Jealousy bites James
Exactly, why did she say that? Was Professor Sinclair actually the best thing that happened to her since the last day of vacation? Lily was staring at the canopy of her four-poster bed in the dormitory. She couldn't sleep, thinking all the while of the way the teacher did to earn the respect of her students.
With a smile, she rolled over. Of course, she was pleased. Now, at least if Black or that idiot Potter wanted to play tricks on her, she got a teacher to tell their deed to. She could tell by the look of Black's face that afternoon that he was frightened by the professor.
Feeling safe, Lily rolled on her stomach to catch some sleep.
"Great. Just great." Sirius muttered sullenly under his breath. It was weekend and what was supposed to be a clear and sunny sky was pouring and sodden. Highly unfit for Quidditch which was what they were planning to do that Saturday. Behind him, Peter let out a silent sigh of relief, thinking that he was spared from being off the ground for now.
James, as sullen as Sirius was, began furiously messing up his hair. "Are we allowed to have a break form our studies? Damn it! Just as I was looking forward to relaxing myself." He was kicking the unsuspecting stone wall to vent out his frustration.
The first week was hell. Almost every teacher gave them homework for the weekend. And now, as if the sky wanted them to do nothing but study inside the dreary halls.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Peter quipped quite cheerfully.
"I don't know. The rain is heavy. Want to go to for a Butterbeer?" Sirius asked Remus, but not quite hopeful since he knew what he was going o answer.
Remus heaved a sigh. "Just buy me one. I'm going to finish homework." He said without interest.
"What? Study? We've been studying for a whole week now! Doing nothing else but eat, sleep and more studying. Give it a break, Moony." James nudged the other, disappointed from what he said.
"Nah. I'm sorry. But go ahead, enjoy yourselves. I'm prepared to face the books until I'm all shriveled up and my brain looks worse than a raisin." He kidded, but seeing their horrified faces, he said quickly: "I was only kidding, for goodness' sake! Go on, I'll be fine. Prefect's responsibilities." He assured them and shooed them to the statue of a witch that was beside them. It was an entrance leading to the Hogsmeade, the only existing complete Wizard settlement in Britain.
"Aw, Moony. You're no fun!" James bawled childishly as he squeezed himself behind the witch.
"You'll end up Head Boy if you're always like that." Sirius added distastefully. He shuddered comically then disappeared in the passage. The witch moved to its original place and left only Remus at the corridor.
Remus trudged slowly to the library. Being a Prefect sucked, though he did not want to admit it to many people. Maybe he'd only act his part.
He took out of his pocket his list of homework and began searching in the vast collection of the Library the books he wanted, sighing as he went along. But as he reached the Defense against the Dark Arts section, he saw the short stature of Lily Evans.
She was jumping for a book out of her reach, being quite short. At one attempt, she almost moved the book out of its place. But still it remained there. She stuck her tongue out as she made her best attempt on tiptoes to reach the book.
"Need any help again, Evans?" Remus spoke helpfully which only startled Lily and gave a little shout.
And in an instant, Madame Pince was there swooping down like a vulture around its meal. "What's the noise all about?" she demanded sharply, peering at the both of them with narrowed eyes.
"I. ah. uh." Remus stuttered nervously, running in his mind that he was supposed to be a Prefect, for goodness' sake! He should say something!
"I. I saw a spider Ma'am. From the shelf."." Lily quipped from behind him, though awfully lame her excuse was. When she saw the eyes slit more, she added "A big one, and hairy. Gave me a fright. But I'm alright. It's nothing." She laughed weakly to add credibility to what she said.
Madame Pince shuffled towards them and looked at her precious books then back at them. Fortunately, the librarian stalked away muttering awfully like "If I caught you again making noise, I'll."
Both of them sighed in chorus. At least the worst was over.
"Need any help?" Remus asked again to Lily as soon that the nuisance was out of earshot.
"Wha-oh yeah. That book. To the right." Lily pointed as he reached effortlessly for the heavy book. "Gee, thanks. Sorry if I bothered you"
"I don't mind. More books?" he said.
She shook her head. "Those will be fine." She replied, pointing to a large stack of books to a nearby table.
"Why all those books?" Remus was surprised himself at the number of books in the pile, all about DADA.
"Well, I'm quite poor at hexes so I want to catch up with extra reading." She answered as she opened the books one by one and leafed for her topic. "And I'm stuck with the new lesson. Don't you have anything to do?" When he shook his head, she beamed. "That's good. Can you help me? I'll plead nicely if you want." She added, which caused him to smile back at her.
"Sure. Mmm. ! Tadaah!" He finished happily and waved the exercises at her face.
"That's weird. It takes me 10 minutes to finish an exercise like that." She peered up to his eyes with a frown on her brow. "You sure you're human?" she told him.
Remus, at this question, backed away for a bit, fearing that she might suspect something or was already suspecting something about his identity at the sound of her question, thinking that she was serious all the while.
"Just kidding." She laughed softly at his face then leaned at her own seat. Her smile brought relief to him that she knew nothing.yet. "Can you do some of these?" she asked as she submerged herself into reading one book, glancing all the while at his solution. "I'll make a bargain. Teach me these hexes, I'll answer one of yours. What's your weak spot?
He flashed a one sided smile at her "Potions. You're awfully good there in exception to Charms, I've seen you do them. Not one potion imperfect. I tend to get shakes when I cook my brew. And I forget sometimes what I have to add."
"Want help for your essay? I could do it. Just teach me. It's a bargain." she offered while nudging him with her elbow.
"Ok." He flipped open the book she gave him. As he opened the book, he nearly laughed. The title read: How to Spot Werewolves correctly.
"Oh! Sorry! Wrong book." She shoved a heavier book at him and beamed again at him. After doing the draft for the Potions essay, she stuck the quill back on her ink bottle and stared pensively at the draft.
"Did you notice by anyway," she started and looked at him with a smile "that your first and last name have actually something in common?"
"No. Why?" he replied briefly and off-handedly.
"They are connected to the wolf." She said with interest and Remus suddenly glared at her.
"How's that?" he asked, now suspicious of what she knew.
"I'm not really saying that you are some crook, like a wolf is. But Remus is the name of one of the founders of Rome alongside with his twin Romulus. Myth has it that they were suckled as infants by a female wolf. The Canis Lupus is the Latin name for the feral wolf. Weird, isn't it?" she lightly added and resumed to add more sentences to the draft.
"You read too much." Lupin drawled and shook his head. She knew nothing, of course.
"But if you were a wolf, I'd still like to befriend you. You seem a nice sort of guy." She patted him then continued on with her work.
"You read waaay too much. But thanks for the compliment." He flashed his wry smile at her. One more small hint that he was a werewolf, she would figure out about that.
"Finished!" Lily gleefully smiled as she finished the draft of his Potions essay.
He looked at the parchment she was waving and he couldn't help but smile again. It was longer than what he expected and he could tell she really put something in it. She was a very nice and friendly after all, unlike what James or Sirius or Peter would say about her. "That's kind of you. Say, why won't you teach me some Potions stuff in the common room after dinner so at least I'd fare better?"
She scrunched her forehead and pouted a little but then she nodded her yes. "I'd teach you Potions, you teach me Defense. Deal?" she bargained again.
He sighed happily inwardly. He'd pass the OWLS after all. That was some relief.
"But why won't you ask Potter or Black instead of me? You're closer to them than me." She wondered aloud.
"James and Sirius are always up to something every night. Up to some mischief." He admitted to her.
"I see." She nodded thoughtfully. "Sometimes I wonder why those two always stick together. They are frightfully alike and inseparable. Like two peas in a pod and two halves of a fruit."
"I suppose they knew each other already before they went in here. You know, the old wizarding family stuff. They are tightly knit. Most especially Sirius's." he explained after some time.
"Yes. Black is already an ancient house. But it surprises me how he didn't end up in Slytherin." She added.
"No way! Sirius hates the Dark Arts to the extent he almost hates his family who support the Dark Arts. James hates that as much -no! More than Sirius does." He told her quickly. "That's why James hates Snape also."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought he just hates Snape's hair. Unlike his, Snape's hair hangs down on his face all the time. Kind of reminds me of rags oftentimes." She laughed softly.
Lupin laughed with her too. She was really nice. Somehow he'd like her to be his younger sister in some sort of way. After all, he didn't have any siblings too. If he had a sister, she and Lily would go along well, just as she with him. Lucky for James if he will ever have her as a girlfriend. But he knew that Lily would like someone settled down, not adventurous, someone ummm. placid. Very placid. James was the exact opposite of what he thinks she'd like.
"What do you say if I call you with your first name. Is it all right to you?" Remus asked her.
She was packing her things as he said this. But she nodded quickly and held out her hand. "Want to go to Lunch? I bet you're hungry." She invited him warmly.
Remus could tell they would be very close friends. But inside he hoped that she wouldn't draw away from him if she knew he was half-wolf.
It was already night when James, Sirius and Peter returned to the school. Luckily they were not missed. While walking, James struck his head with his hand.
"What is it?" Sirius asked him.
"I forgot to bring Remus a Butterbeer." He kept slapping his forehead.
"He'd understand, James. Stop doing that with your head. You look ridiculous. I'm starving. Want dinner at the hall?" Sirius said.
"I guess not. Go and have dinner. I have to change my socks. They're soaking wet." James showed his sodden foot.
With a shrug, Peter and Sirius went to the Great Hall for their dinner.
In reality, James only wanted to see if Lily was in the common room. Why did he want to? He did not really know himself. But as he entered, he saw her copper head near the fireplace instantly but it was bent with another head also bent close beside it. He frowned deeply and strode to the brown head. He cleared his throat aloud and to his surprise, it was Remus who was sitting beside Lily. Beside Lily, For god's sake!
"Hey, James." He greeted him warmly.
With the name James, Lily's back stiffened instantly and shut her eyes. It wasn't Potter, she hoped. She wished it was another James. But not James Potter.
But it was. "Remus? What are you doing with that girl?" he pointed out to her as if she was another piece of furniture or pet.
"She's teaching me Potions. Want to join us?" Remus asked him lightly.
James laughed out. "With her? With a girl?" he drawled in a mock disgust tone.
Lily thought viciously 'James Potter is undoubtedly the biggest Male Chauvinist with the capital letters M and C and the article THE.' She snapped at him. "What do you want, anyway?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He said with a big grin plastered on his face which only succeeded to irritate her further. But he wanted to be beside her instead of Remus. And why was he acting so stupidly to anger her more?
She rolled her eyes upward. "Yeah right.' She spat and strode away with her noted haphazardly crammed in her Potions book. "Tomorrow night again, Remus?"
James felt stabbed in the chest. Remus? So they were already in first name basis? And tomorrow night? Again? It was more than he could stand. But he kept silent.
"Yeah. Night, Lily." Remus replied and looked at his notes taking no notice of James.
James was more than flabbergasted. Trauma was more likely. His jaw was hanging to the extent that it was almost unhinged. He didn't realize that Remus was already waving his hand up and down in front of him.
"James? You in there, James? Hello." Remus said to him. Maybe it was a bad idea to let Lily teach him Potions, considering that he liked her a lot but did the opposite when she was around. But they had a bargain and she would be mad towards him. And Lily was frightening if you were here enemy. She could have the sharpest tongue in the whole school, Remus remembered the way she humiliated James earlier that week. Heaven forbid.
Sirius entered followed by Peter. They caught sight of the dumbstruck James Potter. "What happened?" Peter asked.
Remus shrugged. "Shock?" he suggested but was sure it was the answer.
"Remus!" Lily waved enthusiastically to her now best friend. More than best friends since they treated each other more like siblings. It was already some months after they began the bargain. She was glad that they did make a bargain. OWL preparations were so hard that they had to do extra studying. And if he did not teach her Defense, she was sure her grade was now below passing.
Professor Sinclair's lessons were fascinating and practical. And definitely horrifying. Especially the curses. Every curse she introduces to them would bound to mutilate, bring eventual death or something of the like. She performs them to grotesquely enlarged slugs. All of the slugs were dead by the end of the lesson. But the most frightening ones that she performed lately were bound to leave the slugs in a most horrible state worse than dead. They were alive-ish. Lily wouldn't dream of them being performed to humans. Many of her students began having nightmares of dying slugs. And those who went to Hogsmeade did not dare to eat Jelly Slugs. And if they did see a lower year eating one, they would be dreadfully hysteric. But Professor Sinclair fortunately did not perform any of the curses to the students, maybe only mild hexes. They knew they were in for a curse when they see her with a bottle of slugs on the table. As for the counter-curses, she performed them with astounding ease. But when it was their turn to perform, almost all of them would fail. Sirius, Remus and James were the only ones who could perform them only after several trials. Professor Sinclair was right. It was harder to maintain a grade than to gain it. With Remus' help, Lily managed to do the counter- curses.
Remus was beside her in a moment. It was a chilly October afternoon and the leaves were beginning to shed their leaves. They sat in a large maple tree near the lake where almost no one was around.
"Are you ok? You seemed out of it today. And you look awful." She said with concern in her voice.
He smiled weakly. It was nearly full moon, since the end of the month was nearing. He did look horrible. "No. I'm all right. Mum's not. She's having a sick spell again. I think I have to leave again for some time to be with her." He lied to her. He hated lying to her but it was better for her not to know
She said nothing. She was suspicious and worried about his monthly absences. "Are you going to be gone for long again?" she asked.
"Maybe a week or so." He replied. He was flipping his Defense book with a red and green bookmark so he'd know where they did stop the evening before.
"Is Potter still cold towards you?" she asked quietly then chewed her lower lip. James was cold towards Lupin since the bargain began, so they seemed to be only acquaintances rather than the close friends they were before. He was sad about it and she was really guilty at how their friendship was ruined. "I still don't know why he's cold towards you. Is it me?" she bit her lip sharply.
"Yes and no. Yes he's cold but no. Not because of you. I told you a thousand times before. Don't be too guilty about it all right? " He patted her back.
She felt better and smiled then leaned on his shoulder momentarily. She opened her own Potions book and was about to instruct Remus when James arrived beside her.
They had become sharp enemies, Lily and he. They occasionally had a verbal fight but he did not lift a finger against her nor against Lupin who stood quietly aside as they fought. But still Lily was afraid. He had a habit of hexing and jinxing anyone who displeases him. And she did not want to receive his hexes though she knew some counters.
James had some strange feeling each time he saw she and Remus together. It wanted him to be bitter towards Lupin. But it wasn't Remus' fault, so he contented himself on being cold towards him. He raised his eyebrow to her through his eyeglasses. "Getting sweet, aren't we Evans?"
"Stop sticking your nose into our business, Potter. And leave us alone!" She retorted.
"Unfortunately, you cant do anything about it. It just strikes me how sweet you two can be. I know you only stick to him so that I'd be jealous and I'd be groveling for you since it is me you really want to have your first kiss." James said. But inside he was beating himself up. Why did he say that? It was so stupid. Why? That was so insanely and fucking idiotic.
"How dare you assume-" she muttered under her breath. She curled her hands into fists. She had an adequate reason to slap him soundly again. "You think you are so all mighty and powerful and every girl wants you badly. I'll tell you what, Potter," she spat bitterly "I am not the bitchy slut you think of me and I will kiss whomever I want to." And in her anger, she did what no one thought she would do.
Lily Evans kissed Remus Lupin in front of James Potter.
It wasn't really a kiss but a mere three-second meeting of closed lips. Nothing more than that. No passion or anything. Just like that, as if they were actors in a play and the director required them to kiss. So it was not a kiss. But she made it look that it was the real thing. Remus was too shocked to react. But he knew that she did it only as revenge and she was forced to do it. So he didn't draw away.
But the kiss had a certain effect on James. It was a severe blow to him. Now he was so jealous of Remus. The air inside his stomach was punched out and his chest tightened at the sight of the two of them sharing a kiss and there was something inside of him that kept clawing painfully. It hurt, for short.
Lily, realizing what she did, broke into a run towards the school. It also hurt her. No matter what he said, it so ever so strangely hurt her inwardly too. Remus soon caught up with her.
She was looking at her feet and her cheeks burning in shame. She didn't want to face him nor James. "I'm so sorry Remus.I didn't.not actually." she stammered nervously.
Remus placed a hand on her shoulder so that she stopped speaking and walking. "Listen Lily. I know you did it out of revenge. I swear that I would forget about it and if I do remember it, treat it as an accident or a friendly kiss of siblings. Nothing more. Now, breathe deeply and don't cry!" he almost laughed softly as she began crying "for goodness' sake! You look all red and splotchy in a funny sort of way."
Though in tears, she managed to smile back at him and whispered "Thank you." And she held the hand on her shoulder in her own, tears flowing still.
After that, Remus and James seemed more distant than ever. Lily was saddened. She wanted to bring them back as the close friends they once were. Sirius still spoke to Remus in a friendly way but Peter did not. Sirius treated her coldly too, James and Peter more. For Lily's sake, Remus did not mind it too much, instead he was more fond of her.
One morning, Remus woke up earlier than usual. Something bothered him. So he took a bath and dressed then walked to the Great Hall. No one was up yet. But there were voices as he went nearer. The Head Boy and Girl, the faculty and the headmaster surrounded Peeves. One of the glass of the giant windows was turned into fine powder which was scattered thoroughly in the hall. He asked the Head Girl what happened.
"Didn't you hear? Peeves saw another ghost, a woman, walking in here. He thought it was a student first but it kept walking and walking towards the window and as she touched it, it turned into dust then a wind scattered the dust. When the wind died, she was gone." She replied. This was very weird since all ghosts that were in the school were not at all that violent, in exception of course of the said poltergeist.
A wind blew mildly from the window and sent shivers down his spine. Then suddenly the image of Professor Sinclair came in mind. Why? He did not know. Maybe she would be able to explain something about what happened. He scanned his surroundings for her but she wasn't to be found. A voice in his head said that she might be involved in this. Might be, he thought to himself.
"Peeves, what did she look like? The ghost?" he asked the smugly smiling poltergeist, as if pleased by the attention he got.
"Oh her? She was very beautiful, that lady. With her long hair trailing down to her waist." He replied.
Remus dismissed his thoughts of the professor being involved. She did not have long hair, but quite the opposite. It would be fairly impossible to have someone grow hair in a span of a few hours. What was he thinking! He scolded himself. He checked his watch and saw the date. It was the eve of All Souls' Day.
In short, Holloween.
Exactly, why did she say that? Was Professor Sinclair actually the best thing that happened to her since the last day of vacation? Lily was staring at the canopy of her four-poster bed in the dormitory. She couldn't sleep, thinking all the while of the way the teacher did to earn the respect of her students.
With a smile, she rolled over. Of course, she was pleased. Now, at least if Black or that idiot Potter wanted to play tricks on her, she got a teacher to tell their deed to. She could tell by the look of Black's face that afternoon that he was frightened by the professor.
Feeling safe, Lily rolled on her stomach to catch some sleep.
"Great. Just great." Sirius muttered sullenly under his breath. It was weekend and what was supposed to be a clear and sunny sky was pouring and sodden. Highly unfit for Quidditch which was what they were planning to do that Saturday. Behind him, Peter let out a silent sigh of relief, thinking that he was spared from being off the ground for now.
James, as sullen as Sirius was, began furiously messing up his hair. "Are we allowed to have a break form our studies? Damn it! Just as I was looking forward to relaxing myself." He was kicking the unsuspecting stone wall to vent out his frustration.
The first week was hell. Almost every teacher gave them homework for the weekend. And now, as if the sky wanted them to do nothing but study inside the dreary halls.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Peter quipped quite cheerfully.
"I don't know. The rain is heavy. Want to go to for a Butterbeer?" Sirius asked Remus, but not quite hopeful since he knew what he was going o answer.
Remus heaved a sigh. "Just buy me one. I'm going to finish homework." He said without interest.
"What? Study? We've been studying for a whole week now! Doing nothing else but eat, sleep and more studying. Give it a break, Moony." James nudged the other, disappointed from what he said.
"Nah. I'm sorry. But go ahead, enjoy yourselves. I'm prepared to face the books until I'm all shriveled up and my brain looks worse than a raisin." He kidded, but seeing their horrified faces, he said quickly: "I was only kidding, for goodness' sake! Go on, I'll be fine. Prefect's responsibilities." He assured them and shooed them to the statue of a witch that was beside them. It was an entrance leading to the Hogsmeade, the only existing complete Wizard settlement in Britain.
"Aw, Moony. You're no fun!" James bawled childishly as he squeezed himself behind the witch.
"You'll end up Head Boy if you're always like that." Sirius added distastefully. He shuddered comically then disappeared in the passage. The witch moved to its original place and left only Remus at the corridor.
Remus trudged slowly to the library. Being a Prefect sucked, though he did not want to admit it to many people. Maybe he'd only act his part.
He took out of his pocket his list of homework and began searching in the vast collection of the Library the books he wanted, sighing as he went along. But as he reached the Defense against the Dark Arts section, he saw the short stature of Lily Evans.
She was jumping for a book out of her reach, being quite short. At one attempt, she almost moved the book out of its place. But still it remained there. She stuck her tongue out as she made her best attempt on tiptoes to reach the book.
"Need any help again, Evans?" Remus spoke helpfully which only startled Lily and gave a little shout.
And in an instant, Madame Pince was there swooping down like a vulture around its meal. "What's the noise all about?" she demanded sharply, peering at the both of them with narrowed eyes.
"I. ah. uh." Remus stuttered nervously, running in his mind that he was supposed to be a Prefect, for goodness' sake! He should say something!
"I. I saw a spider Ma'am. From the shelf."." Lily quipped from behind him, though awfully lame her excuse was. When she saw the eyes slit more, she added "A big one, and hairy. Gave me a fright. But I'm alright. It's nothing." She laughed weakly to add credibility to what she said.
Madame Pince shuffled towards them and looked at her precious books then back at them. Fortunately, the librarian stalked away muttering awfully like "If I caught you again making noise, I'll."
Both of them sighed in chorus. At least the worst was over.
"Need any help?" Remus asked again to Lily as soon that the nuisance was out of earshot.
"Wha-oh yeah. That book. To the right." Lily pointed as he reached effortlessly for the heavy book. "Gee, thanks. Sorry if I bothered you"
"I don't mind. More books?" he said.
She shook her head. "Those will be fine." She replied, pointing to a large stack of books to a nearby table.
"Why all those books?" Remus was surprised himself at the number of books in the pile, all about DADA.
"Well, I'm quite poor at hexes so I want to catch up with extra reading." She answered as she opened the books one by one and leafed for her topic. "And I'm stuck with the new lesson. Don't you have anything to do?" When he shook his head, she beamed. "That's good. Can you help me? I'll plead nicely if you want." She added, which caused him to smile back at her.
"Sure. Mmm. ! Tadaah!" He finished happily and waved the exercises at her face.
"That's weird. It takes me 10 minutes to finish an exercise like that." She peered up to his eyes with a frown on her brow. "You sure you're human?" she told him.
Remus, at this question, backed away for a bit, fearing that she might suspect something or was already suspecting something about his identity at the sound of her question, thinking that she was serious all the while.
"Just kidding." She laughed softly at his face then leaned at her own seat. Her smile brought relief to him that she knew nothing.yet. "Can you do some of these?" she asked as she submerged herself into reading one book, glancing all the while at his solution. "I'll make a bargain. Teach me these hexes, I'll answer one of yours. What's your weak spot?
He flashed a one sided smile at her "Potions. You're awfully good there in exception to Charms, I've seen you do them. Not one potion imperfect. I tend to get shakes when I cook my brew. And I forget sometimes what I have to add."
"Want help for your essay? I could do it. Just teach me. It's a bargain." she offered while nudging him with her elbow.
"Ok." He flipped open the book she gave him. As he opened the book, he nearly laughed. The title read: How to Spot Werewolves correctly.
"Oh! Sorry! Wrong book." She shoved a heavier book at him and beamed again at him. After doing the draft for the Potions essay, she stuck the quill back on her ink bottle and stared pensively at the draft.
"Did you notice by anyway," she started and looked at him with a smile "that your first and last name have actually something in common?"
"No. Why?" he replied briefly and off-handedly.
"They are connected to the wolf." She said with interest and Remus suddenly glared at her.
"How's that?" he asked, now suspicious of what she knew.
"I'm not really saying that you are some crook, like a wolf is. But Remus is the name of one of the founders of Rome alongside with his twin Romulus. Myth has it that they were suckled as infants by a female wolf. The Canis Lupus is the Latin name for the feral wolf. Weird, isn't it?" she lightly added and resumed to add more sentences to the draft.
"You read too much." Lupin drawled and shook his head. She knew nothing, of course.
"But if you were a wolf, I'd still like to befriend you. You seem a nice sort of guy." She patted him then continued on with her work.
"You read waaay too much. But thanks for the compliment." He flashed his wry smile at her. One more small hint that he was a werewolf, she would figure out about that.
"Finished!" Lily gleefully smiled as she finished the draft of his Potions essay.
He looked at the parchment she was waving and he couldn't help but smile again. It was longer than what he expected and he could tell she really put something in it. She was a very nice and friendly after all, unlike what James or Sirius or Peter would say about her. "That's kind of you. Say, why won't you teach me some Potions stuff in the common room after dinner so at least I'd fare better?"
She scrunched her forehead and pouted a little but then she nodded her yes. "I'd teach you Potions, you teach me Defense. Deal?" she bargained again.
He sighed happily inwardly. He'd pass the OWLS after all. That was some relief.
"But why won't you ask Potter or Black instead of me? You're closer to them than me." She wondered aloud.
"James and Sirius are always up to something every night. Up to some mischief." He admitted to her.
"I see." She nodded thoughtfully. "Sometimes I wonder why those two always stick together. They are frightfully alike and inseparable. Like two peas in a pod and two halves of a fruit."
"I suppose they knew each other already before they went in here. You know, the old wizarding family stuff. They are tightly knit. Most especially Sirius's." he explained after some time.
"Yes. Black is already an ancient house. But it surprises me how he didn't end up in Slytherin." She added.
"No way! Sirius hates the Dark Arts to the extent he almost hates his family who support the Dark Arts. James hates that as much -no! More than Sirius does." He told her quickly. "That's why James hates Snape also."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought he just hates Snape's hair. Unlike his, Snape's hair hangs down on his face all the time. Kind of reminds me of rags oftentimes." She laughed softly.
Lupin laughed with her too. She was really nice. Somehow he'd like her to be his younger sister in some sort of way. After all, he didn't have any siblings too. If he had a sister, she and Lily would go along well, just as she with him. Lucky for James if he will ever have her as a girlfriend. But he knew that Lily would like someone settled down, not adventurous, someone ummm. placid. Very placid. James was the exact opposite of what he thinks she'd like.
"What do you say if I call you with your first name. Is it all right to you?" Remus asked her.
She was packing her things as he said this. But she nodded quickly and held out her hand. "Want to go to Lunch? I bet you're hungry." She invited him warmly.
Remus could tell they would be very close friends. But inside he hoped that she wouldn't draw away from him if she knew he was half-wolf.
It was already night when James, Sirius and Peter returned to the school. Luckily they were not missed. While walking, James struck his head with his hand.
"What is it?" Sirius asked him.
"I forgot to bring Remus a Butterbeer." He kept slapping his forehead.
"He'd understand, James. Stop doing that with your head. You look ridiculous. I'm starving. Want dinner at the hall?" Sirius said.
"I guess not. Go and have dinner. I have to change my socks. They're soaking wet." James showed his sodden foot.
With a shrug, Peter and Sirius went to the Great Hall for their dinner.
In reality, James only wanted to see if Lily was in the common room. Why did he want to? He did not really know himself. But as he entered, he saw her copper head near the fireplace instantly but it was bent with another head also bent close beside it. He frowned deeply and strode to the brown head. He cleared his throat aloud and to his surprise, it was Remus who was sitting beside Lily. Beside Lily, For god's sake!
"Hey, James." He greeted him warmly.
With the name James, Lily's back stiffened instantly and shut her eyes. It wasn't Potter, she hoped. She wished it was another James. But not James Potter.
But it was. "Remus? What are you doing with that girl?" he pointed out to her as if she was another piece of furniture or pet.
"She's teaching me Potions. Want to join us?" Remus asked him lightly.
James laughed out. "With her? With a girl?" he drawled in a mock disgust tone.
Lily thought viciously 'James Potter is undoubtedly the biggest Male Chauvinist with the capital letters M and C and the article THE.' She snapped at him. "What do you want, anyway?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He said with a big grin plastered on his face which only succeeded to irritate her further. But he wanted to be beside her instead of Remus. And why was he acting so stupidly to anger her more?
She rolled her eyes upward. "Yeah right.' She spat and strode away with her noted haphazardly crammed in her Potions book. "Tomorrow night again, Remus?"
James felt stabbed in the chest. Remus? So they were already in first name basis? And tomorrow night? Again? It was more than he could stand. But he kept silent.
"Yeah. Night, Lily." Remus replied and looked at his notes taking no notice of James.
James was more than flabbergasted. Trauma was more likely. His jaw was hanging to the extent that it was almost unhinged. He didn't realize that Remus was already waving his hand up and down in front of him.
"James? You in there, James? Hello." Remus said to him. Maybe it was a bad idea to let Lily teach him Potions, considering that he liked her a lot but did the opposite when she was around. But they had a bargain and she would be mad towards him. And Lily was frightening if you were here enemy. She could have the sharpest tongue in the whole school, Remus remembered the way she humiliated James earlier that week. Heaven forbid.
Sirius entered followed by Peter. They caught sight of the dumbstruck James Potter. "What happened?" Peter asked.
Remus shrugged. "Shock?" he suggested but was sure it was the answer.
"Remus!" Lily waved enthusiastically to her now best friend. More than best friends since they treated each other more like siblings. It was already some months after they began the bargain. She was glad that they did make a bargain. OWL preparations were so hard that they had to do extra studying. And if he did not teach her Defense, she was sure her grade was now below passing.
Professor Sinclair's lessons were fascinating and practical. And definitely horrifying. Especially the curses. Every curse she introduces to them would bound to mutilate, bring eventual death or something of the like. She performs them to grotesquely enlarged slugs. All of the slugs were dead by the end of the lesson. But the most frightening ones that she performed lately were bound to leave the slugs in a most horrible state worse than dead. They were alive-ish. Lily wouldn't dream of them being performed to humans. Many of her students began having nightmares of dying slugs. And those who went to Hogsmeade did not dare to eat Jelly Slugs. And if they did see a lower year eating one, they would be dreadfully hysteric. But Professor Sinclair fortunately did not perform any of the curses to the students, maybe only mild hexes. They knew they were in for a curse when they see her with a bottle of slugs on the table. As for the counter-curses, she performed them with astounding ease. But when it was their turn to perform, almost all of them would fail. Sirius, Remus and James were the only ones who could perform them only after several trials. Professor Sinclair was right. It was harder to maintain a grade than to gain it. With Remus' help, Lily managed to do the counter- curses.
Remus was beside her in a moment. It was a chilly October afternoon and the leaves were beginning to shed their leaves. They sat in a large maple tree near the lake where almost no one was around.
"Are you ok? You seemed out of it today. And you look awful." She said with concern in her voice.
He smiled weakly. It was nearly full moon, since the end of the month was nearing. He did look horrible. "No. I'm all right. Mum's not. She's having a sick spell again. I think I have to leave again for some time to be with her." He lied to her. He hated lying to her but it was better for her not to know
She said nothing. She was suspicious and worried about his monthly absences. "Are you going to be gone for long again?" she asked.
"Maybe a week or so." He replied. He was flipping his Defense book with a red and green bookmark so he'd know where they did stop the evening before.
"Is Potter still cold towards you?" she asked quietly then chewed her lower lip. James was cold towards Lupin since the bargain began, so they seemed to be only acquaintances rather than the close friends they were before. He was sad about it and she was really guilty at how their friendship was ruined. "I still don't know why he's cold towards you. Is it me?" she bit her lip sharply.
"Yes and no. Yes he's cold but no. Not because of you. I told you a thousand times before. Don't be too guilty about it all right? " He patted her back.
She felt better and smiled then leaned on his shoulder momentarily. She opened her own Potions book and was about to instruct Remus when James arrived beside her.
They had become sharp enemies, Lily and he. They occasionally had a verbal fight but he did not lift a finger against her nor against Lupin who stood quietly aside as they fought. But still Lily was afraid. He had a habit of hexing and jinxing anyone who displeases him. And she did not want to receive his hexes though she knew some counters.
James had some strange feeling each time he saw she and Remus together. It wanted him to be bitter towards Lupin. But it wasn't Remus' fault, so he contented himself on being cold towards him. He raised his eyebrow to her through his eyeglasses. "Getting sweet, aren't we Evans?"
"Stop sticking your nose into our business, Potter. And leave us alone!" She retorted.
"Unfortunately, you cant do anything about it. It just strikes me how sweet you two can be. I know you only stick to him so that I'd be jealous and I'd be groveling for you since it is me you really want to have your first kiss." James said. But inside he was beating himself up. Why did he say that? It was so stupid. Why? That was so insanely and fucking idiotic.
"How dare you assume-" she muttered under her breath. She curled her hands into fists. She had an adequate reason to slap him soundly again. "You think you are so all mighty and powerful and every girl wants you badly. I'll tell you what, Potter," she spat bitterly "I am not the bitchy slut you think of me and I will kiss whomever I want to." And in her anger, she did what no one thought she would do.
Lily Evans kissed Remus Lupin in front of James Potter.
It wasn't really a kiss but a mere three-second meeting of closed lips. Nothing more than that. No passion or anything. Just like that, as if they were actors in a play and the director required them to kiss. So it was not a kiss. But she made it look that it was the real thing. Remus was too shocked to react. But he knew that she did it only as revenge and she was forced to do it. So he didn't draw away.
But the kiss had a certain effect on James. It was a severe blow to him. Now he was so jealous of Remus. The air inside his stomach was punched out and his chest tightened at the sight of the two of them sharing a kiss and there was something inside of him that kept clawing painfully. It hurt, for short.
Lily, realizing what she did, broke into a run towards the school. It also hurt her. No matter what he said, it so ever so strangely hurt her inwardly too. Remus soon caught up with her.
She was looking at her feet and her cheeks burning in shame. She didn't want to face him nor James. "I'm so sorry Remus.I didn't.not actually." she stammered nervously.
Remus placed a hand on her shoulder so that she stopped speaking and walking. "Listen Lily. I know you did it out of revenge. I swear that I would forget about it and if I do remember it, treat it as an accident or a friendly kiss of siblings. Nothing more. Now, breathe deeply and don't cry!" he almost laughed softly as she began crying "for goodness' sake! You look all red and splotchy in a funny sort of way."
Though in tears, she managed to smile back at him and whispered "Thank you." And she held the hand on her shoulder in her own, tears flowing still.
After that, Remus and James seemed more distant than ever. Lily was saddened. She wanted to bring them back as the close friends they once were. Sirius still spoke to Remus in a friendly way but Peter did not. Sirius treated her coldly too, James and Peter more. For Lily's sake, Remus did not mind it too much, instead he was more fond of her.
One morning, Remus woke up earlier than usual. Something bothered him. So he took a bath and dressed then walked to the Great Hall. No one was up yet. But there were voices as he went nearer. The Head Boy and Girl, the faculty and the headmaster surrounded Peeves. One of the glass of the giant windows was turned into fine powder which was scattered thoroughly in the hall. He asked the Head Girl what happened.
"Didn't you hear? Peeves saw another ghost, a woman, walking in here. He thought it was a student first but it kept walking and walking towards the window and as she touched it, it turned into dust then a wind scattered the dust. When the wind died, she was gone." She replied. This was very weird since all ghosts that were in the school were not at all that violent, in exception of course of the said poltergeist.
A wind blew mildly from the window and sent shivers down his spine. Then suddenly the image of Professor Sinclair came in mind. Why? He did not know. Maybe she would be able to explain something about what happened. He scanned his surroundings for her but she wasn't to be found. A voice in his head said that she might be involved in this. Might be, he thought to himself.
"Peeves, what did she look like? The ghost?" he asked the smugly smiling poltergeist, as if pleased by the attention he got.
"Oh her? She was very beautiful, that lady. With her long hair trailing down to her waist." He replied.
Remus dismissed his thoughts of the professor being involved. She did not have long hair, but quite the opposite. It would be fairly impossible to have someone grow hair in a span of a few hours. What was he thinking! He scolded himself. He checked his watch and saw the date. It was the eve of All Souls' Day.
In short, Holloween.