``[secrets] two months ago [are vile things]

[Orion Billings]

Orion had never been one for early mornings. He hated the sun with every tad bit of his being. Or, at least on days like today, when waking up was probably the most difficult thing he'd do for a long while. Grimacing and stretching for a moment, he briefly relished the moments before he would have to open his eyes and face the music.

And finally, his robin's egg blue eyes popped open and he groaned, rolling out of bed and rotation his neck around, cringing slightly at the cracks it made. Holy shit, this job was making him old. What on earth had he been thinking taking it? He grinned at that question as he pulled on a light cotton shirt and began to fasten the buttons. It was a dark, maroon wine hue, rather tight for a man to be wearing, but he liked his clothes fitted. He left the top few buttons undone, so as to make sure he didn't get too hot during the day.

He pulled on some black pants for that day, before running a hand through his sandy brown hair and glancing at himself in the mirror above his bed stand. He looked his usual self - laid-back an yet attractively professional. Flashing his reflection a grin, he turned and slipped on some shiny black shoes before heading out to his classroom on the other side of the wall. His students would be arriving soon.

Just as he settled nonchalantly in his desk chair, the first trickle of students began to come through the door. It was an interesting class that he had first period, Slytherin and Gryffindor seventh years. However, it was a N.E.W.T. class, and only a few of the current seventh year took it. Thus, he had more time and energy to get very close and personal with most of his students.

"'Morning Miss Weasley." His voice lilted easily over the name as one of his favorite Gryffindor students entered the room, a Miss Rosie Weasley.

[Rosie Lupin]

Rosie flashed a grin at her favorite professor as she entered his classroom, the only student there at this early hour. "'Morning Professor," she answered him in a cheerful voice. She'd been up since early that morning and had had plenty of time to freshen up and get ready, so she was quite awake.

The man sitting, sprawled across his desk chair at the front of the classroom, had always been a favorite of Rosie's, even before practically all of the rest of the teachers had gone to the dark side. He was friendly and terribly kind to her (not to mention the most attractive professor she'd seen in a while). He taught her and the rest of the leaders of the New Order valuable things, things he didn't teach the Slytherins so as to show his favoritism in this war brewing on the horizon.

Besides, he was probably the one teacher, other than Professor Longbottom, who was completely unafraid of the Death Eaters. He didn't let them walk all over him and, as Rosie had learned, he was incredibly good at throwing off the Imperius Curse. Those bright blue eyes of his never turned the watery grey color that the other professors always sported. He was a fighter, and a true Gryffindor to the bone.

She took her seat near the front of the classroom, setting her things down and pulling out her wand. Text books and note-taking weren't needed in this class, so she normally just brought her wand and her things for the next few classes. Running back up to the Gryffindor Common Room halfway through things really didn't sound like fun.

[Orion Billings]

Although the professor knew it was probably a bad thing, he'd always favored a few of his female students more highly than the rest. This wasn't because he felt anything for them, but more because of the fact that if any of them hadn't been his students, and moreover, so young, he would have most definitely gone after them.

See, Orion was a lady's man, and deprivation of feminine contact in his years at Hogwarts had put him in a right bit of a desperate situation over the past couple of years. He'd had a fling with one of his students a few years back, one that didn't go quite as well as he'd hoped and had gotten him a warning from the school board. Something he'd rather not repeat, if he had a choice. But for a man like Orion, there were some things he couldn't resist.

The man kicked his feet off of the desk they'd been resting on and placed them carefully on the floor, stepping easily onto them. His muscled hands found their way into the pockets of his black pants and he began to saunter around the room, his eyes going from the floor, to the walls, to the girl sitting in the front row, bent over her Astonomy homework. "What brings you here so early, Miss Wealsey?" he asked her, his voice its usual low seductive murmur.

[Rosie Lupin]

She bent herself over her Astonomy star chart, absorbed as she was in the library book she'd checked out a few days ago to help her along with the chart in front of her that had confused her so readily for such a long time. She hardly heard her professor get up from the desk and begin his walk around the room. No, she heard nothing of the sort. Rather, she was quite startled when his voice came from behind her a moment later.

She jumped, flusterd, and pushed a lock of dark auburn hair out of her face, slightly uncomfortable at having the man so close to her. Naturally, she'd never really been alone in a room with him before, and had chosen to admire him from afar for those months that she had. It made her squirm in her seat, from delight or fear, she had no idea, to think of him standing behind her. He was a frightening man, if you were on his bad side, and Rosie wasn't so sure she liked the fact that he'd glanced at her more than the necessary amount in the previous months.

"No reason," she answered him, trying her best to sound nonchalant and unafraid of the man standing behind her, "Oh, and professor? You wouldn't happen to know about star charts would you?" This last comment was off-handed, as she was getting rather frustrated with her homework.

[Orion Billings]

Billings chuckled at her question, making his way towards her back and crouching down beside the small girl, gently taking the quill from her. Next to her fragile, delicate hand, his looked like a monster, and he laughed inwardly at himself for that. A tremor of something shot through him as his hand brushed her arm. Shaking the thought out of his head, he studied the girl's book before making a point on her chart. "See, all you have to do is concentrate," he told her, before smiling and adding, "And perhaps a bit of skill would help as well."

As he said this, he turned to face her and was shocked at how close their faces were. He hadn't realized that while he'd been working on her star chart, she'd leaned forward to get a closer look, and as he turned, they weren't even a foot apart. her bright green eyes looked so terribly beautiful in that moment, but a second later, he pulled back, running a nervous hand through his sandy brown hair and gesturing for her to try her hand at the charting, the awkwardness surging through the air like electricity.

[Rosie Lupin]

Her eyes watched as his hand scetched a perfect circle on the paper before making a few calculations with a stroke of the quill and finally plotting the point she'd been having trouble with for the past couple days. Naturally, she wanted to the thank him and the next moment, she got up the courage to do so. "Thanks, Professor," she muttered, rather breathless, feeling the heat from his body next to her.

And when he turned, she was startled at the feirceness glowing in his bright blue eyes. So bright, they were, that Rosie doubted she could find a sharper pair in all the world. But the next moment she looked away, as did he, and the two of them sat there in an awkward silence for a moment as he handed her back her quill. However, the next moment, he was speaking as though nothing was wrong in the least. In fact, it was that charming voice of his that made her actually believe they hadn't been that close to each other the moment before.

[Orion Billings]

Her light, airy voice around the word 'professor' made him gulp rather loudly, before grinning in her direction to cover up the awkwardness. "Don't call me professor," he told her cheekily, winking slightly in her direction before continuing, "It makes me feel old. Orion's fine, if you like. I've known you for seven years, Rosie. Don't you think it's time we were on a first-name-basis?" At this question, he was screaming at himself to stop. This wouldn't end well, he kept telling himself.

But at the same time, he wondered idly what it'd sound like when she said his name. His actual name, mind you, not the common one he supposed she used on all of her teachers. In fact, as he thought this, he felt himself leaning forward, before realizing it and correcting himself. Shit. He couldn't do this. Not again. The first time had ended so badly that he'd promised himself he never would again. What if she squealed to the school board? He shook that thought out of his head and focused on her face again.

[Rosie Lupin]

His question startled her and she tried her best to cover up her smile, but it ended up pulling through. Nodding vigorously at him, she smiled. "Of course, Orion," she agreed with him, the name feeling entirely foreign to her tongue. But then something came back to her.

She shouldn't be calling him by his first name. Jesus, he was her PROFESSOR, not some guy off the street that she could flirt with. In fact, she shouldn't even be sitting here with him so early in the morning. This was dangerous. What would happen if someone found them? Panic filled her mind as she thought these thoughts and all of a sudden, she was pushing her astronomy chart back into her bookbag and quickly capping her ink before throwing that in there as well. "Thanks for all your help, Professor, but I gotta go..."

For crying out loud, that didn't even make SENSE. She was supposed to be in Charms class, so why would she ever need to be anywhere else? Looking at him, confused for a moment, she slung her bookbag over her shoulder and started to turn towards the door. But then she felt a strong hand on her arm, pulling her back.

[Orion Billings]

It was instinct more than anything that had forced him to pull her back. He didn't want her to leave. Her prescence in his classroom made him feel awake that morning, and the way his name formed in her mouth would be etched in his memory for what felt like forever.

So he grabbed her arm as she tried to leave. It felt so thin and weak, with his large, strong hand wrapped around it. Easy as it was to pull her back, it was even easier to caress her thin face in his muscled hands and to lean down to push his lips against hers. And it was all downhill from there.

[Rosie Lupin]

Until she broke away. Shocked at him pulling her back and even moreso when she felt his soft lips against her own, she'd let him at it for a few moments. It felt good, to be kissed by someone who knew what they were doing, so unlike the flings she'd had in the past few months. But then something clicked in her mind and she forced herself to push him away.

"You're my professor," she whispered, sounding hurt and shocked, her face contorted into a look that would tell anyone she was on the verge of tears. Hitching her bag up farther on her shoulder, she rushed out of the room, feeling his icy blue eyes on her back as she did. Hot tears spilled out of her eyes and she knew that had anyone seen her right then, they would assume something so out of context it was sickening.

[Orion Billings]

He cussed violently the moment she was out of the room, kicking one of the nearby desks. His hands ran themselves through his messy brown hair and he debated ripping a few chunks out. But then, he closed his eyes and breathed in for a few counts, trying his best to stop himself from having a mental breakdown right then and there. He tried to bring himself back to reality, tell himself the facts and assure himself that no one would find out. After all, she'd seemed ashamed of herself when she'd left, and people who acted like that didn't tend to tell people about their excursions. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way back up to his desk and tried his best to look as though nothing had gone wrong that morning. But he couldn't get her eyes out of his head.

-THREAD FINISHED-