Disclaimer: Harry Potter is on my long Christmas list. It's number one actually, but Santa never gave me it as a gift. He thought I was naughty.

A/N: Sorry, Sorry! I'm a horrible person for not updating for so long, but life had really sucks. A lots been happening and a lot of it is really depressing, so there went my thrill for writing, at least for awhile. I'm back though! So enjoy!

"Dead Meat"

Lily was not in a good mood. Her soaking wet hair dripped as she climbed the stairs to her room. James had lagged behind, taking his time to get back from detention.

Drip

Drip

Drip

Lily cringed as another drop of water dripped down and landed on the back of her shirt. Her shirt was damp and was clinging to her, making it rather uncomfortable for her. The white shirt had suddenly become slightly more transparent then was necessary.

Lily was cold and had a slight head ache at her temple. She closed her eyes as she reached out to open her door, welcoming the thought of her warm bed and the warm bath she was anxious to step into.

She stepped into her room, ignoring the singing behind her, and closed the door.

Alone at last, she thought.

She quickly began to dry her dripping hair. When it was slightly damp she began undoing her clothes, glad to be rid of the clinging shirt, and slipped into her green bathrobe tying it rather carelessly. Her clothes were discarded haphazardly across the floor. She stepped over the pile, careful not to step on anything.

Her bathrobe hung loosely on her and as she moved her robe swayed slightly. She grabbed her toiletry with one hand. Then she used her other hand to hold her robe together more efficiently. She stepped into the bathroom, placed her toiletry next to the tub, and turned the water on. As soon as the water filled the tub she mixed in the bubbles.

Lily smiled to herself as one of the bubbles floated a little above the rest of them and then popped. The bath seemed to call to her, welcoming her to relax and escape the world around her for a little bit. She quickly tied her wet hair into a loose bun. She dipped her toe slowly into the tub to make sure the temperature was just right and drew it right back out. Lily sighed happily. Her bath was ready.

She happily undid her robe and stepped into the tub. She slid under the bubble, making sure the bubbles covered her chest. She fluffed the bubbles one last time before she leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and sighed.

Peace and silence filled the air. Then a deep voice singing filled her ears.

Screw, Potter, she thought.

She was allowing herself the privilege of forgetting about him for the moment. He couldn't ruin the moment for her, not now.

"Holy Shit!"

Lily eyes popped open, her green, vibrant eyes wide in horror. There, no more than five feet away from her was a wide open door and standing by it a rather shocked James Potter, a towel draped over his shoulder.

Lily screamed at the top of her lung. Her face turned red with what was a mix of rage and embarrassment.

"Get out, get out!" she screamed. She grabbed the nearest object, which was her brush, and threw it hard across the room towards James. The brush flew towards his chest, hard, but James' reflexes automatically shot out to catch it.

Lily sunk deeper into the tub, covering her body more efficiently.

"Get out!" Lily screamed.

James jumped back, startled. He stumbled over his own feet, his eyes still wide in shock and fell flat on his arse.

"I'm so sorry, Red," he fumbled over his words as he quickly got up. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Stop looking!" she exclaimed angrily.

James quickly closed his eyes, clapping his hand over his eyes. James turned on around and left, closing the door on the way.

Lily watched James as he left. She groaned.

Her bath was ruin.

…

James ruffled his black hair for what seemed like the thousandth time since he had closed the door separating him from, what he convinced himself in the last couple of minutes, the almost delectable Lily Evans.

He paced the floor. His eyes glued to the wooden floor boards.

Creak. Her peaceful, serene face.

Creak. Her delicate, porcelain skin.

Creak. Those passionate, green eyes of hers.

His door leading to the bathroom slammed opened forcefully, slamming into the wall and then bouncing weakly back into its normal position.

"Ever heard of knocking!" Lily cried infuriated.

Suddenly, James was no longer pacing. He was no longer sorry for bursting in on Lily's bath. He was no longer thinking about how beautiful and physically attracting she was when she was bathing, just the site of her rudely entering his room ignited his passion to anger her, to annoy her. He was staring straight into Lily's eyes, annoyed and irritated.

"Well, apparently you haven't," James said. He shoved his hands into his pocket.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, getting into a defensive position. She shivered slightly because she was in nothing but her bathrobe.

"You weren't in the middle of a bath, were you?" Lily defended.

"I could have been undressing," James pointed out, as he lazily leaned against one of his bed post.

Lily frowned. "But you weren't."

"Maybe I was just thinking about it before you rudely interrupted!" James retorted.

Lily rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Yeah right."

"Go away, Red, you're boring me," James stated, as he pretended to yawn.

Lily glared at him and if looks could kill he would be dead. James looked at her.

"So are you going?" James asked, his voice hinting that he was not in a good mood. Lily shook her head defiantly.

James glared at her. Suddenly, he smirked. Lily looked at him, suspicious, and arched one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows.

"What are you thinking---?"Lily asked.

James untucked his shirt, ruffled his hair one last time before he threw his tie on his bed and undid the first button on his shirt. Lily looked at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lily asked him, her voice steady, but her body was quivering from the cold.

James just looked at her and undid the next button.

"Potter, I asked you a question."

"And I heard you perfectly clear," James said.

"So answer my question," Lily said irritated.

"I'm undressing," James answered.

"You're kidding me," Lily replied.

James threw his arms wide open as if wanting to envelope her into a big hug, his top three buttons already undone.

"You wouldn't dare. Not with me in the room."

James smirked, "Oh, how I would love to prove you wrong."

Lily's expression was priceless. James took a step closer to the shivering girl before him and undid the next buttons. Lily's eyes open wider, her mouth slightly opened. She closed it.

"Potter, I'm warning you---" Lily started.

"What?" James asked, putting on an innocent expression. His warm breathe showering down her neck.

"Don't you---" Lily fumbled over her words.

"Never seen a guy without his shirt on?" he teased. "Embarrassed?"

"No," Lily argued. James chuckled and undid the next button. He was enjoying the moment. He had shattered Lily's usual collected composure.

"So you've never seen a guy without his shirt on?"

"No---, I mean yes, I mean---, Potter, it's none of your business!" Lily cried.

James tilted his head back and let out an appreciative laugh. Lily glared at him and turned on her heels, her wet hair splattering him with water.

"Where are you going?" James asked as he wiped droplets of water from his face.

"None of your business," Lily said as she left the room. She turned to glower at James one last time before slamming the door shut.

"Not staying I guess!" James cried, grinning. The slamming of another door answered his question.

…

Remus Lupin sat all alone at the Gryffindor table, looking pale and weak. His body all of sudden seemed frail and if touched would fall apart like a priceless vase. His head was buried into his arms as he laid there, eyes closed. His breakfast was untouched. His cup filled with juice, but he hadn't taken a sip yet. He just lied there, tired and unaware of his surroundings.

A soft, fragile hand patted his back gently. Remus opened his eyes and tilted it slightly to the face of comfort. He offered a weak smile when he saw Lily's worried face.

"You alright, Remus," Lily asked, "You look deathly pale?"

Remus nodded his head. "I'm fine, Lils, just tired."

Remus patted the seat next to him, welcoming her to join him. Lily smiled a little. She took a seat next to him and grabbed a piece of toast.

"Are you going to eat?" Lily questioned as she handed the piece of toast waiting for him to take it. Remus shook his head. Lily looked at him, but soon went back to eating her food in silence.

The silence held no awkwardness. It was just two good friends sitting down together eating breakfast. It was peaceful and relaxing, which they both needed at the moment.

"Moony, you left without us!" Sirius cried as he came running into the Great Hall. He quickly took a seat and began piling food onto his plate. Lily groaned. Remus smiled.

Sirius looked up from his plate as he chewed on a piece of bread. He swallowed his food and grinned.

"Hello, Red," he greeted.

Lily sighed at the nickname. "Morning, Black."

"And what brings you here this lovely Saturday?" a voice topped with a sound of arrogance and faked sweetness.

Lily turned around to see who had asked the question. She glared at the smirking face that greeted her, remembering the incident that had just happened the night before.

"None of your business," she sneered. She wiped her head around, getting back to her breakfast.

James slid into the seat next to her, grabbing an apple during the process. Peter followed, seating next to him.

"You say that a lot, don't you?" He grinned and took a bite the apple as he looked at her. Lily turned to look at him, staring him down with her green eyes.

"Don't you have something better to do than bother me, Potter?" she asked with an annoyed tone.

James shook his head; the smile still pasted onto his face, and took another bite of his apple. Lily turned back and stared at Sirius as he ate. She could still feel James' eyes on her, and she knew he only did it to annoy her and she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction of knowing that it did indeed bug her.

Lily tapped her fingers on the table. She hummed a tune, quietly as more students walked in for breakfast, hoping that it would distract her thoughts from the constants stares coming from James.

"Lily, there you are," Jeanette said, "we were looking all over for you." Michelle behind her, smiled.

Jeanette shooed James over as she took a seat next to her and, quietly, Lily thanked her. Michelle also took a seat to and began to eat.

Lily sat there enjoying the company of her friends when a grape hit her in the forehead. Lily glared at the triumphant face of James.

"Potter, what exactly is your problem!" she exclaimed, her eyes blazing, everyone sitting within a five feet radius turn to look at them.

"I have a lot," he answered smartly, "which one do you want to hear about?" Sirius chuckled. Remus shook his head. Jeanette and Michelle watched as Lily face turned slightly red with anger.

Lily screamed an infuriated cry. She stomp her feet and swung them over the bench. She stood up and pointed her finger at James.

"You're infuriating!"

"Why thank you," James said as he bowed a little, a fix grinned on his lips. Lily sneered. She turned to the others and wished them a good breakfast.

"Feel better, Remus," she said gently before she turned to leave.

Once she was out of sight Michelle turned on James, "Now why did you have to go do that?"

"Do what?" he asked.

Everyone just shook there heads, not having the energy to explain to James.

…

"You feeling alright there, Moony?" James asked concerned.

Remus looked at him and offered a weak smile. "As good as I can be on a full moon."

"Don't worry mate, we'll be there," Sirius said as he propped his legs up on the table. Remus smiled gratefully. He knew that without his friends he would never have gotten through all those full moons' nights of torturous pain and loneliness.

"We'll be right behind you after you---," Peter began.

"Shush!" James interrupted urgently as Lily and her friends stepped through the portrait hole.

The Marauders shrunk behind the couch behind the stairs, careful to not be seen. Lily, Jeanette, and Michelle took a seat in front of the fire, basking in its warmth. It was silent for a moment then Michelle turned to face her friends and spoke.

"Is it me or does Remus look sick a lot?"

Behind the stairs, the Marauders looked at each other, exchanging worried glances. Lily on the other side of the room looked at her friends, rather startled by the choice of conversation topic.

"I'm sure it's just a little virus," Lily replied.

"No, I don't think so," Jeanette pondered, "he always looks pale and weak every month."

Remus eyes were wide and alert.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Lily said again. She twisted her fingers in her hand, nervously.

"Are you kidding me, Lils, Remus can't always get sick every month!" Michelle cried.

"And at the exact time, he always goes to visit his sick mother," Jeanette added.

Lily sat there, quiet. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong. Besides, I don't like talking about Remus behind his back. He's trustworthy and he's our friend. I think we should give him the privilege of letting us know what's going on when he feels like sharing."

James peered over the couch the Marauders were hiding behind to see Lily standing and looking down at her friends.

"Sorry, Lily, we didn't mean to offend anyone," Michelle apologized.

"It's not that---," Lily said.

"Let's just drop the subject, alright?" Jeanette said. The other two nodded their heads and silently began walking up to the seventh years' girls' dorm.

The Marauders sighed gratefully.

"That was a close one," Sirius said.

Remus nodded his head. James patted his shoulder.

"Hey, Moony?" Sirius asked, "Does Red know about your---?"

"Furry little problem?" James finished.

Remus shook his head. "I don't think so. I've never told her before."

"And I don't think she figured it out by herself," James added.

At least I don't think so.

…

James opened his bedroom door, praying that it would not make any sounds that would wake Lily. His cloak seemed to envelope her and in one hand, if looked at more closely was an invisibility cloak. In his pocket, his wand poked out as well as the Marauder's map. James looked around before stepping out of his room and walking down the stairs. He was careful to skip the third step, the one that always creaked.

Right when he was in front of the portrait hole, he let out a triumphant sigh.

"What do you think you're doing, Potter?"

James froze.

Shit, shit, shit!

James clutched the invisibility cloak tighter into his fist and slowly turned around.

A/N: Whoa, that's like the longest chapter I've ever written! This is for not updating in a mega, long time. Review!