1972 – Second Year
For Lily Evans, the library was a safe haven. She could escape to the library and nobody would disturb her. Of course, sometimes she didn't mind being disturbed. Today, she was joined by none other than Remus Lupin.
"Hi Lily, do you mind if I sit and study with you?" he asked, as he approached from around a corner.
"Be my guest. How are you, Remus?" she asked, more out of courtesy than genuine interest. Remus Lupin was not her favourite person. He was friends with James Potter and Sirius Black, of course he wasn't going to be at the top of her 'best buddies' list. Yet, he was different from the rest of his friends. While James and Sirius were loud, obnoxious, rude, and self-indulged, Remus was kind, compassionate, and cared greatly for his friends, though Lily couldn't see how.
"I've been better, but thank you for asking. And how are you? It's not every day I meet someone in the library over the Christmas break," said Remus, placing his books on the chair beside him as he sat and began dipping his quill into his ink.
"Well, I'm escaping from the rest of the world. Your ruddy friend James has stolen my favourite quill and refuses to give it back. Because of him, I can't focus on this Charms assignment."
"I doubt it's entirely his fault, Lily. You know that –"
"How can you be friends with someone like him, Remus? He's so rude, and you're so, well, Remus," she said softly, hoping not to draw attention to herself. However, attention came in the form of James Potter, and he would always be drawn to Lily Evans.
"Rude? Really, Evans, is that the best word to describe me? How about devilishly handsome, or incredibly talented? Either of those work for you?" said James, sitting in the chair directly next to her and dragging closer to her. She started to collect her things, and Remus knew that there's was hardly anything he could do to stop a fight at this stage.
"Lily, don't go. James was just going to leave anyway," said Remus, sending a quick glare to James to hope he would get the idea and leave Lily alone.
"If he can't take orders from teachers, I doubt he's going to listen to you. But thanks anyway Remus. This was a good, um, five minutes," said Lily, walking out of the library. James sent a wink Remus' way before sprinting after her. Remus sighed and buried his head in his hands. Here we go again, he thought, releasing a low groan from the back of his throat.
James raced out of the library, leaving echoes of the librarian's cries in his wake. He spotted Lily walking at a quick space near the end of the corridor and ran to catch up with her. However, before he could reach her, a large vat of pink goo landed directly on top of her. James tried his hardest to keep his laugh from erupting, but there was no hope as he roared at this girl covered in a disgustingly horrid shade of pink. She turned around with tears in her eyes, but those tears soon turned to an angry glare as she threw her books to the ground.
She launched at James, landing a punch directly to his nose. He heard a snap, before he felt the blood pour down his face.
"That was for what you just did," then she punched him again, "that was for all the times you bully Severus," another hit, "and that was for simply being a git."
She stood, picked up her books, and stalked off. Merlin, she looks horrendous in pink, thought James, as he started the long trek to the Hospital Wing.