Author's Note: Ok, so I lied. This chapter came outta nowhere and now when I plot it all out, there are actually a couple chapters 'till Christmas…. Sorry! But hopefully this chapter will make up for it.

Also, since I can't seem to figure out how to answer you guys individually, I would like to thank you all for your comments!

Tigerlilyz- Thanks for informing about the full moon situation…I did do a bit of research according to HP timelines and real life moon chart thingys and found that it was a full moon on Dec 28th that year, so I'm safe. Whew! Thanks tho!

Disclaimer: Again…don't own Harry Potter. Never have and never will.

Now then, on to the story….

There was snow everywhere as Sara bundled up to stroll across the grounds. The sky, the ground; everything was white. Her breath came out in a frosty cloud and as she shivered and drew her arms around herself for warmth, she cursed herself for coming out here in the first place, but she needed to think. Her 'feelings' for Lupin were getting stronger. She knew that much. How could she have possibly thought for even a moment that Lupin would offer to spend the holidays with her? 'He's a teacher. I'm a student. Get a grip Sara. You're turning into to Callie!' she berated herself. The lake was frozen and she had the oddest urge to go ice-skating as she past it. She hadn't done that since she was little. Feeling oddly reckless, something she rarely ever was, Sara placed one foot on the frozen lake. When the ice didn't crack, her other foot followed. Laughing, she ran and slid along the ice, the cold wind at her face and for a moment she forgot all her worries; her family, her future career, Lupin, Callie…all her troubles were gone as she ran and slid, spun and twirled, laughing and forgetting the world around her.

He had seen her walking the grounds from the window in his quarters. Swearing softly, knowing she shouldn't be out there with Black on the loose, Lupin shrugged on his coat and hurried after her. He had just stepped out into the cold and blustering winds when he saw her, at a distance, step onto the frozen lake. Lupin picked up his pace, knowing that the center of the lake might not have frozen hard enough to hold her weight.

"Dammit!" he swore under his breath as he picked up the pace, hoping to get there and get her off the ice in case it gave way. As he neared, he heard her laughing. He froze for a moment to watch her. Her face was flushed and she looked genuinely happy as she slid across the ice. It was only as she neared the middle that Lupin was jolted back to reality. "Sara!" he called out loudly as he reached the edge. She seemed to snap back to reality too, but nothing could lessen the good mood she was in.

"Professor!" she called back happily, "What are you doing out here? You should come join me! I haven't had this much fun in years…" she stopped suddenly as a loud cracking sound originated from right below her. Her head shot up, her own wide eyes meeting his as he took a step forward.

"Sara, get off the ice!" Lupin shouted, but it was too late. One moment she was standing there, the next, she was gone.

The icy water engulfed her, dark blue was everywhere and as she struggled to reach the surface, she saw the sunlight shining through the ice. As much as her legs kicked, hoping to propel her upwards, she seemed to sink deeper into the cold underwater world. She couldn't breath and her arms flailed around her. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. She was getting deeper, the blue was turning to black. Her lungs stung and her brain begged for oxygen. She felt dizzy and suddenly everything went black.

"Sara! SARA!" she could hear her name being called, but it seemed as though the person was miles away. "Sara! Come on, sweetheart, wake up!" she felt warm lips on hers and frantic compressions on her chest. The warm lips returned and then enough force on her chest to send her gasping, water spilling out of her mouth as she coughed and sputtered. She felt an arm slide around her back to help her sit up and she saw Lupin's face inches away. He was soaking wet, his hair hanging down in front of one eye and his wet robes hanging limply around him. It was only then, when the violent shivering started, that she realized that she too, was soaked to the bone. Her mind was still fuzzy and as Lupin placed a hand on her cheek, making her meet his eyes, did she fully comprehend what had happened.

"Are you alright?!" Lupin asked and she nodded blankly. "I got to get you to the hospital wing," he said, sliding his other arm under her knees and lifting her effortlessly. Her mind was working slowly and all she could think was that she was in his arms. They were halfway across the grounds when her brain caught up.

"NO! No hospital wing!" she said desperately.

"Sara! You could catch…"

"I know. I've been shadowing Madam Pomfrey." She said, laying her head on his shoulder, despite the little, nagging voice of logic telling her not to. "All I need is a hot shower and some tea." She assured him. He stared down at her a long time as he made his way inside the castle, before nodding. Taking a shortcut behind a tapestry so that they wouldn't be seen, Sara assumed Lupin was taking her to her dormitory but was surprised when he came to a stop in front of his own door. Murmuring the password, the door swung open and he entered, lowering her gently to his sofa. "Errr, Professor?" she asked as he disappeared through a door to her right.

"I'm not letting you leave until I'm satisfied you're alright." He called out from the other room, emerging with a towel and an extra shirt. "Bathroom's in there. Take your shower," she stared at him and he met her gaze stubbornly. She knew he wasn't going to back down. Taking the offering from his hands, she stood slowly as the dizziness came again and made her way into the bathroom.

It was styled in a very Lupin way. Simple, manly; it was not at all like the bathroom in the girl's dormitory. Stripping, she stepped under the steaming flow of water and instantly felt better. As she warmed herself and as her brain became less fogged, she became very aware that she was in Professor Lupin's shower. The smell of him surrounded her and while she felt more comfortable then she's been in months, she also felt very out of place.

Stepping out of the warmth of the shower and drying off, she picked up her wand and quickly dried her underwear, slipping them on. She was too exhausted to concentrate on drying her heavy robes and cloths that lay pooled on the floor. Her eyes landed on the shirt he had given her. It was a light blue, formal, button-down shirt and as she slid into it, it came down to her mid thigh. She unbuttoned a few of the stop buttons so that it didn't seem to strangle her and looked in the mirror. 'Awkward' she thought as she turned and cracked open the door, to emerged into Lupin's private quarters.

Lupin sat on his sofa. He had changed into jeans and a shirt much as he had given her, only white in color with a few buttons undone at the top and his sleeves rolled up. A cup of tea was in one hand, an essay in the other. He wore his reading glasses and looked so deep in concentration that he didn't even hear her come out. His brow was furrowed in the way it was when he tried to follow the first year's essays. He had once told her that the first years, though so eager to please, bounce from one topic to another without any indication that they are even changing the subject. Her eyes drifted down to the mug of steaming tea waiting for her on the coffee table.

"First years?" she asked, approaching. He glanced up at her over his glasses and she couldn't help but notice the way his eyes traveled down her body and long, tan legs, before jumping up to her face guiltily.

"Hmmm? Ohhh, yes. They're very difficult to follow." He hastily turned his eyes back to the essay and took a sip of his tea. Sitting down on the other side of the couch, she tucked her legs underneath her and picked up the other mug of tea.

"Professor?" he tensed slightly, then relaxed and turned toward her.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. If you hadn't been out there when the ice broke, I would have drowned." He gave her a very small smile.

"Wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if you did." He told her seriously, "Sara…" she sighed and interrupted him.

"I know, I know. It won't happen again?" A confused look clouded his features.

"What?" he asked.

"You were about to give me the whole 'You shouldn't have been out on the ice. It's dangerous. Besides, with Black on the loose, you shouldn't have been out there at all' speech." She clarified. "I just needed time on my own to think. It won't happen again." Lupin chuckled.

"For starters, I wasn't going to give you that speech, because I had a feeling you already knew it. Secondly, that wasn't what I was going to say. The whole reason I went out there in the first place was to talk to you about something, which I was trying to broach again now."

"Ohhh…alright, sir, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked with a smile.

"The holidays, actually," he watched as her face fell, but he continued. "I was planning to spend it in Hogsmeade, since I too will be alone for Christmas. The Three Broomsticks rents out rooms, you see. I was wondering if, or rather, had hoped, you might stay in the Three Broomsticks as well, instead of the Leaky Cauldron. There's not much point in both of us being alone over the holidays, is there?" Lupin finished, replacing the awkwardness he felt with a cheerful, rhetorical question. 'There's that inappropriate teacher-student line….about a mile behind me.' He thought as he waited for her to answer. She looked shocked at first, but then a small smile appeared that she desperately tried to conceal.

"I would love to, sir." She told him. 'Did he seriously just ask me to spend the holidays with him?' she thought, heart suddenly beating wildly as she remembered when she was pulled out of the lake and his lips on hers as he tried to revive her. She shivered, her arms hugging her tightly. Lupin looked over with concern.

"Are you cold?" he asked, drawing an arm around her shoulders and gently pulling her to him. His warmth enveloped her and Sara snuggled against him without a moments thought.

"A little," she didn't want to admit to him that it was the memory of his lips that was the cause of her shaking. "I'm ok though." He kept his arm around her and she rested her head against his chest. Going back to the first year essays, Lupin's arm slipped from her shoulder to her waist and he pulled her tightly against him. Her shaking soon stopped and he could feel her breathing even out. By the time he had finished grading the stack of essays, Sara was fast asleep.

Sighing to himself, he removed his reading glasses and looked down at the sleeping woman. He knew he should wake her up and send her back to her dormitory, but she looked so peaceful, a small smile on her lips as she slept. He knew she had seen him check her out earlier, but he was a man and she…a very beautiful, young woman. 'No, she is student. Student, Moony!' he silently berated himself. Sighing again, he slid the arm that wasn't already around her waist under her bare legs and lifted her as he stood. He debated where he should put her for a moment, before heading toward the third door in the room, and, with one hand skillfully pulling back the covers, placed her in his own bed. She snuggled into the blankets and let out a soft moan as she rearranged herself. Drawing the covers back around her, Lupin left the room, allowing himself one last look at the sleeping girl as he waved his wand and the lights went out, before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

The first thing Sara registered upon awakening was that Lupin's scent surrounded her. Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself, not in the dormitories, but in a large queen-sized bed with navy blue sheets. Daylight streamed in through the curtains and for a moment she thought she was late for class, before realizing it was Saturday. Sliding out from between the covers, the cold air nipped at her bare legs and feet and she shivered slightly. Exiting the room, her eyes immediately fell on the couch where Lupin was fast asleep, a thin blanket covering is clothed body. She smiled at his chivalry and headed into the connecting kitchen, determined to make him breakfast. It was the least she could do for him. He had saved her life, let her sleep in his quarters and offered to allow her to spend the holidays with him.

Lupin awoke to the smell of bacon and freshly brewed coffee and the sound of Sara singing softly to herself from the direction of the small kitchen. For a brief moment, he wished he could wake every morning like this, until he tried to move. He had a cramp in his neck and his back was sore from his uncomfortable sleep on the sofa. With a groan, he sat up, rubbing his eyes, to see Sara, still in his shirt, dancing to the music in her head as she fixed pancakes, eggs and bacon on the stove. She was completely oblivious that he was awake and it gave him a moment to watch her without her knowing. She continued dancing, swaying her hips slightly as she turned to get the coffee when the timer beeped. Lupin smirked as she twirled, a mug in each hand, and placed them next to the coffee pot to pour. After she poured the steaming liquid and placed it back on the counter, he decided he should alert her to his consciousness.

"Morning," he yawned, starting to stand. She turned to smile at him, her gentle singing coming to a stop.

"Good morning. You stay where you are, breakfast is coming to you." She told him from the other side of the long counter separating the living room from the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow but did as he was told, taking a seat again. "How do you have electronics in here? I thought they didn't work inside Hogwarts?" she asked as she finished cooking the breakfast.

"Teacher's privilege." He laughed as a knock sounded on the door. "Hang on," he rose and pulled the door open to revel the last person Lupin wanted to see at the present moment.

"Good morning, Lupin," Snape greeted coldly, his eyes taking in Lupin's disheveled appearance.

"Severus," Lupin greeted just as coolly. "Something I can do for you?"

"Dumbledore sent me. Apparently a student has gone missing. Her friend reported it when she didn't return to her dormitory this morning. Apparently at first Miss Montgomery believed her friend was, I quote 'gettin' some,' but now she believes that Sirius Black has kidnapped her. I believe you spend a good deal of time with this student, Lupin. Sara Robe…" Snape trailed off as Sara came around the corner, a plate of pancakes, eggs and bacon in one hand, a mug of coffee in the other. "Ahhhh…." Snape's eyes trailed slowly down her body, dressed only in Lupin's shirt, to rest for a brief moment on her legs before bringing his eyes back to Lupin's. "Hmmm, apparently she was 'gettin' some'."

Dun dun DUN! Cliffhanger!!! I know, I'm evil, but I will update soon. Comments make me write faster! Hehehe :D