Chapter 2
The Fat Lady yawned. "What are you doing out at this time of night?" She asked, obviously annoyed.
"Coniuratio." Remus mumbled. The Fat Lady sighed and swung open. Remus swept passed the deserted common room and climbed up the stairs to his dormitory. He swung the door open, and to his surprise, Sirius was still awake on his bed doing homework, a small light on over piles of books. James and Peter were asleep.
"Hey, how'd it go?" Sirius whispered.
Remus gawked at him. "What are you doing up?"
Sirius stared at the heap of parchment and books scattered around him. He sighed. "Charms, I guess. Probably shouldn't leave everything 'til Sunday anymore, eh?"
Remus laughed softly. "Right."
"So?"
"What's to tell? After all, she's just a stupid Hufflepuff girl." Remus was glaring at Sirius, having not fully forgiven him for laughing at him.
"Hey, look, I'm sorry, all right? Forgive me?"
Remus looked at the ceiling. "Yeah, sure. Okay, so we went up to the astronomy tower, we looked at the stars, we talked. There weren't any other details that I'm depriving you of." He smiled inside. He was hardly about to share that kiss with Sirius.
Sirius gave a low laugh. "All right, all right." He lowered his voice even more. "So what are we doing for tomorrow night?"
Remus sat down next to Sirius.
"I don't know. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, it'll be really dangerous and all…"
"Hey, you know me, I wouldn't miss this just because it's against school rules," Sirius said, grinning.
"I know you are accustomed to getting in trouble, but this is different. You won't just get a detention if they find out—if you're caught—"
"Look, you need to chill out. We're going, and nothing you say is going to stop us," Sirius said finally.
James peered out from behind his curtain. "Sirius, for Pete's sake, go to—oh, hey, Moony," he whispered, yawning and putting on his glasses. "Just get back?"
"Yes."
"All right, we can talk in the morning, let's get some sleep," Sirius suggested, stacking up his books.
"That's the best idea you've had all day," Remus declared. And with that, they each climbed into their own beds, and Remus drifted off into uneasy sleep.
* * * * * *
Remus bolted upright and smashed his head hard on his bedpost. He was sweating and breathing hard, his heat beating a hundred miles an hour. He looked around, closed his eyes, and tried to calm himself down.
It was only a dream.
But he noticed that he had a few tears in his eyes. He wiped them desperately away, confused.
"Remus?"
Remus looked up. "James?"
"Yeah. Are you okay?"
"Ah…" Remus was wiping sweat frantically from his forehead. "Ah…yeah…"
"I heard a crash."
"I know. I hit my head." Remus pulled back his curtain to see James peering out from behind his own from across the dormitory.
"What happened?"
"I had a dream…"
"Oh."
There was a pause.
"Going to tell me?" James asked.
Remus stared at him. He ran a hand through his hair and paused. "Ah…yeah, sure…okay."
He and James went down into the deserted common room where the fire was still burning quite low in the hearth. They sat down in two armchairs and James stared at him.
"Are you sure you're going to be up for tomorrow?" Asked James, looking concerned. "You don't look so hot."
"As if I have a choice," he spat, but instantly regretting it. He settled back into the chair. "Sorry."
James smirked. "That's okay."
There was another pause.
"How was your date?" James inquired, trying to make desperate conversation.
"Oh. Great. We had a great time."
"That's good."
James threw a piece of balled up parchment into the dying fire. "You know, Remus, I'm almost afraid to ask this, but…what was your dream about? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He added hastily.
Remus paused. He gritted his teeth. "I bit her," he said finally.
"What?"
"I dreamt that I bit Caia. All four of us were there, and then we came across her, and I attacked her. And I bit her. She ran off…screaming, 'I hate you, Remus! Look what you've done!' and then she called me a liar…and we all got expelled…and we had to go to Azkaban…I mean, I know it's entirely foolish, and all…"
Remus avoided James's eyes.
"Listen, trust me on this one, okay? That's not going to happen," James said with certainty. He gave a slight laugh.
"I know that."
The fire crackled and Remus sighed.
"I just hate lying all the time."
James didn't know what to say to this. "Look, why don't we go to bed? It's four o'clock in the morning, and we can still get in a few good hours. I think we're going to need them for tonight."
Remus gave a shudder. "I know. All right."
And with that James and Remus returned to their dormitory.
