Saturday morning was a series of frustrations. Nowhere was Remus able to find the location of the Greyback manor. He wished now he had asked Madam Honeyduke; but it would hardly have been polite at their first meeting, and after she slipped him the potions he hadn't exactly thought clearly. Today he had spent two hours in the library searching the Floo Network, but to no avail; Remus acknowledged that it was possible the house had an unregistered fireplace. Irritatingly, for such a prominent family, there was no written record now of where the house actually sat, even though there were articles about the Greybacks' philanthropy almost monthly going back a hundred years in the Daily Prophet. Perhaps the family made the bloody house unplottable, Remus thought after three painful hours of searching the newspaper stacks and wizard registries, old and new. He could not send a Patronus because, try as he might, he couldn't create a corporeal one; besides which, he had no desire to reveal his identity to Fenrir. And if he did send one, Fenrir would then be able to trace the Patronus's owner to Hogwarts, which could potentially endanger the safety of his fellow students. Finally, in desperation, he'd trundled down to Hogsmeade and attempted to send a bogus letter to the werewolf, just to see if he did indeed live anywhere at all. None of the owls seemed to know where to find him and they refused to take off, impatiently waggling their legs at Remus to remove the message. He left the post office in a huff and stalked back to Hogwarts, talking to himself along the way about possible avenues he might have overlooked.

As Remus walked past the Quidditch pitch, he saw that Gryffindor was practicing. He remembered that today was the day for the prank involving the Cornish pixies, so he decided to go take a look; he could use a distraction. He squinted into the bright white of the overcast sky and searched the stands as he entered the stadium. There were several groups of students who had come down from the school to watch practice. Remus spotted Sirius and Peter halfway up in the stands; with them were Lily and her friend Olivia. Remus's pulse began to race, and he was grateful for the presence of the others so that he wouldn't have to be alone with Lily again. He climbed the steps and made his way across the seats toward his friends.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team was high above the field practicing moves, darting and whirling and swooping, batting at each other and feinting. He watched James, a Chaser, use the Sloth Grip Roll; his lanky frame made him look more like a rhesus monkey than a sloth, but at least he didn't seem as close to falling off as he did in the last game against Ravenclaw.

As Remus drew closer, he saw that Peter had begun pacing the rows of seats, winding his way toward the top row. Lily had left Sirius and Olivia and had reseated herself a few rows toward the front. To Remus's surprise, Olivia was now sitting on Sirius's lap and whispering into his ear. Sirius whispered something back and Olivia giggled, tossing her straight black hair with great effect. The two were several rows away from Remus and Lily, and he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Remus stood regarding the couple with some astonishment for a moment. Then he sat down next to Lily, who looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"No one tells me anything anymore," he quipped, glad for a topic of conversation to distract him from his own pounding heart. "How long has this little affair been going on?"

"Since, oh, about fifteen minutes ago," Lily sneered, dripping sarcasm. "But it's a semi-annual crush, which I've had to listen to ad nauseum for the past two years. Thank Merlin she's getting it out of her system. Sirius claims he isn't dating anyone right now, but – "

"I wouldn't be so sure," they both finished, and Remus laughed.

"That's what I've been trying to tell her!" Lily whispered. "But she won't listen to me anymore. I think she's decided it's now or never." Lily frowned.

"Whatever she's looking for, she'll probably get it," Remus mused wryly, leaning back on his elbows on the seat behind him.

"Even love?"

He looked sharply at Lily and saw that she was blinking hard, staring fixedly at the ground.

"Well, that's a good question," he replied carefully. "There's always a first time, I suppose."

"Yeah, right," Lily scowled. "The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, I always say. This is Sirius Black we're talking about, no offense. Don't misunderstand; I love her dearly, but Olivia's not very sensible when it comes to men."

"Are you?" The question was out before he could stop it, and he wanted to punch himself in the face. "I mean," he covered hastily, "you can't really chose who you're attracted to, can you?" That wasn't much better, he thought. Best to shut up now.

Lily became still, biting her lip. "I think I'm sensible," she said eventually. "At least I try to be." And suddenly she was blushing furiously.

"I'm sorry. That was nosy of me." She probably had no desire to discuss her refusal of James's advances toward her with Remus, one of his best friends. He resolved to shut up for the rest of the day.

"No, it's fine," said Lily. She leaned back, and her elbow briefly touched Remus's before she shifted and pulled it away. Suddenly every sensory neuron in his elbow began to fire, and he registered the feeling with horrified satisfaction. It was a thrill he was powerless to stop even if he wanted to, and right now he wasn't quite sure he wanted to.

Just then Sirius came bounding down the steps and leaned over Remus's shoulder, dangling a flask in front of his nose. Remus reflexively took it; somehow Sirius always had a stash of firewhiskey on his person. "Sit back, folks," Sirius grinned, "and enjoy the show." Peter scrambled down the steps after Sirius, while Olivia sat on the other side of Lily and began whispering to her.

Remus sat up and unscrewed the cap on the flask and took a brief swig, grimacing. He leaned back again on his elbows and offered the flask to Lily, who accepted it. She took a small sip and exhaled harshly, screwing up her eyes, and passed the flask to Olivia. "What about you, Remus?" Lily continued. "What sort of girl are you attracted to?"

Isn't it obvious? he thought, and he felt his cheeks reddening. Fortunately, he managed a suitable parry this time. "Are you trying to set me up with someone? I'm very … difficult."

Oddly, he saw Lily flush again. "I wouldn't do that," she assured him matter-of-factly.

"She's just curious," Olivia giggled after downing a respectable amount of firewhiskey. Lily shot her a look and mouthed something Remus couldn't make out since her face was turned.

As he gazed at the two girls he sensed something creeping through his veins, something unfamiliar yet pleasant, something that calmed his racing heart somewhat. But he couldn't afford to clutch at hope, not as far as Lily was concerned. He took the flask from Olivia and upturned it again. As he swallowed, he saw twelve Cornish pixies shoot upward in front of him toward the swarming Quidditch team.

James was now circling the team so he could better view the ensuing pandemonium, and Remus saw him watching Lily's reaction with a grin on his face. At once the pixies flew into the faces of the players, who swatted and spun and tried to race away. Loretta Roth waved her wand, trying to cast a spell that would disperse the pixies; but two of them tugged on her hand and caused her to drop the wand. A couple of players flew to the ground and stood on the field snickering, calling up sarcastic suggestions to the players still in the air. Finally, Aidan McAdams accidentally flew into a goal post and nearly fell off his broom. At that Lily stood up and glared briefly at James, who still hovered, laughing, high above the field.

"See you all later," she muttered. She quickly descended the steps and hastened from the field. Remus stood, wanting to follow her but knowing that he shouldn't. He looked at Lily's friend questioningly. Olivia hesitated but, after glancing at Sirius rolling on the field in tears of mirth with Peter, shrugged and decided to stay put.

As Lily made her solitary way out of the Quidditch pitch, James flew down and landed roughly on the field, running several long strides before he caught his balance. Remus approached him from the stands and watched Lily's cloak fluttering in the chilly wind as she marched back up to the front gates of the school. James leaned on his broom, still breathing hard, and he wore a strange expression as he watched her go. Was it sadness? Defeat? It was nothing Remus had ever noted on James's face, and it perturbed him.

"I think I'm losing my taste for pranks," James huffed between breaths.

Remus chuckled. James would never stop playing jokes, he was certain of that. James looked at him gravely, which somehow made Remus's snicker turn into a full-blown guffaw. James grinned with him, a wan, lopsided smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He shrugged at the ground and began chewing on one of his nails, a nervous action that Remus hadn't ever seen before now. Suddenly Remus's laughter caught in his throat, and he watched his friend carefully. Was James serious?

Dropping his hand, James turned his gaze again toward Lily, her figure growing smaller as the distance between them grew larger. His angular face outlined by the white, overcast sky seemed strangely vulnerable. He ruffled the hair on the back of his head – not in his usual jaunty way, but distractedly, his hand pausing there as if it didn't quite know where to go next.

"What am I gonna do, mate?" James said quietly. His eyes were full of uncertainty as he stared at Lily.

Remus turned to watch her receding figure and felt a heavy sigh leave him. "I dunno, James."

Side by side, the two friends watched Lily until she was out of sight, then began their own slow hike up the hill, leaving Sirius and Peter behind to gather up the pixies and bear the brunt of the Quidditch players' scorn.