Quick one-shot about Remus, Lily and James for the grand battle challenge for the forum Diagon Alley II!

Lily kissed Remus as if there was no tomorrow. They had just finished their last prefect meeting and the two sixth year students were heading back to the Gryffindor common room. Well, that was until Lily dragged Remus into an empty classroom and started snogging him senseless.

Remus was caught off guard. Being a werewolf, he was usually much more alert and perceptive. However, he somehow didn't notice Lily's suggestive glances during the prefect meeting or her flirtatious winks. So one can imagine how surprised he had been when Lily Evans started kissing him!

He had had a crush on the beautiful redhead since first year. He didn't know if it was her sparkling emerald eyes or her bright smile. Not to mention she was sharp-witted and exceedingly funny. Yes, his dream girl.

Remus kissed back of course. First, he was soft with his little kisses, not wanting to scare Lily away, but he increasingly became more passionate, reassured that she was enjoying it. Sadly, there was a nagging thought in his mind that he just couldn't shake. James. James. James. James had been Remus' best friend since first year. He was a Quidditch star, a great prankster and of course, madly in love with Lily Evans.

That was the only problem. James had claimed Lily as his own ever since their fifth year and the whole school knew about it. An overwhelming sense of betrayal welled up within him and he pushed Lily away from him.

"Lily, stop," he said, but his voice wavered.

"Come on, Remus" she said pouting. She placed her arms around his neck and proceeded to kiss him again. This was new to him. Girls didn't usually try to snog him. That usually fell into James' and Sirius' departments. They were funny, handsome and sporty.

Remus was none of those. He was a quiet, tired looking teenager with a bad habit of turning into a werewolf every full moon.

The voices at the back of his mind flooded to the forefront once again. Bad friend. Untrustworthy. Backstabbing werewolf.

"Lily, stop," Remus said with more conviction. He held her wrists and took a small step away from the redhead.

"What's wrong?" she said in that voice, which always got Remus babbling.

"Well...um...well...James!" he blurted out. Lily rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"And what about James Potter?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"He's my friend and he's madly in love with you" he replied. It rolled off his tongue so naturally, so effortlessly, because the thought had always invaded his mind whenever he thought of Lily's cute, pink lips.

"You know I hate Potter, Remus."

"And James would crucio me if he found out I was snogging you in a charms classroom," he teased, but knew a part of the statement was true.

"Maybe we could keep this a secret then," she said pressing her lips on to Remus'. If this is wrong, why does it feel so right? But he shook his head and stepped back.

"No Lily, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" she said, a little trace of anger in her voice now.

"He...he loves you, Lily," he said hating the desperation in his voice. There was a pause where Lily was just stared into Remus' eyes, brown with flecks of gold.

"But I like you," she said finally.

"No you don't."

"Remus-"

"No Lily. James is my best friend and I will not betray him".

"But what about me, Remus? Not to sound conceited, but I see the way you stare at me sometimes," Remus blushed at her perceptiveness. Well who wouldn't stare at you, Remus thought. She was a beauty. But James proclaimed his love first.

Remus however had loved Lily first. But Lily wasn't a naive, round faced first year anymore. She was a fiery spirited, enchanting lady. She needed someone with the right amount of charm and fire to keep her on her toes. And Remus wasn't that guy.

"You don't love me."

"Remus, you are kind, generous sweet-"

"No, no, no."

"What?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"When James talks about you it's like he's in another world. Like he can't even put into words why he loves you," Lily stood there, stunned. She knew that James just wanted to get with her because she was one of the only girls who didn't swoon over him. But she didn't know it developed to something like this!

Lily felt a blush come to her cheeks. "I never really..."

"He can be a bit of a prat sometimes, but I think you're different," Lily scoffed at his comment.

"Why? Because I'm a redhead while the others were blondes?"

"Because you're amazing!" he exclaimed cupping the cheek of Lily. He examined her carefully and kissed her lightly on the lips. Their foreheads were touching as they breathed in and out softly.

"But your...I-I think-"

"That I'm a nice guy. But you need a rebel. You need James, Lily," she looks up at the werewolf and saw how it pained him to say those words. But her fiery nature came back quickly.

"Correction Remus, I don't need a man," she said smiling a little, "especially not James toerag Potter" she stepped back away from Remus and walked towards the door which was a little ajar. "Well are you coming, Remus?" She asked when she noticed the sixth year wasn't following her.

"I don't think my kisses stun you that much," she teased.

"Just...what happens behind the door, stays behind the door. Loyalty before love"

Lily stared at him for a moment, before saying "You're a good friend, Remus"

"Come on Lils," James teased, "You can do better than that"

"Oh be quiet James," Lily stuck out her tongue and tried to cast another patronus charm. Remus, and the rest of the school, noticed the stark contrast of behaviour. What used to be an icy cold atmosphere (mostly on Lily's part) was melting and becoming more warm and comfortable. She seemed to tease and not scold. Smile, not frown.

It was nice to not have one of his best friends rip the other one apart. But, it unsettled Remus. Suck it up, Remus, he would think. He had wanted this to happen, he had wanted them to be happy but it didn't matter how many times he said this to himself; he was jealous.

"Okay, have you got a good memory this time? And not one with you and Sniv-Severus sitting together on a spring morning," James joked, but Lily turned bright pink.

"Don't tell me-"

"Just cast the spell," she snapped.

James stared at her for a second, but shrugged his shoulders and pointed his wand.

"Expecto Patronum!" he recited perfectly and a bright white stag jumped out of his wand and began cantering around the room.

Just like his animagus, Remus thought.

Lily stared at the patronus, mouth agape. But it took one look at James's smug grin to snap her out of her trance. She cleared her throat and pointed her wand at an open space.

"Expecto Patronum!" a pure white doe burst from her wand. The doe leapt gracefully towards James' stag. It nudged the stag playfully and rubbed its neck onto his. The stag soon followed suit and kept close to the doe as the pair nuzzled at each other.

James and Lily, however, stood still and gobsmacked. At first, Remus thought it was quite funny, but then the situation dawned on him.

"Hey you guys! Look at this quick," James exclaimed ushering his fellow marauders around a book.

The Marauders had, as a spur of the moment sort of thing, tried to find out more about their animagus forms. All except for Remus who had been reading quietly in the corner and munching on some blackberries.

"Okay, listen: The stag is the natural soul mate of the doe. They are said to be bound together through life to death and if one if the pair dies the other one doesn't stay alive for a long time after. The stag and the doe are said to be one of nature's greatest pairings. The doe has a stubborn but intellectual nature which initially draws the stag in-"

"Prongs, what has this got to do with anything?" Sirius interrupted seeming bored with the whole task in the first place.

"Well," James said becoming embarrassed all of a sudden "What if Lily is like my doe. I mean-" but he got cut off by Sirius's howl like laughter.

"Gosh, Prongs. You like Lily so much you're imagining her in animal form. Bloody hell, James!" he chuckled. Peter joined in, wheezing through his giggles.

"Hey, I'm being serious Padfoot!" James exclaimed folding his arms.

Remus, not seeing the funny side and thoroughly exhausted by his last transformation, took the seat next to James and signed heavily.

"You think I'm mad don't you? Barking mad to be going after a girl like Lily," he asked staring at the pictures in the book.

"No, but I think you need to grow up a bit."

"What do you mean?"

"James we are at war. Lily is looking for someone serious enough to go through it with her. Someone, whose sole interest isn't hexing Slytherins when he feels like it. Someone like m-" but Remus luckily stopped himself. He couldn't confess his love to Lily ever and especially not like that.

James didn't seem to realise his blunder though, "But that's not me. I like to have a joke and a prank sometimes, but that doesn't mean I don't care about anything"

"Let's just say Lily is looking for a man, not a boy."

"But...I just really like Lily and I just want her to like me" James said. Remus was surprised of how this conversation was going. Normally James would just shrug off any doubts and carry on. But he seemed so nervous that Remus felt sorry for his 'rival'.

"James you are a good friend without your entire bravado. Be yourself in front of Lily. You're smart,loyal-"

"Okay enough of this sensitive talk, its giving me a headache" James said getting up out of his chair. "Thanks, Moony," James said with a small smile, before aiming a good leg locker curse at Sirius.

Lily was James's soul mate. It was as simple as that. As the thought passed through Remus' mind James and Lily's eyes connected and a look of understanding was shared.

The whole class was too involved with their own spell casting to see the scene taking place though. And Remus didn't see a certain handsome Black eyeing him knowingly.

Lily was dazed. Only one hour earlier had she married James and became a Potter. She did feel a bit sad when her sister, Petunia, refused to attend but James seemed like he couldn't contain his happiness! And Lily didn't need her sister or her sister's rather large husband. Because Lily had James and that was all she would ever need.

But James at the moment was dancing rather joyously with Sirius Black, who had been his best man. She decided not to interrupt her husband and find another dance partner. That's when her eyes met with Remus'. A smile crept on her lips as she walked towards her old friend.

The war had aged Remus slightly but when he saw Lily the weight of strife and battle would lessen slightly. The wedding was a rather cheerful affair. Many of their school friends had come just to see if it was true that James Potter, after all the years of rejection, was actually marrying Lily.

Remus was positively beaming. He was happy for James, as a best friend should be and his feelings of jealousy seemed to vanish after seeing how happy Lily was with James.

"Hello, Remus, care for a dance?"

Remus's smile widened "Of course, Mrs Potter" and he took Lily's hand and led her to the middle of the dance floor.

THE END

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