Chapter 2 – Can I help you?


OoO


When dessert disappeared and Dumbledore finished his begin of the year speech, Remus jumped up from the table. Lily was right at his side, while the others followed closely behind them. Normally they would take their time coming up to the common room but now they all followed him upstairs. He had the longest legs of all of them, and took two steps at a time, reaching the portrait first. But the Fat Lady was beginning with small talk even though he already said the password about three times. The others had caught up with him as he glared at the portrait.

"Gigglewater." He said through gritted teeth.

"Fine, fine." The Fat Lady sighed. "Your girl is inside, don't need to get all huffy." She muttered as she threw the painting open. He ignored the way James and Sirius glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. Izzie was never his girl, not in the way the Fat Lady implied anyway. He stepped in the common room and her scent hit him right away, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"I'll check our dorm." Lily said before running up the steps.

James and Sirius were roughhousing as they walked up to their dorm, Peter following behind them. Remus walked over to the girls' staircase and waited until Lily came back. But that didn't take long, a few seconds later she was back.

"She isn't upstairs. Her things are there though, maybe she's roaming around."

"She wouldn't-"

"Moony?!" James called down, his voice a little off. Lily and Remus glanced up the boys' staircase.

"She's up there, isn't she?" Lily asked and Remus knew with one sniff, she was up there, he nodded. "Alright, you'll make sure she is okay?"

"I always do." He said quietly. Lily wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He patted her back reassuringly. When she pulled back, she offered him a small smile before she headed upstairs. "Coming!" He called up the stairs as he made his way to their dorm.

Remus held back a grin as he saw the others in the room, looking at the sleeping girl in his bed. James was unpacking his things but looked over his shoulder every other second. Peter was openly staring at her, her shirt a little tugged up, revealing a bit of unblemished part of her stomach, he was bright red. And Sirius, he hasn't unpacked a single thing. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed as he looked at her like he's trying to solve a puzzle, and unlike Peter, his eyes were fixed on her relaxed face. Her light caramel brown hair was sprawled around her head like a halo. Her features were smooth and relaxed, but he could smell the salt of tears on her cheeks, and the slight scent of dittany coming from her. It made him stiffen before he walked over her quietly.

He kneeled down next to her, pushing a strand of hair out of the way that stuck to her face a little from the tears. "Iz? Izzie?" He gently rocked her shoulder. He could feel the eyes of the others all on them, James even stopped unpacking to see what would happen.

She frowned before her eyes flittered open. "Remus?" Her voice was groggy.

He smiled a little. "You had me worried."

"I'm sorry." Her eyes flickered around the room and saw the others staring at her. James and Peter quickly ducked their head away, but Sirius gaze was fixed on her. She turned back to Remus. "I should tell Lily-"

"She knows. Told me to look after you." He smiled. "Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah." She nodded and pushed herself up. "Where-"

Remus placed himself on the bed next to her, kicking off his shoes doing so. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close before he closed the curtains and put a muffliato around them. He felt her relax against him.

The three other marauders looked at the closed curtains for a long moment. Peter was the first one to tear his eyes away, he shrugged and climbed in his own bed. James and Sirius shared a glance before they both crawled in James' bed, closing the curtains and casting their own privacy charm.

"Are we that blind we didn't see they were friends?" James asked first.

"Nah, he must be lying." Sirius said but didn't sound convince himself.

"We were rather preoccupied." James mused. "Pranks, the map."

"Girls."

"Girl, for me."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you love Evans."

"I know she's Lily's friend, best friend apparently too. But I never paid her much attention."

"Me neither, but she's always quiet, right?"

"Well, she is Remus's friend, but everyone seems quiet next to us, don't they?" James offered and Sirius laughed. "Maybe we should get to know her, really get to know her, for Remus."

"Think she let us after six years?"

"Has that ever stopped us?" James grinned and Sirius couldn't help but join in.


OoO


The next morning, Izzie sat down at the breakfast table between Remus and Lily with James and Sirius across from her. They looked at her curiously, and she tried to ignore it. But they have been looking at her like that since she toppled out of Remus's bed that morning. She was talking to Lily about her summer. Not Izzie's of course, too dark to talk about at the breakfast table. She laughed at something Lily said about her sister Petunia before Remus called her attention. He leaned over and whispered.

"Meet me at the tower tonight?"

"Yeah." She smiled, she reached over and squeezed his hand. By this time, she could feel two sets of eyes bore into her. With a sigh, she turned to dumb and dumber, as she liked to call them. "Can I help you?" She asked coolly with a raised eyebrow.

Most boys would have ducked their heads embarrassed. But not these two, of course not these two. They put on their trademark smirk in unison. Remus squeezed her hand lightly. "Nope."

"O-kay." She turned to Remus, leaning closer to whisper. "They are acting weird."

"More than usual, you mean?" Remus chuckled.

"Yeah." She eyed them suspiciously. "Do you think-"

"What are you whispering about?" Sirius asked.

"About you, obviously." Izzie said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. She stood up, giving Remus and Lily a kiss on the cheek.

"Where are you going?" James asked.

"Have you looked around?" She asked gesturing around them. Both of them looked around curiously. "This is a school, if you believe it. And that means classes take place here. I know you two don't know much about it, but that is really something you should know after six years."

Lily snorted in her pumpkin juice. Remus openly guffawed. Marlène and Mary giggled while even Peter let out a chuckle.

"See you later." She said to her best friends, not even glancing at the two boys as she headed out the great hall. Since when did they show much interest in her, did Remus tell them anything? No, he wouldn't not without her permission. She was happy to have a whole class without any Gryffindors as she headed outside the castle. The rain from yesterday has cleared and now the grass squished underneath her feet. She saw Professor Kettleburn already waiting for his students at the other end of the grass field.


OoO


That night after dinner and more inquiring looks from Sirius and James, she hopped up from her place in front of the fireplace. Lily was busy reading ahead for Transfiguration and she headed up to Remus.

"Ready?" She asked. Four heads snapped up from a large parchment Remus was writing on. Remus smiled softly at her, already dropping his quill.

"Where are you going?" Sirius was the one who asked now.

"Why are you so interested?" Izzie countered.

"We want to know your intentions with our sweet, innocent Moony."

She snorted at those words. "He's as sweet and innocent as you guys." The eyebrows of the three boys shot up, while Remus shot her a lopsided grin as he stood up. "Besides you never asked before."

"They never noticed." Peter piped up, James and Sirius glared at him.

"Never noticed what?" She asked genuinely confused.

"That you two are -" Peter gestured between them. "You know."

"No, I don't." She leaned on the table, closer to the smallest boy, smirking. "Tell me."

"I -I-" He stuttered.

Remus snickered and pulled her back up and tucked her under his arm. "Leave him be, Iz. He's all flustered." She shrugged before wrapping her arm around his waist. They started to walk to the portrait, feeling three sets of eyes on them.


OoO


When the portrait closed behind them, Sirius nudged James impatiently. "The map." He whispered.

"Right." He nodded and searched his bag for the map. For a second, Sirus thought Remus must've taken it as it took a while before James found it in his bag. But he held it up triumphantly a minute later. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

Three heads leaned over the parchment in James' lap. They searched every inch of the map but couldn't spot either of them.

"He charmed it. The fucking bastard." Sirius grumbled.

"Doesn't seem like we can find them." Peter shrugged, leaning back down. "Don't know why you two are so interested in her all of the sudden."

"She's Moony's best mate." James stated.

"If it's not more." Peter pointed out. "Besides they've been friends for ages."

"You knew?"

"It's not like he hid it under the tables or something. Don't you remember at the sorting our first year, they sat together and started talking endlessly."

James and Sirius looked like someone had told them a difficult riddle. "No." They both said eventually.

"You two are hopeless." Peter shook his head. "Maybe if you would pay attention other than each other or hook ups, you would've noticed." Peter stood up, seemingly happy about their flabbergasted faces. "I'm going to bed." And he walked up the stairs.

"That's -" Sirius shook his head, glancing from the boys' staircase to James. "We can't be more oblivious than Peter."

"I used to believe that, but now..." James glanced over the room. "Oi, Evans!"

With a heavy eye roll, she looked up from her book and mouthed What?!

"Come 'ere." He nudged her over. She regarded him for a minute before pushing herself up and walked over.

"What is it? I'm studying."

"It's the first day of classes." Sirius gasped.

"So?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind that. Where is Izzie?" James waved impatiently.

"Why?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"We wanted to ask her about potions." Lily snorted very unlady like. James and Sirius glanced at each other. "What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head with a look that said, you really don't know her. "She's out with Remus."

"You know where?"

"Or what they're doing?" Sirius asked.

"I do but I'm not telling."

"Evans!" They both whined like little kids.

"It's your own fault you don't know." She sighed as they looked at her dumbly. "They have their own tradition after the first day of classes, have since first year."

"What?" They both said looking stunned. "That's not possible." Sirius shook his head.

"We would've noticed."

"Apparently not." She turned around, her hair flipping over her shoulders. She picked up her book and climbed the staircase up to the girls' dormitory.


OoO


Remus and Izzie were lying down on a plaid, looking up at the stars. Just like every year, they were up in the Astronomy tower. They were lying head-to-head, both feet turned to the other side of the tower.

"Pads and Prongs didn't know we were friends." Remus said all of the sudden, turning his head towards her. Izzie turned too, their faces only inches apart.

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"They thought I was friends with you through Lily."

Izzie rolled on her stomach and hovered her head above Remus's. "What are they? Blind?" She grinned at him.

"Possibly." He mused but he frowned. "I can't believe they didn't know; I mean they're my best friends and they didn't even know I had another best friend, even Peter knew."

"It's okay, Remus." She kissed the top of his head smiling. "James been obsessed with Lily, Sirius with almost every girl that moves. And they both been preoccupied with you." She said bopping his nose. "Learning about your time of the month." Remus grimaced and she couldn't help but laugh. "Learning to become Animagi for you." She pushed his hair from his forehead. "They're amazing friends, Remus. Don't doubt that."

"I know." He smiled a little.

"Well, this explains a lot actually." She said flopping back down, staring up at the stars.

"Huh?"

"Why they are so interested in me all the sudden. They look at me like they are trying to solve a puzzle."

"Does it bother you?" He asked genuinely concerned.

"No, it's okay. They don't know me very well, but I know them." She smirked, her eyes still on the stars.

"Oh, you're going to make it hard on them, aren't you?" Remus snickered.

"You have no idea." She laughed.