Chapter Eighteen: Mums Just Know

Lily was relieved when she finally stepped off the Hogwarts Express. Two weeks with Petunia would be better than trying to avoid James and Colin. Today alone had been a challenge and neither boy had left Hogwarts for break. She had taken many, many points from Slytherin students on the train that day. When she met her mother on the other side of the barrier she felt like she hadn't slept in a year.

"Lily, dear!" Mrs. Evans was a little ways away from the barrier and she waved to her daughter. "Oh, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Mum." Lily hugged her mother tightly. She held back the wave of emotion. There were still some students around and the last thing she needed was for them to see Lily Evans cry. Keep it together, Evans.

Mrs. Evans led Lily to the car and helped her lift her trunk into the boot. The two climbed in and were off down the road. It hadn't been any longer than three minutes before Mrs. Evans realized something was very wrong.

"What's wrong?" Lily burst into tears. Weeks of stress and anxiety came tumbling out in a jumble of words that only a mother could understand. "Let's go get a bite and you can tell me all about it, okay sweetie?"

James was arguing with Remus for the tenth time that day. And he felt like such an arse for it because tomorrow night was the full moon and Remus looked absolutely terrible. James, Sirius, and Peter stayed at Hogwarts for break so that Remus wouldn't haven't to spend it alone. His parents preferred for him to stay if the full moon fell on break and it had been tradition ever since the others knew about his affliction that they stayed too. He gave them a hard time every time they did but he also always felt better with them there.

Remus was upset that they had chosen to stay with him instead of going home. Remus was more upset with James because it had been little over three weeks since his father was attacked by Deatheaters and here he was passing up an opportunity to be with him.

"Remus, I'm done arguing with you. The train left hours ago. That ship has bloody well sailed. Now go lie down and eat some chocolate." James turned back to his Potions essays that Slughorn had set for them. He watched Remus lope off, grumbling about ungrateful gits.

Sirius laid sprawled on the couch reading a copy of Witch Weekly that Marlene had left lying around. He always refused to touch his homework until the last 24 hours of break as a rule. Peter was practicing Charms. A handful of other students milled around the tower but many had opted to go home to be with family. James hated to admit it but Remus was right, most students had gone home because they never knew if it would be their loved one next.

"Lousy wolf and always being right." James muttered. He heard Sirius snicker from the couch.

Lily sat across from her mum in the diner booth. A large platter of fish and chips in front of her. She had barely touched the food. She'd been too busy filling her mother in on all the happenings of the last term. She didn't leave a single thing out from snogging Potter to ending up magicked out of her clothes in the Common Room. Mrs. Evan heard it all with an ever patient look on her face. She asked an occasional question but just let her daughter vent.

"I am just so mad!" Lily finally stabbed the piece of cod with her fork and took a voracious bite.

Mrs. Evans let out her breath. Oh what it was to be seventeen. She could see what one of the major issues here was but she didn't know how to tackle it. Lily was always a figure it out on your own child. Petunia wanted someone to solve her problem, Lily wanted someone to show her where the tools were so she could figure it out.

"You're allowed to be mad, Lily. I know that things at home have not been easy and it sounds like school has not been either."

"Mum, why can't I stop thinking about him? Why is he always popping up in my thoughts? And why is always at the center of the bad things that happen to me?" Lily slammed her fork down, crossed her arm and pouted.

Mrs. Evans smirked. "Do you want some cheese with that whine?"

Lily glared across the table at her mother and then she laughed. A deep belly laugh. The type of laugh that she hadn't had in a long time. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Growing up is kind of awful, isn't it."

The older woman shared a sympathetic smile with her daughter. "No matter how old you get, you will always be my little Lily."

Lily finished her meal and they were back on the road to home. Lily flicked on the radio and smiled. She missed muggle music. Elton John was playin, she and her mum turned to each other at the same time.

"She's got electric boots, a mohair suit,

You know I read it in a magazine

B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets!"

Lily grinned at her mum. They spent the evening drive singing along to the radio. Some much needed mother-daughter time.

James morphed into Prongs and pranced around the dining room. Padfoot was bouncing around tongue lolling. Wormtail tried to not get under hoof or paw. He squeaked his displeasure when Padfoot's tail's knocked him sideways. Moony roared at them. Padfoot snapped at his heel and barked.

Prongs stamped the wooden floor and herded his band towards the door. They were out into the night. Not a cloud in the sky, the full moon loomed. Moony let his head back and howled. Padfoot joined him. They were out into the night. Wolf and dog snapping at each other, stag and rat prancing together. By the time they returned to the Shrieking Shack the moon was dropping from the sky and a pre-dawn glow had surrounded the castle.

They left Remus sleeping on the torn and tattered mattress. Madam Pomfrey would be on her way any moment. Three of four boys trekked back up to the castle. Very, very tired but very pleased with their night. They were rounding the corner after climbing the stairs to the mezzanine level of the entry way when Sirius collided with another body from the opposite direction.

"Urgh - Snivelly grease! I'll never get it out of this shirt!" Sirius muttered as he glared at Snape. "What are you doing lurking around?"

"I could ask the same thing of you, Black." Snape sneered at the trio, "And where is Lupin? Was he not — aware — of your early morning adventure?"

Sirius moved to pull out his wand but found James had grabbed it from his pocket. James told Snape to shove off and moved to step around him. Peter followed but Sirius stood there for a moment longer. He decided better of punching him and followed his friends.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, for students out of bed." Snape shouted at them and smirked when Sirius turned back around.

James lunged and grabbed the back of Sirius's shirt. "Not now."

"You greasy git. You're out of bed too!"

"Prefect." Snape pointed to the badge on his chest. Normally Remus was their buffer to this abuse of power.

"Maybe I'll let Evans know and she can give you another broken nose. You can't take points from her for that can you?" Sirius smirked back.

"Heard Potter got the shag on her? Was the prude any good?" James grabbed Sirius again, Peter grabbed one of his arms and together they pulled him back. Sirius shouted obscenities all the way down the hall.

"Padfoot, if you don't shut it, McGonagall will be on us." James muttered. He shoved Sirius a little harder than necessary when they got to one of the secret sets of staircases that would cut their walk back to the tower in half.

"That greasy git insulted Lily if you didn't notice."

James sighed, "And he's not worth what little energy I have right now to argue with."

Marlene sat at the kitchen table, a cup of tea in front of her. She had been staring at the same page for Defense Against the Dark Arts for the past twenty minutes. Mrs. McKinnon walked in and raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind, sweetpea?"

The blonde girl jumped, she hadn't even noticed her mum walk in. "Right, well I clearly am not doing a good job of being aware of my surroundings. You could have gotten me right in my own kitchen."

Mrs. McKinnon shook her head and poured herself a cup. "What's on your mind? You've been distracted all week."

"Can you love two people at once, mum?" Marlene was more than perplexed at this point.

"Sure you can." Clearly this was not the answer Marlene was hoping for. She propped her cheek on her hand and scowled. "This isn't a hypothetical question is it?"

"I know I still love Remus. I — we — well we sort of — on New Year's…" Marlene blushed and looked up at her mother through her eyelashes. She explained what had happened throughout the first term leading right up to New Years' and shagging Remus. Marlene expected her mother to be upset and scold her but she didn't. She just listened to it all with a sympathetic ear.

"We broke up and Sirius has always been a flirt but there's a spark there that just never happened with Remus." James's birthday party had been when she truly realized it.

"Are you sure you're not confusing love with lust?" Mrs. McKinnon was gentle in her question. Marlene shook her head furiously. She didn't lust for Sirius and while she had considered shagging him, she was a little scared to. There was something between them that hadn't been there with Remus and it was not lust.

"Have you talked with Remus? About how you feel? I know you still spend a lot of time with those boys. Did you think that it might be hard for him too?" Marlene thought about it. She knew that she hadn't been fair. She had toyed with both boys at New Years. She wasn't proud of it. She knew that she needed to talk to him. She needed to acknowledge that she did and does still care very deeply for him.

Mrs. McKinnon put the kettle on for another pot of tea. She guessed that this conversation might go on for some time.

James grabbed the book out of Remus's hand. "It is only the first day out of the hospital wing. There are thirteen days before term starts and you need a break. No. Moony, you have a lot of work, I know. But you also need a break. So I am confiscating all your books and your favourite quill too."

Remus looked at James flatly. To be honest he was still too tired to put up much of a fight. Even though he felt guilty that they had stayed for them he did feel better having them around. He even managed a small smile when James held up a chocolate bar.

"Fine — I'll come down to the Common Room and read for pleasure. Is that allowed, mother?" James eyed him beadily. Was reading for pleasure on the approved leisure activity list?

"I'll allow it for now. But let me talk with your father and see what he says." James and Remus went down together. "Oy Padfoot, is Moony allowed to read for fun?"

Sirius gave James a look. "Who reads for fun?"

Remus rolled his eyes and laughed. He told Sirius to budge up as he was taking up the whole couch. "Moony, there are so many other places to sit and I'm comfortable! Urgh - get off me you oversized oaf!"

Peter launched himself on to the couch and landed Sirius's legs. "Damnit it Wormtail, get off me! Moony, aren't you supposed to be tired or something?"

"I have found a source of energy. Some strange little man beneath me is allowing me to suck energy for him."

James looked at him. "That sounds so wrong."

"You're a werewolf not a vampire," Sirius grumbled as he tried to roll so Remus and Peter would be dumped to the ground.

"Say it louder, would you." Remus got up and glared at Sirius. He went and settled into an armchair by the fire.

"Come off it mate, we're the only ones in here right now. And you know I'd never tell anyone." Sirius scowled at him. "Why so moody, Moony?"

The corner of Remus's mouth hitched just slightly. He opened his book to the page he'd marked and began to read. Well tried to read. Sirius was actively working to make him laugh and was being rather distracting. "Would you sod off, Padfoot?"

"No." Sirius tried to sit on Remus earning him a good swat with the rather thick book. "Ouch, bloody hell! What in Merlin's pants are you reading that is so thick?"

James opened his mouth to retort but Peter beat him to it. "I didn't realize that Merlin had things written on his—" Sirius tackled him and they wrestled on the floor briefly before Sirius had Peter's arm behind his back.

"Such a dirty mind, Wormtail." Peter complained and told Sirius to let him up. "We should wash your mouth out."

Sirius summoned a bar of soap from somewhere in the tower and was trying to get Peter to open his mouth. James laughed and shook his head. Remus rolled his eyes and settled himself into the chair, his legs dangling over the arm.

"What are you reading?" James looked as Remus held up the cover. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Remus explained that it was a muggle book Lily had let him borrow. "Sirius, I think you'd like the protagonist - Smiley."

"I don't read for pleasure, Remus. I prefer more active activities." Sirius let Peter up and dashed to the couch before the pudgy boy could steal his spot.

"We are all aware of how much you like to practice some things, Sirius." Remus murmured. "Maybe one day you might actually be decent."

James and Sirius exchanged a look. "Is Moony saying what I think he's saying, Prongs? Because it sort of sounds like — but no, Moony is too respectable to stoop to that level."

Remus quirked his eyebrow, smirked, winked, grinned and then returned his attention to his book. Sirius stood there glaring at the taller boy for a good ten minutes before he gave made an irritated noise and went back to whatever it was he had been doing before James and Remus had come down from the dormitory.