Remus' POV
I sat on my four-poster, reading. The other three were talking, but I wasn't really listening. Well, I wasn't until James started a new line of conversation.
"I have a new plan to get Lily to go out with me." This was normal, but it was amusing to listen to his ideas. "This is a smart one, too. First, I'm going to start calling her by her first name. Shows I'm serious about being close to her. And then, I get to her by going through one of her friends." I didn't quite like the sound of that.
"Like we did in Transfiguration, right?" Sirius asked.
"That's it, Padfoot. She's always around that Lyla girl-"
"Lydia," both Sirius and I corrected at the same time. He looked at me, his eyes calculating.
"Yeah, Lydia," James continued, offhandedly, "anyway, she sticks to that girl cause she's not confident. Lily wants to take care of her. She's so caring. But if you guys take care of her, I can move in on Lily."
"I can take care of her," Sirius said in a very dirty tone. James rolled his eyes.
"You would."
"I'll take care of your mom, too," Sirius shot back, trying to keep up the dirty voice, but it was so playful, James could only throw a pillow at him.
"Anyway, not only will it free Lily up, but we get good people points for being nice to her friend. Perfect plan, really." The sad part, it actually was a decent plan. It only took the idiot seven years to come up with it. "So is everyone game?" he asked hopefully. All three of us nodded.
Lydia's POV
At dinner, things got turned upside down. Well, not literally. Instead of simply sitting next to Lily and minding my own business while she talks to her other friends, I was suddenly surrounded by the same boys that had shown up in our compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Lily turned to them and glared pointedly at James.
"The answer is no, so why don't you boys go back to the other end of the table?" James gave her an innocent smile.
"I'm just sitting with my friends. And Lydia is my friend." Wait, when did this happen? Why wasn't I informed? My confusion showed but was eased with a comforting smile from Remus. Lily seemed wary, but when I didn't protest, she went back to talking to Maryanne. I went back to eating my dinner, hoping they would talk around me and just use me as an excuse to be near Lily. No such luck.
"So Sirius says that you can be pretty funny when you want to be. You know, once you talk," James said to me. I shoved a big spoonful of mashed potatoes in my mouth to keep from speaking and shrugged instead. Lupin, bless his pretty head, turned the conversation to quidditch, a topic none of the boys were able to ignore. I could feel his eyes on me every now and then, though, even if he didn't say much to me.
"Wooooow," Peter breathed. We followed his gaze to a few Hufflepuff girls who came in late. The blonde of the duo had her hair done up in a beehive fashion. "Her hair…it's huge," he said and took a huge gulp pumpkin juice.
"Well, yeah. She's trying to catch all that stuff that goes way over her head," I muttered, apparently a lot louder than I thought. Peter snorted and his pumpkin juice shot out his nose. All. Over. Me. The others were laughing, too. Others turned their attention from the Hufflepuff girls (now at their table) to see what the Marauders were laughing about. Cheeks aflame, I got up and walked as quickly as I could back to Gryffindor tower. By the time I finished changing, dinner was almost done. I figured I might as well just go to the library to do my homework. I wasn't that hungry anymore, anyway.
Remus' POV
I just started to laugh at Lydia's offhand joke when Peter spewed his pumpkin juice out his nose, which of course made me laugh harder. The fact that it went all over Lydia wasn't good, but still, it was funny. She didn't seem to think so. A horrified expression flashed onto her face before she stood up and near ran out the Great Hall.
"Oops. I'll get her," Sirius said, still laughing a little. My eye twitched as I frowned slightly. Sirius was really starting to annoy me.
"No, I'll get her," I told him firmly. He looked at me strangely before shrugging. I stood up to him. And he's not mad…perhaps…perhaps this won't wreck our friendship as well. I turned and made my way to the tower. She wasn't there. Well if she's not in her room (according to one of the girls who was nice enough to check) or the Common room, the next best bet would be the library, knowing her. Sure enough, she was sitting at one of the back tables in the library.
"May I join you?" I asked. She shrugged, not looking at me. I sat anyway. "Listen, we didn't mean to embarrass you. Sorry, Lydia." Again, she shrugged and refused to look up from her book. "What you said was rather funny, though. And it's nice hearing your voice. It's like you're holding out on me, you know?" I told her. She looked up a little, a small smile indicating she wasn't terribly upset anymore. That's another thing I really like about her: she's very forgiving. It didn't take too long for her to close her book entirely and just talk to me. Sadly, it was interrupted by the rest of the group. I felt bad getting annoyed with my friends when they had always been so good to me, but…
"Hey, Lydia," Lily said, taking a seat next to her. Lily looked at her, asking with her eyes if she was ok. Lydia nodded and opened her book again. Damn it. Sirius gave her one of his charming smiles with his own apology- one that consisted of placing his hand over hers. Sometimes I wish I had his audacity. I don't lack confidence, but I fear what might happen…
"Hey, Lily-"
"Not now, Potter," she cut him off rudely. It's weird. Usually, she at least allows him a few sentences.
"That's not very nice," he pointed out, unfazed. Kinda sad how used to her snapping he is.
"Don't you have any compassion?! It was because of you boys she (she indicated Lydia, who brought up her book to hide behind) got laughed at by the entire Great Hall. But no. You don't care. All you think of is yourself and what you want. It's always about you and how great you are," she hissed, having been given a warning glare by the librarian. James looked stunned. Everyone at the table had their eyes on them, looking back and forth between the two. Lily was offended and James looked hurt. He considered her for a few more moments before looking away.
"Fine," he muttered and stalked away.
"That was pretty harsh," I told her. She glared at me, too. I flinched.
"Whatever, he needed to hear it. It's about time someone told him, the conceited prat."
"He's not conceited…he's just intimately aware of his best qualities," Lydia murmured from behind her book. Us guys laughed.
"Yeah, right," I told her, "and Sirius hasn't been around, he's just a previously enjoyed companion." Even Lily laughed that time. Sirius didn't seem to mind, either. He may be faithful to his girlfriend, but he goes through them like a fish through water.
"Lily?" Lydia asked quietly, tugging on her friend's robe. "He wasn't really being full of himself. He knows I don't like the attention so he was diverting it to himself. James was helping me." She stared at Lydia.
"I…I'm sorry."
"Tell him that," Peter told her, rather bravely, I might add. It wasn't like him to tell someone what to do. But then, as much as he idolized James, I guess it shouldn't be that surprising. She sat back in her chair.
"I might," she said, though more so to herself. Sirius turned back at Lydia.
"You know what I can't figure out? How did you swing Gryffindor? No offense, but you're afraid to be looked at, for cryin' out loud." She blushed heavily and looked down at her lap, ashamed.
"There are many kinds of bravery and courage," I pointed out harshly. Sometimes that boy didn't know how to think. He just says what he wants and hopes his charm can get him out of it. Lily looked ready to slap him.
"So…" she murmured, "So you like it when I speak up? Say what comes to my mind? Fine. I learned something interesting…Do you know how to keep an idiot in suspense?" Sirius flashed a dazzling smile.
"How, angel?"
Lydia stood up and walked out the library.
Lily and I almost fell out of our chairs, laughing. Sirius couldn't seem to decide whether to laugh or look offended. Peter just stared at the door.
"I don't get it. How?"
Lydia's POV
I was on my way back to my room when a few girls from Ravenclaw ambushed me. They saw me coming and ran over to block my way. One of them, a really tall one with curly blonde hair and deep red lips, pulled out her wand.
"Diffendo." My skirt ripped all over. The severing charm even grazed my legs in a couple places, making a few shallow cuts.
"That was a warning. Stay away from Sirius, you little slut. You have no right to him! If you keep trying to seduce him, it'll be a lot worse than a torn up skirt." And with that, they walked away. That was it.
"But…but I'm not after Sirius…" I mumbled, way too late.
Remus' POV
Late that night, I lay in my four-poster, thinking about what to do. Lydia is probably still mad at Sirius. What he said was throwing a spotlight on one of her biggest insecurities. However, that leaves a bit of an opening for me. It's obvious that she's more at ease around me, but that could also be because she sees me as a friend and has a huge crush on him. And even if I did pursue her and she agreed to go out with me, then what? We won't be able to get serious because of what I am. And what about Sirius? I looked over at his bed. What would become of our friendship? I really like her, but…if that means throwing away one of my best friends…
"You still awake, Moony?" came a whisper from Sirius' bed.
"Yeah." He opened a curtain to see me better; mine were already open.
"You like her, don't you?" I looked away.
"Who?"
"Don't play stupid. Lydia." I didn't answer.
"Thought so. You look at her a lot. And you get mad whenever I'm near her. I just wanted you to know, I like her, too. But that doesn't mean it's the end of our friendship, does it?" I could only stare at him. We had been best friends for three years. Only three years, and it was like he could read my mind. Am I that transparent?
"Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why do you like her?" I asked. "She's not really your type." He turned so that instead of lying on his side, he was on his stomach, facing me.
"That's just it, Moony. She's such a change of pace. I mean, she's cute. Really cute. Those wide, innocent brown eyes that when you can finally get her to make eye contact, you melt. Her lips look so soft and inviting. And she's curvy, y'know. Definitely a change from those lovely willowy girls I usually go for. I think the big thing is her innocence, really, though. It's like with dessert. Cake is great. It's rich, sensual, and makes you need a cool drink afterward. But ice cream is a nice change. It's soft and delicate and pure…and if you take your time with it, it gets melty, sticky, and all over you." I sat up and stared at him in astonishment.
"You want to corrupt her," I accused, the thought really sinking in. I didn't think he was serious on the train. He shrugged.
"She makes me want to hold her and keep her safe, but at the same time, yeah, I think I do want to corrupt her. If you have to put it that way."
"That's just…wrong," I told him. He smirked.
"That's the point." He yawned. "Listen, if you like her, go after her. I won't stop you. But don't expect me to back down either. Win or lose, we're still friends, right?" I laid back down.
"I hope so."
"Good," he yawned again and rolled over. "Then may the best man win." I stared at the ceiling of my bed. He was right about her being cute. She often wore her hair down, so her wavy brown locks bounced on her back when she walked. Tendrils of it framed her face and hid her eyes when she looked down. I loved her eyes, though. They were the color of chocolate. I love chocolate. She was sweet and shy and when she spoke up, it was always amusing. But I didn't want him to corrupt her. I enjoyed her innocence. I wanted to make her feel brave and confident…the way she makes me feel sometimes. I have to win her over. I can't let Sirius take away who she is. I'll figure out the rest afterwards.
