Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters, places, etc. (I'm thinking… nouns?) I've found my coin purse! (We've been reunited! How sweet is that?) But the paperclip is gone, so… Don't sue me.

::AN:: That's right, folks, another prequel to IADOHYFB (which you don't have to read to get this, no – and it will be rewritten… IADOHYFB, not this, I mean… lol). But still: It relates a LOT to my fic 'The New Girl'… Anyways, I don't like long ANs on the first chappie, so… Hope you like!!!

To those of you who read 'The New Girl,' this fic starts up just after the marauders, Lily, and Faylinn (see, I told you it related to it!) get back from the Winter Holidays. To anyone who HASN'T read 'The New Girl' – the Marauders, Lily, and an OC of mine just got back from the winter holidays. IT'S THE NEXT DAY.

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"Remus! Remus! Remus!"

Remus Lupin felt the corners of his mouth twitching as he fought the urge to turn around. Professor McGonagall was sitting calmly at her desk, grading papers, but he knew she could hear Faylinn whispering his name loudly. Everyone could hear her.

"Remus! Remus! Remus, you turn around right now or I'm flinging my sugar quill at the back of your sandy little head!"

He kept struggled to keep a straight face, staring ahead at McGonagall's desk. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he could see Peter turning around slowly to look at Faylinn.

"Mr. Pettigrew!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "Turn around and face the front!"

Peter swiveled around quickly, muttering a low "Sorry Professor" as he picked his quill back up.

Twenty horrendously long minutes later, class was dismissed. "Remus!" Faylinn poked him in the back the second the bell rang. "Come on, you turd! You promised me chocolates last night and now you're all, 'Well, I don't know how long they'll last.'" Remus smirked as he picked up his books, noting that Faylinn did a poor job of imitating his voice.

"Mr. Lupin." Professor McGonagall piped up. "A moment of your time, please."

Remus paused and his eyes met Faylinn's. "Do you think she knows about you trying to smuggle me out of the country over the holidays?" Faylinn asked loudly, causing a few snickers from the remaining stragglers in the room.

He rolled his eyes. "I'll meet up with you guys at lunch." He said to both Faylinn and the marauders, who were standing in the doorway, waiting for him.

After the other students cleared out of the room, Remus turned to Professor McGonagall. "You are to go see Professor Dumbledore during your lunch period." She said with a nod of her head. "The password is 'banana nut muffin.'"

Remus raised an eyebrow but didn't make a comment on the headmaster's choice in passwords. Instead, he nodded to Professor McGonagall and muttered a "Thank you" before heading out of the room.

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"You wanted to see me, sir?" Remus asked when Dumbledore blinked at him.

"Ah, yes! Yes!" The white-bearded man said. "Sit, sit. Have a seat, Remus, have a seat!"

Remus sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk and waited a few moments before opening his mouth to speak. "We're waiting for someone else to arrive." Dumbledore said before his student had a chance to say anything.

He nodded. "So, how was your Winter Holiday, Remus?" Dumbledore asked.

Remus looked up from his lap, where his vision had seemed transfixed. "Oh, it was great, Professor. And yours?" Dumbledore said nothing, but flashed his student a bright smile just before he popped a lemon drop in his mouth.

"Lemon drop?" The old man asked.

Remus shook his head. "No thank you, sir."

"Oh, I'm so sorry I'm late! I don't mean to be, really. There was this fascinating poltergeist in the corridor, and he just seemed so keen on showing me to the dungeons. Rather peculiar place, that is, really." Came a soothing voice from the behind Remus.

Remus turned around in his chair to see a platinum-blonde haired girl walking towards him. She sat in the chair next to him, still speaking to the professor. Remus blinked a few times when he realized that he had stopped listening to what she was saying for a moment.

"And so I was just standing there, waiting you see." The girl said as Dumbledore nodded. "And he just started laughing! I thought he'd gone mad, but then, you know, I remembered. He's a poltergeist. Just having a bit of fun, right?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Peeves is our resident poltergeist, yes. He didn't bother you to a great deal, I hope?"

The girl shook her head and smiled. It was then that she seemed to acknowledge Remus's presence. "Oh." She said under her breath and gave a nervous glance towards Dumbledore.

The headmaster nodded and addressed Remus. "Remus, this is a relative of mine. Goes by the name of Lada Demetrius. Lada, this is Remus Lupin."

Lada smiled shyly at Remus, giving a small nod. He managed a slight smile, but then his eyes flickered back to Dumbledore.

"Lada has been sent to Hogwarts on behalf of the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore continued. "They are concerned about a few things and have sent young Lada here for two reasons, I presume. That is right, is it not, Lada?"

Lada nodded and avoided eye contact with Remus. "Yes, sir."

"The first reason come in two parts." Dumbledore said to Remus. "The first being that she is here to research werewolves."

Remus blinked at his professor, wondering why the kind man he'd known for seven years would be so blunt about his condition. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, being sure that he didn't look in Lada's direction. What was she doing? Why did she have to be there? He froze and fixed his gaze on Professor Dumbledore's bag of lemon drops. Did she know?

"She knows, Remus. The Ministry told her." Dumbledore said softly.

Remus shifted again, determined to keep his gaze on the bag of lemon drops. He was afraid that if he didn't, he would begin asking questions and accusing the headmaster of not keeping his secret safe. He knew the Ministry knew, but he didn't know what he would do if his peers found out. The only people who knew were his friends – who had sworn to secrecy – and Severus Snape – and he wasn't about to tell anyone.

"The second part of the first reason is that she has been sent her to study you."

'Bloody hell.' Remus screamed in his mind. He blinked at the bag of lemon drops.

"It's alright if you say no, Remus." Dumbledore continued. "You're allowed to object. It's perfectly acceptable, in fact." He paused. "But the Ministry has ordered Lada here on account of the second reason as well. That reason being: they feel you may be dangerous."

Remus's eyes shot up from the lemon drop bag and met with Professor Dumbledore's, but he didn't say anything. "If you refuse to comply, they'll only attempt to send other Ministry officials." Dumbledore said gravely. "They allowed me to recommend Lada for the position, but if she fails, they'll only send more. It's only for the rest of your stay at Hogwarts, Remus, but I ask that you consider it. You don't have to give me your decision now."

Remus blinked at him, unsure of what to say. "I'm… I'm gonna… go…" He muttered, standing up and leaving the room as fast as he could.

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"Him? That's him? You're kidding?" Lada exclaimed once Remus had left the room.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, I'm not, as you say, 'kidding', Lada. Would you go after him please? I'm afraid I'm far too old to run after a seventeen-year-old boy."

Lada nodded and rushed out of the room. When she reached the corridor, she found that Remus had clearly only been in a rush to exit the room, and not the area completely. He was walking slowly down the hall, looking down at his feet.

"Um." Lada muttered. "Lupin!" She called, unsure of whether or not it was okay to call him by his first name or 'Mr. Lupin.'

He turned around and stopped walking as she walked towards him swiftly. "Um." She said again. "Albus said…" He stared at her blankly, his expression unreadable. She gulped. "Um, Albus said… he wasn't finished speaking with you…" When he didn't say anything she let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm really, really sorry, you know. I don't even know you and… Albus just wanted someone he could trust, see? And…" She rubbed her hands together nervously. "I'm not even making any sense." She took a deep breath. "Listen, I can't say I understand how you feel about the whole Ministry thing, because, well, I don't… But you can go." He blinked at her and she nodded. "I'll tell Albus I couldn't catch up with you. It's perfectly believable, I'm sure. I'm not very physically inclined. You can go." She nodded to him and turned to walk back towards Dumbledore's office.

Unsure of what to do, Remus watched the blonde girl walk back to Dumbledore's office before he made any move whatsoever. He shook his head and quickly headed to the Great Hall.

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"You know what?"

Remus looked up at Faylinn irritably. "What?" He grumbled over his book.

Faylinn looked slightly hurt at his tone and she blinked at him in confusion. He didn't mean to be so mean to her, really. It was just that he couldn't help feeling like he was being followed at all times. It was only two weeks ago. He told himself. Every time he had seen Dumbledore in the halls or during meals, he would always remember the day when he was called to his office. And remember that girl.

"What?" Remus repeated, this time in a normal, friendly manner.

Faylinn blinked a few more times, but then seemed to relax a bit. She shrugged. "Oh, I was just going to say that I don't think that all this studying is going to get us anywhere. I was always taught that you need to just lean back, relax, and let the universe do its thing."

Remus looked back down at his book so that she wouldn't see him rolling his eyes. "You were taught by centaurs, Faylinn. They don't have to worry about N.E.W.Ts. Trust me, if they did, they'd be studying too."

"But Remus!" Faylinn exclaimed, receiving a glare from the librarian. "This is so boring! I don't do anything fun anymore! Even if I'm studying with you, I'm studying with Lily! And other than that, all I get to do is sleep! Did you see Lily yesterday? She was even quizzing me while I ate! While I ate, Remus. I'm going to go crazy at this point."

He looked back up at his book. "Then go find something to do." He said. "You don't need to be with Lily or me every few seconds just to be doing something."

"I know." She said. "But when I'm by myself it just gets boring." She lowered her head and whispered, "Plus, when I'm by myself all I end up doing is bumping into Sirius."

Remus snorted. "That's your own fault, then."

"No, it's not!" She shook her head. "See. Listen. It's like this, see." She opened her mouth to tell Remus but he held up his hand to shush her.

"Listen, Faylinn. I care, really. But I'm trying to study." He said.

"No, listen! Come on." She shook her head.

He set his book down on the table and looked at her. "No, Faylinn. Listen to me. You can't keep pushing away your studies like you do. You can't afford to do horribly on your N.E.W.Ts. Well, maybe you can, actually. But I can't. I need to do well at this. If you insist on going off into your crazy rambles as though you're more immature than I know you are, then really, I don't want you around me while I study."

Faylinn gaped at him. "Did you just call me immature?" She hissed.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Never mind it, Faylinn." He said as he gathered his books. "I'll go find somewhere else to study, since you can't seem to get out of your own head for two seconds."

"I'm not in my own head!" Faylinn called after him angrily as he exited the library, but shut up quickly when she saw the librarian heading her way, ready to give her a lecture on the absolute need for silence in the room.

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Remus shuffled through his papers and sighed. He was never going to find his potions essay. He knew he'd done it, he just didn't know where it was.

"You alright, mate?" James asked, giving him a funny look as he sat down next to him.

Remus looked up. "I'm fine, Prongs. Just… Hey, have you seen my potions essay? I can't find it anywhere."

"Didn't you let Faylinn borrow it?" Peter asked as he shuffled through Remus's bag, searching for chocolates.

Sirius made a low grunting noise as he slid into his seat across from Remus. James exchanged a glance with Sirius. "Problem, Padfoot?" James inquired.

"No." Sirius grumbled.

"This is just great." Remus sighed. "Now that I'm not talking to Faylinn, I don't have my essay. And to make matters worse, I'm either stuck with mopey number one or mopey number two." He glared at Sirius. "You do know that you upset her, right? I don't know what you did or when you did it, but whatever it is, I know it was you."

Sirius shrugged and looked down at his lap. He looked up at Remus suddenly. "Why aren't you talking to Faylinn?" He asked.

Remus frowned at the ceiling. "I forgot." He said truthfully as he pried his mind, trying to remember why he was going out of his way to avoid one of his best friends.

"Whatever." Peter said with a mouthful of chocolate.

"Oh, Merlin!" Remus exclaimed. "It's coming from all over! Now you're all starting to talk like her!"

They all laughed and slapped each other on the back, grabbing for chocolates while they joked around, ignoring the mad eye that the librarian was giving them. [A/N: Dude, I don't know what boys do when they hang out alone, without girls! Sheesh!]

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"Pssst! Pssst!"

Remus opened one eye and sat up straight. He was still in the library. He vaguely remembered telling the others that he wanted to study a bit longer. He looked around and, seeing no one, rubbed his eyes slowly and ran his fingers through his hair sleepily, letting out a long yawn.

"Oh, sorry, you look pretty tired."

Remus whipped his head around and almost fell out of his chair. "What the –" He breathed when he saw Lada standing there. He shook his head groggily. "Yeah, I'm tired. Go away."

"Oh, okay, then." She looked down at the floor and turned to walk away, but stopped when he called out to her.

"Hey, shouldn't you have left by now? I though Dumbledore didn't like Ministry officials prying around here like they own the place?" He asked as she stared back at him.

"Oh, well." She shifted her feet. "Albus said I could stick around a bit, you know. And I don't work for the Ministry. I work for Albus."

"Sure, whatever." Remus mumbled as he gathered his books together, looking around to make sure he wasn't forgetting a piece of parchment somewhere or something. He stood and turned to walk towards the door, but stopped in his tracks when he realized Lada was still standing in front of him. He threw his bag over his shoulder and gave her a tired look. "Did you need something?" He asked.

She nodded fervently. "Yes, I did. Sort of." He looked at her. "Um, Albus asked me to speak with you again. About the Ministry thing."

He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "I already said no. What don't you understand?"

"Well, I get it, but…" She blinked at him and then looked down at her shoes nervously. "Listen. Albus volunteered me for the job because he knows me. But if you don't comply with what the Ministry wants, they could bring in someone else."

"I don't care." He said roughly.

"You will if they take you out of Hogwarts." She said, glancing at him.

He glared at her. "Are you threatening me?"

Lada's eyes widened slightly and she shook her head quickly. "No, no, nothing like that. It's just – Well, Albus doesn't want anything to happen to you. He says you only have a few months left and then you're graduated."

"That's right… So?"

"So, you have to comply with what the Ministry wants. And it's only for a few months, and –"

"I have to, now?"

"Well, if you don't, you won't graduate! Then you'll never get a decent job!" She snapped at him angrily. Her eyes widened and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "I mean – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, really. But, um, it is true. Mostly. I mean, no one's said, 'If he doesn't comply, then he can't graduate' but Albus has a pretty good feeling that that's what's going to happen."

Remus blinked at her. "You're serious?"

She nodded. "Yes. Why would I lie to you? I don't even know you."

He nodded. "So, say I agreed to this… thing – and I'm not saying I am – what would happen?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure. I know I'm supposed to watch you and make sure you're not a danger to the other students. But I already believe Albus when he says you aren't, so that doesn't really matter. And then there are some tests, but I don't know what they are yet."

He shook his head. "Whoa, what kind of tests?"

"Well," She shrugged. "There are mental capacity tests… psychological tests… physical endurance tests… All kinds of tests." She told him.

Remus studied her for a moment. "Nothing… gross, right?" He really just wanted to tell her to go away, but he was uncertain over what she had said about him not graduating.

"What do you mean, gross?"

"Gross. Gross… Do you speak english? I mean anything disgusting, horrifyingly vulgar. That sort of thing."

Lada shrugged. "I don't think so… I'm a witch, not a scientist."

He nodded. "Sure. Fine. Whatever."

She blinked at him. "You're in, then?"

"I'm in, then."

"Great, thanks." She said. "Um, I'll tell Albus and he'll call you to his office sometime tomorrow I suppose."

"Sure." He replied shifting his heavy bag.

"Right. Well, goodnight then, um, Lupin." She said, quickly leaving the library before Remus got a chance to say 'It's Remus.'

Remus wandered the halls to the Gryffindor Tower sleepily. He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

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::AN:: Allo, mon petit amis! Or, er, something like that. I need to start warming up on my French skills, you see, as school starts back up in a few weeks. (Gar! NO! Can somebody FREEZE TIME please?! Please?!) Which also means that my updates might get a little less frequent, but I promise I won't abandon anyone. I'll try and update as much as I can. Besides, I'm sort of soaking up what's left of my summertime, so I'll have the next chapter of this here lil' ficcie up ASAP. (Yay!!!) lol, Oh, and sorry if Remus seemed OOC during this, I'll try to get better later, but the first chapters are always so HARD, you know? (lol) Oh, and I apologize for any spelling errors, as my "beta" is still sleeping the day away (grrrr!).

Please Review! I need constructive criticisms or what have yous! (lol)