A/N: Yeah, I know it's been a long time since an update. Oops. But I'm hoping to continually update before HP&HBP comes out. I have been hesitating about posting this chapter because, well, it's the first time that this fic lives up to it's R (or M, I guess) rating (in my opinion, anyway). So let me know what you think. I feel like I'm crossing the line here. If you want to be notified of updates, you need to join the Yahoo! Group called lastgoodnight at http / groups. yahoo. com / lastgoodnight / join. Just take out the spaces, or search for lastgoodnight group.

CHAPTER FOURTY-TWO

A Wintry Moon

After he set up a time to meet Michael and Marietta with Cho, Harry took off and sprinted downstairs to the portrait of the fruit that led to kitchen below Hogwarts. Dumbledore had instructed him to sneak to the kitchens and he would meet them down there.

Harry had forgotten all about paying a visit to Dobby when he couldn't sleep. When he first got down to the kitchen, the house-elves were busy cleaning up from that night's dinner.

"Sir!" a nearby house-elf squeaked. "What can we do for you sir?"

"Er… I'm looking for…" Harry replied.

"Harry Potter! Harry Potter, sir!" Harry recognized the familiar squeak of Dobby the house-elf. He came running towards Harry, skidding to a halt on the smooth floor due to the over-sized socks on his feet. He was also wearing a plaid vest trimmed with golden thread. "Dobby thinks Harry Potter forgot all about his friend!"

"Of course not, Dobby," Harry replied. "Er, I brought you a gift." He pulled a scarf out of the bag that he had used for the restraining charm. Dumbledore had told him to bring his invisibility cloak to meet him also, so it was well-hidden inside the bag. The scarf, however, was one of his best, but he knew Dobby would put it to good use.

Big tears formed in Dobby's eyes. He blinked, and one splashed at his feet. "Beautiful, Harry Potter sir!" he squeaked. "Dobby is not worthy of such a beautiful hat!" He immediately took the scarf and tied it around his ears. "Would you like some tea, Harry Potter, sir?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I don't really have time to talk tonight. I'm looking for Professor Dumbledore."

There were gasps from the other house-elves. They all stopped what they were doing and stared at Harry. Dobby spoke quickly. "Surely you is mistaken, sir. Surely. The headmaster is busy tonight sir. He is not here."

"But I know he's here," Harry replied. "I'm supposed to meet with Professor Dumbledore."

"Harry Potter should not be here, sir. Dumbledore is dealing with danger tonight. Very dangerous, much too dangerous for Harry Potter to be involved in. No sir, you is not allowed to see him."

"Danger?" Harry questioned. What was going on? Were Remus and Eva in danger?

Suddenly, Dumbledore stepped into the kitchen. From where, Harry didn't know. "It's all right, Dobby. Harry will be here for the meal." He disappeared back into the shadows of the kitchen.

Dobby's eyes widened and he bowed his head. "Dobby is sorry, Dumbledore, sir." He glanced at Harry fearfully. "Please, follow Dobby, Harry Potter, sir."

The house-elves were still quiet and eyed Harry suspiciously as he followed Dobby deeper into the depths of the kitchen. Dobby snapped his fingers and a panel of the wall disappeared into the thin air. When Harry peered inside, he saw a small, circular wooden table set with china. There were two places set, and a platter of sandwiches on the table.

"Dobby, what is this?" Harry questioned. "What danger are you talking about?"

"Danger is coming for dinner, sir." Dobby wrung his ears nervously. "Great danger for wizards." When Harry still looked confused, Dobby beckoned him to bend down so he could whisper in his ear. "Werewolves is coming for dinner, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby begs you to be careful."

Harry wasn't sure whether to thank Dobby for his concern or be offended by his assumption that werewolves were so evil. Sure, they were dangerous to humans when they were actually wolves—and that wasn't until tomorrow night. But before he could respond, Dobby squeaked, which sounded more like a shriek, and scampered outside of the room.

"Be careful, Harry Potter, sir. Now there is two of them." He gave a low bow and disappeared.

"I thought you two might like to have a bite to eat together," Dumbledore explained, "to catch up."

Dumbledore reached the doorway, then gestured for the person behind him to enter. It was Eva. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Harry!" she cried. She ran over to him and threw her arms around him. "What are you doing here? How did you know…?"

He squeezed her tightly and took her in. The smell of her hair, the feeling of her arms wrapped around him. He closed his eyes and kissed her on the top of her head. "Dumbledore said that we could spend time together until your, er, transformation."

When she pulled away from him, she was smiling, but she looked different. Wild. Her hair seemed longer than usual, and her blue eyes looked stormy. "I'm so happy to see you," she said quietly.

"Me too." He was about to pull her close to him again, but then he heard someone clear their throat from the doorway. It was Remus. Harry blushed, and quickly went over and gave Remus a hug. "How are you Remus?"

"Just fine," he replied, smiling. He turned to Dumbledore. "I think we ought to leave them to it, don't you?" Dumbledore nodded.

"But isn't this for you and Eva?" Harry questioned.

Remus shook his head. "No, it's for the two of you. I've got someplace else to be. In fact," he said, unbuttoning the top of his coat and pulling out the chain he kept his Moon Guide on, "I don't think I'll be needing this anymore." He stepped forward and slipped the chain around Eva's neck. "You keep it." He winked at Harry.

Confused, Eva thanked him for the beautiful jewelry. Dumbledore grinned at Harry. "After the two of you are finished, you are free to roam, as long as you remain hidden." Harry nodded. So that was why Dumbledore had him bring his cloak. "Whenever you're ready to turn in for the night, you can come back down to the kitchen and the house-elves will make suitable arrangements for you."

"Thank you, professor," Harry said.

"Behave," Remus warned.

The two of them turned around and left the room. Harry couldn't believe that this was for real. He turned to Eva and immediately grabbed her and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him, so that he could feel every bit of her pressing into him as his mouth searched hers.

They separated breathlessly. Harry couldn't stop smiling. He wanted nothing more than to pick her up, bring her to his bed, and promise her that he wouldn't leave her again. He hadn't forgotten his private oath to tell her how strong his feelings were for her.

But as she backed away from him, she nearly collapsed in the chair at the tiny table. Harry quickly strode over to her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded and smiled. "Just a little overwhelmed. I can't believe you're here."

However, Harry could see that she wasn't exactly herself. He'd forgotten that Remus was usually quite ill for the transformations, perhaps more after than before. But it did seem to take a while for Eva to catch her breath. Concerned, he lifted his hand to her cheek. "How do you feel?"

She batted it away. "I'm fine." Harry watched her skeptically. "I'm nervous. I don't know how to explain it. I'm tired, but I'm anxious. It's like… my body knows something is coming."

Harry took the seat opposite her and put a sandwich on her plate. "You should eat something."

"Not you too!" she whined. "Mrs. Weasley says the same thing. I'm not hungry, damn it!"

He saw her temper, so he knew that even though she was a little out of sorts, she was still all right. "Or we could skip dinner and go to desert."

Eva raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

Actually, Harry didn't have anything planned. What could they do? Where could they go? It was already past curfew. All of the other students were in bed, which was good, because they wouldn't be spotted easily—especially with the help of the invisibility cloak. "Want to see Gryffindor Tower?"

She nodded. "I'd love to."

Love. Harry needed to tell her. If he didn't tonight, he never would.

Eva stood up from her seat. "How are we going to sneak around?"

"With my invisibility cloak." He picked up his bag near the doorway and held out his hand to her. She grinned and took it.

When they turned the corner, Dobby was standing near the door, wringing the scarf that Harry had just given him in his hands. He jumped. "Harry Potter, is you okay?" He glanced fearfully at Eva.

Eva stared at the creature before her. She bent down so she was on eye-level with him and put her hand out, almost as if to pet him. "Wow… a house-elf!" she cried. Harry laughed. At least she knew what one was. "With clothes! Amazing! A free house-elf!"

Dobby recoiled from her hand. "Harry Potter is who freed me, miss. He freed me from a terrible master, miss, and I is forever in debt to him."

"No, you're not," Harry replied. "Eva, this is Dobby. My friend, Dobby." Dobby's eyes gleamed with happiness. "Dobby, this is my girlfriend, Eva."

Dobby looked ashamed. "Oh dear, Dobby is sorry, sir. If Dobby had known…"

"That's all right," Harry interrupted. "Listen, Dobby, about her sleeping arrangements…"

"They will be ready in moments, Harry Potter sir, Miss Eva," he interrupted, bowing low to both of them.

"No, wait," Harry said. He glanced at Eva. He wanted to spend all of the night with her, not just a few hours. "Would it be all right if she didn't come back tonight?" He paused. He didn't know if he would be able to get away with it. He glanced at Eva, whose eyes lit up at the idea. "Is it okay if she spends the night with me?"

Dobby adjusted the scarf Harry had given him around his head, hesitating. Harry hadn't meant to give his best scarf as a bribe, but if Dobby allowed them to steal the night for themselves, Harry knew he was getting the better end of the bargain. "Certainly, sir," Dobby chirped. "Eva, miss, you will need to be down here by noon for when Professor Snape comes."

Eva nodded and grinned at Harry. They were going to get away with it. Harry didn't know how he was going to pull it off, but Eva was going to spend the night with him. "Thanks, Dobby," Harry replied. Afraid the house-elf would reconsider, he quickly grabbed Eva's hand and led her up the stairs.

"I… I hope you don't mind," Harry stammered. Perhaps spending the night was too much of a suggestion. "I thought you wouldn't mind sleeping with me." No, wait, that didn't come out right. Harry didn't think she was ready for that. Hell, he didn't know if he was ready for that. "Not sleeping with me! I mean… "

Eva squeezed his hand and smiled. "I know what you mean."

Before they reached the first floor, Harry took the invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map out of his bag. "What's that?" Eva questioned, pointing to the piece of parchment.

"A map," Harry replied. "It shows who is wandering around Hogwarts."

Harry could tell that she was impressed as he pulled the cloak over Eva's head. He, too, disappeared underneath it. Magically, it covered both of them from head to toe. "Stay close to me," Harry said. He let go of Eva's hand and carefully walked up the stairs.

The halls of Hogwarts were nearly deserted, except for Filch, who was pacing up and down the second floor corridor. They made it to Gryffindor Tower without difficulty. Harry made sure it was empty before uncloaking both himself and Eva.

"Wow…" she breathed. "This is amazing."

Harry nodded and put the Marauder's Map and invisibility cloak into his bag. He watched as she studied each darkened corner of the room. The main fireplace was still lit, but the lanterns that hung on the walls had been snuffed out long ago. "I wish I could give the grand tour, but I don't want to light up the place and wake anyone up."

"I just can't believe I'm here," Eva replied. "I really thought I wasn't going to see you until spring. I guess being a werewolf can have its perks." She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Harry sat down on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Eva plopped down next to him. "Are you afraid?"

Her grin disappeared. "Aye, it'd be a lie if I said I wasn't. But it's inevitable. There's nothing I can do to stop it. It's like death." She shivered. "But it's only one night."

"You'll be okay." He didn't know if he was saying it to reassure her or himself. Harry leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. It was so hard for him to keep his hands off her. When she was this close to him—so close he swore he could hear heartbeat—he wanted to touch her and kiss her constantly.

She stretched out on the sofa, laying her head in Harry's lap, facing the fireplace. She sighed as he pulled her hair away from her face and began playing with the curls. He didn't know he could be so content, or that being so close to someone could be so easy. Eva made it easy for him. So easy that the words slipped out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them.

"I love you."

Harry was glad that it was dark because he knew that he was blushing something terrible. A small smile played upon Eva's sleepy lips. "I love you too, Harry."

He didn't know how long he watched Eva sleep in his lap, but the fire in the fireplace had disappeared and only the coals were smoldering orange. Suddenly, Eva sat up, as if she'd just been startled. "Sorry, I must have fallen asleep."

"It's all right," Harry replied, yawning. He got up from the couch and stretched his legs. "We'd better… er… go up to my dormitory."

"Are girls allowed up there? Nora told me that Dennis Creevey tried to get into the girls' dorm and the stairs turned into a slide or something."

Harry laughed. "Same thing happened to Ron. But I think it's only the girls' stairs. Hermione has been in our dormitory loads of times. Not with me," he added quickly.

"Oh…okay," she replied. This time, Harry saw that she was blushing.

"You'd better put the cloak back on, in case anyone wakes up. Just stay close to me and no one will see you. I'll close the curtains around my bed, and you can go inside and, er, get comfortable to go… go to bed." He cleared his throat. "I'll change outside and put a silencing charm on the curtains, so that when they're closed we can… talk and no one will hear us."

Eva gave a nervous laugh. "You've thought of everything, haven't you?"

Harry merely grinned and took the invisibility cloak out of his bag and draped it around her shoulders. He quietly walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitory with Eva at his heels. When he opened the door, the room was pitch black, and all that could be heard was the sound of Neville's snoring.

Eva latched onto his arm as he directed her to his bed. He quickly closed the curtains on both sides. She took off the invisibility cloak and handed it to Harry, who quickly hid it inside his trunk. Eva disappeared beneath the canopy over his bed.

Harry's heart was beating so hard in his chest he was surprised that it didn't wake anyone up. What was Eva expecting? What was he supposed to wear? Normally, he would just wear his boxer shorts to bed. But should he wear a shirt? Would she think that now he told her he loved her, he was expecting to get in her pants because he was just wearing boxer shorts?

This is Eva, he reminded himself. It didn't matter what he wore. He was being too self-conscious. He quickly undressed and decided on a clean pair of boxer shorts. He took off his watch, the Timepiece wristband, and his glasses and sent them on the nightstand. He muttered the incantation for the silencing charm on the curtains and put his wand in his nightstand drawer. He took a deep breath and slipped between the curtains.

Harry's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw her in his bed. Her jeans were folded neatly at the foot, and she was just wearing a t-shirt. And he tried to pretend he didn't notice that she had removed her bra as well. "I don't really have anything to change into to sleep in," she whispered.

"You look just fine," Harry breathed. "Beautiful."

Eva blushed. "You look different without your glasses."

Harry pulled the blankets away from the head of the bed. "I know," he said quickly. "I look better without them. There's this spell that can correct my vision, but it's kind of risky and I haven't really looked into it. But someday I might…"

"I like your glasses," Eva interrupted. She grinned. She had just realized that Harry was as nervous as she was.

Harry smiled back foolishly and slipped underneath the covers. Eva crawled from the foot of the bed and slid underneath with him. The Moon Guide was still dangling around her neck. She curled up next to him, so that her head was on top of his chest and one hand was draped over his torso. Her hair tickled his skin and her warmth made his breath quicken. She looked up at him. "Did you really mean it?"

"Mean what?" Harry questioned, reaching down to rub her back.

"That you love me."

She looked away form him as she said it, almost as though she didn't believe it. He cupped her chin with his free hand and turned her head towards his, making her look into his eyes.

"Of course I did. I do." Didn't she believe him? "I love you, Eva."

She couldn't hide her smile. Suddenly, she pulled herself up, straddled Harry's waist, and leaned over, kissing him roughly on the mouth. "I love you, too."

Caught in the heat of the moment, Harry reached up and seized the back of her head and pulled her into him. He could feel her chest against his own, breathing heavily. Her legs intertwined with his and her hands gripped the sheets beneath them, trying to steady her position. Harry kissed her forcefully as his hands wandered from her hair down to her back, and slipped between their two bodies. He cupped her breasts through her shirt, and she moaned inside his mouth, and then pulled back for air. Harry quickly lifted his head and began kissing her again, his mouth searching hers. His hands found the hem of her t-shirt and he pulled it upward, exposing the bare skin of her belly and beyond.

She covered his hands with her own, and he quickly slipped his hands beneath her shirt, trying to pull it upwards. Then he realized that she was trying to pull it down. She pulled away from him and sat on his torso, still straddling him.

"What… what is it?" Harry questioned, out of breath. Eva had one hand over her chest, and the other positioned over her stomach. She looked frightened.

"Nothing," she answered, a little too quickly, and leaned over to kiss him again, but she was still covering herself.

"Wait. What's the matter?" Harry sat up, and Eva shifted her weight so that now she was sitting in his lap instead of on top of him. He reached forward and pulled at the bottom of her shirt, not because he wanted to see what was underneath, but because he thought there was something wrong.

"No! Don't, Harry." She moved both hands on either side of her hips.

"I… I don't understand," Harry replied. "What is it?" He continued trying to lift her shirt.

"Don't look!" Eva cried suddenly. She gave up her fight as Harry pulled the shirt over her head. Her hair fell across her bare shoulders as she tried desperately to cover something on the right side of her body.

"Don't look at what?" Harry began. Her naked body was beautiful and entirely distracting. Even in the darkness he could see the curves of her breasts as they swayed slightly from all of the heat between them. But then he saw what was bothering her. She couldn't hide it. There was a long scar that stretched from the base of her neck all the way down the side of her body until it was level with her belly button. "Oh Eva…"

She grabbed her t-shirt and draped it across her bare chest like a towel. "There's no magic strong enough to hide the scar a werewolf bite," she whispered bitterly. She was embarrassed—ashamed.

Harry threw the t-shirt to the foot of the bed and leaned over so that his face was directly in front of her. "Do you think that matters to me?" He put his hand up to his forehead and pulled his hair back to reveal his lightning bolt scar.

Eva smiled meekly. "I… I guess not…"

He licked his lips and began at the top of the scar in the nape of her neck and kissed it, trailing all the way down the side of her body. Eva trembled. Harry pushed her so that she was lying on her back with her head at the foot of the bed and continued to kiss her until he reached her belly. Then he pulled himself up to her lips and kissed her. "You're beautiful."

She gasped as he trailed kisses down from her lips, to the nape of her neck, and then to her breast, as he tugged playfully at her nipple with one hand and took the other in his mouth. He let go and slipped one hand into the waistband of her undergarment and pulled it down to her knees, while still playfully kissing her breast. With his free hand, he steadied himself, and then parted Eva's thighs with the other. She moaned his name and arched her back, and Harry could feel her heat on his fingers.

God, he loved her.

A/N: Did they have sex? No. Not yet. And I suppose that this last scene should have been awkward, given how Harry is... er, so viriginal. But let's just say he was following his primal instincts.