Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or its characters in any way, shape, or form. Please, do not sue me. However, I do own Artemis Xenoi and all other original characters, so please ask if you intend to use them in fiction (art is okay and encouraged, seeing as I have n obsession to see how other people interpret things.)
The next morning at breakfast, Artemis sat bleary eyed next to Lily. "Isn't there any coffee?" she asked Lily for the umpteenth time.
Her friend gave an exasperated sigh. "Artemis dear, no. Just drink some pumpkin juice, and if you need something to wake you up, then ask Remus for some chocolate. He always has some." Lily nibbled her toast.
"Are you always like this in the morning?" Brava asked from next to Lily.
"Yes," Artemis shortly replied, eating her eggs.
"Good morning, ladies!" Sirius said, sliding into the empty seat across from Artemis. Remus grabbed the one next to her. James was immersed in conversation with Odin and the rest of the Quidditch team.
"Morning, Sirius," Artemis groggily said, her eyes still half closed. "Morning, Remus," she continued, giving the two boys a small smile. The rest of the girls mumbled their replies- Lily, because she honestly couldn't care less that Sirius was idolized by at least half the female population of Hogwarts, and Ruby and Brava were slightly shell-shocked from the sheer marvel of him talking to them.
"And a good morning to you too," Remus cheerfully said, buttering some toast. "Have a first good sleep at Hogwarts?"
Artemis shrugged. "It was just like any other, I suppose." She nibbled a piece of bacon. "When do we get our schedules?" she asked the general crowd of people around her.
"Sometime soon," Sirius told her. "Scarlet and Ormond should be passing them out." He looked around, but the voluptuous brunette and her brainy companion were nowhere in site. "However, I do not seem to be able to see them anywhere. Must be getting them from Professor McGonagall."
"Where's Peter for that matter?" Lily asked, playing with her eggs. "He's normally right at either you or James' heels. I don't see him anywhere right now though."
"He's mailing his mother a letter up in the Owlery," Sirius answered. He pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Ah, look, there's our little Prefects right now," he said, looking at the entrance.
As Scarlet drew nearer, Artemis found herself in a virtual stare down with the girl. What's with her this morning? Artemis thought to herself. Bitch.
Thankfully, Sirius broke the mood quickly. "Ormond, my man, do you happen to have my schedule?" asked the handsome teenager.
"Yup," answered the prefect, quickly shuffling through some papers. He handed a schedule to Sirius. "And let's see, who else… Evans…" he handed Lily hers. "Flynn…" he handed Ruby her schedule. Ormond looked up. "Do any of you know who Alice Gale is?" he asked the crowd.
A tiny blonde girl next to Remus raised her hand slightly. "That's me," she softly said. Poor thing, Artemis thought. She seems scared out of her wits. The first year took her schedule.
"And a Dorothy Garland?" Ormond asked.
A spunky looking brunette with two braids spook up from next to Alice. "Yeah, that's me."
Ormond looked over his glasses at her as he handed out the schedule. "And here's Lupin, Remus J." He said, handing Remus his schedule. Just then, Peter came dashing in, out of breath. He found a seat next to Sirius. "Oh, hey Peter," Ormond drawly said. "Scarlet's got your schedule- and Artemis and Brava's as well. See you lot later…" the prefect said, walking off.
"What does the 'J.' stand for?" Artemis immediately asked of Remus.
"John," he simply told her with a grin. "Not very exciting, I know."
Artemis shrugged. "Not everything has to be. It fits you anyway. 'Remus John Lupin,'" she recited before going back to her eggs. Even though Artemis was not a fan of mornings, she was of eating breakfast.
She heard the first years on the other side of Remus talking.
"How are we going to find these places?" Alice- the little blonde- asked.
Her friend, Dorothy, shrugged. "Ask someone, I guess. Sis did say it wouldn't be easy," she admitted.
"Do you need help?" Sirius politely asked from across the table.
The two looked up, and Artemis thought they looked very bewildered indeed. Well, I suppose I'd be too, Artemis truthfully thought. A big sixth year boy asking me if he could help. A particularly good looking boy at that, she added, glancing at Sirius, who was now engaged in telling them where Greenhouse 12 was. His hair was, as usual, gracefully falling into his lightly tan face, and with those deep brown eyes and charming smile, who wouldn't be intimidated at having such a striking male in that close of proximity?
Scarlet came up behind them. "Pettigrew, Peter, your schedule," she cheerfully said, reaching across the table between Artemis and Remus. Artemis couldn't help but notice the enormous breasts right next to her face. Does she even wear a bra? Artemis thought, before beginning to feel extremely flat in her presence. "Rojo, Brava," she said, handing Brava her schedule. "And let's see… Xenoi… Xenoi…" she rifled through her papers. All three of them, Artemis snappishly thought. "Ah, here we are. Xenoi, Artemis D., "she said, sounding, in Artemis' opinion, way too cheery for this early in the morning.
"What's the 'D.' stand for?" Remus mimicked with a smile.
"Diana," Artemis replied, looking down her schedule. Potions today, followed by study hall, then lunch, then Transfiguration, then Charms, dinner, and Astronomy in the evening. Not bad.
"Ah, so your parents liked the name Artemis so much, they decided to repeat it, but with a twist?" Remus joked. Sirius looked lost.
Artemis was used to this. "Yup," she replied. "'Artemis: Greek goddess of the hunt, childbirth, animals, and the wilderness. Diana: Roman equivalent of Artemis, more or less- Lady of the Beasts, wilderness, the hunt, and the moon,'" she recited. Sirius looked better informed now. "Anyways, Remus, what classes do you have?" She hated being the center of attention, and usually tried to get out of it as soon as possible.
"Same as you. What electives are you taking?"
"Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes."
"No way!" Remus cried.
"Way."
"Me too. That's outrageous. So are Sirius, James and Peter. Well, the Magical Creatures part anyways. The rest of them have Muggle Studies instead of Ancient Runes though," he answered before taking a swig of his juice.
"Why not any Muggle Studies for you, Remus? I thought the four of you did everything together," she asked.
"My mother's a Muggle, so I grew up with both," he answered.
"Ah."
"What about you, Lily?" Artemis asked the redhead.
"Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures," she answered.
"With your favorite person on earth then, huh?" Artemis said with a sly smile.
Lily looked shocked. The other sixth years snickered into their hands. "Now don't you jump on the bandwagon as well!" Lily cried incredulously.
"What bandwagon? Where is it? And who's jumping on it?" James asked from down the table.
Lily frowned. "None of your business, Potter!" she snapped before returning to her food.
Breakfast ended, and everyone filed off to their various classes. Remus, Sirius, Peter, James, Artemis, Lily, Brava, and Ruby headed to the Potions dungeon. "Who's the Potions professor?" Artemis asked from Remus' side.
The boy looked down at her. "Briana Whyng. Don't worry, she's pretty cool, even if she was a Slytherin," he answered.
James made a face at this comment. Remus cast his friend a stern look. Really now, you can't go around trying to make someone biased of a person as important as a professor. Even if it was the professor of his worst subject…
Remus had never really gotten the hang of potions, he thought as the group walked down a flight of stairs. It was much too precise and mathematical. He had always preferred concepts and the like over that. Potions was much too precise for him. He also never saw it as a terribly practical class. When would they ever need to concoct a truth potion? Weren't making those without licenses illegal anyways?
He allowed his group of friends to lead him inside the dungeon. "Where do I sit?" he heard Artemis asking Lily.
"Wherever you want," the redhead whispered. "Do you mind if I sit with Aliza? We have some catching up to do from over the summer."
"No, of course not," Artemis replied, taking a random seat.
"Great, thanks Artemis," Lily said with a smile. "Hey, Aliza!" Lily called, wandering off.
Somewhat uncertainly, Remus slid into the seat next to Artemis. "Erm, do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, feeling painfully shy. Usually the seats you picked in the beginning of the year stayed that way.
She smiled at him. "No, of course not, Remus. At least I can sit by someone I know. I'll need to learn all of these Hufflepuffs' names soon, though." She bit her lip nervously.
Remus patted her shoulder encouragingly as Professor Whyng walked in. A tallish witch who dressed in dark robes, she reminded Remus of a younger version of Professor McGonagall- stern with high standards, intelligent, but a very nice person at heart. Although today, she didn't look too pleased with things. He then noticed Madam Pomfrey coming in behind Whyng. What's going on today? He thought, but didn't dare say anything aloud.
"Today, and for the next two months," Professor Whyng began with a touch of the "why-me?" tone in her voice, "Madame Pomfrey and I will be teaching you all about the joys of growing into a young adult," she said this with a note of sarcasm in her voice.
"Now, Brianna, you know it's important, and that the Ministry is requiring it," Madame Pomfrey said in a cheerful voice. "Hopefully it'll keep them from stuffing too many regulations down our throats," the nurse added, mumbling.
Professor Whyng rolled her eyes. "Why it had to be during my class though, I'll never know. Anyways, let's begin," she clapped her hands together. "Right, well, can I get everyone to stand up and line up along the back wall please. Thank you," she said as the students obliged.
Remus couldn't help but wonder what was next. Professor Whyng was not thrilled about the current situation though, that he could tell.
"To help you all learn to get better acquainted with someone of the better sex who will be your 'mate-'"
Immediate sounds of protest and confusion entered the room.
"We're having sex?" cried one Hufflepuff girl by the name of Charity McMillan.
"What do you mean mate?" snapped Lily, casting James a dark look as he gave her a rather suggestive nudge.
"Hold on everyone," Professor Whyng said, looking very annoyed. "I will explain later. However, for now, these are your assigned seats for the rest of the year, so get used to them. Alright, when I call you forward- one boy, and one girl- take your seats next to each other. Yes, Ms. Evans, what is it?"
Lily had her hand in the air, and a frantic look on her face. "Did you choose the partners, Professor, and we had no say?"
"Yes, I did. Though I shouldn't see why that should matter. This class gets along surprisingly well with one another, so it really shouldn't matter who I pair you with. Now, let me continue. Mr. McGrath and Ms. Walsh, up here please. Next, Ms. McMillan and Mr. Hogan." The students took their seats. "Mr. Black and Ms. Flynn, you're next." Remus saw Sirius smile confidently, and Ruby smile nervously. I wonder who I'll be paired with? Remus thought, looking at the remaining girls- Artemis, Lily, Brava, Aliza, Gwen, and Joy. "Next is Mr. Pettigrew and Ms. Flavius." Peter went red very quickly. Remus had known that his friend had had a crush on the blonde Hufflepuff for awhile, but had been so far much too nervous to actually say anything to her. The opportunity was prime for Peter, and Remus sincerely hoped that he'd make the best of it. He listened to her go through the next three couples, and watched their various expressions. Two all Hufflepuff ones, and Brava was with Hiroshima. He looked around. Only he, James, Lily, and Artemis were left. Who would he get to be with? Before he knew it, his name was being called. "Mr. Lupin and Ms. Xenoi, right here, please. Which leaves Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans paired together. You can take the desk next to Mr. Lupin."
"Back where we started, huh?" Artemis joked as the pair sat down in, miraculously enough, the same desks.
"Looks like it," Remus replied. It also looked like Lily was trying to get her chair as far away as possible from James'. Remus would know what he, Sirius, and Peter would be hearing about all year- the joy of sitting next to Ms. Lily Evans. Fun stuff.
Professor Whyng stepped in front of the class. "Now that you're seated, I'll explain what all's happening this year. Every Monday, Potions class will become 'General Sexual Education Class.'" The students looked at her, clearly baffled. Whyng, although pretty groovy, as far as teachers will go, was still very stern. Besides, Remus thought, why were they doing it during Potions class? "As you may have heard Madame Pomfrey saying, the Ministry is now requiring the class. Why you all need to learn what a vagina and clitoris exactly is is beyond me though." Some students snickered. The professor and nurse raised eyebrows at each other questioningly. "Now, that's another topic I want to bring up. You're all sixteen, or thereabout. Saying words for different genitalia parts shouldn't be 'amusing,' or whatever," Professor Whyng dryly said. "So, for our first project- Poppy, can you get them for me?- you and your partner will have just been married, and will have just had your first baby. For practical purposes, we aren't giving you lot real babies, or even baby animals for that matter. Namely, because the Control of Magical Creatures Department would be after my blood. However, you will be getting 'Flour Sack babies,' a Muggle idea that the Professor suggested to use.
"You'll name your baby, and will have to take care of it with your partner until the last day before Christmas break. The sex will be chosen at random. Madame Pomfrey will hand them out," Professor Whyng explained as Madame Pomfrey wheeled in a cart of flour bags. Remus quickly counted them, but a Hufflepuff girl by the name of Meriwether asked what he was thinking.
"Professor? There seems to be more bags then necessary, as we're only in nine couples…" Meriwether wondered.
"Er, yes well, you see, you and your partner will be picking out a card that says either boy or girl on it, and there's also three sets of twins, and one, um, set of triplets for the exceptionally lucky couple," Professor Whyng explained, then began going about the classroom.
Remus watched as Asher and Meri, Fulvio and Charity, and Sirius and Ruby all chose 'singles'. Sirius had let Ruby choose the card, and she had picked a boy. Next up was Peter. Gwen chose the card, and turned it over. Remus saw her face twitch funnily before showing the card to Professor Whyng and saying, "Triplets, please."
"Way to go Peter!" Sirius cried, reaching behind Ruby to thump his friend on the back. "Always knew you had the right stuff!" The whole class, including Professor Whyng laughed appreciatively at Sirius' humor. Madame Pomfrey smiled as she wrote it down on her clipboard. Aimo and Joy proceeded to pick a baby girl, Hiroshima and Brava then got twin boys, and then Fadil and Aliza got twins- a boy and girl. Next up, were Remus and Artemis.
Why did she feel so silly sitting next to Remus, about to pick the card for their "child?" Artemis thought. It's not like we're actually doing the dirty. She turned it over, and swallowed. "Twins- girls," she told everyone. Damnit, she thought. She really wasn't looking forward to taking care of just one flour sack, but two? That's ridiculous. James and Lily picked a baby boy as she and Remus looked at the two sacks in front of them. Professor Whyng checked the time.
"Well, we have about fifteen minutes until the bell. Take the time to name your sack- er, baby or babies, and I'll ask you to report by the end of the class." She and Madame Pomfrey immediately went into a quiet conversation.
Artemis and Remus looked at the sacks in front of them. Artemis made a face at them. "So, what do you wanna name them?" Remus finally asked, as the chatter from the classroom continued.
Artemis shrugged. "How about Selene?"
"Okay, that works."
"Alright, you think of something now."
"Um… er…" Artemis watched Remus struggle to think of a name.
"I think we should call him Harry," Lily insisted to James, motioning at the flour bag. Artemis looked over at them.
"Why Harry though? What's wrong with James?"
Lily snorted. "Gee, I wonder," she snapped.
"Don't be so uppity, Lils. Harry can be his middle name if you want."
"Don't call me Lils, James. You know I hate it."
"But why?"
"I just do.."
"There has to be a better reason then that. Anyways, I think we should call him James."
"Fine. Whatever. Just call him James. I don't feel like arguing. And it's not like we'll ever be having a real baby between us anyways…"
Artemis' attention wandered back to Remus, who was still staring at the bag. "What about Ylva?" he suggested. Artemis guessed that the look on her face was one of disgust, because Remus quickly said, "Oh, sorry, er, maybe not… um…"
Artemis sighed. "Ylva's fine, Remus. Wherever did you come up with it though?" she asked.
Remus shrugged. "I read a lot," he explained. "Names pop up." He leaned forward and poked Sirius. "Hey, did you name it yet?" he asked.
Sirius gave Remus a condescending look. "'It' is a boy, whose name happens to be Horatio Wesley Black. Ruby chose a name, and I chose one, and we put them together. What did you and Artemis decide?"
"Selene and Ylva. She chose one, I chose the other," Remus explained.
Meanwhile, Artemis was asking Brava what she and Hiroshima had named their twins. "Faramir and Ford," Brava answered. "What do you suppose Peter and Gwen'll come up with for theirs?"
Artemis shrugged. "Who knows?" She listened to some groups around them argue.
"This has been a weird class," Brava said. "Don't worry though, Transfiguration with McGonagall should be a normal class."
"Right," Artemis said, nodding. She felt something poking her in the back. She turned back around. "What is it, Remus?" she said, smiling at his broody look.
"We have to decide on a last name, since we're 'married.' Yours, mine, or both?" he informed her.
"Oh, they can have yours. Selene and Ylva Lupin sound much better than Selene and Ylva Xenoi, or Selene and Ylva Lupin-Xenoi, or any other variation of the name," she decided. Remus blushed slightly at this minor compliment.
The minutes passed, and finally Professor Whyng stood up in front of the class. "Alright, attention please," she said. "When I call your names, tell me what you've decided to call your baby. Asher and Meri?"
"Mercutio McGrath."
"Fulvio and Charity?"
"Lina Hogan-McMillan." The couple looked angrily at each other. And Hufflepuffs normally get along, Remus thought with wonder.
"Sirius and Ruby?"
"Horatio Wesley Black."
"Peter and Gwenaelle?"
"Galadriel Faye, Amelia Blair, and Tybalt Pettigrew," Gwen breathily answered. Professor Whyng scribbled the names down.
"Right. Aimo and Joy?"
"Trillian White."
"Hiroshima and Brava?"
"Faramir and Ford Huang."
"Fadil and Aliza?"
"Tim and Tess MacDermott."
"Remus and Artemis?"
"Selene and Ylva Lupin," Remus answered for them.
"And James and Lily?"
"James Harry Potter II," James answered proudly. Lily made a face. Professor Whyng merely said, "Not surprised at all…" as she wrote it down.
"Right well, real quick before you go to your next class- make sure that you take care of your 'babies.' I have my ways of knowing," she said, just as the bell rang. The students filed out.
"You actually named a sack of flour after you, Prongs?" Sirius asked incredulously as the group walked out.
"Well, yeah, of course," James replied, holding the sack close. Remus and Artemis each had one, and Peter had all three as Gwen was off to Herbology with the other two as the Gryffindors went back to the Common Room for study hall. "But if I may ask, Moony, 'Ylva?'" James said.
Remus shrugged. "I like it," he simply said as they began climbing the stairs. "At least I didn't name it after myself."
"Well, that would've been weird naming a girl flour sack 'Remus,'" Sirius said. "Anyways, what should we do now? We have, quote, unquote, 'study-hall' right now, and no homework to speak of!"
"Go up to the common room, obviously," Lily told him icily. "That or the library. Don't you lot remember last time you tried to do something someplace other then there? Sirius, what on earth are you doing?" Lily asked, looking at the boy.
Sirius was currently balancing "Horatio" on his head as he walked up the stairs. "Just playing with the flour sack baby. Is there something wrong with that Ms. Evans?" Lily frowned, and sped up her pace to get away from the boys. "She's so touchy," Sirius commented as they continued up to the Common Room. At the portrait, James spoke the password, and they all went inside.
"That password reminded me," Remus said, as they took seats around the fireplace. "At the prefect meeting, Arwen and Richard said there's to be a Halloween dance. They also wanted me to, uh, tell you two," he was now looking sternly at Sirius and James, "That they will not be tolerating any pranks, spiking of drinks, or anything along those lines."
James and Sirius looked absolutely thunderstruck. "Us? Throw a prank? My dear Moony, do you know who you're speaking to?"
"I, for one, am flummoxed and flabbergasted."
"To say the least."
"Quite."
Artemis watched the scene entail, then finally asked, "Are we allowed to go outside during the study hall? It's a nice day out, and I'd like to go down by the lake."
Sirius shrugged. "Sure. I don't see why not. Won't you need help finding Transfiguration though?"
Artemis thought for a moment as she walked over to the portrait hole with her bookbag. "No," she softly said. "I think I'll manage, thanks anyways though, Sirius. Remus? Be a doll and watch the flour sack for me," she wistfully said, walking out of the portrait.
What's wrong, Artemis? She thought to herself. She had suddenly felt very lonely with the boys' talk of pranking, and was vaguely reminded of some boys in her school back at W.C.A.M. Walking downstairs, she wondered just how well she would fit in. So far so good, she thought. She had made quite a few friends. Well, were they really friends yet, or just acquaintances? She had hardly known any of them for more then a few days, and even though she had spent a day with Sirius shopping, she hadn't really gotten to know him that well. She walked outside, and headed straight for a tree by the lake. She sat down, propping her elbows on her knees, and cradled her chin in her hands. It's ridiculous that I'm feeling depressed, she thought. But I even miss Cara and Dakota as much as I do Ruth and Hartwin. Should I have asked Mom and Dad to be able to stay at W.C.A.M.? Could I have? Yes, it is more practical to be at Hogwarts, and travel costs are virtually non-existent, but still… She mulled things over as she unbraided her hair and let it flip about in the wind.
Up in the common room, Remus was by the window, looking out at Artemis' figure by the lakeside nervously. "Remus, she's fine, don't worry," said James, coming over to pat his shoulder.
Remus frowned. "Unless she's on her period, which I can tell she's not," he tapped his nose, "then that's the most outrageous mood swing I've ever witnessed. She was laughing one minute, and now she's sulking."
"Then go cheer up the Future Mrs. Lupin," Sirius said with a broad smile.
"Cute, Sirius," Remus snapped. "What am I supposed to do, though? Just go down and start talking to her?"
"Well, yeah!" James and Sirius chorused.
Remus smiled at his two friends and shook his head. "Alright, you talked me into it. Come down as back up though?"
"Of course!" Sirius said, smiling insanely. "Wanna come, Prongs?"
"I'd love to. However, Mom wanted me to write her as soon as I could. And, considering that we still have Transfiguration to go through, I doubt there'll be much time tonight. Have fun though, Remus!" he encouraged his friend before walking up the stairs.
"Peter, will you watch the sacks for us?" Sirius asked as he and Remus crawled out the portrait hole.
"Sure," Peter said with a smile before reaching for his book. He watched his friends climb out the hole, and couldn't help but think that for once he'd have a quiet common room to himself. He sighed contentedly, and settled back.
Remus and Sirius raced down to the lake. Slowing up, Sirius shoved Remus forward towards the brunette girl as they hid behind the bushes. Remus nervously walked over, glancing back once at his friend. Sirius gave him the thumbs up, before motioning for him to continue on. Taking a deep breath, and straightening his shoulders, Remus walked bravely on. He sat down next to Artemis. "Your hair is loose," he lamely began.
She looked at him sadly. Were those tears brimming up in her eyes. She smiled weakly. "Nice observation, Remus," she said, looking back to the lake.
"It's pretty down," Remus lamely continued. Fuck, he thought. I've dug a hole, but I can't go now. He reached over and ran a hand down through it carefully. "You should leave it like this more often," he said.
"How would you know I don't?" Artemis snapped. "You've barely known me for twenty-four hours. For all I know, you and everyone else may not even like me."
Remus watched a tear run down her face as he sat back, silently thinking. So that's it, she's homesick, and self-conscious about not being liked. Sounds familiar… he thought, thinking back to hi first year, where, due to his condition, he felt he'd be hopeless at making friends. He remembered how Sirius and James had then called him a stupid git for thinking that, and had proceeded to invite him to go TPing the common room with them and Peter. However, he figured this was not the correct approach for dealing with girls. Remus tentatively arm around Artemis thin shoulders. "Don't say things like that," he said, resting his cheek on the top of her head when he noticed she hadn't made any attempts to move away. "Of course we like you. Believe you me, when James and Sirius don't like anyone- and Lily, for that matter- it's obvious. They like you just fine." He moved closer to her. Although he couldn't see Artemis' face, he could feel her body shuddering slightly from repressed tears. They sat for a moment.
"Are you sure?" Artemis asked.
"Positive," Remus answered.
"Now I feel really dumb," Artemis said, Remus looked down and saw her frowning.
"Nah, don't think like that," he told her. "These things happen." To his surprise, he felt Artemis lean into him.
"I miss Ruth though," she told him, looking out at the lake. "I've known her for forever. We should be sharing a dorm together right now, along with Cara and Dakota." She felt a fresh wave of tears coming on. Determined not to cry- especially in front of a boy- she wiped them from her eyes with the edge of her school sweater.
"Kerchief?" Remus offered, pulling one from his robes.
Laughing softly, Artemis took it and blew her nose. "You'll probably not be wanting this back," she said, looking at its contents and making a face.
Remus gave a hearty laugh. "Even if it wasn't like that, I'd say keep it. I always carry some on me anyways. Kerchiefs aren't only good for noses you know- you can dry things, tie them into little bags for herbs…" he stopped upon seeing Artemis' amused smile. "And now you think I'm a total nerd," he sighed.
It was Artemis' turn to laugh. She threw an arm around his shoulders. "Oh, Remus, don't worry about it. We can be nerds together if nothing else."
"Can I be a nerd with you?" Sirius asked from behind Artemis.
She looked up into his smiling face. "I think you're too cool to lower to our level," she joked, smiling back.
Sirius gently rubbed a tear from under her eye. "Artemis, you really shouldn't cry. You got Remus into a right fit," he told Artemis, taking a seat beside her. Sirius quietly noted that the two still had their arms around one another.
"Did he now?" she asked, smiling bemusedly at Remus, who gulped and looked at first rather pale, and then very red.
Sirius grinned wickedly. "That's right," piped in the dark haired teenager. "Thankfully he didn't mess up the cheering up process completely though," Sirius persisted, ignoring the death glare Remus was now issuing him. Sirius leaned in to Artemis, and whispered confidentially, "He hasn't had much experience in the female department." Remus frowned. "Or the male department either, come to think of it," Sirius then added.
"Sirius, you're walking on very thin ice my friend," Remus warned.
"Did I touch a soft spot?" Sirius asked, leaning over Artemis to give his friend a devilish look. "There's nothing wrong with being gay- or bi, for that matter- Moony."
Artemis was beginning to feel very awkward. A conversation changer may be needed. Or her lack of presence. She cleared her throat. The boys continued to ignore her.
"What have you done with a girl anyway, Moony?" Sirius asked, leaning back to look up into the clear sky.
"As if that's any of your business," Remus snapped.
"In other words… nothing," Sirius answered back. "You're just jealous that I've done more than you have with both sexes, Moony," he said, sticking his tongue out playfully.
"I thought you two were friends," Artemis cut in as Remus was opening his mouth to retort. "Or do boys always act like this?" she raised an eyebrow, looking from one to the other.
"We're always like this, don't worry," Remus said, giving a reassuring smile. Artemis looked at him skeptically. "Honest!" he cried.
Sirius checked his watch. "Well, would you look at the time!" he said, standing up. "Up next, Transfiguration with McGonagall." He held out his hands to Artemis and Remus. "Hand up?" he offered.
Laughing, Artemis and Remus finally removed their arms from around the others' shoulders and let Sirius pull them both up. They slung their books bags over their shoulders, and headed back up to the castle. Artemis, feeling considerably better and relieved, Sirius feeling very satisfied with the way things played out, and Remus feeling happy that that was over. However, both he and Artemis were very curious about Sirius' statement about doing things with both sexes. The pair both silently figured that he was bluffing, but there was that bit of doubt. Sirius was, of course, extremely good looking, and Remus, more so then Artemis, knew that Sirius had never passed by an opportunity in the last year and a half to… experiment. Remus gave his friend a sideways glance from over Artemis. Sirius and her were casually talking about class as Remus wondered just what his friend was up to. Curiouser and curioser…
***
So sorry for the long ass wait. The chapter was not easy to write, and I had to leave for a week to go college shopping out of town before finishing. Even now, I'm not sure if it's quite what I had in mind. I wanted the question of Sirius' sexual preferences to come up a bit later (ie, in their seventh year), but somehow it was thrown into the mix here, beginning with things from Lily's perspective.
The flour sack sequence was very spur of the moment. Very. I do have reasonings behind every name for the "sacks" though. They're all favorite characters of mine from various movies, books, plays, anime, etc. Except for James and Lily's, obviously, and Remus and Artemis'. And if anyone can tell me then meaning of the name "Ylva" I'll… I dunno. If you don't already have a character in here, you can be a character (I'll contact you), or if you already do, I'll work even harder on getting the drawing of your character finished then I already am! (Yes, I'm a nutcase.) Anyways, here's the origins of names:
Mercutio McGrath: Romeo and Juliet
Lina Hogan-McMillan: from Lina Inverse, the main character in the anime Slayers
Horatio Wesley Black: Horatio's from Hamlet, and Wesley's from the Princess Bride
Galadriel Faye: from The Lord of the Rings; from the anime Cowboy Bebop (Faye Valentine)
Amelia Blair: from the anime Slayers (Amelia Wil Tess Saillune); just a name associated with witches (The Blair Witch Project)
Tybalt: from Romeo and Juliet
Trillian: from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series (Tricia McMillan, Trillian, etc.)
Faramir: from the Lord of the Rings
Ford: from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series (Ford Prefect)
Tim and Tess: are dormice twins from Redwall and Mattimeo by Brian Jacques
Selene: a moon goddess
Ylva: for you to figure out! ^_^
James Harry: I should think the James should be most obvious. I can't quite figure out where the Harry came from though… ^_^