Things returned to normal standards at school. James and Remus managed a friendship. The whole school found out about Lily and Remus within the first two weeks of school. The friends even started with their pranks. Damien didn't take part in the jokes, though. The only thing different with any of the friends was Lily was always worn out by the end of the day.
Lily also had to deal with knowing that both Remus and James loved her. Remus would be holding her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, when she would look up and see James looking at her with what she believed to be a mixture of want and love in his eyes. A want and love that she would one day have him express freely to her.
Lily was lying in her bed one night after feeling exhausted from the day when she decided to read one of her old books. She lit a lamp on her bedside table and reached into the trunk at the foot of her bed. She pulled out a book about Queen Guinevere and her rein beside Arthur's side. She was wrapped up in the book and barely acknowledged her friends when they came into the dorm for bed.
She was well into the night when she was reading the parts of how her and Lancelot's love came to be. How they shared a love for the other but for Arthur's sake they denied themselves the passion and the warmth of the other's bed. They would occasionally kiss but when her stepson, Mordred, came to court they both knew it would be next to impossible for them to run away together. Guinevere took young Mordred in as her own at the age of eleven when his older half brother lopped of their mother's head when she was found with the son of her husband's murderer in her bed.
Lily shivered at the thought of being murdered in such a way by her own son. As she thought of the Celtic queen, she reminded Lily more like herself. Caught between two loves and unable to say no to the other. A torture made worse for Guinevere when her Lance was tricked into the bed of a younger woman and had a son from that coupling. Guinevere had come to love Arthur through their marriage, but she loved Lance by chance, as all good loves do. Lily felt glad that she wouldn't have to deal with problems like her idol did. Guinevere was her idol because of her strength, determination, and her passion in all that she did.
Coming back to reality, Lily looked out her window at the crescent moon. Judging by its position, it was about two or three in the morning. Figuring she would need her sleep, she put her book down and crawled under her covers. She blew out the lamp and closed her eyes.
In her dreams, she saw herself as the Celtic queen. She was in a court at suppertime. To her left was her husband and king. A fair headed man. To her right sat her champion and love. He was a dark haired man. She laughed at the playful bantering each gave and her love for each was obvious. Yet, she couldn't go to the man on her right for then she would be unfaithful to the man on her left. It was her obligation to go to the left.
It was nearly eight in the morning when Lily woke. Looking back on her dream, she knew that it represented her, Remus, and James. The fair-headed one was Remus and the dark-headed one was James. It was weird to her how much the triangle she was part of was so much like that of her idol's. Shaking off the dream, she got up and dressed. Heading down the steps, she noticed that all her friends were already down and waiting for her.
Remus stood up and walked over to her. "You all right?" he asked with a hug. "I was worried when you didn't come down and sit with me earlier."
"I'm all right, Remus, honestly. I was just up late reading and I didn't get to sleep till near two maybe three in the morning."
"What were you reading?" Damien called from the table.
"Oh, a lovely book," Lily said with excitement. "It was a book about King Arthur's rein through Guinevere's eyes." Lily's voice showed her affection of Arthur's queen. "Her being the people's queen, her taking in Mordred when he was half-orphaned when his mother died, her love affair with the dark and handsome Lancelot. Ah, Lancelot," she said picturing her image of him. "The queen's brave champion, trusted confidant, and lover. The one women yearned for but was Guinevere's very own." The other's looked at her as she talked about her passion for the era of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. "Mordred being Guinevere's step-son from Arthur being tricked into bedding his half sister, Morgause. Morgan le Fey and her being a treacherous and deceitful little priestess. Lady of the Lake she became when a raving mad man murdered Vivian. Lot going against Arthur and being killed by good old Pellinore in the Great Battle."
Lily continued on like such for a good few minutes before being brought back to reality by her friends calling her name. "Was I babbling again about my books?" When everyone nodded, Lily blushed and then apologized, saying, "I do that from time to time. Stop me sooner next time." They laughed at the and then went to breakfast.
Lily's books didn't leave her mind all day. After she finished her homework for the day she went up to her dorm and picked up where she left off.
Lily appeared to be having more spunk over the next few days and wasn't as exhausted as she had been at night. She began suggesting the tricks herself. Already having her homework done, Lily would sit in the Common Room and think up a prank. They were almost directed at Malfoy, Snape, Crabbe, and Goyle. Lily was sitting at a table when she came up with a great prank. She would make them have girly voices. Lily called the others over and they thought that it was a great idea. So the next morning, Lily cast the charm on them and the rest of the day they sounded like girls.
When Lily finished reading her Guinevere book, she went to another of her Arthurian books. Every time she read about Guinevere, Arthur, and Lancelot she thought about Remus, James, and herself.
In October, Quidditch tryouts were held for all teams. James and Sirius were going for it. Remus wasn't because he was always a bit weary from the full moons when he transformed into a werewolf. Rini was thinking about trying out. Lily, however, couldn't decide. Finally, James and Sirius managed to convince Lily to try out. James was trying out for chaser while Rini was trying out for seeker. Sirius was trying out for chaser and beater, hoping to get one. Lily figured she might as well try for both seeker and chaser.
So on the Saturday that the tryouts were held, James, Sirius, Rini, and Lily could be seen traipsing down to the Quidditch pitch. Arthur Marlo, another second year Gryffindor, was also trying out. They were sorted into areas for what you wanted to tryout for. James got in line for chaser; Rini for seeker. Lily and Sirius got into a line for those who were trying out for more than one position.
Since chasers would be tested throughout the practice, those trying out for seeker were set to work. Both Lily and Rini sat on their brooms searching for the snitch. They talked about how if the other got the snitch first the other would not hold it against them. All around them other students wanting a spot on the team were flying around them.
They had been in the air for no more than five minutes when Rini took off. Lily looked in the direction she was flying and saw the snitch. She, too, took off after it. The two girls were almost head-to-head with their hand outstretched. Everyone on the pitch was staring at the two of them go. Quick as a flash, Rini grabbed the snitch and the two girls pulled their brooms to a halt. They looked at each other and shook hands.
"Good job!" Lily said.
"Thanks!" Rini answered. "No hard feelings, right?"
"No hard feelings."
They flew to the ground and Lily handed the captain of Gryffindor's team, Lucas Mio, the snitch.
"Congratulations," Lucas said to Rini. "You are our reserve seeker. If our seeker, Nancy Fala, ever gets injured, takes ill, or has any reason not to play in a game, you will take his place."
Rini was beaming. "Well, you better get up into the air if you want to be a chaser."
Lily nodded and took off again. The others around her were passing the quaffle and shooting goals. Whenever Lily was able to take a shot she took it. She also passed the quaffle to those wanting to be team members. To Lily's dismay, James was doing just as well as she was. They were doing so well they had a competition going on. Neither could outdo the other.
Sirius was up in the air beating the bludgers at the different players. The team's remaining beater, Eric Sionne, kept hitting the bludgers toward Sirius and others trying for the position to see their reactions. Sirius easily made the bludgers go towards others trying out and Eric. After a while, they were told to make the bludgers go directly towards Eric and no one else. Sirius had fun fulfilling that task.
After a few minutes of that drill, Eric called a stop. Eric flew over to Lucas and gave him his report. They both flew back over to the beater candidates. Lucas looked through the group and said, "You have all done very well. Now, I will be telling you who will be our new beater and our new reserve." Everyone anxiously awaited the new team members. "Our new beater is Sirius Black," he called. Sirius let out a whoop of joy. "Our reserve is Arthur Marlo."
Arthur also let out a sigh. Sirius flew over to him. "You okay?"
Arthur nodded. "I'm actually a bit relieved that I'm just a reserve. I do want to be a beater, but I would rather not have to do the job for maybe a year or two."
Over at the goal posts, only the two remaining chasers, the Harris twins Angela and Angelo, Lily, and James were still passing the quaffle back and forth and scoring goals. Lucas flew over to them to watch the to second years go at it. He watched this for a good ten minutes before having his chasers and the two competitors take a break. He watched as Lily and James landed. He noticed how when James tried to offer a compliment Lily shook it off and walked away from him with arms crossed.
Smiling, Lucas walked over to his chasers and asked them to work in opposition of the two second years. They looked at him weirdly, but his expression let them know he had something in mind. Then he walked over to Lily and James. "You two seem to have quite some spunk," he said. "What are your names?"
Lily walked over and offered her hand. "Lillian Evans but everyone calls me Lily."
Lucas raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lily." Then turning to James he said, "And your name?"
"James." He reached out and shook Lucas's hand.
"Do you have a last name or is you name just James?" Lily giggled when she heard Lucas's reproach. He looked at Lily glad she had a sense of humor.
"It's Potter. James Potter. And what might your name be?"
"Duh, James," Lily said as if it were obvious. "Even I know that this is the Gryffindor house captain Lucas Mio. He's also the keeper for the team."
Lucas was impressed by Lily's knowledge of him. "Call me Luke. It's much less formal. Now, to what I came over here for. You to seem to have quite a bit of spunk, as well as a dislike for one another."
"It's not a dislike," James cut in. "She is just trying to avoid me as much as possible so she doesn't have to tell her boyfriend something she'd rather not, even if she wanted it to happen."
"James!" Lily shrieked. "Leave personal matters out of this! Now let Luke finish!"
Luke nodded in appreciation to Lily. "As I was saying. I would like you two to work as a team against my remaining chasers. Just to see if you two are as good when working together as when working against each other."
Lily looked horror stricken. Then she set her face firm and said, "If you wish. James, you better not screw up."
James tried to make a defense as Lily got back on her broom and did a few laps. Scowling, he, too, got back on his broom. Luke nodded to his chasers to do the same. Luke also got on his broom to do his job as keeper.
Lily and James did their best to work together. In the end, they had made five goals while the team's chasers only made three.
Luke flew over to his chasers as Lily and James made their way to the ground. "You guys, they're good. They're even better together. We can't split them up."
Angela Harris spoke first. "I agree with you, Luke. I don't care how much tension is between those two, they belong on the field together."
Angelo then said, "I have to agree with Angela. But if we keep them together, then one of us will have to become a reserve."
Luke sighed. "I know. That's why I needed to speak with you. They make an excellent team. I would hate to have to put one of you two out just to keep them together, though."
"It's okay, Luke," Angela said. "I'm sure Angelo and I could trade positions every other game. Right Angelo?"
"Sounds alright with me," Angelo said easily. "I'll go tell them."
As Angelo left to tell them, Angela got closer to Luke and kissed him. "Don't worry about making Angelo and I look like awful players. As long as we win the House Cup we're okay with it."
Luke kissed the top of Angela's head. "I love you, you know that?"
"Of course I do. Why else would I stick around?"
They laughed and started walking over towards Lily and James when they heard a shriek pierce the air. "James Potter! Why can't you find some way to enjoy yourself without me being involved!" Lily then stalked over towards Luke and Angela.
"Welcome to the team, Lily," Angela said with as much enthusiasm as possible, considering Lily's mood.
"Thank you for letting me be a part of the team. Though I wish I didn't have to work with that nit twit," Lily said nodding in James direction. Lily found out when practice was and stalked back to the Common Room.
As Lily entered the Common Room, Remus got up to give her a hug and ask if she got on the team. Lily on the other hand, didn't even see Remus because of her blinding rage and stalked up to her dorm. Remus followed her to her dorm and waited a few moments before knocking on her dorm room door. "Enter!" Lily shrieked.
Remus entered and saw Lily pacing around the room, scowling, and mumbling to herself every once in a while. Lily looked up to see who had disturbed her. She smiled when she saw Remus and ran over to give him a hug and kiss. Remus gladly accepted them before asking cautiously, "So, how did it go?"
Lily began sulking again as she went and sat on her bed. "Fine! Just dandy."
"Didn't you get on the team?"
"Oh, I got on the team, alright. As well as Sirius, Rini, Arthur, and James."
"So why are you so upset?"
"Because James and I are both chasers! Apparently, James and I make such a great team that they're actually making one of their current chasers a reserve!"
Remus understood why Lily was so upset. All he could say was "Oh." He sat down on the bed beside Lily and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She instinctively put her head on his shoulder and sighed.
"I just wish he didn't care for me so much! If he didn't there wouldn't be so much of a problem."
"I know my little flower. I know."
"Moony, why do you like me?"
Remus thought for a moment. "I like you so much because of who you are. To me, you're perfect. Every guy thinks you're perfect. You not only look like an angel, you have the heart and spirit of one. With a bit of a mischief streak."
Lily laughed. Then she sighed as she began to fall asleep. Not even realizing she slipped into French, Lily said, "Je t'aime, Remus. Je vraiment. Promesse vous ne me laisserez jamais."
Though not the best with it, he answered her in French. "Je t'aime, aussi, Lily. Je ne vous laisserais jamais à moins que vous m'ayez voulu ."
Lily had fallen asleep so Remus laid her on her bed and tucked her in. He kissed her forehead before he left.
Professor Dumbledore announced another Halloween ball two weeks before Halloween. This year it would be a costume party. Remus asked Lily to the dance the very morning it was announced. They decided they would go as fairies. Damien asked Rini and they decided to go as vampires. Sirius asked Damien's twin sister, Jordyn Gem, again. James, being true to his word to Lily, didn't ask anyone to the dance. Damien's other twin sister, Sara, was a bit upset he didn't ask her again.
Lily was glad that the full moon was a week before the dance. Remus had said that his mother was ill and he wanted to make sure she would be okay. So, before leaving for the Whomping Willow tree that hid the passage to his shack where he transformed, he gave Lily a kiss good-bye before saying, "Remember: it's our little secret." He had always said that to Lily whenever he left for his transformations, but this year it was accompanied by the kiss. After he left, she would always go and sit with her friends. Tonight, though, was different from the other nights.
Lily sat down and listened to what they were talking about. The topic didn't amuse her.
"...I'm serious, you guys," Sirius was saying. "For astrology, I was checking my moon chart, and for the months we've been at school, Remus has been leaving whenever there's a full moon."
Lily tensed up at this. She didn't hear the rest of the conversation nor did she even notice her gaze was at James. When James glanced around the table, he did notice that Lily seemed to be staring at him. Trying to see if he would still be able to read her thoughts, James met her gaze. The screaming that entered his head was almost unbearable. That it was Lily's thoughts was not a question.
'How!' her voice screamed in his head. 'How was someone as dumb as Sirius figure out something that complex! I mean, sure they have a right knowing, but only if Remus wants them to know! I can't believe this!' Suddenly, her thoughts became panicked. 'Oh, no! What is Remus thinks that I told them? What if he thinks I betrayed him and told them about his being a werewolf? If he thinks I betrayed him in that, would he also think I've been seeing James on the side? Oh, why must I love and be loved by two wonderful men! Never mind your troubles, Lily! You need to think about Remus and the problem of them knowing.'
James broke his gaze with Lily. "Hey, guys, I'm going upstairs. I'll be back down later." He ran upstairs and grabbed his invisibility cloak. After putting it on, he went back downstairs. Someone must have gotten Lily out of her thoughts because she was apologizing for going off into her own world. James went over to Lily and whispered in her ear, "It's me. We need to talk in private. Tell them you're going for a walk around the lake."
Lily could tell he knew something so did as she was told. "Hey, I'm going to go for a walk down by the lake. Maybe see how Hagrid is doing. I haven't been there for a while." Everyone nodded as she left with James following her under the cloak.
It was only eight o'clock so it was okay for her to be walking around the school. She went outside and down to the lake. She got to the tree James had found her drying under the year before and called out, "James Potter, take that cloak off this instant!" James took his cloak off, appearing right in front of Lily with the most solemn face she'd ever seen him have. Startled, Lily took a step back. "What is it that was so important to drag me here?"
"Lily, I know."
Lily was a bit frightened about what he might know. "You know what?"
"Everything!" James burst out. "I know Remus is a werewolf, I know you love both Remus and me, and I know that you keep praying that I'll keep my promise to you."
Lily had backed u so far she bumped into the tree. "How?" she said with panic in her voice. "How the bloody hell did you find out?"
"Lily, when I look into your eyes I can here you thoughts."
Silent tears of fright, worry, and disbelief ran down Lily's cheeks. "You lie!"
James stepped up to Lily and wiped away her tears. "No, I'm not lying. That's how I found out about you and Remus. That's how I know you love me as well as Remus."
"But that was..." Lily's voice trailed off. Suddenly she became furious. "Three months! You've been able to here my thoughts for two or three bloody months and you didn't tell me!"
"I was afraid you wouldn't believe me or else would be angry with me, like you are now."
"You're damn right I'm angry! Who knows what thoughts of mine you've heard!" Lily became worried again. "You can't tell them! You can't tell anyone the truth about Remus. You've got to tell him you know and that the others are figuring it out."
James gathered the emotional Lily into a hug. "Calm down, Lily. I promise I won't tell the others but I will tell Remus that I know." He felt Lily prepare to say something and continued. "Don't worry about Remus thinking you told me either. I'll tell him I figured it out just like the others are."
Lily looked up into James's face to see if he was lying and found nothing but honest sincerity. "Thank you, James," she said quietly. James bent down and kissed her. She didn't reject the kiss or recoil from it. Instead, she accepted and returned it. 'Now I am truly like Guinevere,' Lily thought to herself.
Lily also had to deal with knowing that both Remus and James loved her. Remus would be holding her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, when she would look up and see James looking at her with what she believed to be a mixture of want and love in his eyes. A want and love that she would one day have him express freely to her.
Lily was lying in her bed one night after feeling exhausted from the day when she decided to read one of her old books. She lit a lamp on her bedside table and reached into the trunk at the foot of her bed. She pulled out a book about Queen Guinevere and her rein beside Arthur's side. She was wrapped up in the book and barely acknowledged her friends when they came into the dorm for bed.
She was well into the night when she was reading the parts of how her and Lancelot's love came to be. How they shared a love for the other but for Arthur's sake they denied themselves the passion and the warmth of the other's bed. They would occasionally kiss but when her stepson, Mordred, came to court they both knew it would be next to impossible for them to run away together. Guinevere took young Mordred in as her own at the age of eleven when his older half brother lopped of their mother's head when she was found with the son of her husband's murderer in her bed.
Lily shivered at the thought of being murdered in such a way by her own son. As she thought of the Celtic queen, she reminded Lily more like herself. Caught between two loves and unable to say no to the other. A torture made worse for Guinevere when her Lance was tricked into the bed of a younger woman and had a son from that coupling. Guinevere had come to love Arthur through their marriage, but she loved Lance by chance, as all good loves do. Lily felt glad that she wouldn't have to deal with problems like her idol did. Guinevere was her idol because of her strength, determination, and her passion in all that she did.
Coming back to reality, Lily looked out her window at the crescent moon. Judging by its position, it was about two or three in the morning. Figuring she would need her sleep, she put her book down and crawled under her covers. She blew out the lamp and closed her eyes.
In her dreams, she saw herself as the Celtic queen. She was in a court at suppertime. To her left was her husband and king. A fair headed man. To her right sat her champion and love. He was a dark haired man. She laughed at the playful bantering each gave and her love for each was obvious. Yet, she couldn't go to the man on her right for then she would be unfaithful to the man on her left. It was her obligation to go to the left.
It was nearly eight in the morning when Lily woke. Looking back on her dream, she knew that it represented her, Remus, and James. The fair-headed one was Remus and the dark-headed one was James. It was weird to her how much the triangle she was part of was so much like that of her idol's. Shaking off the dream, she got up and dressed. Heading down the steps, she noticed that all her friends were already down and waiting for her.
Remus stood up and walked over to her. "You all right?" he asked with a hug. "I was worried when you didn't come down and sit with me earlier."
"I'm all right, Remus, honestly. I was just up late reading and I didn't get to sleep till near two maybe three in the morning."
"What were you reading?" Damien called from the table.
"Oh, a lovely book," Lily said with excitement. "It was a book about King Arthur's rein through Guinevere's eyes." Lily's voice showed her affection of Arthur's queen. "Her being the people's queen, her taking in Mordred when he was half-orphaned when his mother died, her love affair with the dark and handsome Lancelot. Ah, Lancelot," she said picturing her image of him. "The queen's brave champion, trusted confidant, and lover. The one women yearned for but was Guinevere's very own." The other's looked at her as she talked about her passion for the era of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. "Mordred being Guinevere's step-son from Arthur being tricked into bedding his half sister, Morgause. Morgan le Fey and her being a treacherous and deceitful little priestess. Lady of the Lake she became when a raving mad man murdered Vivian. Lot going against Arthur and being killed by good old Pellinore in the Great Battle."
Lily continued on like such for a good few minutes before being brought back to reality by her friends calling her name. "Was I babbling again about my books?" When everyone nodded, Lily blushed and then apologized, saying, "I do that from time to time. Stop me sooner next time." They laughed at the and then went to breakfast.
Lily's books didn't leave her mind all day. After she finished her homework for the day she went up to her dorm and picked up where she left off.
Lily appeared to be having more spunk over the next few days and wasn't as exhausted as she had been at night. She began suggesting the tricks herself. Already having her homework done, Lily would sit in the Common Room and think up a prank. They were almost directed at Malfoy, Snape, Crabbe, and Goyle. Lily was sitting at a table when she came up with a great prank. She would make them have girly voices. Lily called the others over and they thought that it was a great idea. So the next morning, Lily cast the charm on them and the rest of the day they sounded like girls.
When Lily finished reading her Guinevere book, she went to another of her Arthurian books. Every time she read about Guinevere, Arthur, and Lancelot she thought about Remus, James, and herself.
In October, Quidditch tryouts were held for all teams. James and Sirius were going for it. Remus wasn't because he was always a bit weary from the full moons when he transformed into a werewolf. Rini was thinking about trying out. Lily, however, couldn't decide. Finally, James and Sirius managed to convince Lily to try out. James was trying out for chaser while Rini was trying out for seeker. Sirius was trying out for chaser and beater, hoping to get one. Lily figured she might as well try for both seeker and chaser.
So on the Saturday that the tryouts were held, James, Sirius, Rini, and Lily could be seen traipsing down to the Quidditch pitch. Arthur Marlo, another second year Gryffindor, was also trying out. They were sorted into areas for what you wanted to tryout for. James got in line for chaser; Rini for seeker. Lily and Sirius got into a line for those who were trying out for more than one position.
Since chasers would be tested throughout the practice, those trying out for seeker were set to work. Both Lily and Rini sat on their brooms searching for the snitch. They talked about how if the other got the snitch first the other would not hold it against them. All around them other students wanting a spot on the team were flying around them.
They had been in the air for no more than five minutes when Rini took off. Lily looked in the direction she was flying and saw the snitch. She, too, took off after it. The two girls were almost head-to-head with their hand outstretched. Everyone on the pitch was staring at the two of them go. Quick as a flash, Rini grabbed the snitch and the two girls pulled their brooms to a halt. They looked at each other and shook hands.
"Good job!" Lily said.
"Thanks!" Rini answered. "No hard feelings, right?"
"No hard feelings."
They flew to the ground and Lily handed the captain of Gryffindor's team, Lucas Mio, the snitch.
"Congratulations," Lucas said to Rini. "You are our reserve seeker. If our seeker, Nancy Fala, ever gets injured, takes ill, or has any reason not to play in a game, you will take his place."
Rini was beaming. "Well, you better get up into the air if you want to be a chaser."
Lily nodded and took off again. The others around her were passing the quaffle and shooting goals. Whenever Lily was able to take a shot she took it. She also passed the quaffle to those wanting to be team members. To Lily's dismay, James was doing just as well as she was. They were doing so well they had a competition going on. Neither could outdo the other.
Sirius was up in the air beating the bludgers at the different players. The team's remaining beater, Eric Sionne, kept hitting the bludgers toward Sirius and others trying for the position to see their reactions. Sirius easily made the bludgers go towards others trying out and Eric. After a while, they were told to make the bludgers go directly towards Eric and no one else. Sirius had fun fulfilling that task.
After a few minutes of that drill, Eric called a stop. Eric flew over to Lucas and gave him his report. They both flew back over to the beater candidates. Lucas looked through the group and said, "You have all done very well. Now, I will be telling you who will be our new beater and our new reserve." Everyone anxiously awaited the new team members. "Our new beater is Sirius Black," he called. Sirius let out a whoop of joy. "Our reserve is Arthur Marlo."
Arthur also let out a sigh. Sirius flew over to him. "You okay?"
Arthur nodded. "I'm actually a bit relieved that I'm just a reserve. I do want to be a beater, but I would rather not have to do the job for maybe a year or two."
Over at the goal posts, only the two remaining chasers, the Harris twins Angela and Angelo, Lily, and James were still passing the quaffle back and forth and scoring goals. Lucas flew over to them to watch the to second years go at it. He watched this for a good ten minutes before having his chasers and the two competitors take a break. He watched as Lily and James landed. He noticed how when James tried to offer a compliment Lily shook it off and walked away from him with arms crossed.
Smiling, Lucas walked over to his chasers and asked them to work in opposition of the two second years. They looked at him weirdly, but his expression let them know he had something in mind. Then he walked over to Lily and James. "You two seem to have quite some spunk," he said. "What are your names?"
Lily walked over and offered her hand. "Lillian Evans but everyone calls me Lily."
Lucas raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lily." Then turning to James he said, "And your name?"
"James." He reached out and shook Lucas's hand.
"Do you have a last name or is you name just James?" Lily giggled when she heard Lucas's reproach. He looked at Lily glad she had a sense of humor.
"It's Potter. James Potter. And what might your name be?"
"Duh, James," Lily said as if it were obvious. "Even I know that this is the Gryffindor house captain Lucas Mio. He's also the keeper for the team."
Lucas was impressed by Lily's knowledge of him. "Call me Luke. It's much less formal. Now, to what I came over here for. You to seem to have quite a bit of spunk, as well as a dislike for one another."
"It's not a dislike," James cut in. "She is just trying to avoid me as much as possible so she doesn't have to tell her boyfriend something she'd rather not, even if she wanted it to happen."
"James!" Lily shrieked. "Leave personal matters out of this! Now let Luke finish!"
Luke nodded in appreciation to Lily. "As I was saying. I would like you two to work as a team against my remaining chasers. Just to see if you two are as good when working together as when working against each other."
Lily looked horror stricken. Then she set her face firm and said, "If you wish. James, you better not screw up."
James tried to make a defense as Lily got back on her broom and did a few laps. Scowling, he, too, got back on his broom. Luke nodded to his chasers to do the same. Luke also got on his broom to do his job as keeper.
Lily and James did their best to work together. In the end, they had made five goals while the team's chasers only made three.
Luke flew over to his chasers as Lily and James made their way to the ground. "You guys, they're good. They're even better together. We can't split them up."
Angela Harris spoke first. "I agree with you, Luke. I don't care how much tension is between those two, they belong on the field together."
Angelo then said, "I have to agree with Angela. But if we keep them together, then one of us will have to become a reserve."
Luke sighed. "I know. That's why I needed to speak with you. They make an excellent team. I would hate to have to put one of you two out just to keep them together, though."
"It's okay, Luke," Angela said. "I'm sure Angelo and I could trade positions every other game. Right Angelo?"
"Sounds alright with me," Angelo said easily. "I'll go tell them."
As Angelo left to tell them, Angela got closer to Luke and kissed him. "Don't worry about making Angelo and I look like awful players. As long as we win the House Cup we're okay with it."
Luke kissed the top of Angela's head. "I love you, you know that?"
"Of course I do. Why else would I stick around?"
They laughed and started walking over towards Lily and James when they heard a shriek pierce the air. "James Potter! Why can't you find some way to enjoy yourself without me being involved!" Lily then stalked over towards Luke and Angela.
"Welcome to the team, Lily," Angela said with as much enthusiasm as possible, considering Lily's mood.
"Thank you for letting me be a part of the team. Though I wish I didn't have to work with that nit twit," Lily said nodding in James direction. Lily found out when practice was and stalked back to the Common Room.
As Lily entered the Common Room, Remus got up to give her a hug and ask if she got on the team. Lily on the other hand, didn't even see Remus because of her blinding rage and stalked up to her dorm. Remus followed her to her dorm and waited a few moments before knocking on her dorm room door. "Enter!" Lily shrieked.
Remus entered and saw Lily pacing around the room, scowling, and mumbling to herself every once in a while. Lily looked up to see who had disturbed her. She smiled when she saw Remus and ran over to give him a hug and kiss. Remus gladly accepted them before asking cautiously, "So, how did it go?"
Lily began sulking again as she went and sat on her bed. "Fine! Just dandy."
"Didn't you get on the team?"
"Oh, I got on the team, alright. As well as Sirius, Rini, Arthur, and James."
"So why are you so upset?"
"Because James and I are both chasers! Apparently, James and I make such a great team that they're actually making one of their current chasers a reserve!"
Remus understood why Lily was so upset. All he could say was "Oh." He sat down on the bed beside Lily and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She instinctively put her head on his shoulder and sighed.
"I just wish he didn't care for me so much! If he didn't there wouldn't be so much of a problem."
"I know my little flower. I know."
"Moony, why do you like me?"
Remus thought for a moment. "I like you so much because of who you are. To me, you're perfect. Every guy thinks you're perfect. You not only look like an angel, you have the heart and spirit of one. With a bit of a mischief streak."
Lily laughed. Then she sighed as she began to fall asleep. Not even realizing she slipped into French, Lily said, "Je t'aime, Remus. Je vraiment. Promesse vous ne me laisserez jamais."
Though not the best with it, he answered her in French. "Je t'aime, aussi, Lily. Je ne vous laisserais jamais à moins que vous m'ayez voulu ."
Lily had fallen asleep so Remus laid her on her bed and tucked her in. He kissed her forehead before he left.
Professor Dumbledore announced another Halloween ball two weeks before Halloween. This year it would be a costume party. Remus asked Lily to the dance the very morning it was announced. They decided they would go as fairies. Damien asked Rini and they decided to go as vampires. Sirius asked Damien's twin sister, Jordyn Gem, again. James, being true to his word to Lily, didn't ask anyone to the dance. Damien's other twin sister, Sara, was a bit upset he didn't ask her again.
Lily was glad that the full moon was a week before the dance. Remus had said that his mother was ill and he wanted to make sure she would be okay. So, before leaving for the Whomping Willow tree that hid the passage to his shack where he transformed, he gave Lily a kiss good-bye before saying, "Remember: it's our little secret." He had always said that to Lily whenever he left for his transformations, but this year it was accompanied by the kiss. After he left, she would always go and sit with her friends. Tonight, though, was different from the other nights.
Lily sat down and listened to what they were talking about. The topic didn't amuse her.
"...I'm serious, you guys," Sirius was saying. "For astrology, I was checking my moon chart, and for the months we've been at school, Remus has been leaving whenever there's a full moon."
Lily tensed up at this. She didn't hear the rest of the conversation nor did she even notice her gaze was at James. When James glanced around the table, he did notice that Lily seemed to be staring at him. Trying to see if he would still be able to read her thoughts, James met her gaze. The screaming that entered his head was almost unbearable. That it was Lily's thoughts was not a question.
'How!' her voice screamed in his head. 'How was someone as dumb as Sirius figure out something that complex! I mean, sure they have a right knowing, but only if Remus wants them to know! I can't believe this!' Suddenly, her thoughts became panicked. 'Oh, no! What is Remus thinks that I told them? What if he thinks I betrayed him and told them about his being a werewolf? If he thinks I betrayed him in that, would he also think I've been seeing James on the side? Oh, why must I love and be loved by two wonderful men! Never mind your troubles, Lily! You need to think about Remus and the problem of them knowing.'
James broke his gaze with Lily. "Hey, guys, I'm going upstairs. I'll be back down later." He ran upstairs and grabbed his invisibility cloak. After putting it on, he went back downstairs. Someone must have gotten Lily out of her thoughts because she was apologizing for going off into her own world. James went over to Lily and whispered in her ear, "It's me. We need to talk in private. Tell them you're going for a walk around the lake."
Lily could tell he knew something so did as she was told. "Hey, I'm going to go for a walk down by the lake. Maybe see how Hagrid is doing. I haven't been there for a while." Everyone nodded as she left with James following her under the cloak.
It was only eight o'clock so it was okay for her to be walking around the school. She went outside and down to the lake. She got to the tree James had found her drying under the year before and called out, "James Potter, take that cloak off this instant!" James took his cloak off, appearing right in front of Lily with the most solemn face she'd ever seen him have. Startled, Lily took a step back. "What is it that was so important to drag me here?"
"Lily, I know."
Lily was a bit frightened about what he might know. "You know what?"
"Everything!" James burst out. "I know Remus is a werewolf, I know you love both Remus and me, and I know that you keep praying that I'll keep my promise to you."
Lily had backed u so far she bumped into the tree. "How?" she said with panic in her voice. "How the bloody hell did you find out?"
"Lily, when I look into your eyes I can here you thoughts."
Silent tears of fright, worry, and disbelief ran down Lily's cheeks. "You lie!"
James stepped up to Lily and wiped away her tears. "No, I'm not lying. That's how I found out about you and Remus. That's how I know you love me as well as Remus."
"But that was..." Lily's voice trailed off. Suddenly she became furious. "Three months! You've been able to here my thoughts for two or three bloody months and you didn't tell me!"
"I was afraid you wouldn't believe me or else would be angry with me, like you are now."
"You're damn right I'm angry! Who knows what thoughts of mine you've heard!" Lily became worried again. "You can't tell them! You can't tell anyone the truth about Remus. You've got to tell him you know and that the others are figuring it out."
James gathered the emotional Lily into a hug. "Calm down, Lily. I promise I won't tell the others but I will tell Remus that I know." He felt Lily prepare to say something and continued. "Don't worry about Remus thinking you told me either. I'll tell him I figured it out just like the others are."
Lily looked up into James's face to see if he was lying and found nothing but honest sincerity. "Thank you, James," she said quietly. James bent down and kissed her. She didn't reject the kiss or recoil from it. Instead, she accepted and returned it. 'Now I am truly like Guinevere,' Lily thought to herself.
