Lucius narrowed his eyes as he looked on to the scene unfolding ahead. Lily Evans and Felicity Stewart laughed contentedly while both tried to let the other be first to step down from their horseless carriage. Sirius Black offered an arm to his foolish cousin, who accepted it with a playful curtsey. Much to the delight of a group of girls by the fountain, Potter tossed a snitch in the air before catching it once more and messing his hair haughtily. He seemed to be uncharacteristically ignoring the mudblood, Evans girl. The lowly looking Lupin and squatty, rat-face boy were nowhere to be seen. The foursome disappeared together through the giant doors leading into the castle, happily lost in their own little world.
"Are you even listening to me," Narcissa asked pointedly.
He rolled his eyes and looked back to his girlfriend. "No, I was too busy trying not to vomit."
"What are you talking about," she laughed. "You say the most peculiar things. Doesn't he just say the oddest things Severus?"
The pallid, black-haired boy stepped forward at the sound of his name, "Yes, quite." Though, if Snape had been perfectly honest, he agreed with Lucius entirely. His eyes had only left Lily when she had disappeared from view.
"I know that it was them—that whole stupid mess at the ball. It just had to be. I mean who else would try and make it out to be us," Lucius hissed. "My father had to come back up here personally to demand that lunatic they call a headmaster still give me my rightful place as prefect."
Narcissa placed a loving hand on his upper arm, "You should be head boy."
"Yes, exactly," he agreed definitively. "I just don't know why I can't remember one sodding thing from that night."
"Dumbledore said it had to have been a forgetting potion of some type," Severus chimed in as they began to walk to the entrance hall. "I'm inclined to agree. Though I think we ought to ask Slughorn."
Lucius rolled his eyes in a huff, "No! I'm sick and tired of dealing with Professors about this. They aren't going to help us."
Severus raised a suspicious brow, "What exactly are you suggesting?"
"Narcissa, my dear. Why don't you go on ahead," Lucius suggested. They had stopped just short of the colossal doorway. "Hmm?"
"Alright," she pouted. "But you had better not be too long."
He didn't stay to watch her go, leading Snape over to the lone tree adorning one corner in the flagstone courtyard. A few students continued to walk past taking no notice of the pair or their whispering.
"It's not just that night, is it," Snape asked earnestly.
Lucius shook his head, "No. I can't remember taking a single one of my exams, yet I have marks for them. I remember our agreement about my potions work, but how would I have passed the OWL? I don't remember even dressing for the ball, and Cissy tells me that I arranged for you to go with my cousin."
"Felicity," Severus sneered. "Why?"
"I don't know," the silver-hair boy admitted. "More importantly, why would she agree to it?"
"Couldn't have been that she just wanted to go with me," Snape frowned, sounding offended.
Malfoy laughed, "Oh don't be absurd, Severus."
"Mr. Snape, and Mr. Malfoy," rang a piercing voice from somewhere behind them. "Is there some reason you aren't in the Great Hall with the rest of your house?"
The startled pair turned to see Professor McGonagall glaring at them, arms folded across her chest and lips pursed into a cross frown. "Have you both gone mute, or are you just deaf?"
"No Professor," They answered in unison.
"Then get going! Also, I'll be seeing you in my office after the feast." She ordered. "We've got some unfinished business to attend to.
The Entrance Hall glowed with torchlight and as the bustle of the crowed echoed loudly against the high stone walls. Some students greeted one another excitedly, promising to catch up on their summers after start of term feast while others chatted about their new haircuts and robes, or simply settled for a hug or a nod. James, Sirius, Felicity, and Lily hadn't made much progress toward the double doors on the right leading into the Great Hall before they heard a few familiar voices.
"Hey Potter, Black," yelled Edgar Bones. "You two ready for practice this week? I booked the pitch Friday!"
"Yes," cheered the pair in unison before starting to chant. "Gryf-fin-dor, Gryf-fin-dor, Gryf-fin-dor!"
Several other Gryffindors joined in the chant as some of the team huddled together, pumping their fists in the air proudly. Other houses sighed, and rolled their eyes as they pushed past the growing group of chanters. Felicity smiled as she looked on, watching James and Sirius get lost in a sea of black, red, and gold. Lily nudged her gently before pointing over their shoulder toward the hall.
"Let's go sit down," was all Felicity could catch through the noise. Lily grabbed her hand and began to push through the crowd together. "Need to talk."
"Who's-gonna-win-the-Quidditch-Cup," James yelled raucously.
The team around him shouted together, "GRYF-FIN-DOR!"
"Who's-gonna-send-Slytherin-packing," Sirius jeered.
"GRYF-FIN-DOR!"
The noise faded behind them as Felicity and Lily emerged from the crowd into the Great Hall. Felicity felt a twinge of guilt to be back in the very place where so much of her newfound troubles had begun. Lily walked to a secluded section of the Gryffindor table to ensure they wouldn't be overheard. Felicity sunk down onto the bench before letting the strap of her bag slide down off her shoulder and dropping it to the floor.
"Those two sure can make a scene when they want to," she mused distantly.
"Yes, yes," Lily fussed. "Which is just fine by me at the moment, because I wasn't kidding. We need to talk."
Felicity turned to look at her best friend, leaning back against the table and bracing herself with both elbows. "Right, then. Out with it. Let's have it. Tell me I'm a terrible person, and I should be hexed into oblivion."
"No," Lily said flatly. "You're not. But you do know what you have to do, don't you?"
The dark haired girl couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, okay. Well since you can read my mind apparently, you tell me what it is I know I have to do."
"For starters, you can't just go on ignoring Remus. You're going to see him practically every hour of every day. So one of two things will happen: it's going to get even more awkward and noticeable, or you're going to lose a very good friend. He deserves to know the truth. They both do."
"I'm not ignoring him because I don't want to talk about it. I don't know what to say. I don't know how I feel. That's what scares me," Felicity blurted out. "I thought he was Sirius when he kissed me. At least I think I did—well of course I did. Didn't I?"
Lily's eyes grew wide as she leaned closer, "You're saying that you have feelings for both of them?!" Her voice was barely above a whisper, and dripping with disbelief. "But I thought…"
"I don't know. I've been trying to sort it all out in my head all summer long. I've felt terrible about ignoring his letters, but what can I do? And you know that keeping it from Sirius is only going to get harder too. Ugh. But I can't tell him now, I just can't."
"You have to do what's right. You've just got to figure out what that is…but right now you have to smile and pretend everything is fine." Lily whispered through a smile. "Here they come."
"I'm getting good at that," Felicity mumbled under her breath.
Sirius, James, and Remus were all walking together laughing loudly at the joke James had just finished. Wormtail was barely visible as his face appeared at each of their shoulders in turn, trying to find the best place he could squeeze in to the group. Sirius used the bench across from the girls as a step, walking up across the table to the other side and hopping down to the floor.
"Padfoot, that's disgusting," Lily shouted. Her voice was lost amongst the cheers and jeers from the other students. She settled on a simple roll of her eyes, and scooted down the bench to allow him room to sit. Felicity smiled up at him with a look of mocking disapproval.
"Mr. Black," sounded a rough voice from over behind them somewhere. "I believe that little stunt will land you in detention your first night back." Professor Kettleburn lumbered over to the group with his cane in hand, and one arm in a sling. "I should think a night of cleaning out the flobberworm tanks will do you some good."
"Professor, did you have another fight with a Blast-Ended Skrewt," Sirius chuckled lightly. "Cause I'd say you look pretty good for being on the loosing end."
"Ten points from Gryffindor and two nights detention then, Black," Kettleburn growled. "And I'd watch it before I give you the entire week."
Sirius sighed as the white haired wizard limped away toward the front of the Hall. "Well I'd say that was worth it," he said with a smile to Felicity. "At least you'll have one less trouble-maker on your hands tonight then Remus."
Remus shook his head with a half grin, "I think I'd have preferred it was you instead of James though, mate."
"Hey," James objected. "I think I should be mildly offended."
"Sorry, seem to have missed something," Felicity asked. She turned to look at Remus, finding him sitting straight across from her with James on his left. "What's tonight?"
Remus sighed, knowing full well he wasn't going to be allowed to finish his sentence, "It's my first night on—"
"First night working for the enemy, you mean," James interjected, playfully. "He's going to walk around with that dumb badge on his chest, telling everyone what to do. Honestly, can you believe this? No more sneaking out. No more hiding under the cloak and tripping people for fun and blaming it on Peeves."
"Now he'll be telling us to go back to our dorms like good little kids, and giving us detention if we don't," Sirius chimed in. "So we've told him that we'd make sure his first night on rounds would be a memorable one."
"That's not fair," Lily argued. "Dumbledore chose him for Prefect, and you two should be happy for him…not causing more problems than he'll already have to deal with."
"Oh, come on Evans," James said sharply. "It's not like you'd be out causing mischief with us. Not the perfectly proper Lily. You're too busy looking down on the rest of us to have any fun."
Lily opened her mouth, but shut it again without saying a word. Her jaw went rigid with anger before she stood up and walked away toward the other end of the table. Felicity, Sirius, and Remus watched her go before all turning back on James.
"What the hell was that about, Prongs," Felicity snapped.
"What," James said with the most innocent face he could manage. "I'm not exactly wrong, am I?"
Felicity couldn't believe it was actually possible for James to be more of an ass than usual. "Actually I'd say that was completely off-mark. What's your problem?"
"He's just a sore loser 'Licity. Don't let it get to you," Sirius offered. He was used to blunting the backlash James typically deserved. "Evans won't give him the time of day, and it's starting to wear on him is all."
"That is not what this is about," James argued.
"Sure it's not, mate." Remus quipped. "But I wouldn't say that's the best way to gain her affections either."
James ran a hand through his hair, and smiled at a few girls sitting down the opposite end of the table. "I would say I'm doing just fine without her affections. No, it's settled. I'm over her. Who wants someone like that, anyway? No, no. I'm done. That's that."
"We'll take your word for it," Remus offered. His words seemed to be the definitive end on the matter as the food suddenly began to appear on the dishes in front of them. He welcomed the distraction, as it seems they had forgotten all about his first night as being a prefect.
The feast carried on the same as every year. There was the usual sorting, introduction of professors, and dire warnings about certain and excruciating death if you ventured into the Forbidden Forest. Remus smirked at the thought that he was actually one of the reasons everyone should be keeping out of the forest. The next full moon was two weeks out, and although he wasn't looking forward to it at all, he relished the thought that he would finally be back with his friends. Full moons over the summer were always the hardest, and typically the most frightening.
He hated the feeling of waking up, and never knowing what he had done while he'd been changed; hoping that he hadn't inflicted the same pain and scars that he would carry the rest of his life on someone else. With Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail he would at least know they would keep him in check. Though he could honestly say he never cared much for the bruises and scrapes in shapes of hoof prints and claws that he awoke with the next day.
The evening seemed to pass with very little excitement after dinner as far as Remus was concerned. Apparently James and Sirius had decided not to make good on their threats for his first night of hall watch. The bells in the clock tower began to toll eleven, and he stretched with a yawn.
"Just about time that I'd be headed out to meet Felicity," he mused, thinking back to their dance lessons. He let out a ragged sigh, stuffed his hands in his pockets and let his head tilt back as he continued his round down the corridor. Everything had been eating at him since that night; the anxiety about kissing her, the total happiness he felt for just an instant, the confusion from her silence all summer, and now— the guilt. His guilt just about outweighed it all. She had lied to Sirius…or at the very least just kept the truth from him, and by all accounts he was too.
He froze at the sound of steps somewhere close by, and reached for his wand. The tip illuminated, filling the corridor with a soft white light. He looked to one end and the other, but there was nothing but the sound of the steps. His stomach lurched at the thought of what his friends might have planned as he turned his light upward to check for Peeves. The steps where closer now, probably just ten feet away. He flicked his wand again, letting the light die out. He wasn't giving James or Sirius the satisfaction of seeing him gapping around like an idiot.
"I know you're there, just get it over with," he challenged the darkness.
The darkness hadn't yet subsided from the absence of the light, and it seemed to be pressing in on him. The steps came to a stop, and he still wasn't sure where they were. He jumped at the sound of fabric moving, and then the feeling of someone directly in front of him. He screwed up his face and closed his eyes, unsure of what else to do. He was completely unprepared for what happened next. He felt a hand on one of his own, and they squeezed it gently.
"It's me," Felicity's voice pierced the darkness. "And…we need to talk."