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Chapter 12

Monday nights opportunity had slipped away.

Tuesday evening he didn't even try to broach the subject.

Wednesday, Aurora had been gazing anxiously at him all night because he kept opening his mouth then snapping it shut. She had kissed his lips gently and ran her hand soothingly down his cheek as she whispered incoherently, he supposed to make him feel better. And instead of telling her then, he yanked her to him and crushed her mouth with his. Pouring all of his self doubts and emotions into the soul stealing kiss.

Which brought him to Thursday. Tonight was his last opportunity to tell her his secret. And he better do it soon because it was about the time that they headed inside.

"Ok, not to keep harassing you about it but are you sure you're ok Remus? You've been acting peculiar all week." Aurora finally said from her usual perch on the ground.

"I'm fine." He answered.

"All right. Well, I'm going to go ahead and go back to my common room. I'm a little tired." She said slowly.

"Good night." He said and helped her to her feet so he could press a tender to kiss to her sweet lips.

"Night." She managed dreamily as she turned to go. But stopped mid-step and whirled back around.

"Are you positive there is nothing you wish to talk about." She asked, grabbing his hand.

"Positive." He said and squeezed her hand before bringing it to his lips to brush a kiss across. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Being you." He said simply. "Good night."

"Bye Remus." She replied with a smile before she turned and vanished into the darkness.

"So?" James asked the second Remus climbed through the portrait hole.

"Where's Wormtail and Padfoot?" Remus asked, trying to change subjects.

"Peter is sleeping and Sirius is still out doing Merlin knows what with Avery." James said impatiently then repeated "So?"

"What?" Remus asked, dreading what was coming.

"Don't act like you don't know! What did she say when you told her?" James admonished.

"Nothing."

"See! We told you she wouldn't judge you. You just have to learn to trust people a little." James said.

"Yeah. Listen, I'm tired. I think I'll go on up to bed." Remus said without meeting James's eyes.

He slouched away feeling lower than a flobber worm. He had got to the base of the stairs when James called him on it.

"You didn't tell her did you Moony?" James said in disbelief.

Remus turned around to face his friend, tamping his temper down.

"No. I didn't tell her."

"Why? You're just making it harder. The longer you wait the worse it will be." James said for the umpteenth time.

"I know." He said working hard not snap.

"Then why don't you tell her?"

Remus sat there, debating on whether to answer or not.

"Well?" James persisted.

"BECAUSE I'M AFRAID OF LOSING HER, OK!" Remus shouted.

James looked momentarily taken aback by his normally reserved and calm friend's words but quickly recovered.

"It's just that for the first time in my life, everything seems to be going my way. My life is almost perfect. And I don't want that messed up yet." Remus said more calmly.

"I've never seen you this worked up. Over anything. She must have really gotten to you." James remarked.

"Don't make fun. You have no idea what it's like being this torn up over a girl." Remus said indignantly.

"Oh yeah? How long have I been after Evans? And she can't stand me. Thinks I'm an ass. At least you have your dream girl." James said bitterly.

"Sorry Prongs. I didn't mean anything by that."

"I know. Listen, I've seen you two together and I can almost promise you that girl isn't going anywhere. She's too far gone over you." James said as he stood and crossed the room to where Remus was standing.

"You just need to bite the bullet and get it over with." He said as he clapped Remus on the shoulder. "Night Moony."

"Night." He muttered alone in the empty common room weighing James's words.

"Aurora, wake up! You've got an owl." Came Avery's voice through a foggy haze.

Aurora rolled over sleepily and opened an eye halfway but nearly fell out of bed in surprise when she found a pair of brown ones an inch from her face.

She gasped and bolted upright while the barn owl took off nervously. She saw a piece of parchment tied to his leg and crawled out of bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She told the owl. "You frighted me."

The owl cautiously and slowly came to rest on her bed again to allow her to remove the note from his leg.

"Thanks." She said before the owl took flight again, apparently very eager to get away from her.

"Hey, I'll see you down at breakfast all right?" Avery said.

"Yeah. I'll be down in a bit."

Aurora sat down on her bed and unrolled the letter.

Dear Aurora,

I have taken ill and will be missing for a while. Don't bother coming to see me, Pomfrey says it's contagious and I'm not allowed visitors. I just wanted you to know so you wouldn't worry. Sorry.

Remus

Aurora reread the note several times and tried to fight the disappointment that was in her heart. She was rather hoping they could be alone tonight, without the distractions of homework.

She forced herself to get dressed and met Avery in the Great Hall.

"What is it?" Avery asked at the dispirited look on her friends face.

"Remus is ill." Aurora said as she flopped down onto the bench.

"Well he can't help that. Everyone gets sick. I've never seen you this gaga over anyone. You've lost it girl." Avery replied as she pushed the plate of sausages toward Aurora.

"He's different than anyone I've ever known." She answered before she took a bite.

"Come on. We'll be late for Care of Magical Creatures."

"But I've just got here." Aurora protested.

"Well then you should have got up earlier. Come on." Avery said as Aurora followed her across the grounds.

That night Aurora was beginning to feel too cooped up in her common room. She was restless and just needed to get away from the noisy students swarming by the fire.

"I'll see you later." She told Avery before she pushed aside the statue that guarded the Ravenclaw common room.

She walked aimlessly around the corridors for awhile before finding herself leaving through the heavy oak doors and heading toward her spot at the lake.

She sat down and drew her knees up to her chest as she became lost in thought.

I wish Remus was here. I really wanted to talk to him about taking our relationship to a more intimate level. It took me forever to work up the nerve to talk to him about it and now he's gone for who knows how long, she thought with exasperation.

Each time he kissed her she was set ablaze and each time it took longer and longer for her to cool off. She knew she was ready for something deeper but would he be?

Aurora was pulled from her thoughts by the soft squishing of grass and quickly flattened herself to the ground. I'm in no mood for company, she thought grimly as she squinted into the dark to see who it was.

Just as a month ago, there was no mistaking his tall outline in the moonlight. Remus followed Madam Pomfrey to the Whomping Willow again.

What in heavens name is going on? If he's so ill why is he walking out in the middle of the night, she wondered as she checked her watch, not realizing how long she had been out there. Three o'clock? Where is he going at this hour?

She watched as Pomfrey prodded a spot in the tree causing the threatening branches to stop moving and then Remus disappeared into an opening and Pomfrey made her way back to the castle.

What in the hell is going on, she thought as her brain began working frantically.

She sat for about a half an hour as wild possibilities went running through her head until more crunching grass caught her ears and she had to throw herself down to the ground again.

This sound was different than the one before. Heavier. Definitely more than one person. Come to think of it, it didn't really sound like a person at all. More like hooves really.

She squinted into the dark again and found her eyes on most peculiar sight. She closed her eyes and shook her head to clear her focus but found the same scene in front of her.

There was a great shaggy black dog, a large rat, and a huge animal that looked like either a moose or a buck. I've never seen animals act like that, she thought in amazement.

She watched as the rat ran underneath the flailing branches of the Whomping Willow to prod the knot. The limbs immediately stopped moving and the other two animals joined the rat at the base of the tree before disappearing through the same opening as Remus.

Something is definitely up, she thought firmly before pulled herself from the ground and went over to the Whomping Willow too.

Aurora picked up the same stick Madam Pomfrey had used and prodded the knot at the base. To her great amazement a hidden door swung open.

She glanced around nervously to make sure she was quite alone, pulled her wand from her pocket, lit the tip and with a resigned deep breath crawled through the hole.

We all know how I am with the cliffies...sorry :(