Team
Falmouth Falcons
Position
Captain
Prompt
A Soulbond/Soulmates
Word Count
1,282
The wind blew gently, tussling Remus' hair as he sat beneath a tree on the edge of the Black Lake. The pages of his book fluttered in his lap in the slight breeze, one hand absently reaching out to keep it still as he read. A shadow suddenly passed over the pages, and Remus looked up and squinted at the person who had disturbed him. He smiled as she came into focus. "Lily, what are you doing over here?" he asked. He often enjoyed this very spot for the lack of foot traffic it produced, and Lily knew that well. She regularly joined him to get a moment of peace, always seeming to know when he wanted company, needed to be alone.
"Same as you, I suppose, wanted a bit of a break from the noise of boarding school," she replied as she took a seat next to him. "What about you? I thought you would have wanted to watch James."
Remus shrugged as he marked his page and closed the book. "I've never been much of a fan of Quidditch and I'm sure James will forgive me, especially when my notes help him get through final exams."
Lily giggled and tied up her hair as the wind blew it into her face. "Are you going to Hogsmeade tomorrow? Since it will be our last opportunity."
"Probably not." He shook his head. "Full moon tonight, plus the guys have detention tomorrow."
"That's right, I forgot about the moon." She stared at the blue sky through the branches of the tree that they sat under as she grasped his hand and smiled brightly at him. "Maybe I'll come visit you in the Hospital Wing then."
Remus shook his head once again, though he smiled at the idea. "Don't worry about me, you should go have fun with your friends."
"You're my friend too, Re," she replied, gently nudging his shoulder.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." He laughed, nudging her back. "Maybe I'll join you guys later in the afternoon, if I can sneak away in time."
Lily frowned. "Don't do that, Madam Pomfrey worries about you."
He sighed. "I know. I'm just tired of people treating me like I'm fragile, I guess."
"You're not fragile, you're reckless. Who knows what you might end up doing if we didn't worry," Lily teased. She stood up and offered him a hand. "It's almost lunchtime and Quidditch practice should be just about over. Come on, let's see if we can get there before the Gryffindor team demolishes all of the sandwich platters. Wanna bet if they shower before coming to the Great Hall?"
Remus laughed and accepted her help to get up before walking with her back to the castle, eagerly taking her bet of two chocolate frogs and a Honeydukes chocolate slab.
That was how things had always been between them, a natural camaraderie right from the start, the kind of friendship where they could say anything. He loved her, but not in the same way James did, and it had taken him a long time to understand what it meant. He wasn't sure if soulmates were a thing or not, but he felt like he had found his–or at least his platonic soulmate–in Lily. He would let James claim her as a romantic one.
—
Remus slept for most of the next morning but by the time Lily came to see him just before noon, he was wide awake and bored out of his mind.
He sat up when he saw her and smiled. "I've never been more glad that you didn't listen to me. It's so much worse being stuck in here without the guys around," he said before throwing back the covers and standing up. "Just give me a minute to get changed."
"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be resting?" Lily asked as she watched him with her hands on her hips.
Remus drew the curtain between them before he pulled on his clothes. "I'm fine. The transformation wasn't that bad last night." Okay, that was a lie. The transformation sucked, but it always did, and who could blame him for the white lie? This might be his last chance to just have fun with his best friend before they had to worry about being adults with a war brewing.
Lily rolled her eyes playfully and smiled a little as he pulled back the curtain. "Fine, but I'm not breaking you out this time. Go tell Madame Pomfrey."
Remus sighed but nodded. "Okay, okay, I'll go ask. Just wait for me," he said before heading to the nurse's office and knocking on her door.
The Matron looked up from her desk and her lips thinned as she took in his haggard appearance. "And may I ask, where do you think you're going?" She stood up with a stern look.
Remus' confidence waned slightly as he faced the woman and entered her office, but he reminded himself that, though she was strict with him at times, she could also be unfailingly kind, and he respected her. "Uh, Well— Lily was here and we—er, well I was hoping we might be able to go to Hogsmeade," he said as he fidgeted with a button on his sleeve. "Since it is our last chance before we graduate and all."
Her expression softened as she watched him. "Sometimes I forget that you're no longer the child I had to take care of not so long ago." She sighed and nodded. "Alright, just don't push yourself."
Remus grinned and thanked her before hurrying out of the office and practically dragged Lily away from the infirmary before she changed her mind.
Lily laughed and caught up to his pace as they headed to Hogsmeade, her arm still linked with his. Remus began to limp slightly as they crossed the bridge, and he felt Lily automatically slow down as she noticed him lagging. She didn't mention anything about it to him, which he was forever grateful for. This wasn't the first time he had to lean on her in a weakened state, nor was it the first time she offered unconditional support.
They joined Mary and Marlene at the Three Broomsticks for a drink before visiting their favourite stores and places one last time, sure they wouldn't be able to visit the town for a while. Even if they did, they would never recapture the feeling of being Hogwarts students escaping the castle for a Hogsmeade weekend. They would be adults, with careers and families, and not enough time to just go and hang out for a few hours on a whim. But for now, they would enjoy what they could with the friends that they had, and not worry about the future.
On their way back to the castle Remus and Lily separated from their friends as they walked more slowly to accommodate his worsening limp. "Hey, Re, you're definitely going to keep in touch after school, right?" Lily asked as they stopped to look back at the town.
Remus grinned. "Of course, I'll be coming around so much that you'll be begging me to stay away." He joked, getting her to laugh a little. "Besides, I wouldn't dream of leaving you all alone with tweedle dee and tweedle dum." Even though they had matured the last two years, James and Sirius could still be a lot to deal with when they were together.
She smiled and stood up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "That's all I ask."
He draped his arm across her shoulders as they continued their walk back to the castle to meet up with the rest of their friends.