"Are you all right, Lily?" Rini said standing up.
Remus grew curious as Lily shook her head no. " I need to talk to you," Lily said. Then she went over to James and grabbed his wrist. "And you." She grabbed Rini's wrist and dragged them up to the girls' dorm. When they got to the dorm, Lily pushed them onto the closest bed and started pacing. Rini and James looked at each other and then at the moving Lily.
Rini was just about to ask what was wrong when Lily came to a stop and burst. "I can't do this anymore!"
"Do what, Lily?" James asked.
"This-this…thing with Lucius! It's not fair to him, it's not fair to Remus, and it's certainly not fair to me!"
Rini looked at Lily puzzled. "I thought you liked Malfoy."
Lily almost laughed. "Are you serious? I mean, sure he's been nice to me and all, but I love Remus. Even if I have to fight that Ravenclaw brat."
"Don't call her a brat, Lily," James said. "She happens to be best friend to my girlfriend and I would appreciate it if you didn't talk trash about her in my presence."
"Fine," Lily said stiffly. "I'll call her whatever I want when you're not around, then."
"When I'm not around, go right ahead."
Lily sat down on a chair in front of them. "Help me get Remus back."
"Don't you have to break up with Malfoy before you go for Remus again?" Rini asked.
"I have to stay with Lucius for a bit more before I break up with him." Lily looked down. "I probably horrified Remus tonight by making him witness that," she murmured.
"He wasn't the only one horrified with what they saw!" James cried.
Lily's head jerked back up instantly. "You saw?" There was panic in her voice.
"Yeah. Sirius and I were with Remus under the invisibility cloak. Wait a minute. How'd you know Remus was there unless you wrote him that note?"
"Because I did write the note, James," Lily said as if it were obvious.
"The note wasn't in your hand, though," James countered.
"It was, James, just not my right hand. I wrote it with my left hand so it would be familiar but not recognizable."
Rini was looking at Lily oddly. "I think you thought this out to thoroughly, Lils. It's like you wanted to get back at Remus for snogging that girl by having him see you snog his nemesis."
"Think of it as my final revenge," Lily said angrily. Lily crossed her arms and looked as if she were pouting.
"You still need to deal with Malfoy," James said.
"I'll stay with him for no less than two weeks, no more than a month. I can't stand him!"
"That's a good girl!" James said happily. He got up and gave her a hug, then sat back down on the bed. "Dump the ugly git before he does something rotten."
Lily nodded. "I just wish I knew how to get Remus back, now."
Rini sighed. "Lily, he still loves you. He only started going out with that Margo girl because you were with Malfoy. He really does love you, though. Nothing could ever change that."
"Do you think that if I talked to him now he would forgive me?" Lily asked hopefully.
"You can only try and see," James said.
"I'll do it tomorrow morning. You know how Remus is always up at around five o'clock everyday." Lily stood up and walked over to Rini and James and gave them a hug. "Thanks, guys."
James took this as his cue to leave and left to tell Sirius how upset Lily was with herself. James told Remus to expect Lily in the morning. Remus went upstairs to the boys' dorm with a curious look on his face.
After James had left, Lily went to her bed to go to sleep. Then she thought she should take a quick shower to get rid of Lucius's feel and smell off of her. Then she went to sleep.
Rini watched Lily the entire time she was in the bedroom. She was glad Lily had finally come to her senses, even if it took kissing Malfoy to do it. Rini shuddered at the thought of kissing Malfoy.
When Lily woke up she took another shower and got dressed. After using a drying spell on her hair she started to put it into a ponytail, but then decided against it. She looked in the full-length mirror, took a deep breath, and then slowly headed down the stairs.
Remus heard Lily come down the stairs. At the risk of sounding cliched he said, "I've been expecting you."
"James told you?" Lily asked worriedly.
"He said you were going to be coming down around this time to talk to me like you used to. He didn't say why, though." Remus still hadn't turned away from the fire and Lily was still on the stair landing.
Lily gave a small sigh of relief. She walked over to a chair that was beside and almost facing Remus's. When Remus didn't turn to face her she said, "Remus, what I have to say is of great importance and I need you to look at me while I say this."
Remus turned in his chair to face Lily. When he looked in her eyes he noticed the very thin, almost invisible, film covering her eyes, letting him know she was blocking her mind from him. He felt slightly disappointed at this but didn't show it.
Lily took another deep breath before she spoke again. "Remus… I wrote the note telling you to meet someone on the right side of the lake. I did it to get back at you for kissing that Ravenclaw girl. I was so hurt when I saw you kiss her because I had thought until then that you still loved me."
"Why would it hurt you if you don't love me?" Remus asked quietly.
"I do love you, Remus."
"Then why did you start dating Malfoy?" he asked angrily. "Better yet, why did you even break up with me?"
Lily bit back an angry remark and blinked back her tears. Shakily she said, "To answer the latter first, I broke up with you because I felt smothered. You were always wondering where I was, what I was doing. It was almost as if I couldn't use the loo without your permission. As for Malfoy, I started dating him in hopes that you would see that a boyfriend doesn't always need to know where their girlfriend is or what she's up to."
"So is he a better boyfriend then I was?"
"When it comes to trusting me, yes. When it comes to me trusting him and enjoying his touch, no."
Remus looked at her sharply. "You said you trusted him last night. You said you were his. You let him kiss your neck and just kiss you. Lily, he had his slimy tongue down your throat!"
Lily could here the anger in his voice and finally snapped back at him. "You think I enjoyed that?! For months the only thing I would allow him to do is give me a gentle peck, hold my hand, and have his hand on my waist and shoulder! I only let him kiss me because you kissed Elle's friend!" Lily was glad she finally had an outburst at Remus. She looked down at the floor with nothing left to say.
"I never wanted you to know about Margo, even though I wanted you to know I was over you. I wasn't though. You kissed Malfoy! You let him kiss you in a way I never even kissed you! He kissed your neck and you giggled."
Lily looked up at Remus and easily saw the anger and hatred in his face. Lily nodded slightly and stood up. "I understand, Remus."
She started to walk back up the stairs when Remus said, "Wait. Lily, come back here." Lily walked in front of Remus with downcast eyes.
Remus stood up and raised Lily's face so their eyes met. They stood quiet for a few seconds as Remus saw Lily's eyes clear as she removed the block on her thoughts. Remus only heard three sad words: Please forgive me.
Those three words melted Remus's reserve. His arms wrapped around Lily quickly in a bone-crushing hug. Lily hesitated, then threw her arms around Remus's neck.
Up on the boys' dormitory stairs stood James, Rini, and Sirius. They watched as Remus pulled back slightly and kissed Lily. If it hadn't been for the fact that they didn't want to ruin the moment they would have cheered very loudly. They tiptoed up the stairs to the third year boys' dormitory door.
Rini looked at both boys. "They're back together! This is great!" Each word was punctuated.
"Not yet," James sighed. "She still has to deal with Malfoy and he still has to deal with Margo."
"Thanks for ruining it, James."
"He's right, though," Sirius said. "They still aren't out of the woods yet."
Back in the Common Room, Remus had sat back down in his chair with Lily on the floor in front of him.
"When are you going to break up with Malfoy, Flower?"
"In two to four weeks. I have to wait a while so he doesn't get suspicious."
Remus nodded. "So shortly after Christmas holidays."
Lily nodded. "What about Margo, Moony?"
"Next time I meet up with her I'm breaking it off."
"Thank you," Lily murmured. The two fell silent as the morning progressed.
Lily went home for Christmas that year to spend it with her family. She hadn't seen her dad since the funeral and wanted to see him and feel his comfort. Petunia was less than pleased to see her sister. She looked at Lily as if her mother's death was Lily's fault.
When Lily entered her house a plump woman greeted her. "Hello, dear!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Sukari Mia, but you can call me Suki. Your father hired me to take care of the house and cook the meals. I know I probably won't live up to the standards that your mother had, but I'll try."
Lily smiled at the woman appreciatively. "Thank you for understanding."
Suki gave Lily a soft pat on the head and then went to the kitchen.
Petunia had already gone up stairs, leaving Lily and her father alone in the entrance hall. She turned to him and asked, "Daddy, why did you hire her?"
Mr. Evans sighed. "Because neither your sister or I can cook and we need to eat. While I'm at work your sister refuses to clean and without Suki the house would be a mess. She does most of the things you mother use to do."
Lily visibly stiffened. "Well, since Petunia is too childish to do her job, I shall be the woman of the house over the next couple of weeks and when I return for the summer. You can tell Miss Mia that unless I ask her for her assistance, I shall be the one cooking our meals and cleaning the house."
"Angel, I really wish you wouldn't do that and just enjoy your holidays."
"I'm going to do just as I said I am, Father," Lily said strongly.
Mr. Evans sighed again and nodded in defeat. He knew that when Lily called him 'Father' she was serious about what she was saying.
Lily carried her trunk to her room as Mr. Evans told Suki about his daughter's proclamation. Suki looked slightly sad and hurt but agreed not to do her job unless Lily asked her to. "She probably feels like you hired me to take the place of Mrs. Evans," Suki said as she continued to make Lily's welcome home dinner.
Lily came back down the stairs in an old T-shirt and pair of jeans. She had already put the necessary things from her trunk away.
Grabbing an apron, Lily entered to kitchen and saw Suki working furiously at making dinner. "Did Father tell you that I would prefer to do my mother's tasks while I am here? I assure you if I need your help I shall ask for it."
"He told be, but I insist on finishing your welcome home dinner."
"I'll find something to do then," Lily said and left the kitchen to start cleaning the house.
Lily found that cleaning the muggle way took too long and found a way to use her Atlantean powers to do the work. Before she would use them, though, she would make sure Suki was busy elsewhere.
Unfortunately for Lily, Suki found out about Lily being a witch anyway. When she confronted Lily, she admitted her powers and gave her a display. Suki was fascinated and Lily opened up to her a bit more.
Slowly, Lily and Suki became friends. Lily didn't tell Suki what she could or couldn't do. Suki let Lily do whatever cleaning and cooking she wanted to do.
It was Christmas Day and Lily and Suki were cooking dinner. Suki kept looking at Lily as she gracefully did her part of the cooking. Finally, Lily stopped and looked at Suki with a smile. "What?"
"You take more after your mother than your father, don't you?" she said softly.
Lily looked at her with surprise. "I—well, that is… I don't know."
"Well, your father isn't exactly graceful, is he? I mean, look at you! It's almost as if you were floating on a cloud and not walking on the floor."
Lily blushed. "I guess I do take after my mother. Even so, I'm still 'Daddy's Little Angel'. He's always taken my side and always wanted me to be happy. He sort of left it to my mother to deal with Petunia."
"I guess I have noticed a rift between them. Now I know why."
Lily nodded and went back to preparing the potatoes to Christmas dinner. "When I started going to Hogwarts Petunia probably saw it as her opportunity to become 'Daddy's Little Girl'. It didn't work, though."
"Obviously. I can understand how he'd be more drawn to you, though. You are so much nicer than she is and have a lot more family pride. That was obvious when you saw me doing things that your mother did and said that you would be the woman of the house." Suki giggled. "I still can't believe that after all the sweet things your father was saying about you, you can be as vicious as a panther."
Lily laughed at that. "So I'm brave as a lion, yet vicious as a panther. Interesting combination."
"Why do you say brave as a lion?"
"At school there are four Houses. They're Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Ravenclaw is represented by a raven, Hufflepuff by a badger, Slytherin by a serpent, and Gryffindor by a—"
"A lion," Suki finished for her. I take it you're in Gryffindor, then."
Lily nodded again. "And proud of it. My best friends are there. There's Rini, whose has been my friend for ages. Then there're the friends that Rini introduced me to. That would be James, Sirius, and Remus."
"Is one of them your boyfriend?"
Lily turned a brighter shade of red than before. "Um, well, Remus sort of is. You see, he made me mad because he wouldn't trust me, and to pay him back, I started going out with his nemesis: Lucius Malfoy, a Slytherin." Lily shuddered. "Remus and I talked and worked things out, but I still have to deal with Malfoy."
"A very complicated place you put yourself in, Lily."
"I know, Suki, I know! Oh, I just wish Malfoy had never asked me to the Halloween Ball!" Lily suddenly stopped what she was doing. The Halloween Ball. The night her mother died. "Excuse me," Lily said and she ran up the stairs to her room. When Lily had calmed she came back down and helped finish dinner.
Lily spent the rest of the holiday talking with Suki about all that had been going on. She explained in detail her situation with Remus and Malfoy. She also told her about Remus and James the year before. Lily told Suki everything. Just like her mother would have, Suki listened and gave advice.
Lily packed all her things up to go back to Hogwarts two days before she was to leave. Afterwards, she used her powers to clean every inch of the house so Suki would have a slightly easier time.
Using her powers made Lily weak, though, so after she had finished she fell onto the couch and fell asleep. Suki found her a few hours later and tried to wake her up. "Five more minutes, Mama, that's all I ask," Lily mumbled. Suki smiled at the young girl on the couch and let her sleep.
Lily was happy yet afraid to go back to school. Happy because she would be with her friends again, afraid because of Lucius. Lucius had gotten Lily a necklace for Christmas. It had a small gold chain and the pendent was a porcelain lily surrounded in crystal. She had already decided not to keep it.
Lily watched as Hogsmeade station came into view beside her window and the train stopped. She got off the train and stepped into a horseless carriage with some students she didn't recognize. Unfortunately, one of them knew Lily.
"You're Lily, aren't you?" a girl with brown hair asked.
Lily looked at her. "Yes, and who might you be?"
"I'm Margo," she said as if it were of importance and obvious. "Remus's girlfriend."
"I see," Lily said uninterestedly.
"So, how did you and Malfoy get together?"
Lily looked at her with great dislike. "It's really none of your business, is it?"
"I was just wondering. It's not as if it would kill you to tell me."
"He asked me to the dance like a gentlemen and I said yes. From then on we've sort of been together."
"I'm just wondering, but why did you give up Remus for him?"
"That is none of your business," Lily said sharply.
"But Malfoy is so…" Margo searched for the right word. "Icky!"
"You aren't the one receiving those so-called 'icky' advances so why do you care?" Lily snapped.
"I'm just wondering why you broke up with Remus for Malfoy?"
"First of all, I didn't break up with Remus for Lucius. Second, I broke up with Remus because he was crowding me and wouldn't let me spend time alone without getting suspicious. Lastly, you don't know Lucius so shut your trap!" Lily couldn't believe she had just defended Lucius Malfoy.
They reached the castle and Margo quickly exited the carriage. Lily was about to follow her in when someone put a hand over her mouth, an arm around her waist, and dragged her, kicking and with muffled screams, to a good distance away from the castle.
When Lily was set down she turned around and slapped her captor with the back of her hand across the face. It was then she realized it was Severus Snape. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Severus!" Lily exclaimed. "I really am sorry. I didn't know it was you!"
Severus rubbed his cheek. "I suppose not since you didn't even care to see who I was." Lily looked down. "I was going to ask if you meant what you said about Lucius in the carriage."
Lily looked up surprised. "You were in the carriage?" Severus gave a small nod. Lily bit her lip, an action not unnoticed be Severus. "I meant everything I said, yes. Lucius has proven to have a heart and to have patience."
Severus took this in. "What about all the fights our friends have gotten into? Don't you hate Lucius, Crabbe, Goyle, and me?"
Lily's voice softened greatly. "Severus, I never hated you. I've disliked you, yes, but never hated. I don't have it in me to hate. I treat others how they treat me. If you treat me with respect, I'll treat you with respect. If you treat me meanly, I'll treat you meanly."
Severus looks at Lily curiously. "So if I didn't call you mudblood and treated you politely, you wouldn't threaten me with those weird powers of yours?"
"Precisely. If you were nice to me I'd be nice to you. Now, I really must be getting to the castle and so should you." Lily turned and walked to the castle. Severus thought about what Lily said for a few moments and then followed her into the castle.
On one side of the Entrance Hall stood James, Remus, Rini, and Sirius. On the other stood Lucius. All five were waiting for Lily to walk through the doors and be the first one to give her a hug. They all watched as Lily walked into the hall.
Lily spotted James, Remus, Rini, and Sirius first and tried to get there as fast as possible. She slowed when she saw Margo run to Remus and hug Remus. Lily almost stopped as she saw Remus smile and return the hug, then look toward her with an apologetic look. She smiled and ran towards them again.
James, Rini, and Sirius all met her in a hug. Sirius and James kissed her cheek. Remus must have excused himself from Margo because he then came over and hugged her. Lily saw her standing a few feet away.
He was about to kiss her when Lucius came over and took Lily in a hug and kissed her. Lily reached behind her, trying to find Remus's hand for comfort. Remus grasped it briefly before letting it drop as Lucius pulled back to look at her. "Did you get my gift?"
Lily thought about the necklace in her trunk. "Yes, it was beautiful. Thank you."
"You're not wearing it, though."
"I didn't want it to get lost or broken or fall off or make some other poor girl on the train or where I live jealous."
Lucius smiled and nodded, accepting the answer. "Okay."
Lily hoped he didn't notice the bracelet from Remus she was wearing. Though not as expansive or fancy as the necklace, it was more precious then it.
"We really must be getting into the Great Hall for dinner," Lily said, trying to get rid of Lucius. Lucius kissed her on the cheek and reluctantly let go off her hand so he could go to the Slytherin table. The five Gryffindors went to their table and sat in their seats.
During dinner Lily told them about Suki and how she almost put her out of a job over the holidays. They found it amusing and they all felt angry at Petunia's lack of responsibility. Then they told Lily what pranks they had pulled and all the new passages they had discovered. When they mentioned pranks Lily gave them a look that could kill. James immediately assured her that they hadn't done anything to Lucius.
Lucius was hoping to talk to Lily before she went up the stairs. He knew he wouldn't be able to when he saw Lily on James's back, Rini on Sirius's back, and Remus, all heading for the Gryffindor tower. He sighed and followed Severus out of the hall to the Slytherin dungeons.
As soon as they were up the first set of stairs Lily got off James's back and climbed onto Remus's back. Lily kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "I missed you," in his ear. Remus smiled and raced Sirius to the Common Room.
Sirius won. The five entered the Common Room and sat down. Unfortunately, Rini and Lily were still clinging to Sirius and Remus and the boys sat down on top of them.
"Get off!" Rini yell through her laugh.
"But you're so comfy and I'm tired from all that running," whined Sirius.
"I agree with Sirius, Lils. I don't want to get up," Remus said.
"Too bad," Lily said and gave him a zap of electricity. Remus jumped up yelping, followed be Sirius.
"That's cheating!" Remus said as Lily and Rini laughed.
"It worked, didn't it?" Rini asked innocently.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sirius said, sulking.
Lily stretched. "I'm tired. I haven't gotten as much sleep as I've needed to the past couple weeks. Walk me up to the dorm."
"Okay," they all chorused. Lily walked into her dorm with James, Rini, Remus, and Sirius following her. Rini stayed back with Sirius while Lily gave Sirius and James a hug and kiss good night. Lily told them to wait just outside the door and wait for Remus. They all went, giving them knowing smiles.
As soon as they were outside Remus grabbed Lily into a hug. "I've missed you so much," he said quietly.
"And I you," Lily said. "I probably more so because of this charade I've played. It's repulsing to be with him!"
Remus laughed. "Well, I guess I better go before they get suspicious." Lily nodded. "I love you." Remus leaned down and kissed Lily.
Lily smiled as the gentleness he possessed rushed back to her. "I love you, too."
"G'night."
"Night."
Remus left and went downstairs with the rest of them. Lily lay down on her bed with a sigh and snuggled under the blankets. As she lay there, two thoughts came to mind. When could she break up with Lucius and for what reason?
