Hogsmeade had been unbearable embarrassing for Artemis. When she returned back to the castle, she had fled to the library, which she knew would be completely empty other than for first and second years that were afraid of her based on reputation. She had found her usual table, and sat down, letting her mind wonder. What a day it had been. The past few weeks had been filled with run ins with Remus Lupin and the Marauders. Artemis wasn't completely surprised by this; after all, they were all same year Gryffindors. Still, she felt uneasy with all the sudden interaction with them. She wasn't used to the constant confrontation.

Artemis had spent the past five years alone. No one spoke to her, no one approached her, no one acknowledged her. And now…

Remus Lupin just asked me to the Three Broomsticks with him… Artemis wasn't thick. She was well aware of the fact that it wasn't a him asking her on a date. No, she was more concerned over the fact that Remus Lupin had spoken to her at all. He had been in her classes, her year this whole time. Why was he talking to her now? Was it because they were Defense Against the Dark Arts partners? It was true, they had to work together in class often, and were now assigned an out of class essay together, but other than that? Lupin had no need to talk to her at all. She was surprised he hadn't offered to just write one half and have her write the other. Most of the other partners were doing that, even the ones that were sociable.

No, Remus Lupin had taken time to talk to her. To help her. He had offered to spend time with her when he clearly had better things to do.

Artemis didn't know what was going on, but her concern slowly started to fade as a new feeling started ebbing at her. Excitement. Maybe he was being sincere.

Maybe he doesn't hate me, Artemis thought, a small smile coming to her face at the mere idea of it. Maybe…no. The idea came and went. He was friends with Sirius, with James, who strongly hated Artemis. Remus couldn't stand much farther. Her smile fell as she stared out the window, wondering about the thoughts of Remus Lupin.

"Alright you lot, alright, you can start putting your things away," called out Professor Shannon, signaling the class that the period was about over. Remus and Artemis lowered their wands, as the class had been practicing more defensive spells with their partners. Remus offered Artemis a smile as they headed back to their seats, Artemis near a corner, and Remus over by his mates. His fellow Marauders were howling with laughter, as Peter Pettigrew was trying to change his fingernails back to nail rather than wood.

"Alright," Shannon said, looking at his hourglass that measured the class periods. "You can leave a bit earlier today. Pettigrew, check in with Madame Pomfrey, eh? Denton? Check before you just attack, alright? You can't keep starting before your partner's ready."

The class sprung to their feet, groups leaving together jovially. Artemis stood and slung her bag across herself, and picking up her books.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin, Miss Titus, could I get a word?" Professor Shannon called right before Artemis could make it out the door. Artemis took in a breath. She knew what this would be about; she still was having trouble doing her silent spell work with Remus. She wished she could show Shannon that she was capable outside of class. But how do you explain to your professor that the fact you're smitten with your partner is throwing you off?

She turned around to see Remus telling his mates to go ahead with out them. The rest of the Marauders made their way towards the door, with Sirius knocking his shoulder into Artemis' so that her bag fell off of it, scattering a few of her possessions on the floor. Artemis didn't show any response, which put Sirius off a bit. If he was going to mess with someone, he wanted a reaction. Artemis simply waved her wand and spoke an incantation that put all of her things back in order, and picked up her bag again. Remus and Professor Shannon stood at the front of the classroom, waiting for her.

"Now, you two have been working together on these spells for the past few weeks," Professor Shannon began, leaning against his desk. "And while I know that the two of you can do the spells you've been taught, I've noticed that you, Miss Titus, have been having some trouble doing those spells silently, is that right?"

Artemis nodded, despite the fact that she was fully capable of the spell work. Professor Shannon continued.

"Alright. Well, Miss Titus, your practical exams at the end of the year will require you to be able to do those spells with ease. Now, Mr. Lupin," the professor looked towards the sandy haired boy. "You seemed to have gotten this down pat. Now, from what your previous years reports have said Miss Titus, you have always been top of your class. I think the best course of action to help you improve is for Mr. Lupin, who is now top of this particular class, to tutor you outside of the classroom."

Artemis' eyes widened. Remus? Tutor her? She inwardly groaned; Remus was the whole reason she got into this mess anyway! Spending more time with him would do nothing but distract her further! But to admit that would be unacceptable; how pathetic would that look to a teacher, telling them their failure was the result of a school girl crush?

Remus looked to Artemis and soaked in her reaction. He wasn't sure how she felt about this. Her eyes were wide, which they seemed to be when she was in an uncomfortable situation. He too had noticed her strange struggle. He knew that she was one of, if not the, smartest witches in their year. This spell work shouldn't be that difficult for her. None the less, he was mildly pleased for this arrangement. How better to get to know the girl, and to understand her, than to have tutoring sessions with her?

"If Artemis will have me, I'd be happy to tutor her," Remus finally said, looking directly at Artemis as he spoke. Professor Shannon looked please.

"Alright then!" he said, clapping his hands together. "Is this alright with you, Miss Titus?"

Remus started at her, watching as she stared at her feet. He longed to know what she was thinking, what was running through her mind. Sirius would probably say that she was upset about having to with 'filth' like him; but Remus didn't see disgust on Artemis' face. He saw worry, more than anything. She was biting her lip, staring down at the floor.

"Miss Titus?" Professor Shannon prompted again, causing Artemis to look up again. She merely nodded, with a defeated look on her face. Remus wasn't sure what the origins of that feeling were, but he was happy that she was at least willing to work with him. "Splendid!" cried Professor Shannon, who stood up straight again. "Now you two can work it out between you when and where you'll meet and all that, and I'll see you next class, right?"

Artemis and Remus gathered their things and headed out of the door together. Artemis turned to head toward the library, thinking that Remus would most likely head towards the Great Hall to meet with his mates and eat. She was wrong. He hurried up once he saw where she was heading, and then fell into step with her.

"So, Artemis, when are you free to meet during the week? Do you have a specific day you want to meet on?" Remus asked her politely. Artemis bit her lip again, and shrugged her shoulders, continuing to walk. Remus furrowed his brow, and continued beside her. "Well, do you have to go to any clubs during the week?" At this, Artemis simply shook her head, opening the door to the library and walking in. Remus trailed behind.

"So, you're free…every night?" Remus asked, a bit surprised. Artemis lead him to a table near the Charms section, and sat down. Once she was seated, she looked up at him, and nodded. She had a strange expression on her face, as if this information was haunting her. "Alright then," Remus said, pulling out a planner, as well as his ink and quill. She opened to the current month, and looked over his usual list of duties as a prefect, and his assorted plans with his fellow Marauders. He saw a few days that he was open during the week. "How we work together on Tuesd—"

"Look, Remus," suddenly came a small voice. Remus looked up from his planner to see Artemis staring at the table. He knew that the voice had come from her, so soft and tiny. She took a breath, and continued, lightly poking at a chipped piece of the wooden corner of the table. "You don't have to do this, if you have things that you'd rather be doing."
Artemis began chipping at the table with her fingernail, still avoiding eye contact. "I know you're usually busy with your mates, and with studies and all. I understand; not many people would offer to throw away their time with me."

Remus was quiet for a moment, simply watching her. Her body and shoulders were a bit crouched over, like she wasn't sure what to do with herself. She was blinking a lot, but keeping her head low so that he couldn't see her eyes clearly. He had noticed that she was a very quiet person; over the past few weeks he'd seen in classes that when spoken to, Artemis rarely responded verbally. He had instead seen that she always tried to answer things with a nod, or a look. He was surprised and pleased whenever he heard her using her voice. And once again, it seemed like her conversations with him were some of the longest verbalizations that she made in a regular day. Remus tilted his head slightly to get a better view of her. She noticed his movement, and looked up.

Those amber eyes were analyzing her. She felt like he was reading her, or trying to solve the end of a puzzle. He had a curious look on his face, and she tried to look down, but found herself unable to once more. She stopped chipping at the table, and put her hands back into her lap, her fingers lacing and unlacing with one another in anxiety. She was waiting for him to accept this, and leave her be. She almost thought she was imagining it when she heard his next words.

"Artemis," Remus began, shaking his head lightly, "I don't mind; I'm fine with tutoring you." He chuckled, and said, "It's not like you're torturing me into this."

His laugh was husky, just like his voice had been in the hospital wing while he was ill. Artemis' insides fluttered at the sound. She rose at eyebrow at his statement, clearly telling him that she thought that was ridiculous.

"Look, if you're uncomfortable with me tutoring you, I'll understand that," Remus stated, wondering if perhaps that was the issue. Perhaps she was embarrassed. Artemis shook her head, however, giving him a look that told him that she wanted to explain to him. "Then what is it?" Remus asked her, not sure whether she would reply or not.

Artemis sighed, and shook her head to tell him, 'Nothing'. Remus continued to stare at her, hoping he'd get her to speak again; instead, Artemis broke eye contact with him, and stared at her hands. Remus stared at them too, unsure of what to say next. They had sat there for a few moments in awkward silence.

"Tuesdays would be fine for me," Artemis finally said, in her usual barely there voice. The second she started speaking, Remus smiled again. He had gotten her to do it again! "Is 6 o'clock alright?"

"6 o'clock is perfect," Remus replied, grabbing his quill again. "Is Flitwick's room alright? It's the biggest when you move all of the desks."

Remus didn't even mind when she went back to simply nodding for this response. He was just glad that she was on board. He didn't know why, but as he neatly wrote in their now weekly appointment, he couldn't but feel curiously excited. He had heard nothing but bad things about this girl; it was time to explore the girl who was Artemis Titus on his own.

"You have to do what?"

The Marauders were all seated together in the Great Hall, three out of four of them having only reminiscent crumbs left on their plates. Remus had only arrived to lunch a few minutes earlier, and had filled the others in on what had transpired. Naturally, at the news that one of their fellow Marauders was going to be spending a great deal of time with one Artemis Titus, Sirius felt outraged.

"What does Shannon think he's playing at? She's probably been acting like she can't figure the spells out in order to get you alone and hex you!" Sirius wildly accused, grabbing a bit more food, and starting on what was left of the fish and chips. "Honestly, Moony, you just keep getting the short end of the stick with this hag…"

"Shannon asked me to help her," Remus offered, shrugging it off, and taking small bites of his turkey sandwich. "It's just one night a week."

"Yeah, one night a week for her to work on jinxing you!" Sirius argued, unceremoniously shoving food into his mouth. "Ann efin den…yoo ahh loffin ot un panken…"

"Padfoot, I didn't know you spoke Troll," James joked, winking at Remus. Sirius swallowed heavily, took a sip of pumpkin juice, and repeated himself.

"I said, 'And even then, you are losing out on pranking."

"If you mean losing out on more chances of getting into detention, then maybe Artemis is doing me a favor," Remus joked, causing James and Peter to laugh. Sirius just shook his head disapprovingly.

"Just watch yourself, okay, mate? And get rid of her as soon as you can," he said with one final huff, before digging back into his food. Remus didn't respond, but looked around, hoping that Artemis hadn't walked in to hear such a disparaging conversation. The boys sat until the end of the lunch period, before heading off to their classes. As Remus stood to leave, he noticed that Artemis had never come to eat. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen her in the Great Hall for a meal. He headed off to Potions, his head swirling with the mystery that was Artemis.

Artemis wasn't sure what to do. It was ten minutes to six, and she stood shifting weight from one foot to the other in front of the Charms classroom. Professor Flitwick had left it open, and she could just go in and wait for Remus there. The problem was, she was still trying to decide whether she really wanted to do this, or if she wanted to just book it out of there. She was so unsure of herself when Remus was around. She was used to her invisible lifestyle. She didn't know what to do when someone started noticing her, even if it were for only educational purposes. Remus Lupin was doing something that no one had done for her in a long time: he was being kind to her.

Incredibly kind, considering who he is friends with, Artemis thought sadly. She wasn't stupid. She saw the heighted glares that she had received all week for Sirius Black. The other Marauders did not like this arrangement where she took Remus away from them. They didn't like the idea of their friend having to deal with someone like her. At times she thought that they were being unfair for her; they still saw her as she was in first year. They never thought that maybe she wasn't the same person as she was then. She realized that this was stupid of her to think. She had done nothing to prove them wrong. She had been a coward to not speak her mind that night in second year when she tried to apologize for all of the terrible things she had said and done. She had let her words get caught in her tongue.

She couldn't question it. This treatment was her fault.

Why then was Remus Lupin being so kind to her? She knew that he was a generally nice guy, of course. But she had seen him around Slytherins, like Snape, and Goyle. He wasn't always nice around his enemies. So, if she was enemy to the Marauders, then why was he being so generous with her?

Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps approaching her. Artemis looked up to see Remus approaching.

"Ready to get started?" Remus asked, opening the Charms room door for her. Artemis nodded in her usual way, entering the room. The desks had been pushed back and out of the way by Professor Flitwick for them ahead of time. She set her bag onto one of the desks, and removed her robe so it wouldn't get in her way. Remus did the same, and set it down next to hers. In the corner stood the pile of practice mats that were set out for them. The two of them set up their mats, and drew their wands.

"Alright, so, let's just start simple," Remus suggested, standing in front of his mat. "You have been able to do a few spells silently, so let's just give the simple ones a go. Disarming Spell first, okay?"

Artemis nodded, in a subdued way. She was able to do this spell with ease. She couldn't stand the fact that a boy distracted her so much. The two of them took their stances, wands at the ready, and Artemis focused her mind.

I will disarm him. His wand will go flying out of his hand, Artemis told herself, imagining the action in her mind. She looked at his wand, gripped tightly in his hand. She could do this. She thought of the wand flying in the air, and the look on Remus' face…Remus' face…No! No…the wand would go flying…from Remus' hand…Remus…Ugh, focus!...Expelliarmus!

Artemis thought the incantation, and twirled her wand and…Remus' wand twitched in his hand. Artemis sighed loudly. This was going to be a long night.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Let's just try it again," Remus offered supportingly. The two returned to their stances. "Just focus on the action that will happen. It's the same as saying it, and I know you can do that."

Artemis nodded, and focused on the wand. She shoved Remus' face out of her mind, and thought only of the wand in his hand. Stop acting like a bloody idiot! , she told herself. You aren't some tart who doesn't know her left from right! Just do it already!

Expelliarmus! she thought, shouting in her mind, as she twirled her wand yet again. Remus' wand exploded from his hand and soared across the room, and to Artemis' feet. Remus clapped his hands.

"Now that is more like it!" he said happily, walking over to retrieve his wand. Artemis bent down picking it up, and handed it off to him. Remus gave her a large smile, and walked back to his mat. "Alright. Again."

They continued on like this for about half an hour, where Artemis would struggle the first few goes at a spell, but then surge with power suddenly and succeed. She hated herself for appearing so incapable in front of Remus. He would invade her mind when she attempted to focus on her actions, but when she focused on not looking like a fool she was able to do the magic correctly. And hearing Remus praise her when she finally succeeded in casting the silent spells…well, it made shoving him out of her mind worth it.

Artemis felt herself smiling as she removed the Tickling Charm from Remus. He had been laughing hysterically, doubling over onto his mat. They figured that they would work with non-offensive and defense spells first, but rather spells that barely do any damage. Remus figured she just needed to get the hang of the spell work before they went into jinxes and couter-jinxes and the like.

"Okay…okay…" huffed Remus, as he stood back onto his feet, still clutching his stomach. "Let's…let's take a break, shall we?"

Artemis nodded with the smallest hint of a smile on her face, and the two of them walked over and sat on some of the desks near their things. Remus rummaged in his bag while Artemis looked down at her wand, lost in thought. She was doing a bit better. Expelliarmus had been easy; they had been using that spell for ages, and even with Remus on her mind, she had been able to perform the spell. The spells that followed had taken more time, five to six attempts. Remus' praise, while helpful, made Artemis mildly giddy, and made her think the boy over again. Remus had no idea of her internal struggle, of course, and had continued to warmheartedly encourage her. Eventually she started focusing in, and reigning in her desire for the boy she would never have.

Artemis was once again brought out of her reverie by Remus' voice.

"Want a piece?"

Artemis turned her head to see Remus was offering her a piece of chocolate, taken from a newly opened bar of chocolate. Artemis smiled a bit wider, and her eyes filled with light. She nodded wholeheartedly, and Remus chuckled as he passed the piece over to her. As Artemis bit off a small chunk of it, Remus leaned back against the wall, letting his feet hang over the side of the desk he sat on.

From there, he took Artemis in. He wasn't sure what to do from there, whether to try and strike up conversation or to just let her be. He resisted the urge to chuckle. If he didn't start a conversation, no one would.

"So, Artemis, tell me about yourself," Remus started off, watching as she spun around, startled at his voice. This time he couldn't help but chuckle. He seemed to catch her mid-thought. He watched as she tenderly pulled some hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She turned her eyes to him, as though she were searching for something. She shrugged at him, and gave him a questioning look. Remus sighed inwardly. This was going to take some time. "I mean, I just feel like we've gone to school together for so long, and yet no one seems to really know you."

Artemis gave him a knowing look. They both understood what her look implied; no one knew her because no one wanted to be within five feet of her.

"What I mean is—"

"Remus, you're a brilliant person," Artemis softly said, looking back down and away from him. "So don't be thick."

Remus nodded. She was right; he shouldn't try to skirt around the fact that she was pretty much a leper amongst the student body. He just didn't understand the strong emotions everyone seemed to have about her. He had seen her first year, he understood what everyone based it off of. But honestly, he just couldn't put the Artemis from first year and this Artemis together. It just seemed like they were utterly different people.

"Fair enough," Remus offered, sitting up straight and facing her. She kept her gaze down, the setting sun in the windows giving the room and orange glow. "I get why people are so upset with you. I know where it started. I just don't feel like the Artemis that everyone thinks they know is the person sitting in front of me."

Artemis snapped her head with a sharp look. Her expression was full of emotions, conflicting with one another. She opened hair mouth as though she might respond, but paused. Artemis was shocked at his words. Was he playing with her? Did he really feel that way about her? She didn't know what to say to him, what to think about his statement. What did he want her to say to him? She couldn't just open up and tell him that he was right, that she wasn't that girl. He would ask questions. He would want to know things, her reasons for changing. And those were things that Artemis didn't talk about, that she didn't even think about.

Remus watched the gears turning in her head, and saw her compose herself. She closed her mouth, and looked away from him. He thought maybe she would just act like she hadn't heard him, and would open up…When she opened her mouth and spoke, Remus was filled with a certain anticipation.

"Let's get back to work, it's getting late."

She moved off of the desk and walked back to her mat, taking out her wand, and turning to face him once more. Her face was set, and Remus knew that nothing would make it crack. Remus sighed to himself, and moved off the desk as well, returning to his position, resigned to the fact that Artemis Titus would not reveal her secrets that easily.