For You

Secret's Seen

Marla Kanello came from an old wizarding family, and was the youngest of three sisters, all of whom married into good, respectable families of old gold and already bearing suitable heirs to their taken names.

Isabella, twenty-two, was fair, with large blue eyes and creamy skin. Despicably perfect, kind and married to none other than Marcus Nimbus, the owner of Nimbus Broomsticks. She had four small, blond and creamy-skinned sons, and eight house elves.

Beatrice, twenty, was equally fair and thin, and had married a young man of a large inheritance. She had a small daughter and a smaller son, and spent her time shopping and dressing them like dolls.

Athene, only ten months younger than Beatrice, had married young and for love. Fortunately for her, the man she loved enough to marry was the wizarding ambassador for Brazil, a mere five years older than her and the youngest ambassador Brazil had ever seen. She had just given birth to their first, a son named Juan after his grandfather.

All were stunningly charming and refined, each beautiful and elegant without even trying it seemed. It drove Marla insane. Athene's recent cause for celebration had sent her into a positive tailspin, with her parents soon following.

They had all insisted that each of their daughters complete an extensive education at Hogwarts, and had then tossed them ruthlessly, one by one, into society, barely giving them enough time to button their dress robes. Ball after ball was held, dinners, expensive shopping trips and tickets to Quidditch games offered almost as bribes to every prospective suitor that passed by.

The urgency to marry the most available, wealthy and pure-blooded wizard in the shortest amount of time was due to the competition and lack of pure-blooded families, especially in England. Accordingly, Marla's parents hadn't had much to argue about with Athene's exotic taste in marriage, even though they'd have preferred something a little more close to home.

And now it was Marla's turn to prepare for society. She was already watching her posture and mannerisms, as well as keeping an eye out for prospective wizards, and she still had a year of Hogwarts to go. She wished to please her parents as much as possible, and while she loved each of her sisters dearly, felt that it was her duty as the youngest to outdo them all in both wealth and beauty when finding a husband.

She'd tried Rosier, but that had fallen flat when he'd revealed his engagement to a girl from Beauxbatons. She'd been furiously disappointed, of course, but Marla wasn't one to give up.

Which led her to Sirius Black.

Rich, pure-blooded, and in possession of the certain individual crass personality that Marla was forced to suppress herself, she was convinced Sirius was the ideal man for her.

However, he didn't seem to agree. He didn't exactly disagree, as she hadn't approached the subject yet, but he hadn't made a single inclination that he might be considering her as an ideal either. Surely, Marla thought to herself, he was feeling the pressure from home as well?

Marla had always regarded herself as a cheap remake of her sisters. Blond with blue eyes, but with the apparent collaboration of all her sisters' worst features in one, Marla had long-since depended on her wit and mind to get ahead in school. It was why she and Lily were such good friends. Marla, with the reputable family name and the wealth, was far more likely to be sought after by boys than her Muggle-born friend. To be friends with Lily was to assure that competition was never to get in the way.

At least, that had been the idea in First Year. And they had gotten along famously, Marla even beginning to adore her best friend.

And then James Potter noticed the redhead. Luckily, his best friend happened to be the man Marla fully intended to marry, so it was of little concern to her. In fact, it was downright promising. But then years went by and Lily refused point blank to indulge Potter. Marla hadn't liked him much either due to the lack of propriety shown by his blood-traitor family members, but had always secretly hoped she'd change her mind.

She never did, and now that it was sixth year, Marla was beginning to feel desperate. Sirius was talking to her, trying to get her to help Potter with his girl problems, and she felt that if only she could come through for James, Sirius would feel obliged to thank her. Perhaps even like her?

So that was why, when Marla had followed Lily to the Shrieking Shack and spied her shagging Severus Snape, who was so ridden with scandal in his family he could barely claim himself pure-blooded, she decided that her friendship with Lily was dangerously close to becoming a problem.

"Dammit," Remus growled, digging through his trunk, things flying up behind him.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked, poking his head out from behind his bed curtains and getting hit in the head by a book. "Ouch!"

"I can't find my book- oh, sorry Peter- the one Sirius gave me for Christmas."

Sirius grinned from his place on the floor, where he was building an exploding snap card house. "The calendar with the witches for each month?"

"No," Remus corrected with a disgusted look, "you got that for yourself for Christmas. I'm talking about the one documenting Werewolf transformation improvements over the years. It was one of your better purchases."

"Well, I'm glad you liked it, seeing as it was my gift," James said bitingly from his bed. "Do you remember where you had it last?"

"No, I-" Remus suddenly realized. "I had it with me last full moon. I remember- I brought it with me to read while I waited to change. It was the night you all had detention remember, and you couldn't make it?"

"Oh right!" Sirius laughed. "From when we hexed everything on Charlene Sherwin to stand on end!"

"Like her hair," Peter recalled.

"And her skirt," Sirius nodded dreamily.

"Charming," Remus said scathingly, sitting on his trunk. "Well, I suppose I'll go get it. I need it for Defence... there was a good quote I wanted to use for an essay. I suppose I'll go later, after dark so no one sees me."

Lily walked under cover of darkness to the Shrieking Shack feeling strangely content. She'd made up with Marla, and was no longer lying to her, even though she still had Gretchen to deal with. She had received a letter that morning from Severus asking to meet him at 12:00, and was about to go meet Severus for a long-awaited evening together.

Due to his detentions, they hadn't been able to see each other privately for nearly a week, which was a long time for them, considering what they were used to.

However, this was a Wednesday night, and Severus had finished catching up on the homework he'd fallen behind on due to the hours spent all weekend cleaning bedpans in the Hospital wing, and had sent an urgent letter to Lily that morning with the full intention of actually seeing and speaking to her for the first time in at least five days.

Lily had opened it while in her room preparing for Charms and had, of course, as per her new habit, let Marla know of her plans for the evening.

"What time should I expect to be woken up?" Marla joked.

"He said midnight, so it's not that bad. I'll try to be quiet coming in."

Marla snorted, and Lily grinned guiltily. "Thanks for being so good about this."

"I just wish I could understand it," Marla said.

Lily sighed. "And believe me, if I had clear, notable reasons for why this is happening I'd share them with you. It's just... there's no superficiality about it. It's all based on emotion. There's nothing quite like it... Oh, I wish I could explain."

Lily smiled to herself, remembering the conversation. She reached for the handle of the door at the end of the tunnel and was startled when it opened before she had even touched it. Severus was on the other side, a look of reserved excitement (an expression exclusive to Severus) on his face as he pulled her inside the house.

"I missed you," he said into her hair as Lily jumped up with her arms around his neck.

Lily smiled into his robes, which smelled so him.

Remus trudged across the grounds, picking up a stick and jabbing at the Whomping Willow before stepping down into its roots. He was thinking leisurely, about nothing in particular. He'd left the book in the far cabinet in the living room, locking it away in a drawer so he wouldn't chew it up once he'd transformed. All he had to do was go inside, unlock the drawer with the key on the mantle and retrieve the book, then he could continue with his essay.

Severus had improved noticeably from the first time when it came to undoing clasps and buttons. His fingers flew down the front of Lily's blouse while she unhooked his trousers. Clothes discarded, they knelt in their familiar place in front of the fire and before Severus could even touch her, Lily leaned back onto the maroon blanket and pulled him down with her.

Severus braced himself over her and put a hand to her face.

"Merlin," he breathed, boring into her with his eyes.

Lily grinned. "It was only a week."

"Not even," Severus countered, "but still. Somehow I forgot-"

Lily held up a hand. "Save me the corny compliments about my eyes. I know it's cliché, but my lips are actually burning. So would you please kiss me? Now?"

Remus walked briskly down the tunnel, careful not to hit his head on the ceiling, and saw the door to the Shrieking Shack ahead. Yawning slightly, he considered briefly summoning his essay from the dormitory and staying in the silent house to finish it. At least there would be little distraction, he reasoned.

Lily reached a trembling hand to Severus' shoulder and travelled up to the back of his head, entangling her fingers in his hair and applying pressure almost unconsciously. She had no handle on her thoughts at the present moment. All she knew was how she felt, and luckily, that consumed her enough to substitute any lost thoughts. His hands, his fingers, his toes, his breath, it all washed over her like a warm bath. The room was silent save for the rhythmic hush of hurried breathing. Severus' hands grasped her hips, and Lily moved her own from his shoulders to grip the blanket underneath them.

Remus climbed the staircase to the old wooden door and turned the knob.

He stepped inside, and looked around. The living room was to his right, and he turned toward it, but was then stopped. Something seemed slightly amiss, as if the house wasn't empty. His mind fled wildly to ghosts for a moment, but rejected it from his mind almost as quickly, as he knew well that the house being haunted was merely a rumour started by Dumbledore on his own behalf.

Suddenly he heard noises that he couldn't quite place, and if they weren't that of ghosts, what could they be?

"Hullo?" He called loudly, walking quickly to the other room and opened the door, attempting to prepare himself for whatever was waiting for him.

Unfortunately, that would have been impossible, even if he had recognized the voices coming from behind the closed door.

Lily, immediately upon hearing Remus' shout, shoved Severus off her and grabbed for the blanket, leaving him to save himself. She had no idea who was about to come upon them, but knew that there was no way they were escaping this time round.

"Hullo, is anyone-" Remus pushed open the door to the living room.

His jaw dropped.

Lily sat on the floor, wrapped messily in nothing but a blanket; the very blanket Remus himself had often noticed discarded on the floor during his transformations, while Severus Snape merely remained frozen on his stomach, naked and looking terrified. Lily's hair was a wild fire on top of her head, her bright green eyes wide with shock.

Remus swallowed as though he thought he might vomit.

"Oh, Merlin, oh god, I- I'm sorry, I didn't know you were- uh, sorry, I'm really sorry," Remus stammered, backing out of the room as fast as he could.

"Oh, god- no, wait!" Lily wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and took off after him. She liked Remus Lupin well enough to be incredibly embarrassed at that moment, but it was the fact that he was friends with Potter that really panicked her.

She threw the tunnel door open, but Remus was running quickly down the tunnel, too quickly for her to catch him.

"Lupin, wait!" she yelled after him, then leaned heavily on the doorframe, trying to process what had just happened.

Shutting the door, Lily leaned with her back against it for a moment, took a deep breath, then returned to the living room where Severus was pulling his trousers back on, Lily sat on the sofa, staring blankly.

"How did he know we were here?" Severus asked, jerkily tying his shoes. He had the air of a person trying very hard to remain calm, but was really on the verge of hysteria.

"I don't know," Lily said, perplexed. My only guess is that he saw me and followed. But then... how would that explain his timing? I really don't-" Lily stopped. It had suddenly dawned upon her. There was only one person besides herself and Severus that had known about their meeting.

"Marla," she whispered, eyes wide with disbelief. "Marla must have told him- but no, she couldn't have; she wouldn't do something like that- oh, I don't know..."

"You're joking," Severus shook his head, pulling his cloak on angrily. "Unbelievable. The fact that you told her in the first place-"

"Well, she asked, and I'd promised not to lie to her anymore," Lily reasoned.

"Well I hope your honesty was worth it," Severus snapped.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea she'd tell! If it helps, I don't think Remus will tell anyone."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because he likes me, and even he's not enough of an idiot to do something that would piss me off."

Severus made a disgusted sound. "How charming, a regular gentleman. Well, you'd better hope your Lupin is as honest as you think he is."

"Ok honestly," Lily stood up, clutching the blanket around her shoulders. "Remus walked in on us having sex. Don't take it out on me; I'm just as upset about it as you."

"Except you won't get hexed for it," Severus snapped, snatching up her clothes and handing them to her.

"What makes you say that? I live with him; I'll be the one getting all the awkward looks!"

"At least his best friend isn't your worst enemy! He'll tell Potter, and Potter hates me. And now that I've been caught with the one girl he wants and can't have, he'll most likely act on that hate."

Lily grabbed her clothes away from him and started dressing. "Oh my god, you're right! It's simply the worst thing that's ever happened to you! So horribly tragic! You could die, or worse, your reputation could be ruined forever! What a shame- you were so popular." Lily paused for a moment, then continued. "You know, he could have you whacked."

Severus stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"Muggle expression. The point is, this is going to be really bad for both of us, but apart from killing Marla, there's not a whole lot we can do about it."

Severus thought a moment. "We could kill them both. Make it look like a murder suicide."

Lily frowned. "You're quite sick when you're humiliated, did you know that?"

Severus shrugged, but still looked mortified. Lily sighed and stepped toward him, sliding her arms beneath his robes and around his waist.

"Look, I'll talk to him. I'll explain that I don't want him telling anyone. It's the best we can do."

Severus rolled his eyes, but put an obliging arm around her as well, resting his chin in her messy hair. "Killing him would be so much better. It would actually take care of so many other problems. Promise me you'll at least think about it?"

Lily looked up him, buttoning her blouse with one hand.

"Ok. I'll think about it."

"Really?"

"No!" Lily shoved away from him, and grabbed her bag off the sofa.

"Severus, you know I do like meeting with you, but if Remus Lupin dies in the next few days, I'm going to assume it's your fault and you won't see me for a month."

Severus sighed, disappointed. "Well, at least it'll only be for a month."

"I'm really glad you're taking this so well," Lily ignored him, smoothing the front of his shirt affectionately.

Severus grabbed up her hand and gripped it tightly, causing Lily to instinctively pull away, but he merely yanked her back and tilted her head back to look at him. The entire action was done with a gruff affection, and Lily smiled despite the humiliation of what had just happened. He glared back down at her.

"I was only seeing the upside. Now that I can't kill Lupin, there's no silver lining."

Lily shrugged and pushed away again, still grinning. "Sorry."

Remus slowed down by the lake to catch his breath. Bending low, leaning on his knees, he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Lily, wrapped in a blanket, hair messy, glowing in the firelight. Face flushed, lips swollen, eyes especially green.

Snape, naked on the floor.

Remus shuddered terribly and bent lower to splash some freezing water on his face.

"Ridiculous," he muttered to himself. "I did not just see that- I must be on drugs or something. Yes, that's it."

"Moony?" James' sudden voice startled him. Remus turned to see his friend, his face dripping.

"What's happened?" James asked quietly.

Remus sought for the words to describe what had just happened, and found that James was the last person he wanted to talk about this to.

"Nothing. I couldn't find the book. I think it must be somewhere else."

"You look like you've been running," James said, frowning.

"Why are you out here?" Remus diverted, looking round for Sirius and Peter.

"I needed to walk," James shrugged. "I'm trying to figure out what to do with this whole Evans friendship fiasco. She has to have heard about Snape hexing me by now, but she hasn't even come up to talk to me. Sirius says it's because she was hoping I wouldn't even try to talk to Snape in the first place, and doesn't know how to get rid of me now. What do you think?"

Remus pieced together a half-baked opinion on James' ridiculously tragic situation and led him toward the castle, battling his conscience and the sympathy for his friend at the same time

Lily burst into the girls' dormitory at 12:45, just as Marla thought she might. What she didn't count on, however, was to be pulled from her own bed by the surprisingly strong red head and dragged into the common room.

Lily let her go once they were outside their door, and stood over her, glaring.

"Why?" she demanded, her green eyes flashing furiously. "Why, Marla?"

"What's wrong?" Marla feigned a yawn, seeming half asleep.

"Stop it. Just tell me why you did it so I can go on with never speaking to you again."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lily."

"Remus Lupin walked in on me and-" she lowered her voice- "you know, precisely at the right moment. Now, the way I see it, he was either on a midnight stroll and decided to discover a hidden tunnel inside the Whomping Willow, or he got word of something that only three people know about. You know who those three people are, and two of them wouldn't tell a soul."

"But you did tell a soul," Marla responded, getting to her feet. "You told me. Why did you do that?"

"Because I thought I could trust you!" Lily blurted angrily. "I was sure you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Well there you go," Marla shrugged. "You can Veritaserum me all you want Lil. I didn't tell anyone. Now, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't put the blame on me so easily. I find it offensive. Why don't you just go ask Remus Lupin what he was doing in there before you decide to drag me out of bed?"

Lily stared at her feet.

"I'm sorry Marla, but you know why-"

"Oh it was reasonably justifiable," Marla said airily, "but you might've done a bit of background questions first."

"Well if you didn't tell him," Lily wondered aloud, "I wonder how he found out. I suppose he may have followed me, but his timing was so strange..."

"Maybe more people than the three of us know about you two," Marla suggested testily.

"I hope not," Lily replied, horrified.

"What's Snape's take on all this?" Marla questioned, steering her friend back into the dormitory.

"I'm not sure," Lily shrugged. "He was upset, understandably, but I'm not sure... he seemed quiet as well, now that I think about it. Almost as if he knew something else. I should ask him or it'll bug me all night."

"How about you wait for the morning," Marla sighed, impatiently closing the door behind them. "I'm sure he's already in bed."

Lily sighed, tired and stressed by what was supposed to have been an excellent night.

"It's not fair," she yawned as she climbed into bed, still thinking about how long she'd had to wait to see Severus, and how such a bad thing had come of it.

"You have no idea," Marla replied, though Lily was already asleep.