Author's Note: sigh because every fanfic needs one;

Chapter 16: The Essential Truth or Dare

Jamie's head barely poked out from the pile of blankets that she was bringing down the stairs, swaying dangerously, but finally she managed to make it to the circle of people. With a smirk, she dumped the pile on Lizz, who shrieked from the flood of cloth unexpectedly piled on her head.

"Okay, I have three extra blankets, and here's yours off your beds Annie and Lizz." Jamie personally pulled a large Moroccan quilt of bright blues and greens out of the pile. She pulled it around her in a swirl of white, embroidered flowers. Annie and Lizz grabbed the decorative blankets they had brought from home, and the guys grabbed the standard issue Hogwart's blankets that the girls had discarded on their first night. Remus, by choice or severe politeness, was the only one left without one.

Annie sat down in her former spot in the circle on the floor between James and Jamie. While twirling a cloth red rose with a plastic green stem between her fingers, Annie began to read the Co-ed rules of truth or dare to the eager and excited listeners.

THE RULES OF CO-ED TRUTH OR DARE: as created by the great goddess of insanity and the avenger of worlds.

A truth spell or a truth indictor must be present during the game

Victims must answer "TRUTH" questions truthfully within a minute or be forced to kiss another player of the opposite sex of the questioners choice

"TRUTH"s cannot be "would you rather" or ifs.

If the questioner is having trouble coming up with a good truth or dare, they may cede the question to someone else, however the victim never changes.

"DARE"s cannot be any kind of magic that the victim is truly incapable of doing, or contain any kind of seen nudity.

If the victim refuses to carry out the "DARE" then they shall have to take two spoonfuls of a previously determined concoction, potion, etc.

"DARE"s are allowed to go on for up to two weeks or be carried out on a determined date up to three months in the future.

"DARE"s cannot be repeated, but "TRUTH"s can.

No tag backs, a person cannot be "Truth or Dare"ed again until another three people have gone.

Don't be lame, have fun, and have some freaking imagination!

"The last one was purely Jamie." Annie said, stating the obvious.

"Is she the Great Goddess of Insanity?" Remus asked. Jamie smiled roguishly in return, and threw the extra length of her blanket at him. He frowned questioningly at her from beneath the quilt. His brown hair was tousled and sticking in his eyes.

"I can see you shivering. I'll share with you." Jamie remarked simply. Remus's mouth opened to decline, but Jamie's hand silenced him. "I don't mind, this blanket is made for more than one person, so stop being so noble." Remus, determining the pros and cons of such an action, finally pulled more of the blanket around his broad shoulders, creating a ten around Jamie and him.

"How should we decide who goes first?" Lizz asked.

"I know a randomizing spell." Remus said, pulling his wand out of his pocket. He pushed a lock of hair behind his ear and raised his wand. Jamie thought it was interesting that he had a spell for everything while she had a practical answer, like eeny meeny miny moe, for everything. Remus flicked his sturdy oak wand and muttered something under his breath. A blue floating flame appeared in the center of them and slowly floated directly over Jamie's head. Lizz groaned.

"Great, Jamie's going first!" She moaned. "You keep your dirty questions to yourself!" She said, pointing an accusing finger at her. The Marauders looked bemused.

"Aw, then it's not fun Lizza-bee," She said. Annie wordlessly handed her the plastic rose, secretly pleased to have them hear about Jamie's (and all of their) dirty mind. Jamie pushed a green button on the stem and it lit up.

"Brilliant! Is that the truth indicator?" James asked, a true magic mechanic.

"Yep, it lights up when you tell the truth and turns brown and dead when you don't. Now who's first?" Jamie's blue eyes flicked over the crowd like twin spotlights until she targeted Lizz. She tossed the rose to Lizz. "Okay Lizz, Truth or Dare?" Lizz paused for second, trying to determine which was the lesser of the two evils.

"Truth."

"Hmmm, good choice." Jamie paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "Does Sirius have a nice arse?" Lizz groaned and covered her head with her purple blanket. Sirius looked up in surprise and smiled devilishly, but Lizz kept her eyesight trained away from him. Instead she turned on her supposed friend. James and Remus were sniggering, having heard what had happened themselves from Sirius. Peter was looking as angry and affronted as he could manage.

"Oh come on, I told you that on confidence of death!" Lizz cried.

"You still have to answer."

"You are no friend of mine! You are… are" Lizz said.

"I believe the word you're looking for is villain" Remus said. Jamie punched his arm.

"Come on Lizz, you know the answer. My arse is renowned!" Sirius cajoled, Lizz still didn't look at him.

"I wouldn't know!" Lizz snapped, but the rose wilted in her hand. Jamie and Annie grinned.

"What deary?" Jamie said, making a show of cupping her hand to her ear. "Don't tell me you didn't tell the truth!"

"Who does she have to kiss?" Annie asked. Lizz looked a little like a fish out of water at the moment.

"Well that's blooming obvious isn't it? Sirius." Jamie said. Lizz was really going to kill her later, really freaking kill her in the middle of the night. She looked at Sirius, who was being a git, and smiling expectantly. Lizz leaned forward and tried to peck him quickly, aiming for the cheek, but he pushed his lips forward and claimed hers completely. Lizz had meant to be totally casual, but she snorted in surprise as their lips made contact. Of course, she tried to pull away, but Sirius had decided to savor this moment, and nipped her bottom lip playfully. She pushed him off furiously. Unfamiliar heat was spreading quickly through her body, her pulse was going crazy, and she hated it.

"God, Black!" was all she could manage. Her cheeks were a hectic pink that spread down her shirt.

"Aw, you know you loved it Lawrence." Sirius smiled, seeing the pink in Lizz's cheeks. He knew exactly what kind of effect he had had on her.

"No I didn't! I hated it and I hate you." Lizz half-shouted and covered her head in anger and shame. She really, really hated him! If had been James, maybe she would have laughed it off or merely blushed and smiled, but Sirius? He knew exactly what he was doing to her and did it anyway. He didn't care about how she felt just that he had managed to embarrass her. He was such a bloody freaking git! How could he be like that? She truly hated him for it.

"Lizzy it's your turn to ask." Lizz came out of her purple cocoon and turned to Remus. She tossed him the rose. Sirius was, for once, looking contemplative, picking at a spot on his pajama bottoms.

"Okay Remus, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare"

"Oh, gutsy Remus." Jamie commented. Lizz thought about it for a second.

"You have to go down to the kitchens and get enough hot chocolate for everyone." Lizz said. "And no magic to help you either." Remus frowned.

"What makes you think I know where the kitchens are anyway?" he said.

"Oh come on, you guys know the inns and outs of this place." Annie countered. Remus shrugged and pushed out of the blanket. He walked out of the portal confidently, but looked around carefully before heading down the hallway.

"Do you think he'll do it without being caught?" Jamie asked the remaining Marauders.

"I don't know." James responded. "He can be an excellent sneak, better than me, but without being able to use magic he won't be able to use most of our secret passages."

"How many secret passages are there anyway?" Annie asked. James smiled.

"You'll never find out until you become a Marauder."

About ten minutes later, Remus came back through the portal, not only with the hot chocolate, but a tray with all the fixings including a plate of chocolate cookies.

"Now that's doing a Dare with style," Jamie remarked as Remus swept seven steaming mugs in front of them. "I am duly impressed Remus Lupin. You shall have to show me your skills of sneaking one day."

"Thank you." Remus said, pleased. He snagged a cookie before handing the flower to Annie.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Truth" Annie said. For a second she remembered that for the first week of school or so she had had half a crush on him. If she still had it, she would have answered 'dare' to show him how she was brave and risky. Remus paused and thought about of a good question. Peter sneezed into his blanket and Jamie and Lizz didn't hide their grimaces.

"What are you most insecure about?"

"Deep, but you're being daft Remus." James said, and looked at Annie. "There can't be anything because she's so hypocritical."

"I am not hypocritical!" Annie asserted, "You're just angry because I wouldn't agree with you. You're being silly about the whole thing Potter."

"What are you talking about?" Lizz asked.

"He has this whole theory that he was explaining to me tonight about their pranking, and then got all upset when I didn't agree with him. He started calling me a hypocrite over it," Annie said and pointed her nose snootily in the air away from James.

"It makes sense!" James demanded.

"No it doesn't! Not one little bit! It's just something to make you feel better about meanly pranking other people." She retorted.

"What is this theory anyway?" Jamie asked finally. James tried to answer, but Remus cut him off.

"It's too complicated and makes no logical sense anyway, so don't ask. Besides, Annie still hasn't answered my bloody question." James fumed silently.

"Okay, I think my biggest insecurity is not knowing" The rose in her hand bloomed and lit up with a scarlet light shining out from its center. Annie smiled at it beatifically for a second and then handed it to James. The petals closed up and the light died, the rose waited for the truth.

"Truth or Dare?" Annie challenged him.

"I think I'll rise to the occasion and choose dare." James countered confidently. Jamie smiled wickedly and tapped on Annie's shoulder. Annie leaned over and Jamie whispered something in her ear. Annie's mouth dropped.

"No way!" Annie said adamantly. Then she chuckled, "Besides my friend, that's against the rules you sent down." Jamie frowned petulantly and crossed her arms. "Besides," Annie gave James her own wicked smile, "I have a better one for Mr. Potter."

"Oh, am I scared." James said sarcastically.

"James Potter I dare you to not prank, trick, or derive amusement from anyone else's embarrassment or pain for two weeks." Silence reigned for two moments, then…

-Jamie cheered loudly, praising Annie for finding the one thing that would be the hardest for James to actually accomplish, the confident prick. All in jest of course.

-James's face fell and he turned a nasty pale colour. His fists gripped the edge of his blanket as his mind reeled in the sheer enormity of the dare and the eternity of two weeks.

-Lizz tried to comfort James, unsuccessfully because at the same time she was praising Annie along with Jamie.

-Peter didn't hear what Annie said, because he had somehow fallen asleep. However, he woke up at Jamie's cheering and rolled over.

-Sirius was sniggering and teasing "poor widdle Jamesie". Not to mention drawing up a mental list of all the things he was going to do to him for the next two weeks when he couldn't exact revenge.

-Remus put a hand over his mouth and tried not to show he was laughing so hard. He did however mutter, "Bloody brilliant," and "I'll have peace for once," and "Bloody brilliant!" again a touch louder.

-Annie smiled triumphantly and was about to rub it in just a touch more when James spoke.

"Okay what gunk do I have to eat to get out of this? That's part of your completely mental rules isn't it?"

"Oh nothing, just an apple that's been in my trunk." Jamie gave him her Cheshire cat smile, "For three and half weeks, in a little bag. It's just all mushy and brown with little white spots." James blanched, and decided to take the dare.

"And remember," Annie trilled, pleased with her success over him. "If you break the dare, you have to eat the apple anyway!"

-------

Remus was the first to wake early the following morning out of force of habit. He tried to turn over and go back to sleep, but Jamie sighed next to him and moved restlessly so he stopped. His mind finally woke up with the rest of him and realized that the blonde's head was resting against his chest and her whole body was draped against his side. His very own treacherous arm was wrapped around her waist as well, and what he was holding was bare to the skin because her small shirt had ridden up. Her embroidered colorful blanket was draped over them both. Remus carefully looked down at her. In time with his, her chest moved up and down regularly as she breathed. Chapped, dark pink lips were parted in sleep and her long lashes fluttered against her cheeks. This close, he could see the very tips of them were blond instead of black. Her arm was draped across his body, with her chipped nail polish hand resting on his opposite shoulder. Her snores were light, but maybe it just seemed that way against the cacophony of snores coming from Sirius and James. At that moment, to him, she looked incredibly beautiful, though he really had no exact idea why.

Remus remembered now why he was lying on the floor of the common room with Jamie, literally, in his arms. The night before, after truth or dare had gotten boring they had lain on the floor on their stomachs, mainly talking, until they had fallen asleep one by one. Remus and Jamie had still been sharing her Moroccan quilt so they had fallen asleep right next to each other, and like in books and those silly things people like to write in their bedrooms late at night, they had snuggled together for warmth. He had to admit, he was almost surprised they hadn't woken up spooning.

Carefully and regretfully, he began disentangling himself from Jamie and her quilt. Her scent was inescapable, and too-familiar that heady, tangy scent that was so very her now pervaded his clothes. He inched away a bit more and she whined fitfully in protest like a child. Remus looked around desperately, and finally snagged a scarlet pillow off the couch with his foot. Being as careful as Indiana Jones in the temple of whatever, he replaced his shoulder with the pillow. Jamie accepted the transfer and went back to sleep with her arms wrapped tightly around the replacement. He went upstairs, showered, dressed, and checked off another day on his lunar calendar. Another day closer to a full moon. Remus sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair, noting that it would fall on a school night instead of conveniently on the weekend. This Thursday night. He thought blandly to himself. He tapped the keystone on the arch over one of their windows. The panes shivered and the view shifted until it showed the view of a window overlooking the stone circle. To the right was the path to the whomping willow, Remus could see it's branches moving from here, and to the left was the path down to Hagrid's hut and the entrance to the school. He opened the window and climbed through and walked down the path towards Hagrid's hut. The young gamekeeper greeted him from the garden.

Jamie woke up about ten minutes later because she was shivering so very hard. Blearily she cast away the pillow and looked around. There seemed to be something missing in their little slumbering group. Remus! She could barely remember him, probably thinking she was asleep, trying to stay as far away from her under the blanket as he could. He wasn't here now though. She looked around, half expecting him to be gentlemanly sleeping on a couch, but only discovered an imprint of a tall, broad form in the rug right next to her. The rug was still warm to her touch.