It was late. James and Sirius were in the kitchen celebrating, with the help of copious shots of firewhiskey, James and Lily's engagement.
In the small library two other figures sat in the pool of candlelight, a book and a bottle of wine between them. They had sat like that so many times that their postures echoed each other, and their silence was not really silence to them.
Lily let her gaze slide from the parchment, over Remus tousled head and onto the clock. It was past one. Night seeped in around her heart and made her bolder than she had ever been.
James and Sirius were yelling, or possibly singing out of tune, she couldn't tell.
She couldn't even hear Remus breathe.
Something smashed in the kitchen.
She whispered:
'Remus, do you love me?'
He blinked once. Then three times quickly. Lily imagined butterfly wings. He turned his head to her, still proped on his elbow, and smiled that slow, hesitant smile, that she knew well enough to read in a thousand different ways.
'Of course.'
'Then, then why did you never do anything? Even that time in the Astronomy tower?'
'James.'
'But I hated James then!'
His heavy grey eyes looked right into hers and Lily wished then she had kept silent.
'But I didn't.'