Many thanks to Firefly, Liza and Jordi for looking over this for me.
Team: Montrose Magpies
Position: Beater 2
Player 3: A section written in epistolary form AND an epigraph
Prompts: (word) forgive, (object) advent calendar,
Writing Sam's (HPSlashLuv) OTP: Remus/Lily
Word Count: 2588
Chocolate and Confusion
~"Chocolate says "I'm sorry" so much better than words."
Rachel Vincent, My Soul to Save ~
~o~o~o~
Lily sat on a bench in the park watching the children play on the swings. It was the same park she had come to as a child with her sister, and it was the place Lily went to whenever she wanted to feel closer to Petunia. After her discovery this morning, Lily yearned to reconcile with her. As she placed her hand on her stomach, her mind wandered to Remus and how he would react to the news she had to tell him over dinner, but first she had someone else to tell: her sister.
With that in mind, Lily turned her attention back to the paper on her lap and started to write a letter to her sister. She had heard through the grapevine that Petunia also had some news of her own and hoped they could repair their strained relationship over their shared experience.
Dearest Tuney,
It has been so long since we have spoken, almost two years to the day when you declared you were moving in with Vernon. I miss you so much.
No doubt, if you are still reading this, you are wondering why I am writing to you again since you never respond to my letters, and the truth is I have some news to share with you. I wish I could tell you in person, but I fear after my last visit you would slam the door in my face.
The truth is that I am pregnant. And even though we are no longer close, you were the first person I wanted to share the news with, hence my motive for writing to you.
I would dearly love to hear from you, Tuney. I have enclosed all my contact details on a separate sheet of paper.
I love you,
Lily
A loud laugh from behind caught her attention, and she turned around. The smile on her face quickly slipped away and was replaced by a look of absolute horror. There, in front of her very eyes, was her husband locked in a passionate embrace with Sirius Black. She squeezed her eyes shut as she fought back the tears.
The wind howled loudly as her magic crackled with uncontrollable fury. She couldn't stay here. She turned around and opened her eyes. Her breathing was ragged as she picked up her handbag and raced out of the park to a safe and secluded place from where she could Apparate.
~o~o~o~
Lily made her way over to the kitchen table and placed two plates of spaghetti on the table. Ever since her trip to the park earlier, she had been slaving away in the kitchen to prepare a nice meal for her husband. She had realised after returning home that there was no point in jumping to conclusions and making assumptions. If she was completely honest with herself, she couldn't even be certain that it was Remus she had seen. After all, she had only seen the side of the man's face. So rather than allowing herself to get worked up, she had decided to do the mature thing and trust her husband.
She picked her wand up off the table and placed a charm over the food to keep it warm until Remus arrived home. Although she was certain it would be within the next five to ten minutes, Lily knew how hectic things could get for her husband at work, and it wouldn't come as a surprise to her if he was a little late.
Deciding to take the opportunity to put her feet up for a few minutes, Lily sat down on the couch and began to flick through the channels, trying to find something to block out the images of her husband and Sirius kissing that were surfacing to the forefront of her mind now that she didn't have the distraction of cooking.
Less than five minutes later, she heard the key turn in the lock. Lily wiped away a few tears from the corners of her eyes and fixed a smile on her face before going to greet her husband at the door.
"Remus, you're home," Lily said, wrapping her arms around her husband and burying her face in the crook of his neck. Against her will, she inhaled deeply but could smell nothing other than the potent scent of his aftershave. "How was your day?"
Lily untangled herself from his arms and looked at him expectantly. She made sure to look directly in his eyes to see if there was even a flicker of dishonesty. If there was one thing her husband couldn't do, it was lie in a convincing manner.
"Uneventful, darling," he answered, hanging up his coat. "Something smells delicious."
"I made your favourite for dinner," Lily informed him. "Spaghetti and meatballs."
Lily walked over to the table, sat down at the place she had set for herself, and waited until her husband had joined her before removing the charm she had placed on the food.
"Mmm, Lily, this tastes even better than it smells," Remus commented, his mouth full of food.
Lily smiled at Remus as she twirled the spaghetti around her fork. "Thank you," she said as she raised the fork to her mouth.
"You're welcome," Remus replied, making an appreciative noise as he ate another forkful of spaghetti.
A comfortable silence fell as they continued to eat. The more she ate though, the more Lily's mind churned. No matter how much she tried to deny it to herself, she had seen what she had seen; the only question was: would Remus be honest with her?
"Tell me more about your day," Lily requested. "I know you said it was uneventful, but I'd like to hear about it. What did you do?"
"Not a lot," Remus answered. "Just spent some time catching up with Sirius; you know how it is."
Lily's fork slipped through her fingers and clattered as it landed on the plate. Her eyes glazed over with tears as she fought the urge to cry… again.
"Yes, I do," she whispered quietly, her voice changing into a menacing tone as she continued to say, "I know exactly how it is."
Lily pushed her plate to one side as she rose to her feet.
"Lily, what's wrong?" Remus asked. "What are you going on about?"
"I know exactly how it is between you and Sirius. Truth be told I've known for years, but I loved you so much that I lied to myself. No more though."
"What do you mean?"
"I know that you and Sirius have been going at it behind my back!" Lily cried, raising her voice and reaching for her wand. "I saw you two, together, today at the park."
"I—I was never at the park, Lily," Remus said, frowning.
"Don't lie to me, Remus, I saw you with my own two eyes," she said, walking towards the door and grabbing her coat off the hook. "I want you gone by the time I get back."
"Lily, I—"
She didn't wait to hear any more. She didn't want to hear his lies and excuses. She drew her wand and spun on the spot, Disapparating from their apartment.
~o~o~o~
Lily reappeared in an alleyway in an all too familiar neighbourhood. She shrugged on her coat, which she had neglected to put on in her haste to get away from Remus, before slowly making her way to the edge of the alley.
She looked up at the apartment building across from her and as soon as she found the right window, Lily narrowed her eyes.
A man appeared at the window, opening it slightly, and Lily's fury bubbled over. How dare he continue going about his life as normal as her whole world crumbled around her?
Hoping that Sirius had foregone his wards, Lily twisted on the spot and Apparated into his living room where she was greeted by the sight of her husband and Sirius in a full on lip-lock.
"Really, Remus," Lily said, aghast, prompting the two men to jump apart. "I'm gone less than ten minutes, and you're crawling into his bed. At least now I know what you think of our relationship."
"Lily," Sirius said, stepping away from the man next to him. "I know what this may look like, but it really isn't what you think."
"Oh, so he just fell onto your lips?" Lily asked sarcastically. "Please give me some credit, Sirius."
"Lily, this is—"
Suddenly, the door behind them opened, and Lily spun around to see Remus standing there. Her head whipped back and forth between the two identical men as she tried to wrap her head around what she was seeing.
"What? What is this?" she asked, feeling more confused than she had when she first found out she was a witch.
"This is what I was trying to tell you, Lily," Sirius said softly. "This is Romulus, Remus' twin."
"I think I would know if my husband had a twin, Sirius," Lily laughed. "Now what's the truth?"
"That is the truth, Lil," Remus said from behind her. "Romulus and I haven't seen each other in years. We don't get along."
"But he wasn't at Hogwarts," Lily stated. "Do you really expect me to believe that your identical twin is a Squib?"
"No, Mother and Father sent him to Beauxbatons," Remus informed her. "They knew how bad our relationship was even then and thought it was for the best to send us to different schools."
Lily searched Remus eyes as she tried to detect any ounce of a lie. She couldn't see any, but in the last day alone she had found herself wondering just how well she really knew her husband. Regardless of whether this was a truth or a lie, Remus had been hiding things from her. At this moment in time she wasn't sure which was worse: an affair or a secret brother.
Romulus snorted. "Yeah, I still can't believe they did that to me. Why couldn't they have sent you out of the country?"
"You know why, Rom," Remus snapped. "Beauxbatons made it absolutely clear they wouldn't accept someone with my condition."
"Whatever," Romulus muttered.
"I—I can't deal with this right now," Lily said before running out of the door and away from the brotherly squabble that was breaking out in Sirius' apartment.
~o~o~o~
Lily wandered around for ages, her mind churning as the revelations in Sirius' apartment played over and over again in her mind.
Remus had a brother! A twin brother she knew nothing about! And Sirius was in a relationship with him. Not only that, she had made a fool out of herself by thinking the worst of the man she loved with all her heart; the man who was also the father of her unborn child. How on earth could she make things right? There was no way Remus would be able to forgive her for this?
As she passed a shop on the high street, Lily passed by a chocolate shop, and an idea struck her. If there was one weakness Remus had, it was chocolate, and with Christmas just around the corner, she knew exactly what to get him.
~o~o~o~
Lily pushed open the front door of their apartment, carrying a bag full of her apology.
"Remus," she called out, hoping that he was somewhere in their home. "Remus, are you home?"
She placed the bag on the floor, shrugged off her coat, and hung it up. She picked up the bag and pulled out one of the advent calendars she had bought and made her way through to the living room, where she found Remus sitting on the couch in the dark.
"Remus, look what I bought for you," Lily said, flicking on the light switch.
She walked over towards her husband and placed the calendar on his lap. Remus glanced from the advent calendar to his wife and frowned.
"An advent calendar, Lily, really?" Remus said, placing it down on the table. "I'm not five."
"Not just one advent calendar," Lily replied, holding up her carrier bag. "Twenty five!"
Remus grinned as though all his Christmases had come at once and took the bag out of her hand.
"So, are we okay?" Lily asked as Remus pulled out every advent calendar and began to open the first door on each one.
"Yeah, course we are," Remus answered, popping a chocolate into his mouth.
Lily smiled. "Great. Well I'm going to get an early night; I'm pretty tired."
"Okay," Remus replied, his focus completely on the advent calendars in front of him. "Night, Lils. Love you."
"Love you too," Lily answered, padding over to their bedroom and pushing the door open.
Once she was ready for bed, Lily decided to get herself a glass of water before going to sleep.
She walked over toward the door and as she opened it, she heard Remus' voice. It sounded as though he was talking to someone. She knew that it was wrong, especially after today's events, but Lily was intrigued to find out who he was talking to and what about.
"James, thank you for today," Remus was saying. "You went above and beyond for me. Lily completely bought it, by the way."
What had she completely bought? Lily thought she knew, but she really hoped she was wrong.
There was a pause whilst James answered, and then Remus chuckled quietly in response.
"Yes, it was completely ingenious," Remus said. "Let me know if I can ever return the favour, Romulus."
No! No! Remus lied to her. And worse: his friends were in on it too. They were all laughing at her behind her back.
If it had been James acting on his own, Lily wouldn't have been surprised. It was exactly the kind of stunt she expected from him. But she had never in a million years thought Remus would be capable of such deceit.
"Hey, speaking of Romulus, he sends his regards from France," Remus told James as Lily closed the bedroom door.
She leant against the door and slid down it, choking out a few sobs. Lily placed her hand gently on her stomach and thought of her unborn child. She didn't want to be a single mother, but at the same time didn't want to be stuck in a marriage with a man who didn't love her and could lie to her in such a way.
Even if Romulus was real, it didn't change the fact that the man she had met earlier had been James disguised via Polyjuice Potion or a similar glamour. Not to mention that the odds of Romulus being the man Lily had seen with Sirius earlier were dramatically slimmer, now that she knew he was in France.
But that didn't make it impossible.
Lily glanced down at her hand which was still resting on her stomach and sighed. It might be the wrong choice, but she had to trust the man she married and give this child a happy, family life… even if it was a lie.
With the decision made, Lily wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. She made her way over to her bed and climbed in, full of resolve to tell Remus their happy news in the morning.
And if it turned out he was having an affair, a new baby could be just the jolt Remus needed to end it, once and for all.