THE QUEEN OF MY HEART

Chapter six: The Matchmaker

"What?" He asked.

"See, I think James is cute and-" Lily began.

"So do I!" Lily's friend put in.

"Yeah, and," Lily went on, "I heard from Kimberly Brigham, who heard from Lisa Longbottum, who heard from Jenifer Rock, who is Brenda Lee's best friend, that her and James broke up. I was just wondering if it was true."

Remus nodded slowly, in some shock.

"They did break up?" Lily shouted.

Remus nodded again.

Lily turned to her friend and they both screamed for a while. Remus watched them, dazed and confused (to quote a movie).

"Look, here he comes!" Lily points out excitedly.

Remus looked up the hill and saw James coming down, carrying a shovel.

"Remus, do something for me," Lily said, biting her lip and grabbing on to Remus' arm.

Remus looked at where their skin was touching. Lily turned her face to him and their eyes met. Do something for her? With those eyes looking at him, he couldn't possibly refuse her anything.

"Would you put in a good word for me with James?" Lily requested.

"Yeah, sure," Remus agreed, rather quietly and quickly.

"Thanks a million," Lily giggled, smiling so big her eyes slightly squinted.

Knowing that he cause that beautiful smile made Remus feel so happy, even though it did have to do with setting the queen of his heart up with his best friend.

************

At lunch, Remus made sure to sit right next to James, with Sirius and Peter opposite them. Remus simply had to put in a good word like he promised. Problem was, other then his reluctance to hand Lily over to James, that he couldn't pick a good word out of everything so wonderful about Lily.

"James, buddy," Remus began, patting James on the shoulder.

James looked at him suspiciously and said, "What?"

"You know Lily Evans?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," James told him. "She's in our year and our house. How could I not know her?"

"Well," Remus went on, "she's great, isn't she?"

"I'm afraid I don't know her that well," James said.

"She is great," Remus assured him. "She's...smart..and funny...and really wonderful."

"OK," James began, "I'll take your word for it."

"Lily is nice, too," Remus added. "I'm sure she's athletic, though she's not on the Qudditch team."

"Yeah, yeah," James droned, "what are you getting at?"

"How can you not notice her!" Remus exclaimed. "How could you not be absolutely out-of- your-mind crazy for her? She just walks into a room and lights everything up with her delicate grace and beauty. She has everything that a guy could want. She's perfect."

James leaned back in his chair and wrinkled his forehead in thought.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?" James asked.

"That's what I said," Remus grumbled.

"Maybe I should talk to her," James mused.

"Blimey, you're shallow," Remus mumbled.

Luckily, James didn't hear that.

"Should I tell her you want to talk to her?" Remus queried.

"What, are you her messenger or something?"

Remus opened his mouth but couldn't think of a response.

"Just tell her I think she's hot," James allowed.

Remus got up and walked down the Great Hall, along the table. Lily sat almost twenty people away. She flipped her hair just as Remus came up. An undescribably wonderful smell wafted in the air near her.

"And, like, his name is Rupert Finnigan," Lily's friend told her. "He's a muggle so my parents don't really approve."

"Lily," he began in a higher pitch then he would have liked.

Lily turned to him. Her somewhat bemused expression altered immediately to excitement. when she saw him. This made Remus' stomach do a hurdle.

"Remus," Lily smiled, "did he say anything?"

"Yeah," Remus said, semi-ly whining, "he said you're...you're beautiful."

He could fib a bit. It was allowed. They were nearly the same thing: beautiful and hot. Just one was more romantic sounding then the other.

"He said that, really?" Lily gasped.

Remus nodded.

Lily grabbed her friend's arm and they both screamed.

"You should say something back," her blond friend advised.

"What should I say?" Lily asked.

"Tell him that he's got kissable lips," her fiend proposed.

"No!" Lily exclaimed. "I can't send him a message like that."

Why was he doing this? Remus was playing match-maker for Lily, the girl he loved. He knew why he was doing it. She was the queen of his heart. Anything she could command, he would do.

"Just tell him that I don't have a boyfriend," Lily requested.

Remus nodded and returned to James.

"What took you?" James questioned.

"Lily thinks you should know that she's available," Remus told him.

"Alright," James said, "that's good."

"That it?"

"Oh, did you want me to send her a message?" James asked. "Just ask her out for me."

"You're going to do it like that?" Remus scoffed.

"How would you suggest I do it?"

"Meet with her alone," Remus began, "and gently whisper it to her."

"Alright then," James surrendered. "Tell her to meet me."

Remus went back over to Lily.

"He wants you to meet him tonight," Remus told her.

"Really?" Lily screeched. "He wants to meet with me!"

"Oh my gosh!" her fiend exclaimed. "That's like totally romantic."

"Where does he want to meet?" Lily queried.

Remus thought a moment. Where was the most romantic spot in Hogwarts castle? A corridor would be too public. A classroom was too sterile. Closets are definitely not romantic. Gryffindor common room was much too common. Owlry was noisy and covered in feathers and crud. Remus thought the best place would be the tower. There was a tower that nobody knew how to get to but Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James. It was where they held their secret meetings. It was the Perfect place.

"Meet him by the hawk wizard at midnight," Remus told her.

"Hawk wizard?" Lily repeated.

"Yes, that tall wizard statue," Remus described. "It's on the sixth floor. He has this large hawk on his shoulder."

"Tell him that I'll be there," Lily requested.

Remus nodded and turned.

"Remus?"

He looked back.

"Thank you," Lily said, smiling at him. "This means a lot to me."

Remus couldn't help but smile.

"Anything for you," he said.