Mischief Managed

"Do you think I should ask Evans to the Valentines' Ball?" James asked, staring longing at Lily Evans who was sat a few seats down at the breakfast table. Remus' lips curved slightly as he noticed Sirius roll his eyes and mouth " make him shut up"' at the starry ceiling. "You should definitely try" Peter told him excitedly. "Since you've been heads together, you seem to be getting along better." James nodded thoughtfully, "you're right Wormy, I will ask her after Potions." Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus, smirking, knowing exactly how it would go. Whilst, Lily and James' relationship had started to improve this year, she still made it obvious she was not a big fan of James. Remus had noticed she frequently rolled her eyes at her friends when he walked past ruffling his hair. Sirius yawned and stretched out, ruffling his own long dark hair lazily, clearly bored of the current conversation. As usual, this act made the other girls seated nearby eye him hopefully. "Hey Prongs, after you get hexed by Evans, you should ask Watson. Her and Max broke up." Remus froze, the piece of toast he held, dropped out of his hand. "Oh really? Maybe.." James muttered, not noticing Remus' reaction as his eyes were still glued to Lily. However, Sirius had. His smirk grew and his dark eyes sparkled as he noticed Remus' glare, "although, you may have to fight Moony for her – ow!"

During his first five years at Hogwarts, whilst his peers were starting to date, Remus had focused on his school work. Ever since, Dumbledore had entered his parents' small cottage in Wales and announced that Remus would be attending Hogwarts, he had decided that he should focus on his school work as a way of showing his appreciation for Dumbledore arranging everything that allowed him to be educated at Hogwarts. However, the real reason, he refused to date anyone was the fact he knew no one would wish to date a werewolf. Despite Sirius and James telling him that they did not mind and so it was unlikely that the right person for him would, he always turned the person down, stating he did not have time to date or that he just was not interested. However, during his fifth year, his refusal to date suddenly shifted after meeting fellow Gryffindor student; Vicky Watson.

Remus had first met her on the Express after their forth summer holiday. During the holidays, much to his parents and his surprise, he had received a Prefects' badge. Although he knew he should be pleased, he couldn't help feeling that Dumbledore had only given him the position so he could control James' and Sirius' behaviour. He entered the Express, feeling nervous about how they would react to his news; he knew they'd probably be excited as him being a prefect meant they could get away with more pranks. "Remus!" Lily called excitedly from inside the carriage she was sat in with a group of other Gryffindor girls, her green eyes shining with happiness, "I've heard you're the other Prefect! I'm so pleased it's you and not Potter!" He smiled shyly as she indicated that he should sit down next to her. He looked across at the two girls sat opposite him; Dorcus Meadows who had not yet changed out of her Muggle clothes was chatting animatedly to a girl he did not recognise. "Oh Vicky –Remus is the other Prefect" Lily nudged her friend gently with her foot to interrupt the conversation. Vicky turned her body so she was focusing on Lily. Her eyes flitted to Remus and she smiled at him, "Congrats – good luck with working with Lil". Remus suddenly felt very self-conscious; he hoped she wouldn't notice his shabby robes or his facial scars which had not been able to heal as well back home. "T-Thanks" he mumbled, looking at her face properly. She had long auburn hair and hazel eyes; he found himself blushing slightly as he noticed she was very pretty "Erm, I better find James and Sirius" he muttered to Lily before leaving their carriage in a rush. His heart did not stop racing until he entered the carriage James, Peter and Sirius were lounging in. "Where the hell have you been?" Sirius barked at him as he stood up to pull him into a hug. "I bumped into Lily" he told them, "I'm the new prefect". "Amazing news!" Sirius let out a bark like laugh and high fived James and Peter, "we will be able to get away with anything now! Shame about Evans being the other one though" Remus grinned slightly, "Yeah, now James will never stop asking me about her" "That's not true! I've moved on!" he exclaimed, before quickly adding "Did she mention me.?" Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius and sat next to him, finally feeling excited about the new year.

Vicky Watson tried hard to concentrate on the conversation Dorcus and Lily were having about the new school term. Despite her best efforts, her mind kept drifting back to Remus Lupin who had left their carriage fifteen minutes ago. Like everyone else at Hogwarts, she was aware of the Marauders and their pranks. Last year, she had been partners with Sirius in a few of their classes, leading to her getting to know him and James better. However, due to Lily hating the duo, Vicky, Dorcus and Marline rarely were around them and as a result, Vicky had not seen Remus that much throughout the years. According to Lily, he was the nicest out of the group but as he often spent time in the library or with the rest of the Marauders, Vicky had never had a chance to get to know him. One thing Lily had failed to mention was how good looking he was. Whilst, she had seen him around in classes or in the library, she had never properly seen him as close before. His dark brown hair had grown slightly over the summer, resulting in a fringe which suited him. As soon as her eyes met his light brown eyes, she felt butterflies in her stomach.