Author's Note: Being the occasionally absent-minded person that I am, I forgot to give an explanation for the long wait on the last chapter. Fact is, I went to Disneyland & California Adventure again for my friend's birthday last week, so that was two days I couldn't write. Also, I had a field trip & an English paper due this week. Then I got sorta…hooked on Roller Coaster Tycoon for a while. The plus side, however, was that all of a sudden, I had this feeling of really wanting to finish the chapter…so I did. And I apologize for a) taking so long on chapter 6, and b) not giving you a reason for it. To make it up to you, I've zipped out this chapter as fast as I could! Thanks to all the reviewers…

LilacFlowingBreeze: Hope you keep liking it! Thanks!

Daintress: Very clever! And on Peter…he may not be working for Voldemort quite yet…but that doesn't mean he's not already scared of him, does it? Thanks!

Lady of Masbolle: Yeah, he does tend to space out every once in a while. You love it? Great! Thanks!

Windowseat Wonderer: Well at least somebody appreciates my genius…just kidding! But I am glad you like it and think I'm doing a good job! Thanks!

Susan D: Thanks!

Peach Papayas: A new reviewer!! Coo! Thanks and hope you like this chapter!

Shanksy: As for what took so long, see above (thanks for reminding me about explaining the wait). Thanks!

Sena: Another new reviewer! And you love it too!!! Thanks!

fireangel-the-HP-fan: I know…I just can't quite figure out how to put it in there properly. Let's just say his brain's somewhere else lately. I can't stand poorly written fics either! Thanks! (Yikes, I don't have to face your anger, do I?)

Chapter Seven

Classes resumed as usual the next day, and the castle was buzzing with excitement. Notices had been posted on every bulletin board, revealing that the first Hogsmeade weekend was on Halloween, before the Halloween feast, and the first Quidditch match of the season would occur the following day.

At the same time, the Daily Prophet put out its article reporting about Voldemort. However, the majority of the castle was still focused on the upcoming events to even pay attention to the Daily Prophet. In fact, very few people even picked up their newspaper, and the ones who did forgot about it quickly. They all seemed to think it would pass quickly, and that probably nothing would come of it.

The only problem was, something did come of it.

Within a week before Halloween, Hogsmeade and Quidditch games were becoming the furthest things in anyone's mind. In fact, there had even been rumors that the Hogsmeade visit was going to be cancelled. Nothing final had been said yet, but there were few students who even cared anymore.

A lot of the students had been taken out of school as well. Some were taken out by their parents who feared for their safety, but most were ones who had lost family members or friends. It had become common for someone to be walking around the school sniffling back tears or already bawling. Even the teachers had gotten used to students bursting out in tears during class.

James had been walking around for weeks with a constant nagging in the back of his head. Everything that Dumbledore had said to him in the office had stuck with him. Though it now made more sense (thanks mainly to Remus), every time he read something about Voldemort in the Daily Prophet, Dumbledore's voice reminded him of all the responsibilities he now had. It stressed him out and would cause him to mope around for a few hours.

However, things with Lily were improving. In fact, she was one of the only things that could make him forget all about Voldemort. She still was slightly cold towards him sometimes, but every so often, they'd have a mildly interesting conversation.

On the Tuesday before Halloween, James found himself nearly falling asleep during a History of Magic Class---which, truth be told, was not exactly a rare occurrence. He was saved from falling of his chair with drowsiness when the bell rang loudly. It was their last class of the day, and everyone scurried towards the door.

They all went to dinner and ate rather silently, out of both fatigue and starvation. After dinner they went back to Gryffindor tower. Remus was there for hardly five minutes before grabbing his books and heading off to the library. Sirius challenged James to a match of Wizard Chess, and Peter mumbled something about still being hungry and going to the kitchens.

So far, it had been a very boring day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lily glanced around the library, hoping that Remus was here, and, more importantly, that he was alone. She spotted him at the other end of the room, engrossed in a book. She hurried over to where he sat and put her book down on the table.

"Hi," She said quietly, "Is anyone sitting here?"

He looked up from his book and smiled.

"Somebody is now," He said. Lily sat down and opened her book, her stomach flip-flopping. She tried to concentrate but couldn't.

"So," She said cheerfully, "What's new with you?"

"Nothing much," He replied, shrugging, "But I think I should ask you the same question."

Damn, Lily thought to herself, Why does everyone always know when something's wrong with me?

"Nothing much--" Lily began to lie, but for some reason she couldn't help thinking about what Anna would say to her. "Er…can I ask you something?" She said, rather nervously.

"Go for it," Remus replied, leaning back in his chair.

"We're friends, right?" She asked. He nodded. "Okay, good, because you can't tell anyone about any of this, okay?" He nodded again.

Lily took a deep breath, knowing she was going to regret all of this.

"Well…this girl I know…she's got herself in a bit of dilemma. You see, there's this guy she's never been particularly fond of, even though he's liked her for a long time. And now she thinks she might be a little bit more…er…fond of him than previously," Lily said, trying desperately not to turn red. Remus sighed, grinning slightly.

"Lily, the whole 'my friend' story isn't going to work in this instance. It might have if you and James weren't the only two people in the whole castle that could be in that situation," He said. Lily didn't know what to do. The two sat there for a moment. "I take it that you like James now?"

"I'm not sure," Lily said, sighing, "He's always been…such a…jerk, and arrogant, and annoying. But for some reason he's different now, and I don't know what to think about it or what to do about it."

"So you came to me?" He asked. Lily shrugged.

"Not really," She said sheepishly, "I went to Anna first, and then she hinted that maybe I should go to someone who really knew James. And we all know that Sirius doesn't have the mental capacity nor the ability to keep a secret like this."

"Sad, but true," Remus replied, "You should have heard him a while ago--anyways, let's get back to your problem."

"It's not a…a problem! I'm just having some trouble sorting out my thoughts, okay?" Lily said.

"Okay, whatever," He said, rolling his eyes, "The fact is, you've already solved your own problem. Yes, he used to be an arrogant little berk, but he's different now. Something changed him, and I don't know exactly what it was, but I have a feeling it was more a someone than a something."

"Just because he's different now doesn't mean that I can just forget everything else he's done before! What if this all some sort of act?" Lily shot back. Remus sighed and rubbed his forehead. After what seemed like a great deal of thought, he finally spoke again.

"Lily, like you said before, we're friends--and since you've told me one of your secrets, I'm going to tell you one of mine," He paused, then went on, "When I was young, I didn't have much of a brain. In the town my family was living in, there was a werewolf on the loose. No one had caught it yet, and one night, when I was about four, I snuck out of the house at night. Needless to say, it was stupid, and I met up with the werewolf and got bitten."

"What?" Lily said, astounded, "You're not really a--a werewolf, are you?"

"Yes, I really am. I thought you'd have figured it out before. After all, you're smart enough to--in fact, I'm surprised no one else has figured it out," He continued, "My parents thought I'd never be able to go to school, but when Professor Dumbledore took up the job, he found a way to let me come here like any other young wizard. We all thought that no one would ever find out and I'd be like any other normal kid. And when I came here, I became happier than I'd ever been before. My transformations were extremely painful, I had to leave school every full moon--but I had friends, best friends."

"James, Sirius, and Peter, right?" Lily interjected.

"Right. And the funny thing is, I'd picked myself the most interesting friends out of the whole school. They'd run around and break the rules, pull pranks on people, but I knew they were smarter than most of the people here. I was worried they'd find out and then desert me in fear. I hated lying to them--they told me everything. Sirius confided in me about his family problems, Peter about all his schoolwork troubles, and James told me about probably the most important thing in his life," He said, smirking.

"What?" Lily asked breathlessly.

"He told me about how much he admired a certain red-headed girl," Remus said, and Lily blushed, "And so here they were, trusting me unconditionally, and I was keeping an enormous secret from them, a secret that could ruin our friendship forever."

"So they still don't know?" Lily asked.

"Like I said, they're smart. Excuses of a sick grandmother were wearing thin, and they put the pieces together. They confronted me about it, and I didn't know what to do. My biggest fear was staring me in the face. I ended up telling them the truth. And it was amazing, because after they found out, they still wanted to be friends with me. Not only that, they made the times when I was transformed actually enjoyable."

He finally finished, and Lily was confused. She had a thousand questions to ask him, but decided to go with the biggest one first.

"So what does this have to do with everything?" She asked.

"Lily, you asked before if the way he is today is an act. I would highly doubt that, for a few reasons."

"And those reasons are…"

"First of all, I've probably watch the two of you go back and forth enough to last me a lifetime. The way he used to act around you was so different than the way he'd be around us. If anything he ever did was an act, it was the arrogance and idiocy that he put on around you," Remus said, "And also, the most important reason, and the purpose of telling you my long story: James, while he can be stupid every once in a while, is one of the kindest people I've ever met. He, Sirius, and Peter were friends with me when they had every right not to be."

"So what do you suggest I do, then?" Lily asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. Remus shut his book.

"I think you know what you need to do," He said, standing up.

Before he left, Lily remembered another question she had.

"How did they make your time as a werewolf okay?" She asked quickly.

Remus opened his mouth to speak, and hesitated.

"That is something I don't think I can tell you, Lily," He replied, looking thoughtful, "But I'm sure James will tell you soon enough--that is, if you give him a chance to."

And he left Lily sitting there; feeling much less confused than she had been before. Glancing at her watch, she realized that she only had ten minutes until she had to patrol corridors.

Only ten minutes to figure out what exactly she was going to do.

Author's Note: Please don't kill me! I know this chapter was slightly short, and not to mention I left you with a cliffhanger, but it's all going to come together, don't worry! I've had complaints before about having too much dialogue, and this chapter was certainly filled with talking, but I couldn't really do it any other way. Meh. Anyways, did you love it, like it, hate it? (I'm not too crazy about re-telling the same old Remus story again, but it'd be even shorter if I didn't!) Tell me in a review!!!