"A pinch of cinnamon? No....that can't be right," Remus muttered to himself. He had once again found himself in the library pouring over Potions homework. He wished Myra was there to help him, wished she was there just to be there with him. He scratched his forehead with his quill, leaving a small black mark. "A dash of porcupine quill? Perhaps..."
"Remus Lupin, right?"
Remus looked up into bright blue eyes. So bright in fact that they made his mouth open slightly. He nodded.
"I don't think we've ever been formally introduced. I'm Emily Ravenclaw," the pretty mouth below the bright eyes said. Remus blinked and took in the features around the blue eyes. There was really only one word to describe her: vibrant. Her blonde hair curled around her shoulders in a way that was so beautiful Remus suspected it was not natural. Her mouth was upturned in a small smile and those blue eyes were looking at him expectantly.
"Yes, I know," he said hastily. Emily was one of the last descendants of Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. She was also the chaser for the Ravenclaw Quittich team and one of the best looking girls in the school. Or, so that was what most of the boys seemed to think. Remus tended not to pay much attention to girls, they complicated things.
Emily twirled a piece of blonde curl with her wand absentmindedly. Remus looked up at her, wondering what she could possibly want. Tutoring in DADA? Or perhaps she was looking for a date with Sirius? Girls seemed to think that he was Sirius' personal assistant or something. Before he could ask her what she wanted, she spoke.
"Winter Formal is coming up."
Remus nodded. "Sirius has a date," he said immediately.
She gave a bit of a laugh, a sound like a bell. Her blue eyes crinkled with her smile, Remus noticed.
"I know Sirius has a date. He's going with Myra," Emily told him.
Remus nodded, giving a wry smile. He was all too aware his friend was going with Myra.
"See, I thought that you were going to ask Myra," Emily began. She spoke evenly and Remus had the distinct impression that she had thought this through. "But, now that Sirius is going with Myra, you don't have a date."
"This is true," Remus said warily. Who was she going to ask him to go with? One of her shy Ravenclaw friends? Some of the Ravenclaw girls were so up to their noses in books they seemed to have forgotten how to socialise.
"I was actually wondering if you'd like to go with me. To Winter Formal, I mean."
"With you?" Remus asked incredulously. He realized that surprise was written all over his face and relapsed into his usual deadpan. "Sure."
"Okay then," Emily grinned at him.
"Okay," Remus replied. He gave her a questioning look but she ignored it and turned to leave.
"Emily," he called after her. She turned towards him, a motion that made her blonde curls bounce.
"Why me?"
Emily paused, considering the question. "Well, all the other boys are taken. I mean, I've tried asking about a dozen but they all have dates. You were about number fourteen on my list."
Remus nodded until Emily broke into a grin.
"I'm kidding, you git," she laughed. "You were only number five."
She flashed him a grin, her blue eyes full of amusement before she left, leaving him smiling slightly to himself. He turned back to Potions but suddenly it seemed quite trivial in comparison to going up to Gryffindor Tower and proclaiming who had just asked him to Winter Formal. Thus, he found himself outside Gryffindor Tower seven minutes later.
As he climbed the stairs to his dorm room, the smile still hadn't disappeared from his face entirely. He opened the door to the usual mess and loud music. His other roommates looked up as the door swung open and then went back to their previous activities. All except James.
"What's with you?" he asked, looking up from his Quittich Weekly magazine.
"Nothing," Remus shrugged and set down his Potions homework on his four-poster bed.
"No, no. That is definitely not nothing," James insisted, now sitting up on the edge of his bed. Sirius had also glanced up from the Transfiguration he was reading and looked at the smiling Moony with interest.
"Well, I had an interesting encounter in the library just now," Remus divulged.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked, now paying attention.
"Guess who asked me to Winter Formal?" Remus inquired, a smile playing on his lips.
"Edith Shrew!" Sirius exclaimed with a laugh.
Remus looked over at him with amusement. "I hope you think I can do better than that."
"Oh just tell us," James said impatiently. He was eager to get back to the latest picks for Quittich Player of the Month.
"Emily Ravenclaw, actually," Remus said, unable to keep the smugness from creeping into his voice.
"No way!" Sirius shouted and threw a pillow at him.
"Way," Remus replied evenly, catching the pillow.
"She's incredible!" Peter exclaimed softly. He got a far away look like he had drifted into a fantasy.
"She has the most amazing... personality," James finished after a look from Lupin.
"And her breasts are huge!" Sirius was still going on. James laughed at his friends bluntness.
Remus shook his head and laughed at his friends' reactions. Perhaps this Formal thing wouldn't be so bad after all.
It was getting late as Remus watched Myra from his place at their usual table. The library was unusually empty, but they didn't mind. Less people meant less distractions. Myra pulled books out from the stacks and looked briefly at them before putting them back in their place. Remus watched her for what seemed like ages before rising from the table and going to her. He stood behind her, his breath gently caressing the back of her neck. She put the book back that she had pulled out and stood with her hands at her sides. She slowly turned to face him, so close that he could see the specks of hazel in her green eyes.
"Myra," he whispered and raised his hand towards her. He wanted to touch her hair, feel it silky in his hand. Her eyes looked into his and he thought he saw desire there, thought he saw longing. He leaned in slowly and brushed his lips against hers. Before he could pull back, her lips were on his, gentle but insistent. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. They broke away, each breathless.
They gazed at each other for a moment before Remus took her head in his hands and tilted her chin towards his. She smiled faintly at him and stood on her tip toes to meet his lips again with hers. They pulled away reluctantly and Myra took a step back. She studied him quietly and then a blood curdling scream filled the air. She was screaming, panic filling her eyes. Remus started to go towards her, to comfort her when he realized she was screaming at him. She was terrified of him, and he understood why. He was transforming with the moonlight. The awful change raked through his body like a knife and he cried out. He couldn't stop himself, couldn't stop the wolf in him. He felt the familiar dizziness and darkness approaching.
"Nooo!" He shouted and sat up. Darkness surrounded him, but it was the darkness of his dormitory room. Cold sweat covered his body and the sheets that clung to him. He pulled off the sheets hurriedly and reached for the glass of water he kept at his night stand.
"You okay Moony?" came a voice out of the darkness.
"I'm fine Padfoot," he replied hoarsely.
"Sounded like a bad dream," Sirius whispered.
"It...It was," Remus replied. "I'll be fine though, go back to sleep."
"Mmkay," Sirius mumbled sleepily.
Remus rolled over and fell into a dreamless sleep. When he woke in the morning the dream was still as fresh as if it had actually happened. He could still feel her kiss, still see the terror in her eyes... A sob threatened to shake through him but instead he swallowed heavily and breathed deeply, willing himself to believe that it was just a dream. It was just a dream...