From the playlist:

Something - The Beatles (continued)

I Can't Explain - The Who

Beast of Burden - The Rolling Stones

Heaven - The Rolling Stones

Make Your Own Kind Of Music - Cass Elliot (continues into next chapter)

Ch. 7 - Breakfast and Bathwater

Though he'd made the couch up for him, Sirius came into the kitchen the next morning to find Remus sitting in the same spot at the table he'd left him in the night before. Next to him was the previously third-of-the-way-filled bottle of brandy and the pack of Rothmans, both presently empty.

"Godric's sake, Moony…"

"I'll you...I'll buy you 'nother," Remus slurred. His reddened eyes appeared to have sunk into his face. He hadn't slept.

Sirius, who couldn't care less about the brandy, just stared anxiously at his friend. Remus wasn't even a big drinker, since alcohol aggravated his monthly transformations.

"Remus, I know I'm not a model of perfect behavior or anything...but you can't be doing this to yourself," he admonished him.

"...I know that." He simply wasn't in the mood to argue. Sirius was right, after all.

The animagus poked his head in the pantry and emerged with a box of cereal, grabbed two bowls from the cupboard, then plucked the milk out of the fridge. He sat down across from Remus, pushing the empty bottle out of the way before setting down the bowls. Flicking his wand ever so slightly, he enchanted the milk and cereal to pour themselves. Two spoons floated out of a kitchen drawer.

"Thanks," Remus mumbled, pulling his bowl towards himself. The thought of milk made his stomach churn, but he was so hungry that he began eating anyway.

"So," Sirius spoke with his mouth full, wiping a dribble of milk from his chin. "Are you going to stop her before she makes a huge mistake, or are Prongs and Wormy and I going to have to get rid of McLaggen and hide the body?" Through his chewing he cracked a smile, but Remus didn't seem to find the joke funny.

"I can't jist barge into'er flat'n demand that...engage...that she end'er engagement." He attempted another bite, but spilled his spoonful on the table. If he weren't so pathetic right now, Sirius would have found this all very amusing.

"...Did you tell her you're still mad for her? You are still, you know…in love with her, aren't you?" he checked, spooning another bite into his own mouth.

Remus gave up on eating the cereal and pushed the bowl away. "I love...she knows I still love her." What a silly, unhelpful question.

Sirius pursed his lips, squinting. "...Yeah, but did you tell her? Like, spell it out for her?"

"...Spell't out for'er?" Remus thought he must've been in really bad shape if he was on the receiving end of relationship advice from Sirius "Sir Shags-a-lot" Black. He had to sift through his foggy thoughts to recall. "...Well, n-...no, bu' I th-thought it was ratherrobvious…"

Sirius looked at him like he was having to explain basic maths. "...Mate, I think if she knew you still carry a torch for her, she would have been here hours ago."

Woozily, Remus raised his head to stare at Sirius. He thought for a moment (which had become exceedingly difficult), then abruptly shot up out of his seat.

"Yourrright-"

"Woah, wait Moony, hang on-"

"I have to tell'er, I have to go-" he started, before tripping over his chair and plunging to the ground with a great ker-plunk.

"In the name of the wee man, what is going on out there?"

"Nothing Marley, go back to sleep!" Sirius shouted down the hall as he tended to Remus. "You can't go until you've sobered up," he advised, grunting as he lugged Remus up off the floor and led him to the front room.

"Let-go-of-me," Remus protested, trying to push Sirius off but instead just flapping his arms around uselessly. Sirius heaved him onto the sofa, where he passed out.

"You'll hurt yourself if you try to disapparate like this, and what good would you be to her if you left your bottom half behind?" Remus was in no position to appreciate the remark, but that didn't stop Sirius from enjoying his own joke.

...

1977: Seventh Year, First Term

"Godric's sake mate, you're telling me you've never gone under the skirt?!"

"Shh!" Remus hissed, practically jumping over the table to cover Sirius's mouth. "Could you be any louder?!"

"C'mon Moony, let's have it," James coaxed him. "Have you, or have you not?" The three boys huddled around the table with their undivided attention on Remus.

Remus, who had suddenly taken on the complexion of a tomato, took a large gulp of butterbeer and nervously wiped the froth from his upper lip. "I hardly think this is the place to talk about such things," he objected, observing the hoards of students having separate conversations around them.

James pressed the tips of his fingers into the wood of the table with reverence. "Wizards have sat in this very establishment discussing the 'inner workings' of witches for centuries," he lectured playfully. "Taking this conversation elsewhere would merely be snubbing the longstanding history of The Three Broomsticks."

"Here, here!" Sirius snickered with Peter, then brought his attention back to Remus. "Look, it's a simple yes or no question-"

"Okay! Okay...No, I haven't gone under…" He felt stupid saying it. "...We haven't done anything like that."

James, Sirius, and even Peter, gawked at one another.

"You've been dating for a year!" James reminded him, as if he needed a reminder.

"You do fancy her, don't you?" asked Peter.

"You do fancy WOMEN, don't you?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, I definitely fancy her, and I'm not even going to answer that second question."

"I dunno, some blokes like other blokes! It's a perfectly legitimate question!"

"So what's stopping you then?" wondered James.

Not anything that he could say without having to endure further, more emasculating ridicule. "...We've both been really busy studying for N.E.W.T.s-"

"You can't possibly blame your lack of action on the poor N.E.W.T.s!" cried James. "Next you'll tell us the N.E.W.T.s are the reason you never hold hands-"

"We do hold hands-"

"-or snog each other, or anything-"

"We do plenty of both of those things, we just don't like to do them in front of people! What's wrong with that? And why do you have a weird fascination with how I choose to spend my time with my girlfriend?"

"No wonder you're wound so tight all the time," Sirius jabbed.

"Yeah, no kidding, and no wonder Emmeline hits bludgers with such unfettered rage," James added.

"...Wait a minute, have ALL of you done 'that' already?" Remus asked.

"Don't look at me," replied Peter, backing out of the huddle and taking another swig of his butterbeer.

"What about that Hufflepuff girl you were after?" James inquired. "Sadie?"

"Sasha," he corrected him for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, her. You guys never…?"

"Didn't have the nerve to ask her on the second date."

"I thought it was Mary you fancied," said Sirius.

"Never had the nerve to ask her on the FIRST date. But enough about me." He raised an eyebrow at James, who held up his hands in defense.

"Well- okay, Lily and I haven't exactly-"

"Aha!" Remus flung an accusatory pointer finger at him. "You haven't done it either!"

"I think you'll remember I HAVE done it, thank you very much, just, regrettably, not with Lily. Yet. Besides, we've only been seeing each other for a few months, and taking our history into account, I can't muck things up by rushing something like that." He yielded to Sirius. "Don't get Snuffles here started on his conquests." But this was to no avail, as Snuffles had already started.

Sirius leaned back in his seat with an air of alpha-male dominance. "You poor sods. I've been in the knickers of half the girls in our year, and half the girls that were in the year above us."

"Sure you have," groaned Remus, rolling his eyes. Even in his disbelief, he could not help but feel just a tad jealous of Sirius's...confidence. Let's call it confidence.

"Either that, or they've been in mine. I swear on my mother's grave," Sirius insisted with a dark smirk.

"Your mum's still alive," Peter returned.

"Pity, isn't it?"

"Merlin's beard Pad, you irreverent son of a hag," James chortled, rubbing his face.

"Ain't she just?"

Remus couldn't argue that one. In fact, he could probably come up with a few stronger words when it came to Walburga Black.

Sirius got back to the topic at hand. "Go on, you can ask Emmeline or Lily. Between this year and last year, I've lifted the skirts of HALF the Gryffindors, probably MOST of the Hufflepuffs, and nearly ALL of the Ravenclaws. Almost had me a Slytherin once, too."

"Have not," Peter challenged.

"Have too."

"Spare us the details, Casanova," James remarked.

"Prove it, then. Tell us who."

"I never kiss and tell, Wormtail."

"Yes you do!" James and Peter said in unison.

"Can we change the subject, please?"

"Padfoot, that's all rubbish and you know it," Peter provoked him, ignoring Remus's plea.

"Okay, okay. HALF of the Ravenclaws."

"You've fooled around with Claire Singh and Anne Flaherty, but between this year and last year, TWO Ravenclaws is not HALF the Ravenclaws!"

"Yeah, well, half of the fit Ravenclaws."

Remus frowned at him. "Don't be a prick, Padfoot."

"Haven't managed to woo your FAVORITE Ravenclaw though, have you?" Peter taunted. Sirius scowled and thwacked him on the shoulder, causing him to spill butterbeer on himself. "Hey!"

"I think I'll set my sights on Mary MacDonald next, how's that sound-?"

"Bugger off!"

Remus looked at the lot of them, feeling as though he was rather behind the curve. "...Where do you go to...you know…"

Sirius shifted back to him. "Don't tell me you've never visited the infamous seventh floor broom cupboard."

"We have, and it wasn't even remotely romantic."

"You know what I think your problem is? All that reading has turned you into a bleeding heart. Conjure some rose petals and get over it."

"Thanks for the pointers, Prince Charming. I'm starting to feel bad for half the Gryffindors, most of the Hufflepuffs-"

"Yeah, yeah, put a sock in it, virgin mother Moony."

Remus flashed him an unfriendly finger gesture.

"Okay, so the broom cupboard doesn't suit you. Fine. Fortunately for you my dear fellow, we have a resource in our possession which offers endless possibilities when it comes to hiding places." As he said this, James discreetly deposited the Marauder's Map into Remus's coat pocket.

"…You slippery bastard," Remus whispered with a grin. "I thought I'd never see this again."

James flashed him a lopsided smirk. "Invisibility has its perks."

"Filch must've thought it was just some prank parchment, so he didn't lock it up properly," Sirius explained. "We saw an opportunity and nabbed it from his office last week while you were recovering from your 'sick day.' Peter never gets to hold it again."

"For the last time, I'm SORRY."

James continued: "One of these days, I will let Filch have our map, so that someday, some other mischief-makers can nick it from his office and enjoy its wonders. But for now, it seems you have greater use for it. If you're willing to get creative, that is."

"Willing to get creative about what?" inquired Lily, who had just entered the pub with Mary, Marlene, and Emmeline.

"Our project for Slughorn. Ghastly business," mused Remus, saving the group with his quick thinking.

Now in the presence of his "favorite," Sirius straightened up in a manner uncharacteristic of someone who had allegedly lifted the skirts of all of the Ravenclaws.

"Four more butterbeers, please!" Emmeline waved at Madam Rosmerta behind the bar as the new arrivals squished onto the benches. Lily slid under James's outstretched arm and snuggled up against him, a sight that still proved shocking to the rest of them after six previous years of her supposedly loathing him. Much to James's delight, she'd had a change of heart somewhere along the line.

"You gents are quiet all of the sudden," Mary observed.

Peter looked ready to run for the hills.

"Have you been gossiping about us?" asked Marlene.

"No," they all said, a bit too quickly.

"Where have you ladies been?" asked Sirius, changing the subject. He smoothly draped his arm around Marlene, who promptly removed it from her shoulders and scooted a few inches away.

"Scrivenshaft's, then we stopped in Honeydukes," Emmeline told them. She produced a baggie of lollipops from her satchel, selected one, and popped it in her mouth. James and Sirius had to stifle their laughter at Remus's expression after their previous conversation. Noticing that he was staring at her, Emmeline offered him the bag. "Want one?"

Remus snapped out of his trance and cleared his throat. "N-No. Thanks, though."

…

The following evening, when the majority of Gryffindor house had gone off to bed, James, Remus, Peter, and Emmeline lingered in the common room finishing an assignment for Charms the next day. (Lily had finished it days ago and Sirius hadn't started it at all.) Emmeline sat next to Remus on the sofa, and seeing that this was a good opportunity to leave them to their business, James feigned a yawn and got up from his chair. "I think I'll turn in for the night."

Emmeline looked peeved. "How did you finish that quickly?"

"Who said anything about finishing it? Flitwick barely grades these," he scoffed. "Come on Wormtail, time for bed."

Remus began to understand his motives, and smirked at him gratefully.

"Hang on Prongs, I've just got a bit more-"

"You can do it in the dorm," James snapped, hoisting Peter up off the floor. "Not too late now Vance, I need you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for practice tomorrow."

She gave him a sardonic salute. "Aye aye, Captain."

After flashing Remus an encouraging wink, James dragged Peter upstairs.

At long last, Remus and Emmeline were alone.

He spent a few minutes staring blankly at his unfinished homework, stalling to muster his courage. Meanwhile, Emmeline kept scribbling away. Eventually when he made up his mind, he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him as he planted an unexpected kiss in the space between her neck and shoulder. She smiled coquettishly and peered sideways at him.

"We're not finishing this either, I take it?" she predicted, laying the parchment aside and turning to wrap her arms around his neck.

He kissed her again, this time on her cheek, and rose to his feet. "Let's go somewhere else."

"Please Remus, not the broom cupboard again…"

"I've got a better idea," he reassured her, producing the map.

Emmeline stood too, eyeing him suspiciously. "How did you get this back from Filch?"

"We have our ways." He donned a devilish grin and pointed to the map with the tip of his wand: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he recited, as ink appeared and sprawled out over the parchment. "How do you fancy…" He ran his fingers over the hallways and rooms; and though he would never recall what gave him the courage to suggest it, one in particular gave him a very romantic idea. "...a dip in the prefects' bath?"

Emmeline blushed bright pink, but smiled. "I'm not allowed in there…"

"Nonsense, I'm a prefect. You'll be...my plus one."

"This is not very 'prefect' of you." But the way she'd said it gave Remus the impression that she didn't really mind.

"Come off it, desiring a little rare solitude with my girlfriend pales in comparison to James's antics, and he's Head Boy."

"But what if somebody comes in?"

"Then we'll have plenty of warning," he promised, pointing to the map.

After a quick trip upstairs to borrow James's invisibility cloak and two towels, the couple snuck out of the common room and headed to the prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor. Once there, Remus positioned the map open within a safe distance of the bath, so they'd have some advance notice should anybody wander in.

There was an uncomfortable lull as they stood facing each other, neither wanting to be the first to initiate. The silence allowed for the voice in Remus's head to speak up: "What if you're no good at it? What if she's expecting something different? What if you hurt her? What if-"

Remus considered abandoning the plan altogether until, in a feat of nerve, Emmeline pulled her long sleeved shirt off and threw it aside, revealing a white bra.

Remus's jaw hung slack. Never before had he seen a girl in a bra; not in the flesh, anyway. He had to blink to prove to himself that this was real, and not an advertisement or a film. Then, to accommodate for changes in blood flow, he had to adjust his stance.

"...Don't leave me hanging," Emmeline beckoned, shyly folding her arms across her body.

Remus straightened up, sucked in a large breath, and shed his own shirt before he had the chance to change his mind.

But when she saw that he was covered in scars, Emmeline let out a small gasp.

In his excitement, Remus had forgotten about his scars, and that they were not very normal. He thought again on advertisements and films, and how the men in them never seemed to have any blemishes. He remembered why he had been so self-conscious in the first place.

She approached him timidly, reaching out to touch one of the many purplish-pink marks, but pulled her hand back when she noticed him wince.

"Do they bother you?" he asked, his voice low.

Seeming more sure of herself, Emmeline reached out again and gently ran her fingertips over a few of the scars. "No…I think they're sort of beautiful."

This girl had bewildered him time and time again, and for that, Remus could not help but scoop her into his arms and kiss her eagerly. They fumbled as they tried to remove their trousers, breaking the kisses only to giggle a bit at their gracelessness. Once they were down to their undergarments, they carefully climbed into the pool and restored their embrace in the water; but he didn't dip back into her lips just yet.

"Is this alright?"

"…Why wouldn't it be?"

"I mean, we've never-...I just want to make sure...How 'far' are you comfortable with?"

"...Well how 'far' are you comfortable with?"

"I asked you first."

"...Let's just go for it and see what happens," she proposed, smiling and staring at his mouth.

Remus admired how pretty she looked in the glow of the chandelier's candles. How could he keep from kissing her again?

As they acclimated to each other, Emmeline placed one hand on his shoulder while she ran the other through the back of his sandy-copper hair. She liked his hair. Remus liked that she liked his hair. Her hand often gravitated to it when they were kissing, and it was a safe, habitual place to put it. Yet in another feat of nerve, she momentarily removed her hands.

When Remus opened his eyes, her bra was floating away. His gaze drifted down.

"Merlin's beard," he wheezed.

"Not quite," Emmeline laughed, pulling him to her lips.

He couldn't tell if the surge in the pit of his stomach came from the exhilaration of feeling her against him, or his nerves. He was still quite nervous. The mechanics of the thing were easy enough to understand, and necessary equipment seemed to be functioning as intended, but the execution was, obviously, uncharted territory.

This led him to a frightful realization.

They were vertical.

James often teased him that he let his brain get in the way of things, but now he wished it had intervened sooner. He didn't possess enough experience or forethought to have considered POSITIONS.

He pulled away again, trying to keep his eyes up. "Please don't laugh, but I have a humiliating question."

"I may have a humiliating answer."

"If we're…you know, upright…how exactly do we…?"

Emmeline looked as though she'd just arrived at the same conclusion. "...Oh." She glanced around them. "...Maybe if you sit on the ledge under the water, I could…" She cleared her throat. "...be on top…"

Remus swallowed tightly as his blood flow seemed to concentrate all in one spot.

Just as she suggested, he lowered himself onto the ledge, so Emmeline climbed into his lap and started to kiss him again. When exactly was he supposed to...erm...make his entrance? Were they on that step yet? She seemed to be waiting for him to do something.

His train of thought derailed when he felt her trembling. He parted from her lips.

"You're shaking." She shouldn't have been; the water was very warm. "Have I done something wrong-?"

"No! No, not at all, it's just…" her voice drifted off.

"...You can tell me…"

Emmeline folded her lips into each other, casting her gaze away from him. "...It's just that I'm...honestly, I'm sort of nervous-"

Remus immediately climbed out from under her and took her hands in penitence. "Oh- God-, I- I'm so sorry, Emmeline-"

"No, no, I was the one who said we should go for it-"

"I swear it was not my intention to pressure you, I'm nervous myself-"

"I was caught off guard when you suggested the bath. Maybe I just need a few more minutes to prepare-"

"No- please- please don't feel obligated. You shouldn't have to talk yourself into it-"

"But Marlene said-"

She instantly covered her mouth.

Remus's eyes narrowed. "...What exactly did Marlene say…?"

Then it dawned on them.

"Wait-"

"Godric damn it."

"-did the boys talk to YOU?"

"Yes."

"Ugh! I could KILL them all," Emmeline seethed, sitting down next to him on the ledge.

They looked at each other…

…and burst into laughter.

"Look," Remus began after getting all of his giggles out. "We shouldn't do this just because our friends are saying we should. That's not a good enough reason."

"It just felt like I was behind schedule or something," she confessed.

"I'm starting to think there's no such a thing as 'behind schedule', and that we're just surrounded by arseholes."

"Agreed."

He helped her out of the bath, wrapping her in one of the towels, and they began to dress themselves.

"It was worth a shot," Emmeline sighed, squeezing water out of her hair.

Remus smiled to himself as he pulled his shirt back over his head, knowing that his first glimpse of her breasts would remain with him for the rest of his days. "Very worth it, I'd say…"

"Actually, I was planning to ask you about it when I visit over New Years," she suggested bashfully.

He turned to look at her. "Were you?"

"Yeah."

"...I like that idea."

Emmeline stepped into her pajama bottoms. "But maybe we could start with something more…introductory, before then."

"The thought did cross my mind," Remus admitted, zipping his trousers. "I think we might've tried to skip some steps."

"No wonder we got nervy."

"Well there's always the broom cupboard," he joked. "My sources tell me it's a fine spot for things of that nature."

"...You think it's open?"

Blood flow.

"...Now?"

"Well now that we're not feeling pressured to check a box for other people, I think I could be persuaded."

Remus was about to express his enthusiasm for the idea, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw footsteps approaching on the map. He rapidly thrust the cloak over the both of them.

Suffice it to say, Argus Filch was entirely befuddled by the brassiere he found floating in the prefects' bath.