His Past, Her Future {Book One}

Chapter 17. Ball Me Over

Truthfully Remus wasn't very pleased at the thought of Hermione attending the Halloween Ball with Hogwarts' biggest womanizer.

It wasn't that he didn't particularly trust Sirius, or Hermione for that matter, but the question continued to niggle at his mind of why the horny male, fasted tracked on his way to Witches Weekly's 'hottest piece of wizard-arse' yearly top 100 list - a position in the top 10 almost guaranteed to him post-graduation, would choose to take the only girlfriend of his best friends? He was of no doubt that Sirius could choose to take any witch he would deign to ask. But, no. He had to take the one witch for whom he should not be asking. His witch.

Remus' inner wolf growled in appreciation of this thought. His.

Packing the few things he would be taking with him to his monthly refuge, a rundown shack in Hogsmeade, Remus reflected that the last few days had been the most peaceful pre-transformation days he had endured in... well, in his entire memory. The only change he could deem accountable to this drastic improvement in a period that had more often than not had him confined to bed rest, extending his period of inactivity to nearly a week each month, was the presence of, a one, Hermione Granger.

Perhaps it was for this reason that he just couldn't bring himself to correct his boundary stepping friend when he knew Hermione had been so looking forward to her first Hogwarts event (having overheard her talking to Lily over breakfast in a fast paced discussion of dresses). After all it gave him no comfort to picture Hermione sitting alone in her dormitory; in contrast, he suspected that the guilt would only be an added extra pain to his tremor wracked body as his transformation would shake his bones to the point of incomprehensible strain.

He was just placing two bars of his dwindling chocolate supply on to the top of his small pack when there was a sharp rap on the boys' dormitory door. It was still early in the day, the sun barely peaking over the mountain peaks and so the rest of his dorm mates were still asleep as Professor McGonagall entered the quiet dorm. The noise however must have been enough to have awakened Prongs as he abruptly sat up straight in his bed. The sudden movement made his covers slip down into his lap, revealing his naked chest. Upon discovering his female Head of House standing in the middle of the dormitory he let out a rather feminine squeak and fumbled to pull the fallen sheets up to under his chin. Not all the boys must have been as soundly asleep as Remus had assumed because in response to James display the room was filled with a muffled but distinct deep laugh. James timidly reached out one bare arm and pushed, rather forcefully, the shaking lump that lay on the bed next to his own.

Sirius, unaware to the attack, fell ungracefully out of his bed, legs still tangled into the sheets and naked back hitting the cold stone floor. Without access to the protection of the sheets he lay sprawled on the floor in only a pair of red silk boxers.

"Not so funny now, hey?" joked James apprehensively, eyes peering over the top of his high drawn covers.

Professor McGonagall picked up Remus' bag with one hand, placing the other wearily over her eyes. Leading Remus out of the door her mumbles could be distinctly heard as she retreated down the stairs, questioning 'whatever happened to pyjamas these days?'

...

"So what do you think?" Lily asked admits a demonstrative twirl.

"Oh Lily!" was all Emily could apparently say as she gushed over the dolled-up red head.

Hermione, although not shocked into illiteracy, had to admit that if not for her new found hair-confidence, she would have currently been reconsidering walking into the ball with such gorgeous competition.

On that thought, Hermione happily corrected herself that there was no competition tonight for her, knowing her own boyfriend was locked away from all the pretty girls parading their assets to the Hogwarts male population that night.