Once in a Blue Moon

CHAPTER THREE

Remus tried to leave the Dining Hall as quietly and inconspicuously as possible. He had to head back to the Boy's Dormitory to prepare the food and supplies they would need for their night in the Shrieking Shack. James should have done all this last night before going to bed, but Quidditch practice had run late again due to Gryffindor's impending match against Hufflepuff, and he barely made it into bed before passing out. They huddled close and debated who should go back to the dormitory and do it. They couldn't wait until later, because then the rooms would be crowded with too many of their curious fellow Gryffindors. Neither James nor Sirius could afford to be late to Transfiguration again, and Peter was bound to forget something important, so the task fell to Remus.

Nodding his head in silent agreement, Remus collected his belongings and began making his way back to the dormitory. He desperately tried to keep his mind on the task at hand, but images of smooth skin and long hair continued to disturb his concentration.

With a silent burst of courage and determination, Lyca proclaimed a dire need to use the bathroom, and she excused herself from a rather one-sided conversation Severus was having with her about Chinese anise. She collected her books and rushed out the main doors to catch up with Remus.

Excitement and anticipation coursed violently through her veins, causing the blood to pound in her temples. She was desperate to have a real conversation with him; one that didn't involve Severus scowling at him and his friends or Sirius making lewd comments about her chest. This might be the only chance she had to get him alone for the rest of the term.

Lyca finally caught up with Remus at the top of the stairs leading out of the Great Hall. She had planned on tapping on his shoulder gently to get his attention, but as she reached out to touch him her foot caught on the top step and she went sprawling forward. With a loud thud her face made contact with the floor; her books and quills littered the lush carpeted floor. She moaned in frustration and humiliation. Figures, she thought. Of all the times I had to make a complete ass out of myself...

Remus jumped, startled by the sudden noise behind him, and whirled around to try and discover the source of the sound. At first he saw nothing, but another queer sound caught his attention, and his gaze dropped to a slender figure at his feet.

His breath caught in his throat, and he stared at Lyca in wonder and disbelief. Lyca Frost was the girl of his dreams. She was the only girl he had ever allowed himself to pine for. She was smart, attractive, and the only girl at Hogwarts audacious enough to outdo Sirius in a battle of insults and invectives. Her long black hair was slightly disheveled, and her normally pale face was tinged pink. Her skirt and robes were fanned out to reveal wiry legs and delicate ankles. Remus squirmed slightly and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. To have her here before him, especially in such a compromising position, was beyond all of his wildest fantasies. He felt a tightening in his pants that he was desperately trying to ignore.

When he finally regained his bearing, he moved to help Lyca collect her books and inkbottles, which had scattered in all directions. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Do I look alright you dolt," Lyca snapped at him. Remus frowned and she winced at the harshness of her own words. She couldn't help it; she was embarrassed! She began to stammer an apology, but Remus stopped her.

"It's alright," he said. "I understand." Their hands touched when he returned her books. Remus allowed his hands to linger and caress the soft flesh of her fingers, grasping them tightly in his own. Once again their eyes met, and any words Lyca planned to say dissolved into nothingness.

"Thank you," Lyca whispered. This appreciating gesture was all the prompting Remus needed. His hand moved to caress her cheek; his fingers twined in her hair and his thumb ran over her lips. He knew that she liked him the way he did her. There was an inexplicable bond between them that neither could qualify nor understand, but they didn't care. All that mattered was their eyes, their hands, and their hearts. Lyca closed her eyes as Remus inclined his head to bring his lips down on hers. They met for one warm, wonderful instant, but fled quickly with the sound of movement from the Great Hall. Lyca glared angrily in the direction of the door, chastising it for the interruption. Remus dropped his hand and marched quickly down the corridor without another glance.

Lyca stood at the top of the stairs for a moment longer, thinking pleasant thoughts that made her heart beat faster and the blood rush to her cheeks. Once she regained her composure, she mentally kicked herself for not really 'talking' to Remus and stomped back towards the Great Hall, where she would meet Severus before Herbology.

She expected to find Severus serenely propped up against a wall or door, preparing some new quip regarding her extended trip to the 'bathroom' with her schoolbooks. Instead she came face to face with a flushed and angry Severus; fists clenched, teeth bared, and cold dark eyes glaring at a rather haughty-looking Sirius Black.

Lyca quickly concealed herself behind the nearest suit of armor. She knew enough about Severus not to interfere when he got into a confrontation. He felt that taking a beating was more honorable that accepting help in a fight, and was inclined to bite off her head if she interrupted.

"Oh Snivelly," Sirius taunted, circling Severus like a vulture. "Want to come on a little midnight stroll with me and my buddies? It's the full moon. You can find out exactly what we've really been up to."

Severus didn't reply; his face remained an emotionless mask, effectively guarding his thoughts. Sirius closed the gap between them in one long step, bringing their noses mere centimeters from touching. "How about it Snivellous? Wanna play?"

Severus still didn't reply. He continued to hold his gaze level with Sirius's eyes. Lyca could see that Severus was really itching to give Sirius a good square punch in the jaw, but his desire to get some serious dirt on his archenemies kept his anger in check. The corner of his mouth twitched, revealing a sharp-toothed grin. In a smooth, sonorous voice he replied, "I'll meet you at eleven o'clock by the Library entrance."

"Alright then," Sirius said as he clapped Severus roughly on the back. "Lookin' foward to it." With his hands in his pockets and a devilish smile, Sirius walked away, leaving Severus standing in the middle of the Great Hall.

Lyca removed herself from her hiding place and rushed toward to Severus. "Don't even think about it," he said before she even uttered a word. He had a bad habit of doing that; knowing what she was going to say before she did. Normally this would annoy her, but she was too excited to be bothered by it.

"What?" she demanded. "I didn't say anyth-" Lyca was cut off mid-sentence by Severus abruptly grabbing her shoulders. She was momentarily lost in the dark tunnels of his eyes. There was so much pain there; pains that he didn't even allow her to understand. "I want to come with you," she whispered.

"You are not coming with me, "he yelled, his voice filling the room and shaking her down to her very core. "Do you understand?" Lyca nodded meekly, refusing to meet his eyes. "I want you to promise me that you won't go."

"You want me to what?"

"Promise me you won't come."

"That is the most ridicul-"

"Just do it!" He shook her a little bit for emphasis. Lyca knew that there was no way of getting out of this; Severus was, like her, analogous to a pit bull in that he never let go once he got an idea stuck in his head.

She reluctantly gave him the oath he was looking for, and angrily walked towards the greenhouses. She knew she was being rude, just turning her back and leaving Severus standing alone like that. She really was no better than Sirius, she thought. What felt even worse was the fact that she knew she had made that promise with no intention to actually keep it. And Lyca felt Severus knew in his heart the same.

Sirius had said 'me and my buddies'. That meant that wherever Sirius planned to take Severus tonight, Remus was bound to be there too. A plan was already formulating itself in her head. She would stake out the entrance to the Gryffindor Dormitory tonight starting around 9 o'clock. Nobody would be able to leave without alerting her as they went by.

Lyca smiled at the simple genius of her plan. She was determined to find out everything tonight, or at least die trying.