Remus didn't know what woke him up the next morning; the extreme feeling of thirst or the painful throbbing in his head. He forced one of his eyes open to the dimly lit room with his head still on his pillow, throwing a glance at the small clock on his nightstand beside his bed. It was eleven in the morning. Even though it is daytime, no one had opened the thick scarlet drapes.

Remus closed his eyes again, but he cursed loudly and jerked up into a sitting position when he remembered that it was Thursday.

     He opened his mouth to yell at his friends that they had missed their classes, but he only managed to let out a groan as his headache became worse.

"Ugh..." Remus held his head, the world spinning to his eyes.

     His mouth was dry and his thirst became worse. The memories of last night were nothing but a haze to him. The last thing he remembered was when they had run out of the Three Broomsticks after Peter was dared to kiss Madam Rosmerta on the cheek.

Remus looked around the room, blinking a few times to retrieve his vision. Peter was sleeping on the floor, snoring loudly while he hugged his pillow. He had a fake beard drawn over his face, but Remus couldn't remember which one of them had drawn it.

He then glanced over at James's bed, but found it empty. Frowning, Remus turned his head to search for him as he looked around the room, only to find James on Sirius's bed, both cuddled up together.

With a sly grin on his face, Remus made the sacrifice and got off the bed, risking the possibility of falling down, in order to get to his trunk and take out his camera. It was worth ignoring the terrible headache.

Stumbling as he walked, Remus moved toward Sirius's bed, where both he and James were sleeping.

     He raised his camera, saying loudly, "Say cheese!"

The camera clicked and flashed, waking Sirius and James up with a start. They looked around in confusion, still not fully conscious to realize what was going on. Remus's smile widened. One look at them told him that their headache was just as bad his.

"What the hell!? Get off of me, Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed at last once he realized the James was sleeping beside him, and then pushed him off the bed with his feet.

"Ouch!" James cried out as he landed on the floor with a loud thud. His hair was messier than ever, his eyes red and barely open.

"Get up, you three. We missed the first two classes," said Remus, placing his camera back in his trunk as he yawned.

"Ugh, who cares!" Sirius groaned, dropping his head back down on his pillow before pulling his blanket on top of his head again.

"Get up, Wormtail," said Remus, trying to shake Peter awake, but he only snored louder.

"Damn it!" James huffed to himself, getting to his feet as he looked around the room, searching for something.

"What's the matter?" Sirius mumbled, forcing himself up into a sitting position on his bed.

"I've lost my glasses again!" James complained, looking around.

Sirius grinned. "I'll help you find them for five Galleons."

"It's on your head, Prongs," Remus said without even looking at James, while taking his school uniform out of his trunk.

"Damn it, Moony!" Sirius retorted, but he laughed when James smacked him on the head before putting his glasses back on.

Remus sighed to himself, walking into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He splashed some water on his face to sober up a bit and began to brush his teeth as he tried to recall the events of last night.

The memories came back to him slowly in short flashes, though most of it were still a haze. He started to remember Sirius suggesting pranking the Slytherin as a birthday present to himself. Remus remembered disagreeing, but when Sirius puts his mind on something, it's hard to change it.

Remus then put his toothbrush back in its place, splashing more water onto his face. But he came to a halt as more memories started making their way back to his mind.

He had seen Diana last night.

Remus suddenly went pale as he stared back at his own reflection in the mirror, his hands resting on either side of the sink.

"Oh, no..." He cringed at the thoughts, remembering some of the embarrassing things he had done and said in front of her last night.

I brought her up here, Remus thought to himself, the feeling of panic surging from within him as the worst part of last night came back to him.

Diana had helped him to bed. He had held her back, begging her to stay with him for the night.

Remus closed his eyes, trying to remember what happened next. He could already feel his heart beating rapidly in humiliation and embarrassment.

     "I really like you," he had said, chuckling giddily.

"You just told the Fat Lady that you loved her."

    "I might love her, but I really like you."

"You don't."

"Of course I do! I like you, you dum-dum!"

"Very funny."

     Remus remembered how he had then wrapped his arms around her waist, stopping her from leaving.

"Please let me go," Diana had whispered.

"But I don't want you to leave... I — I really want to kiss you."

"Remus —"

"Can I kiss you?"

      "Oh, no... OH, NO! What have I done!?" Remus clapped a hand over his forehead in terror, all the color draining from his face.

     But there was more. There had to be more to that memory. He started pacing around the bathroom, replaying the memory over and over again in his head as he tried remember the ending.

      And then, it finally came back to him.

     Remus stood frozen on the spot, feeling paralyzed as his mind wandered away. He slowly shook his head in disbelief, his mouth hanging open in shock.

It couldn't be real... He was only imagining it... Maybe it had been a dream...

      With his mind racing, Remus quickly opened the bathroom door and stepped back into the dorm.

     "Why do you look like a banshee?" Sirius said when he saw the look of horror on Remus's face.

     "Where's the Map?" Remus asked hurriedly.

     "Why do you nee —?" James began to question, but Remus gave him no chance to finish his sentence.

     "The Map, Prongs! Where's the damn Map!?"

      "In my nightstand drawer," said James, before sharing a look with Sirius as Remus ran toward the drawer to look for it. "Merlin... what's with him? I thought the full moon wasn't for another two weeks."

     Remus decided to ignore this remark completely, or perhaps he hadn't even heard it in the first place. All he did was take his wand once he had the Marauder's Map, before running out of the dorm as fast as his legs could carry him without falling.

      He searched for her name all over the Map, his eyes scanning the large parchment in his hands, until he finally spotted her in the library. She was alone.

      Remus had no idea what he was supposed to tell her. All he knew was that he had to see her right now.

     Folding the Map and placing it in the inner pocket of his jacket, Remus walked into the library. He started to feel more hesitant. His heart was beating faster. His mouth went dry, his mind blank. And there, he finally saw her.

      Diana was searching for a book in the Charms section, looking through the shelves. Layla had Herbology at the moment and Regulus was in Potions, but Diana had a free period so she had decided to write her Charms essay.

      Sensing that someone was walking toward her, Diana turned her head around, only to see Remus approaching her from the end of the aisle with an odd expression upon his complexion and his hands in his pockets.

      "Hey," Remus said softly as he reached her, pale in the face.

      "Hi." Diana forced a little smile at him, wondering what he was doing here. "How are you feeling?"

      "Not bad," Remus muttered distractedly.

      "Are you sure?" Diana chuckled. "You seemed pretty terrible last ni—"

      "Did you mean it?" Remus cut her off, not able to hold himself back any longer.

      "I — what?" Diana mused.

      Remus took another step closer to her, unable to breathe properly, feeling as though his fast-beating heart would break his ribcage any moment now.

     "Last night. Did you mean what you said?" he repeated himself breathlessly, his eyes roaming her face longingly.

      "I — I said a lot of things last night. You gotta be more specific, Lupin." Diana tried to act breezy, but her nerves were slowly driving her into insanity, hoping that he wasn't talking about her last words to him.

       "I think you know," Remus whispered, taking another step closer to her. "You told me that — that if I asked you again... you would say yes."

      Diana looked away, feeling as though her whole world was crumbling down for a second, right before her eyes. She glanced behind her shoulder, hoping to see a student nearby that could interrupt this conversation. But Remus and Diana were all alone in the library, seeing as everyone else had classes at the moment.

"Diana," Remus called her name softly, trying to catch her full attention again. "Did... did you mean it?

     "I don't know. Maybe — ugh, so what if I did!?" she snapped at him sharply, trying to cover up her true emotions with a mask of anger and coldness, the way she always did. "It doesn't matter, okay!?"

      Remus shook his head, whispering, "How could you say it doesn't matter, when it's the only thing I've been able to think about for months."

      Remus felt as though he was stuck in a trance, or perhaps a dream. He couldn't bring himself to believe that anyone would ever love him, for the scars in his heart ran deeper than the ones across his face.

      "Tell me that you meant it," he said softly, his eyes fixed on her lips.

      With her heart pounding, Diana forced herself to look up at him, deep into his eyes that burnt in passion. She finally managed a small nod of her head, muttering under her breath, "I did."

     At those words, a smile was formed at the edge of his lips and his face brightened up, as though every happiness he had ever felt condensed into this single moment.

"So did I," he whispered.

      And so, without thinking, without even hesitating for a second, he leaped forward and placed his scarred hands on either side of her face, leaning in and bringing her into a kiss.