I waited a couple days before deciding to speak to Remus, as I didn't want him to connect my words with the situation in which I was hysterically laughing. Remus was a sensible person, butanyone's feelings would be hurt if they were told "Yeah, the idea of me having feelings for you is what made me howl like a deranged person".

I was a bit nervous to speak to him. It was twice now that Sirius had asked me about my supposed relationship with Remus. I couldn't help but think that maybe Remus had said or done something that led others to believe that there was something going on between the two of us. The thought that Remus might actually be the one that has feelings for me even crossed my mind, which made my stomach swoop unpleasantly. He was one of my closest friends, and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.

I dismissed the idea eventually. Remus had seemed completely on board with the fact that I liked Sirius, and had even helped me when Sirius wouldn't speak to me; neither of those were hardly the kind of thing that a jealous admirer would do. Besides, nothing Remus had ever said or done anything that hinted that his feelings toward me were anything but platonic.

Once I had mulled over the situation, I was left feeling nothing but confusion. I didn't think that I acted as if I liked Remus. Lily had clearly picked up on my feelings for Sirius and had said nothing about Remus; if I treated Remus similarly to how I treated Sirius, wouldn't she have thought that I liked him as well? I had no idea where Sirius was coming from, and reckoned Remus was the only person I could ask.

We were in Charms, the last lesson of the day, and I was resting my chin on my hand, lazily waving my wand to transform the vinegar in the goblet in front of me into wine. I had been switching the liquid back and forth for the entirety of the class; I was much better at Charms than at Transfiguration, and had no trouble mastering the spell, leaving me free to stare across the room at the Marauders.

Peter was partners with Remus; Remus had managed to learn the charm just as quickly as I had, and was now trying to teach Peter, who kept turning the vinegar into ice. Sirius and James were partners, and after several unsuccessful attempts, in which their goblet exploded numerous times and they had to replace it, had finally managed to create wine. They were now whooping happily, seemingly proud of themselves.

I rolled my eyes, but my heart was secretly pounding at the satisfied look on Sirius' face. His smile was so perfect that I wouldn't have been surprised if he was part-Veela. I briefly wished he was; at least then I would have a reasonable excuse for being so crazily attracted to him, instead of only having my hormones to blame.

I glanced back at Remus, wondering briefly how best to approach him about Sirius' accusations, and was startled to see him looking at me as well. He grinned and tilted his head towards Sirius to show that he knew I was staring, and I flushed. He looked as if he was silently laughing, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

Feeling another pair of eyes on me, I turned my head to see Sirius looking between Remus and me suspiciously. I immediately dropped my head, not wanting Sirius to get the wrong idea. I felt guilty, which was ridiculous; it was perfectly normal for me to make faces at my friend from across the room. He and James did it all the time when teachers split them up, and no one accused them of liking each other.

Unable to resist, I glanced back up at Sirius. He was still watching me, an unreadable expression on his face.

"What?" I mouthed, simultaneously annoyed and pleased that he was staring at me.

"Nothing," he mouthed back, and I scowled to show that his answer wasn't satisfactory. He grinned, my heart fluttered, and then he wasn't looking at me anymore, but at James, who was whispering something to him. I continued to watch, intrigued, as James pointed first at Flitwick, then at the wine in the goblet; predictably, he was debating whether or not they should drink it.

Sirius shook his head and motioned to the boy sitting behind him. Duncan Young, a pompous and irritating Ravenclaw, was attempting to flirt with a couple of girls sitting next to him. His arm was draped over the back of one of the girls' chairs, and she was discreetly scooting farther away from him. Unfazed, he moved even closer to her, leaving his wine-filled goblet unprotected.

Already realizing what they were planning to do, I hissed in disbelief, and Lily lifted her head from the book she was hiding in her lap to look at me.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and I shook my head, not wanting to get James and Sirius in trouble with her, but she followed my gaze. James was leaning forward, shielding Sirius from view, and his eyes were trained on Flitwick, who was concentrated on unsticking Peter's finger from his frozen goblet, like a watchdog's.

Sirius, hidden from Flitwick but still perfectly visible to Lily and me, Conjured up a flask. He picked up Duncan's goblet, tipped its contents into his own flask, then placed it back on Duncan's desk. He scrambled back into his seat, and James leaned back again, smirking.

"Oh, they are in so much trouble," Lily shook her head as Flitwick finally managed to defrost Peter's finger and moved on to James and Sirius' desk. He picked up their goblet, dipped a finger into the wine to taste it, then smiled at them before putting the goblet back down. James and Sirius grinned at each other.

"Mr. Young, if you wouldn't mind," Flitwick called in his squeaky voice, calling for Duncan's attention. He unglued himself from the disgusted-looking girl's side and looked down at Flitwick.

"Yes, sir?" he asked, and Flitwick motioned towards his goblet.

"May I see your goblet, please?" he asked kindly, and Duncan nodded, smiling haughtily, but his smile disappeared when he picked up his goblet and looked into it.

"Professor, my wine's disappeared," he exclaimed, looking bewildered. He glanced down at the goblet a couple more times, as if the wine would suddenly reappear.

"I don't see a spill," Flitwick responded, clambering up next to Sirius and James' desk to look around at Duncan's feet. I noticed Sirius shift slightly in his seat, his hand in his pocket, and I knew he was attempting to hide the flask as well as possible, "You didn't drink the wine after I specifically said not to, did you, Mr. Young?" Flitwick continued, and Duncan's eyes widened.

"No, sir, you can ask her, I was talking to her the whole time," he said frantically, motioning towards the girl next to him. Sirius and James were snickering into their hands.

"Can you vouch for Mr. Young?" Flitwick asked the girl. She looked hesitant for a moment, still sitting on the edge of her chair as to be as far away from Duncan as she could, but shook her head finally.

"I didn't see him drink it, sir," she said, and she grimaced as if it was incredibly difficult for her not lie and get Duncan in trouble.

"See, sir? It wasn't me. I didn't do it!" Duncan practically yelped; he may have been arrogant and annoying, but he was about as afraid of teachers' disapproval as I was of bees. I reckoned his boggart would be all of his professors crowded around and yelling at him; the thought made me smirk, though I was in no way approving of what Sirius and James had done.

Sirius and James were no longer able to withhold their laughter, and James let out a loud guffaw. Flitwick trained his eyes on him, looking between him and Sirius with an exasperated look on his face. I glanced quickly at Lily, who was watching intently and sitting stiffly in her chair. I half expected her to yell out that she had seen Sirius take the wine, but she remained silent.

"Mr. Potter, did you drink Mr. Young's wine?" Flitwick asked, looking tired. He, like most other teachers, had caught James and Sirius doing things they weren't supposed to do far too often for his liking.

"No, sir," James said sweetly.

"Did you, Mr. Black?" Flitwick asked, turning to Sirius, who was looking giddy.

"No, sir," he responded truthfully, burying his hand deeper into the pocket of his robe where the flask was hidden.

"Do you know what happened to it?" Flitwick continued, and James and Sirius both hesitated. They could deny it and avoid getting in trouble, but I knew that they wouldn't; they wanted the satisfaction of everyone knowing what they had pulled off.

"Yes, sir," Sirius said finally, still smiling. Flitwick waited silently for further elaboration, but when he didn't receive any, he sighed.

"What happened to it, then?" he pressed, and James and Sirius exchanged a quick look.

"We took it, sir," James responded, "But we didn't drink it,"

"So technically we didn't break any rules, Professor. You only said not to drink it," Sirius added, and Flitwick's nostrils flared, which was a comical look for the normally cheery teacher.

"Detention for cheek," he told Sirius, "And you, too, Mr. Potter," he added without any clear explanation. Flitwick was a fair and kind teacher who practically never gave out detentions, but, as usual, James and Sirius were the exception. He didn't want to let them get away with what they done for the hundredth time, even though they technically hadn't done anything wrong; seeing someone receive detention for cheek was something I had yet to encounter.

"Yes, sir," James said brightly, not at all fazed.

"And I would like you to give Mr. Young his wine back," Flitwick continued.

"We can't do that, sir," Sirius piped up.

"And why is that?"

"We Vanished it," James lied. They may have been okay with being caught, but they weren't about to give up the alcohol; I scoffed in disbelief and, admittedly, a hint of admiration.

"Ridiculous," Lily whispered from beside me.

"Give me your goblet, Mr. Young," Flitwick sighed, and Duncan handed it to him, shooting daggers at James and Sirius. They looked up at him, smiling. Flitwick filled the goblet with vinegar, and handed it back to Duncan before rounding on James and Sirius again, "And you two, see me after class so we can work out your detention,"

The class, which had been unusually silent, resumed quiet conversation once Flitwick had walked away. I continued to watch Sirius and James, who were looking incredibly pleased with themselves.

"I can't believe them," Lily said, and I shook my head.

"All for one goblet of wine,"

"They could have gotten it some other way if they really wanted it. They just wanted to put on a show," Lily said bitterly.

"I still can't believe you like James. You're complete opposites," I whispered, leaning closer to Lily.

"I can say the same about you and Sirius," she responded, and I laughed, feeling the truth of her words.

"They do say that opposites attract," I shrugged, and she smiled softly.

Class was over soon after that, and I remembered suddenly that I had wanted to speak to Remus. I had forgotten all about it during James and Sirius' little stunt, but as the two of them walked towards the front of the classroom to discuss their detention with Flitwick and the rest of us walked in the other direction towards the door, I decided to seize my chance and grabbed Remus by the sleeve.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked, and he turned his head to look at me, surprised.

"Sure," he answered, and Lily gave me a strange look.

"If it's about Sirius, can I hear it, too?" she whispered, and I shook my head.

"No, it has to just be Remus," I said apologetically, and Remus furrowed his eyebrows. Lily looked momentarily bewildered, but shrugged.

"Alright then. See you at dinner," she said, before smiling hesitantly and disappearing through the doorway with Scarlett, Mary, and Isabelle.

"Moony, do you want to help me with my Potions homework before dinner?" Peter asked from Remus' other side.

"Sorry, Wormtail, Charlotte asked to speak with me," Remus told Peter, who looked disappointed. His face brightened, however, and he stopped right outside of the door.

"I'll just wait for Padfoot and Prongs, then," he said brightly, and Remus nodded at him.

"See you later," he said, and turned back to me, "What's up?"

"Well, um," I began, not entirely sure what to say, and we walked silently for a few moments down the corridor. All the other students, excited to be done with lessons for the day, were way ahead of us, and we had left Peter behind, so it was just the two of us in a mostly empty hallway.

"Yes?" Remus urged.

"Sirius said a couple things involving you and me, and I thought I would ask you about it," I said awkwardly, glancing at him quickly. He looked confused.

"Things like what?" he asked, and I looked down at the floor instead.

"Well, er, he's asked me twice now if there's something…going on between us,"

"Us? As in you and me?" Remus asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I told him no, but I was just wondering if you knew why he kept asking me that,"

"I don't," Remus shook his head, and there was no hint in dishonesty in his voice. I felt myself relax.

"So you…you don't…like me or something?" I asked, and Remus froze, staring at me with wide eyes, before he started laughing. I was right with my previous thoughts; it was a bit offensive. I crossed my arms over my chest, and Remus must have read some anger in my face because he immediately stopped laughing.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. You're pretty, Charlotte, and fun to be around, but I don't…I never…it's just not like that," he said apologetically, and I smiled, relieved and appreciative of the compliment.

"Good. Great. Because I don't…I never…either," I said stupidly, but he nodded in understanding.

"I know. You like Sirius, always have, right?" he asked, and I nodded as well.

"So then why is Sirius convinced that I like you?" I inquired, and Remus seemed to think for a moment. His face lit up suddenly, and he tilted his head.

"Maybe he's…jealous?" he offered, and I gaped. I was so preoccupied with thinking that Sirius would never like me that the thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

"Jealous?" I repeated, and Remus nodded quickly.

"I mean, you and I are good friends. I can see how maybe it could appear to him that we…you know. Jealousy sees things others don't," he explained.

"But why would Sirius be jealous?" I asked, disbelieving.

"Maybe he likes you more than you think," Remus shrugged, grinning.

"But he's never exactly held back when it comes to girls. Why wouldn't he tell me?" I continued to fight against what Remus was saying, unwilling to believe that Sirius might actually have feelings for me and give myself false hope.

"Lily said that he told you his relationships are purely physical, right?"

"Yes, so?" I asked, confused.

"Well, if he has actual feelings for you, it'd be different than with other girls, wouldn't it? He wouldn't know what to do in that kind of situation," Remus said excitedly.

"Maybe," I said, beginning to crack. I felt a glimmer of hope push its way into me, "You don't know something, do you?" I asked, feeling a hint of suspicion at how much Remus had seemingly thought about the situation.

"No, he hasn't told me anything. I think he'd have a hard time convincing himself, let alone telling others," Remus said, grimacing apologetically, "I can ask him about you, if you'd like," he offered, but I frantically shook my head.

"No," I said quickly, "He's going to think that you're asking because I like him,"

"Right," he nodded, "Like you thought that I liked you,"

"Exactly," I agreed, blushing a little.

"Sorry again that I laughed," he smiled feebly, "It's just…maybe…I might like someone else,"

"Who?" I said immediately, then winced. As if another secret was what I really needed.

"I don't know…" he trailed off, not looking at me.

"Oh, come on. You know who I like," I pressed, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Fine. I kind of have a tiny thing for Scarlett," he admitted, and I gaped, surprised.

"Scarlett?" I repeated, and he looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed angrily.

"Is there something wrong with her?" he asked defensively.

"No, of course not," I responded, somewhat amused by his quickness to stand up for her, "I'm just surprised. You're very good at hiding it,"

"Yeah, well, I'm never going to tell her, so it's for the best," he shrugged.

"Why not?" I pouted, imagining Scarlett and Remus together. They would be cute; Remus' nose was practically always buried in a book and Scarlett's was always stuck in her journal. They were both relatively quieter than the majority of their friends. She was sensitive and he was sensible. I could just see them cuddled on the couch and reading together; perhaps opposites attracted, but that didn't mean that two very similar people couldn't be perfect for each other.

"My kind aren't exactly the romantic type. Most of us are alone forever," he said sadly, and I didn't have to ask to know what he meant.

"That's so sad!" I exclaimed, "You don't deserve to be alone,"

"It's best for everyone," he smiled weakly at me, "I shudder to think of the kinds of situations I could put her in if things went too far. Besides, she likes Sirius,"

I remained silent, unable to come up with a good argument. I had no idea what happened when werewolves got involved with humans, and winced at sudden mental images. I immediately changed my facial expression to something more neutral, not wanting to discourage Remus, but he wasn't looking at me. We carried on walking, neither of us speaking.

"Remus-" I began suddenly.

"Charlotte-" he said at the same time, and we both laughed, "You first," he said.

"I was just going to say that you're a great friend," I said sincerely, "And thanks,"

"You're welcome. You're a great friend, too," he beamed.

"What were you going to say?" I asked.

"I was just going to say that, if something does end up happening with you and Sirius…" he trailed off, looking hesitant.

"Yes?"

"Just be careful. I'd hate to see you get hurt," he said seriously, and I took a deep breath, thinking of how easily Sirius had shooed Zara away when I interrupted them in the common room.

"Yeah, me too,"

A/N: Thanks for the fantastic reviews, you guys all rock. :)