AN: I'm terrible. I was sick and then school started but here we are, chapter 24 and it's full of fluff and I hope you like it.

I would like to thank all of you who have been reviewing and telling me that you've read my story three times and that it's your favorite. I love them and they make me feel really good. Thank you all for the support, I'll try and do better. 3

"Trust your heart if the seas catch fire, live by love though the stars walk backward."
― E.E. Cummings

or

"When thinking about what to do next with your life, don't ask yourself what you would succeed at, but what you would most enjoy failing at."
― Clifford Cohen

Chapter Twenty-Four: Under the Stars

Remus followed Dory out of the stadium and towards the edge of the city. "Where are we going?" He asked for what was probably the fourth or fifth time.

"Would you just be quiet and follow me?" She asked, continuing to walk at a brisk pace towards the woods.

"Are we going into the woods?"

"Obviously."

"Okay, but why?" He asked.

"I'll tell you when we get there." She said, looking over her shoulder and reaching out for his arm. Now that she was dragging him along behind her they were moving slightly faster and Remus decided to give up asking questions.

The closer they got to the forest, the more anxious he got. Eventually he could see an orange glow coming from just within the edge. "Are there people in there?" He asked cautiously and when she refused to answer him he sighed and shook his head. "You've got to give me something here, Dory. You know how nervous I get about things."

"I do and it's ridiculous because you're the most powerful wizard in the world." Remus wanted to contradict her, but he knew she wouldn't listen to him anyway. He huffed and she gave in. "I'm introducing you to some people. With all the traffic from the tourney, people like us were safe to travel more. We can blend in."

"People like us?" He asked quietly, looking back towards the woods.

"Yes, witches and wizards. People with magic."

"Is your cousin here?"

"What? Oh, Gwen, that's Mary's cousin but yes, she's here." She nodded. "And a bunch of other people as well."

"And you haven't told them that you think I'm Emrus, have you?" He asked.

"No," She said shaking her head, and he relaxed. "Dumbledore told them that you were Emrus." She grinned at him and he felt as though he'd been dowsed in cold water. He was going to be a major disappointment to all of these people, as he knew only a handful of spells and his magic without spells was becoming less powerful with the more he learned.

"But I don't even believe that I'm Emrus!"

"Well," She sighed, "Don't tell them that." She said firmly.

They reached the edge of the forest and Remus took a deep breath, holding it for a bit too long and then letting it out too fast. "Dory-" She just tugged his arm harder and he had to move his foot quickly to keep from tripping over a fallen log.

"I've got him!" She called out.

"Is Dumbledore here?"

"I am," Dumbledore said, smiling at him. He was leaning against a tree, holding a large wooden staff that Remus had never seen before and wearing a long, bright blue robe. "There are some people that I want to introduce you to." He said.

"Alright, but why didn't you tell me that this morning?" He asked. "Or last night, why have Dory come in and drag me all the way out here?"

"I trust Sirius," He said. "But this is for you to do on your own." That sounded ominous.

They walked a bit further into the woods until Remus could hear the crackling of the fire and the sun started to disappear behind the thick canopy overhead. He saw a large group of people, all sitting around the fire quietly, looking to him. Some of the faces looked familiar, like Gwen, Mary and a few other's from the Hallows. He was surprised by some of the people present, like Minerva McGonagall, though most of the people he did now know.

"Remus, this is the Order of the Phoenix."

He said this as though Remus should know what it meant, but he just looked blankly at the group of people before him. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"Right," Dory stepped up. "This is Kingsley Shacklebolt," A large man stood up and nodded at Remus. "And over here is Alice Foretesque, Alastor Moody, Arabella Fig, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance," She continued to go around the circle and introduce the rest of the people, but there was no way that Remus was going to remember all of their names.

"We thought it was about time we all got together and introduced ourselves to you," Lady McGonagall said, standing up and reaching a hand out to reintroduce herself to Remus.

"All of you have magic?" Remus asked, surprised to see so many people like him all in one place. She nodded as he took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"We're a weapon for you to use," Kingsley said, also standing up and reaching out his hand. Remus took it and narrowed his brow.

"A weapon for me to use?"

"Yes-"

"We're more than a weapon," Emmeline, the older woman from the pub in the Hallows said giving Kingsley a look. "We help people who need help, we fight against the men who threaten to give a bad name to people like us, against people who want to hurt innocent-"

"We're not initiating him," Mary sighed. "We're supposed to be giving him a summary.

"I was giving him a summary, Ms. MacDonald." Emmeline said, shaking her head.

"Look," Dory stood up next to Mary and crossed his arms. "We all know that there's an evil force at work, the man that had the king killed is spreading his hate throughout the kingdom, probably beyond our borders by now and we are fighting against him. We're collecting information, collecting more people like us, people who don't think killing or injuring the muggles is the right way to go about protecting ourselves from ignorance."

"A lot of us have come here to meet you," A man near the back of the crowd said. "We've heard a great number of things about you."

"Is it true that you don't need a wand or spells to do magic?"

"Have you really befriended the king?"

"Do your eyes really glow when you use your magic?"

Dozens of questions flew at him until Dumbledore cleared his throat and rested a hand on Remus's shoulder. "Young Emrus is still getting use to his destiny." He said quietly. "Let us not make his path any more frightening than it already is."

"It's not the questions that I have a problem with," Remus muttered under his breath. He felt Dumbledore squeeze his shoulder slightly and he took a deep breath. "I appreciate all of you coming out here, whether you came to meet me or show your support, I'm glad that you're here." He looked to Dumbledore, who nodded slightly and then stepped forward.

"We have trying times ahead of us, and Emrus is only one piece of the puzzle. He is an invaluable resource of course, but he is not the only one who will be fighting this war. It is up to all of us to choose the right path, even when it proves to be difficult. We must stand up against adversity and evil and fight for the good of all, for those who cannot fight for themselves, for those who have fallen before peace has come, for those who will come after us and reap the benefits of a peaceful kingdom." There was cheering around the fire and Remus took some time to look at all of the people here. Some of them were badly scared and some were young while others looked to be only a few years younger than Dumbledore. He wasn't the only one who had seen a time when magic had not been outlawed, but no one here had been around when magic wasn't tabooed.

"Let us share with Emrus what we know." Dumbledore said, opening for floor to Kingsley. He stood in front of the crowd, and even though he was meant to inform Remus, he was addressing everyone and Remus was glad for this.

"We have scouts up in the north hills." He said quietly. "They've been there for almost two months now and they believe that they've located Bellatrix and the man who took her. The castle that they are staying in is heavily guarded, and there's been signs of dragons at two of the entrances while a giant guards the third. They've yet to make any attempt to enter that castle, but I think getting someone on the inside would be a wise move."

"Of course you do," Moody, who was the most scared of the group, stood up. He had a wooden peg where a leg should be and his left eye had gone white and glazed over. "You young people are always in a hurry to be reckless and stupid." He spit on the ground and glared at everyone as though they had personally offended him.

"It's not stupid to want to know what's going on in that castle." Kingsley said, looking put out. "And we talked about calling everyone stupid, Mad-Eyed. It's not productive."

"I'm not saying that it wouldn't be useful, I'm just saying it would get someone killed." Moody snarled. "But if you want to volunteer for that-"

"I'll do it." Dory said, raising her hand.

"Put your hand down you stu- Dory." Moody looked at Kingsley and shook his head. "I'm not sending a child into the belly of the beast. If anyone should go-" He cut himself off and glanced at Remus, who widened his eyes.

"I think we've already decided that it's best to keep Remus here in Camelot." Dumbledore said calmly.

"You bring us the most powerful weapon we can hope to have only to dangle him under our nose."

"He will be the most powerful, but he's not been properly trained."

"Well what good is he then?" Moody shouted. "We've already got a bunch of useless kids itching to join the Order, you've already let some of them in," Another glare at Dory and Mary. "If he's got the kind of power that you say he does, we should be using it."

"We need a covert team to enter the castle and work out what's going on. We don't need power to do that, just stealth." Kingsley said. "What about that Skeeter woman?" He looked at Dumbledore. "You said she had the ability to transform herself into a beetle, no one would ever notice a beetle flying about."

"It would work perfectly if Rita weren't such a terrible human being." Moody snapped. "She'd just as soon flip and spy on us if it tickled her fancy. It's best to keep her out of this."

"I agree with Alastor." Dumbledore nodded. "Though maybe we should look at Camelot before trying to put together a mission for the North Hills. If we find someone who works for this man in the city, we can get information from them and use it to our advantage."

"You think he has people in the city?" Someone asked in the back.

"Of course he does," Moody sneered. "He'd be stupid not to."

"Mad-Eye," Kingsley sighed.

"Bunch o' pansies is what you are," He huffed under his breath. "I've been fighting these men and people like them for years. You might be forgetting, but it was me that put Tom Riddle in prison in the first place."

"Don't say his name." Someone shuttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, should I be using his alias?"

"Can't you just be considerate?" Dory asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You-know-who has caused us immense pain and suffering, you should know that more than anyone." She said, glaring back at him.

"Being afraid to say his name isn't going to help with that." He said, though decidedly less harsh.

oOoOo

After the feast, which lasted nearly five hours, James decided that he was going to walk by the Evans's home. He'd been waiting for Lily to show up all day, and he hadn't seen her once. He knew that the odds of actually seeing her were slim, but he had to try or else he was afraid that he was in for another restless night. He'd given Remus his robes to bring back up to the castle, but he was still wearing silks and satins and expensive clothes that he didn't normally wear out to town. The streets weren't yet quiet, but the bulk of the people seemed to be contained to the outskirts of the arena and the two pubs further towards the outskirts of the city. He was sure the nobles were holed up in one of their houses, getting just as drunk as the peasants on more expensive alcohol.

Lily's street was almost always quiet, and tonight was no exception. There was no light coming from her house, and James, who had been expecting this, couldn't help but to be disappointed. At least until he noticed a figure sitting on the roof of Lily's house. It was dark, and he wasn't sure who it was, so when he first noticed them, he was afraid it was someone who had the intention of breaking into Lily's home, but when he got closer, he could make out Lily's red hair and grinned.

James walked around to the back of the house and looked up at her. "What are you doing up there?" He asked, causing Lily to jump. "Sorry!" He said quickly, putting his hands up and taking a few steps back.

"No, I just didn't hear you walk up," She said, her hand over her heart.

"I should have announced myself." He said, "All kinds of strange people walking around the city lately." Lily nodded and then sighed, putting her hand back on the roof. "So?"

"So?" She raised her brows.

"What are you doing up there?"

"Oh, I don't know. I just like to come up here sometimes. Get to look out of the city and just watch the stars. Think about things." He grinned, watching her turn her gaze up to the sky. She looked back down at him, a more hesitant look on her face before she took a deep breath and asked, "Do you wanna come up?"

James grinned at her and took a step towards the ladder before pausing and looking back up at her. "You asking to be polite?"

"No." She said with a shrug.

"Good." He said, grabbing the ladder and climbing up. He crawled onto the roof and settled down next to her, making sure they were close enough so their arms were touching. He looked around and chuckled. "You can see more from up here than I thought." He said. The river was shining in the distance, the stadium they built was swelling up from base of the castle and the bonfires people were dancing and cooking around were littered throughout the edge of the city.

"Yeah," She nodded. "My mum used to bring me up here sometimes." She said quietly. "Tell me made up stories about people who lived in the stars. About princesses and princes who lived in castles- though it was never your castle- about dragons and griffons and mermaids and goblins. They each had their own star, but when they wanted to see one another they would come down here."

"Your mum had quite the imagination, didn't she?" He asked.

"Yes," Lily laughed.

"Do you miss her?"

Lily opened her mouth and then closed it, looking as though she was thinking hard about his question. "I try not to." She said at length. James didn't understand this answer. "Do you miss your mum?"

"I do, but at the same times it's hard to miss someone you didn't know."

"Really?" She asked, tilting her head slightly and looking back to the sky. "See I think it'd be easier that way. Because then they're everything you want them to be. You never had to realize that they were flawed and human just like everyone else." James thought this over for a moment and nodded.

"I suppose."

"My mum's not dead." She said, looking down at her hands now. James raised his brow at this confession. "We told everyone she was, but that was- well that was when your dad was king." She took a deep breath and looked at him. "She's a witch."

James blanched. "She's a- a witch?"

"Yes." She nodded. "And my neighbor- well, my neighbor then- they suspected as much and they cornered me one day when I was alone and got me to say some things that I shouldn't have. They were going to tell and she would have been executed so she tucked me into bed that night and when I woke up she was gone."

James ground his teeth and silently added Lily's name to the list of people whose lives his father had ruined. "Lily I'm so-"

"Don't apologize." She interrupted. "That's not why I'm telling you this- I don't really know why I'm telling you this to be honest, but I don't want you to feel bad."

"But that's why you didn't like my father?"

"No." She said. "He didn't kill her, he didn't make her leave. She's the one who chose to leave us all behind." She shrugged and James wondered if she would mind if he put his arm around her. She looked upset and he wanted to do something about it. He settled for placing his hand over hers. "I blamed myself for a long time. I told myself that it was my fault because I hadn't been able to keep my mouth shut. But it wasn't my fault, I was six or something."

"No, it wasn't." He said.

"No, it wasn't." She sighed, letting her head drop down so that it was resting on James's shoulder and his heart jumped to his throat, his hand tightening on hers. "She chose to leave, so I try not to miss her." He cursed internally and then moved his hand and wrapped his arm around her. She didn't move much, only to readjust her head on his shoulder and he cursed at himself again for being nervous about it in the first place.

"Where were you today?" He asked quietly, trying not to sound as pathetic as he felt. "I looked for you." And there it was, pathetic.

"I…" She sighed and moved a bit closer to him. He was surprised but tried to act nonchalant when he tightened his arm around her. "I was on my way this morning but-" She shook her head.

"Was it the hospital?" He asked.

"I was going to say that," She nodded. "But it would have been a lie."

He narrowed his brow and looked down at her, quite liking the lack of distance between them when she looked up.

"You make me a bit nervous," She confessed before looking back out at the city. When she wasn't looking at him anymore he grinned and looked down.

"Good." He said.

"Good?" She asked, chuckling. "Really?"

"I've been nervous around you since I met you, it's about time I returned the favor." She laughed for real this time. "So you didn't show up today because no one came and got you? No one forced you to join us?"

"Remus didn't force me yesterday, and if he'd shown up today I would have sent him off."

"Why though?"

"You ignored everyone yesterday." She said. "It was your tourney and you hid in the back of the tent with me instead of standing up front and letting your people see you. People who had traveled for day- weeks even to see you."

"So you stayed away today so I would behave myself?"

"No. I was behaving myself." She said, to which James laughed. She shushed him and reminded him that her father and sister were asleep inside the house. He apologized quietly, shaking his head.

"Sorry, but you're the one being ridiculous." He shook his head. "You've done nothing but behave yourself."

"That's not true." She sighed. "I mean, look at me now." His grip tightened again, afraid she would pull away. "I'm not going anywhere," She assured him, realizing what his actions meant. He wasn't sure what was going on just now, but he didn't stop to think about pressing his lips to the top of her head.

"Good." He said quietly.

"Tell me about the princesses." She said just as quiet and James closed his eyes for a moment. He knew what she was doing.

"Amelia is in love with one of Charlotte's brothers." He said. "Remus told me earlier."

"You sound awfully excited about this."

"I am. That's one less disappointed king I have to deal with." He said, not taking his lips far from her hair.

"What's going to happen if you don't marry one of them?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said, "King Johnathan will be slightly miffed for a few days and then he'll find someone else for her to marry. She's his second daughter, she didn't grow up thinking she would marry a king anyway. Maybe him and Donald will just trade off their daughters and they'll end up queens of each other's kingdoms. Or maybe she'll get to marry for love."

"Very few people get to marry for love." She said. "It's not a luxury only denied to royals."

"I'm going to marry for love." He assured her.

"I don't doubt it." She said. "You're forging your own path and I admire that."

"It's Remus's fault." He shrugged which made her laugh, though she remembered to be quiet. "And yours if I'm being honest."

"I know." She nodded. "You keep trying to impress me." She laughed again and he smiled.

"It's finally working." He said, kissing her head again.

"Yeah," She said quietly.

"Are people still being mean to you?" He asked.

"My window hasn't been broken in a while." She said.

"Good." He said. "That's a step in the right direction."

Lily lifted her head from James' shoulder and sighed. "Is it though?"

"Is that why you didn't come? To save face?"

"That doesn't make sense." She said. "I just- I have to decide if it's all-" She cut herself off and shook her head. "I know that you like me, I do-"

"I love you."

"Right, yes-" She sighed and shook her head. "But is all of the trouble worth it? The rocks in my window, the disappointed kings, the disdain and-"

"Of course it is."

Lily sighed and looked up at him. "I'm not trying to make that decision for you." She said quietly. James took a deep breath and nodded, understanding what she meant. She had to decide if it was worth it for her. He shook his head and smiled.

"It's a shame I can't entice you with gold and jewels." He sighed.

Lily smiled. "You wouldn't like me so much if you could," She told him. "Not that the notion of the riches are unappealing. But I'd be giving up quite a bit too." She said quietly, looking down at her hands.

It was strange that they could sit here and talk like this, like they might have a future together. Lily was talking as though she was considering a future with James, and he believed that she was. He leaned his head down until his forehead rested against her hair. "That's true." He allowed. "You wouldn't have nearly as much privacy as you have now if you were to-"

"Right." Lily nodded when he abruptly stopped talking. 'If you were to become queen,' that's what he'd been about to say, but what if she laughed at him, what if after all of this he was still misreading the situation and she was referring to something else? "You realize that I'd have no idea what to do, right? Or how to do anything." James let out a shaky breath of relief and nodded.

"I have no idea what I'm doing and I grew up preparing for the job." He said. "And I listen to you more than my advisors."

"You don't have any advisors that you can trust?" She asked. "None at all?"

"There are a few good men who I don't want going anywhere, but most of them are greedy and only interested in looking out for themselves." He said. "But we don't need to talk about them." He said, leaning back against the roof and in doing so pulling her down with him. "Tell me a story about the stars." He said, pulling her closer.

She readjusted herself, resting her hand on his chest. He hoped that she couldn't feel how hard his chest was beating, but he knew that in all likelihood she could. If she did notice, she didn't say anything, instead she started telling him a story.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, laying on the roof of her father's house, wrapped up in one another, but when he finally stumbled into his room, the moon was low in the sky and he knew the sun would soon be rising. He collapsed onto his bed, more at peace than he had been in a long time.

oOoOo

The second time that Severus Snape visited Peter Pettigrew, Lily was not around to interrupt them.

"I can't help you," Peter said as soon as Severus walked into the stables. "I already told you that."

"No," Severus said, his tone bored as he tapped his fingers along the side of the stable as he walked towards Peter. "I think we were interrupted before you could accept my generous offer."

"I wasn't going to accept your money." He said, avoiding eye contact. "I was actually just on my way out, so if you'll excuse me…" Severus let him walk past and then turned around and held up his hand. He muttered a few words and the small man froze where he stood.

"I think we have things to talk about." He said. He walked around so he was standing in front of Peter, and though he was frozen now, Severus could see the fear in his eyes. "You see, you've given me a lot of time to really look around and meet so many wonderful and interesting people in this city." He said carefully. "Like, Harriet for example." He let the girls name hang in the air.

He unfroze Peter, but the man remained still, only his eyes moving. "You will not threaten my sister." He said quietly.

"Or really?" He asked, the corner of his mouth quirking up. "And how are you going to stop me? Do you have magic?" He asked. "Do you have the power to intervein?"

"She's- she's sick, you can't do anything to her."

"I don't want to hurt her, Peter." He said slowly. "But you weren't going to accept my offer of gold, so I thought you might need to be further incentivized."

It didn't take as long as he was expecting for Peter to break. "What do you need?" He asked, looking at the ground. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"All I need is for you to get me some information that I can't get on my own. I need to know everything I can about the king. About his friends. Especially Remus. And don't worry about my reasons."

"I don't know the king all that well." Peter said, his voice quiet.

"Well maybe you should fix that." Severus said, raising his brow. "He's made a habit in making friends out of peasants." He dropped the bag of gold at Peter's feet. "I'll come back in a few days to see what you've gathered. Say hullo to your sister for me." And with that, he turned on his heel and left.

oOoOo

She was too young for him. That's what Remus was thinking as he walked down to the tourney the next morning. He couldn't get Dora out of his head ever since he'd had breakfast with her yesterday and while he hadn't seen her since, he wanted to. But she was too young for him, and he had to keep reminding himself that.

But it wasn't only that, there was also a war going on that she had no idea about and it had nothing to do with her, so she should not be dragged into a dangerous situation that she could otherwise avoid. He'd had to meet with the Order in the woods, and he'd been talking with Dumbledore and he was supposedly some prophesized Emrus, so he should be thinking about dragging her into that world with him.

However, all of that was irrelevant because she was too young for him.

Hardly fifteen years old.

And he didn't fancy her. He didn't.

"'Lo, Remus." He jumped at the sound of his name and turned to see the hardly fifteen-year-old that he didn't fancy looking up at him with her big dark eyes and standing far too close, as she was prone to do.

"Good morning, Dora." He replied, taking a step back and giving her a smile. "I didn't think you'd be out and about so early."

"S'not like I've got much else to do. You know that my parents and I have only just moved to the city, and you're one of the only people that I know. Not that I mind not knowing lots of people, you're quite a nice person to know, probably better than most I'd say. And I'm still waiting for you to show me around, you did promise to do that so don't think that I've forgotten. I'm purposely not exploring so that when you show me around I honestly won't know anything. If you put it off much longer, I'll probably get lost on the way to the bakery or something and then my mum will get worried. You don't want to worry my mum, do you Remus?" He shook his head and she took a breath. "You're the only one that calls me that."

"What?" Because having a conversation with Nyphadora Tonks was one of the most difficult things Remus had ever done. She spat out words like they were burning her tongue, and when she grew tired of one topic she'd switch and you were lucky if she took a breath in between to do it.

"'Dora', you're the only one who calls me 'Dora.'"

"Oh." Remus narrowed his brow. "Well, I know you don't like to be called by your full name so I just assumed- and we talked about it yesterday. What do people normally call you again?"

"Tonks."

"Well than I'll call you 'Tonks.'"

"No worries, love. I like it. You calling me 'Dora' I mean." And she was honest. If there was something on her mind, she wasn't going to be subtle about it, or drop any hints, she was just going to tell you. Her eyes were twinkling and Remus felt his ears get hot and he wasn't sure if it was because she had called him 'love' or because she was so forward about saying she liked him calling her something different than everyone else did.

He didn't fancy her.

He took a deep breath. "Then I'll call you 'Dora'."

"Good."

"Good." He looked up the road, but there was still no sign of Sirius or James. How long did it take for them to get their armor on anyway? They had told him that they didn't need his help, but they had other people there who could help them. And he didn't understand why James even needed his armor on, he wasn't participating in any of the trials. He couldn't do that now that he was king.

Dora put a hand on his arm. "Do I make you nervous?" Blunt. A trait he normally appreciated in people was not indeed making him very nervous. He'd actually be less nervous in the stables right about now.

"Why would you ask that?"

She pressed her lips together in a smile and tucked her short black hair behind her ear. "Well, you won't look at me for more than a moment at a time and you're acting rather jumpy." She shrugged. "Also, you didn't answer my question."

"You don't make me uncomfortable." Remus sighed, making sure to look her in the eyes until she looked away. When she did, he noticed that her cheeks had tinted pink.

"Good. Because I'd really rather you be quite comfortable around me." She scrunched up her nose, still looking at the ground.

"Tonks," Remus said carefully. Her head shot up at the use of her surname, and she did not look happy about hearing it. He'd made the mistake of not addressing issues early on with Lily, and he'd paid for that. This time around he was going to have to be honest. "You're a very nice girl, and I would like to be friends with you but… You're too young for me."

"Codswallup." She laughed, which only made Remus's stomach flip. "I'm fifteen-"

"Hardly fifteen, but yes."

"And you're eighteen, yes?"

"Nineteen." He corrected.

"So you've got four years on me-"

"It's not the age difference that makes you too young-"

"Don't interrupt me." She put a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a little girl, Remus. My mum was fifteen when she ran off and married my dad. She was fifteen when she had me, don't try and tell me that I'm too young for you. If you don't fancy me, that's fine, that's reason enough and I'll leave you alone." Remus had just opened his mouth, either to apologize or to tell her that he didn't want her to leave him alone, he wasn't sure which, when she cut him off. "But I don't think that's the case, I think you fancy me."

It was Remus's turn to narrow his brow, not because she was wrong, but because she had the gull to actually say that to him. "And what makes you so sure?"

Her lips were pressed together again, trying to hide a smile. "Because you've been letting me flirt with you since I met you."

"I don't think you wait for people to let you do much."

"And you're flirting with me right now." She cocked a brow.

He didn't mean to smile at her.

"Remus?" Lily stepped up beside him and looked back and forth between the two of them. He took another step away from Dora and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sirius and James aren't ready yet." He said, hoping she wouldn't ask. "I've been waiting for nearly a half hour now, and they're still getting their armor on."

"Alright." She was looking at Dora. "I'm Lily." She said, having guessed that Remus wasn't going to introduce them.

"Tonks." Dora said with a smile, holding her hand out. Lily raised her brows.

"Sirius's cousin?"

"My mum's his cousin." She said nodding. "Are you Remus's cousin?" Remus coughed and looked up the road again. Still no sign of James or Sirius. He hated awkward situations and he tended to make them worse than they really were.

"No." Lily said.

"His sister than?"

"What? No, just a friend." Lily looked taken back. She tried to catch Remus's gaze, but he was too busy inspecting the toe of his boots. "Remus, we have to get up to the castle. Peter told me that Lance was looking for you."

"You know Lancelot?" Dora asked, impressed by him all over again. As though knowing the king had nothing on knowing Lancelot. "The Lancelot? Ooo, you'll have to introduce me. He's a hero where I'm from and I've always wanted to meet him. My friends back home-"

"I'll make sure to introduce you." Remus said, hoping she wouldn't mind the interruption this time. "But I don't want to keep Lance waiting now, not right before the tourney begins."

"Of course not." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'll see you later, Remus."

He nodded awkwardly and then put a hand on Lily's upper back and steered her towards the castle.

"What the bloody hell is going on, Remus?" Lily asked, looking far too amused for Remus to not flush red. "That girl has a crush on you. How old was she, twelve?"

"No." He said. "She's fifteen."

"Oh." She frowned.

"She's too young for me and I don't fancy her." He quickly explained.

"Right." Lily laughed, and something settled in Remus. "Well your red ears are telling a different story. And it's only four years, she's not too young."

"She's hardly fifteen."

"So? My mum got married when she was fifteen."

"That's what she said." He muttered, clenching his jaw together and shaking his head.