Chapter 3

"Hey Moony. Get up. Breakfast time." Came James' voice through a thick fog.

It had taken Remus hours to fall asleep and it felt like he hadn't slept at all. He rolled over and tugged his pillow over his head as he made grumbling noises.

"Now yesterday you were all excited to be back." Sirius said as he pulled back the hangings of Remus' bed.

"That was yesterday." He answered through a yawn.

"Well you better get moving. What kind of example are you setting for the first years? A prefect, missing the first classes of term." James said purposely.

Knowing James was right, Remus sat up slowly and ran a hand through his brown hair.

"I'm up. I'm up." He said.

"Hurry and get ready. We'll meet you downstairs." Sirius said over his shoulder as he headed toward the door.

"Where's Wormtail?" Remus called.

"Already at breakfast. Come on then." James said as he followed Sirius out the door.

Remus lay back down and flung an arm over his eyes to block out the bright morning sun. I think I'm more tired now than I was when I went to bed he thought with exasperation. Damn females. Which class did we have with Ravenclaw?

Quickly he sat up and grabbed his schedule from his bedside table. Charms with Hufflepuff at 8:30. Lunch at 11:30. Herbology with Slytherin at 12:30. Astronomy with Ravenclaw at 10:00.

It's going to be a late night, he thought tiredly.

He glanced at his clock and started when he realized it was already 8:00.

Shit, Remus thought as he jumped from the bed and began pulling his robes on. He ran his fingers through his hair, grabbed his book bag and dashed downstairs to join the other Marauders.

Aurora's breath caught as she watched the guy from the train walk across the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table. Oh Merlin. There he is! He's so gorgeous. Look how gracefully he moves. Like a jungle cat.

She could see him smiling as he walked and she took in his rakishly handsome appearance. His shaggy light brown hair made your fingers itch to touch it as his long legs carried him deftly across the floor. She also couldn't help but notice how much taller and more powerfully built he was the other sixth year boys.

She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since the incident on the Hogwarts Express. He'd been very gracious with her, offering to carry her trunk had been very thoughtful and she had instantly regretted not taking him up on it. Anything to just be in his presence longer because the second she had looked into his stormy gray eyes she'd lost all the air in her lung and blood had heated.

Gryffindor, she thought as she pulled her schedule from her bag to find out when she'd see him again. Not till tonight in Astronomy.

"Aurora? Are you listening to me?" Her friend Avery asked her.

Aurora snapped her attention to her staring friend and smiled apologetically. "No. Sorry. Avery? Who is that guy? Walking to the Gryffindor table." She asked as she discreetly pointed.

Avery looked to see who she was talking about and turned around grinning.

"Why?" She asked.

"No reason." Aurora replied casually. "I just bumped into him on the train, that's all. I'd never seen him before so I was wondering who he is."

"I've never talked to him. I don't know too much about him but his name is Remus Lupin. He's a Gryffindor prefect. Stellar with Defense Against the Dark Arts. The word is he likes to read and listen to music. He's the laid back and calm sort, you know. And he doesn't have a girlfriend." Avery said.

Aurora knew Avery knew everything about everybody but this just astounded her.

"How in the world did you know all that if you have never spoken to the guy?" She asked incredulously.

"I pay attention to what people say." Avery answered defensively.

"Ummhmm. We better go. We'll be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Aurora said as she looked at her watch.

He's single, she thought happily as she gathered up her book bag.

Remus and the other Marauders walked down the common room staircase to prepare for Astronomy, since it had to be taken at night they had had a few hours off before having to make their way to the tower but they had used the time to begin working on their homework that had already been assigned, much to the students complaints.

Charms had went well. Everyone liked Professor Flitwick, a young professor who was excellent with his students and of course Gryffindor had never had problems with Hufflepuff.

Now Herbology on the other hand had been a different story. The first problem had been Slytherin. They were a bunch of self righteous gits. And those self righteous gits were the reason they had so much homework.

The Slytherins had chopped up some of the aconite and were throwing it around the room. Professor Dittany had been furious and assigned the whole class a three parchment essay on the properties and dangers of aconite.

Now they were off to their third and final lesson with Ravenclaw. Remus couldn't deny he was feeling anxious. He had looked for the mystery blonde girl all day but hadn't seen her yet. It looked like James was right about her being in Ravenclaw.

The four climbed the stairs and emerged on the landing of the tower finding Professor Sinistra waiting at the top to greet them. She was another young teacher who was also immensely likeable.

"Good morning boys." She smiled happily. "Welcome back. You'll find the tables inside labeled with your names. Please sit in the corresponding place."

They mumbled their hellos and thanks as they walked in the door. They searched the tables quickly and found their seats.

Remus sat and gazed casually around the room until the last bell rang. The door closed and he shifted his gaze to it. The air whooshed out of his lungs as his eyes fell on the girl from the train. And she was walking to the only available seat left in the room, which was right across from him.

She smiled at the person next to her as she sat down but then quickly focused her attention on the teacher.

See, she doesn't even remember you, he chided himself for being a fool.

"Welcome to Astronomy six. I would like you to look across the table to the person sitting opposite to you." Professor Sinistra said.

Remus shyly looked at the blonde haired girl as she turned her beaming smile to him.

"I would like you to meet your new Astronomy partner. Please take a moment to introduce yourselves as you're going to be working closely for the year." She continued.

Remus felt the bottom drop out of his stomach and his mouth drop open slightly and couldn't help but notice the change in her expression as well.

She's horrified. Just great Moony. Perfect.