A/N: Ok, so here's the intention: 2-3 chaptered short story / ficlet-type thing. If you've read my other stories though, you'll know I tend to…er…ramble. So…the said forecasts are really vague guesses. Lol…anyway. Hope you like.

To Be Like You

Chapter One: Emma Goodrich


Emma Goodrich slumped lower into her seat as Professor McGonagall began scanning the classroom for someone to call on to answer her question on the proper procedure involved in becoming a registered animagus. She was sitting behind James Potter, a Gryffindor twice her size who did very well in hiding her when she didn't want to be picked on in class. She let out a small sigh of relief when McGonagall called on Sirius Black instead, who was staring out the window, looking bored.

"Professor," Sirius began as he rocked back a little in his chair, smiling charmingly at McGonagall, "I was in detention all evening with you…do you really think I had the energy to do last night's reading assignment?"

Emma pressed her lips together in anticipation of McGonagall's reaction. To her surprise, the professor simply rolled her eyes.

"Well, you'd better try harder after tonight's detention. Tomorrow we'll be having a quiz." She replied.

Sirius cocked an eyebrow at her. "I don't have detention tomorrow…er…I don't think…" he trailed off, glancing back at James for confirmation.

"Oh, you do now. Now sit up straight, Black, and pay attention." McGonagall said brusquely as she turned to the blackboard and began putting notes on it.

There was some scattered laughter as Sirius fell back in his seat, slightly defeated. He glanced back at James again, rolling his eyes. "Damn. I guess I can't make it to you-know-what tonight." He said in a whisper, glancing sideways at Remus Lupin, whose thin, weary face shifted only slightly to hear his friends while he continued to takes down the notes McGonagall was writing on the board.

You-know-what?

Emma glanced again at Remus, wondering if he knew what. He gave no indication of him understanding them, nor did he look confused. Emma sat up a bit straighter in her seat as she watched the light-haired boy write into his notebook. She was awfully fond of Remus Lupin, though he didn't know it. He was clever enough to have been a Ravenclaw, and nice enough to everyone to be a Hufflepuff, including herself, which was a rarity amongst Gryffindors. He was one of the few in his house, it seemed, who was able to overlook her Slytherin-ness and actually be civil with her, and she greatly appreciated it. Slytherins tended to get a bad rep, no thanks to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his associations with her house. It was ridiculous, really. Just because she was a pureblood and slightly ambitious, it didn't mean she was the devil incarnate. Few people outside her house seemed to notice or care, except Remus Lupin. She liked it, and was slightly envious of him.

She wished she could be like him. He was cool and level-headed. He seemed years more mature than everyone else in their year. And while Emma prided herself on being decently smart (she had gotten E's and O's on all of her OWLs), she felt as though her intelligence paled beside Remus's. But most of all, she envied his popularity. Not that he was the slightly obnoxious hotshot his friends were, Remus was liked by all. He had friends. He had a group. The marauders, they called themselves. Emma spent most of her time alone. She didn't have any real friends, not here. Not at Hogwarts. Sure, she had some acquaintances here with whom she could pass lunch and dinner, but most of the time she was alone. Remus was rarely ever alone. He was always with Sirius, James, and Peter. And the fun they would have…

She sometimes wished she could be the female-marauder in their group. Emma wasn't much of a troublemaker, but she craved the sort of fun and excitement that came with being one. She wanted a little adventure, and there was no doubt in her mind that the marauders had plenty of that. Even Remus, the good boy of their group…the boy who was probably closest to her in terms of personal disposition—his life was probably far more adventurous and interesting than hers, and for that she envied him. And for that, she liked him. A lot.

Remus could feel his heart sink as he heard the words from Sirius. He knew he shouldn't have expected his friends to always be with him during the full moon. It was dangerous, and they really didn't need to be there; he would survive without their company. But he couldn't help but prefer it. Everything associated with those nights became less painful for him when they were there with him. Especially Sirius. It was odd, because their friendship was a bit odd. They were friends because Remus and James had become friends first, and Peter and Sirius had simply followed. Of course, they got along and were close, but his friendship with Sirius was still a bit odd. They were complete opposites and had next to nothing in common. Yet his presence was the most comforting during the full moon; perhaps because Sirius could also turn into a canine. The only difference though was Sirius could do it at will, while Remus's transformations were governed by the cycle of the moon.

But otherwise they had nothing in common. Remus watched as Sirius reclined in his chair, yawning and stretching his arms overhead as he glanced at Victoria Fleming, a Ravenclaw in their year, and winked at her. She was quite pretty, but rather vain because she seemed to be aware of just how pretty she was. In Remus's opinion, Victoria and Sirius would have done well together. They clashed often enough, what with their similar arrogant tendencies, but produced enough chemistry between themselves to be the most talked of potential-couple in the school, right after James Potter and Lily Evans.

People rarely talked about him and his potential girlfriends, partly because he wasn't nearly as popular as James or Sirius, and partly because there were no potential girlfriends. Remus wasn't really the dating type. He had even gone so far as to convince himself that he was not genetically set up for it. He tried dating once. Lily had set him up with one of her friends, Jasmine Cleaver, last year. He had been so nervous about not having enough to talk about with Jasmine, that in his preoccupation of finding conversation pieces he had forgotten his wallet in his dormitory when they went off to Hogsmeade. He hadn't realized what he had done until they had finished their meal at The Three Broomsticks and he had begun searching for his wallet to pay the bill. Jasmine ended up paying, assuring the mortified Remus that it was no big deal. He had promised to reimburse her when they got back to school, but she wouldn't hear of it. They ended up walking back to Hogwarts together, and since then they hadn't really spoken to each other again. That was how dating went with Remus Lupin, and that was why he didn't do it.

He wished he could though, like his friends. Even Peter had managed to pluck up the courage to ask a few girls on dates in all their years at Hogwarts. But Remus couldn't. The general idea of it made him anxious; and worse, the idea of even considering specific girls at his school made him want to vomit. Especially the idea of the quiet, brunette girl sitting a few seats away from him…

Remus liked Emma Goodrich very much. And he envied her.

He wished he could be like her. So…normal. And carefree. She looked carefree, at least. She was quiet like him. She was smart—smarter than him, he was sure. When he saw Emma, he saw himself…externally. They acted similarly, Remus noticed. But their lives were probably so different, and he envied Emma for that. He didn't know her well, but judging by her calm disposition Remus guessed her life was as quiet as it appeared on the exterior. She was normal and…ordinary. She probably didn't have any dark secrets to protect, or any monsters in her to hide. He craved that. Sure, he cared about his friends. Hell, loved them. But admittedly, their seemingly never-ending supply of exuberance tired him out occasionally. Sometimes he just wanted to get away from them, away from the marauding, and escape to a quieter life. Not even a quieter life, actually. Just a quieter place, or a quieter person…just for a little while…After all, they were his best friends. He'd have wanted to return to them again. It was probably a very selfish desire, to want to escape his friends every now and then. But he was one for personal space. He needed it. He always had it. But then James, Sirius and Peter came along, knocking down his wall unceremoniously. Of course, he was always grateful for that move on their part, but every now and then he wished he could hide behind that wall, just for a little while. Naturally, he never told his friends that. That would have just been plain rude of him. And with that being said, it only seemed logical that he not bother telling his friends about the girl he often imagined hiding with him. After all, there was no point. He was not genetically set up for dating.