The Last Kiss

Nervous

~6~

"Sirius, I swear to Merlin I will hex off your manhood if you don't put me down!" Renae felt the blood rush to her head as she hung over his shoulder, struggling to get a hold of her wand from his right hand. He began to tilt her forward. As he did she saw the water of the lake getting closer.

"Okay, I'll put you down!"

She grabbed his robes, screaming. "No, the land, the land!" He continued to lean her forward, the cuffs of her robes dipping into the water. "Sirius!" Renae could see past him to see James and Remus collapsed on the ground in laughter. Oh, you'll get yours!

"Say Uncle," Sirius demanded; she could hear the grin in his voice.

"No." She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of making her give in.

Sirius lowered her more, and she could feel his grip loosening as her waist began slipping over his shoulder. "Say it..."

"I'd rather be wet then give you the satisfaction!" With that, he threw her into the lake.

For July, the water was very freezing and Renae was never really good with things cold - especially being wet on such a day. As she sat up, her drenched hair fell in her face, but she could still make out the forms of the Marauders, all laughing it up. She grabbed her wet hair from her face and flung it back. Sirius was bent over laughing, balancing himself with his hands on his knees.

"You could at least help me up," she growled. He reached out his hand, still chuckling. A wide grin spread on Renae's face as she took hold of his hand and roughly pulled him into the lake beside her.

Lily came running over with Harry in her arms, laughing as Harry squealed at the sight of his drenched godfather. Now Peter fell laughing as Remus gasped for air. Beside them, James was turning ten shades of red. As Sirius sat up, Harry clapped wildly; apparently thinking this was part of his birthday entertainment. Renae laughed as she got to her feet.

"I thought you needed help."

Renae turned to Sirius with a smile. "Yeah, help getting my spirits up, I never said I needed help out." Grinning she thought, Sirius-zero, Renae-many points!

****

Sirius pulled his knees up to rest his arms on as water dripped down his forehead. Huh, the water is a bit cold. Then he chuckled, Renae must be freezing! He watched as she walked over to Lily.

"Lily, think you could? It will take me forever if I do it myself." Lily set Harry down, took out her wand, and began drying Renae off, giggling the whole time. "Thanks."

"Your welcome. You need a little help, Sirius?" Lily asked him with a grin, twirling her wand in her hand. Sirius stood up, and made his way out of the lake. He grumbled in agreement. Lily quickly dried him off.

By now, James and the others had gained control of themselves. Harry was standing on the grass only a few feet from Sirius, clapping and babbling away. He couldn't resist the sight. Scooping up his godson, he laughed. "You really enjoyed that, didn't you Harry?"

"Yah!"

Sirius laughed harder. "Anything for you!"

"Gen?" Harry asked, his emerald eyes shining.

"No, I think that was enough." He looked over to see Renae shaking her head; she was still shivering from the cold. He smiled at her, knowing it would freak Renae out.

"Don't even think about!" she said, grabbing a hold of Remus and pulling him in front of her like a shield.

"Whoa, wait, don't get me in the middle of this!" Remus protested, holding his hands up, Renae peeking around him.

Sirius laughed, setting Harry down to run after his dad. "Relax, I was kidding."

~~~*~~~

Renae helped Lily set out all the food. A picnic for Harry's birthday was a great idea. She knew Sirius often took him to the park to play, so to spend the whole day there would certainly make him happy.

Lily was setting out the plates. "Look at them," she pointed out to the guys, all playing with Harry, "they never really grow up, do they?" she chuckled.

"Well, at least not completely!" Renae answered. She watched as Sirius chased after Harry. The child had grabbed the wand from Sirius' robes, and was now running around, waving it wildly.

Lily laughed. "I warned him about that. Harry has a knack for pulling out our wands. The other day he got James' and turned his hair blue!" Peter was trying to help Sirius, but had to duck when the toddler set a stream of water at him. Remus was hiding behind a tree, waiting to hopefully surprise the little menace.

"He's gonna grow up to be like his father," Renae replied with a giggle.

"Dear Merlin, let's hope he gets some sense from me then!" They laughed. Sirius had finally managed to get back his wand, but not before Harry had zapped him in the backside. James was now holding a screaming Harry, who was upset over the loss of the wand. Sirius walked over to the table, rubbing his sore ass.

"Take a seat, Sirius," Lily said, pointing to a setting at the table.

"Ah, no, I think I'll stand for a moment," he said, his hand protectively covering his rear.

Peter quickly took a seat across from Renae, Remus sitting next to him. James handed Harry over to Lily before taking a seat at the end of the table, next to Remus. Lily calmed Harry down before putting him in a highchair at the end of the table. Renae transfigured a cushion for Sirius and handed it to him before he took a seat between her and Lily. "Thanks," he said, blushing, taking the cushion and gingerly sitting on it. As he did, they began to eat.

They sat for a while, talking and laughing after they had finished eating. Harry took a little longer to eat, course it would take anyone longer to eat when you throw half your food on the ground.

Renae finished her cup of ice tea she had brought with her, ignoring her friends laughter for drinking tea cold. As set down her cup, she saw an older man walking towards them. The old man had a girl who looked about Harry's age on his arm, and in the other, he carried a long thin package. Renae looked over at James.

"James," she whispered, "do you know that man?" she nodded in the direction of the old man. James stood up as the man approached the table.

"Mr. Delaney, how are you?"

The old man was Aleanor's father. Though the others seem to remember him, Renae hadn't recognized him; then again, she hadn't seen him since she was fifteen.

"Fine James, thanks," he walked over to Lily, holding out the package, "Aleanor had picked this out for Harry before," his voice wavered for a moment, before continuing, "well, I came back to take care of some business and I decided to deliver it myself." With a smile, Lily took the package.

"Thank you Mr. Delaney," she motioned to a place at the table, "would you like to join us for a little while?" He thought about this for a moment, and then smiled.

"Alright," he took a seat next to Peter, setting the little girl down on the grass beside them. Renae looked at the little auburn haired girl.

"Is this your granddaughter?" Renae asked, noticing the girl had the same dark blue eyes as Gregory.

"Yes, this is Caelyn."

Sirius took a sip of his drink. "Is Gregory here with you?"

"No, he and his wife are away with work. My wife, Louise, is safer in America right now, so I brought Caelyn with me as I finalize the sale of our flat."

Renae remembered that Aleanor's mother was a muggle, which explained why she would be safer across the Atlantic.

"You're moving?" Lily asked, handing him a drink.

"Yes, we're moving to Maryland, near Gregory." He looked over at Harry. "Perhaps Harry could open the gift. I really mustn't stay long, and I would very much like to see what my daughter picked out," he chuckled. Lily smiled as she finished wiping Harry's face. When he was cleaned, she put him down on the grass, handing him the package to rip open.

Caelyn toddled over and went to help him with the task of ripping off the brown paper. Harry pulled it away from her, so she sat down beside him, picking up pieces he had ripped off and played with them.

Lily laughed as she prevented the girl from putting a piece in her mouth. "How old is she?"

"A year next month."

Harry finally made his way through the paper and Lily reached down, opening the long box for him. Inside was a miniature broom and play Gryffindor robes. Sirius slapped James on the back. "See, you can never start too early!" Lily rolled her eyes.

Mr. Delaney chuckled. "Leave it to Aleanor."

Like children, James, Remus, and Sirius took Harry and his new little broom to an open area to try it out. Little Caelyn toddled behind, dragging the play robes behind her. Peter stayed at the table, refilling his cup.

Renae began talking to Mr. Delaney about how things were going back in the States. She had left many friends behind and several hadn't contacted her in weeks. She wondered how bad things were getting. Lily watched Harry ride his broom, just inches off the ground, his toes dragging in the grass. Several times, he fell off to the side, laughing and climbing back on.

Mr. Delaney leaned in towards Renae, Peter drinking his juice beside him. "It's getting worse than I ever imagined possible. Louise is afraid to go anywhere anymore, besides the muggle shops. Gregory and his wife haven't been home for weeks," he looked down at the table, tears welling up in his eyes, "we haven't heard from them in four days."

Renae's heart pounded. Gregory was a well-known Auror, as was his wife, for them to not be heard from was certainly a bad sign. Peter looked at the old man beside him, and then quickly back to his cup, apparently unfazed.

Mr. Delaney continued, "You-Know-Who is gaining more and more power, even in America. His followers number in the tens of thousands over there, maybe more," he dropped to a whisper, "just last week Gregory found himself facing off with one, nearly killed the bastard too. When he unhooded him, it was Richard Limbeck, his best friend." Renae gasped as Peter spit his juice everywhere. Mr. Delaney continued, ignoring Peter's reaction, "Before I leave, let me give you this piece of advice... Trust no one."

Renae noticed that with these words, Peter's face paled. Quickly he got up, stammering, "Uh, excuse me," he didn't look at either of them, "I, uh, need to visit the lavatory," then he scampered to the bathroom building. What's gotten into him? Something about the way he dashed out of there, worried Renae.

~~~*~~~

Sirius followed Renae through the narrow passageway leading to her room. She had been relatively quiet since Mr. Delaney left the picnic. As they walked into her room, Renae went straight to the cabinet by the fireplace, pulling out a bottle of rum. "Want some?' she asked pouring some into a glass.

"Ah, no," he answered, finding her behavior odd; he was usually the first one to the rum, and only on rough days. "What's wrong?" She threw back the rum in one tip of the glass.

"I don't know, something's not right," she flopped herself on the couch, "did you see the way Peter acted after Mr. Delaney left? It was odd."

"No, what was odd?" Sirius sat down next to her, taking the empty glass from her hand. The last thing he wanted was her having more.

Renae put her elbow on top of the couch, resting her head in her palm. "I don't know how to explain it. Mr. Delaney was talking about how Gregory found out his best friend was a Death Eater and the next minute, Peter practically ran to the bathroom. Then Mr. Delaney left, and you guys came back to the table. Peter didn't come back from the bathroom until we were about to eat the cake, some fifteen minutes later, and when he did he looked, well, nervous."

Sirius had no idea where she was going with this, Peter always looked nervous. "Nervous? What's odd about Peter being nervous?"

"He looked really nervous, not regular nervous."

Sirius couldn't help but laugh. "Regular nervous, are you sure that was tea you were drinking at the picnic?" She gave him a cold look that made his laugh fade to nothing. He put his hand to her cheek with a smile. "Don't worry about it. If something was bothering Peter, don't you think he would come to me or Remus or James? I'm sure you were just looking too much into it." She turned and curled up against him.

"I guess you're right," she snuggled her head into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Closing his eyes, he breathed deep the violet scent rising from her skin. As if reading his mind, she looked up at him and smiled before wrapping her hand around his neck, pulling him into a kiss.

Before he knew it, he was on top of her, feeling his way around. Her hands began searching as well, sending glorious tingles down his back. In one swift motion, he unbuttoned her shirt and began trailing his tongue down her breastbone, causing her to moan and arch her back. Finding the waist of his pants, she ripped his shirt out and slid her hand up along the bare skin of his back. Before he could press himself against her, to let her know how ready he was, she suddenly pulled away.

"Wait, I forgot! I have to get something!" She motioned him to dismount.

"Well, can't it wait?" Sirius could feel himself building up with pressure.

She chuckled as she quickly buttoned her shirt, heading for the door. "Not if you don't want kids yet!"

****

Renae couldn't believe she had been so stupid as to forget to pick up some Anne's Lace potion on their way back. She couldn't stand the muggle pill; she gained too much weight with it. Great, by the time you get back, he'll be asleep! Then it hit her, she could ask Snape if he had any, doubtful, but if he did, it would be quicker than running to Hogsmeade. She decided to give it a shot, after all, they had become close to what you could call friends.

Quickly she made her way to the dungeons and into the Potions classroom. "Snape?" The room was empty, though a cauldron sat simmering on a table. Couldn't have gone too far. She walked to his office door and knocked. "Snape?" With a creak, the door opened. Snape looked annoyed, as usual.

"What do you want, Wallis?" he asked as pleasant as was possible for him.

"I was wondering if you might have some Anne's Lace potion."

A wide grin spread on his face. "Anne's Lace? What on earth would you need that for?" Renae should have figured he would get too much enjoyment out of this.

"Alright, ha ha. You know damn well what it's for. So do you have some or not?" She didn't mean for it to sound as rushed as it came out.

He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. "My, my, aren't we in a hurry? Is someone waiting for you, Wallis?"

"Maybe," Renae could feel her cheeks turning red, "and stop calling me Wallis!"

He chuckled, and stood up straight. "Yes, I have some," he answered, grinning with a glint in his eye. He walked back into his office and rummaged through some small bottles on a shelf. Finally, he picked one up, filled with the familiar red liquid and held it out to her. "You're luck I have such skilled seventh year students in which to confiscate from."

She grabbed the small bottle. "Thanks," she said, stepping out the office door.

"Your welcome, Wallis." She heard him shout from his office.

"Renae!" she shouted behind her.

****

Sirius sat on the couch, his left leg thumping wildly like a rabbit in heat. What's taking her so long! Merlin, this is worse than being bound to a chair, forced to watch a strip tease. Sirius rolled his eyes. Great, now you're picturing her naked, great way to get your mind off things, Sirius! He quickly stood up and began to pace the room.

I wonder if it's true, what they say about lifting a heavy weight. He looked down at the couch and contemplated grabbing the end of it and lifting it however far it would take to relieve the pressure that had become unbearable. As he grabbed the couch, he heard Renae behind him.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" she chuckled, holding a small bottle of Anne's Lace potion.

"Nothing. I was bored and had to do something to keep my mind off things. You left me hanging, you know!" She laughed hysterically at this. "Alright, not hanging! Merlin, you women are insufferable!"

Renae grinned, walking over to him, pushing him over the side of the couch. As he fell back onto it, she climbed on top of him. "Really? Then I guess you'll just have to live with it!"