I awoke to find myself tangled in sheets. I blinked a few times in disbelief, wondering how much I must've tossed and turned to get into such a position. Briefly I wondered if I'd kicked or punched Remus throughout the night, and, with a struggle, turned on my side to assess him. My insides practically melted at the sight I was greeted with.

Remus, unlike me, was a rather graceful sleeper. I didn't know people could even sleep gracefully, but Remus clearly proved that it was possible. He was sleeping on his side, facing me, and was curled up in his blanket all cutely. The hues from the lights, much dimmer now that their magic was wearing off, cast soft orange glows upon Remus's sleeping face. The lights caught his scars and accentuated his jawline, making him appear more masculine. His hair was falling in his face and was disheveled in a sexy, unruly manner (to which I couldn't help but smirk proudly). His expression, however, topped off everything. Despite all the sexy and devilish charm he seemed to be currently exuding, his expression was most angelic.

I almost felt like laughing at the completely different vibes he was sending me. Of course, that was made Remus so utterly charming yet devastatingly sexy at the same time. He was all cute and sweet and innocent most of the time, but when you pushed his buttons the wrong (or in my case, the right) way, he could be a bit of a badass. I wondered if Remus was ever going to show me his wild side in bed, and I bit my lip to stifle my giggle at the dirty thought. I could only imagine the expression of horrified embarrassment on Remus's face had he been awake for me to actually voice my question.

Ah, well, I supposed only time could tell. Smiling, I curled up closer to him, wanting to feel the warmth of his body and the steady rise and fall of his chest. I struggled against the sheets, which tightened around me as I shifted around, but in the end I managed to show them who was boss (which, yes, left me in a shivering mess as I flung them off the bed). I quickly sidled my way beside Remus and quietly rolled beside him underneath his blanket. Apparently he was a deep sleeper, as he seemed completely oblivious to me. I bit back another giggle as he shifted slightly when I placed a gentle kiss upon his collarbone.

I decided not to tease him anymore, however, since I didn't want to actually wake him up. We'd had a long night, after all; he deserved his sleep. Unable to stifle my naughty giggle at the thought (I was just full of giggles tonight, wasn't I?), I nuzzled into the crook of his neck. At the feeling of the contact, he unconsciously wrapped an arm around my bare waist and pulled me closer towards him. I smiled against him, thinking that that was the most adorable thing ever – how he wanted to be close to me, even in his subconscious sleep – and kissed him very softly upon his neck. Sleep soon overcame me, and the last thing I remembered was thinking that nothing in the world made me happier than to fall asleep in Remus's arms.


I swore aloud when I heard the sound of the bell ringing through the castle. Great. I was late.

I stopped sprinting and slowed down to a walking pace. Sighing irritably, I ran my fingers through my tangled hair. I'd slept in this morning since I'd stayed up late last night working on my Charms homework (and I still wasn't able to turn my vinegar into wine, though I was able to turn it into some purple jello-like substance). I'd gotten up this morning to discover that I had five minutes to get to the other side of the castle to make it to class on time. Ah, well, I tried at least, didn't I? Besides, it was only History of Magic. Mr. Binns didn't even know my name, so it didn't really matter whether or not he caught me coming in late. I'd just always been extra cautious in case Avery managed to persuade Mr. Binns to give me a detention.

As I rounded the corner, I could hear the murmuring of many students through an open classroom door. To my utter shock, I turned to see that the chatter was coming from Binns's classroom. But…that wasn't possible. Half of the class fell asleep during his lectures; there was no way this many people would be awake, let alone talking during his class. I must've taken a wrong staircase and led myself to a different classroom.

Trying to convince myself I had done just that, I took a quick peek in the room to see if I recognized anybody. Although Binns was not sitting at his usual spot at the front of the class – in fact, he didn't appear to be in the class at all – the room was unmistakably his. And that ugly face that was sneering at me? It was most definitely Avery's. Frowning deeply in confusion, I hesitantly stepped into the classroom, wondering if this was some awful prank. Nobody other than Avery seemed to notice my entrance into the room; everybody was so absorbed in their conversations that they didn't pay me any attention. I couldn't even pick up anything that was being said, since everybody was talking so quickly and quietly. I noted that a considerable amount of Ravenclaws seemed uncomfortable and worried. A few Slytherins also seemed anxious, but some were also grinning and goofing around with one another. The disconnect between the two Houses was huge. Something was definitely wrong.

"You're late, Piers," barked Avery from across the room. He was grinning ear to ear. "Just wrote a letter to your Muggle mother, I suppose?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and frowned deeply. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Not so concerned about her, huh?" he continued as if I hadn't spoken. Still grinning, he leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his egg-shaped head as he tipped back in his chair, throwing his feet up onto the table. "Bloody terrible daughter you are. I guess you don't have to worry much, though…she is on the other side of the world, after all. But He'll get there eventually…you'll see."

I sighed and shook my head. "I really have no idea what you're going on about, Avery."

He slowly sat up straight in his chair again. His look was of utter disbelief. He looked stupider than he usually did. "You're…you're serious?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah."

He threw back his head and howled into laughter. "Bloody hell, Piers! You really are as oblivious as you look!"

I called him a rather vulgar name and flipped him the bird before making my way towards the front of the classroom. I could still hear Avery laughing behind me. Annoyed, I yanked my chair out too hard and caused it to topple to the ground. Dirk paused in his deep conversation with the Ravenclaw girl across from him to look at me.

"Alex," he greeted in surprise. I noted that he was paler than usual and that his necktie was askew. I expected him to chastise me for coming to class late, but to my great surprise he softened and quietly asked me, "Are you alright?"

I blinked at him. This most definitely had something to do with what everybody was talking about. Had there been an accident? "Yeah…" I said slowly, picking up my chair and sitting in it. I turned to fully face him. "What's going on? What's everybody talking about?"

His eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. He shook his head, apparently under the impression that he'd misheard me. "Come again?"

I opened my mouth to repeat my question, but just then Mr. Binns emerged from the blackboard. He looked considerably grim today, even more so than usual. The class continued on with their conversations, probably not noticing the ghostly presence that had appeared. After a moment, Binns cleared his throat loudly.

"Alright, alright," he said, speaking louder than I'd ever heard him speak. "Settle down now, class." The buzzing of murmurs eventually simmered down, though there were still some whispers of conversations here and there. Many students glanced around nervously at each other. "Now, let's pick up where we left off last class…"

He already seemed to lose the majority of the class's attention, as almost at once the whispers picked up again and the scratching of quills against parchment could be heard as students passed notes to one another. Even Dirk seemed ready for a little chat as I raised an eyebrow expectantly at him.

I just got up five minutes ago, I wrote onto my piece of parchment, pretending to take notes. So I have no idea what's going on. Care to explain what the hell everybody's all riled up about? I shoved the parchment towards Dirk and waited for a response. I expected him to write a whole essay back, but to my surprise he just pulled out a rolled-up newspaper from his book bag and handed it to me. I blinked at it before slowly taking it from his hands.

YOU-KNOW-WHO STRIKES AGAIN screamed the headlines in bold, large letters, MUGGLE DEATH POLLS REACH 150 IN NOTTINGHAM.

…Death polls?

"I'm so worried about my parents," Dirk whispered. I quickly turned to him. He was a ghostly pale, and his fist was clenched so tightly around his quill it was a wonder it didn't snap in half. It occurred to me that his eyes were slightly red and puffy. "We live around that area."

"Oh, Dirk…" I didn't care if Mr. Binns yelled at me or not; I was going to hug Dirk regardless of what anybody said.

"Alex," he murmured, his face reddening ever so slightly, "we're in class."

Normally I would've come up with a witty reply, but given the situation, I just released my grip on him. I kept one hand comfortingly on his arm, though. He said nothing and looked away out of embarrassment, but he also didn't shrug off my hand.

I had no idea who this "You-Know-Who" guy was and how crazy he – or she – must've been to kill 150 people. At the moment, though, it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that I was there for Dirk. We might not have been the closest of friends, but he was still a friend of mine that I genuinely cared for. I didn't want to see him hurting.

Impulsively, before I even realized that the words were flying out of my mouth, I asked, "D'you wanna get outta here?"

He looked at me, and if the situation weren't so serious, I would've been rather amused with his cartoon-like expression. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging wide open. I'd never known it was possible for him to look so dumb. "What?!" he sputtered. For a moment he appeared to be choking on his own spit.

"D'you wanna get outta here?" I repeated slowly.

"W-we can't get up in the middle of class and just...leave!" he hissed scandalously, glancing around the room nervously, probably worried somebody was overhearing our conversation. He gulped and tugged on the collar of his shirt. I wasn't sure whether to find his behavior endearing in a dorky sorta way or just downright irritating. He was such a goody two shoes.

"Maybe not," I admitted. Although Binns probably wouldn't have even noticed if we straight up left during his lecture, Avery or somebody else probably would've tattled on us. "But…if you cover your mouth with one hand and bend over like your stomach hurts, we might be able to get away."

"What are you…?"

"Just do it."

Despite the apprehensive expression he wore, Dirk did as I had instructed. I raised my eyebrows in surprise; I'd expected him to argue more and refuse to go through with my plan. So the kid did have a bit of a rebel side to him. I grinned widely. I stopped grinning, though, when I cleared my throat and loudly called, "Mr. Binns!"

He paused in his droning to blink around the room. "Yes?"

"Dirk isn't feeling so well," I said, trying to sound worried as I placed a hand upon his back, "Would it be alright if I escorted him to the Hospital Wing?"

"Of course," Binns replied vaguely, already beginning to return his attention to his lecture notes. "Do feel better, Mr. Cirkwens…"

"Cresswell," Dirk corrected underneath his breath as he made a move to stand. I quickly gathered up our belongings and escorted him towards the door. Most of the class saw right through our hoax, as some watched us leave with jealous expressions while others were fighting back laughs.

Once we rounded the corner, Dirk stopped clutching his stomach and straightened to his full height. His face was a bright shade of pink. He wrung his hands anxiously, glancing back and forth as if scared that somebody was going to jump out from behind a corner and cuff us. "I can't believe we just did that," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair anxiously. "We're going to get in so much trouble." The corner of his lips curved up ever so slightly and I swore I saw a sparkle of excitement glitter in his eye. He must've felt a bit of a rush, of ecstasy mingled with a hint of apprehension, having done something he wasn't supposed to. To him, after all, this little act was like robbing a bank.

I smirked and raised an eyebrow. "This the first rule you've ever broken?"

"There's a reason I'm not a Slytherin," was Dirk's witty reply, a smile threatening to break across his face, "unlike you lot, I actually have some respect for this school and its rules."

"At least we know how to have some fun," I retorted, grinning widely. "Learn to live a little, man."

He rolled his eyes. "I think you and I have very different definitions of what it means to 'live a little'."

"Yours must be about getting straight marks on your report card, yeah?"

He smirked. "And yours is to get into as much trouble as possible."

I laughed. After we rounded the next corner, I stopped walking and slid down the wall. Since classes were still going on, we really didn't have to worry about getting caught; there was nobody around to catch us. I grinned and patted the space beside me. Dirk raised an eyebrow.

"You realize that anybody can catch us here?"

"Everyone's in class," I assured him. "Besides, even if we really do get caught, we'll just say that we had to stop since you started throwing up everywhere. Or something like that. Now sit."

He sighed and shook his head in disapproval, but sat down beside me anyway. A moment of silence fell between us as we stared out the windows. The sky was dark and dreary, and it seemed like the clouds were going to pour rain down upon us at any moment.

"Storm's coming," I said softly.

"Sure is," Dirk replied darkly. I turned to look at him, but he continued to look out towards the window; I couldn't see the expression he wore.

"Listen, Dirk," I started, shifting slightly. How was I going to go about this sensitive subject? "About your parents..." Dirk slowly turned to face me, his expression unreadable. "I understand if you don't wanna talk about it," I said quickly. "I mean, I know we're not the closest of friends. I still care about you, though, so I want you to know that I'm always here to listen."

His lips slowly curved up into a genuine smile. "Thanks, Alex. That's very nice of you."

I smiled back. "Anytime."

A brief moment of silence lapsed between us before Dirk broke it. He talked not of his parents but of typical conversational topics. I respected his decision and played along, laughing along to his jokes and claims. I didn't know how much we spent against the wall, just relaxing and talking about life, watching the windows get splattered with rain, when a voice interrupted us.

"What's this?" wheezed the wicked voice from above us. "Kiddies outta class?"

Dirk and I both looked up, with a jolt of surprise, to see Peeves floating above us, wearing an awful grin. I could see the evil glint of joy flickering in his eyes. He must've thought it was his lucky day to have caught two students out of class.

Dirk looked at me, his eyes wide in alarm and fright. They seemed to be begging me to do something. It was one thing to say that we could get caught (and feel the thrill at the prospect that we could get away with it) and to actually get caught. Poor Dirk didn't know what to do.

"Never thought I'd catch prefect Cresswell skipping class!" Peeves let out a little noise of glee as he zoomed around in a circle. "And loony, loopy Lupin will get even loonier when he finds out you're with another man, Piers!"

I gaped at that little sonuva bitch poltergeist. He was no better than most of the Slytherins! "Wha – you're taking things outta context, you little fu–"

Peeves tutted at me, waggling a finger. "Mr. Filch won't be happy to hear you saying such filthy language in his halls, no he won't!" He was grinning from ear to ear. He was really enjoying this, wasn't he? The sicko.

"Do you think I care what Filch thinks?" I snarled.

"Alex…" Dirk said warningly. I knew in that instant where I'd gone wrong.

Peeves's grin became absolutely wicked. There was nothing but pure maleficent glee on his expression as he opened his mouth to shout at the top of his lungs, "STUDENTS OUT OF CLASS! ON THE SECOND FLOOR! COME QUICK!"

"Alex!" Dirk sounded panicked now, grasping hard onto my wrist.

"Oh, calm down," I muttered, prying his hand off of me. I wasn't accustomed to dealing with kids who lost their heads at the thought of getting in trouble. "And get ready to run."

It turned out that Dirk was a slow and rather clumsy runner. Since he appeared to be of average build, I had assumed that he could run at about the same speed as most other kids. I wasn't a particularly athletic person myself – though, admittedly, I had a lot of practice running from the cops, jumping fences, and climbing out windows – but compared to Dirk, I looked like a track star. We were lucky that the bell rang soon after our unfortunate meeting with Peeves, since we immediately blended in with the black-clad students that swarmed out of their classes and into the halls. We could hear Filch shout angrily after us as we disappeared into the crowd.

"I'm never skipping class again," Dirk muttered, adjusting his book bag upon his shoulder. His face was flushed out of exertion from the run, and his usually tidy uniform was in disarray. I frowned, pretending to be hurt.

"What, you didn't think that was fun?" I joked. He gave me a look. I snickered. "Guess you wouldn't want anything bad on your record, huh?"

"Of course not! How would I be able to get a job at the Ministry of Magic if they knew that I'd skipped class once?" I couldn't tell if he was being melodramatic or if he seriously thought this could damage his job prospects. I laughed regardless.

"You really need to chill out, man."

"I think I've done enough 'chilling out' for one day," he mumbled. We stopped at the end of the hallway, since our classes were in separate directions.

"Just try not to stress too much, alright?" My voice softened as I smiled gently at him. He didn't respond, obviously knowing what I was getting at. "I guess I'll see you around, then." I made a move to turn, but he called out after me. Frowning, I stopped and faced him again. "Yeah?"

Dirk hesitated, scratching the back of his head awkwardly and kicking the floor with his foot. "I…well…" He fidgeted with his cloak. "Thanks," he sighed at last, looking at me. "It was fun. Made me…" He struggled to find the right words. "Forget about a few things for a bit." He gave me a small, grateful smile.

I smiled back. "No problem. I'll hook you up whenever you feel like taking a break. You know where to find me." I winked at him and waved him goodbye before resuming my way towards Portions. My chest felt lighter than usual, and I couldn't help but grin like an idiot. It felt good to help out a friend, even if it had only granted him a passing moment of happiness. Sometimes that was all we needed in times like this.


The wizarding world was currently at war. A group of crazy pure-blood wizards and witches known as Death Eaters were running around rampant and killing all sorts of people, magical and not. They were led by an extremely powerful and feared wizard named Voldemort. Practically everybody called him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, for they feared speaking his true name. Sirius and James were among the few who boldly stated Voldemort by his name. Of course, that didn't surprise me; those two were ballsy. Neither Remus nor Peter would dare utter Voldemort's name, however, despite James and Sirius's persistence.

"You can't give him that power," James had said. "You're already letting him win."

I wholeheartedly agreed with James and Sirius on the matter. Of course, since I hadn't grown up listening to horror stories of what was going on in the war, it was far easier to me to state Voldemort's name without a worry. His name didn't conjure fear in me, as it did for so many other people.

"We're going to join the war once we graduate," James told me boldly. We were all sitting in their dorm room. Remus and I were sitting side by side on his bed, while the rest of the boys were piled up on Peter's bed beside us. Peter seemed to shrink away at James's statement. "I can't stand hearing about any more deaths. We need to stop this madness." He looked more serious than I'd ever seen him before. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, his mouth was set in a firm line, and he wasn't playing with his hair. He suddenly looked much older and maturer. More like his father, in fact.

"If the war's not over by the time we graduate, of course," Remus pointed out. He smiled bitterly, as if knowing he was kidding himself.

"I think we all hope that this blasted war would end already," Sirius sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He also looked older; more tired, more worn. "But we all know it's not ending anytime soon."

Throughout our whole conversation, I'd come to think of Voldemort as a wizard version of Hitler. A madman seeking to destroy a certain group of people, to 'cleanse' the world, to take over and have power and influence and control. A man who could manipulate people, bend their will, mess with her heads. A man like that had to be stopped at all costs.

"You guys can count me in too."

I thought they'd be happy to hear that they'd have another soldier fighting by their side, but the reaction I received was far from happy. If anything, the boys appeared upset and maybe even insulted by my words. I felt Remus tense up beside me.

"Piers…" Sirius said slowly, speaking to me as if I was five. "You just found out that a war was even going on. You shouldn't jump in already and say you're ready to fight in a war you still barely know about."

"You have no idea what you'll be going up against," Remus added softly. There was concern in his eyes.

"Yeah," James agreed, nodding. "This isn't a decision you can make in a split second. Your life would be at stake. You have to really, really think about it."

I scowled at them all. Peter, at least, was smart enough not to say anything. "Alright, alright," I grumbled irritably. They were treating me like a child! And a stupid one at that. "So I'm a little impulsive. Sorry for trying to stand up for what's right."

"It's a nice gesture, Alex, really, it is," Remus said gently, brushing his fingers against mine. I refused to look at him, clenching my jaw. "Sweet, even," he continued imploringly, and I knew it bothered him that I wasn't facing him. "But…war shouldn't be taken lightly. And this war, it's nothing like what we've ever seen. Even we don't know the full depth of it." He paused, and I assumed he was nodding towards the other boys. "There's no running through battlefields and fighting for glory. All it takes is one flick of the wrist – one twitch of a wand – to mean death." I could feel his beseeching eyes upon me, to try to convince me to see it from his view. I still couldn't bring myself to look at him, though.

Peter was practically shivering behind James and Sirius, both of whom were looking at me very seriously. I felt a sudden jolt of indignant anger run through me. How dare they think I was taking this lightly? I knew what war was. I knew that there were always thousands of casualties, of both soldiers and innocents. I'd read the history books, I'd heard the stories, I'd seen the pictures. I knew it wasn't a joke. Hell, the Vietnam War had ended just last year! I'd seen the veterans coming home with only one arm and bandaged heads. I knew one wrong turn, one lost second, could mean death.

Of course, just because I knew all of this meant nothing. Actually fighting in a war was a completely different story. You had to actually be in one to really, truly understand what it was like to lose a comrade, to kill a man. It was a reality I could not yet grasp.

Neither could the boys, though. Sure, they knew a lot more information about the current wizarding war than I did. But they weren't fighting in it. Not yet, anyway. What did they know?

"So you just expect me to stand by and watch as you all risk your lives?" I spoke at last. My tone was venomous and my stare was cold. I felt Remus shift uncomfortably upon the mattress.

"That's not what we're saying at all," James argued. "We're just saying you need to do more research and spend a lot more time thinking."

"You have plenty of time, though," Sirius assured. "Still got another year ahead of us 'till graduation, right?"

I could feel myself quickly deflating. What they were saying made perfect sense. I had been too impulsive; I was not nearly ready to say whether or not I was ready to give up my life to fight in this war. "You're right," I admitted in a sigh. I felt my shoulders sag. "Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you guys. I do know that war is serious business, and that it's not to be taken lightly. This isn't a joke to me." My voice was firm and I made eye contact with each of the boys. I really wanted them to understand that I knew how serious this war was.

They all smiled at me. "We know, love," Sirius reassured me. "We know you meant well."

"Yeah," grinned James. "Thanks for having our back, Piers."

"Appreciate it," Peter piped up.

I pouted. "Why do you all sound so surprised?" James and Sirius laughed as Peter nervously giggled.

Remus chortled affectionately, looping his fingers through mine. I finally looked at him, and he was smiling warmly at me. His eyes were the soft, liquid brown that I adored so much. "Whatever you end up deciding, know that you've got our support." His smile widened and he gave my hand a soft squeeze.

The warmth of his words and his eyes made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I smiled. "Thanks, babe." My smile quickly became mischievous. "I hope you realize that, whatever I end up deciding, though, you're all stuck with me. For good."

James and Sirius groaned melodramatically, making Peter and me laugh. Remus, however, seemed rather touched by my words. Something glittered and sparkled in his eyes as he gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He was looking at me very lovingly and longingly.

"That was always the plan," he said quietly. The corner of his lips curled up into a half-smile, half-smirk. I must've looked really rather stupid as I stared at him with my mouth hanging wide open. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

"You can blush, Piers?!" James shouted incredulously. Embarrassed and irritated (and also feeling as if James had ruined a very intimate moment between Remus and me), I told him to screw off and quickly covered my cheeks with my hands. Remus laughed endearingly.

"Don't hide it," he smiled, gently taking a hold of my wrists. "It's so cute."

"You're the one who's always supposed to be blushing," I muttered indignantly. Still, I let him slide my hands off of my cheeks. At least my blush was quickly subsiding now.

He grinned and shrugged. "It's good to switch it up from time to time, don't you think?" He leaned in towards me and placed a soft kiss upon one of my pink cheeks. Damn him and his charm. I grumbled incoherently and indignantly underneath my breath as he withdrew from me. His grin was rather wicked.

"Oh, don't mind us," James said loudly. "Please, go on."

I shot him a wide grin and a wink. "If you say so!" Then I tackled Remus so that we both ended up lying flat on the bed. We both shook with laughter when the boys began to protest at once. "We'll be charging five galleons for the show," I said over my shoulder, trying hard not to laugh at the mixture of disbelief, amusement, and disgust upon Sirius, James, and Peter's expressions.

"Only five galleons?" Remus said indignantly from below me. I couldn't stop my laughter from escaping me this time.

"Sorry, babe, should I have charged ten?"

"At least twenty!"

"I wouldn't pay a single Knut to watch this show," Sirius said haughtily, lifting his chin. He quickly seemed to realize why his choice of words quickly had me lying in a heap of giggles.

"Good," I squealed, "I didn't want your nuts anyway!"

Peter and James caught on immediately and pealed into laughter. Remusw was both amused and embarrassed, so he appeared to be debating whether he ought to blush or laugh.

"Well," Sirius smirked, "clearly you've already gotten that taken care of."

Now Remus flushed a deep red. "Sirius!" he gasped scandalously, quickly sitting up straight. He sent Sirius a stern, warning look.

"Aw, c'mon Moony," whined Sirius. "You know I'm just messing around. It doesn't bother you, does it, Piers?"

"'Course not," I grinned. "Now, why don't you go give your Knuts to Marlene, huh? I have a feeling she's been waiting for them..."

"Oh, that's enough!" Remus reprimanded, still blushing brightly as we all erupted into laughter around him. "I think it's time for you to start heading back to your dorm, Alex. It's almost ten."

I abruptly stopped laughing and pouted. "C'mon, Remus, we were just having some fun!"

"A little too much fun, if you ask me," he said, raising his eyebrows. There was a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Really, though, you better get going. I'll not have you wandering around the corridors past curfew. I wouldn't be a very good prefect if I let you do that, would I?"

Sirius and James snickered, as they knew that Remus was not very strict when it came to his prefect duties. He practically let them – and me, for that matter – do whatever the hell they wanted. He overlooked many of the rules that we broke on a daily basis. So I supposed I ought to cut the poor prefect some slack and actually follow the rules for once.

"Oh, alright." I sighed in defeat as I got up. "You win. I need to catch up on some sleep, anyway."

"That was easier than I thought," snickered Sirius as I passed him on my way towards the doorway. "Guess Moony is really – ow!" He rubbed the top of his head, where I'd flicked him with my fingers. I grinned at him as James and Peter snickered like little school girls.

"Wait, Alex, you forgot something!" Remus called after me when I reached the doorway. I frowned and watched him quickly approach me.

"But I don't think I brought anything."

Remus grinned as he stopped in front of me. "You didn't." Then he leaned in towards me and kissed me on the lips. I raised my eyebrows in surprise – Remus rarely ever kissed me full on in front of others, as we tended to keep our PDA to holding hands and pecks on the cheeks or nose – and staggered back for a moment. I felt Remus laugh against me as our lips broke apart, and he grinned wide at the idiotic look I must've been giving him.

"What?" he teased, positively ecstatic at the fact that I, for once, was speechless. "It was just a kiss goodnight, Alex. You don't have to act so shocked."

I quickly regained my senses. There was no way I was going to back down from this little challenge he'd just created. "Just a goodnight kiss, huh?" Smirking, I loosely wrapped my arms around his waist. His eyebrows raised in surprise at my sudden change in demeanor. "I was expecting a little something more..." One of my hands snaked a little below his waist, and Remus turned an outrageous shade of red. I couldn't resist a laugh. He was just too cute and innocent!

"For Merlin's sake, get a room!" Sirius shouted at us, barking with laughter.

"Good idea," I replied, still keeping my eyes on Remus. I smirked deviously. Since he physically couldn't blush any harder than he was already, he let out a most scandalous gasp.

"Alex!" he reprimanded. There was no hiding the trace of excitement in his voice, despite his stern tone. "It's a school night!"

I wasn't sure whether to laugh at his endearingly dorky behavior or to roll my eyes in exasperation. First Dirk was all scandalized about skipping class, and now Remus would rather spend the night alone than to spend it with me 'cause it was a school night? What was up with these prefects?

"So what?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "You need to live life a little more dangerously, babe."

His blush subsided ever so slightly, and his eyes sparkled in amusement. "I'm dating you." He grinned devilishly. "I think it doesn't get any more dangerous than that."

Damn, that was good. And he knew it.

"Oh, shuddup." I playfully swatted at his chest and he laughed. "I'm goin' to bed, then, before anybody gets hurt."

"Good idea," he teased, grinning widely. "Good night."

I smirked. "'Night." I leaned in towards him and gave him the softest and briefest of kisses. Giggling at the way I'd left him wanting more (he looked most indignant to find that he wasn't able to deepen our kiss), I shouted goodnight to the rest of the boys before making my way down towards the Gryffindor Common Room. "Sweet dreams."


So dirty jokes and Voldemort. Pretty much sums up this chapter, don't you think? Weird mix it turned out to be, especially when I say it like that, but I think it's alright as long as we're not talking about dirty Voldemort jokes. :P

Oh, also, in case people get upset that Remus did not state Voldemort by his name (even though he does in the books), I did that because he's not feeling quite so ballsy at this point yet. It won't be until he actually becomes a member of the Order of Phoenix and is actively fighting Voldemort that he realizes he shouldn't be scared of saying Voldemort's name. At least in my story, that is. As for James and Sirius...I mean, c'mon, it's James freakin' Potter and Sirius freakin' Black. They aren't scared of nothin'!

I have one official chapter left and then the Epilogue. I'll end up publishing them at the same time, since personally I think it's a little weird to feel like the story's finished, only to update an Epilogue shortly after. I don't know when this update will be, since these chapters will probably take longer to write than my other chapters. They have to be utter perfection!

What I can guarantee is that this story will be completed before summer ends. The next Story Alert emails you'll get for this story will be the last ones...eek! As always, thank you all for your reviews! See you guys on the other side!