The Last Time

The Last Time

She was sitting on her bed, reading Teen Witch by the light of a candle stub. Everyone else in the house was sure to be asleep, but she could take no chances. Her mother would go mad if she was caught awake at this hour. Her slim frame was wrapped in a thick, grey blanket and her hair fell in waves about her face. Her lips were stained blue from the countless M&M's she had consumed earlier in the evening, and her eyes were darkened by the mascara she had yet to remove.

There was a soft knock on the door, and she jumped; she quickly blew out her candle, sending the room into complete darkness, and shoved her magazine under her bed.

"Come in," she said, in what she hoped was a sleepy voice, and heard a creak as the door opened.

"Sorry love. Did I wake you?"

"No, I was awake," she replied. She stood up, the blanket falling to the floor, and walked silently across the room to him as he closed the door. He reached out to cup her chin in his hand and pressed his lips to hers.

She let out a soft moan and kissed him back hungrily, her eyes fluttering closed as she moved closer to him. His hands left her chin, tracing slowly down her slim frame. She shuddered beneath his touch and groaned against his mouth. He gently pushed her against the wall, their lips never leaving each other, and his hands slid up again, one tangling in her hair, the other resting on her chest.

She slowly began to undo the buttons of his shirt, her slim fingers working diligently, and slid it from his shoulders, his torso a pale, silvery-blue in the darkness. Her hands moved slowly down to the zipper of his jeans. She drew it down, and reached for the button when his hand slid down and took a gentle but firm hold on her wrist.

"No," he breathed against her lips.

"Please," she whispered.

"Not yet, love. We aren't ready."

"Yes we are. Listen, I -"

"No," he interrupted. "The law says we can't, so we wait."

She sighed again, an annoyed expression settling on her features. He smiled at her and traced a finger down her cheek.

"We can wait, can't we?" he said gently, kissing her neck.

"Mmm, I suppose so," she replied resignedly.

"Anyway, your Mum would kill me if she found out we'd done anything."

"Oh, I don't know. After this evening you might be in her good books. She managed not to yell at you for allowing us to stay up."

"She was too upset to do any yelling. She'll be her usual self in a few weeks."

"You never know. She might have changed her mind about you."

"Even so, she wouldn't be very happy if she walked in here and saw us like this, would she?"

"I suppose she wouldn't."

Their conversation lulled as their lips met again. He gently stroked her hair, his fingers toying with a few strands, then pulled away.

"I'd better go," he said, kneeling down and retrieving his shirt from the floor.

"Or - you could sleep here," she replied, a pleading edge to her voice. He sighed.

"I thought we just -"

"No," she said quickly. "Not like that. You could, you know, just sleep here."

"Oh. Alright. Come on, then."

They moved across the room and slid under the covers of her bed. He wrapped his arms around her and sang softly in her ear until she drifted into a contented sleep. He lay awake long afterwards, breathing in her sweet scent, her hair tickling his face. Little did he know that he would never smell that scent again.

* * *

Five years. Has it really been so long since he died?

Ginny walked slowly up the path to the grave, a bunch of red roses in her arms - a well-practiced ritual. Her heart sank as she saw someone kneeling at the spot she was heading for. She liked to be alone at the grave. She turned to walk away - she'd simply come back later - when the person called her name.

"Ginny, wait!"

She spun around and walked towards the figure, who had stood up and was dusting the knees of their trousers.

"Hi, Remus," she said as she approached, and he smiled warmly at her. He had obviously been crying, but he said nothing of it. Ginny laid the roses carefully on the grass in front of the gravestone she'd read so many times.

Sirius Black

1960 - 1995

"So, how are you doing, Ginny?" Remus asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, I suppose. You?"

"Well, you know," Remus replied vaguely. "Same as usual."

He fell silent as they turned to regard the grave, and Ginny felt her eyes fill with tears.

"You loved him, didn't you?"

She found herself nodding; her shoulders shuddered as the tears spilled over, and they ran down her face, dyed black from her mascara. She coughed shakily, and Remus drew her into an embrace. She wept silently into his shoulder, and he stroked her hair comfortingly.

"I noticed, Ginny," he whispered. "When he was here, I knew there was something between the two of you. I saw the looks you gave each other, and I heard you creeping into each other's rooms in Grimmauld Place. But I didn't tell anyone," he added reassuringly. "So you don't have to worry."

Ginny laughed humourlessly. "We thought we'd fooled everyone," she said, pulling away and wiping her blackened eyes. "We should have realised you'd notice things the others didn't."

Remus smiled and handed her a handkerchief. "Love makes you forget what you always knew," he said consolingly. "But it made Sirius careless and foolish," he added with a chuckle. "When he was at Hogwarts, he fell in love once."

"Only once?" Ginny said incredulously.

"Yes. It was the first time we'd ever seen him show deep feelings for anyone other than his friends. He would follow the girl around, showering her with expensive gifts he couldn't afford, as his mother cut him off from the family fortune. But the girl didn't love him, and wouldn't, no matter what he did."

"Oh," Ginny said quietly. "Who was it?"

"Professor McGonagall," Remus replied, holding back a snigger.

"Oh my... really?"

"Yep," Remus said, his golden eyes twinkling with mirth. "She was his favourite teacher, but she was highly embarrassed by his idolisation of her, and ignored his - erm - advances."

Remus was shaking with barely controlled laughter, and Ginny couldn't help giggling. The sound rang through the silent graveyard, and was soon accompanied by Remus' bark-like laugh. Ginny realised with a jolt that it sounded almost exactly like Sirius', then comprehended that she'd never heard Remus laugh before. And what's more, she never thought she'd like Remus' laugh.

"Well, I'd better go," Remus said after their laughter subsided. "I'll see you sometime?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, see you, Remus."

He squeezed her shoulder briefly, then walked away.

"Thanks, Remus," she called after him.

"No problem," he said, looking over his shoulder and waving. She waved back, then knelt down in front of the headstone, staring at the name engraved in the marble. She whispered a prayer she'd memorised years ago, when her grandfather died.

"Many nights I look at the sky,

Looking for my shiny star,

To hear you say you love me

And take the loneliness away

When night comes.

Many nights I gaze at the stars

And wonder when you are going

To take me away.

In your world where my

Dreams would come true.

Together we could outshine

All the stars.

Many times I have mistaken you

Thinking that she was

my destined star.

But the sparkles died

And I knew it wasn't you.

I will keep searching the sky

And wait for you till I see

The stars in your eyes.

And need not to look

At the sky anymore..."

Ginny let out a sigh, then stood up, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"This is the last time," she told the gravestone. "Not the last time I come here, but the last time I come here to wallow in grief. I've got to keep going."

She threw her head back and gazed at the sky - it was a clear, beautiful blue, not a cloud to be seen.

"I love you," she whispered, then walked slowly out of the graveyard, her head held high.