"Sickle for your thoughts?"
A largely distracted Remus was pulled out of his thoughts as he looked up to find that Lily had fallen into step beside him. It seemed he'd been pacing the school for quite some time, as he had somehow made his way all the way to the fifth floor - a floor he had absolutely no reason to be near.
"Huh?" He asked, still barely gathering his whereabouts.
"Honestly, you boys… You only ever seem to have one thing on your mind," as an afterthought, she hastened to add, "Or two, in your case, I should say."
Remus could only glance at her questioningly; an arched eyebrow beneath golden strands of his hair.
"Well studying, for one," she pointed out.
Though he had expected something much more interesting, Remus could not deny that studying was the thing that never ceased to occupy his mind. Though, on this particular occasion, he felt somewhat guilty for not having thought about it in the slightest.
"And…?" He prompted, expecting something like 'chocolate' or the 'moon cycle' to be the alternative.
"Sirius."
As his thoughts had been flickering between one thing or another, again, Remus wasn't entirely certain he had heard correctly - after all, with Sirius on his mind, he could have easily just misheard Lily saying 'sausages,' though why she would be saying that to him and not Peter, was beyond him.
"Yes, I did say 'Sirius,' Lily confirmed, a small smirk on her face as she glanced at Remus beside her - not unlike as though she could hear his thoughts.
Not noticing Remus freeze, and thus not continue walking, she continued on her way, explaining what she meant, "I mean, you're never apart, are you. Really? If I were you I'd sure be glad of the freedom you've got from him n- Remus, what's wrong?"
She had turned to see his opinion once again, to find that he wasn't beside her, but a fair few yards back.
Barely phased by it, Lily was soon tottering along, before she was back at Remus' side.
"Sure," Remus answered - to no one.
Lily rolled her eyes as it became apparently clear to her that upon hearing what she had had to say, Remus had pretty much shut off.
"Oi!" She declared, flickering her thumb and index finger before his eyes.
Almost instantly, Remus flinched.
"Sirius, what?" He asked instantly.
When Lily's laughter responded, Remus found himself flushing immensely.
"Lily, I…" he began, but words failed him as the girl's seemingly knowledgable glance met his pitiful gaze.
"Come on, we need to talk," she said after a short while.
Reluctantly Remus followed her, though not before he had issued a glance back at the stairs leading to Gryffindor's tower.
"Don't worry," Lily chuckled, "You'll be back to him soon."
"But he was a- I mean, who? What?" But Remus' words were only met with a little more laughter, and so he gave up trying to explain whatever it was he was trying to explain.
As the duo found their way down into the kitchens (the library would offer an escape for Remus, whilst Lily wanted his focus - not that she seemed to be getting it much).
"Right, so what's this all about?" Remus asked, pulling a stool up to the side as he dismissed the house elves' questions. It hadn't been so long ago, he realised, that he'd found himself in such a seat with Sirius himself.
"Well…" Lily began slowly, a worryingly mischievous glint in her eyes.
Back in the Marauders' dormitory, conversation had remained on Lily.
"...I mean, I didn't want to ruin it - the night had been going great, hadn't it?"
Rather than listening to James, Sirius' eyes remained fixed on the bathroom door as Remus was in there doing who-knew-what.
"Are you even listening?" James asked after a short moment.
"H-" Sirius began to answer, but movement in regards to the bathroom door handle had him panicking, and so he immediately turned his attention back to James, and struck up a conversation.
"Of course," he began out of nowhere, "We can try and include whatever we find in Hogsmeade, too."
James, with his back to the bathroom, widened his eyes in confusion, but as Sirius' gaze continued to sweep past him, he decided to wait until the dormitory door had closed before turning in on his friend.
"Right, what the hell's going on with you?" James asked before the door had been shut for even a second.
Before answering, Sirius waited - his ears pricked up as he listened for his friends' retreat.
"I think Moony has a secret girlfriend," Sirius said quietly.
"Our Moony?!" James shouted.
"Shush!" Sirius could only respond, slapping a hand across his friend's head.
"Ouch," James frowned, "There's better not be a bruise there. I need to look good for when I take Lily out."
"You've got a date?" Sirius asked, momentarily distracted.
"Haven't you been listening to a thing I've been saying?" James asked with a sigh.
"Do you want the honest answer of the kind one?" Sirius asked with a smirk.
"Forget it," James shook his head, "Tell me what's going on with Remus."
"Well, I don't know for sure. But he was just... So distracted and everything when we were talking," Sirius began.
"Like you, with me a moment ago?" James asked in amusement.
"Whatever," Sirius dismissed him.
"Anyway, what's it to us if he does?" James carried on after a while.
"He can't have!" Sirius answered, "He's Remus; no-girlfriend, study-on-Saturdays Remus."
When he received no answer, Sirius turned to look at James.
"What?" He asked, half worried at the smirk on the stag's face.
"Do you want to know what I think?" James asked carefully, trying not to appear as amused as he actually was.
"Will I regret it if I answer 'yes'?" Sirius questioned, knowing he would probably do so anyway.
"Erm…" James pretended to think about it for a moment before a light punch on the arm hurries his response, "It depends..."
"On?" Sirius prompted predictably.
"Whether you're either in denial, or if you'd agree with me."
Sirius pondered many things in the short space that followed - Remus, for one, and the number of times James had ever been right, and how long it took to actually show that; he'd always said a Lily would go out with him, six years on he was right.
The latter almost seemed to make Sirius a little edgy.
"Fine, what is it?"
James had been watching Sirius for the entire time, a d with Sirius' impatience he seemed to change his mind.
"Tell me," Sirius urged, sensing the lurch he was going to be left in.
"I-think-you're-probably-jealous."
Sirius' eyes widened, waiting for the next punch-line. When it didn't come, he could only frown at his friend.
"Are you on something?" Sirius asked him.
"I must be if I dared to admit that… Lily didn't think I would," James replied, mainly talking to himself.
"Lily?! What in the name of Merlin's pants were you talking to her about me for?! I know you want her and all, but if you're using me as stimulation, I'd rather you didn't!" Sirius argued, rather harshly.
James turned to glare at Sirius, "Why?! Would you rather it was only Remus that did that?"
There's a reason Sirius had considered it a punch line, earlier, although no coherent thought passed through his mind as his fist made to connect with James' jaw.
With the skills of a seeker, James held his friend back as he ducked into the mattress out of the way.
"You-"
But the most part of Sirius' insult was cut off as James' own clenched fist met Sirius' face.
In feminine fashion, Sirius wrenched James back by his hair before getting off the bed, and standing back to shoot daggers at James.
"You even hit like a girl, Padfoot," James noted as he sat up to straighten his shirt, and (more importantly) his hair, "Jeez, why don't you just admit it?"
"Why does it matter?" Sirius spat as he fixed his own shirt, stopping in a flurry of panic as the door swung open.
James told you what?!" Remus asked, more out of surprise than anything else.
"Well, it was just an observation. But you can see where it came from, can't you?" Lily replied softly.
It was safe to say their conversation went on much better than their counterparts at the other end of the castle.
"I do not get off at the thought of my friends. Nor do I dream about them!" Remus denied, flushing intensely at the mere thought.
"Now you're being all defensive about it," she noted.
"What do you expect?" Remus asked her with a dismayed snicker.
"You to be rational. I mean, everyone dreams about people they know - I've dreamed about the Ravenclaw quidditch team losing a game to Hufflepuff," she shrugged.
"Bet the Gryffindor team plays a part in your dreams more, though," Remus teased.
Again, Lily shrugged, "The point is, I'm not denying it. People dream - it's a matter of life."
"But it's wrong!" Remus admitted. He had fully intended to simply think that, but it seemed favour was not on his side.
"So you admit it, then? You dream about Sirius?" Lily asked him as though it were the most casual thing in the world.
Rather than answer directly, Remus asked her, "What exactly did James tell you?"
For once, a mildly smug feeling crept through Remus as he noted Lily had the sense to look somewhat uneasy. The feeling, however, soon passed as he knew what it meant.
"Why do you want to know?" She asked him.
"So I know how slowly to kill him when I get back."
Lily waited for a sign that Remus was joking.
Catching her looking, Remus said, "Gee, Lils. I'm not serious."
The snicker that followed, caused Lily to raise her eyebrows - a 'Sirius' joke from Remus was certainly worrying her.
"You are so far gone for him," she noted, an amused smile playing on her lips.
"Am not," Remus argued.
"Are too," Lily continued, sticking out her tongue for additional impact.
Grinning, Remus didn't answer as he let his thoughts flicker elsewhere.
"And another thing I personally noticed was that goofy smile you get when he's not around, but you're thinking about him," Lily pointed out.
"I do not have a goofy smile," Remus pouted.
"You were just thinking about him then, weren't you?" Lily asked him.
Remus needed no words to confirm it - his rosy cheeks gave him away, as did the nervous sweep of his fringe, through his fingers.
"I rest my case," Lily responded, slowly standing up from her stool.
"Lecture over, is it?" Remus joked.
"Barely the icing of the cake, Remus," Lily responded, chuckling at her friend's expression, "But for now, I'll let you get back to him."
The 'goofy smile' that followed remained with Remus for quite some time. It was as the two of them were slowly reaching the common room that Remus panicked and turned on Lily.
"James hasn't said anything, has he?!" He asked.
"About what?" Lily asked - the conversation had struck from nowhere.
"Me. To Sirius?" Remus demanded.
"Oh," lily said when she finally understood, "No, no. He's said nothing about your afflictions," she finished with a grin.
Of course, she knew exactly what he'd said. Well, to a certain extent - the collateral damage would surely be a surprise to her.
"And you're absolutely sure?" Remus whispered before they parted to their dormitories.
"You have my word," Lily responded seriously, rather than the joking manner that the two of them had been carrying out. For which, Remus was grateful.
"Thank you," he said before turning away, "Oh, and good luck in Hogsmeade," he added, smiling.
Lily nodded with a smile, before turning and heading up to her own dormitory, leaving Re,us to collect his thoughts briefly before heading to his own room.
"Why does it matter?" Remus heard as he opened the dormitory door.
As he entered, both heads immediately turned to him; Sirius looking rather flushed, and James looking somewhat eccentric - what had gone on?
"Why does what matter?" Remus asked them.
"If-"
"Whether it's raining when we go to Hogsmeade!" Sirius almost shouted, over James.
"If my hair ends up wet and messy," James answered afterwards, sounding a little unenthusiastic.
Distracted, thoughts of his conversation with Lily momentarily left his mind.
Momentarily, meaning they were back almost as soon as they had gone.
It was going to be an interesting night.
Next time: The Hogsmeade outing. Where does it leave our favourite puppies?
That was a long one... Let me know what you thought - did it drag on, or was it alright? :) Sorry for any mistakes - auto correct is likely to blame, and I didn't have much time to check it.
Thank you all, and happy new year!