Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lily looked around as she leaned back against one of the tables with her drink, still amazed by how much the Great Hall had changed.
Gone were the house tables, replaced by several round tables that could house up to ten people for dinner and Lily had managed to have a surprising amount of fun despite her boring date.
Everyone else seemed to be having the time of their lives as they chatted or danced and she smiled as her eyes travelled over her friends before they landed on Potter and his friends, like they'd done repeatedly that evening.
It should probably worry her, how much of her attention was going towards the troublesome four, but she couldn't help herself.
She had to bite her lip when the boys had walked in and it became clear just who they were there with.
It had been the question she'd heard the most in the days leading to the ball but no one had known the answer.
After several girls had asked Sirius out, only to be declined with the claim of already having a date, they'd had tried to find out who he was taking.
Lily herself had even been cornered by the group of fan girls who insisted to know if she was the girl who'd be going with him since they suddenly got along and although she had given them a negative answer, she'd wondered herself, too.
She had been sure Sirius had merely been joking when he'd said he would ask Lupin, but now she realised he had been completely serious as that was who he'd walked in with.
It had been hilarious to see the group's disbelieving expressions as Sirius cheerfully chatted to a nervous looking Lupin and Lily was fairly sure she'd drawn blood while biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing.
Not that she could blame the girls for being jealous as Sirius looked absolutely amazing and even Lupin looked very nice, but it had been Potter, walking next to a stunningly beautiful Pandora dressed in dark blue robes, who had caught her attention as he leaned in to speak to Sirius.
Her bespectacled classmate looked quite dashing in his wine red robes and his hair was combed back in a neat fashion and no doubt magically held that way.
She had surprised herself by the stray thought that she preferred his usually messy hair to this.
He'd been laughing with his friends all through dinner and Lily found herself watching him now as he danced with Sirius, both clearly knowing what they were doing as they danced a waltz without caring that they were both male.
Their behaviour had other boys and girls work up the nerve to dance together as well, while Lily knew that normally they wouldn't have even thought about mixing and just having fun with friends like the Marauders automatically did.
"Makes you kind of envious, doesn't it?"
She looked up to see Lupin had joined her, a drink in his hands.
"Envious of?" she asked suspiciously.
"How effortless they make it look, while truly it's not that easy," Lupin sounded wishful.
"You seemed to be doing fine earlier," Lily commented.
"Only because they have been teaching me how to dance all week," Lupin admitted, laughing.
"Maybe I should ask for lessons sometime too, then," Lily wasn't sure if she was joking or actually being serious as she turned her attention back to the two laughing figures moving around.
"They're good teachers," Lupin nodded in agreement. "How come you're not dancing?"
"I ditched my date and no one has dared to ask me to dance yet, least they gain Potter's wrath."
"Would you like to dance, then?"
"I can't dance very well," Lily warned as she turned back to him.
"Then we'll both pretend to know what we're doing."
Allowing Lupin to set both their drinks onto a nearby table and lead her onto the dance floor, they both blinked as a quick two step picked up.
"Eh..."
"Let's just move, all eyes are in the other direction anyway," Lupin's nod made Lily realise he was quite right.
"Why aren't you afraid of gaining Potter's wrath?"
"Contrary to popular belief, there is only one person under James' severe protection and that's not you."
"Could have fooled me," Lily snorted as her eyes slid back to Potter and Sirius as the two had split up for the new dance, Potter now dancing with Pettigrew while Sirius was dancing with Pandora.
"I'm quite serious, it is not James' protection you have."
Surprised Lily looked up to him, his tone suggesting she did have someone's protection. "Sirius? Why would he..."
"I assume it is because James likes you."
"Then why would I be under Sirius' protection if Potter's the one who likes me?" But even as she asked, it suddenly made a whole lot more sense to her why Slytherins had stopped calling her names and sneering at the sight of her.
If Sirius had indeed decided to put her under his protection and had made it known, not many would dare to target her in any way any more, at least not at Hogwarts where they knew the Marauder would no doubt find out and retaliate.
"They're brothers, it's what they do and have been doing since the moment they met."
"Being brothers doesn't really explain it," Lily said.
"Sirius took a liking to Pandora and began to look out for her so James gave her his protection whenever she needed it. It's not exactly the same since Sirius has never been romantically interested in her, but it's the same principle," Remus shrugged before he suddenly smiled.
"They did the same with me. It was Sirius who decided I'd be his friend at the welcoming feast and James told me he'd have my back because Sirius had taken a liking to me."
"He actually told you that?"
"Yes. And Sirius did the same for Peter. It was James who drew him in and Sirius who protected him from his relatives on our fifth day here because James befriended him."
"They do have a remarkably close bond," if Lupin had been talking about anyone else she'd have snorted at him for the sheer ridiculousness of his words.
But for Potter and Sirius, it was indeed what they did and she'd seen it happen.
They looked out for each other and extended that courtesy automatically to anyone that the other took an interest in.
"You have no idea. But I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be moving to dance."
"Oh, right," it took her a moment to get into the rhythm but then they were dancing and as they moved she began to have a little faith in their dancing and allowed him to make her spin.
But the moment she did, she stomped onto his foot with her heels, making him gasp in pain and she immediately stepped away from him.
"I am so sorry!" she wasn't surprised to see Sirius materialise at their side seconds after she stepped back.
"Moony?"
"I'm okay. Those heels are just sharper than I thought," Lupin reassured him.
"Sit down and let me see."
"Siri..." sighing, Lupin allowed his friend to guide him to a chair.
"I'm truly sorry," Lily winced as Sirius carefully removed Lupin's shoe and sock and he revealed a very red pair of weirdly looking toes.
"Let's see," she watched surprised as Sirius cast a diagnostic charm without hesitation before casting a healing spell with an impressed whistle and the toes returned to normal.
"You broke three of his toes, how did you manage that?"
"Broke?!"
"All healed, though," Sirius conjured a pack of ice and placed it on the foot. "Fifteen minutes of cooling and then I want you on your feet again."
"Yes, Siri," Lupin nodded obediently, making Lily stifle a smile as it was clear the younger Marauder was fairly experienced in dealing with the other's injuries.
"Atta boy, although I suggest you pick a different dancing partner. You should forgo your hexes and just throw these heels at people," Sirius teased and Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"It's not funny."
"It kind of is, it's not easy to break his bones so you managed quite a feat," Sirius grinned as he shifted the ice pack a little and gave her a calculated look. "You know, you're not as light as you look."
Lily stared at him, not sure if she'd just been insulted or given a compliment but was saved from answering as Lupin took pity on her.
"So you're saying I should stay away from Pete?"
"Preferably."
"Shouldn't he rest?" Lily interrupted.
"No, needs to keep moving or the toes will get stiff. It's the downside of healing spells; it just heals but doesn't do anything for the bruised area. If he doesn't move them properly after the resting period he risks the chance of them becoming stiff and painful and although there are potions to help with that, it's not good to be completely reliant on those when it's not truly needed."
"Guess you get another dance then," Lupin smiled at Sirius, who rose an eyebrow.
"I should hope so, although I want you to stay on your feet for two dances before I let you off them again."
"Haven't I danced enough yet lately?"
"Hardly," Potter's voice made Lily jump. "How's he doing, Siri?"
"I'm fine," Lupin rolled his eyes. "You should go back to dancing."
"Switching of partners. Pan and her friends are going to bed soon and she would like for you to be her last dance of the evening," he directed the last part at Sirius.
"It would be my honour," without another word Potter and he switched places and Sirius left.
"You should return to dancing, too," Lily looked up to see Lupin was talking to her but shook her head.
"I think I've done enough dancing for one night. I'm not much of a dancer anyway."
"That's a shame," Potter spoke up as he automatically adjusted the ice pack when Lupin shifted. "It is a really nice way to relax."
Lily looked at him curiously as he turned his attention to the dance floor. She had expected him to ask her to dance, but then, she had also thought he'd try to ask her to the ball at least once.
But he hadn't and while it relieved her that he had stopped harassing her, she kind of missed his constant horrible flirting.
Almost immediately she shook her head, not believing that she was regretting that Sirius had gotten Potter to back off.
Firmly pushing those kind of thoughts out of her head, she shifted uncomfortably as she wasn't sure if she was still welcome or should leave.
Lupin had been hurt because of her, but the other two clearly had things completely under control.
She glanced at the dance floor when Potter snorted; surprised to see Sirius was now attempting to dance with Pettigrew.
The smaller of the two wasn't fairing very well and it looked rather ridiculous but she could hear his laughter as Sirius spun them both around.
"You'd have thought our lessons would have paid off more," she heard Potter mutter.
"You taught them both how to dance?"
"Attempted to. I gave up on Peter after he stomped on my toes for the billionth time but Sirius is still trying even now."
"Between his stubbornness and Pete's enthusiasm they might succeed some time," Lupin nodded.
"Well, it won't be for lack of trying and his stubbornness worked well on you," Potter grinned, rising to his feet as the song ended and tossed the ice pack onto the table. "And that's about fifteen minutes."
"Right, I better go save Siri's toes before he's too sore to dance with me," Lupin grinned as he put his sock and shoe on again before rising.
"Have fun and remember that you're supposed to lead as you're taller than him."
"I'm sure Siri will remind me. Evans, it was a pleasure," he nodded at her before making his way onto the dance floor where he tapped Pettigrew's shoulder to exchange places.
Now truly uncomfortable she shifted as Pettigrew came their way, openly surprised to see the two of them seated together without arguing.
"Uh...hi."
"Hello."
"Sirius asked to tell you that he'll call it a night after this, too, are we joining them?"
"I will, but you should stay with your date. Where is she anyway?"
"Dancing with her cousin. Are you sure?" Pettigrew looked nervous.
"Yeah, I'm pretty tired and I'm sure Sirius will put Rem straight to bed after a hot shower. No need to cut your date short when we're going straight to bed. Unless you're not having fun?"
"I am, I have...I...I'll see you tomorrow?" Pettigrew smiled before his eyes slid over to her nervously again and Potter shooed him off to his date with a laugh.
"What about you? Where did your date run off to?"
"No idea, but I think I'll call it a night as well."
"If you're willing to wait ten more minutes, then we could accompany you. No need for a lady to walk alone."
Considering it for a moment, Lily nodded. "Sure, that might be best."
Seeing him turn back to the dance floor, she followed his gaze.
"Are they dating?" she blurted out as she watched Lupin and Sirius spin around, completely comfortable dancing together while Lupin had been tense with her.
"I wish," Potter laughed. "At least then I'd know they'll both end up with someone who's good for them."
"You're rather protective of them, aren't you?"
"They are my family and Sirius is my little brother," he grinned as Lupin spun Sirius around and almost tripped over his own feet when the spin made him misstep. "His foot seems fine, how did you bruise it?"
"Sirius said I broke three toes," Lily admitted.
"Broke? Bloody hell Evans, how did you manage that? You're like half his size!"
"I'm not that small and Sirius said I'm heavier than I look."
"You must be if you broke his toes. Not even Peter managed that when we made them practice dancing together and he's a lot heavier than you are," he whistled impressed.
"I'll have you know that I hit his toes with my heels when he made me spin," she laughed, strangely not offended as he basically called her fat, too.
"Remind me to stop pissing you off when you're wearing bone crushing heels then."
"You're not mad?"
"Why would I be? Did you do it on purpose?"
"No, but I did hurt him."
"Accidentally. And I'm not the one who decides if we're angry with you for hurting him and since his watchdog isn't, neither am I."
"So you protect Sirius and he protects Lupin?"
"No, we protect each other. I just watch out a little more for Sirius while he looks after the two of us."
"And Pettigrew?"
"We all watch over him as he's the one with the least amount of problems," Potter shrugged, his eyes never leaving the dance floor now.
"Are you expecting trouble?"
"No, most of the troublesome Slytherins have already left and Sirius can more than handle himself," his eyes narrowed as Lupin and Sirius came back towards them while the song was still playing.
"What happened?"
"Nothing, I just don't want him to overdo it as his toes are still sore," Sirius reassured him.
"I'm truly sorry."
"Don't sweat it," Lupin smiled as he placed a hand on Potter's shoulder. "Willing to give me a hand?"
"No, but you can borrow my shoulder," Potter shifted so that Lupin could lean on him.
"Now I feel kind of left out, what do you say, Lily? May I have the pleasure of escorting you back to your tower?"
"My tower?"
"All the princesses have a tower, don't they?" Sirius turned to Lupin. "It's either that or an evil stepmother, right?"
"Sort of," Lupin laughed and Sirius turned to her with a grin.
"There you have it, so what do you say?"
"I suppose you may have the honour," Lily laughed as he bowed to her and held out an arm as a real gentleman.
Resting her hand on his biceps, she allowed him to lead her away from the Great Hall, following Potter and Lupin as the two calmly made their way through the hallway.
"Did you have fun tonight? You've hardly danced."
"Have you been watching me?" Lily teased.
"It was fairly hard not to, you kind of stand out," he teased her back without missing a beat.
"Better than orange," she shot back, grinning as he laughed at the reference to her horrible coloured bathrobe.
"Definitely, good colour combination this time. Green does suit you well," he complimented her.
"Be careful, Evans. Sirius can be a terror when it comes to colours," Potter held in his step so that they all walked together.
"I've noticed. He insisted on seeing my dress to make sure I'd not clash with my hair as he claimed my friends wouldn't dare to be honest, lest they would offend me."
"He made me try on six different pair of robes before I was approved," Potter tried to put on a tragic expression, but ruined it with his grin.
"Only because you have horrible tastes," Sirius complained.
Lupin stumbled as he turned to say something and Sirius reached out to catch him.
"Watch it," he warned and Lily caught sight of Sirius' eyes as Lupin reached out to steady himself on the other's shoulder and realised the edges of Lupin's robes were the exact same shade as Sirius' eyes.
"Why are they matching?" she couldn't stop herself from blurting out.
"Just to mark territory," Potter answered her, looking pleasantly surprised that she had noticed it and Lupin frowned at her confused before following her gaze and his eyes lit up in realisation.
"James!"
"You like the robes, don't you?"
"I...no wonder all those girls kept giving me death glares!"
"You know, on occasions like these I truly feel stupid for having to ask, but what are you talking about?"
"James made our robes matching," Lupin grumbled.
"I know. It's what you asked."
"What? When did I...I was joking when I asked if we'd be matching!" Lupin spluttered as Sirius gave him a confused look.
"You were?"
"Yes!"
"Oh, I thought it was a nice prank," Lily laughed as Sirius shrugged and Lupin turned to her surprised.
"Sorry, it's just...you do realise most will think you're dating now, right?"
"That'll keep people at a distance," Potter looked entirely too pleased with himself for it to have been an innocent prank and from Lupin's narrowed eyes she knew he was aware of it too.
"There are a whole lot worse things to be accused off," she was surprised to see Lupin relax at Sirius' words.
"I guess I can live with that," Lupin smiled as Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to Lily.
"Would you mind if James took my place? I'd feel better if I could keep a closer eye on him if he's stumbling."
"Of course not, do your protective duty," she smiled as Potter offered her his arm much like Sirius had done and accepted his offer while Sirius slipped underneath Lupin's arm.
They made it back to Gryffindor Tower without incident and quietly made their way inside, not sure if students were already back or not.
"Well, it was a pleasure," Potter smiled at her as he stepped away from her with a small bow while Sirius deposited Lupin in his usual seat before dashing up to their dorm.
"Likewise," she had to admit, stepping to the side as Sirius returned with a potion in hand.
"Is that a pain relieving potion? You brew them yourself?"
"Among a few other things. There's some pranks that occasionally go wrong so we learned early on how to take care of ourselves," Potter admitted as Sirius gave Lupin the potion before effortlessly removing his shoe and sock again to examine the foot.
"It's looking better but if it's still painful?"
"It'll be fine in the morning, if not you could always give me a bruise removal potion. You were right in that it's better to let it heal naturally. And we're going on holiday tomorrow so it's not like I have to be on my feet all day in the train," Lupin declined the unspoken offer.
"Have you packed already?" Potter asked her as Sirius carefully massaged the foot a little and Lupin leaned back in his seat.
"Yes, only need to add the last few things. I'm just glad the train doesn't leave before noon. It'll mean we arrive rather late, but it's better than having half the students oversleep."
"They can be smart when they want to be," Sirius offered. "You're going home for the holidays, aren't you?"
"Yes. My parents want to take my sister and me to a play on Christmas Eve."
"Which one?" Lupin asked interested.
"The Phantom of the Opera. It's an opera that Mum heard about, apparently it began playing this summer," Lily explained.
"Isn't that the one your mum and our Dad are taking us to this break?" Sirius looked up at Lupin.
"It is."
"Your parents want to take you guys to an opera?" Lily asked surprised. "You'd like something like that?"
"Don't know, Auntie Hope took us to see Bugsy Malone in the summer holidays and we liked it well enough. She thought we might like this, too, so Dad arranged for us all to go to this opera together during the Christmas Holidays," Potter explained.
"But they planned to go after New Year so we won't see you at Lancaster," Lupin revealed. "I assume you'll go there as that is where it's playing?"
"Yes. I look forward to learning what you all thought of it."
"We'll have to get together after the holidays and share impressions," Potter grin however quickly slid off his lips as his expression turned alarmed. "I mean...you don't..."
"That would be nice," Lily interrupted him, coming to the decision that she'd like to get to spend some innocent time with them so she could get to know these boys more properly as she had enjoyed herself during the time they'd spend together, regardless of the circumstances that had drawn them together.
She'd been surprised a few weeks ago to learn Sirius was a lot more mature than she had thought, but she was learning that the same counted for the bespectacled boy standing before her and she'd been pleasantly surprised to come to the conclusion that he was not at all an immature prankster like she'd always thought.
"Don't want to break this up, but I'm going to wish you a good night," Sirius rose to his feet, pulling Lupin up with him.
"Looks like I will be as well," but the thought didn't seem to bother Lupin as he yawned rather widely.
"Looks like you already should have been in bed," Potter had to stifle a yawn of his own and blinked surprised as both Lupin and Sirius laughed at him.
"Well, I suppose this is the end of our date, then. Thank you for a lovely evening," Lily just caught Sirius' mischievous expression before he rose to his toes and planted a light kiss on the corner of Lupin's mouth.
Snorting loudly at the flabbergasted expression on the brown-haired boy, Lily couldn't help but laugh as he stared at Sirius.
"Wh...why..."
"I did say you would get a kiss if you were a good date," Sirius teased, patting Potter's back as the other was literally crying in laughter, tears running down his cheeks.
"I thought you said there would have to be mistletoe," Lupin blinked, still a little stunned.
"I could conjure some," Lily offered innocently, failing to keep in a laugh of her own at Potter's infectious mirth.
"Don't you dare," Lupin threw a pillow at her and she ducked to avoid it.
"It's not nice to throw things at princesses," she shot at him, finding herself laughing even harder as a mix between horrified and a blush crossed his face as he realised what he'd just done.
"You're not his princess," Potter gleefully informed her.
"Ah, then I guess it's all right if he throws pillows at me," she mused, enjoying the moment more than she thought she would have.
"I think you might have had a little too much to drink," Lupin raised an eyebrow as she laughed again.
"Steered very clear of the punch and I know for a fact that none of you drank it either."
"Been watching us, have you?" Potter grinned.
"Someone has to make sure we behave," Sirius came to her rescue as Lily fought the blush that threatened to take over her face at the slip-up.
"Are you suddenly taking her side?" Potter wrapped his arms around Sirius from behind and rested his chin on the other's shoulder as he pouted.
"Can't let you have all the fun," Sirius reached up to pat the hands that rested on his chest as Potter yawned again. "But I think it's time for bed, don't you?"
"Yes, Siri," Potter nodded obediently before bowing lightly to Lily. "My lovely lady, it was a pleasure and may I say you look absolutely stunning tonight as I bid you a good night?"
"Thank you and the pleasure was mine," Lily curtseyed for him, accepting the compliment as it was clear he meant it and wasn't just saying it to make himself look good. "Have a good night too, my lord."
"I hope not for a long time to come," Potter's words confused her, but she didn't ask further as he turned from her with another bow and grabbed Sirius' hand, turning him into a spin and dancing a few steps with him before they both gave Lupin a hand up the steps to their dorm, wishing her a good night before they disappeared.
Shaking her head at their antics, Lily turned to make her way to her own dorm.
She truly had enjoyed their company that evening and decided that if Potter would send her a Christmas card again this year, she might just return one of her own for a change.