The trunk

When Lily came to this determination, she felt much better and she decided to put it into action instantly. Sev had told her to go with those of her house and she would do that.

She wiped her tears and said goodbye to the three children, who smiled at her. She moved cautiously down the corridor, mirroring Sev's strategy, to dart past the quartet's cubicle without being seen.

Although she tried to put together her appearance in the bathroom, when she appeared before her classmates, they took notice. "Lily! Where have you been?" Cecile exclaimed. "You have a bad face… what's wrong with you?"

She forced her best smile and excused herself by saying that she had just woken up from her nap because she had had a bad night, while she squeezed herself into the gap left by Cecile and one of the badgers.

She did not seem to completely convince them, but they did not insist on her, going on to ask her how she had spent the summer and telling her anecdotes about theirs. She soon stopped being the center of attention, among so many girls, the talk did not stop, and they did not realize that she barely spoke.

The rest of the afternoon passed like this, and night fell. With a little over half an hour to go until Hogsmeade, her classmates began taking turns going to the toilet to put on their uniforms and Lily remembered her trunk at the other end of the train.

Sev had warned her not to go alone, but she declined Cecile's offer to accompany her. Even though she knew she wouldn't question her, she wouldn't give her enough protection.

She then thought of Remus, the little wolf was the only Gryffindor who didn't disapprove of her friendship with Sev. He felt guilty because the previous year he had almost killed him during one of his transformations as a result of a reckless prank by Black.

And though Sev had reported them to Dumbledore hoping to get them kicked out of the school, the Headmaster had urged him to keep the secret and he had complied, telling only her, and Remus was grateful for that.

In fact, not knowing that Lily already knew what had happened, he had confessed to her that he was a werewolf, asking her to apologize to Snape on his behalf, but she never did, because Sev would get out of his mind just hearing the mention of the Gryffindors.

From then on, between Remus and her a certain trust had been created. The only drawback was getting to him without bumping into Potter, but luck smiled at her, because when she went out into the corridor she saw him alone, already dressed in uniform, leaning out the open window, cooling off in the night air.

When he saw her approach him, he gave her a wide smile. "Hi Lily! How was the trip? We haven't seen you all day."

"Yeah, well… I've been resting and then with the girls." She took a quick glance inside the compartment where Potter and the others were as she whispered to him, "Will you accompany me to fetch my trunk? I don't think I can get it off the luggage rack by myself."

Remus hadn't missed Lily's discomfort at James' closeness and he was on the move immediately, preceding her. "Of course, is it very far?"

Lily felt guilty for making her friend cross the entire train. "Quite…"

They walked in silence, passing some students already excited at the proximity of their destination. When they had gone through a few cars and were already passing some empty compartments, Remus asked her, without looking at her, "¿Still a long way?" and in a sympathetic tone, "I see that this time you have hidden well with Snape."

Lily's heart sank when she heard his last name, but even more so when, reaching the last car and despite the risk of being seen by the snakes, she couldn't help but look through the cubicle door and saw him leaning against the wall by the window, cross-legged stretched out on the empty seats, wand in hand resting absently on his thigh, paying no attention to the chatter of his companions, apparently relaxed but alert, because he was staring at the compartment door, and their eyes met for a second.

She already felt her eyes blurred by the incipient tears, she took a deep breath, trying to calm down. A few meters further they reached the shelter where she had been happy for a while that morning, and before looking inside, she said to Remus, who was ahead, "It's here."

As he opened the door, blocking her view of the inside, he asked her, "Is that your trunk, Lily? But if it's already on the ground..."

Lily saw the chest against the window wall, partially hidden under the seats, and she couldn't restrain herself anymore. Sev had been watching over her the whole trip, watching out for the snakes, and had even taken care to get her trunk down for her.

She fell defeated in the seat, with her face in her hands covering her eyes, trying to repress her tears without success.

Remus was alarmed, and in a very sweet way he said, "Lily, what's wrong with you?" He sat next to her, holding her shoulders, and she, feeling that human warmth she needed so much now that Sev's was missing, snuggled against his neck, letting out her suppressed emotion freely. "It's because of Snape, right?" the little wolf encouraged her to vent.

It didn't go with her character to hide her feelings and she knew that Remus would understand in a few words and not judge her, he too had had a hard life because of his 'hairy problem'. She nodded against his shoulder.

He held her closer, trying to comfort her. "Come on, Lily, calm down and tell me, what happened?"

And Lily, still sobbing, began to summarize everything that had happened since that failed kiss, going through the estrangement of the summer, Sev's problems with his father, her love for him newly discovered and sharpened by his absence.

Remus let her choppy stream of words flow from her, interrupting her briefly to make some comment to cheer her up. He told her, "It seems you were the only one who didn't realize he was in love with you," and also, "The kiss was a misunderstanding, you'll fix it soon," and then, "Apparently he's had everything against him in his life. Don't give up, he needs you."

But then Lily also told him what had happened during that long train journey, the hostility of Potter and the Slytherins, how Sev distanced himself and at the same time protected her, and this time Remus didn't cut her off, because he also realized the true dimension of the problem.

"What can I do, Remus?" she asked him when she finished telling him.

He was silent for a while, searching for the right words, not wanting to overly alarm her at the seriousness of the situation. "I don't know, give him time," he began. "Let him know that you love him but without forcing him. Try not to be seen with him by the Slytherins. I suspect that he is moving away to prevent you from being the target of their attacks." He paused. "Regarding James, I will do what I can, you know that it is useless to try to dissuade him, he always makes the excuse that he attacks a future Death Eater. The only thing I can think of is that you stop defending Snape to him, maybe if he thinks you've forgotten him he'll leave him alone. For my part, I will try to do my best so that he does not bother you."

They were the same conclusions she had reached hours before. So hard…

Remus saw the look of discouragement on her face and concluded. "And above all, never forget what he feels for you. I've also seen that look you're talking about. He worshipes you, Lily."

They arrived at Hogsmeade. Lily pulled her uniform off and quickly went to change in the nearest bathroom while Remus waited for her in the hallway, wand in hand just in case. He later told her that Snape had emerged from the snakes' compartment first, glancing in his direction, shoting him a meaningful glance and turning his back to hide him from the others' view as they left in their turn, heading down the corridor at last.

That night, during the welcoming feast in the Great Hall, Lily sat next to Remus. She could see Sev between the heads of the students, in his usual place, almost in front of her, as they had done for the last four years so they could look at each other.

But flanked as he was by two Slytherins, she hardly dared look at him, only darting fleeting glances at him from time to time, and she always saw him concentrating on his plate or talking to one of his classmates.

When they were finishing the desserts and she had given up hope, Remus whispered in her ear, "Now, Lily, he's looking at you."

She lifted her head from her pumpkin pie like a spring and caught he. He was staring at her with deep black eyes almost as before. It was a long second in which time seemed to stand still, then he looked down at his plate. And she could see the most beautiful smile she had ever seen before spread across his thin lips.