"Keep on guard, keep on your toes." James shrugged. "As long as you keep your
paws to yourself, you and I won't have problems."
"If you keep your paws to yourself, you'll have problems with me," Mia cut in,
turning narrowed eyes at her brother. "You can poke and prod all you want, Prongs, but
I'm not afraid to bite; am I, Sirius?"
Sirius held up his forearm, which still bore scars from the first night of their
Animagus transformation when she had bit Padfoot's front leg. "Maybe let them be for a
bit, Prongs. Mia can take care of herself pretty well."
"Thank you." Mia smiled up at Sirius, who nodded to her. "Besides, if you're going
to get in a huff over my dignity, maybe instead of worrying about Remus keeping his hands
to himself, you should focus on someone else keeping their eyes to themselves." She glared
across the table at Peter, who very quickly lowered his gaze.
Surprisingly enough, the Marauders were the least of Mia's problems when it came
to her new public relationship with Remus. The story of his old-fashioned gesture of
courtship became a magnet to wayward witches, most notably the Ravenclaws who were
neither friends with nor feared Mia—yet. Mary, Alice, and Lily did their best to keep the
other House's girls at bay, but the other three Marauders began encouraging the flirtations
because if there was anything funnier than a Ravenclaw acting like an idiot, it was an
incredibly uncomfortable Remus.
Mia stumbled upon the boys in the library, early one Saturday, and was initially
shocked to see Sirius, James, and Peter. Then she spotted a table in the back where a group
of four Ravenclaws had surrounded Remus, who was doing his best to keep his nose buried
deep inside an Ancient Runes book. She noticed how much he looked so very like his
eleven-year-old self—terrified to be touched.
Three of the four girls, who were dressed in blue and bronze-lined robes that Mia
thought were a little too tight for show, sat on either side of Remus. One actually perched
herself on the table cooing at him for attention.
"You three enjoying the show?" Mia asked as she approached Sirius, James, and
Peter, who were all grinning at the entertainment. Mary, Alice, and Lily stood beside her,