Now...let's continue. Thank you for your review, chocykitty.

Even before I decided to test my feelings, I thought of something else. I didn't want to be alone with Draco in my bedroom in case he tried to Imperio me, like he threatened. Or if he just decided to do what he wanted without making me his willing slave. I didn't want a repeat of the last night, or the one before. Using a first-year jinx that I was still learning on my boyfriend was not something I really enjoyed, even if I was doubting my feelings towards him.

My only way of making sure he didn't do so was if I was able to stay away from him – or if there was a...well, a chaperone of sorts. Or if I managed to learn a bit more about defensive magic, but that would take time. In the meantime, Draco was completely aware that I was trying to keep away from him in the evenings, and made a point of keeping me in close proximity. There's no way he'd leave me alone in my bedroom at night. So that meant that I had to have someone else around. The only other people staying in my house were the Marauders themselves, and I really did not want to have to ask them that, but they were my only choice. Of course, I'd have to deal with things on my own during the full moon, but a couple days alone once a month was outweighed by over four weeks with backup.

But my room was nowhere near big enough to room all four of them. There was only enough room for one, and I hadn't even asked any of them yet. I mentally edited Peter out of the equation. No offence to him, but he wasn't that skilled or smart, so I doubted I'd feel that safe if it was him. I still wasn't sure I trusted Sirius in my bedroom. It wasn't that I thought he'd do anything. But having had a massive crush on him before we met would complicate matters. Besides, I suspected how he and James liked waking people up each morning, and I usually wanted to sleep late. As a matter of fact, I wasn't sure I wanted James to be the one either, for that same reason: I did not want either of the most exuberant Marauders to act as my personal alarm clocks. That only left Remus. He was the most sensible and understanding of the group.

Still I worried. How was I meant to ask him? How was I meant to keep the others from teasing me? How would I explain?

I decided to tell all of them together. So while Draco was out working at the mall that evening, I asked all four of the guys if I could talk to them.

"I really did not want to have to ask this and I know you'll make fun of me and call me weak, but I have to do this. I don't have much of a choice until I become a pro at both defensive and possibly offensive magic."

"That sounds pretty serious." Peter said, looking a bit scared.

"No, you'll have to look at him for that." I pointed at Sirius. "Anyway, word play aside, I'm pretty sure you have an idea of what's been going on between me and Draco."

"Well, we did have to step over him last night." James admitted with a smirk. "That kind of gave it away."

"I was wondering why you didn't restore him." I admitted. "Is that the reason, or do you have some kind of code about not helping Slytherins?"

"Not that Slytherins would accept help." Sirius muttered. "But probably both." I knew that he was probably one of the most anti-Slytherin characters of J.K Rowling's world, which, given his background, wasn't too surprising. Who in their right mind would want to be surrounded by purebloods who thought they were better than everyone else?

"As you know, I'm not that good at magic yet." I continued. "And that's the most important thing. Draco's good at wand duels. I really need to learn as many defensive spells ASAP. I need to be able to defend myself. Plus, my version of Expelliarmus doesn't get me the wand, so I'm not disarming my opponent too effectively. So," I started blushing. "I have two requests. One, that one of you PLEASE tutor me. And two, that I'm never left on my own with Draco, in any case. And...well...that does mean at night, as well. Even...especially."

The boys took me completely seriously, this time. "I have seen the way he looks at you." James said. "Confirmation. He's a lot less in love with you than you think."

"I've seen that look more than once." Sirius continued. "Half the Slytherin boys look at girls – especially muggleborns – that way. But even I wouldn't try to have girls degrading themselves to the level they have in mind."

I smiled hopefully. "So you're on board with helping me?"

Remus smiled wanly. He was still not at full energy, but I suspected that he'd be back to normal in less than a day. "Of course. Why not?"

"It's like you're one of us now." Peter chimed in, although I privately doubted his bravery.

I grinned again. "Well, I can see why you all ended up in Gryffindor. You four are lions through and through." Then I sighed. "Okay, one more thing. I said that being protected meant especially at night. I can't kick Draco out of my room and bed indefinitely. He's stronger than me – magically and physically. That means either one of you has to make sure he can't get in, or one of you will have to share the room with me. And no, that does not give any of you the chance to try and look up my nightdress."

The boys laughed. Sirius pretended to pout, saying "How would you think any of us would do such a thing?" Okay, so maybe I'd been looking at him when I said that.

I laughed at him. "Exact reason why I was hoping you wouldn't be the volunteer, Black. I'm no stranger to your womanizing ways. Oh, and the other rule about being in my room – no waking me up before I'm done sleeping. Which is the other reason why I was hoping you wouldn't be the volunteer. I'm pretty sure that throwing water on me a couple days ago was something you'd be totally on board with."

Sirius shrugged. "Maybe. I'm more into jumping on beds, but since we only had mattresses..."

"Okay, definitely not letting you in my room." I looked around at the other three. "Volunteers?"

"I'll do it!" James said immediately. I knew he would. If only one Marauder defined what being a Gryffindor was all about, James Potter was it. It was no wonder his son became an inspiration at the age of seventeen (He owed the first time he lived to Lily, so I don't count that).

I still gave him a look. "Are you going to ever soak me again? Cause if you are..."

James put up his hands in a defensive pose. "Okay, okay, take away my fun, whatever. In an insanely short amount of time, you've become practically a sister to me. I'm not letting some Slytherin make you his slut!"

"That's not fair!" Sirius whined to me in a baby voice. "Why would you let him in and not me?"

"Because he doesn't flirt with me constantly?" I said in a shouldn't-it-be-obvious tone. "And because he promised he wouldn't wake me up before I'm ready."

"What if I promised that I wouldn't get up to anything if you let me in?"

"Hm..." I smiled. "Well, you could all take turns, in that case. Then you wouldn't all be requested to protect me like that 24-7. I don't know why I didn't think of that before."

Peter looked a little scared at the prospect. But the others looked determined, and I felt a wave of warmth for them. They'd only known me for a little over three weeks, yet already they were willing to protect me, like I was another Marauder being ganged up on, like Peter. Not that they treated me like him – they actually treated me with more respect than that, which I found pretty interesting. For the first time, I wondered if they'd ever be pulled back into their book-verse lives. And, although it was a bit selfish of me, I hoped they wouldn't be.

Finally, James spoke in answer to my suggestion. "Turns. Okay. So how does this work?"

I wish I wasn't such a damsel in distress, but the sad truth is that I am in this type of situation. Please review.

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