When Lily woke up it was barely dawn. The sun was just coming up over the horizon. It was Monday, the first day of classes that Lily would have at Hogwarts. She got up, dressed in her crisp, new robes, and sat down on the windowsill beside her four-poster bed. Looking out the window, Lily saw Hagrid going around the school grounds with his morning duties. She also saw a big black dog following him, and from it's size, Lily guessed the dog was a boarhound.

Lily stopped looking out the window about a half-hour later. She went downstairs and saw someone sitting in a chair looking at the crackling fire. Looking over the back of the chair, Lily saw Remus. He to was in his new robes. "Hi." It was a simple greeting, but Remus started so violently you would have figured someone had yelled in his ear.

"Good gracious, are you trying to scare me to death!" Remus wasn't mad, just upset he had been startled so easily.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I've just been up for half an hour and after staring out a window that long you can lose interest in what you're looking at." She sat down on the floor in front of him and the fire. "Are James and Sirius still asleep?" she asked absently.

"Yea. Sound asleep." Remus snickered. "I woke up in the middle of the night and guess what James said in his sleep?"

"I don't want to guess. You tell me."

"Well," he said still snickering, "he was saying: 'Lily Evans... Marry me.' No joke either. He always has dreams like that and Sirius and I tease him cause that usually means he really likes a girl. I don't think I'll bring it up though. You know, since Sirius likes you as well."

Lily made a fist and hit his leg. "You and Rini are just imagining things," she huffed. "I bet you're lying anyway!"

"First off, owe, and second off, I don't lie. He probably thinks you're a bit cute and all but doesn't realize how much he really likes you. Goodness, even I think you're cute. But let's just leave it at that. I don't want James and Sirius mad at me."

"At least you're brave enough to say it, unlike them. That is, if they even do," Lily said and laid her head on Remus's knee. He became really nervous because no girl had ever treated him the way Lily did before. Rini was just a friend and nothing more. Lily was a friend and a confidant. Cautiously, Remus gently started stroking Lily's curly, ginger-red hair. She didn't complain. He decided to tell her his deepest, darkest secret.

"Lily?"

"Hmm."

"I was wondering if you knew anything about werewolves?"

"A little. Why?"

"What, precisely, do you know about them?"

"Well, they transform only at a full moon. When in their human forms, they're completely harmless. Also, when they're in their wolf forms, they feed on humans. I think that's it. Why Remus?"

"Are you afraid of them? In their human or wolf forms?"

"Well, I guess I'd be afraid of them in their wolf forms, but not their human forms." Lily looked up at Remus. "Remus, why are you asking me these questions?"

"If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it a secret?"

"Remus, of course I can keep a secret. Now will you—"

"Lily I'm a werewolf! There, I said it!" He looked at Lily expecting her to scream and move quickly away from him. Instead, she took his hand, kissed it, and said softly, "I should have guessed with all those questions. I promise I won't tell anyone Remus. You have my most excellent promise, I won't tell anyone."

Remus looked at her. "You aren't afraid of me?"

"Remus didn't I just say that I'd be afraid of the wolf, not the person. You, Remus, are kind, gentle, and caring. It's the wolf that's mean, vicious, and cruel."

Remus looked into Lily's eyes and knew she would keep her promise. Very suddenly, on impulse, he gathered Lily into a great big hug and kissed her on the cheek. Lily just laughed when he did this.

Remus still had Lily in a bear hug when James and Sirius came down. "What are you two doing down here!" Sirius asked rather loudly. Remus let go of Lily quick as a flash.

"Umm, nothing. Remus here was just over excited with something I said, that's all," Lily said quickly and walked up the stairs to her dorm. She stopped when she was out of sight to listen.

"So? What did she say that made you so overjoyed you just had to hug her?" James asked.

"Sorry boys, I can't say. That is between Lily and me and is going to stay that way." Remus answered.

"Come on Remus! You know how I feel about Lily, and you hugging her does not say very much about our friendship." Sirius said.

"Oh, and I guess how I feel about her makes no difference, right!" James said angrily.

"Oh, come on James! We both know that the only reason that you like her is because I do." Sirius accused.

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"What did I say to her when I met her? I believe it was 'It is a glorious day when heaven sends one of its angels back to us'. That was just about her looks. Hearing her speak merely affirmed my assumption."

"It was just flattery! You flatter any and every beautiful lady you can."

"That is not true and you know it!"

"Well I don't care what you say. You just go for who ever you think is beautiful."

"Will you two both stop arguing!" Remus demanded. "You're going to wake the whole tower. And besides, she hasn't got a bloomin' clue that either of you like her. She probably thinks you're insane."

Lily tiptoed up the stairs to her dorm. She went in and woke Rini up. "Wha? What is it, Lils?"

"You would not believe the fight James, Sirius, And Remus just had." And she told Rini the whole thing. Except, of course, for the fact that Remus is a werewolf. She promised not to tell and she planned on keeping that promise.

"Why can't you tell me? What did you and Remus talk about that is so secret?" Rini kept asking Lily.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore," she would always reply.

"Well, what are you going to do with James and Sirius?"

"I'm going to be smitten with Remus."

"But won't that make them really mad? With Remus I mean."

"Remus admitted to me what he thought of me. James and Sirius didn't."

"They aren't like that though."

"That's just their loss, now isn't it?" Rini just smiled and shook her head at Lily.

That morning at breakfast, Lily sat beside Rini and in front of Remus, who sat between James and Sirius. Rini, James, and Sirius kept asking what was said between Lily and Remus, but they refused to tell. Lily noticed Remus looked at her a lot more than usual and with a new light in his eyes.

Lily nearly fainted when the mail arrived. Hundreds upon hundreds of owls soared into the Great Hall, all with packages or letters of some sort. Rini received an owl with a letter from her mother asking if she and Lily had arrived at Hogwarts okay and if they were fine. Rini quickly wrote back that they were okay and that everything was fine.

Then they received their schedules. Rini looked at hers. "Oh no!" she cried.

"What? What is it?" the others asked.

"Oh, it's just that we have Potions with Slytherins," she said. "FIRST PERIOD!"

Lily's face went from a happy smile to a look of pure horror. She looked directly at Remus and said, "You'll protect me, won't you?"

"Of course I will, Lily. All three of us, right guys?" Remus was trying hard to keep James and Sirius calm.

James and Sirius were glaring at Remus. Lily saw and managed to suppress a giggle. Though the boys were mad at Remus for somehow 'stealing' Lily's affection, they agreed.

The 5 had left breakfast early. Walking through the halls with their books in bags on their back, their hands were free. Lily seized the opportunity to make James and Sirius even more angry and jealous by linking arms with Remus.

"Are you trying to have them kill me?" Remus asked nervously when Lily did this.

"No," she replied.

"Then why?"

"To make them jealous. I heard the discussion you guys had this morning from the stairwell, and quite frankly, they're fighting over me like a piece of meat!" Remus didn't reply for he knew Lily was right.

So they entered the dungeon where the potions class was held with about 5 minutes to spare. There was already a handful of people there. Remus sat down at the left end of a table in the back. Lily sat down on his right and on her right was Rini, then James, and at the far right end of the table, Sirius.

Lily kept real close to Remus to add on to her charade.

Shortly after they had settled down, a large group of Slytherins entered, including Severus Snape. "Well, well. If it isn't Potter and his little group of friends," Snape said. No one said a word. James and Sirius continued to sulk. "What's this? Could it be that Potter and Black are sulking 'cause their precious mud blood rejected them for the strong, silent Lupin? Pathetic!"

James, Sirius, Remus, and Remus had jumped up at the words 'mud blood'. Lily, however, had remained seated. When he finished, she stood up, looked at her friends and said, "Sit." They looked at her bewildered. "I said sit!" Lily's voice had authority in it. They sat back down.

Lily looked at Severus. "Do you think insulting people gives you power over others?" she asked him. The sneer on his face said, 'Look around. Who has the larger group of friends?"

Lily understood the look perfectly and said, "Oh, you may have the larger group of 'friends,' as you call them, but are you sure they aren't just acting? I mean, it would suit them. After all, you are just a bunch of lying, slithering snakes." Severus was beside himself with fury. Not only had Lily insulted him, she had also insulted his house. He walked toward Lily and was about to strike her with the back of his hand when everyone heard the bang of the doors opening. He put his hand down as he whirled around to see who had interrupted the beginning of his revenge. Striding into the room was none other than the Potions Mistress. "You got lucky this time Evans," he hissed at Lily. "Don't expect to be so lucky next time."

"What makes you think there will be a next time, Severus?" she hissed back.

"Believe me, there will." Severus and his friends then found seats and Lily sank back down into hers. Remus grasped her hand. To his surprise, Lily was shaking. Remus looked up and saw the professor writing something on the board but didn't care to look. Lily's grasp on his hand was getting tighter and tighter.

Remus leaned toward Lily and said, "I know it's a good thing to have a firm grip, but yours is a bit to firm."

Lily's grip instantly loosened. "I'm so sorry, Remus. I-I-I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that-that I-I-I-I-"

"Lily!" Lily instantly stopped stuttering and slightly blushed for even stuttering. "It's okay. The main thing here is that you are okay. Are you okay?"

Lily looked directly into Remus's gray eyes. "I— I think so," she said, her voice quivering.

Remus heard the quiver and knew she wasn't but didn't press the matter. Instead, he merely said, "Alright."

The Potions Mistress turned from her writing and said, "Hello class. As you should already know, I am your Potions Mistress. If you have been reading what I have been writing on the board, you should know that my name is Synthia Cauldro, but to you, Professor Cauldro. Some people say I favor the house of Slytherin, as I am the head of it. I will have you know I've taken more than 100 points from Slytherin in one class. Now, first I will call role and then we'll spend the period taking notes." Grumbling, everyone pulled out parchment, quill, and ink.

"As I call your name, say 'Here' and raise your hand so that I may find you." As she called out names and looked at their owners, she either smiled with approval or frowned as if she knew that that person would be trouble. She smiled at Rini, Lily and Remus; she frowned at Sirius, James and Severus. Most Gryffindors received smiles while most Slytherins received frowns.

When Professor Cauldro finished calling role, she finished writing on the board. Then, she looked at the list of students, smiled, and looked at Lily. "Miss Evans," she said still smiling, "will you read what I have written on the board for those who like to act illiterate?"

Considering the distance between her and the professor, Lily could see Professor Cauldro's eyes really surprisingly well. What surprised Lily even more was how icy blue they were. She quickly broke her gaze with the professor and began reading what was written on the board.

The rest of the period they took notes like Professor Cauldro had said they would, Lily was careful not to look into Professor Cauldro's eyes.

After Potions the Gryffindors went to Transfiguration. It was the same as Potions. Professor McGonnagal taught Transfiguration. First she called role and then took notes. The last 15 minutes of class were spent trying to transfigure a match into a needle. Two minutes before the bell tolled, Lily and Rini finally managed to produce perfect needles. James had a match head with an eyehole at the other end. Sirius had a needlepoint with a square wooden end. Remus had a match head with a pointed end. After Transfiguration they had lunch.

They entered the Great Hall and sat down. Lily looked at her schedule and saw they had a free period after lunch. She told the group and they all said that was a good thing. They had been at lunch for barely 5 minutes when Lily excused herself and left the hall. Remus looked at Rini, as if to ask if he should go after her. Rini shook her head no and went back to eating lunch. James and Sirius kept looking at the entrance to the hall. Finally, they turned around and looked at Remus.

"What's wrong with Lily?" James asked with concern.

"I'm sure she's fine," Remus said before taking another bite of his lunch.

James and Sirius looked at each other as if asking if Remus was for real. He's sure she's fine? They couldn't believe his response.

After lunch, James, Remus, and Rini went to visit Hagrid. Sirius had other plans. He went up to the common room and found it was empty except for one person: Lily. She was working on the Potions homework of looking up certain herbs, their properties, and what they are mostly used for. He had entered quietly as to not disturb anyone, so Lily didn't know he was there. He was glad too, for he heard a true angel singing that day.

She had just started singing a song that was very popular in the muggle world: Last Kiss (unsure who it was sung by back then). It was 10 years old but still fairly well known. All Sirius could do was listen to her sweet voice.

"Oh where, oh where can my baby be? The Lord took her away from me. She's gone to heaven so I got to be good So I can see my baby when I leave this world We were out on a date in my daddy's car; we hadn't driven very far There in the road, straight ahead, a car had stalled; the engine was dead I couldn't stop, so I swerved to the right I'll never forget the sound that night The screaming' tires; the busting glass; the painful scream that I heard last Oh where, oh where can my baby be? The Lord took her away from me She's gone to heaven so I got to be good So I can see my baby when I leave this world"

Sirius couldn't believe his ears. Certainly he was hearing a heavenly creature, not some earthly form. She truly was the most beautiful and most angelic creature eve to walk the Earth. Sirius kept listening: "When I woke up the rain was pouring down

There were people standing all around Something warm rolling through my eyes But somehow I found my baby that night I lifted her head, she looked at me and said: 'Hold me, Darling, just a little while.' I held her close; I kissed her our last kiss I found a love that I knew I would miss But now she's gone, even though I hold her tight I lost my love, my life that night Oh where, oh where can my baby be? The Lord took her away from me. She's gone to heaven so I got to be good So I can see my baby when I leave this world"

Lily hummed a few more bars of the song; she didn't even notice she had an audience. Still working on her homework, she was startled by someone clapping. Lily whipped around and saw Sirius walking toward her. She blushed when she realized that Sirius had heard her sing the whole song.

"Beautiful," mused Sirius. "A beautiful voice for a most beautiful girl." His words only made Lily blush even more. "So much blushing over nothing," he jested. "Really, you have an extraordinary talent."

Lily could only murmur her thanks as she went back to her schoolwork. Sirius sat across from her and pulled out his books. Remembering how Lily had just left lunch, he asked, "Lily, aren't you hungry?"

Without looking up from her books, Lily shook her head and said, "No." Right as she said no, her stomach grumbled, demanding to be fed. "Well, maybe a little. Lunch is over though, so I'll wait till supper."

Sirius looked aghast. "You most certainly will not!" Lily looked up from her work. "I simply refuse to let you go hungry having known that Malfoy and Snape have full bellies." He went upstairs and came back down a few moments later with his book-bag a bit more full than before. He took Lily's hand and kissed it, then headed for the entrance saying, "Be right back!"

Lily giggled and then heaved a sigh. She was not quite sure what had happened, but she had a feeling she didn't want to know. She went back to work.

About 15 minutes later, Sirius entered the common room with a basket. He set the basket down on the table and began to serve Lily. There was fried chicken, freshly baked bread, cookies, and two jars of iced pumpkin juice. Sirius kept one the jars for himself.

Lily stared at the feast before her and finally managed to ask, "Where did you get all this?"

"Didn't James and I explain at the feast?" Sirius laughed. "The house elves are dying to give us food and have us praise them for it." Lily giggled. "What, it's true."

"No, it's not what you said. It's the way you said it."

"Oh." Sirius wasn't sure what to make of it so he just smiled.

They spent a good half-hour talking, eating, and doing their homework. When James, Remus, and Rini came in they were howling with laughter.

"What's so funny?" James asked upon seeing them. Lily and Sirius stopped laughing long enough to look at them before bursting out once more in laughter. James looked at Remus and shrugged.

Lily and Sirius finally calmed down and stopped laughing but couldn't stop smiling. James and Remus wondered about what was said between them but didn't ask. Rini asked that night while they were lying in their beds.

"Hey, what was so funny earlier? You know, with Sirius," Rini asked the question cautiously.

"Oh, that? It was nothing really. Just he and I were talking 'bout this and that. Said a few jokes, had a good laugh. That kind of thing." Rini just looked at her. "What? He can be quite funny."

"Well, what about making James and Sirius jealous. Is that still gong on?"

"Yes. I never said I wasn't still acting like Remus's girl, did I?"

"No. I just thought that you might be making James more jealous than Sirius by hanging out with him for, like, forty-five minutes."

"I've already considered that, Rini. I'm gonna spend some time with just James as well. But I'm still going to spend most of my time with Remus. With or without you guys around."

Lily and Rini talked a little more before going to sleep. Lily was awake staring at the ceiling. She was thinking about Remus and their secret. What would he tell the others when he had to go into hiding? How could he live with a secret that big? When was the next full moon? Most importantly, where would he be hiding? She fell asleep with these questions running through her head.