Chapter 60

Miss Lilly Evans

Exams... Who didn't hate exams?

Even Remus hated exams... And Remus liked to learn.

"A month! Exams are a month away. Why are we already getting extra homework for exams that are a month away!" James complained loudly. It was two a.m. TWO A.M. And they were still working on their homework, well Sirius and James were. Remus stayed up to help them. Peter had fallen asleep on the couch the second he'd finished his. Quidditch practice was really cutting into their homework time. So now their homework time was cutting into their sleeping time, and their sleeping time was cutting into their make the Slytherin's life miserable time.

"Because the teachers hate us." Remus yawned, normally they would think of this as uncharacteristic of him, but Remus' mood always goes south when he hadn't slept in forty-eight hours. Not that he usually sleeps all that much, but still an hour of sleep was usually enough to keep him from getting cranky. He hadn't even slept that much.

"Go to bed, Moony."

"Hah, like that'll help. Stupid moon. And will you stop calling me that!"

"No. The moon isn't even half full yet." Sirius replied. The first part to Remus' demand and the second to his blaming the moon for his lack of sleep.

"So what?"

"How can it be bugging you this bad when it isn't even that big?"

"It's closer then normal. I don't know why, it just feels like it is." Remus yawned again.

"What's the name of the famous goblin hunters we learned about today?" James asked, ignoring their conversation.

"Who cares." Remus replied but looked though his notes anyway.

"Who indeed." Sirius sighed and dropped his head on the table.

"The only ones the book named were Morphin and Mephilus."

"Who would name their kids that?"

"Anyone in my family." Sirius answered.

"When I have a kid, he's going to be named something plain. Like John or Paul."

"Boring!" Sirius complained.

"No practical."

"Totally boring."

"It's better then Sirius. Seriously!" James got in a small smirk before Sirius could tackle him. Remus watched them in amusement for a while before he heard someone coming down the stairs.

"What are they fighting about now?" Remus jumped when he heard the voice from behind him. He turned to wee Lily Evans watching the scene unfold in front of her.

"Sirius and the word it sounds like."

"Oh, I don't blame him. That's a really lame joke."

"Sometimes James will use it just to make him mad."

"That sounds like something Potter would do."

"It doesn't help that they're both rather exhausted." Remus said having to stop in the middle to yawn.

"Looks like they're no the only ones. Why don't you go to bed."

"I can't sleep. I tried."

"Same here. I think I'm worrying too much for our DADA test tomorrow."

"Why? You don't think you studied enough?"

"I studied a lot, but I'm still worried."

"What are you worried about?" They watched as Sirius managed to get away from James and ran up the stairs to the dorm.

"I thought James was the defender?" She looked at Remus who shrugged.

"They probably don't even remember what they're fighting about."

"Are they a little mad?"

"Much more then a little. Especially when they're together."

"When are they not together?"

"Never if they can help it. They enjoy madness."

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you. I know it's a lie but you probably should know that she's saying it anyway."

"What?"

"Rita Skeeter has been going around telling everyone you have a crush on Alice."

"What?" Remus sat up straighter and glanced at the girl's dorm. "What gave her that idea?"

"I don't know I think she's just making it up."

"Did she tell Alice?"

"Ya, but Alice just laughed at her." Lily told him, a little surprised by the relieved look on his face.

"Good."

"Why so relieved?"

"I don't have a crush on her."

"Most people would be offended by that."

"Oh." Remus looked away. "I'd rather her not like me like that. She's a good friend of mine, but I'm not her type." He put his arms around his knees before mumbling, "or any one's type really."

"What makes you think that?" She asked, knowing he hadn't meant for her to hear it.

"I'm just not." He answered hoping she'd drop it.

"I think you're really nice and someday you're going to make some girl very happy." She smiled at him and he blushed. "If she can manage to ignore the people you hang out with, anyway."

Remus laughed. "Well if she's going to have me she's going to have to manage to put up with them too. Somehow I doubt they're going anywhere and I can't marry someone who doesn't like my friends."

"You're also very loyal. I think you're crazy for hanging out with them, but I do admire your loyalty to them." Remus' blush deepened.

"The amount of loyalty I have to them is nothing compared to the loyalty they've shown me."

"Trying to imagine Potter and Black as being loyal is very hard."

"It's much easier when you know them."

"If you say so." They sat in silence for a while. "I should probably attempt to get some more sleep."

"Ya, me too. Don't worry so much about that test, it's going to be really easy. Easier then normal really."

"Thanks." She watched him walk back up the stairs. It didn't occur to her to be curious as to how he knew it would be easier then normal. She probably didn't really want to know anyway.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lilly Evans walked into the Great Hall for lunch the next day feeling very calm. However he'd found out, Remus ended being right. The test had been far easier then normal.

She sat down as usual beside her two Gryffindor friends. She wanted to sit with Severus but people looked at her funny if she tried to. His friends were starting to scare her.

"Sirius please, don't make a scene." She heard Remus say behind her. There was so little hope in his voice that it made her laugh. She turned around wishing she wasn't so curious as to what scene Black was planning.

"If you let her get by with it she'll never stop, Moony." Sirius replied, making her wonder about the odd nickname.

"I don't care. I really don't, she could say I'd fallen for a donkey and I wouldn't care in the slightest." Lilly laughed, Remus had made the mistake of telling Sirius what Rita Skeeter was saying about him.

"Hey, Skeeter." Sirius called, the first year stood at her name. James chuckled at the sight of her. Remus moaned and hid his face in his hands.

"What?" She eyed them with a mixture of suspicion and fear. It took Lilly a while to realize what she was afraid of. It made her think. Did most people really see Sirius as frightening? She knew he was a Black, so that didn't help, but when she looked at him all she saw was... well she saw a rebellious puppy when she looked at him. Rebellious puppies are cute and funny, not scary.

"We've been hearing that you've been saying things we don't like about our friend here." James said trying to look threatening. It must have worked, she looked scared, though James didn't look scary to Lilly. Remus seemed to be trying to hide deeper in his hand.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She stuttered.

"I'm sure you don't." Sirius said with heavy sarcasm.

"Well either way, we just wanted to warn you, if we hear you're sprouting out more rumors about our friend, we're going to get mad so I'd shut my lips if I were you." James nodded at Sirius and turned to walk off. Naturally, Sirius hadn't finished yet.

"Besides, there's only one person Moony likes, and it certainly isn't Alice." He said turning away also. Remus straightened up.

Remus gave him an annoyed look. "And who pray tell is that one person?"

"Me of course." Sirius smirked and Remus rolled his eyes, causing Lilly to admire how well he took to teasing.

"Wrong." James put his arm around Remus' shoulders. "Moony likes me the best." Remus sighed knowing exactly how Sirius would respond.

"No you're wrong. He defiantly likes me the best." Sirius pushed James away from Remus.

Remus watched with amusement as the two bickered in front of the entire school. Peter walked up to Remus, finally getting done with his DADA test.

"He likes me better!"

"No me." Lilly, as well as the entire school by now, watched as Remus' face turned into a smirk.

"You're both wrong." He said loud enough that they stopped and looked at him.

"What?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at him.

"You heard me, you're both wrong." Remus flung his arm around Peter's shoulder. "I like Peter the best." Sirius face-palmed. "Let's go, Peter." Remus kept his arm around him and stuck his tongue out at the two of them as they headed for the Gryffindor table.

Sirius and James looked at each other for a moment.

"I think we just got dissed." James said feigning disappointment.

"I am going to have to agree with you there." Sirius could hardly keep from laughing.

James stuck his tongue out at Remus who smirked back. "Well fine. Who needs them." He put his hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Guess what. You have the honor of being my new favorite. Congrats pal."

Sirius didn't look quite as joyous about this as James had clearly been hoping.

"It's very comforting to know that I'm your backup, James. It really is." Sirius said sarcastically he headed for the table leaving James standing there with confusion plainly written on his face.

"What's wrong with being my backup? You should be honored to be my backup!"

Sirius laughed.

Lilly turned back to her food. Every once in a while she could understand why Remus put up with them. They did seem to care about him if nothing else. It was kind of them to defend him like that.

She would never think of them as any more than scatterbrained idiots though. That was a belief she would take to the grave, no matter how nice he turns out to be.