Insert Clever Title Here

[• CYNTHIA ELIZABETH HAMILTON]

Although she had known for her entire life that her father, her sister and herself were wizards, the pure joy and wonder of magic had not been lost on her. That's why no matter how old she got, Cynthia enjoyed coming to Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop in Diagon Alley. She often just wandered about the store, examining all of the finest wizarding joke stuff out there.

Today, a new set of potions seemed rather interesting to her. She scoffed at a love potion included in the set, who would want or need such a thing, especially since the potion only worked it's magic for about 24 hours (depending on several factors). Still, she picked up the love potion and peered through it to examine the purple colour a little better. Cynthia looked around the shop quickly and hoping no one would see her, she popped off the top and took a whiff of the potion. It smelled sweet, almost sickeningly so and she couldn't help but wonder what it tasted like. She considered buying it, if only to test it and to experiment with it until she could pinpoint it's exact contents. A fan of Potions class, Cynthia happened to enjoy taking the time to figure out what was in the potions at Gambol and Japes.

Without really thinking, she took a sip, just to taste the flavour of the potion. Perhaps with a sip she might be able to figure out the basics of the potion's 'recipe'. This was not the case and Cynthia was prompted to take yet another sip, despite the awful taste that had begun to linger in her mouth. Before she could take a third a store clerk approached her and tapped her harshly on the shoulder.

"Excuse me miss! I'm going to have to ask you to purchase that item before you continue to drink it. These items are not for taste testing!"

Cynthia shrugged her shoulders and sighed as she dug into her pockets to get the money for the potion. She considered causing a scene, saying something about the absurd cost of the potion and how her money would be better spent on helping feed and clothe the poor, but she resisted. Her father had asked that she not cause him any embarrassment and as much as she hated that he asked her to be a 'good girl' she did what he asked. Cynthia still had a great amount of respect for her father and since times in their household were getting a bit tough (financially) she felt as if it were her job to ease the stress as much as possible.

"I hope this works." She said, not really meaning it, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"I assure you it will Miss. You have a great day."
The shop clerk had replied, either completely missing her sarcasm or choosing to ignore it.

Cynthia uttered a quick "You too" as she prepared to leave the store, taking a few more sips of the drink, trying desperately to get some hint of something she would recognize. As naive as it was, she began to forget that it was a love potion she was drinking and that magic truly did work. So, she ended up drinking over half of the potion's contents. Finally she left the store, but took a seat on its front step. She continued to sip her potion, but took out a notepad and quill to write down what she thought the contents might be. Caught up in her exploration of the tastes of the love potions, she barely noticed as someone tried to get past her. Cynthia had sat right in the middle of the step, and despite her small frame, was blocking anyone from entering.

[• REMUS JOHN LUPIN]

[/i] family.

Remus's grip on the book in his hand tightened a bit, the corner of his mouth twitching before a small frown appeared on his face. He leaned forward, tapped his father on the shoulder, and handed his book over. "I'm going to go ahead and get some quills and parchment and everything," he said, and without waiting for a reply slid out of the crowded bookstore.

A small sigh escaped him as he stepped onto the street, his shoulders slumping slightly and his frown deepening. He didn't feel like doing any more shopping, really. He weighed his options, wondered what he could do to pass the time. He was sure his parents would be a while yet in Flourish and Blotts, so he wasn't in a hurry. It was with heavy feet that he headed toward Gambol and Japes, but before he made it inside to mindlessly look at the merchandise, he noticed a person he recognized. Finally, there was a bit of a smile on his face. "Cynthia!" he called as he approached the shop, then waved at the Gryffindor girl in the year above him. "Hey!" he continued, and stood a bit away from her. "How was your summer?" he asked automatically, and his smile warmed up a bit. She wasn't one of the other Marauders, but she was a good friend. And that definitely improved his mood.[/size][/ul]

[• CYNTHIA ELIZABETH HAMILTON]

Cynthia was finishing off the last of the love potion when she heard a familiar voice call out her name. With the mere sound of this person's voice her stomach suddenly starting filling with butterflies. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, her cheeks flushed and her arms and legs felt like jello. She looked down at the bottle in her hand and widened her eyes, she had drank a love potion an entire love potion without even realizing it. No matter how much she wanted to stop what she was feeling, she couldn't. Looking up didn't help matters either, she could have sworn her face caught on fire when she saw Remus Lupin standing there in front of her. Cynthia was awestruck with him, his eyes seemed to glitter like something she had never seen before and everything about him was so desirable and perfect. In that moment it was hard to find a single fault about him, she was infatuated with Remus and felt desperate to hold him and smother him with kisses. She didn't even reply to Remus until after she flung herself onto him like an octopus attaching to its prey with its tentacles.

"OH hello Remus, it's just so lovely to see you again. You are so wonderful and special and kind and so very very very handsome and by handsome I mean incredibly sexy."

Cynthia wanted to shut up, she wanted to tell Remus that she had just downed an entire love potion, but something was keeping her from saying so. Perhaps it was the extreme desire and lust that she was suddenly feeling for her good friend and housemate, whatever it was was stronger than anything she had ever felt before. This was very strange for her, as sweet and adorable as Remus was, he just wasn't her type. She hadn't felt that sort of interest for anyone, ever and was terrified that this incident was going to be extremely awkward for Remus (and herself). Still she just kept at it, like a horny rabbit in the spring.

"Kiss me Remus! I neeed you." She tugged at his shirt collar and pulled him in close, puckering up her lips and waiting for what her body so desperately wanted. Cynthia felt slightly frustrated by how much she wanted him, that even clinging to him didn't cease the lustful feeling that had taken over her.

Cynthia was not a very heavy girl, so it's most likely that the entire bottle had a stronger effect on her than it would the average person. Unfortunately for the both of them that meant that it may last the whole 24 hours. Cynthia's senses of reason and modesty were both melting away very quickly and if either of them didn't do something soon to stop it, Cynthia's clothes would start melting away too. As the potioned up Cynthia saw it, Remus felt the same desire as she did, to everyone else this was probably not the case. To everyone else, she had gone completely insane.

[• REMUS JOHN LUPIN]

[/i] sort of reception. He barely had time to furrow his brow and register the strange look on his friend's face before she launched herself into his arms, clinging to him like a barnacle clung to the bottom of a ship, or like a leech clung to the skin. He froze immediately for what seemed like forever before tentatively patting Cynthia on the back, blinking his eyes a few times at the unexpected affection. And then she started speaking, and his eyes widened as much as they possibly could. He felt the blood rush to his face, his skin getting warm, an embarrassed flush traveling from his neck to his head. "I-I... what?" he managed to sputter, shaking his head a bit as if she dislodge this weird reverie. He knew Cynthia pretty well, which meant that he knew this sort of behavior was totally uncharacteristic of her. That, and his certain lack of self esteem wouldn't let him think that a girl all of a sudden thought he was sexy, of all things. That sort of adjective was reserved for his best friend Sirius, the guy with whom practically every girl in the school was in love. Sure, he had grown a few inches over the summer, sort of filled out, but this was just ridiculous.

And then, when Cynthia asked him to kiss her and her hands started pulling at the collar of his shirt, he knew something was wrong. His eyes flickered to her puckered-up lips, and he couldn't help but let out a tiny, scared sound before reaching up and unlatching her hands from the cloth of his shirt and easing her back away from him. As much as he enjoyed Cynthia's company - she was a fun girl, not over the top like most, modest and kind - he just didn't have those kinds of feelings toward her. In fact, so far Remus hadn't had those kinds of feelings toward any girls in Hogwarts. Something that severely worried his best friends, no doubt, who each had a preoccupation with the opposite sex. It just hadn't hit Remus yet, apparently. Not even when this obviously pretty girl had attached herself to him. Later on, he would reassure himself that Cynthia just wasn't the type for him, and there was nothing wrong with him for reacting the way he did. It was an unexpected and not entirely pleasant surprise, her sudden affection for him, so naturally he would be caught off-guard and kind of put-off by the entire incident. Right?

Merlin, as if it wasn't enough that he had to juggle being human and being a werewolf; as if it wasn't enough that he had to worry about his secret lycanthropy, and the possibility that he could seriously hurt someone with it; but now he had to worry about whether or not it was strange that he didn't have the right reactions around girls. He had enough trouble being him, let alone worrying about the sort of normal, hormone-driven things that teenage boys had to worry about! And what's more, he now had the responsibilities of a prefect on his shoulders. There was really only so much a boy could handle.

Remus dropped Cynthia's hands from his grip and took a step back, clearing his throat and looking anywhere else but her face, the blush on his skin still embarrassingly bright. "W-Well, is it safe to say you missed me over the summer?" he asked, in an attempt to lighten the situation. The fact that his voice was shaking a bit and was thick with confusion probably counteracted the attempt at humor, but at least he was trying. "So... erm... Gambol and Japes, huh..?" Now he went through the list of whatever deities he knew about and thanked every single one of them that his best friends weren't here. He couldn't imagine the kind of ridicule he'd have to hear in response to this little incident. He glanced at Cynthia, hoping that she sort of... got the hint? And would stop trying to molest him. Or would at least be a little more subtle in trying to molest him. Or would at least give him time to escape before latching on to him again.[/size][/ul]

[• CYNTHIA ELIZABETH HAMILTON]

Cynthia was startled by Remus reaction, although it was gentle and kind. He didn't seem to have the same feelings for her as she was feeling for him and it confused her very much. Those who were under a love potion's spell lacked a sense of logic that those unaffected had. While under the spell the affected only knew how to be obsessed with the person they desired and could not believe that they'd feel anything other than the same way. Cynthia's brows furrowed as she tried to think of what she might have done to make Remus turn her away. She couldn't think of anything, it couldn't be her fault; it must have been something else. She bit her bottom lip and looked down at the ground momentarily, then it hit her . . .Remus must be playing hard to get!

"Oh Remus, no need to be so shy! I love you! I just can't help myself!"

She was batting her eyelashes, trying her best to charm him with her feminine whiles (not that it would help her cause). In professing her 'love' to Remus, the real, non-crazy Cynthia was hoping to give him a little clue as to what was going on.

Cynthia was a much more modest girl than her love (or sex) crazed self was. It could even be said that once she came out of the spell and were able to think clearly again, she'd be close enough to embarrassment that she would cry. This would be completely out of character for Cynthia because she rarely ever cried. Aside from that, she was mostly immune to feeling ashamed of herself or who she is. Cynthia embraced who she was and welcomed change; she embraced that fact that she was different from her peers, a unique characteristic for someone who was only sixteen. Still, she was a teenager and teenage emotions ran wild, especially when mixed with a love potion.

"Remus, don't make me sad! I know you must feel the same way, I see your cheeks blushing!"

Cynthia twirled around, giggling a bit before going to embrace Remus yet again. However before she could she was taken over by a hiccup and for a moment felt a bit of sanity return. In this moment her eyes widened and she pointed at the empty potion bottle she had left on the ground. After it had passed and the craziness returned, she face Remus again and sighed. He looked so dreamy and so handsome! It is worth stating again that Remus was not really Cynthia's type, she had a thing for boys with a more rebellious streak in them than she knew Remus had. They were friends, not the best of friends but certainly good enough friends for Cynthia to know a bit about his personality. She knew that when the other boys in his group of friends would get into trouble and tease other students, Remus would stay quiet and resist participation. Not that Cynthia found teasing attractive, but she liked boys who were more vocal than Remus. He was a smart, trustworthy and noble person, all excellent qualities for a prefect, friend or love interest, but the attraction just wasn't there between the two of them. Cynthia would admit that she had thought Remus was cute after their first meeting, but had grown to value their friendship and she held it above any sort of crush or love interest. This is another reason that once the spell wore off Cynthia would be worried about it's effect on their friendship. She was good enough friends with Remus that it would hurt her to have things become awkward between them.

[• SIRIUS ORION BLACK]

Let's not worry about why Sirius was at Diagon Alley or why he was passing Gambol and Japes. All that matters is that THANK GOD Sirius got there when he did or poor Cynthia may have embarrassed herself even more. Sirius spotted Remus and the blond girl right away, partially because Sirius never forgets a lady and partially because of the awkward scene that was going on. Sirius would have intervened sooner, but he was busy racking his brains for the chicks name. He had to go through his mental babe inventory;

Ok, she was blond so that narrowed it down. Her hair was shoulder length so that narrowed it down more. . . If she was this friendly with Remus she couldn't be a Slytherin. . . it was Sally? No . . . Susie? NO. . . it was. . . Cynthia! That's it! That was her name. Woah, forgetting that would have been incredibly embarrassing! After figuring out Cynthia's name and having a nice chuckle at Remus' expense, Sirius strolled over to the two.

"Wow Remus, I didn't realize you were such a fox!" he joked. Even if Sirius hadn't been close enough to witness Cynthia point to the bottle on the ground, Sirius would have recognized the effects of a love potion. Being as handsome as he was could be dangerous at times; there were many occasions where he landed on either side of a love potion. Either girls were falling head over heals for him, which, let's be honest, doesn't take a potion, or someone slipped potion in his morning pumpkin juice and he's in love with the first person he sees from there. The problem with love potions is that they ware a really inexact science; it was all about timing and if you're not directly in front of the person you give the love potion too when they drink it, you can be horrible disappointed. Most of the time when such a thing happens to Sirius, the potion makes him fall in love with James or Remus, instead of the desired feeling. Needless to say, that becomes very uncomfortable very quickly.

Because of all his unfortunate happenings with love potions, Sirius became in the habit of always carrying an antidote with him. You'd be surprised how many times he's had to use it over the past year. This, however, was the first time that he'd be saving someone else with it. He reached in the pocket of his leather jacked. pulled out the small bottle, and held it out to Cynthia.

"Hey Cyn," he said, "I bet if you drink this, Remus will want to make out with you!" Sirius had not idea what would compel Cynthia to drink a love potion or if someone else had given it to her. What ever the cause, the poor girl really was starting to cause a scene and as hilarious as Remus' reaction was, it would just be cruel to leave Cynthia in this state.

[• REMUS JOHN LUPIN]

[/i] he was really interested. "Ohhhh..." Remus said slowly, a grin brightening up his previously confused face. "Ohhhh!" And he let out a very, very relieved laugh, clutching at his stomach. He forced himself to a slow stop, took a deep breath, and was about to gently attempt to get around Cynthia and into the safety of the shop - just to avoid further embarrassment for the poor, bewitched girl - but then he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Wow, Remus. I didn't realize you were such a fox!" Even before he turned around, he recognized the mocking tone of one of his best friends. The young werewolf scowled a little and turned to glance at Sirius, then shook his head a little. He opened his mouth to explain, holding up the bottle for a moment, but then dropped his arm when Sirius continued talking. Remus almost panicked, having no idea what the hell Sirius was playing at. "I - wait, no, I don't want -" and then, in a more dangerous voice, "Sirius, I swear if you're pulling something..." Not that the threat would mean anything, despite the 'dangerous' tone. 'Dangerous' from Remus was apparently a slightly shaking whisper/hiss. He really didn't have the energy to muster up anything more impressive than that. But then, it dawned on Remus. Sirius wasn't pulling anything; he was trying to rectify the situation with an antidote. Well, of course. Leave it to Sirius to recognize when someone was at the mercy of a love potion. Leave it to Remus to be totally and absolutely oblivious to that sort of thing. Well, if that didn't make Remus feel like an idiot. He had been standing there for how many minutes now, confused out of his mind about why this girl was coming on to him, and he hadn't once thought that something magical was happening.

"Thanks," Remus muttered in Sirius's direction, looking down at his feet. He was so flustered by the whole situation that he wasn't even able to be glad that he was seeing one of his best friends after a good long while. Instead, he was waiting anxiously and praying that this antidote worked, so Cynthia didn't have to endure being obsessed with him any longer.[/size][/ul]

[• CYNTHIA ELIZABETH HAMILTON]

The next series of events happened rather quickly, so quickly that Cynthia barely had time to take them all in. Cynthia was mostly oblivious to the arrival of Sirius Black, she was too busy batting her eyelashes and shamelessly hitting on Remus. This would mark the first time in two school years that Cynthia was not aware of Sirius's presence. Truth be told, she had had a crush on Sirius for what she considered a very long time, along with a whole line of other girls who were constantly fawning over him. Unlike some of those other girls, Cynthia was usually more friendly than flirtatious (if she could bring herself to talk to him). Not many people could make her feel shy, but Sirius was definitely one of them.

Of course she noticed him as soon as he spoke the words "Remus" and "make out with you", the effect of the spell still going strong. The thought of Remus actually making out with her, after his refusal of her advances, was very very exciting. Her smile widened and she quickly grabbed for the 'make out potion.'

"Thank you! Uh . . ummmm . .what's your name again? Oh well, just thanks!" Cynthia had actually forgotten Sirius's name, something that the ladies rarely ever did, and under normal circumstances something Cynthia would not have done. No doubt Sirius was a play boy of sorts and probably had trouble remembering her name in the first place, but that didn't deter Cynthia from having a crush on him.

She didn't wait much longer to down the antidote and she waited patiently for the effects to work. To Cynthia's surprise, the 'make out potion' did not have the effect Sirius had promised and slowly her real personality returned. Her facial expressions went from confusion within the first minute of drinking the antidote, to horror in the second minute, to absolute embarrassment in the third. Within three minutes she was completely cured and absolutely mortified. Unfortunately for her, the antidote had not been strong enough to erase her memory of the situation.

"Oh no. I didn't . . .oh . . . ummmm . . . " All she could muster were a few strings of 'uh-ohs', 'oh nos' and 'I can't believes'. Cynthia felt like a complete idiot, what person in their right mind would drink an entire love potion without realizing it? Instead of feeling like a girl of sixteen, she felt more like a six year old. Once the shock wore off, she realized that the only thing she could do was apologize and try explain the situation to Remus. That's when she remembered that Sirius had been there as well and that she had taken the antidote he had given her under the impression that in minutes she'd be snogging Remus Lupin.

"Remus I am so so very sorry, I just wanted to know what was in a love potion, which I probably could have looked up in a Potions book . .but I really like figuring things out on my own . ..and I was just tasting it and have a few sips . .and I really didn't think that it would work, I mean really, it's a love potion. I'm so sorry, I don't like you . .that's not what I meant . .just . . . not that you're unattractive, I just really like being your friend . .that's all, not that you care about that . .because you know . .thanks for not taking advantage of me, by the way, am I rambling? I'm really sorry."

The more she spoke, the more red her face became, she was having a really time getting the right words out. When she finally shut up, Cynthia's face twisted into a half-hearted smile. After rambling on and on she became very quiet, just waiting for one of them to respond to her. Embarrassment after a situation like that was only natural, but Cynthia was probably making a bigger deal out of it than needed to be made. She wasn't normally so upset and dramatic, but the fact that Sirius was there and had been the one to give her the antidote made things feel even worse. After all, she was sixteen and it's common knowledge that sixteen year old girls are emotional and kind of crazy, witches or not. Sirius had seen her act like a needy, love-sick puppy, a side of her that until the love potion had never existed. She couldn't even imagine what he thought of her now!

[• SIRIUS ORION BLACK]

Remuslooked less than appreciative when Sirius handed Cynthia the antidote, in fact, he seemed horrified and suspicious. Silly, silly Moony! As if anything Sirius could do anything to make this situation even worse! It was already pretty bad. Borderline embarrassing for even those watching it. "Relax, Wolfy," Sirius muttered to Remus as he ruffled the other boy's hair, "I know what I'm doing." OH YE OF LITTLE FAITH, WOLFY!!!! Uncle Sirius had it under control! Oh that boy was so jumpy and fidgety. He REALLY needed to get laid, and Sirius told him that on a daily basis. "Oh and by the way," he said, still muttering so only Remus could hear, "you seriously need to get laid." See what I mean?

Sirius watch with amusement as a whole spectrum of emotions crossed Cynthia's face as the antidote steadily had it's effect. She was obviously embarrassed by the whole thing, which was perfectly normal. Any girl in her position would have acted the same way. A stern person would have taken on the mentality that Cynthia had brought it upon herself by being foolish enough to drink a love potion. Not Sirius. He was too amused by everything, Remus' reactions, and Cynthia while under the effects of the love potion and the after math, to take an austere approach to the ordeal. The whole scene was really quite adorable, actually. Poor girl; her curiosity got the better of her. He had to admit, something about the curiosity was a bit of a turn on. What type or things would a curious girl do? . . . he couldn't help that his mind was always in the gutter!

"Remus!" said Sirius, now loud and scolding, "now look what you've done to the poor girl! Look how embarrassed you made her! You could have at least played along or something!" Sirius shook his head and turned to Cynthia, "As for you, no harm done! It was a simple misunderstanding! No need to be embarrassed; we all let our curiosity get the better of us some times!" As if Sirius would take any other approach with a pretty blond. Yes, blonds were his weakness, except for his cousin Narcissa because they were related and because she just sucked at life.

Sirius put a hand on Cynthia's shoulder and put on his classic smile that would make any girl melt. "Look, there's no need to get worked up over this; I've been victim of many of love potions and I'm sure Remus has endure worse from me when they don't go exactly to plan. You'd think he'd know how to handle it by now!" Sirius gave Remus a playful scolding look. Oh, Wolfy, he was clueless sometimes.

[• REMUS JOHN LUPIN]

[/i] did that. Apparently he was some sort of person of worship among the females of Hogwarts, or so Sirius seemed to think. Whether or not it was true, Remus had little to no idea, but still. It just struck Remus as funny. Or it did in the back of his mind. The rest of him was too busy being absolutely horrified with the situation, so he couldn't really appreciate the humor. And something else that managed to suck any of the humor out of the situation was the little aside Sirius had for him, telling him that he needed to get laid. Not even back at Hogwarts yet and Sirius was already starting on that! Now Remus was glad he hadn't planned to do his shopping with his best friends, because no doubt James would jump to agree with Sirius on that, and where James and Sirius went, Peter went, so it would be three of his best friends telling him that he needed to get laid... Merlin, was it the Christmas holiday yet?

Remus looked at Cynthia nervously after she had downed the antidote Sirius provided, chewing on his bottom lip and standing there tensely, hoping that it would work. He wasn't sure how much more of this harassment/affection he could take. Thankfully, after a few minutes Cynthia began to change back to her normal self, although Remus was sad to see the horror and embarrassment in her expression. That must have been a horrible thing to go through, especially since she had to remember it afterward. But it was an honest mistake, right? So it couldn't be that bad... She'd be okay, and Remus would survive with his sanity and all limbs intact. So no harm done! ...Even Remus didn't believe his overly-optimistic thoughts.

As Cynthia apologized in her own strangely rambling way, Remus shook his head and held out his hands, trying to gesture that she should calm down, and that it really wasn't her fault, and all that - but he couldn't get a word in edgewise, she was going on so long. Well, at least he felt informed now. Knew how the whole thing had happened. It seemed sort of silly that she had so carelessly swallowed a potion - and a love potion, of all things, which could be dangerous in some situations! - but her reasoning behind it did make some sense. Oh, and then there was that blow to his pride. Naturally she would point out that he just wasn't her type, and that she didn't like him... But luckily Remus could recognize that the girl was just saying whatever came to mind, and was somehow managing to talk herself deeper and deeper into a hole. Remus was sort of afraid that the more she talked, the more she'd have to apologize for, and then he'd never get the rest of his school shopping done.

But of course, Sirius was there to curb the poor girl's ramblings. Remus quirked an eyebrow and peered at Sirius as he threw the blame on the poor, unsuspecting Gryffindor boy. "I - well, what would you have had me do?" he said, but his voice was lost under Sirius's as the other boy started to use his charms on the girl. A short sigh escaped Remus, but he wasn't as annoyed as that might make him seem. As if he wasn't used to his best friend's antics already, after five years of friendship. Still, though, he disliked it when it was at his expense.

Finally seeing an opportunity to speak, Remus looked at Cynthia. "Really, it's okay, Cyn," he offered, a small smile slipping onto his face. "Like Sirius said, no harm done. Anyone could have made that mistake." He paused, searching for a way to make her feel a little better about what had happened, but all he could come up with was: "At least it was me, right, and not some stranger. That would have been... far more embarrassing." He nodded once, twice, and internally scolded himself for being so tactless. What are you doing, Moony, trying to scare her or trying to console her? Sometimes he wasn't the most eloquent of people. Especially not in situations where he was left confused, bewildered, surprised, and slightly violated.[/size][/ul]

[• CYNTHIA ELIZABETH HAMILTON]

Cynthia started to regain her composure as Sirius 'scolded' Remus in a manner that seemed more teasing and friendly to her than anything else. Poor Remus, he'd already been through enough torture for the day, but the dynamic between the boys suggested that he wouldn't catch a break from Sirius's antics. Sometimes Cynthia wondered why or how they were all such close friends, there must have been a side of Sirius, James and Peter that she never saw because if it were her she'd be fed up with them by now. Then again, it's not as if their teasing of Remus was cruel, not like some of the things they did and said to Severus Snape. Everyone knew that the boys had selected him as the target of their ridicule, but that was a different subject entirely and one that Lily Evans was prone to dealing with.

As Sirius basically spoke for Remus and told her that there was no harm done and there was no need to be embarrassed, she eased up a little bit. Surely Remus wouldn't be too upset, it was a mistake after all. Finally Cynthia felt more relaxed, more at peace with the situation . . . and then Sirius put his hand on her shoulder. A lump formed in her throat and she struggled to keep her cheeks from turning red, for what was an entirely different reason than why they had turned red before. Her mind started to race 'Don't look at him, don't do it, his hand is on your shoulder! Oh my god, and look at that smile! No, don't look . .don't do it Cynthia!'
Her eyes won the battle with her mind and looked straight at Sirius. To keep from completely melting into a ball of mush, she focused on laughing a little at the thought of Remus being at the receiving end of Sirius' charms after he had taken a love potion.

Soon Remus had the chance to speak and he was a welcome distraction from Sirius's hand and eyes and smile and just about everything else. She was relieved to know that he wasn't too upset with her and that her apology, although it was not given very well, seemed to be received OK. Some people might have thought that Remus's attempt to make her feel better was not the best approach, but Cynthia was actually quite relieved with what he had said. Indeed she was glad that it was Remus and not someone she didn't know at the receiving end of her love potion. Also, as far as she knew, Remus was usually a very forgiving and understanding person. On top of all that, Cynthia was very grateful that he hadn't taken unfair advantage of the situation.

“Well thank you both very much, you Sirius for the antidote and for showing up before Remus had to endure any more of my advances and you, Remus, for being so very understanding. I really hope this doesn't change too much between us and on the bright side, at least it wasn't Sirius clinging to you and begging for a kiss!”

Cynthia was feeling much more light-hearted about the situation, she was sure that in a few hours she could look back at it and laugh at how silly she had been. Cynthia was also positive that she would never make that mistake again, she had to be more careful about what she was doing! She smiled at both boys and the flush from her cheeks finally disappeared, despite Sirius's hand.

[• SIRIUS ORION BLACK]

After Sirius had his say, Remus stumbled over some reassuring words that were shortly followed by some potentially frightening ones. Sirius reacted with a quick glance and a smirk at the fellow fifth year. Being a werewolf wasn't Remus only aliment; he also suffered from a case of awkwardness. His conditions had become better over the years due in no small part to Sirius, but he was sure the ultimate cure would be to get laid. Remus wasn't painfully awkward like Peter was, in fact, most of the time Remus' awkwardness was more endearing that annoying, like Peters. But, it did cause him to ramble a bit like he was doing now. Luckily for Wolfy, Padfoot was there to help!

"Hey, if I had been the first person you saw, I would have just thought it was an ordinary day," said Sirius. That wasn't entirely true; most girls were far too intimidated by his looks and his awesome to approach him in the way that Cynthia had done to Remus, but every once in a while, a chick got bold. Only a hand full of this advances were anything close to what Cynthia had done and only one resulted in more that a conversation.

Sirius could see Cythia trying to resist is charm, as if she could! Many girls in the past had attempted the very same that Cynthia was a tempting. 95% failed. The other 5% were either Slytherins or just complete bitches that weren't worth Sirius time. Every once and a while, Sirius was intrigued by the ones who flawlessly resisted his charm, but he had a feeling Cynthia would not be one of them. It was only a matter before she would crack. . . and sure enough, she did! Cynthia had the same reaction most girls had when Sirius gave them an appropriate touch and flashed a grin. She was fighting the symptoms, yes, but Sirius knew his tactics had taken a great effect. As common as Cynthia's reaction was, Sirius never got tired of it. Quite the contrary, in fact; every time it happened it only inflated Sirius' ego even more. Pretty soon England wasn't going to be big enough to hold Sirius Black's ego.

"Well, I think Remus secretly likes those rare occasions where love potions make me go gaga for him," Sirius said with a smirk as he gracefully removed his hand from Cynthia's shoulder and put it in his pocket. It wasn't any type of bitter removal; his arm was starting to get tired and if he kept it on her shoulder for too long the poor girl may suffer from a hotness overload. "if fact, I'm a little surprised he didn't tell me he was going to be here today since he enjoys my company so much." Sirius gave Remus a joking glare. No doubt the boy wanted a few more mock-free days before living with Sirius and James for three months. Still, he knew that Sirius was trapped with his shitty family all summer! Remus may have been a werewolf, but that really only effected him once a month, Sirius was trapped with his family ALL THE TIME.

[• REMUS JOHN LUPIN]

[/i]."

The tension in the air was slowly dissipating, and Remus was finding it easier to get back into the swing of things. A whole summer without interaction from his school friends left Remus out of practice with his quick wit and, to be honest, sense of humor. It wasn't as though his parents were very humorous people. "I didn't think of writing you," Remus admitted, looking at Sirius's mocking glare straight-on with a tiny smirk. "And I wanted to enjoy my freedom from the smell a little while longer before having it all dashed away the second I set foot in the dormitory." He punched Sirius in the arm lightly, shooting a grin toward Cynthia. She probably needed to be reminded that the two were just joking around. People observing their friendship probably would have thought it was the opposite of a friendship most of the time, but it was just the way they showed, for lack of a better term, affection. All in good fun and everything.

"So Cynthia," Remus said, wanting to get the girl back into the conversation. "Was your holiday okay? Excited to go back to Hogwarts?" And then, realizing the three of them were standing in front of Gambol and Japes and blocking the entrance with their little get-together, Remus added, "Do you guys want to go inside or..? We should probably get out of the way." Remus glanced around, checked for anyone giving them an annoyed glare or the like. They had probably caused quite the scene earlier, and Remus was more than grateful that there wasn't an audience.[/size][/ul]

[• CYNTHIA ELIZABETH HAMILTON]

"Hey, if I had been the first person you saw, I would have just thought it was an ordinary day,"[/color] Well if there was one thing unattractive about Sirius Black it had to be his ego and instead of blushing at Sirius's comment, she had to stifle a bit of a laugh. Of course she knew that he couldn't be entirely serious, but it was obvious that he did know what kind of effect he had on the opposite sex. Cynthia felt a little silly for getting so worked up when it came to him, but she had to admit that she kind of liked it.

Finally Sirius removed his hand from her shoulder and she tried her best to act like she didn't notice. Inside she was filled with feelings of relief mixed with a little bit of disappointment, Sirius's touch had made her feel special and for a minute it made her feel like he would be interested in her. Cynthia wasn't used to feeling like someone might not be interested in her. After all, Cynthia had been the object of affection for quite a few boys in her year. She knew that she was pretty, had a great smile and a small, yet feminine frame, but Cynthia tended to be rather modest about it. She would never simply accept or agree with a compliment and she would never say that she knew any of those things about herself. Keeping her ego in check was very important to Cynthia because in her opinion there were a lot more important things than talking about herself and trying to get people to notice her.

She smiled at the boys and let her mind wander a bit while they exchanged a rather comical banter. When one of them addressed her she jolted from her thoughts with a “Hmm?” and on “Oh!” when it finally registered that Remus had spoken to her.

“My holiday was great! I discovered a lot about London, went to quite a few punk shows, I really love the underground community. There aren't a lot of wizards involved, but my mum is a muggle so I know a lot about the muggle culture.”

Cynthia could talk for hours about the punk movement if given a chance to, she was so interested in it and everything that it stood for. Despite her eagerness to talk all about it, she kind of figured that the boys wouldn't share her enthusiasm. So, she focused her attention on answering Remus's other question about Hogwarts.

“It should be nice to get back to Hogwarts, but I must say I'll miss the excitement of this past holiday. Between you and me, my dad promised me a new sewing machine if I get good marks and wear my uniform while I'm away at school. So, I probably won't be having a much fun this year as I'm used to having. How were both of your holidays? Are you excited to go back to Hogwarts?”

Whether or not the boys knew that Cynthia had a habit of sneaking out, hiking up her skirt and wearing different colors in her hair, they had to know that Cynthia was not the type of girl to always do what everyone else did. She enjoyed breaking the mold and going against authority every now and again. Cynthia never did anything particularly rebellious, nothing enough to get her into real trouble, but she didn't like the idea of being a 'good girl' all of the time.

"Do you guys want to go inside or..? We should probably get out of the way."

Cynthia looked around and realized that they were standing right outside of Gambol and Japes, probably blocking the way of anyone who wanted to go inside. She definitely didn't want to go inside, after all of the trouble she had gotten into by going into the store just once. Cynthia couldn't imagine what would happen if she explored the store again.

“Well I don't know about you both, but I'd rather not go back inside. You've seen what happens when I go into that store”

Cynthia flashed a smile at both boys and shrugged her shoulders as she waited to see if they had any ideas about what or where they should go next. After the whole love potion fiasco, she was surprised at how much she was actually enjoying talking to Sirius and Remus. Cynthia eased into conversation with them and found herself excited to hear about what their holidays had been like.
[/size]

[• SIRIUS ORION BLACK]

Sirius was a little hurt that Remus hadn't thought to write him. Well, Sirius hadn't exactly written Remus either, but Sirius needed the most moral support out of all their friends! They all knew the situation Sirius had with his family and how much he hated it. Any word from his friends certainly would have made the summer a lot more bearable. At least James had written a lot and Sirius always replied. It Remus had written Sirius certainly would have replied to him too! Even though Sirius was a little upset by this, he could never let it show; what would his friends think of him if he got all soft like that? No, he would do what he always did; suppress his feelings like this until they ultimately destroyed him. It really was the far more manly option.

Sirius rolled his eyes at Remus. Asking about Cynthia's summer? Really? Why didn't he just start talking about the weather? That was the type of question you asked your best friends after not making any attempt to contact them all summer. That wasn't something you asked a babe like Cynthia! And it was a bit of an awkward transition into conversation considering the events that had taken place. Sirius wouldn't make any further comments on the matter other than rolling his eyes for far of coming off to harsh in front of Cynthia. He had to maintain his confidence and boyish charm in front of the ladies without seeming like a bully. Unless, of course, he was bullying Severus Snape.

But what did she say about her summer? Something about underground punk rock? Sirius had been trying to follow the movement as best as he could from the confines of the Black home. He'd only managed to sneak out once to see a show, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Not so much what happened when he returned home to find his mother irate and waiting for him. It was totally worth it though. Sirius liked a lot of muggle things that his parents didn't approve of like motorcycles and bikini models. At times he wished he wasn't pureblood or at least that his wasn't a member of the Black family; a more muggle tolerant wizarding family, like the Potters, would be more preferred to Sirius. But, he did plan on getting a motorcycle as soon as he moved out.

After the mention of punk, Sirius didn't take in much else of what Cynthia was saying other than her father telling her to keep her uniform on that year. Had she been running around naked the year before and Sirius missed it? He couldn't have missed it! He could smell a naked chick from a mile away! And he was in the same house as Cynthia so the odds of seeing her if she had been walking around naked were very high.

After forcing the mental image of Cynthia walking around Gryffindor tower naked out of his head, he refocused his thoughts onto what Cynthia had said about punk rock. "Wait, what did you say about punk rock shows?" he asked, his tone gone for smug to curious and excited, "I managed to sneak off to one over the summer and it was awesome! But, you said you've been to a few, right?" Sirius wanted to hear Cynthia eleborate on the matter, but the suggestion of going somewhere else other that the streets shook Sirius back to reality and he checked his watch.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed, "Goddamnit, I was supposed to meet my parents at the Leaky Cauldron five minutes ago." He looked thoroughly annoyed by the interruption even thought it was done by hid own doing. Sirius wasn't all too worried about being late meeting his parents, but he was determined to avoid major conflict with them this close to returning to school. "Listen, Cyn, we're going to have to continue this conversation at school because I really wanna hear about these shows you went to. And you," he said as he turned to Remus, "Remus John Lupin, you can be sure that the smells and the torment will began on the Hogwarts express! See ya!" With that, he scampered off to find his parents who, no doubt, would be in a sour mood once he found them.