Disclaimer: Gemma's outfit is inspired by Janis Joplin's attire on the cover of her last album, Pearl. I also don't own Soul Train, its catch phrases, or the songs mentioned in this chapter.

"Nothin' seems to change, bad times stay the same and I can't run. Sometimes I feel like I've been tied to the whipping post, good lord I feel like I'm dying." – The Allman Brothers, 1971

Remus Lupin was drunk. Extremely drunk.

He had been in the mood to get plastered and the sixth shot of firewhiskey had certainly sent him over the edge. His head pounded, and even though his eyes were closed, Remus felt like his surroundings had turned into a gigantic vortex, spinning out of control. His stomach lurched, but he barely had time to breathe as his lips attacked Marlene's mouth and she eagerly kissed him back.

The pair embraced in the corner of one of the older Astronomy Tower classrooms while the rest of the students around them partied to the live music; it was another one of their before curfew get togethers. Remus didn't know how their relationship had progressed so quickly, but one minute he was dancing with Marlene as Tarantellegra played acoustically on the makeshift stage in the front of the room, and seconds later, she dragged him into the shadows for some serious snogging.

And he didn't protest. He was willing to do anything to make the deep, throbbing pain in his chest go away. He'd been stuck in a state of self-deprecation for weeks now.

"Moony."

He continued to kiss Marlene, his tongue noticeably missing its mark.

" … Moony."

He barely registered the hand on his shoulder, but assumed that Marlene was encouraging him to keep going. He tried to jam his tongue further down her throat as his fingers fumbled with the buttons of her brown chiffon shirt.

"Oh, for fucks sake!"

Suddenly, Remus felt someone force him off Marlene with a strong shove. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw that James and Lily were standing in front of him with their mouths agape; behind them, the small crowd of students that remained clapped their hands enthusiastically after the band finished their rendition of Cream's Strange Brew. The party was starting to wind down, but the werewolf had no intention of stopping his quest for total intoxication.

"We're leaving," James stated dumbly, still in shock that his best friend was so uncharacteristically inebriated. "Padfoot said he'd take care of the mess when everyone finally goes back to their Common Rooms."

"Ah," Remus retorted, his words starting to slur together after James sneezed loudly, "you two lovebirds got each other sick, now didn't you? How cute. Yes, of course you have to leave. Don't let me stop you."

Lily sucked in a sharp breath. James quickly reached out, grabbed her hand, and intertwined their fingers to steady her.

"Remmy," Marlene cooed. "I've got to run as well. Cass is waiting." Before he could get a word out, the Ravenclaw stood up on her tippy toes and captured his mouth once more. Remus voraciously responded, failing to see James and Lily rolling their eyes in disgust.

"Bye," he said impassively when they both finally came up for air.

"Listen," Marlene replied, "since we had such a good time tonight, d'ya want to go to the Ball with me?"

"Sure," Remus grinned, the alcohol clearly taking control of his words and actions.

"Great. 'Night Remmy. See you around later."

"Remmy?" James sputtered once the girl sauntered back to her best friend Dorcas, who didn't seem very happy that she had been without her drinking buddy for the past half an hour. "Who the bloody hell is Remmy?"

"Well me, of course," Remus responded, rolling his eyes. He reached out for one of the half empty bottles of firewhiskey next to him and James quickly snatched it away. Remus growled stubbornly, but the Head Boy didn't budge.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" the boy cried as he tried to rip the bottle out of James' hands. "Now let me have the whiskey."

"You know I can't. You're drunk."

"Yes, I certainly am drunk. But I did just get a girl to ask me to the Ball without lifting a finger so I want to celebrate."

"Merlin, a girl who Padfoot shagged when he was fifteen! She's the village bicycle -"

"She is not! Ok, wait. Wait. She probably has more experience than most girls in this Castle - "

"Remus," Lily finally cut in, placing a hand on his outstretched arm, "I think you've had enough. Remember, we can't be openly sloshed."

As the band started up again and Gio's raspy voice sang the opening lyrics to The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Remus felt something deep inside him began to ache. He realized that he was being a complete arse; this was the first time Lily had ever been to a Marauder's party and here he was, making fun of the both of them instead of congratulating them on their budding relationship. As James wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist, Remus huffed and ran a hand through his long hair.

"I'm sorry. I'll help Padfoot clean everything up later. I'm being a git."

"Yes, you are," James responded, narrowing his eyes as he placed the firewhiskey bottle back on the table. "In fact, you've been acting like an absolute prat ever since the first Hogsmeade weekend. Something happened and you won't tell us. We Marauders respect our sacred laws, but when the clock strikes midnight on the last day of term, you're going to have to explain yourself."

"James," Lily warned.

"No, Lily!" James snapped, but his expression softened when he saw her cringe slightly. "I'm sorry dear, I love you very much, but you're going to have to stay out of this one." He then turned back to his best friend and pointed a finger in his face. "You're officially on notice."

As James angrily set off towards the Gryffindor Common Room, Remus saw Lily throw him a sympathetic look. Her expression caused him to immediately grab the firewhiskey bottle that James had tried to stop him from drinking. He placed it to his mouth and took another swig. However, once the liquid touched Remus' lips, he coughed violently. Since he had really stopped using the logical side of his brain, it was almost as if his body was physically rejecting the magical alcohol to tell him to stop drinking too.

He gasped for air and ignored the damage he was doing. As Kaia's voice began to soar above the softly buzzing side conversations, Remus had a sudden, unusual craving.

He wanted a cigarette. Badly.

However, Remus was not the type of bloke who carried around a pack with him, so he lazily turned his head back and forth to scan for a fellow student who might have a spare. He thought about asking Peter, but decided that he didn't want to deal with any of the other Marauders. Not after the way James had acted. He had to find someone else.

His eyes slowly settled on a large mass of pink and purple on the far side of the room. When he squinted, he realized that the colorful feather boas were attached to the blonde locks of none other than Sirius' new girlfriend. Gemma was quietly sitting on the edge of a table, wearing a flowing purple shirt with a pair of Sirius' baggy denim jeans tucked into her boots. She was alone and continued to ignore the rest of the crowd as she rolled a small joint.

The werewolf staggered over to her, his brain on autopilot and not thinking clearly. He'd never had a real conversation with her before, but now was a good enough time as any. She would definitely have something to smoke. He watched as she swung her feet back and forth and stuck her tongue out determinedly to twist the final bit of rolling paper around her gillyweed. The Hufflepuff then placed the joint between her lips and used her wand to light the end of it.

"Muffliato," said Remus once he was standing next to her.

"What did you just do?" Gemma meeped, startled that he'd used a spell she'd never heard before. She also seemed a little confused about why he was talking to her in the first place.

"It's – it's fine, trust me. Just a spell to block out any eavesdroppers. I need a break from this party."

The tension between them faded once Gemma accepted that no one would be listening to their conversation.

"Handy," she grinned, her smile genuine. "Where did you learn that spell?"

"We heard some Slytherins using it. It is handy, indeed. So … uh, hey."

"Er, hi Remus."

"Give us a puff of that," he slurred.

"Ah, that's why you're here. This isn't a cigarette," Gemma chuckled as she exhaled.

"I know. I still want some."

"Well, you're your own man, but I warned you," she laughed again, handing him the smoking object.

Remus put the joint to his lips and inhaled deeply. He could tell that she didn't have any of her normal barriers up and Remus found it refreshing. Talking to her was quite easy, despite the fact that they didn't know each other well, and he didn't stop to think why she might be so comfortable around him when she avoided most people. Since he had never really smoked gillyweed before, he coughed deeply as he exhaled and Gemma continued to laugh as she patted him on the back.

"There, there. You'll be fine. Man! I never thought I'd see the day. Remus Lupin, did you honestly just ask to smoke gillyweed?"

"It's been a bad day," he growled, opening up. The firewhiskey had thrown his normal anxieties to the side.

"Yeah, I would agree with you there," she muttered as she took the joint from his grasp. "Gio's mad at me because I won't do him a favor."

"What did he want?"

"He wants me to sing on stage with him during the Winter Ball. I told him no."

"Really? I hear you singing when you're with Sirius."

"I dunno, I can't explain it. I only sing around people I trust, I guess. So I can't just go up onstage in front of a bunch of people and belt out some fantastic number. My voice would crack. But he doesn't seem to understand that."

Before Remus could get out another word, she quickly took several small puffs and continued her stoned ramblings with a mouthful of smoke.

"You know what? I think that sometimes magic is more powerful and primal than we realize. There are just some things in this world that can't be explained. Take my relationship with Sirius, for instance. I don't know what it is about that boy … but I feel like our souls are just, attached, you know. I tell ya, love is scary as hell. But exhilarating at the same time."

When she finished her confession, she reached out to hand the joint to him. He took it.

"You diggin' me? Wait, what am I saying, of course you understand. You're a werewolf, you know exactly how hard it is to let people in when you're different."

"W-what?"

The shared joint fell to the ground as Remus' jaw dropped sharply. His drunken brain almost exploded with shock. How did she know? Had Sirius told her? If so, he was personally going to –

"Shit," Gemma whispered, her hand flying to cover her mouth. "Shit, shit, shit. I wasn't supposed to say that. Wait, don't go! Sirius didn't tell me. I – I dreamed about you."

"You what?" Remus exclaimed. Pure distress buzzed through his blood stream, but his brain was still stuck in a catatonic daze. In order to keep from falling over, he sat down on the table next to her.

"I'm a Seer. I dreamed about you," she repeated, after quickly crouching down to pick up the joint. "I'll admit, it took me awhile to figure out whom I was dreaming about, but every time I slept in Sirius' bed, I saw your past and possibly your future. I guess my craziness latched onto you since you were always sleeping in the bed next to me."

"So you know everything about me, even though we've never had a real, meaningful conversation before?"

"Not everything. But a lot."

The air quickly flew out of Remus' lungs and he felt extremely lightheaded. He clutched his chest just below his heart and blinked back a few scared tears. He threw a frightened glance in Gemma's direction and she smiled softly in response.

"I'm sorry Remus, I didn't want you to tell you like this. I wanted to keep it a secret until you told me about it yourself … but the same thing happened with Sirius. Usually when I meet people for the first time, I don't care enough to talk to them. I don't feel anything. But I dunno, I just feel comfortable around you two. Merlin, this is starting to sound psychotic, but it's like our souls are attached too, Remus. Because we're both different. But we barely know each other."

Her smile turned into a large grin and she chuckled slightly as she took another puff. He couldn't explain why, but his tense muscles slowly began to relax and the warm feeling of relief washed over him.

"Look, I won't tell anyone or pry, but there's one thing I want you to know. You don't have to be so cynical all the time. Life is a blessing, not a curse. Sometimes we outcasts need to let people who care about us into our hearts because they make our lives exponentially better. I'm trying it with Sirius and it's working."

"You're starting to sound very prophetic," Remus growled playfully as he plucked the joint out of her fingers. "Maybe I'll have someone like that in the future."

"I am not! You forget that I know your present predicament," she responded, matter of factly. "I'm referring to the Seventh Year Ravenclaw whom you seem to be involved with."

"Marlene?"

"No, you berk. Marianne."

"You know about her?" Remus gasped, almost choking on the smoke in his throat. "Right, of course you do. But that topic is not up for conversation."

"Remus -"

"You said you weren't going to pry," he snarled, his mood suddenly turning sour at the mention of Marianne's name. He noticed that Sirius was trying to get their attention from across the room and lifted the ear-buzzing spell to save himself from discussing the painful topic any further. He knew Gemma wouldn't continue berating him now that everyone could hear them.

"My love! There you are!" Sirius exclaimed, striding over towards them.

"Hello, dear," Gemma said softly after Sirius placed a kiss on her forehead. Remus gulped; it looked like she realized that she was not going to win in a fight against the werewolf if he wasn't ready to overcome his extreme denial. Her barriers went back up to keep Sirius in the dark about what just happened.

"You have to come dance! Everyone is doing that thing I told you I saw on Muggle lelevision."

"Television, Padfoot," Remus muttered.

"The Soul Train Line?" Gemma squealed. "My word, we have to join them! Why didn't you tell me sooner, you buffoon?"

She grabbed Sirius' hand, pulling him towards the dance floor; he laughed and eagerly followed her, like a dog following its owner. Yet, just before the couple returned to the floor, Gemma whipped her head around, flashed Remus an extremely deliberate smile, and quoted the television show that had coined the famous dance formation.

" … And as always in parting, we wish you love, peace … and soul!"

She let out a slight giggle as Sirius dragged her towards the other students, who had formed two lines. Couples took turns sashaying and strutting down the center of the lines to show off their dancing skills and Sirius impatiently cut to the front. When it was their turn, the couple playfully boogied and twirled down the center towards the end. As Gemma circled her hips and did a series of funky kick ball changes, Remus finally understood why Sirius had fallen in love with her so easily.

Although he felt no romantic connection to the girl, he still couldn't deny that once she took down her walls, her bubbling, otherworldly personality was infectious. If anyone else had told him they knew about his lycanthropy, he probably would have screamed at them and stormed out … but not Gemma. Although he was unwilling to talk to her about his forbidden romance, he suddenly comprehended her earlier statements; there was some sort of unexplainable connection between them that made him feel comfortable around her. He sighed, playing her encouraging words over and over in his head. The werewolf hated to admit it, but part of him knew she was right.

He looked down and noticed that Gemma had left the smoking joint in his hands. He smiled softly, leaned back, placed the object between his lips, and finally reveled in the healing powers of gillyweed as he watched everyone continue to dance.