Title: Stand By You

Author: RoboTitaness (fr0st6yte)

Fandom: Harry Potter

Characters: Remus Lupin, Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship

Summary: "She was there for me at a time when no one else was." Remus Lupin, Lily Evans, and the times when they were brother and sister.

A/N:

"She was there for me at a time when no one else was. We used to talk for hours. She was… …uncommonly kind… She had a way of seeing the beauty in whoever she met… …when that person couldn't see it in themselves…"

This a series of one-shots, so I'm going to mark this as complete and just add more as I think of them. They're all based on the above quote from the PoA. A different twist on the Marauders find out, because this quote implies that there was a time when they weren't there for Remus.

"Remus?" The boy in question raised his head off his fist and blinked at the girl standing before him. "Is something the matter?" He tried to drudge up a smile for her, but knew he failed miserably as her frown became even more pronounced.

"I'm fine, Lily," he tried. Lily snorted before settling down across from him. She looked pointedly at his untouched bowl of soup, and he resolutely picked up his spoon and took a sip. Even when it threatened to come back up, he smiled at her and took another spoonful. "What can I do for you?"

"Come on, Remus," she implored, ignoring his question. "Tell me what's wrong." She stiffened. "Is it Potter and Black? Why are you friends with those gits -"

"Could you read through my Potions essay?" He interrupted, not wanting her to start her rant again. She glared slightly, before sighing and nodding. Sending her a thankful smile, Remus handed over the parchment, still taking small sips of his now cold soup. The two were silent for a few minutes, as Lily skimmed through his writing, making the occasional revision.

"Remus, beazor doesn't work on Basilisk venom. It's one of the few exceptions." Remus thanked her, taking back his paper and marking the change. He studiously ignored Lily, who was staring at him, probably contemplating the lack of his dorm-mates. Or, more likely, coming up with things Sirius and James' could have done to bother him.

"We should get to Defense," he said, standing up and picking up his bag.

Professor McGonagall liked to believe that she didn't have favorites in her classes. Every student was treated equally and fairly. But the professor was also an honest type, and she knew that she had a soft spot for the small brunette werewolf, one that extended to his posse of trouble-making friends at times. So when she walked into her morning class with her house and saw Lupin sitting with Ms. Lily Evans instead of his dorm-mates, she was curious and a little bit worried, especially when she noticed the trio resolutely not looking at the boy. Evans was also glancing from her friend to the others, concern for Lupin and anger at the other boys warring on her face. McGonagall watched as the girl leaned towards her friend, grabbing his hand and whispering indistinctly to him.

Passing by, she only managed to catch a few words. "…ignore… not true…prejudiced…"

With a sinking feeling, McGonagall started the class, though she glanced between the five students often, worried at the implication of the words.

"Potter! Black!" The two black haired boys in question, along with a third shorter, blonde boy, turned around at the girl's shout.

"What do you want, Evans?" Black asked. Lily, if she was nearly as enraged as she was, would have noticed that he - that all three of them - were trying to hide pain on their faces. That they were upset and hurting and angry too. There was even a bit of guilt hidden in there, she would recall weeks later. But at that moment? She could only see the blankness, the coldness, on their faces. Their apathy, mistaken for disgust. Lily Evans was living up to her reputation of being a fiery red-head. She barely remembered to pull them into a deserted corridor before she ripped into them.

"How dare you? How dare you call Remus - Remus! - a bloodthirsty monster?"

"You wouldn't understand," Black snorted. "You don't know -"

"That he has lycanthropy? I put it together over a year ago! And it hasn't changed anything! You've lived in the same room as him for two bloody years and you think finally figuring out his issues changes everything? He would never hurt a fly! You gits! You daft tossers!"

"He's a werewolf!" Potter snapped back, however quietly.

"You're a muggleborn. You haven't heard the stories!" Pettigrew continued, shaking his head at the girl. "They are bloodthirsty."

"I cannot believe you three!" Lily cried. "I knew you were all idiots, but cruel? Especially to your friends? Severus was right! You're much worse than I ever imagined."

"Just be happy we aren't going around telling people, Evans," Black growled. "I don't think he should be here, but I'm not going against Dumbledore." Lily nearly screamed in frustration, whipped around, and stomped away, leaving the three Gryffindors standing in the hallway, silent and guilty - though none admitted to the last.

"How'd they take it?" Lily asked, sitting next to Remus's bed in the hospital wing. He had a back room to himself, just for his monthly visits, and Lily had gotten permission to visit him soon after she had found out. It had become a ritual for them - Lily would give Remus her notes and Remus would thank Lily profusely, looking at her every month like he was just waiting for her to leave, and Lily would smile and reaffirm, every month, that she was here to stay. Remus never truly believed it, Lily knew, but she promised that she would never leave his side.

"They've been ignoring me since they found out, Lily." Not for the first time, the red-head felt her disgust at the trio rise. Did they not see what they were doing to Remus?

The boy had been so nervous when Lily had confessed her knowledge. He was skittish, often flinching, as though waiting for her to throw something at him. It took weeks for him to feel comfortable around her again and back to his old self.

Then this happened, and Lily felt that all her work had been undone. Remus was back to being nervous and quiet. And the boys weren't helping by ignoring him. At least, she thought with slight relief, they were just ignoring him. They hadn't made any cruel remarks to his face, she knew. But that was all the relief she granted herself. Remus was tearing himself apart because of them, constantly paranoid that they were going to give away his secret and force him to leave Hogwarts. He spent all his time in the library, skipping meals whenever Lily wasn't there to drag him to the Great Hall, and even sleeping in the common room instead of his dorm, in an effort to avoid the others.

"You can't blame them, Lily." She snapped her eyes to her best friend, face disbelieving.

"Can't blame them?" She repeated incredulously. "I bloody well can! They are being prejudiced trolls!"

"They know the stories -"

"The actions of the few does not dictate the whole group!" She cried, torn between anger and exasperation.

"It often does," Remus replied tiredly.

"You'd think Black would know that," she continued, plowing over Remus's reply. "Am I going around thinking he's a muggle-hater, just because his family is? But of course, he doesn't hold himself to the same standards that he holds others to."

"Come on, Lily," Remus sighed. "Must we talk about this?" Lily scowled but conceded.

"Just eat your lunch," she muttered. Remus only looked at her, still only picking at his food.

"Not hungry." Lily snorted.

"Of course you aren't. Not like you haven't eaten more than a handful for the past few weeks," she said sarcastically. Remus shot her a half-hearted glare, before grabbing one of the books from the pile she had brought him. Lily didn't force him again, just helping him go through his ever-growing pile of homework.

Neither heard the soft padding of feet as a long, black haired boy shuffled back to his dorm, thinking on all he had heard.

Lily could only watch as the weeks passed and Remus only looked more haggard, more pained, more reticent. Three full-moons had passed since his friends dorm-mates had found out and none of them were still talking to him. He kept to himself, even avoiding Lily. At least, trying to. The red-head wasn't cooperating. She stayed with him as much as she could - to the point Sev was getting annoyed, she knew. But she had to. She kept trying to convince him to eat something more than the meager portions he was consuming. He didn't have the same excitement and curiosity towards his classes anymore, and the professors had definitely noticed his lack of effort and the trio's sudden aversion to him. (Except Slughorn, but the less she talked about him the better. She may love Potions, but he could barely look at Remus!) But they couldn't do anything, she knew. As long as the trio didn't give his secret out, the teachers wouldn't interfere.

But why didn't they reveal the secret? She'd thought of it multiple times, but she came no closer to an answer. They hated Remus - that much was clear. But they never made any hint or mention that they would tell anyone. Why? Were they going to hold it over her friend?

She looked at the trio, sitting across the Great Hall. Potter and Black seemed to be half-heartedly discussing Quidditch, while Peter shoveled in food. For a moment, she felt her anger slip away. They were barely getting through classes, worse even than Remus at that moment, and they were clearly perturbed. She just didn't understand it! They were horrible without him, but they still refused to even look at him. She couldn't let it go on, for everyone's benefits. Though she would never admit it out loud, Hogwarts wasn't the same without the four's pranks and mischief. She grabbed her bag and strode over to the boys.

"I need to talk to you three." She was pleased by her voice's steadiness. They glanced up at her, annoyance and weariness plain on their faces.

"What do you want, Evans?" Black asked.

"Come with me," she replied, before turning and walking out the doors. When she didn't hear anything at first, she was afraid they weren't going to listen, but then she heard shuffling and steps. She led them to an empty classroom, slamming the door behind them.

"Why?" she demanded, before any of them could open their mouths.

"Why what," Potter asked tiredly.

"Why are you doing this?" she replied. She watched them exchange looks before Potter took the lead.

"Because he's a dark creature." He said it so simply, as though that made all the difference.

"He's Remus."

"He's dangerous," Potter stressed.

"Only on the full moon," she scoffed. "Unless you're talking about when someone gets between him and his chocolate." It was gone quickly, but she thought she saw a grin flash on Black's face. She kept eyes on Potter though. "He didn't ask for this," she said quietly.

This time, she was sure she saw guilt flash behind the glasses, so she pressed on. "Did you know he got bit when he was five?"

A gasp finally drew her gaze from the bespectacled boy to Pettigrew. "Five?" He repeated, looking sick. Black, next to him, leaned against the table behind him, shaking his head.

"7 years?" Potter asked, eyes wide.

"Yes Potter. 84 full-moons. An indefinite amount more left. He's been suffering for years, practically alone! You three were his first friends, you know?" Lily knew she should stop talking. Knew that Remus wouldn't welcome her telling them this, but she had to. They had to understand. "And you acted the same way everyone else in his life has when they learned of his lycanthropy! He was frightened when I found out, and I was finally convincing him that I wasn't going to leave and then you three did this! He's terrified of people leaving him, but he's also come to expect it. You did exactly what he thought you would do." She saw Black and Pettigrew whiten, but she focused on Potter's guilt-ridden face. "He never eats, he doesn't talk, he can barely walk at this point! The last four months have been horrible for him, and the stress has made the wolf worse than usual! But you don't care, do you? You're probably pleased that he's killing himself!" She blinked back tears, her voice finally failing her. She turned away from them, composing herself.

When she turned back, they were all white, and Black was shaking his head.

"No, you've got it wrong," he said desperately. "We don't want him…" he swallowed.

"Fooled me," she snapped. She closed her eyes before saying, "He's Remus. He's the one who starts readings weeks in advance. He's the one who offers chocolate to everyone as though it'll solve all their problems. He's the one who'll put his work aside to tutor someone else. He's the one who takes notes in every class, even History of Magic. He's the one who'll be curled up with a book. He's the one who quiet and studious and kind and clever and sarcastic." She opened her eyes, gazing at the hazel eyes in front of her and said tiredly, "He's Remus."

Laughter rang from the direction of the doors, immediately after the shrieks of students filled the air as the Slytherin house was covered in red and gold. Lily, along with many of the remaining paint-less students turned to the doors of the Great Halls, before finding themselves shocked at the scene that greeted them.

James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew all bent over laughing, with Potter's arm around Remus Lupin, who was grinning just as much as his friends. Noticing McGonagall's glare, he quickly, dragged his friends to the Gryffindor table, but didn't stop grinning. The professor turned away from the boys, but Lily saw the relieved smile she wore before she worked to clear the Slytherin table.

Slowly, everyone stopped staring at the four, and turned back to their food, however Lily could still see students glance at them from time to time. The rumor mill had started up again at the sight of them together for the first time in months. Lily caught Remus's eye, and was amazed at his bright smile. She returned it, watching amused and pleased as Black piled Remus's plate with food. Remus rolled his eyes, but picked up his fork obligingly, listening to Potter's boisterous recounting of a prank no doubt. Lily tucked into her own food, content that her friend was happy.

A/N: Cross posted on ArchiveOfOurOwn (Fr0st6yte)

I absolutely love Lily and Remus fics. The idea of them being sister and brother is just so wonderful! I've been working on this particular story for a few weeks now, so I hope you enjoyed!

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