"Violet, for the love of all things good and holy, what are you doing over there?" Uncle Jack asked as he wandered into the living room, with a rather large glass of brandy in his hand.
"I'm stewing lacewing flies," I said. My free hand was pinching my nose, causing my voice to sound as if I had suddenly come down with a horrid cold. I stirred the mixture, fighting off the urge to gag. "It's a lot cheaper if you do it yourself."
"How long is that going to take?" Lutie asked, coughing. "Jesus…"
"Twenty-one days," I said, earning an instant groan from everyone in the room. "But the book says that the smell wears off after a couple of hours. Then once they're finished, I can start adding the rest of the ingredients."
Sirius groaned with frustration, "This is going to take forever…"
"I told you, Polyjuice Potion takes at least two months to brew properly," I said, hanging the ladle up in its proper place. "If you want to get your wand, you'll have to be patient."
The living room had officially become my potion-making-station; it had the only fireplace big enough for two cauldrons. I would need both of them when I started making potions for Aria's business, which was set to open in a few weeks. But if she was nervous about it, she didn't show it. In fact, she squealed with excitement whenever she thought about it.
"Is it going to be safe?" Sirius asked, peering over at the fireplace. "To drink, I mean."
"Of course it'll be safe," I said, feeling slightly offended as I returned to the game table. "What, do you think I'm going to poison you?"
"Violet is a very skilled witch, Padfoot," Remus said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "And she's an excellent at brewing potions. You have nothing to worry about."
"I'm alright…" I said modestly, leaning into his embrace.
"Oh, Violet!" Sirius said, jumping to his feet. He smirked as he grabbed onto Aria's delicate hand. "You're such a fantastic little housewife! I don't know how I've lived so long without you!"
"Oh, Remus," Aria cooed, turning away from Sirius with fake bashfulness. "You're so charming; I don't know what to do with myself when I'm around you. I find myself thinking of unspeakable things…"
Sirius cupped Aria's face in his hands, looking at her with a passion that could have almost been real, "My dear, I know exactly what you mean. Whenever I see you, I just want to drag you into a dark room and shag you senseless for hours on end."
Aria blushed at this erotic suggestion, but she quickly remembered what she was doing, and she snapped back into character. "Remus, though I'm an innocent little flower, I've always longed for you to ravish me-"
"S-s-stop that," I stammered, blushing furiously.
"Yes, please," Remus pleaded, messing with his tie apprehensively. The fact that he was blushing only made me feel more self-conscious. "Besides, we don't really sound like that… Do we?"
"No," I answered quickly. "Of course we don't sound like that."
"I don't know," Lutie said, smirking. "That was pretty close, actually."
"Thank you, Lutie," Sirius said, bowing before he sat back down. "I'm glad someone appreciates my sense of humor."
"I never said that," Lutie said flatly. "In fact, most of the time I find you utterly repulsive."
"Awww, shucks," he said, waving her off. "You flatter me."
"No, you two had it all wrong," Ashley said, crossing her arms. "Vi-Vi and Lu-Lu are both very smart, so they use bigger words; like 'intercourse' and-"
"Lu-Lu?!" Sirius shouted, erupting with laughter.
"Yes," Ashley said, frowning. "Lu-Lu."
"Oh, that's fantastic!" Sirius said between fits of giggles. "I'm never going to let you live that down, Moony. Never!"
Remus rubbed his temple, "Can we please just play the game?"
"Aww," Sirius pouted. "Is Lu-Lu a shy cradle robber?"
"I'm not a…" Remus started, looking at me for support. I tried to say something, but when I opened my mouth I found that my throat had once again closed itself off.
"It isn't entirely your fault, Lu-Lu," Ashley said, causing Sirius to burst into another laughing fit. "My daughter is adorable, especially when she's all flustered like this."
"I'm n-not flustered…" I mumbled.
"I think it's time we got back to our game," Uncle Jack announced in his booming voice. He sat the now-empty glass of alcohol down on the table. Clearly, my sex life wasn't something he wanted to hear about.
"Yes," Remus agreed, looking quite relieved. "That's a wonderful idea. I believe it was Lutie's turn, correct?"
"Yup," Lutie said, smacking her lips together as she rolled the dice and moved her game piece.
"Ha, that's my property!" Sirius said triumphantly. "That'll be seventy-five dollars."
Lutie muttered darkly as she handed Sirius the colorful, paper money. He cackled as he sorted it into his own cash stash.
"I love Monopoly," he said, looking quite content.
"We'll see how much you like it when you're begging me for mercy," I said, rolling the dice. Board games always brought out my competitive edge. "No one owns Park Place yet, do they?"
Uncle Jack – who was always the banker – shook his head, "Nope, it's free. You interested?"
I sighed helplessly, "I think I'm a little short…"
"Here, I can spot you some cash," Remus said, sliding a tiny stack of bills in my direction.
"Thanks," I said, gratefully accepting his offer.
He grinned, "Consider it a token of my affection."
"Hey, you can't do that!" Ashley whined. "That's not fair!"
"It's his money," Uncle Jack shrugged, taking the fake cash in exchange for the dead to Park Place. "He can do whatever he likes with it."
"I agree with Ashley," Sirius said, banging his fist on the table. "We almost had Violet beat, and now she owns one of the most expensive properties in the game – and she couldn't even afford it!"
"You guys get really into this, huh?" Lutie said absently.
"Yeah," Remus said, a smirk slowly creeping across his face. "I'll never understand why you always take games like these so serious."
I ruptured into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, nearly falling out of the chair. Word play, when done correctly, tickled me in a way nothing else could. Of course, I thought. Sirius-serious. Why didn't I realize that before? "That's bloody brilliant!"
I wasn't the only one who thought it was funny. Lutie snickered and snorted, trying to hide the fact that she was actually enjoying herself in the company of other people. Uncle Jack's laughter dominated the room, and Remus and Aria both giggled elegantly. Ashley, on the other hand, seemed utterly confused.
"What?" she said. "What's so funny?"
"Moony," Sirius snarled, glaring across the table. "I swear…"
"Well, you asked for it," Remus said, giving me a brief squeeze. "Consider it my revenge for mocking my relationship with Violet."
"Whatever!" Ashley shrieked. "The point is, you can't go around buying properties for your lover! That isn't fair to us single folks!"
"Fine," I said, sighing away the last of my laughter. "Let's just make it a timeshare, then."
Lutie rolled her eyes, "There aren't any timeshares in Monopoly…"
"I don't see why you're all so worried about it," Uncle Jack said, cracking his knuckles. "I'm going to own everything before the game is finished."
"How are you going to swing that?" Sirius asked. "You're just the banker; you don't even have a piece on the board."
"That's never stopped him before," I sighed. "He always wins in the end."
Aria nodded, "It's true. Last summer, we played a really rigorous game that went on for weeks. By the time it was over, Uncle Jack owned half the house."
My uncle snickered, "Mora should have known better than to bet against me."
"Ah, this is true," Jeff said, leaning against Uncle Jack. "Jacky Boy is the greatest businessman who has ever lived."
"Jeffey!" Ashley squealed, throwing herself at the new arrival. "You're back! I missed you so much!"
"Yes," Jeff said, hugging her back. "I have returned from a lovely evening with the wonderful woman who gave birth to me. Ah, what a gal."
"Are things going well with your parents?" I asked, forcing out a smile. I still had a bad feeling about them, though I wasn't quite sure why. Ever since graduation, Jeff had been spending more time with his parents, and the rift between the family seemed to be closing rapidly. Yet, I couldn't help but feel uneasy…
He nodded, "We went out for dinner, and I helped Mummy pick out shoes for the big party next week!"
"Big party?" Ashley gasped. "What big party?"
"A big party for me!" Jeff squealed, throwing his arms into the air. "To celebrate my graduation! And I can bring whoever I want! You're all invited, of course. Oh, I'm so excited, I can't sit still!"
"What else is new?" Lutie grumbled.
"That sounds like fun," Aria said pleasantly. "Is this going to be a formal affair?"
"Yup!" said Jeff. "And there's going to be fancy food and fancy drinks and fancy presents! You're all coming, right?"
"Of course!" Aria and Ashley said together.
I nodded "Sure."
"No," Lutie said. Her face twisted as I kicked her shin underneath the table. "I mean, yeah. Sounds lovely."
"Oh, but what's this you're doing here?" Jeff asked, his attention quickly diverted by the bright colors of the game board.
"Monopoly," Lutie said. "What does it look like?"
"Ohhh! Can I play?" Jeff asked with bright eyes.
"Sure!" Ashley said, clapping her hands together. "But you'll have to be on my team, since we're out of game pieces…"
Our game lasted well into the night, but it ended just as I predicted: somehow, Uncle Jack managed to acquire every property on the board, despite the fact that he wasn't really playing.
At least everyone's getting along alright these days, I thought to myself as I lit a tiny fire in the fireplace. It still got unbelievably cold at night, and the fire was needed to keep Remus and I warm while we slept. Ms. McGuff seems to be the only one who's still frightened of Sirius; though it doesn't help that he hides in closets and waits for her to walk by so he can jump out and terrify her…
And having him here took some of the heat off of Remus, I realized as I buttoned my PJs. Lutie doesn't even complain about him anymore…
"Hello, Violet," Remus said, causing me to jump. When I turned around, I found him leaning against the doorframe, with a mischievous smirk plastered across his face. His shirt was untucked, and his hair dangled in front of his eyes in a way that made him look dangerously handsome. My heart leapt with excitement at the thought of sharing a bed with him.
I laughed nervously, "Good evening."
I gasped when the room suddenly went dark; the fire and the kerosene lamps were all suddenly doused into nothing. I started shaking like mad as I heard the door creak shut. In the sudden blanket of darkness, I couldn't see an inch in front of my face.
"R-remus…?" I hissed. "Are you still there? Remus?"
I probably would have screamed when I felt Remus wrap his arms around me, but his mouth stifled any sound that was about to come out of mine. All of my fear melted away as he kissed me. His chapped lips parted slowly, inviting me inside. My eyelids fluttered closed as my tongue set out on its journey, slowly moving past my lips. It was greeted instantly by his tongue, which eagerly made room for its guest. His tongue brushed across mine slowly and tenderly, while his hands tangled themselves in my hair; it was all I could do not to lose control.
After some time, Remus slowly led my tongue back into my mouth, his lips lingering over mine for a few moments before he moved on. He left a trail of cute, innocent kisses down to my neck, where he stopped to nibble and suck on the exposed skin. His hands floated down to my hips, where they rested gently.
"That feels so good," I moaned, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I felt so unsteady that I was sure I would fall over if Remus wasn't there to support me. I threaded my fingers through his gray-speckled hair; my eyes were finally starting to adjust to the dark.
"I don't understand why you feel the need to put on pajamas," Remus said, his mustache brushing against my raw skin when he spoke. I had to bite down on my lip to keep from giggling. "When you know I'm going to rip them off of you as soon as you get between the sheets."
My face burned so intensely that I'm surprised the whole room didn't light up. Remus chuckled, smoothly pushing my pajama pants off with his large, strong hands.
"It's such a shame," he whispered into my ear. "Hiding this beautiful body underneath clothing. I don't know how you can live with yourself."
It isn't that incredible, I thought, my blush deepening. "I think its better this w-way," I said, shaking like crazy. I moved my hands so they framed his face, which I could just barely see. "It's something only you get to see; something just for my kind, gentle lover."
"Yes," Remus said, kissing me again. This kiss had a sense of urgency to it, and he wasted no time exploring my mouth while his fingers danced along my freshly exposed thighs. My shaky hands struggled with the tiny buttons on his shirt; it felt like ages before I had them all unbuttoned.
"It seems so unfair, doesn't it?" he asked, panting as he released my lips. "That I get to tumble into bed with you every night…"
"Don't talk like that," I said, my voice quivering as I pushed his shirt open. I gazed at his pale, scarred skin, as if it were a masterpiece – arguably, it could be considered one. I placed my hands on his chest, tracing some of the more prominent scars. "I love your body, Remus; you know I do…"
"You do?" he said, sounding just as breathless as I was.
"Of course I do!" I said, closing the tiny gap between us as I kissed his chest; delicately at first, but my kisses quickly became heated and sloppy. "I can't get enough of you… Your body's so warm and inviting. I-I…" I swallowed, blushing more than ever. "I love how you feel on top of me, Remus."
"I love how you feel, Violet," he whispered, cupping my face in his hands and forcing me to look up into his gorgeous eyes. "You're so soft…"
"I-I-I am?" I stuttered dumbly.
"Mhm," he murmured, kissing me as he pushed me towards the bed. We collapsed onto the mattress together, causing the antique bed frame to squeak underneath our weight. "Sirius was right; I don't know how I've gone so long without you, and I fully intend on making love to you for hours…"
My heart skipped a beat, "Remus-"
"Shhh," he said, placing a callused finger over my lips. "Please, I need to take you right now, or I'll completely lose my mind."
"Do it," I whispered, holding onto him tightly. My whole body was trembling with anticipation. "I'm all yours for the taking…"
