beckoning me towards them. "What do you want to do first? Pin the tail on the griffin? Or maybe you'd like to throw a dart at Snivellus's picture? Or–"

"How about we open presents first?" Prongs interrupted, speaking really loudly. The crowd of friends echoed their approval by roaring and shouting.

"Uh, sure, Prongs," I said, rubbing my ear. "But maybe you could tone it down a bit? I don't want to go deaf on my birthday."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Prongs replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Just wanted to make sure everyone could hear and all." Padfoot grinned slightly. "Anyways, the presents are over here…" He headed towards the left. I followed and immediately saw the overflowing pile of presents lined up along a table. Before I could tell all my friends that I didn't need anything, my attention was diverted by the large box sitting next to the table. It was a humongous box that reached my waist and was wrapped up like a present. I gawked at it.

"What is that?"

"It's your present," Prongs replied matter-of-factedly. He grinned widely. "It's from me, Wormtail, and Padfoot. I hope you enjoy it." He patted it.

Of course it was from them. Who else would go out of their way to get me something so extravagant? I appreciated the sentiment, but...

"I can't accept this!" I cried. "Really, you don't have to do this for me!"

"Aw, aren't you just the cutest?" Padfoot cooed at me, wiggling a finger at me. I rolled my eyes. "Really, though, Moony, we want you to have this. It's your seventeenth birthday, after all; you deserve something extra special."

"Besides," Prongs said, wearing a grin that meant trouble, "we had this shipped exclusively from overseas."

I almost shrieked when a shower of confetti erupted open the top of the box. Once the confetti had all fallen down to the floor, I saw none other than Alex Piers standing in the box and grinning back at me. My jaw dropped.

"Happy seventeenth birthday, Remus!" she shouted, raising her hands high in the air. I didn't know what she was doing back or where she'd even gone to. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but right now, none of them mattered. All that mattered was that she was here now.

"Alex!" I practically screamed, running up to her and embracing her tightly. I felt her laugh against me as I lifted her out of the box and set her onto the ground. Our friends whooped and cheered all around us.

"Hey, babe," she smiled at me. She was absolutely breathtaking. Her outfit fit her in all the right places, hugging her slender frame and highlighting her assets. Her hair was curled all prettily and was adorned with the silver headband that I'd gotten her for Christmas (which had me grinning like an idiot). She also appeared to be wearing makeup, although it was nothing so drastic that it was distracting – in fact, all it did was highlight her beautiful eyes and help soften her face. "I got you a present," she told me, quickly halting my eyes from roaming all over her body. My eyes met hers and I instantly knew that that look could only mean trouble.

Without further warning, she yanked me down to her level and kissed me full on the lips.

I swore I was about to fall over and die of happiness. Her lips felt so velvety smooth and soft, and oh how perfectly they seemed to mold together with mine. Her mouth and breath was hot but certainly not uncomfortable. The crowd around us erupted into so much noise that I briefly wondered if McGonagall would run in yelling at us to quiet down, but I realized that I could really care less. Nothing could bring me down from the sort of high I felt now. So I wrapped my arms around her waist and tugged her closer to me, deepening our kiss. I chuckled throatily when I felt her surprise, and she broke apart with a laugh soon afterwards.

I was a bit proud to see a flush upon her cheeks and her chest heaving up and down in exertion. It was rare to see Alex so disorientated, so I took some pride in the thought that I was the one that had her looking so alluringly out of breath.

"That," I said at last, once I caught my breath, "was the best birthday present. Ever."

And she just smirked that damningly sexy smirk of hers. "Wait until you see what I've got planned for you later."

I could feel the flush on my cheeks spread to my neck and ears. She laughed softly at me, probably finding my embarrassment endearing. Prongs approached us, handing each of us a glass of champagne and wearing a goofy looking grin.

"Happy birthday, Remus!" he shouted for what must've been the tenth time today, lifting a glass of champagne in the air. "May all your wishes come true!"

All I could think about was how all my wishes had already come true. I didn't have a chance to voice this, however, as the crowd echoed Prongs's toast.

So I smiled and lifted my glass in the air. "Thank you all! You guys are what made this birthday special!" I grinned and took my very first legal sip of alcohol. I was unaccustomed to the bubbling feeling that went down my throat as I drank the champagne, but I figured it was better than the burning I felt whenever I downed a shot of firewhiskey. Alex smiled and clinked her glass against mine before taking a small sip of her drink. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Was she trying to watch her alcohol intake tonight?

"Sorry we didn't get you any exotic dancers, mate," Padfoot shouted as he sauntered over to my side. He slung an arm over my shoulder and grinned at me. "Prongs thought your girlfriend wouldn't appreciate them."

I laughed and nudged Alex playfully. Of course she wouldn't appreciate exotic dancers; that was a no-brainer! Alex, however, was having none of it. She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest defiantly.

"Didn't you read the label on the present, Sirius?" I could tell by the tone of her voice that her thoughts were anything but clean. "I'm a two-in-one package; you don't need exotic dancers when you have me." She smirked winningly and raised her eyebrow higher as if to challenge Padfoot to retort. I immediately felt my cheeks burn at her insinuation.

Prongs practically doubled over in laughter. Padfoot raised his eyebrows briefly in surprise before smirking deviously and laughing. He nudged me in the side and winked knowingly. My glass cup almost slipped out of my hands, but I quickly regained my grip on it before it fell.

"Do I get to get a dance too, Piers?" he teased her, not ready to surrender just yet. She rolled her eyes.

"You get enough from Marlene, don't you?" she retorted smartly. Prongs snickered and Padfoot pursed his lips. "Now you better go after Peter and make sure he doesn't get too wasted." She nodded towards our friend, who was getting rather handsy with a bottle of whiskey. "God knows what'll happen."

I knew that she was just finding an excuse to shoo them away. Prongs and Padfoot also seemed to get the picture, since they quickly made their way towards Wormtail. Not before sending me one last wink, though. I sighed and shook my head, smiling slightly. Sometimes I just didn't know what to do with them.

"So," Alex started, fixing my tie, "how've you been?"

"I've missed you," I said quietly, taking her hands in mine so that she would pause in her work to look up at me. It had felt like an especially grueling and long week without her, especially due to my transformation. "Where've you been?" There were plenty more questions I was dying to ask, but I didn't want to overwhelm her.

She smiled softly at me. "I've missed you too." And she went on to tell me how she'd gone all the way back the States to visit her father, who had been in a car crash. She had only just returned to Hogwarts last night.

"I'm so sorry to hear about your father," I said sympathetically. "Is he alright?"

"Oh, yeah, he's fine." She was surprisingly dismissive. "He'll be back on his feet in no time."

I smiled genuinely. "I'm happy to hear that he's okay." I paused and hesitated, rubbing circles over her palm with my thumb. "Are you okay?" I could only imagine how much emotional stress she must've undergone to visit her father. It must not have been easy for her to see him in such a state, especially since they didn't have a very good relationship.

She smiled back. "Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry about me." She sounded really quite genuine in her response.

"You're sure?" I asked, worried that she wasn't telling me everything.

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. I appreciate your concern, really, I do. You don't need to worry, though. I'm doing just fine."

"Alright," I gave in after a moment. "But if you ever–"

"I know, Remus, I know," she interrupted with a soft laugh. Her eyes twinkled in amusement, and the hand she put on my arm was warm and affectionate. "I can tell you anything. I'll give you more details later, okay? For now, let's just celebrate your birthday."

I was about to argue and tell her that she ought to tell me what was on her mind now instead of waiting until later, but the kiss she pulled me into made me lose my train of thought. By the time we broke apart I was a blubbering fool and had completely forgotten what I had been about to say.

"Now," she grinned, taking my arm, "I think it's high time we joined the party."

~-x-~-x-~-x-~

I was quite impressed with all the effort and time my mates must've put into this surprise party for it to have been such a success. Of course, that didn't surprise me; they always did things to the extreme. The Common Room had pretty much been turned into a mini-carnival. I was a bit surprised that very few people had actually drank enough alcohol to become drunk; most people appeared tipsy or sober. They probably figured that it might've been rude to get wasted at my birthday party. I was taking it easy myself. It may have been legal for me to become utterly trashed now, but I didn't quite see the fun in blacking out and remembering nothing the next day. I wanted to soak this moment in and remember all the fun I had tonight with my friends.

Halfway throughout the party I had lost a hold of Alex. I was a bit worried that she may not be able to control her alcohol, but reminded myself that she had been taking it easy and was probably okay. Even if she was drunk, there were plenty of people around to help her. Nobody was dumb enough to take advantage of her, let alone at my birthday party. Even Stebbins wasn't that low.

When the party simpered down and my guests began to say their goodnights and goodbyes, however, I realized that Alex was nowhere in sight. It was unlike her to leave without saying anything, unless she had a good reason. Worried that something had happened to her (and thinking it had something to do with her dad), I quickly approached my mates, who were still throwing darts at Snape's portrait. Padfoot got him right on the nose.

"Bullseye!" he shouted, thumping his fist in the air.

"Bullshit," retorted Prongs. "His nose is the biggest part of his face; it's the easiest to hit!"

Wormtail doubled over in laughter, pounding the floor with his fist. Briefly I glanced about, worried that Lily would catch a glimpse of what they were doing, but quickly remembered that she had already bade me goodnight.

"Hey, Moony," Padfoot greeted me, noticing my arrival. "You wanna try?" He offered me a dart but I shook my head.

"Have you guys seen Alex?" I asked worriedly, glancing around again as if she would pop out from beneath a table. "I haven't seen her for a while now."

"Piers?" Prongs asked, facing me. "Maybe she went off to bed."

"Without saying goodbye to me?" That wasn't like her. Prongs shrugged.

"Actually," Padfoot said slowly, "I think she left something for you on the table by the fireplace."

Wormtail snickered and covered his mouth. Prongs kicked him in the side and smiled all innocently – too innocently – at me. Padfoot's lips twitched. I raised my eyebrows at them, suspecting that there was something they were hiding something from me.

"Guys?" I asked slowly. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Padfoot asked, feigning innocence.

"You're acting weird," I deadpanned, folding my arms across my chest. "I know there's something you guys are planning."

Prongs snorted and mussed up his hair. "Please, Moony," he said, sounding mildly offended, "aren't we always weird?"

"He's right," Wormtail giggled, nodding vigorously.

I sighed. "You're not gonna tell me what's going on, are you?"

"Nope," laughed Padfoot, finally giving up on the act. "Just go and read the letter. Trust me, it'll help."

I gave them one last dubious look before heading off towards the fireplace. Indeed, on the table in front of it was an envelope addressed to me in Alex's loopy handwriting. On top of the envelope was a bar of chocolate. I picked up both and opened up the envelope. Instead of the letter I was expecting, however, I was greeted with lines and lines of what appeared to be riddles. On the top of the page Alex explained,

Hey, Remus. If you're reading this it must mean that you a) realized that I'm gone or b) had this envelope brought to your attention by the boys. I'm hoping it's a), though.

Anyways, I still have a little surprise for you tonight, but I'm making you work for it. Yup, I'm making you work on your birthday. Sorry, babe, but I'll promise it'll all be worth it. Your present is hiding from you in this castle, and you have to use the following clues to find your way to it. And that bar of chocolate you're holding in your hand? It'll come in handy later.

On your mark…get set…go!

I smiled and shook my head. I wouldn't have been surprised if my mates had done something like this for me, but Alex? Since she was always so straightforward and liked to keep things simple, I would've thought she would just hand me my present instead of making me go on a scavenger hunt for it. I was all for it, however, and was excited to see what was in store for me.

Game on, babe.

~-x-~-x-~-x-~

Congrats, you've made it far. I hope you aren't too fed up with me by now. I chuckled and shook my head. I could never be fed up with her. Now, this last challenge is actually the hardest of them all. You may not think so, but you have to really, REALLY be emotionally invested in this. You ready? I nodded. I need you to walk down this hall and, when you see the weird-looking tapestry of trolls doing ballet (?), walk past it three times. All the while, you have to really, REAAAAALLLY think about how much you want to see me. I know, it sounds stupid, but trust me, it'll work out in the end. If you do it right, you'll know what to do. You'll almost there, babe! You can do this!

Her words of encouragement were all I needed to talk myself into doing this last step. I took a deep breath and followed her instructions exactly. I walked past the tapestry three times, and thought so hard about how much I wanted to see her I nearly got a headache.

And that was when I saw a huge door emerge from the wall. It was as if an invisibility cloak had been stripped from the wall to reveal the hidden door. I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. The door was still there. I quickly glanced around to see if anybody had seen what I had just witnessed, but the hallway was empty.

I glanced back at the door, hesitant about stepping through it. Who knew what this door led to?

And that was when it started to fade away. My eyes widened in panic and, scared that I wouldn't be able to make the door reappear, I quickly ran through it. I found myself skidding into a dim and unfamiliar room. I didn't have the chance to comprehend what had just happened, however, because something in the center of the room grabbed my attention.

There, lying on a king-sized bed, was Alex. She was dressed in nothing but lingerie. She was facing me with her head lying against her hands, and she smiled when she saw me. My cheeks burned and I quickly glanced away, feeling as if I shouldn't stare. By the way she was dressed, though, clearly the whole point was for me to stare and gawk.

"Do you still have that bar of chocolate, Remus?" she asked me. She spoke as if she was asking me about the weather (and like it was completely normal to ask such a question dressed only in undergarments). I practically choked on my own spit. It was the last thing I'd been expecting her to say.

"Uh, yeah." If my sweaty palms weren't melting it as we speak.

"Can you bring it over here?"

"Over…over to you?" My voice was unnaturally high.

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

I gulped nervously. Slowly, cautiously, hesitantly, I made my way towards her, staring at everything in the room but her. I noted that there were balls of light scattered about the room to light it up but still give it a dim, romantic feel.

I stopped in front of the bed and, while staring at my own two feet, extended the chocolate bar clumsily towards her. I felt her take the chocolate from me and heard some rustling of blankets as she moved around.

"There we go," she said, sounding accomplished. "You completed my heart, Remus." Her voice softened, and I could hear the smile in it.

I finally looked at her, my eyebrows raised slightly. I tried my hardest to look into her eyes and nothing else.

"What?" I asked softly. Her smile widened and she jumped off the bed, gesturing to what I thought were just the blankets.

"You completed my heart," she repeated quietly. There was a strong emotion in her voice that made it warble slightly.

It was hard to look away from that expression of hers, but I eventually did. I stepped closer to the bed to see just what exactly she was gesturing to. I laughed in surprise when I realized what she was talking about. There were chocolate bars on the bed that were arranged into the shape of a heart. My chocolate bar must've made it a complete heart.

"You like it?" she asked me, seeming to relax a little now that I'd laughed.

"I love it," I replied sincerely, smiling at her. "Do I get to eat all of them?"

She threw her head back and laughed. Although I usually found it charming when she laughed like that, the amount of skin it exposed suddenly made me feel jittery all over again. "If they don't all melt by the time we're done tonight, then sure." She raised her eyebrows meaningfully and smirked seductively.

I felt my blood rush to more than just my cheeks.

She slowly stepped towards me. It almost appeared as if she was gliding. At this point I found it hard to stop myself from eying her up and down. I realized now that the outfit she'd been wearing earlier had done her no justice; this surely showcased her body far better.

She stopped in front of me. Her hair bounced and inadvertently brought my attention towards her chest. I had to bite my teeth together and quickly glance away to stay in control of myself. I took a deep breath through my nose and returned my attention to her, this time staring her in the eye. This didn't quite calm me the way I was hoping it would, however. There was an attractive flush on her cheeks and her lips were slightly parted, oh so very, very temptingly. Her eyes sparkled at me.

"Listen, Remus," she said quietly and surprisingly seriously, "I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I understand if you don't feel ready for this. I know we haven't been dating for very long yet, and maybe you're not ready to take this next step with me. And that's alright. I respect that. I can wait."

Damn her for making it all the more tempting. Obviously that had not been her intentions at all, but the way she cared so much about me that she was willing to wait for me made me want her all the more. "Are you…are you ready for this?" My mouth felt dry; it was difficult to speak.

She smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah, I am. I want you, Remus." I shivered. She spoke so firmly, so defiantly, so clearly that I had no reason to doubt her. I was beginning to feel dizzy; my heart was racing; my blush deepened. "I want us to be one."

Those words, spoken from her lips, were almost my undoing. I swore aloud and stomped my foot. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Sorry," I muttered, running my fingers through my hair. I took a few deep breaths and laughed nervously. "This is just a lot to take in."

She gently placed a hand on my arm. "Like I said, I don't want you to feel pressured into this." She looked sheepishly down at herself. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have dressed like this…I just wanted to surprise you, that's all."

"Well, you certainly surprised me."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise and laughed. "I guess I'll give you some time, then. I'll just, y'know, get dressed and–"

"Wait, Alex." She paused, staring up at me expectantly. I hesitated, biting my lip. "Are you…have you ever…?" I couldn't bring myself to fully ask the question. It was embarrassing and terribly rude of me, but I felt that I couldn't go through with this unless I asked it.

She smiled understandingly. "No, I'm not, and yes, I have."

It was really quite amazing how simply she could state it, how she wasn't ashamed of it. It was who she was, and if I couldn't accept that, I might as well leave now.

Of course I was completely fine with that. I accepted that about her. It would still be a first time for both of us, in a certain sense, since we had never done it together. But I felt more nervous than before. What if I couldn't...perform as well as her former lover?

I scratched the back of my head uncomfortably. "Oh, well, err, I-I've never done this before," I admitted, clearing my throat. "Well, I mean, I've done some other stuff before, but never…err…" I tugged uncomfortably at the collar of my shirt. I never ceased to amaze me how easily and openly she could discuss these matters. I couldn't even bring myself to say the actual words.

She smiled and took my hand. "It's okay, Remus. It'll come naturally to you, I promise." I relaxed slightly, surprised by the genuine warmth of her words. "Don't feel like there's some stupid standard you have to live up to." Were my worries that obvious? "You'll do just fine." She placed both of her hands gently against my chest and smiled reassuringly up at me. "I want to make love to you, nobody else."

I could only imagine how red my face turned. She laughed affectionately and kissed me softly on the cheek.

I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. I leaned in towards her and pressed my forehead against hers. Her hot breath sent a shiver down my spine. "Do you trust me?" I whispered, opening my eyes to look into hers. They glistened with emotion as she replied,

"Forever and always, babe."

I was so touched by the emotion in her voice and expression that I felt my eyes brim with tears. Nobody could bring down my walls of fear (the fear of hurting someone I cared so dearly for, the fear of being shunned and cast aside for what I was) and my walls of defense (always saying I was okay, always acting stronger than I felt) like she did.

She smiled softly and kissed me gently on the cheek. Wiping away my tears, she searched my eyes for an answer. "Are you sure about this?" she breathed.

I smiled. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life." And I kissed her soundly.


So, yes, Alex and Remus have taken it to the 'next level'. That scene was most definitely the hardest to write, because it's about more than just sex; it's about being ready to take that next step together and allowing yourself to be vulnerable. Initially I had this chapter written from Alex's perspective, but I realized halfway through how boring it was and that it would make more sense to have it written in Remus's POV. He's a lot shyer about this stuff, after all, and is just self-conscious in general. Alex is obviously a lot more confident in herself and is completely comfortable with her self-image. So I thought it'd be interesting to see Remus's thoughts for such a special occasion.

And a special shout out to MissLoremasterSarah and The Almight Pyro for predicting that this would happen. I'm pretty impressed. XD And congrats to all my other readers out there who also might've figured it out ahead of time. Until next time! (only 3-4 chapters left! :O)