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.