More Nocturnal Emissions - 7. Love's Labor Sought

Hestia Jones has gone to a great deal of trouble to make herself pleasing to one Sirius Black for this night of nights, this date of dates. For what might prove to be her one chance to find favor with the reigning sex god of Hogwarts. She, along with most of the female student body, finds Sirius to be a very delicious drink of sexiness, and she can't help but know she’s the envy of the others because she’s gotten him to go to the Valentine's dance with her. Even though she knows that it’s Lily Evans he’s crazy about, a thought which displeases her mightily. And she spends far too much time shooting dirty looks at the girl behind her back, which the redhead is blissfully unaware of. And plotting how she can get Sirius into her bed on that night as well.

For the night in question, she’s chosen a yellow dress with puff sleeves, bordered in white lacey trim, which comes above her knee, displaying her quidditch-toned legs, and as she dresses for this very special occasion, there are whispers behind her back that she resembles a huge dandelion. But she pays them no heed, as she spritzes on her favorite scent, humming to herself a song she just made up, something to the effect that Sirius Black will be mine tonight.

Lily, on the other hand, has selected a pale green dress with trailing sleeves, resembling a princess from a fairy tale. The green complements her red hair rather well. Not that she’s normally given to great concern when it comes to her appearance, but she’s hoping to catch the eye of a certain quidditch player/general pain in the arse tonight—James Potter, to be exact—not to mention she’s aware she has a date with Remus, whom she doesn't wish to disappoint by looking shabby. Not that she thinks he’ll really care one way or the other, as it’s obvious where his interestsl lie. But perhaps she can help him in that regard tonight. Smiling to herself as she finishes her toilette, she softly sings to herself a song about a matchmaker.

In the boys' dorm, an irate James is both dressing for the dance—he plans to go stag (no pun intended), as there is no way he will not keep an eye on events when the girl of his dreams is going to be there with another bloke, even if it is one of his best friends—and bothering Sirius, who is dressing himself very carefully, and dreaming about what will be after the ball is over. "You're not going to dance all your dances with Hestia, are you?" he keeps asking, "Maybe you should let Remus have some?" A not very subtle way of separating Remus and Lily. He reaches out as if to help Sirius button his jacket, but the puppy slaps his hand away in irritation.

"James, I am capable of dressing myself," he reminds the boy, trying not to steal a glance at Remus, who is standing beside Peter, and dressing as well. He glances at James briefly, before asking, "What happened to your hair?"

"My hair?" James gasps, as he drops his hand from Sirius' buttons and rushes to find his mirror, casting worried looks into it. Sirius breathes a sigh of relief. His lie has gotten the boy out of his own hair—at least for now. He’s been of two minds about dressing for the occasion—he wants to look nice for Remus for later, but he doesn't want to give mixed signals to Hestia. And on his side of the room, Remus is giving no thought to either his date, or Sirius', but rather on the way he plans to make love to Sirius this very night, in this very location. That thought brings a rather dreamy smile to his face, and causes Peter to ask, rather inelegantly, "What's the matter, Moony, got gas?" Remus blushes and shakes his head, but not before he sees a bemused smile cross Padfoot's face.

At last all are ready and they descend en masse to the Common Room. Waiting for them there are the two young ladies in question, Lily Evans and Hestia Jones. James' heart almost stops when he sees the vision of loveliness that is Miss Lily Evans. Why, oh why, does she have to be going with another bloke? And of all people why his friend? The only consolation he takes in the situation is that he’ll be able to watch them himself, keep them under observation at all times. Remus doesn't have Sirius' reputation for being a ladies' man, and he’ll probably make no untoward moves on James' wouldbe girlfriend. Wouldbe being the operative word, of course.

Before he gathers his wits enough to compliment Lily on her appearance, Remus has done so first, in a rather shy and retired manner. "Lily, you look lovely," he says, and the redhead smiles her appreciation, taking note of Mr. Potter's obvious jealousy with a certain feminine satisfaction.

"Thank you, Remus," she responds as she takes the arm he offers. And one couple leaves the Common Room. Sirius is too happy about being with Remus later to remember his irritation at escorting Hestia, so he offers her his arm as well, along with a gracious bow, and then they too are off, with James in hot pursuit of the first couple, having grabbed Peter impatiently along the way, pulling the poor boy along with him.

The Great Hall is resplendent in shades of red and pink and silver, and is filled with hearts of all sizes, and crepe streamers which flutter about every which way, and actual live music (courtesy of a local band, who play slow tunes, just perfect for dancing). Professor Flitwick has charmed some of the hearts to fly about the room, like small birds. They light on the shoulders of the students, and spell out I love you in flashing letters, which brings blushes to the cheeks of many, and lights the eyes of some of the dancers as well. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall stand together to welcome the students as they enter, complimenting the ladies on their attire, and directing them toward both the refreshments and the dance floor.

Hestia pulls Sirius immediately onto the very same dance floor, before he has a chance to get a word in edgewise. He watches wistfully as Remus and Lily move together toward the punch bowl, James following closely behind, poor Peter still in tow. If only things could be different, he thinks, he would be the one holding onto Remus' hand, and the two of them would be here on the dance floor, holding each other close, and not him and Hestia. Not that he has anything against her, mind you. But she simply isn't Remus. And that makes all the difference in the world.

More and more couples arrive and take to the dance floor, so that soon his friends are lost to view. Hestia, for her part, is floating on a veritable cloud nine of happiness. She’s the envy of all the girls she sees, and she has the boy she’s dreamed about for so long with his arms around her. Maybe he's a bit stiff, and maybe he could hold her closer than he is, but she chalks that up to his being nervous around her (the ego of some people!) and hums along softly with the music, lost in a fantasy world of her own making.

Remus hands Lily a glass of punch, which she drinks politely, more than slightly aware of the scrutiny she’s under by the jealous James. Good, let him stew for a bit. She also notices that Remus' eyes stray towards the dancers. She knows that Sirius and Hestia are among their number, and she feels sorry for him, for them. Setting her glass down, she holds out her hand toward him, "Dance with me, please?"

How can a gentleman refuse? He can't, so Remus finds himself escorting the redhead onto the floor, which only causes James to fume all the more.

From the corner of his eye, Sirius spots the twosome, and smiles to himself. Now that he and Remus are on good terms once more, he isn't jealous of Lily. He knows whom Remus loves. And watching the two of them dancing together, he gets a scathingly brilliant idea. He maneuvers Hestia skillfully across the crowded dance floor, threading carefully between the other terpsichoreans, until they are in close proximity to Remus and Lily themselves. Hestia, who has eyes only for Sirius, is totally unaware of the presence of the other two, but Sirius' maneuvers are not lost on Miss Evans, who smiles to herself at the sight. Now the boys are back to back, and Sirius manages to back himself up so that his arse and Remus' "accidentally" touch, and he wriggles his bum against the other's playfully.

Remus, who until this moment has been unaware that Sirius is behind him, gasps with surprise.

"Remus, what's wrong?" Lily asks, feigning concern, although she’s watched Sirius' every movement with bemusement.

"N-nothing," he stammers, suppressing a moan at the feel of that familiar flesh. Oh how badly he wants to be dancing with Sirius, and he damns himself for being such a coward, and not asking him, bowing to societal pressure.

Hestia's head jerks up at the sound of Lily's voice, and her claws emerge, her face turning bright green (metaphorically, of course, not literally). So that's why Sirius wanted to dance in this direction, she completely misunderstands the situation. Jealousy is a very strong emotion, and often overrides common sense—as it does on this occasion—as, without thinking, she pulls Sirius to her by the lapels of his robes and lays a very demanding liplock upon him, one which draws both catcalls and cheers from the people around them, not to mention stares of dismay from some of the other girls.

Sirius' first response is not to return the kiss, naturally, as he’s never had any desire to kiss Hestia (he can't even remember if she was one of the participants in his great kiss the girls campaign before he admitted he was in love with Remus), and his instinct is to pull away from her. He jerks his head back quickly. Unfortunately, Remus has started to turn at that same moment, and their skulls violently meet in the middle, stunning them both momentarily as they both cry out in pain.

"Sirius!" Hestia cries in alarm, while Lily echoes with, "Remus!" And all that a jealous James can see is that his wouldbe girlfriend is being entirely too sympathetic, and wonders how he can get that same sort of attention from her. Silly boy.

Lily takes Remus in hand, leading him from the dance floor, but when Hestia would do the same, Sirius pulls away with a look of great irritation, shaking off her attempted ministrations, and follows the other two, his hand against his head. Hestia clutches at him, almost pathetic in her attempts to hold on to him, which only causes him to bark out, "Let me be!" He’s too shaken to be polite. By the time he reaches Remus and Lily, the witch has already cast a healing spell to assuage the pain in Remus' head, and does the same for Sirius upon his arrival.

"Sorry, Lily," Remus apologizes, but his eyes are all for the wincing animagus, who in turn gazes at him anxiously.

Lily's heart goes out to both of them. And when Remus attempts to return her to the dance floor, she stops him, saying gently, "I think you two need to have a good lie down. I prescribe peace and quiet in the dorm for you both. No argument." And her eyes speak volumes, as she mutely gives them her blessings with a soft smile.

James begins to splutter, until his thick head catches on and he realizes what good fortune has been literally thrown into his lap. Oce they leave, Lily will be alone and quite unescorted. This will be his big chance to make some inroads into her good graces. So, of course, he backs her well-meant intentions. Quickly. Lest she change her mind. "Yes, yes, good idea, Lily," he agrees, voicing his concern for his mates. "They should do that, of course. We can check on them later, make sure all is well, eh?" He likes the sound of that we he’s thrown in there, as if to insure that somehow they will remain together, at least for this night.

"Want me to walk up with you?" Peter offers, but his stomach is rumbling and he casts longing looks at the various lovely pastries that are available for consumption.

"No, Peter, thanks," Remus replies hastily, before Sirius can open his mouth, "I think we can manage. C'mon, Sirius. Let's go by the infirmary...."

"The infirmary? Why would...." Sirius starts to protest, but a quick look into Remus' eyes shuts him down, as he realizes it’s just a ploy to discourage anyone from following them. "Right, the infirmary." He nods.

They bid their friends adieu and walk through the Great Hall to the exit. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall stop them there, of course, and Minerva fusses over them for a few minutes before Albus assures her they shall be fine and releases them to their own company. Once outside the Great Hall, they turn their steps toward the stairs leading up to Gryffindor Tower. Not the infirmary.

"I'm sorry about that, Rem, I didn't expect her to do that," Sirius apologizes.

"Do what?" Remus asks curiously, as he hasn't seen a thing, and has no idea of the cause of the calamitous collision.

"Kiss me," is the distasteful reply.

"Hestia kissed you?" Remus asks incredulously, his own jealousy flaring at the idea that she’s taken such familiarities with his puppy.

"Yes, ruddy stupid bint," and he wipes at his lips as if to remove the feel of Hestia's, which serves to produce a laugh from his boyfriend.

"I'll do better than that when we get upstairs," Remus promises, his eyes lighting at the idea that their night has come at last.

Sirius, being the impatient one, pulls him into the shadows of an alcove as they pass by, and he presses their lips together impatiently. He wants Remus so badly, and he's waited so long. He takes Remus' hand, places it between them, so that he can feel Sirius' desire for him. Which is, of course matched by Remus' own desire for Sirius.

"We'll be all alone," Remus whispers, "you and me. This is it, Sirius. This is really it...."

Footsteps echo in the corridor, and they hastily pull apart as a familiar greasy head hoves into view. Accompanied by a curious mousy blonde with horn-rimmed glasses and a too friendly expression upon her face. "You're right, Severus, here they are." She smiles, as she pulls out a quill and a piece of parchment. "Tell me about your tragic mishap, gentlemen," she urges them.

"They should go to the infirmary first, Rita," Snape gently reminds her, as his dark eyes seem to smirk at the two boys, almost as if he knows what he’s interrupting. "Madame Pomfrey will wish to see them. Then you can have your story and get back to the dance."

"Of course, Severus, of course," Skeeter agrees in an oily voice, "come, let us go then, you and I....." How very witty she thinks she is, quoting T.S. Eliot.

Sirius begins to object, but Remus realizes that, at least for tonight, the game is lost, and he has no wish to put up a fuss. "We'll get there on our own," he reassures the overzealous reporter —school reporter, that is—"and we have no story to tell. So, if you'll excuse us." He tugs at Sirius' sleeve, and Sirius follows him, of course. But the look that he gives to Snivellus clearly says that he will get even with him for this, even if Snape doesn't know what this is.

"But Remy," Sirius protests once they are out of earshot of the other two, and actually headed toward the infirmary. "What about us? What about tonight?" He looks as if he’s about to cry.

Remus, none too happy himself, has already thought ahead, for he’s the pragmatic one of the two. "I know, Siri, I know," he attempts to comfort him. "But Hogsmeade is coming up very soon, remember?"

"And?" Sirius doesn't understand.

"And we'll find a reason not to go." Remus turns to him, a sly smile lighting his face. "Everyone else in our dorm will go, of course, they never miss it. We'll be alone then. For hours....."

"For hours...." Sirius echoes, as he begins to see the beauty of Remus' reason. "I knew there was a reason I loved you, Mr. Lupin...."

"Same reason I love you, Mr. Black." Remus grins, and they continue toward the infirmary, their hearts lighter in anticipation of the day to come, when all their lovely—and lascivious—dreams shall come true.