Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, as much as I might wish I did.

Author's Note: Okay, I've officially decided that I'm going to be writing a series of oneshots. My first story Fighting the Moonlight is part of it, and so is this. I believe that during their time at Hogwarts, that Lily and Remus would have been really good friends. This is NOT a Lily/Remus romance series; it is based purely around their friendship. As for how this ties into Fighting the Moonlight, it goes into how Lily found out about Remus' secret.

Seeing the Moonlight

I worry too much. My friends tell me that I need to calm down and take a deep breath, except that's usually when I'm losing my temper. It's not my fault that I was born with red hair and got a temper to match! Honestly, I do manage to control myself. Most of the time.

"Okay Lily, calm down and breathe. Everything's fine, there's nothing wrong," So what if I talk to myself? It's not like I'm insane or anything. Well, maybe a little bit, but who isn't the tiniest bit crazy? If you believed whatever Petunia said, you'd probably think I was a psychopath! I guess I can add over-reacting to my lists of problems. As well as getting off topic.

Remus has become one of my best friends since I've arrived at Hogwarts. Before I came here, I never met a boy who actually enjoyed reading! Or didn't avoid girls like the plague. It's always fun talking to Remus. After all, I don't know anyone else who's read the Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Now that I think of it, very few people I've met have read muggle fiction. They don't know what they're missing out on.

At my old school, everyone teased me for being a bookworm, but Remus and Alice never have. It's absolutely insane! I've know Remus and Alice for four months and they're already the siblings I've always dreamed of. I might be related to Petunia, but other than that she is not my sister.

Like I said, I worry too much. Remus is always getting sick. I know he says that he's going to visit his "sick" mother, but why is he always so pale when he leaves? And if you're going to visit your family, doesn't it make more sense to leave on a weekend, not during the school week? Whenever I ask, he changes the subject, but all that does is make me worry even more! There's something going on. He has a secret that he doesn't want me to know.

But, this secret of his isn't the only reason I worry about him. We were practicing charms a few days ago, and he managed the shrinking charm perfectly. Well, almost perfectly, it was the shirt he was wearing that shrunk.

I'm no expert on what boys' chests should look like, but I'm pretty sure that most of them aren't covered with scars.

It's too late to worry. I should be asleep right now. I'm only eleven years old, for Merlin's sake! But I guess I've always been too serious for my age. Probably because I preferred my books than feeling "odd" while playing with other kids my own age. If I don't go to sleep soon, I bet I won't sleep at all the entire night!

I was doing my Defense assignment in the library the other day. We had to write about vampires. All the information I needed was in this book on dark creatures. Anyways, I got done early and just skimmed through the book. I may like reading, but that doesn't mean I hate books with pictures!

One picture stood out to me. It was a werewolf during its transformation. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl and that scared me. What would it be like to be forced into becoming something else? After the picture, there was a list of signs on recognizing werewolves. It said that before the full moon, werewolves tend to suffer from fatigue. It also said that werewolves hurt themselves once transformed.

But, there are definitely other reasons why Remus always gets tired once a month, and his body is scarred. There's no way that Remus could be a werewolf.

"Lily, shouldn't you be asleep now? I could have sworn you were going on at me earlier about how it's impossible to pass a test of any sort without any sleep. And, lo and behold! There is a charms test tomorrow." Alice smiled at me.

"I know, Alice, I know," I gave her a sheepish grin. "I was just thinking."

"Well, if you're going to think, you might as well do it when it's not dark. Open the curtains! I could have tripped over you and hurt myself! Why are you on the floor?"

"I'd fall asleep if I was thinking on my bed," and I would. It would be so easy to curl into those delightfully soft pillows and tuck myself under those warm sheets, but for now, I had to focus.

Alice just gave me one of her looks. It was the "Lily, you need some help" look, and tugged the curtains open.

The full moon glared at me.

Remus was gone on a full moon.

The moon cycle repeated about every twenty-nine days. I counted backwards in my head. Remus was gone every single one of those days. Could it just be a coincidence? Was Remus a werewolf?

"Lily?" Alice looked at me. She sounded worried.

"I'm fine. I'll just get some sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. I don't want to fail that test tomorrow. G'night, Alice," I mumbled before stumbling into my bed.

Even after I tugged the bed-curtains shut, I couldn't stop thinking. After talking about how dangerous werewolves were, the book talked about all the restrictions placed on them.

I could picture that list in my mind. All the laws repeated themselves in my head, parading around my will to sleep.

Werewolves must be registered.

Werewolves cannot be married.

Werewolves cannot have children.

Werewolves must be killed if they harm a human.

The list went on and on. I couldn't stop worrying.

What if Remus was a werewolf? It would explain his shyness. His parents might have kept him away from other kids, or maybe he was afraid his friends would be afraid of him.

I kept thinking of all the signs I'd seen. I was nearly positive that it was true. I remembered the time I'd worn one of my mother's sliver rings. Remus and I'd been partnered together in Potions. He'd flinched after I'd touched him. The small scar from burn was still there, if I remembered correctly.

Werewolves are allergic to silver.

Remus was a werewolf. The little river called "Denial" was drying up. Poor Remus. The pictures looked so painful. How could he go through that every month? Why wouldn't he tell me?

But I already knew why. Remus was afraid that I would be scared. Was I?

No. I pitied Remus. I was upset he didn't trust me, but I couldn't blame him. It wasn't as if he'd asked to be a werewolf. I bet very few people would want to. Why couldn't the Ministry of Magic do better things, like look for a cure, instead of finding ways to abuse werewolves?

Remus was, is, my best friend, and nothing was going to change that. Nothing.

After all, it was only a few nights out of a month that Remus transformed, and he had no choice. Remus would rather die then hurt someone. I'd learned that Remus was very compassionate. He always took the time to talk to the owl that delivered his mail. How many people actually cared that much about animals?

My best friend was a werewolf. It would take some getting used to, but I wouldn't let anything change the friendship I have with Remus.

A sliver of moonlight poked through the curtains. How could something so beautiful cause so much pain?

I peeked out of my bed and wandered towards the window. Alice was asleep by now, and our other dorm-mates liked staying up late on the weekends.

Somewhere out in the night, I knew Remus was in pain, trapped in a body he couldn't control, fighting the urges of the wolf.

Biting my lip, I tried not to cry. Why Remus? Why did something so bad have to happen to so nice a person?

I wiped my eyes. The silver ring on my finger reflected the moonlight. I would have to find something to do about it. I couldn't wear jewelry that might hurt Remus. He'd already been through so much.

I'll have to buy a necklace chain for it over break. That way, it's less likely to hurt Remus.

The thought of Christmas was enough to put my mind at ease. I crept back to my bed and slipped under the covers. Remus had a sweet tooth: he was always eating chocolate. I wondered if he would like Muggle chocolate? At least I'd now thought of a good Christmas gift for him. Lots and lots of chocolate.

Remus might not want to tell me his "secret", so I would just have to pretend that I didn't know. When he comes back tomorrow and tells me his mother's doing all right, I'll give him a big hug. He'll think it's because I'm happy his mother is okay, but I'll know it's my way of helping him.

All I can do is wait until Remus is ready. Who knows what that'll happen? It's probably a good thing that I already mother-hen my friends. Remus won't realize that I've figured out his secret.

Knowing Remus' secret won't stop me from worrying, but now I'll be able to keep an eye on him. And if someone else finds out and hurts Remus' feeling, I'll be right there to help Remus know that at least one of his friends doesn't care about him being a werewolf.

A/N: Done! Lucky for you dear readers, I remembered this story. I was going to type up another of the Moonlight Series one-shots (coming soon!) when I found this half-finished fic. I hope you don't mind that Lily doesn't sound like she's eleven years old, but think of her as a Hermione with Ginny's attitude, if that helps.

I would love to hear your comments, and any advice about how to 11-year-old-ize language, because there's one more part of the series that involves the young Lily and Remus. Thanks!