Remus finally couldn't take it anymore. He ignored the other's protests and burst out the portrait hole and
headed towards the main hall. He had to find James and hide him from Severus, or find Sirius and knock him upside the
head. Either one worked just fine.
He turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. James was right there! He looked at Remus and gave a small
smile.
"Any luck on Padfoot yet?" he asked. Remus could only shake his head; all vocal capabilities were caught in
his throat. James gave Remus a quizzical look. "Everything all right mate?" Remus nodded.
James shrugged. "Wanna hear something ridiculous? I just ran into old Snivelly and he tried to convince me that
he'd caught Sirius and Lily snogging! Of all people! Stupid git, I don't know what he's trying to. .
." James' voice trailed off as he looked at Remus' face.
"Moony?" Remus could only stare at James. He knew his face was betraying him, telling James the very thing he
didn't want to know, that Snape was right.
All traces of a smile left James' face. "Is it true?" Once again, Remus could only nod, although now he
was staring at the ground. He couldn't bear to look at James' face.
"And you knew?" James spoke in a very quiet voice.
Remus finally found his voice. "I only just found out -" He stopped short when he looked up and saw the end
of James' wand directly in his face. Completely floored, he looked at James. The burning in his eyes was so intense
Remus actually stepped away from his friend.
"Prongs?" he asked quietly.
"Get. Away. From. Me." James was deadly quiet, but his hand was shaking. When Remus didn't move,
James' face screwed up in fury.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!" Remus turned and ran down the hall, leaving James alone. He decided to go back
outside.
*********
It was 2am. Sara, Autumn, Spike and Peter had finally gone to bed. Remus hadn't returned yet and there was still no
sign of James or Sirius. Lily sat alone on the couch staring into the dying embers of the fire. She absentmindedly
twirled a lock of her hair though her fingers as she waited. And waited. And waited. 2:30. 3am. Her head was beginning
to droop onto her shoulders when the door slowly creaked open and a tall figure stepped into the room. She anxiously
looked up into warm dark eyes.
"Sirius Black! Do you have any idea how freaked out we've all been?! Where on earth were you? We looked
everywhere! You had us scared to death!" Lily stood and verbally assaulted Sirius. He just stared back with the
strangest look on his face.
She was worried about me. She does care. God, she's gorgeous when she's angry. It makes this so much
harder. He took a deep breath. He had to do this.
"Lily," he started.
"Listen, Snape-" Sirius cut Lily off by walking forward and gently placing a finger on her lips.
"Me first," he said softly. "Please, Lily, this will be so much easier if I can just talk." Lily
looked into his eyes. He looks so sad, she thought. She slowly nodded. Her news about Severus could wait one
moment longer. He took his finger away from her lips and spoke again, in that same soft, tired voice.
"I love you."
Lily's eyes widened. She could think of nothing to say. In a million years, she had never imagined Sirius Black
would ever say anything remotely like that to her. Then again, until this year they'd never even been friends.
Sirius went on.
"I love James more. He's been my best friend most of my life and he's essentially the only family I've
ever really known. And he loves you. I can't do this to him. . . We both just have to walk away from this. For
James."
Lily nodded and felt the tears well up in her eyes. She didn't know if she loved Sirius Black, but she'd never
find out. She wasn't willing to hurt James. She cared for him too much.
"Sirius, I--" The sobs choked her words before she could get them out. She closed her eyes, the tears now
flowing freely down her face.
Sirius watched her face crumple and it burned into his soul. He couldn't bear to see her cry. It was like a knife
in his heart.
"Oh, Lily. . ." he whispered. He gently reached up and brushed the tears off her cheeks. She slowly opened
her eyes and stared straight into his. He looked back, his hands no longer brushing away tears but tenderly cupping her
face.
He very slowly leaned in and Lily tilted her face to meet his. Just one more time they both thought.
Lily's lips met Sirius' in a kiss light as air. They both pulled back slightly, then leaned in again. The kiss
was slow but passionate. They simply melted into each other. Sirius felt his arms go around her and hold her closer. He
knew it was the last time he would ever get to hold her like this and he wanted to make it a moment to remember. Lily
opened her mouth slightly and her tongue met his in a gentle massage.
Lily grabbed Sirius' hair and pulled him closer to her. Not even James kissed her like this. She felt fresh tears
running down her face, but held onto Sirius as their lips explored each other. It was horrible and wonderful at the
same time.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the kiss lessened until they drifted apart. Their foreheads rested against each other as they
struggled for breath. Finally Sirius looked into Lily's eyes one more time and gently brushed her hair back from
her face. He let it run thru his fingers before dropping his hand to his side.
Lily choked back fresh sobs and nodded at Sirius. They let go of each other and stepped back. After a longing look,
they turned and found James in the doorway.