Lily didn't give much more thought to Kaylen's predictions about Remus. She was just happy to have her furtive grins and cheerful greetings back. However, she couldn't help but let Kaylen's words float across her mind every time she smiled and said hello back to him. "He likes you!" rang in her ears whenever she set eyes on him and she couldn't help but wonder if she liked him back.

Christmas was approaching rapidly and almost the entire school had forgotten, or at least given up on trying to bug Lily, about her little fiasco during the Halloween festival. The most recently discussed topic around the school was how James Potter went to hex a third-year student and missed, hitting Professor Clark instead. Maybe it was none of her business, but Lily felt that the horns rather made Professor Clark look less like a grumpy, elderly man.

"Have you given any more thought to what I said?" Kaylen asked as the two girls strung Christmas decorations up over their beds in the dorm.

"About what?" Lily replied, biting a string of garland while she struggled for her wand.

"About Remus."

Lily dropped both the garland and her wand. "Yes, and I think you're insane."

"Why? Seriously, Lily, if you would open your eyes, you would see that a really great guy likes you. Not to mention the fact that he's extremely good looking."

Lily dropped her arms to her sides. "I know that, Kaylen. If you like him so much, why don't you go out with him?"

"Because he likes you."

Lily growled slightly. "Forget it. Remus Lupin and I are just friends. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go meet him in the library." Ignoring Kaylen's snorts of laughter, she buried the box of Christmas decorations under her bed and grabbed her Transfiguration books.

Remus was one of the best students in their year at Transfiguration and Lily was more of a Charms girl. She liked Transfiguration; she just didn't understand the technicalities of it. Remus had offered to tutor her a few times a week until she got the hang of the subject. He was sitting at their regular table in the library when she arrived, already going over some notes.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, sliding into the chair across from him. "Kaylen and I were hanging decorations up in our room."

"You're not late," he said, looking up from his books and smiling. "I just decided to get in some extra study time. I could use it right about now."

"Why? What's going on?" Lily asked, opening her books.

"Just a lot going on in my life right now," Remus replied, looking rather distant. "There's been a lot on my mind these past few weeks."

"I know the feeling," Lily replied absentmindedly. She began searching through her notes, not noticing that Remus was staring at her. When she looked up, he had turned back to his books. Sensing that something was going on, she wished that he would just come out and tell her because she hated all the sneaking around.

"Where did we leave off last time?" he asked, flipping through his notes.

"You're asking me?" Lily asked incredulously. "I don't even understand the subject; how am I supposed to remember where we left off?"

Remus stopped looking through his notes and smiled softly at Lily. Immediately her heart began to race. "Would you like to go out one night?" he asked her.

"Um, I guess so," she replied, her mind reeling.

"Good," he said, going back to his notes. "Maybe we can go together for the next Hogsmeade trip."

It was on the tip of Lily's tongue to tell him that she had already made plans to go with Kaylen, but she dashed those thoughts and enjoyed the rest of their study session, wondering how Remus could seem so calm. Lily was ready to burst. When the session was over, Lily bid Remus a quick goodbye, promising to make plans with him soon on the next trip to Hogsmeade, and hurried back to her dorm where Kaylen was dancing around the room with Brianna, Christmas music blaring from invisible speakers on the wall.

"He asked me out!" Lily cried, throwing herself down on her bed. She buried her face in her pillow and stifled a cry of happiness. She felt two weights pounce on the bed beside her and heard Kaylen's excited cries.

"I knew it! I knew he liked you!" she exclaimed, shaking Lily's arm. "What exactly did he say? What did you say?"

"He said would I like to go out with him one night and I said um, I guess so," Lily relived. "And that was it. He said maybe we could get together on the next trip to Hogsmeade. I was going to tell him that you and I already had plans," she said hurriedly to Kaylen, "but I knew that you'd get mad at me."

"You're right, I would!" Kaylen replied, shoving Lily slightly. "You go with Remus! I can't wait to see you two together; you're going to be such a cute couple!" Kaylen began to laugh.

"Oh, no," Lily replied, sitting up, almost knocking over Kaylen. "You two are not going to be there with us."

"Of course we're not," Brianna replied soothingly. "We'll just be spying on you two from afar." She exchanged high fives with Kaylen over Lily.

"That's stalking, you know," Lily said.

"Not if you don't get caught," Kaylen replied, tossing a pillow at Lily. "Don't worry; we'll stay out of view. Now, when is the next Hogsmeade trip?"

The next trip to the village was scheduled to be one week before Christmas. Lily spent much of the time before that preparing for her big date. She pondered over clothing and makeup with Brianna and Kaylen, trying to decide on one outfit. As the date of the trip loomed closer, Lily found herself being shot down more and more by James Potter. Instead of the kidding comments he always threw her way, she found herself the victim of cruel and heartless slanders being tossed her way.

"What is the matter with him?" she asked Remus one afternoon in the library. "He always insults me but it's always been in a kidding matter. Now he's being downright hurtful and rude."

"Don't worry; he's mad at me, too," Remus replied darkly.

"Why?"

"Better not to know," Remus said, sitting up straighter and smiling. "Just don't worry. James is a big baby when he doesn't get his way and he'll get over it." He began to go over his notes again, leaving Lily in complete and utter confusion. What did James want to be his way? Why was he so upset? Why was he so angry towards the two of them? Did it have something to do with Remus asking her out?