Posting early today for last chapter's guest reviewer. Will post early tomorrow for today's reviewer. I really appreciate the feedback! :)

Tuesday May 10

- Lily -

Tuesday morning Lily was only slightly less nervous. She'd read through Potter's list of questions more carefully and chosen a few for this week that weren't as personal. And, she realised as she got dressed, she was kind of looking forward to hearing Potter's secret. Lily couldn't remember all the things she'd asked Potter over the years, but it might be nice to finally get some answers – real answers, by the sound of it.

And Potter had indeed left her alone all day yesterday. He hadn't so much as said hello to her, and Lily even suspected Potter had turned and taken the long way to lunch when he met her in the corridor. So far, this little game was worth it. As long as Potter kept her secrets secret.

Potter was waiting for Lily in the common room again. He looked a bit less awake this morning. She noticed he was wearing navy old man slippers to match his robe. This made Lily smile a bit, but she stopped when she glanced at Potter's expression. He'd jumped to his feet at the sight of her, grinning.

"Lily," he beamed.

"Evans," Lily corrected, taking the seat across from him again. "Right, you go first."

"Er, okay. How about, 'good morning'?" Potter said, sitting down opposite her.

"Good morning," Lily said shortly.

"Right, well," Potter cleared his throat. "You once said, and I quote, 'What, did that offend you? Don't pretend that hurt your feelings, Potter. Criticism just bounces off you, doesn't it?"

"When did I say that?" Lily demanded, crossing her arms.

"Well, that particular quote is from term two of fifth year, when I read you a limerick. But you said something similar just last week."

Lily frowned. She had, too. And what's more, she'd meant it. She looked Potter square in the eyes, unremorseful.

"So what's the secret?" Lily said.

"Well, to answer you question, yes it hurt my feelings. I know my poems aren't great, and I may not show it, but its scary to read them to you. To tell you how I feel."

"Well there's an answer to that," Lily said, uncomfortable now. "Don't read it to me. We'd both be happier by the sound of it."

"Yeah, well," Potter rubbed the back of his neck, "how else am I supposed to tell you how I feel about you? Other girls would be flattered by it."

"Let's not start down the 'other girls' track," Lily said, scowling.

"Very well," Potter said graciously, leaning back in his chair. "You've heard my secret. Now it's your turn."

Lily hesitated. Just get it over with, she told herself.

"You once asked," Lily began, " 'What did you want to be when you grew up?' Well, the answer then, and now, is… a vet."

Potter leaned forward, looking at her closely.

"Go on," Lily said, looking away. "Laugh."

"What's a vet?" Potter said.

"A veterinarian," Lily said impatiently.

Potter raised his eyebrows.

Lily shook her head in disbelief. "Of course. Even that is too muggle for you. Tell me Potter, have you heard of doctors?"

"Hey," Potter said quickly, "you grew up with muggles. I grew up with wizards-"

"Well you could try taking Muggle Studies," Lily said hotly.

"Lily," Potter said in a voice of purposefully patient calm, "please. What is a vet?"

"They're an animal doctor," Lily said, still not meeting his eye.

"An animal doctor," Potter repeated. "Like a…" he paused, searching for the word, "a surgeon for like… goats?"

"They work with pets and livestock. So yes, I guess, goats, too." Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Potter was pursing his lips. Was he trying not to laugh at her? Lily frowned, wanting to leave.

"So, you wanted to heal sick animals?" Potter said, as though confirming it.

"Yes," Lily said defiantly. "And what's more, I still do."

"Can't you just… magic them better?" Potter said, clearly struggling with the idea.

"I can," Lily said, "and I will, once I learn how to apply magic to the science. But muggles can't, obviously."

"But how do they get the animal to tell them what's wrong?" Potter said, chewing his lip. Was he going to laugh? Lily thought, mortified. The sooner she got away from Potter the better.

"That's just like you!" Lily snapped, standing up. "Making fun of things you don't understand."

"No," Potter said quickly, reaching out and taking Lily's hand to stop her from leaving. "I'm trying to understand. Really."

Lily looked down at her hand, glaring. Potter let go at once.

"It's not that hard," Lily growled. "Animals get sick, the vet heals them. End of story."

"Well, I think that's really great Lily," Potter said, smiling encouragingly. Was he being condescending? "Animals are really important. It's a noble goal. And if we ever need anyone to heal our family's horses-"

"We're done now," Lily said, thoroughly sick of trying to read Potter for one morning. Did he actually think her career goal was noble? "And I won," Lily added, already reaching for her book. "So you can leave."

Potter stood up, chuckling.

"Always a pleasure to be in your warm company, Miss Evans."

"Any time you feel like giving up on me, that's fine by me," Lily said, opening her book.

Potter chuckled again and headed for his stairs. Lily waited until she heard his dorm door close before getting properly comfortable and starting to read. And, she reminded herself, she had a whole Potter-free day ahead of her. All for the low price of a few minutes' discomfort.

As long as Potter didn't go around telling all the purebloods that Lily wanted to work with goats, it might even be worth it.

A small guilt crept over Lily. As uncomfortable as her sharing her secret with Potter made her, he'd been vulnerable, too. Lily had never considered that reading his poetry to her might make him nervous. Potter's bravado was too strong. Really, their secrets had probably been ranked fairly evenly. Lily sighed in annoyance. Potter was right, she had too much integrity.

Fine, tomorrow she would try to score more fairly. As hard as it was to give up the idea of more Potter-free days, Lily was too fair-minded to judge poorly. Besides, if she was too biased, Potter would give up the game altogether. Lily frowned as her heart sank at the thought.

She'd do better tomorrow, she told herself, again, before snuggling down with her book.

.

.

- Sirius -

As the Marauders wandered down to breakfast, Sirius noticed James had a certain spring in his step. And a smile on his face. And…

"Are you humming?" Sirius demanded.

"Who, me?" James said, looking offended. "No! I don't hum."

"Right. So tell me, what's caught your snitch for you today?"

"What?" James said, still unable to squash his grin. "It's just a beautiful day."

"Uh huh," Sirius said, unconvinced. "What's Evans done now?"

"Who says it's got anything to do with Evans?" James protested. "Can't a guy be happy for no reason?"

"A guy, yes," Sirius said. "You, no."

"I'm always upbeat."

"Maybe," Sirius said. "But you're not usually chipper."

"I'm not 'chipper'!" James said indignantly.

"Tell that to your face," Sirius said. "Ooh, look, cupcakes!"

The Marauders had reached the Entrance Hall. Just outside the doors to the Great Hall was a blonde girl with a tray of cupcakes.

"What, is it your birthday, beautiful?" Sirius said, swooping in on her and the tray. Peter grabbed a cupcake off the tray but the girl handed Sirius one directly, giving him a shy smile.

"Maybe," she said, looking up at him. She flicked her long plait over her shoulder.

"Then maybe we'll have to find you a special little something later," Sirius said, giving her a wink. The girl chuckled and looked away. James and Remus took a cupcake each and the Marauders headed into the Great Hall.

"What, haven't you ever heard of 'bites'?" Remus said, watching Sirius fit the entire cupcake into his mouth.

"What?" Sirius said around his mouthful. "It wasn't very big." A moment later Sirius swallowed and the cake was gone.

A few steps later, Sirius paused. He suddenly felt dizzy.

"Are you alright, Padfoot?" James said, turning back to see where he'd got to.

Sirius head was heavy, foggy. He blinked a few times.

"Sirius?" Remus said in concern. Sirius shook his head to clear it. A new clarity descended over him.

"I'm wonderful," Sirius told Remus, turning slowly to the staff table, looking for a certain be-bunned witch. "Never better."

There was the vision herself, sipping her pumpkin juice.

"Padfoot?" James said, tugging on his arm. "People are staring."

Sirius shook James off and took a few steps nearer the staff table. Professor McGonagall's eyes fixed on him. She pursed her lips and turned to talk to-

"Flitwick," Sirius muttered to himself. "That sly old dog. I'll show him."

Sirius had to get her attention, but how? He glanced around the room.

"Sirius!" James said loudly, right in his face. Sirius pushed James away with a palm to the face. He needed to concentrate. Sirius couldn't see anything to levitate, to juggle, nothing worthy of transfiguring – not to impress her anyway.

And then Sirius had a brilliant idea. He whipped out his wand, causing his friends to stumble a few steps backwards. Sirius pointed the wand at his throat and whispered, "Sonorus."

Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed as Flitwick whispered in her ear. Sirius needed to act quickly. He opened his mouth and let his deep smooth baritone weave its spell.

"Ohhhh…" Sirius held the opening note, ignoring the way James' mouth fell open. Sirius waited until Minerva's eyes were on him, and then he began.

"I've got a cauldron full of hot strong love,
It's a recipe so rare,"

Sirius' voice rose and fell like hills and dales, Minerva's eyes widening as though she was seeing him for the first time…

"There's no potion or elixir that
Could ever quite compare."

The crowd was tittering now, and Peter was on the floor in awe…

"Oh, Minerva, come and stir my cauldron,
And if you do it right,"

(There was some real praise bouncing around the room now)

"I'll boil you up some hot strong love

To keep you warm tonight."

Sirius heard unmistakable guffaws from Slytherins, but he shrugged them off. Haters gonna hate.

Now Minerva was hurrying down off stage, ready to be swept up in his arms. Sirius beamed at her and continued his song.

"Oh my poor heart, where has it gone?

It's left me for a spell

Please bring back my broken heart

Only you can make me well."

Sirius gave Minerva a suggestive wink, raising his eyebrows as she strode towards him across the hall. The crowd started clapping as Sirius entered the second chorus.

Minerva was trying to speak over the applause, but she would have to wait until Sirius was finished his romancing.

"I leant you my soul, gave you my love,

Handed over my precious loving heart,

And now you've torn it quite apart

I'll thank you to give back my heart - arght!"

Minerva had him by the ear.

"Mutus," she hissed, wand pointed at his throat. Sirius felt his glands shrink.

"Mister Black," McGonagall growled. "I don't know what you're playing at here, but you will be very sorry indeed."

The Slytherins were cheering now. James and Peter were staring at Sirius wide-eyed. Remus was shaking his head in pity.

McGonagall marched Sirius out of the Hall without letting go of his ear. The pain of her pincer grip seemed to clear Sirius' 'clarity' away.

Oh no… What had he done? What had come over him?

Had Sirius Black, Prince of Hogwarts, just sung Professor McGonagall a love song in front of the whole school?

.

.

- Remus -

Remus had stayed late in Herbology to catch up on his term project and had missed dinner. Now he was hurrying back to the common room to catch Sirius and James before they left for quidditch practice. They'd been talking over lunch about a plan to salvage Sirius' reputation after the incident that morning. Remus was always nervous about any Marauder plan made in his absence.

When the portrait hole opened, Remus stopped dead. His ears were assaulted by the now familiar low baritone of one Sirius Black. Stepping cautiously into the room, Remus saw Sirius standing on a table in the centre of a cluster of armchairs and couches, serenading his fellow Gryffindors. Remus rolled his eyes.

Sirius, who had his eyes closed as he crooned the chorus of 'A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love,' didn't notice Remus thread his way towards James and Peter.

As Remus sat down, there was a break in the song. It seemed Sirius had finished. A round of applause and cheers swept through the Gryffindors, followed by shouts of, "Encore! Encore!"

To Remus' dismay, Sirius began the song again.

"Tell me that's his first encore tonight," Remus said to James.

"Third," James smirked, looking up from his Charms homework. It was due tomorrow or Remus knew James wouldn't have bothered.

Remus sighed and pulled his own homework out of his bag.

Two encores later and Sirius was finally finished. He plopped down in the seat across from Remus.

"Nice one, Padfoot," James said, looking up with a smirk.

"Amazing!" gushed Peter.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"I can't disappoint my adoring fans, Moony," Sirius said, his voice saintly.

Remus looked up at Sirius.

"You get that you were enchanted right?"

"Yeah," Sirius said shrugging, "but it was only a prank, right? And it worked out well for me…" Sirius looked over Remus' shoulder and winked at some fifth years, who dissolved into giggles.

"So you don't care that you were dosed with Love Potion?" Remus demanded, closing his Charms book.

"Well, I admit they had to be pretty dumb to put McGonagall's hair in, not their own, but you can't expect too much from my all of admirers," Sirius said, now leaning back on the couch. "I bet it was a Hufflepuff."

"You don't say," Remus said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Could it perhaps be the girl who gave you the cupcake?"

"Oh," said Peter, looking up. "I thought she looked familiar."

"Yeah," James drawled at him, "it's not like we all go to school together or anything."

Sirius, meanwhile, was thinking hard. "No, I don't think we've ever snogged," he said. "I'll have to check the snog log to be sure, though."

Remus sighed. "Ever the gentleman, as always, Padfoot."

"Hey!" Sirius said defensively, "there've been a lot of girls to enjoy these lips." He puckered them to make his point.

"A lot of Hufflepuffs," James said. "And keep those things away from me," he said, eying Sirius' puckered lips with distaste.

"And Gryffindors," Sirius added, "and Ravenclaws."

"And that one Slytherin," Peter said. All of the Marauders shuddered at the memory.

"That was a dare," Sirius said firmly. "It doesn't count."

"Whatever you say," Remus said, smirking.

"So…" Sirius said thoughtfully, "you think the cupcake girl dosed me on purpose?"

"It's pretty hard to accidentally put Love Potion into a cupcake," Remus pointed out.

"Hmmm…" said Sirius. "Only one thing for it then. I'll just have to find her and add her to the snog log."

"I'm not sure it will be that straight forward," Remus said.

"Moony, you're overthinking this," Sirius said. "If a girl gives you a Love Potion, no matter how poorly made, she's sending you a message."

"I'm just not sure the message she's trying to send is what you think it is," Remus said.

"Well, I'm sure," Sirius said, his voice final. "This chick wants to snog and snuggle, and who am I to disappoint her?"

James was nodding vaguely, eyes on his homework, one hand catching and re-catching the snitch.

Remus shrugged. "Whatever you say, Padfoot."

"Hey, Prongs," Sirius said, glancing at his watch – a large black old-fashioned thing. "Shouldn't we be heading off?"

"What?" said James, looking up. "Oh, right. Training." James stretched and stood up. "Look alive people," he called to the common room. "Your champion quidditch team is heading out to brush up on their awesomeness."

The common room gave a smattering of applause and a few wolf whistles. James and Sirius were joined by the Prewett twins, and followed out of the portrait hole by the three Catchloves. Wood and young Fortescue trailed after them.

.

Remus waited a full minute after the team left. Then he grabbed his bag and stood up.

"I'll be back later," he told Peter. Before Peter had a chance to ask where he was going, Remus was out of the portrait hole, and off to the Room of Requirement.

Last night with Emma had been… fun. Purely fun. They'd snuck through the school, dodging teachers and ghosts, prefects and Peeves, often with only a second to spare. Then they'd had to fight down giggles while whoever it was passed outside their hiding place, made worse since they cracked up every time they locked eyes.

They'd played a tamer game of 'Never have I ever' on the way down the long tunnel to Honeydukes, then taken their time in the dark cellar of the sweet shop choosing their chocolates. After leaving money in the till, they'd raced back to enjoy their spoils in the Room of Requirement – one of the best midnight feasts Remus had ever had. And he was keen to repeat the experience, or have a similar one, with Emma tonight.

Emma turned to smile at Remus as he entered the Room.

"Have you eaten all of the chocolate while I was away?" Remus asked, returning her smile and sitting down.

"Not all of it," Emma said, smiling playfully. "I kept you a chipmunk and the choc-mint block. But I don't really like choc-mint, so that's not really saying much."

Remus chuckled and made himself a chai latte.

"I have a question," Emma said suddenly.

"Oh?" said Remus, put on guard by the determination in her voice.

"It's a question you've skipped about answering in the past, but I want a full and honest answer tonight."

"I see," Remus said carefully. "Sometimes we don't always like the answers we get."

Emma's face fell a bit, but she straightened staunchly in her chair. "Still. I'd rather know."

"Very well," Remus said, steeling himself. Was Emma about to ask him to reveal his biggest secret? Would she run a mile if he answered honestly? Would he answer honestly? Should he?

"Remus Lupin," Emma said, her voice firm, "why do you keep coming back to see me?"

Remus blinked. He almost laughed with relief. Then he swallowed as the question sunk in.

"Oh."

"I'm not asking for a certain answer either way," she said quickly. "I just want the truth."

Remus took a deep breath.

"Well, the truth might not be as specific as you'd like," he hedged. What if he told her the truth and she wasn't interested? What if she wanted a friend and he wanted more than that? And he'd already told her he wouldn't be committing to a relationship, so what did it even matter?

Emma waited, fingers tapping the arm of her chair, eyes wide.

"I… like spending time with you," Remus said lamely.

"Why?" Emma said.

"I enjoy your company."

Emma raised her eyebrows, unsatisfied.

"I have fun with you. And its fun just being around you, even when we're just studying. And midnight chocolate runs are fun too. I… look forward to seeing you. I want to see you."

Remus stopped himself, unsure he was even answering the question anymore. Certainly he was making a fool out of himself. He chanced a glance at Emma's face. She was smiling, dimples forming on her cheeks.

"No one has ever called me 'fun' before," she said, eyes sparkling, "let alone three times in one sentence."

Remus blushed. "Well, they mustn't have known you very well," Remus said, her smile sparking his own.

"Maybe I'm just more fun around you," Emma said, blushing slightly herself.

"That would make me very lucky," Remus replied. They both took a sip of tea, still smiling at each other over the rims of their cups.

"And," Remus declared, "you know what's coming next?"

"Oh do I?" Emma said, setting down her teacup in preparation.

"Don't get too excited," Remus warned, his face mock-serious. "Now it's your turn. Why do you want me to keep coming back?"

Emma sat back in her chair. Clearly this wasn't what she'd been expecting.

"Hmmm," she said, glancing away as she thought. "I think…" she said slowly, "it's because I trust you. Sharing my secrets, my feelings, with you doesn't seem risky. Like, its still not easy, but it feels like the benefits outweigh the risks. I just know you're not going to tell anyone. You're not going to use them against me."

"Of course I wouldn't," Remus said, surprised. Emma smiled thinly.

"You don't know how rare that is. And of course," she added, "I have fun with you too. As I said, I like it better since the Room was doubled. Its just nicer when you're here."

"And the same to you," Remus said, lifting up his cup to toast hers.

There was an awkward silence. Neither of them seemed to know where to take the conversation next.

"Well," Remus said, setting down his cup. "I guess I have homework to do. And I wouldn't want to keep you from yours, with NEWTs coming up."

Emma's face fell but she quickly bent down to her bag. "Of course," she said, pulling out an Ancient Runes codex. "And I wouldn't want to keep you from yours."

Emma settled down with her book and a long piece of parchment, already skimming the index. Remus hesitated. He felt like he'd just missed the third question a Sphinx might ask, but he couldn't work out where he'd gone wrong.