It was lunch, and the Marauders plus Lily were headed down the sloping grounds to the tree by the lake, carrying sandwiches they'd gotten from the Great Hall. Their next class was Care of Magical Creatures and they'd been told to gather down near the shore anyway, so they'd decided to make a bit of a picnic of it and started out early, despite the grey overhead of clouds that filled the sky. 

"What'd you think of Garm and Frek?" James asked them as he trotted alongside Lily, already eating his sandwich before they'd even reached their destination. He actually had two anyway, as well as an apple and a small bag of crisps.

"I don't like them," Remus replied. "Garm seems arrogant and Frek is an idiot and they're both really dark, aren't they?"

Sirius said, "Alright but if I had Garm's hair -- I'd be bloody arrogant, too."

"Did they have the werewolf teeth, like you said, Moony?" asked Peter, panting a bit to keep up to the others' gaits.

"I didn't see the teeth, Pete," Remus answered, and to Sirius, "Garm's hair has nothing to do with it. There's just something about him that I don't like."

"You didn't like Ned Veigler either, originally," pointed out James.

"Because he smelled of werewolf."

Lily said, "And you're sure Garm doesn't smell of it?"

Remus shook his head. "He has a very distinct scent, but not werewolf."

"Yeah, he's right," Sirius said, "It's foul like werewolf, but it's --"

"Foul like werewolf?" Remus demanded, stopping walking. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Peter, James, and Lily all paused, too, to look at Sirius and Remus, who stood facing each other now. Sirius shrugged, "Are you saying that werewolf is a pleasant smell?"

Remus flushed.

"I'm not saying you smell," Sirius said. Then, "Bloody hell how many times do we have to have this conversation? This is at least the third one of them. I love the way you smell, you're literally the scent of my amortentia."

Remus ceded and they started walking again and James glanced at Lily with a smirk as they did. "What?" she asked.

"Am I your amortentia, Evans?"

Lily countered, "Am I yours?"

"Yes," James replied without any hesitation.

Lily started to ask, "And what does it sm --"

Sirius suddenly cut in, interrupting Lily's question, "You were both such idiots last year brewing that amortentia. Arguing about which of you was wearing stronger shampoo or cologne or whatever the fuck it was and actually it's just you're snorting in each other's essences coming from your bleedin' cauldron."

Lily flushed, remembering that argument and said, clearly.

Peter said, "I'll bet Wendy would be my amortentia, too."

"Probably, Pete," Remus said. He looked around, "You should've invited her along with us."

"She's got Runes," he answered.

They'd reached the tree and James was already finished his first sandwich, and unwrapped the second as the others started eating, too. They sat about around the bottom of the tree, except Sirius, who climbed up it as usual, straddling the lowest branch.

Lily said, "Backing up a couple topics... So are we saying we think Garm and Frek are evil in some way or --? Because I was rather hoping for a nice, peaceful year."

"Don't we always," muttered Remus.

"I don't think they're evil," Sirius announced.

"Agreed," James said, "I think we're over thinking it. It's simple as this: Dumbledore knows a helluva lot more than us and he didn't hire anybody evil. He wouldn't."

"I was going to say that there's no way in hell Garm has time to perform maintenance to that hair and hatch evil plans," Sirius said.

"Well you tend to your hair a good deal and you have excellent planning skills," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't tend to mine nearly as much as Potter does."

Peter said, defensive, "James's hair is always a mess."

James ran his hand through his hair, "Exactly. Always messy."

"Always perfectly messy," Sirius said.

James rolled his eyes. "Perfectly messy my arse..."

"He says as he situates it with his fingers running through it," Sirius smirked.

Lily said, "I'd be running my fingers through it constantly, too, if I could. Honestly, I'm jealous of you for being able to just run your hand through your hair anytime you wish, Potter." 

James grinned, "You're welcome to run yours through anytime you like, Evans."

Remus said, "I just don't think that Garm's hair has anything to do with anything. You can't judge whether he's evil by his hair. Which I don't even care for, honestly."

Sirius sighed, "I know, you've made it clear."

Remus said, "Also. As for the Dumbledore reply - James, don't forget that last year we had Professor Voldemort for half the bloody term, which led to you being kidnapped. Dumbledore is capable of misjudgment, that's all I'm saying."

"True," James said.

They fell quiet for several long moments, all thinking various things in relation to the mysterious Garm and Frek and what they thought of the duo. There just wasn't enough information yet to make a choice, at least Sirius didn't think so - Remus seemed to have all the information he needed, but there was something that was making Sirius hold out. 

"What do you think we're learning about today?" Peter asked, "In Care of Magical Creatures, I mean."

Sirius said, "By the lake, I'm reckoning either Mermaids or the Squid."

Lily said, "We've already learned about mermaids and I don't know that the squid is magical so much as he's misplaced."

Sirius said, "There could be quite a bit of magic in those tentacles."

"I just hope it isn't something boring like Grindylows again, or some rubbish," James said.

Peter shivered, "Grindylows are not boring - they're creepy!"

Remus said, "Not to mention fascinating."

James muttered, "Boring..."

They debated playfully over what they might be learning in the class, and finished their meals. Remus started teaching Peter how to skip rocks and Sirius leaned back and seemed to be taking a bit of a catnap in the tree, so James turned to Lily and laced their fingers together.

"Hullo," he said.

"Hullo," she answered with a giggle.

He leaned over and kissed her and as they did, he fished about on the ground with his fingers and came up with a little weed of a flower that had popped up near the base of the tree. When he pulled away, he held it up to her and she laughed as he spun the petals against her cheek. "That tickles," she said.

"Does it?" he asked.

"Yes," she grinned at him, her eyes glittering.

"Gods you're beautiful," James said, distracted by the gleam of green.

"Oh stop it, I'm very plain," she said, feeling warmth rising up from her neck into her cheeks, just from the way he was looking at her. "Entirely ordinary."

James shook his head. "That is where you're wrong, Evans. You're exceptionally extraordinary."

Lily was in a full-blown blush. "Potter."

"Evans."

"Ferfucksakes you lot, get a room," Sirius said from the branch of the tree, having opened his eyes to catch them at their snogging.

James held up his middle finger at Sirius without so much as glancing up from Lily's face.

"Moony and I were no where near this filthy when we first got together," Sirius said.

"UH ACTUALLY --" James said, tearing his gaze from Lily at this as she snorted in surprise at Sirius's declaration, "That is utter bullshit. I recall coming back from holiday and finding you lot on the bed all tangled up and don't even get me started on what the rules on the back of the door are all about -- pretty sure Peter's still traumatized from that one."

"I am, it's true," came Peter's input from the shore, where Remus had just skipped a rock successfully over twelve hops.

Sirius said, "Alright, well that's different."

"How?" Lily asked.

Sirius paused, "Dunno, give me a bit to work it out how and I'll get back to you on it."

"Yeah, I'm sure you will," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

Suddenly Remus let out a strangled cry, "NO WAY. NO WAY!" and he ran as quickly as his terrible knees could carry him.

Sirius sat up to see what Remus was reacting to - as did James, Lily, and Peter - and they saw coming down the sloping pathway, carrying his briefcase, was Newt Scamander.

"Uhoh, Kettleburn lose another limb?" Sirius said, grinning, and he jumped down out of the tree, excited to follow after Remus to greet the Magizoologist.

Newt Scamander was wearing his signature long blue coat and carrying his briefcase, his greying hair hanging over his forehead and into his eyes as he watched his footing on the rocky, sloping pathway that led from the castle down to the lake. He seemed to be muttering to himself from a distance, but once one got a bit closer, they could see he had his hand out as though leading something invisible. 

"Newt!" Remus called, getting within earshot. 

Newt looked up in surprise and a crooked smile shook it's way across his face. "H-hullo Remus," he said. He nodded at the space beside him, "Dougal, don't - don't you want to be v - visible for Remus so that h - he can say hullo to - to you, too?"

There was a moment's pause and then the demiguise faded slowly into view, though he was cautious about it and stayed partially transparent, clutching Newt Scamander's arm warily, staring up at Remus. "W - well, that's s - something like progr-gress, I suppose," Newt said with a shrug.

"Hullo Dougal," Remus said, squatting and holding out a hand.

"G - go on," Newt said.

Dougal looked up at Newt, then slowly let go of his hand and waddled over, shook Remus's hand, then leaped forward and wrapped both his hairy, semi-transparent arms about Remus's neck in a hug. Remus grinned, "Aw, thank you Dou."

Sirius, James, Peter, and Lily came up behind Remus, then, and Dougal faded out of view, although he stayed hugging on Remus's neck, even after Remus stood up, so that Remus had his arms out, wrapped around an invisible lump to his side. 

"Helloooo!" sang Sirius, coming up first, "Kettleburn out again?"

Newt nodded, "Had a - a bit of a run-in with a - an angry grin-grindylow."

"See? Not boring," Peter said to James.

"Not preparing for this lesson, I hope?" James asked warily.

"N-no," Newt said, "For the th-third years."

"Are we studying Dougal today?" Remus asked hopefully.

Newt smiled, "If - if he would sh-show himself he'd be an inter-interesting subject but I'm a-afraid Dougal's a b-bit too sh-shy for such a - a lesson. No, but d - don't you fr-fr-fret, I have a very inter-eresting lesson p-planned." He patted his briefcase.

"Yes," James said, grinning about at the others, "I'm ready for this."

They all turned and started down the slope toward the lake, Remus still carrying Dougal, while James and Lily held hands and walked ahead with Peter and Sirius trailing behind. Remus turned to Newt. "Is Professor Veigler here?" he nodded at the briefcase.

"N-no," Newt said, shaking his head.

"Where is he staying, now that Fallengunder is... compromised?" Remus questioned.

Newt stopped short. "Y - you haven't heard."

"Heard?" Remus asked.

Newt said, "Yes, about wh - what happened with Elva Greenwood af-after the f-full moon night?"

Remus's eyes were wide with worry, "What happened? Is Ned alright?" he was panicked.

"Y-yes, my boy, yes," Newt nodded, "V-very well."

"What happened then?"

James and Lily and Sirius had paused to listen, though Peter didn't realize they'd stopped and gone on down the hill a ways.

"W-well," Newt said, "Th-they've gotten together."

"Gotten together?" Remus asked, excited, "You mean -- they're -- they're dating? HE'S DATING HER?"

Newt chuckled at Remus's enthusiasm.

"EVERYONE'S BLOODY HOOKING UP!" Sirius shouted with excitement and he jumped about happily, was about to jump on Remus but checked himself knowing Remus's knees were bugging him, and he leaped on James instead, knocking him to the side and into the grass beside the path.

"Get off, you ruddy dog," James said.

Lily laughed, "It isn't Tuesday, Sirius, so watch where your hands are."

"Yeah!" James said, as Sirius laughed heartily and tugged James up from the grass.

Newt smiled with pride, "Y-yes, they-they've begun see-seeing one another. It t-turned out that M-Miss Greenwood h-had a bit of a s-s-secret of her own t-to share... but I d-digress - you'll h-have to talk to N-Ned about it."

Remus said, "Blimey I'm so happy for him."

"Y-yes, so are we," Newt said, nodding. He glanced at the watch on his wrist, which had a great deal more numbers than one could ever expect to be upon a watch. Their meaning was entirely lost on Remus. "We - we must hurry up and g-get to the lake's edge," he said, "I've g-got a quick m-meeting with the Mermish l-leader before we - we begin!" 

And on they hurried down the hill.

"A meeting with the Mermish!" said Sirius, nodding to James as Newt moved ahead of them on the path. "Well - doesn't that sound promising."

"A lot more so than the bleedin' grindylows," James answered.