Before the Moon Rises

BEFORE THE MOON RISES

The First Adventure

Chapter Six

"Tuesday morning in the dark

I was finding out who you are."--Michelle Branch

January 1978

Two long weeks had passed for Hermione and she was finding 1978 not as horrible as she would have expected. She made very high marks in all of her lessons, but most importantly, she had made new friendships--friendships she kept forgetting would not carry over into the future...except for Remus, of course. She still had him back at home.

Hermione was sitting alone at a table in the library, studying no less. Even out of her own time, she still couldn't let her marks be anything less than perfection. It was getting late and she stifled a yawn.

What time is it anyway? She glanced down at her watch. I can't believe it's that late already. The library will be closing soon.

Hermione pulled out a spare sheet of parchment and began to scratch down hurriedly with her quill. She had decided to keep a record of everything she experienced while stuck in 1978. She knew it was possible that one day, she would want to remember everything in detail--it was just possible she would make memories here that she would never wish to fade. When she was finished she stuffed the parchment into one of her books and gathered her things.

She walked up a long aisle of books toward the exit when she heard familiar voices just around the corner. She stopped and listened, unable to stop the smile that crossed her lips. It was the Marauders and it sounded like they were hatching a plan.

She tiptoed around the bookshelf and stood behind them quietly; they didn't appear to notice.

"Okay, Filch should be here, so I think we'll be safe to go this way," James was saying, moving his finger across an old piece of parchment--the Marauder's Map.

Standing behind them, Hermione smiled in remembrance. She, Harry and Ron had used the very same map--for different reasons of course. She cleared her throat loudly while she leaned against the bookcase casually.

All four boys turned around quickly--James jerked the map off of the table at the speed of lightening--and when they saw it was only her, they relaxed.

"Jane, lovely to see you," Sirius said smoothly, "My, but you are looking particularly well tonight." Remus rolled his eyes and Peter snickered.

"Honestly, Sirius. You all are up to something," she said playfully.

"Us? Up to something? Never," James replied, ruffling his hair with his hand.

Hermione walked over and sat in the chair beside Remus; he glanced at her quickly, feeling heat rise in him instantly.

"I don't trust you two," she said pointing to James and Sirius. They looked at her with fake astonishment.

"How about us?" Peter asked, motioning at himself and at Remus.

Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock, and she was eternally grateful that mad laughter didn't erupt out.

How ironic. Peter wants to know if I trust him. That's easy--no.

She turned and looked at Remus; he was watching her from the corner of his eye. "I trust Remus." And she did--she trusted the future Remus Lupin with her life. She felt no different about this younger version.

"That's unfair. How come you trust Remus and not us?" Sirius wondered playfully, pretending to be offended at her accusations.

"Because he's honest," she said as if it was the most obvious reason. Remus looked down at the table and grinned, the heat around them rising steadily inside his chest.

"True, she has a point, Padfoot," James agreed.

"Yeah, she has a point," Peter repeated.

"So, Remus, what are you all up to?" Hermione asked, placing a hand on Remus' arm; he jumped slightly in surprise at the contact.

"No fair! Moony can't lie!" James whined.

"I know," Hermione said, taking her hand off of his arm and smiling devilishly at James and Sirius.

"It won't hurt to tell her," Remus said quietly.

Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What's this? Moony wanting to share a secret? I've seen it all. You must be a miracle worker, Jane," he said dramatically, tipping an imaginary hat to her.

"Shut up," Remus retorted.

"Okay, Jane, here's the deal--" James began.

"Hold on a minute," Sirius interrupted. "There are rules, Prongs. You can't just bring someone new into the plan--"

"She's hardly someone new," Remus said in her defense.

"I didn't say I wanted to be a part of whatever you're doing. I only wanted to know what you four were up to," Hermione admitted.

"But we could use her," Peter said excitedly. "She's way better at charms than you and James are. Of course Remus is better than you two anyway," he said to Sirius.

"Woh, Peter, slow down a minute. I don't want to take part in something with all of you that I'm sure doesn't abide by school rules," Hermione said, sliding her chair back and preparing to gather her things.

"Who says we're breaking school rules?" James asked.

"Well, one can only guess. But if you aren't planning on breaking any school rules, then why do you need that map?"

"How do you know about the map?" Sirius asked quickly.

Hermione was stunned for a moment but very hastily answered, "I've seen something like that before. I know what it is."

"Oh," he answered.

James looked at Sirius. "Peter's right. We could use her help. It could make it even better, but if we take her, we'll have to take Lily."

"Lily?" Peter exclaimed. "She'd never agree."

"She might," James winked. "I can work my magic on her...no pun intended of course."

"I didn't say I even wanted to go and do whatever it is you're planning," Hermione replied. She had no desire to get into trouble with the notorious Marauders--even in 1978 she was worried about what the professors would think.

In a moment of spontaneity (perhaps because Sirius words had been imprinted into his permanent memory), Remus surprised himself when he reached out and grabbed Hermione's arm gently; she looked up into his blue eyes. He smirked at her, his crooked smile strangely sexy and rebellious on his usually gentle face.

Is Remus Lupin smirking?

"Come on, Jane," he said with a new edginess to his voice, "it might be fun."

How could say she no to that face? He looked so...tempting. Hermione could swear she saw a twinkle in his eyes.

"That's the way Moony. Take charge," Sirius said, slapping the table with his hand.

"Well...I suppose I could give it a try," she said in hesitation.

"Great!" James exclaimed. "You go over the plan, Padfoot and I'll go get Lily." James drew the Marauder's Map out of his robes and dropped it onto the table. He hurried off to find Lily, and disappeared into the library.

"Okay, slide in closer," Sirius whispered. "We're going to start here..." he said, pointing to a hallway on the map.

Hermione leaned in closer, her arm touching Remus'. She glanced at him and whispered, while Sirius explained something to Peter.

"I hope you know that if anything happens to me, it will be entirely your fault," she whispered good-naturedly.

"Don't worry," he whispered back, catching her eye and feeling his stomach flip over, "I'll take care of you."

Hermione suddenly felt something prickle up her spine, a new tingling sensation. She held Remus' intense gaze. "I know," she replied honestly, her voice barely a whisper.

"Are you two even listening?" Sirius asked in irritation.

"What? Yeah, of course," Remus said, looking away from Hermione and leaning back over the map. What am I doing? he thought.

Hermione briefly looked at the side of Remus' face, still wondering about the feeling she'd just felt beginning in the pit of her stomach. She assumed it was only her nerves--after all, she had just agreed to break Merlin only knows how many school rules.

* * * *

Hermione found herself crowded into a dark corner close to the Gryffindor common room's entrance with the other Marauders and Lily wearing a long black hooded cloak she'd borrowed from Sirius. It was much too long so she'd had to roll up the sleeves and the hem was trailing dangerously behind her every time she moved--of course when she was standing still, it looked like she'd decided to play dress up in her father's clothes. She remembered the conversation when he'd first given her the cloak.

"Don't you have anything...smaller?" she'd asked, slipping the cloak around her shoulders and frowning. She couldn't even see her hands.

"Ah, Jane," he said, putting a friendly arm around her shoulders. "I'm a big scrapping man. That's the best I can do," he had then leaned over closer to her and whispered. "If you wanted a small cloak, you should have asked Peter. How about you Remus? Do you have an old cloak?"

Hermione had turned to see Remus sitting on the couch with James and Peter. Remus' cloaks, unless they were old, would not be any better for her. His shoulders were definitely broader than Sirius' even though Sirius was probably a hair taller.

Remus looked up at her briefly before shaking his head no. "We used my old cloak on that mannequin we left in the Slytherin changing rooms, remember?" He half-smiled at Jane and quietly said, "Sorry."

"Oh, yeah," Sirius laughed for a moment, "Damn funny prank that was, too."

Standing outside of the common room she felt anxious and couldn't remember why she had accepted this mission--had it been something to do with Remus? He hadn't begged her but she certainly felt like this was his fault. She chewed her bottom lip nervously while James went over the plan again.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered quietly.

"Be prepared; this may become an addiction," Sirius said, winking at her.

Remus leaned over and whispered close to her ear, "Relax." She smiled weakly over at him and mouthed the words, "I'm trying."

"Okay, we've got the map," James began, "in exactly five minutes, Filch will leave the dungeons and head up toward his office for a coffee break. That should give us enough time to get down to the dungeons. Sirius, do you have the Safflower and Cochineal?"

"Right here," he said, holding up two large bottles--one full of a red substance, the other yellow. The mischievous grin on his face did nothing to settle Hermione's nerves. She couldn't understand why she felt so nervous because in all actuality she could do whatever she pleased in 1978--none of it would matter when she returned to the future. She tried to remember this one fact, hoping it would ease her distress, but old habits are hard to break.

"Great. Okay, Jane, we'll need you and Remus to figure out what charms or spells have been used on the Potions classroom door and the storage room. Professor Leseret is on to us and has increased security, but I'm sure you two can break us in," James continued.

Hermione looked at Remus and felt the great ball of anxiety in her stomach increase. Now she would have to add breaking and entering again to her list of offenses. He patted her back awkwardly, trying to lessen the strain on her face.

"What exactly are we doing with the Safflower and Cochineal?" Lily wondered.

James leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You'll see."

"I think Lily and I should be told what we're doing. In the event that we all get busted, we should at least know what we're going down for," Hermione said, placing her hands on her hips in a very Hermione-like fashion.

"We won't get busted," James said confidently. "I don't want to tell you because I want you both to be surprised, but I'll give you a hint. Tomorrow the Slytherins are making a potion for Hair Growth; they'll have to drink it when the class is over. I'm going to transfigure the Safflower and Cochineal into two ingredients they need for the potion, switch a few labels, and voilà. The Slytherins get a surprise and we all get lots of laughs on their accounts."

"Sounds mean, James," Lily said.

"I told you she wouldn't like it," Peter said in an accusatory fashion.

"Lily, it won't hurt them at all and it will only last a day, promise."

James slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her close to him. She melted in his arms and quickly gave in to him.

"Well, okay, as long as it doesn't hurt them."

"Doesn't the Potions Master have an anti-label removing spell cast on everything in his storage room?" Hermione wondered, knowing Snape did in the future.

"No," James admitted and looked at her strangely.

"Oh...just wondering." Hermione wondered if this one event would cause Snape to cast all the spells on his ingredients in the future--to keep trouble-makers from making his life any more miserable than it already was.

"Everybody ready?" James asked, looking down at the map.

"Definitely," Sirius said. The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Let's go," James said, leading the pack down the darkened hallways. He kept a close eye on the map as they went. Hermione's nerves were frayed by the time they reached the cold damp dungeons.

The thrill of sneaking around that Remus always felt kept him from thinking too much about Jane. Sirius' words had stuck in his head and he had replayed them over and over again every day and every night when he would lie awake and struggle with his own personal inner demons.

I'm only saying that if you never let her in, or anyone for that matter, you'll never know.

There was a lot of truth to those words, but still Remus was afraid to act upon them. What if she turned him away? What if one day he had to tell her the truth about who he really was, about what he really was?

"Almost there," Peter called out to she and Remus, who were bringing up the rear, and Remus refocused his attention on the job at hand.

They stopped in front of the door to the Potions classroom; it was cold and drafty where they were, and there was always a perpetual wetness on the walls. They shifted aside so Hermione and Remus could come to the front and work on the door. Hermione could feel her wand shaking in her hand.

You would think I'd be use to sneaking around after hanging out with Harry and Ron, she thought as she unlocked the first three charms.

"Good one, Jane," Lily said encouragingly.

"Damn it," Remus cursed and then quickly apologized when Hermione glanced at him in surprise. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay. That's a particularly difficult one to break. Give me one more second," she pointed her wand at the door and spoke a series of words that Remus had never heard before. A gold light flew from her wand and the door clicked open.

"Wow," Sirius said as he patted her back. "Good try, Remus. You'll get it next time."

James, Sirius, Lily and Peter pushed by Hermione and Remus, hurrying into the classroom. The last two followed them in, close behind.

"The storeroom's over here," Lily said, getting into the action like it was second nature.

"Remus," Hermione said, "you go and break those charms. I'll be here if you need anything." Somehow Hermione felt guilty for breaking the charms and spells faster than her former Professor--it felt wrong. After all, in the future, he was much more learned than she and somehow, that seemed to feel right.

"Okay," he said, nodding before hurrying off.

Hermione hung back a little, watching the five old friends. She crossed her arms across her chest, pausing to roll up one of the long sleeves on her cloak. With their backs to her and their hoods drawn about her faces, it was hard to tell who was who, with the exception of Peter, who was a good deal shorter than the rest. Occasionally they would turn their heads slightly and she could see their faces in the dim light coming from their wands.

Remus held his wand out and began unlocking the charms and spells on the storage room quickly--and he was very good. Hermione briefly wondered if he had only let her unlock the door, not wanting to make her feel bad for substandard wand-work. Peter quickly congratulated Remus when the storage room door opened. Remus flashed a victorious smile, looking back at Hermione. She nodded her head unable to look away from his smile--Gosh, he looked happy.

She watched Sirius pull the two bottles out of his cloak and pass one off to James. They stepped into the storage room with Peter and Lily--Remus hanging back just outside the door--and disappeared. It was much too dark to see anything in there; Hermione could only faintly make out the light from the tip of someone's wand. Remus walked slowly toward her.

"Great job!" she said in congratulations.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand in a shy manner and grinned. "They were easier than the outside door," he mumbled.

"You still got the door opened," she replied. She wanted to say more but suddenly she felt something odd brushing against her leg followed by the soft mewing of a cat. Hermione's heart dropped into her feet, possibly even through the dungeon floor.

"Mrs. Norris," she whispered in fright.

"What?" Remus asked, glancing down at their feet. He instantly ran over to the storage room. "Mrs. Norris is in here. That means--"

"Filch will be here any minute! Damn it!" Sirius whispered hurriedly.

"Do you have your invisibility cloak?" that was Lily's frightened voice.

"Yeah," James answered.

"But we can't all possibly fit under there!" that was Peter's.

"Damn it!" Sirius said again. "I'll kill that cat!"

"No wait. I have an idea." James burst out of the dark room and pointed his wand at a nearby wall. With lightening speed, he uttered a spell. A wisp of white smoke spilled forth out of the tip of his wand and multiplied rapidly in size before clinging to the wet classroom wall. A door materialized and Hermione looked at him with a thankful expression.

"Excellent thinking, James!" she whispered.

James hurried over to the door, flung it open and said, "Get in there. Stay quiet and we'll come and get you when it's safe!"

Remus and Hermione jumped inside the newly formed room and James closed the door.

It was dark and terribly tiny. The room was barely large enough for two people to sit down, barely four if standing only.

"What is this--" Remus began.

"Personal Door Charm. Quite clever...oh, shhh," she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand, but more with the long sleeves of the cloak that had hidden her hands once again. She could hear Filch's voice.

"What did you find sweet girl?" he asked, cooing to his cat in a tone that gave Hermione the creeps. Remus and Hermione could hear his heavy footfalls, which stopped outside the door that lead to their room. "What's this? A door? I've never seen this here before."

Hermione held her breath when she heard him jiggling the knob. She closed her eyes and backed into Remus, stepping on his foot accidentally. He reached out his hands and steadied her in the dark.

"It won't open. Hmmm...maybe Professor Leseter needed more space. I'll ask him about it tomorrow. Come on, pretty girl. This place looks okay."

Hermione did not release her breath until she could hear Filch's steps die away somewhere down the corridor and far away from the Potions classroom.

"Sorry about stepping on your foot," she whispered in the darkness, not really knowing exactly where his face was.

"It's okay," Remus replied quietly, stepping around her and grabbing the door knob. He turned it in his hands but it would not open. "It's stuck."

"No, it's not," Hermione said plainly. "James cast a Personal Door Charm. He's the only one who can open the door."

"What?" Remus asked, feeling uneasy at the prospect--the Marauders, though most known for playing tricks on others, were also known for tricking each other.

"Yeah. It's no big deal. He said he'd come and get us when it was safe."

Remus sighed in the dark. Hermione thought it was because he was tired, but it was for a very different reason. Something was telling him that James would come and get them, but not soon.

* * * *

James tugged the Invisibility cloak off everyone's heads when he was certain that Filch was gone.

"Everybody okay?" he asked.

"That was really close, James," Lily said, sounding a bit angry. "Where did Jane and Remus go?"

"Oh, no worries. I cast a Personal Door Charm for them," he began, then he rubbed his chin with his fingers. "And I have an idea."

Sirius lit up his wand, lighting up everyone's features with a strange green glow. "I can see it in your eyes. What's on your mind?"

"Well, like I said, I cast a Personal Door Charm."

"So?" Sirius asked, wrinkling his brow.

"So, only James can open the door--they can't," Peter smiled.

"How did you know that Peter?" James wondered.

"Oh," his face flushed with embarrassment, "my father used to use it on me as punishment when I was a kid." He looked down at his feet.

"Tough luck, mate," James said, resting his hand on Peter's shoulder.

Peter shrugged. "Ah, it's okay."

"I still don't get it," Sirius said.

"It's like this Padfoot. I cast the charm so only I can open the door."

"Ohhh," Sirius replied, his eyes alight. "I see."

"Perhaps they need some time alone," James said, smiling.

"James, you can't be serious?" Lily exclaimed.

"No, I think it's an excellent suggestion," Sirius agreed.

"We're going to leave them in there?" Peter asked worriedly.

"Only for a little while," James replied innocently.

"Won't they be angry?" Peter asked.

"Nah, Remus will thank us later," Sirius added.

"But James--"

"Now, now, Lily. You know that a little one on one time never hurt anybody," James said, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Okay, but if Jane hates me in the morning, I'll say that I was totally against it, agreed?"

"Agreed. Everyone got that. I will solely take the blame for this idea," James said grandly.

"Take half the blame. I would like a little bit," Sirius grinned, extinguishing the light from his wand. "Now all we have to do is sneak by the door very, very quietly."

* * * *

After five minutes of silence, Hermione began to fidget and Remus was trying to stay out of her way. He had pressed himself into a corner, but the room was so small, he could still feel her cloak brushing against his periodically.

"Where are they?" Hermione whispered. Remus didn't answer; he felt his greatest fears materializing. Hermione grew impatient and began to knock on the door. "James? Open the door. This isn't funny. James? James Potter! Open this door immediately!" She banged against the door with her fist.

"It's no use," Remus finally sighed. He could feel his chest tightening, his throat becoming dry.

"What do you mean?" she whirled around and glared at what she thought was his face in the darkness.

"I think James would think it was funny to leave us in here for a little while as a prank."

"Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed and muttered idiot Marauders under her breath. Harry and Ron would have never left her in a closet.

"No," he said hoarsely. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Remus this isn't your fault," she said angrily. "I can't believe he would do this!"

"He probably thinks it's hilarious. It could be worse right?"

"How?" she asked in irritation.

"You could be stuck in here with...Severus."

Hermione sighed. "You're right, Remus. I'm sorry. It's just that I'm tired and it's late, but you are much better than company than Severus would be. I would probably hex myself just so I wouldn't have to be awake." Remus chuckled. "I think I'll have a seat, if you don't mind. Don't let me sit on your feet."

"We might as well both have a seat. It could be a long night." And Remus sat down beside her. He could feel her arm against his, warm and small. The heat in his stomach began to spread. She sighed in the dark and Remus pulled out his wand.

"Lumos," he said. The tip of his wand lit up and he placed it between his knees. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you," she said, leaning her head back against the wall. The room was very small, just enough room for them to stretch their legs out but not enough to sit very far apart. "I'm sorry we're so cramped."

"It's okay," he said, looking at her from out of the corner of his eye. She was watching him closely.

"How would you like to pass the time?" she asked innocently.

Remus' chest constricted considerably. She's not talking about doing anything, Moony, a voice in his head said. "Oh, I don't know," he replied hoarsely, thankful she could not see the red that was most certainly staining his cheeks.

"Well, I suppose we could...chat," she said, smiling in the dark. Hermione made herself comfortable beside Remus. She was thankful that she was stuck in the room with him instead of Severus...or Peter...or really anyone else. Remus was good company--good but very quiet.

Remus on the other hand felt as if he were growing more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. He'd never been this close to a girl before--not in the dark--and not one he had feelings for. Do I have feelings for her? He wasn't sure because everything felt jumbled up and rearranged inside him. What would Sirius do if he were in this situation? Okay, scratch that...I know what Sirius would do and I think that would be highly inappropriate. What about James? James would probably keep the conversation flowing. So, Remus gave it his best shot.

"Uh...how do you like Hogwarts?" he asked, trying to slide further from Jane but realizing the wall on his other side wouldn't allow it.

"Oh, I've always loved Hogwarts," she replied without thinking.

"Always?" he questioned.

"I--uh--I've read a lot about it," which was true, "and it has always sounded like a wonderful place to be."

Remus nodded in understanding. "Dumbledore is a great man," he said softly. Dumbledore had taken him into Hogwarts, not caring about his affliction and that one gesture meant a great deal to Remus.

"Yes...yes, he is. I have nothing but respect for him." Hermione shifted beside Remus, bumping her arm into his side. "Oh, sorry," she laughed. "Not a lot of room in here."

"No problem," Remus replied and frowned. It seemed to him that Hermione was closer to him than she had been seconds before. Her arm was pressing into his, and his throat was dryer than normal. It also felt as if an entire fleet of one-winged butterflies were trying desperately to escape the confines of his stomach. Talk Moony. That will make you more at ease...just say something, anything.

"Are your parents proud of you?" he asked, feeling stupid.

"Yeah. They're Muggles--"
"They are?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, I wouldn't have thought that," he replied.

"Why?"

"You're just so--good. I would have thought you were from a pureblood line," he admitted, hoping he wasn't insulting her, but he didn't. Hermione blushed.

"Thanks," she smiled in reply.

"So Muggle parents, huh? They must have been pretty surprised when you got a letter. You did get a letter right? I mean, I don't know how it is at your other school." Remus could feel the heat rising in his chest again. Damn, it's hot in here. She had slid her leg over and it was pressing against his.

"Oh, it's a lot like Hogwarts. I'm sure the letter system has not changed much through the years," she said, knowing it wasn't really a lie.

"Where did you go before now?" he asked.

Now it was Hermione's turn to feel uncomfortable. "I--uh--well, it's a small school. You've probably never heard of it," she said, feeling horrible for lying.

"Oh," he said quietly beside her. "How did you end up a Hogwarts?" he asked, knowing he wanted to learn more about her.

"Dumbledore," she simply said.

"Oh," he said again. She's very secretive, isn't she? Like someone else you know, huh, Moony? another voice in his head added.

A lengthy silence passed between them. Remus thought Hermione had dozed off until he felt her shiver beside him. "Are you cold?" He was amazed that she could be cold when he felt as if he were burning up.

"A little," she answered. She could feel him moving around beside her and rustling in his cloak.

"Here. This might help a little bit," he mumbled. "Hold out your hand." She did as he asked. He felt for her hand with his and placed a bit of chocolate into her open palm. He clenched his jaw; simply brushing his fingers against her hand made him feel as if his hand was on fire.

"What's this?"

"A piece of Honeyduke's chocolate. It's a store in Hogsmeade."

"Always prepared, aren't you?" she asked, smiling in the dark and thinking back to when she had first met him on the Hogwarts Express.

"What?"

"Nothing...thank you."

Remus could hear Hermione eating the chocolate beside him. She was very quiet but damn those werewolf senses--he could hear her licking her lips and he wondered what she would think if he started humming out loud. It was highly sensual and Remus wanted to either climb the walls or bodily throw himself through the door. She sighed beside him.

"I feel much better. Thank you, Remus," she whispered. "I wonder what time it is?" she asked, yawning.

"Late," he replied, almost jerking away when he felt Hermione lay her head against his shoulder.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked sleepily, feeling totally comfortable and something else...safe...yes, she felt safe and secure with Remus Lupin--the world could fall away and she knew somehow he would do everything he could to make sure she didn't fall with it--he would do the same for anyone.

"I--uh...no," he said nervously. But he did mind...well not actually--he minded everything that followed that one simple movement...like the increased pulse rate, the sweaty palms, the knot in his already tight throat.

She sighed lazily against his shoulder, her warm breath tickling down the side of his neck and his entire body tensed and then relaxed or better yet...melted. What a strange new feeling it was--to feel as if his insides were trembling. Her hand dropped gently onto his leg; he could hear her steady, slow breathing--it reminded him of the rolling tide somehow and he felt so peaceful.

Not knowing what he was doing and feeling as if he'd suddenly been possessed, he brushed his fingers across her hand, just wanting to see what she felt like. Her skin was warm and smooth, exactly as he imagined it would be. In an innocent gesture, he intertwined his fingers with hers, holding her hand delicately in his own. Her hand looked so small and feminine against his own rough hand. He grinned slowly in the dark. So this is what it feels like to hold someone. But the best thing about holding her hand was she didn't pull away from him.

She sighed again, nuzzled closer to his body and squeezed his hand lightly with hers. "Goodnight Remus," she whispered sleepily.

"Night," he answered so quietly it was almost inaudible.

At first, he thought he would want to kill James for leaving them in this tiny room, but now he wondered if he should thank him. Although he knew he'd never be able to sleep with her so close to him, he didn't care. He was perfectly content to just be there.

* * * *

Remus didn't realize he'd dozed off, his head propping against hers, until a sound awoke him. He opened his eyes to see James peeking his head into their small room.

"Evening Moony," James whispered. "You can thank me later," he winked, and motioned with his head at Hermione. She was sleeping soundly on his shoulder, their hands still intertwined together. "Sorry to break it up, but I think we should make a dash for the common room before the sun rises."

"Okay, give me a minute to wake her," Remus said, slipping his hand out of her grasp. "Jane," he said quietly as he shook her arm easily.

"Mmmm," she moaned groggily. James snickered and Remus frowned up at him.

"Jane," Remus called a little louder. This time she moaned louder and shifted her body closer to his; she threw her arm around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

"What do I do?" Remus whispered up at James.

"Thank your lucky stars," James laughed quietly.

"Shut up, James. Jane!" he said louder then the two previous times. "It's time to go. We have to get up now." He pulled her hair out of her face with his hand.

"Mmmm...oohhh, Remus," she moaned quietly and slid her hand up his chest.

Remus looked quickly up at James, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping. The burning heat flamed up inside his body and caused his heart to race. James covered his mouth with his hand and burst out laughing. Remus knew he must look absolutely terrified. He reached out and sat her up in a sitting position. "Jane!"

Hermione's eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was Remus, who looked alarmed. "Prof--Remus," she corrected, "what's wrong?"

"N-nothing," he stuttered, trying to look calm--but it was difficult because his heart was hammering in his chest. She looked so cute when she was sleepy. "James has come to let us out."

Hermione turned and looked up at James. He looked positively tickled about something. "What's with you? Did I miss something?" she asked, as Remus pulled her to her feet.

"Oh, Jane," James said through a huge smile, "if you only knew."

Yeah, if you only knew, Remus thought. He sighed and James--he had the Marauder's Map--led them out of the damp and dark Potions classroom. Remus was walking slowly, trying to arrange all of his feelings and thoughts. Hermione glanced at him over her shoulder and hung back so she could talk to him. They continued walking as they talked.

"You okay?"

"Sure," he whispered hoarsely.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Not really."

"It's not because of me is it? Did I keep you up?"

Remus almost said yes, but knew she'd feel guilty if it was her fault for his lack of sleep. He hadn't wanted to sleep because what if sleeping caused him to miss out on something? "No. It's okay."

She smiled sleepily at him. "It could have been worse, right?"

"Right," he grinned feebly.

"I'm just glad I was stuck with you and not anyone else," she whispered, leaning closer to him as they walked.

Remus looked at her and upon catching her eye, her stomach did a flip flop.

That's odd, she thought suddenly.

"Me, too," he whispered back, still holding her gaze.

Hermione looked away and tried to make sense of the tingling feeling in her stomach but before she had come up with any good answers, they were standing in front of the portrait hole and James was whispering the password. They crawled through and said goodnight in the common room.

"Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning," she said, yawning once more before waving lazily and disappearing up the staircase.

Remus watched her go and heaved a heavy sigh.

"That sounds awfully depressing Moony. Shouldn't you be excited?"

"About what?"

"I saw the two of you when I opened the door," James smiled.

"She was asleep, James."

"Yeah, so? I heard the moaning and she did call your name out. That could only mean one thing. She was dreaming about you and you were making her moan."

"Yeah, uh huh, James," Remus said, walking away toward the staircase but he was smiling. He knew he shouldn't over think things but there was a small part of him that was holding on to a tiny piece of hope. What if she had been dreaming about him? It had felt so good to be so close to her--he'd never been that close to a girl before...it was something he could definitely get used to...