DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

A/N: I can't even begin to express my appreciation for the reviews. But I'll try, "Thank you."

"Sometimes those Marauders are too much!"
"I know. Believe me."
--On the Marauders (as spoken by those who knew them well)

CHAPTER FIVE
(a new emotion)

Remus Lupin - a werewolf!

Lily lay on her bed, gazing up at the ceiling, contemplating that stunning revelation. How shocked she had been, in the infirmary, when Severus had first told her...

She had wanted to ask Severus how he knew, but two things stopped her. First, she didn't need to know his source. She believed it. Some part of her had always suspected... and now she knew. She didn't doubt that the other Marauders knew too, and her heart softened somewhat towards them. It impressed her that they weren't as prejudiced against werewolves as many others. It touched her that they had befriended Remus, and stayed loyal to him despite everything.

Second, the way Severus had spoken of it had bothered her. His hatred for the Marauders seemed to increase, if possible, when he recalled whatever experience it was that had made him so certain that Remus was a werewolf. Lily decided it was best to avoid that subject.

Lily had many doubts about her cohorts. She understood why Severus was being civil - he needed her help to get revenge on the Marauders, so he prudently ceased such insulting habits as calling her 'mudblood.' But Lucius was a mystery. He had always been more given to subtle insults than bursts of outrage, and he had never stooped to calling Lily names. Still, his disdain for half-bloods and muggles were evident - Lily didn't delude herself. She understood that Lucius disliked her as much as Severus did. So why, then, was he helping? The many possible answers to that question disturbed her.

She was alone in her dorm. Mara and the rest had gone to eat dinner, but Lily had just been released from the infirmary and pleaded weariness. She wanted some time alone to think about things.

A werewolf!

Lily closed her eyes. She had to back out of the plan. She would not, could not, hurt Remus to spite the Marauders. And that was the heart of the plan: exploiting the fact that Remus was a werewolf.

But by the time her roommates had returned from dinner, Lily's thoughts were still in a turmoil. Finally, she came to a conclusion.

She had to speak to Remus.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"What the hell?"

Remus, faking slumber, watched as Sirius sat up in bed, his hair disheveled. He looked at once sleepy and alarmed - the expression, a comical one, brought a small smile to Lily's lips.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I thought you were Remus."

And with that, she pulled out her wand and cast a Drowsiness Charm on him. Since he was already half-asleep, Sirius dropped back into bed like a log.

But Remus by then was fully alert. He had been unable to sleep -- he hid it from his friends, but he suffered from insomnia. At night, he could lie awake for hours before feeling the least bit drowsy. Tonight, he had resorted to counting sheep when a familiar redhead slipped like a shadow into the room.

Remus knew it was around three a.m. What was Lily doing here? It was so unfair that boys weren't allowed in the girls' dormitory, while girls had the freedom to pull stunts like this...

Remus' head was under the covers. Sirius too could not sleep unless his head was covered by a blanket, which was why Lily had confused the two of them for each other. But she was on the right track now, and she advanced quietly towards Remus.

What did she want with him?

Just before Lily knelt on the floor next to his bed, he watched through a crack in the covers as she turned her head to look for an instant at James. He smiled. He never thought he'd think it, but he was glad James had six-pack abs and slept with his upper body uncovered. All the better for Lily to see and appreciate.

Perhaps she did not hate James too much, then. She hadn't bothered to look at Peter, and wouldn't have looked at Sirius if she hadn't mistaken him for Remus. And she only wanted to talk to Remus because...

When he felt her hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him awake, he sat up instantly, not bothering to fake sleepiness. He was, at this point, very curious as to why Lily wanted to talk to him.

"Wow," Lily murmured, her green eyes meeting his, liquid in the moonlight. "You're a light sleeper."

Remus shrugged, neglecting to mention that he had been awake. "What are you doing here, Lily?"

Lily hesitated. Then, "Perhaps we should talk downstairs, in the common room."

"Go ahead. I'll be down in a moment."

As Lily left, it didn't escape Remus' notice that she glanced at James again. He grinned to himself.

When he got to the common room, Lily was sitting in an armchair, her expression subdued. She waited until he was seated before she spoke.

"I have discovered something about you, Remus."

A cold chill of foreboding sliced through Remus. Whatever he had been expecting, it was not this.

"What is it?" he asked. He hoped he didn't sound too nervous.

Lily's pause seemed to last an eternity. "You're a werewolf, Remus, aren't you?"

Remus had been expecting it. Still, he reeled back, as though she had slapped him. It was a moment before he recovered himself, and he took a deep breath. "Yes. I am."

Whenthe solemn redhead sitting across him said nothing, he had to fight to retain his composure. "Lily, tell me how you found out."

It was a command, not a question, and Lily studied him before answering. "Severus told me. He seemed very sure about it, and to be honest, I believed him even before you confirmed it."

An image flashed in Remus' mind then: Snape bursting into the Shrieking Shack after making it past the Whomping Willow, determined to expose Remus for what he was -- the uncontrollable rage that had filled Remus, making him lunge at his schoolmate, ready to tear him to shreds --

"How did Severus know, Remus?"

By now, Remus had regained some semblance of calm, and it was his turn to study Lily. So this was what it was all about. She had invaded the boys' dormitory in the middle of the night to confront him about being a werewolf. But she met his gaze directly, without a hint of disgust or fear in her face, and Remus felt a new emotion in him towards Lily. He thought of all the people who had shunned him, unable to meet his eyes, once discovering that he was a werewolf...

"He merely suspected that I was a werewolf, and took it upon himself to confirm it. He came across me one night as I was in my werewolf form, and I attacked him, but the other Marauders were there, and they held me back. That was all the proof he needed, and he would have exposed me, but Professor Dumbledore forbade it," Remus said, greatly simplifying the story.

He decided not to mention that it had been James and Sirius who had tricked Snape into seeing him in his werewolf form, and that he had almost killed Snape, and that in the end it had been James and Sirius, with help from Peter, who had saved Snape's life. A debt that meant nothing to the Slytherin, no doubt, especially since his life wouldn't have been in danger in the first place, if not for the Marauders.

Remus felt a great wave of loathing sweep over him towards Severus. Quietly, he asked Lily, "What is he planning?"

Lily looked upset. "I can't tell you, Remus. But I'm backing out of it. I'll tell Severus tomorrow." She faltered. "But I needed to speak to you tonight... to tell you that you must be careful..."

A silence. Remus gazed at Lily, wanting to express his gratitude that she trusted him, that she hadn't chosen to hurt him. But he could think of nothing to say.

So he simply stood up. Lily got up too, and turned in the direction of the girls' dormitory.

Remus reached out and grasped her arm, pulling her to face him. She looked startled. Then he bent down, and, brushing an errant lock of wavy red hair from her face, he kissed her gently on the cheek.

"I appreciate this, Lily."

And he headed back to his dorm. It was a moment before Lily, too, started to make her way back to her room.

A/N: This chapter is a bit short. Sorry. The next one will be longer. (Also, I want to change the title of the story, but I can't think of anything. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks...)