[ look, you need to listen to Ben Barnes singing can't help falling in love before reading this chapter ]

☽︎

YOU'RE SAFE NOW.

HALLOWEEN WAS THE BEST TIME TO BE A HUFFLEPUFF. The Muggle Born students threw the biggest party of the year, it complete with drinks and decorations and fun costumes. Danica usually loved it, especially since Halloween had fallen on a Hogsmeade weekend as well. That, combined with the feast were her favorite things.

But she hadn't spoken to Remus about anything other than Defense Against the Dark Arts in weeks. He kept everything incredibly professional between them in their private lessons. He'd even gone back to making her read out loud, which both knew she hated.

So, Danica was just sitting sadly on a couch in her Common Room, not even bothering to dance around to Monster Mash. She did look cute, at least. She was dressed as a lifeguard, which Claudia thought was hilarious given that she couldn't swim. The red, high-cut swimsuit fit her like a glove, showing off her short legs and smooth skin, not that anyone she cared about would see her in it.

"C'mon," Claudia said, finding her best friend. Claudia was dressed as a Muggle farmer. She reached for Danica's hand and pulled her up from the couch. "Cheer up. So Lupin is being a dick. Don't let him bring you down. He's literally just a man. Stop pining."

"You say that like you aren't always pining after that one," Danica said, pointing across the room to Cedric, who was dressed as a vampire.

"I mean, look at him," she said, sighing. "He's so dreamy. Hey, what are the odds that Cedric would want to double date with you and Professor Daddy?"

Danica rolled her eyes. "First, I need you to stop calling him that before someone hears. Second, that would require Cedric to actually want to date you."

"Damn," she muttered. "I see that his constant rejection is putting you in a shit mood. "

"No," she said even though that was the case. "You calling him Professor Daddy is putting me in a shit mood."

Claudia just shrugged. "Just dance with me, okay? I hate seeing you sad. You have such a pretty smile, and this is your favorite party of the year."

Eventually, Danica gave in and let her friend lead her to the center of the room. She let loose and began dancing, soon singing along to the Muggle rock songs that she was semi-familiar with because Hermione had shown her.

And as she consumed more and more alcohol, her thoughts turned sad. There she was having fun and dancing while Sirius was cooped up in the shack, all on his own.

"I'm gonna go feed my dog," Danica said over the music.

Claudia rolled her eyes playfully, knowing that Danica had gotten quite attached to the stray dog roaming around campus. "Who am I supposed to dance with?"

"Hey, Ced!" Danica called, grabbing the boy's attention as he passed.

"Hey! You guys look great!" he said, smiling at the two girls.

"Will you dance with Claude? I've got to run and do something real quick," she told him.

"I'd love to," Cedric said sweetly. He held out his hand to Claudia, who felt her cheeks heating up. Then she gave him her hand, and he pulled her close. "I'll try not to step on your toes."

Danica mouthed a silent 'you're welcome' to Claudia before slipping out. She stopped by the kitchens and grabbed a plate, filling it with fruit and a turkey sandwich, as well as some of the color changing cupcakes that'd been served at the earlier feast.

Then she made her way up the stairs. She was humming Monster Mash under her breath but stopped when she heard shouting. It sounded an awful lot like the man she was seeking out.

So, she set the plate down and ran after the voice, finding herself headed to Gryffindor tower.

"Open up, you stupid fucking piece of canvas! No! Don't leave, you—"

Danica rounded the corner to see that Sirius was standing outside the Fat Lady's portrait with a knife in hand, who was long gone. The other paintings were screaming for help, some running off to find other frames to find an authority figure.

"What the bloody hell?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Sirius spun around and spotted her, the knife clattering to the ground. "You can't be here," he said, glancing at the paintings that would surely tell Dumbledore that they were familiar with each other if they caught on.

And though Danica wasn't the brightest, she saw how he nervously looked at the portraits and got the gist. "I - I won't let you hurt Harry," she said, reaching for her wand that had been tucked in her ponytail.

Sirius tried his hardest to hide his smile at her acting. "Not the proper school attire, I note," he couldn't help but say, dragging his eyes over her tight and exposing costume.

"It - it's Halloween," she said, blushing a bit. She didn't think Sirius had ever looked at her the way he was now. She didn't know why her body felt so hot all of a sudden. "I won't let you get away. Dumbledore's going to catch you. Then the Dementors will have you."

Sirius shook his head. "Can't let you do that, love," he said, coming closer. Then he wordlessly disarmed her, actually shocking her with the move.

She backed up against the wall, hearing how the figures in the paintings were crying out for her.

"I have to make it believable," Sirius whispered, a sorrowful look on his face.

"I know. Just don't make it hurt," she pleaded.

"Never."

Then Sirius hit her with a stunning spell and caught her body before she could hit the ground hard. Once she was safely on the ground, he set her wand beside her and took off, already hearing people coming up the stairs, heading for the Common Room.

Danica was a bit dazed, not really understanding the words being spoken as people finally came across her. The noise was garbled in her ears, but she felt when someone gently cupped her face, trying to rouse her.

"Danica, Sweetheart, wake up," Remus murmured lowly. No one heard his term of endearment, too busy listening to the Fat Lady, who was telling Dumbledore about Sirius Black's arrival. "Tell us what happened."

Her head lolled to the side and she let out a tired groan before her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was the terror on Remus' face, him afraid of losing her to the same man that had taken his best friends from him.

But he sighed in relief when he saw that she was going to be alright. He looked over his shoulder and called for Dumbledore. "Headmaster, she's up."

"I've sent everyone to the Great Hall," he told him. "The rest of the professors are searching the castle. Perhaps you should take Miss Selwyn to your office until she is better. We don't want the students swarming her in the Great Hall."

"Of course," Remus said with a nod before looking back down at Danica. "Can you stand?"

Danica nodded weakly but still let him help her up, keeping an arm around her waist, letting her lean against his body. It was the closest she'd been to him physically in weeks — she'd have to thank Sirius.

Remus led her all the way to his office, quickly making space for her on the couch by the fireplace. Then he went into his caring mode, finding her a blanket to keep her warm and fixing her a cup of tea to calm her down.

Even though she was perfectly calm because she knew Sirius wouldn't hurt her.

Then he took a seat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "What happened tonight, Danica?"

She hesitated, hating that she had to lie to him. But she reminded herself she was lying for Sirius and that Remus wouldn't understand why she'd allied herself with the man.

"I - I heard screaming. He was shouting at the Fat Lady, trying to get inside the Gryffindor Common Room. I told him I wouldn't let him hurt Harry. I don't think it was necessary for him to make a comment about my attire," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Then he disarmed me and knocked me out. I don't know why he didn't kill me."

"You're safe now," Remus assured her. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

She looked into his beautiful eyes and her chest began to ache. Didn't he already knew he'd been the one to hurt her?

Danica wiped her eyes, pretending to be more upset than she was. "This has just ruined Halloween."

"Yes, I take it the holiday is the reason for your... current attire," Remus said, not so subtly eying the tight swimsuit. Merlin, it was killing him, the way it hugged her curves and showed off so much skin that he knew felt like satin to kiss.

Her cheeks heated up, realizing how he was looking at her. She'd been dreaming that he'd look at her like that again after calling her some meaningless fling.

"I'm a Muggle lifeguard," she mumbled, feeling shy as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I must look silly."

"That's the last word I'd ever use to describe you," he said lowly.

The tension was almost palpable, and Danica hated it. Because all she could see in the back of her mind was him rejecting her, telling her she meant nothing to him. So she knew the look in his eyes was simply lust and nothing more. All he saw her as was an object that gave it up so freely to him.

So, she looked away, missing the disappointment that flashed in Remus' eyes.

"Danica," he said softly, reaching for her cheek. But she pulled away from his touch and scooted to the other side of the couch.

"I think I'd rather face everyone in the Great Hall if you don't mind," she mumbled.

"I'm not letting you go out there dressed like that," he said, hating the thought of anyone looking at her the way he did.

She wanted to protest, but she also wasn't fond of the idea of sleeping in the uncomfortable swimsuit for the whole night. "Well, the Common Rooms are on lockdown, so what do you suggest? What am I supposed to wear?"

"I'm partial to nothing," he had said that morning, a boyish smile on his face.

Merlin, that felt like so long ago.

"I'll get something of mine," he said hoarsely, making her tense up.

She remained silent as he disappeared behind the door that led to his bedroom, and a moment later, he came out with a sweater and a pair of sweatpants, which he held out to her.

Remus politely turned around as she got changed, focusing on some papers at his desk. But then he caught sight of her in the mirror on his wall and he couldn't help but stare, watching her back as she slowly peeled the tight swimsuit from her body, it revealing a smooth back and her perky ass. He couldn't help but let out a low groan, which she heard.

Danica quickly looked over her shoulder, catching his darkened gaze in the mirror, which made her heart pick up speed. Deciding to be a bit mean as payback for his behavior that night of the party on the Quidditch pitch, she made a point of bending down to pick up his sweater, swaying her hips as she did so.

His mouth felt dry as she stood back up and slipped the sweater over her body, hiding it from view. It dwarfed her frame, her not even needing his sweatpants to stay modest. But she slipped them on nonetheless, having to roll up the waistband and the legs to make them even begin to fit properly.

Then she turned, catching his gaze in the mirror once again. "Thank you for the clothes, Lupin. I'll get them back to you as soon as I can."

"Keep them," Remus said. "They look better on you anyway."

☽︎

It was two days before Danica saw Sirius again, wanting to be careful that no one caught him. And much to his happiness, she brought along a portable radio this time, setting it proudly on the broken table in the Shrieking Shack.

"I give you — music!" Danica said, beaming at the older man who was lounging on the dusty bed.

Sirius matched her grin and got up, going over to the device. "I don't think I've heard music in twelve years."

"Then we've got a lot of homework to catch you up," she said while turning the radio on and to a Muggle station that Hermione introduced her to. Except it was a retro station.

"Well," Sirius grinned, "you're not very good at teaching, because I know this song. I loved this band."

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen was playing, and it instantly brought Sirius more joy that he could imagine, so many good memories attached to the song. And he added another to it as he grabbed Danica's hand and pulled her close, beginning to dance as he sang to her.

She giggled and let him twirl her around the room, feeing dizzy in the best way as they finished. He was laughing too and pressed his forehead close to hers, holding her close as an Elvis song began playing which she wasn't familiar with.

"Wise men say only fools rush in. But I can't help falling in love with you. Shall I stay? Would it be a sin if I can't help falling in love with you," he sang softly, and she adored the sound of his smooth voice.

Sirius felt something in him stirring as he held the much younger girl. Something he hadn't felt since Remus Lupin, and that scared him. But he was nothing if not a brave Gryffindor, so he didn't dare let go of her.

He just kept singing as she leaned against his chest, her eyes falling closed. And much to Danica's surprise, she was repulsed by the touch of a man that wasn't Remus.

No, being in Sirius' arms felt as right and safe as home.