February 8, 1995
The boy was sitting alone and looking sad, underneath the river birch in front of the academy. Lily felt absolutely dreadful and approached him cautiously.
"Hello," Lily said, standing a few feet away from him.
The boy didn't look up but in a low voice he said, "Hello."
"I'm sorry about Sev," Lily said.
The boy nodded.
Lily exhaled and wondered what she could say to get his attention.
"I know how he's been treating you. It's not all right," Lily said.
The boy nodded again but still wouldn't look at her.
"My name's Lily, by the way," she said, trying to sound friendly.
"I'm Remus," the boy said.
He sounded so defeated and it nearly broke Lily's heart. Lily slowly moved closer Remus, consciously aware that the laces of her trainers were too tight and her rucksack too heavy.
Lily crouched near him, wrapping her arms around her grey skirt and over her knees. Remus finally looked up at her. His brown hair was messy and partially covering his eyes but she could still see that they were red and puffy. He had a scar that went across his face in jagged, diagonal line. Lily wondered how he had received it but the very thought of it made her shudder.
Remus was a handsome lad, nonetheless. Dorcas Meadowes had told her that she thought he was cute. Dorcas thought the scar just made him more interesting, even if they didn't know his name.
If Sev had known Remus's name he had never said it. He only called him 'that boy' or 'that ugly, little queer'. Lily didn't like when Sev said those sorts of things.
She had known Severus Snape for several years. They had lived in the same building and attended the same school before the academy. She had liked Sev. They had similar interests and she felt bad for him. His home life was terrible. But today she realised that there were some things she just couldn't tolerate.
"I'm not friends with Sev anymore," Lily said hopefully.
Remus stared at her, his eyes widening a little. He then looked away.
"Really! I'm not!" Lily insisted.
"That's good," Remus replied but still diverted his eyes.
"I just feel bad, all right? I feel like I just let him say whatever he wanted when he was around me. I knew how he was treating you and I just ignored it. I kept hoping he would stop!" Lily plead.
"I'm not sure what you want me to say," Remus said.
"I just… want to make it up to you," Lily said.
"It's not your fault," Remus admitted and turned to face her before adding, "I appreciate the effort, though."
Lily frowned. She knew it wasn't her fault but she still felt responsible.
"Let me buy you some ice cream. I have a fiver in my rucksack and Florean Fortescue's isn't far," Lily said with a smile.
Remus stared at her, seeming unsure.
"Please?" Lily said.
Remus looked down then said, "All right."
Lily grinned and hopped up. Remus pulled himself up slowly. Lily was surprised to realise he was slightly shorter than her once he was at his full height. He still seemed sad but Lily didn't think anyone could be sad if they had ice cream. It was sure to do the trick.
"So what sorts of things do you like, Lily?" Remus asked as they walked down the sidewalk to the ice cream parlour.
"Music!" Lily said.
"Me too," Remus said and Lily caught a hint of a grin on his face.
"Do you like Blur? I just love Blur. And Pulp!" Lily said with great enthusiasm.
"I like Blur. Not too familiar with Pulp, I'm afraid," Remus said.
"Well, what are you familiar with?" Lily asked.
"The classics, really. The Beatles, Queen, Pink Floyd. That sort of stuff. I like The Smiths and Morrissey, of course. Manchester, you know?" Remus said and finally flashed a smile.
"Oh, I love The Beatles!" Lily said.
"Everyone loves The Beatles, I thought," Remus said and chuckled.
"Not my dad. My dad loves Elvis but my mum loves The Beatles," Lily said.
Remus cringed at the mention of Elvis.
"Elvis is not really my style," Remus said.
"Me either," Lily said and Remus smiled again.
"You'll have to come over to my place some time. I'll play you some Pulp. I bet you'll love it!" Lily said as they entered the ice cream parlour.
Remus had a single scoop of chocolate while Lily had a scoop of mint. The look on Remus's face as he took his first bite proved that she was definitely right about it being impossible to be sad while eating ice cream.
"This is brilliant. Cheers!" Remus said.
"It's nothing," Lily said with a dismissive wave then took a spoonful of her ice cream.
Minutes later they had finished and Remus looked much happier.
"I meant what I said. You should come over," Lily said as they left the shop.
Remus smiled and said, "Sure."
Lily pulled off her rucksack and set it down.
"Let me write down my number so you can ring me, if you like," Lily said.
"All right," Remus said.
Lily pulled out a pen and tore a scrap from her notebook then quickly wrote the number down then stood up and gave it to Remus.
"Cheers," Remus said then added, "I'd give you mine but I don't have any paper."
Lily knelt back down and tore off another scrap then handed the notebook and pen over to him. Remus wrote the number down then gave all three items back to her with a smile.
"Well, Lily, I need get on the bus home. It was nice meeting you," Remus said.
Lily pulled on her rucksack then said, "Yeah, mum's expecting me. I don't live far though. See you tomorrow at school, then?"
"Absolutely," Remus said then walked away.
When she was home Lily ran inside with excitement.
"Goodness, Lils. Don't slam the door," Lily's mum called out from the kitchen.
"Sorry, mum," Lily said.
"What are you so excited about, love?" her mum said.
"I made a new friend," Lily said and leaned on the counter near her mother who was washing dishes.
"That's good. What's her name?" her mother asked.
"His name is Remus," Lily said proudly.
"Another boyfriend?" her mum said then laughed.
"No! He's not a boyfriend! He's just a boy. I'm only twelve, mum!" Lily said and felt herself blush with embarrassment.
Lily's mum rolled her eyes and sighed.
"I had a boyfriend when I was twelve!" her mum replied.
Lily didn't want to tell her mum that she wasn't friends with Sev yet. Perhaps, with tea after her father got home.
Lily gave her mum a hug then went into her bedroom and set her rucksack on the floor then fell on her bed in excitement. She had successfully made amends with Remus and managed to befriended him. She felt bad about losing Sev as a friend but she was certain it was the right choice.
She did wonder if Sev was right about Remus, if he really was gay. Of course, Sev had meant it as a bad thing, a way to put Remus down. But Lily didn't see the harm in being gay. What should it matter?
No, Lily didn't care if Remus was gay. He was a cool bloke and that was all that mattered.