Lily ordered that the entire group go Christmas shopping the next day.
"There's only one day left until Christmas!" she chided that morning at
breakfast. "We need to get our shopping done as soon as possible."
Sirius groaned. "You mean I actually have to buy presents for you people?" he asked. "What a bunch of rubbish."
James sighed heavily. "I guess that means I'll have to return the gift I already bought for you," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. Sirius' eyes grew wide.
"I'll be good," he swore.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway drew the group's attention to the kitchen doorway where a thin, bony woman stood, with black hair and steely grey eyes. She was smiling at someone behind her but stopped and gasped when she saw the group surrounded around the table.
"Oh," Lily said, obviously uncomfortable. "Everyone, this is my sister, Petunia. Petunia, this is...everyone." An awkward silence followed and Sirius was the first one to speak up.
"Hello!" he chirped. Petunia gave a short little gasp and jumped backwards into the burly boy behind her. He gave a startled little cry and they trampled over each other to get out of the kitchen as fast as they could. Sirius snorted. "Was it something I said?"
Lily groaned. "That was Vernon Dursley, Petunia's boyfriend," she explained. "She often spends the night at his house and comes home early in the morning."
"Your parents have no problem with that, yet they won't let any of us sleep on the same landing?" Sirius inquired.
"Petunia's viewed as a lot more responsible than I am," Lily informed them sadly. "It's not that my parents don't trust me but I guess they figure Petunia's already a lost cause so they shouldn't worry themselves over it." A huge grin spread across her face and she burst out laughing a moment later. "Now where are we going to shop today?"
Remus was thrilled when they boarded the Underground and Kat made certain to sit next to him. They chatted about their families Christmas traditions while Sirius and James spent much of their time laughing and poking fun at the others on the train.
"Look at that guy's hat!" Sirius crowed with delight as a man with a feathery hat got on the train. "Looks like he scalped a bird to get it!"
"And that lady's dress!" James cried in delight, pointing at a heft woman wearing a flower-print dress. "Somewhere in London a house is missing wallpaper!"
"Stop it!" Lily hissed. "You two are terrible!" But there was a grin threatening to explode onto her face, although she declined to join in on the fun.
London was busy with last minute Christmas shoppers but the five of them managed to do their shopping and meet up within two hours to head back to Lily's. "Why don't we walk around London for a bit?" Kat asked dreamily, staring up at all the glittering lights lining the walks. "It's so beautiful here when it snows."
Sirius stared blankly at her. "London, beautiful?" he asked. "I have to ask, Kat, what kind of medication are you on?"
"I think she's right," Remus agreed, smiling at Kat. "There is a certain inner beauty about London, despite all the strange people." A man walked by him, muttering to himself and jumping at every sound.
"You can't touch my cardboard box!" he cried at James who immediately hid behind Lily. "It'll eat you!"
On their way back to the Underground, Lily stopped short. "Oh no," she groaned. Following her gaze, the others saw Severus Snape, a fellow classmate from Hogwarts, sauntering across their path, completely unaware of their presence. "Be good," she begged as Sirius grinned and pulled up his collar. He walked towards Snape and Lily hid her face from the sight.
"Well, Snivellus, I don't remember permitting you to enter London," Sirius sneered. Snape jumped at the sound of his voice and immediately reached into his jacket to draw for his wand before remembering where he was. "What's the matter?" Sirius continued. "Afraid to do a little man to man fighting without your wand?"
Snape grimaced. James was standing behind Sirius, a look of pride on his face. "Go ahead," Sirius continued to goad. "Hit me; I dare you."
Snape continued to glare, but turned to walk away. Sirius laughed and watched him go. "Knew he wouldn't have the guts in him," he said before trailing away. Lily looked positively furious as she started after Sirius and refused to speak to him the entire way back to her house.
Remus had gone directly up to the attic when they arrived back at the Evans' house to stuff his things back in his trunk. He was startled to hear a female voice behind him and jumped.
"Don't let me scare you," Kat said, coming into the room, smiling. "Sorry," she apologized when she saw that he had jumped a foot in the air. Looking around, she nodded to herself. "Nice attic," she said and Remus had to agree. It had a sloping roof and was dusty in one corner, but other than that it was rather nice.
"I like it," he agreed, suddenly feeling very aware that he had nothing to say at the moment. He had always found talking with Kat to be an easy task but now, alone in an attic with her, he wondered whatever made him think that way.
Kat took the liberty of sitting down on the foot of Sirius' bed, which hadn't been made yet from that morning. She stared at Remus, which made him feel more uncomfortable, and he began shifting his weight from one foot to the next. Why was she staring at him like that? What did she want? Why did she come up here? Was there something she wanted to say or did she just want someone to talk to?
"Sirius can be mean," she said finally, flipping a strand of hair out of her face. "I mean, he didn't really have to provoke Snape like that, did he?"
Remus breathed a sigh of relief for the conversation. "Sirius and Snape don't exactly get along," he advised her. "They never have. I'm not quite sure why." The conversational tone was coming back to him easier now. "In fact, Sirius once almost got Snape killed when he..." He stopped speaking as soon as he realized he had been about to reveal his secret. He couldn't tell Kat that Sirius had encouraged Snape to go through the Whomping Willow to discover where he, James and Peter followed Remus every month to the shack in Hogsmeade. Then he would have to explain to Kat why they were going there in the first place. "When he was being an idiot," he finished lamely.
Kat continued to stare at him, as though she was trying to determine something. "There's a quality about you," she said slowly, standing up, "something that I can't quite put my finger on." She stepped up close to him so that their eyes were level and he could smell the sweet scent of her perfume again. "Something that's intriguing, something you don't want to reveal to me just yet." She was so close; he could see every fleck in her blue eyes. "I want you to know that I'm your friend," she said, heading for the staircase. "Always will be." She disappeared into the shadows of the steps and Remus breathed a sigh of relief. At least he thought it was relief. Maybe it was disappointment. He had thought, for a very brief second, that Kat Lawson was going to kiss him.
Petunia didn't show hide nor hair until supper that night when she poked her head into the kitchen and let out a tiny squeal of fright. "Don't be silly, Petunia," her father ordered, grabbing her arm and heaving her gently into the kitchen. "These are Lily's friends," he stressed, obviously unaware of the animosity Lily and Petunia shared. "They won't bite."
"Moony might," Sirius whispered under his breath and Remus kicked him under the table. "Ow!" Sirius cried, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Bit my tongue," he offered, giving Remus a sharp look.
Petunia sat down tentatively at the table, in between her mother and father. Completely on guard as to whether or not one of the others might attack her, Petunia ate quickly and then hurried back upstairs. "Friendly, isn't she?" Remus asked, sarcasm filling his voice. Lily only laughed.
"After dinner, let's go outside and build snowmen," she said, sitting back in her chair. "I haven't done that since I was little."
"Liar," Kat teased. "We built one in our second year at Hogwarts."
"I meant here, at home," Lily explained. "It's kind of boring, building one by yourself."
No one bothered to ask why Petunia never helped her.
After the dinner dishes had been done, the five friends trooped outside to the snow covered ground. Immediately Sirius dropped and began rolling around in the cold substance, crying out his dropping body temperature.
"Idiot," James sneered, yanking him back to his feet. "Get out of the snow, then." He turned and rolled his eyes towards Lily who couldn't stop laughing. Between the five of them, they managed to build a massive snowman and Sirius used his wand to make the snowman cheer, "Have a happy holiday!"
Lily quickly blew the spell away, hissing, "Remember Sirius, you're in a Muggle town; people will think they've gone crazy if they see a chattering snowman!"
"Frosty!" Remus said. "Reminds me of Frosty the Snowman, the Christmas carol."
"You're right," Sirius said with a smile and he began dancing around the snowman, singing Frosty's carol at the top of his lungs. He tried jabbing the snowman with his wand again but Lily caught him and confiscated it inside her own jacket.
"You can have it back when we get inside," she warned him. "And don't think you can run around jinxing things in there either; if Petunia saw one of her dollhouse dolls talking, I'm sure it would do her in for good."
Christmas morning arrived with Sirius bounding down the staircase like a small child. "Christmas!" he cried to anyone who would listen. "It's Christmas, everyone! Wake up!"
Remus stirred sleepily, hearing Sirius' cries from downstairs. He rolled over to face Sirius' empty bed and reflected on the night when Kat had been sitting there, looking exceptionally beautiful. He closed his eyes and imagined the way she had come up to him, telling him he was intriguing. "I would like to learn more about you," Kat said to him. "I would really like to learn more."
"Get up or I'll drop you in the snow!"
Sirius' cry of warning caused Remus to jump from his dream. He opened his eyes only to stare into Sirius' face. "Don't do that!" he muttered, sitting up slowly to avoid a massive head rush. "You nearly scared me to death."
"Sorry mate," Sirius said unapologetically. "But it's time to get up. Quit dreaming about Kat and get a move on!" He gave Remus a very obvious wink and bounded back down the staircase, laughing manically. Remus continued to sit on his bed, wondering how in the world Sirius could have known about his dream. Shoving the questions off until a later date, he dressed quickly and hurried down the stairs after Sirius, who hadn't bothered to change out of his nightclothes.
The only one absent in the living room was Petunia. "She refuses to be in the middle of so many witches and wizards," Lily said with a heavy sight. "Mum and Dad are a little upset, but they're taking her gifts up to her later. I, on the other hand, am not at all perturbed by her decision to stay locked in her room." Lily grinned wildly. "The less Petunia, the better."
It had been a glorious morning. Kat had given everyone loads of Muggle candy she had bought in London. Sirius remained wary of the chocolate covered cherries and grimaced each time he bit into one as though he expected it to bite him back. Lily had given each of them a book dedicated to the subject they enjoyed most. Remus flipped through his Fighting Dark Arts book fondly, but James made a face.
"I appreciate the thought, Lil," he said, flipping through his own Quidditch book, "but I really don't fancy reading all that much."
"I'll teach you how when we get back to school," Lily teased. "But for now, if you tap your wand on the page, the players in the pictures demonstrate everything that's written on the page."
While James enjoyed his newfound toy, Remus approached Kat and thanked her for the gift. "My pleasure," she answered, flashing him a genuine smile.
"I wasn't quite sure what you liked but Lily said you enjoyed shopping at Quills & Stuff in Diagon Alley so I got you a gift certificate from there," he said hurriedly, handing her an envelope.
"I do like shopping there," she assured him. "Thanks very much."
And as if the whole scene wasn't awkward enough, Sirius cried out, "Look! Remus and Kat are standing under mistletoe!"
Sure enough, there was a mistletoe plant hovering above their heads and Remus suspected that Sirius' wand might be playing a part. "Now you two have to kiss," Sirius ordered, grinning madly.
As though he were up in his bed, still dreaming, Kat leaned forward and kissed Remus' cheek gently. "Happy?" she asked coolly, turning back to Sirius.
"Completely satisfied," Sirius replied with a calm smile. Remus, however, was burning up with embarrassment. Kat didn't seem to notice or let the events faze her in any way as she bustled after Mrs. Evans to help cook breakfast. Mr. Evans joined them shortly afterwards while James and Sirius hurried upstairs to change.
When Remus looked up next, Lily was approaching him. Searching desperately for a way to avoid discussing what had just happened, he blurted, "It was nice of your parents to let us all stay here."
Lily shrugged and threw herself down on the sofa beside him. "They love magic," she explained simply. "They were thrilled when I got my Hogwarts letter a few years back and even more thrilled when I asked to bring a witch and three wizards home with me for the holidays."
Remus nodded, deciding that the Evans' might not like him so much if they discovered he was a werewolf. He fingered the material of the sweater that Mrs. Evans had knitted him for Christmas and decided that he would do his best to ensure that they never found out his secret.
Lily noticed his actions and said, "She began knitting that sweater as soon as I asked her to bring you guys here for Christmas. She made others similar to it for James, Sirius and Kat." She leaned back on the sofa. "Knitting takes longer without magic."
"It was nice of her to do so," Remus said. "I really appreciate it. Sometimes these types of gifts are the ones that really mean something."
It was Lily's turn to nod. "So you like Kat?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
"She's nice, yes," Remus answered, feeling his heart begin to pound beneath his chest softly. "She seems like a really nice girl."
Lily rolled her eyes. "I know she's nice, silly, but do you LIKE her?"
Remus felt the blood rush to his face. "What makes you say that?" he asked, realizing it wasn't the best defense retaliation but his mind had gone blank.
Lily gave him a knowing glance. "It's in the way you look at her," she told him softly, "like it's only the two of you in the entire universe. We've all noticed it.."
So that was why Sirius had winked at him that morning. As though Lily had read his mind, she said, "Sirius likes Kat, too—I'm sure you've noticed—but he'd rather you be with her than him because we all know how hard it is for you to find a girlfriend...and Kat really likes you."
"She likes me? She actually said that?"
Lily winced. "Well, she's never actually said it but it's in the way she speaks about you and I can tell; I'm her best friend."
"Then why doesn't she say something?" Remus asked aloud in frustration.
"Why don't you?" Lily shot back. "Kat may seem outgoing and all, Remus, but when it comes to relationships, she's not the first to make a move."
These thoughts followed Remus all throughout the day. 'Do or die,' he kept repeating to himself but he couldn't find a moment alone with Kat. He had never been the one to initiate any kind of relationship; Sirius and James were the ones who spoke to Remus first. It was hard enough to make friends as a werewolf, let alone start up a relationship with the girl that made his knees go weak.
Sirius groaned. "You mean I actually have to buy presents for you people?" he asked. "What a bunch of rubbish."
James sighed heavily. "I guess that means I'll have to return the gift I already bought for you," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. Sirius' eyes grew wide.
"I'll be good," he swore.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway drew the group's attention to the kitchen doorway where a thin, bony woman stood, with black hair and steely grey eyes. She was smiling at someone behind her but stopped and gasped when she saw the group surrounded around the table.
"Oh," Lily said, obviously uncomfortable. "Everyone, this is my sister, Petunia. Petunia, this is...everyone." An awkward silence followed and Sirius was the first one to speak up.
"Hello!" he chirped. Petunia gave a short little gasp and jumped backwards into the burly boy behind her. He gave a startled little cry and they trampled over each other to get out of the kitchen as fast as they could. Sirius snorted. "Was it something I said?"
Lily groaned. "That was Vernon Dursley, Petunia's boyfriend," she explained. "She often spends the night at his house and comes home early in the morning."
"Your parents have no problem with that, yet they won't let any of us sleep on the same landing?" Sirius inquired.
"Petunia's viewed as a lot more responsible than I am," Lily informed them sadly. "It's not that my parents don't trust me but I guess they figure Petunia's already a lost cause so they shouldn't worry themselves over it." A huge grin spread across her face and she burst out laughing a moment later. "Now where are we going to shop today?"
Remus was thrilled when they boarded the Underground and Kat made certain to sit next to him. They chatted about their families Christmas traditions while Sirius and James spent much of their time laughing and poking fun at the others on the train.
"Look at that guy's hat!" Sirius crowed with delight as a man with a feathery hat got on the train. "Looks like he scalped a bird to get it!"
"And that lady's dress!" James cried in delight, pointing at a heft woman wearing a flower-print dress. "Somewhere in London a house is missing wallpaper!"
"Stop it!" Lily hissed. "You two are terrible!" But there was a grin threatening to explode onto her face, although she declined to join in on the fun.
London was busy with last minute Christmas shoppers but the five of them managed to do their shopping and meet up within two hours to head back to Lily's. "Why don't we walk around London for a bit?" Kat asked dreamily, staring up at all the glittering lights lining the walks. "It's so beautiful here when it snows."
Sirius stared blankly at her. "London, beautiful?" he asked. "I have to ask, Kat, what kind of medication are you on?"
"I think she's right," Remus agreed, smiling at Kat. "There is a certain inner beauty about London, despite all the strange people." A man walked by him, muttering to himself and jumping at every sound.
"You can't touch my cardboard box!" he cried at James who immediately hid behind Lily. "It'll eat you!"
On their way back to the Underground, Lily stopped short. "Oh no," she groaned. Following her gaze, the others saw Severus Snape, a fellow classmate from Hogwarts, sauntering across their path, completely unaware of their presence. "Be good," she begged as Sirius grinned and pulled up his collar. He walked towards Snape and Lily hid her face from the sight.
"Well, Snivellus, I don't remember permitting you to enter London," Sirius sneered. Snape jumped at the sound of his voice and immediately reached into his jacket to draw for his wand before remembering where he was. "What's the matter?" Sirius continued. "Afraid to do a little man to man fighting without your wand?"
Snape grimaced. James was standing behind Sirius, a look of pride on his face. "Go ahead," Sirius continued to goad. "Hit me; I dare you."
Snape continued to glare, but turned to walk away. Sirius laughed and watched him go. "Knew he wouldn't have the guts in him," he said before trailing away. Lily looked positively furious as she started after Sirius and refused to speak to him the entire way back to her house.
Remus had gone directly up to the attic when they arrived back at the Evans' house to stuff his things back in his trunk. He was startled to hear a female voice behind him and jumped.
"Don't let me scare you," Kat said, coming into the room, smiling. "Sorry," she apologized when she saw that he had jumped a foot in the air. Looking around, she nodded to herself. "Nice attic," she said and Remus had to agree. It had a sloping roof and was dusty in one corner, but other than that it was rather nice.
"I like it," he agreed, suddenly feeling very aware that he had nothing to say at the moment. He had always found talking with Kat to be an easy task but now, alone in an attic with her, he wondered whatever made him think that way.
Kat took the liberty of sitting down on the foot of Sirius' bed, which hadn't been made yet from that morning. She stared at Remus, which made him feel more uncomfortable, and he began shifting his weight from one foot to the next. Why was she staring at him like that? What did she want? Why did she come up here? Was there something she wanted to say or did she just want someone to talk to?
"Sirius can be mean," she said finally, flipping a strand of hair out of her face. "I mean, he didn't really have to provoke Snape like that, did he?"
Remus breathed a sigh of relief for the conversation. "Sirius and Snape don't exactly get along," he advised her. "They never have. I'm not quite sure why." The conversational tone was coming back to him easier now. "In fact, Sirius once almost got Snape killed when he..." He stopped speaking as soon as he realized he had been about to reveal his secret. He couldn't tell Kat that Sirius had encouraged Snape to go through the Whomping Willow to discover where he, James and Peter followed Remus every month to the shack in Hogsmeade. Then he would have to explain to Kat why they were going there in the first place. "When he was being an idiot," he finished lamely.
Kat continued to stare at him, as though she was trying to determine something. "There's a quality about you," she said slowly, standing up, "something that I can't quite put my finger on." She stepped up close to him so that their eyes were level and he could smell the sweet scent of her perfume again. "Something that's intriguing, something you don't want to reveal to me just yet." She was so close; he could see every fleck in her blue eyes. "I want you to know that I'm your friend," she said, heading for the staircase. "Always will be." She disappeared into the shadows of the steps and Remus breathed a sigh of relief. At least he thought it was relief. Maybe it was disappointment. He had thought, for a very brief second, that Kat Lawson was going to kiss him.
Petunia didn't show hide nor hair until supper that night when she poked her head into the kitchen and let out a tiny squeal of fright. "Don't be silly, Petunia," her father ordered, grabbing her arm and heaving her gently into the kitchen. "These are Lily's friends," he stressed, obviously unaware of the animosity Lily and Petunia shared. "They won't bite."
"Moony might," Sirius whispered under his breath and Remus kicked him under the table. "Ow!" Sirius cried, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Bit my tongue," he offered, giving Remus a sharp look.
Petunia sat down tentatively at the table, in between her mother and father. Completely on guard as to whether or not one of the others might attack her, Petunia ate quickly and then hurried back upstairs. "Friendly, isn't she?" Remus asked, sarcasm filling his voice. Lily only laughed.
"After dinner, let's go outside and build snowmen," she said, sitting back in her chair. "I haven't done that since I was little."
"Liar," Kat teased. "We built one in our second year at Hogwarts."
"I meant here, at home," Lily explained. "It's kind of boring, building one by yourself."
No one bothered to ask why Petunia never helped her.
After the dinner dishes had been done, the five friends trooped outside to the snow covered ground. Immediately Sirius dropped and began rolling around in the cold substance, crying out his dropping body temperature.
"Idiot," James sneered, yanking him back to his feet. "Get out of the snow, then." He turned and rolled his eyes towards Lily who couldn't stop laughing. Between the five of them, they managed to build a massive snowman and Sirius used his wand to make the snowman cheer, "Have a happy holiday!"
Lily quickly blew the spell away, hissing, "Remember Sirius, you're in a Muggle town; people will think they've gone crazy if they see a chattering snowman!"
"Frosty!" Remus said. "Reminds me of Frosty the Snowman, the Christmas carol."
"You're right," Sirius said with a smile and he began dancing around the snowman, singing Frosty's carol at the top of his lungs. He tried jabbing the snowman with his wand again but Lily caught him and confiscated it inside her own jacket.
"You can have it back when we get inside," she warned him. "And don't think you can run around jinxing things in there either; if Petunia saw one of her dollhouse dolls talking, I'm sure it would do her in for good."
Christmas morning arrived with Sirius bounding down the staircase like a small child. "Christmas!" he cried to anyone who would listen. "It's Christmas, everyone! Wake up!"
Remus stirred sleepily, hearing Sirius' cries from downstairs. He rolled over to face Sirius' empty bed and reflected on the night when Kat had been sitting there, looking exceptionally beautiful. He closed his eyes and imagined the way she had come up to him, telling him he was intriguing. "I would like to learn more about you," Kat said to him. "I would really like to learn more."
"Get up or I'll drop you in the snow!"
Sirius' cry of warning caused Remus to jump from his dream. He opened his eyes only to stare into Sirius' face. "Don't do that!" he muttered, sitting up slowly to avoid a massive head rush. "You nearly scared me to death."
"Sorry mate," Sirius said unapologetically. "But it's time to get up. Quit dreaming about Kat and get a move on!" He gave Remus a very obvious wink and bounded back down the staircase, laughing manically. Remus continued to sit on his bed, wondering how in the world Sirius could have known about his dream. Shoving the questions off until a later date, he dressed quickly and hurried down the stairs after Sirius, who hadn't bothered to change out of his nightclothes.
The only one absent in the living room was Petunia. "She refuses to be in the middle of so many witches and wizards," Lily said with a heavy sight. "Mum and Dad are a little upset, but they're taking her gifts up to her later. I, on the other hand, am not at all perturbed by her decision to stay locked in her room." Lily grinned wildly. "The less Petunia, the better."
It had been a glorious morning. Kat had given everyone loads of Muggle candy she had bought in London. Sirius remained wary of the chocolate covered cherries and grimaced each time he bit into one as though he expected it to bite him back. Lily had given each of them a book dedicated to the subject they enjoyed most. Remus flipped through his Fighting Dark Arts book fondly, but James made a face.
"I appreciate the thought, Lil," he said, flipping through his own Quidditch book, "but I really don't fancy reading all that much."
"I'll teach you how when we get back to school," Lily teased. "But for now, if you tap your wand on the page, the players in the pictures demonstrate everything that's written on the page."
While James enjoyed his newfound toy, Remus approached Kat and thanked her for the gift. "My pleasure," she answered, flashing him a genuine smile.
"I wasn't quite sure what you liked but Lily said you enjoyed shopping at Quills & Stuff in Diagon Alley so I got you a gift certificate from there," he said hurriedly, handing her an envelope.
"I do like shopping there," she assured him. "Thanks very much."
And as if the whole scene wasn't awkward enough, Sirius cried out, "Look! Remus and Kat are standing under mistletoe!"
Sure enough, there was a mistletoe plant hovering above their heads and Remus suspected that Sirius' wand might be playing a part. "Now you two have to kiss," Sirius ordered, grinning madly.
As though he were up in his bed, still dreaming, Kat leaned forward and kissed Remus' cheek gently. "Happy?" she asked coolly, turning back to Sirius.
"Completely satisfied," Sirius replied with a calm smile. Remus, however, was burning up with embarrassment. Kat didn't seem to notice or let the events faze her in any way as she bustled after Mrs. Evans to help cook breakfast. Mr. Evans joined them shortly afterwards while James and Sirius hurried upstairs to change.
When Remus looked up next, Lily was approaching him. Searching desperately for a way to avoid discussing what had just happened, he blurted, "It was nice of your parents to let us all stay here."
Lily shrugged and threw herself down on the sofa beside him. "They love magic," she explained simply. "They were thrilled when I got my Hogwarts letter a few years back and even more thrilled when I asked to bring a witch and three wizards home with me for the holidays."
Remus nodded, deciding that the Evans' might not like him so much if they discovered he was a werewolf. He fingered the material of the sweater that Mrs. Evans had knitted him for Christmas and decided that he would do his best to ensure that they never found out his secret.
Lily noticed his actions and said, "She began knitting that sweater as soon as I asked her to bring you guys here for Christmas. She made others similar to it for James, Sirius and Kat." She leaned back on the sofa. "Knitting takes longer without magic."
"It was nice of her to do so," Remus said. "I really appreciate it. Sometimes these types of gifts are the ones that really mean something."
It was Lily's turn to nod. "So you like Kat?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
"She's nice, yes," Remus answered, feeling his heart begin to pound beneath his chest softly. "She seems like a really nice girl."
Lily rolled her eyes. "I know she's nice, silly, but do you LIKE her?"
Remus felt the blood rush to his face. "What makes you say that?" he asked, realizing it wasn't the best defense retaliation but his mind had gone blank.
Lily gave him a knowing glance. "It's in the way you look at her," she told him softly, "like it's only the two of you in the entire universe. We've all noticed it.."
So that was why Sirius had winked at him that morning. As though Lily had read his mind, she said, "Sirius likes Kat, too—I'm sure you've noticed—but he'd rather you be with her than him because we all know how hard it is for you to find a girlfriend...and Kat really likes you."
"She likes me? She actually said that?"
Lily winced. "Well, she's never actually said it but it's in the way she speaks about you and I can tell; I'm her best friend."
"Then why doesn't she say something?" Remus asked aloud in frustration.
"Why don't you?" Lily shot back. "Kat may seem outgoing and all, Remus, but when it comes to relationships, she's not the first to make a move."
These thoughts followed Remus all throughout the day. 'Do or die,' he kept repeating to himself but he couldn't find a moment alone with Kat. He had never been the one to initiate any kind of relationship; Sirius and James were the ones who spoke to Remus first. It was hard enough to make friends as a werewolf, let alone start up a relationship with the girl that made his knees go weak.