Chapter One
"The Surprise"
Remus Lupin was not often an impatient person. Ordinarily he was the most calm and level headed of all his friends. However if there was one person in the world who could make Remus impatient it was Emily Nox. Outside of the Marauders Emily was his best friend, and Remus was currently waiting on platform 9 ¾ for her to arrive. Emily had mentioned in her last letter that she had a surprise for Remus and he was dying to find out what the petite blonde had in store for him.
" Moony! Hey, Moony over here!" Remus' current train of thought was broken by none other then James Potter and Sirius Black.
"Padfoot, Prongs, have a good Summer?" Remus replied.
"Oh you know the usual, spent as much time as possible away from the old bat I have the misfortune of calling my mother, pestered James here, nothing special." Sirius said in an almost bored tone.
"Yup just long days of Quidditch and Butterbeer in the yard my friend."
"Sounds like you had fun. Have you found us a cart yet?"
"Last one at the very back as usual Moony my good fellow." Sirius said with a slight grin.
"Great, I'll see you there soon, Emily said she had a surprise for me, I'll come find you once she gets here."
"Alright see you later mate." James replied as they turned to leave.
And with that the two dark haired teens were off to their usual compartment.
Looking around Remus spotted Emily near the barrier and began to walk over.
"Hey Em, what's this big surprise?" Remus called as he drew closer.
"Remus, silly, I'm Elizabeth, Emily's over by the train talking to Lily."
The girl replied, and as Remus drew closer he could indeed tell this was not Emily, but her twin sister Elizabeth. Liz was always more girly, and today was dressed in a pink skirt and white top with her Hogwarts uniform slung over her shoulder to change in to closer to arrival.
"Oh sorry Liz, thanks and I'll see you later."
"No problem Remus, see you around."
As Remus looked around the platform he spotted Lily's fiery head near the front of the train facing away from were Remus currently stood. As he drew nearer He could just make out their conversation.
"…twice a day. Honestly if I see him I'm going to hex the pants right off him." Lily was saying as Remus drew up level with the girl.
"James giving you a hard time this summer Lily?"
"Yes the incessant toe rag insisted on sending me at least two owls a day, even when I didn't reply."
"Well you know our James never gives up." Emily stated.
It was then that Remus got a good look at his friend of five years. Her normally blonde hair, usually to her waist was now cut to her shoulders and as black as James'.
"Wow, Em your hair….Its, wow."
"You don't like it? I knew it was to different.."
"Oh no, no." Remus cut in, "I like it, it just takes a minute to adjust. I'm so used to your hair long and blonde, it just shocked me for a second." Remus knew he was rambling but he did not want to insult Emily. Her hair was actually quite nice like this. It had been wavy while it was long, now the shorter length made it curl in soft little ringlets, and the black made her bluish green eyes stand out even more then before.
"Oh Em, I got you a birthday present. He said as he handed her a small wrapped package. Happy sixteenth birthday mate."
" Remus it's lovely. Thank you." Emily replied as she unwrapped the set of never fade, everlasting coloured pencils.
"this why you'll never have to buy new ones unless you loose them."
"Well I think they're great, even better then the new sketch book Lily got me. No offence Lily."
"Oh none taken. What good would the book be without pencils to draw in it with?"
"Exactly." Emily replied giving both her friends hugs for the gifts.
At that moment the warning whistle blew signalling the stragglers to board.
"We better go up to the prefects compartment. I'll see you later Em." Lily stated as the few students left on the platform boarded the train.
"James, Sirius and Peter should be down the far end of the train if you want to sit with them I'll probably be down soon."
"Alright I'll see you down there Rem. I take it you won't be joining us Lily?"
"And put up with Potter the whole ride? Thanks but I'll pass."
"He's not as bad as you think Lily, give the poor boy a shot!" Emily shouted as she headed toward the far end of the train as Remus and Lily walked to the front.
.:The Prefects Compartment:.
"Remus, when are you going to tell Emily that you love her?" Lily stated as they entered the prefects compartment for the Head Boy and Girls start of term speech.
" What gives you the idea that I love Em?" Remus replied a look of slight surprise written across his face. How did Lily always know these things?
"Oh come on anyone who pays any attention can see that your crazy for her. The way you rushed to make sure she knew you liked her hair, If it were any other girl you wouldn't have started babbling like a love sick fool."
"I am not a love sick fool I just didn't want to insult her, and I do not love her." He stated with a hint of annoyance to his voice.
"Ya right, and I'll marry James Potter and have lots of little black haired green eyed babies with him." She said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh really I'll be sure to tell him you want to have his babies when this meeting is over." Remus smiled at the thought of telling James his dream girl had said she'd marry him and have his babies.
" Like that will ever happen. Why don't you just tell her already?"
"Well Lily because there is no way that she returns the feelings, I'm practically her brother!"
"Well I still think you should tell her. She looks really good this year, for all you know Sirius is probably trying to whoo her in your compartment as we speak."
"Well even if that were the case I would be perfectly fine with it since she has had a crush on him since the third year. And besides, Sirius is the kind of guy that is right for Em, He'd make her feel like she was the only other person in the world." Remus said annoyance now clearly evident in his tone.
"I bet you could make her feel like the only other person in the world if you wanted to. Remus, who knows her better then you? No one, that's who. So I say you march over to that compartment and tell her how you've felt for the last three years."
"Will you give it a break Lily, if I tell her its going to be when I feel its right not when you tell me."
"Alright, alright, all I'm saying is was it really a good idea to leave her in a compartment with Black for an hour while we have to patrol the corridors?"
"For the last time Lily I don't care if she dates Sirius, if she is happy I'd be happy for her." He replied with a note of finality to his words. Although secretly Remus thought he would be quite jealous if Sirius managed to win the heart of his best friend after he himself had wanted just that since they were thirteen.
.: Meanwhile in the Marauders Compartment:.
"So I told her to go kiss a dementor, I mean it's not like she's doing anything with her soul they may as well have it right?"
Sirius had just finished recounting some of his finer arguments with his mother for the summer when the compartment door slid open to reveal who Sirius assumed was Remus or Emily. Looking up he saw that it was defiantly Emily, however she seemed to have changed her hair as it was no longer the long wavy blonde they had all grown accustom to over the last five years. Sirius had to admit he defiantly liked this change.
"Well hello stunning young lady, and what pray tell has happened to our dear Emily that we may be graced with such a beauty as yourself?" He asked in a mock serious voice.
" I am Emily you dolt, I don't look that different."
"I beg to differ love, you look absolutely lovely." Sirius remarked with a devilish grin.
"Aww stop it Pads your making her blush!" James cut in as Emily had indeed gone a fine shade of red bright enough to rival the train.
"Em, pay no mind to Sirius, he's just recovering from the lack of females to charm around my place most the summer."
"That's not true I was very charming to your mum all summer."
"That's my mother you prat, not an actual girl."
"Are you saying your mothers not a girl? James I think she would be highly offended to hear such a thing." Sirius replied with a wink and a smug smirk.
"Well of course she's a girl, but she's not a young girl and it is a completely different business in charming the young girls Padfoot my dear friend."
"Um James I think it's you who is the deer friend around here."
" Good one Wormtail old boy." Sirius laughed at Peters well timed joke.
"You know I'll never understand your silly nicknames for each other. I mean Wormtail? Prongs? Padfoot? What kind of names are those? At least Moony makes sense." Emily cut in finally recovering from Sirius' earlier complements.
"And like your one to talk about charming young girls James. Lily says you owled her twice a day all summer? Honestly mate a little subtlety goes a long way, she might have actually written back if she wasn't getting a new letter day and night. Let her have a chance to miss you, you dolt." She added with a little chuckle.
"But how will she know how much I love her if I don't remind her? What if she forgets and finds some muggle bloke instead then what will become of my heart huh Emily? What then?"
James cried with a very convincing moan. Just then the compartment door slid open to allow Remus to enter.
"Well then what have I missed?" He asked as he took a seat beside peter who was rummaging in his bag for a snack.
"Well Moony, I've just told Peter here about some of the finer fights I had with my dear old mum this summer, then the lovely miss Emily graced us with her presence and is currently giving James here some lessons in wooing his dear Lily-flower. Oh and I was just about to ask Emily if she would like to join me in Hogsmeade this weekend." Sirius replied looking at Emily expectantly.
"Sirius you know there isn't a Hogsmeade trip until the third weekend in September. How am I supposed to go with you this weekend if there isn't a trip until three weeks from now?"
"Ah you forget your being asked by a Marauder. Anything is possible with a Marauder as your date."
"Well then I suppose I'll go with you as long as you swear we won't get caught."
"It's a date then."
Remus had gone suddenly pale although no one had seemed to notice. Sirius Black was taking the girl he loved to Hogsmeade this weekend. He didn't stand a chance. The rest of the train ride went by fairly uneventfully as everyone caught up on how their summer had been, where they had all gone, what they had seen and how much homework they had left to do before classes the next day. As they stepped off the train and in to the carriages Remus couldn't help but feel that this was going to be an eventful sixth year.