Hmm...nothing happened between Aya and Remus last night, if you were...concerned...no, she just got tired and fell asleep...I guess I should've added that. Sorry! bows
And I don't own Harry Potter (I'm not that smart...)
##
Ch. 6: An Unusual Dilemma
"Aya! Aya, wake up! Come on, Aya!" Remus yelled, shaking Aya. Her head lolled to one side as he shook her, adding to his fear. "Aya!" he yelled again. No response. After protectively placing his cloak around her body (him being quite the gentleman), he examined the deep gash in her side that bled profusely.
Why the hell didn't I realize it? I'm supposed to know everything there is about werewolves, and here was one right under my blind goddamn nose! Stupid Remus, he thought, playing Aya's symptoms over and over in his mind as he took off his shirt to bandage up the wound. Carefully, he picked her up in his arms, checking to make sure she was still breathing as he did so. "Don't you dare die," he whispered. "Damn it all, why didn't I practice some healing spells? Ah, I'm so stupid!"
He ran on, thankful that it was still too early for any self- respecting student to be actually conscious at that hour. A werewolf, he thought, idiot...her getting sick at the exact same time I was...that scar on her ankle that looked like an animal bite more than anything else, just like mine on my side...STUPID IDIOT! I SHOULD'VE REALIZED IT, THEN SHE WOULDN'T THINK SHE WAS ALONE!
The thought nearly made him stop. Alone. Here in his arms he carried a girl who understood what he had to go through every month; here was someone who would understand him and not shy away from him or exclude him for being what he was. "Stop thinking about yourself, you selfish idiot," he hissed as he ran faster, cursing his legs for still being weak from the transformation. He held her tighter to his chest as he crossed the lawn, his feet pounding on the grass.
Finally, he reached the giant oak doors leading into Hogwarts. "Great," he hissed, breathing hard. "How am I going to get those doors open quickly without having to set her down?" Before he could say another word, the doors flew open magically, startling him as he passed through, then closed behind him with a clang. Odd, he thought, I haven't lost control over magic since I was 11...
Shrugging, he pressed onward to the Hospital Wing.
##
"Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey, come quick!" Remus yelled as he pushed through the doors and into the Hospital Wing. Almost as if out of nowhere, she came running to him, then gasped as she saw Aya in his arms.
"My goodness! What happened?" she cried.
"I found her out in the woods!" he replied as he nearly staggered backwards.
"Well, hurry up, boy, and put her on the bed. I'll go get some medicine for her," Madam Pomfrey said, motioning to a bed as she turned to her medicine cabinet.
He placed her gently down on the nearest bed, wrapping his cloak tightly around her. Madam Pomfrey came back bearing bandages and a bottle of some liquid, and, of course, chocolate. "Here, eat this," she said hurriedly, shoving the usual chocolate into his arms. "You'll feel better. Now to Miss Aya here...if you would please stand at a respectable distance, please. Thank you...hm...I wonder how she even got out, or what got her," she mumbled as she removed Remus' crude shirt/bandage.
"Is she going to be alright?" Remus asked, still not touching the chocolate, and trying in vain to not look (him being a gentleman, after all).
"Of course she will! I wouldn't be a healer if she wouldn't be alright, boy, now eat that chocolate!" she yelled, not even looking at him as she cleaned Aya's wound. "Tsk, nasty little cut there."
Remus stopped in realization. "Wait," he said slowly, his anger rising, "YOU KNEW, DIDN'T YOU!"
"Sh, don't wake her. That's the very last thing we want right now," Pomfrey hissed as she finished bandaging Aya's wound. "Knew what?"
"That...that Aya is..." his voice broke off, finding himself unable to say it.
"A werewolf?" Pomfrey finished nonchalantly, still examining Aya as she placed the covers over the girl, then removed the cloak and handed it to Remus, who stood speechless. "Well, in respect to you 'teen lingo,' duh. You didn't even notice, did you, though? Professor Dumbledore told me she was good at hiding sickness for something else, but, honestly, not that good."
"WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?" Remus roared.
"Oh, hush! Would you want me to go around telling other people that you're a werewolf?" she whispered. "That's what I thought. Sorry, Mr. Lupin, but Dumbledore said he wanted you to figure it out on your own. Aya doesn't even know that you're one as well, unless she's clever enough to put two and two together."
He stopped, his jaw dropping. "Dumbledore...and...she doesn't know...then..."
"Stop before you get a headache. You can either stay here or go on to class," Madam Pomfrey said with a wave of her hand as she fluffed Aya's pillow.
Shaking his head, he replied, "No, I'll...stay...with her." He knew he was blushing, but shrugged it off as he sat down on another bed to Aya's left, gazing at her all the while.
"Suit yourself. Try not to wake her, Remus; let her do that on her own. I'm off to alert Dumbledore, so, if you need anything, too bad...no, I'm just kidding. Help yourself to some more chocolate if you would like. It's over there on the counter top," she said, pushing him into bed, then walked out.
Hearing the door closed, he sat up again and looked over at the sleeping girl, her face peaceful, her breathing slow and normal. He sighed, thinking, A werewolf just like me.
He heard her murmur something in her sleep, something like, "Oh, no, Mom....let's not go today...birthday...I don't...like....woods..."
Raising an eyebrow, he leaned forward to push a strand of hair from her face, his fingers trembling as he touched her, then drew back. "Someone...who understands," he whispered as he lay back to stare at the ceiling. After a moment's time, he decided it best to go to class; he had to tell someone about it before it burst from his chest like an overfilled balloon. Sighing, he gave one last look at Aya before he stole out of the room.
##
"Ah, I see that Remus has decided to return to his studies, then," Dumbledore said as he entered the Hospital Wing. "And Aya is doing well, I presume?"
Nodding, Madam Pomfrey said, "She didn't wake up, I guess. Oh, and it appears that Remus is upset at you for a little...lack of information?"
"Any idea what happened to her, Madam Pomfrey? How she could've gotten out at all?" Dumbledore asked as he examined the girl, ignoring the last comment, his half-moon glasses slipping forward on his nose as he felt her forehead.
"No idea, Albus. Apparently she's smarter than ever on a full moon," Pomfrey answered.
"Apparently so. It seems I have underestimated yet another," Dumbledore said quietly with a long sigh. "And how is young Remus doing?"
"Besides being upset and confused, he's doing well," Pomfrey said, placing her hands on her hips.
Aya stirred in her sleep, then, slowly but surely, opened her eyes, wincing at the sunlight that filtered in through the window.
"Well, well. Good morning to you, Miss Aya," Dumbledore said with a warm, welcome smile.
Blinking, she turned her head towards him, then narrowed her eyes. "Where am I?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.
"The Hospital Wing, dear," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked over to the bed and felt her forehead then checked the girl's wrist. "You gave us quite a fright."
"Fright?" she asked quietly, slightly confused as she searched her memory, now foggy as if from a dream.
"Do you remember much, Aya? About what happened?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward.
She shook her head. "Not much...it's all like a dream or something. I'm sorry, but I'm sure I'll be able to remember later on." Her eyes widened suddenly. "Oh! Class! I should probably get to class now," she cried hoarsely, trying to get up; Madam Pomfrey pushed her back, wagging a finger at her.
"Naughty girl. You just stay in bed today and I'll just have someone get your necessary items for your classes. Now go on back to sleep," she whispered, fluffing the pillow.
"Mm...I should go talk to Minerva about a better arrangement for you, Miss Aya," Dumbledore said, standing and adjusting his spectacles. "I wish you well. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey, for alerting me. If you'll excuse me."
##
"There you are, Remus! I was wondering where you had gone off to," James cried with a grin upon seeing his friend. "Hey, you look a little pale...anything wrong?"
"Yeah, a lot...but I can't tell you here. After class, okay?" Remus said, slightly breathless as he shouldered his books.
"Well, why not just tell us now?" Sirius asked, a grim look on his face. "You can't just tell someone you have a secret and then not tell them right away, you know, Moony."
"I can't tell you in public, okay?" Remus snapped. "At lunch, meet me in the room, okay? You too, Lily. I have to tell you this, but swear to me you won't say ANYTHING, got it?"
##
The workload was unusually heavy due to Remus' absence in class, but, given the other workload he received by the time lunch rolled around was more than just astounding...it was absolute murder for his brain. He sighed as he thought of the very long night he would have in just five hours' time, which only added to his unrest.
Shifting his books in his arm, he leaned against the wall in the corridor, waiting for Sirius to finish receiving yet another detention, this time from McGonagall. Tapping his foot impatiently, he peered around the corner to glance quickly at McGonagall's grim face as she finished her lecture with the esteemed Black. Rolling his eyes at Sirius' smug look as he walked out, James, Lily and Peter in tow, he pushed off from the wall, shifting his books again.
"Can you believe it?" Sirius was saying. "Scrubbing the trophies without magic...I've already done that just about a hundred times! Honestly, can't McGonagall simply get an original idea for once? I'm sick and tired of scrubbing James' name nice and sparkly clean, you know. No offense, Prongs, of course."
"None taken," James said with a roll of his eyes.
"So, Remus," Lily said, turning to him, "what was it you wanted to tell us?"
"Um...well," he said slowly, looking around, "not here. Let's go to the room."
"Um, Remus? The hallway's deserted," Lily said matter-of-factly.
"You never know. Oh, just come on!"
Motioning for them to follow, he made his way to the usual moving staircase, then sprinted up to the Gryffindor Common Room, the Marauders and Lily panting in his wake. "Lovely lemons sparkle," Remus hissed at the portrait, then nearly jumped into the portrait hole, the others following.
Crawling out, he looked around suspiciously, narrowing his eyes against any nook or cranny that looked more than questionable.
"Moony, you idiot, there's no one here at lunch!" Sirius cried, noting his rumbling stomach. "Get on with it here! I'm starving."
"No, no, in the room. Come on," he said, waving the comment aside and running up the stairs. Rolling his eyes at the other, Sirius followed, as did the others.
As the Marauders and Lily filed inside, Remus closed the door, locking it securely. Slightly startled, James blurted out, "Moony, that's far enough! Whatever it is, out with it now!"
"Okay, okay. Well, the thing is...um...Aya...uh." He faltered; now that it came to it, he couldn't bring himself to say it, almost feeling like he was betraying her. Sirius leaned forward, his expression serious, yet annoyed.
"Out with it, boy, before I flail you alive! What about Aya?" he hissed, crossing his arms as he watched Remus sit down on his bed, wringing his hands in the habitual habit to show his agitation.
"Is Aya okay?" Lily asked, eyeing him. "I haven't seen her at all today. You two didn't...you know...the other night...did you?"
Startled, he looked up, blurted out, "Well, no! Of course we didn't do anything like that! She just got too tired to leave, so I let her stay for the night! Nothing happened, I swear!"
"So? Are you going to get on with it, or do I have to beat it out of you?" Sirius growled, balling his fist; he hated having to wait for anything.
"Alright, alright!" Remus cried, waving his hands; drawing a deep breath, he told them everything.
"So...so that's why it took you so long to get back," James said quietly, leaning forward from where he sat on the floor, Lily laying her head against him.
"Is she alright?" Peter asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"I don't know...she was still unconscious when I left," Remus replied, narrowing his eyes at the floor.
"Are you going to tell her that you know she's a werewolf?" Lily asked quietly, gazing intently at him. "I mean, I feel kind of bad that you told us, but, it might just be for the better, you know?"
Remus, shrugging, said, "I don't...think I should."
"WHAT?" everyone cried in unison.
"Well...I just don't think it's a good idea," Remus said quietly, looking at their outraged faces. "I mean, how would you feel if you went up to someone and said 'hi! Did you know that I know you're a werewolf? Isn't that weird?' It sounds so...invading one's privacy kind of thing."
"Remus, be reasonable," Lily pleaded, her eyes full of concern. "Aya thinks she's the only werewolf in this entire school. Think about it: isolation, utter loneliness. Do you really want to have her suffer through that in exchange for your 'invasion of privacy'?"
"Why don't you just tell her you're a werewolf first?" James asked. "That way she might want to tell you her secret."
"Yeah!" Sirius chimed in. "I think it would be better to just let her tell you so she can gain some confidence after you tell her! You'll set a precedent!"
"You guys are acting as if I would tell her I loved her or something," Remus muttered. Giggling, Lily crawled over to him, then grasped his hands, staring into his face as intent as ever.
"You do love her, don't you?" she said, knowing the answer as he blushed. "Oh, you do! You do! I knew it! And I know she loves you, too!" She put a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide in shock at what she had just done.
"What?" Remus cried, blushing madly. "How...how do you know?"
"Um...oops...well, I wasn't supposed to say anything, but that night I caught you two in the room, I kind of...well, pressed her about it," Lily said breathlessly, a grin on her face.
"What did she say?" Remus pressed, not noticing how the others were leaning forward as well until Sirius fell off the bed with a cry and a loud thump, swearing madly as he sat up, rubbing his nose.
"Well...I asked her what she thought of you, and she said she thought you were really sweet and handsome and...well, in her words, pretty damn perfect. I interrogated her so much that she just blurted out that she loves you," Lily said.
"What! So soon?" James cried. "It took me a year or two to get you to even NOTICE me, let alone love me, Lily!"
"Oh, shut it, James. You were a jerk back then, but then you changed when I saw your true self," Lily said, smiling softly at him, then crawled back over to kiss him on the lips. "Is that proof enough for you, Mr. Potter?"
"Er...y-yeah," James said with a foolish grin, ruffling her hair slightly. "So, Moony, you gonna tell her?"
Remus turned it over in his mind, afraid. She loves me, he thought with a sudden elation. "I..."
##
I'm really, really, really sorry, guys, but...another cliffie. Forgive me! If you have any pity for me, please review! I really appreciate it!
And I don't own Harry Potter (I'm not that smart...)
##
Ch. 6: An Unusual Dilemma
"Aya! Aya, wake up! Come on, Aya!" Remus yelled, shaking Aya. Her head lolled to one side as he shook her, adding to his fear. "Aya!" he yelled again. No response. After protectively placing his cloak around her body (him being quite the gentleman), he examined the deep gash in her side that bled profusely.
Why the hell didn't I realize it? I'm supposed to know everything there is about werewolves, and here was one right under my blind goddamn nose! Stupid Remus, he thought, playing Aya's symptoms over and over in his mind as he took off his shirt to bandage up the wound. Carefully, he picked her up in his arms, checking to make sure she was still breathing as he did so. "Don't you dare die," he whispered. "Damn it all, why didn't I practice some healing spells? Ah, I'm so stupid!"
He ran on, thankful that it was still too early for any self- respecting student to be actually conscious at that hour. A werewolf, he thought, idiot...her getting sick at the exact same time I was...that scar on her ankle that looked like an animal bite more than anything else, just like mine on my side...STUPID IDIOT! I SHOULD'VE REALIZED IT, THEN SHE WOULDN'T THINK SHE WAS ALONE!
The thought nearly made him stop. Alone. Here in his arms he carried a girl who understood what he had to go through every month; here was someone who would understand him and not shy away from him or exclude him for being what he was. "Stop thinking about yourself, you selfish idiot," he hissed as he ran faster, cursing his legs for still being weak from the transformation. He held her tighter to his chest as he crossed the lawn, his feet pounding on the grass.
Finally, he reached the giant oak doors leading into Hogwarts. "Great," he hissed, breathing hard. "How am I going to get those doors open quickly without having to set her down?" Before he could say another word, the doors flew open magically, startling him as he passed through, then closed behind him with a clang. Odd, he thought, I haven't lost control over magic since I was 11...
Shrugging, he pressed onward to the Hospital Wing.
##
"Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey, come quick!" Remus yelled as he pushed through the doors and into the Hospital Wing. Almost as if out of nowhere, she came running to him, then gasped as she saw Aya in his arms.
"My goodness! What happened?" she cried.
"I found her out in the woods!" he replied as he nearly staggered backwards.
"Well, hurry up, boy, and put her on the bed. I'll go get some medicine for her," Madam Pomfrey said, motioning to a bed as she turned to her medicine cabinet.
He placed her gently down on the nearest bed, wrapping his cloak tightly around her. Madam Pomfrey came back bearing bandages and a bottle of some liquid, and, of course, chocolate. "Here, eat this," she said hurriedly, shoving the usual chocolate into his arms. "You'll feel better. Now to Miss Aya here...if you would please stand at a respectable distance, please. Thank you...hm...I wonder how she even got out, or what got her," she mumbled as she removed Remus' crude shirt/bandage.
"Is she going to be alright?" Remus asked, still not touching the chocolate, and trying in vain to not look (him being a gentleman, after all).
"Of course she will! I wouldn't be a healer if she wouldn't be alright, boy, now eat that chocolate!" she yelled, not even looking at him as she cleaned Aya's wound. "Tsk, nasty little cut there."
Remus stopped in realization. "Wait," he said slowly, his anger rising, "YOU KNEW, DIDN'T YOU!"
"Sh, don't wake her. That's the very last thing we want right now," Pomfrey hissed as she finished bandaging Aya's wound. "Knew what?"
"That...that Aya is..." his voice broke off, finding himself unable to say it.
"A werewolf?" Pomfrey finished nonchalantly, still examining Aya as she placed the covers over the girl, then removed the cloak and handed it to Remus, who stood speechless. "Well, in respect to you 'teen lingo,' duh. You didn't even notice, did you, though? Professor Dumbledore told me she was good at hiding sickness for something else, but, honestly, not that good."
"WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?" Remus roared.
"Oh, hush! Would you want me to go around telling other people that you're a werewolf?" she whispered. "That's what I thought. Sorry, Mr. Lupin, but Dumbledore said he wanted you to figure it out on your own. Aya doesn't even know that you're one as well, unless she's clever enough to put two and two together."
He stopped, his jaw dropping. "Dumbledore...and...she doesn't know...then..."
"Stop before you get a headache. You can either stay here or go on to class," Madam Pomfrey said with a wave of her hand as she fluffed Aya's pillow.
Shaking his head, he replied, "No, I'll...stay...with her." He knew he was blushing, but shrugged it off as he sat down on another bed to Aya's left, gazing at her all the while.
"Suit yourself. Try not to wake her, Remus; let her do that on her own. I'm off to alert Dumbledore, so, if you need anything, too bad...no, I'm just kidding. Help yourself to some more chocolate if you would like. It's over there on the counter top," she said, pushing him into bed, then walked out.
Hearing the door closed, he sat up again and looked over at the sleeping girl, her face peaceful, her breathing slow and normal. He sighed, thinking, A werewolf just like me.
He heard her murmur something in her sleep, something like, "Oh, no, Mom....let's not go today...birthday...I don't...like....woods..."
Raising an eyebrow, he leaned forward to push a strand of hair from her face, his fingers trembling as he touched her, then drew back. "Someone...who understands," he whispered as he lay back to stare at the ceiling. After a moment's time, he decided it best to go to class; he had to tell someone about it before it burst from his chest like an overfilled balloon. Sighing, he gave one last look at Aya before he stole out of the room.
##
"Ah, I see that Remus has decided to return to his studies, then," Dumbledore said as he entered the Hospital Wing. "And Aya is doing well, I presume?"
Nodding, Madam Pomfrey said, "She didn't wake up, I guess. Oh, and it appears that Remus is upset at you for a little...lack of information?"
"Any idea what happened to her, Madam Pomfrey? How she could've gotten out at all?" Dumbledore asked as he examined the girl, ignoring the last comment, his half-moon glasses slipping forward on his nose as he felt her forehead.
"No idea, Albus. Apparently she's smarter than ever on a full moon," Pomfrey answered.
"Apparently so. It seems I have underestimated yet another," Dumbledore said quietly with a long sigh. "And how is young Remus doing?"
"Besides being upset and confused, he's doing well," Pomfrey said, placing her hands on her hips.
Aya stirred in her sleep, then, slowly but surely, opened her eyes, wincing at the sunlight that filtered in through the window.
"Well, well. Good morning to you, Miss Aya," Dumbledore said with a warm, welcome smile.
Blinking, she turned her head towards him, then narrowed her eyes. "Where am I?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.
"The Hospital Wing, dear," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked over to the bed and felt her forehead then checked the girl's wrist. "You gave us quite a fright."
"Fright?" she asked quietly, slightly confused as she searched her memory, now foggy as if from a dream.
"Do you remember much, Aya? About what happened?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward.
She shook her head. "Not much...it's all like a dream or something. I'm sorry, but I'm sure I'll be able to remember later on." Her eyes widened suddenly. "Oh! Class! I should probably get to class now," she cried hoarsely, trying to get up; Madam Pomfrey pushed her back, wagging a finger at her.
"Naughty girl. You just stay in bed today and I'll just have someone get your necessary items for your classes. Now go on back to sleep," she whispered, fluffing the pillow.
"Mm...I should go talk to Minerva about a better arrangement for you, Miss Aya," Dumbledore said, standing and adjusting his spectacles. "I wish you well. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey, for alerting me. If you'll excuse me."
##
"There you are, Remus! I was wondering where you had gone off to," James cried with a grin upon seeing his friend. "Hey, you look a little pale...anything wrong?"
"Yeah, a lot...but I can't tell you here. After class, okay?" Remus said, slightly breathless as he shouldered his books.
"Well, why not just tell us now?" Sirius asked, a grim look on his face. "You can't just tell someone you have a secret and then not tell them right away, you know, Moony."
"I can't tell you in public, okay?" Remus snapped. "At lunch, meet me in the room, okay? You too, Lily. I have to tell you this, but swear to me you won't say ANYTHING, got it?"
##
The workload was unusually heavy due to Remus' absence in class, but, given the other workload he received by the time lunch rolled around was more than just astounding...it was absolute murder for his brain. He sighed as he thought of the very long night he would have in just five hours' time, which only added to his unrest.
Shifting his books in his arm, he leaned against the wall in the corridor, waiting for Sirius to finish receiving yet another detention, this time from McGonagall. Tapping his foot impatiently, he peered around the corner to glance quickly at McGonagall's grim face as she finished her lecture with the esteemed Black. Rolling his eyes at Sirius' smug look as he walked out, James, Lily and Peter in tow, he pushed off from the wall, shifting his books again.
"Can you believe it?" Sirius was saying. "Scrubbing the trophies without magic...I've already done that just about a hundred times! Honestly, can't McGonagall simply get an original idea for once? I'm sick and tired of scrubbing James' name nice and sparkly clean, you know. No offense, Prongs, of course."
"None taken," James said with a roll of his eyes.
"So, Remus," Lily said, turning to him, "what was it you wanted to tell us?"
"Um...well," he said slowly, looking around, "not here. Let's go to the room."
"Um, Remus? The hallway's deserted," Lily said matter-of-factly.
"You never know. Oh, just come on!"
Motioning for them to follow, he made his way to the usual moving staircase, then sprinted up to the Gryffindor Common Room, the Marauders and Lily panting in his wake. "Lovely lemons sparkle," Remus hissed at the portrait, then nearly jumped into the portrait hole, the others following.
Crawling out, he looked around suspiciously, narrowing his eyes against any nook or cranny that looked more than questionable.
"Moony, you idiot, there's no one here at lunch!" Sirius cried, noting his rumbling stomach. "Get on with it here! I'm starving."
"No, no, in the room. Come on," he said, waving the comment aside and running up the stairs. Rolling his eyes at the other, Sirius followed, as did the others.
As the Marauders and Lily filed inside, Remus closed the door, locking it securely. Slightly startled, James blurted out, "Moony, that's far enough! Whatever it is, out with it now!"
"Okay, okay. Well, the thing is...um...Aya...uh." He faltered; now that it came to it, he couldn't bring himself to say it, almost feeling like he was betraying her. Sirius leaned forward, his expression serious, yet annoyed.
"Out with it, boy, before I flail you alive! What about Aya?" he hissed, crossing his arms as he watched Remus sit down on his bed, wringing his hands in the habitual habit to show his agitation.
"Is Aya okay?" Lily asked, eyeing him. "I haven't seen her at all today. You two didn't...you know...the other night...did you?"
Startled, he looked up, blurted out, "Well, no! Of course we didn't do anything like that! She just got too tired to leave, so I let her stay for the night! Nothing happened, I swear!"
"So? Are you going to get on with it, or do I have to beat it out of you?" Sirius growled, balling his fist; he hated having to wait for anything.
"Alright, alright!" Remus cried, waving his hands; drawing a deep breath, he told them everything.
"So...so that's why it took you so long to get back," James said quietly, leaning forward from where he sat on the floor, Lily laying her head against him.
"Is she alright?" Peter asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"I don't know...she was still unconscious when I left," Remus replied, narrowing his eyes at the floor.
"Are you going to tell her that you know she's a werewolf?" Lily asked quietly, gazing intently at him. "I mean, I feel kind of bad that you told us, but, it might just be for the better, you know?"
Remus, shrugging, said, "I don't...think I should."
"WHAT?" everyone cried in unison.
"Well...I just don't think it's a good idea," Remus said quietly, looking at their outraged faces. "I mean, how would you feel if you went up to someone and said 'hi! Did you know that I know you're a werewolf? Isn't that weird?' It sounds so...invading one's privacy kind of thing."
"Remus, be reasonable," Lily pleaded, her eyes full of concern. "Aya thinks she's the only werewolf in this entire school. Think about it: isolation, utter loneliness. Do you really want to have her suffer through that in exchange for your 'invasion of privacy'?"
"Why don't you just tell her you're a werewolf first?" James asked. "That way she might want to tell you her secret."
"Yeah!" Sirius chimed in. "I think it would be better to just let her tell you so she can gain some confidence after you tell her! You'll set a precedent!"
"You guys are acting as if I would tell her I loved her or something," Remus muttered. Giggling, Lily crawled over to him, then grasped his hands, staring into his face as intent as ever.
"You do love her, don't you?" she said, knowing the answer as he blushed. "Oh, you do! You do! I knew it! And I know she loves you, too!" She put a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide in shock at what she had just done.
"What?" Remus cried, blushing madly. "How...how do you know?"
"Um...oops...well, I wasn't supposed to say anything, but that night I caught you two in the room, I kind of...well, pressed her about it," Lily said breathlessly, a grin on her face.
"What did she say?" Remus pressed, not noticing how the others were leaning forward as well until Sirius fell off the bed with a cry and a loud thump, swearing madly as he sat up, rubbing his nose.
"Well...I asked her what she thought of you, and she said she thought you were really sweet and handsome and...well, in her words, pretty damn perfect. I interrogated her so much that she just blurted out that she loves you," Lily said.
"What! So soon?" James cried. "It took me a year or two to get you to even NOTICE me, let alone love me, Lily!"
"Oh, shut it, James. You were a jerk back then, but then you changed when I saw your true self," Lily said, smiling softly at him, then crawled back over to kiss him on the lips. "Is that proof enough for you, Mr. Potter?"
"Er...y-yeah," James said with a foolish grin, ruffling her hair slightly. "So, Moony, you gonna tell her?"
Remus turned it over in his mind, afraid. She loves me, he thought with a sudden elation. "I..."
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I'm really, really, really sorry, guys, but...another cliffie. Forgive me! If you have any pity for me, please review! I really appreciate it!