AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I'm very much aware the James and Lily are supposed to be Head Boy/Girl. Let's just assume, for the sake of this story, that they aren't. Kay :)
Most of these characters © JK Rowling
Remus Lupin sighed with contentment as he slid through the Platform 9 ¾ barrier, allowing his eyes to take in the Hogwarts Express. It's been three months, three very long months away from Hogwarts. His mother had died and his father had become distant, and there was very little contact between him and his three best friends.
"Oi! Moony!" Remus turned to a familiar voice and saw two dark haired boys waving madly at him.
Breaking into a grin, Remus rushed over to James and Sirius as his father appeared from the barrier and followed silently after his son. "Prongs! Padfoot!" Remus hugged his friends in greeting.
"So…" Sirius jested, "Where's your Head Boy badge?"
Remus rolled his eyes, but grinned and pulled a small badge from his pocket.
"I knew you would get it," James clasped Remus on the back. "Congrats. Now you're the official school prat."
Sirius barked with laughter and Remus ignored him, pointing across the station. "Look, there's Wormtail!"
The fourth of the Marauders stood by his lonesome, looking especially watery. Upon spotting his friends, his face lit up and began fighting his way over to where the other three were standing.
"Alright there, Wormtail?" Sirius clasped his back. "We ought to go find a compartment before they're all empty."
"I'll be a little late, I need to meet with the Prefects and the Head Girl first," Remus spoke up.
"Ooh yeah. Do you know who the Head Girl is?" Wormtail wondered out loud.
"I hear it's Dorcas Meadowes," James said, a chuckle audible in his voice.
Remus sighed in relief. Out of anyone in his year, he was glad he would be spending his duties with Dorcas.
"Getting some ideas, Moony?" Sirius joked, elbowing him in the side.
"Please," scoffed Remus, "Doe and I are just friends and we've always been just that."
"You know, she and Dalton Barringer broke up over the summer," James said in a singsong voice as he made his way towards the train. Peter and Sirius followed, Sirius laughing loudly.
Making sure his friends were out of sight, Remus turned to his father, who was standing quietly behind him.
"Well…make sure to write," he said stiffly.
"Alright then," Remus said, shifting uncomfortably. He held out a hand. "I'll see you during the holidays then?"
Mr. Lupin grasped his son's hand. "Have a good term."
Remus nodded shortly and without another word, grasped his trunk, and headed towards the train. Before he could step inside, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Remus," said a soft, high voice. Remus turned slightly to see Doe Meadowes smiling brilliantly at him. "I hear you're Head Boy?"
"Yeah," he said, giving her a lopsided grin. "And I hear you're Head Girl. Congratulations!"
"You too," she nodded politely, her long blonde hair falling into her face. Hastily tucking her hair back behind her ear, she gestured towards the train. "Do you want to go to the Prefect's Compartment together?"
"Oh! Yes, definitely." Remus squeezed himself against the doorway to allow Doe to pass him, and he followed her as they passed a few compartments.
"So, did you have a good summer?" Remus shouted over the chatter from the various compartments.
"It was alright," Doe shouted back. "I spent most of my time working at a Starbucks."
"A…what?"
"It's kind of like a Muggle pub," Doe answered, giggling.
Cursing himself for not knowing more about Muggles, Remus followed her into the compartment, which was already overflowing with the eight fifth-year Prefects. Remus and Doe uncomfortably made their way to a small empty space and somehow squashed themselves into it. To give her more room, Remus allowed his arm to rest over her shoulder, and shifted his eyes sideways at her uncomfortably to see if it was all right. She flashed another brilliant smile at him, and he relaxed immediately.
They spent the following hour introducing themselves and going over Prefect duties. Remus only recognized a few people, including the smiling face of Ariana Mayberry from Slytherin (the only Slytherin he genuinely liked, come to think of it) and Amos Diggory from Hufflepuff. He was a bit pompous, but Remus had nothing against him.
After dismissing the Prefects, Remus relaxed. "Well, that was a bit…cozier than I expected," he said, and Doe giggled.
"Cozy in a good way," Doe argued. "At least you aren't all bony like…Dalton." She spoke his name rather quietly.
Remus looked down at his feet awkwardly. "I suppose we can leave now," he said after a few seconds of silence. "I'm sure Lily and Marlene and them are missing you."
"And I'm sure James and Sirius and them are missing you," Doe shot back, grinning, as she stepped from the compartment, Remus following her. "Well, I'll see you soon I'm sure. It'll be a pleasure working with you." She grinned and held out a hand.
Remus looked down at her hand and back at her with a raised eyebrow. "A handshake? Really, Meadowes? We've known each other for six years now, I think we've surpassed a handshake."
Doe laughed again as Remus pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he rested his head on top of hers. She felt so small against him, so fragile. Doe pulled back, looking up at him, still smiling. "I'll see you soon, Head Boy," she teased, and made her way away from the compartment they were standing in front of.
Remus stood and watched her walk away, her long blonde hair dancing behind her, almost smiling, as she was seconds before. He smiled to himself, ran a hand through his hair, and headed for the compartment he knew the Marauders would be wreaking havoc in.
What was that? Doe asked herself as she drew closer to friends' compartment. It was kind of nice… She shook her head frantically. Get a hold of yourself, you daft girl. Remus doesn't think of you like that. If he did, he wouldn't have taken six years to make a move. She couldn't deny the fact that she once had a tiny crush on Remus Lupin. She was fourteen, and incredibly attracted to boys who spent most of their time in libraries. However, she knew Remus wasn't one for relationships. She watched at least four girls from their year take on the enigma that is Remus Lupin, and each one got dumped just under a month in. Doe closed her eyes in earnest. Stop this foolishness, Doe, she told herself; you're just going to get yourself hurt. On that note, she slid open the compartment, in which Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Alice Headley were chatting loudly inside.
"Ah! Finally! The Head Girl has arrived," announced Marlene loudly, handing Doe a Chocolate Frog as she sat down next to Alice.
"Thanks," Doe said sarcastically, opening the Chocolate Frog. She looked down at the card. "Eh, Merlin again. So, what are you guys talking about?"
"Guys," laughed Marlene. "What else?"
"Of course," giggled Doe, taking a large bite off the Chocolate Frog's head. "So, who's the victim this time?"
"You," replied Lily, and Doe choked on the frog.
"Me?"Doe repeated as she washed down the frog with some pumpkin juice. "Why me? I don't have any interests."
Alice raised her eyebrows. "Oh please. We all know you and Remus are going to happen this year."
Doe could feel her cheeks burning, and she attempted to hide it with her hair. "I don't fancy Remus. I don't know where you got that idea."
"We all know you've been secretly crushing on him since the fourth year," Lily scoffed. "And you can stop trying to hide the fact that you're tomato red right now."
Doe glared at the redhead across from her. "You're one to talk, Mrs. Potter."
This comment triggered the four girls to start accusing each other of liking numerous guys from their year, their indictments getting more absurd by the minute.
"Doe and Peter!"
"Ugh, that would never happen. Lily and Avery!"
"Oh my god, I'm going to vomit. Marlene and Rockwood, hahaha!"
"Over my dead body. Alice and Frank!"
"Hmm, actually I can see that one happening," Doe mused, and Alice turned a deep red.
By the time the Hogwarts Express reached the station, the compartment was a mess. Sirius and James had outdone themselves this time – the floor was strewn with Chocolate Frog and Pumpkin Pasty wrappers along with singed Exploding Snap cards.
"Don't you think we ought to clean it up a bit?" Wormtail asked as the four of them pulled their trunks from the compartment overhead.
"Eh, it'll be fine," Sirius waved his hand.
Remus waited to be the last to leave the compartment, in which he waved his wand and the residue on the floor vanished. He pocketed his wand and followed his friends out of the Hogwarts Express and into one of the carriages.
"It sure is nice to be back," Sirius said out loud, as he gazed at the beauteous castle from the window. "Summer at home was a nightmare."
"Ah, yes. How is that darling mother of yours?" asked James sarcastically, running his hand through his hair, making it even more untidy.
"Wonderful, as always," Sirius said even more sarcastically. The rest of the ride consisted of James and Sirius shooting out insults about Mrs. Black, and Peter staring at them, at the edge of his seat. Remus sat back, listening to their conversation, rather bemused.
It didn't take long for the carriages to arrive at their designated point of arrival, and for the returning students to file themselves into the beautiful, bright Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore beamed at the students as they seated themselves at their House tables.
"I hope they hurry up with the Sorting, I'm starving," Sirius complained.
"You ate about ten Chocolate Frogs," Remus pointed out. He turned to his right to see Doe sit down a couple people away with Marlene, Lily, and Alice. She smiled at him. James, at the sight of Lily, automatically ran his hand through his hair.
Professor McGonagall suddenly stood from her seat next to Dumbledore and made her way towards the door. As she did so, she gave Remus and Doe a knowing look.
"What was that?" Sirius asked, nodding towards the back of a retreating McGonagall.
"I think she's excited that both the Head Boy and Head Girl are from Gryffindor this year," Graham Macdougall, a sandy boy from their year, spoke up. He clasped Remus' shoulder. "Congrats, man."
"Thanks, Graham," Remus smiled at him.
Unfortunately for Sirius, it took awhile for the First Years to make their way down the Great Hall to get sorted. By the time Dumbledore stood up to give a beginning-of-the-year greeting, Remus could hear Sirius' stomach growling from the opposite side of the table.
"Goodness, Padfoot, control yourself," Remus said, watching Sirius amusingly as he grabbed a chicken wing the moment it blossomed from the platters.
"What? I missed school food," Sirius protested, his mouth full of chicken. "I swear, Kreacher purposely makes my food worse than everyone else's because he hates me."
"Oh that darling house-elf…" James said, and he and Sirius once again went off on a tangent about the Black household. Peter watched their conversation with amazement, while Remus engaged in a conversation with Graham Macdougall about the upcoming year. Eventually, Dumbledore stood up to announce that they all ought to get to bed.
"I'll meet you guys there, I have duties," Remus told his friends. They nodded and filed out with the rest of the Gryffindors. Doe caught Remus's eye and they took a side door that led them to one of their posted hallways.
"So this is what it means to be Head Boy and Girl," laughed Remus as they walked down an empty hallway. "I somehow imagined it to be more…exciting?"
"Tell me about it," laughed Doe. "I can't believe we have to do this for the next hour."
"Yeah, well," Remus said, "…I'm glad that I'm doing it with you."
Doe snapped her head up in shock. Her heart began to pound rapidly against her chest.
"I mean," Remus stammered, "I mean, I'm glad that I'm doing it with you, rather than someone I hate…like Alecto Carrow or someone."
"Oh." Doe forced a laugh. "Yeah, that would definitely suck."
They walked down the deserted hallway in awkward silence, Doe subconsciously wrapping her arms around herself and Remus nervously stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"So…" Remus said nervously. "I heard about you and Dalton. I'm sorry about that."
"Oh, it's okay," said Doe, hugging herself even more fervently. "It wasn't that terrible…like, it was a mutual thing. So…"
"Oh yeah? That's good," Remus said, kicking himself for bringing up that particular topic. He felt more awkward than ever. He quickly racked his brains for something else to talk about, looking down at Doe as he did. She still had her arms wrapped around herself. "Are…are you cold? Here." He took off his robes and draped it over her own.
"What? Oh!" Doe laughed as she noticed what he was doing. She hitched up the robes to keep them from dragging on the ground. "Thank you." She smiled up at Remus, and immediately looked down at the ground. His eyes were so blue…
"You're welcome," Remus smiled.
As they rounded a corner, they came face to face with Professor McGonagall.
"Ah, Mr. Lupin. Miss Meadowes," McGonagall addressed the two. She took one look at Doe's strange double-robe outfit and smiled.
"Professor," the two said together.
"It seems that everyone is in bed, so I don't see any reason for you two to continue your post," McGonagall said. "Have a good night."
As she past them, they exchanged glances, smiled, and made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Ah! The Head Boy and Head Girl! Representing the Gryffindor House proudly, I see," the Fat Lady greeted them as Remus and Doe approached her frame.
"Thanks," Doe grinned. "Maximum Remedium."
"Right you are," said the Fat Lady, and she swung her frame forward to admit them.
"Well that wasn't that bad, for a first time post," joked Doe as they climbed into the Common Room, which was completely empty and completely silent, other than the crackling of the fireplace. "At least there weren't any rogue students running around the hallways."
"And if there were, it would've most likely have been my own friends," sighed Remus, and Doe laughed. "Alright, goodnight, Doe."
"G'night, Remus," Doe flashed him another brilliant smile before making her way up the stairs to the girl's dormitories.
It took Remus a few seconds to realize that he hadn't reclaimed his robes from Doe, but he knew better than to try to follow her up to the dormitories. He remembered specifically a few years prior when Sirius had tried to chase Marlene McKinnon up to the girl's dormitories with a nose-biting teacup, and ended up slipping head-first down the stairs-turned-slide. Making a mental note to get his robes back the next day, he headed up to the boy's dormitories, where most likely Sirius and James would be keeping everybody else up.
"Why, if it isn't our little Head Boy, coming back from his post," Sirius said loudly, hanging upside down from his four-poster bed. He and James were throwing a Fanged-Frisbee back and forth. At times, it would attempt to take a nasty bite out of one of the other boys as it flew by.
"You know, I'm beginning to despise that title," grimaced Remus as he crossed the room to his own bed, narrowly missing the Fanged-Frisbee as it whizzed by. He didn't bother confiscating the very obviously banned Fanged-Frisbee – James and Sirius never took his titles seriously.
"So how was the post?" asked Peter. He sat completely straight at the edge of his bed, completely alert and holding his pillow in his arms.
"How was Doe?" James added, wiggling his eyebrows at him.
"Doe Meadowes?" Frank Longbottom asked. He was lying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "Are you two together now? I thought she just dumped Dalton Barringer from Ravenclaw."
"She didn't dump him, it was a mutual agreement," corrected Remus as he slipped off his shoes. "And no, we're not. We're just –"
Just as he was about to declare his just-friendship with Doe Meadowes, somebody rapped lightly on the door, and a blonde head poked in.
"Um, sorry, is everyone decent in here?" squeaked Doe, her face rather red.
"Yes, Doe, we're all very much clothed. C'mon in," Sirius announced, snatching the snarling Frisbee in the air and sending it back to James.
"Oh, no, I'm just here to return these to Remus," Doe said, opening the door a little wider, but not taking any step further. She held out Remus's robes. "Thanks for erm…lending them to me."
Remus crossed the room in quick strides and took his robes from Doe. "Er, yeah no problem. Thanks for returning them."
"No problem," she smiled. "Good night." And with that, she swiftly closed the door.
Remus mentally cursed himself for not retrieving the robes earlier, and turned to face the rest of the occupants in the room. Sure enough, each boy was wiggling his eyebrows at him.
"We're just friends!" he said, throwing his arms up in the air for emphasis, and made his way back to his four-poster bed, dramatically chucking his robes into his open trunk.
"Sure, mate," chuckled James, and he threw the Fanged-Frisbee again. This time, it successfully took a great chunk out of Peter's pillow.