James rolled his eyes. "Hah hah. No, seriously. He's in love. When I snapped him out of his daydream today, I teased him about Mildred Blaine in Potions and he went bright red."
Sirius grimaced. "You might just have it. He's got the same dreamy look you get whenever someone mentions Lily Evans."
James smiled. "Ah, Evans…" he sighed. "One day, you will be mine…"
"I rest my case!" laughed Sirius. "But I don't think he's got the hots for four-eyes Blaine."
James scowled. "And I had it all figured out so neatly, too," he complained. "All right, o wise one, why not?"
Sirius grinned at his friend's annoyance.
"Well, dunce, have you ever watched him in Potions? He never even so much as glances in her direction, and that's pretty hard, seeing as he's sat right behind her."
James groaned, flinging himself back onto his bed.
"You've got an answer for everything, haven't you, Black?" he said morosely.
"Well," added Sirius, "if you actually sat next to him in Potions, you might have noticed."
James sat up slowly.
"I knew there had to be a reason I've been so damn bored lately…" he mused. Grinning, he explained. "We've had no new challenges for the Marauders!"
Light dawned on Sirius' irritatingly handsome visage.
"Yes!" he exclaimed, delighted. "We'll discover who Moony's mooning over!"
"And tease him unmercifully?" asked James, hopefully.
"'course!" laughed Sirius. "That goes without saying!"
It was now fully dark, and Remus lay curled up just inside the entrance to the Whomping Willow's secret tunnel. He'd cried- bitter tears of anger, frustration and shame- but now he lay still, finding the feel of the cool earth against his cheek oddly soothing.
Why did he find it so hard? So damn hard…
He'd sworn not to let it show. Never to let it show.
Never to tell anyone…
He was enough of a freak already, he didn't need…that…not on top of everything else.
Remus sighed. Slowly sitting up, he hugged his knees, bowing his head.
That was how James and Sirius found him.
They both crawled in without speaking, and sat down opposite him. There was silence for a while, then James spoke.
"Peter's already asleep…"
Remus gave a short laugh, not looking up. "He could sleep for England, that kid." He smiled briefly.
"Sorry, Remus…" proffered Sirius, and it was so unlike him to use Remus' first name that the boy looked up, startled.
He saw Sirius' apologetic face dimly in the moonlight filtering through the tunnel entrance, and a golden glow started spreading through him.
Remus smiled.
"It's ok, Sirius. I should be the one apologising for being such an idiot. I guess I'm just not feeling very well today."
He stretched, and James grinned. "We good to go?" he asked.
Sirius looked at Remus.
"I don't know. Are we good to go, Moony?"
Remus laughed.
"Yes! Now let's get back before we're caught in the grounds after hours…"
"Ladies first," grinned Sirius, and fled through the hole between the roots as Remus swung a good-humoured punch at his head.
Throughout the entirety of the next week, James and Sirius tried to worm out of Remus just exactly who he was daydreaming about, but to no avail.
They tried The Direct Approach:
"So, who's this bird you've been mooning over?" asked James in the corridor between classed. Other than turning a nice patriotic Gryffindor red, Remus appeared not to hear.
"You pillock!" muttered Sirius, digging James in the ribs. "He's not exactly going to tell us, is he?"
James merely shrugged good-humouredly.
"Well, it was worth a shot…
Subtle Allusions:
"Is she pretty, Moony? 'Cause I'm looking for a new girlfriend." Again, from James.
Sirius was more Circumspect:
"Howe the hell are you doing so well in everything, Lupin? You've got to have a study partner, right?"
Remus looked at him oddly.
"Strangely enough, the last time I checked, I had three, you moron. Whet have you been doing in our study sessions, sleeping?"
James snorted. "And that works so much better than asking him straight. Oh, yes. All hail Padfoot, master of underhanded subtleties."
Peter looked oddly at James. "Asking him what?"
The boy grinned. "Oh, Moony's been slipping off into fairyland for hours at a time. We think he's drooling over some girl."
He was rewarded, as always, by a rather flushed-looking Remus, whose head snapped up from the daisy he was pulling apart.
"You're still picking at that? Quit it, Prongs! It's got nothing to do with a girl!"
James saw his chance.
"Oh yeah?" he countered. "Then you won't mind a little game of spin the goblet tonight…"
"What?" Remus squeaked, practically levitating a couple of inches.
Sirius grinned. "Well, we've got to get you some action somehow…"
Remus looked from grinning face to grinning face.
"I've got no choice, have I?" he asked weakly.
"None whatsoever," replied James happily.