Sirius Black had been trying to get her attention for the last ten minutes. The key word to that was trying. He'd been hissing her name under his breath and waving his arms any time she turned even slightly toward his direction.

Neither were working well for him though, because Elmira absolutely refused to look up. She was busy at the moment, and even if she wasn't busy, the fact that it was Sirius Black who wanted something from her meant she absolutely was not going to give it to him.

Just as she turned her back to the obnoxious boy, a tightly wadded piece of parchment whacked her right in the back of the head. She growled under her breath and shot a glare in Black's direction.

He was on the other side of the room, thankfully, and stood leaning on the table in front of him, his chin casually resting on his palm as he grinned triumphantly at her. He wagged his finger in a 'come hither' manner. The thought of going over there to talk to him just because he asked her to repulsed her. Her glare heated, and she snapped her gaze away from him.

"Just go over there."

Elmira turned to her potions partner for the day. Rabastan Lestrange. The Slytherin boy was busy crushing snake fangs with the pestle and mortar beside her. His dark hair was slicked back, a black apron tied around his thin waist.

"I don't want to go over there." She replied curtly, returning to slicing the pungous onions in front of her. She knew she'd chopped enough for the boil curing potion already, but she kept at it. It was an excuse not to look at Black or Lestrange.

Rabastan shot her an annoyed look, his dark, hooded eyes narrowed.

"Well I don't want Black to keep throwing things and ruin our potion." He growled, "Go tell your idiot friend to knock it off."

"He's not my friend." Elmira hissed.

Rabastan looked surprised. His hands stilled in grounding the fangs.

"What do you mean he's not your friend?"

She rolled her eyes, "I mean exactly what the words 'not friends' means."

He hummed, not at all bothered by her sass, before returning to his crushing.

"Why do you care anyway?" She shook her head, chopping the onions more fiercely than before, "If Black and I aren't friends, then you and I definitely aren't."

"I'm aware." He chuckled to himself, "It's just surprising. The two Gryffindor black sheep don't get along." He paused to smirk at her, letting his taunt sit in the air, "I wonder why that is."

Elmira's cheeks heated in embarrassment. She grit her teeth.

"It doesn't concern you." She mumbled.

"No," Rabastan leaned over to whisper to her, "but it does concern your brother."

Anger shot through her. She shook her head fiercely, "My brother can shove off."

"I'm sure he'd like to know you said that."

"Oh, yes." She spun away from him, glaring down at the mangled onions in front of her, "I'm sure he would."

Just then, another wadded up piece of parchment hit her in the head. It bounced off and landed in the pile of onions. She let out a barely controlled breath.

"For 'not friends', Black seems to want your attention pretty badly."

The smugness in Rabastan's voice made Elmira growl lowly to herself. She snatched the parchment off the table and, crushing it tightly in her hand, stomped off toward Black. Though she was seething and glaring at him with all the strength of her father, he seemed unmoved. He casually leaned back against his work table, his hands on the counter beside him, and that cocky, lopsided grin on his face.

"Why hello, Avery." He greeted pleasantly, "What brings you to this side of the dungeon?"

Elmira's glare heated. She threw the parchment at his chest. He made no attempt to catch it and instead let it fall to the ground.

"Stop throwing things at me." She hissed.

"How about you stop ignoring me?"

Elmira stared at him for a moment before groaning and staring at the ceiling in a 'help me God' sort of way.

"Just leave me alone, Black." She ground out, "I need to finish this potion. I'm sure whatever pressing matter you want to talk to me about can wait until after class."

Black was silent. Which was odd.

Elmira frowned and lowered her head to look at him. His grey eyes were curious as he took her in. She didn't feel uncomfortable under his gaze, it was just strange. He looked at her a moment more, before his eyes moved to something behind her and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Lestrange is watching you." He said.

Elmira nodded like that was the most obvious thing in the world, "Yeah. We're supposed to be working on a potion together. And right now, I'm not because I'm over here wasting my time with you."

Sirius frowned, "Is he bothering you?"

"Not more than you are right now!" She threw down her hands in frustration, "Can you just leave me alone until the end of class? I promise I'll talk to you about whatever it is you want to talk about. Just not right now. Okay?"

Sirius pursed his lips, still staring in Lestrange's direction, before he turned and flashed Elmira a smile.

"Just wanted to tell you to look in the book." He said, "I wrote something."

Elmira held her breath for a second. He bothered her for that? He threw papers at her, potentially ruining her potion, and waved his hands around like a madman, just because he wanted her to look in the book?

"You're so annoying." She spun on her heels and stormed off.

"It's good!" Sirius called after her, "Look at it!"

Most of the students near them turned to look at what Sirius was yelling at. Which was her. Elmira's cheeks and ears heated in embarrassment and irritation. She growled under her breath. Sirius was an idiot. They were supposed to be spies, and he was failing miserably at being discreet.

"So," Rabastan drawled when she returned to their table, "what is it you're supposed to look at?"

"Not. Friends." Elmira growled, waving her knife between him and her before returning to slicing the onions.

"You and me, or you and Black?"

"Both."

Rabastan hummed, a smile on his lips.

"I don't believe you."

Elmira shook her head in frustration. There was no point arguing. Who cares what Rabastan Lestrange thought anyway.

"Mmm, you're fraternizing with the enemy." He leaned toward her again, lowering his voice as he smirked, "What will Bastian think?"

She slammed her knife down on the table, "I'm not fraternizing with anyone and there are no enemies!"

First Black then Lestrange. Why couldn't any of these people just be normal? For an hour. That's all she wanted.

"Besides…" She felt her anger fizzle and her hands stilled, "I wouldn't know what my brother thinks anymore." She bit lightly on her bottom lip, "Bash hasn't talked to me since school started."

Rabastan righted himself before speaking, a snide tone to his voice.

"Oh, Bash, is it?"

"Yes." Elmira picked her knife up. She shook her head angrily. She didn't know why she'd told him that. It wasn't like he cared. All she'd done was make herself sound weak and feel even weaker.

Rabastan kept trying to talk to her after that, but she promptly and religiously ignored him. There was nothing he could possibly say that would make her want to listen. She could hear Mary's voice in her head telling her to be nicer, but she really didn't want to. All she wanted was to finish the blasted potion and meet Remus in the library like she'd promised.

After far too much time had passed for Elmira, pink smoke began rising from their potion. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tell Black he needs to work a little harder to sabotage us next time." Rabastan grinned and bowed his head slightly to her as he went to turn their potion in.

She barely even acknowledged that he'd spoken. She hurriedly waved a cleaning spell over their equipment and stuffed her things into her knapsack, pulling it over her shoulder quickly and hurrying to the door. Her eyes scanned over the room and she groaned to herself, seeing Remus still working on his potion. She bounced on her toes impatiently as she waited, groaning to herself every few seconds.

"I can hear you." Remus grumbled at her from his table only a few yards away from.

She groaned again, louder this time.

"Yeah. Yeah." He rolled his eyes but didn't try to hide his smirk, "Give me a second or two, Mira."

Remus turned to his cauldron which seemed to be shaking aggressively back and forth. It looked like there was a goblin trapped inside, trying to get out. A chattering sound rang out as the whole thing quivered. Remus' partner, Peter Pettigrew, stood beside it, holding the stirring spoon in front of him like a shield.

"You just stirred too roughly, Pete." Remus said kindly, lowering the pudgy boy's spoon back into the cauldron, "Do it more gently."

"If it explodes, I'm blaming you." There was playfulness in Peter's voice, but he still sounded nervous, eyeing the cauldron like it might come alive and eat him whole.

Slowly and with timid stirring, the cauldron stopped shaking. Peter looked up at Remus, seeming quite proud of himself. Remus smiled encouragingly before dumping the last ingredients in and waving his wand over the cauldron. Pink smoke began wafting out.

"See!" He said, filling a vial with their now complete potion and labeling their names on the side of the glass, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"No. It wasn't." Peter laughed, taking the vial Remus passed him, "I thought it would explode, for sure!"

Remus smiled, "Well, it didn't. We make a pretty good team."

Peter positively beamed.

"We do, don't we?" He smiled happily, then looked down at his hand, remembering he was holding something, "Oh! I'll go turn this in!"

"Alright, Pete. I'm going to clean up and head to the library with Mira. I'll see you later, okay?"

The smaller boy nodded emphatically before scurrying off toward Professor Slughorn's desk to turn in their potion. Remus shook his head in amusement before waving his wand over the table. After muttering a few cleaning spells, everything was gleaming and in its proper place. Remus nodded to himself, approving of his handiwork, before tugging his bag over his shoulder and approaching Elmira.

He raised an eyebrow in question at the look she was giving him.

She smiled softly, "That was really nice of you, Rem."

It truly was. Though she didn't know Peter, she'd seen the way he followed his friends around. It was like he was desperately searching for somewhere to belong, for someone to accept him. Elmira knew enough about that feeling to recognize it in someone else.

Remus grinned, coming to stand in front of her, "What was nice of me? I didn't do anything."

He was playing dumb.

A laugh bubbled out of Elmira.

"Alright." She looped her arm through his and tugged him along with her into the hallway, "You didn't do anything. You're just nice is all."

"Well thank you." He chuckled happily before nudging her with his elbow, "So, how was working with Lestrange? He didn't put a Slytherin curse on you did he? Sirius seemed to think that's something he would do."

Elmira shrugged, her happiness draining a little, "He was fine."

"Mmm…" Remus turned to fix the look she came to think of as just his. It was like he could read her soul. His kind, amber eyes bore into her, seeming wise beyond his years and taking in every detail. Elmira's gaze drifted to the floor. She knew it was impossible to hide things from him but she tried anyway.

"You know I don't believe you." He said, "What did he do?"

Elmira shrugged again, weaker this time, "Nothing really. He's not as bad as Black probably made him out to be."

"But…"

"But," she sighed, giving in, "He kept pressing me about Black, wanting to know why we weren't friends and all that."

Remus was silent for a moment.

"And…?"

Elmira's lips turned up minutely before twisting back down. Of course Remus could tell there was something more she wasn't saying. He could always tell.

She took a breath before speaking.

"He mentioned my brother." She bit her lip and looked off down the hallway. Remus's hand on her arm tightened in a comforting sort of way.

"What about your brother?"

"Nothing really." She sighed and shook her head in irritation. It was mostly at herself. "I don't know why he upset me so much. All he did was mention Bash, saying he would want to know I was 'fraternizing' with Black. His words, not mine."

"Mmm." Remus hummed. They were silent for a few moments and Elmira was starting to feel uncomfortable before he spoke again.

"You know it's okay to miss him, right?" Remus asked softly, "He's your brother."

Elmira swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I know." She whispered, looking down. She kicked at the non-existent stones on the ground. "I just wish he'd talk to me."

Remus pulled her toward him so she was close by his side. Warmth flooded through her.

"He will." He smiled kindly, "You'll see. He'll talk to you eventually, Mira. I guarantee it. And until then, you have me."

She smiled genuinely then. His words made her feel infinitely better. Joy bubbled up inside her and she laughed heartily, leaning her head against Remus' shoulder.

"What would I do without you, Rem?"

The tall boy shrugged, "I don't know. Probably cry yourself to sleep every night."

"Oh yes." She turned her face toward him and they shared a toothy smile.

"Come on," he said, jerking his head to the side, "let's go get our seats before someone steals them."

Elmira didn't resist and let him pull her through the wide, oak double doors leading into the Hogwarts library. They passed tables of hard-at-work students in the main sitting area, and turned down one of the long aisles of shelves. Books floated around them, casting dancing shadows on the floor. Suddenly, Remus pulled Elmira sharply to the left. They bounded down a small set of stairs and under a marble archway. Elmira was slightly caught off guard by how quickly Remus was moving and had to jump clumsily over a pile of books that sat haphazardly in the middle of the hall.

"I know you love it here, Rem," she chuckled when he shot her an apologetic look over his shoulder, "but don't get too excited. I'm clumsy enough by myself. I don't need you knocking me over."

He chuckled in agreement and slowed his pace. Only a little. Elmira shook her head good naturedly but didn't try to stop him. Little else made him as happy as the library did and she wasn't going to spoil it.

Soon, they ducked into the little part of the library they liked to call their own. It was a small room, an annex off to the side and hidden deep within the twists and turns of the library.

It was a special sort of place. Soft glowing lamps and a singular fireplace bathed the room in warm light. Shelves packed tightly with books lined the walls. Elmira could never figure out how exactly they were organized. It seemed the titles and genres changed every time she visited. Below the walls, a rich, ruby colored rug lay stretched out on the ground. Four armchairs of different colors and sizes but equal comfort sat on the rug in a little circle, facing toward each other. With a contented sigh, Remus dropped into the plump, worn leather one he'd claimed the first day they'd discovered this place.

"Peppermint today." Elmira commented, nodding her head toward the fireplace on the far side of the room.

Remus lifted his nose in the air and took a few sniffs.

"Aconite flowers too." He said, recognizing the citrus and honey smell.

Elmira nodded, giving the fireplace a look as she retrieved her books from her bag. The perpetually burning flames were a deep orange color, melting into a soft green at the bottom. Last week it had been a periwinkle blue and smelled of gillyweed. She and Remus didn't know what made the color or the scent change, but it was always a nice surprise.

"Do you think Professor Binns is trying to kill us?" Remus asked. Elmira turned away from the fire to see him looking distastefully at the long roll of parchment he'd pulled from his bag.

She snorted, "Maybe he's trying to make some ghost friends."

"If he wants that he should just be chummy with Nearly Headless Nick or the Bloody Baron. We don't need to be bored to death."

Elmira hummed as she pretended to think that over, "Something tells me those three won't be having tea parties anytime soon."

"Well they should." Remus grumbled to himself and settled back in the chair, "Maybe then Binns will give us less homework, or something interesting to read for once."

"Oh hush." Elmira rolled her eyes and settled down on a wide throw pillow in front of the fire, "It's not that bad. Don't be so grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy. I'm never grumpy."

"Oh no, never. You're just a bucket of rainbows and sunshine."

"You said it, not me." Remus grinned cheekily at her over his parchment. She stuck her tongue out at him. His only response was to raise the parchment to cover his face and settle back into the chair.

Elmira took that as a sign to get started on their work. Although she considered herself a good student, she didn't have anything near Remus' work ethic. The boy was as dedicated as they came. Elmira wished she could be more like him, but she just got bored too easily. Either the work was too easy since her mother had taught it to her already, or it just didn't peak her interest. There wasn't much she could do to motivate herself when she really couldn't care less about the material. Some classes were just like that.

Potions was the worst though. She'd been staring at the textbook for a while now and had read over "How Not to Burn Through Your Cauldron" about four times without actually retaining any of the information. She tapped her quill idly against her hand. Remus was still behind his parchment, seeming to actually be working. He hadn't shown his face for since he'd sat down.

"Rem." She whispered, watching his reaction closely.

He didn't move.

"Rem." She tried again.

Still nothing.

She grinned. Even though Remus couldn't read the book Black had given her a few days ago, she didn't want him asking questions about it. She was a terrible liar.

As quietly as she could, she pulled out the leather book. Although she'd been annoyed with Black, she really was curious about what had him so excited during Potions.

Cracking the book open to the first page, she saw Black's lazy, winding print.

Avery.

I've found the first clue for Operation Remus. I'm disappointed I'm the only one contributing to the effort. You're clearly slacking. I expected better from you.

Elmira rolled her eyes and continued reading.

Our mysterious friend got a letter from his mum today. I wasn't supposed to read it, obviously, but he left it out on his nightstand while he was showering and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity for real spy work. It was boring stuff mostly. Did you know Remus has a cat? I can't imagine why. They're horrible little beasts. Remus' is named Figaro, though, which is a cool name I guess. For a cat.

But! The important thing. At the end, Remus' mum asked how he was doing with his (and I quote) 'furry little problem'. Have you heard him say that before? Do you think it could have something to do with his secret?

Write me back as soon as you read this.

This is time sensitive.

Hurry up.

I can't imagine anything else in your life being more important or more interesting than this.

The last three lines seemed like Black had written them after the rest. She always knew he was impatient but this was proof that he really needed to work on it.

After checking that Remus was still occupied, Elmira took out her quill and inkwell. She wrote on the page below Black's annoyingly elegant scrawl.

First of all, I'd like to say that I've easily put in equal effort to you. If anything, my having to put up with you makes up for the information I have yet to find.

Yes, I did know Remus has a cat, and I rather like cats, just so you know. They're sweet if you have the right temperament for them.

No, I've never heard Remus say that. It's really an odd thing to say… maybe it's a phrase his family uses? My family says a few things others don't. I really have no idea what it could mean, though.

Elmira read over her messy writing. She put away her quill and was just closing the book when dark letters began to appear underneath her words. Curious and a little entranced, she leaned down on her elbows, watching the new words appear.

Avery.

Stop making excuses. You're lagging behind, end of story. And you never have to 'put up with me', as you say, because I've been reliably informed that I'm a delight to be around.

Are you suggesting that I don't have the right temperament for cats? If so, I'm offended.

I don't know why a family would use the phrase 'furry little problem', but if they do, it's already a thousand times better than the phrases our families use, no matter what it means. But you didn't answer my question. Do you think it could be related to his secret?

Elmira scoffed and quickly wrote down her response.

Who told you you're a delight? Sorry to tell you, but your mother doesn't count as reliable in this situation.

Good. Be offended.

You don't know anything about my family. Don't pretend you do. And it could be related to his secret. I don't know. I don't see why Remus' mum would say that unless it was an inside joke or code for something.

Elmira set her quill down, ready for Black's presumably irritating response.

Nothing came.

She sat there, watching the book in boredom, but when the page remained blank, she became anxious. Had she actually offended him? She didn't like the boy and he undoubtedly got on her nerves, but she didn't want to upset him.

After ten minutes had passed, Elmira quickly wrote beneath her words.

I'm sorry if I did offend you. I didn't mean to.

She watched the page, her eyes flitting back and forth, afraid she'd blink and miss his response. Nothing happened for another ten minutes. She hadn't taken her eyes off the book the whole time and her shoulders were sore from leaning down on the floor for so long, but slowly, inky words appeared on the page.

Avery.

Don't pretend to know anything about my family either.

We should figure out what 'furry little problem' means. We can look in the library for something and try to see if the phrase comes up anywhere. Also, listen to what Remus says, if he mentions it. I'll do the same. Let me know if you find anything. Try not to slack so much.

Elmira sighed heavily. So, she had offended him. It couldn't have been because of the cat thing, that was barely even an insult and definitely not worth Black's reaction. It had to do with his family.

She understood that. Though she disliked him and hated the way he treated people like Severus, she knew she and him weren't all that different. They were Gryffindor children of a Sacred Twenty-Eight family. Not many had that title, and even less wanted it.

You're right. She wrote, I'm sorry I assumed anything. I'll do my best to find something to add to Operation Remus. That'll make it up to you.

Elmira paused, hoping he'd respond. After a second, he did.

Avery.

I'm sorry too.

And it's a start. You'll need to do some groveling to actually make it up to me. Maybe some flowers, chocolates, serenading…

Elmira rolled her eyes before writing.

Don't get cocky, Black.

With that, she closed the book.