Chapter Thirty Eight

Remus was breathing heavily as he leaned up against a tree, hiding his large stature in an attempt to disappear visually from Joselynn's view. But it was in vain. For mere seconds later, after he took one large breath, he felt the smoothness of her hand run across his bare arm.

"Tag!" he heard her giggle, as she ran past him.

"Ah, get back here, you little imp!" he called after her. She laughed out loud, though it was breathless. Remus took off after her, and he knew that he would get her this time. She was within arms reach, he could grab the back of her blouse and win... but that might rip it completely from her body, considering the top of the front was undone.... maybe it really was a good idea....

With one final surge of strength, he lunged forward, tackling her to the ground. Both were laughing breathlessly as she rolled onto her back beneath him. There was laugh that was suddenly stick in his throat as he looked down at Joselynn, a intriguing glint in her steely eye and a mischievous smile on her lips.

They were in a very awkward position, Joselynn and Remus. Both gasping for air, there was sweat glistening on Remus' forehead, as he lay over Joselynn's body, the top few buttons of her blouse still undone. For any students passing by, it would appear to be a less-than-appropriate act for the students of Hogwarts to be participating in. But Remus' thoughts weren't on that of being caught in such a position. It was on how exactly he got into the situation, and what he wanted to badly to do now that he was finally there.

He was frozen; he couldn't move. He didn't want to get up, no way in hell would he get up now! But he couldn't make himself move to kiss her, he just couldn't do it. There was indeed an impish smile on her face and she looked up at him in anticipation, licking her lips and letting a deep breath out on his face. After letting out an unsteady sigh, he tried to speak.

"Josey, I-" but one of her dainty fingers stopped his lips, making his breath once again catch at her touch. Her hand slid over to his cheek, smoothing out the upset creases in his face. Remus closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, wanting nothing more than to give in and kiss her. It was a bitter sweet restraint, as he cherished her touch, and her friendship, but not the one thing that he wanted. Her - entirely and solely her.

"Kiss me." she suddenly whispered, shaking him from his thoughts.

"What?" he asked roughly. Surely, she hadn't just said that. He must have imagined it. But again, she spoke.

"Kiss me, Remus." she smiled up at him almost lovingly. "Just..." Her voice trailed off as she moved his face with her gentle hand to meet evenly with hers. He was there, less than an inch from her luscious lips - why couldn't he just do it? Gathering all the courage he could muster, he closed his eyes and leaned in.....

"Ahem."

Joselynn gasped and turned her head, allowing Remus' kiss only to land on her cheek. Of course, he had heard a throat clear in the distance, but he had assumed it was some student. Surely Joselynn wouldn't be so disturbed from only that. As he began to look up, she pulled herself from beneath him and shrieked.

"Professor McGonagall!"

Damnit.

Remus shot to his feet, smoothing down his robes. As he glanced over at Joselynn, he inwardly laughed as she was buttoning up her blouse and also smoothing her robes. Wow, this could be really bad, he thought.

"Might I ask what is going on here, Mr. Lupin?"

"Well, if you want the honest truth Professor, we were playing tag, and... well, I tagged her."

Man, that sounded so lame, no matter how honest it was.

"It's true, Professor." Joselynn said emphatically.

"What ever you were playing, Miss Bonafede, I will only ask you and Mr. Lupin once to refrain from such open displays of affection publicly on school grounds." Joselynn gasped and Remus chuckled.

"But as for right now, you two please follow me. Mr. Lupin, we need your help setting up for the Ball, and I'm sure Miss Bonafede needs time to prepare as well."

Both students followed behind Professor McGonagall, grinning bashfully at each other. Joselynn suddenly reached out and took hold of his hand. "Will you enduldge me some other time?"

"Maybe." Remus grinned, squeezing her hand back before releasing her once more and turning to leave.

---

"So am I the only Marauder without a date for this thing?"

All four boys were gathered in the dorm room, putting on the dress robes, combing hair, shaving scruffy chins, splashing cologne - they were almost as bad as the girls at primping.

"Afraid so, Prongs." said a shirtless Sirius, examining his chin closely in the mirror, magically shaving.

"Well, who are you going with?"

"Penelope Pine. Bloody beautiful 6th year from Ravenclaw."

"What about you, Wormy?" James asked.

"Sara Jammes." he said simply.

"Professor Jammes daughter?!" They all said in astonished unison.

"You are a brave one, I'll give you that, Peter." Remus said.

"Not brave - mad." Sirius said.

"Well, who are you taking, Moony?" James asked.

Remus had turned his back to his friends as he rummaged through his trunk for his dress robes, grateful for his dark shoulder length hair that covered his ears, which were more than likely glowing pink.

"Joselynn Bonafede."

The three other boys exchanged glances, then grinned wickedly.

"Really?" James said slyly. "That pretty Gryffindor brunette? Isn't she 7th year?"

"Um..." came the reply.

"You're little study buddy?" Peter said with a wink.

"Well... "

"The one with the face of an angel and a body... well, we'll just say it makes a man feel less than angelic." Sirius said with a mischievous grin.

"That's the one." Remus laughed.

"Well, why didn't you say anything, Moony?" James said, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "We never knew you were going after a girl."

"I'm not!"

"Oh, come on. You should never be too embarrassed to take advise from your friends."

"Just think, after all these years, Remus is finally asking out a girl." Sirius said, wiping an invisible tear from his eye.

"But I'm not, guys!" Remus said emphatically. "We're just friends."

"Yeah, and I've got a rat's ass." Sirius smirked.

Peter raised his hand. "Um, actually that would be me."

"Well, how about I set you up with one of Penelope's friends, Prongs?" Sirius said, throwing on his dress robes. "There's a lot of pretty girls in Ravenclaw all of which I'm sure would love to be your one night stand."

"No thanks, Pad. There's only one girl I want to go with." He said pointedly, walking towards the door. "Unfortunately, I lashed out at her the other night in my despair of rejection, and now I don't know what to do with her. She's probably livid with me for turning her away so abruptly, but I was overcome in my anguish, and I bit her head off without thinking." James sighed miserably. "Nope, sadly I, James Potter, am going stag - no pun intended." Then he left the room leaving his three friends in laughter.

---

Though after the dance had started, James wasn't laughing any more - he was pacing. And it was only the first 30 minutes. Lily hadn't showed up yet - none of the Gryffindor girls had. They were all still in the dorms primping, no doubt.

"You all right there, Prongs?" Sirius asked, his arm around Penelope as they sat on the edge of the dance floor in the very extravagantly decorated Great Hall.

"No." he said, taking hold of his shoulder and moving him to the doorway. "Excuse us for a moment, Penelope."

"Whoa! Hold up there." Sirius said in protest. "What the bloody hell are you doing, pulling me away from my date? Just cause you don't have one... I mean, I'm flattered, Prongs, but I'm already taken." Sirius chuckled.

"I can't do this, Sirius." James said. "I can't see her dancing with other guys, I can hardly look at her, let alone be in the same room with her."

"And we're talking about who?"

"Lily!"

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." James said bitterly.

"James," Sirius said, taking hold of his shoulders, "She's not dancing with anyone yet. She's not even in the bloody room yet! Get a grip, mate."

Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened and in walked Jenny, Alice and Lily. They looked like a walking flower garden in the first of spring, each with pastel colored robes. Alice's robes were that of lavender, to accentuate her eyes and her hair had been straightened to a shiny finish. Jenny wore sky blue robes, making her eyes simmer with the same hue, her hair in a wispy bum, elegantly placed on the back of her head. Lily wore light green, setting off her emerald eyes and her scarlet locks, which was curled to perfection. Each girl looked absolutely stunning, and though none of them had dates, James stood there taking in her presence.

His heart had wrenched in conflict, pressure growing in his chest, as he watched her. He wanted to run up to her, take her in his arms then kiss her senseless, and tell her over and over again how much he loved her. But that would only further condemn him to more painful rejection - because she didn't love him. It was coming slowly, but that realization was hitting him - and it hurt.

"I can't do this, Pad." James said turning swiftly to leave. "If Moony or Wormy asks, I'm going to my tower."

---

Remus was standing by the door of the Great Hall, trying to force himself to breath, but finding it very difficult. The thought of being Joselynn's date was nerve-wrecking. She was a perfect beautiful angel and he was..... a monster. Even the thought of them being together was ridiculous. How could he have even considered endangering her life by asking her out?

"Remus?"

There it was - the voice of an angel.

His breath caught in his throat as he slowly turned to look at her.

Joselynn Bonafede was the epitome of perfection in Remus' mind. Her beauty and wit made him only more attracted to her, the one thing he wanted most in life was her approval, her attention - her acceptance. But he would never tell her. No one would ever know, till the day he died, he would never let it slip. And even if he were to die now, he could leave this life happily because he had just seen an angel. He wanted nothing more than to just stare into the sparkling gray depths of her eyes forever. Well, he could actually think of a few things, like tasting her kiss just once.... but he couldn't falter, not matter how much he desired to, no matter how she tempted him....

She had applied light natural looking makeup, which only enhanced her angelic features. Her long hair had been slightly curled, just enough to frame her face pleasantly and the candlelight in the great hall flickered, shimmering on her light brown locks. Her robes were that of blood red, decorated to flatter her 'peaces and cream' skin and fitted to compliment her womanly curves elegantly, but in no way inappropriate. With one small glittery diamond hanging around her neck on a silver chain, Remus was absolutely speechless.

She flashed him a genuine smile, gazing up at him hopefully. "You look wonderful, Remus." she said quietly.

Here he was, in the presence of an angel, and she thought he looked good? In his patched and worn navy blue robes, he must have been a fright to look at. Him, a shabby looking beast, trying to woo her, his dear friend who's beauty surpassed that of Aphrodite's. Sighing, he looked down at her, feeling urged to return the compliment, no matter how half-hearted hers might have been.

"You..." he said, taking hold of her hand and kissing it affectionately. "There are no words to express how absolutely exquisite you look, Josey."

She blushed and squeezed his hand down by her side. "Why you don't have a girlfriend, Remus, I'll never know. With your good looks and charm, you could probably win the heart of any and every girl in this room."

Every girl but the one I want, he thought.

"Why you ever agreed to be seen with the likes of me, I'll never know," he chuckled.

"Because I like you, Remus." She said standing on her tiptoes and kissing him quickly on the nose with a girlish giggle. Remus didn't want to read too much into her words, but they made his heart leap with hope.

"But good looks and charm? Honestly, Josey. The good looks belong to James and Sirius. And don't go blaming me of being charming. I was just stating the obvious - how amazing you look is not being my sorry attempt at charm. I was simply telling the truth. At this moment, the epitome of beauty is my date for the evening. How lucky am I?" he said, staring down at her with an intent smile.

"Remus, if that's not charm, then I don't know what is." she said, smiling up at him through her scarlet blush.

"Remus!"

He hadn't quite realized just how close his face was to Joselynn's until he had to pull back to see Lily rushing towards them.

"Forgive me, Joselynn - can I steal your boyfriend away for two seconds?" Lily said, taking hold of Remus, who's face was pale as a sheet, mouth gaping.

"Just two seconds, Lily." said a giggling Joselynn, her face crimson all over again.

"Lily!" Remus exclaimed once they were out of ear shot. "You can't go saying things like that."

"And why not?" Lily grinned. "You two were centimeters apart, making goo-goo eyes at each other. It was really disgusting, Remus - I would have told you to get a room had I not needed to ask you a question."

"Well, what?" Remus chuckled.

"Where's James?"

"Sirius said he was... wait. Why?" Remus asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I'm going to talk to him. I'm going to.... tell him." she said boldly.

Remus grinned. "Finally. Took you two long enough."

"But I can't tell him anything until you tell me where he is!" she whined, slugging him softly on the arm.

"Well, he went to the trophy tower. That's where he goes to think." Remus answered, rubbing his arm.

"Well then - I better go stop him from thinking too much, he may hurt himself." Lily snickered.

"You do that, Lily." Remus said, shaking his head with a smile.

"Remus," she said before leaving. "I'm keeping my end of the deal, you better keep yours." Then she saw fear flash in his eyes before he spoke.

"Lily, I-"

"No 'buts,' Remus." she said firmly. "We had a deal. I'm keeping my end, and you need to keep yours." Then she waved at Joselynn, "He's all yours, dear!"

"All I'm going to say," Lily muttered in a lowered voice with a finger pointed in his face, "is I'm finishing this tonight with a grand finale. And you better finish it right, too."

---

A/N: I can't believe we're already here again! Gah, I need to go type up some more.....

And yes, for those of you who have been asking, I am writing something like a sequel. It's called "Daring Destiny," and it has not yet been posted. I'm going to finish this one first, because there are some vital things that happen in the end of this story that will lead into the next one. It's a Harry's 6th and 7th year story (Ron/Mione and Harry/Ginny), but there's many secrets and relationships that lead on into the next story..... dangit! I've said too much! Who unzipped my lips again?? Kady..... -laughs with Kady-

Oh yeah, I'd love to hear your reviews, and how excited you guys are now that we're finally here again!

-grin-