Princess Lily Evans sailed down the back path from the palace on her hover bike, dark red hair and skirt of her dress flapping around wildly in the breeze.

She had always been curious about the boy with the honey brown hair that lived in the large cottage a mile behind the palace that lay on the edge of the forest. He was handsome but slight of build. She saw him when she went to stay in the nearby village, often tending to his family's garden.

When she asked people at the palace who he was they shrugged her off. He was just some boy and nothing for her to worry about, they said. And it was pointed out to her that there were other boys who lived in other cottages on the palace grounds. But Lily wasn't interested in them.

She was thirteen now and that afforded her a little freedom. If she wanted to make a new friend then nothing would stop her, not even her royal parents who did not approve of her hover bike one bit.

The boy studied her from a distance as she approached. He was shielding his eyes from the sun so it wasn't possible to see what he was thinking, even as she pulled up. He didn't seem shocked by the tech of the bike and seemed to briefly admire it with a smile.

Lily got off the bike and approached Remus cautiously to avoid making him nervous.

"Hello," she said, trying her best to sound friendly and not too formal. Life at the palace had trained her to be formal but her parents had been allowing her to spend most of her time living with a family in the nearby village. She knew the boy would know who she was but she wanted him to forget that.

"Hi," he said. He seemed shy. Now that she was up close, Lily could see hints of scars on his face though it did not stop him from being handsome one bit.

"I'm Lily," she said.

"Yes, I know. You're the princess. I'm Remus. Remus Lupin," the boy replied with a faint smile while he dusted his dirt covered hands off on his overalls.

"Pleased to meet you," Lily said.

"Likewise," Remus said. "Is there something you need?"

Lily felt a bit put off by his question for a moment but then remembered that visits from the palace might be rare.

"No. I was just… curious," Lily said.

"About what?" Remus asked.

She couldn't actually tell him that she was curious about him. That just wouldn't do. But she had to say something…

"Your family. Most of the other cottages on the grounds are filled with nobles or other dignitaries. Your family see more like… Muggles," Lily said.

Muggles were folks who preferred not to use tech to enhance their lives. Officially, the United Technological Planets was a technological monarchy and the rights of Muggles was often under debate. Lily realized it would be a bit strange if Remus and his family were Muggles, under the circumstance.

"They are Muggles I suppose. I've never really thought about it. I personally find tech fascinating," Remus admitted.

"Me too! My parents don't want me around tech because they don't like it but I do! I want to go to Hogwarts Academy and train to use tech!" Lily said.

"I'm going there once I turn fifteen!" Remus said.

"Well, you still have to be accepted, you know," Lily said.

"I already have been!" Remus said.

Lily frowned and shook her head.

"What do you mean you already have been?" Lily asked.

"I've been promised," Remus said.

"Promised? By who?" Lily replied.

"Albus Dumbledore," Remus said.

Lily just stared. Albus Dumbledore was the head of Hogwarts Academy and Chief Royal Advisor. He worked directly with her parents.

"Dumbledore?" Lily said in shock.

"Yeah. He's a friend of the family," Remus said.

Dumbledore was friends with Muggles? This was certainly surprising though not at all impossible. The bigger mystery was why Dumbledore would befriend Muggles and presumable give them a place to live on the palace grounds.

"How did your family come to know Dumbledore, might I ask?" Lily said.

Remus frowned and looked away.

"I can't talk about that. I'm sorry," Remus said, looking oddly ashamed.

Lily felt uncomfortable like she had somehow hit a sore spot she didn't know was there. She decided to change the subject.

"You should come up the palace sometime, Remus," Lily said.

"I'm not allowed," he answered.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm the princess and I say you can."

Remus stared at her for a moment then nodded.

"Yeah. OK. I'd like that," he said with a smile.

"Fantastic! I'll come by sometime, say, midday tomorrow and we'll go up there," Lily said.

"All right. I'll be waiting," Remus said and Lily found she very much liked his smile.

Remus sat alone on his porch. There was no way she was going to come. The princess take him to the palace? Absurd. Besides, she didn't even know what he was. No one but his parents knew for that matter. She didn't know what he became sometimes nor did she know about the basement where his family kept him chained up on full moon nights.

At last, Remus saw Lily on her hover bike gliding down the path to his cottage. He had been charmed by the girl though her interest in him made him feel suspicious. He wasn't used to people being interested in him.

Lily arrived in front of him with a big smile moments later. She looked very pretty with her dark red hair a mess from the wind and the sun shining off her green eyes. She wore a simple white dress that was lined with yellow.

"Get on," Lily said and gestured to the space on the bike behind her.

Remus gulped. He'd have to sit close to her if he was going to fit on the bike. This was definitely not something he was used to. He smiled and climbed on then wrapped arms around her waist when she asked him to.

"There are guests at the palace today. The Black family actually. Have you heard of them?" Lily asked as they rode back up the path to the palace.

"I've heard of Arcturus Black. He was a famous surgeon during the war with Grindelwald," Remus said.

Remus flinched when he thought of Grindelwald. It had been twenty years since he was defeated. He was responsible for the wolf soldiers, one of whom somehow survived the war, attack and infected Remus. On full moons he turned into a wolf like monster. Somehow the wolf soldiers had learned to take control of this ability but he wasn't sure how. He couldn't imagine wanting to be like that.

"Yes, that's right. These people are related to him, somehow. I'm not really sure," Lily said.

Remus felt an immense sense of happiness with his arms around Lily, the sun on his face and the breeze through his hair and the excitement of getting a proper look at the palace. It looked amazing. He'd heard it had gone through a great many renovations in recent years but he lived too far away to see what they had done.

Currently, it was painted in shades of purple and blue with hints of gold and silver tracing lines around it. It looked very regal indeed. He'd heard that the queen and king were different than monarchs from the past and preferred a simple life compared with an extravagant one but apparently some things stayed the same.

Lily parked her bike at the back palace steps and they stepped off the bike. Remus felt nervous but excited. He was really going to go inside the palace!

As they walked up the steps he noticed a girl standing at the top, no doubt Lily's older sister and first in line for the crown, Petunia. She was taller and thinner than Lily and had blonde hair. Remus didn't think she was very pretty and he immediately felt a bit put off by the way she stretched her neck in disapproval.

"What is he doing here?" Petunia asked.

"He's my friend. I'm allowed to have friends, aren't I?" Lily said with a smile, brushing Petunia off in a way that Remus really admired.

And friends? Did she say they were friends? He barely knew her. Remus liked the idea of having a friend but deep at the back of the mind he knew his dark secret would always be there waiting to destroy any potential human relationships.

Petunia scoffed and shook her head.

"Mum and dad won't be pleased with this," Petunia said and marched inside the palace.

"Mum and dad won't care," Lily said with a glance to Remus. "Don't worry. They're pretty relaxed."

"Great," Remus said and followed Lily inside the palace.

For being the royal palace of the United Technological Planets it was a fairly low tech building. An obvious security system was wired throughout but in general things were in fact kept simple, along with real fire rather than electric light.

Remus followed Lily down a long hall until they arrived at two large doors at which point Lily stopped and stood there in front of it and faced Remus.

"This is the library. Used to just be nothing but tech but my parents found actual books to fill it with. It's pretty cool, actually though the books are old and kind of smell… musty," Lily admitted.

"I have some books actually. I like them," Remus said.

Lily smiled at this then continued, "Anyway, the black family was in here when I left and I bet they are still in here if you want to take a peek."

"All right," Remus said and Lily slowly opened one of the doors to the room.

But there wasn't a family in there. Just one boy with long, dark hair facing the window. He was certainly dressed in the fancy clothes of a noble but he didn't hold himself like a noble. He stood with his arms loose and he seemed impatient and twitching with anxious energy.

"Oh, sorry. We thought your family was in here," Lily said and the boy quickly turned back at them in surprise.

"No, they've gone. It's just me, I'm afraid," the boy said. Remus thought he looked the same age as he and Lily.

The boy began to step towards them, giving Remus a much better look at him. He appeared to be the same age as Remus and Lily. He was tall and had striking facial features, the least of which was not his grey eyes. Remus found himself entranced by the boy though he knew nothing about him.

"Sirius Black meet Remus Lupin," Lily said gesturing from Sirius to Remus.

Whatever Sirius thought about Remus it was not revealed on his face. He smiled and nodded graciously.

"Pleased to meet you," Sirius said.

"Yes, it's a pleasure. I mean…" Remus said, feeling embarrassed and hoping he wasn't turning red.

Sirius just smirked then looked at Lily.

"Your boyfriend is a funny fellow," Sirius said.

"He's not my boyfriend," Lily said.

"No? Hmm," Sirius said, turning to look at Remus again with a smile. "If you say so."

"Remus and his family live in a cottage on the grounds. I wanted to show him the palace," Lily said.

"Excellent. And what do you think of the palace?" Sirius asked.

"Oh. It's nice. A bit less simple than I'm used to," Remus said.

"Well, it is the royal palace, you know," Sirius said with a raised eyebrow.

Gorgeous yes, but Sirius was also a bit of a jerk.

"Well, yeah. I mean it's nice. I like it. Just different than what I'm used to," Remus said.

Sirius smiled again and nodded.

"So tell me, princess, what else is there to see at the palace? Is there a chance we could see something really interesting?" Sirius inquired.

"Call me Lily, please. Hmm. Would you two like to see my room?" Lily said.

Sirius sneered.

"Your room? What in the world could we possibly find interesting in a girl's room?" Sirius said.

"Yeah, I'd like to," Remus quickly said.

Lily smiled at Remus then said, "Well, Remus and I will go then. Goodbye, Sirius."

As they began to walk away Sirius called out, "Wait. Hang on! I'm coming too!"

Sirius Black was in love… or something. He wasn't sure what it was but he'd never felt it before. He couldn't take his eyes off Remus Lupin even as he sat next to the princess on her bed admiring the little bits and bobs of tech she had created.

The boy no doubt was hoping the princess would fall in love with him and he could marry her and eventually become king himself. No, he'd never give Sirius a second thought that much was clear.

But he felt something powerful when he looked at Remus. It was like a flutter in his belly and it made him anxious. He felt like getting closer to Remus, trying to talk to him and make himself seem interesting. But Remus was so cool and relaxed. He would never find a stiff son of nobles like Sirius interesting. Sirius felt so damned boring.

Despite his initial hesitancy, Sirius had to admit the princess's room was interesting. Despite being only thirteen she was very skilled with tech and had a inventor's mind. Sirius was envious. It wasn't fair that she got to be beautiful, brilliant and so bloody charming. How was Sirius supposed to compete with that?

"Are you all right, Sirius?" Lily asked.

Sirius jumped, feeling startled. He tried to regain his composure quickly.

"Oh, yes. Quite. I was just lost in thought," Sirius answered.

"Come sit on the bed, next to Remus," Lily said.

Sirius gulped but complied in silence suddenly finding himself sitting next to Remus, his heart pounding out of his chest. Remus and Lily were discussing these goggles that Lily had designed to make things look purple. He was sure if he could've focused he would've found the explanation of how the tech worked fascinating but all he could focus on was Remus.

After awhile Sirius noticed something: Lily kept looking at him. At first he considered that maybe she was admiring him but that just wasn't the case. She had noticed the way Sirius was looking at Remus and she was smiling at him in approval. So she honestly wasn't interested in Remus. Good. Now if he could just get Remus to be interested in him… oh but, dammit he never would be, Sirius admitted to himself.

Eventually it became dark. The three of them had talked about tech all night. Sirius thought it was nice to talk about tech in a more casual and fun way. His family only thought tech was usual for weapons or for healing and body modification.

Lily and Remus were more curious about using it for fun or interesting ways. Doing little things to brighten life up and thinking outside of the box and invent things you didn't know you needed or wanted.

Sirius felt a pang of sadness when Lily took Remus back to his cottage. He didn't know when he'd come back to the palace. It might very well be the last time he would see the boy. He didn't want that to be true.

Late that night there was a knock on the door of the guest chamber Sirius was staying in. Lily identified herself quietly and he beckoned her in.

"I saw you looking at Remus," Lily said excitedly.

"I don't know what you mean," Sirius said, sitting back in his bed with the sheets over his chest.

"Oh come off it. I saw it. You couldn't take your eyes off of him. I don't blame you. He is very handsome," Lily said.

Sirius smiled despite his best efforts not to.

"I knew it!" Lily said, proudly.

"Yes, fine. I fancy him," Sirius confessed and crossed his arms in frustration.

"Just to be completely clear I am only trying to be his friend. He is free for you to pursue should you wish," Lily said and winked.

"Like it matters. He'll never be interested in me," Sirius said.

"Why do you say that?" Lily asked.

"Why? All you have to do is look at him. He's so good looking and nice and intelligent and funny. I'm not good enough for him. I'm just a damned boring noble," Sirius answered, scowling.

"I don't think you're boring and I doubt Remus does either. He just needs to get to know you. And I don't know if you've noticed but you are very handsome yourself," Lily said.

"Do you really think so?" Sirius asked, blushing a little.

"Absolutely," Lily said.

Sirius smiled for a second but then frowned and shook his head.

"We're leaving in the morning and headed back to our home station. I'll never see him again," Sirius said.

"Well not until Hogwarts," Lily said plainly.

"Hogwarts?" Sirius said.

"You are going to attend, correct?" Lily said then stared at him in disbelief.

"Well… yeah. Of course I am. My family would disown me if I didn't!," Sirius answered.

"Well, so am I and so is Remus!" Lily said.

Sirius's heart began to pound. They would be in school together for four years!

"Oh but… that's two years away. That's basically a lifetime," Sirius said.

"Nonsense. Thanks to tech we can live to be well over a hundred now. Two years is barely anything!" Lily said.

"Two years," Sirius stated. "Two years."

"Until then, just be patient and I'll keep an eye on Remus for you," Lily said.

"Just an eye?" Sirius asked, mostly joking.

"I'll try my best," Lily said then laughed forcing Sirius to laugh with her.

Two years. It kept repeating in his mind. Two years.

Remus was in darkness and chains. The change was imminent. Before the change he always tried to focus on something to anchor him to his humanity, something to remind him that he's not truly a monster. He thought of the things and people he loved but sometimes it wasn't enough.

But he knew some could retain their personality after the transformation. Maybe he could do it this time!

As he felt his skin begin to crawl, this time he thought of his new friend Lily and the handsome Sirius Black. He hoped he could remain friends with Lily. She was so kind and fun. Hopefully, she would never find out what he truly was.

And Sirius… blasted bloody gorgeous Sirius Black. What would he want with a creature such as Remus? It was just as well he wasn't likely to ever see Sirius again because it would save him the humiliation of Sirius ever finding out.

In the morning, Remus remembered nothing of his change. He hadn't found enough to hold onto yet. Maybe he never would.