Round Seven QLFC. Shipping Palooza

H.M.S. Moon Petals (Remus Lupin/Lily Evans)—platonic

3. (word) cosy

6. (setting) Hogwarts Express

14. (dialogue) "This isn't safe… or legal for that matter."

Word Count: 1,477

Thanks to my amazing beta Lizzie

"I'm hungry," Sirius said. He was lying across the seat of the Hogwarts Express, feet stretched out across Peter's lap while his head rested just beside James' leg.

Remus looked up from the book he was reading and stared pointedly at the large heap of candy wrappers piled up on Sirius' stomach. "You've just eaten."

"Well, I'm hungry again."

Remus rolled his eyes. "You're going to explode."

"Don't you have any food, Remus?" Sirius twisted his neck to look across the compartment at Remus' trunk. "You've usually got chocolate stashed away."

"I ate all my chocolate, I'm afraid." Remus flipped a page in his book while Sirius groaned loudly.

"We should've gotten more from the trolley lady." Peter sucked the last bit of melted Chocolate Frog from his thumb.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "You bought every licorice wand she had."

"We were idiots." The train lurched over a bump in the tracks, and Sirius wriggled around, trying not to fall off the seat. "We should've left the wands and bought all the Cauldron Cakes."

"Or the Frogs." James sighed and looked out through the compartment door into the aisle. "I could go for some more Chocolate Frogs."

"Well, the trolley has already gone by." Remus was looking at his book again. "You can't get anything from it now."

"That's what you think." James leaned over to snatch an empty box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans that was about to fall from Sirius' pile of wrappers.

Peter flinched as another lurch sent Sirius' foot digging into his thigh. "What do you mean? The trolley witch only goes by once. She stops selling sweets after the first sweep. It's too late to buy anything."

"I didn't say we were going to buy things."

Remus blinked. "You're not insinuating that you're going to steal something, are you? Not even you are that stupid, Prongs." A chill went down his spine as he used the new nickname. Just last month his friends had perfected their animagus skills.

"I'm ashamed you think so low of me, Moony." James had a grin on his face—whether from the use of his nickname of because he was up to something, Remus couldn't tell.

Remus folded his arms. "James Potter, are you or are you not planning to steal sweets off the trolley?"

"Well. . . ."

"You'll be caught." Peter's nose was twitching the way it always did when he was nervous.

"He's got the Cloak." Sirius swung himself up into a sitting position, sending his mountain of trash spilling to the floor. "I'm going with him. You coming, Wormtail, or are you a coward like Moony?"

Peter narrowed his eyes slightly. "I'm no coward."

"Excellent." Sirius turned to Remus. "Are you in?"

"This isn't safe . . . or legal for that matter." Remus shook his head. "I'm out."

"Your loss." James stood and fished the Invisibility Cloak out from his trunk. "See you in a bit, Moony."

He swirled the Cloak around his and Sirius' shoulders and vanished. Peter patted blindly at the air until he hit something solid, and then bent down to lift the hem up enough for him to duck inside. "I'll bring you back a Frog," he said over his shoulder to Remus, and then he, too, was gone.

The compartment door opened and closed, and Remus went back to his book. A moment later, he heard the door slide open again. "Forget something?" he asked without looking up.

"Erm—hi, Remus."

His head snapped up. "Lily."

Lily slipped inside, closing the door behind her. "Are you all alone."

"Yeah." Remus dog-eared a page in his book and gestured to the seat beside him. Lily sat. "The others disappeared somewhere."

"Oh." Lily ran her fingers through her Gryffindor scarf. "Do you mind if I stay here for a bit? Just until Stupid, Stupider, and Stupidest come back."

Remus smirked. "I'm sure Peter, Sirius, and James won't mind you joining our compartment."

"I know." She took a deep breath. Remus noticed tears sparkling in her eyes. "I just don't like spending time with Potter. But you looked lonely. And . . . I'm a bit lonely, too."

"Why're you lonely?"

She closed her eyes. "Oh, you know."

He waited, but she didn't elaborate, and so he settled for nodding as if he understood and picking up his book again.

He jumped when she spoke again: "I've never been on the Hogwarts Express without Severus."

Remus felt his eyes widen as he made the connection. "Oh."

Lily nodded. The tears were gone from her eyes, and he suspected she'd wiped them away when he wasn't looking. "We've always shared a compartment. Every Christmas. Every Easter. Every September. Every June . . . except, of course, right now."

After a moment of hesitation, Remus put his arm around her shoulder. She looked surprised to see it there—Remus wasn't exactly known for touching people—but she didn't move away. "Snape'll come around. He's an idiot if he doesn't want to share a compartment with you."

Lily shook her head. "I'm the one avoiding him."

"Oh." Remus' arm was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "Why can't you just stop avoiding him, then?"

A quick lip tremble was all the warning Remus had before Lily burst into tears. "He c-called me a Mudblood," she said. "You were there. You heard it. Everyone did."

"No—don't cry." Remus shifted toward Lily and pulled her into a hug. She pressed her face into his shoulder. "It'll be okay."

"I want to forgive him." Her voice was muffled against his jumper. "But I just can't."

Remus glanced toward the doors of the compartment to make sure nobody was watching. "Here." He shifted toward her slightly so he could reach into his back pocket. "Have some chocolate. It always helps me feel better."

She drew away from him, blinking hard. "Thank you." She took the Chocolate Frog from his hands and unwrapped it carefully.

Remus watched her sniffle as she raised the chocolate to her mouth. "Don't forgive him," Remus said suddenly.

"What?"

"He doesn't deserve it. Not after what he said."

She swallowed her bite of chocolate. "He's my best friend."

"I'll be your best friend, instead. Or you can find someone else. Just not him."

Lily smiled gently as she nibbled at the frog's toes. "You," she said. "I'd choose you as a best friend over the rest of the Idiot Squad."

"Idiot Squad?" Remus raised his eyebrows. "Is that what you call us?"

Lily's smile deepened, and she let out a laugh. "Speaking of the others, I should probably leave before they come back. The last thing I need is for Potter to see I've been crying." She stood. "Would it be okay if I sent you an owl over summer holidays?"

"Of course." He stood to open the compartment door for her. "I'll send you some chocolate."

Lily chuckled and stepped out into the aisle. "Oh," she said suddenly. "Tell your friend Dirt-For-Brains that I will never date him, so he might as well stop trying."

Remus smirked. "Will do, Lily."

"And tell him his abs are only subpar."

Remus laughed, and Lily gave him a little wave as she closed the door.

There was silence in the compartment for three long seconds.

"You bloody liar," said Sirius' voice. The three boys appeared from thin air as he whipped off the Invisibility Cloak. "You said you didn't have any chocolate, Moony."

Remus smirked. "How long have you been lurking out in the aisle?"

"Long enough to see you give Evans a Chocolate Frog!" Sirius narrowed his eyes. "You traitor."

"Did you see how cosy Lily and Remus were getting?" Peter nudged James in the side playfully.

"Lily and I are just friends," Remus said. "I would never do that to James."

James looked relieved. "So she's still available?"

"Doesn't matter how available she is," Sirius said. "She said she'd never date you. She called you 'Dirt-for-Brains.'"

"How cute," Peter said. "She's got a nickname for you."

"She talked about my abs, didn't you hear?" James looked hopeful.

"She insulted your abs." Remus picked up his book. "She's going to owl me this summer."

"Has she got a crush on you?" Sirius asked.

Remus shook his head. "Just looking for a friend."

"Well, I'm looking for some food." Sirius glanced out the compartment door. "What d'you say we go back to the trolley?"

"Back?" Remus raised his eyebrows. "You were just there!"

"I ate all my sweets while we were waiting outside for you to stop cosying up to Evans."

"Are you coming with us this time?" Peter asked. "We didn't even come close to getting caught. The trolley witch was asleep."

With a sigh, Remus put down his book. "Let's go," he said, and the other Marauders draped the Cloak over their bodies and walked out of the compartment.