UNDER THE MOON, Remus Lupin

xiv.

WET DREAMS AND STRAINED SEAMS

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

Sitting alone on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, Fred stared into the fireplace where flames were erupting wildly. He felt lonely. Without the echo of Alice's laughter in his mind, everything was too quiet. He couldn't even hear George come in and take a few steps toward him.

"Freddie? You alright?" George awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Fred hadn't been nearly the same since Alice dumped him. Glum.

"What do you think?" He returned in an annoyed tone.

George rolled his eyes. "I think it's time you either get over her or get her back." He calmly took a seat next to Fred, hoping he wouldn't erupt into another fit of rage.

"Get her back? What, like revenge? I don't want revenge, George. She didn't do anything wrong. She did the right thing." Fred hated that. He hated that he couldn't hate her.

"No! Like... get her back as your girlfriend, you twat."

Fred didn't want George to give him ideas. "How? I don't stand a chance, George. She won't even blink my way."

"For starters, stop glaring at her all the time." George followed Fred's glance to the fireplace.

"Alright..." Fred mumbled almost incoherently. Alice was not going to be easy to get back. He never deserved her in the first place.

Alice was perched right where she belonged. Like a bird in a tree.

Right on Remus Lupin's lap.

Her eyes fluttered over him blissfully. A wave of serene feeling washed over him. How did they end up like this? Remus' hands trembled from both excitement and nerves as they stuck to her hips like a mouse to a trap. His mouth felt like it was full of peanut butter. He wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't even sure he could open his mouth.

Shifting forward, Alice drew a grunt from Remus. He flinched and retaliated by pushing her hips down on his pelvis. One of them was playing a losing game. Alice narrowed her eyes slightly, leaned down, her lips brushing against his neck. As she moved up, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

Shivers flew up his spine faster than the blink of an eye. He was losing. Losing to a girl who had him in an inescapable chokehold.

"How does this make you feel, Professor?"Alice whispered, teasing at his sanity by gently biting the skin on his jawline.

"It makes me feel good," he responded honestly, feeling his head tilt back as an involuntary reaction to her teasing.

The corners of Alice's lips tugged upward. "What does it make you feel?"

Remus sat up in an instant. And all of a sudden, Alice wasn't there. But his students' ungraded assignments were. "A wet dream, Moony? Really? You're better than this." He mumbled to himself, standing up from his seat and walking to the window. 

It was a lovely day in October. The falling leaves, humid heat. It was sweater weather. Hogwarts students ran around with sweatshirts and sweaters clinging to their bodies against the wind. They were all certainly not taking this lovely weekend for granted. Remus had a preconceived notion that the winter here would be colder than usual. Which is why they were being so blessed with good weather currently.

Somewhere and somehow among the pool of students, Remus could spot Alice with Clint. She was on his back and he was whirling her around, trying to fling her off. Her hair whipped around in the wind which fought her laughter. Remus couldn't physically hear it in the slightest, but he had a mental imprint of her cute laugh that had been one of the many things to capture his heart.