So sorry about the delay!
The first day of sixth year certainly started out interestingly enough. In his worries over Messalina and the secret he was keeping, Remus had forgotten to set his alarm and the other three depended upon him to wake them up in the mornings. It was Frank Longbottom, the seventh year, who woke them up when he passed their door on his way to breakfast and noticed that there were still loud snores within.
"Hey guys, you should get up now!" Frank called but none of them stirred. "Potter! Black! Pettigrew! Lupin!"
Peter stirred slightly and Sirius rolled over letting out a loud groan. "I need my beauty sleep, let me rest."
Frank sighed and walked across the room, pulling Lupin's curtains back from his bed only to find him still fast asleep. "Lupin!"
"Hm?" He groaned and opened his eyes which immediately widened when he noticed that Frank was wearing his robes and that most of his hair had dried from his shower. "What the hell? What time is it?"
"Time for breakfast, it's seven-thirty." Frank stated and Remus threw himself out of bed, getting his legs tangled in the covers and crashing to the ground in a pile of sheets. With adrenaline running through his still creaking bones, Remus managed to get himself free and ran into the bathroom slamming the door behind him. There was a crash from within and Frank chuckled as pushed Sirius out of his bed and he gave a rather lady-like shriek as he landed on the floor.
"Potter, Pettigrew get up!" Peter grumbled but got up and James burst into laughter over Sirius' state after he put his glasses on. In the bathroom Remus was getting dressed as quickly as he could, putting his pants on backwards and he couldn't put his tie on. He would have to go to the Great Hall and grab their schedules because Sirius would need a long shower and a half hour to do his hair and they won't know what class they would have to get to and at what time.
Remus burst out of the bathroom a moment later, his hair in all directions and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He grabbed his shoes from his battered trunk and hopped about the room putting them on.
"Merlin Remus, take your time!" Sirius yelled as he got up, strutting into the bathroom.
"I'm going to go get my schedule, I'll see you in the Great Hall!" He called as he began to run down the stairs, Frank Longbottom laughed and shaking his head walked out, closing the door behind him.
"Merlin, Moony's got an extra bit of spirit in his step this morning!" Sirius grumbled and James laughed.
"You do know why don't you? Lina's here that's why." The bespectacled boy stated, answering his own question matter-of-factly. "Do you think that she'll tell Lily how wonderful and ripped I am?"
"Yeah, good luck with that Prongs," Peter grinned as he pulled on a pair of trousers.
"It's going to happen this year I can feel it guys!" James cried, his eyes gleaming with hope.
Beneath them in the Common Room, Remus ran into someone at the entrance to the dormitory. He sent them flying backwards onto the landing and for a moment he thought in a panicked state that he had, in fact, killed whoever it was until he heard giggles.
"Messalina?"
"Merlin Rem, you sure do know how to sweep a girl off her feet," She muttered as she stood up, wiping the dust from her skirt and robes.
"Lina, I am so so so sorry!" He cried and began to fret about like a mother hen.
"I'm perfectly fine, believe me. And I brought your mail, the four of you got a huge book or something." She handed him a large book, holding onto her schedule. "Now please look at yourself, your shoes are on the wrong feet and your tie is in a knot."
Remus grinned, looking down at his crinkled tie and how the toes of his shoes were facing the wrong ways. The smell of the buttered bread got to him and for the first time in a few days he felt like he had an actual appetite to eat something, not just nibbling on things while his jaw stopped aching so badly. His voice was coming back as well, it wasn't so raspy anymore. He sat down on the stairs and changed his shoes and as they walked down through the Common Room, a few first years entered looking frazzled.
"Um Remus where is Charms?" A girl with frizzy blonde asked with wide eyes.
"Oh uh I still have to go get breakfast and plan my schedule so um-" Remus trailed off and ran a hand through his hair as he always did when he was nervous.
"I'll take them," Messalina offered and Remus raised his eyebrows, unbelieving. "Remus they're first years, I'm not going to take them to the dungeons or anything. Merlin, sometimes I think that you don't even know me."
Remus flinched slightly at the edge in her tone and nodded quickly. "Lina, you know I don't-"
"I was kidding, now go get your schedule before all the good classes are taken." She was only telling half the truth, it was beginning to get annoying how Remus merely assumed that she was going to do bad things to kids who hadn't even gone to one day of classes. She turned to the gaggle of kids in front of her and she realized that they must be almost the entire Gryffindor first years. She bowed to them and when she straightened, noticed that most of the kids were either confused or smiling. "I'm Messalina Lucien and I will be escorting you to Charms today."
Messalina made it to NEWT Transfiguration with time to spare and stood outside the classroom looking down at Fabian's old book. She didn't think she had ever gotten her own new book apart from the ones from classes she had taken that Molly and the twins hadn't. All of Fabian and Gideon's books smelled like bonfires and often had burned edges or sticky pages. When they had been Molly's they had been in perfect condition and smelled like perfume but it hadn't taken long to get messed up.
Professor McGonagall was still in the Great Hall giving out schedules and everyone else was still groaning as they made their way to class. The first years class started a half hour before NEWT Transfiguration did and Messalina sank to the ground, her robes getting slightly dirty but she didn't care.
There was something in the back of her mind that said that her boyfriend was keeping secrets from her, it seemed too odd that he always seemed so nervous when they called each other the names written on the Marauders' Map. From the outside it seemed like Remus Lupin was a rather non-interesting person apart from the fact that he was attractive and intelligent but probably not on the list of most interesting people in Hogwarts.
That was perfectly alright with Remus, it allowed his monthly disappearances to go unnoticed and he didn't appreciate the spotlight on him as his friends so dearly adored. But, as Messalina had learned the hard way, he was a very interesting person and aside from all the wonderful qualities that Messalina positively adored he was different. She knew that he was a werewolf for twelve nights a year so why did he want to keep his friends' nicknames a secret?
The wondering and speculation was beginning to make her head hurt and Messalina cast the thoughts from her head. It was too early to be worrying about that type of thing.
The entire joint NEWT Transfiguration totaled thirty-two students; thirteen of which were Ravenclaws, eight Gryffindors, eight Slytherins and three Hufflepuffs. Professor McGonagall wasn't in the room as they all entered slowly, oozing into their seats inwardly cheering because they got to pick their own seats. James tried to sit next to Lily but she elbowed him in the stomach and told him to sod off, looking to Messalina with wide eyes as her two friends, Alice and Marlene, sat down together across the aisle. Messalina nodded at Lily and moved towards her, sitting beside her and right after she put her things down, the professor entered and ordered them all to get in the back of the room because she had picked their seat assignments.
Groaning, everyone moved to the back of the room as she began to list off the names of who was sitting with who. Almost no one ended up with anyone from their own house apart from a few Ravenclaws.
"Black, Finch-Fletchley," Was the first name that Messalina truly cared about. Lily got partnered with a Ravenclaw as did Alice and Marlene. For the most part the Slytherins and Gryffindors were separated until Messalina was in the back of the room with two Slytherins and a Ravenclaw. "Potter, Smith."
Praying that she would be placed with the shy Ravenclaw, Messalina tried to channel her thoughts to McGonagall who cleared her throat. "Lucien, Pucey; Fawcett, Higgs."
Remus gave her a sorrowful look from where he was sitting beside Peter and as Messalina passed by him she flipped him off and continued on. Sirius and James though, thought it was the most hilarious thing that had ever happened to anyone and she glared at them as she moved past them to sit in the very front of the room.
Messalina nearly (dangerously close) scowled at McGonagall but forced herself not to, at least not while the entire class sat quietly waiting for either of their reactions. For once, Messalina decided not entertain her new crowd, merely tossing her things carelessly on the desk and sinking into the seat glaring at the desk.
McGonagall instantly gave them the task of turning an owl to a pair of opera glasses to refresh their memories, McGonagall had brought in school owls to do the task and Messalina felt her stomach twist. She hated using spells on animals that couldn't defend themselves. This spell had been in the practical part of OWLs the year before and a half hour after being given the task Messalina completed the task, Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and a few others having completed it before her.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black stop flicking ink all over each other!" McGonagall cried and Messalina turned her head around so fast she thought she might get whiplash. To her surprise, Graham Pucey turned as well with a small smile on his face. Ink was running down Sirius' cheek like a black tear and there were numerous splashes on his glasses. Jeremy Finch-Fletchley's eye was twitching as he tried to complete the spell, Sirius let out a raspy laugh as he turned to sit down straight in his chair, looking at McGonagall like an innocent choir boy while ink dripped out of his hair. "Mr. Black and Finch-Fletchley, please switch seats with Miss Evans and Miss Matthews."
Lily gave James a disgusted look as she sat down across the aisle from him, Claire Matthews having scrambled to sit in Jeremy's former chair.
"When do you think they'll get together?" A voice next to her whispered and Messalina grinned.
"Not too long, R-" She noticed that she wasn't sitting next to her boyfriend and she turned to see that it was Graham Pucey who had spoken. "I mean if they do get together."
Messalina forced herself to not blush with embarrassment or groan with longing. Her best friends and boyfriend were having a grand time and she was stuck in the front with a nosy Slytherin. Just her luck.
Please review with any ideas that you think would be good for this story, I'm always looking for suggestions!