Thanks to all my reviewers of the last chapter: jg13145, violetrose, Nikki Ride, pixies114, and Firestar007!
I greatly appreciate all your feedback, and hope you always continue to write me reviews! Thanks a lot, so here's the next chapter.
"Wait." Lily said, putting her hands up to pause all commotion. "What do you mean you 'think' you broke up?" She asked, eyebrows raised.
"W-well h-h-he—" Jane stuttered, face going red, eyes releasing new tears by the second.
"Calm down." Marlene soothed her, rubbing her hand on her back gently. "Deep breath, then tell us everything."
Jane pulled herself together, feeling distraught and weak. She wanted nothing more than to just curl up under the covers and have a nice—particulary long—nap, in which she would not be disturbed. But she couldn't, because there were things other than her break-up with Remus to talk about.
Covering her face with her hands—she was a coward and she would admit it—she said quietly, "I'm moving to Romania this summer to work with Harvey Ridgebit at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary." Her heart broke just a tad bit as she remembered those were the exact words she had said to Remus too. She prayed her best friends would not react the same way he had.
"What?" Marlene squeaked, removing her hand from Jane's back as if it had burned her.
"When did you find out?" Lily asked in a small voice, face showing no expression whatsoever.
"A couple months back. Maybe December." She shrugged, knowing the exact date—even the exact class she had been in—when she had first gotten the news.
"December?" Marlene shrieked. "It's been five months?" She demanded of Jane, who merely shrugged in response.
"Time goes by fast when you try your hardest not to think about it."
"Then why're you telling us now?" Lily asked coolly.
Again, Jane shrugged. "Thought you ought to know."
"Well, thanks." Lily said sarcastically. "We won't see you all summer and you're acting like it's no big deal."
Jane picked up a pillow and hit it against her face multiple times.
"What the hell is the matter with you?" Marlene demanded again, pulling the pillow from Jane's grasp.
Jane took a deep, steadying breath, then looked to Lily carefully. "You won't see me for much longer than just this summer. He asked me to go for three years."
Jane watched Lily closely to gauge her reaction. She saw Marlene from the corner of her eye throw her hands up and storm into their bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Lily simply stared, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Finally, she scowled at Jane.
"You do realize if we had been in your position we would have told you the moment we found out?" She hissed.
Jane burst into tears. "I-I'm s-sorry!" She wailed. "I-I just thought, maybe, if you guys didn't know, it would be like I-I wasn't l-l-leaving at all!" She stuttered. She wiped her tears on the palm of her hands, staring at the floor in shame.
Lily sighed and got up form her bed to sit beside Jane. She wrapped her hand consolingly around Jane's waist, letting Jane lean on her shoulder.
"I understand. You should've told us earlier, but I understand." Lily told her. Jane sniffed loudly, sitting up to look at Lily.
"I'm sorry." She said, grateful to have a friend as understanding and as level-headed as Lily.
"It's okay, no more apologies, please." Lily said, putting up one hand. "Do you think you're making the right choice here? I mean, accepting to leave for three years?"
Jane sniffed and wiped her eyes again, nodding. "I'm positive."
"Good." Lily smiled, hugging Jane. "Then why are you crying?"
Jane smiled weakly. "I'll just miss you lot, is all."
"Well, we've got two and a half months left of school. Two and a half more months where we don't have to think about you leaving. So get out all your tears now, because I won't let you shed another tear over this." Lily told her sternly, smiling.
"And Marlene? And the guys?" Jane wondered aloud.
"I'll talk to them." Lily sighed. "They might not understand your decision, but they'll accept it." Lily paused to hug her again. "You'll always have us. Whether you like it or not." She promised.
Jane wiped her eyes one last time, then smiled. Lily would talk to Marlene, James, Sirius, Peter and...
"R-Remus." Jane whispered, biting her fingernails.
"I'll speak with him." Lily said forcefully. "You're in no mood to talk anymore, so have a nap or something. I'm leaving, and I'll bring Marlene with me. Rest in peace." Lily said softly, pushing Jane down gently to lie down. Jane got under the covers and sighed, closing her eyes and forcing the thought of everything out of her mind.
"Thanks Lily." Jane whispered.
The last thing she saw was Lily sighing, and she fell into a deep, peaceful, non-complicated, sleep.
"Come with me." Lily whispered to Marlene, waving her hands frantically for Marlene to be quiet.
"What for?" Marlene demanded loudly.
"Shh!" Lily hissed, scowling. "Jane's trying to sleep."
Marlene rolled her eyes and walked out of the bathroom, seeing Jane lying in bed with her eyes closed. She stormed out of their room, slamming the door behind her. Lily caught the door before it slammed, and shut it softly.
"She's sorry, okay?" Lily said, jogging down the staircase to keep up with the furious Marlene.
"Oh, I'm sure she is. She's known since December Lily! What kind of friend does that? Why is she telling us all the sudden now?"
Lily frowned at the questions that's he did not know the answer to. "She's at a really low point right now Mar." Lily said softly. "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't support her when she most needed it?"
Marlene rolled her eyes, but she knew Lily was right. She sighed. "Three years though. What are we going to do?"
"Wait patiently." Lily smirked. "We're best friends. Three years is long, but we'll be fine."
They were at the bottom of the staircase now, and Lily spotted Remus sitting by the fire, staring into it. She went to go sit beside him.
"Hey." She said softly.
Remus stared at her for a second, then looked back into the fire.
"How are you?" Lily asked, voice quiet.
"Fine." He replied, still watching the fire blaze, the flames making eery shadows across his grim face.
Across the room, Marlene spotted James, Sirius and Peter coming in from the Fat Lady's portrait. She shoved them back out of the portrait hole, ignoring the Fat Lady's yells.
"What's going on?" Sirius asked, on full-alert. He could tell something was wrong by the expression on Marlene's face.
"Well," Marlene sighed. "Long story or short story?"
"Long." Sirius said, a serious look on his face. And so Marlene told them everything she knew.
Back in the common room, Lily was distraught. "Fine?" She squeaked.
"Would you rather I not be?" Remus smirked.
"I-I just thought..."
"I'd be sad? Hurt? Depressed?" Remus guessed, finally meeting her eyes. Lily nodded meekly. Remus rolled his eyes. "Just a little fed-up to be completely honest."
"Fed-up?" Lily repeated.
"That's what I said." Remus said, taking a deep breath through his nose.
"Whatever for?"
"Because," Remus answered, shifting positions so that he was facing Lily. "D'you ever feel like... like you're tired of trying so hard when things are obviously not getting better?"
Lily raised her eyebrows, curious and a little scared to know where he was going with this. "I suppose." She said. "Why?"
"Because with Jane it feels like I'm the one who's doing all the work!" Remus said, throwing his hands up. "It's frustrating and tiring! I'm always the one who offers to help her with something, who plans our dates, who leans in for the kiss first...!" Remus said, breathing in deeply. "It's tiring, being the only one who tries to keep up the relationship. I'm exhausted, so when she just told me that she was leaving, it was sort of a relief."
"I thought you love her." Lily said, eyes narrowing.
"I did!" Remus said.
"Did?" Lily repeated frantically, heart beating faster every time he opened his mouth to speak. She wasn't sure she could handle Remus telling her all this right now. It made what she'd known to believe that was true seem like lies.
"Do. Did. Whatever." Remus waved a lazy hand. "Doesn't matter much anymore. She's leaving for three years. See what I mean? I would never leave her for three years! She chose a job over me!"
"Uh, reality check Remus:" Lily said sternly. "She chose a job over all of us. You're not the only person in her life who she's leaving. You are, however, the only person who's relieved she's leaving though." Lily fixed him with a look.
"I'm not relieved." Remus snapped. "I'm just tired, okay? It feels like everything I do is for her, and it doesn't matter because she doesn't see any of it."
"Bet she does." Lily clucked her tongue.
"Then why'd she wait for so long to tell me? D'you when she got the news, Lily? December!" He said, punching the pillow in his lap. "She doesn't care, that's why!"
"Don't you see Remus?" Lily asked, pulling the pillow away. "She does care! She cares so much that she was so scared to tell you! She was scared that once she told you, this would happen!" Lily said, waving her hands over Remus' body. "You're getting all worked up over it. Imagine if she had told you in December. Aren't you glad she waited now? You had four months of bliss with her. Uncomplicated bliss."
Remus opened and closed his mouth stupidly. "Well—that's just, completely missing the point!" He scrambled for words. "She should've told me!"
"She did."
"Too late Lily!" Remus shouted loudly, standing up from the couch. The other Gryffindors in the common room looked over at him. "Too. Bloody. Late." He panted, sitting down. He put a hand to his forehead, sighing. "We're over. It's too late."
"Okay." Lily said, getting up. She gave him a fleeting look, then turned on her heel and marched up the steps to her Head room.
"Wait, Lil!" She heard be called. She turned around to see Remus running up the stair behind her.
"What?"
He sighed. "What would you do if you were me?"
Lily thought about that. "I'd think about her. She thinks she's a monster for doing this, Remus."
"Then why," He sighed again. "did she choose the job?"
"It makes her happy." Lily answered, smiling. "If you had to choose between Jane and The Order, what would you choose?"
Remus was speechless. Lily shook her head at him, turning to walk up the stairs, leaving him to think alone.
"Romania." Sirius repeated, awe-struck.
"Wow." Peter said, just as shocked.
"Three years?" James questioned. Marlene nodded. "Bloody hell, does Moony know?"
"The first to find out." Marlene said.
"And?"
Marlene squirmed. "Didn't take it too well."
"Great." Sirius said bitterly. "Just amazing, isn't it? Seventh year, too. Poor bloke."
"Yeah." Marlene sighed. "Jane feels awful."
"Well, she shouldn't." James said. "It's her decision to make."
Marlene was surprised at how well the boys were taking this news. They hadn't stormed away like she had, and James was right. It was her decision to make, whether Marlene liked it or not.
It was the future. It was rapidly coming. It was just around the corner, and if Marlene didn't get her act together, she'd really be alone. With a determined spring in her step, she bid goodbye to the boys and walked to the place she hadn't willingly gone to in what seemed like forever.
The library.
AN: So, Remus and Jane issues? Surprise, surprise.
Marlene future issues? Typical.
Seems like everybody's confused at the moment, and with The Order just beginning it is not a good time to be so lost.
Graduation may seem like a big deal now, but wait till you see what else I have in store for our favourite (excluding Pettigrew) six friends.
Hope you enjoyed, review if you did, and I'll see you next chapter.
-Taylor :)