Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter or Harry Potter related copyrights.

"Come on guys, you gotta get up," Peter begged Sirius and James. Sirius and James always slept until the very last moment, especially on school days, and it was Remus and Peter's job to get them up every morning. Mostly Remus did the waking up and Peter just pitched in and did whatever he was told. However, only Peter had spoken to Remus since the train ride the day before and Sirius and James hadn't even seen him since he had dashed out of the Great Hall immediately following the feast after sitting with Lily and her friends. And now there was no sign of Remus and the curtains around his bed were drawn.

"Come on, we'll be late for breakfast!" yelled Peter fruitlessly. "Remus, please help me!"

There was no response, so Peter went over to Remus' bed and pulled the curtains aside. No one was in there and the bed was made.

Peter had no choice but to try and shake the boys seeing as words weren't working. He soon found out that that was a mistake however, for as soon as he laid a hand on James' shoulder, he got a pillow in the face. Attempting to arouse Sirius was even worse. Peter didn't even get all the way to the side of the bed before Sirius grabbed the nearest object from his nightstand, which was a candlestick holder, and chucked it at Peter. It hit him on the side of the head and he had to struggle not to cry. It really hurt, but he couldn't let the guys know that, so he quickly left the room to seek reinforcements.

Peter got all the way down to the Great Hall before he found someone who was likely to take on the great and dangerous task of waking two of the Marauders. Unfortunately that person was Remus. Peter was very relieved to see his friend. So he quickly joined Remus, Lily, Alice, Marlene, and two of their Ravenclaw friends, Laura and Julie for breakfast.

"Good morning everyone," said Peter as he sat down across from Remus and next to Marlene.

All conversation stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Peter nervously.

Marlene spoke first, "What is that nasty-looking bruise from?"

Peter put his hand up to the spot where the candlestick had hit him and winced. There was a bump there and it hurt. "Umm… well, I made the mistake of trying to wake up James and Sirius on my own."

"And what happened?" asked Lily looking as if she would kill for half a reason to go up to the seventh year boys' dormitories to throw James out a window.

"Well," said Peter obviously enjoying the attention. "I went to shake James first; he's usually easier than Sirius by far."

"What did he do to you?" asked Lily curiously.

"Just hit me in the face with a pillow," said Peter acting as if he had just taken down a troll single-handedly.

The girls oohed and aahed for him.

"And then what?" asked Alice.

"Well then I went over to shake Sirius and well, let's just say I didn't make it all the way over to the bed. I soon found myself in closer contact with a candlestick holder than I ever want to be again."

"Are they still asleep then?" asked Laura as she saw that no one had followed Peter.

"Yeah, I didn't really want to stick around after I was attacked."

"I wouldn't either," said Julie kindly. "Big brutes."

"So Remus, are you going to help me wake them?" asked Peter hopefully.

"No, I am not and I wouldn't count on my help in the coming weeks either. You are on your own if you really want to wake them," said Remus spitefully. "They abandoned us, so I'm abandoning them."

"Do you hate me too?" asked Peter as if he were a small child being told that his older brother no longer wanted to play with him because he was too little.

"Hate is a very strong word, Peter." Peter perked up a little. "I don't hate them; that is not to say that we are on friendly standard, and I certainly don't hate you. You didn't abandon me."

The girls then turned back to their conversation. Remus turned back to his book; Peter dug into his breakfast whole-heartedly.

Peter was left with his thoughts for company. He wondered if James and Sirius were going to be able to get up. They hadn't gotten up on their own since the third week of first year when they discovered that Remus was a natural early-riser. Peter always dreaded the days after a full moon when he was on his own, but usually the two dark-haired boys were too tired to throw anything or resist him much. Usually pushing them into a cold shower and then running as fast as he could in his animagus form worked.

Peter was pulled out of his thoughts by Professor McGonagall. She was saying something to him, but he didn't know what it was. And then she finished and appeared to be waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry Professor, but it's really early and I didn't catch a word you said," he apologized.

Professor McGonagall looked at him sternly but repeated herself anyway. "Here is your timetable for this year Mr. Pettigrew. Where are Mr. Potter and Mr. Black? They need their timetables too."

"They, umm, they umm, are sleeping in?" Why did the things Peter say always come out as questions?

"I'm sure that they will be down shortly Professor," said Remus. "If you like you could leave their timetables here for them."

The Transfiguration teacher nodded and put the two extra pieces of parchment next to Remus' breakfast plate and moved on down the table. She knew of the boys' friendship and she also knew that Remus was a trustworthy and responsible person and would make sure that his friends would get the needed schedules.

"I'll give them to them if you want," offered Alice. "Like if you don't want to see them or anything."

"No, I'll do it," said Peter. He looked down at his timetable. "I have History of Magic and then a free block so I'll bring them up then and have another go at getting them up."

Remus nodded and then put his schedule on the table to be compared to the rest of the group's.

Soon it was time for everyone to head to their classes. First up for Gryffindors and Ravenclaws that morning was History of Magic. History was Peter's best subject, he just had a knack for remembering names and dates that even Remus didn't possess, so Peter joined Remus and the girls, sans Lily and Julie who had a free block that morning because they had dropped History of Magic, to go to the N.E.W.T.'s level class.

James and Sirius were supposed to be in the class also, but they didn't appear. They also didn't even appear in the next class that they shared with Remus, Lily, Alice and Marlene, which was Potions, until there was only twenty minutes left of the class period.

Lily and Remus were working together on a complicated poison antidote when James and Sirius finally arrived out of breath and looking very disgruntled and very much like they had just rolled out of bed.

"Sorry we're late Professor," apologized Sirius. "But we were just so sick this morning! Barfing our brains out we were."

"Yup," said James picking up on the lie. "That is until we remembered a Potion that you had taught us about back in third year."

"Yup, we always keep a freshly-brewed stash under our beds just in case."

"So, yeah, we took that potion and we cured just like that," said James as Sirius snapped his fingers to emphasize the point.

"And then we rushed right down here to come to your class so that we could learn more about such valuable, life-saving potions," gushed Sirius.

Slughorn was obviously pleased by the boys' flattery and was completely ignorant to the bold-faced lie they had just told him. "Well, I'm glad that you remember the things I teach! It's nice to know that someone other than Miss Evans pays attention to what I say," said Slughorn as he cast an admiring glance towards his favorite pupil.

"I agree Professor," said Lily. "Now Potter, what potion is it that you used? I'm sure that we would all like to keep some under our beds, seeing as it would be so helpful, just in case we suddenly felt a need to throw up right before classes start."

"Oh yes boys, please do tell us which one you used so I may make a point to tell my third years of its importance and how it may be used in everyday situations," said the Professor, willing to brag about his older students to his younger students any day, especially one with parents so influential in the wizarding world as James'.

"Umm, well we just call it 'the potion'," covered Sirius quickly.

"Yeah, whenever anyone mentions 'the potion', we all know which one they are talking about, because it is so important to us," continued James.

"Yup, single most important thing in our lives."

"Next to my broom in my heart."

"What kind of broom do you have Potter?" asked Lily.

"A Swiftrider 3," replied James without a moment's hesitation. "Why?"

"Because I find it odd that you can't remember the name of a potion that you love as much as your broom, yet you can remember the model of the broom," replied Lily.

"Really Lily, I don't see the point of this conversation. We are just wasting precious class time when we could be learning important life-saving skills," said Sirius with a pointed glance toward Lily.

"Yes, yes," said Professor Slughorn. "Now boys, we were concocting the very important antidote for the poison, Mihelabye. I'm sure you are both well aware of the poison and its antidote and since you have both used your Potions skills once already this morning, I think that it is only fair that you both get top marks for the potion and are allowed to get started on your homework for the night. It's on the board."

Lily scowled at both of the boys when she heard the teacher's announcement. Sirius silently dared Lily to protest to the solution Slughorn had come up with. James just waved back and leaned back in his chair. Lily flicked her wand and James' chair fell out from under him and he landed on the floor, hard.

"Is there a problem Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Slughorn good-naturedly.

"No, Professor, not at all," said James as he got up from the ground. "It's just that in my excitement over the essay I was about to compose I reached into my bag for the necessary items too quickly and lost my balance."

"Ah, I see." Then the Potions Professor chuckled and said, "Please contain the enjoyment that you get from your studies to a minimum and channel it into your essays. I wouldn't want to lose a student of your potential to a head injury."

James nodded and proceeded to get out a quill and a piece of parchment, not to write an essay, but to write a few notes to his friends, not that the Professor needed to know that.

Meanwhile Sirius had buried his head in his arms in an attempt to quiet his laughter. It worked to a certain extent, but James could still hear his best friend, so very shortly, Sirius found himself in a position similar to the one that James had recently abandoned.

"Mr. Black is there a reason that you are on the floor?" asked the instructor of the class, once more interrupted from his work of over-seeing his pupils.

"Yes sir, but I don't think that this is the place to discuss my intestinal problems," said Sirius gravely. "There are ladies present you know," he added with a flashy grin at all of the girls present. The girls giggled and waved to him discretely.

"Oh yes, Mr. Black, I see," said Slughorn awkwardly. "Do you need a pass to see Madame Pomfrey?"

"No sir, I have already been to see the lovely Poppy. Alas! There is nothing she can do to alleviate the daily pain that I experience from my condition!" said Sirius dramatically. "It is just something that I must live with and suffer!"

It was James's turn to hide his laughter.

"Well, Mr. Black, I'd say that you handle it very well," said Slughorn. "Therefore I will excuse you from tonight's essay so that you can just relax and try to find some relief."

Sirius grinned widely. "Thank you sir, my intestines appreciate your kind gesture."

James had suddenly stopped laughing at the sound of an excused homework assignment and had snapped his head right up. His hand shot right up a moment later. When he was called upon he said, "Professor, did I ever tell you about the rare and very painful disease that I inherited from my mother?" Slughorn shook his head. "Well it's an ailment that makes it very difficult to concentrate on my studies. I, well, you see, I have problems with my kidneys. Yes, they trouble me constantly."

Slughorn murmured an apology for James' bad luck and excused him also. Then when he turned his attention to the rest of the class, (except for Remus, Severus Snape, and Lily who were above faking illnesses to get out of assignments) who had their hands raised, James and Sirius high-fived each other.

Then while Slughorn was further distracted by hearing of the horrible maladies that plagued his pupils, James threw a note at Remus.

Remus' note read:

Moony,

What's up with you? Where were you on the train and at the feast? And where were you this morning? Not that we minded, but we missed History and part of Potions! Not that that didn't end well… So… yeah. See you at lunch.

Padfoot and Prongs

The reply was:

James and Sirius,

Did you two honestly think that I would come crawling back to you after you just abandoned me all summer and yesterday? Just to make things clear, I'm not. So get used to making up fake illnesses about your internal organs because I am no longer going to wake either of you up. And Sirius, I suggest that, in the future, you refrain from throwing heavy objects at your remaining friends. And, while you may 'see' me at lunch, I hope that I will not be sitting anywhere near either of you.

Remus Lupin

James read the response first and then handed it off to Sirius to read.

"What's with him?" James mouthed to Sirius as he pointed to Remus.

"Dunno," replied Sirius quietly.

The next thing they knew, the bell rang and they still weren't sure why Remus was avoiding them and hanging out with Lily. Speaking of the which, Lily walked over to their table as soon as she had gathered her stuff.

"Head's Meeting with Dumbledore tonight. His office, 7:00, make an effort and don't be late for once!" said Lily testily before she continued on with Remus and her other friends without waiting for a reply from James.

"Well we know why Lily hates you, but I wonder why Remus is hanging out with her instead of us," Sirius mused as he slung his bag over his shoulder and left the dungeons with James.

"Do you think they're going out?" asked James trying, and failing, to keep the tones of jealous and anxiety out of his voice.

"Nah!" said Sirius, trying to reassure his friend, whom he knew had not quite gotten over Lily, no matter how many girls he had gone out with that previous summer. "They've been friends for too long for that! He could've had his shot with her years ago!"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right…" James admitted.

"Though they are pretty similar, have a lot in common, get along much better than you could ever hope for…" said Sirius who couldn't resist the urge to taunt his friend. He took one long at James' downtrodden face and broke out in laughter. "I thought you were over that certain red-head!"

"I am!"

"Obviously not mate. You should have seen your face! Priceless I tell you!"

James mumbled under his breath as they entered the Great Hall, and as was his habit, looked around for Lily. He didn't see her anywhere. Suspiciously, he didn't see Remus either, though he did see Marlene and Alice chatting at the Gryffindor table.

James dragged Sirius over to sit with them and as he sat down, he said, "Hey ladies, how's it going?"

"Take your charms elsewhere Potter," said Marly angrily. "I'd actually like to keep my appetite if you don't mind."

"Oh touchy this afternoon, huh McKinnon?" said Sirius smoothly.

"You're not any better Black," spat Marlene.

"Actually the general consensus is that…"

"Sirius! We're eating here!" said Alice. "We do not want to hear about any of your 'achievements'."

"And before you make some dirty comment Black," hissed Marlene. "I would shut your mouth because I do not mind hexing you and I will willingly serve whatever detention McGonagall dishes out for doing it."

Sirius gulped and shut his mouth. He knew what Marlene was capable of and she seemed royally pissed about something, so he wasn't willing to test her.

"So where are Remus and Evans?" asked James conversationally. "Didn't they leave with you?"

"They went back to the Tower so that Remus could get a book he was telling Lily about," Peter piped up.

Marly sighed, shook her head and said, "Pettigrew! What happened to the plan?"

Peter squeaked, "Oops, sorry!"

Sirius laughed, "We didn't see you there Wormtail! How's it going?"

"Fine," said Peter simply.

"So what was your initial plan McKinnon?" asked James of the girl he had known from a very young age.

Marlene smiled evilly, "We were going to tell you that they were off snogging in the empty classroom on the third floor, but I'm sure such worldly gentlemen as yourself know what 'getting a book from the tower' means."

Both Sirius and James spat out the pumpkin juice that they were in the process of swallowing, unfortunately all over Alice and Marlene.

"Ewww! You prats!" exclaimed Marlene as she wiped the sticky juice off of her face. "Now I need to go change! Well I would, if I weren't afraid of interrupting something," she added in a sweet voice.

"Are you serious?" asked James with a warning glance at Sirius not to make any puns.

"About what?" asked Alice as she tried to get the juice off of her face as well. "Needing to change or Remus and Lily's new relationship?"

"The-the last one," stammered Sirius. He was as surprised as James was; going after Lily in a romantic sense was nearly treason in the Marauder group.

"I think that says it all," said Marlene pointedly as she looked towards the doors to the Great Hall. Remus and Lily were walking in together and Lily was excitedly talking to him. But what sealed the deal was the fact that they were holding hands.

James looked very put out and after staring with his mouth open for a while, he turned to his lunch and ate as if it were a contest. Sirius just kept staring as if he couldn't believe it; he had never really pictured Lily and Remus together.

Thus, neither of the boys noticed that Marlene and Alice were exchanging a triumphant glance and high-fiving each other under the table.

"Hi everyone," said Lily as she and Remus sat down on the same side of the table as the other three Marauders, Lily in the middle of James and Remus.

"Did you get that book you wanted?" asked Marlene with a huge grin.

Lily and Remus both blushed as planned and Lily said with an equivalent grin, "Yup, it was exactly the right one."

Remus quickly changed the subject and said to Alice, "So Alice, do you think I could borrow your History notes? I was kind of doodling through that entire class, so my notes are pretty much worthless."

"Sure Remus, anything for my friend's umm… friend," said Alice with very clear implications.

Lily and Remus blushed furiously again. Marlene was ecstatic; things couldn't have been going better.

"So Lily which book exactly, did you borrow from Remus?" asked Marlene.

"Ummm, it was the, ummm, you know the one, about the… oh yeah, it was Crime and Punishment," she said finally.

"Sure it was," said Alice disbelievingly.

Alice nearly exploded with laughter right then and there, looking at James' face. He was redder thanHe

Remus was!

James, having had enough, abruptly left the table while muttering something about getting to class. Sirius soon followed him in the same manner.

As soon as the boys had left the Great Hall, the Gryffindor seventh-years all let out their pent-up laughter. Remus and Lily let go of each others' hands and slid apart to more of a friendly distance.

"Did you see his face?" asked Marlene as she nearly collapsed into a plate of sandwiches.

"It was sooo red!" gasped Alice as she clutched her sides because she was laughing so hard.

Peter actually fell out of his seat laughing. Lily and Remus were leaning up against each other because they couldn't seem to support themselves they were laughing so hard.

Finally their chuckles all subsided and they were able to resume eating their lunch in peace; well after Marlene told the whole hall off for not minding their own business, there was peace.

"That was the best prank I think we've ever pulled," said to Lily as she high-fived her accomplices.

"I agree," said Marlene. "It was even better than that one third year when we put spiders in their beds!"

"Sorry about that Peter and Remus," said Alice apologetically.

"That was you guys?" asked Peter. "We hexed Snape for that!"

"You blamed Snape and the other Slytherins for all of the pranks we played on you guys," said Lily in an almost disapproving tone.

"What else have you girls done to us?" questioned Remus.

"Nope, you won't get another word out of us!" claimed Marlene.

"So how long are we going to keep this up?" asked Peter.

"I dunno, what do you guys think?" asked Marly thoughtfully.

"How long do you think you two can keep this up?" Alice asked Lily and Remus. "Good job on the acting by the way!"

"Hmmm," said Lily. "What do you think Remus?"

"I don't know, but they're bound to catch on eventually."

"Not necessarily," said Marlene. "You saw them just now; they were totally convinced."

"I say that we don't let it go past a week," said Lily. "We can stage our break-up at the end if you like Remus."

"That should be fun," said Remus wickedly.

"Why are we doing this again?" asked Peter.

"It's fun?" offered Alice.

"Giving Potter and Black a taste of their own medicine," said Marlene.

"Trashing their egos," said Lily. "And feeding Potter's insecurities."

"Getting sweet, sweet revenge," Remus summed up.

"Oh okay, I forgot."

After that the group's conversations strayed to how the first day of school was progressing so far.

-----

The rest of the day passed pleasantly. Lily and Remus continued to act as though they were more than friends in front of James and Sirius exclusively; in the presence of everyone else, they proceeded as just friends. This charade lasted well into the following day; Remus was thoroughly enjoying seeing James squirm.

At breakfast on the third day of the act, Remus caught Lily pensively staring at the bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall, which on that day seemed to mirror her thoughts; the sky appeared to be a murky gray with swirling and churning clouds moving at a ferocious pace.

"Something up Lily?" asked Remus.

"Besides the ceiling you mean?' asked Lily, never taking her eyes off of the enchanted dome far above her.

"Yes," Remus prompted.

"Well, above the ceiling there is the sky and beyond that, well beyond that is where I'd like to be most days," replied Lily in a voice that strongly reminded Remus of someone who was giving their own eulogy and trying to makes jokes during it.

Remus was undaunted; he had seen James depressed over Lily; he had seen Sirius depressed over his family; he had seen Peter depressed over being the least of the Marauders; needless to say, he had seen all kinds of sadness. So, he was not discouraged by what was apparently Lily's reclusive nature that sprung from some sort of depression.

He pressed, "Is something bothering you?"

Lily finally took her eyes off of the ceiling to look at Remus. He was only subjected to her calculating glance for a moment before she returned her attentions to the clouds. However, in that moment, he felt as if he was being gauged, graded almost; Lily's gaze was very intense, partly perpetuated by her very dark green eyes.

After a moment Lily said off-handedly, "I think it will storm today."

Remus looked up at the imitation of the sky and said, "Perhaps."

Remus then admitted defeat; Lily had checkmated him. But, in Remus' reckoning, she had won a battle, not the war. He was determined to be the same kind of friend she had been to him for a long time, supportive and tireless.

-----

James was walking around the castle after dinner in a distracted fashion. He couldn't understand it; Remus and Lily? Where did that come from? And why was Remus avoiding him unless he was holding hands with Lily and flaunting their relationship in front of him? As James was walking mechanically, he realized something. It was a sudden epiphany in the middle of the corridor, and once the seed had embedded itself in his conscious, it grew at an exponential rate.

He was jealous.

He was jealous of Remus.

He was jealous of Remus for being with Lily.

He was angry at and jealous of Remus for being with Lily.

He was angry at Remus and Lily for being with each other and jealous of their relationship.

He was angry at Lily.

James could understand Remus' predicament; he had fallen hard for Lily himself. What he couldn't tolerate at the moment was Lily. She had strung him along for far too long and then dumped him as hard as she could have and then went off with one of his best mates, all the while turning Remus against James.

James was nearly at the point of being completely enraged. He took to running. He pushed some people and shoved some people and ignored some first years who needed directions. All of a sudden he was feeling suffocated. Finally, he made it out to the front doors, and opened them a bit. He was instantly met with violent winds, but he really needed to get out of the castle, so he persevered.

James' relief at being outside was not long-lasting. The wind was biting and sharp; it whipped around him, swirling his robes around him too fast for him to keep track. James was about to step back inside the castle where it was much less likely that his glasses would be swept off of his face, when he noticed that he was not alone on the grounds. There, in the middle of it all was a very recognizable redhead.

Her back was to him as she stood in front of the lake, her robes were whipping wildly about her as well, though her hair somehow managed to remain in its tight bun. James' anger that had fallen onto the back burner while he was distracted with keeping a hold on his glasses and not being impaled with the large tree branches that were flying through the air as if they were broomsticks meant for such rider-less travel, came soaring back to him now as if he had summoned it.

James fought against the wind to get to where the girl who plagued his dreams was standing, all the time wondering how such a slight girl hadn't been swept along by the gale force winds yet.

Lily didn't acknowledge the new presence next to her; she just kept staring at the white-crested waves that were so rare on the normally placid lake of Hogwarts.

"What are you doing out here?!" bellowed James angrily.

Lily cast a quick glance at James before looking back at the waves and the swirling clouds of the sky. "Not looking for company!" she shouted back, fighting to be heard over the whistling of the wind that was snatching her words away from her even as she spoke them.

"Too bad!" yelled James. "I need to talk to you!"

"Again?!" Lily shouted exasperatedly. "How many times can we possibly go over the same material?!"

"Once more it seems!" said James as he grabbed Lily not so gently by the arm and led her back to the castle.

She didn't say anything in her own defense, nor did she fight James. She even obediently stepped over the branches in their path and allowed herself to be pulled to the ground when a tree limb threatened to decapitate them both.

Once they were inside they entrance hall and the door was secured behind them, with a great effort on the part of both of their wands, James turned to Lily and yelled, "What the hell were you doing out there?"

Lily, refusing to let her voice reach the intensity of James', said defensively, "I could ask you the same question."

"I asked you first!"

"And I asked you second," said Lily just as childishly as James.

"Tell me!" James commanded.

"No," said Lily as she began walking away from the enraged James Potter.

"Yes!" said James as he grabbed Lily's arm tightly. James ignored the voice in his head that said his ungentlemanly action would have shamed his mother if she was there. "Why were you outside during a wind storm?!"

"Why do you care?" asked Lily venomously. "Last time I checked, you agreed to stop 'caring' about me and wished me a life alone with an abundance of cats."

"Because I want you alive so that I can yell at you for being a horrid wretch!"

"Finally someone sees my true colors!" said Lily as if she were very relieved. "And now that you know I truly am a horrible person who deserves to be alone, will you please let me go!"

"But I have to tell you why I'm angry!"

"You really don't," Lily commented. "I know why people hate me and wish me unhappiness, there's no need for you to waste your precious time and voice reminding me!"

Completely ignoring her, James let loose his rage, "You are so inconsiderate of other people's feelings! You go out with my best mate less than three months after giving me false hope and then taking it away and you turn him against me!"

Now Lily was mad. "Don't you ever accuse me of turning Remus against you! You did that on your own!"

As Lily wrenched her arm out of his grasp, James said, "But you admit going out with him to spite me?!"

"Where are you coming from? I never said anything about going out with him to spite you!"

"But you can't deny it!"

"Yes I can, because it's not true! I may be an awful person, but I would never do that!"

"So why are you going out with him?"

"Do I really need an ulterior motive to justify myself?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because you chose him over me!" slipped out of James' voice before he could help himself.

Lily laughed cruelly. "It's always about you Potter, isn't it? You know what? I'm tired of this charade! Remus and I are not going out! I was just trying to make you angry, so I asked him to pretend to be going out with me during Potions on the first day of classes! And you know what? It was worth it!"

James looked lost. "You what?"

"We were pretending! Remus and I are only friends! Sorry to disappoint you! And that's not why Remus has been avoiding you. I would talk to him if I were you."

With that, Lily left James standing confounded in the entrance hall of Hogwarts. She quickly reached the common room and sought out Remus.

"Remus," said Lily urgently as she tore him away from his homework. "James knows; I had to tell him. He kind of cornered me about our relationship. He made a lot of accusations and I just kind of lost it. I'm sorry."

Remus furrowed his brow, "What did he say?"

"Not much, he was pretty speechless."

"Well, it saves us the trouble of breaking up," said Remus lightly.

"Yeah I s'pose," said Lily tiredly. "He accused me of turning you against him."

"Did he?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Interesting."

"I sense that he can't quite come to terms with the fact that he's not perfect and some things are his fault," Lily said dryly.

"Only child syndrome," commented Remus.

"Yeah, well, whatever. I'll see you around Remus."

"Bye Lily. Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Did you tell him that I did this to get back at him?"

Lily shook her head. "I didn't want to mess things up more between you guys. This really is not that big of a deal; it shouldn't have gotten this out of hand as it is. I know you guys are all really close and stuff, but maybe you guys are finally growing up and a bit apart."

"It was the principle of the thing," Remus argued. "They excluded me, and I'm tired of being left out."

Lily nodded, unwilling to get into a fight with Remus. "Okay, well anyways, I told him I was an evil, vindictive woman and I wanted to get him angry. And I told him that you're mad at him for your own reasons and that he should talk to you."

"Why did you do that?" asked Remus harshly.

"Do what?" asked Lily as she rubbed her hand over her face tiredly.

"Try and smooth things over for me!"

"I don't know."

"Well stop doing it!"

Lily was startled. "Okay, I won't say anything to him about it again."

"No! Just stop meddling period! If I want to be angry at James and Sirius, I want to be angry at them! I think I was far too lenient before concerning the end of the last school year and now I'm done being reasonable! And I don't want you to guilt trip me into being friends with them again! I don't want to forgive them!"

"Fine Remus! Do what you want! I'll try to stop caring!" spat Lily as she stormed out of the common room and up to her dorm before another person could hurt her. She ran to her bed and jumped onto it. She immediately clutched her pillow to her chest and face and began to cry bitterly into it. When had her life gone so wrong?

A/N. Please review!