Chapter Text
“If there’s any kind of magic in this world, it must be in the attempt of understanding someone, sharing something.” — Before Sunrise
When James Potter started dating Lily Evans, Hogwarts High went into a frenzy. No one could comprehend how two people so opposite could be in love. That was about three weeks ago. Despite being Lily's best friend and privy to all the details leading up to this, Remus isn't entirely sure he understands it either.
Lily is a beautiful, smart, and reserved girl. She grew up and still lives in a humble neighbourhood in a small town named Hogsmeade, with her older sister Petunia and their aunt Arabella. Lily is Remus' neighbour, and since they're the same age and share similar personalities, they clicked easily.
Unlike Petunia, who is two years older, dissatisfied with her life situation, and always aiming to climb the social ladder, Lily and Remus never cared about such things. They weren't keen on having a large social circle. Their observant and introspective nature didn't allow them to fully connect with other children, so they learned to thrive away from the spotlight.
James, on the other hand, is the epitome of popularity. He's rich, charismatic, and the captain of the school's football team. But he's also loud, impatient, and arrogant. James charges through life as if it's a decisive football match, and he's Pelé himself. However, the discomfort Remus feels about James' involvement with Lily has less to do with these stark differences and more to do with the fact that James spent the last five years tormenting her.
It all began in Year 6 when Remus and Lily transferred schools, and among their new classmates was James. That fateful day is etched in Remus' memories for two reasons; one being James' peculiar behaviour upon meeting Lily. It was as if multiple sirens went off in James' mind simultaneously, and he didn't know what any of them meant.
Since then, he started pestering her everywhere — in and out of school, whenever they accidentally met around town. James took delight in giving Lily (and Remus, by association) nicknames like Nerd, Swotty, Know-It-All, Knockoff Einstein... He'd criticize the way she dressed, her flaming red hair, her music taste. Anything was a target for his darting tongue.
Lily didn't suffer in silence, though. For every nickname, irony, or swear word aimed her way, she had a comeback ready to shut him down and sometimes even a clever retaliation to teach him a lesson. One of Remus' favourites was the Pamphlet Revenge — Lily created and secretly distributed pamphlets around the school warning about the dangers of using anabolic steroids, illustrated with a shirtless photo of James flexing his muscles on his Instagram, highlighting side effects such as hair loss, paranoia, and erectile dysfunction.
Despite Lily proving herself a worthy adversary who could hold her own, James always had the upper hand. He was never judged too harshly for his bad behaviour, while Lily — who, like Remus, remained a bit distant from their classmates, turning down invitations to parties and hangouts — gained a reputation as someone who thought herself better than others.
Things have noticeably changed this year. James returned renewed from the summer break — less rude and more polite. At some point, Lily's protests turned into dreamy sighs, and then, they were texting. But what Remus doesn't get is how someone can go from hating another person for years to admiring them in a matter of months.
It's been ten months since the New James showed up, but Remus doesn't trust him. He doesn't know what James could be up to and why, or if he's actually up to anything. It's just a strange feeling in his gut. So, for three weeks, Remus avoided Lily. Three weeks she spent hanging out with James at lunch breaks, in between classes, before the start and after the end of school time. Three weeks that Remus spent questioning his best friend's self-preservation instincts and her unreasonable naivety.
Three weeks mark the longest period of disagreement between Remus and Lily. And it was awful. When you spend almost all of your time with someone, for the better part of your life, they become an integral part of who you are, and to Remus, Lily is a soul sister. The only thing deeper than his disliking for James is his love for Lily. Thus, Remus decided to put aside his suspicions for a moment and give James the benefit of the doubt — James has one day to convince Remus that he is good enough for Lily (though he has no idea about this condition).
That's why Remus and Lily are now walking to James's place.
“Stop with the face,” Lily scolds. It's a sunny day. Lily's daily jumper has been replaced with a floral dress that flatters her pale skin, and her long red hair is down, unlike her usual French braid. “You're acting like a baby,” she goes on, “like this isn't your idea.”
Remus huffs and adjusts the straps of Lily's tote bag on his shoulder. “I didn't think he'd actually agree to it. He should've said no, I'd confirm he's an arsehole and that's it. I'd be right and—”
“And that’d make you happy,” Lily rolls her green eyes, “because you're a narcissistic little thing.”
“I think you’re thinking of your boyfriend.”
“Don't start. You've been impossible with this super-protective-older-brother rubbish. Forgot the part where I'm older than you ?”
“Two months rarely make a difference, but if you think it does, then I'd say our case is rather curious, isn't it? You're older, yet I'm smarter. How do you explain this phenomenon?”
“Easy. You hit your head pretty badly when you were sulking around without me, and you're clearly still hallucinating.”
Lily and Remus narrow their eyes at each other. Then, they laugh.
“Think James' folks will mind us spending the day?” Remus asks, scrunching his nose at his nylon shorts. A couple of faded scars on his legs stand out against his light brown skin. Lily mentioned a pool day, but Remus isn't thrilled about it. Coping with the scar on his face is challenging enough. Still, he's making concessions, so no messing with James' plans.
“I'd be surprised if his parents were around. Haven't met them yet,” Lily says with a frown. “They're always off somewhere, on business trips or something”
“He stays alone then?”
“Most of the time, yeah, I reckon.”
“That's messed up.”
Lily raises an imaginary glass. “Here's to rubbish parents.”
“And to messed up decisions.” Remus toasts with his own pretend glass, his expression turning serious. “But isn't that, like, child endangerment or something? Hasn't anyone called a social worker?”
Lily sighs. “James' uncles live a few minutes away, supposedly keeping an eye on him, though I've never seen them. He used to have a nanny, but not any more because 'he's too grown up for that now. ’” Lily's tone suggests she's had this conversation more than once.
Remus thinks for a moment. “Wait,” he says, “if James' parents won't be around, what's stopping you two from snogging in front of me the whole time?”
Lily smacks the back of his head. “Common sense?! I swear...”
“And do you even know what that means, or are you just parroting an expression you heard somewhere? Lately, you've been acting as though common sense is a myth.”
“Enough! I get why you're unhappy about this whole thing, I really do, but I like James, and he likes me. I'm not gonna stop dating him just because you've got a problem with it. Take today as an opportunity to get to know him better, or to learn that some things in life won't turn out the way we want them to.”
“ ‘I get why you're unhappy,’ do you, though? Because you weren't the one hearing me complain about this one tosser night after night, only to decide to live some stupid fairytale fantasy with him in the end.”
“At least I was brave enough to talk to him. Have you ever spoken two words to Sirius?”
Remus falls silent.
Sirius is James' best friend and the other reason why Remus remembers Year 6 so well. Sirius was the only boy as charismatic as James and even more handsome. His clear, grey eyes were and still are as alluring as a siren’s song, and he’s always had the silkiest hair in the whole school and one of the longest amongst the boys — its length well-kept just underneath his shoulders throughout the years.
The problem is that, in all these years, Remus never learned how to talk to Sirius. Being introverted never made him shy, but whenever Sirius is around, Remus’ mind works as properly as a malfunctioning TV. Sirius has always been too cool, a rebel without a cause with artistic tendencies and creativity, which, though impressive qualities, can also be intimidating.
Crossing his arms, Remus remains determined not to dignify Lily with an answer. However, she adds, “Maybe you can fix this today when he inevitably shows up.”
“What do you mean, ‘inevitably’?” Remus stops in his tracks. Sirius and James are practically inseparable, but... “He shows up to your dates with James?”
“Sometimes. He seems to be struggling to adjust his schedule now that he doesn't have James all to himself.”
Remus asks The Question of whose answer he's always feared. “Do you reckon he... Do you reckon he really fancies James?”
The rumours began circulating around Year 9, ever since Sirius kissed a boy at a party and came out as gay. Remus wasn't there, but he remembers the following week at school when everyone seemed to only gossip about that one thing. Sirius’ closeness to James, from that point on, was viewed through different lenses, and Remus couldn't help but be curious about it too. Could Sirius secretly like James? Or maybe it wasn't so secret, and perhaps James knew? Was it a one-sided thing or reciprocated? There were never any doubts about James liking girls, but could he like boys too? Maybe he was bisexual, like Remus.
Lily shakes her head. “No, I don't think so. From what I've noticed, they'd enjoy snogging as much as us.”
“Gross,” Remus groans, making a disgusted face. “I'd like to keep my breakfast in, please.”
“Exactly. They're like proper brothers... Which is funny because I think Sirius' actual younger brother has a crush on James.”
Remus rolls his brown eyes and resumes walking. “What is it with this bloke? Is he releasing pheromones in the air that only I am immune to?”
“You and Sirius, don't forget,” Lily jokes and gets shoved away.
When they finally arrive at James' neighbourhood, it doesn't surprise Remus why it took them forever. James lives on Godric Hollow Street, one of the best — if not The Best — areas of Hogsmeade. It's a dead-end street, full of grand, beautiful houses with green lawns and flowerbeds. James' house is the last one, between the left and right sides of the street; and while Remus is wondering whether to call it a ‘house’ or a ‘mansion’, Lily heads to a pathway on the side.
“What're you doing?” Remus asks. “Shouldn't we knock first? You know, inform him we're here...”
“Relax, James doesn't mind. Besides…” Lily gives a little tap on her ear, telling Remus to listen to something. Only then, concentrating, he hears the low sound of music coming from the backyard. As they get closer, other sounds catch Remus’ attention — he hears a loud splash of water followed by numerous laughs, and he hesitates. Is this a party? This thought is annoying. The last thing Remus needs is to have sacrificed his day off from school to spend it surrounded by James’ stupid friends.
However, as Remus enters the backyard, it's not the football team members he sees but people with whom he had no idea James was friends enough to invite over: Marlene and Dorcas, both part of the school's band; Peter and Frank, the mathletes; Mary from the theatre club and Alice F., the student council's president. Sensible individuals who don't think they're above everyone else just because they score a goal or two in a match every once in a while.
Mary and Peter are lounging on sunbeds, Alice is sitting at the pool's edge, and the others are swimming. The pool is long and rectangular, surrounded by a wide stone floor and centred in the largest backyard Remus has ever seen. There's grass everywhere else, and the space is well-utilized, filled with flowers, trees, and even a modest-sized fountain.
Remus needs a moment to take it all in. Meanwhile, James, who's emerging from a shed while pushing a barbecue grill, spots Remus and Lily, abandons his activity, and strides over to greet them.
“Hi, gorgeous.” He gives Lily a peck on the lips and passes his tanned, strong arm around her wide hips. Then, he looks at Remus from behind his rimless glasses and speaks with unusual friendliness, “All right, mate? Glad you made it.”
Unimpressed — Where were these good manners all these years? — Remus nods toward the group in the pool, a few meters away. “Lost a bet or something, Potter?”
Lily glares at him but doesn't say anything, and James doesn't seem to mind the gibe. He beams as though he'd be upset if Remus acted in any other way. Bloody wanker …
“I hope you don't mind me inviting this lot over,” James says to Lily, distancing himself enough from her just to hold her hand. “I know you don't like big events, but I thought it could be fun to have a few more people around for a barbecue…”
“No, it's okay. I love barbecues... But I think Alice and Mary are vegetarians?”
“Already took care of it.” He winks at her, then looks between her and Remus. “Make yourselves at home; everyone's already here…” James looks around as if searching for something. “Sirius is here as well, somewhere…”
And as if on cue, Sirius walks through the back door at that moment, holding an impressive number of ice lollies in both hands. “Here it is, you lazy sods—” he starts saying but trails off as he makes eye contact with Remus. He loses his balance, tripping on his own heel, and two ice lollies go flying in the air. One lands directly on the floor, and the other one hits his chin and slides down his shirtless torso. Remus only registers the black blurs of Sirius's tattoos before looking away, flustered.
“Jesus Christ, Sirius!” James exclaims and walks over to him. He throws the wasted ice lollies in a nearby bin and grabs the other ones away from Sirius.
“Fuck off!” Lily laughs. “Can't believe I was unsure about it!”
“What do you mean?”
Lily looks up at Remus with bright eyes and whispers, “Sirius fancies you!”