It was one of those dreary Scottish November nights, when the winter was settling over the castle in a dense fog and lashing rain. The cold and damp permeated they very stones of the castle, especially in the already cool dungeons. Most of the castle had turned to hibernation, reading in bed or playing games in front of the fire.

But it was warm in the Prefects suite.

Julian had been brewing all evening, completing the latest phase of his advanced dissertation. He was planning upon continuing his Potions studies at the Bath School of Magick - and to do so had to submit a proposal of study. He had been working on this potion all week.

He bit his lip as he counted rotations of the glass stirring rod in his head, checking the temperature of the flame at the same time. 'Fifty six, fifty seven, fifty eight...' Once he had stirred in this crushed dragons tooth, the potion would sit for the next two cycles of the moon - until just after they all returned from the winter holiday.

'Sixty four, sixty five...' He let out a deep breath of relief. "Sixty six and seven," he spoke, a grin growing across his face. With the final stir, he lifted the rod out of the cauldron and tapped it upon the edge to shake off any excess drops of solution. He placed a cover upon the pot and moved it off the flame to the secured cupboard underneath the bench. Humming to himself, he cleaned up the bench, putting away his materials, then looked down at himself and cursed.

He had somehow stained another shirt, the brown dots spreading across his stomach. He unbuttoned the shirt and moved towards the bathroom, tossing it into the hamper by the door for the house elves to clean. He glanced into the bathroom. And stopped, a smile growing on his face.

Sheraton stood at the vanity, her hair piled atop her head as she rinsed out the glass she used to rinse her mouth with. She reached up and loosed the tie from her hair, shaking her head so that the raven waves fell down her back. Sheraton opened a drawer and pulled out her silver hair brush, beginning to pull it through her hair. She would brush it exactly eighty four times.

Julian had always been aware of Sheraton and her ways. She was his best friend - how could he not be?

But, living in such close quarters over the past few months had exposed entirely new parts of her to him. And there wasn't a single one he didn't love.

Like now - as she put down the brush he knew what she would do next. She would plait her hair into a braid, tying it off with a bit of elastic as black as her hair. She watched herself in the mirror as she did so, breathing deeply to calm herself in bed. He couldn't help but appreciate the way her chest rose and fell in the thin grey nightgown she wore, edged with a darker grey lace along the bodice and hem. Julian found himself leaning against the doorframe, transfixed as he watched her.

She reached into the drawer again and pulled out a slim tube of hand cream. She smoothed it over her hands, so that they would be so soft when she touched his cheek. The smell of lilacs wafted toward him. It was a scent he always attributed to her, the foundation of her scent as she moved through the day. She smelled also of hints of tea in the mornings, ink in the afternoons and coffee when she had been up too late - when there was a blurriness in her dark eyes when she looked at him. The blurriness that made him want to lift her up and tuck her into bed, and then tuck himself in beside her. On top of her. Under her. He really did not care. His trained nose drew him to her - as did most everything else attract him to Sheraton.

He had watched her for so long, he suddenly realized that she was returning his gaze in the mirror. Sheraton placed her palms on the counter and turned her head to look at him coyly over her shoulder. "Just what are you doing, Ian?"

He smiled at her. "Just watching your little nightly ritual."

"My ritual? Am I that predictable to you now?" There was a heat in her gaze that he hadn't seen clearly before.

He walked towards her, to stand behind her. "Don't get me wrong, Sheraton. I love your rituals - you take on this calm air during them."

An eyebrow quirked, uncannily like her uncle's own expression, but Julian didn't dwell upon her resemblance to the Potions Master.

"Is that all you love about me?" her voice was husky as she asked him the question.

Julian smiled, slowly - and just as slowly shook his head. "Not at all." He stepped closer to her - he could now smell the lingering hints of the perfume he had made for her, from where she had dabbed it upon her neck.

He dropped his head to place a kiss upon her shoulder. "I love the way you glare at me when I come up with an answer in Potions faster than you." Another kiss- just an inch above her clavicle now. "I love the blissful look upon your face when you have your first sip of tea in the morning." He brushed aside her plait, its brush across his bare chest making him shiver, despite the warmth. He laid a softer kiss at the place where her shoulder and neck met. "I love how serene you look when you read- and the flush on your face when you're yelling at one of the Quidditch boys." He licked at a point halfway up the column of her neck - and when he blew upon it, it was her turn to shiver. "I love the shape your mouth makes when you call me 'love'." He raised his head now - and their faces were next to one another, staring at eachother in the mirror. Two dark heads, close together. Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks flushed.

She smiled at his reflection. "Is that all?" she whispered.

He chuckled, the sound resonating from deep in his chest. "Not at all." Julian reached out and turned her face to his. "I love everything about you, Sheraton June Snape." And he leaned forward to press his lips to hers.

Sheraton pressed herself against him, one arm twining around his neck to tug him even closer. The other slid down his side to find his own hand and their fingers tangled together. Their breath mingled as she opened her mouth against his and he took advantage and deepened the kiss. His hand moved from her face to her waist, tugging their lower bodies against each other. She gasped as their bodies seemed to align perfectly. He had a few inches on her, but not too many that her neck was straining as they kissed, but enough so that she felt cradled and protected in his embrace, stretched out along his chest.

Her lips left his to nibble along his jaw line, moving towards his ear. As she bit it lightly, he groaned and she could feel the reverberations of the noise.

She pulled her head back to look at him. His blue eyes were stormy and dark - but still full of love and affection for her. The fact that they held no little lust for her made her grin inwardly. She traced a hand along his cheek.

"I love you too, Julian."

Her voice was soft but clear. Julian swallowed the lump in his throat as he lowered his head to brush his lips softly across hers. This kiss wasn't about passion, it was about all the love they had, their friendship and the joy in finding one another.

As he moved from her lips to suck at her pulse point she whimpered softly, then whispered, "Do you want to move into my room? Not that the bathroom isn't romantic..."

He lifted his head to look at her intently. "Are you sure Sher? Because once we start into this - I don't think I'm ever letting you go."

For the first time in months, Sheraton didn't feel worried or anxious. For a moment, she stopped worrying about the war and her uncle and her friends - and just looked at the man in front of her. She had watched him become a man - and had loved him ever since he had sat down next to her in Potions in second year, declaring she was the only one in the class smart enough to be his partner.

She nodded her head, a smile ghosting upon her lips. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She stepped away from him then, tossing a look over her shoulder as her hips swayed with her walk. "Are you coming then?"

He followed after her and grabbed her around the waist in the door, pressing her against the frame as she giggled. He began running a hand from hip to neck and it was then her turn to groan. She returned the favour by circling a hand around his own hips and he panted into the kiss they shared. Hands roamed, and so did lips.

"Oh I'll be coming all right, and you will too." He sucked her lower lip between his. "Again and again." He pulled her flush against him, both hands splayed across her back and walked backwards, towards her bed.

"Make sure you don't make any promises you can't keep, Higgs." she taunted him as she stretched out her neck, offering more space to kiss.

"Oh - believe me, I don't." The back of his legs hit the bed and he pulled her with him into the soft comforter. There were few other words spoken.

The hazy, grey light of morning was trickling through the curtains when Sheraton opened her eyes. She blinked once, twice and then gave a soft sound of contentment. She was warm and comfortable, pressed up against Julian's front. She blinked again. Julian's front. She was in bed with Julian.

It wasn't as though they hadn't slept or curled up together before. Just not... pink spread across her cheeks as realization dawned. Just not naked.

Just not with love bites on her neck and breasts and even further down.

So they'd had sex. That was for sure.

Sheraton took a deep breath in and out and she remembered the previous night. It had felt so right to be with him, to kiss him and be with him. It wasn't just the sex, but in the moments after when they were entwined, before sleep had claimed them both, their breath mingling as they looked at one another, quiet or speaking about absolutely trivialities.

In retrospect, she had to admit she was surprised it had taken this long for them to reach this point. They were best friends, knew nearly everything about one another. The fact that sex had always been one of the subjects they had pointedly avoided was a sign of their attraction for one another. But they had been most definitely compatible in that respect, Sheraton blushing again as she realized how much.

This was the logical progression in their relationship. So why was she so scared? She shifted slightly, unsure how much she could move before waking Ian up. Sheraton had absolutely no idea how that conversation was going to play out. Would he like this as well? Or would he regret his actions last night. She didn't think she could survive if this destroyed their relationship - Julian was her rock. With a rock hard chest and well-...

That train of thought was abandoned as he gave a little snort, pulling her more tightly against him as he awoke. Sheraton went as limp as she could in her tense state and feigned the deep breaths of sleep.

Julian shook his head slightly to chase away the last of the fatigue. He'd slept so well, the sleep of the, well - sated.

A wolfish grin grew across his face as he looked down at the girl in his arms. His girl. He traced a hand through her long hair, spread over her shoulder. Wow. She was all rumpled and slightly red, a few of the love bites he had given her prominent. She was gorgeous.

He tensed then. Shit. What if she wasn't as pleased with this turn of events as he was. She had seemed pleased last night, he had made damn sure of that - but would the light of morning change her mind. She'd better not. He wasn't going to let go of her without a fight.

He looked down at her still face again. Then gave a small sigh.

"Sher, stop faking it. You're not asleep."

Her eyelids fluttered open and she gave a little frown. "How'd you know?"

"Because you sleep with your mouth open and drooling," he told her with a small smile.

Her forehead crinkled as she turned slightly in his arms to look up at him. "And how might you know that?"

"C'mon, Sher. It's not like this is the first time we've woken up together. Just usually, I'm clothed and so are you." His eyes trailed down her body, his marks stark on her skin. "I must say I prefer this way of waking up and your bed is much more comfortable than your couch."

She blushed under his gaze. Somehow - without saying the words, both had established that they were indeed happy with this new situation in which they found themselves. She snuggled closer into him, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck.

"Shush, Ian. Let's just go back to sleep."

He smiled softly, hugging her too him. "Yes ma'am."

Right before they drifted back into the unconcious she murmured against his skin, "Love you."

"Love you too."