"I still think it's unfair that you have to leave early. You shouldn't be punished for Sirius' prank!" Lily Evans complained, sitting on Remus' bed and helping him fold socks. "It's so wrong."
"I'm not leaving early as a punishment," Remus said with a shrug. "Dumbledore and my parents chose it for my own protection. Better for me to go home a few months early than give Snape the temptation of telling everyone."
"Sev wouldn't do that," Lily said hastily. "I know everybody hates him . . . and he's kind of a prick . . . but he's not that bad inside. And he doesn't even particularly hate you!" Remus watched her desperately cling to the memories of her and Severus as children, back before he fell in with the wrong crowd.
"He may not hate me, but he does hate Sirius. You know he'd throw me under the bus to hurt him."
Lily didn't have anything to say to that and concentrated intently on the argyle stitching of the socks she was holding. "I'm gonna miss you, you know."
"I'm gonna miss you, too," Remus confessed.
"I'll write you every day," Lily vowed.
Remus chuckled, "You don't have to. I know you'll probably be busy with everything. . . . ."
"I'm never too busy for my best friend." The two of them exchanged a soft smile and fell into an easy silence. Remus considered himself lucky to have a friend like Lily. Even in his darkest hour, she knew how to make him feel human. If the other Marauders had supported his condition by providing company during his transformation, Lily had been there to support him in his human form – the only person to whom he felt comfortable baring his soul.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Sirius rushed in. "Is it true? Is it true you're leaving?"
Remus looked intently at the sweater he was folding, deliberately ignoring Sirius. He couldn't think of anything he could say that wouldn't cause a fight, so he chose not to say anything at all.
"Sirius, what are you doing here?" Lily snapped, standing up to protect Remus.
"It's my room, too, so mind your own business," he snapped back. Sirius looked from the packed trunk to Remus to Lily's accusatory glare and back. "Were you planning on telling me?"
"It's kind of supposed to be a quiet thing and, well, you can't keep a secret," Remus said, bitterness dripping from every word.
"Come on, Moony. You know it wasn't supposed to happen like that," Sirius assured him, taking a step closer.
"Then pray tell, Sirius. How was it supposed to happen? Were you going to call prank before or after I mauled him?" Remus threw his sweater into his luggage, finding it easier to take his rage out on perfectly innocent cable-knit than the offending companion.
"I just wanted to spook him a bit, teach the little shit to mind his own business!" Sirius exclaimed.
"By exploiting me! Damn it, Sirius, you never think!" Remus yelled. His baser instincts wanted to launch him across the room, grab Sirius by the throat, and shake him until he went limp or bash his head repeatedly against the floor until he stopped struggling. Thankfully, Remus had spent the last ten years learning how to keep his temper and avoid his more violent desires; instead, he kicked his bedpost.
"Remus. . . ." Lily whispered, touching his shoulder and grounding him back in reality. Remus cracked his neck and slowly started relaxing at her touch.
"I only told him how to get into the tunnel! I didn't tell him to actually follow it and walk right into you. It's his own fault. Serves him right for being such a snoop!" Remus stared at Sirius, straight with pride, cheeks flushed with anger. He looked so commanding and in control . . . but he wasn't. For all his grandstanding, Sirius was just trying to justify himself for something he knew was wrong. They wouldn't get anywhere like this.
"You really don't see this as your fault, to you?" Remus asked quietly.
"It's not," Sirius said firmly, completely convinced.
"Whatever," Remus muttered, locking his trunk. "I have to catch the train."
"You're not even gonna say goodbye to everyone?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Get over yourself!"
Lily stepped between them and took Remus' arm. "Come on, I'll walk you to the station. . . ."
The two of them swept out of the castle and across the lawn toward the train station. Lily quietly whispered, "You know the two of you will never be the same again . . . right?"
"At this point, Lily, I don't even care. . . ."