A/N: This chapter was pathetically hard to write, so if you don't like it I don't care. It took effort and I like it. . ;
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Remus entered the potions classroom. Why did the one class he was appalling at have to be with the Slytherins? Sitting down, Remus gave a silent prayer that Lily would be his partner today. Aside from Severus, Lily was undeniably the best student in the class.
When Lily entered the room and, thankfully, sat down beside him, Remus immediately noticed two things about her. The first was that she had a smudge of charcoal across her left cheek. The second was that she had a light in her eyes that Remus hadn't seen in some time. A light that he had feared he wouldn't be seeing again after James had told her he was in love with Regulus.
"What's made you so cheerful?" Remus asked, setting up his cauldron.
He was a bit upset to see that Snape was setting up right behind them. Hopefully Snape would find it in his heart not to torment Remus on his potions skills. Snape had made it a habit of asking how Remus got into the N.E.W.T. potions class at least once a week, and Remus wasn't in the mood to hear it. Honestly, Remus was amazed that he made it himself, but he chalked it up to good study habits, lots of tutoring from Lily, and pure dumb luck.
He still wished he knew why he had taken the class, instead of just being happy with his passing the O.W.L. test. James, Sirius, and Peter had all laughed at him for it. James and Sirius wanted to be Aurors, and so needed the class. Peter had taken Muggle Studies instead. Lily needed the class for her Healer's license. Him? He wished he had taken Muggle Studies with Peter, but he just couldn't admit defeat with the class.
"Nothing particular," Lily shrugged, pulling her supplies from her bag. "Just in a good mood, I guess."
Remus smiled, "Good. You've been rather out of it, lately. It's good to see you smile like that again."
Lily laughed, "It feels good to smile like this again."
Behind them, Remus heard Snape moving around. Lily's smile grew as she too picked up the noise, and Remus wondered if Snape was the cause of the girl's sudden happiness. Remus remembered all too well the scene that had taken place by the lake, and the fact the Snape had talked to James this morning.
He had considered for a while now that Snape might fancy Lily. The Slytherin had always watched her, and he had been on better terms with her than any other Gryffindors. He had also always seemed particularly embarrassed when Lily was around to watch the Marauders torment him. Add in resent events, and it all pointed to the same thing. Severus had feelings for Lily.
Remus looked at Lily out of the corner of his eyes and wondered if Lily might be starting to feel something for Snape as well. She really did deserve to be happy, but Remus wasn't sure that he trusted Snape with her heart. Still, Lily needed someone to take her mind off of James.
"Why don't you come sit with us, Severus?" Remus asked, turning around. "You always sit back there by yourself, and this table is plenty big enough for three."
"I refuse to help a lost cause with your potion brewing," Snape continued to set up his supplies.
"You don't need to," Remus shrugged, picking up Severus's supplies and moving them to the empty seat beside Lily. He ignored the glare Snape was giving him. "Lily will help me with the potion."
"I do not want to be within exploding range when you ignite your potion," Snape growled, trying to keep Remus from moving any more of his things.
"Oh, come on Severus, Remus hasn't blown up a cauldron since last year," Lily picked that moment to help Remus relocate the disgruntled Slytherin.
Snape sighed in defeat, and allowed himself to be pulled into the seat at their table. Remus smiled, deciding that Lily had picked a wonderful time to call Snape by his first name. Remus was not blind enough not to have noticed how the Slytherin's eyes widened at that.
Remus opened his book and turned to the appropriate page just as Slughorn entered the class. James entered a moment later, followed by a rather depressed Sirius. James shot Remus a curious look when he saw that Snape was sitting at their table, but Sirius didn't seem to notice anything. Sirius's eyes were focused inward and James had to lead the boy to the empty table across the room by the wrist.
Trying not to worry about something that he couldn't fix while stuck in class, Remus focused on Slughorn's lecture. After about ten minutes of lecture, Remus began to chop the ingredients for the rather difficult potion which had been assigned. Of course, every potion was difficult to Remus, but the Babbling Beverage sounded particularly hard.
Twenty minutes into the lesson, Remus's potion was a light green rather than the dirt brown of Lily's and Snape's.
"So…" Remus started, not sure what to say but willing to say anything to take his mind off the fact that he was currently meshing a small bowl full of black beetle eyes. "How are things in Slytherin?"
Okay, that was decidedly pathetic.
"Pay attention to what you are doing, Remus. You are supposed to be turning the beetle eyes into a thick broth, not liquidizing them," Lily lifted Remus's hands away from his bowl.
Remus felt his stomach sink, "That is disgusting, Lily."
"It's just potion ingredients," Lily laughed. "It's not like they are human eyes or anything."
"Lily," Remus groaned, "I really didn't need to hear that."
"You have no stomach for potions, Lupin. I don't understand why you bothered taking the class this year." Well, it was more polite than Snape's usual taunting.
"Believe me, neither do I." Remus emptied his bowl into the cauldron and watched the potion change blue.
"You do seem to find rather interesting ways of messing your potions up," Lily laughed again, studying the now frothing potion.
"I hate this class," Remus sighed. Maybe the shredded daisy roots would turn it back to something resembling the murky brown it was supposed to be. At least shredding the roots didn't make Remus feel the need to vomit.
"Potions is a fine art," Lily shook her head, "you just don't know how to appreciate the beauty of it."
Remus noticed that Snape was staring at Lily, and gave a mental smile. Maybe those two weren't so bad for each other. They certainly seemed to have more in common than Lily and James had.
Remus dumped the daisy roots into the cauldron and turned up the heat. He began to stir it clockwise, counting each time. After seven, Remus lay down the ladle and let the potion sit. It was supposed to simmer for ten minutes before it would turn clear and could be bottled and handed in.
Remus sighed, "I really don't think this is going to turn clear."
"I doubt it," Snape shook his head. "You can follow directions in every class but this one, why is that?"
"The book hates me," Remus glared at his potion book. "I think that the directions change while I brew the potion and change back later just to spite me."
Lily laughed and Snape raised an eyebrow. Well, at least his bad luck amused someone.