A/N: After reading your reviews, I have to say that you all (well most of you) are either smart little cookies, or I have gotten WAY TOO PREDICTIBLE. I have finished through chapter 30, and OMG! Maybe I will still catch a few of you off guard. Still review, though. Read on!
Disc.: I claim plot (though you guys are right there with me) and errors. Nothing more.
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Chapter Twenty Eight
Lily probably could have killed Severus with her bare hands. As it was her hand was still smarting from where she slapped him in the face. Irrational fear bubbled up in her stomach as she walked from the Slytherin House to Gryffindor, her feet dragging like lead. She didn't know how she was going to tell them. Her face felt all hot, and she was fairly certain she was going to pass out or throw up. She took a few deep breaths to stop the shaking.
Only Severus would be that sick, could be that sick. Lily paced back and forth outside of the portrait of the fat lady, wringing her hands. She was still shaking, and she knew that the longer she waited, the harder that it would be to tell them. Lily crossed her body with her arm as she tried to hold herself together. She frowned and sat down against the wall, her head tilted back and resting against the wall for a few minutes to pull herself together. She stood and let herself in to the Gryffindor common room.
"Maybe it can wait until the morning," Lily muttered to herself. She looked up as James came bounding down the stairs with a giggling Ravenclaw. Lily felt her jaw clench angrily as he barely noticed her when they passed. Lily growled audibly and headed up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Lily crept through the room silently. She stood between Sirius and Remus' beds, not certain who to wake first.
"Remus, Remus," Lily said quietly as she shook his shoulder. "Wake up, Remus."
"Lily?" Remus yawned as he stretched. "What are you doing here?"
"I talked to Severus," Lily said as she took a seat on the bed next to him. "Something he said earlier triggered a thought, and I went to talk to him."
"When?" Remus asked as he checked the time on his watch. "It's like three in the morning. You should be in bed, asleep."
"So should James, but I just saw him heading out with another girl," Lily said coldly as she crossed her arms. Remus wrapped his own arms around her, trying to comfort her.
"You'll get through this," Remus said. "We all will."
"Uh-huh," Lily said as she shifted closer to him.
"So, what did Snape tell you," Remus asked.
"Do you know your heart is racing a mile a minute?" Lily murmured. Remus chuckled slightly.
"Thanks for the medical checkup," Remus said. "Snape?"
"Mhmn, yeah," Lily said. "He confirmed that what I thought, there is a way to counteract what Severus has done to him."
"Did he tell you what it is?" Remus asked.
"Yeah," Lily breathed as heat rose to her cheeks. Remus couldn't see it in the darkness of the room or the position of their bodies, but he could feel the heat against his tee shirt.
"And what has to be done?" Remus asked.
"I… I have to have a relationship that is so outrageous that the senses are shocked back into him," Lily said hesitantly. "So, it's just a matter of who?"
"Who?" Remus asked quietly.
"Yeah," Lily said trying to breathe evenly. "Who would be seen as so outrageous and shocking that James couldn't fight it?"
"So, Sirius or me?" Remus said quietly, understanding.
"Yeah," Lily said frowning. She could feel the heat of the tears running down her face and dampening his shirt.
"There's always Peter," Remus said lightly. Lily sobbed.
"I hate him so much!" Lily cried.
"Awe, Peter's not that bad," Remus teased lightly. Lily sobbed louder.
"It's not him… It's HIM… Severus," cried Lily. "He's ruined everything! I had James and James wanted only me!"
"Hon, it's not going to be like this forever," Remus promised her as he patted her back gently. "I'm willing to help out in any way possible, and once we wake Sirius up and tell him, I'm sure he'll say the same thing too."
"How come you are so nice, Remus?" Lily asked.
"Because a guy like me can't afford not to be nice to people will to take the risk and be your friend," Remus said quietly. "Plus, I owe you. I almost turned you into my kind."
"Should we wake him?" Lily said after a minute as she realized she had been snuggled up in Remus' arms far longer than probably appropriate.
"Yeah, probably," Remus said as he released her. "I'll tell him."
Sirius was very quiet while Remus explained everything to him. He glanced at Lily a few times while Remus was talking, but he didn't interrupt and he didn't make a comment. Sirius crossed his arms, not saying much of anything. He leaned back and took it all in; not saying anything after Remus stopped talking.
"So," Sirius said. "How do we know Snape's just not screwing around?"
"He wanted me to turn to him to do it," Lily said. "He offered, saying that you two valued your friendship over it. I just CAN'T have a relationship with Severus. The thought makes me physically ill."
"He's definitely mental," Sirius said quietly.
"So, will you help Lily get James back to normal?" Remus asked his friend.
"Hell, I want him to be back normal," Sirius said quietly. "I miss my best friend, but I don't think this is going to work." Sirius looked at Remus apologetically.
"Ok, well I guess that means it's you and me," Remus said looking at Lily. Lily nodded once, her arms crossed against the loneliness. "Can you at least help us?"
"Yeah," Sirius said quietly. "I can help. I think it'd be best, for all, if you keep why you two are goofing around with each other under wraps. That way no one tips off James, you know?"
It started off simple enough. Lily came out of her dorm room the next morning, dressed in her favorite jeans and a tee shirt. Her hair was pulled up in a pony tail and she had her sneakers tied perfectly. Remus brushed past James and walked up to Lily. He took her by the hand and guided her out through the portrait hole.
"I don't think the two of you holding hands is going to be enough," Sirius told them as he joined them at the breakfast table. Lily glanced over at Remus helplessly. "You two holding hands isn't exactly a shocking development, you know. It's almost expected now that James is out of the equation."
"Ok," Remus said dropping her hand.
"Wait, what?" Lily asked as she looked at Sirius. She glanced to her right where Remus was sitting, his cheeks slightly flushed.
"Well, everyone knows that you two have chemistry, you know?" Sirius said as he poured himself some juice.
"No, I don't know," Lily said. She looked to Remus. "We have chemistry?"
"You'd be blind not to see it, Lils," Sirius said. He took a sip. "It's not at all shocking that you two would hook up slowly, which you are. The natural progression would be hold hands for a few months, maybe a chaste kiss here or there at a year… but only when no one is looking, of course. A little public display of affection at a year or two, then maybe sex at the ten year mark, but only after a couple of years of marriage."
"You've gone mental," Lily said shaking her head. "IF, and that is a big IF, Remus and I were to hook up for real things wouldn't move that slowly."
"Sure," Sirius said shaking his head. He focused back on his plate. Lily fumed for a few minutes, occasionally glaring at Sirius who was reading the back of a cereal box and was completely oblivious to Lily's glare.
"You're wrong," Lily said after a few minutes.
"That's nice," Sirius said distractedly as he started digging around in the box, looking for the prize. Lily thought more about what Sirius said, thinking he might be a little right, though she'd never admit it to him. Remus was the next obvious choice for her. Hell, it had taken James forever to actually pin her down for a date. She threw her fork down on the table, took a sip of water, and turned to Remus.
"Hey, Remus," Lily said a little louder than a normal speaking voice, causing him to jump slightly.
"Yeah?" Remus said as he turned to her. She grabbed his face and pulled him to her, giving him what she hoped was a very convincing passionate kiss. The noise in the great hall dropped dramatically, but Lily refused to open her eyes and look. Her face was hot, like it was on fire.
Remus didn't kiss her back… at first. Caught completely off guard, his eyes shot open wide and he nearly panicked. He was good looking enough, but girls normally didn't kiss him in the middle of breakfast in the great hall. Actually, he couldn't remember the last person he had kissed. Then he remembered! He was supposed to be kissing her back. Granted it was only seconds that he ran through that whole thought process but he felt like it had been longer.
"Great going there Evans! Lupin!" James cheered as he walked by with a different girl trailing after him. Lily broke the kiss, much to Remus' not-so secret disappointment.
"Well," Sirius said looking at the two of them. "That was just the most pathetic thing I have ever seen in my life. Where in the world did you two learn to kiss? For a second there, Remus, I could have sworn you had a stroke or something."
"I, uh…" Remus mumbled as the red crept up his neck and over his face. "I was just a little startled."
"Still," Sirius said shaking his head.
"You think you could do better?" Lily asked crossing her arms crossly. Sirius glanced back up at her smirking.
"I'm Sirius Black," Sirius said cockily. "I invented kissing."
"God, you're as arrogant as James sometimes," Remus growled as he went back to eating his breakfast. Lily could hear the whispering around them. She took a deep breath, calming the anger she felt inside, before she opened the paper and began to read. Without thinking, she passed the pages to Remus as she finished.
"You two are as exciting as an old married couple," Sirius said laughing. Lily and Remus both glared at him but didn't say anything. He looked at his watch. "I'm going to be late for Quidditch, coming Romeo?"
"I hate you sometimes," Remus muttered under his breath. Lily laughed, having heard him and nodded in agreement.
"I heard that," Sirius said. "I have super hearing."
"See you at the game?" Remus asked. Lily nodded.
"I'll be cheering for you," she said. He grinned and joined Sirius, who was leaving the great hall. Lily turned back to the paper, hoping to block out anyone who would bother her. Paper didn't make a good fortress of solitude, though, because Alice, Libby, and Jackie came and sat with her at the table, scooting down from where they had sat previous.
"What in the world are you doing with Remus Lupin?" Alice squealed. "I mean I know poor James has seemed to have lost his mind, but aren't you moving on a bit quickly?"
"Why should I wait around?" Lily asked.
"But Remus?" Alice asked shaking her head.
"Hey, I like Remus," Lily said honestly. She did, really, just not romantically.
"I like him too," Libby offered.
"Remus is great, really," Alice said looking at her friend. "But he's so… good."
"So?" Lily said. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm good too, and why does everyone act like being good is such a bad thing?"
"Hon, it's not, but you went from James who is a naughty little bugger to Remus, which is the Ying to his Yang," Libby said.
"Speaking of Ying and Yang, you think Remus' compares?" Jackie asked as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"How would I know?" Lily asked with a scandalized look on her face.
"You've been spending a lot of time with the Marauders," Jackie said smirking.
"I haven't been looking at their goods and services, so have you know!" Lily said as she stood up. She looked back at her friends. "I just don't know what to say to you three anymore!"
"Just tell us who's hung better," Libby suggested lightly as she waved good-bye to Lily.
Lily headed to the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the Gryffindor house. She watched, secretly hoping Gryffindor would send a bludger in the stands and beam Severus in the head. She was going to do some serious harm to him once she got James back to normal. She was going hurt him bad. She got to wonder thinking instead of paying attention to the Quidditch match. What if she couldn't get James back to normal? Could she really put him behind her and move on?
"Games over," Professor McGonagall told Lily, pulling her out of her deep thoughts.
"Oh, who won?" Lily asked.
"Hufflepuff," Professor McGonagall said darkly as she shook her head. "Mr. Potter was flirting with their keeper and well, the rest is just history."
"Man," Lily groaned shaking her head.
"Mr. Potter's been acting mighty odd," Professor McGonagall said as she and Lily walked back to the castle together. "We can't afford to lose another game."
"I know," Lily said.
"Is there anything the matter? You seem out of sorts yourself, dear," Professor McGonagall mentioned. Lily thought about confessing the whole thing to the stern woman but she kept her mouth shut.
"I'm just a bit tired," Lily said. "The stress of exams coming up at the end of the year, they are really getting to me."
"Perhaps a pick me up from Madame Pomfrey would do you wonders," Professor McGonagall said as they reached the staircase. "There's nothing that woman can't cure, even if just with a little patience and pumpkin juice."
"I'll keep that in mind," Lily said half heartedly.
"Off to the library, I suppose?" Professor McGonagall asked smiling. Lily nodded.
"Always," Lily said.
"It's a nice day," Professor McGonagall said. "You'd be amazed what a walk in the fresh air does for one's mind."
Lily sat in the library waiting on Sirius and Remus. They had agreed to meet there after Quidditch, and naturally the boys were running late. Lily didn't mind though. She placed her head on the table and closed her eyes. She didn't sleep, instead she was day dreaming about a time that she would be with James.
"Sorry we're late," Remus said as he kissed the top of Lily's head.
"I was just resting my eyes," Lily said quietly.
"Anything you want to share?" Sirius asked as he took the chair and turned it around before taking a seat in the backwards chair.
"Just thinking about James," Lily said simply.
"About the time Hufflepuff was handing us our asses on the pitch, I started to realize I want James to come back and be himself again," Sirius said crossing his arms over the top of the chair. "I want him back now."
"Glad that you are on the same page with us," Lily said. She looked at him. "What do you have in mind?"
"You need to advance your relationship," Sirius said. Remus looked at Lily.
"Do you agree?" Lily asked Remus. He nodded.
"I know you don't want to. I know you love James," Remus said in the quiet way he spoke. "But, I know you'd do anything to get him better. So would I."
"So, Sirius," Lily said turning back to him. "What do you have in mind?"
"You're not going to like it," Sirius said. Lily looked at him and blinked.
"No, you're probably right," Lily said making a face. "I'm probably not going to like it."
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