Recap:

I carefully picked up my Hogwarts things and went to my bedroom. When mother came home she would find dinner laid out for her and the house beautifully clean. She would also find both daughters gone, for the time being.

It was time to take a break from the house turned hellhole.

Every summer, to help pay for my dance lessons I held a job as a lifeguard for the local swimming pool. It gave me sunburn and an anxiety attack every time a little boy or girl couldn't swim, but it paid damn well. I figured that my savings combined with my five or six paychecks would last me the rest of the summer. I packed all my school things into my trunk and sat down to write a letter to my mother.

Mère,

Petty and I have decided to take a holiday in Brighton. We've left a bit of money on the table. Petty is sorry about the shopping trip. See you during Christmas.

beaucoup d'amour,

Lily

She always insisted that I use a little bit of French. It was important not to upset her when you did something unexpected. I didn't want to add the extra worry of what mother would do if things unsettled her.

Well, that would have to do for now. Once I reached Diagon Alley I would send a letter in the post and a tenner. I pulled my trunk down the stairs and laid the letter and 25 pounds on the table. It was a shame I had to support mother as well as myself, otherwise I might've actually taken that holiday in Brighton. I had never seen the sea.

I walked onto the sidewalk and took one last look at the house. Now that my anger had cooled down a bit I wondered if this was the right thing to do. An image of The Lobster entered my mind. Yes, I definitely needed a break.

When I visited Alice last summer we used the Knight Bus to get to her home in Durham. Alice's family was very well off. Her father was an unspeakable and her mother owned a lingerie store for muggles. I loved Alice's family; they treated her like a she was part of the family, a distant niece or something. I had only spoken with Belinda's parents once or twice. They were muggles and bankers, so Belinda had assured me they were dull as doorknobs. Maybe when I found a room in Diagon Alley I could owl them both to come visit.

A door slammed behind me and brought me out of my quiet reverie. Better get a move on if I didn't want to meet up with mother. If my memory served me right, Alice has stuck out her wand hand and the bus had just appeared. Appeared with quite a bang if I was remembering everything clearly. I braced myself and put out my left hand.

Nothing happened. I put my hand out again...nothing. I gave it a great flourish, I snapped, I waved. To absolutely no avail. Perfect. I try to leave and look what happens. I still wanted to go to Diagon Alley, but how would I get there? I lived in the western part of Kent, London wasn't terribly far, but the cab fair would still be big. I couldn't fly—I had no broom. Calling on Alice or Belinda was out of the question, they lived to far and it was to late at night. I cursed my luck; a cab was the only way out.

The house was quiet when I walked back in, the telly beckoned to me from its corner of the room. I was familiar with the local cab company, I had used it many times to pick up mother. After I hung up I surveyed the house. Would mother be all right without me? Surely Petunia would come back, she was many things but she wasn't completely hateful. Then again, Petunia wouldn't be expecting me to leave. She would know mother would be fine until September 1st, when I left for school. I heard a horn honk outside and I grabbed my things. Time to embark on my adventure...ha, more like time to throw caution into the winds.

After a terrifying and bumpy cab ride I finally made it to London. With a tap of my wand onto the brick wall my world was open again. I never realize how much I miss Hogwarts and the magical life until come back. Summer was hell, but if it meant spending 9 months at Hogwarts it was worth it.

After Tom had settled me into a room at the Leaky Cauldron I decided to owl Alice and Belinda. Hopefully their families wouldn't mind if they left for school a little bit earlier than expected. I was already getting lonely, I wasn't used to not having company. It was ironic; whenever I was with my family all I wished for was peace and a little quiet. Now that I was by myself all I wanted was some entertainment. I took out two pieces of parchment and a quill; it was time to get rid of all the icky feelings that had built up inside of me during the summer.

Alice,

I've left home a bit early this summer. Petunia and her horrible beau drove me over the edge—my psyche is already quite fragile, you know. I pulled a painting down over his head; it was really quite a moment of greatness. I'm not taking the mickey; I did do accidental magic and cause a painting to topple over. Do me a favor and ask your father if he's heard anything about a violation in the underage wizardry decree. Then, do me another favor and ask him if you can spend sometime with me. I'm holed up in The Leaky Cauldron until school starts. If I don't get suitable company (not that Tom the innkeeper isn't suitable, all he wants to talk about are cats. He and Arabella Figg are quite suited) I will waste away and will only be a shadow of my former, vibrant self. I'm quite serious, rescue me. This might become my last will and testament.

Pitifully yours,

Lily

I wrote a similar letter to Linnie, a pet name Alice had given to Belinda last term and called it a night. I really was tired. Running away from home can take a lot out of you. Tomorrow morning I would go down to the Owl Emporium and mail the letters and then I would take care of the homework I hadn't finished.

Early the next morning, after I had showered and dressed I sent my letters to Alice and Belinda. I silently willed the girls to respond immediately. There was nothing to do in Diagon Alley once you had been there several times before. I would have rather been in Hogsmeade, in fact just thinking about butter beer made my stomach grumble. I hadn't eaten anything this morning and last night's dinner from hell seemed far away.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor would have to do for now. I'm very partial to their mint and grape jelly sundae. As the cheery looking woman at the counter took my order I realized I didn't have any money to pay. When sending the owls to my friends I hadn't wanted to take any chances, I used their best owls. Up until now I had thought I had enough money for an ice cream.

"That'll be five sickles, dearie," she held out her hand. I held out mine, not that the futile gesture helped. I really wasn't good in these situations.

"I...er, it turns out that I don't the money with me," I gave her my most winning smile and caught sight of myself in the reflection of the window. It looked like someone was torturing me. 'Stop it, stop smiling right now' I told myself.

"Sorry, no money no food," she didn't look so nice now.

Someone behind me touched my shoulder and gently pushed me aside. They gave the serving women ten sickles and an order for lime sherbet and almond.

"Thank you, I will pay it you back, I--," I got a look and my rescuer and stopped my damsel in distress act. It was Remus Lupin, looking as pale and perfect as ever.

Well, I guess I shouldn't say perfect. He wasn't incredibly handsome or anything, he just has a face that would make you thing he was nice...like a saint or something. Remus the Great, my friends would call him from time to time. I had known him since first year; he had always been kind to me.

"Hello, Remus! Fancy seeing you here," I gave him a tight hug, I was surprised at how happy I was to see someone I knew.

He grinned at me, his teeth looked a bit pointed, on the wolfish side. "Miss Lily, how come I've never gotten such a warm reception before." He said.

As the serving woman handed us our sundaes he made a gesture for me to follow him to the nearest table. The woman fixed me with a motherly glare.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be so forward with strangers. In my day I would have never touched a member of the opposite sex...where are your..." her voice trailed off as I sat down across from Remus.

"Yes, what is a pretty girl such as you doing with strangers, Miss?" he gave me a carbon copy of the glower the witch had bestowed upon me.

"Oh, Remus, unless you want to be here until the winter hols I suggest you stay away from such topics. Let's just pretend it's a very ordinary thing for students to come to Diagon Alley this early to do their shopping," I avoided his gaze and studied my ice cream like it was spouting out the secret to self-shuffling cards.

He gracefully changed the subject. "Did you make Prefect, Lily? I was hoping to work with someone I knew," he asked.

That was Remus Lupin, always graceful and kind. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard him personally speak ill of anyone. The company he kept was a different story, but I didn't want to go and upset myself by thinking about them.

"And what other charming, gorgeous, intelligent Gryffindor would become Prefect, if I may ask. You know better than that." I gave him a real smile this time; it was nice to talk to someone who was your own age.

"A charming, gorgeous, intelligent Gryffindor? I wish you would introduce me to her, Lily...I'm in desperate need of some good companionship," he said, fixing me with innocent eyes.

I flung a bit of ice cream at him; it missed and hit the wall with a satisfying splat. I had better be careful; I wouldn't want to be known as the wild child of Diagon Alley. Not that flinging ice cream is exactly wild...

"Ah yes, Lily. You are charming indeed, the friend I've always wanted," he smirked.

"Of course, I am Remus. Besides, the company you keep now isn't much better. Really now, how many detentions do they have all together?" I arched an eyebrow at him. It probably wasn't wise of me to insult Remus's friends. They were dreadfully close with each other.

"Their detentions, Miss Lily are none of your concern. In fact, I thought I detected jealousy in your voice," it was just like Remus to brush such things right off of him.

"Touché, Remus. It is good to have company like you," I was tired of the debate.

"I couldn't agree more," he said.

I wouldn't mind having Remus for company the next couple days. In fact, it seemed like the best thing to happen to me yet.

"You never said why you were here either," I readied myself to hear Remus tell me a story. When he told you about his life he always made it entertaining.

Instead of an explanation he just smiled at me. "A toast, Lily too subjects best left alone." He gently toasted his spoon to mine.

So he did have some secrets. Maybe he wasn't St. Remus after all. I would enjoy finding out.

Author's Note: 6 reviews and none of them flames! Thank you, a million times over. If you have any concerns about this becoming a Lily/Remus story, don't. I have plans for them....

French Translation: Much love.