*~*~*~*

A very concerned looking Remus woke James up.

"Hullo Moony." James said sleepily.

"James, you are gonna kill yourself at this rate. How are you gonna juggle schoolwork and Quidditch-"

"and pulling pranks! Never forget that!" exclaimed Sirius, currently searching under his bed for socks.

Turning to Sirius, Remus prepared to give the speech he had memorized by heart... "As the prefect, it's my duty to-"

"Shove it moony. We've heard that one so many times already" grinned Sirius. "Live a little!"

"But-"

"Padfoot, aren't you supposed to meet Regulus today? He said he had to tell you something..." James cut in.

"I don't care WHAT the son of a b---- wants to tell me..."

"Padfoot..." Remus reprimanded. "he IS your brother...you should at least go and find out what he wants to say..."

"Moony, you are wayy too sensible for your own good." Groaned Sirius.

Remus just smiled and handed Sirius his missing socks.

"thanks" Sirius replied grudgingly.

James laughed and rolled out of bed. As they tramped down to the great hall, other fellow Gryffindors, Arthur Weasley and Frank Longbottom joined them. When they sat down at the table, James felt his heart jump to his throat as he saw Lily sitting with her friends. His heart seemed to be doing a lot of jumping these past few years... James sighed, earning a concerned glance from Sirius. "you okay mate?" asked Sirius, then following the direction of James's gaze...his concern immediately vanished, as a wicked grin appeared on his face. "ohhh...still not over Evans? Poor Jamie!"

"Shuttup Padfoot." Muttered James, piling his plate full of sausages and pancakes.

Remus also glanced over, and immediately turned red. Jenny was there, immersed in a book, occasionally glancing up and making a comment to whatever they were talking about. Remus looked down sadly at his food. [How could anyone like a werewolf?] He bit quite viscously into his waffle.

*~*~*~*

Jenny shivered as she walked past along the lake towards the Whomping Willow. She needed willow branches to complete one of the numerous potions she was experimenting with.

"stupid cold" she muttered as she swiped her hair away again. [ Really. One of these days I simply must chop all this bothersome hair off.] She stomped her way through the early December snow, and pulled out a plastic baggie she begged off one of the house elves. She regarded the willow warily...so far it hasn't done anything...as she inched forward, she suddenly heard someone call her name...just as a branch swung at her head.

She was jerked back so fast she didn't have time to react. The branch was so close to its mark that she felt the wind blow past her head.

[What the bloody hell was that?]

Jenny squeaked as she collapsed on the snow-covered ground.

"are you alright?" asked a concerned sounding someone.

"yeah...I think so-oh!" Jenny had finally turned around.

"thanks Remus.for saving my life." [Gods that sounded so corny... ]Jenny grimaced.

"are you sure?" worried Remus. [For a moment, my heart had stopped...what if she was hurt? What if-but I'm not going there..."]do you want to go to the nurse?"

"I'm fine Remus" smiled Jenny, "it's really sweet of you to worry though."

For some reason, Remus turned a deep shade of red.

"what were you doing here anyways?" now that he was sure she was safe, his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"heh...I, um, needed willow twigs to finish one of the potions I was...am, working on..." Jenny sheepishly replied. "I know it sounds stupid but..."

"it doesn't" Remus replied quietly. Before she could respond, he deftly penetrated the tree's branches and pushed the knot at the base of the trunk. Immediately the tree froze, and so did Jenny's face.

"wha-" Jenny gasped, unable to continue. "how did you--?"

"Oh, it's simple," smirked Remus. "You just prod that knot there and the tree freezes."

Jenny tried to nod, like what she heard was the most logical thing she had ever heard.

"How did you know?...I mean, that pushing the knot would freeze the tree?"

Remus smiled sadly, "...there's not much the Marauders don't know."

He reached down to give her a hand (she was still sitting in the snow), and as she reached forward, her raven colored hair tumbled once again over her face. [ God she's beautiful] thought Remus, his heart beating painfully fast. [ And her hand is so slim and strong.Stop Remus! You're only torturing yourself! You know she'll never fall for someone like you! Who could ever love a werewolf?] Remus's smile was more than slightly bitter as he helped her to her feet, but it faded as he realized that she was now merely inches apart. His eyes were locked onto those sapphire eyes that he had adored for all these years, and all the desire and yearning and pent up love he had felt swelled up inside of him, and threatened to overpower him. As he leaned closer, his mind assailed him with all the millions of reasons that this should not be happening, but his heart ignored them all. [She's not stopping me...that's good right?] He asked himself as his lips met hers.

*~*~*~*

Jenny saw him leaning in, and felt her breath catch in her throat. She felt her heart hammer in her chest, but then, as she felt his mouth touch hers, all of her thoughts were wiped away...

*~*~*~*

--Her lips are so soft, and she tasted of sweet clean mint. He thought he was going to drown in the scent of her. Lavender...it suits her, a part of his mind faintly registered. As he drew her closer, he noticed that their bodies fit perfectly, as if they were made for each other.-- Sadly, Remus slowly drew away, his heart seemed to have stopped beating...[what if she hates me now? What if-]his thought processes were cut off by her smile.

*~*~*~*

Jenny slowly opened her eyes, disappointed that the kiss was over so soon. When her eyes met his, she smiled, and leaned against him. [ I feel so...safe in his arms...as if nothing can tear us apart...]she felt Remus slowly wrap his arms around her, as if he couldn't quite believe this was happening. They stood there for what seemed like eternity, and started walking back to the castle hand in hand.

*~*~*~*

"so, um, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Remus asked, his eyes firmly fixed on his shoe.

"yea...unless..."Jenny trailed off, looking interestedly at the torch next to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"unless...?" Remus asked hopefully, his brown eyes finally leaving his shoes.

Jenny could feel herself flushing. "unlessyouwannadosomethinglateron." She muttered. She looked up soon enough to see Remus's face break into a giant grin. She couldn't help but grin back in response.

"I would love to."

"good. Then, I'll see you tomorrow!" on impulse, Jenny leaned in and kissed him on his cheek. And had the satisfaction of seeing his blush. With a final smile, she turned and walked up the stairs to her dorm.

Remus felt as if he was on cloud nine. Jenny had kissed him on the cheek! Him! And she asked to see him again tomorrow! Remus didn't think anything would take that grin off his face as he walked toward his room. Floated more like it. Not even Sirius's bad mood and angry monologue (with James occasionally cutting in) over the talk with his brother (on the many reasons why Sirius should become a deatheater) could take away the complete bliss he was in. Tomorrow, he knew full well, will bring new insecurities, but he refused to think of them now.

*~*~*~*