Chapter 2
cloaks and notes
Late the next night Lily lay awake, starring out her window at the full moon. She couldn't sleep. She never slept on the night of a full moon. All she could do was think of how cold and alone Remus must be, out in that horrible shack.
In first year, she and James had been curious about it, so of course they had to go exploring. One night they crept out of the castle, and got into the shrieking shack by breaking a downstairs window. Luckily it wasn't a full moon, so all they found was old, torn up furniture, and a lot of dust.
But just the thought of Remus spending the night in that place made Lily shiver involuntarily. She could still remember the smell, and the musty taste in the air. The cobwebs and the moldy steps that moved with every step that you took. The bats that hung everywhere, and all the creepy crawly things that Lily was sure lived under the floor boards.
Lily slowly got up from the window seat, and tiptoed across her dorm, careful not to wake anyone. She then grabbed the book she was reading, and snuck down the stairs to the common room. Stretching out in front of the fire she propped herself up on some pillows and opened her latest romance novel. Slowly she started to dose, but her last thought before she slept was of Remus; cold, and oh so alone.
Little did she know that he wasn't alone at all, quite the opposite in fact.
Slowly the 3 boys tiptoed into the common room, closed the portrait hole, and threw the cloak off.
"I'm going up to get a couple hours of sleep guys. I'm dead tired, and I need my beauty rest." Sirius winked and started up the stairs.
James just rolled his eyes and was about to follow Sirius when he spotted Lily lying in front of the now burnt out fire. "I'll be right up Pete," he said to Peter who had also headed up the stairs to their dormitory.
"All right. Whatever," Peter said sleepily.
James walked over to Lily and gazed at her. She looked so peaceful; so beautiful. He took off his cloak and spread it over her, then bent down and kissed her forehead. He climbed up the stairs, and flopped into his bed. With his clothes still on and lying on top of the covers, he closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately, but not before a picture of Lily flashed through his brain, making him grin.
"Get up! We're late!"
"Have you seen my shoes?!"
"Where is my transfiguration essay? McGonagall will kill me if I turn in another one late!"
"GET UP PADFOOT! We're late!"
"Where could I have left it?! I didn't have it anywhere but the library and here!"
"Anyone seen my quik quotes quill?"
The 6th year boy's dormitory was in chaos the next morning. Sirius was dead to the world, Peter couldn't find his shoes, and Tim had lost his transfiguration essay. Not to mention James still hadn't taken a shower, or finished his history of magic homework on the Goblin Wars of the 1700's.
"Damn it Sirius! You can sleep all day for all I care!" James threw up his hands in defeat and headed for the shower. 10 minutes later, the dorm was still in complete disarray. And Sirius was still sleeping. James made one final attempt to flatten his hair, grabbed his bag, and ran down the stairs to grab his cloak from Lily. But to his dismay, Lily had already gone to breakfast and draped his cloak on the back of the chair closest to the hearth. He pulled it on, picked up his bag, and headed towards the Great Hall. Halfway down he discovered a small piece of parchment in his cloak pocket. A note! She left me a note! He thought excitedly, a wide grin covering his face. Man, I am going completely insane. James rolled his eyes at himself and unfolded the parchment.
Hey James! Thanks for your cloak last night. I was up late worrying about Remus, and I guess I fell asleep in front of the fire. I feel so bad for him. I can never sleep on a full moon. Thanks again! Oh-and you might want to finish you're History of Magic essay during lunch, 'cause we have Binns today. (Even though he probably wouldn't notice even if you didn't show up. Lol)
Love, Lily
James chuckled to himself. She definitely knew him too well. He hadn't even mentioned the essay since the day Binns had assigned it. His chest swelled at her signature. Love, Lily. It was so simple, yet had so much meaning. Stop being an idiot James. You're turning into a total sap. He shuddered. He didn't know what Lily was doing to him, but he didn't like it. Not one bit.
