Remus' vision went gray, and before he could stop himself, he was dancing with her, moving his body with hers. A battle raged in his head.
-This is wrong, she's your friend and she's drunk. You shouldn't be doing this.
-She won't remember anything anyway.
-That doesn't matter. She's your friend. No matter how much you want this, you can't take advantage of her like this.
-But it's so nice. One little dance won't hurt.
-Who are you kidding? You know yourself. One dance will lead to another and pretty soon you'll end up doing stuff that friends don't do.
-Alright, alright you win for now anyway.
His inner, good self sighed. This was why he had stopped being friends with the beautiful girl. She played havoc with his emotions and she didn't even know it. He carefully led her over to where Katie was dancing. She went all mothery when she saw Lily.
"Oh, is she okay? I can take her home, Remus."
"No, she just drank a little too much. You stay and enjoy yourself. Would you spend the night at her house tonight? She doesn't always stay asleep and I don't want her to be there alone in this state."
"Yeah. I'll be there in an hour or two." Remus nodded to show he heard her and went out the door. Lily was in no state to apparate so Remus flagged down the Knight Bus. The driver felt sorry for Lily and immediately took them home. Or maybe he didn't want her getting sick in the Bus. Whatever it was, Lily was home in a few minutes. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to want to go to bed.
"Lily, please just go to bed." He begged her. She was literally bouncing off the walls.
"No, no, no. Lily wants to stay here with you and play. Do you know what Lily wants to play?" He decided to play along.
"What does Lily want to play?"
"Lily wants a horsey ride!" She screeched and jumped on Remus' back. Remus horseyed Lily over to the couch.
"Why don't you just go to sleep? You do remember the last time you were this drunk?"
"Yeah. I fleeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww!"
"No, Lily, you fell. You fell off the Astronomy Tower and James caught you."
"Stupid Potter. I was flying. Just like Snape told me I could. And I flew right at Potter and scared him."
"Lily, you jumped off the Astronomy Tower because you were mad at Sirius and very drunk and believed Snape when he said you could fly. You didn't fly. I was there. I watched you fall." She started to believe him.
"But Snape told me I could fly."
"Snape lied. Just like he always does. He doesn't like you, Lils. Remember what he used to call you in school?"
"Mudblood." She murmured.
"He wanted you to die, but Sirius got him back."
"Black got him back?" Remus nodded. "For me?" He nodded again. "How?" Remus started to look uncomfortable.
"You remember how Snape always used to wonder where I went each month? Sirius told Snape that he could follow me by pressing the knot on the Whomping Willow. He would have died if James hadn't pulled him out. Sirius attempted murder for you, Lils. He really loved you." By now Lily was crying into his robes.
"And 'sob' all that time 'sob' I treated him like 'sob' dirt 'sob, sob, sob'." Remus let her cry out her frustrations. He knew that she always slept after a good cry, drunk or not. He tucked her into bed and lightly kissed her forehead goodnight.
"Night, Lils."
"Night, Rana." He smiled as he shut the door. Jas found him the next morning, curled up on the couch asleep. Katie never came. She found a hangover potion simmering in the kitchen, waiting for Lily when she woke up. Jas crept up to her friend's room. Lily was a very light sleeper. Lily was tossing in the bed. She obviously was having a nightmare. Jas hurried to her friend and shook her awake. She sat straight up in bed and screamed. Jas heard a thump from downstairs and then a pounding on the stairs as Remus ran up. He paused when he saw Lily sitting there with tears streaming down her face. She gestured him in and he sat on the other side of her. She buried her head into Jas' shoulder and Remus gently rubbed her back. She gradually quieted enough to tell them.
"It was horrible. I was older. Maybe twenty-seven. I was holding a baby with black hair and green eyes. I heard yelling and then a thump and I knew the baby's father, whoever he was, was dead. Then silence. Voldemort came. He wanted to kill the baby. Told me that I could save myself if I just let him kill the baby. I kept screaming 'No, not Harry. Take me, kill me instead.' He just laughed at me. I pulled out my wand, desperate to protect my child. Voldemort moved quicker. He disarmed me and used the Cruciatus. I was screaming. It felt like my bones had turned to wax and my muscled to melted butter. I burned all over. But I held onto that baby for dear life. The pain was gone. Voldemort laughed again and offered me to join him, to be his queen. I spit on his face and ran. Voldemort sent a few curses after me, but I dodged them, still holding the baby. I made it into some sort of forest and tried to hide, but the baby was crying. Voldemort found me and dragged me back into the house. A man with black hair was lying facedown on the floor, dead. Voldemort told me to run. I refused. He used Imperio, but I resisted it. Then there was green light and I woke up." Jas was crying and Remus was staring at her in shock.
"D'you think it could happen?" He asked gently.
"Rem, anything could happen. I'm not afraid of dying, if that's what you mean. I just wish the baby hadn't had to. And the man. I would like to know who he was." Remus stared out the window. Dark hair. Remus was a blonde. He stroked her back soothingly.
"Maybe it's just a nightmare, Lils."
"I hope so, Rem." She replied. "Now get out of here. I have to get dressed." He smiled reassuringly at her and went downstairs to make breakfast. Jeff showed up while Remus was in the kitchen and Lily and Jas were still upstairs. He surprised Remus.
"What are you doing here?" Jeff asked. "And who are you?" He added as an afterthought. Remus coolly looked Jeff up and down.
"I could ask you the same thing." Jeff looked like he didn't know what to say.
"Are you one of Jas'?" He finally demanded.
"No. I'm Lily's." Jeff raised his fist.
"Did you know she has a boyfriend?" Remus realized who this was.
"Oh, you must be Jeff. I'm Lily's friend, Remus. Could you keep your voice down? She's got a pretty bad hangover and it's not wise to piss her off while she's in this kind of mood." This only seemed to anger Jeff.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" He bellowed. "I know her a hell of a lot better than you do. She's my girlfriend. She doesn't get drunk and she's never had a bad mood in her life." Enter Lily. She was so angry she could scarcely speak.
"For your information, my loving boyfriend, I do get in bad moods. But you wouldn't know about them because you don't know me. I do get drunk every now and again and you wouldn't know that because you don't know me. Remus is one of my best friends and you have no right to speak to him like that. Get out of my house." She growled the last bit low in her throat. Jeff looked like he was about to protest, but Remus stood up next to Lily, wand in hand and visible. He gulped and disapparated. For a second, Lily looked like she was going to collapse in tears.
"Waffles?" Remus asked, shoving a plate under her nose, grinning. She grinned back at him and took them. He poured her a gobletful of hangover potion, which she drank gratefully. Remus left shortly after Katie showed up with many apologies about why she didn't come the night before. It seems she ran into an old friend of hers and spent the night at his place because she was too wasted to make it to Lily's. Remus groaned as he sank down onto his own bed, only to jump up again quickly. Sirius was lying in his bed. Remus was about to move him when he realized what had happened and left the room. He stuck his head in James' room. James was asleep still, snoring away. Remus refused to sleep in Sirius' bed because who knew what went on in there, and bunked on the couch. He was sat on two hours later by James. Remus sat up and watched James stuff his face for a while. He finished and turned to Remus.
"You never came home last night." He said with a sly grin on his face. Remus ignored it.
"I had to take Lily home. She was almost as drunk as that night in 6th year." James was silent for a moment, remembering that horrible incident.
"You stayed there all night." He pushed.
"Katie never showed up and I didn't want Lily doing anything stupid."
"Sure you didn't."
"Shut up James. Lily's my friend."
"And I believe you. But word on the street is that she dumped Jeff for you."
"How could word be out that fast? I was there when she dumped him two hours ago and you just woke up."
"Got an owl from Gerry who heard from Lisa who heard it from Katie who heard it from Jas." James explained. "Gerry knew Sirius had always been after Lily."
"Not after last night." Remus pointed out. "He always said that Jas was good, but he couldn't put up with all that energy. I think it's a load of crock. Sirius is just scared of committing and he knows he'd fall in love with Jas if he let himself."
"So I can take a shot at Lily?" James wanted to know. Remus glanced at him.
"Sure. If she'll have you. She's picky."
"I was Head Boy." James countered.
"You hung out with Sirius."
"So do you."
"I never pulled a prank on her." James was silent for a while.
"I saved her life."
"She barely remembers it. And she still thinks she jumped on your broom, not that you caught her." Their conversation was interrupted by Sirius stumbling downstairs, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.
"Lily dumped Jeff?" He asked, incredulous.
"Yeah, and Prongsie-boy is gonna give it a go with her." Remus affirmed.
"Good luck." Sirius replied. Remus tuned out as Sirius gave a detailed description of the previous night.
Lily also tuned out as she got a description of the previous night's activities, only from Jas. Her thoughts drifted to what Remus had told her the night before. She had always hated Sirius after that night. Why? So he played a few pranks on her, publicly humiliated her. That's what she did to him. Humiliated him in front of the whole school. And James? He saved her life that night. She knew it, oh how she knew it. She felt it every day when she looked at Jeff and wondered if he would ever save her like James did.
"Lily?" She jerked back to the present. "What's up, girl. You look like you just lost your best friend." Lily looked sadly at Katie.
"I may have, Kate." She said and disapparated.