It was getting weird.

As if seeing Mary smiling at and holding onto the arm of James Potter hadn't been strange enough, the following day was just bizarre.

At breakfast, Mary hardly gave the girls a second look before bypassing them completely to take the empty seat beside Potter, usually occupied by Black who hadn't bothered showing up at all, along with Remus.

It wasn't that it bothered Lily, really. It's just that she seriously questioned the boy's motives. Marlene and Dorcas didn't seem to share her concerns, however.

"It almost sounds like you're jealous," Marlene suggested later that day in Potions when Mary partnered with Potter.

Lily scoffed and shook her head, crushing her bezoar as flat as possible.

"Potter has harassed and pestered me for over five bloody years. Then one day he wakes up and decides to ask one of my best friends out instead? Sounds like Potter is trying to make me jealous." She slid her ingredients into her cauldron, beaming proudly when a soft yellow glow emerged. "That, plus Mary is supposed to be my partner. Where's Black? He's normally with Potter… no offense, Peter," she offered quickly to the boy sitting across from her.

"Sirius and Remus had… er… a bit too much fun at the party, I reckon," Peter explained, his watery blue eyes glued to the wheat grass he was carefully trying to chop into even bits. "They wouldn't get up this morning. But for the record, I do appreciate you partnering with me, Lily." He bit his lip nervously. "I know I'm not that good…"

Lily smiled warmly at him and shook her head. "Not at all, Peter. Here, there's an easier way to chop that. I'll show you…"

She was happy to have a free period that day and decided to spend it in the one place she was sure she wouldn't run into Potter and Mary. Tucking herself into the farthest corner of the library, she pulled out her muggle book from her bag and relaxed in the chair.

"Evans?"

She had barely even opened her marked page when she heard the hiss of her name. She looked around, blinking in confusion when she saw no one there.

"Evans!"

"Er… hello?" She looked behind her. Nothing.

Slowly she turned back around and nearly jumped out of her skin when she found herself face-to-face with Sirius Black.

"Sirius!" She yelped, smacking the boy over the head with her book. "What the hell were you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Catching her breath and composing herself, she sat up slightly straighter. "Where on earth did you come from, anyway? And-" she paused, frowning at his unusual fashion statement. "Why are you wearing a scarf?"

Sirius stared at her for a moment, anxiously worrying his lip between his teeth and looking as if he were very seriously contemplating exactly what he wanted to say.

Finally, he sighed. "I need your help." His eyes met hers pleadingly. "And I need you to promise not to say anything to anyone about it."

"Where are we going?" Lily asked as Sirius dragged her quickly through the corridors, occasionally ducking behind a suit of armor to avoid a teacher whose class he may have ditched for the day.

"Somewhere private," Sirius answered vaguely. He was hardly paying any attention to her, focusing instead on trying to remain unnoticed.

"Well, why don't we go back to the-"

"Shh!" He clapped a hand over her mouth as Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout passed by. Once they were gone, Sirius roughly yanked on Lily's arm, pulled her into a closet, and locked the door behind him.

Lily scowled at him, placing her hands irritably on her hips. "Alright, now will you tell me what's going on that you couldn't tell me in a normal place like, I don't know, the common room or your dorm?"

Again, Sirius sighed and then gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry. I just… I promised Remus I wouldn't let anyone know what's going on… but I don't think we can handle this alone."

Lily's entire demeanor softened. "Oh…" she whispered, remembering what Remus had said about something personal happening with him… something possibly to do with his lycanthropy. "Is he alright?"

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck, adjusting his uncomfortable scarf.

"Er… he is. For now… physically anyway…" he licked his lips. He looked so different from the Sirius Black that Lily was used to seeing. He looked scared and unsure and very concerned and even a little lost.

"Last night." His voice broke and he cleared his throat, trying to hide just how emotional he really was. "Well… you saw me and Remus last night… We left early to go… well…" he looked up at her to be sure she was following. She nodded to confirm. "Well... I mean sometimes he can get a little… rough… when it's close to the full moon and that's alright- brilliant, actually. But… this time he… Well, he lost control."

Lily frowned. "Lost control, how…?"

Sirius hesitated for a second, his fingers trembling as they found the scratchy fabric around his neck. He slowly unraveled it.

"Oh, Sirius!" Lily gasped as the boy's throat was exposed, along with the dark purple mark that was clearly a bite… and not at all like the hickies most other students flaunted around the castle. "Remus must be heartbroken…"

Sirius nodded. "He is and he's really beating himself up for it. That's why I didn't want to do this back in the dorm. I finally got him to relax enough to get some sleep. He was making himself sick over it all night." He ran a hand through his hair and swallowed thickly.

"Apparently he's been having trouble controlling himself in… that way… for months and was too embarrassed and stubborn to say anything. He was trying to take care of it himself like the prat he is." He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Lily bit her lip, watching Sirius and feeling awful for him. He was obviously very upset about the whole thing. But not because Remus had hurt him, that seemed to be the last thing on his mind. He was worried for the other boy. He was in pain knowing that Remus was suffering and that he couldn't do anything to make it better. "Do either of you know why it happened?"

"No." Sirius leaned against the wall heavily. "He's always been so careful about controlling himself, controlling the part of him that's not… not human…" he said the last part very quietly and shuddered.

"Sorry," Lily said softly. "I admit, I don't know much about werewolves other than what little we learned in Defense. That bite," she tried to choose her words carefully. "I mean since he wasn't transformed when it happened… you won't-?"

"No!" Sirius said quickly, his eyes going wide. "No, it's nothing like that. It's just… well that's what I needed your help with. You see, it's going to scar and… like I said, Remus- well both of us, really- we don't want anyone to know it happened at all." His cheeks went pink. "You're really good at charms and girls know all those glamors to hide blemishes and the like… er… I was wondering if you could…" He gestured wildly to his neck.

"Oh!" Lily said, finally understanding what he was trying to say. "Er, yes. Yes, of course. It shouldn't be too hard to cover up…" She slid her wand out from her belt loop. She paused. "But… What about Remus? What are you going to do? He has to tell someone. McGonagall or Pomfrey or Dumbledore… they have to know this is happening before he hurts someone." She looked pointedly at the bite on Sirius' neck. "Before he really hurts someone."

Sirius didn't say anything right away, but Lily could tell that he knew she was right, but that it also wasn't that simple. "We're going to figure it out," he said, giving Lily a look that told her not to argue.

"Alright," Lily conceded, taking a step closer to inspect the mark. She had to consciously stop herself from flinching once she had a better look at it. It must have been painful. She carefully touched the tip of her wand to it. "Celaverimus Maxima."

The dark purple bruise disappeared and Lily reached into her bag, fishing out a small compact mirror. She opened it and handed it over. Sirius took it, his shoulders slumping forward with relief as he saw clear skin there.

"Thank you, Lily," he said quietly, forcing a weak smile that didn't meet his eyes. "I appreciate it." Again he chewed his bottom lip. "I just… I couldn't stand seeing the look on his face when he looked at me and saw…" He let out a shuddering breath. "I need to protect him from himself. I need to figure this out before he decides he's too dangerous and he leaves me. I can't lose him. I won't," he finished fiercely.

Lily had never really thought about dating much before. She had never been very interested in anyone herself, and she felt it was a waste of time and effort if the ultimate goal wasn't marriage or at least a lifetime commitment. She thought that at their age, they were far too young to have found anything of the sort, so why would she bother?

Watching Sirius, and listening to how passionately he spoke about protecting and keeping Remus, the boy he loved, Lily realized she was wrong. Love comes to you at strange times, in strange places, and not always the way you expect it to… and when it does, you'd better fight for it.

"I'll help you."

Okay okay, before people start asking why Remus can't use Celaverumus Maxima to cover his own scars, let me explain. Remus is a magical beast. The second he received the bite, his entire body was flooded with werewolf magic. Since Remus wasn't transformed when he bit Sirius, the same thing doesn't happen to Sirius. And yes, it is still a magical bite so the scar will still be there even if there is a glamor charm on it. Remus' skin rejects the magic due to his magical makeup as a werewolf. Hopefully, that makes sense...