Disclaimer- For those of you with the I.Q of a flubberworm, no, I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N-Wow guys, sorry for the wait, but this chapter was particularly hard to write. I had this big plan for Lily and James, but it just didn't work out. Oh well, there's always chapter seven…Also, I had to change the rating on it, just for this chapter, there's just bit of sexual innuendo that I know I wouldn't want my ten year old reading, hence, PG-13
This explores Remus and Gwen a bit more, but no worries. It'll be back to being full blown Lily and James, for I have big plans for those two…taps finger tips together and laughs evilly And of course, a big thanks to all my reviewers, especially Laydemom, Jen, and my darling beta, Lamia Lupus!
EyesofEmerald- I have no idea how long this thing is going to be, I don't have the whole thing written out. I tend to let my characters take me where they want to go, thereby making it difficult to estimate an exact length. I can guarantee at least another three chapters though. At least.
And now, without further adieu…
The Love BeastTo say that the students were flabbergasted at Lily and James's newfound alliance would be an understatement. One sixth year actually spilled eggs down his front the first time the pair strolled into the Great Hall together, talking amiably about cauldron bottoms. Even the teachers looked a bit taken aback by their friendship.
Ignoring the stares they were getting from the majority of students, Lily made her way toward the Gryffindor table, where she spotted the other three Marauders, Linnea, and Gwendolyn. She took a seat next to Remus and greeted the assembled group as James sat opposite her.
" Hey Gwen, watcha doing over here?"
Gwen smirked, and ran a hand through her shoulder length ash blonde hair.
"Thought I'd see what life's like on the other side."
Remus gave his girlfriend a warm smile.
"You know you're welcome here whenever you like. So long as you can brave Sirius's abysmal table manners."
"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed, spraying the table with bits of half chewed bacon. "I resent that!"
"So Gwen…" Lily said, completely ignoring Sirius's outburst. "Do you have any plans for next Saturday? First Hogsmeade weekend you know."
"I was planning a little thing for me and Remus…why?"
"Linnea and I are going to have a girls day out kind of thing, I was wondering if you wanted to go. But if you have plans…"
"You should go with them, Gwendolyn," Remus said. "I don't think I'll be able to make it next Saturday."
Gwendolyn's blue eyes flashed dangerously.
"But Remus! That's our six month anniversary…. or have you forgotten?"
"No! No…I didn't forget. It's just that, er…my mum is sick again, so I'll be going home to visit…"
"Oh," Gwendolyn's eyes softened. "Well, I'll come with you then. It must be hard for you to see her like that."
"No! Er…that's not a good idea, because…er…" Remus shot a pleading look at his fellow Marauders as Gwen began to glare once more.
All three burst into an explanation.
"No that's not a—"
"…highly contagious—"
"…goobers out the nose—"
"…like a mad cow really!"
"Remus, what's going on?!" Gwen demanded.
The young werewolf looked helplessly down at his plate. He knew how the truth would sound…
Well, you see Gwen. It's no big deal, really…it's just that once a month I change into a hairy, man-eating monster. You don't mind, do you?
No, he couldn't stand to see the look of horror that would cross her delicate features.
Realizing that Remus wasn't going to answer Gwendolyn's question, James unwisely jumped into the conversation.
Unfortunately, he did not put much thought into his answer.
"Nothing's going on Gwen! See, Remus here is really excited about your anniversary, and he planned out a big secret surprise for you. A secret surprise. As in hush hush, top security, 007, secret surprise. So, before you get your knickers in a twist, Remus will be there on Saturday, with his secret surprise."
"Oh Remus, really?!" Gwen squealed, forgetting all about her earlier suspicions. "I adore surprises. Especially secret ones!"
Sirius draped an arm over Remus's shoulder and used his fingers to pinch his friend's lips into a smile while his other hand nodded Moony's head.
The three girls burst into a fit of giggles and immediately began bouncing gift ideas off each other. None of them even noticed the forced smiles on the Marauders faces.
"Hey James," Remus asked in barely controlled anger, "I left my book upstairs, can you help me find it?"
"What or you on about? Your bag's right—oof! Oh, right…that book."
James stood quickly from the table and headed out of the Hall with Remus.
"I'm going to help them with that as well," Peter mumbled lamely. "You coming Sirius?"
"I'm not finished yet…" Padfoot answered, looking down longingly at the crumbs remaining on his plate.
"Sirius."
"Fine," the hungry boy huffed, reluctantly heading out of the dining area. "How many people does it take to find a bloody book? Honestly…"
The four boys trooped up to Gryffindor Tower in silence until they reached the common room, where Remus exploded at James.
"WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU THINKING! HOW IN MERLIN'S NAME AM SUPPOSED TO BE IN HOGSMEADE ON SATURDAY! WITH A SURPRISE! ARE YOU SMOKING GILLYWEED AGAIN?! I TOLD YOU TO LAY OFF! IT GOES STRAIGHT TO YOUR BRAIN AND YOUR JUDGEMENT IS IMPAIRED FOR DAYS!"
"Settle Moony, settle," James said, making calming gestures with his hands as if he were dealing with a three-headed dog. "You are going to be there on Saturday. Well, not you per say, but…you," James finished lamely.
Remus, Sirius, and Peter all looked as if a bludger had just slammed full force into their stomachs, such was their astonishment.
"Now, before you haul me off to St. Mungo's, let me explain. I've been working on a prank that is somewhat…delicate…in nature-"
"You are not pranking my girlfriend as her surprise on our anniversary," Remus stated flatly.
"Of course not! How much of a dolt do you think I am?"
"Well-" Sirius started.
"That was a rhetorical question, Sirius."
"Wow Prongs! When did you learn that word?" Peter asked, looking at James in wonder.
"Well, this summer my mum was on one of her cleaning sprees and she was always buggering me to—"
"Hem hem."
"Oh, right. Sorry Remus. Anyway, long story short, I have a batch of polyjuice potion brewing in the Room of Requirement."
"Oh, right," Remus deadpanned. "So I'll just have on of you nitwits parading around as me on what should be the most romantic date of our relationship thus far? Not bloody likely…"
"Well…there is one other option…"
Remus looked at James expectantly.
"You could…tell her the truth?"
Remus sunk into a squishy armchair in despair, rubbing his hands across his pale face.
"Are you sure the potion will be ready by Saturday?"
James nodded. "All I need is a bit of you."
Silence rang through the room as Remus considered his options.
"Let's do it."
"Brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed, as the Marauders headed to their first class. "Can I do it? Can I? Can I?"
"Over my dead and decaying body." Remus stated darkly, with an after thought of, " James'll do it. And he will be on his best behavior…"
………………………………………………………………………………………………
And so for the rest of the week James desperately studied Remus's little quirks while Remus in turn told him almost everything about his relationship with Gwen.
Despite all of their preparation, though, James felt nothing could prepare him for Saturday.
"The things we do for a friend," James muttered, looking down at the glass in his hand.
After putting in a bit of Remus's hair, the potion had turned a frothy mocha color, much to James's chagrin. He hated coffee…
James quickly downed the potion, then winced in pain as his skin stared to bubble and reshape.
"Wicked."
James looked up to see the fuzzy form of Sirius in the doorway. He quickly removed his glasses and looked down at his body, now Remus's. His eyes widened as he took in his new form, and lingered on his lower half.
"Man…I know what they say about guys with big feet, but this is ridiculous!" James grinned.
Sirius looked down at the area to which James was referring and chuckled. "No wonder Gwen picked old Moony over me…"
"So Padfoot, what are your plans for today? Any special girl? Or are you continuing with the rotating door routine…"
"Actually, I was thinking about catching up Linnea…"
"Don't hurt her, mate," James warned. "She deserves more than a weekly appointment in a broom closet."
"You're right," Sirius chortled. "Perhaps I should schedule her in the astronomy tower…"
"I'm serious. You hurt Linnea, you hurt Lily, and somehow, it will all be my fault."
Sirius didn't respond, and instead looked at his watch.
"Uh, Prongs? Shouldn't you be going? You've already wasted five-"
But before Sirius could finish James/Remus was out the door.
He ran full speed all the way to the Entrance Hall, not caring that he'd never seen Remus run anywhere, and smacked straight into none other than Lily Evans.
"Oh, er, hey Evans," James/Remus said apologetically.
Lily looked at him quizzically, Remus never called her by her surname…only James did.
"Hello, Remus. Going to meet Gwen?"
James/Remus nodded, looking around the hall for the petite blonde.
"Well, don't let me keep you, but…have you by a chance seen James?"
James/Remus cocked his head to the side, wondering where Lily was going with that one, and hoping to Merlin it didn't mean what he thought it did.
"Why do you want to know?"
Lily blushed the faintest of pinks before answering, "Well, Sirius has gone of with Linnea, and now I'm kind of on my own. I figured he would be too, what with both you and Sirius having dates, so I thought we could grab a butterbeer or something…"
James had the strong urge to punch something. This may well be his only chance with Lily, and he was spending the day with someone else's girlfriend.
There was no doubt in his mind, Fate was a bitch.
Gwendolyn Schreiber scanned the Entrance Hall eagerly for Remus. He was late, which was highly unusual for him. James must be rubbing off on him…
Just then she saw Remus dash into the hall, smack into Lily. Another unusual thing, Gwen thought…Remus usually doesn't rush to get anywhere. He always said if it's worth getting to it's worth taking your time to get there.
All her worries were forgotten, though, as she admired her boyfriend. She simply adored the way his sandy hair falls into his eyes. Although she often thought she saw a secret hiding behind those wonderful grey orbs.
Remus turned away from Lily after a short time, and began scanning the hall for Gwen. Noticing this, she called out to him.
"Remus!"
He didn't respond, continuing to look about the hall. Puzzled, (as people tend to respond to their names being called at an excessive volume, right?), she tried again.
"Remus! Remus, over here!" She gave a little wave.
This time he spotted her, and made his way over.
"Ready, love?" he asked, holding out an arm for her.
She placed her hand in the crook of his elbow and nodded, ready for what should be one very romantic day.
James/Remus shook out a picnic blanket in a secluded area just past all the cottages in Hogsmeade. The weather had been unusually warm for late October, and the Marauders had decided a picnic would be best for the date, as it was away from the other students. The less everyone saw of Remus/James, the better.
"Oh Remus!" Gwen swooned. "This is so romantic, and everything smells wonderful. Where did you get all this food?"
"The house elves," James responded, grinning.
Gwen stretched out on her side on one side of the blanket, and patted the spot next to her for Remus.
James sat carefully on the opposite end of the blanket.
Gwen shot him a questioning look. "Well, let's eat shall we?"
Grateful she didn't put up a fuss about his location, he unpacked the food, letting her take firsts. He then helped himself to a piece of chicken, and loaded his plate with roast potatoes.
Gwen looked up from her own plate, eyeing Remus's choice of food.
"Since when do you like roast potatoes? You're always complaining about the skin…"
"Oh, er…guess I've grown a bit fonder of them recently…"
'Bugger!' James cursed to himself. 'Why had he never paid attention to Remus's eating habits before? What kind of friend was he, not knowing his friend didn't like potatoes…'
'The kind of friend who masquerades as another to save said friends arse…' James answered his mental question. 'And what is that on my shoulder?!'
James/Remus snapped out of his conversation with himself to find Gwen behind him, giving him a neck massage. He quickly jerked away. Remus would not be happy about this…
"What are you doing!" James asked.
Gwen moved a couple of inches away, looking hurt.
"You looked so tense over here by yourself, so I thought I'd relieve some of the stress."
James felt guilt pour through him. After all, Remus would probably really appreciate a massage on any other day.
"Sorry Gwen," he amended. "You just surprised me is all. Come on, let's do something else, okay?"
This apparently mollified her, for her blue eyes began to sparkle once more.
"Alright. Here, I have something for you."
The petite girl rummaged around in her big for a bit, and emerged with a small box wrapped in brown paper. She handed it to James, who simply stared at it. He definitely hadn't counted on the guilt of sharing all these moments with Gwen when it should have been Remus, had Gwen known the truth.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Open it!"
James carefully took off the paper, fighting every urge he had just to rip the paper off. He didn't think that would be very Remus-like. He removed the lid of the box and gasped.
"Oh my-wow Gwen! This is fantastic!"
For in his hand James/Remus held an immaculate gold watch. James flipped it over, and on the back he found an engraving; To remember the good times, it read.
James looked over to Gwen, who had once more sat herself almost on his lap.
"It's to remember our first kiss…"
Gwen placed a kiss on the corner of James's mouth.
"And our first more than kiss…"
She began nibbling on James's ear.
'No wonder Remus wants to keep this one…wait, no! This is wrong…I should not be doing this, and especially not enjoying it…this is all kinds of bad, the woman's out of control. She's a love beast!'
James shut his eyes, deciding it was best just to let her get it out of her system, and growing more uncomfortable by the second.
"And that time on James's bed…"
"Oh, yeah that time…" James said vaguely, lost in his own discomfort. Wait… "WHAT!!"
"I know!" Gwen giggled, snaking her arms around James/Remus's neck. "I thought it was great too. In fact, I wouldn't mind a repeat performance…"
With that Gwendolyn crushed her full lips onto James's, taking him completely off guard. He was too busy cursing the day he gave Remus the password to his private dorm to even care what she was doing. It wasn't until he felt her tongue brush his lips that he snapped back to reality. He quickly broke away, breathing hard from the effort of keeping Gwen off of him. The trick was to do this with out offending her…he had to ask himself, 'what would Remus do?'
"Gwen, sweetie," James cooed, wrapping Gwen up in a warm embrace. "You know there is nothing I would love more than to take away your innocence, (okay, maybe Remus wouldn't say that), but I got these éclairs especially for you, and let's not forget about your secret surprise…"
James held up an éclair for her, and Gwen leaned forward to take a bite.
"You're right," she relented.
James heaved a mental sigh of relief.
Fortunately for him, the next few hours went by much the same, she didn't even notice when he took another dose of polyjuice potion. Gwen did most of the talking, and James was shocked at some of the stories she recalled.
Let's just say he found a new respect for his werewolf friend.
James entered the common room that night (back in his own body, thank Merlin) to find Sirius and Peter waiting, Marauders Map and invisibility cloak at the ready.
"So," Peter asked. "How did it go?"
"It went," was James's clipped response. He then grabbed the cloak, throwing it over the other two boys and headed out of the common.
After all, a certain werewolf was expecting company.
A/N- I apologize once more for the wait, but I rewrote this thing at least six times. (The beginning at least.) Please read and review, and let me know what you think about the new perspective.
P.S. I have a new fic up, called "The Perfect Fit." It's a Harry/Ginny piece, and it rates a perfect 12 on the fluff-o-meter. Check it out!