"The Longest Time"

Disclaimer: I do not own Lupin or Lily. I don't even own the pairing. I only own the plot here. Read and review!

It was fifth year, sometime in spring. It was the day before the full moon and Remus Lupin was plagued by illness. All his friends were either in detention or.... Peter. And he was frequently absent from Gryffindor Tower nowadays. The only person there was Lily Evans. The prettiest girl in Hogwarts. But, why would she care about Remus?

He sat there. All alone in front of the fire. Despite the pleasant temperature outside, Remus was bundled in a blanket shivering. The night before the full moon was always the worst. His teeth chattered and he clamped his eyes shut whenever he got a shooting pain in his side, which was often.

Just then Lily came down from the girls dormitory. Remus tried to look like he was all right.

"Why are you down here?" he asked.

"Couldn't sleep. And I kept hearing you whimper. Are you okay?"

"Yea, yea, sure, just fine." He said. "OW!"

"What's wrong?" she said, panic in her voice as she rushed to his side.

"I'm fine," he panted, holding his side. "It's nothing."

"Something's obviously wrong!" she exclaimed. "Come on, you can tell me."

"No, I don't think I can."

"Well, fine. I'm going back to bed if you don't want any help."

He watched her walk away and realized he loved her.

Later that night he had fallen asleep but was having a terrible dream about attacking Lily while running through Hogsmeade in werewolf form. Suddenly he heard someone calling his name. He sat bolt upright and almost knocked down Lily Evans.

"Are you all right? You were thrashing in your sleep!"

"I-I was having a bad d-dream."

"Are you all right?" she reiterated with a frightened look on her face.

"No, no," he looked around the common room. "Is it hot in here?"

"No, but,"

"I need air."

Lily helped him walk to the window. It was hard to keep him standing. They crossed the room and Remus leaned against the windowsill. The wind swept his light brown hair back from his face.

"Ah," he breathed. "That's much better, thank y-"

He turned to look at Lily. She was looking at him with a dreamy look on her face.

"So, why did you come down after what I said to you?" Remus inquired.

"Because I figured something out."

"What did you figure out?" he said, teasing in his voice.

"I figured out why I'm so nervous around you."

"And why is that, Lily?" his stomach squirmed pleasantly when he looked into her green eyes. They were so green.

"Because," she cupped his chin in her hand. "I love you."

"Lily," he breathed. She cut him off by pressing her lips gently against his. Remus couldn't believe the feeling. It was like fireworks going off inside of him. After what seemed an eternity, they parted.

"I love you too." He finished. They stared at each other.

"This is wrong, Lily." Remus said suddenly.

"Why? We both enjoyed that. Did you?" he nodded. "I know I did."

"I know, but, well, you don't know it yet but James loves you. I feel I'm hurting him by kissing you."

"So, you'd put that arrogant jerk's feelings before your own?"

"He's my friend. He's done a lot for me. You don't know."

"But, Remus, I love you! I have for a while, from afar. Now when I finally get the chance you're pushing me away?"

"I love you too. I-I just don't want you to get hurt. That's all."

"How could you hurt me?" she said, acting as though this was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

"I'm a werewolf!" he exclaimed. Lily gasped. "There! Are you happy? You dragged it out of me!"

He tried to cross back to the couches but he got a sharp pain in his side and collapsed. To his surprise, Lily rushed to his side to help him up.

"Is that what's wrong?" she asked.

"Yes," he managed to choke out through the pain. "The full moon is tomorrow."

"Oh, you poor thing." She helped him onto the couch.

"Thanks for your sympathy but I wouldn't want to deprive you of any sleep."

"Deprive me? Don't be silly, I want to help you! I'm going to go get a cold rag for your forehead."

"Well, I want you to know how much I appreciate this, Lily."

"Oh, it's no problem!"

Lily walked over to the bathroom, turning and smiling at Remus every so often.

Remus gave an exasperated sigh. He couldn't believe his luck. Lily Evans! He decided he would see how far they could go. He'd begun to forget how nice romance was. He hadn't been there for the longest time.

A/N: what do u think of it? Please review and let me know! I love getting reviews! (