Chapter 3

Summer 1975

Lily quickly through the long red hair into a messy bun and stared down at James Potter. Again he had figured a new way to annoy her and she was frankly getting very annoyed at his childish antics. It was no secret that James had a huge crush on Lily. It was also no secret that she most certainly felt nothing back to him. Lily couldn't care less if James Potter managed to crash that stupid broom of his into the wimping willow.

"You know he only does it to get some form of attention off you right?" Lupin whispered so that only she could hear.

Lily gave a quick smirk to her friend who slowly went over to James in some hope of saving at least part of his dignity. That's what Lupin would do; try to save his friend at the cost of looking like an idiot himself. He was a loyal, good friend.

"How can you not go for James? He is a really nice guy at heart. I know he is a fool every now and then but he's not that bad" Arielle said with a bit too much excitement. For someone who spent as much time as possible in the library, she really had a thing for James. Or more so Lily with James.

"Come on, you could do so much worse than James. Look at some of the guys you've been out on dates to Hogsmeade with, they're not exactly Hogwarts finest. First there was that 5th year Hufflepuff, the tall one with the sandy brown hair. You know who I mean!" Sara teased Lily

"Oh I remember him; his hair was a lot like Remus's. And then there was the Ravenclaw from our year with the big brown eyes…" Arielle quipped in "Also like Remus's"

"You have a thing for Remus Lupin!" Sara almost shouted for the whole school to know.

"What no! Of course I don't" Lily defended herself.

The other two girls knew not to even attempt to argue with her. Instead they just sat by and watched as Lily tried to understand what was going on.

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Later that night Lily lay in bed using her want absent mindedly to create small orbs of light. She couldn't get what the girls had said out of her mind about Remus. Sure he was a nice guy, the best that she knew but did she really have feeling for him. Even more important was whether or not he had feelings for her. Remus really was an amazing person, he was unlike anyone else she had ever met but that doesn't necessarily mean that she likes him. He connected to her in a way that most others wouldn't but that doesn't necessarily mean she likes him. Lily decided that it was all silly witches' thoughts and went to sleep.

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It was one week later that Lily realised exactly what was going on.

There was an area near the black lake that not many students bothered to go seeing as it wasn't that easy to get to. For Lily and Remus it was the perfect spot to go and read for a little bit, to get away from the maddening crows. It was their private spot. They went there on a perfect summer's day and sat by the water's edge so their feet could cool down in the water. Remus was busy reading when Lily turned to look at him. It was then that Lily saw him. It was then that Lily understood.

Lily saw his eyes first. They were deep pools of molten gold hidden behind his ungroomed fringe. Most people didn't notice any of his facial features as the long scar that ran from his left ear and across his cheek to his mouth was all that people could see. But those eyes were beautiful. She could see all of the pain he had been through, the hurt and deception. She could see in them the stone cold exterior and the warm heart hidden deep inside. She could see the loneliness.

He must have realised that Lily was staring as he quickly glanced up and gave her a slightly worried smile. It then hit him that Lily looked happy. This made him happy. His eyes then became something else completely. They were set ablaze with so much love and tenderness. The specks danced like fireworks on a winter's night.

Lily knew that Remus was in love. Lily knew that Remus was in love with her. Lily knew that she was in love with Remus. Lily didn't know who would make the first move.

They both went back to their books feeling particularly pleased with themselves.

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Thank you for reading this. As usual thanks to the great J. for supplying the characters. Please fav or review. It's greatly appreciated.