SUMMARY: AU. No matter what he did, James couldn't get Remus to help him in the pursuit of Lily Evans. He begged, he pleaded, he bribed, but Remus just flat out refused to help. Why? Well, would you help someone break the heart of YOUR sister?

DISCLAIMER: As you all know, everything is J.K. Rowling and I am insanely envious.

CHAPTER 1: Family Matters

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Pillows did nothing to muffle the blaring of an alarm clock.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

...And one cannot hit the snooze button from 10 feet away without getting out of bed.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

It's a shame that it is impossible to sleep through such an infuriating annoyance.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

So, of course, any sane person is left with just one option:

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE- CRASH

Sleepily, the girl had leaned over her bed just slightly, eyes still closed, and felt for the cord attached to the most annoyinginvention in the entire universe and tugged, unplugging the monstrosity, allowing it to hit the floor. Resting her head back on the pillow, the exhausted teenager began to fall back into her peaceful sleep... That is, until someone pulled her comforter away and then proceeded to open the blinds.

"Reeeeeeeeeemus, what did you do that for?" Lily whined as she covered her head with a pillow from the blinding light.

"You broke another alarm clock, Lils. I thought the whole point of putting it out of arm's reach was so that you had to get up to shut it off." Remus chuckled quietly as he saw Lily peek out from under the pillow to glare at him.

"Go away! It's summer! I need to sleep!" She replied grumpily.

"Hate to break it to you, but it's September 1st. Summer is officially over." Lily's eyes grew wide. She looked around wildly for her clock and saw it on her floor, in pieces.

"Oh, bludgers!" She jumped out of bed and turned to Remus. "What time is it?" she asked quickly while she began to search for clothes to wear.

"It's around 8:30. Mum wants us to be ready by 10, at the latest, and Petty is still snoozing, so I thought you might like to get in the loo before she hogs it up for hours..."

"When is she going to move out? She's engaged, why don't they just get it over with already?" Lily asked, frustrated that she couldn't find what she wanted to wear. Petunia ALWAYS woke up at 9:00 sharp and spent almost 3 hours in the bathroom. While Lily searched underneath her bed, Remus walked over to her desk, where she had a dress draped across it semi-neatly.

"Lily, what are you looking for?"

"I bought this lovely polka-dot dress over break that I have been dying to wear. Do you see it?"

"Yup, it's right here, with a note on top that says 'Sept. 1st'." Lily banged her head on the bottom of the bed as she crawled out from underneath it.

"There it is! Why didn't you say something before?" She demanded, hitting Remus lightly on the arm. He just rolled his eyes and pushed her playfully. Quickly, Lily gathered up her things and went into the bathroom.

Fully dressed and ready, Remus carried his trunk downstairs and put it by the front door. Walking into the kitchen, he saw his mum and his stepdad already making breakfast.

"Morning, mum." He said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Morning, dad." Remus hadn't seen his real father since he was four, but Harry Evans had been a more of a father to him than his biological dad could ever be. Remus picked up a plate and helped himself to some scrambled eggs and toast, then poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Morning, Remmikins!" His mother exclaimed. Harry sniggered slightly at the face Remus made. He was not at all fond of his mother's pet names for him. Halfway through his scrambled eggs, Lily came tumbling down the stairs, her trunk in tow.

"Lily! Be careful!" Her father yelled up the stairs. Lily reached the bottom of the stairs, stood up and brushed herself off. She pushed her trunk next to Remus' and hopped into the kitchen, attempting to put her sneakers on as she walked.

"Oooh, toast!" Lily exclaimed and made a grab for a piece, losing her balance in the process. Toppling over, Lily tried to save herself by grabbing onto Remus, which only pulled him down with her.

"Lily!" Remus said accusingly as he stood and straightened his clothes.

"Sorry... I'm a little off-balance this morning.." Lily winced and attempted to look pitiful and apologetic at the same time.

"As opposed to other mornings when your totally off-balanced?" Remus muttered.

"Shut up!" Lily said, dropping her don't-get-mad-at-poor-little-me routine and pushing him a bit.

"Both of you, sit and eat. You have to leave soon!" Marie Evans scolded slightly, with a small smile on her face. "Your father will be driving you and he wants to get an early start."

"But, dad, it's not even 10 yet! How early do you want to leave?" Lily asked as she reached across the table for some scrambled eggs.

"I'd like to leave around a quarter after 10, because it will take fifteen minutes to get there. Then, we'll have enough time to go there and back for whatever you may have forgotten." Harry said, teasing his daughter. Lily pretended to pout a bit, but immdiately became more interested in her food.

"Lily, are you SURE you've packed everything? Because, I don't feel like getting there at 10:59 again." Remus said in his pacient, calm, you-are-incompetent that bugged the crap out of Lily.

"Yes, Remmikins, I've packed everything right down to my - Oh, bullocks! I've forgotten my planner again! Does anyone remember where I left it?" Lily asked, mostly to herself, as she pushed back her chair and jumped back up the stairs, leaving her parents and stepbrother chuckling quietly. As they all knew, their beloved Lily was always a bit disorganized, some may even say scatterbrained, and she was always bouncing from one thing to the next.

Remus was the calm one, the logical one, the one who made plans and followed them to the tee, getting everything done, while Lily played it all by ear and did things in her own time. One might even say that Remus was the sane one while Lily was... well, not as sane...a bit of a nutter, really. Of course, no one would dare say this to her face, in fear of incurring the redhead's deadly wrath.

"Okay! Now I am totally, completely, positively packed and ready!" Lily yelled down the stairs, with her planner in hand, along with a few other things she had forgotten to pack. As she began to bounce down the stairs two at a time, the whole household could hear Petunia's earsplitting shriek.

"DAAAAAAAAAD! THE FREAK MADE A MESS IN THE BATHROOM! AGAIN!" Simultaneously, Remus and Lily rolled their eyes. Petunia was the most obsessive-complusive person in the entire universe!

"Honestly! All I did was leave the toothpaste uncapped, and she goes and has a gigantic cow! It's her fault, practically dragging me out of the bathroom at exactly 9:01, because she needed to get in there!" Lily said, annoyed at her sister for making such a scene. Petunia rushed down the stairs in a frilly pukingly-bright pink bathrobe that was a smidge too short, screeching about Lily and her freakiness and how 'neither of them should even be allowing inside the house'. For the most part, everyone ignored the horse-faced, bony 20 year old's temper tantrum, but once she began to insult Remus as well, Lily drew the line.

"PETTY! PETTY! WOULD YOU SHUT UP FOR ONE MOMENT!" Petunia just stared at her, mouth open and eyes wide. She resembled a goldfish a bit though that is insulting fish everywhere..., but she was quiet.

"Thank you. Now, PLEASE stop insulting your BROTHER and myself, because neither of US are the freaks. YOU are the 20 year old graduate still living off of mummy and daddy, so put a sock in it. If anyone should get kicked out of this household, it is YOU. Now, I'd like to get back to eating my breakfast in peace, thank you very much!"

Petunia didn't know what to do. To speak now would be stupid, anyone who knew Lily knew that once you insulted her family, it was best to stay silent and not make any sudden movements. Of course, such rules did not apply to parents.

"Lily! Petunia! I am appalled at your behaviors! Apologize to one another this very instant!" A very outraged Marie exclaimed.

"Yes, Mum. Sorry, Petunia." Lily said sullenly, while Petunia just muttered bitterly, "Yes, Marie. Sorry, Lily."

Now, you may suppose it is quite odd, for Lily to call Marie mum and Petunia not to, considering they are sisters and have been related to their stepmother for an equal amount of time. But, you see, Petty was almost ten years old when her father remarried and never really accepted the nuptials. Even now, she refused to acknowledge Remus as her brother and Marie as a second mother (or even a motherly type figure...).

Lily, on the otherhand, embraced her new family at the young age of six and loved them as such. So, while Lily grew extremely close to both her stepbrother and stepmother, Petty distanced herself as far away as possible. Lily knew how much it hurt Marie when Petunia acted so scornfully. Even more than ten years later, it still hurt that Petunia couldn't even find a small space in her heart to squeeze Marie in.

Glaring at Petunia with a look that could kill, Lily sat down to finish her breakfast. Petunia stomped her way up the stairs. Lily noticed that her father had stood up and was now talking quietly with his wife, who seemed very upset... Lily felt a surge of anger at Petunia. Why would anyone want to make such a loving, kind woman feel so rotten?

Remus was just sitting in his chair, staring listlessly at his plate. He always did the best he could to ignore Petunia's comments of what "freaks" they were, but they still hurt him. After all, this girl was somewhat of a sister to him...kind of... sort of... deep, deep down inside, he cared about her... He was just glad she was the only one in the family who didn't know about his.. well... wolfiness. Then, she'd really hate him.

"Don't let that get to you, mate. She's just being a royal pain in the arse. It wouldn't feel right to start the school year off without Petty insulting us." Lily said with a smile as she dug into her scrambled eggs.

Remus smiled weakly and cleared his throat. "Oh, I know. I'm not feeling to well, is all. It's coming in a few days."

"Oh, yes, of course. Well, at least you'll be in Hogwarts, right?" she consoled, tryng to find the silver lining.

"Yes, but I'll also be missing a few days during the first week of school." he complained.

"Don't worry, I'll fill you in. You can even copy my notes, if you'd like," Lily said brightly.

"GASP! Lily Evans is actually letting someone else see her precious notes! The honor! The glory!" Remus teased.

"Oh, shut up, you loser! I was JUST trying to be sisterly! No need to throw it in my face!" Lily mock-glared at Remus, who was pretending to faint from "all the excitement" as he clutched at his heart.

"Come on, you two, finish your breakfast. We leave in 10 minutes." Harry said, sitting down once again to attempt to read his paper

"Yes, sir!" Lily said, mock-saluting her father. It was amazing how much she didn't look like her dad. Lily was on the short side, only about 5'4'', with a slim frame and long, naturally red hair. According to him, she looked just liked her mother had looked, while Petunia took after his side of the family. Their father was an only child, but apparently Petunia was a "spitting image" of his mother. No one could figure out whether this was a compliment to Petty, or an insult to Grandmother Evans. The only thing Lily did get from Harry was his eyes. She had the same bright emerald eyes as her father.

Remus looked hardly anything like his petite, bright-eyed mother. Marie was a beautiful woman, with light brown eyes, olive skin, and long, straight hair. Remus, on the other hand, was towering over her at 6 foot, with sandy blonde hair and light brown-gray eyes. Remus apparently took after his father, who had been a wizard. Lily didn't know much about him, except that he left Marie when Remus was around 4, right after Remus had been bitten. It was a sore spot for Remus, so they didn't talk about him much, which was fine by Lily. If he caused them so much pain, she didn't want to know about him.

Lily just loved to look at the mess that made her family. No one resembled anyone else, except for a little bit of a skin tone here, eye color there. But still, they seemed to fit together perfectly. They were still a family, whether all the pieces matched or not. The very thought made Lily smile. They were a family, whether Petunia accepted it or not.