OK- well I gave up the gay Remus idea because I never saw him that was anyways; so no slash. ^^

* * *

Remus woke up the next morning and rolled over to the left.

He drew the bedhangings a fraction and looked at Sirius' bed. Sirius was one of his best best friends, but he did not like him or find him to the slightest level adorable.

He must have been unfathomably desprate yesterday. He shook his head in disgust and redrew the curtain.

He rolled over onto his back and stared up into the crimson canopy of his bed.

He sighed and thought of the long list of girlfriends he'd had.

Bathilda, a pretty sixth year witch with small glasses and boy-cut blonde hair who loved to write and payed an unhealthy amount of attention in Professor Binns class. (A/N: Bathilda Bagshot, for all of you who are too slow.)

Harriet Centauri, a seventh year, like him, with long black hair and almost purple eyes, who had truly fascinated him, surprising him often, with thoughts that had occoured to her the previous night.

Narcissa, a Slytherin girl, whom he'd had an extremely short relationship with, at James' urgings ("Go for it, Remus, she's pretty!") to find that she was MUCH too materialistic for especially someone as poor as Remus.

Lily, in their second year, even, and numerous others.

But, Remus thought, was any of it love? Had any of it been as strong as what Lily and James had? No, surely not, for they had ended up going their seperate ways, had they not?

He thought of the game James used to play.

He had picked a girl, any girl who didn't seem likely to date him, and he had played her until she was fallen for him, then he'd pretend to become fascinated with another girl.

That was before Lily. Lily had gone three years, and was obviously part of no game.

* * *

James, in the bed on the other side of Sirius, lay awake listening to the snores.

And lack thereof.

"Remus, what is Sirius hiding from me?" James knew Sirius too well. The tone in his voice and the way he averted his eyes gave him away.

"James, I won't lie to you by denying that Sirius isn't telling you something he should, but I can't break Sirius's trust. I can't tell you that."

James sighed and got up.

It was six o'clock and he wanted to take a walk before going down to breakfast.

He changed into his sweeping black robes and swung his heavy cloak over his shoulders.

He went downstairs into the common room and out the portrait hole which was temporarily covored by Violet, the Fat Lady's friend, as she was taken down or cleaning.

He strode down to the entrance hall and pushed open the heavy carved oak doors. The crisp aiair pleasantly met his face.

After walking around a bit he settled himself under a tree by the lake and watched eight inky tentacles propell the giant squid across the lake for a good half hour.

Finally he headed back to the castle to join his friends for breakfast.

* * *

Lily lightly slid out of James' one armed hug and headed for her next class; Arithmacy.

She was positive she'd doze off; she hated the subject.

The only reason she had take the class was that her fifth year friend, Emma's mother, Nelda Kitchens, an extremely nice witch, taught the class.

Whenever she got there she was disappointed to find that Professor Kitchens had not planned her usual class discussion, she assigned them several pages out of the book to read and sat at her desk; looking near tears.

After class Lily approached and asked very timidly "Is everything alright, Professor Kitchens?"

"Lily" she burst out, as if she'd been holding her breath the whole class, "if I tell you something will you keep it between us for now? I need to tell someone so badly!"

Lily nodded.

"A boy I went to school with; terribly awful; Slytherin" she paused, voice shaking "he's a dark wizard now, Voldemort he goes by.."

Voldemort had not yet risen, or indeed even become widely known, so his name wasn't the cause of flinches and stunned looks.

Lily nodded, encouraging her to go on.

"He's after my family! You see- my father; his parents... there are so many aurors in my family..."

Lily made a concerned face.

"Emma... it's not safe... she's going to live with her auntie and uncle, she going to live with muggles."

"oh that's awful!" Lily exclaimed, Emma being a close friend of hers.

Professor Kitchens nodded grimly, letting her head hang and her dark thick hair (A/N: that was a clue, PAY ATTENTION!) hide her face.