Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters.
A Little Bit of Rain
Remus walked absentmindedly through the streets of Hogsmeade. Every so often he would bump into a second year or an old witch was levitating her groceries home, but one could hardly blame him. Remus Lupin's mind was anywhere but the busy road in Hogsmeade. Clumsily, he made his way, following the cobblestone road out of the village.
"What am I doing with Lily Evans?" Remus muttered to himself as he paced back and forth on the side of the cobblestone road. "Am I one of those sick blokes that does this sort of thing for the thrill?" He hit himself on the head and his thoughts drifted over the thought of James. Remus imagined James sitting in McGonagall's office doing lines and dreaming of Lily at the same time. Perhaps he would write Lily Evans one thousand times instead of I vow never to disobey the rules of this prestigious school I am attending, or maybe I'm writing these lines as punishment for breaking the rules of Hogwars School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Or whatever ridiculously long sentence McGonagall could come up with. Remus could see McGonagall's face tighten with anger when she saw that James' lines were nothing more than the name of her pupil. Remus almost laughed but instead sighed and kicked at a dandelion in front of him, causing the fragile structure to break apart. With a heavy heart, Remus watched as the tiny wisps of white caught the wind and flew away. The sky was overcast and Remus noticed storm clouds were racing overhead. Perhaps they would get a little rain later.
"Is she worth it?" Remus asked himself and for once he actually attempted to answer the question. "Ye-no. No… wait, yes. No. No. Yes. Maybe." He shook his head in frustration. It was no use, the question was simply impossible. He looked down the road for a sign of Lily's auburn hair and just saw a couple of children racing each other on toy brooms. He took out his wand and twirled it in between his fingers causing gold sparks to shoot out of the end.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he whispered, pointing his wand over at another dandelion that was still yellow and made it zoom around the field. He glanced at the forest and saw that the bright colors of the leaves had dulled with the coming of winter. The absence of the color however, did not take away any of the beauty the forest had. 'It must be enchanted,' Remus thought to himself. 'Things cannot possibly be so beautiful without an enchantment.'
"Hey Remus!" He turned and saw Lily and her bouncing auburn hair appear round the bend. His stomach contracted with nervousness and he thought to himself, 'Or maybe they can…'
"Hey Lily!" he called and his voice cracked. He blushed embarrassedly, but Lily didn't seem to notice as she came bounding up to him.
"I've missed you," she said giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Why? I just saw you twenty minutes ago."
"So?"
"So, you didn't miss me, you were just thinking about me."
"There's no poetry in that." Remus made a face.
"I don't like poetry." Lily made an expression of mock hurt.
"But poetry is wonderful! You horrible person!" She turned and buried her face in her hands and pretended to sob.
"I'm leaving you now!" Remus called over his shoulder as he began to walk away, refusing to look back. He kept walking but soon realized that Lily wasn't running after him. He turned around and saw that Lily was walking back towards Hogsmeade. Remus sprinted after her and tackled her to the ground.
"That wasn't very nice, Mr. Lupin," she said, annoyed. She tried to get up but Remus pulled her back down. "But it's nice to know that I have complete control over you." She smiled at him and he melted on the spot.
"Now that, Miss Evans isn't very nice," Remus replied regaining his composure. He didn't want Lily to know that she really did have complete control over him. He got up and brushed off his robes and offered Lily a hand. But she had already gotten up.
"I don't need your chivalry, thank you very much," she told him as she continued walking towards Hogsmeade leaving Remus to wonder whether or not she was serious.
"Oy, Lily. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a prat." She kept walking on and Remus really began to worry. He jogged to catch up to her and then she stopped, turned around and began laughing at Remus and he just stood confused and waited patiently for Lily to stop.
"I'm sorry, Remus. It's just that, you should know by now that I would never leave you." Remus continued to look confused until Lily wrapped her arms around him. "Is it okay if I told you that I'm not falling anymore? Would it be okay if I told you that I'm already there. I'm already in love with you."
Remus opened his mouth to speak, he wanted to tell her how much she meant to him. He wanted to tell her how he would do anything for her. But somehow the only thing he managed to say was:
"I love you too, Lily."
Remus skipped into the boys' dormitory to get ready for dinner. He had spent the entire afternoon with Lily and he felt as though he were on top of the world. He kept picturing her smile and every time he thought of her, his heart would race and he too would smile. He pulled open his trunk and then noticed James lying on his almost-too-small bed.
"James are you alright?" Remus cautiously approached his friend who was just lying on his bed staring straight up at the ceiling. Remus was worried, normally it was impossible to keep James still for more than three seconds. "James?"
"Bugger off, Moony," James replied harshly. "I don't want to talk tonight. So you'll have to excuse me."
"Would you just tell me what's going on?"
"No."
"What's going on here?" Sirius just entered the dormitory.
"James is being an ass," Remus told him.
"I am not," came the reply from the bed.
"Prongs, what do you think you're doing?" Sirius asked.
"Well I was just trying to get some sleep."
"What happened, mate?" Sirius questioned, simply concerned for his friend.
"Lily," was the reply. There was a moments silence during which Sirius snuck a glance at Remus.
"What happened, James?" Remus asked carefully.
"She's in love, that's what happened. She's in love," James' voice was dead and hollow sounding.
"Says who?" Sirius asked trying hard not to look at Remus who was fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Says her. I tried talking to her and she told me that my attempts to get her to like me were useless. That she was love with someone else. I hope whoever it is deserves her. I hope its someone that'll treat her right."
"Come on, lets go down stairs for some supper," Sirius said as he dragged James out of his four poster bed. "Come on, Moony."
They made their way downstairs and sat down in their usually seats. James was still looking depressed and Sirius was desperately trying to cheer up his best friend. Remus didn't trust himself to speak and let Sirius do all the talking.
"I know just what will cheer you up, Prongs. Let's just wait for Peter…" He turned around and saw Peter Pettigrew make his way over to the table.
"Wormtail, you've actually arrived just in time. I've thought of the perfect plan," Sirius announced. He gave a mischievous wink and looked up at the ceiling. "It's bewitched to look like the sky, you know." The four Marauders looked up at the ceiling to see dark swirls of clouds.
"Wow, Padfoot. Since when have you read Hogwarts: a History?" Remus laughed.
"It's common knowledge, Remus," Sirius replied. "You wouldn't happen to know how to, erm, make the thing on the ceiling real?
"What do you mean, Sirius?"
"Oh, you know, I was thinking that the Slytherins are all slime balls that need a good wash. Don't you agree?" He gave a sly grin. Remus thought about it for a second and then whipped out his wand. He muttered an incantation under his breath and pointed his wand up at the ceiling and without warning, the thunderstorm outside was suddenly upon the Slytherin table.
"Well, I think that was a success," Sirius said happily as he watched the Slytherins yelp in surprise and they scrambled for the other dry house tables.
"Look at Snivellus!" James broke into a smile which turned into laughter as he pointed over at a particularly greasy dark haired boy who had at that moment just slipped on the wet ground and fell. The Marauders doubled up in laughter.
"Potter! Black!" Their laughter instantly stopped to see Professor McGonagall and Professor Blanch the Potions Master appear at their sides.
"You two will come with us," Professor Blanch said in a deadly voice.
"It wasn't them!" Remus said more bravely than he felt. "I did it." The two professors exchanged glances.
"Very well, Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall said reluctantly. "Come with us." Remus got up and followed the two professors. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see both looks of guilt and gratefulness on their faces. But soon they were out of sight, as the two professors marched him to Professor Blanch's office and closed the door.
"Mr. Lupin, I hope you realize the serious nature of your actions," Professor McGonagall said in her most severe voice. "I am taking away one hundred points from Gryffindor. Remus gave her a pained look. "Well, it serves you right Mr. Lupin. I don't know what on earth you were thinking."
"You will also serve detention with me, every Thursday evening you will meet me in my office. Every Thursday until the Christmas holidays. Is that clear?" Professor Blanch's eyes glittered with malice.
"In addition to that," Professor McGonagall added with a sideways glance at Professor Blanch, "you will clean up the mess you have made in the Great Hall without magic. You may go, and report to Professor Dumbledore and apologize. I will meet you in the Great Hall shortly, I must first speak with Professor Blanch."
Remus breathed. He headed out the door. It wouldn't be so bad…
"Oh, and Mr. Lupin? No more Hogsmeade either. That will be all." Professor McGonagall turned away and Remus began walking back to the Great Hall.
What had he gotten himself into?
A/N: No excuse. Absolutely none. I know I promised to update about three months ago, probably more, and I'm so sorry. I just haven't been inspired to write. But now, I'm going to try to finish this story up and hopefully it will all turn out okay. I hope this chapter is okay, let me know if there are any errors. Constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks to all who reviewed and to readers still out there, thanks for being patient with me. -Jezy.