When Remus awoke in the Hospital Wing the next morning, he placed a hand over his face and groaned. There was the usual after-transformation ache, but that could be solved with a simple pain relieving potion. For once, Remus wanted to stay in here, and never come out.
Flashback.
"Remus Lupin! You were due to see me fifteen minutes ago! Good God, boy, you're going to be in the castle during transformation!" Madam Gavioti raved at him as she stormed into his dorm room and dragged him out by the ear. He yelped.
"But the full moon isn't until next week!"
"Wrong month, boy! The full moon is on the fifth of January," the nurse growled at him.
"I need to go tell someone I'm leaving, to tell my date..."
"No time!"
End Flashback.
Remus realized that he had completely and totally stood Loraina up, even after her friends had told him how excited she was to be going to the ball with him. She had spent hours and hours planning for that one moment, and Remus had totally ruined it. What was he going to tell her? She wasn't going to accept any old excuse. He just couldn't tell her yet. He wanted a few more blissful weeks of her looking at him like he was a human and not a monster. He wasn't ready to let her go just yet.
When he slowly made his way to his dorm two hours later, he was slammed against the wall by Sirius almost immediately.
"Where do you get off, standing her up?" his friend growled at him. Remus yelped in pain, and Sirius released him, alarmed.
"It was a fucking full moon," Remus groaned, leaning back against the wall.
"What? I thought you said it wasn't until next week!"
"I didn't think it was! I was looking at the calendar for January, not October."
"Loraina spent two hours waiting for you and crying her eyes out," Sirius said sadly.
"Don't tell me."
"You do realize that Lily and Delilah are going to kill you?"
"They should. I stood up their best friend."
"Moony, maybe you need to tell her," Sirius suggested cautiously.
"I can't. Then she'll really leave, for good. I can't lose her yet," Remus said passionately.
"You may have already."
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"Lily, you're going to have to face him sooner or later," Delilah said gently. Loraina was still asleep, or at least pretending to be. Lily had slept with Delilah last night, not wanting to return to the Heads' dorm.
"I'm voting for later," Lily mumbled into the pillow. Delilah rubbed her back gently.
"I know he hurt you, Lily, but he really cares about you."
"I don't care. He still did it."
"And you don't have to forgive him just yet. Just don't cancel out that possibility."
"When did you start being so Goddamn smart? That was always my job," Lily grumbled. Delilah laughed.
"I have no idea."
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When Sirius and Remus entered the Heads' common room, they were shocked to find James banging his head against the table repeatedly.
"James! Prongs! What the bloody hell are you doing?!" Sirius exclaimed, pulling his friend away from the table.
"I mucked up everything," James groaned. "Lily didn't even come back here last night."
"Oh," Sirius said, unsure of what to say.
"If it makes you feel better, Loraina is never going to speak to me again."
"That really doesn't help, Moony."
"Right."
"You two are pathetic," Sirius laughed, flopping into a chair. "Last night, Delilah and I made it official."
"I could tell by the way you guys were practically shagging on the dance floor. And then when you were snogging like there was no tomorrow at that table..." James said, trailing off.
"Hey, you were doing the same with Brunette Girl."
"I was going through a painful transformation from a human to a werewolf," Remus said optimistically.
"Yeah, mate, you lose," James said, shaking his shaggy hair at his friend.
"That one always takes the cake, doesn't it?" Remus said with a grin.
"Yeah," Sirius laughed.
"How do I win Lily back?"
"Use your boyish good looks and charming ways?" Sirius suggested.
"James? Good looks? Ha!" teased Remus.
"Shut it, Moony," James said, chucking a pillow lightly at his blonde best friend.
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"Loraina! Wait up!" Remus called after the blonde as she walked by him. Classes were back after the weekend of the ball, and everyone was talking about who hooked up with who, who wore what, and who didn't show.
"What, Lupin?" she said, her voice tired and bored. He drew back at the use of his surname.
"I wanted to apologize."
"For bailing on me?" Loraina said. "Because your apology isn't accepted."
"Please, something really important came up at the last minute. It was beyond my control," Remus pleaded.
"No," Loraina replied. "I don't want anything to do with your lameass excuses anymore, Lupin. I'm done."
She turned to walk away and Remus grabbed her arm. "Loraina..."
"No!"
With that, she stalked off to Potions, not looking back.
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Snapdragon-
Please don't be mad at me. I'm really, really sorry. You were gone, and I don't know what happened. She pulled me onto the dance floor. I have no idea who she is, and even if I did I would never, ever choose her over you. Please, Lily, I don't want to lose you.
Love,
James
Potter-
I want nothing to do with you. Got it? Don't try and apologize; it doesn't matter if I was gone. You should have just waited for me to get back. I was comforting by best friend while you were practically shagging some girl on the dance floor. And you've already lost me, James.
-Lily
Lily-
Please, don't end it like this. I need you in my life. Please, please, please, let me make it up to you. I'll do anything. Just give me another chance.
Love,
James
Whatever. I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself.
-Lily
James grinned as he read the latest of the new letters and set off to work.
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Sirius was thoroughly enjoying his new relationship with Delilah. For the first time, he was actually proud to be in a relationship and have only one girlfriend. The thought still freaked him out a little bit, but he was definitely becoming more accustomed to it.
"Hello there," she greeted at lunch, giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek. When Orion looked at her, a fury he had never felt before filled him and he wanted to Avada Kedavra his cousin right on the spot, Azkaban be damned. "You're looking a little stressed."
"Wha?" Sirius said, recovering from his rage-induced space out. "Oh. It's nothing."
"You sure?" Delilah questioned. "You were looking a little more then pissed off."
"I'm fine," he reassured.
"If you're sure. I've gotta go sit with Lily and Loraina. They don't want to be around you because Remus and James are sure to show..."
"Fine then. Abandon me."
"Suck it up," she laughed, nudging him lightly and walking down the table, where she then sat with her friends. Sirius watched her with a smile on his face and a new kind of look in his eyes.
He looked to the staff table and once again saw Orion staring at his girlfriend. When Orion looked back at him, Sirius gave him the fiercest look he could muster before his friends joined him and he forgot all about Orion.
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing, particularly Salvation-ala-mode as usual, Just A Somebody, GodricsPhoenix, stardust718, shetlandlace, and mischief manage. Also, my updates may be slowing slightly as I will be going back to school probably tomorrow, but maybe not. Hopefully I can squeeze one more day out of it.
