Lips of an Angel

(A/N: yes, the song by Hinder, "Lips of an Angel." inspired this story.)

Part I—René's Blossom

The scarlet red train of the Hogwarts Express rolled through the countryside around it, creating a long, endless trail of black smoke into the bright, azure sky from the engine. As it drove along the tracks beneath it, it let out a roar through the air, like a beast celebrating the victory of its dominance over nature. The Hogwarts Express carried within its many cars anxious and excited children waiting for the moment when the train stops outside of a cozy little village called Hogsmeade. In the cars, many children and teenagers were huddled in compartments, talking excessively, going over their supplies for school that they had bought in Diagon Alley, or staring out the windows at the bright, warm countryside that passed them by. The children dressed in an assortment of clothing, but almost half of them on the train wore robes sporting complete blackness with gold, crimson, sapphire, or emerald lining along the hems. In one compartment, two teenagers sat alone. One was a boy with long, pale blond hair that framed his face like a perfect picture frame, while his gray eyes watched the girl before him like a glorious prize for a competition. The girl had almost equally long, dark brown hair that flowed forward over her shoulders, while her grayish blue eyes looked out the window at the beautiful skies and green land that rolled on.

A plotting grin crossed his face when a thought crossed his mind. He stood up, not drawing the girl's attention, and reached into the luggage rack above him, where his entire luggage was. He opened his trunk and reached into it. He rummaged around, pulling out an assortment of clothes and mystical objects before pulling out a small package wrapped tightly in a light pink paper.

"Hey, René!" he called to the girl. She looked up at once at the sound of her name at the boy, who gave her a pleased smile at what he was holding. "Consider it a late birthday present."

He tossed the package to her, and she caught it at once. She gazed down at the strangely wrapped present, the pink paper grazing her fingers, while the curly, bouncing white ribbon sparkled in the light of the falling sun. She pulled at the ribbon, and the paper came undone like magic, falling from her hand to the floor. In her hand was a small, velvet black box, like one that held some form of jewelry. She looked at the boy, who gave her a smile, and then opened the box. Her entire face flowed red, her eyes growing wide, and her mouth dropping, slightly. What she was staring at was a beautiful emerald green choker with a silver "S" pendant on the center of it, a small snake with a ruby eye encircling around it.

"Oh…wow. Lucius, it's beautiful," René spoke to him. The boy grinned at her.

"I thought you might like it. It's something that all girls like, jewelry," he told her modestly.

"Lucius, I don't like it….I love it!" she ran at him, throwing her arms out at him and entangling him in a friendly embrace. The boy turned red at this, but returned the hug, feeling the warmth of her body surround him.

Lucius Malfoy and René Blossom were the best of friends, having been friends since they were in kindergarten, and when they had been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was one of the happiest days of their lives. And exactly five years ago, when they were sorted into the four different houses of Houses, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, they were both put into Slytherin, which was another joyous day. One might say that the long time of being friends might encourage some feelings for these two, but throughout their lives, neither one has spoken any word of being together. However, just because no one has said a word didn't mean it wasn't there.

As Lucius was starting to give into the hug, the door to the compartment swung open, and in stepped in a sallow-skin young man with curtains of greasy black hair. These actions forced the two of them to pull away, blushing red, as the boy's dark eyes scanned them suspiciously.

"Hey! What's going on in here?!" he asked of them.

This was Severus Snape, another Slytherin student that hung out with them. He was a little short for a sixth-year, and a little younger than the rest of them, but he was a loyal friend to them, especially to Lucius. They had met on their first day at Hogwarts in their first year, and since then, have always been together. Lucius and René exchanged looks, their faces starting to cool and the red starting to fade. Then René approached Snape, revealing the choker that had just been given to her.

"Severus, look at what Lucius got me!" she told him.

The black haired boy gazed down at the choker, and like René, his eyes went wide at the beautiful object. "Oh, wow! That's beautiful!" he spoke, sounding like a completely different person in only five seconds.

Lucius stood away from them, his face flowing red again in embarrassment. That is so like René. I swear, she and Snape are related, the boy thought to himself. It was something he always said, as Snape and René acted almost similar to each other. With the exception that René was beyond beautiful, and Snape was an outcast in the school, always being picked on. Snape and René weren't necessarily friends, but they only hung out with each other because they were both friends with Lucius.

René pulled the necklace out of the box, setting it down on one of the cushioned chairs beside her, and flung her hair back over her shoulders. She pulled the choker around her throat, the silver "S" shining in the sunlight, catching Lucius' eyes. When she put her hands down, the emerald lace was wrapped tightly around her throat, while the pendant sat comfortably on the center of her neck, near her throat.

"René, that necklace looks so nice on you!" Snape cried out, his eyes gleaming at the choker.

"You think so?" René asked him, her hand coming up to the pendant, but her silver-blue eyes were looking at Lucius.

"Yeah, it looks great!" Lucius assured her. Her eyes gleamed for another moment, her face turning red. For a rare moment, Lucius was telling the truth. The choker looked splendid on the girl's throat, no matter how much it clashed with her low-cut black top with the popped-up collar and black miniskirt and boots. It still looked great on her.

"Thank you, Lucius!" she ran back to him, embracing him once more. This caused his face to turn red, his heart to race, but he returned the hug. "It's the best gift!"

Behind them, Snape was laughing loudly, and this drew Lucius' attention. The boy was leaning against the compartment door, holding his stomach, while his black hair fell in front of his eyes as he laughed. He looked like some weird creature with only an open mouth.

"Wait until I tell everyone you two are dating!" he gasped through his laughs. Lucius and René turned red at his comment, and Lucius reached into his pocket, pulling out a long, black object that was his wand. He pointed at Snape in a threatening way, his eyes blazing with anger and rage.

"You do, and I swear, Snape, I'll kill you!" he bellowed at the younger boy, pushing the girl away from him. Snape eyed the wand for a moment, and then closed his mouth, silencing himself.

"Alright, alright, Lucius, put the wand away!" Snape pleaded, and Lucius reluctantly put the wand back into the pocket of his jeans. Then he turned to the girl before him, who was grinning, her hand clutching the silver pendant.

"I have to go show this to Narcissa! Bye!" with a wave to the boys, René left the compartment, and traveled down the corridor of the train.

A moment of silence passed between the boys before Snape turned to Lucius, who was still staring at the door where she had left. A slight blush came onto the blonde's face, but he said nothing. Instead, Severus Snape spoke to him.

"So…when are you going to ask René out? Or to marry you?" Snape teased.

Lucius at once turned to him, giving him an angry glare, and pointed his wand at the boy's throat again as he bellowed "NEVER!"

II--Lies

The brunette girl traveled south along the train's cars, looking through the windows on the doors of different compartments, hoping to see the familiar, tall blond girl that she had grown extremely fond of. Narcissa Black was one of René's closest friends, second to Lucius. In her first year at Hogwarts, René was quite shy to talk to anyone but Lucius, and out of nowhere, this blond girl came up to her and started talking to her in the library three days after the school year began. That was Narcissa Black, and since then, the two of them were hardly ever apart during the school year. A couple of times, Narcissa came home with René for Christmas vacation, and René's mother just simply fell in love with her. Narcissa was the closest thing to a sister René had, and she was glad of that.

René lived most of her life with her mother. Her father disappeared before she was even born, and her mother struggled throughout time to take care of the two of them. Somehow, she seemed to manage, especially since her mother was now a representative for the country, a politician in charge of international affairs and trade. That's right, René Blossom, a Slytherin student and best friend to a full-blood wizard, was a half-blood witch. It didn't matter to her whether she was half-blood, full blood, or no-blood. She didn't mind it, her mother knew well of her magical heritage….But if her friends found out, they might hate her. Having been friends for eleven years, Lucius Malfoy had not yet discovered that his best friend was really a half-blood witch, and René would rather keep it like that.

Whenever he came over to her house, or when Narcissa did, René tried drastically to hide the fact she was half-blood. Behind her friend's back, she performed spells and charms to make it seem like her mother was doing magic or like her family was a normal one. They never asked about what type of job her mother had, and when it even came close to this, her mother simply said she worked for important people and held a very important job. That left all of them guessing, and they would never be able to get it right. However, there have been close calls, and René had been convinced several times to tell her friends the truth, but each time, the image of them hating her came to mind, and she couldn't risk that. She loved her friends too much to let that happen.

René touched the pendant on her neck, smiling fondly at the fact Lucius Malfoy, one of the most charming and handsome boys in school, bought this for her. Though they were best friends, they never really went out on a date together. At least, not a romantic date. Lucius mostly went out with other girls that he had charmed himself towards. It never appeared or appealed to him that perhaps René Blossom would make the perfect girlfriend for him. That was actually what René wanted deep inside. For the past eleven years, a faint crush has been forming within René about her best friend, and every time she saw him with another girl, either snogging or just talking, her heart would race, and the creature in her chest would growl and roar with rage. Even the temptation to jinx and hex whatever girl he was with would come. But she would never hurt or humiliate Lucius like that, so she became a by-stander, watching him date different girls while her option never came up.

As René reminisced about her life and her deep, passionate crush on Lucius Malfoy, she wasn't watching where she was going, or paying attention to the compartments, hoping to find Narcissa, that she crashed into someone hard. She stumbled and fell backward, her wand, which was in the pocket of her skirt, fell out and skidded a few feet away near the door to a compartment.

"Ow…" she muttered, her lower back hitting the floor of the train hard, which felt like it vibrated beneath her. She blinked, and looked up as a soft, calm voice spoke to her.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going! Are you okay?"

René looked up at the person standing over her, and her face flowed red. Standing over her was a boy with light brown hair and matching, dark eyes that stared right at her. The boy held about him a presence of pure serene aura, a calming, warm presence that seemed to flatter her. René felt her entire face flow red and hot as she stared at this boy. He was absolutely attractive, probably more than Lucius. Her heart raced, her body trembling when she looked at him, but didn't know what to do.

"Do you need help getting up?" he asked her, kneeling down and offering his hand. For a moment, René thought her head would explode soon from embarrassment, but she found enough strength in her to speak.

"Um…no, thank you. I'm okay…" she told him, standing back up.

"I'm really sorry about that. Here, let me help you," the boy told her, pulling out his wand. "What's your name?"

"R-René," she told him, not sure what he was doing.

"René? That's a pretty name, I'm Remus," the boy flicked his wand and spoke, "Acio René's wand!"

At that moment, René's wand, which sat idly by a compartment, lifted into the air, and soared into Remus' hand. He caught instantly, and it was a good thing, too. The compartment door opened, and at stepped a young girl with short black hair and brown eyes, her foot right where René's wand was. A second longer, and her wand would've been broken into two. Remus handed it back to her with a charming grin on his face.

"Thank you," she told him, her whole face red. She stuffed her wand back into her pocket, thankful the boy saved her. Who was this boy? How come she had never seen him around at Hogwarts? Was he a first-year? Pretty cute for a first-year….

"So, René, how come I haven't seen you around at Hogwarts. You can't be a first-year student, because you're way too tall," he seemed to have taken the words straight out of her mouth, and she blushed at his comment.

"No, I'm not a first-year. I'm a sixth-year. Same with you?" she responded with a sarcastic question.

"I'm a sixth-year, too. Wow, I guess I don't really know everyone in the school."

René looked away at his comment with a flattered smile on her face, which was flowing redder by the second. Remus looked at her, and a thought crossed his mind, making that charming smile on his face grow bigger.

"Would you like to come and sit with me and my friends?" he asked her.

"What?" René looked up, startled by his words. This boy was acting way too sweet and nice for his own good. René had never met anyone like him. Without even waiting for an answer, Remus grabbed her hand and pulled her along the corridor of the train.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" he assured her.

"But, wait! I can't! I was just—" René tried to protect against this, but something inside her was preventing her from doing so.

"Don't worry!" Remus looked back at her with that charming smile. "All my friends are really nice! I'm sure they'll like you!"

René didn't dare speak. She couldn't her voice was caught in her throat, her heart racing inside her. This boy was so sweet to her, though they had just met! A part of her was already starting to fall for him, while the other side of her was arguing that she like Lucius and only Lucius. It didn't make the matter any better when she felt how warm Remus' hand was clenched around her own. This boy…was sweet, nice, and cute! Lucius was her best friend since kindergarten. In fact, this year, she was hoping the two of them could have a chance. After all, he gave her this pendant. But what could she do? She couldn't be with Lucius if she was interested into this boy she had just met now.

Please, please, let me go, Remus! I don't want to meet your friends! René thought to herself, but didn't speak it out, as the moment she opened her mouth to speak, Remus opened a compartment door, revealing the people within it.

There were three students sitting inside the compartment, two boys, and one girl. The girl looked familiar to René, as she had seen her before in her classes. The girl had long, beautiful red hair and soft green eyes, while she held about her a posture of knowledge and sincerity. Sitting beside her, waving his wand carelessly and creating soft stars to appear, was a boy with wild, untamed black hair and hazel brown eyes that gazed out from behind his round-framed glasses. René also knew this boy as James Potter, the Gryffindor Quidditch team Seeker. Sitting across from them was another boy with wild, yet charming black hair that framed his face perfectly, while his dark eyes looked over at René with faint interest.

"Hey, everyone! I brought someone along, is that okay?" Remus asked his friends, who grinned when they saw the girl whose hand he was holding.

"Of course it's okay, Remus. Who is she?" spoke the charming black haired boy.

"This is René. I kind of knocked her down and invited her to sit with us."

René felt Remus' grip on her hand tighten, and her face went red again quickly. She looked up, and saw that the black haired boy was staring at her strangely. Remus noticed this also, and spoke for her.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" he asked the boy, who blinked, and then answered.

"I think I know you from somewhere," this was more directed towards René than Remus.

She bowed her head, not sure how to respond, but then the boy spoke again to her, making her head rise up out of fear and embarrassment.

"You hang around with that Malfoy kid, don't you? And Severus Snape! You hang out with him, too!" Sirius accused her.

René felt her face go red once more, her entire body trembling, and beads of sweat rolled down her face. She didn't know what to say. Should she tell them the truth? She gazed on their school robes, and saw the scarlet lining on all of them, including Remus. How come she hadn't noticed it before? These kids were in Gryffindor, the rivaling House to Slytherin, which was what she was in. James spoke before she had a chance, immediately accusing her.

"So, then, you must be in Slytherin, right?" he asked her. The red head beside him gave him a cold glare.

"James!" she scolded him. However, his words already had an affect, and all of them turned to her, waiting for an answer, as James stated his case.

"What, Lily? If she hangs out with Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, who are in Slytherin, then she must be a Slytherin! She's even wearing a green and silver necklace!" James cried out.

René couldn't move. Her heart was pounding in her chest. What would happen if they did find out she was in Slytherin? Most Gryffindors hated Slytherins, accusing them of being cruel, mean, and evil. A few times, René has seen or been with Lucius or Snape when they jinxed, hexed, or played pranks on other students that weren't in Slytherin. She has even watched them call Muggle-born students Mudbloods, but has never stood up for the victims, no matter how much she wanted to. She was just as bad as they were. And if Remus and his friends found out she was in Slytherin, they would surely think the same thing of her! She had to act fast! She had to do what she could do!

She had to lie!

"Um….Of course I'm not a Slytherin! I'm a Ravenclaw!" Whew! Close call. If she lied she was a Ravenclaw, it would explain everything. But how to explain that she was wearing the choker and hanging out with Lucius and Snape? She had to come up with one even better than that, as they cold glares of Remus' friends were piercing into her like ice. "I'm only dating Lucius Malfoy. He gave me this necklace for my birthday over the summer, and I hang out with him because of that!"

Whoa! What a lie. If they spread this one around, it would cause some serious problems with her and Lucius. But she had to cover up quickly. Otherwise…she and Remus might never see each other again. And she would really like that. She looked at the four teenagers before her, while the boys glared at her, the red-haired girl, who was named Lily, giggled, and approached her, grabbing her hands in a friendly way.

"Oh! So, you're dating Lucius Malfoy?! I'm so happy for you! I always thought he was sort of cute!" Lily cried. René turned red at her comments, but smiled. They bought the lie.

Behind her, James and Sirius stood together, James glaring in Lily's direction, while Sirius only grinned at his friend. "You're lucky that he didn't ask Lily out, aren't you, James?" he muttered to his friend.

"Yeah," James responded, and looked up to where Remus was.

The boy had somehow moved from beside René to the window, staring outside at the countryside that rolled by, his body quivering a little. When René mentioned herself dating Lucius Malfoy, Remus started acting differently. His face had turned red, he silenced himself, and had walked over to the window. James and Sirius exchanged looks before Sirius spoke to him.

"Remus, you okay?" he asked him.

Remus turned, giving his friends a smile of assurance that he was fine. After a brief moment, the five of them were sitting together, talking, laughing, as the sky outside turned a dark orange-red, and then grew into a deep blue, and then black. René was sitting beside Remus, flicking her wand in the air, and conjuring up a small robin from thin air for Lily, who sat across from her beside James, and eyed the bird lovingly. Sirius sat next to Remus, who was watching René fondly. Sirius knew inside that Remus had grown attracted to the girl, even though they had only just met moments ago.

After a while, the five of them had grown quiet, Lily having fallen asleep on James' shoulder, and Sirius was gazing outside the window, smiling at the black, starry sky above. René was grinning for no apparent reason, but turned to Remus with a flirtatious smile.

"Remus, it has been so much fun meeting your friends. I'm glad you brought me here," she told him softly. He returned the smile, feeling his heart race inside, and his face grow warm.

"It's no problem, really. I kind of…like hanging out with you," René's face went red again, and she turned her eyes away, staring at the two teenagers asleep across from them. Lily's long red hair had flown slightly across her face and spread over James' chest, while his head rested on the top of hers.

"It's so weird…" René spoke. Remus looked at her, seeing her watch the two of them, but she said nothing more. He felt tempted to touch her hand, and soon temptation turned into action.

His hand wrapped around hers, completely ignoring the thought that she was already dating someone, and the warmth of both their hands combined into one embracing heat around them. René turned red, Remus turned red, but neither of them pulled away. It just felt so natural at that moment….

The compartment door flew open, crashing against the opposite wall, and startling everyone there. Lily and James woke up, Sirius looked up, and Remus and René pulled away instantly as in stepped a raging, blond haired girl with piercing gray eyes. She glared at René angrily, and her fists were curled at her sides. She sported a black school robe with emerald lining.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" she screamed at them.

"Narcissa!" René jumped up as she recognized her best friend, Narcissa Black, glaring at her. She looked around, her eyes falling on Sirius for a brief moment, and then spoke again to René.

"René, what are you doing here with these losers?!" she demanded of her.

"Excuse me?" Lily spoke up, grabbing her wand, and standing up before the blond girl.

"Sit down, Mudblood, this has nothing to do with you!" Narcissa shot at Lily, and this forced James and Sirius to stand up, wands drawn. René felt her heart racing, as she felt Remus' hand on her shoulder, and his voice in her ear.

"René, who is this girl?"

René didn't answer, but stepped in between Narcissa and the others, her face blazing red and hot, but she didn't want to fight anyone, or see any fight. She looked at Narcissa, who was apparently outraged at the fact René was hanging out with a group of Gryffindor students. She was just hoping her friend wouldn't blurt out the truth that she, too, was a Slytherin.

"Narcissa, what's wrong?" René asked her friend, praying to God that she wouldn't blurt out what was the truth.

"I'll tell you what's wrong! Lucius said you went looking for me hours ago, and here you are! Hanging with these freaks!" the blond shouted at her.

One thing René had learned with Narcissa is to let her get angry at you, yell and scream all she wants, and then talk to her. That was the only way to remain friends with her and not have her hold a grudge against you.

"I'm sorry, Narcissa," it was all René could say.

"Come on!" Narcissa grabbed her friend's hand, and pulled her along. "You're supposed to be in my compartment! With me, Lucius, and Severus!"

As the blond girl pulled René along, she looked behind her, and cast a brief gaze in Remus' direction. They both locked eyes for only a moment before René disappeared with Narcissa down the corridor of the train, and into another compartment.