some peace and quiet. -open!-

[Remus Lupin]

For once, Remus wasn't surrounded by his best friends. Sirius was probably trying to set James and Lily up again, with Peter chasing after him like a fan girl. If that was the case, he was sure Lily would tell him all about how all of his friends were worthless gits. Sometimes, he didn't disagree about the git part -- they could be pesty, especially with matters concerning her. Remus had been on the verge of telling Sirius that it was no use, that Lily would never fall for James, but he'd kept it to himself. Attempting to set up the relationship would give Sirius something fun to do for a while and Remus wouldn't take that away from him. He'd just hear more from Lily about what morons they were and have to pretend that he wasn't amused.

Today, Remus was trying to read a few chapters of his Transfiguration book. Maybe it would have some pointers on how to do the next assignment and nothing pleased him more than getting it right the first time. It was a warm day, perfect for sitting under a tree by the lake and concentrating. There was a good chance that no one would bother him; he had a textbook in his hand and he wasn't exactly a social butterfly. Remus wouldn't mind if someone dropped by. The part he minded was the feeling that the other person was staring at his scars (and most times, they were). Sometimes, it got worse than that and the person gathered the courage to ask what had happened to him. He always insisted that he and his father had been hiking and he'd been attacked by a mountain lion but he'd always wish that the person had never asked him. It made him extremely self-conscious and even more awkward than he already was, and that made conversation from that point on short.

But, he wasn't thinking of any of that. His mind was far off, fixated on the wand movement necessary to Vanish a vertebrate; however, it was obvious that the attack was always on his mind. One hand was holding the book, resting it against his knees. The other hand's fingers were against his upper lip, against that line where stubble could no longer grow. For a moment, his mind pulled away from the words on the page and he considered folding the sleeves of his dress shirt up. Just a little, to keep him from being overly warm. No. What if someone sees? I can't take a chance on that. He frowned but turned his attention back to the book. His mind was so far removed from everything around him that if someone had been approaching, he wouldn't have consciously noticed.

[Lily Evans]

Lily's mind was in chaos. Her emotions frazzled, confused and downright annoying. Lily Evan's didn't do confused, she over thought on things yes but confused, conflicted, lost on what she should do....no that wasn't Lily Evans and the red haired Gryffindor didn't like it one little bit. There was no question in her mind as to what had caused this or to be more precise, who had caused this. Ever since that day, that day in the closet, what had occurred it had plagued her entire being everyday since.

James Potter. The guy who had been a royal pain since that first day on the train. The guy she'd sworn she could never like, actually thought she despised, but did she anymore. Since that kiss something inside of her had awakened, but no. No she couldn't feel anything for him, maybe there had been a spark in that kiss in that moment but that was it. Right? Unable to sit in her room any longer and no longer having exams she had to cram for Lily decided to go outside and try and at least attempt to clear her mind and think about anything else but Potter. He'd probably moved on already anyhow.

Sighing softly the red head stepped out on Hogwart's grounds and began walking, no clear destination in mind but finding herself heading to the lake anyway. It was a nice day, a quiet day, everyone winding down from exams, getting ready to go home. Lily herself couldn't wait to see her parents, to enjoy the six weeks holiday, despite knowing how much she'd miss the school whilst she was away, the break would be nice. Spotting a lone figure sat by the lake, Lily slowed her steps, not wanting to bother anyone but as she looked closer at the figure she smiled, immediately realizing who it was.

"Remus...hey..." she greeted happily as she drew closer to the boy. Ignoring the thing with James in the closet that luckily or hopefully no one knew about, Remus was about the only one of the Marauders she liked being around. He was kind, smart, funny and they'd always gotten along as friends. Even though she couldn't understand why he stayed with the others, they seemed to different, "What you doing out here alone...? she asked curiously, glancing around hoping the others weren't around anywhere. "Mind if I sit?" she asked, indicating to a spot beside him.

[Remus Lupin]

A voice startled him and the book slid from his lap onto the ground, its cover closing. It didn't matter whether he knew the material or not -- the assignment was next semester and he had a whole summer before the professor even introduced the concept. He looked up, eyes pale gray in the sunlight filtering through the leaves. It was Lily Evans, very possibly the only girl he could talk to without feeling jittery. She'd always been nice to him (since he was the only Marauder she could stand) and they'd been friends since the beginning of James' wild crush on her. He smiled at her as she approached. "Hi, Lily," he said. It was some miracle that it happened to be her and not some random first year or something, and he was definitely pleased to see her.

Remus raised his eyebrows when she asked where James, Sirius, and Peter were. "Honestly, I thought they were off somewhere torturing you. They're probably at lunch or something. Or in detention. That's pretty likely too." She pointed at a spot next to him and he nodded. "Not at all. You're welcome to sit. Since they're not around at the moment, I have to look busy so people stay away." Lily knew all about his troubles; although he didn't talk much about them, she was smart enough to know without having to ask. After the incident with Snape at the Whomping Willow, he was so full of guilt that he had to tell her about his "furry little secret". It was a mark of their friendship that she treated him just the same as she ever had. Quite possibly, that might have been a reason she disliked Sirius as much as she did. Remus hadn't forgiven him for almost six months after the situation occurred but he realized that he'd have to or he'd risk losing the only friends he had. Other than the red-headed girl next to him.

"Don't tell them this but I'm also glad it was you that came over and not the guys. It's hard to get any peace and quiet with them around since I'm always trying to keep them out of major trouble." He smiled to let her know that he was joking, but he was only half-joking. It really was difficult to keep James and Sirius from doing exactly as they pleased. "So James hasn't been bothering you lately? He's been absent a lot as of late. Now that I mention it, Sirius has been as well..." He trailed into silence, then he returned his gaze to his friend as he leaned against the tree behind him. Remus didn't think that Lily would ever go for James, not with how he acted and how she avoided him like the Black Plague, but he just let James run loose when it came to her. He really had no control over James or Sirius when they had their minds set to something.

[Lily Evans]

Lily winced realizing she'd surprised Remus, and shot him a sheepish smile as he gave her one of his own. Shrugging her shoulders she tucked her dress under her as she sat down beside Remus, "No, no torturing today. Actually they've been pretty quiet all week...not sure if I should be more worried about that or not." she said, a frown appearing on her face. Shaking her head she chuckled and looked at Remus, smiling again. He was a good friend and someone she cared for, especially since his friends were so reckless. More Sirius than Remus. Sure she and Severus were no longer on speaking terms due to the vile name he had called her but what Sirius had done was unforgivable. "Plus Sirius knows better than to bother me, he hasn't been in my good books for a while..." she commented, and she wasn't just referring to what he did to Severus, she was still furious with him over locking her and James in that closet.

Turning her head to Remus, she tilted it slightly and listened to him, a soft smile on her lips. "I honestly do not know how you do it, they drive me crazy...how your with them all the time is beyond me." she laughed softly shaking her head, before turning her gaze onto the lake in front of them. At Remus's question about James not bothering her, she looked down at her hands briefly, ignoring the flutter in her chest before refocusing on the lake. Remus was observant, James hadn't bothered her as of late and funnily enough she missed his annoying ways. Shaking her head, she tucked her hair behind her ears and looked back at Remus and smiled softly. "I can't say he has, he's been pretty absent as of late...but you know...the peace is nice."

Well that was a lie but she couldn't really tell him that she missed James harassing her. "I think maybe he's finally getting the message, you know that I'm not interested in him that way. One can only hope though..." she laughed lightly, shaking her head, clasping her hands in her lap after brushing some imaginary lint off her skirt. "So what's your reason for avoiding them today?" she asked, refocusing her attention back onto Remus and then the book he had been reading. It made her smile, again another huge benefit to them being friends, their love for books, she was determined to get him read a Muggle book at some point, The Little Mermaid was her favorite. "I have a book for you upstairs, you can lend it over the holidays...let me know what you think." she told him.

[Remus Lupin]

He chuckled. "Personally, I would think that their quietness was a problem. That usually means they're up to something. Kind of like right now." He looked over at her with a grin. Lily was a very good friend of his, probably due to the fact that she was a girl and listened a whole lot better than a testosterone-fueled guy. Well, Peter wasn't exactly testerone-fueled -- he was like Remus with girls -- but the other two were wild about females. Lily mentioned that she still wasn't getting along with Sirius and he nodded his head. "I can completely understand why. Sirius is one of my best mates but he can sometimes go too far with things." For some odd reason, Sirius and James had not let Remus in on what had happened with that little broom cupboard, but he probably wouldn't have cared anyway. He just had that knack for saying things that were far too close to a truth he couldn't possibly know yet, not to mention that he spoke from past experience.

At his question, her gaze dropped to her hands but Remus didn't notice. Perhaps if he had, he would have gotten the gist of what had happened immediately. Instead, he listened to her speak and couldn't help but grin. James really was after her constantly, and it was amusing to hear her speak of it. Lily spoke airly of James, in a way that Remus noticed but didn't realize the meaning. "You would think that by now, James would have given up on you, but he hasn't. You don't seem at all interested in him but he just won't stop. Ever think of giving him a try?" Remus joked, elbowing her in the arm in jest. "He's dashing, once you get past the immaturity of it all and his three best mates glued to his side." He didn't feel bad saying these things, hell, sometimes he said them directly to James (who never took offense).

"My reason for avoiding them today? I was going to start reading for next year's Transfiguration class, just for fun, because I'm a loser." He stopped. This was almost a lie. "I think maybe I just needed some time alone. This semester has been difficult and it's nearing that time... just an all-around bad time for mischief." He returned his gaze to her, suddenly aware of the dark circles around his eyes and the deep scarring on his face. Remus didn't turn away; Lily had already accepted him for who he was and he could feel completely comfortable with his affliction around her.

Lily mentioned a book that she had for him and the corners of his mouth turned up. "The Little Mermaid?" he laughed. "I'm always delighted to read a book you recommend. The ones I've read so far are rather good."