Waking up with a yawn Remus' eyes opened, looking around the inside of his darkened four-poster. Someone was scuttling about their room, and the noises pulled him from his slumber, "What on earth? Who's up?" he asked, his voice laced with sleep. Reaching for his watch he was fumbling with the button that made it glow when Sirius spoke up.

"Moony, what took you so long? We have potions in 10 minutes."

 Bloody hell. Potions? I hate that class. I hate that woman. There's nothing good that comes out of those dungeons.

Jumping out of bed Remus dug through his trunk for clean clothes, "Why didn't anyone wake me?!"

"We tried!" said James and Sirius in unison, with Sirius adding, "You sleep too much," in afterwards.

Remus rolled his eyes, "I do not. Have either of you been outside of the common room?"

 It would be nice to know if our little spell worked before getting to class.

Sirius looked thoughtful about that for a minute. "Nope!" He responded cheerfully.

To which Remus looked up, changing quickly, "What are you so happy about?"

 Have a wet dream?

"I'm in a damn good mood for once." Sirius grinned.

Remus laughed, pulling on his robe, grabbing his bag, "I see that. Alright, let's go," he said, running his hand through his unkempt hair. Sirius laughed, racing down to the dungeons, arriving only just on time. Glaring at them from the front of the dungeon was Professor Ajavon. Professor Ajavon was a short woman, with a nasty, sour look to her. Sirius shuddered faintly, the site of her enough to scare anyone. Her doors were set with a charm that would bar students from entering after class had begun.

Remus followed closely behind, though not at such a fast pace, having no desire to really be in the class. Taking his seat behind Sirius he avoided looking up to the front of the room, beginning to get his cauldron ready. "Jamie, mate, partners?" Sirius asked, and James nodded.

"I guess that means we're partners..." Peter squeaked, watching Remus.

"Pay attention, and stop talking!" Professor Ajavon snapped at the Marauders. "We're attempting a difficult potion today. No doubt, you fools won't understand it. More enjoyment for me."

Remus nodded, giving him a small smile before jumping slightly, his attention moving up to the Professor. Sirius fought back a laugh. God, this woman was intolerable. "Let it be known that anyone who fails this potion will be removed from my class. Hopefully, you will all fail, and I won't have to teach you insolent morons any longer." She said, before sitting at her desk, the recipe for the potion appearing on the board.

Remus' mouth dropped. "Bloody... hell," he muttered, writing down the ingredients quickly. Glancing at Peter he began to get worried. Neither of them was terribly good at this class. Sirius and James exchanged a highly amused look, beginning to get to work on the potion. They had no real fears of failing. Though neither was good, they were able to survive. Thankfully. Peter was pacing nervously. Remus sighed, having started on their potion, now finely slicing up some roots, "Wormtail... calm down."

"My parents wouldn't be happy if I fail this class..." Peter muttered, sitting down.

"My father would skin me alive... but your pacing isn't helping matters. Here, add these, and I'll stir three times counterclockwise..." Remus said, his stomach churning with nerves.

Peter nodded, adding the roots. "Would she really fail us?" He asked nervously. James and Sirius were talking and laughing as they worked on the potions. No worries, as always.

Remus raised a brow, stirring, counting to three, "Would you put it past her? Hand me the purple dropper," he said, pointing to the row of various colors. Peter shook his head, handing Remus the purple dropper, though he nearly dropped it first. That would have been a disaster, as the glass dropper would have shattered. Remus took it, "I don't remember, is it 12 or 14 drops? Look at my paper?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the potion.

"It's 14." Peter said as he glanced at it.

Remus nodded, adding the 14th drop, the whole thing starting to boil over, "Whoa! Hey! What the," he managed to get out before the cauldron exploded, purple goo flying all over the room, onto each and every occupant.

Peter yelped in surprise. Professor Ajavon looked up in anger. "What in heaven's name did you do?" She demanded coldly.

Remus' mouth was hanging open, himself having gotten covered in the gunk, "I... I... 14 drops..." he said, holding out the dropper, which incidentally enough slipped through his goo-covered fingers, smashing on the floor.

James and Sirius have stopped their potion, as has the rest of the class. "It was to be 12." Professor Ajavon snapped. "Read your instructions."

"But... but..." he continued, looking down at his paper, which indeed did say 12. Remus looked back at Peter, not sure if he should strangle him now or wait until he was asleep.

Peter squeaked in fright, cowering from Professor Ajavon, who was stalking over. "I highly recommend that you both leave. Now. Do not return to this class until you have found yourselves tutors for potions."

Remus' face fell. A tutor? Me? Remus Lupin? But, this isn't possible. He nodded, grabbing his bag, starting for the door, stepping on a rather large puddle of goo, falling down onto his back with a 'thud'. Sirius cringed, running a hand through his now purple hair, offering the other to Remus. "Amy." He said softly, simply.

Remus took the hand, standing upright again, "Amy?" he asked, not quite getting it. Then it clicked, "Oh... Amy," he said with a soft sigh and a nod.

Sirius nodded, glancing over at James, who was working on their potion. "I'll see you after class... I'll talk to her, if you like." He said, glancing back to Remus again. Peter was already in the hallway, pacing. Remus nodded, mouthing the word 'Thanks', getting that glare from Ajavon once again. Walking out the door he glared at Peter, but remained silent, headed towards the bathrooms for a shower.

Peter squeaked nervously. "It said 14, Moony..." He said, defending himself. It was, of course, a lie.

Remus walked on, speaking over his shoulder, "Yeah, it said 14. Dumbledore is bound to jump out of a painting and tell us schools out for the year too." Peter fell silent, staring at the ground as he walked. Remus climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor portrait hole, climbing inside, headed straight for the showers. He'd only been in class for 20 minutes, and now was banned from coming back. Unless he had a tutor. Amy was sitting in the Common Room, curled up near the fire with her notebook, as usual. Peter went down to the grounds, preferring to continue his pacing there. Remus stopped in his tracks, seeing Amy from the corner of his eye, "Don't you have class in the morning?"

"Mmm, no." She said, glancing up. "We're off until after lunch."

 Who are you, Remus? A professor? It's Amy. Like you care if she's skipping class.

He nodded, his hand moving up to run through his hair, remembering the goo, "Well, I have to shower..." he said after an uncomfortable silence, leaving the room. She raised an eyebrow, choosing not to ask, though a faint smirk crossed her lips. Letting her eyes drop back to her notebook, her quill continued to scratch across the surface of the parchment.

Coming back down about 15 minutes later he was in clean robes, his hair still damp, sitting down across from her. He wanted to ask, now was perfect, no one else was around. But what, exactly, did he want to ask? You know what you want to ask, idiot, and it has nothing to do with potions. Amy glanced up again, offering him a smile, before returning to her writing. Clearing his throat he waited for her to look up again, his brow raised slightly. Please, someone somewhere, give me strength. She set her quill down, looking up. But of course, as chance would have it, Peter chose that time to return from the grounds. He sat down with Amy and Remus. "That wasn't fair..." He muttered.

Remus opened his mouth, but shut it once again at hearing someone enter the room. Looking over at Peter, Remus blinked a few times, "Mate... I'm really not all that happy with you right now."

 Dead by morning. Cause? Mysteriously choked on own pillow.

"It wasn't my fault. She shouldn't have been so harsh." Peter defended himself. Amy glanced between the two of them. "A potion gone awry?" Amy asked. "It wasn't that bad." Peter replied.

Remus shook his head, sitting back, "No, it wasn't that bad. That goo that I was covered in? Everyone in the class had some to take home with them, if they wished."

"Mind if I ask what happened?" Amy asked softly. Peter didn't respond, just went upstairs for his shower.

"14 drops of the purple dropper instead of 12," Remus said, shaking his head, "He... Peter... read it wrong."

Amy shook her head as well. "Mmm... Not fun... That class isn't exactly your strong suit either, is it...?" She asked, her voice again soft.

He shook his head again, "No. It's really not. She kicked us out. Said we can't come back unless we have tutors."

Amy bit her lip a bit, not looking up. "I see."

"I know I'm daft for even asking, but I know you're pretty good at it. Would you, would you consider helping me?" he asked, his voice slightly reserved.

She nodded, still not looking up. "If you like."

He smiled a bit, "Aye, I really need the help..."

She smiled as well, looking up. "Am I hearing this correctly?" She teased lightly.

 Is this flirting?

He raised a brow, a smirk replacing the smile, "I'm not that above asking for assistance."

"If you say so," she said, as the smirk grew.

"So, when would you be able to start?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Whenever you like." She said softly.

He shrugged a bit, "Today?"

She nodded, "Certainly."

He smiled slightly again as he stood, "Alright, 4pm? The library?"

"4:30." She said. "I don't get out of Defense until 4:15..." She trailed off, looking up at him thoughtfully.

He nodded, licking his lips a bit, "Alright. 4:30, see you then," he said, watching her as he went to go upstairs to the dorms, making sure not to stare too long. Ok, what just happened? Amy nodded, leaning back in her chair, staring at the fireplace. She sighed softly, before resuming her writing, trying to focus. Remus collapsed onto his bed once upstairs. How he managed to ask, he wasn't sure. Maybe he really didn't, and this was a dream... If it weren't a dream before, it would be now. Remus fell back to sleep, a pillow having been pulled over his head, slipping into a pleasant dream.

Alas, the dream was not to last. Sirius and James burst into the dorms, talking loudly. "Bloody hell, that potion was impossible..." Sirius growled. "That woman's a bitch!" James added.

Remus jumped, "Good lord. Wake the dead why wont you..." he said, yawning midway.

"I think we just did." Sirius smirked a bit.

 Bastard.

Rolling over Remus let that one slide, his arm moving over his eyes, "I asked her."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Asked who and asked what?" Typical clueless Sirius.

"Your sister. To tutor me. Tomorrow. Ug! 4. Library," Remus said with a smirk, caveman tone put to good use.

Sirius smirked as well, hitting his friend with a pillow. "Should've asked her something else as well."

Remus raised a brow, catching the pillow, grasping it, "Like what?"

"Like out on a date?" Sirius asked, grinning slightly.

 What? No… No, he doesn't know. It was casual.

Giving him a 'yeah right' look, Remus sat up slightly, glancing around the room, "Wormtail not here?"

"Nah, we haven't seen Peter, and don't give me that look." Sirius said, sitting on his own bed.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Remus said simply, lying back down, "Did anyone else notice the looks we were getting today?"

"Yeah, I gotta admit, I was a bit impressed... What exactly happened?" Sirius asked with a grin.

Remus shook his head, "12... not 14. And I was talking about the Slytherins... in their pajamas..."

Sirius laughed. "Aye, that... Bloody disgusting, if you ask me. Rumor has it that Macnair wasn't wearing anything to bed, which is why he wasn't in class today."

Remus laughed, burying his face into the bed, "That's disgusting!"

Sirius laughed harder. "Aye, and it gets better... They say he came down to the common room today to find out what was going on, and Ajabitch was there, which is why she was in such a bad mood today."

Remus shuddered, "Oh man... that's just wrong."

James shook his head with a laugh. "Aye, but bloody funny..."

"When should we lift the curse?" Remus asked, sitting up a bit again.

"Tonight, I think... I don't really care to see Macnair naked, thanks." James said with another laugh.

Remus nodded, "I really don't either. That would just be..." he shuddered again, "Thanks for that mental image, mates."

Sirius saluted with a smirk. "Aye, you need to get a girlfriend, mate." Sirius said suddenly.

 What's with the sudden interest in my love life? If I really wanted someone, some school-time girlfriend, one I keep around for sex, that wouldn't be hard to get. I want, something more. I want someone to share life experiences with. Good luck finding that here, Moony. You can't get close. Not allowed to get close. The possibility of having your secret told is too great. I could always keep it a secret. But those around me for long periods of time are bound to notice I'm always gone. Hence my best friends figuring my secret out.

Someone saying something about Advanced Transfiguration pulled him from his thoughts. Grabbing his bag Remus began to leave the room behind Sirius and James, passing Amy as they went, avoiding his eyes this time, knowing if he'd look at her, he'd give himself away.