"We have a task today, Gwendolyn."

"We actually have a task every day, James."

"This one is loads more important." Gwen wouldn't've cared—wouldn't've even listened, really, if James hadn't had that familiar twinkle in his eye that told her he was planning to cause some more mischief on the residents of Hogwarts. But he looked like he was in the midst of planning a prank, and Gwen knew she was better off on his end of things rather than ending up the prankee.

"Fine." Gwen shut her Potions journal and turned her full attention to her tablemate, resting her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. She widened her eyes as if with interest. "Go on, O Wise One."

"I will, thank you," said James. He smiled. Then, it was back to business; he leaned in and lowered his voice so nobody else in the Potions classroom could hear him. "Alright, so—we've got an issue: Evans and Snape are streets ahead of us with their potion."

"That wouldn't be an issue if you'd let me work on ours."

"No, listen to me," he whinged, scrunching his brow. "I have a plan. If they get better marks than everyone—and, let's face it, they will—then the whole grading curve will be thrown off. We'll go from getting an Acceptable—if we're lucky—to a Troll, because of them. But—" James smiled, leaning in even further "—if something were to happen to their concoction, then Slughorn would have no choice but to give us all around the same marks."

"I'm in." Gwen needed no convincing. "As long as it helps us pass this bloody project, I'm in."

James grinned at her, nodding once. "Brilliant. Then all I need you to do is distract them while I do the dirty work."

She gave him a serious nod, then slid off her stool and moved over to Snape and Lily's table. It was true; their Wolfsbane potion was almost fully ready, and in only a few days they'd be getting the best marks of the whole class. Gwen hid her scowl.

"Looking good," she said, nodding, impressed. "If only James and I'd gotten Wolfsbane. What's the key ingredient in it, anyway—oh, bloody hell," she said, reaching out to Lily's open book and 'accidentally' knocking the entire jar of dried clovers to the ground. "Sorry about that."

"'S okay," said Lily, smiling. "Sev, would you help me—?"

They both leaned down to gather up the clovers and put them back in their rightful jar. Meanwhile, James discreetly slipped something from a small leather satchel into their potion, then returned back to his seat, unnoticed.

Gwen looked up, smiling, when Snape and Lily re-emerged from beneath the table. She nodded. "Sorry again. Well, better get back to mine, then!"

James gave her a subtle high-five right as the Wolfsbane exploded a nasty green pus right into Snape's face.

"I don't know." Gwen had said this at least seven times in one bloody conversation, and she was growing tired of having to repeat herself, but still could not wipe the smile from her lips. She shrugged again, feigning innocence. "It just.. happened."

     "Right." Jackie popped a grape into her mouth. "You just happened to start fancying James Potter."

     "Would you keep your voice down?" Walker chided, glaring at Jackie from across Gwen. It wasn't as though anyone could hear them; they'd been communicating in hushed voices, and the Great Hall at lunch wasn't exactly a hotspot for quietude. Nobody really paid much attention to the three Ravenclaws sitting side-by-side, anyway.

     "Thank you, Walker," Gwen said, then hit Jackie's shoulder. "If this gets out because of you, Jones, I'm offing you myself. Understood?"

     "Sorry!" Jackie put her hands up, eyes wide with faked harmlessness. "It's just—this is bloody mental. I mean, how many years have gone by that you've hated his guts?"

     "I didn't know him," Gwen said reproachfully, twirling the stem of her goblet between her fingers. She smiled, then shrugged. "He's kind, you know. We never gave him enough credit."

     "Right." Walker nodded. He looked to Jackie. "She's been love potioned."

     "Oh, shove off, you two," Gwen said, rolling her eyes. She set her goblet back on the table. "If you're going to be such pricks about it—"

     "No, no," Jackie said, still laughing, "we're just joking, mate. Don't be dramatic."

     Then came a voice from behind that Gwen was not usually used to hearing by the Ravenclaw table at lunchtime—Regulus Black stood patiently behind her, waiting for her to turn around. Jackie and Walker exchanged a look, then turned, as well.

     "Graham," he greeted. Then he nodded to Jackie and Walker. "O'Brien; Jones. Good day?"

     "What d'you want, Black?" Pleasant as always, Jackie cut right to the chase, eyes narrowed at the Slytherin. "Come to gloat, or something? Congratulations on winning against Hufflepuff, like that's such a feat."

     "It's one you can't say the same for," Regulus pointed out coolly.

     Walker lowered his voice. "Set yourself up for that one, Jackie."

     "I'm here to deliver a message to Gwen. From Snape." He looked thrilled to be doing so. He reached into his robes and pulled from them a small strip of parchment, tied with a royal green ribbon. He extended it out to her.

     She raised an eyebrow. Snape was not known for his niceties, and there was nothing in the Slytherin V. Ravenclaw handbook about delivering messages for one another. This was an odd occurrence.

     "Take it," Regulus said. "I don't want to be over here any more than you want me."

     His eyes flickered up to something behind Gwen, and his lips tightened. "Go on."

     She took it, and as soon as the parchment left his hands, Regulus was gone.

     "What's it say?" Jackie said eagerly, leaning in over Gwen's shoulder. "Oh, imagine it was some sort of love note, and he's declaring his feelings for you through Regulus."

     "We already know Gwen's got bad taste," Walker added with a serious nod.

     Rolling her eyes, Gwen turned back around to face the table, undoing the tiny knot in the ribbon and opening the note. It was a small piece of parchment; couldn't hold much more than a few words, at best. But Gwen truly had no idea what it could've been about.

     "It only says I know," she read aloud, eyes narrowing. Then, she groaned, her head rolling back. "Bloody hell. He's found out about James and I sabotaging his potion. Now he's probably going to off us."

     "Maybe that's not what he's talking about," Walker reasoned, furrowing his brow. "Could be about... uh, you fancying Potter."

     Gwen clenched her jaw, shaking her head and exhaling a sharp sigh. "No," she said. "It's definitely about the potion. I've got to go talk to James. Walker, you'll finish off my plate?"

     She knocked back another sip of her pumpkin juice and made towards the Gryffindor table. It wasn't a far walk, but it was a demeaning one, at that.

     "Graham!" announced Sirius, when she'd arrived. He spread his arms. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

     "I wouldn't say it's a pleasure," she said, without thinking. She looked to James, giving him a look of defeat. She held up the scrap of parchment. "Snape knows. Also, I completely fancy you."

     The reaction was instantaneous: Gwen herself gasped and put a hand to her lips. Sirius went bug-eyed, scoffing out a disbelieving laugh. Remus choked on his pumpkin juice. Peter's jaw fell open. Mary and Marlene hadn't been paying any attention before but suddenly spun around, eyes wide.

     And James himself was staring up at Gwen from beneath a deeply furrowed brow, concern written all over his face.

     It felt as though some sort of floodgates had been released. Gwen's lips fell open again and she began tumbling out many different things; "I fancy you quite a lot. I think your hair looks awfully nice like that, and your glasses are always crooked—which is actually just very charming—and of course it helps that you're bloody fit. What, don't you feel the same, love?"

"What the bloody hell is this?" Sirius demanded, his eyebrows scrunched together. No longer was he laughing. "You just taking the piss, Graham?"

James stood up, watching Gwen reproachfully. "What are you on about? Are you serious?"

"I really wish we actually snogged," she added to James with a nod. Her face lit up. "Actually, can't we just do that now? You fancy me right back, don't you?"

Jumping up as though he'd had a mad realization, Remus practically fell over himself to stand up from the table as Gwen moved towards James. He placed himself between them, acting like a shield whilst Gwen fought to get around him, calling out to James all the while.

"She's been dosed with a love potion," he told the others, who all made noises of understanding and nodded their heads. "Somebody must've slipped it into her drink, or something."

"Regulus was at my table," she said—again, without thinking. "Anyway, James—can we go snog now, ple-e-ease?"

James's lips turned down at the corners and he watched Gwen sadly. "We should get her to Slughorn."

"I quite like Slughorn," she agreed, nodding along with James. "Let's go, then! C'mon, James, love—"

"Maybe I shouldn't go," he said quietly, taking his seat again. He nodded to Remus. "You take her."

"No," said Gwen immediately. "I'm only going with you, Jamesie."

"Jamesie," repeated Sirius excitedly, laughing to Peter. "Write that down."

"Quit it," said Remus, shooting the other two a glare. "She's going to be humiliated once she wakes up."

James stood again. His lips were pressed tightly together. "Right. Humiliated."

"Slughorn ought to fix you," Remus told her, and he placed a hand on her back to guide her out the Great Hall.

She spent the whole walk reaching out to James, who had positioned himself on the other side of Remus and not once looked at her since they left the hall.

"James, come over here," she said, sadly, reaching out past Remus. "I miss you, darling. Please?"

He looked to Remus, and the two of them shared an entire conversation without saying a word. Then James looked to his feet and kept his gaze there all the way until they reached Slughorn's classroom, ignoring Gwen's pleas for him to join her and snog.

     "What seems to be the matter?" Slughorn asked the three, looking between each of them with confusion. "Everyone seems fine."

     "Potter's fine," Gwen said, dreamily.

     Slughorn's lips formed an O. "Yes, I see. Let's get you a little antidote for a love potion, then? If you'll just come with me."

     "James, you too," she said, reaching out and grabbing his hand. "I won't go without you!"

     Slughorn sighed, glancing behind him as a lovestruck teenager and Gwen followed him to the back of the classroom where he kept all sorts of magical antidotes. Dragon scales, bezoars, eye of newts. He twiddled around in his desk for a moment, then pulled from it a small pink vial with a crossed-out heart drawn on it.

     "Here you are, Ms. Graham," he said. "Just one sip of that, and you'll be good as new."

     She stared down at the vial in her hands, then looked up to James, giving him a sad look. She put a hand on his cheek. "I love you, James," she said, seriously, ignoring Remus's laugh from the front of the room.

     She popped the cork from the vial and took the smallest sip from the shimmering liquid inside. When she took the vial away from her lips, nothing felt much different, but everyone was looking at her expectantly.

     "I still feel fine," she admitted. "And I still really fancy James."

     "What's wrong, Professor?" James asked, suddenly concerned. "Did the antidote not work?"

     Slughorn looked completely distraught. "Oh, Merlin. Something's wrong. This is a foolproof antidote. It's never once failed me!"

     "Maybe it expired," suggested Remus, gliding towards them, his face written with mild concern. "Or something."

     "Oh, and I'm pretty sure he's a werewolf," Gwen added after a moment, nodding solemnly toward Remus. "Or shagging Sirius. One of the two."

     Remus and James both went completely white-faced.

"What?" James asked after a tense moment, his eyes wide behind his circular frames.

"I've been watching you all for a while," she carried on—yet again, without thinking—and shrugged. "I think it's cool, to be a werewolf. Bit hairy, I suppose, but things happen. And I'm sure it could improve shagging exponentially, if—"

"Woah," interrupted Remus, putting his hands on his ears. He shook his head and looked to Gwen, wide-eyed. "You've.... you've known?"

"Not for long." She twisted her lips to the side. "Since I met you in the Three Broomsticks. When Peter couldn't stop staring at Rosmerta's tits."

     Remus shook his head, slowly backing out of the room. "I've got to go find Sirius," he said, then left at once.

     "Gwen," said James, very seriously, and he looked her right in the eyes. "Did Snape put something in your drink, or not?"

     She thought for a second, then lifted her shoulders. "Thought so. Didn't smell or see anything different about it, so of course I didn't even check to see—oh, but I'm dreadful at Potions anyway, and it would help if I was able to pay attention in this awful class—"

     "Oh, my Merlin." Slughorn's eyes were wide. "It's not love potion. Somebody must have slipped her some Veritaserum."

     "Truth potion?" James choked. "You think?"

     "Well, we could always find out," Slughorn said. He looked back to Gwen. "Ms. Graham, who is your favorite professor at this institution?"

     She didn't even have to think. "Mcgonagall."

     "What did you get on your History of Magic O.W.L.?"

     "Dreadful." She frowned. "Though I always lie and say I got an Acceptable."

     "And you fancy me?" James cut in, eyes wide, disbelief written all over his face.

     She twisted her lips—the potion was only waring off just enough for her to regret answering truthfully, but not enough for her to stop herself from responding, "Very much."

     "Yep," Slughorn confirmed with a nod. "Truth potion. Nothing we can do then except wait for it to fade out. Now, if you'll both be off—I was in the middle of my crossword."

     He dropped them right outside of his classroom and shut the door on their heels. James was regarding Gwen with an expression she could not figure out.

     "So you fancy me," he said, thoughtfully. "How long?"

     "Since that night in the Great Hall," she said. Her lips pressed tightly together. She wanted to fight the potion; spilling her guts was now registering in her mind as embarrassing and she wanted nothing more for it to end.

     James caught the look on her face and nodded, and his questioning came to an abrupt end. "Right. I've got to get to... I'll see you later, Gwen."

     "Don't you have anything to say to me?" she asked, before she could stop herself.

     He thought for another second, then offered her a faint smile. "Come find me when the potion's worn off."