Sirius' POV

Remus and I met up with Mad-Eye and Aberforth at the Hog's Head.

"Anything to report?" Aberforth asked us.

"No. Everything's quiet in the village," I said. Remus nodded in agreement.

"What about you? Any updates from the Ministry?" I asked Mad-Eye.

Mad-Eye shook his head. "No. From last I heard, we've tailed a few Death Eaters outside of the country, but that's not really our concern right now."

I nodded.

"I'm heading out, boys," Mad-Eye said. "Got some Auror work I need to catch up on."

"Bye, Mad-Eye."

"G'night," Remus said.

Shortly after, Remus and I made our way out of the bar into the brisk night air.

It was the last two weeks of August. The summer was nearly gone.

"Sirius Black, is that you?"

I turned. I recognized the witch standing there. It was Ivy. Her bright blue eyes and wavy blonde hair were as stunning as ever.

"How are you, darling?" she asked.

"Ivy, it's been quite a while," I returned.

"Too long," she said and smiled. "Are you free for a drink this evening?"

"I'm afraid not," I replied. "Work and the usual, you know."

"What about this weekend?"

I shook my head.

She cocked her head to the side. "Are you seeing someone, Sirius?"

"It's not like that," I responded. I haven't seen Raylynx for months now. That familiar ache of worry and desire rose up in my chest.

"I'm not your type?" she asked, teasing me.

"Not that, either," I said honestly. It's the truth. Ivy's still beautiful. It's not like I'd hate to fool around with her. It's just that it all pales. There's someone I want more, except she's not here. "I've just got my mind on other things."

"Well, it's not like the Sirius Black I know," she said.

"Surprise," I said dully, and then turned away from her.

Remus, who had been watching us a somewhat baffled, if not amused, face, walked with me.

"Where you headed to, Moony?" I asked him.

"Home," Remus said. "I've feeling a bit…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but I knew. It was only two days until the full moon.

Remus sighed and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. His head slouched a little. I knew what he was thinking about. The Wolfsbane Potion had officially been published by the Ministry of Magic this morning, and among the names of the inventors listed was Dorcas Meadowes. We had both been left speechless.

I knew that Remus had cried, but we hadn't talked about it. I figured it was best to let him sort out his emotions first.

"All right, mate. Well, take care," I said to him, clapping him gently on the shoulder. Then, I Apparated home.


When my feet touched the ground and I found myself standing in front of my flat building, I noticed a man standing at my gate. He was cursing loudly and shaking the gate with all his strength. He wore a cloak, so he was clearly a Wizard, and yet I didn't recognize him. I put my hand on my wand inside my Cloak and approached him cautiously.

The man whirled around. His eyes widened at the sight of me and he raced over to me. With one hand still on my wand, I put my other hand out and said, "Whoa, calm down there, sir."

"You! Are you the werewolf?" he shouted at me.

I tightened my grip on my wand. Is he after Remus? Well, he's going to have to get through me first.

"Answer me!" the man growled, stepping towards me and grabbing my collar.

Furious, I raised my wand directly in his face when suddenly, a pitiful cry broke out. My heart froze. I knew that voice.

The man broke away from me and raced over to the nearby bench just by the gate of the apartment building.

"I must've come to the wrong place. Help me! Send me another image. I can get you there, I swear!" The intensity of the man's voice was startling.

I raced forward to the bench. Past the man's shoulder, I saw her. Raylynx. She was lying down on the bench. My breath left me. She looked cold and pale, but sweat was pouring off her face. She was gritting her teeth together, obviously in terrible pain. For a moment, she managed a breath between the pain she was experiencing. In that instant, her eyes opened. They flickered past the man and onto me.

I swear I saw her smile briefly. "No, we came to the right place," she murmured, and then her eyes slipped shut.

I panicked, grabbing the man roughly and shouting, "What happened to her!? What the hell's going on?"

"She was bitten by a vampire!" he said desperately. "She's running out of time."

My mind struggled to make sense of the man's words. Bitten by a vampire? Why would Raylynx be bitten by a vampire?

"The venom is spreading through her system too quickly!" the stranger explained hurriedly. "It's already crystalline at twice the normal rate." He looked over at her and swallowed hard. "When the wound on her neck is fully healed, it is over."

Horrified, I let him go and knelt beside her. My fingers brushed her hair aside. I shivered as my fingers swept over her neck. She was ice cold. The bite marks on her neck were hard to find because they were nearly gone.

"Can you help?" the man asked me urgently.

"I don't know," I said, and swallowed hard. "Why did you come to me?"

"She sent me here," he replied. "She asked me to bring her here. I thought you could help."

I looked over at Raylynx. Why did you come to me? You fool.

I wracked my mind, thinking of a way to save her.

"We need… We need the blood of a vampire," I said.

"No," the man said curtly. "That will only turn her into a true vampire. She needs to drink the blood of a werewolf to remain human."

Werewolf? Yes, that's what the man said before. He was asking if I was a werewolf. It hit me, then. Remus!

I brandished my wand. Both the gate and the front door of my flat, which was two stories off the ground, slammed open. You could see the open doorway from down here.

"Do whatever you can to stop the wound from closing. I'll be back!" I shouted, and dashed off.


I banged my fist on Remus' door and shouted, "Moony, open up! Come on!"

I heard him hurry over and wrench open the door.

"Sirius?" he said, confused. He had his wand out. "What's going on? Is the Order in trouble."

"It's Raylynx! Remus, I need you to come with me."

"Raylynx?" Remus frowned. "Sirius, what's going on?"

"Just come. Please!" I begged.

Seeing the urgency in my expression, Remus immediately stepped out and followed me. We hurried down the steps and back to my flat.


The gate and front door were both still wide open. We sprinted in.

The stranger had laid Raylynx down on my bed and to my utter shock, he had his hand up the back of her shirt.

"What d'you think you're doing?" I started furiously, but the stranger shook his head to stop me and continued muttering.

"Raylynx," Remus breathed out, glimpsing her face. "She doesn't look too well, Sirius."

"You are the werewolf?" the man shot at Remus suddenly.

"I- I am," Remus said, startled. Remus looked at me in shock. I could see him wondering, "How does he know that?"

The stranger shook Raylynx. She stirred and moaned in pain. She didn't seem altogether conscious.

Please don't let it be too late, I prayed insistently to a god I didn't believe in.

"He's here!" the man said to Raylynx. "Your werewolf friend. You have to bite his neck now. You must drink his blood."

"She has to- Wait, what?" Remus said, his face going pale with confusion and fear.

"She was bitten by a vampire. This is the only way," I explained hurriedly. "You will do, won't you?"

Fear flashed across Remus' face, but it took only an instant for him to harden his resolve and nod. He pulled down the collar of his shirt and bent down besides the bed.

The stranger sat Raylynx him and gently guided her towards Remus.

"No," she moaned, struggling to push Remus away. "No, not like this. I don't want- I can't-"

"Raylynx, you have to," I said urgently, kneeling down beside her and Remus.

"I can't- don't want him to be bitten again," Raylynx murmured.

"You must! Your wound is closing!" the man said, almost shouting. He pressed her face against Remus' neck.

Remus shuddered. "She's ice cold," he whispered, horrified.

"She will petrify to death. Her body will turn to cold glass and then shatter," the stranger said. "She has very little time left."

Raylynx shook her head. "Enough! He's had enough. Please…"

"Raylynx," I said weakly. "You have to do it. You have to drink Remus' blood."

"I can feed my blood to her," Remus offered. "I can cut my wrist and-"

"It will be too diluted," the man argued. "She has to drink it from your neck."

"Come on!" he urged Raylynx.

"No, leave him alone! Leave Remus alone," Raylynx moaned. Frost began to form on her lips and cheekbones. She started sobbing from the pain, but the tears solidified into snow crystals on her face.

"Raylynx, please," I begged, grasping her freezing cold hand in my own. "C'mon, stay with me!" My voice broke.

In my heart, I apologized to Remus, but I couldn't stop myself now. Being apart was hard enough, but I could bear it as long as she was okay. But this, this was too much. I will not let her die in front of my eyes. I would willingly turn into a werewolf right now if it meant that I could save her. Not for the first time, I was envious of Remus.

"I can't do that to Remus," Raylynx managed to say, barely able to move her lips as snowflakes blossomed steadily across them.

"Lynx!" I shouted, and the desperation I had barely managed to hold back shattered.

"Turn me into a werewolf!" I shouted suddenly, standing up. "Or a vampire! Anything! Anything to help her."

Remus suddenly pulled out his wand and cut a deep gash across his wrist. He grimaced as he held it over her lips, which were nearly frozen shut.

The first drop of blood slipped onto her lips, staining them a crimson red. When the blood touched, the frost feathered on her lips melted. Her lips parted slightly and I could hear her slow, straining breath.

Another drop of blood fell in-between her lips and into her mouth.

"It's not enough," the man objected. Remus slashed his wrist just below the first wound and the blood began flowed twice as thick and fast, dripping into Raylynx's mouth. He grimaced as his arm stung.

"It will still not be enough," the man said sadly, bowing his head.

I felt a deep fear wrench my heart. Is it really not enough?

"No," Remus said, and to my surprise, his voice was strong. "You don't understand the bond we have," he said. "This is enough… between us."

"Look at her," Remus commanded.

I did. My eyes, full of worry, traced her face.

Slowly, the frost disappeared from her lips and cheeks entirely. Then, I saw her cheeks blushing ever so slightly. She coughed suddenly and Remus took his arm away.

I pointed at a clean cup stacked away in the cupboard. "Accio cup. Aguamente." Water filled the cup and I brought it to her lips.

"Water is safe, right?" I asked the man. He nodded as he sighed in relief and slumped back, hours of stress finally draining out of his system all at once. Remus, too, fell back against the wall, pressing his other hand against his mangled wrist.

"Ferula," I murmured, and bandages appeared out of thin air. I guided them to Remus' lap. "Try to get the bleeding to stop, Moony," I told him before I carefully tipped some water between her lips. To my relief, Raylynx swallowed the water. Then, she coughed ever so slightly and her eyes opened. At that moment, all the panic I was feeling finally melted away. I felt incredible relief course through me for half a second before the uncontrollable anger set in.

"You fool," I said furiously. My voice was mangled as I repeated, "You utter fool."

Raylynx said nothing, but her eyes stayed on my face, and they were tender and warm. Her breathing was still shallow. But she was alive, and she was awake, and she was here with me. I could ask for nothing more.

I collapsed beside the bed and pressed my palms against my eyes.

Remus let out a sigh.

Exhausted from the intensity of the event, we all fell asleep for a few hours.


I awoke just as the first rays of the dawn washed over us.

I immediately checked to see whether Raylynx was all right. She was still sleeping peacefully in the bed. Thankfully, her breathing seemed near normal. Remus was also still asleep, slumped against the wall. His bandages were spotted with blood stains and I knew we needed to administer proper treatment, but as long as the bandages weren't soaked through, he would recover. I closed my eyes, filled with dizzying relief and gratitude that Remus and Raylynx would both be all right.

Then, with a start, I realized I didn't see the stranger who had brought Raylynx here last night. I got up from the floor and stretching slightly, I walked outside. He was sitting on the bench just outside the gate.

"You know, it's not safe out here," I said, opening the gate and walking towards him. I leaned against the gate just besides where he was sitting.

"You're a sitting duck for any Death Eaters that might pass by," I told him.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm just on my way out,'" he replied.

"Thank you," I said. "Thank you for saving Raylynx, and for bringing her here."

He inclined his head.

Just then, the gate creaked. We both looked over to see Raylynx standing there, just inside the gate. "Oh," she said softly, noticing us turning around. "Remus is just on his way out." At that moment, the gate was pushed open further by Remus, who had just come up behind her.

"Good-bye," he murmured. Blinking tiredly, he walked out briskly and Disapparated.

"I'll have to go by later and make sure he's settled in for the full moon," I said, worried. "Losing all that blood right before his transformation can't be good."


Raylynx's POV

When I woke up, it seemed as though everything was frosted over. With my vision and hearing was still slightly hazy. I thought I saw a shadowy figure existing the door.

"Sirius?" I called out weakly, and then coughed. It felt like little bits of shattered cold glass were caught in my throat.

I slowly pushed myself up to see that only Remus and I were still in the room. I wonder if Sehtzer's trying to leave without saying good-bye.

I got up and started to step over Remus' legs when I realized that he was cradling his arm in his sleep. His gashes had long since dried, but the bandages showed clearly signs of spotting. That meant the wounds had only been covered and not properly healed.

I bent down and started unwrapping the old bandages.

His eyes fluttered open as I began to treat his arm with an array of Cleansing and Healing Spells. He spoke to me in a tired voice. "Raylynx, are you all right?"

I pointed my wand at his gashes. Sparkling water poured out of the tip of my wand in a gentle stream and washed over his arm. I nodded slowly as I gently dried it and then whirled my wand in the air so that bandages appeared.

"Of course I'm all right," I said softly. "You saved my life."

"You should have bit my neck."

"I didn't need to."

"You didn't know that."

"I didn't care," I said, slightly more aggressive than I meant to.

In a softer tone, I said, "I wasn't going to do that to you."

I wrapped the bandages around his arm. He winced suddenly and I looked up at him. He shook his head. "It's all right. It's not you. It's the night of the full moon." When he said that, I felt an abrupt tingling in my blood, as though music was running through my veins. I shivered. Remus, who was watching me, blinked.

"You should go home and get some rest," I said to him. "I can stop by later, if you like."

"You need to look after yourself," Remus reminded me sternly. "Besides, I have the Wolfsbane Potion now, remember?"

He started to get up, when he paused and settled back down. I watched him expectantly.

"I saw the credits in the published paper," he said, and he looked away uncomfortably. "I never thought Dorcas cared about me. I never even knew that she knew. Well, of course she knew, what with the mess it caused in the Order but..."

"Of course she cared about you," I said, grasping his uninjured arm.

"Did you ask her for me?" Remus asked, his eyes flickering to my face.

I fell silent. I didn't want him to know, but I didn't want to lie. Finally, I said, "She invested more in it than I ever could have. So did the Kaiuses."

Remus sighed. "I feel like my debt is building."

"We've alive," I said shortly. "That's already more debt than we can repay."

Remus shuddered again. I also felt a strange sensation affect me. I rolled my neck slightly, wondering if it was just the after-effects of the vampire venom.

"So it's not just me," Remus said. "You feel it too."

"What?" I asked.

He looked at me with a difficult-to-read expression as he said, "You know, it's because of the Bond that blood from my wrist worked in the first place. It shouldn't have worked."

"Now, my blood runs through your veins. And while it negated the vampire venom, it seems to have strengthened our Bond," Remus said. "I can feel it in me. Like golden light…"

I started. "Like light," I repeated, watching him curiously.

He returned my gaze.

"I can't tell you how much the vampire venom hurt, especially near the end. You saved my life, but honestly that was an afterthought," I confessed. "Death could have been equally a form of salvation in that moment, because of how much it hurt. It was so painful I couldn't remember how to breathe. That's when the freezing started and it was so petrifying. Feeling your body seize up like that has to be one of the worst ways to die. But then your blood- it ran through me like light breaks into dark places. You were, in that instant, the first relief of pain I experienced. That was all I cared about."

"Well, that wasn't all you cared about," Remus corrected me. He smiled grimly. "After all, you wouldn't bite me."

He rose and lent me his good arm to pull me up.

We made our way out the door. I opened the gate only to find Sirius and Sehtzer speaking just outside. The gate creaked, and both men turned and saw me.

"Oh, Remus is just on his way out," I mumbled.

The gate was pushed open further by Remus, who appeared behind me. He gently slid past me and murmuring his good-bye, he started to leave.

Sirius made his way back inside, and I started to follow after him.

"Wait."

Sehtzer stood up and approached me, stepping inside the gate.

"Here," he said, and handed me my wand.

I let out a sigh of utter relief. "I thought I'd lost it. Thank you, Sehtzer."

"Of course," he said graciously. Then, he continued. "You were right. I have been to the Vampire's Lair before. When I was only thirteen, the vampires took my mother. I was a slave and slaves aren't taught magic. So I broke free and gained the King's Wand. I traveled into the vampire's lair. But when I discovered my mother was long since dead, I lost control of my own power. I wasn't ready. Pendragon had taken pity on me, and I betrayed his trust."

He looked at me sincerely as he said, "Do not make the same mistake as me."

I nodded, feeling gratitude for his advice and sorrow for his tragedy.

"Your friends will look after you now, but remember, vampire venom does not your system leave so easily," he warned me. "There will still be traces in your blood for about a week or so. You may have sudden fainting spells in that time, so make sure you are somewhere safe for a while."

Then, he stepped away from me and put his cloak up.

"You're leaving?" I asked.

"Yes. My people are waiting. Take care." With a swish of his Cloak, he turned away and left.


I made my way back up to Sirius' flat.

He turned around from the stove. "Where's your friend?" he asked. I could tell he was trying to control his voice, but it still came out a bit tense.

"He left already," I answered.

"Oh." Sirius looked down at the extra serving of food he was making. Then, he shrugged and shoved it all onto his plate.

He laid down two plates of food on the table. I walked to the table and sat down.

In my heart, I felt so relieved that I was alive and my joy at seeing Sirius again was inexpressible. I watched him scarf down bacon and smiled.

But I also felt lost.

I thought that going to Albania would bring me answers, but it had only brought more questions, none of which I had any clear answers to.

If the Horcrux wasn't in the tree, then why was Voldemort there?

Everything that had happened in the vampire caves was hazy to me. The vampiric darkness fed on you, creating unreliable illusions in your mind.

Did I even really see Voldemort? How can I be sure that that was him, standing at the end of the hallway?

I bit my lip as I wondered what I could possibly do to move forward.

The goal was to track down all of the other Horcruxes, but what know? Albania turned out to be a dead end, and I can't think of any other leads that could lead me to place where Voldemort would keep a Horcrux.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" Sirius asked me. I watched as he basically inhaled the eggs and then pushed the plate aside.

"Near-death experiences tend to do that to you," I answered lightly.

"Right," Sirius said lightly, matching my conversational tone. Then, he raised an eyebrow and said, "But you know, I don't see how 'thinking' could possibly help the fool who didn't run straight to the werewolf when she was bitten by a vampire."

"Do you have any sense of self-preservation?" Sirius asked me.

"Are you scolding me for being reckless?" I said, amused. "Well, I never thought I'd see the day."

Sirius gave me a hard look. "You made it all the way back to London from wherever the hell you came from, which is apparently crawling with lethal beings like vampires, and you decided to come see me instead of Remus even though you knew only a werewolf could save you?"

"All right, it was a poor decision," I admitted. "I'm sorry about that."

Sirius could see right through me. He knew my apology was not totally honest.

So I explained, a bit awkwardly, "I figured I was basically on my death bed anyways, and I couldn't resist being as dramatic as possible and looking for the last person I wanted to see rather than the person who could save me."

"It was a lack of insight on my part," I admitted, but my look was teasing.

Sirius seemed to struggle a little bit, still frustrated by my coming to him instead of Remus, but I swear I saw the corner of his mouth turn upwards.

Then, he asked, "You know, out of respect to you, I held back from asking that bloke where's he from. But now I want an answer from you: Where were you?"

I paused, and then a playful smile slowly crossed my face. "You should have asked him when you had the chance."

Sirius sighed. He muttered, "I'm the fool, for trying to be a gentleman."

I smirked.

Noticing my victorious expression, Sirius said, "You like it that much, huh?"

"Like what?" I asked.

"Having so much power over me."

My heart thumped. It was a ridiculous and overly flirtatious line, but I still felt myself fall for it. He saw my reaction, and I braced myself for his teasing and sniggering, but instead, his eyes softened.

He reached over the table and put his hand against my cheek. I could see in his expression and the tension in his demeanor that he wanted to tell me something, but wasn't sure how. He was never was very comfortable at communicating with words.

I smiled a little as my eyes met his. I returned his gaze for as long as I could, but I started to feel a little embarrassed. And I was never very comfortable with being physical.

I dropped my eyes to the table and seeing his empty plate, I got up and walked over to the kitchen counter and placed it in the sink. I started to reach for the water tap, when I felt a tingling in my neck. I hesitated and then reached up to touch my neck. It felt cold to me, and it was spreading quickly, across my shoulders and down to my chest. I started to feel faint.

"Lynx? You all right there?"

"I- I can't breathe-"

"Lynx!"

My mind went blank.

Sirius' POV

I caught her just before she fell.

"Lynx? Lynx?" I said, shaking her gently, but she wouldn't wake up.

I carried her to the bed and laid her down. When I touched her forehead, I noticed that her skin was freezing again. Just like with the vampire venom.

I cursed. What do I do?

I realized that my best bet was to try to keep her warm. I pulled her into my arms and then dragged on blanket over her before hugging her shoulders against my chest. I pressed one hand against her neck, where she had been bitten. With the other, I reached down and checked her pulse. It seemed fine, if not a little slower than normal. She was breathing as well, though it seemed to cost her a little extra effort. But eventually, she did feel warmer in my arms, and her breathing eased to normal. It appeared as though she was just sleeping now. But I was still worried.

Unsure of what to do, I dragged out every blanket I had and dumped them all on her. But since I lived by myself and I was warm most of the time, "all of the blankets" I had actually didn't amount to very much. I pulled out a few jackets and sweaters that I had and laid them on top of the growing mountain of fabric. Then, I sat on the edge of the bed, pressed my hand against her neck again, and watched her nervously.

Thirty or forty minutes must have passed when she unconsciously reached up and sleepily touched the back of my hand with her fingers.

Slightly confused, she slowly opened her eyes.

I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Sirius?" she murmured.

"I'm here."

"Why am I buried alive? I can't move."

"I suppose I might have overdone it," I confessed. "But you went all cold and I didn't know what to do. What the hell was that, Lynx? Are you not well yet?"

"Just… lack of sleep," she coughed.

I scoffed. She was truly a terrible liar. It must be the vampire venom still in her system. I have to watch out for that.

She tried valiantly to sit up, attempting to push and slide her way out from the mountain of blankets and clothes on top of her, and she failed. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was tempted to keep her trapped under there, but I helped her slowly push the igloo of blankets and clothes out of the way. As the jackets at the top shifted, something fell out of one of the pockets and onto the bed.

Raylynx looked down at it, and paused. She picked it up and held it up. "Do you smoke?"

"Yeah," I replied, not even remotely abashed.

"Since when?"

I shrugged. "Did it when I was younger at home. James and I used to smoke a couple at Hogwarts every once in a while, too. I stopped when we graduated and all hell broke loose. But I started again recently, on my own."

She stated the obvious: "It's bad for you."

"Last I checked, war is bad for your health, too," I replied.

She shook her head slightly in disapproval.

I scoffed. "Listen. If I don't get to scold you about risking your life with vampires, you don't get to scold me for smoking, all right?"

I reached for the carton and meant to pull it out of her hand, but she came with it, not wanting to let me have it.

She looked up at me and retorted, "But you did scold me about the vampires, and I am scolding you about the smoking. It's bad for you."

Her face was so close to mine.

I started to lean forward slightly, but she completely missed it as she moved away and got up from the bed.

I sighed.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" she asked me.

"Sure," I said, tossing the cigarettes on the nightstand. I took a clean towel from the heap and tossed it at her.

"Don't take too long, or I'll think you passed out and come in after you," I said, and then I couldn't help myself- I winked. I knew it would piss her off.

She did look like she wanted to seriously hit me for a long second, and I almost laughed.

I waited until she was in the shower and the water was running before I said, "You all right in there?"

"I'm fine!" she said.

"What?" I said, raising my voice a little.

"I said I'm fine!"

Smirking, I yelled back, "I can't hear anything!"

Her voice rose a notch. "I said I'm all right!"

"I'm coming in!" I said joyfully.

"No! Don't you dare, Sirius Black!"

I started to pretend to turn the handle.

"Get away, you great big prat!" she shouted, peeved.

I opened the door ever so slightly.

She shouted again. "PISS OFF, I TELL YOU!"

Laughing, I turned away from the bathroom door and walked over to my bed again. I flicked my wand, and the heap of clothes and blankets started to fold themselves and put themselves away.

A short while later, the shower turned off. The bathroom door peeked open and Raylynx called, "Um, Sirius?"

"What? Want me to-?" I responded playfully, but I stopped myself from turning around to talk to her. I didn't actually want her to feel uncomfortable.

"Whatever you're thinking, no! And don't turn around," Raylynx cut me off. But then, her voice quieted as she asked, "Er- Do you have any clean clothing?"

"You don't have anything?" I asked her.

"Yeah, negative on that," she replied, clearly embarrassed.

"Well," I suggested, "You're just going to have to prance out naked, love."

"Sirius," she warned.

"Don't worry, I'll join you," I said. "Purely out of the kindness of my heart."

"Please. You're not really going to-

I started to unbuckle my belt.

She hissed at me. "Will you stop acting insane?"

Internally, I laughed. Externally, I feigned a sigh and said, "Fine, borrow one of my shirts until you get something of your own."

Without glancing back, I threw a clean t-shirt over my shoulder. She yelped when it caught her around the head.

The bathroom door snapped shut again as she got dressed.

Having finished cleaning the bed, I sat on it and leaned back so that my back was against the headboard. I closed my eyes. I felt dead tired, to be honest. I wondered how Moony was doing. I hoped he was all right.

"Sirius, where do I leave the tow-?" Raylynx instantly shut up when she saw me half-asleep, but it was too late. My eyes flashed open.

I saw her standing there, in my shirt, hair wet, looking uncertain as to where to put the towel.

I couldn't care less about the towel.

She could drop it where she was, right now, and that'd be more than fine with me.

I wanted her.

I swallowed. Then choked.

I sat up and hacked my lungs out.

"You all right there?"

She came over to rub my back, but I held up a hand to stop her.

I heard Remus' sighing voice in my head again. You are a man-child, Sirius. A man, but a child- and a dumb one, at that.

I started to laugh and once I started, I couldn't stop.

"Sirius?" Raylynx questioned, bemused. She sat down next to me, on the bed, and watched laughing with wide eyes.

Finally, when it subsided, I let out a deep breath and wiped my eyes.

"Is this what we're going to be like?" she asked, deeply amused. "Me fainting everywhere and you constantly bursting into hysterics?"

I looked up at her and said, "Wouldn't be so bad, would it?"

She looked at me in surprise before a warm smile spread over her face.