As Joyce giggled, Remus shook his head.

"Yeah, well, that's all funny and everything, but I- I-"

Joyce imitated his action and shook her head.

"You're an only child, Remus. Of course you wouldn't know. I'm just pulling your leg."

Remus groaned. "You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Of course not. I'm not James's twin sister for nothing," she winked.

"Bah," growled Remus. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Remus took a deep breath. "Listen, Joyce... James told us about your seizure the other day." He sighed when he saw her wince.

"You're going to tell me to stay away from people, so I won't hurt anyone, aren't you?"

Remus chuckled, thinking how ironic that would be. "No, Joyce. How hypocritical that would be of me. No, I was about to tell you that I didn't care. You're my friend, you can count on me. You can count on Sirius, James of course, Peter, Lily, Marlene, and your friends Alex and Jess, of course. Come on, would you really think I would want to push you away?"

Joyce blushed. "Remus… thank you. You don't know how much that means to me."

"Believe me, Joyce, I do know how much it means."

Joyce could believe him. She'd believe anything he told her.

The next day, which was, fortunately for Remus, a weekend day (which meant Hogsmeade), Remus was sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating his breakfast. James, Sirius, Peter and Frank joined him.

Earlier that day, when all four boys had awaken and noticed that Remus was already gone, they'd agreed on the fact that it just had to be a girl that made him get up before eleven on a weekend day. Seeing as Sirius and James had nicked a vial of Veritaserum from old Sluggy's office, they were going to trick him into drinking a drop. And find out who the mystery girl was.

So when they reached Remus that morning, they successfully distracted him in order to give Peter the chance to drop a drop into Remus's pumpkin juice.

Except Peter was shaking so hard he dropped the whole contents of the vial into the drink.

But before he could warn James, Sirius, or even Frank, Remus reached for his glass and downed the liquid.

"So, Remus... Anyone on your mind at the moment?" Asked James, grinning. Remus's pupils dilated.

"N- n- n- yes," he stuttered.

"Oh, really?" Said Sirius, cleaning his nails with a knife. "Who?"

Remus shook his head. He tried to seal his lips, but the Veritaserum was too strong for him to resist.

"J- J- Joyce Potter," he blurted out. James froze. Remus sighed.

"Veritaserum? Really boys?" All traces of unease had disappeared from Remus's face. All that was left was a mixture of anger, sadness, and disappointment. Sirius, Frank and Peter had the good sense to look ashamed of themselves whilst James was still frozen in place. The young man's eyes were glazed over, until Sirius snapped his fingers in front of James's face.

"Oi, mate, come back."

Joyce wasn't the only one to have mental illnesses. James suffered slightly from zoning out easily, and Sirius was one of the rare people who could bring him back easily. James shook his head, rousing himself. "Geez. How long was I out for?"

"Only a few minutes," said Sirius, reassuring his best friend. James looked relieved.

"Listen, James," started Remus, but James cut him off.

"Rem', I know. You can't control your heart. And I know you won't hurt her. So listen closely: I'd rather it was you than anyone else. You're perfect for her. So we, my friends," James grinned, gesturing to his three buddies, "are going to help you win miss Joyce Dorea Potter's heart. And you can't stop us, mate," he added as he took in Remus's face. The latter sighed. He just had to go with it.

"Alright, do what you must."