The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep

-Robert Frost

Wednesday

September 15th

9:22 am

The day felt fresh and warm to Emmeline Vance – like spring had arrived again just for the day, but without the wet mud and rain and thunderstorms. The sky, instead, was a periwinkle blue, the lake still and beautiful, and the grounds outside as lovely and green as could be hoped for. Emmeline breathed it all in as she walked down a corridor with Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans.

"What are you so happy about?" Lily gave Emmeline a disgruntled look. They were heading to Transfiguration, where they had to hand in a tricky essay assigned by McGonagall the previous week. "Figured out the incongruities of turning a camel into a soapbox, have we?"

"It's just a nice day out," Marlene spoke up for her best friend, whom she knew like the back of her hand. Emmeline merely grinned.

Lily still looked grumpy about McGonagall's essay, however, and Emmeline's smile faded slightly.

"It's alright, Lily. We all struggled with that essay," she said encouragingly. "Even if you do get a bad grade, it couldn't be much worse than the rest of ours."

"I s'pose not," Lily muttered once they reached the classroom. Students were milling around the front, and among them were the four Marauders. Lily rolled her eyes when she noticed them, but Emmeline smiled and stepped forward, waving at Lupin:

"Hey Remus – how'd you do on the essay?"

"Horrible," came his chipper reply. "Didn't understand a word McGonagall said!"

"See Lily?" Emmeline turned back to her friend. "Even Remus didn't do that well. You should be fine."

Lily still looked determined to be in a bad mood, however, and Marlene dragged Emmeline away, saying that Lily 'needed some time to stew'.

"Not everybody wants to be cheered up all the time, Em," Marlene said knowledgeably as they made their way into the classroom, sitting down at a desk near the front. "Anger relieves stress and anxiety – just give Lily some space, she'll be fine by lunch."

Emmeline felt very skeptical of this logic, but decided to just leave the subject alone. The rest of the class filed in: Sirius Black and James Potter as usual grabbed a desk together near the back, while Remus and Peter Pettigrew sat directly behind Marlene and Emmeline. Lily was sitting at a desk by herself when Siobhan Burke, a beautiful red-haired girl in their year, took the seat beside her. Lily didn't acknowledge Siobhan, but her mouth twisted slightly as she pulled out her materials from her bag. Several boys, including Sirius Black, were staring unashamedly at her as she set her bag down and took out her Transfiguration notes, flipping her long curly hair casually behind her shoulder.

"Damn," Siobhan whispered to herself while searching through her bag. She then looked up at Emmeline and flashed her a simpering smile, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Hey Emmy – could you be a dear and lend me a quill? Pretty please?"

"Sure Siobhan," Emmeline said, ignoring Marlene as she rolled her eyes. Emmeline reached over and handed her a quill.

"Thanks Emmy," Siobhan smirked before taking her seat again.

"Emmy," Marlene mouthed, lip curled, and Emmeline shot her a look. They both knew Emmeline heartily disliked that nickname.

"Just leave it, Marlene."

"Stop being so nice to her, she's not worth it," Marlene whispered.

"It's just a quill. Who cares?"

"She walks all over you. It's obvious," Marlene insisted, but Emmeline couldn't say anything back as McGonagall suddenly walked in to begin the lesson.

"Good morning, students," the teacher said briskly as she strode into the classroom. "Quiet down please, and bring your essays to the front."

There was a great scraping of chairs as everyone got up to give her their essays. Emmeline saw Lily scowl as she got up from her seat.

"Ready to fail 6th year already?" Marlene smirked at Emmeline as they made their way to the front. Emmeline rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same.

"I guess we'll see."

An hour later, the bell rang, and the Gryffindor sixth years headed out of the Transfiguration classroom as the rest of the student body flooded the corridors. James and Sirius met up with Remus and Peter, and the four of them moved along with the crowd that was jostling its way toward the Great Hall for lunch. As the four Marauders headed downstairs, they talked about the eventful class they just had.

"I don't care what McGonagall says, that pig was totally Transfigured into a trestle table," Sirius insisted.

"It was squealing like mad and still had a curly pink tail," Remus pointed out.

"Leave Padfoot alone, Moony," James put his arm around his best friend's shoulders. "He tried his best!"

"Yeah, anything can be a table if you try hard enough!" Peter remarked, and the other boys burst out laughing.

"Guys – shut up," Sirius suddenly stopped laughing: he had spotted Siobhan Burke nearby, and his attention was suddenly all on her. He motioned for his friends to stop horsing around once she was next to him.

"Hey Siobhan," he said to her casually. She glanced over at him.

"Oh, hi," she said unsmilingly. There was a short silence between them.

"So… what'd you think of Transfiguration? Bit difficult, yeah?" Sirius ran a hand through his hair, wishing fervently he hadn't just brought up something as dumb as schoolwork.

"I guess," Siobhan shrugged slightly. A moment later, she walked away, disappearing into the crowd of students without a word of parting.

"Wow, that was rude," Remus remarked once she was gone. Peter shook his head.

"Sorry mate," James muttered bracingly to Sirius, whom he knew was affected by Siobhan's cold shoulder. Sirius tried to not let it show, however.

"She'll be back," he said confidently. "I'll get to her eventually."

"I think that's what Prongs keeps saying about Lily," Remus smirked, causing Peter to laugh. James just ignored them.

~/~

The four of them had reached the Great Hall, where students were eating lunch. The sounds of talking and laughing and clinking cutlery surrounded them as they made their way to the Gryffindor table.

"Hey Marlene – hey Amal," Remus greeted the couple as he sat down opposite them. James and Sirius took the seats to his right and Peter squeezed on the seat to his left, which was partially blocked by a hefty seventh-year girl.

"Hey guys," Marlene smiled, but her smile dropped slightly when she noticed James and Sirius. Sirius was seated facing away on the bench, casually leaning back with his elbows on the table. James simply wore an indifferent expression, mussing his hair in that way he thought was so cool.

"What's up with them?" Amal frowned at Sirius and James. Amal Singh was a sixth year boy from Hufflepuff. He and Marlene had been dating for about five months, and Remus thought he was a nice guy, however Amal wasn't always on the best of terms with the other Marauders.

"Oh, just girl problems," Remus smirked. Marlene and Amal rolled their eyes at each other.

"Is Evans around?" James asked in a would-be casual voice, but the others saw right through him.

"She's in the library," Amal said. "She wanted to check over her Transfiguration notes again to make sure her essay was accurate."

James looked disappointed, but not surprised. He recovered by putting a large piece of shepherd's pie on his plate.

"What's up with Sirius?" Marlene asked, looking at the back of his dark head. "I thought he and Isabel LeCarré had worked things out."

"She's nice, but I don't think things are going to work out between us," Sirius scratched his chin apathetically, glancing to his left. "I'm considering Siobhan Burke now."

Marlene and Amal both busted out laughing. "Good luck, mate," Amal said, still shaking with laughter. "Once 'Her Highness' steps down from her throne to acknowledge us peasants, let me know."

"I like a challenge," Sirius said simply, turning around to face the table. If he was hurt by them making fun of him, he didn't show it, and their laughter soon dissipated.

"It's not a good idea, Sirius," Marlene warned, taking a crumpet from a nearby platter and putting it on her plate. "Siobhan's a piece of work: she doesn't talk to anyone except for Emmeline, and Emmeline doesn't even like her very much."

"Emmeline…?" Sirius frowned at Marlene, uncomprehending. Remus, Marlene, Amal, and Peter all stopped eating and stared at Sirius.

"Are you kidding?" Remus said dubiously after a moment. "Emmeline Vance? Blonde girl in our year? A good friend of ours… ring any bells?"

"Mm, oh yeah," Sirius said vaguely, nodding. He recalled that girl always hanging around Marlene and Lily, but never really gave her much thought. Marlene scoffed, clearly offended. Remus and Amal both shook their heads.

"So where is Emmeline?" James asked Marlene, hoping to distract from his best friend's tactlessness. "Isn't she usually sitting with you guys?"

"Siobhan dragged her away. They're over there," Marlene nodded towards the other end of the table, scowling. "God knows what they're talking about."

Sirius leaned over to see where Marlene was indicating. Siobhan was a long ways away, sitting across from the blonde girl he now remembered was Emmeline. Siobhan was talking animatedly about something, and Emmeline was sitting there in silence, nodding politely.

"Why are they friends, even?" Remus frowned, looking over at them too. "Emmeline's really nice, and Siobhan's always been very… self-sufficient."

"Emmeline's too nice. That's the problem," Marlene insisted. "She's terrified of disappointing people, so she doesn't realize when people like Siobhan use her as a means to an end."

Sirius listened to Marlene while still looking over at Siobhan and Emmeline. A sudden idea sparked in his brain, and he was beginning to look at Emmeline Vance in a whole new light. She was the only person in Hogwarts Siobhan talked to – that meant she had insight on Siobhan no one else had. Her inside knowledge on the most beautiful and elusive girl in this school could prove to be very valuable. Sirius suddenly felt hopeful.

"…'A means to an end'," Sirius repeated, a grin slowly appearing on his face. "Right."

Fun fact: 'Siobhan' is actually pronounced 'Shiv-vawn' and not 'Sow-bahn' as I initially thought. Feel stupid? Well, you're not alone.

This is my first fanfic in a really really long time, so I hope you guys like it! Please leave a review, I would seriously appreciate it, and it will let me know if I should continue writing this story.

Thanks very much!