Disclaimer: All rights go to JK Rowling. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

I can truly say I'm proud of myself for not waiting six months to update this time. Next time...we'll see.

Thanks for all the new favorites/follows, and thank you to everyone who reviewed last time!

Well, folks. Here it is. Have some smut. You all deserve it after waiting so long ;)

Chapter Twenty-One

You're Just Saying That Because My Tits Are Out

I'd never heard the Gryffindor Common Room so quiet before.

Even during revision for midterms and final exams, there was always some level of activity going on. But in the wake of the display made at the play, there was absolute silence.

After the attack on Katie and Remus, there hadn't been much time for talking. Professor McGonagall had arrived and swept us off to the common room, her face pinched and white. That's when it hit me—what had happened. If Minerva McGonagall was afraid… Well, I was screwed.

She'd practically shoved us through the portrait hole, demanding the Fat Lady that no one was allowed in or out of the common room that night besides her or Professor Dumbledore. Lily and Remus had walked in with me, each ashen but with a firm look of resolve on their faces that I wish I could have. Remus had turned to me, his mouth open to say something, but before he could, Emmeline had barreled straight into my chest.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" she'd sobbed, accidentally burying her face in my cleavage. "We were so worried, Piper! McGonagall ran us off before we could see if you were all right, and—"

"It's okay, Em," I'd said, patting her shoulder. "C'mon; let's go sit with the others."

That had been over an hour ago. In the meantime, I'd changed out of the fairy costume and swapped it for an oversized sweater and loose lounge pants before rejoining Dorcas, Emmeline, Becca, Benjy, JJ, Alfie, and Dom in the common room, all of us piled into a corner table and reflecting on the night.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight," Becca said, speaking up for the first time since we'd sat down. Her hazel eyes were dull and haunted, staring unseeingly at the tabletop. Benjy put an arm around her shoulders.

"Dumbledore will find out who did this," he said. "And hopefully those sacks of shit will get thrown out for it."

"It's getting worse," Alfie said. He sat, arms crossed, his usually bright and smiling face set in an uncharacteristic frown. He was the only Muggle-born in our friend group besides me. I knew tonight was hitting him hard, just like me. "That whole thing was planned. They wanted to cause chaos, make us panic."

Emmeline shook her head. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying. "They had to have been students. No one else can get into Hogwarts." Her lower lip trembled. "How can there already be so much hate? Here?"

"The world's filled with hate," Dorcas said. While everyone else had been somber and silent, she'd fumed like a storm. Lightning crackled in her golden eyes when she looked around at us. "They want Muggle-borns to fear them?" She bared her teeth. "They'll learn soon enough to fear me."

Benjy nodded. "They think they're creating a movement. But we're creating our own. One that fights against sadistic bastards like them."

"Dumbledore has one," I said.

"Mary told me about it," Dorcas said, nodding. "She's joining once she graduates. Along with everybody else in the Seventh Year."

Dom grunted. "I wish I was graduating this year. I'd join them, too."

JJ reached over to me and put his hand on my knee. I met his dark eyes, filled with concern. "How do you feel, Piper? I know that couldn't have been easy. Especially after what happened…"

He trailed off, looking uncomfortable at the unspoken mention of my torture in Hogsmeade at the hands of Rabastan Lestrange. On reflex, I looked around the common room, but Archie was nowhere to be found.

I wanted to shrug him off, but I had to remind myself that New Piper talked about her feelings.

"It shook me up," I admitted. I drew my knees up on the chair and rested my chin on them. "It's easy to pretend like everything's okay when you're inside Hogwarts, y'know? But it's bad out there. Really bad. Whoever this He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is, he's doing a good job of spreading all this anti-Muggle and -Muggle-born shit, I'll give him that."

Benjy scowled. "He'll rot, too. All of them."

"Spoken like a true soldier, Fenwick."

James walked over to our table, the rest of the Seventh Years in tow. He grinned at Benjy, though it was bleak. Mary sidled in between my chair and Dorcas's, giving me a reassuring smile that looked more like a grimace. Not that I could blame her. Her fingers drifted over Dorcas's cheek, and Dorcas leaned into the touch. Huh. Well I'll be damned. But that was a conversation for later.

Benjy straightened, looking at James. "You're going to fight? With Dumbledore? All of you?"

"Yes," Alice said quietly when no one spoke. "We all decided last year."

Benjy looked at all of us seated at the table, and we all answered the silent question in his eyes wordlessly. He looked back to James, his gaze fiery and determined. "Then we are, too."

Sirius snorted. Fortunately, he, too, had changed out of the Titania costume. "Let's pop the champagne then, shall we?"

We all shared a grim smile.

"Who do you think it was tonight?" Marlene asked, her brows scrunched. "The people in those masks and robes?"

"Slytherins, I bet," James said. "Pure-bloods. No doubt they've got family in You-Know-Who's ranks already."

I nodded. "I believe it. Some of them are already as rotten as Lestrange. And he's not even the worst one out of that family."

Sirius chuckled darkly. "Bellatrix knows how to pick 'em, that's for sure. Rodolphus is just as insane as she is."

"Tell us more about Dumbledore's Order," Benjy broke in. I glanced over at him. His fists were clenched, his cheeks flushed. He was pissed, and when Benjy Fenwick was angry, he didn't let things go. "How you found out. How you got in."

James and Sirius happily obliged him, beginning to detail all that he wanted to know. I listened half-heartedly, my mind stuck in an alleyway in Hogsmeade with Rabastan Lestrange's voice crooning "Sing, little lark, sing!" I flinched when Lily touched my shoulder lightly.

She gave me a sympathetic smile. "How are you holding up?"

I shook my head. "I'm scared, Lily." I put my feet down and patted the small space on the chair that wasn't taken up by my body. "Here; sit."

She squeezed in next to me and chuckled. "Half my arse is floating in midair now."

I grinned. "If you think about it, technically your full arse is floating in midair when you're standing."

"Sometimes I wonder what goes on in your head, Piper."

"I wish I knew, too."

We shared a small smile until she sighed.

"I can't believe what happened. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it."

I shrugged and copied Alfie's words from earlier. "They're just trying to scare us. Divide us. We can't let them."

She nodded. "You're right." She sighed again. "I'm just trying to think of how I can possibly explain this all to my parents. To my sister."

"Do they know what's happening in the wizarding world?"

"They know, but I don't think they entirely understand it." She shook her head. "They already lived through one tyrant who preached superiority and might. But he was a Muggle. I think they still equate wizards with…something above that, if you know what I mean? Like, wizards don't have the same problems Muggles do, since we have magic."

"No, I get that." I thought of my mum at King's Cross all those months ago and leaving her to come back to Hogwarts. My beautiful Muggle mother who tried her best to understand her magical children, but never fully could. "My mum's the same way."

Lily clasped my hand. "We'll get through this. I believe in that."

I squeezed her hand back and marveled at how I was doing this with Lily Evans, of all people. If anyone had told me last year that Lily and I could ever hold a civil conversation without calling each other a bitch, I would've laughed in their face before hexing them and calling them a bitch.

"You should talk to Remus," Lily added. It was then that I noticed he was the only one missing between our two groups. Even Peter was speaking to Becca politely, which was a stunning feat in itself. He'd hated her the most before. But hey, unity in the face of hate and all that, I guess. "He's…pretty upset."

I blinked. "I mean, yeah, but we all are."

Lily frowned. "No. I mean… You should still talk to him. He's by the fireplace."

"Er, okay." I gave her a weird look as I stood up before walking over to the fireplace. Remus was, indeed, sitting on the couch in front of it, staring into the flames. He'd also swapped his costume out for a thin, dark green jumper and brown trousers, his sandy-blond hair tousled and falling on his forehead in soft waves. Though the Amortentia had worn off, I still wanted to whine like a puppy at the sight of him. Instead, I sat down next to him and cleared my throat. "Hey."

He didn't look at me. "Hey."

"Er…you all right?"

He chuckled humorlessly. "Our play just got interrupted by a pro-blood-superiority group."

I mustered a smile. "At least the audience didn't have to witness Sirius's dreadful acting for long." He didn't laugh. "C'mon, that was funny."

Abruptly, he stood up. I stared at him.

"Come with me," was all he said before striding for the boys' staircases, not even waiting for my response.

"O…kay?" I got up and followed him. It didn't take me long to find the Marauders' dormitory, especially since it hadn't been a while since I'd last been in it. But that was Halloween, and we didn't talk about Halloween.

He shut the door behind me when I entered. I walked to the center of the room before turning back to him, finding him still standing at the door, his back to me. His hand was still on the knob, and as I watched, it trembled.

"Remus?" I took a step toward him. "Are you all right?"

He spoke to the door. "Why did you do it?"

"What?"

"Why. Did. You. Do it?" He enunciated every word, sounding like he was biting them out through his teeth.

I stared at his back, lost. "Are you talking about sending Sirius out on the stage as me? Because there's a perfectly valid reason for that, but it's, er, hard to explain—"

He whirled on me, and there was anger—true anger—in his eyes when he looked at me.

"I'm not talking about bloody Sirius, Piper," he snapped.

I kept my mouth shut as he strode to his bed, bracing his hands against the footboard and hunching his shoulders, breathing deeply. Shit. Shit. What had I done?

"Remus." I kept my voice as calm as possible. New Piper was reasonable, I reminded myself. She didn't give in to her temper anymore. "Talk to me. Please."

He turned, but kept his hands braced on the footboard, leaning the backs of his thighs against it. Anger still simmered in his eyes, but now there was something like pain in the depths, as well.

"You jumped in front of me," he said, his voice hoarse.

I thought back to the black figure, to the red spell, aimed right at Remus. Everything after I'd knocked him down had been a blur. I hadn't even remembered until now. I was starting to understand, though. I nodded.

He shook his head, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "Why?"

I swallowed. "You would've done the same for me."

He stared at me. "Of course I would have. But for you to…" He shook his head again. "No. Not for me. You shouldn't have risked… It was stupid, Piper. You could've gotten hurt. Seriously hurt. Or worse—" His breath hitched, and he rubbed at his eyes, keeping his head bowed.

"No shit," I said. What the fuck? It was stupid to try and protect him? No. Fuck that. "Was I just supposed to stand there and watch that shitstain banish you to the shadow realm or something?"

"You risked yourself for me," he said, looking up with a scowl.

"Because that's what you do for someone you care about," I retorted. "James would've done it. Sirius would've done it. But I was closer. And I didn't want you to get hurt. So, get over it."

"Get over it?" he repeated, incredulous. "Piper. You threw yourself in front of a spell—"

"And I'd do it again," I shot back. "And again. For any one of my friends. Why are you so upset about that?"

"It was reckless."

"It was the right thing to do," I said, crossing my arms. "If you don't like it, tough shit. It already happened. No use crying over spilt pumpkin juice, or however that saying goes."

"This isn't spilt pumpkin juice," he argued. "This is—"

"A conversation that's over," I said coldly. "Get some sleep, Remus. You clearly need it."

"No," he snapped. "Piper, listen to me. If something like that happens again…don't ever risk yourself for me. I'm not worth losing your life over."

"Fuck off with that," I said. Fury and hurt rose inside me like a wave. How could he say that with such conviction? Like he didn't matter? "Don't stand there and throw yourself a pity party. You're worth saving, Remus. To me and to everyone else who's your friend."

His grip on the footboard tightened, turning his knuckles white. "I'm not. I'm fucking not."

"Why? Because you're a werewolf?" I took a step closer to him. "Because you think you're a monster deep down inside?" I pointed to the door. "The fuckers who crashed the play tonight are the real monsters, Remus. Forgive me if I don't buy your shit for a single second."

"Don't," he said, his voice raw. "Just don't, Piper—"

"No! Fuck you, Remus Lupin!" My voice broke on his last name as tears flooded my eyes. Christ. I didn't want to fucking cry. I wanted to be furious. "I care! I bloody care!"

"Why?" he demanded. "Why?"

"Because you're worth it!" I shoved him. He hardly moved. "You're worth it to me, you fucking idiot!" He stared at me like I'd gone mad. I probably had. My chest heaved, and tears were falling freely now. "Isn't that enough?"

He said nothing. I sniffed and wiped my face with the backs of my hands. This was stupid. Such a stupid fight to have.

When the seconds stretched into minutes, and he still didn't speak, my stomach started to coil. I should leave. Leave now and Obliviate him in the morning or something.

I took a step toward the door. He still said nothing, staring into empty space. I took another step.

Finally, he looked at me.

"Is it killing you as much as it's killing me?"

His voice was raw. Desperate. And his eyes… They were fractured. Torn.

My stomach plummeted. "What is?"

"You, Piper." His hands flexed on the footboard, his knuckles straining under his skin. "I just need to know. Right now. And if it's…not the answer I want to hear, that's fine. This will be the only time I bring it up."

My mouth went dry. "What do you need to know?"

He drew a breath. Steeled himself.

"Do you want me as badly as I want you?"

I swallowed. My heart began to pound. "Yes." The word came out unwavering, even if my knees had turned to jelly. "I've wanted you for years, but thanks for just now getting around to it."

He cracked a smile. "You could've said something first."

I stepped closer to him. This couldn't be real. How was this real? I reached out and put a hand on his chest. His heart thumped wildly under my palm, echoing my own.

I laughed lightly. "This isn't the Amortentia talking, is it?"

His eyes widened. "The what?"

"Oh, yeah. There was Amortentia in the water. Sirius took over my part because all I could think about was you."

He frowned. "Is the Amortentia talking for you?"

I slid my hand up his throat until it cupped his cheek, flushed such a lovely shade of peach. I shook my head. I'd never been so sure of anything before. "No."

"Good," he said, hoarse. "That's…good."

"Good," I echoed. I smiled at him. "So, are you going to make a move or what, furball?"

My stomach swooped when his hands came to rest on my hips, but I forced myself to smile coyly. At least flirting was territory I was used to. Even if flirting with Remus Lupin was making my heart race faster than a hippogriff chasing a Golden Snitch.

His pale green eyes flashed wickedly. "You're going to pay for that, Everlark."

"I thought it was pretty clever," I said.

"And I think you talk too much." He gave me a lopsided grin. "But in a good way."

"You can shut me up anytime it pleases you."

"Are you asking me to kiss you, Piper?"

I grabbed his hands and pulled him closer until he was standing fully, our chests barely touching. I trailed my fingers across his shoulder, down his arm. I couldn't tell if I was the one shaking, or he was. Emboldened, I stood on my tiptoes and whispered in his ear, "Among other things."

A shudder wracked his body. I was suddenly burning, my gut twisted into knots, my muscles taut, as he wrapped his arms around my waist and drew me impossibly closer, until there was no space left between us.

He hesitated, but I'd already closed the distance between our lips. And then we kissed.

Soft. So soft. He held me like I was made of glass, a fragile thing that would fall and shatter on the floor if he let me go. His lips were even softer, moving against mine like the wings of a butterfly, light and probing. My hands cupped the back of his head, my fingers twining in his hair, my mind chanting Real, real, real. This is real.

He pulled back slightly, his breath uneven as it fanned across my face. His fingers spasmed against my hips, like it was taking all his self-control to keep them there. I could barely hear his whisper above the blood pounding in my ears. "Are you sure?" His throat bobbed. "Are you sure it's…me?"

I held his gaze. His eyes flickered like lightning in a summer storm, a thousand emotions I had no names for swirling in the depths. I nodded, my throat tight.

"You're all I want," I whispered.

He searched my gaze for a moment more before nodding, as well. His hands moved from my waist, coming up to cradle my face, his palms hot and rough on my cheeks.

"I believe you," he said hoarsely.

He kissed me again, harder, more urgently. I pulled lightly on his lower lip with my teeth, my knees weakening when he groaned softly. His tongue swept into my mouth as one of his hands moved back to my waist, his fingers digging into the soft flesh there and making my body roar for more than just a kiss.

I pressed flush against him and rolled my hips. He gasped, his eyes flying open as his other hand dug into my curls. My body howled in approval.

"I want you," I said. I forced myself to hold his gaze, even though I felt like nothing more than a bumbling, blushing, horny schoolgirl within that moment. I nipped at his lower lip again. "All of you."

He swallowed, his eyes flicking between my own and my mouth. He nodded, his breath hitching. "Me, too."

I grinned and captured his lips again. He laid back on his bed, taking me with him until I was straddling him, my knees on either side of his waist. I broke our kiss just long enough to rip off my sweater and toss it to the floor, my skin burning when his fingers traced up my spine, my sides, just under my breasts. Now it was my turn for my breath to hitch.

"You're beautiful, Piper Everlark," he said.

I snorted. "You're just saying that because my tits are out."

He chuckled. The movement made him rub against my core, and I grit my teeth to keep from whimpering like a baby. He shook his head. "They're lovely, too, trust me."

And without warning, he took one into his mouth. I gasped and arched into him, his other hand coming up to grab the other. My fingers knotted in his hair as his tongue swirled around my nipple, his teeth grazing it and making my core absolutely pound. He moved to the other and I moaned, bucking my hips against him.

Fuck. Foreplay was nice and all, but I needed him. Right now. Or else I might spontaneously combust from being too horny.

I pushed him back down onto the mattress and yanked off his jumper for him. His hand reached up on reflex to cover the thick scar on his left hip, but I bent down and pressed my lips to it, feeling the raised and ragged skin there. I then swiped my thumb across it, ignoring the shudder that went through his body. The scar that was there because of me. Because of the way he cared about me.

Tears sprung to my eyes. I moved to wipe them away, but he captured my wrists in his hands.

"Don't cry," he said, his voice soothing. "Remember what I said, Piper? You can never hurt me."

I nodded tightly. He let go of my wrists. I bent down again and kissed the scar once more before tracing my lips across the firm plane of his stomach, pausing just above the waistband of his trousers. I glanced up to see him watching me with dark eyes and gritted teeth, but at my questioning look, he jerked his head in a nod.

While my fingers worked the button and zipper, I kept my mouth roving across the bare skin of his chest and stomach, my lips scratching against muscle and small trails of hair that led me farther down. I quickly relieved him of the rest of his clothing as another flash of heat went through my body, making me wetter than an ocean, especially at the sight of his erect cock.

(And to answer all your questions: Yes. Yes, he was.)

Before I could cream myself right then, I tugged off my own pants and panties with a silent thank-you to God and Merlin that I'd had the sense to shave last night. I adjusted myself above him and asked, "Do you want to?" I swallowed. "You can say no. We can wait. I just want to make sure I'm not—"

I choked when he reached down and grasped his cock, brushing it against me.

"I want to." His voice was hoarse and ragged and deep and throaty. Oh, fuck.

I had to force myself to nod. "Good." I bit my lip. "Have you ever…?"

"You'd be my first." He gave me that utterly irresistible lopsided grin I'd always loved, but his eyes were serious. "If that's all right with you?" I nodded. He took one of my hands and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. "I want you to be in control," he said. "Stop whenever you feel like it. Go only as far as you're willing."

I just looked at him. I had Remus Lupin spread out beneath me, naked and rock-hard. And he was letting me have control. He was trusting me to be intimate with him in a way he'd never been before. I couldn't even speak. My chest was tight with emotion, with the weight of such a profound and deeply touching act.

In answer, I leaned down and kissed him. Long, hard, and passionately, putting what I couldn't say aloud in that kiss. He seemed to get it, thankfully, for he brushed his thumb across my cheekbone with a gentle smile before positioning himself at my entrance.

With a soft hand, he gripped the back of my neck and kissed me as he pushed himself in with small, light thrusts. He groaned into my mouth, his grip tightening as he sank in deeper, until we were chest-to-chest and he was fully inside me. I rocked my hips, adjusting to the size of him, and we both inhaled sharply at the sensation.

"Fuck," he ground out. "You're so tight."

I grinned wickedly and answered by thrusting my hips. He swore again, his head falling back to the bed as I began to move, starting slow before quickening my pace, just needing to feel him. He met my pace easily, and we both groaned as he slid in and out of me, his hands moving to clutch at my hips again.

"Fuck," he moaned. "Fuck, Piper."

"Say my name again," I uttered between thrusts, my nails scratching down his chest. "Please."

"Piper," he whispered, moving one of his hands to cup my face. His thumb swept over my swollen lips, and I took it into my mouth lightly. "Piper."

I sucked on his thumb before I suddenly giggled as a thought occurred to me. He hissed when I tightened around him, but he gave me a quizzical grin. "What are you laughing about?"

I snickered. "We forgot to lock the door."

His eyes widened. "Oh, shit."

He scrabbled for his wand, but I gently pushed him back. I leaned over him and whispered against his mouth, "Let them see. I don't care."

He grinned. "You're utterly wicked."

I tightened my walls around him until he groaned, his breath hissing out of his grit teeth. "Oh, you have no idea just how wicked I can be."

"Keep doing shit like that and I'm not going to last much longer," he panted.

I moved to his ear and nipped at his lobe. He arched into me as I said, "Then cum for me."

He grabbed my hips again and drilled into me, hard and fast. I couldn't help the moans and gasps that came out of my mouth, my heat building higher and hotter with every stroke.

"Fuck," he groaned. "Piper, I'm gonna—"

He didn't finish his sentence before he finished himself, his cock throbbing inside me as his fingers dug into my hips painfully. After he came, he looked up at me through glazed eyes.

I grinned down at him. "You have a cute orgasm face."

He burst out laughing. I couldn't help but laugh, too. "What the hell, Pipes?"

"It's true!" I got off him and he gasped again as I padded to the washroom to grab a towel. "Most blokes have weird faces when they cum. Yours is nice."

"Thanks?" He gave me a weird look as I passed him the towel. "That's…not a compliment I ever thought I would receive."

I shrugged and flopped down on the mattress next to him as he cleaned himself up. "New Piper is nice like that."

He tossed the towel to the floor and laid back on the pillows. "'New Piper?'"

"The Piper that isn't a bitch to everyone."

"Ah. I see." He looked over at me with furrowed brows. "Did you want me to, ah…?" He gestured to me.

"Nah, I'm good." I stretched and put my arms behind my head. "Sometimes a good fuck is all you need."

His lips quirked in a cocky expression I'd seen James and Sirius wear many times. "That good, eh?"

I hummed. "I should probably get going soon."

He rolled over on his side to face me. "Why?"

"I'm literally naked in a dorm you share with three other blokes."

Remus reached down and picked up his wand from where it was discarded on the floor. He pointed it to the door and cast a nonverbal spell. Then he put it on his bedside table. "Fuck 'em. It's Imperturbable now."

I laughed. "Why did you do that?"

He shrugged, though his cheeks flushed when he said, "I wanted you to stay."

My heart skipped a beat. "What about your mates? Where are they going to sleep?"

"Common room, I 'spect."

"Remus John Lupin," I said. "You're a right little devil."

He grinned. "It's what Sirius and James deserve after all the times I've been kicked out over a bird. It's their turn now."

"So, you're inviting me to stay the night? Such a gentleman."

"I try." Hesitantly, he reached down and laced his fingers with mine. "That is, if you want to stay?"

I squeezed his hand and smiled. "I do."

He smiled back. "Good. Because I've been wanting to do this for a while now."

He scooted closer and pulled me into his arms, tucking my head under his chin. I listened to the steady thumping of his heart, my cheek against his warm chest, as our legs tangled together under the sheets.

We said nothing for a long time, just listening to each other breathe, and for the first time in a long time, I felt truly safe.

Well, I thought. That's that. I'm in love with a werewolf.

I closed my eyes and let the rhythm of Remus's heart lull me to sleep.

Practice safe sex! Don't be like Piper and Remus! (Though let's be real: I'd let Remus raw me any day.) (Also so glad this story is M so I can get away with saying shit like that.)

Anyway, I love you guys. I hope I did right by y'all with this chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it. I'm also very excited to write more about Piper and Remus's developing relationship, so I hope you'll stick around for that, too. Much love.

xx