Dirty Little Game ♠ Professor Lupin

Fifteen: Memories of You

The week passed in the blink of an eye. I wasn't ready to face my parents. The truth was, I didn't want to leave - I'd rather stay here in the castle without having to worry about anything. Maybe I would convince Lupin to stay with me, then it would be the best Christmas of my life.

If I did, I would get a Howler on the first day of school so that all the students would return to the castle and watch my humiliation. I couldn't give them such satisfaction.

Just as I thought, Brook pulled Jaylee with her. Our group of four friends split evenly in half, leaving me with Wilton. It was more than awkward - the whole school noticed the change and for some reason the other students stopped behaving towards me as they always did. I felt like some kind of animal in the savannah because it looked like my social status was strictly dependent on the number of people around me.

Even so, I was the first person to leave the Slytherin common room. Not because I was so excited to get home or because I wanted to get away from people but...

"Promise me you'll be careful." Lupin said into my hair as he was holding me in his arms.

I was wedged between his hands and his chest. I was hugging him so tightly as if I was doing it in advance. "Relax, I'll be looking around before I cross the street, won't talk to strangers..."

He caught my chin between two fingers and made me look at him. His gaze was fixed on my eyes. "I'm serious. Don't provoke them. You are to come back here without any problems."

It was clear he cared. I wouldn't be surprised if he was more nervous inside than I was.

"It'll be fine." I assured him, trying to keep a smile. "I'm tough."

"Oh, I know." He released my face from his hold. I rested my forehead against him. I inhaled his scent, afraid I would forget it once I get home. "In fact, I'm more worried about them."

A soft chuckle escaped my mouth. It was nice that he tried to cheer me up even at the cost of his poor sense of humour. "You always know how to make me smile."

"You look beautiful when you smile." He said. His chin brushed the top of my head. "If I have to earn it, the price doesn't matter."

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to leave his arms. I felt safe and warm in them, which was quite the opposite of what I would experience at home soon. I wanted to remember what it felt like. What he felt like.

"Can I kiss you or are we going to cuddle like that?" His chest sunk with his soft-spoken question.

My smile was so wide my face hurt. I raised my head, he bowed his. The corners of his mouth were twisted and it proved that he was enjoying this. "You may."

It seemed that I would never get used to our kisses. They were never the same. I knew his mouth by heart - soft, hot and sensual, yet I was a little surprised each time. This time was no different. He kissed me incredibly gently, I could barely feel his lips on mine. My body screamed for more, but I did nothing. There was something electrifying about this kiss; as if he was putting a piece of his heart between my lips.

Certainly a century has passed before he pulled away from me. "I will be waiting for you." He then whispered.

I thought about him all the way to the platform, about everything that I was leaving behind and what awaited me. I was accompanied by Wilton, who seemed to be in a similar mood to me - neither of us looked like Gryffindors happily returning to their pathetic families. We actually had things to worry about.

It was a custom that Slytherin occupied the carriages without compartments. Everyone knew each other; more or less, but they did. There was no point in hiding in groups or trying to conceal your conversations from the ears of others - either you talked about things that every family knew anyway or insignificant things or not at all.