All characters depicted here belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the pleasure of writing this particular story.

Quidditch

Fear grew inside the castle with each passing day. Many students declared that Voldemort would not dare to take the castle so long as Dumbledore were there, but it was unclear just who they were trying to convince.

Classes had resumed the day after the attack on the other school, but there was not a lot of learning going on. There were too many distractions.

Two weeks after the attack found Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and myself back in the library. It was after dinnertime. I still only had classes on three days, but the others were skipping their lunch hours and breaks to look for something that could help. We were no closer to finding anything than we'd ever been. On top of that, Gabrielle had never been found.

Harry was reading aloud a passage from one of the many books he had spread around him when Colin and Dennis Creevey approached.

"Harry!" Dennis cried, his breath coming in gasps. "We thought we would find you in here!"

Harry broke off reading and looked up at the brothers. His eyebrows rose so high that they nearly disappeared into his hair.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Dennis appeared to be too upset to speak so Colin answered for him. The five of us held our breath, waiting for the bad news.

"Lisa Turpin's just been to see us, because she could not find either of you, and she wanted us to tell you that the Quidditch match has been rescheduled for this Saturday!"

There was a pause as we let this news sink in and allowed ourselves to relax.

"For heaven sake, Colin! You had us thinking that it was something to do with Voldemort!" Hermione exploded, shoving her hair out of her eyes angrily. "You really need to be careful with how you word things!"

Colin stared at Hermione for a moment before turning back to Harry, who still hadn't said anything. I looked at him and his face had gone quite pale.

"Didn't you hear me, Harry? You have a Quidditch match this weekend and you haven't practiced for it! None of you have even been near the pitch since before-" Colin stopped speaking, his eyes widening. Hermione glared at him but said nothing.

"I had forgotten all about the match, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed.

"What is the big deal?" Hermione snapped. "You can beat Ravenclaw blindfolded. It's not as though Quidditch is all that important in the big picture anyway."

"It would be nice to have something to take everyone's minds off things," I pointed out. Hermione frowned slightly and then nodded her reluctant agreement.

"We have to have a practice," Harry said, getting to his feet suddenly. Hermione and I looked up at him as Ginny and Ron also rose. "Gin, go book the pitch for as soon as possible. Ron, Dennis…find everyone. Tell them to get to the pitch." He turned and looked at Hermione and I. "Do you mind if we leave you two?"

"Not at all," I said, waving my hand nonchalantly, causing one of our books to fly off the table and land on the floor at Colin's feet. Colin stared at me in surprise and Madam Pince sent a dirty look in our direction. "Oops."

Hermione laughed. "You are so clumsy, Jules. I didn't even see you hit the book this time!" She waved at Harry as well. "Go and have your practice. We'll keep looking."

The others hurried out, leaving Hermione and I alone in the library. She turned to me, a stern look on her face.
"Be careful, Jules. Colin has a big mouth."

"It was an accident," I protested weakly. "I forget that my hands are lethal, though before I could wave without causing damage!"

"That's because your powers are growing, you're working at them," Hermione explained with a slight chuckle, bending down to pick up the book that I'd sent flying. "You'll learn to control that so you can wave without fear of maiming someone before too long." She handed the book to me and settled back in her chair.

"I can't believe Colin," she muttered finally. "I thought he was coming to announce that the world was ending, not that some stupid Quidditch match finally had a date."

I grinned at Hermione.

"People sure get excited about their sports," I agreed, flipping open the book that I'd tossed. I looked down and started to read, flipping pages randomly. The book opened to a page describing something called the Jelly Legs Curse. "This sounds interesting. I bet it would feel strange to be hit by it."

"What's that?" Hermione asked, looking up from her book. I showed her the page. She read the name of the Curse and frowned. "Where did this come from? It's not in the Restricted Section."

I shrugged. "I don't know. It was on the table and it was the book I sent flying."

Hermione nodded, her frown deepening. "I don't think there will be anything that can help us in that book."

"Oh." I looked back down at the book, flipping another page. "I'm just going to flip through it anyway. Maybe something will interest me."

Hermione shrugged. "Suit yourself." She looked back down at her book.

I continued to flip through the pages randomly, once in a while looking up through the window. I could not see the Quidditch pitch from the library, but as Harry and the others had not returned, I assumed they had managed to get some practice time. The sun had broken through finally and things were starting to warm rapidly. I found myself wondering if the wizarding world had anything like sunglasses. The things you think of when you're bored.

I sighed and glanced back down at my book, about to flip the page again when the name of the charm caught my eye.

The Shield Charm, it read. Used properly, this Charm will cast a temporary wall around the wizard or witch casting it. It will deflect minor curses and jinxes. Under that was the word for casting the Charm and an illustration of a wizard casting the Shield Charm. His Shield looked like a large mirrored bubble.

"What sort of curses will the Shield Charm deflect?" I asked. Hermione looked up again, her eyes slightly impatient.

"All sorts," she answered. "They don't block everything though. I think certain curses, like the Unforgivable Curses, would just go straight through them. I don't know for sure, of course, but that is what I assume. Though Harry blocked that nasty curse I got hit with in fifth year with a Shield Charm." Hermione continued to speak, but my mind started to wander, as minds tend to do when an idea is coming into them.

"Hermione, what were the crystals used for?" I interrupted. She raised her eyebrows at me. "Sorry. I know you've explained, but I want to know for sure."

"No, it's okay. We used them to strengthen our powers. The Reductor Curse is not an overly powerful Curse, but with the crystals, we were able to use a simple Reductor Curse to bring down the veil."

I could almost see the light come on in Hermione's brain. I smiled, knowing that she had caught up to my train of thought.

"Can we cast the Shield Charm through the crystals?" I asked. Hermione stood, nodding her head vigorously.

"We can. We could…I don't know how we could do it, but we could…a few of us could set up the crystals… "
I sat back, watching Hermione try to work it out. She kept talking, not finishing any of her sentences. Finally she snatched up the book and ran out of the library. Madam Pince stared after her, her eyes wide.

"She just stole a book!" she shrieked at me.

"No, I'm going to check it out," I answered quickly, standing and moving over to her. I gave her the name of the book and made to go back to clean the table up.

"Don't worry about it, girl. I will put them away. Students never put them back in the right spots."

I stared at the librarian and then nodded, grabbing our backpacks and running out of the library after Hermione.

I didn't even pause. I ran straight to Remus' classroom. There were packs of students in the hall, each of them chattering on about Hermione running past them. They immediately thought that something else had happened. I entered the class.

"-and the crystals," Hermione was exclaiming, her breath coming in gasps as she excitedly tried to explain to Remus. He was looking at her, his eyes slightly surprised.

"A Shield Charm?"

I nodded, catching up to Hermione and dropping our bags on the floor.

"It could work, Remus," Hermione cried, flipping open the book to the page and then rummaging through her backpack. I stared as she pulled out a crystal.

"Why are you carrying that around?" Remus and I both asked. Hermione shrugged.

"They might come in handy."

She set the crystal on Remus' desk and pointed her wand at it.

"Magis Protego!" she cried. The Charm burst out of her wand, but instead of covering her like the book illustrated, it shot through the crystal and branched out in several directions. Remus frowned again.

"But what will a Shield Charm do?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. Something. Anything. It's a start, right?" She started to pace, twisting her hands as she walked. "Maybe Harry could use it to cast the Charm around himself, so it will keep Avada Kedavra out. Or maybe we could get a bunch of us and cast it around Harry so that the Death Eaters can't get to him…Remus, I don't know, but it's a start!"

"Yes, Hermione, it is a start." He stood and moved to his wardrobe, pulling out a small leather bag. He dumped it on the table, revealing more crystals. He set them up on his desk. "You're saying that we get people to stand here and cast the Shield Charm around Harry and Lord Voldemort?"

Hermione nodded. "We can try that."

Remus shook his head. "There is no try, Hermione. We must do. Harry must survive and he must vanquish Voldemort. Before we challenge Voldemort, we have to be absolutely positive that the spell will work."

Hermione pushed her hands into her hair, pulling it back from her face. She exhaled sharply.

"We need to speak to Harry about it." She snatched up the book right out from under Remus' nose and ran out of the classroom.

Remus and I stared at each other a moment before turning and following Hermione from the room.

"I disagree with you, Hermione. We've only had a couple days' practice, yes, but we know our moves and our strategy. We can still win."

Hermione frowned at Harry slightly before continuing. She had to raise her voice slightly to be heard over the sound of hundreds of thundering feet.

"That's not what I meant, Harry. You are taking an enormous risk! You should just-"

"If you even think the word 'forfeit', our friendship will be effectively terminated," Ron declared. Hermione sent a filthy look in his direction before turning back to Harry.

"Harry, please reconsider. We don't know if all the Beauxbatons students are legitimate. They could be Voldemort's spies. Or Death Eaters!"

"What are they going to do, Hermione? Knock him out of the air in a stadium full of people, in plain view of everyone?" Ginny asked incredulously, her eyebrows raised.

"Ginny, that's exactly what they could do! That many people, who would see who did it?"

"You know better than that, Hermione," Sirius said, frowning at her. "We have ways of tracking spells, for one, and if somebody fired off a spell, somebody would notice."

"Oh really?" Hermione said, turning on Sirius, her eyes blazing. "Is that so? Why is it, then, that Professor Quirrell nearly had Harry off his broom in first year? Nobody noticed him muttering his hex. Nobody knew he was doing it but Snape. And I doubt that Professor Snape would be so inclined as to save Harry again!"

For the first time, I saw something close to fear in Harry's eyes. He glanced at Ron before turning to Hermione. The fear was gone.

"That's true, Hermione. It could also be somebody from Slytherin who tries to get me out of the air. I'm not afraid, Hermione. Dumbledore is here and so are all of you. Nobody is going to cast Avada Kedavra from that distance. They run the risk of hitting somebody else and going to Azkaban for life. The worst they could do is…I don't know, use the Stunning Spell, in which case, Dumbledore has caught me from falling before, so I am sure he'd do it again." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Harry caught her hands in his. "Listen to me, Hermione. I am not afraid. If I don't play, then they win. And I don't just mean Ravenclaw, I mean Voldemort and his followers. If they keep me from living my life, they win. Don't you see? I have to play."

Hermione's jaw clenched as she listened to Harry. I could see that she still disagreed with him, but she finally nodded.

"Alright, Harry. But take your wand up with you. Please."

Harry smiled at her. "I've been taking my wand up with me since the Dementors in third year. Don't worry about me, Hermione. I know that with the four of you, plus Dumbledore, in the crowd, I am perfectly safe."

He bent and gave Hermione a hug. She bit her lower lip as she hugged him back. He smiled as he let her go and turned to me.

"Your first Quidditch match. Are you excited?"

"Completely and totally excited," I answered, grinning widely. "Maybe a little scared."

"Scared?" Ron repeated. "Why?"

"Are you kidding? Flying around on a thin little broomstick a hundred feet in the air? No thank you."

Ginny laughed. "We'll get you up in the air one of these days, Jules. I promise you that."
I shook my head fervently. Harry laughed as he gave me a quick hug.

"We should get up to our seats," Remus said quietly, taking my hand. "I asked Dean and Seamus to save us four, but who knows if they will be able to."

"You go on ahead," Ron said. "Hermione will be up in a moment."

I watched as he took Hermione by the hand and led her down the hall, away from us. There was concern evident in his eyes as he bent his head low to hers.

"Come on," Sirius said, indicating we should go. "We have to let the Captains speak to the team."

Harry grinned as Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. Ginny waved at us as she opened the door and entered the locker room.

"Do you really think he'll be okay?" I asked quietly as we started up the stairs toward Dean and Seamus. Both of them were waving like mad at us.

"Of course he'll be okay," Sirius said confidently. "Harry's a good flyer and he has a good head on his shoulders. And Ron and Ginny are up there with him. If anything happens, one of them will be in the air with him, and then he's got us on the ground."

Remus gave my hand a squeeze. "Just enjoy the game, Jules. Harry will be fine."

I nodded, smiling at Dean and Seamus as we entered the row. Both of them looked at Remus and my joined hands with raised eyebrows, but neither said a word. I glanced down and it dawned on me.

Remus was holding my hand in public.

We'd just broken one of the rules set down by Dumbledore.

Remus must have realised it too because he shot me a look of horror before turning to Dean and Seamus.

"Jules is a little afraid of heights. She needed someone to hold her hand to come up here."
"Oh, okay," Dean said, nodding understandably. Seamus looked a little sceptical but said nothing.

"I have a cousin like that," Dean added. "She won't go up high even if somebody is holding her hand."
"Remus might have to hold my hand all game," I said casually. "I will be fine at times, but then I remember how high I am and I tend to…get nervous."

I heard Sirius begin to cough behind me. Dean nodded as I sat down next to him.

"If you need to, you can also hold my hand," he offered kindly. I smiled at him.

"Thank you, Dean."

"Nice save, Moony," Sirius whispered. "A little unbelievable, perhaps, but quick thinking."

Remus shook his head, running his free hand through his hair. "I can't believe we did that."

"But now we can hold hands all game," I whispered, grinning at Remus. He smiled back at me and gave my hand another squeeze.

I had just noticed Hermione running up the stairs toward us when the stadium suddenly exploded with noise. The scarlet-and-gold clad Gryffindor team had just come out on the field, closely followed by the blue-and-bronze clad Ravenclaws.

"Here come the two teams, evenly matched this year. As we all know, these teams were to meet earlier in the year, but unforeseen circumstances caused the postponement of the game."
I listened to the boy doing the commentating. I didn't know who he was, Hermione had told me his name and that he was from Hufflepuff, but I had never heard of him.

"It wasn't postponed, it was forfeited, you git!" Seamus shouted. "Because Ravenclaw are a bunch of -"

What Ravenclaw were a bunch of, we never heard. Harry had shaken the Ravenclaw captain's hand and the teams had mounted their brooms. It was so loud you could barely hear yourself think.

Hermione sat down beside Sirius and grinned over at me.

"Jules, you are stark white. Relax, they will be fine. They've been doing this for years."

I glanced at her, slightly surprised at her change of heart, and took a deep breath. I felt my heart leap into my throat as the teams pushed off from the ground.

"And they're off, Gryffindor has the Quaffle. That's Dennis Creevey flying ahead…"

I tuned the commentator out, turning to ask Remus some of the finer points of the game. He was deep in conversation with Sirius, so I turned to Dean instead. He grinned and answered each question patiently. Seamus was looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"Don't you have Quidditch in Canada?"

"Oh, yes, of course," I answered, not knowing if it was true or not. "But I never went to a game."

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"I don't know." I smiled sheepishly. "I've never had anybody drag me up the stairs to come and watch before."

Dean chuckled at that. I sat back and glanced at Remus. He grinned at me before turning back to Sirius. I noticed that both of them had their wands in their laps.

Before long, I had pulled my hand out of Remus' hand. Both of them were clenched into tight fists in my lap as I watched the quick pace of the game. Gryffindor was ahead by a score of ninety to forty and Ginny was racing back up the pitch with the Quaffle when Harry suddenly dove. Everybody in the stadium and even on the pitch stopped what they were doing to watch him.

"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, standing in her seat. "I don't see it, Sirius!"

"Neither does he, he's Feinting!" Sirius yelled back hoarsely. "Good lord that kid can fly!"

"Fainting?" I yelped, not understanding. "Is he okay?"

"He's pretending that he sees the Golden Snitch, trying to get the other team's Seeker to dive. See? She took the bait." Remus pointed to the girl on the broom that had gone into a dive just after Harry did. She was about level with him when he pulled out of the dive and soared straight back up into the air.

"She's going to get hurt!" I cried.

I was wrong. She pulled out of the dive at the last minute and soared up after Harry. I could see her shooting a glare at him. He grinned back at her.

"Lisa's a pretty good flyer too," Hermione commented, settling back into her seat. "I used to think Cho Chang could fly, but that dive would have flattened her."

Dean and Seamus nodded in agreement as the game started once more.

"Is Ron the goaltender?" I asked, watching him guard the three golden hoops.

"Basically, yes. His position is called Keeper," Remus explained, his eyes following the match. "Ginny, Dennis and Natalie are Chasers and Harry is the Seeker."

I nodded, watching as Harry soared high above the other players, his eyes searching everywhere. Even knowing nothing about Quidditch, as I did, I could tell that Harry was the best player out there. I could feel something warm snaking through my veins and I realised with some surprise that it was pride. Pride for a cousin that I barely knew. I smiled and took Remus' hand again. Dean noticed this and gave my arm a squeeze.

My hand didn't stay in Remus' for long this time either. The speed of the game intensified, turning the players into blue or red blurs. I glanced away to look at the scoreboard when a gasp sounded through the stadium. I turned back quickly, expecting to see something terrible.

"He's seen it!" Remus shouted, climbing to his feet. "Come on, Harry!"

"Teachers are supposed to be impartial!" Hermione screamed, her hands gripping Sirius' arm tight. Her face was white except for the red marks from her fingers. "GO, HARRY!"

I watched, wide eyed, as Harry flew the entire length of the pitch. His eyes were determined and his body rigid. He was flat against his broom and everybody knew that Lisa, the other team's Seeker, had no chance of catching him. She still tried, of course, but she wasn't even close to him when he held his hand in the air triumphantly.

The stadium exploded once again. Hermione turned and hugged everyone she could while screaming like a lunatic. In the air, the Gryffindor team had all converged on Harry, nearly pulling him off his broom. They sank to the floor of the pitch as one ecstatic group.

"Come on!" Sirius hollered, inclining his head. "Let's go down there."

Remus grabbed my hand again, pulling me toward the stairs. We rushed down to the field, Dean and Seamus on our heels. I glanced back at the scoreboard. The final score was Gryffindor 280 points to Ravenclaw's 130.

"See, Hermione?" Harry bellowed as we came closer. "I told you I would be okay."
Hermione said nothing, merely raced up to him and threw her arms around him. He glanced down at her, surprised. She pulled away from him and went to hug both Ron and Ginny.

"Amazing game," Sirius said softly, gripping Harry's shoulder. "James couldn't have flown better."

Harry smiled at Sirius but said nothing. He turned to me.

"So, Miss Jules, did you enjoy your first Quidditch match?"

"Oh, Harry, it was so incredible!" I replied, my face breaking into an enormous smile. I couldn't help myself, I threw my arms around Harry as well. "I will never forget it."

Since Hermione and I had found the Shield Charm in the book a couple days before, neither of us had been able to tell Harry about it. It had seemed that the three of them ate, slept and talked of nothing but Quidditch, which was understandable. Hermione and I planned to pull him aside after the game and show him what we'd come up with.

Neither of us had bargained for the party being thrown in the Gryffindor common room.

"I can't believe I forgot there would be a party," Hermione said with a sigh, shaking her head. "There's always a party, even if we lose."

I smiled. "There's always tomorrow. It's Sunday, so we have all day."

Hermione nodded. "I'm not really in the mood for a party. I think I will go up to the dormitory and study for NEWTs."

"Okay," I answered. "I might stay down here."
Hermione grinned at me. "You could go and visit a certain someone, you know. Nobody would notice you missing, there's too much craziness in here right now."

I glanced around and leaned toward Hermione. "You read my mind," I whispered. "That's where I'm going."
Hermione chuckled and bade me goodnight. I sat back in my chair and watched the party for a while. Both Ron and Ginny had disappeared just after the game. Harry was surrounded by just about every student in Gryffindor house.

Not long after Hermione went to bed, Ron and Ginny came pouring in through the portrait hole, laden with bags of butterbeer and candy and all sorts of snacks. People started cheering as Ron tossed several Chocolate Frogs to people. Ginny made her way over to me, setting her bags on a table as she passed.

"Why are you sitting over here?" she asked, sitting in Hermione's vacant chair. "Where is Hermione?"
"Gone to the dormitory to study," I answered. Ginny shook her head. "I'm going to go visit Remus, I think."
Ginny grinned mischievously but said nothing. I got to my feet, slowly making my way to the portrait hole. Nobody noticed me.

I sighed as I closed the portrait behind me. I wasn't really doing anything wrong as it was before curfew, but I still felt like I was somehow breaking the rules. Maybe it was because I knew I shouldn't be going to visit Remus.

I turned a corner and ran headlong into Professor Snape. He hit me so hard that I stumbled and very nearly fell. I was quite surprised when I felt his hand around my arm, pulling me back to my feet.

"Er, thanks," I muttered, stepping to the side. "Sorry about that."

"Where are you going?" he asked me, standing in front of me.

"Um, to see Professor Lupin or Professor Black. I have a question that I need answered."

Snape's eyes narrowed slightly. "Anything I can help with?"
I stared at him, unsure of what was going on. This was not the Snape that I knew.

"No. No thank you." I stepped around him again and again he stepped in front of me.

"Are you sure? Both Black and Lupin are incompetent fools."

I frowned at Snape and tried to step around him once more. Again he blocked me.

"Let me pass, please," I said angrily. "Thank you for your offer, but I would really rather ask one of them."

Snape's eyes narrowed again and he grabbed my shoulders, lowering his face to mine. I gasped and tried to break free of his grip.

"What are you doing?" I cried, struggling against his hold.

"Calm down, you silly girl. I am not going to hurt you." He bared his yellow teeth at me. "I know what you are."

I stopped struggling and stared up at him. "What?"

"I know what you are."
I scoffed. "Do you? Well, that's great. I know what you are as well. Let go of me!"

Snape sneered again, his fingers biting into my shoulders. I could feel tears welling in my eyes from the pain.

"I said let me go!" I screamed, bringing my hands up and pushing against his chest. I don't know how I did it, because I hadn't said anything, but I could feel heat blaze through my hands. Snape let out a yelp and let me go, staggering backwards. I stared at him and he stared back. A triumphant look came into his eyes.

"I knew it."

I swallowed and turned on my heel, breaking into a run in the opposite direction. I didn't know what he knew about me, but I didn't think it would be good.

I found myself approaching the door to Remus' classroom from the other direction. I couldn't see Snape anywhere, so I flung the door open quickly.

Sirius and Remus both looked up in surprise. Both were holding quills and appeared to be grading a stack of parchment. Remus' eyebrows furrowed and he was on his feet in a heartbeat.

"What's wrong?" he demanded, coming toward me. He sealed the door behind me and quickly pulled me into his arms. "Julianne, what happened?"

I shook my head, trying to catch my breath. Sirius pulled out a chair for me and went to fetch a glass of water.

"Snape," I breathed, drinking the water gratefully and sinking down in the chair. "He grabbed me and wouldn't let me go."

I looked up at them both and saw the steely look in Remus' eyes and absolute loathing in Sirius'.

"What did he say?" Remus spat angrily.

"He said that he knows what I am." I took another drink. "I told him that I know what he is too."

Remus and Sirius looked at each other in surprise.

"How would he know?" Sirius asked. "What else did he say?"

I bit my lip. "He was hurting me and I went to push him away…and my hands…"
"Shocked him," Remus supplied. I nodded. "Damn it."

"When that happened, he got this look in his eyes and he said 'I knew it'. Remus, he knows who I am."

Remus shook his head. "No. He knows what you are. All he knows is that you can do wandless magic."

"Isn't that enough?" I demanded, folding my hands together. "Doesn't that give away who I am?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, not at all."

I rubbed my shoulder gently where Snape's fingers had bitten into it. Remus frowned again and gently pulled my robe to the side. He let out an expletive and sighed.

"No wonder he was hurting you. You have finger marks on your shoulders."

I turned my head to try to see. All I saw was that my shoulders were very red.

Sirius' jaw clenched angrily. He stood and went into the office. Remus pulled a chair up beside me and pulled me into his lap.

"It's okay, Jules. We'll find out his intentions."

"He scared me, Remus. I don't trust him one bit."

Remus nodded, his forehead on my shoulder and his arms wrapped around my middle.

"I understand, and I don't really trust him either. Dumbledore does and we have to trust Dumbledore."

I gritted my teeth, leaning my head on Remus' shoulder. "Couldn't Dumbledore be wrong?" I whispered. Remus sighed, his breath tickling my ear.

"I sure hope not, Jules."

"Here," Sirius said softly, handing me a washcloth. "I put a slight Freezing Charm on it, so it should get rid of those red marks and any soreness."

"Thank you, Sirius," I said as Remus took the cloth and pressed it to left shoulder, which was a bit redder than the other. Sirius nodded and started gathering up his parchment.

"Where are you going, Padfoot?" Remus asked, not looking up from my shoulder. Sirius smiled sheepishly.

"Thought I'd go say hello to Fang. He hasn't had much company lately. I can finish marking the homework there."

Remus looked up at Sirius, his eyes narrowed shrewdly. Sirius grinned again.

"Okay, so maybe I'm letting you two be alone. It's been a while since you've been able to just be with each other."

I felt my face heat up at what Sirius was implying. Sirius left the room without another word, sealing the door behind him.

"Well…that was unexpected," Remus said softly, his lips brushing over my shoulder. I nodded.

"Completely," I agreed as Remus moved the washcloth to my other shoulder.

"I can't believe how red your shoulders are."
"I'm going to have bruises tomorrow," I added, tilting my head to the side as Remus nibbled my earlobe.

He sighed softly, his hands sliding down my arms and closing around mine. I smiled up at him as he started to walk backwards toward his office.

Sorry again about the length of time to update. Hockey is over now (my team lost), so hopefully I'll be able to spend more time on this. Thanks again for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

PS. For those of you who haven't read Harry Potter and the Looking Glass…this is KIND OF a sequel to it (in that events that happened in it have also happened in this story), so if you haven't read it, I do suggest doing so. The crystals will make more sense if you do.