A/N: This chapter is sort of...bland, for lack of a better word (well, technically I can think of several different words but)... Anyway, this chapter is important to the whole timbre or quality of the story, so deal with me.

Chapter Six: Live Like You Were Dying

Remus
He awoke to the sun beating down on him relentlessly amidst the worried whispers of his friends whom, upon opening his eyes, gave him playful punches and nudges in the ribs. "We having a party?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes while attempting to sit up, and not possessing enough strength for the aforesaid task let gravity do the rest, as he flopped carelessly down onto his bed, much to the consternation of James, who was under the impression that Remus had fainted.

"Do you remember anything about last night?" Sirius prodded gently, not wishing to evoke another mental row within the confines of Remus's mind.

The previous night's events flooded Remus's mind. He put his head in his hands. "Oh God, what a night, huh?"

"Too many Butterbeers Remus? Or perhaps you are hiding something stronger?" Sirius inquired in his most proper tone, the traces of a smirk just barely outlining his features as merriment twinkled in his eyes.

Remus dismissed Sirius with a wave of his hand. "Oh shut up Padfoot! Rummage about if that is what you so desire."

Sirius's face registered that of shock. "Remus...RUM? Rum is about?" Sirius's expression abruptly transformed into that of noncommital nonchalance. "So,...we're all friends here, you can tell us where you've hidden the ru--OW!" Sirius whined, and then hung his head like a chastised child, muttering something that sounded very much along the lines of revenge, for James had dealt him a piercing blow to the shins.

"Do you care to talk about it?" James pondered gently, treating Remus like a delicate figurine in a China shop; one false move and he'd shatter.

Remus looked into his friend's eager eyes and he felt compelled to tell them, so with a mighty sigh, he launched into the almost vividly surreal dream. When he finished retelling his nightmare, he had drawn all the blankets up around himself, and began to shiver uncontrollably.

"You don't understand," Remus concluded softly, "it was the whole...mannerism of the nightmare that affected me...just the air of foreboding affected me, almost suffocatingly so. It was more of a vision than of a dream and that truly demoralized me..." He paused while he let his nightmare and commentary sink in. Then after several minutes of stunned silence, Remus gathered up his clothing from out of his trunk at the foot of his bed and walked to the boy's lavatory. "If you think of something to help my now-ruined mental sanity," Remus called over his shoulder just before turning the water to the shower on, "don't hesitate to inform me!"

Mina
She had been standing there for the better part of an hour, and with a quick glance at her watch, proceeded slowly back to the castle. Some part of her wished she could shake this depressing air that befell her person, but some other little (if somewhat more masochistic) part of her wished that she could cling to the depression as a tribute to her mother. She stopped cold in the snow and wondered as to how warped and morbid her mind had become as of late: Mina barely realized she was referring to her mother as if she had already moved on and now chose to affiliate her mother with past tense verbs and other such rubbish. She realized that her own mother would scold her severely if she knew Mina spent nearly every other second worrying about her. Back when her mother was healthy, Charlene would always jest with her daughter to lighten up and start chasing boys, to which Mina would scoff at politely while winking at her, assuring her that she had more than enough time. Now, what did she have to lose by living life like she was dying and by treating each day like it was to be her last?

Mina got a nice shock to find herself facing the two grand double doors that gave one entrance to the Great Hall. She had barely noticed where her feet were carrying her. As she opened the doors, she immediately found Nicki and Marcia by her side, as they had explained that they were about to go find her, and what was she thinking by getting them so worked up? Smiling broadly with tears brimming in her eyes, Mina sat down in her usual seat at the Hufflepuff dining table, once again and blinking back the tears of joie de vivre, engaged in animated pleasantry about the merits of satin versus velveteen.

Remus
He was exceptionally apprehensive about meeting Mina after he had had the nightmare, but he decided not to mention it. She probably had enough on her mind, and to be worried by his frivolous little nightmares would just add unwanted and undue stress upon her life, so he sat there on an impossibly massive boulder patiently awaiting her arrival by the lakeside.

Mina
She bade her Hufflepuff friends farewell for that day, as she planned to spend what was rest of the morning and the afternoon outside in the bracing winds and crisply refreshing draughts of air the castle grounds provided. She smiled to herself, pondering whether or not to announce to the world the location of the fountain of youth, as she knew that if a few spartan minutes were to do wonders such as this to her, by the end of the day the fountain of youth should be a stone's throw away.

And it was during this train of thought that she happened to be walking blithely to the lakeside, planning to think not of her mother, but of a certain boy that had preoccupied her mind greatly as of late, when she saw him. He was sitting on what looked like a miniature mountain, seemingly engrossed in thought, as the sun struck him just so. Her features softened. Poor Remus,...what with his arrogant friends and frequent illnesses... She had slowly approached him from the side and lightly tapped him on the shoulder, when he turned around to face her.

Remus
"Oh Mina!" he exclaimed, not at all startled by her presence. He made room for her on the boulder, though not very much, in the hopes that she would move closer, and to his great delight, she did. In fact, he acutely noticed that their legs were touching; he almost sighed in raptured bliss but realized to do this in front of Mina might not be what one would dub 'a smart move', so instead he cleared his throat, careful to make sure it didn't undergo any bizarre changes in pitch before he plowed ahead.

"So," he asked with blatant nonchalance, "come here often?"

He felt his heart melt when she laughed that entrancing laugh of hers. She glanced over at him, which caused his heart to beat irregularly, a sensation not entirely dissimilar to missing a step on a staircase. She turned her body slightly to face him and Remus's heart began to beat with more and more resonance. He made a courageous move and brought his hand to rest lightly upon hers, but after several death defying and heart stopping moments (or so Remus thought) he gently raised their hands and entwined his fingers with hers.

Mina
She was a bit confounded. She had never known Remus to act in such a manner, but she was thoroughly enjoying it, and after a few more tension filled moments, she squeezed his hand reassuringly.

Shortly afterwards she bravely ventured, "Fancy a walk?"

Remus, still holding her hand, looked at her in a disbelieving sort of way and quickly voiced his exuberant approval. He reluctantly let go of her hand and began hopping off the rock, but before Mina could follow suit he was already on the ground, offering her his hand to help her off her high perch. Mina thought the gesture romanic and found herself blushing as she took Remus's outstretched hand. Her hand tingled as it touched Remus's and she briefly wondered if he too felt the ever-constant buzzing tension between them. They began walking in the direction of the Quidditch stadium, a distant destination in the mid-morning sky.