Legacy of the Marauders

Chapter Nineteen Introductions

"Hey, Moon-I mean Joanna, maybe you shouldn't talk to us until the week is over. It might be suspicious if you do," counseled James as they arrived back in the common room.

"If you think that's best," Remus\Joanna said.

"And find out the girls' secrets," added Sirius.

Maybe," muttered Remus, walking up the girls' staircase for the first time. He nervously opened the seventh year dorm door.

"What do you mean macaroni is the root of all evil?" Lily demanded of Alice Johnson. "Everyone knows lasagna is the root of all evil because Garfield likes it so much."

"I guess I'm not everyone then," murmured Alice. She was brown-eyed, black-haired girl with a few freckles scattered on her pale cheeks. (Minerva's note: I'm referring to her face.) She might have been pretty on her own, however, she was never far from her closest friend Lily and was sometimes with Sapphire, and next to them she didn't look like much. Remus did not want to admit it to himself, but he knew that he was more attractive than her and almost as good-looking as Lily. In his opinion, though, no one could even be compared to Sapphire.

At the sound of the door Lily turned and looked at Remus. "Who are you?"

"Joanna Summers," Remus replied. "I don't want to intrude, but Dumbledore told me to stay here for a week. Just a week, and then I won't bother you again."

"You're not bothering us," said Sapphire kindly.

"Not yet anyway," Lily joked.

"That must be why that stuff is here." Alice pointed to a four-poster that was identical to the one he slept upon in the boys' dorm with a wooden trunk at the foot of the bed.

"Yes," Remus agreed.

"You'd better get ready. We only have an hour until classes start," warned Alice.

Confused, Remus questioned, "Why would I need an hour to get ready?" He typically prepared for the day in fifteen minutes: ten minutes to shower, shave his face, and brush his teeth and five minutes to dress and comb his hair.

"Fifteen minutes to shave or wax your legs, twenty minutes to shower, five minutes to get dressed, ten minutes to have your hair styled, and ten minutes to do your make-up," stated Alice as if that should have been obvious. "Why do you even have to ask?"

"Oh I, ah, don't usually take that long."

"Saphy takes less time than me and Lils too. She refuses to touch her make-up and only shaves her legs every two or three days. She can get away with that since her hair is blonde; it's too light to see. That's Sapphire, by the way." She indicated his girlfriend. "And she's Lily and I'm Alice."

"Pleased to meet you." It's always nice to be introduced to people I've known almost my entire life. "Well, if you're done in the loo I'll just go shower now."

"We're finished. Go ahead," Sapphire graciously offered.

Remus entered the water closet and shut and locked the door behind him. Knowing he would have to wear a skirt, as it was part of the Hogwarts uniform, Remus took waxing strips out of the cabinet beneath the sink. He stuck them to his legs, left them on for the required time, and peeled the first one off. Instantly, he bit his lip to hold back a yelp; he hadn't expected it to hurt, but he had suffered severe agony during full moons, so he got through the rest of the strips with mere winces, which he doubted the other Marauders could have done.

During his shower he attempted to wash himself without taking notice of his new parts.

He emerged from the toilet with a towel wrapped around him self-consciously. He went over to his trunk and pulled out Joanna's clothes. He felt slightly awkward changing in front of the girls despite the fact that he was physically the same gender. Fortunately, none of the girls appeared to be paying any attention to him: Lily was plaiting Alice's hair, Alice was intent on staring at a photograph of her boyfriend Frank Longbottom, and Sapphire was reading.

As a result, he dropped the towel and donned his new attire. Briefly, he wondered how Dumbledore knew his bra size; then he realised he'd rather not know.

"You seem uncomfortable," Sapphire observed as they headed to the Great Hall.

"A little," confessed Remus. "I'm just not used to being here." By 'here' he meant in this body, yet he was aware that they'd interpret it to mean in this school.

"You'll like it soon; it's wonderful!" assured Sapphire, sitting down to breakfast.

"To you, but you're used to it."

"New things can seem odd, but if you give it a fair try you'll see how great it is."

Remus smiled, for Sapphire had no idea what they were truly discussing. "Okay. Thanks."

"No problem."

Lily suggested, "If you're upset just do what I do."

"What's that?"

"Whenever I feel blue I start breathing again."

He laughed. Lily had a quick temper, though she was quick-witted also. She really was a perfect match for James.

Alice finished drinking her milk and asked, "Who was the first person to say, 'I'm gonna squeeze these dangly things and drink what comes out?"

Everyone cracked up and Remus saw Sirius, James, and Peter glance over at them.

Lily caught him looking. "Those are the Marauders. James, the one with the Head Boy badge and glasses, is mine. Sirius, the muscular one, is funny and belongs to Sapphire's little sister. Peter, the short one, is the only boy of the four that doesn't get good grades. Remus - where is Remus?"

He had been about to snigger at the possessive way she referred to James and Sirius; they would be both flattered and annoyed by that, but questioning his absence chased away all amusement.

"Probably sick again," said Alice. "He's a sweet bookworm that gets sick a lot." She ate a piece of toast before adding, "He's Saphy's."

Sapphire, who knew the reason for Remus' 'illness,' nodded. "Poor Remmy. I'll visit him after classes."

"Will the nurse allow that?" queried Remus anxiously.

"I won't know until I try."

"Speaking of classes, we'd better get going," Lily advised.