Later, Lily reflected that Thursday was a bit ambitious of her, though not for lack of trying. For a complete week and a half, there was absolutely no meal, match, or meeting during which Remus and Marlene did not sit together. Sandwiched often between Lily and Sirius, James, or Peter, the two were delicately forced into close quarters. As expected, Marlene grew fretful and worried for the first few days (citing to her friends vague problems such as the weather and her hair), leading Lily to let both Dorcas and Emmeline in on the plan. Lily didn't feel bad about this because after all, it was only by being incredibly wily that one could cajole Remus and Marlene to even strike up a conversation. For some reason, Remus stubbornly refused to be even the least bit cooperative with their secret plans although there was nothing outright objectionable about his behavior. He was cordial, quiet, and rarely graced with a bright smile, which was an uninviting attitude for a romantic relationship. Sirius and James privately confided in Lily that Remus was already suspicious of their sneakery but that they wouldn't say anything to him.

"If Moony wants to be difficult," smiled Sirius one day, "then difficult we shall be."

Despite one or two days during which Remus was ill, Lily nonetheless was getting an excellent feeling about this plan by the time the weather grew bitter. Wintertime fell upon Hogwarts in great drafts of hail and sharp winds. Scarves, gloves, balaclavas, and double layers of socks became near requirements for Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. In this midst of this inclement climate, and the piles of homework lavished upon the students, Lily did see that Marlene and Remus were talking more. Marlene was often nervous yet Remus was often quiet, like he didn't want to speak too much or get too involved. If he had really liked Marlene as much as he had said to Sirius, Lily couldn't understand why he wouldn't be taking every advantage of this carefully-crafted situation. James would only say that it was for a stupid reason that had nothing to do with Marlene herself, but Lily wasn't sure. Still, Lily had high hopes that Marlene's natural personality and charms would be sufficient to bridge the gap between them. In this hope she was not unfounded, for Lily's heart was warmed just before Care of Magical Creatures one day in early December; she could not help but feel bubbly inside even as her feet frosted like icicles.

Marlene had run back to the greenhouses to retrieve her forgotten inkwell before it froze over. Lily helped Professor Grubbly-Plank to secure their miniscule unicorn herd and turned to look forlornly over at the warm, inviting castle before class began. What she saw shocked and then excited her, and a slow, easy smile spread over her chapped lips. What she wouldn't give for today to be tomorrow, to be Saturday, so that there would be all the time in the world.

The ground was hardened and tough and each blade of grass stood out like a white-edged knife. There had been many frosts and no snow as of yet, which naturally only made it harder to bear the cold because snow was the favorite part of any student's Hogwarts winter. Walking over this desolate field together, leaning into each other and whispering, talking, laughing quietly, were Marlene and Remus, their books gathered to their chests and their backs cornered against the chill breeze. Marlene's nose was red but so were her cheeks as she blushed and laughed. Lily nearly dropped the harness of the unicorn she was holding and looked over Remus and Marlene's heads in excitement. James, Sirius, and Peter were following a suitable distance behind muttering and gesturing to themselves. James caught Lily's eyes and winked deliberately, sending her a smile that warmed her to her toes. Beside him, Sirius used sweeping and dramatic arm motions to indicate Remus and Marlene—who were only a few meters away now—as if Lily had perhaps not noticed them or had the brains of a stone. Peter waved brightly and Lily waved back just as Marlene appeared at her side, out of breath (although she hadn't been walking that fast) and chattering spiritedly.

"Class is starting Lily, I found my inkwell and all. Do you want to work together on the same unicorn—"

"Settle down," pronounced Professor Grubbly-Plank sternly, looking like an over-puffed dinner roll in her tan overcloak. "Now then, we've got the good luck to have this unicorn family here provided by Mr. Hagrid. It's your job to comb over each one and make sure it will get through the winter, using the techniques we've been reviewing in the past chapters. There are four, so split into groups, and I'll be checking to see—" Lily hurried over to a large, doe-eyed unicorn with shiny hooves. Marlene stood close next to her as James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter joined them. Lily and James smiled at each other knowingly over the unicorn, moving to allow Remus and Marlene to stand next to each other. Sirius was unabashedly amused.

"Mischief managed," he proclaimed smugly, but Remus and Marlene didn't notice. They had grinned shyly at each other before taking brushes to the unicorn's tail. Lily privately thought that it was pointless to groom a unicorn because it was so perfect to begin with, but she dutifully picked through its hooves with the help of James and Peter. The unicorn neighed and cast one dark eye meaningfully at her. Lily smiled, tossing her hair out of her eyes.

"Shh," she whispered soothingly, reaching out a red-gloved hand to pat the unicorn's luxurious mane. It whinnied half-heartedly and resigned itself to this treatment. Lily directed her smile then at James as he held the unresisting unicorn's head while she stroked its silvery hair.

James looked down at her with a strange expression. She was smiling up at him with those white teeth that matched the unicorn's coat. Lily's nose was touched with pink and so were her cheeks even though she didn't know it, countering the chilled white skin and spring green eyes. No matter what, she always looked warm to him, like a source of heat with that fire hair spilling over her black cloak. In the past days he had taken Lily's hands to find them cold, and then he would carefully make sure that they were just as warm as her lips. She looked so beautiful to him, all the time, even now. He swallowed and picked up a grooming tool, not knowing in the slightest what it was that his hands grasped. Why did she always make him feel like this? What was going on inside him? Certainly there were some normal feelings there, the usual feelings a teenage boy would have for a teenage girl, but there were new ones too. And James technically wasn't a boy anymore. His throat tightened. She hadn't noticed a thing. Absently, he began patting the unicorn, realizing that what he had grabbed was not a grooming tool but Sirius' scarf, and Sirius was now smacking at his hands to remove them. The unicorn made a noise that was almost a sigh, and James thought that it probably understood every unspoken word.

A Hogsmeade visit was announced to take place in the following two weeks, before the winter break began. By this time, there was no question that Remus would be going with Marlene. Lily was jubilant. They had been holding hands and quietly laughing for days now, and every evening Marlene would go to bed with a secret smile and rosy cheeks. Lily was excited for them, for her best friend especially.

"We're all taken up now," announced Emmeline at breakfast, the first day that Marlene and Remus and had entered together. "All four of us girls."

"What do you mean?" asked Dorcas, rolling up a yellow parchment and tying it onto an owl's leg.

"I know what she means," smirked James, moving his arm around Lily and pulling her closer.

"I'm so excited for her," smiled Lily, allowing James to wrap both arms around her. "She really needed it, and he's so sweet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked James abruptly, tickling her neck. Lily laughed and swatted his hand away before she overturned her breakfast cereal.

"That I'm secretly going out with you and Remus at the same time."

"And me," added Sirius from the other side. "Don't forget about us snogging, Lily."

"Oh yes, and Sirius. Of course." Peter didn't say anything but just grinned, looking from Lily to James to see what James would say next.

"As long as you're still dating me," he said easily, grabbing a roll.

"James, don't eat on my shoulder."

"What?" he asked, muffled by the large quantity dough in his mouth. Sirius snickered and Lily rolled her eyes. James swallowed and smiled winningly. Lily's heart sped up a bit, and she faintly wondered, after all these months, why.

After dinner, Lily began the questioning.

"What's he like, Marlene?" asked Lily cheerfully, pulling up her knees to her chest and snuggling into her pillows. The wind howled outside the window, but inside the dormitories it was cozy, bright, and warm. All four girls were awake there that night, a rare occurrence. Dorcas, Emmeline, and Marlene had been up late working until Lily came in from patrols. Since Marlene was the only one doing anything resembling work, Lily had changed into her pajamas and settled down on her warm bed to interrogate Marlene. Marlene was lying stretched out on her own bed, scratching away with a purple quill, when Lily posed this question. She went red but her tone was anything but embarrassed, though perhaps shy, when she answered secretively,

"Like a boy. You know."

"Nooo, we don't," replied Emmeline from somewhere at the foot of Lily's bed, where she was propped up next to Dorcas as they filled in an Astronomy chart. "You've got to reveal to us the deep, dark secrets of Mr. Lupin. Especially since we worked so hard to get you two together."

"You did, didn't you?" responded Marlene with a triumphant blush. "I thought you were up to something."

"You're a smart girl, Marlene. If you hadn't been so wrapped up in Remus you would have gotten it like that." Emmeline snapped her fingers. Lily and Dorcas chuckled before Lily continued,

"So come on Marley, spill the pudding. Tell us everything."

"Everything about what, precisely?" deflected Marlene, looking away with a bob of her curly head to gather up her homework.

"You and Remus Lupin, of course."

"I know you want to tell us," interjected Dorcas slyly. The blush spread down Marlene's neck.

"He's…nice. Really nice. I like him a lot I guess…but I like everyone a lot."

"But how does he kiss?" asked Emmeline impatiently, causing both Lily and Dorcas to laugh.

"Fine," smiled Marlene, her face slowly spreading into a wide smile. "Just fine." Lily was surprised that Marlene would even answer a question like that; she might not have only a few months ago.

So, apparently, was Emmeline, because she continued to press for information.

"How long have you liked him? How did he ask you out? What are the terms of your—"

"Alright, Mother, one question at a time," answered Marlene with her little smile. The little smile that women have been smiling for ages.

"I—I liked him since about the time I found out he liked me, although I've liked him on and off for a while," she confessed. "He didn't seem to like me very much, though, until this one day…Well one day he smiled at me kind of differently. Different than a normal smile, I mean, because he didn't usually smile at me at all. I think it was after one of those days when he was sick—anyway, later on, he kind of came up to me and offered to take my books to class, and I said yes, and we just…started talking. And laughing. And then later, we…er…"

"Kissed?" filled in Emmeline helpfully. Marlene went even redder and started fingering her blanket. Lily smiled to herself. Not so much changed.

"Yes. And then he asked me to go to Hogsmeade, whenever it was, and I said yes. And that's sort of that."

And that it was.

Yeah, I'll get more in depth with things next chapter, and then after that it's probably more Lily/James during winter break. Don't want to deviate from them too much. I've been slightly harassed with school and all, I had this crazy training day thingy today were we dangled off ropes and climbed nets. It was fun, but tiring. A strange club, that one…but anyway, I'm working on the updates. Hope you like.

As far as Marlene, well, Remus needs to end up with someone because after all, I love him and he is so tragic. I can't picture him as being a dorky bookworm until he meets Tonks though. About their relationship, I also kind of didn't get it when I first read HBP…I mean, I accept it now, but it did seem strange to me. Love 'em both though, and whatever makes Remus happy…

(Mirax Myra Terrik)

To new readers and reviewers: Thanks for reading and spread the story!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READ THIS AND REVIEWED