"Pressure pushing down on me… It's the terror of knowing/What this world is about/Watching some good friends/Screaming 'Let me out'/Pray tomorrow - gets me higher/Pressure on people - people on streets…" – Queen

Ch. 13 – Under Pressure

The Slug Club was, more or less, a way for Professor Slughorn to ostentatiously dote over his students and show off his connections, all the while embarrassing himself in a painful way to watch. At least, that's what Lily thought. So she didn't necessarily know why she still went. She supposed she was quite soft, and didn't want to hurt the old man's feelings. He usually invited the Marauders, minus Peter – poor Peter – but they always declined. Lily had a feeling it was because Sirius' younger brother Regulus was in the club, and, like most of Sirius' family, he wasn't the best lad to be around. Sirius hated his guts, and therefore the rest of the Marauders hated him too.

But no matter, Lily didn't talk to Regulus anyway; she just would've appreciated the Marauders company – the ones who weren't hospitalized, that is – as she made her way to the ridiculous 'party'. She grumbled incoherently as she walked down the hall and struggled with her stupid dress. Slughorn said 'dress nice' because it was the first meeting of the year. Well, here she was, looking 'nice'.

She'd been in a rather rotten mood lately, and she didn't know why. She refused to associate it with James not being around to annoy her, because it was really that simple – he annoyed her. Even if she did tolerate him nowadays, he was still annoying. But every time she explained this to her friends, they just smirked and asked who she was trying to convince.

That was exactly why she didn't tell them about her little fancy for Remus – they'd just giggle and make jokes about James' broken heart. Well, she wasn't going to have it. She'd keep it to herself for now.

"Lily? Hey – Lily!"

She turned and saw – oh, the irony – Remus jogging toward her, looking quite 'nice' himself.

"You aren't going to Slughorn's party, are you?" she asked incredulously, chuckling as he caught up with her.

He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets in that way that he does. "I just figured you might need someone to come save the day if you got stuck talking to one of those snobs in there. It's a dangerous place."

She laughed, her stomach fluttering, and she blushed lightly. She willed herself to stop acting like a child and cleared her throat once it was silent. The party was just at the end of the hall. They were nearly there.

"Well, I'm afraid I've had my share of these ridiculous things. It's not that bad if you just pretend like you're looking off into space, thinking of something really important." She laughed, and he laughed, too, which made her stomach do somersaults and her heart do jumping jacks.

They made it to the door and she almost gratefully went through it. But then that feeling was crushed when she saw the usual suspects at the Slug Club, all milling around with Slughorn's 'notable' guests. There was Kaitlin Poseby, a very rich and very ill-mannered Hufflepuff whose mother ran the Department of Magical Transportation at the Ministry. There was Christopher Hawkins, just as rude, whose father played for the Falmouth Falcons, a rather violent Quidditch team. Then there was Regulus Black of course, and many other people that weren't worth mulling over.

She sighed and turned to Remus. "I really don't know why I go to these things anymore –"

"Miss Evans! Oh, and Mr. Lupin, so nice of you to finally join us!" Slughorn chortled, waddling over to them. The buttons of his felt green suit jacket looked like they were about to burst and the man who he'd just been talking to was watching him go with pity. Lily heaved a sigh and Remus laughed quietly, nudging her.

"It's our pleasure, Professor." Lily said in her suck-up voice, smiling.

Slughorn's cheeks were already rosy and Lily suppressed yet another sigh. "Oh, stop it, Miss Evans, you're too kind."

"Well, I am very thirsty," Reus said after an awkward moment of silence of Slughorn swirling the alcoholic beverage in his glass contentedly. "Lily, shall we?"

"Yes, of course." She said immediately, granting Slughorn a quick smile.

To her delight, Remus put his hand on the small of her back, leading her to the drink and food table, and leaned down to her ear. "Suck up." He chuckled.

She grinned up at him cheekily. "Five years of practice at its best, Lupin. Watch and learn."

XXX

The only thing that redeemed the endless hours of boredom in the Hospital Wing was the absence of homework. Though it was still the beginning of the year, Minnie didn't mind loading on the essays staring from the first day.

So, naturally, James spent his time doing obnoxious things in order to entertain himself. There were some other kids in the cots close to him, and he used this to his advantage. First, he started humming a tuneless little song, much to the irritation of his fellow peers.

"Hm-hm-hm . . . hm-HM-HM-hm! HM-HM-HM-HM! HM –"

"Will you shut it, Potter?" some black-haired Slytherin finally hissed form his place two down from him.

James put on an affronted expression. "Fine." He muttered.

A couple minutes later, he glanced over at the Slytherin boy and smirked.

"DO YOU HEAR THAT?"

"What?"

"Nevermind, it's gone now."

James barely contained his laughter at the gullible frown on his face. He knew that if Lily were seeing this, she'd surely give him a frightening look, but he was just so bored.

A minute later, James again exclaimed, "DO YOU HEAR THAT?"

"What?"

"Oh, it's gone now."

The black-haired boy gave him a wary look and went back to twiddling his thumbs. James pressed his lips together to hold back his laughter and thirty seconds later –

"DO YOU HEAR THAT?"

"WHAT?"

"It's gone now."

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Thatcher – that is quite enough!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, sticking her head out of her office.

"But he –"

"Enough!"

The Slytherin glowered at James as he was in stitches laughing, and he huffed, turning his head to look out the window. All was quiet for a good amount of time, and the Slytherin thought he could finally have peace. Then –

"Hey, do you hear that?"

"I'm going to kill you."

XXX

Severus Snape was deep in thought. Two things usually occupied his mind at all times: his clumsy entrance into the inner circle of the rising Dark Lord, and his hatred for James Potter. However, this night his mind was on something else.

Werewolves. And Remus Lupin.

He'd always vaguely wondered about Lupin 'mysteriously' getting sick once every month, right around the time of the full moon. He was surprised no one else had noticed – he was so blatantly obvious. Snape just had to make sure, he had to be positive.

Just a few more pieces to put together, and he would be able humiliate the Marauders just like they'd done to him countless times.

XXX

It was very, very unlike Remus to get drunk, and to his credit, it was sort of an accident. Slughorn 'trusted' the members of his little club with alcohol, and so like the bright chap he was, he left the bloody thing out on the table. So Remus had accidently poured it in to his and Lily's glass. And then again. And then again, and so forth that he lost count. He supposed he was too engrossed in his and Lily's banter to notice the taste. And only after the third did he realize he was getting tipsy, and was too far gone to care at that point. Lily was, too, he supposed, because soon they started laughing harder at nothing, really, and they started leaning on each other. He presumed that it didn't take much for either of them to get drunk. And they really were not acting like their mature responsible selves at all. Remus was aware that he – dear Merlin – was acting like James or Sirius, but worse. And that was bad, because Sirius and James were both very rambunctious and irresponsible and sex-driven. What was worse, he very well knew that James wouldn't like the way he was looking at Lily.

"I'm bored." Lily pouting, hanging on his arm. Strands of hair had fallen from her bun and her dress strap was hanging off her shoulder.

"Me, too," he agreed, frowning, "Wanna get outta here?"

She mumbled her agreement and, saying a drunken goodbye to a drunken Slughorn, they stumbled drunkenly through the door, laughing once again at nothing in particular.

"You know what Severus says about you, Remus?" Lily said as they struggled down the hall.

"Hm?" he prompted, trying to clear his mind to remember which way to go.

"He says that you're a werewolf because you get sick every month, but I don't think so, I think it's fine that you get sick every month, okay? It's fine." She assured him, patting his chest.

Remus 'pssh-ed' and chuckled nervously, his drunken stupor making it difficult to keep up his guard. Luckily, Lily dropped the subject, becoming interested instead in how amusing their shoes were. Remus joined in and they made their unsteady way to the portrait hole, snorting and laughing in a very unattractive way.

They stopped outside the portrait hole, still laughing and somehow Lily ended up in his arms – she probably tripped or something – and she looked up at him with a big grin. Then, his smile slowly faded and he brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"You're very pretty, Lily." He murmured.

And then her lips were on his and it happened so fast that Remus wasn't even aware that returning her kiss and pressing her up against the wall was a bad thing – until he did, a bolt of ice-like sobriety shooting through him.

He stumbled away and his eyes widened. "Oh, no." he groaned.

"What?" Lily asked. "What's wrong?"

"Lily, I can't." he said, banging his head against the wall.

"What, is it James?" she gasped, her brow furrowed. "Remus, you don't think he honestly cares about me, do you? It's just an infatuation!"

Remus could hear the slur in her words, but knew that that was what she really felt, and it saddened him, the feeling intensified by his drunkenness.

"Lily, James truly does care for you," Remus protested, limply shaking his head. "He's always cared for you the moment he laid eyes on you. And it grows every moment he sees you, every moment he's around you. So don't think any different."

And with that, he climbed clumsily through the portrait hole, leaving Lily to ponder and work through Remus' words through her intoxicated haze.