I Can See You

Spying On The Marauders

The Gryffindors sauntered out of their Transfiguration classroom.

"Did you see the look on McGonagall's face?" James smirked.

Sirius chortled. "I can't believe she actually thought that would stump us,"

Remus grinned but did not say a word. Peter was, as usual, trying to bask in the reflected glory of his friends, looking smug even though there was nothing he could claim credit for. His three friends were the ones who had impressed the Transfiguration professor by mastering the complex spell with little effort.

James and Sirius simply had to raise their wands and utter the incantation for the porcupine to transform into a frog. Remus had succeeded on his second attempt. Peter, like the rest of the class, had failed repeatedly till Remus gave several very detailed step-by-step demonstrations. All this while, James and Sirius were restlessly subjecting their porcupines to more transformations - into frogs, lizards, stones, quills and many more. They finally gave up when they noticed the dangerous glare from their Transfiguration professor.

"I heard that was NEWT level," Sirius said, his eyes twinkling.

"Then why are we still here? Shouldn't they let us skip ahead to the final year?" James grinned.

"What? And deprive us of the fun we're having?" Sirius cried. "I don't know about you, Prongs, but I love being here!"

Peter nodded eagerly. "Hogwarts will not be as fun without you guys."

Both James and Sirius chuckled, looking pleased with Peter's statement.

*

"Arrogant fools," Natasha muttered in a barely audible voice as she watched the boys walk away,

She felt slightly disappointed. She had hoped to overhear some exchange of information that might be of interest to her. Instead, she had to endure their bragging. "That's alright," she told herself. "This is only the first time. I have lots of opportunities to find out more."

*

"Are you feeling better?" asked Kathleen, peering over her book.

Natasha quickly took her seat next to her roommates in the library. "Yes, the headache's gone," she fibbed, avoiding their eyes. She hated having to lie to her friends, particularly Kathleen, but this was necessary. They must never find out what she was up to.

"Are you certain? You look a little pale," Pamela commented, pausing midway through painting her nails.

"I'm fine," Natasha mumbled, and then she saw her chance to change the subject. "I've told you so many times not to paint your nails in the library! Can't you wait till we're back in the dormitory?"

"Madam Pince has been glaring at us. I think she's seriously tempted to chase us out," Tessa added in a hushed whisper.

"Stop it, all of you! You're scaring my poor little brush! See, it's trembling!" True enough, Pamela's brush was now painting her nails in shaky uneven strokes. "Darn! Now I have to do this all over again."

*

Natasha figured that she had better not use the headache excuse again anytime soon, in case her friends should decide to force her into paying Madam Pomfrey a visit.

She waited almost a week for the perfect opportunity to eavesdrop on the four Gryffindors again.

Her chance came at breakfast one day. The teachers and most of the students had finished their meals and departed from the Great Hall, save for a few scattered groups that were still lingering around. Natasha could see that Remus and his group were still at the Gryffindor table, in no obvious hurry to depart. Lily Evans, another sixth-year Gryffindor, was seated with them and chatting merrily with James Potter.

Natasha threw a sideway glance at her friends and noticed that they, too, were taking their time. Kathleen was admiring the profile of Sirius Black from where she sat, a daily ritual that Natasha had long grown used to. The brunette was staring so intently at the handsome boy that Natasha would have guessed she was trying to channel some psychic thoughts across the tables.

Kathleen gasped when Sirius did glance casually into her direction. Her eyes widened even more when he did not look away, an amused smile playing on his lips. The dark-haired girl tore her eyes away with some difficulty and kept them on the empty glass in front of her, blushing furiously. By the time she summoned the courage to look again, Sirius had turned his attention back to his friends again.

Natasha suddenly had an idea, and leaped out of her seat abruptly. "Hey, I forgot my quill. I'll be right back. Wait for me here!"

Tessa shook her head as she watched her friend hurrying out of the hall. "What's wrong with that girl? She can always borrow a quill from one of us."

Pamela shrugged. "Let her be, Tess. What were you telling me about Jason Lindow again?"

*

Natasha carefully tiptoed towards the Gryffindor table, careful not to make any sound. She heard laughter and wondered what she had missed.

"Have you decided to come to our Quidditch practice?" James was asking Lily Evans. Everyone in the school knew how crazy he was over her.

"I'm still considering," she replied teasingly.

"What's there to consider?" Sirius jumped in to help his friend. "Every girl at Hogwarts is dying for a date with James. You're the lucky one, girl."

Lily flashed Sirius a sly grin. "You know that's not true, Sirius. I know many who are dying for a date with you!"

"Who, me?" Sirius feigned ignorance with equal playfulness.

"Yes, you."

"So who are the girls with such exquisite taste?" Sirius asked, causing his other three friends to shake their heads in mock dismay.

Lily turned around and scanned the hall with her green eyes. An amused smile surfaced on her lips as she faced Sirius again. "You've dated any Slytherin girls, have you?"

"That'll be an interesting change from all the girls you've dated," James quipped.

"You're not referring to Kathleen Curtis, are you?" Sirius smirked.

"Why not? We all know that the girl has had the hots for you for the longest time. And she's not that bad-looking either," James said as he observed Kathleen, who appeared to be in deep conversation with her friends.

"I see you have a soft spot for girls with green eyes, Prongs."

James shot his friend a dirty look. "I dare you to ask her out."

"Sure, you're on!" Sirius was never one to turn down a dare.

How dare you toy with Kathleen's feelings! Natasha fumed, suppressing an urge to hit James hard on his head.

"That's not a very nice thing to do," Remus spoke up in his quiet voice.

Bless you, Lupin! You're really the best! she thought approvingly.

James casually brushed off Remus' comment. "Lighten up, Moony! Sirius is probably just doing her a favour! She must have been waiting for this day forever!"

"What about the two of you?" Lily turned to Remus and Peter. "Neither of you date much. Are there any girls you're particularly interested in? I can try to help."

"Help yourself and help me, Lily. I've been dateless for the longest time too." James tried to look pitiful, but Lily simply laughed it off.

"I know who Remus is interested in," Sirius said suddenly, with a mysterious smile.

Remus looked slightly alarmed and eyed his handsome friend warily.

"You do? Who's she?" Peter asked.

"I caught him looking at her at Care of Magical Creatures."

"You're seeing things, Padfoot," Remus said firmly.

Sirius shook his head knowingly, ignoring Remus' glare.

Lily frowned. "Is she from Gryffindor or..."

"Slytherin?" James completed her question.

"Does it matter which House she belongs to?" Peter asked, perplexed.

"Of course it does, Peter!" Lily exclaimed. "Have you seen any of us making friends with a Slytherin?"

"Does old Snape count as our friend?" Sirius laughed at his own joke.

"But...but you've just...just encouraged Sirius to date a Slytherin," Peter stammered.

"That's just one date, and it's Sirius, who's anything but the committed type," Lily explained patiently.

"Who's this girl, Padfoot?" James urged, with growing curiosity.

"I'm not telling just yet," Sirius replied slyly. "You'd better be nice to me, Moony. I'm your secret-keeper now."

"There is no secret to keep." Remus grabbed an apple and left the table.

*

Natasha's mind was racing as she watched the Gryffindors depart.

Is Black right? Lupin likes someone? Is she from Gryffindor or... Natasha shook herself. It was unwise to harbor empty hopes.

Then, another thought struck her mind.

Lily Evans, you'd better watch it. If I catch you badmouthing Slytherins in front of Lupin one more time, I'll make you pay.