"Well, Lily," Emmeline said, pulling her long brunette hair from under her coat. "Looks like you're stuck with me for the day."
Lily laughed and stuck out her arm. "My pleasure, milady."
Emmeline giggled and slipped her arm into hers and headed out the Hogwarts premises. The ground was covered in fallen leaves, crunching under the boots of students heading out for the Hogsmeade weekend. Their three friends were lucky enough to have found dates for the day, while Lily and Emmeline refused to leave each other alone.
"Hey, Lils?" Emmeline said once they had entered the town.
"Yeah?"
"What's up with your friend Snape?" she asked, nodding to a bevy of green scarfed boys. They were all laughing (somewhat maliciously), while Severus just stood there somberly in their midst.
"I don't quite know," Lily said concernedly. "I haven't really seen him since a couple of days ago."
Emmeline sighed. "I still don't understand how you can be friends with someone like that, but I admire you for it."
Lily just buried her face into her scarf, omitting the fact that she sometimes didn't understand herself. She glanced over her shoulder to find Severus staring at her as discreetly as he could (which wasn't quite discreet). She emulated a small wave, responded by a quick, sly grin.
"Can we go into the Three Broomsticks?" Emmeline said, interrupting the incognito greet. "I'm starving."
"Sure," Lily said, taking one last look at her Slytherin friend and heading into the tavern.
They chose an empty table near the entrance of the restaurant, getting a panoramic view of their surroundings.
"Oh swell, would you look at that?" Emmeline said, failing to stifle her laughter.
Lily looked up to find Marlene out with her date, Hufflepuff Stephen Talbot, in mid-snog two tables down.
"Oi! Let him breathe, McKinnon!" Emmeline called, making the couple peel themselves off each other and blush intensely.
"She is so easy to tease." Lily and Emmeline laughed.
After they ordered their Butterbeers and something to eat, Lily saw a group of recognizable faces across the restaurant.
"Look who's over there," Lily said, nodding in their direction.
Emmeline whipped around. "Ah, the famous Marauders."
"More like the infamous Marauders." Lily corrected with a grin.
Emmeline laughed. "Seriously, who calls themselves that?" she asked rhetorically.
"What'd you reckon is up with them?" Lily asked curiously. "They seem a little downcast."
"I don't know, they weren't in class yesterday. Probably clipping Filch's toenails as one of their demented detentions." Emmeline joked, dismissing the subject.
Lily chuckled quietly, but still, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. She had noticed that Remus was not present, probably had fallen ill again. But she had never seen them so dispirited, even in Remus' absence. She glanced over as discreetly as she could manage, noticing a huge gash on James' neck that his scarf had failed to conceal. She quickly shifted her eyes to her fresh pint of Butterbeer when Sirius caught her gaze, but still managed to see him nudging James out of the corner of her eye.
"Excuse me, but aren't you two ladies too pretty to be sitting alone?" said a male voice behind Lily. He stepped into sight, revealing a tall, strapping young man with neat, dirty blonde hair smiling down at them.
"Lily, you know my fellow Ravenclaw, Edgar Bones, right?" Emmeline gestured between them.
Lily did know. Edgar was one year older than them and was famously known as being one of the Ravenclaw Beaters. He had achieved this popularity two years ago during a match against Slytherin, where one of his Bludgers accidentally broke an arm of the Slytherin Seeker, earning him the House Cup and the nickname Edgar "Breaks" Bones.
"I don't believe we have met," Lily said innocently, smiling up at the tall blond. "Lily Evans, my pleasure."
"Believe me, the pleasure is mine," he said, smiling charmingly. "Mind if I sit down?"
Emmeline's eyes flew wildly in between them, and a huge smile broke across her face. "Please do, it was just the two of us today."
Edgar sat down in the empty chair next to Lily, making her brim with satisfaction. The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and talking, Marlene and Stephen eventually joining them for dessert. Lily wasn't quite sure if Edgar was flirting with her, but she did catch him looking at her a few times. However, she knew that those weren't the only pair of eyes on her, since she could basically feel the hazel eyes behind the black-rimmed glasses boring into her as she sipped the rest of her Butterbeer.
"Hello Remus," he heard someone say from behind him, startling him. He whipped around to see Dumbledore, oozing his ever-present air of tranquility.
"Hello, Professor. What brings you around this side of the castle?" Remus asked rather cautiously. He was on his way to the Great Hall from the Hospital Wing, where he had spent his Saturday recovering from the episode of Thursday night.
"I don't quite know, I was looking for this room that I once came across, full of mirrors…" he trailed off, his eyes donning a distant look. "You wouldn't happen to know about it, would you?"
Remus had always known that Dumbledore was quite bizarre, yet he seemed to become even more occurring in every occasion. Remus shook his head silently in response, slightly amused.
"Hmm, I thought so," Dumbledore sighed. "Mind if I walk with you?"
"Not at all." Remus said cordially.
After a few silent steps, Dumbledore stroked his long, graying beard and said. "I know you must be worried about…recent events."
Truth was, Remus was past the point of worried. He was on the verge of paranoia. It was no secret that Severus Snape loathed Remus and his friends, a feeling that was quite mutual. Remus had always worked his way around the rumours, never paying them much attention. However, Snape now held a vital piece of information that could destroy his world as he knew it. So, yes: He was quite worried.
Remus' must have been physically projecting his distress, since Dumbledore continued speaking, with no apparent need for verbal verification. "You should know, that I have had a chat with Mr. Snape, and he won't be divulging any information regarding you or your friends."
"How can you be so sure, Professor?" Remus questioned, in a much more panicked tone than what he intended. "He detests me and my friends."
"Sometimes Mr. Lupin, one will go to great lengths to keep what they love," Dumbledore responded calmly, descending the Grand Staircase into the Entrance Hall. "I trust this is something you understand?"
He did understand. Remus would give or do anything for his parents and his friends. He would never want any of his loved ones to have to experience the horrors he suffered every time the full moon rolled in. He wouldn't wish that on his worse enemy. "Yes," he confirmed. "I do understand, quite clearly."
Dumbledore smiled. "We are who we believe ourselves to be, Mr. Lupin. Once you start believing who you are, soon will others."
Remus was about to question the Headmaster on what he meant by that remark, before hearing an all too familiar voice call out "Oi, Moony!"
Over his shoulder, he saw James, Sirus and Peter waving and whistling at him, entering the castle from their day at Hogsmeade. He turned back to Dumbledore to find him smiling at their exchange and said "I think that makes my point."
Remus laughed. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, truly."
"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." Dumbledore replied wisely. And with that, he turned on his heel and left.