Legacy of the Marauders

Chapter Twenty-Four Perfection

They were selecting gowns to wear at the graduation party James was having at his manour that summer for the entire seventh year minus the Slytherins. Did women invariably select their outfits so far in advance? If they did men truly did deserve to be flogged if they failed to compliment them on their attire.

"Joanna, could you come here, please?" requested Sapphire.

The werewolf placed a scary tube of lipstick he'd been examining apprehensively back on a glass shelf of cosmetics and entered Sapphire's dressing room, expecting her to want Joanna's opinion about how an ensemble looked. Instead, she stood there in a black bra and matching knickers. His eyes widened. He had managed to avoid witnessing any of the girls in inappropriate dress the entire week and he knew that now he should politely avert his eyes, yet he was literally incapable of doing it. His eyelids, and all other parts of his body, were frozen into stillness and refused to obey his brain's commands. Sapphire was beyond beautiful; she was perfect.

She stepped into a frock, pulled it up, and slipped her arms through the sleeves, seemingly oblivious to the discomfort she'd caused. "I need you to zip this, please." Sapphire turned so her back faced him and tugged her golden hair in front of her body to bestow Joanna with an unambiguous view of the zipper.

Remus gazed at the creamy skin of her back and longed to trail kisses along her spine, though he was aware that in his current form it would be inexcusable to do so. With the slow movements his brain finally allowed him he managed to hold the zipper between his delicate, feminine fingers and guide it upward.

"Thank you," said Sapphire once he was finished, and let her long hair fall back into place. She inspected her reflection thoughtfully. "I like it. I hope Remmy does too."

The gown was tight above the waist with a square neckline and bell sleeves, and a long, loose skirt that flaired out when she spun around. It was the same blue hue as her eyes.

"Remus won't be able to take his eyes off of you. Believe me," he said hoarsely.

Sapphire smiled. "You think so?"

He cleared his throat. "I know it." Joanna's voice still sounded strained.

"Your mouth must be dry. We haven't had anything to eat or drink since breakfast. We'll all get butterbeers in a few minutes, but why don't you go to the water fountain to tide yourself over until then?" suggested Sapphire placidly.

Remus\Joanna nodded and left feeling a combination of relief and disappointment.

He went and had a lengthy drink from the fountain beside the store's entrance. He realised that Sapphire would most likely be embarrassed if she knew that he had been the one to view her so scarcely dressed; therefore he should attempt to forget about it, however, despite his best efforts, he could not banish the image from his mind. Replaying the picture so many times within his head enabled him to discern two things.
One: Sapphire had absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about!
Two: He was becoming extremely aroused.

Discovering how a woman's body felt when it was impassioned captured Remus' interest despite himself. Things low in his body, including his thighs, grew tight with need. His breasts and neck pulsed with the desire to be caressed. He flexed his fingers in a futile attempt to eradicate an insistent tingle that begged him to touch something.

Dumbledore had instructed him to inform his friends of whatever discoveries he would make as a lass, yet Remus was of the opinion that his mates, or at least James and Sirius, knew enough about randy women, so they wouldn't need to hear about this. Why must he have this experience anyway? It was too strange. In the 60's people took acid to intentionally make the world appear extremely odd. Now that the world was extremely odd they were taking Prozac to make it normal. At that point in his life Remus would have settled for either one as opposed to what he was currently feeling. No one should be so close to the individual that they love and be unable to even hold their hand.

I must have done something awful to deserve this, sighed Remus' overwhelmed mind.

"Joanna!"

Holding back a weary groan, Remus followed the voice to its source. "Yes, Lily?"

"Which looks better?" She held up a crimson and an emerald skirt.

Remus gladly accepted the question as a way to distract his excited thoughts. He glanced around the shop and swiftly retrieved a short ivory gown. "This would be lovely."

Lily eyed it doubtfully. "It's a bit revealing, isn't it?"

"A bit," Remus conceded, "but not to the point of being distasteful. Besides, James thinks you look elegant in white."

"Did he say that?" queried Lily in surprise.

Joanna admitted, "Not exactly. I don't think 'elegant' is in his vocabulary, but I know he thinks it."

Raising an eyebrow, she questioned, "How?"

When it came to deceiving on the spot Remus, unlike Sirius and James, was poorly skilled at it. Fortunately, he did not need to lie to explain himself. "I can tell by the way he looks at you, and I'm good at thinking like a guy."

"Really?" asked Alice, sticking her head out of a dressing room as Lily gaited away to try on the ivory-coloured frock. "What goes on in most men's skulls?"

"Not much," replied Remus truthfully without hesitation.

Laughing, Alice withdrew her head.

Remus decided it would be suspicious if Joanna neglected to buy herself anything, thus he browsed through the various ladies' outfits. A female might feel comfortable purchasing something that she would only wear once, but Remus was a male, a slightly poor male, and the very idea seemed pointless to him.

"Do you know what would look good on you?" a husky voice in his ear inquired. "Me."

Joanna spun around to find Regulus Black standing much too close to her. "What is it now?" she\he demanded.

Ignoring her question, Regulus added, "Of course, what you're wearing now looks nice on you too. I think that it would look particularly nice in a crumpled heap next to my bed."

Remus shoved him in the chest, though it made little difference. "Piss off." He\She strode away angrily.

Regulus came up behind Joanna and slipped his arms around her waist. The inconvenient, yet pleasurable tension that Sapphire had filled Remus' body with was immediately replaced with a vexed, skin-scrawling tension at Regulus' touch. "I'm in your future, my dear."

Recalling how insulting girls were, Remus muttered, "If you believe that then go to psychic because you obviously can't see the future, but go to a palm-reader, not a mind-reader; I know you've got a palm."

The girls chuckled, ambling up to Regulus and Joanna.

The Slytherin glared at them. "She knows she really wants me. How could she not? Look at me!"

Lily stared at Regulus' attractive physique. "Oh, Merlin!"

"See? I'm sexy beyond reason," Regulus said with a grin, proving that though they had different moral values he and Sirius were definitely related.

Lily continued, "Oh, Merlin! Just look at you! Was anyone else hurt in the accident?"

Remus squirmed out of Regulus' grasp whilst the girls giggled.

Regulus shouted, "Shut it, you Gryffindor wenches!"

"Don't get mad, Regulus." Joanna batted her eyelashes. "I do have real feelings for you."

"I knew you did." Regulus grinned.

"I've had many cases of love that were only infatuation, but the hatred I feel towards you is the real thing."

Eyes narrowing, Regulus spat, "Summers, you're a bitch!"

Well, I am a female wolf, observed Remus with mild amusement. "Yeah, I am. What's your point?"

"You're not worth my time. Any of you."

As he exited the store Alice screeched at his retreating back, "Time would stop in its tracks for us!"

Remus' gaze wandered over to Sapphire. "Yes it would," he concurred. Next, he turned to Lily with admiration and complimented, "What you said to Regulus was hilarious!"

"Thanks. I said that to Petunia once. I can't stand her!"

Sapphire queried, "Then why do your parents force you to share a room with her during the holidays?"

"I don't know...to try to make us like each other, I guess. After Petunia tried burning my 'freaky' clothes I told Mum, 'I hate my sister's guts,' at dinnertime."

"What did she say?" gasped Alice, fascinated.

"Mum looked at the food on the table and said, 'Be quiet and eat around them.'"

They all roared with laughter.

Lily had to wipe away a tear of hilarity before she could add, "Petunia and her boyfriend that was there, Vernon, didn't think it was very funny."

"If Vernon is dating Petunia I think that is enough of a joke for him to have to deal with," Alice supplied with a grin. "Well, let's go to The Three Broomsticks. I could use a drink, and I need to pee really badly."

The redhead countered, "You have to p? I have to q, r, s, and t, so I get to go first!"

Alice laughed. "All right."

"You two go ahead. I need to talk to Joanna for a moment," Sapphire said.

Once they departed Remus asked his girlfriend, "Is something wrong?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but ever since you got here I thought that there was something strange about you, and I think I've figured out what it is."

Remus gulped. He had tried to be as unobvious as possible, but what had he expected? Sapphire knew him too well. "Go on."