Goodness it's been a long time since I've updated. I sincerely apologize to those who waited for this chapter. I also apologize because this chapter is shorter than the others, but I have had almost no time to write. That plus the bit of writer's block that hit me caused the delay for this chapter, and I am truly sorry. But, on a happier note, I want to thank everyone who reviewed! Flyingphilosopher, thank you for your constructive criticism. I've been trying to make the characters not so flat, and I'm glad to see that whatever I'm doing is working. : ) Padfoot4ever, Potterfan18, and ladida, thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoy the story. Ciria, my faithful reviewer! : ) I didn't quite understand what you meant about Lily. I'm afraid she's very flat in this chapter, but that will change, hopefully soon. As for her friends, they didn't understand what the guys were doing to Remus; they were just trying to look out for him. I hope they didn't come across as being mean or anything, because I don't intend them to be that way. At least, not all the time... : )
Anyway, on to the story, please remember to review! Thanks for reading!
~~~~*~~~~
"Hey, Remus!"
The pale boy turned and looked at Sirius, who had called his name. Remus clenched his jaw in frustration and walked over to where Sirius and Peter were sitting. He quickly noticed James wasn't there, but was talking to Lily a few paces behind the other two boys. Sirius motioned for Remus to sit, and the smaller boy did.
"Yes?" Remus asked, a little uncertain as to what the boys were going to do. James walked up to them and he sat in between Remus and Sirius, forming a small circle.
"Remus…" James started; his eyes flickered over to Sirius and Peter before continuing, "we know what you are." At these words, Remus jumped up and started to back away, but Sirius and Peter were ready, and they too jumped up and stopped Remus from going any farther.
'They must have practiced this.' Remus thought to himself. In another time, it may have amused him, but now, he was afraid as to what they were going to do next.
'Are they going to announce it to everyone in here?' Remus thought, and he started to struggle against Sirius and Peter's grasp. Sirius tightened his grip on the other boy's arm, he hadn't realized just how strong Remus was.
"Let me go!" Remus shouted. James looked around and noticed that other people in the common room were starting to watch what was going on.
"Remus, be quiet!" James said, and Remus felt himself being pushed back into the chair he had been sitting in.
"We still want to be your friends!" Sirius said, but Remus didn't seem to hear him, and he continued to struggle.
"Remus, stop!" Peter said, struggling to keep Remus from getting up again.
"Remus, listen to us, we're still your friends!" James said, emphasizing the last phrase to catch Remus's attention. Finally hearing what the other three were saying, Remus stopped fighting, and he slowly looked up at them.
"W-what?" Remus asked, still trying to grasp what he heard.
"We are still your friends." James said slowly to the boy who was looking up at them with wide open and frightened eyes. Sirius and Peter backed away from Remus, but were still ready to seize him if necessary. Remus sat in silence for a moment, and the three boys sat back down. The other people in the common room eventually lost interest in what was going on, and they returned to their business. James looked at Sirius and Peter, and all three were waiting anxiously for what their friend was going to say. After a few moments, Remus looked at the other boys, and he slowly shook his head.
"No, you must not know. Not really." Remus said quietly, almost to himself.
"Remus, we do know. We know what happens to you on the full moons." James said, lowering his voice. Remus's eyes opened wide, and he looked at James in shock.
'They do know, but they still want to be my friends?'
"But, how?" Remus asked. Sirius and Peter turned to James, since he was the one who had told them about it in the first place. Remus followed their gaze and looked at James. He then remembered that he saw James talking to Lily when he had entered the Common Room.
"It was Lily, wasn't it?" Remus suddenly demanded before James could speak. "I knew I shouldn't have told her!"
"No! It wasn't her, Remus." James said, and Remus looked at him with uncertain eyes.
"So, you just figured it out then?" Remus said, his words sounding harsher than he intended. James slowly nodded his head, and Remus looked down at the floor.
"But… how?" Remus repeated his question.
"How about we go up to the dorm? We can talk more about this in private." Sirius suggested before James could answer, and the four boys quietly followed each other up the steps to their room.
~~~~*~~~~
The next day, Lily and her friends arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast to see Remus sitting with his friends again, laughing at their jokes, and looking truly happy. Violet and Shelby noticed this as well, and they turned to Lily after they sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"So Remus is all right with his friends now?" Shelby asked. Lily smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, they all managed to sit down and work everything out last night." Lily explained, leaving out any details about Remus's condition. She remembered the look of fear on his face when she had spotted the burn-like marks on his hand. He had begged her to keep his condition a secret, and Lily figured that she would never forget the look of absolute desperation in his eyes. She had promised to keep Remus's secret, and so she did, not even telling her closest friends. Of course, she probably wouldn't have told them either way. Shelby would have probably accepted Remus the same way Lily had, but Violet was different from Lily and Shelby. Violet, who was named after the shocking color of her eyes, was friendly enough, but she didn't always get along with the two other girls on certain occasions. Even in the first few months of school, Violet had a few arguments with Lily and Shelby, who had learned to try and not disagree with Violet. For the most part, though, the three girls got along very well, but Lily stuck by her promise to Remus.
Now, she was glad to see the four boys once again sitting together, goofing off, and laughing. Although, she couldn't help but feel sad that Remus would not be spending his time with them. She had enjoyed his conversations, and he had even suggested teaching her how to play chess, which Lily was really looking forward to.
"Well, that's good, but I'm going to miss Remus." Shelby said, echoing Lily's thoughts.
"Yes, well, it's all for the best, right?" Lily said before taking a bite out of her breakfast. Their conversation strayed into different topics as they finished their breakfast and headed off to class.
~~~~*~~~~
As the Gryffindor first years waited for their constantly-late Potions teacher, Remus approached Lily who was leaning against the wall.
"Hello, Remus." Lily smiled up at the boy.
"Hi Lily… I just wanted to thank you for, erm, you know." Remus said quietly, and Lily nodded in reply.
"It was no problem Remus, I'm glad to see you back on good terms with the other boys." She said, looking over at James and Sirius, who were levitating little, pink flowers, and placing them in Snape's hair.
"Yeah, I didn't realize how much fun it was being around them until…" Remus stopped, and his face suddenly turned a bright shade of red. "I mean, uh, not that you and your friends weren't, it's just, erm…" Remus stammered, staring at the floor. Lily could help but laugh, and Remus slowly looked back at her with a shy grin on his face.
"Sorry." He said.
"Oh, no, don't bother, Remus, I understand. I won't pretend to be a Sirius Black or a James Potter. Compared to them, I must be as exciting as a flobberworm." Lily said, still laughing. Remus started laughing a little as well, and his face returned to its normal color.
"Hey, Remus! Come here!" Sirius called with difficulty, as he and James were laughing particularly hard about something. Remus turned back to Lily and smiled.
"Thanks again, Lily." He said, and then he turned back to Lily and added, "Do you still want to learn how to play chess?"
Lily smiled and nodded in reply, she hadn't lost her friend after all.
~~~~*~~~~
Ok, ok, it's a little cheesy at the end, but, anyway, please tell me what you think! I love reviews, you have no idea how much they help. Hopefully the next chapter will come a lot quicker. Sorry again for the delay.