A/N: I am deliriously happy today. Not only is it sunny and I have finished all my essays that were due in (which I worked so hard at it made my brain ache!), but I checked my email and found such lovely reviews. Seriously, I know all people that write on here say this, but reviews really do mean alot when you want people to enjoy reading what you've written. So, as some of you might be happy to know, in celebration of me finishing my work, here are two chapters for you all to read and enjoy.

In this chapter Remus goes to the library to think, only to be interrupted by Lily who has something important to tell him.

Thanks to Meg and Rosie. They help me make sure that I don't spell things wrong.

Disclaimer: Despite the constant wonder of how I think I know the characters so well, I have yet to discover I own them.

Remus wandered aimlessly through the library. Outside, the day was dying fast and the sunlight was struggling to cling on to the clouds that rolled across the sky. Lessons had long since ended; most pupils wound still be at dinner, but for some reason, since breakfast that morning, Remus had been unable to bring himself to eat. He had not followed James and Peter into the Great Hall, instead wandering off to seek solace amongst the books. Remus often found comfort in the library; maybe it was something to do with being so surrounded by knowledge that humbled him, made him feel at peace. As a child he had always found books fascinating; he would devour them, one after the other, always with the knowledge that when one book was finished, another one could be begun. And it was not just the more magical books that Remus had stuck to. He had often opened books he knew were famous amongst Muggles and lost himself in their world and their stories, just as fascinated by these novels as by the massive books on spells and potions his parents had bought him. Sometimes it just seemed so much more interesting to read about the worlds that other people had created rather than the world that he himself was a part of. Sometimes it was this type of escape Remus needed.

He had never had any real friends until he had come to Hogwarts, and Remus often wondered whether or not this was part of the reason he loved to read. As a child he remembered sitting in their garden at home under the low-hanging branches of a great oak tree, recovering, perhaps, from a particularly violent transformation, and reading. He had known that the worlds that the Muggles created in their stories could never really exist and yet he loved nothing more than believing, just until the story was over, that perhaps, somewhere, they could.

Remus dodged a book that had suddenly decided to dart out from the bookcase and rearrange itself on the shelf. If there were any other pupils in the library, Remus could not see or hear them as he turned out from the row down which he was walking, to the main study section of the library. There was no way that James and Peter would have finished dinner yet and, even if they had, he hardly expected them to turn up in the library unless it was absolutely necessary. Sirius, on the other hand, had not been seen by any of the Marauders since the confrontation at breakfast. He had not turned up to any of the first classes of term and so Remus assumed he was now paying for that with detention. Why did he have to make everything so difficult, Remus thought to himself as he found the book he had been looking for on the shelf and made his way to the desks. It seemed that the uneasy tension between them had returned, and Remus couldn't help but think, as he opened the large leather-bound book and pulled it towards himself, that things were bound to become a lot worse between them before it got better.

Remus had barely begun to read before someone slammed three hefty books down on the desk beside him and, on pulling out the chair and sitting down next to him, Lily said rather breathlessly, "Polyjuice Potion."

Remus, surprised to see Lily looking so flustered and out of breath, closed the book he had been reading and asked, "What? What's wrong, Lily?"

Lily continued to pant as she lifted her hand to her hair and removed the clip that was holding it up, shaking her head and sending waves of red hair flowing over her shoulders.

"That's what Severus is up to. He's making Polyjuice Potion." Lily had managed to recover from her run and she was now calmer and more controlled. Remus shook his head and thought for a moment before saying, "But where would he get the ingredients from? Surely he wouldn't steal…" Remus had meant to finish with "…from Slughorn's store", but he didn't get a chance to as Lily interrupted, "He wouldn't have to. He'd only have to ask for the ingredients and Slughorn would let him help himself. We've done it before, when we've been trying out different potion combinations outside class." Lily paused and Remus thought he saw a blush before she continued, "Slughorn would just give him the ingredients."

"But Slughorn's not an idiot, is he?" Remus began. "I mean, he'd know what Snape was going to make if he asked for Boomslang skin and Lacewing flies, wouldn't he? And even if he does let you try out potions out of class, there's no way he'd let Snape make Polyjuice Potion."

Lily smiled and shook her head. "But he wouldn't have asked for them all at once. Maybe one week he'd ask for one ingredient, and then leave it for a few weeks before asking for the next. Slughorn wouldn't remember, that way…"

Remus realised that Lily was right; Slughorn would not remember what he had given permission to take; he would have no way of knowing what Snape was planning to make. As he thought this, something occurred to him, and he asked, "How do you know that Snape's making Polyjuice Potion?"

Lily hesitated and she pushed her hair away from her face before replying, "He told me. He asked me if I…" She paused and Remus definitely saw her blush before she continued, "He asked me if I wanted to help."

Lily had no need to be embarrassed; Remus already knew that she was probably the only person at Hogwarts that ever really spoke to Snape. As Remus had pointed out to James, they did have a lot in common, and so Remus found it hardly surprising that Snape should ask Lily to help. But Lily, for some reason, appeared uncomfortable and Remus noticed the nervous way she pulled the book Remus had been reading towards herself, in order to look at the title.

"But why would he need to make it?" Remus struggled to understand the connection. "Who would he need to look like?" Lily shrugged and wearily rubbed her face as she replied, "I don't have a clue, but we need to keep watching him. We have a couple of weeks, at least, to work it out. He only told me about the Polyjuice Potion today, so chances are that he has only started to make it…"

"Perhaps that's what he's using the Room of Requirement for?" Remus suddenly said, thinking aloud. "He would need somewhere quiet where he wouldn't be disturbed. Maybe that's where he's making it?"

Lily shrugged, obviously unconvinced by Remus' theory as she said, "Perhaps. Although it's not like Severus has to go out of his way to be alone, is it?" Remus shrugged; Lily, of course, was right.

For a moment there was silence yet Lily was shifting awkwardly in her seat, her nervousness more apparent than ever. Eventually Lily froze and, after staring at the desk in front of her, said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Remus, can I ask you something?"

Remus' eyes were upon her; he was all ears and Lily took her cue from Remus' gentle expression and said, "Has James…" The words failed her and she nervously cleared her throat, continuing, more confidently than before, "Has James said anything to you about the other night?" Remus was finding it hard to suppress his smile as Lily hurriedly pressed on, "What I mean is, he hasn't been making a big deal out of the fact I fell asleep on his bed, has he?"

Remus smiled to himself and shook his head. Lily breathed a sigh of relief; the agitation that had been clearly written on her face vanished as she leant back, more relaxed, in her chair. Remus thought of the way Lily had left on that morning, so obviously embarrassed about where she had slept. Yet there had been something about the sight of them sleeping on the bed together that seemed to somehow fit. With her back against his chest and his arm about her waist it had appeared that their bodies somehow slotted together perfectly, and that nothing would have been more natural than if Lily had woken up and remained lying beside him.

It was then that Remus remembered the hand against his side, the heat of the memory fiercely intruding on his mind as he struggled to convince himself to forget it. Lily, however, was watching him; she noticed the desperate struggle clearly written in his features, and the way his eyes seemed to lose the hope of before. As Remus pushed the feeling to the back of his mind, he found himself doubting once again whether it had truly happened; wondering whether or not it had just been the confused remnants of a dream. Yet it had seemed so real and honest and no matter how hard Remus tried, he couldn't help but think of the fragile intimacy of that moment every time Sirius chose to ignore him.

"Is everything alright?" Lily's voice broke the pattern of thought in his mind, and as Remus turned to face her inquisitive green eyes, he contemplated telling her everything. For the briefest of moments Remus felt compelled to tell her of the bitterness that seemed to be growing between himself and Sirius, and how they now they hardly ever agreed on anything. He wanted to explain his feelings for Eleanor and the way they confused him, or the horrible, swimming guilt he would feel in telling the Marauders anything about her. He wanted to express his fear of what was happening, of how things seemed to be changing too fast to control. He felt like telling Lily about what had happened at Godric's Hollow and the dreams that had haunted him since then. He wanted to ask Lily why she thought he and Sirius were unable to get along. Yet despite the desire to speak, Remus managed to stay silent and, after shrugging and opening his book once more, he said in a small voice, "To tell you the truth, Lily, I don't really know."

Lily nodded as though this answer was all she had expected, pulling a book towards herself, and they both continued to read in silence.

Oh the frustration, the hormones, the intrigue! You know what to do to let me know what you think xxx