A/N: So, I suck. Not just for taking for-e-ver to update, but because this chapter's all….unbalanced. lol. Most of Emma's POV is description, and most of Remus's POV is dialogue. It's all very weird and I don't know how I feel about it (well, leaning towards hating it), so I'll let you all be the judges. Oh, also…I'm thinking one more chapter should wrap things up with this. )

Chapter Two: Goody Two Shoes

Emma tapped her quill against her cheek as she reread her completed essay for potions. An entire roll of parchment, which was far more than what Professor Slughorn had asked. She didn't worry though. Her essays were always long and he was always pleased to read them. At least that was what Slughorn always told her when he returned her essays marked with an O. She sometimes wondered if he actually bothered to read them, or if he just gave her an O for being Emma Goodrich…

Not that she was anyone special. She was just a good student. All O's. Prefect. President of the Hogwarts Gobstones Club. Emma just thought she was doing her job—being the best student she could possibly be so she could earn a research grant at St. Mungo's Hospital to work on developing healing potions. But to Slughorn, she was an ambitious Slytherin heading for greatness, and for that she was just another addition to the coveted Slug Club of his. Sirius Black and James Potter were also spotted by Slughorn as being talented and were extended invitations to the exclusive society, but they had each skillfully dodged their inductions. Lily Evans was another Slug Club favorite—Slug's favorite of the favorites, really. She was like the diamond to his crown. The apple in his eye. Emma didn't like Lily much.

Admittedly, she was a really nice person. She was great, actually. But that was exactly why Emma couldn't bear her presence. She just seemed too perfect. Grades. Looks. The undying devotion of James Potter. The undying support of the entire Hogwarts faculty. And most of all, she had a personality. She was smart, but she wasn't shy like Emma. She was outspoken and friendly. And she wasn't mean, except when provoked…and even then she wasn't that terrible. She was just one of those all-around great girls that Emma imagined dolls to be designed after. Plus, she was good friends with Remus Lupin, and for that, Emma couldn't stand her.

After going over her essay, Emma rolled up the parchment and tucked it away in her bag. She sometimes considered befriending Lily in order to get to Remus. She had concocted various scenarios where she could do so too. Of course, it was horrible to use a person to achieve an ends like that, but it was so tempting at times. She was a Slytherin, after all…she was just using her God-given talents of cunning trickery. But it didn't seem right. She might have had talents, and might have been good at getting what she wanted if she was ambitious enough, but she had morals too. Lily probably wouldn't appreciate being used. And Remus probably wouldn't have approved anyway.

Not that his approval mattered a whole lot—all of Emma's plans and fantasies of using Lily to get to Remus involved the assumption that Remus was at least mildly interested in her. And it was, Emma knew, an assumption built of sand resting on a foundation of straw. Emma had no reason to believe that Remus—sweet, caring, wonderful-in-every-way Remus—liked her. Or even knew she existed for that matter.

Emma stretched her arms overhead as she finished rereading her Potions essay. Remus wasn't in Slughorn's little club, which was outright ridiculous, in Emma's opinion. Remus was definitely smarter and more talented than her and a lot more likely to succeed in life than her. She wasn't quite sure how Slughorn didn't pick up on that. But then again, Slughorn was the head of her house; he was bound to show a little more favoritism towards her over the goody-two-shoes Gryffindor.

Emma grinned. Goody-two-shoes Gryffindor. It was such a fitting name for Remus. She would love to use it on him. Not in a jeering sort of way, of course. His good boy image was rather endearing, actually. Mainly because he played pranks and caused trouble with his friends but still managed to come off as the good boy of his gang.

"Emma, hey."

Without looking up, she already knew who had interrupted her reverie.

"I already finished my Potions essay, so I can't work on it with you. Sorry." Emma said with a smile as she rolled up her parchment and tucked it away in her bag.

There was a pause. Emma looked up to find Severus Snape standing over her shoulder. He too was smiling. Well, twisting his mouth into what probably could have been a smile. Severus just wasn't the smiling type. Nor the type to show emotion. It was a bit unnerving sometimes, but usually it didn't bother Emma much. Some people were like that, and as Emma's mother always said, one had to live and let live.

"Fine." He said lightly. "How's Defense Against the Dark Arts coming along?"

"I haven't even started that essay yet." Emma replied as her face fell. "I wouldn't mind working on that together. Want to meet me in the library later on?"

Severus shrugged, the hint of a smile playing around his mouth again. "I already finished. I'm sorry."

Emma snorted. "I doubt it."

"You doubt that I finished it?"

"Not for a second. I doubt that you're sorry."

Severus shrugged. "Remorse is for the weak."

"That's a little harsh."

"Not a day goes by that I wonder how you ended up in Slytherin." Severus replied as he passed Emma to head towards the boys' dormitories.

"I know!" Emma called after him. "If Salazar had any idea…"

He disappeared behind the heavy wooden door that contained the boys' dormitories. Severus was a strange boy, Emma thought. He was tolerable to be around, and made an excellent Potions partner, and they got to share a good thirty seconds of banter from time to time, but regardless, there was always a little awkwardness when interacting with him. Always a little bit of forced conversation. She sometimes wanted to be his friend, partly out of sympathy since he didn't really seem to have any friends even in his own house. But he was just too weird for her. He didn't seem to believe in closeness or even in having any sort of human emotion. He detested most people outside their house, especially the marauders. And Remus. He didn't like Remus, which was inconceivable to Emma. How could anyone not like sweet, intelligent Remus? Well, maybe Emma could understand Severus's loathing. James and Sirius were quite cruel to Severus most of the time, and Remus was friends with them. Tainted by association. Oh well. It wasn't as if they could've been friends otherwise. Remus was far too pleasant to be tolerated by the likes of Severus anyway.

Not that the possibility of friendship between the two even mattered, Emma realized as she picked up her belongings to get ready for her Gobstones Club meeting. She sighed. She needed to stop considering all people, places, and things in terms of their relationship to Remus. It just wasn't healthy.

"Tell me."

"Don't be so lazy, Padfoot. Everything you need to know about the properties of wormwood is in your book."

"Damnit, Moony. Tell me!"

Remus sighed as he glanced over his Potions essay. He was almost finished. He probably would have finished twenty minutes ago if he had been working alone. "Page 243. It's all there."

He could feel Sirius glaring at him as he reached for his copy of Advanced Potions. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good my ass. You're a disgrace to the brotherhood, you understand that, right?"

"Ok, you really need to stop referring to us as 'the brotherhood,' Padfoot." James said with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "You make it sound as though we dance naked around a fire chanting in Latin…"

Sirius grinned as he flipped through the pages of his book. "No, but that's a splendid idea, Wormtail. I am all for nude dancing."

"With other men?" James asked, cocking an eyebrow at Sirius.

Sirius shrugged. "Moony gets naked every month—"

"Thank you for that." Remus muttered, rolling his eyes at Sirius.

"…and we're always with him," he continued. "and if you think about it, he's the only one who's naked. I mean, obviously, he has to because otherwise he would just run out of clothing that are free from tears. But the rest of us are always clothed. Isn't that a little weird?"

James grinned. "And all of us getting naked would make it less weird?"

Sirius frowned. "I don't know."

"And where would we incorporate the dancing?" Peter asked as he rolled up his finished essay on the properties of wormwood.

"Can we please change the subject?" Remus asked, frowning as he tried concentrating on his final paragraph. He wasn't very good at writing conclusions and was finding the conversation of nudity under the full moon to be disturbingly distracting to his thought process.

"Fine." Peter said with a grin as he began putting his books and papers away in his bag. "It's nearly six o'clock. I think I'm going to the Gobstones Club meeting."

Sirius glanced up from his essay to look at Peter. He grinned. "Are you really?"

"Yeah…I thought to join, you know, for fun. I mean, I like gobstones...and well…" he trailed off, frowning as Sirius and James fell into laughter beside him.

"That's cute, Wormtail." James said, patting him on the shoulder. "Very cute."

"Make sure you do that one spell on your face, you know, to block all spit from getting on you." Sirius added. "That stuff is pretty rank, and the stench will probably stay on you for a few days if you're using one of those high end gobstone sets."

"Right." Peter said, a twinge of uncertainty in his voice.

Remus glanced sideways and saw Peter's doubtful expression. He was doing it again. Rethinking his plans just because Sirius and James didn't care for his hobbies.

"Say hi to Lily then, Peter." Remus said as he turned back to his essay.

"Huh?"

James had been doodling on the cover of one of Sirius's textbooks, sniggering about how only people who didn't get enough snogging or shagging in their lives took part in stupid clubs like gobstones, but dropped his quill at the mention of Lily's name.

"Yeah, Lily's in the club, so say hi to her for me, would you Wormtail?" Remus said, casually glancing up at Peter.

"Er…alright. Sure." Peter replied as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "If she shows up, I'll—"

"Hey, maybe I'll come with you, Wormtail…I do like a good game of gobstones now and then…" James said, linking arms with Peter and using his free hand to run through his hair.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You're going to ditch us to go hit on Evans and get spat at by gobstones?"

"Er…yeah."

"If they serve any snacks, try to smuggle some back."

James grinned and patted Peter on the shoulder. "We should go."

"Say hello to Evans for me too, mate," Sirius said, turning to Remus to grin at him. Remus, however, was staring determinedly at his homework, pursing his lips tightly together as if to hold back laughter.

"Moony!" Sirius gasped, pointing an accusing finger at his friend, "you liar!"

James and Peter had made it to the portrait hole, but stopped to glance back at their friends.

Remus glanced up from his homework, smiling vaguely. "What are you talking about, Padfoot?"

"Evans isn't going to be there!"

James had had his hand around Peter's shoulder, but dropped it to his side at Sirius's pronouncement. He headed back to the couch on which Sirius and Remus had been sitting, with Peter at his heels.

"What are you talking about?" He demanded. "Lily won't be there?"

Remus grinned. "Of course not. I just said that to shut you and Padfoot up about Wormtail going to the meeting."

Casting a glare at Remus, James drew out his wand. "I can't believe I almost went to a gobstones club meeting without the incentive of Lily Evans's presence. I am going to hex you into oblivion, Mr. Moony Lupin."

Sniggering and clutching his homework and books, Remus rolled over the side of the couch, barely missing the blue jet of light that shot out from James's wand. Sighing in defeat, James plopped onto the couch next to Sirius.

"So…you don't want to come with me?" Peter asked, glancing warily at James.

Grinning at Remus as he helped him back onto the couch, James let out a chuckle. "God no."

"Oh, alright then."

Remus glanced from James to Peter. The latter looked slightly dejected. "You should just go yourself." Remus said, resting his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Who cares what Padfoot and Prongs think? If you like gobstones then you shouldn't feel bad about going to their meeting."

Peter cocked an eyebrow at Remus. "Want to come with me?"

"No, not really."

James and Sirius sniggered at Remus's response. Peter simply shrugged. "Fine." He said, glancing at his wristwatch. "I should go then. Emma's pretty strict about punctuality."

Remus had been leaning over the sofa to pick up his homework and books from when they had landed there during James's attack on him. Pausing for a moment at the mention of Emma, Remus quickly gathered his things and fell back into his seat between Sirius and James. "Emma who?" he asked in the most casual voice he could muster. "Goodrich?"

"Yep."

"That goody two shoes is president?" James asked, running a hand through his hair in a bored manner. "Figures."

"What do you mean?" asked Remus.

James shrugged. "She's such a…gobstone club president type of person. All…nauseatingly Slytherin."

Sirius chuckled. "She is very Slytherin. Cunning, ambitious, ugly…Did you ever notice that all the really ugly people end up in Slytherin?"

"I know!" James exclaimed, falling into laughter with Sirius while Peter grinned appreciatively. "They do. I mean, Goodrich is tolerable though, I suppose, in terms of manners. She's so…quiet."

"Mousy might be a better word." Sirius replied, still laughing. "A complete mouse. I think she and that snake-faced Snivellus are a match made in heaven. Old Slughorn seems to think so too; he keeps pairing them up together in potions."

James grinned. "Wonder whose noses their kids would inherit…they're both pretty big and ugly."

Remus stared determinedly at his homework in his lap. He should say something, he knew he should. Who cared if he liked her? That wasn't the point. It was just mean to make fun of Emma. They didn't even know her.

"That's a bit unkind, don't you think?" he finally said, determined to keep his voice as even as possible. He felt his gut going into a knot, as it had told him that defending Emma was an act of chivalry, which in turn translated into incessant mocking if his friends picked up on it. Remus squirmed a little in his seat. Peter was certainly looking at him appraisingly at the moment.

Sirius cocked an eyebrow at Remus. "Er…no? Moony, we're stating cold, hard, facts. The man's nose is unpleasantly large—"

Remus rolled his eyes. "I meant Emma. I think you guys are being a bit harsh on her. I mean, we don't really know her…"

James sighed, leaning against Remus and resting his head on his shoulder. "Oh Moony. There you go, acting like our moral compass…making us feel guilty for being young, carefree youths…"

"Sorry to rain on your fun." Remus replied somewhat dryly. He turned his attention back to his homework, but froze when he realized that Sirius was now looking at him in the same manner as Peter had moments ago.

"Have you got a soft spot for Goody two shoes Goodrich?"

Remus's glance shot up to meet Sirius's. "No, of course not! I mean…it's just….you know, she hasn't done anything to you guys so I can't understand why you'd make fun of her."

"Well…I thought that was obvious." Sirius replied, smiling nonchalantly.

Remus could feel himself tense up. His heart was racing. "Why?"

"Because it's fun." James said cheerily.

"Yes, well, Lord Voldemort thinks it's fun to kill muggles." Remus found himself retorting.

The others froze. He had crossed the line, Remus realized.

"Alright Moony?" Sirius asked somewhat tensely, sitting a bit straighter in his seat. "We're just messing around, mate. You get so worked up…"

"Hold on."

Sirius, Remus, and Peter turned to James. He was looking smug. "What's up, Moony?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, grinning.

"Nothing." He replied quickly. He glanced down again at his notes, suddenly wishing that Peter would just go to his Gobstone Club meeting and that Sirius and James would just go back to making fun of Emma.

"Oh, don't give us that. You're hiding something from us!" Peter chimed in. He had dropped his bag on the ground and had drawn nearer to Remus, his meeting long forgotten now.

Remus sighed, staring back up at his friends. They were his friends. Surely he could trust them...couldn't he? They were like his brothers. They wouldn't think him crazy for liking a girl. After all, they all liked girls. It wasn't a big deal, right? "Fine." He said. "I...well, I kind of…like her."

Sirius and Peter gaped at him. James was still grinning smugly.

"Emma? Emma Goodrich?" Peter asked, frowning. "Gobstone Club president? The one we were just—"

"Yes."

"She's a Slytherin!" Sirius exclaimed indignantly.

"Yes, I know…and I like her." Remus said, now frowning. He had been expecting his friends to burst into fits of laughter, followed by lots of teasing. Not shock.

"But she's a Slytherin!" Sirius repeated.

"Yes, I know, but—"

"Are you mad?"

"But she's nice!"

"Nice? You want to base a romance on niceties? Moony, they are our mortal enemies You don't date them; it's practically a sin!" Sirius exclaimed, standing up.

"Really now…" said Remus, rolling his eyes.

"Seriously! Thou shall not shag Slytherins…I'm sure there's something in the Gryffindor survival guide about that…"

Remus's mouth fell open. "Who said anything about shagging?"

"Oh, Moony…"

"Oh, Padfoot…"

"Our little werewolf pup has gone over to the dark side." Sirius pronounced solemnly.

James sniggered. "I can't believe you like Goodrich."

Remus glared at him. "When was the last time I referred to your crush as Evans?"

James held up his hands defensively, pressing his lips together to suppress his laughter. "Right. Sorry. Emma. I can't believe you like Emma."

Remus sighed, feeling as though all his dignity was lost with his confession. "Well, now you all know. Let the mocking begin."

Peter took Sirius's old seat by Remus. "Moony, why don't you just come with me to the meeting if you're into Emma?"

"Are you mad?" Remus asked, his eyes widening at Peter. "I like her, but that doesn't mean I want to see her…and…talk to her."

Sirius grinned. "Yeah? Then what the hell do you want to do to her if you don't want to talk to her?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Padfoot…"

"You dog." Sirius sniggered.

"I think you should take Wormtail up on his offer." James cut in. "Go to the meeting."

"And stalk her?" Remus asked warily, cocking an eyebrow at James.

James grinned. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

"I'm with Prongs and Wormtail." Sirius declared as he came around the back of the sofa and rested his hands on Remus's shoulders, giving them a little push. "I mean, I think you deserve a few dozen floggings on your bare ass for liking a Slytherin and all, but if you like her, you should go. It's not that often you get to interact with her outside of classes."

Remus shrank into his seat, frowning. "I don't know…"

Sirius cocked an eyebrow at Peter and then a James, who returned his look with a knowing smile. Almost at once, the three boys fell onto Remus, grabbing him by his limbs.

"You guys!" Remus exclaimed as his homework and books fell out of his lap when Peter dragged him off the sofa by his leg. He was extremely aware of the other students in the common room, who were watching the spectacle with much amusement. He was never going to live this down, he thought as Sirius and James pulled him by his arms.

"Come on," Peter muttered, slightly winded from the exertion, "Emma's a stickler for punctuality."

"But—"

"Courage, Moony!" James said with a grin as he pushed Remus off.

"Come back a man!" Sirius called after him.

As Peter began leading him out of the common room, Remus glanced over his shoulder to see Sirius and James waving him goodbye, beaming as they did so. Gulping, Remus turned back to catch up with Peter, wishing very much that he knew more about playing gobstones.