After entering the Gryffindor common room, Peter Pettigrew scurried toward the two dark-haired boys lounging in armchairs by the fire, with Remus Lupin climbing through the portrait hole after him.
"Guys, guess what?" Peter asked eagerly, standing in front of the chairs. "Moony's got a girlfriend."
"Really?" James Potter looked up curiously as his girlfriend Lily appeared and settled on the arm of his chair.
"Who?" questioned Sirius Black, appearing just as curious.
"Lucy Mellan," answered Peter knowingly. When the two boys looked confused, he elaborated. "Ravenclaw, sixth year, blonde hair, straight nose, she's in our History class-"
James began nodding, an eyebrow raised. "Interesting. I suppose she could go along with Moony well. She's rather pretty."
"Pretty," scoffed Sirius. "The girl is practically a goddess."
"Well, I wasn't going to go on about it, but she is, er, she is built rather well," said James, looking thoughtful.
Lily's face scrunched up. "James," she scolded, hitting him on the shoulder.
He shrugged, and Remus appeared next the Peter, looking somewhat flustered.
"So," said Sirius, with a smirk on his face.
Remus blinked, shifting the book bag on his shoulder. "So... what?"
"So are you going to tell us about your new girlfriend, or not?" asked James.
Looking surprised, Remus shook his head. "D'you mean Lucy? She's not my... We've just been talking a lot lately. I mean, she's not... we're not... together."
Everyone turned to Peter. "But," he protested, not wanting to be accused of providing false information, "I saw you kiss her just a moment ago when you were coming back inside the castle!"
Remus's face grew a slight shade of pink. "I just kissed her goodbye, and it wasn't even on the lips. Anyway, why is it any of your business?" he snapped.
"We're not accusing you of something, Remus," laughed Lily lightly. "It's a positive thing, a wonderful thing, if you have a girlfriend."
"Yeah, and it's about time," mumbled Sirius. Remus shot him a spiteful glare.
"Well, I guess you could call her my girlfriend ," Remus mused. "Yeah, that sounds nice."
He had met Lucy in his Care of Magical Creatures class, and now they had a tradition of walking around the grounds together after each class. Lucy was petite, and usually wore her hair in a tight bun on the back of her head. Sometimes a few stands fells from the knot, and Remus found himself wanting to push those soft hairs behind her ears. He hadn't done anything like that, though. Except today... He didn't know what had overcome him, but he Lucy was smiling at him, and he was thinking how beautiful she was, how intelligent and caring and seemingly perfect. And he had done something that his friends did all the time, but he was not so familiar with – he kissed her. His lips brushed against her cheek and she was still smiling after he stepped away. And then they had gone their separate ways into the castle. But it had been wonderful, as was every moment with Lucy.