A/N - Okay everyone, hope you guys are enjoying so far. I'll quit babbling and let you all continue on.
Later,
A.A.
Fluff Galore
Early that morning, Sable was woken from her already erratic sleep by loud snores from the other side of her room. 'What the Hell is that?' she thought. The room was dark and the wind was howling outside. A bone-chilling coldness had set into the room and she did not want to get out of bed to find out who, or what was in there with her. Finally, common sense ruled out and she steeled herself for the immense cold that she was about to encounter. Pulling back the covers of her bed, she quietly jumped out and began searching for the source of the noise. She groped around in the dark for her wand and found it next to her bed. She checked her watch and noted that it was right after three in the morning.
"Lumos." she muttered. A weak light began to filter from the tip of her wand, illuminating the dark room. She moved around the room slowly, trying to find out where the snores were emanating from. Her gaze rested on the little couch across from her bed. There was the indention of a body on it, and a disembodied arm hanging down beside it. She was shocked to find an arm just hanging off of her couch, and wondered who it was. But, she finally figured out who it was when the mystery sleeper started mumbling again.
"James.....can't...prank... Sable....kill me if.......she ......Lily.....found out......did....prank
on...... Slytherins......How ........this.......McGonagall."
'Remus Lupin,' she thought, 'Have you been in here all night? Sleeping on that uncomfortable couch? And dreaming about pranking the Slytherins. Indeed what would McGonagall think?' She walked up to the couch and pulled the invisibility cloak off of him. Sure enough, Remus was sprawled out on the couch, arms hanging off of the sides. Sable grinned and dropped the cloak on the floor. Remus tried to move to keep the cooler air from hitting him; but due to the small confines of the couch, and his long arms and legs, he only managed to squirm into an awkward position. He was still snoring as loud as ever, but it didn't matter. Sable seriously thought about pulling a prank on him while he was asleep, but decided against it. 'He's only in here because he's worried.' she thought, 'It would be mean of me to prank him while he was sleeping. Besides, it's not like he hasn't done this before.'
'Yeah, but you know he would do it to you if he had the chance.' came an insistent voice. Sable smiled and pulled out her wand. With all the crap that had been going on, she decided that it would do everyone some good to have a good laugh. ' Sorry, Remus. Too bad it's at you expense." she thought wryly. She quickly conjured up a heavier blanket and laid it on top of him to ward off the night chill. She didn't need him waking up and ruining her plan.
"This is payback for all the times you guys got me, mister." she whispered. Then, she transfigured a glass of water into a whole bucketful of water and suspended it above his head. When he sat up in the morning, the suspension charm would disengage and the water would pour out onto him. She put a cooling charm on the already cold water to make sure that it stayed right above freezing until morning time. She grinned and pulled the invisibility cloak off of the floor and folded it, bringing it with her to her bed. 'Good thing no one is trying to kidnap me again.' she thought, 'Remus wouldn't be any help. He'd sleep through the whole thing!!!' She silently laughed as she climbed back into bed. 'Somebody's going to have a rude awakening in the morning.' she thought.
****************************************
Lily woke up that morning about seven o' clock with a grimace. They were supposed to be leaving to go to Sable's house today to retrieve some of her things, but there was one humongous snow storm going on. It had blew up a few hours ago, and had not stopped yet. She reluctantly got out of bed and got dressed, intending to wake Sable up. She gave the password to the sentry portrait guarding Sable's room and stepped in. The curtains were still closed around the bed, but she saw someone's body on the couch. She also noticed a bucket of cold looking water suspended over the head of who ever was on the couch. Wondering who it was since no one had the password besides Sable, herself, and James, she pulled back the covers and smiled.
Remus was beginning to stir from his sleep and Lily softly shook him to finish rousing him up. Remus only muttered and tried to turn over to get away from the wake up call.
"Remus Jason Lupin," she said, "what do you think you're doing in here?" Remus' eyes immediately shot open and he jumped up; in turn, causing the bucket of cold water to drop onto his head.
"Ahhhh!!!!!! That's cold!!!!!" he yelled, jumping off of the couch. "Lily, what's the big idea??!!"
Sable was jerked awake by the sound of Remus' scream. 'Bull's eye.' she grinned, pulling her curtains back to see a confused and wet Remus Lupin and a laughing Lily Evans.
"I didn't do anything, Remus." Lily said, trying to control her giggles. "I was just trying to wake you up." She handed him a dry blanket and stood back.
"Where did that bucket of water come from?" He demanded, looking rather skeptically at the red headed Head Girl.
"That would be from me." Sable said, stepping out of her bed. She smiled as Lily busted out laughing again.
"What'd you do that for?" Remus questioned, trying to absorb some of the water with the blanket.
"Well, I woke up and heard someone in my room. I poked my head out and saw someone's arm near the couch. I didn't know what to do, so I figured I'd find out who it was." she explained. "Honestly, Remus, I didn't know it was you." She put her hands behind her back and hung her head, feigning sorriness and innocence. Lily giggled again as Sable tried the innocent act on Remus.
"I'm not buying that story, Sabriel." he growled, throwing the blanket down on the ground.
"Sorry, but it's the truth." she said. "I didn't know who it was, and I didn't want to wake them up to find out." Remus glared at her and she only shrugged and pouted, trying to convince him that she really didn't know who it was.
"Well, since both of you are already awake," Lily stated, "I'll go get the others up. We're supposed to leave in two hours for Hogsmeade." She turned to leave the room and glanced back, putting a mock stern face on. "And I'll expect you two children to be ready by that time. No more pranks. Understand?" Sable nodded and hid her grin. Remus only glowered. Lily stepped out of the portrait and stood there, waiting for the fireworks to begin. Sure enough, Remus let Sable have it as soon as the portrait shut.
"What was all that about?" he asked.
"What was all what about?" she asked innocently.
"The bucket of ice cold water."
"Oh, well like I said, I didn't know who was in my room. I didn't know what to do." She shrugged and sat down on the edge of her bed. Remus screwed up his eyes and looked at her carefully.
"You didn't know who was in here? You know enough hexes and curses to kill someone without the Ministry of Magic finding out, and all you could think of was a bucket of cold water?" he asked incredously.
"Really, Moony," she said, feigning embarrassment at his comments, "I believe you are overestimating my talent." Sable tried not to grin, but it didn't work.
"Not to mention, there's the issue of this extra thick blanket I was covered up in. Now where did that happen to come from. Not to mention, James' cloak which is right here." He picked up the blanket and searched under it. When the cloak could not be found, he stood up and looked beneath the couch.
"Looking for something?" Sable teased. Remus only growled and kept looking. He still could not find the cloak after another few minutes of searching.
"What did you do with the cloak, Sable?" he asked.
"What cloak? I haven't seen any cloak." she said. Remus walked up to her and frowned.
"You know exactly what cloak I'm talking about, missy." he said.
"Would it happen to be a silvery cloak made from the hairs of a Demoguage that makes you invisible once you put it on?" she queried, trying to push his buttons early in the morning.
"Yes, Sable. That's the one."
" Uhhh, nope haven't seen one. Sorry. Can't help you." she said airily. Remus grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stand up. He knew she was just stringing him along, but he decided to play along since she seemed to be in a better mood.
"Now, Sable," he said slowly, "I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is James' cloak? I know you took it, now where is it? I'll tear this room apart if I have to looking for it, and you know I will."
"I don't think I'm going to tell you." she said simply.
"Why not???"
"Number One: You snuck into my room without permission. Two: You tried to hide yourself under James' invisibility cloak so I couldn't see you. Three. You scared me senseless last night when I woke up to hear you snoring as loud as the Hogwart's Express. Four. You didn't even have the brains to make sure yourself was completely covered up last night. After all of that, give me one good reason why I should tell you where the cloak is."
"I can defend myself to the fullest." he said quickly. "One. James gave me permission to keep an eye on you last night. He even gave the password to your room. Therefore, I did not sneak in. Two. I hid under the cloak because I knew you wouldn't have let me stay if you knew I was here. Three. I didn't mean to scare you last night. And for that I am profusely sorry. And four. I can't help it if the cloak fell off of me while I was asleep." He looked up at her skeptical face. "Now where's the cloak?"
"I'm still not telling you. Sorry." Sable said evilly. She shrugged her shoulders and lay back down on her bed with her back to Remus.
"You're going to tell me where that cloak is, or else." he said.
"Or else what?" she mumbled.
"Or else, I'm going to tickle you until you scream for me to stop." he said. He leaned over the side of the bed and flipped her back onto her back, pinning her arms above her head. She was glaring at him with certain hatred.
"You wouldn't." she hissed, "Not this early in the morning."
"Oh, I won't will I?" he said. Sable saw that he meant business and tried to get away from him before the assault came. Unfortunately, he still had more strength than her due to the recent full moon. He pinned her hands above her and began tickling her sides mercilessly. Sable was trying to keep from screaming at him to stop, but it didn't last long. When he let her arms go to attack both of her sides, she started slapping at him to stop. He was the only one who knew exactly how ticklish she was, and at the moment he was using it to his advantage. She was gasping for breath and still yelling at him to stop.
"Where's the cloak at, Sable?" he asked again, momentarily pausing to ask the question.
"If I tell you, will you leave me alone?" she asked, clutching her sides. Remus nodded and sat up, waiting for her to answer. "Fine, you sore loser. It's underneath my bed."
"Thank you, that's all I wanted to know. Now was that so hard?" he teased.
"Very funny, Remus." she scowled. He laughed and pushed some of her hair out of her face where it had escaped from the ponytail she had put it up in before she had finally went to sleep that night.
"You know I can't get up with you on top of me." she said playfully. "You're soaking wet, by the way."
"Complaining?"
"No." she said quietly, "Just stating the obvious. But, uh, if Lily comes back in here to find out what all that yelling was for. I think she may take our current positions the wrong way." She grinned and Remus laughed. The old Sable was on her way back, and he was grateful.
"Alright, I'm leaving." he conceded. He climbed off of her bed and picked up the cloak from the floor. "We're leaving in about two hours." he reminded her.
"Okay, thanks, Remus." she said sleepily. "I'll be down in a few minutes." Remus nodded and stepped out of the portrait hole to get ready to leave.
When they had all met up in the Great Hall for breakfast, Sable realized the one reason why she hated Hogwarts, the winter storms. The wind was howling and snow was flying everywhere. It was a full blown snow storm, and it did not seem to be letting up in the least. The group quickly settled into breakfast, but was soon interrupted by Professor Dumbledore. The aged wizard was worried about the traveling conditions, and her let them know.
"Students," he said gently, "I am afraid that the train will not be able to run today do to the inclimate weather. I am afraid that I cannot allow you out of the castle. It is far to dangerous." Sable blinked and looked angry.
"But Headmaster," she protested, "I need to get back home as soon as possible."
"I realize that Ms. Robbins. However, I can not allow you to leave." Sirius looked over at James and shrugged. Then a sudden idea fill his brain.............. or at least the parts that did not center around Quidditch, food or girls.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir," he said, "if we could get to Godric's Hollow without going through the storm, would you still allow us to go?"
"How do you propose you do that, Mr. Black?" the teacher asked.
"Well, Sable lives just down the lane from me. If we could floo to my house, we could walk to hers. And I'm sure the weather is nowhere near like this at home."
"An excellent idea, Mr. Black. However there is one small problem...."
"How do we floo to your house when you can't leave the school?" Lily asked. "The floo network is not connected to the school for security reasons."
" My sentiments exactly." Dumbledore agreed. "However, if you do happen to think of an alternate path, you are welcome to go. The closest place to floo is in Hogsmeade. If you happen to find a way, or a break in the weather appears, you are free to go. Just notify me when you arrive in Godric's Hollow as I will be in my office for the next few days attending to some rather important matters at hand. I trust that you all will be okay on your own."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Remus said, "We'll work on that."
"Very well then. Good day, children." And with that, Dumbledore left the group. As soon as he was out of earshot, Sirius turned to Remus and grinned.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" he said.
"I do believe so, dear Padfoot. Let us finish our meal and we will be off."
"But the Headmaster said we can't go out into the storm." Lily said.
"We're not going to go out into the storm, Lily." James said, "If my guess is right, we will be going beneath the storm." Understanding dawned on Lily's face when she finally caught onto the underlying meaning.
They finished quickly and went back up to the dorms to get dressed. After donning coats, cloaks, hats, mittens, and sweaters, they went to the hidden passage that led out of the castle. It was hidden behind the statue of the witch on the second floor.
As they descended into the corridor, a cold and damp chill overtook them. The statue slid back into place and enclosed them in darkness. Sirius and James brought out their wands and muttered 'Lumos'. The passage was instantly bathed in the combined light of the two boy's wands. They carefully picked their way along the corridor, avoiding the puddles of water that had began to form on the dirt floor. Sirius and James led the way while Lily and Sable followed behind. Remus pulled up the rear, making sure that they were not being followed.
"It's freakin' cold down here!" Sable exclaimed as they neared the end of the path.
"Sorry, but it's the only alternate way out of the castle." James said.
"It's okay." Sable said. "I'm just freezing right now."
"Here, take this." Sirius said, pulling off one of the many cloaks he was wearing. Sable took the thick cloak and threw it on over her other clothes. The dark green material enveloped her body like a sheet.
"Thanks, Sirius." she muttered.
"Not a problem." he answered. "It's just a little bit further anyways." The group walked for another ten minutes before a trapdoor was seen. James climbed up the three stairs and pushed the door open, peeking above him.
"Is it clear?" Remus asked anxiously.
"Yeah, it's clear." James answered with a smile. He threw the door open and looked down to the girls.
"Ladies first......"
Sable was pushed up through the trapdoor by James and into the light of the world once again. By the time her eyes had adjusted, the boys were shutting the trapdoor again.
"Is Honeydukes connected to the floo network?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, they are." Remus said, guiding the girls out of the storage room. The fireplace is in the front part of the store, though. Come on." They came out of the storeroom and into the main shop. Even with the weather so horrible as it was , there was still the hustle and bustle of the pre- holiday season. People were crammed shoulder to shoulder, but didn't seem to mind. When they eventually threaded their way through the crowd and over to he fireplace, Sirius grabbed the pot of floo powder and gave everyone a handful. He stepped back and threw the powder into the flames, causing them to turn green, and yelled "Black Estates". He stepped into the flames and was transported out of sight. The others followed his example. James was next, Lily, Sable, and Remus.
The next thing any of them knew, they were on the floor of the Black mansion, a tangle of soot covered arms and legs.
"Owww, Sirius would you move your butt out of my face!" James groaned.
"Only if you move your foot out of mine!" he retorted, twisting a foot out of his eyes.
"Owwww! That's not James' foot," yelled Sable, "it's mine!!" The group continued to struggle to disentangle themselves, but it only made the problem worsen.
"Well, whoever it is up there, move!" Lily yelled, "I'm turning into a pancake down here!"
"Hey! Somebody better watch their hands!!" Sable said as she tried to wiggle out of the fracas.
"Oops, sorry." James said, "I thought that was Lily."
"James, can't you wait until later to grope Lily?" Sirius asked, once again moving someone's foot out of his face.
"Yeah, this coming from you!" Sable said. "Potter! I said watch the hands!"
"It wasn't my fault this time. I promise!" James said defensively.
"It better not have been you." Remus and Lily warned him.
"Remus dear, I love you to death," Sable said sweetly, "but would you kindly get off of me?"
"Damn, I was just getting comfortable, too." he complained. Sable grinned and shook her head.
"Really, Remus. This is the second time today you've wound up on top of me. If people knew this, they'd start talking." Sable teased.
"Twice?" James asked.
"If you know what's good for you, Prongs." Remus threatened, "Stop those thoughts right where they are?"
"Is it the truth?" Sirius prodded. Sable just rolled her eyes.
"Like I said, people will talk." she said sarcastically.
"Let'em talk!" Remus snickered.
"Like we don't already!" Sirius squirmed. "Now get off of me!" he yelled. James was the first one out of the wreckage and he pulled Lily out from between Sable and Sirius which allowed the other three to disentangle themselves with relative ease. They all stood up and brushed themselves off. Sirius looked a little winded due to everyone sitting on top of him.
"Is everyone alright?" Lily asked. They all nodded in an affirmative.
"Uh, Sirius," Sable asked, "is there anyone in this house other than us? I figured with all of that racket we made, someone would be in here by now to see what was going on."
"Nope. My parents are working. Cassandra's gone. Aurora is with her boyfriend, and Orion is in Glasgow with Gram and Gramps."
"So none of you family is home for the holidays?" Remus asked.
"No one but the house elves. Who, consequently, should be he e in five....four....three...two...one...Now!" Sure enough, two house elves magically appeared at the doorway.
"Oh, Master Sirius is back." said the smallest one. The two creatures walked over to the assembled teens and bowed low.
"Hello Boosie. Hello Barrie." Sirius said.
"Boosie and Barrie were not told that yous was to be coming back, Master Sirius, sir." Boosie quivered. "We have not prepared for yours arrival, sir."
"It's okay, Boosie." Sirius said, "We won't be here long."
"Just over night." James said. The two elves looked up and finally noticed the other people standing in the room.
"Ohhhh, Master Sirius has brought Misters Potter and Lupin back with him." Barrie cried. "Barrie must get rooms ready for guests or master will be very, very angry." Barrie bowed low and snapped his finger, disappearing into thin air.
"Will the young misses be staying also, Master Sirius, sir?" Boosie squeaked. Sirius turned to the girls and nodded.
"Yes, Boosie. Ms. Evans and Ms. Robbins will be staying here also. Make sure that Barrie puts them in the guests rooms in the middle hallway. The ones with the balconies on them."
"Very well, Master. Boosie will have everything ready momentarily."
"Oh, don't be in a hurry, Boosie." Sable said, "We've got a few things to do this evening that may take up some time."
"Yes, miss." the elf said.
"Is there anything else Barrie or Boosie can get for sirs and misses?" the little elf quivered.
"No, I thing that will be all for now. Thank you, Boosie." Sirius said.
"Oh, it is no problem at all, kind sir." the house elf said as it scurried out of the room. The great oak doors shut softly as the tiny creature sped off to begin its work.
"Well guys," Sirius said, "it looks like we'll be spending the night here. By now, those two will have every house elf up and going." The group of friends nodded, knowing that the only ambition for a house elf was to serve its family. Sirius noted the pensive look on Sable's face and decided to distract her. "Well mates, come with me, and I'll show you where you'll be sleeping tonight." He led them up the stairs and down a mirrored hallway to the back of the mansion.
"James and Remus, you two get your normal rooms. But the ladies get their own." He opened the door at the end of the hallway and Sable's eyes widened in appreciation. The room was decorated in a beautiful color of royal blue. The queen sized canopy bed was set in the center of the room. Two sliding glass doors led out to a balcony that overlooked the woods behind the house. A large marble fireplace stood on the east side of the room.
"This is your room, Sable." Sirius said, "and Lily's is right across the hallway." He opened the other doorway to reveal an almost identical room clad in scarlet red.
"Thank you Sirius." Sable said, "It's beautiful."
"Yes, Sirius, thank you." Lily said graciously.
"Well, now that we know where everyone is sleeping for the night, I think it's time to get to work." James said.
"He's right. The sooner I get what I need from my house, the better." Sable said.
"Well then, let's get going, mates." crowed Sirius.
Sable's house was nowhere near the size of the Black's estate, but she did not care. When they entered the two story house, Sable seemed to be a little happier. She showed them around the house, pointing out her makeshift laboratory where she did her research and the huge game room, which consisted of a pool table, table tennis, pinball machine, and a few other little gadgets. The boys were immediately engrossed with the various games that had been scattered about, so Sable left them on their own, and went into her parent's bedroom.
The few things she wanted to get would not take long to find. Lily stood at the doorway, not wanting to intrude in her friend's parent's room. She knew Sable needed some time to herself, so she backed away and left her in the room with her thoughts.
Sable moved around the room with the efficiency of a house elf. She pulled a bag out of the closet and began putting stuff in it. The scents of her father's cologne mixed with her mother's perfume as she opened the closet that held their clothes. It was an overwhelming combination, but it was oddly comforting to smell something so familiar. She used to pick on them because the mixture of the cologne and perfume caused a very strong, musky scent to take over. However, this time she welcomed it. She pulled some clothing out and laid it on the bed, carefully folding each piece as she went.
Lily walked back into the game room to find James and Sirius in the middle of a violent game of table-tennis. Remus was sitting to the side, watching the game with little interest when Lily sat next to him.
"They've found the wonders of Muggle games?" she asked.
"It seems like it." Remus said. He looked around and frowned. "Where's Sable?"
"She's in her parent's room, getting some things ready."
"Is she alright? She's not upset is she?" he asked. Lily gave him a small smile.
"Why don't you go talk to her yourself, Remus?" She said. "The rest of us can only listen when she talks; you can empathize with her."
"She doesn't want pity, Lily." Remus stated simply.
'There's a fine line between sympathy and pity, Remus. Remember that."
"I don't know what to say to her." he admitted quietly. "I'm partly, if not fully, responsible for what happened to her and her parents."
"Tell her whatever comes to mind. She needs support right now, Remus. As much as we can give her."
"But I don't want to hurt her."
"Remus, you can't hurt her even if you were under the Imperious Curse." Lily laughed. "You've been genetically programmed not to hurt anyone!"
"What??"
"Never mind." she said with a grin. "Just go talk to her, okay. She's in the last room in the middle hallway on the second floor." Remus stood up and left out of the room. He followed the stairs up to the second floor and went down the middle hallway, as Lily instructed. At the end, he could see an open door, and hear noises coming from inside. He crept up to the doorway as quietly as possible, and looked in.
Sable as rummaging through the closet and muttering to herself. She pulled out some clothes and set them next to a nearly full bag. She stepped over to the vanity and rummaged to find something else. She turned around and saw Remus standing there watching her.
"How long you been standing there?" she asked.
"Long enough to hear you talking to yourself." he answered.
"That could have been for the last half hour." she admitted.
"Nah, just the past two minutes." he answered. Sable gave a little grin and turned back towards the suitcase. Remus just stood there. "You almost done packing?" he asked.
"Almost, I'm just missing something that's in my room." she said. "After that I'll be done." She stepped past Remus and began walking down the hallway. He followed her silently. They stopped in front of a door and Sable opened it to reveal her own bedroom. It was a clash of the Gryffindor gold and red colors and the blue and green of her Salem House. He followed her into the room and looked around. There were pictures plastered all over the walls. Pictures of her parents, family, her, even pictures of them in fourth year when she was still at Hogwarts. They were pasted onto the wall to make it look like one huge collage. While she searched through her vanity for something, Remus inspected the pictures carefully. Some of the were of people he didn't recognize, and one of the boys in many of the pictures looked eerily similar to him.
"Who are all of these people?" he asked. Sable turned and grinned.
"They're the few friends of mine from Salem." she said. "That's Brittany, Kris, Michael Karri, Chad, and Tricia." she explained as she pointed each one out.
"And who is that?" he asked, pointing to the American equivalent of himself. Sable rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.
"That is that very annoying asshole named David. We were close for a while, but , uh, lets just say we found out some stuff about each other and we're not so close anymore." she turned around and shook her head.
"He cheated on you?" Remus asked, amazed that anyone would even think about cheating on her. Sable nodded, but said nothing. "Why'd he do that?" Remus could come up with no reason this David should cheat on Sable, but something obviously went wrong. And he wanted to know what had happened. She had spoken very little of him since she had come back to Hogwarts, and he wanted to know why.
"I don't know Remus, maybe you could ask him the next time you see him. Cause I'd sure like to know why." she said.
"You mean to tell me that he broke up with you, and didn't give you a reason as to why?"
"He didn't need to." Sable answered quietly.
"Well, what happened?"
"You see, when I enrolled in Salem, I earned the title of cold-hearted bitch. David was in a rival House, and I tended to stay away from him for numerous reasons. To make a long story short, we wound up together by some stroke of fate's hand. But it didn't last long. During one of our little late night rendezvouses I , uh, said some stuff I didn't mean to. And so did he. Well, the next time we met again, after his House had won a Quidditch game, his attitude had changed towards me. I believe his words were 'put out or get out, bitch'. So, I left him standing there. Come to find out, he had been sleeping around with one of the girls from his own House the whole time he was with me." She shrugged and pulled one of the pictures off of the wall and crumbled it up to throw in a dustbin. " I don't even know why I kept the pictures actually."
That was a blatant lie on her part. She had kept them because he had favored Remus so much, and she could not seem to part with the only real likeness she had of the boy from Hogwarts.
Remus was more than a little surprised at her, but now he knew the answers to some of his questions. He hugged her tightly as a way of reassurance. There were still some unanswered questions in his mind, but he was about to get the answers from her.
"Do you miss him?" he asked quietly.
"Not when I'm with you....and the others of course." she said quickly. Remus just stood there with her in his arms, cursing that David character for all he was worth. He felt Sable shudder and hot tears soak through his shirt. She was crying, he realized, and hard.
"Sable, what's wrong?" he asked. "What'd I do?"
"You didn't do anything, Remus." she said, wiping away the tears. "I'm just stressed out over all of this mess. I'm worried about my mom and dad. I'm afraid one of you are going to get hurt because of me. And the worst thing of all is that I'm scared to be alone." She looked up at him with teary eyes. "I've never been afraid to be alone, or by myself. Last night, I could hardly sleep. In the period of two days, I'm losing my mind, and it's scaring me. I don't want to be alone, but don't want to hurt anyone in the process. So what do I do?"
She sat down on her bed and hugged herself, rocking back and forth. Remus sat down next to her and pulled her in for another hug.
"You're not losing your mind, Sable. You're acting like a human being."
"But I'm not a human." she whispered. "I'm an animal." Remus was a little shocked to hear her say this.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Ms. Robbins," he said, "but I think I specifically remember some one telling me that it didn't matter what happened once a month, because I was human the other twenty-nine days of the month." he said.
"I'm surprised you remember that, considering what was going on at the time I told you that." she laughed. "We were both running on hormones that night."
"Well, I'm a firm believer that things said while in the middle of emotional throws hold more truth than any other times."
"Why's that?" she asked. Remus smiled and shook his head.
"Because you usually don't have the mental capabilities to formulate a decent, plausible lie in time to convince anyone." Sable grinned at him as her mind drifted off to the night before the full moon in November when she had bodily drug him out of the Gryffindor Common Room to keep him from snapping at anyone else.
**Flashback**
It had been two days since the Halloween Ball, and the coming full moon had both Sable and Remus on edge. After he had snapped at some of the younger kids she had tutored, then had a row with lily, Sable had decided it would be prudent to keep him away from the student population the next day, just in case someone decided to push his buttons. So, she had cornered him Thursday night and drug him down to her lab, away from everyone else. After convincing him to go to Hogsmeade the next day, they had changed clothes and climbed into her bed. She had though they would both be able to get some sleep easier this way. It did not work out like that, though.
Sable had been woken up by the soft caresses on her stomach. Knowing that Remus was probably just dreaming again, she had pushed it off as nothing important and tried to go back to sleep. Even since he had been staying with her the closer the full moons got, he would often times wake her by pulling her tight against him or rubbing her sides in his sleep. All was fine for a while, and the soft touches were slowly lulling her back into sleep. She suddenly felt her hair being swept over her shoulder, and little kisses being placed on her neck.
"Remus." she questioned quietly. "Are you awake?"
"Ummmhmmm." he said, kissing her neck again. Sable shivered as a wave of pleasure coursed through her with the contact. Rolling over to her side she came face to face with her boyfriend.
"What's wrong, love?" she asked
"Couldn't sleep." he said, pulling her closer to him and playing with her hair.
"So you decided to wake me up too?" she teased, pinching his arm gently. He jerked back and grinned at her. Sable knew that look he gave her and she smiled. He wanted to play. "What's wrong, Remus?" she cajoled. "Puppy wanna play now that he's had a nap, hmm?" Remus raised his eyes at the obvious taint and pinned her arms to her side.
"I'm no innocent puppy, Sable." he growled playfully.
"Really? Then what are you?" she asked. He bent down and gave her a lingering kiss that instantly made them both realize they were not going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon.
"I'm a vicious, hideous monster who only lives ton the most basic of instincts." he said, nuzzling her neck.
"And what are those instincts telling you now, Remus?" she asked after a few minutes. He chuckled and let her arms go.
"You sure you want to know, love?" he asked.
"I think I have an idea already, but tell me anyways." she teased him.
"Well, right now, I want to shag you senseless until you can't tell left from right and keep on going until you scream loud enough for McGonagall to hear us." he said huskily, nipping at her neck and shoulders. Sable gave a half grin and threaded her fingers through his hair.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you love, but you're not getting that lucky, not right now at least." she said. He looked at her and gave a sad smile.
"I know. But it's always good to keep the vicious monster believing he might one day." He pulled away from her and sat up in the bed. Sable, sensing his distress, sat up and grabbed her wand, casting the room in a light reminiscent of pre-dawn. She looked over at him and frowned. He seemed so tired and dejected, and she quickly thought it was her fault.'
"Remus...I'm sorry, it's not because you...." she trailed off, and suddenly got angry. "You are not a monster, Remus Lupin! You are human twenty nine out of thirty days a month, what happens one night shouldn't rule who you are the rest of the time!" He gave her a smile and shushed her.
"I know." he said. "It's just the wolf in me talking."
"Is there anything else I can do?" she asked, shifting to sit next to him. He grinned and pulled her into his lap, her legs on each side of his hips.
"Just stay with me. Don't leave me."
"Now that...I can do." she said happily, hugging him tight against her. Remus relaxed and played with the strands of silky hair for a while before breaking the silence.
"Sable?"
"Yeah."
"I think....I think I'm falling in love with you." he whispered. Sable tensed and looked up at him, an unreadable expression on her face.
"I think you are speaking while severely under the influence." she teased him. He grinned, knowing she was referring to the rush of hormones they were both at the mercy of now.
"Be that as it may," he said. "I know what I'm feeling right now."
"So I finally got out of the box labeled 'friends only'?" she asked with a smile.
"You've been out of that for a long time." he said. And almost as if to prove it, he kissed her so hard, she was seeing stars when he finally let her go. When she recovered, she smirked at him.
"Good, cause if you ever kissed Lily like that, and I found out, you'd have Hell to pay, buddy."
"That's only if James didn't kill me first." They laughed and disentangled themselves from each other, intention going back to sleep. When Sable felt his arms around her waits, she smiled.
"Remus?" she said sleepily.
"Hmm?" he asked. She could tell he was almost asleep.
"I love you too."
**Flashback End**
"So was everything you told me that night the truth?" she asked.
"Every bit of it." he answered honestly. "You?" Sable nodded and smiled up at him.
"Everything I said, I stand by it." She answered truthfully. Remus smiled and pulled her closer to him, mostly as a reassurance that she was still there and he was hearing her right. "Lean on me. I'll be here when ever you need me to be." he whispered.
"Thank you, Remus. Thank you so much." she murmured sleepily. "For everything."
"You tired?"
"A little bit. You're snoring kept me up most of the night last night." she said.
"Lie down and take a nap. You need some rest since I know you're still recovering from the transformation the other night.
"Will you... will you stay in here until I go to sleep. I don't want to be by myself." she said quietly. Remus nodded and pulled her down to the bed. She curled up into him and was asleep in minutes. He listened to her even breathing and soon felt himself slipping into the sweet oblivion of sleep.
Sirius and James had finished their game of table top tennis with Lily refereeing. As they left the room James noticed the absence of Remus and Sable.
"Where are the other two at?" he asked Lily.
"She was packing some stuff up and Remus went to check on her." Lily said.
"How long ago?" Sirius asked.
"About thirty-five minutes ago." Lily said, frowning and looking at her watch. "I'm getting worried. She said she was almost done."
"Think we need to go make sure they're okay?" James asked.
"Nah, they're big boys and girls, they'll be okay." Sirius said.
"But the Headmaster said that we should stick together." James reminded them. "We should make sure they're still here."
"Your going to walk in on something you'd rather not see. I'm telling you." Sirius said, a grin on his face.
"Look, Sirius." Lily said. "I really could care less what they're doing right now. As long as I can make sure that they're still alive and breathing, they could be torturing Sanpe right now and I wouldn't care." She stormed out of the room and was halfway up the stairs before the two guys ever regained their composure to talk.
"I didn't realize Lily could be so blunt." Sirius said.
"Yeah, well, she'll surprise you sometimes. Heck, we've been together going into a year and a half, and she still surprises me!" James cried. Sirius just shook his head and took out after her.
Minutes later, they found Remus and Sable curled upon her bed, sleeping. Lily smiled and pulled the door shut.
"Let them sleep. They've had a rough few days. We can find something to keep ourselves occupied for a few hours." she said.
"Like what?" Sirius asked. Lily smiled evilly and grinned at the two. Unlike them, she had a working knowledge of Muggle games. And right now, she intended to show them up a little. 'I'll show them that I might not be the best Quidditch player in the world, but I can still beat them.' she thought.
"You guys ever played billiards before?"
A/N - Remember to review. I want to know what everyone thinks.
Later,
A.A.
