Between Coffee And Cigarettes

-25-

As the 25th of December went on, it began to snow. Big, heavy snowflakes. The ones that didn't melt when they hit the ground, but instead laid a sheer layer of white over it. In mere seconds, there laid inches of snow on top of the houses, cars and the streets. The world began to fade away and was replaced with a new, untouched mask.

It all seems so pure, Lenny thought, so undisturbed.

When it already was late in the afternoon, she still stood in front of the window, watching Lily leave, packed in coats and scarfs and as she made it across the border that protected their house and then she apparated. With a crack, she was gone, not before waving Lenny goodbye, though, a gesture, which the girl happily returned.

She stood in front of the window in the living room for a while, watching the peaceful falling of the little ice crystals, thinking about the day. Her cheeks still flushed with arousal, when she thought about earlier, almost feeling his touch on her skin again. His tender kisses on her lips and hungry ones on her neck.

She still felt his eyes bore into hers, watching her with such intensity as he teased her under her sweater. Watching her reaction to his touch, watching the mixture of pain and pleasure on her face. And with that thought, her face got even redder.

As Lenny lifted her right hand to touch the left side of her neck to retrace his movement, the ring, that she was gifted, caught her eye again. It was truly beautiful with all his detailing and boldness. The stone on it was now a deep purple. She really needed to find a book with the meanings of the colours in it.

She stayed put on the spot and watched the sun slowly set before she decided to go up to her room. Remus, Sirius and James were about to leave when she stumbled into them as they tried to sneak down the stairs, to not disturb Fleamont and Euphemia. James, of course, leading the way, Sirius right behind and lastly Remus.

Lenny knew what was about to happen and what they were going to do and her stomach made a flip by that thought. She passed them without a word, which made Sirius shoot her a thankful look for not giving them away, but as she passed Remus, she couldn't help herself but murmuring: "Take care of yourself", only for him to hear.

For a second he turned his head to look at her, before answering, just as quiet: "Can't do that", and then they were gone, off into the freezing night. She lingered there for a second on the stairs, wondering, what he had meant. The only thing that gave her a little hope, were Sirius and James and the fact, they would be with him, though she couldn't stop herself from being scared for them too.

Entering her room, Lenny didn't even make an attempt to get into or got to bed. Taking a seat on her oriel, the girl saw Remus crossing the street, a dog and stag at his side. She knew she would be up all night. Because of some reason, she always felt when Sirius turned into a dog. She felt itchy and way too energetic, so she began pacing in her room, trying to keep her calm.

Where are they going? Is it safe there? Are they ok? Will, they gonna be okay? What if something happens today or something goes wrong? She asked herself those questions over and over again, never having an answer to any of them. It made her nervous and she noticed how her breath fastened, so she quickly pulled a cigarette out of her drawer and lit it.

Deep inhaled, sharp exhaling. Lenny didn't know, why tonight affected her more than ever. It was always clear to her, what they were doing every full moon and she always worried a bit, but never as much as she did now. Could she save any of them if there was an emergency? Probably not. A grunt of frustration left her room shaking.

When she settled down on her oriel again, she aggressively sucked on her cigarette, trying to make the smoke fog her mind so that it would be silent for just a moment. It kinda worked. It gave her something to concentrate on.