Author's Note: Hullo, loves. I'm gonna try my hardest to incorporate some
English slang in here. The limited that I know, anyway. I'll post a mini-
dictionary at the end of the chapter. This is the middle of fourth year,
just to check up on Remus and Lily. 1974, if you care. The next chapter
will check on the three remaining Marauders.
Remus made an effort to keep his strides short when he walked along beside Lily. This walking with Lily business happened quite frequently, whether Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail were aware of it or not. Both of them had grown considerably. Remus was becoming one of the most charming boys in the school with his romantic nature, big band music, and the pictures he drew sometimes, focusing only on one part of a girl's face at a time. He had been wanting to start a collection of male versions of the lips, noses, eyes, ears, and chins. Of course, Sirius and James had accused him of being an arse-bandit and a bender, respectively. If James ever found out that the eyes he said he'd like to fill with some sort of "crazy lust or something" belonged to Emily Tuck, one of the most plain, homely girl in the school, Remus was sure he'd be dead.
Lily had also grown into her skin. She had stretched out nicely in places the Marauders always took care not to discuss when they pointed out all her bad points, as the conversation might twist comfortably to her good bits. Her skin was clear and pale, her hair still long, red, and straight. There was an almost angry confidence in her eyes, in the way her mouth was set. There was a definite sense of satisfaction when she smirked at besting James or Sirius at something and a look of maternal patience when Peter ever approached to ask for help on his Defence Against the Dark Arts homework. Always he came to her with the same explanation, "They won't help me unless I pay them. And Remus is...ill." She often wondered about Remus' illness or his mother's. She had never pressed the subject, knowing it might be sensitive.
At this particular point in time, he walked beside her with his sandy blonde hair tied back in a nice red ribbon at the base of his neck. His eyes were misted with worry and his forehead was wrinkled with something that resembled indecision. "Lily, I have to tell you something."
Lily nodded. "Sure, Remus. Anything." She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans. The farther in she pushed her hands, the more they pushed up the black sleeves of her sweater. It was quite a compromise for her wrists if you can imagine and she soon became frustrated and merely crossed her arms, curling her hands to tuck them under the opposite arms.
"Well, its a rather big something," Remus began. He scratched his nose and bit his lip, taking in deep breaths and sighing them out. With each sigh, the air in front of his face became a fog and his words were visibly heavy, but strained.
"Big somethings are more fun to let loose than little somethings," Lily commented. Now here was a sight. Remus Joseph Lupin at a loss for words. Interesting. He was either going to tell her that his mother had passed away or that he was, for some incredibly strange reason, captivated by her. She kept her face sober, knowing the second conclusion she'd come to was highly improbable.
"Lily, there's something wrong with me." He raised a hand when she began to protest. "No. Just let me get it all out. Lily, I was bitten by something when I was a child, no more than five or six. I was in the forest behind my house playing hide-and-seek with my little brother Rommy. He hid up a tree near the house and said he had his eyes closed so he wouldn't see me coming and start getting nervous. And I felt something grab me and it scratched hard on my back and I almost screamed, but whatever it was covered my mouth and bit my shoulder hard. Then it let go of me and ran. I started screaming and running and crying. Romulus got down out of his tree and followed me into the house. My mother worried and fretted over me for weeks. They found out the next month that, though I was small, I was capable of severe damage. My mother took Romulus out of the house and my father had to tie me down. Lily, I'm a werewolf." He glanced anxiously at her and she stopped in her tracks. He swallowed, quite afraid that she might scream and run. He gave a large sigh of relief when all she did was reach out and hug him.
"Remus, I'm so sorry that happened to you. You know I wouldn't judge you for something like that. You know I'd never abandon you," she said softly to him, patting his back gently and whispering to him, for in the thick silence of a night so heavy with the magic of a school full of children, a whisper could carry so much more than sound. Lily's particular whisper was not of romance. that is to be made clear before I continue. Her whisper was that of a mother, of a young woman comforting and consoling and saying without really saying it that everything would be okay in the end.
Remus laughed softly and closed his eyes. "Thank you," was all he said, but there was so much emotion in that single phrase of gratitude that it brought tears to the young girl's eyes and soon his own. After a few moments, she pulled away from him with a small sniffle.
"Look at us," she said, laughing quietly and wiping her eyes. "Two crybabies and the greatest conversationalists the school has ever known and we haven't said a word for a full two minutes."
Remus grinned. "That's got to be a first." He looked up at the moon and Lily followed his gaze. She hugged him again, bringing his cheek down closer to kiss it.
"Don't ever let them judge you, Remus. If they judge you because of what you are, they obviously aren't worth your time because they clearly can't see what's inside of you. So make me a promise that you won't ever let them make you feel like you aren't normal," she said.
"I'll try. That's all I can promise. That I'll make my best efforts."
"Good enough."
Arse-bandit: A derrogitory term for a homosexual male Bender: Yet another derrogitory term for a homosexual male, originating from the phrase 'gender bender' or possibly derrived from the idea of one who likes to bend over.
Remus made an effort to keep his strides short when he walked along beside Lily. This walking with Lily business happened quite frequently, whether Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail were aware of it or not. Both of them had grown considerably. Remus was becoming one of the most charming boys in the school with his romantic nature, big band music, and the pictures he drew sometimes, focusing only on one part of a girl's face at a time. He had been wanting to start a collection of male versions of the lips, noses, eyes, ears, and chins. Of course, Sirius and James had accused him of being an arse-bandit and a bender, respectively. If James ever found out that the eyes he said he'd like to fill with some sort of "crazy lust or something" belonged to Emily Tuck, one of the most plain, homely girl in the school, Remus was sure he'd be dead.
Lily had also grown into her skin. She had stretched out nicely in places the Marauders always took care not to discuss when they pointed out all her bad points, as the conversation might twist comfortably to her good bits. Her skin was clear and pale, her hair still long, red, and straight. There was an almost angry confidence in her eyes, in the way her mouth was set. There was a definite sense of satisfaction when she smirked at besting James or Sirius at something and a look of maternal patience when Peter ever approached to ask for help on his Defence Against the Dark Arts homework. Always he came to her with the same explanation, "They won't help me unless I pay them. And Remus is...ill." She often wondered about Remus' illness or his mother's. She had never pressed the subject, knowing it might be sensitive.
At this particular point in time, he walked beside her with his sandy blonde hair tied back in a nice red ribbon at the base of his neck. His eyes were misted with worry and his forehead was wrinkled with something that resembled indecision. "Lily, I have to tell you something."
Lily nodded. "Sure, Remus. Anything." She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans. The farther in she pushed her hands, the more they pushed up the black sleeves of her sweater. It was quite a compromise for her wrists if you can imagine and she soon became frustrated and merely crossed her arms, curling her hands to tuck them under the opposite arms.
"Well, its a rather big something," Remus began. He scratched his nose and bit his lip, taking in deep breaths and sighing them out. With each sigh, the air in front of his face became a fog and his words were visibly heavy, but strained.
"Big somethings are more fun to let loose than little somethings," Lily commented. Now here was a sight. Remus Joseph Lupin at a loss for words. Interesting. He was either going to tell her that his mother had passed away or that he was, for some incredibly strange reason, captivated by her. She kept her face sober, knowing the second conclusion she'd come to was highly improbable.
"Lily, there's something wrong with me." He raised a hand when she began to protest. "No. Just let me get it all out. Lily, I was bitten by something when I was a child, no more than five or six. I was in the forest behind my house playing hide-and-seek with my little brother Rommy. He hid up a tree near the house and said he had his eyes closed so he wouldn't see me coming and start getting nervous. And I felt something grab me and it scratched hard on my back and I almost screamed, but whatever it was covered my mouth and bit my shoulder hard. Then it let go of me and ran. I started screaming and running and crying. Romulus got down out of his tree and followed me into the house. My mother worried and fretted over me for weeks. They found out the next month that, though I was small, I was capable of severe damage. My mother took Romulus out of the house and my father had to tie me down. Lily, I'm a werewolf." He glanced anxiously at her and she stopped in her tracks. He swallowed, quite afraid that she might scream and run. He gave a large sigh of relief when all she did was reach out and hug him.
"Remus, I'm so sorry that happened to you. You know I wouldn't judge you for something like that. You know I'd never abandon you," she said softly to him, patting his back gently and whispering to him, for in the thick silence of a night so heavy with the magic of a school full of children, a whisper could carry so much more than sound. Lily's particular whisper was not of romance. that is to be made clear before I continue. Her whisper was that of a mother, of a young woman comforting and consoling and saying without really saying it that everything would be okay in the end.
Remus laughed softly and closed his eyes. "Thank you," was all he said, but there was so much emotion in that single phrase of gratitude that it brought tears to the young girl's eyes and soon his own. After a few moments, she pulled away from him with a small sniffle.
"Look at us," she said, laughing quietly and wiping her eyes. "Two crybabies and the greatest conversationalists the school has ever known and we haven't said a word for a full two minutes."
Remus grinned. "That's got to be a first." He looked up at the moon and Lily followed his gaze. She hugged him again, bringing his cheek down closer to kiss it.
"Don't ever let them judge you, Remus. If they judge you because of what you are, they obviously aren't worth your time because they clearly can't see what's inside of you. So make me a promise that you won't ever let them make you feel like you aren't normal," she said.
"I'll try. That's all I can promise. That I'll make my best efforts."
"Good enough."
Arse-bandit: A derrogitory term for a homosexual male Bender: Yet another derrogitory term for a homosexual male, originating from the phrase 'gender bender' or possibly derrived from the idea of one who likes to bend over.