Chapter Five: Breakfast

The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon when Lily made her way to the kitchens for some breakfast. It was far too early for most people to be up, but for some reason she had been unable to sleep well. Something was nagging at the back of her mind that she could not put her finger on.

Lily took her usual spot on a stool by a side table. She preferred taking meals in the more cheerful and bright warmth of the kitchens than the cool and elegant dining room. Besides, she wanted to eat alone. It was far easier to slip out of the castle unnoticed when you didn't have to excuse yourself from someone else's company.

A girl, slightly younger than Lily with blonde hair and green eyes, carried over a large plate of eggs, ham and biscuits for the princess.

"You're early this morning, your highness," she said softly.

"I know. Thank you, Winter," Lily said.

The younger girl regarded the empty stool across from her. "Where's Master Lupin? Not sick again, I hope." Her green eyes dimmed slightly. She knew he was, though she didn't know exactly what had started plaguing him a year or so ago. He must have gotten sick, but there wasn't anyone she could ask. Remus wouldn't talk about it, and the princess had forbid her to even mention the fact that he still visited the castle to anyone else.

Lily nodded weakly and rubbed her eyes. "Unfortunately, he is. And I couldn't get out last night because of that infuriating Count Pettigrew."

Winter regarded her for a moment before taking Remus' usual seat. "I thought you were supposed to be 'getting to know' the prince, not his friends."

The red head very nearly smirked as she rested her chin in her hand and placed her elbows on the table. "That I am, but apparently Mr. Pettigrew has other ideas."

"Ah. I see."

"He's so…" Lily searched for the right word, having exhausted her mental dictionary of words befitting the man. She finally settled on "maddening."

"'Maddeningly' dashing if you ask me," Winter said and the princess was certain she could detect a level of cheekiness in her statement.

"Dashing?" Lily repeated as if disbelieving. She held up her hand and began to tick off a list. "He followed me around constantly, disrespected my wishes, and wouldn't stay out of my business."

"So, in other words, he thought you were cute, enjoyed your company, and was interested in what you had to say."

"Don't twist my words around!"

Winter grinned brazenly which Lily returned with a scowl. She hated that grin on the younger girl's face. It always meant that she knew something others didn't. Or at least thought she knew something.

"You've only just met the guy, give him a chance. He can't be all bad," Winter suggested.

Lily shrugged and silence settled between the two girls. The princess took the opportunity to sip her juice and nibble her breakfast. Winter studied her for a moment giving Lily enough time to cool down before striking up conversation again.

"So, are you checking on Master Lupin today?" Winter asked, genuinely curious. Remus was nice company.

The princess' face softened. "You know he hates it when you call him that."

"Why do you think I enjoy it so much?" Winter grinned, and suddenly, a thought struck Lily.

"Do you fancy him?"

Winter seemed taken aback for a moment before replying. "Aye, what's not to like though? He seems handsome enough buried under all those clothes. He's sweet, polite, witty, and quite charming. A good boost of self-esteem and he's the prefect man."

"I could set you up. You know, on a date."

Winter replied with a small laugh but stopped at the perplexed look on Lily's face.

"That wasn't a joke?"

"Why would I joke about that?"

"You really haven't noticed, have you?" Winter asked.

"Noticed what?"

Again that brazen smile graced Winter's lips.

"Honestly," Winter chastised playfully. "You'd think his best friend would know the type's of men he fancied."

It took a moment, but when the words finally sank in Lily's eyes widened.

"So you've caught on, took you a bit there."

"I had no idea," Lily replied, finding her voice again.

"Apparently."

The princess was silent, and Winter's grin faded slightly.

"Does that bother you, your highness?" she asked timidly.

"No," Lily began carefully as Dumbledore's words echoed in her head- Perhaps it might not hold the prince of your dreams… though I dare say young Remus might be glad for that. A slow smile crept up her face.

"But it does give me an idea."

The first thing Remus Lupin realized was that he couldn't possibly be at the Longbottoms' house. The bed was far too soft, that, and he was certain he remembered walking somewhere. His body felt heavy, and his side hurt, and there was something damp sticking to his forehead. He tentatively reached his hand up to feel what it was.

Pulling the wet cloth off from his head and sitting up, Remus blinked blearily against the bright light streaming in from the window nearby. He took in his surroundings, quickly realizing that he was, indeed, in the castle, and in a nice room at that. His brow furrowed in confusion. It wasn't the princess' chambers, and it most certainly wasn't the servant's quarters that he sometimes slept in. Judging by the size and decor of the room, Remus was pretty sure he was in one of the castle's guest rooms. More specifically, he was in one of the guest chambers reserved only for royal guests.

He tried to recall why he was in this particular room. He didn't remember Lily letting him use it. In fact, he was pretty sure he hadn't seen Lily at all last night. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stretched, wincing as he pulled the barely healed over wound on his side.

Standing up, he felt lightheaded for a moment and grabbed the bedpost to help steady himself. It's my own fault, he chastised himself, undergoing a rough transformation, not eating, making the trek back to the castle, and then over exerting myself. Like a switch being thrown all the events of the night before came in crystal clear but before he had time to review his situation further the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.

Remus' head snapped up and he turned toward the door as the boys from the night before entered the room. He stiffened slightly, wishing he had left when he had first awoken instead of trying to analyze his whereabouts.

"Good, your awake," one of them said, removing a pair of glasses and cleaning them on his shirt as if there was nothing unusual about the situation. It took Remus a moment, but he was able to recall the boy's name from the night before. This one was named Peter. And his friend was James.

Remus chanced a glance at the other boy to find himself being stared at quite unnervingly. He quickly ducked his head to the side to hide the small blush that threatened to creep up his cheeks.

"You should get washed up before we go," Sirius said finally, a small, pleased grin pulling at his lips when he saw 'Moony's' blush.

Remus' gaze was drawn back Sirius'. "I can get washed up at my own place. You guys go ahead to… wherever it is you're going."

Sirius shook his head, his grin widening.

"Come now. How noble would it be for us to allow a thief to run free? You're coming to breakfast with us."

"You're going to feed a thief instead of turning him in to the guards?" Remus tried not to return the other boy's smile.

"Yes, well…" Sirius trailed off, unsure himself why he wanted the other boy to accompany him to breakfast. He bristled slightly at that thought. "Would you rather I turned you over to the guards? It can be arranged, you know."

"Er, right. That's okay. Breakfast sounds great."

"Good," Sirius eyed the other boy once more. "You look like you need it."

Remus scowled slightly before disappearing into the side bathing room. After making sure the door was locked, he stripped down and splashed his face with cool water before gently washing himself down, being careful around his injuries. He hurriedly dressed himself again, avoiding the mirror and being sure that he was sufficiently covered.

He paused just before unlocking the door as he realized he was a bit excited about getting to have breakfast with these two boys, and not nervous, as he was certain he should be. He hadn't spent time with anyone other than with a few close friends in such a long time. What was he supposed to talk about with them? How was he to avoid the king and queen and other members of the court?

Great, he berated himself as he realized his palms were starting to sweat; now I've made myself nervous. Well, maybe he could convince the other two to eat in the kitchens… and if Winter saw him, she could tell Lily and maybe he could get out of his current situation.

Sirius smiled slightly to himself as he sat in the extravagant dining hall with his two companions while they awaited one of the servants to come and bring them breakfast. It had been far more difficult than Sirius had thought to get Moony there. The stubborn other boy kept trying to convince them the kitchens were a much better place to eat.

Maybe the other boy really did know the princess. He seemed to know an awful lot about the castle, and last night when he had been running, he seemed to know where he was going. Why then, was it that every time they passed someone in the halls, the other boy seemed as if he was trying to hide inside his cloak. Which, Sirius had wanted to point out was unnecessary inside the castle, but had held his tongue with a sharp look from James. So, maybe he was a thief after all.

It didn't matter. Sirius's morning was going exceptionally well, and right now, a few servants were on their way with huge plates of delicious smelling food. Before digging into his own breakfast, the prince watched Moony pick delicately at his. He found it odd that the smaller boy acted as if he was going to eat the ham and sausage but only succeeded in pushing it about his plate. He did, however, practically devour his fruit, which prompted Sirius to offer his portion over.

Sirius began to eat his breakfast in relative silence as he observed the strange boy, and his mind began to entertain the idea it had had earlier this morning. James, apparently noticed the lack of enthusiastic conversation, and since it was rare to find Sirius so speechless inquired about it. So Sirius shared his early morning epiphany with his friend.

"I think I'm going to keep him a bit longer," he said in a hushed whisper so that only James could hear. The knight raised an amused eyebrow.

"Keep him? He isn't a dog you know. Besides, we decided this morning that we should tell Lily about him."

"We will. Just, not right now. Later."

"How much later?" James frowned a bit. "Siri, he even said himself it was the princess he wanted to see."

"Yes, well, he found me first instead," Sirius said stubbornly.

"Look, we can arrange for Tristan to come visit if that's what this is about. He doesn't come with attachments." James' eyes flickered quickly towards Moony who was still deeply engrossed in eating. For a brief moment, Sirius wondered just where he was putting all that food.

"I don't know what you're insinuating James. But I'm keeping him until I'm ready to tell her highness about him." James sighed.

"Just, don't forget that you are a prince who is betrothed to a princess, okay, Siri?"

Sirius growled lightly and stabbed a piece of ham rather forcefully with his fork before James elbowed him and he looked up to see Moony's brown-gold eyes looking quizzically at them.

Remus eyed the two boys questioningly. He'd realized, after he'd finished eating, that they were whispering to each other and occasionally glancing his way. It made him feel very uncomfortable. He shifted slightly in his seat and was about to say something, anything, to ease his own tension when another man joined them.

"Good morning," he greeted, as he made himself comfortable at the far end of the table. Remus glanced up and took note of the other man's pale complexion and even paler looking hair. He wore the clothes of a lord, probably a duke, as Remus remembered his father wearing similar clothes back when he was still alive…

But there was something oddly familiar about this man's face, though Remus was fairly sure he had never met the man in his life. His cold smile made Remus instantly wary of him, despite his seemingly pleasant mannerism, and the look in the other man's eyes when they lingered for just a moment longer on him gave him a rather bad feeling indeed.

Sirius seemed to pick up on his discomfort because he pushed his plate away from him, despite having only eaten a few bites.

"I'm stuffed, Pete," he said, turning to James. Then glancing at Remus. "How about you, Moony?"

"Yes, quite."

"Shall we go for a walk then?"

"I'd like that very much."

"I hear there's a lake by the forest."

"Yes, very scenic. Tranquil. It won't suit you."

Sirius chuckled. "Try me."

Remus smiled. "Alright."

James watched the two of them, not sure whether they were including him in this or not.

"Perhaps I should go find the Prince and see how he is fairing this morning," James piped up, reminding the other boys of his presence.

"Huh? Oh, yes, alright," Sirius said, turning to his friend. "Sure you don't want to join us?"

James could immediately tell the prince wanted to get to know this other boy, and James bit his tongue to keep from saying 'yes, I would like to join you. Someone has to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't do anything stupid.'

"No, you two go ahead," he said instead. But as he watched the two leave the dining hall together, he made up his mind that he would have to keep any eye on the two of them. He followed them out moments later, heading towards the Peter's room.

All three promptly forgot about the other man they had left behind in the dining hall. Lucius Malfoy smiled to himself. He had arrived earlier that morning and was told to await the king here. It has been very fortunate indeed that he had seen the young, tawny haired boy. Remus Lupin was it? Yes, he remembered him. But Remus was supposed to be dead. And Lucius knew two people who would certainly learn about this new bit of information he'd acquired.

Neither of which was going to be happy.