Fire and Water

Our little wolf gets to know his body and the crush deepens. We\'re getting to it. I promise. Review? Please?





Chapter Five



Krystal felt a tap on her shoulder as she waited for the Hogwarts Express with Lily. She turned and saw Remus grinning behind her. She smiled broadly at him, her face lighting up at the sight of her friend. She reached over and hugged him.



“Hi!’ she said, happily. ‘I thought you might miss the train.” She let him go and looked at him closely. He was just a little taller than her when he’d left on holidays, but now… “You’ve gotten really tall,’ she said, realising he was now at least a couple of inches taller than her.

“No, you just shrunk,’ he teased, as Lily also greeted him with a hug. Krystal laughed, then shrieked as Sirius grabbed her from behind and lifted her off her feet.



“Hey, Krys, Remus. Hi, Lily!’ James said, coming up beside them as Krystal smacked Sirius making him put her down with a grin.

“Potter,’ she said, turning and walking away to collect her bags. Peter stuck his head between Krystal and James, laughing.

“I don’t think she likes you all that much, James,’ he teased, before James pushed him away.

“She’ll come around,’ he said confidently. Krystal caught Remus’ eye as she followed Lily, and they both tried to hide their smiles. Lily couldn’t stand James, but James wasn’t going to take no for an answer.



The journey back to Hogwarts was full of chatter for the Fourth Years. Krystal caught up with all of Remus’ news then sat with Lily and Alice, as the Marauders’ huddled in the opposite corner, talking conspiratorially together. Krystal turned to Lily, who was eating a Pumpkin Pastie in the seat next to her.



“James is so into you,’ she said, reaching over her to grab a Chocolate Frog from the pile on the seat between Lily and Alice.

The boy’s eyes had barely left Lily while they were all sitting together, and his showing off had sent Remus, Sirius and Krystal into fits of laughter, which they hurriedly disguised as coughing when James glared at them.



“He’s a prat,’ said Lily, darkly, glaring over at the boys.

Alice snorted in laughter, nearly spitting out her pumpkin juice.

Krystal said, “I think the lady doth protest too much,’ raising an eyebrow at Alice, earning herself a jab in the ribs from Lily.

“Could be worse, Lily,’ Alice said as she shoved a chocolate in her mouth. “It could be Peter.”

The three girls giggled, turning to look at the chubby boy, who, as usual, was hanging on James’ every word. Krystal felt her nose screw up in distaste. She had never warmed to Peter, and was finding her dislike for him growing each year.



“Come on, Lily. James is alright,’ Krystal said, leaning over for another sweet.

“So is Sirius,’ said Alice, glancing approvingly at the good looking boy.

Krystal and Lily both looked startled at her suggestive tone, turning to stare at the other girl.

“Well,’ she said, a little defensively, as she gestured surreptitiously to Sirius. ‘Even if you don’t like him, you can’t deny he’s cute.”



Lily and Krystal’s heads turned as one as they looked at Sirius: for the first time seeing him, not as a friend, but in a completely different way.

Lily raised an eyebrow. ‘For a jerk, he is quite good looking, isn’t he?’ she said quietly.

“Mmm,’ agreed Krystal with a frown, wondering why she’d never really noticed what the boys really looked like before.

Despite her ‘date’ with Sirius last year, she’d really never considered them boys, they were friends just like Lily or Alice. But now, looking at Sirius, she suddenly realised he was a really good looking guy.



‘James is cute too,’ said Alice, her eyes moving to the black haired boy, as did Krystal’s. She bit her lip. He was nice looking as well, not as good looking as Sirius, but not bad.

‘Oh, no,’ said Lily, determined to dislike him, although she had given him a once over with her eyes as well. ‘I think Remus is cuter than James. Not to mention much nicer.’

Alice nodded, enthusiastically, agreeing with the redhead as they both looked at Remus.

Krystal looked at the other girls, surprise on her face.

‘Remus? You think he’s cute?’ she asked, turning to look at the boy she considered one of her best friends.

Alice laughed at her astonishment. ‘Of course he is, Krystal. Are you saying after all the time you’ve spent with him, you’ve never noticed that he is pretty good looking in a quiet kind of way?’



Krystal was looking at Remus, trying to see him from Lily and Alice’s perspective.

He really had grown over the holidays, taller than the other boys now. His light brown hair was getting longer as well, falling over his forehead. As she watched, he pushed it impatiently out of his eyes.

‘He has kind eyes,’ she thought. ‘They’re a nice blue.’

The thought came out of nowhere and she was a bit disconcerted by it. He smiled at something Peter said, and she felt a strange feeling in her stomach. He had a great smile that lit up his face. Lily was right: he was really cute.



She frowned, and put a hand to her still squirming belly, noticing how warm it was in the carriage suddenly.

“Are you alright?’ said Lily, noticing her discomfort. Krystal looked away from Remus.

“Yeah, too much chocolate,’ she said, deciding that must be the reason for the upset stomach.

“There is no such thing as too much chocolate,’ admonished Alice, getting a laugh from Lily and Krystal.



Remus looked over at the three girls when he heard their laughter. He watched Krystal for a moment, feeling a little swooping feeling in his stomach before he looked away and sighed quietly.

‘This crush is starting to get a bit full on,’ he thought to himself as Peter went on about the problems he was having with the Animagus transformations.



He remembered Krystal hugging him at the station, and his mouth twitched. She hadn’t been the only one to notice the changes that had occurred while they’d been apart, thinking about the new addition of a bra that he’d felt when he’d hugged her, and he couldn’t help noticing that her chest had indeed inflated suddenly. He frowned and admonished himself. Krystal was his friend: he shouldn’t be thinking like this about her. It couldn’t lead to anything.



He snuck another look at her, watching her talking quietly to Lily. He’d always thought she was pretty, but she was getting more beautiful by the year. He felt disappointment heavy in his heart. Someone like her went out with good looking guys like Sirius or James. She’d never look at someone like him as boyfriend material.



He was saved from his thoughts when James turned to him. “Do you think Lily would go out with me?’ he asked. Remus looked across the carriage to Sirius and Peter, who were both trying hard not to laugh.

“I don’t know - maybe,’ he said, trying to be diplomatic, but secretly thinking that James stood as much chance with Lily as he did of going out with Krystal.



Remus looked across the carriage at the same time James did. He saw the girls look over at them giggling, Lily’s smile disappearing when she saw James looking at her. She turned back to Alice, ignoring him. Sirius and Peter laughed, and James turned to tell them off. Remus caught Krystal’s eye and, when she smiled at him, he felt the same feeling as he had earlier, but this time in his chest. He smiled back, then Lily said something to her and she turned away.



The first few months of classes raced by uneventfully, all of the students noticing the work load increasing. James, Sirius and Peter had extra work too. They were still trying to become Animagus, the process taking a lot longer than any of them thought it would. Remus had tried to talk them out of it, telling them it didn’t matter, but they insisted. They were keeping the idea a secret from everyone else, Remus made to swear not to tell Krystal, at least not until they’d succeeded.



Remus and Krystal were spending more and more time together; Lily complaining she felt like she never saw her friend. They practiced defence together each weekend: Remus marvelling at how powerful Krystal was becoming with wandless magic. After practice, they would lie around on the grass talking about everything: getting to know each other better than they knew anyone else. But there was one thing that was never spoken of; never acknowledged.



Remus was trying hard to keep thinking of her as his best friend - although, he was becoming very aware that she was a girl, feeling his super charged teenaged hormones revving up whenever he was close to her. But, unable to believe she would ever be interested in him like that, he accepted that they would only ever be friends.



Krystal was unaware of his interest, distracted by the changes occurring in her own head. She felt that squirming in her stomach a lot these days, always when she was with Remus. She was a little angry that Lily and Alice had made her look at Remus as ‘cute‘, believing that they had forced her to look at her friend differently. Refusing to acknowledge that the way she saw him might be changing, she treated Remus just as she always had: as her best friend.



Christmas holidays came and went. As had become habit, the evening after the full moon had waned, Krystal took Remus his school work while he was in the infirmary, staying and taking him through what he had missed in each class that they shared. She was always disturbed by the new cuts and scratches she saw on him, but tried not to show him how upset his injuries made her.



“I can’t find the definition of a Switching Spell,’ he said, flipping through the pages of his Charms textbook. Krystal looked up from hers. She was sitting cross legged on the end of the hospital bed, Remus opposite her, their books spread all over the covers.

‘He didn’t look too bad tonight,’ she’d thought earlier, although now she could see fatigue beginning to settle on his face.



“It’s on page…….76,’ she said, taking his book and quickly finding the page he needed. She held it back to him, and he took it, finding the definition on the very page he’d been looking at.



He sighed in frustration and fell back against the bed frame, letting the book drop onto his lap. Krystal looked up, concerned. “Give me that,’ she said, closing the book and gathering the others up into a pile.

He tried to sit up straight again, saying, “No, I’m fine. I just needed a minute to rest.’ She smiled knowingly at him.

“Yeah, right,’ she said, putting the tower of books on the trolley next to the bed. He smiled at her, leaning back again.



She stretched her legs out alongside his, pushing his over gently so she had more room.

“This is my sickbed,’ he grumbled as she stretched out next to him, folding one of his pillows under her head, so she could lie back but still see him.

“Didn‘t your mother teach you to share?’ she said, grimacing as she pointed her toes and circled her ankles, sore from being folded under her for an hour. He watched her wiggling her toes.

“Are you ticklish?’ he suddenly wondered out loud, looking at her bare feet.

“Nope,’ she said, quickly drawing her feet back towards her.



He grabbed one ankle and pulled her foot back towards him. She tried to jerk it out of his grasp, beginning to giggle as he ran his fingers over the bottom of it.

“Thought you weren’t ticklish,’ he said, beginning to laugh himself as he watched her fighting to pull her foot away from him, giggles strengthening.

‘Remus, let go. Please,’ she begged, her words coming out in between laughs, her voice sounding breathless.



He became a little breathless himself when he saw her smooth, pale stomach, her shirt riding up due to her wriggling. He put her foot back on the bed, stopping the tickling but still grasping her ankle. Her laughter died down, but she continued to smile at him.

“Jerk,’ she said without venom, still trying to catch her breath. He smiled, feeling his heart race when he caught a flash of bright pink underwear as the waistband of her jeans slipped down a little.



Krystal sat up, pulling her shirt down properly, covering her stomach again. She slapped his hand off her ankle playfully, and swung her legs around, so that she turned around on the bed.

“Move over,’ she said, poking him as she slid her bottom up to the top of the bed. He did as he was told, and soon they sat side by side, leaning up against the bed head. Krystal yawned.

“Tired?’ he asked, surprised. She was usually a night owl, outstaying even Sirius, a notorious party animal.



She nodded. “Mmm,’ she said, closing her eyes. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.’ He stared at her, wondering why she couldn’t sleep.

“Because of you,’ she said, startling him as she opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him.

“Sorry, my block slips a bit when I’m tired.”

He blinked, still a little in awe of her ability to read minds, almost missing her next words.

“I was worried about you. I hate the full moon.” He laughed at her grouchy tone, but felt another little twinge in his stomach. She lay awake all night worrying about him? She really cared that much?



He smiled and reached over for her hand, saying, “Thank you, but you don’t need to worry about me. I’ve been doing this a long time, and, as much as I hate it, I can’t change it. And neither can you.” She sighed, moving closer to him and grimacing uncomfortably as his elbow dug into her side.

“I know, but it doesn’t stop me worrying,’ she replied, lifting his arm and placing it around her shoulders. He pulled her against his side, feeling a shiver run through his body when she leaned her head on his shoulder.

“You’re a good friend, Krys,’ he said, smiling down at her. She smiled back at him, her eyes sliding down to a newly healed cut on his forearm. Reaching over, she touched it gently, a frown on her face. She hadn’t seen that one earlier. It looked nasty.

‘It’s ok. I’ve had worse,’ he said, softly.

Krystal looked up at him, her eyes serious as she said, “And that is why I worry.”



Before he could think about it, he’d leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. Krystal felt her skin tingle, but fought down her confusion over the sensation, smiling at him. She rested her head against him, wriggling a little to try and get comfortable. He lay there, leaning against the head of the bed, feeling her breathing slow as she drifted off to sleep.



Their friendship had always been an affectionate one: Krystal especially, was very physical; hugs, holding hands, an arm around the shoulders: all were a natural form of communication for her. Not just towards him, but all of her friends - much to Sirius‘ immense delight. But he was growing a little disturbed by the way his body had begun reacting to her when she touched him. Theirs was a friendship that he valued, and he didn’t want anything to come between them.



He listened to her soft breathing as slowly, exhaustion overtook him, his own eyes beginning to close. He let his head fall against hers, smelling that wonderful scent of her hair as he also fell asleep.



“Mr Lupin,’ the voice whispered. Remus opened his eyes. It was almost pitch black, the only light coming from a lit wand near his face, held by an unhappy looking Madame Pomfrey.

“What…’ he began, but she interrupted him.

“What is Miss O’Connor doing in your bed?’ she asked, stiffly. He looked down and saw Krystal still asleep against his chest. She’d moved a little, her body now lower on the bed and she’d turned onto her side, her arm curled across his stomach. He felt his body shake a little and he turned back to the nurse quickly.

“We fell asleep, I….I’m sorry. We were talking and…‘ he stopped, seeing the look on her face.

“Madame, can she stay here? She was so tired, and she shouldn’t be walking through the castle at this time of night. I’ll move to another bed.”



The nurse looked at him, frowning. “It really isn’t what it looks like,’ he said. ‘We’re just friends, we just…..fell asleep.” She sighed disapprovingly, but pointed to a bed across the room.

“Go and get into that bed, Mr Lupin, and don’t let me catch you back over here.”

He nodded, saying, ‘Thank you’ as he carefully slipped out of bed, lowering Krystal’s head onto the pillow. Followed closely behind the nurse, he quickly got into the other bed, apologising again as he lay down, trying to hide his grin.



“You could have woken me,’ Krystal said grumpily as she and Remus left the infirmary the next morning. They had just listened to a five minute lecture on appropriate interactions between boys and girls from Madame Pomfrey.

“I fell asleep too,’ he said. He looked over at her, and saw the corners of her mouth turn up in a smile.

“I thought she was going to have a heart attack,’ she admitted, with a giggle.

Remus smiled too, saying, “You should have seen her last night when she found us.”



She shook her head with a laugh, as they climbed through the portrait to Gryffindor Common Room. “You’d think she found us naked by the way she was acting,’ she joked, not seeing the colour rise in Remus’ face at her comment. “I’m going to shower before class.” She waved at him and ran up the girl’s dormitory steps.



Several weeks later, just before the Easter break, the Hogwarts students were enjoying breakfast, some beginning to depart for classes when Professor McGonagall called out in a loud voice. “All Fourth Year classes are cancelled for the day.” James and Sirius looked up from their meals, a hopeful look in their eyes. “All Fourth Year students will remain in the Hall after breakfast. All other students are to get ready for their first class.”



“What’s going on?’ asked Peter, looking at James for information, but James shook his head.

A couple of Fifth Year students laughed as they stood up, one of them poking Sirius as he left, saying, “Hope you didn’t eat too much breakfast, Black - this’ll be hard on the stomach.”

Sirius stared at him as he left, turning to look at the other students. Krystal looked down at the sausage on her fork, paused half way to her mouth. She put it down, glancing over at Lily.

“What’s happening?’ she whispered to her friend.

“I don’t know,’ replied Lily, looking concerned.



When all of the other students had left, Professor McGonagall stood in front of the staff table.

“Will you all stand, please?’ she called, watching as they stood, the house tables and chairs disappearing. Peter had still been sitting on his chair, falling to the ground as they vanished.



There was an outbreak of laughter as a red faced Peter scrambled to his feet. Professor McGonagall shook her head, then waved her wand, and dozens of chairs appeared at the front of the hall.

“Everybody find a seat, please. It doesn’t matter where,’ she said, turning her back to the students as the chairs were dragged and scraped against the floor.



Remus sat between Krystal and James, leaning across to talk quietly to Sirius. Lily and Alice were speculating about what was going on, Krystal listening closely. Professor McGonagall turned away from the other unhappy looking teachers behind her, and faced the students again, clearing her throat. All voices immediately fading and all faces turned curiously to her.



“Each year at this time, the staff have a special class with the Fourth Year students.’ Krystal and Lily looked at each other, then quickly turned back as McGonagall continued. “We understand that this is a difficult time for some students. Changes are occurring in your mind and your bodies. We are here to help answer any questions you may have about these changes.”



Some of the students looked confused still, including the Gryffindors, but James raised his hand.

“Excuse me, Professor,’ he called, looking delighted. “Is this a Sex Education class?’ Many of the students laughed, but many looked stunned, staring at Professor McGonagall, waiting for her to deny it.

“Sexual education is something that will be discussed today,’ she confirmed, glaring at James, and Krystal suddenly understood the Fifth Year boys’ earlier comment about this being hard on the stomach.

She leaned over to Remus, who was looking a little sick as well.

“Please tell me I didn’t just hear McGonagall say ‘sexual’,’ she said, in a disgusted tone. “I wish I could,’ he said, his face reddening.



There was murmuring from around the room, many students were blushing, some were laughing, most looked like they might be sick. The teacher’s separated the students into boys and girls, and they moved to either end of the hall. Krystal looked up at Remus as they stood. “Good luck,” she said mournfully as she followed Lily.

“You too!’ he called, looking less enthusiastic than James and Sirius, who were grinning.



Several hours later, they sat, still slightly stunned, in their Common Room. Sirius was laughing, and bouncing around the room. “Did you see Grant’s face when he explained what an erection was?’ he said to the boys.

Krystal groaned, and grimaced at him. “Do you really need to rehash the whole thing, Sirius?’ she said, her face screwed up. ’It was painful enough the first time.’

He laughed and lurched at her, ending up on her lap.

“Don’t you want to know what we learnt today, oh beautiful Krys?’ he said, fluttering his eyelashes at her, as the others laughed.



Krystal closed her eyes. “God, please just strike me down now,’ she prayed, hearing Lily’s muffled laugh.

Sirius wriggled on her legs and put an arm around her shoulders, obviously settling in. Remus watched him with a slight frown. He didn’t like seeing Sirius all over her like that.



“So, tell us about what you lot learnt?’ he said, looking at Krystal, Lily and Alice, who were sitting side by side on the couch.

Alice looked at him, and said, mischievously, “We learnt about how all teenaged boys are inconsiderate pigs who only think of themselves, so we girls should learn to get ourselves off, as we can’t rely on you to do it.”



Dead silence greeted this statement, everyone in the group staring at Alice. Finally, the silence was broken by James, who was now sitting up at attention.

“Holy shit!’ he said in wonderment. ‘I wish I’d been with you lot! Did Bailey really say that?”

Krystal and Lily responded immediately with a loud, “No!”

Lily expanded, glaring at Alice. “I don’t think she said that exactly….”

Alice shrugged, saying casually, “Yeah, but the meaning was clear. Boys are fairly useless at sex at first, so you have to make sure you know your body, so you can show them how to make it feel good for you as well.”



“Alice!“, hissed Lily and Krystal, warningly, but it was too late. James and Sirius grinned broadly, Peter perked up, bouncing a little on the floor where he sat, and even Remus sat up taller in his chair.

“She didn’t really say that, did she?’ he said weakly, looking at Lily and Krystal. Lily turned to look helplessly at Krystal, who was resolutely staring at the ceiling.



Sirius, still on her lap and looking delighted, said, ‘Tell us, Krys, did she describe to you exactly how you should, um, get to know your body?” He gasped as Krystal straightened her legs, letting him drop to the ground.

“It’s nothing to ashamed of, girls,’ James said, grinning. “I mean, we could even find some time to help out if you wanted us to.”



Krystal stood, her face flushed. “I think the point of us needing to get to know our bodies, James,’ she said, viciously, “is because you lot would need a map to find your way. We all know where boys keep their tiny, little brains.” Her eyes flicked down to the front of his pants then she spun on her heel and left the room.

Lily, grinning, stood and followed, hearing Sirius mutter, “Excuse me everyone. With that thought, I think I need to go and get to know my body right now.”



Remus tossed and turned that night, unable to get to sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about what the girls had said this afternoon about ‘getting to know their bodies‘. He felt himself get hard as an image of a naked Krystal rose unbidden in his head. Trying to ignore his aroused state, he rolled onto his back, flapping the sheets to try and cool himself down.



Remus was still a bit of an innocent about sex and everything that came along with it. He’d gotten his very first conscious erection one night last term, laying in bed thinking about Krystal hugging him that day, and how he’d felt her ever expanding bust pressed against his chest. Panicking a little, he’d quickly tried to think of the most non sexual thing he could imagine - Professor McGonagall. The image had worked - at first. Now his physical reactions to his thoughts of Krys were becoming more frequent, and embarrassing.



He had been concerned at first over the holidays when he had awoken one morning to find his pyjamas a sticky mess; concern quickly turning to mortification when his dad came into his room that night and launched into an awkward explanation about wet dreams and masturbation. He’d had several more wet dreams since that night, but took his dad’s advice and learned how to use the washing machine at home. He couldn’t do that at school though, but had taken to getting up early when it happened, washing his clothes so as not to leave the evidence for the house elves to clean up.



He had also been suffering through many more unwanted erections, particularly late at night and early morning. Remus had listened to his father’s stilted talk on ways the problem could be resolved, but had not attempted to relieve himself yet, finding it a little embarrassing in a room with his friends, or with his parents in the next room at home. He’d heard his friends occasionally at night; late when they thought everyone was asleep, and didn’t want that to happen to him, so he usually just gritted his teeth and waited until the problem subsided.



This time though, as he lay there, he couldn’t stop his mind wandering back to Krystal, and his problem was only getting worse. The thought of jerking off to an image of his friend made him feel uncomfortable, but he was actually hurting a little now, as his balls tightened painfully.

“God,’ he muttered, frustrated, under his breath, hesitating just a second, before plunging his hands under the covers.



He slid one hand down his pants, and touched his cock. Even that light touch caused him to twitch. Taking a breath, he grasped his shaft, moving his hand slowly up and down. His eyes closed as his hips jerked at the new sensation. He quickly found a rhythm that worked, marvelling at how good it felt as he bit his lip to stop himself making a noise.



It only took a minute for his movements to become hurried, and his breathing to speed up. Concentrating on how he was feeling, Remus tried his best not to let his thoughts drift to her, but it was when he couldn’t stop himself from imagining how Krystal‘s hand would feel on him, that he moaned loudly, his body arching off the bed as he felt himself explode.



As his breathing began to slow down, his body also relaxed.

‘Wow,’ he thought, with a soft laugh, ‘I really have been missing out.’

He felt a little guilty that he had thought of Krystal as he masturbated - was that a bit perverted? One thing was for sure, he’d have to make sure he never thought about this moment when he was around her. If she read his mind….. He shook his head, not wanting to even think about that happening.



As he removed his sticky hand, he grimaced, wondering if he could sneak off to the bathroom without waking anyone. He sat up and rummaged one handed in his bedside table drawer for clean pyjamas.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Sirius’ voice whisper, ‘You don’t need to change, just use your wand to clean up. ’Scourgify’ is the cleaning spell. And hurry up, I’m trying to sleep here.”



Remus closed his eyes in humiliation for a moment. He shook his head as he slid the curtain open further to get his wand off the side table, not surprised to see Sirius laying in bed, staring at him.

The dark haired boy grinned. “First time, huh? I always thought you were just really quiet,’ he said, a laugh escaping him when he saw Remus’ expression.

“Don’t be so embarrassed, Moony,’ he said, using Remus’ nickname. “It’s not like we don’t all do it. I know for a fact you’re not the only one who did it in here tonight.”



Remus grabbed his wand, saying quietly, “Too much information, Sirius.”

His friend laughed. “I just had to lie here listening to you jerk off, and you are complaining about too much information.”

Remus blushed, saying, “Yeah, ok. Point taken. Goodnight.”

He had reached up to close the curtains, when he heard Sirius say, “Krystal, Lily or Alice?”

Remus put his face up to the crack in the curtains, saying, ‘What?’ and wondering if Sirius could read minds as well.



Sirius grinned again. “Krystal, I’ll bet. Alice is nice looking, but not like Krys and Lily, and you are too much of a goody two shoes to fantasise about the chick James likes. So that leaves Krystal. Although,’ he said, sitting up. “I don’t blame you. I must admit, she was on my mind tonight too.”

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Remus, despite feeling relieved he wasn’t some kind of pervert, felt like punching him in the face.

“Goodnight, Sirius,’ he said firmly, closing the curtains as he heard Sirius laugh softly again.