A Fine Line

"Lily!" Alice sang, dropping her bag on the table Lily was sitting behind.

Lily looked up from her book and smiled. "Good morning to you, too." Professor Binns floated in and began class. "How did you sleep last night?" she asked, beginning her notes on the fifteenth-or-so Goblin Revolution.

Alice pushed her bag off her desk and folded her arms. "Brilliantly, if I do say so myself." She sighed and giggled. "I'm so giddy!" She leaned her head on Lily's arm and watched as Lily neatly wrote out her notes. "You're crazy for taking notes in this class," Alice whispered, sitting up and looking around the room. "Hey, where's James?"

Lily looked up. "He's not here? I saw him this morning; he said he'd be here." She looked around as well. "Sirius, Remus and Peter aren't here either. I really hope they aren't planning something awful."

Lily tapped her quill on her parchment. "What, you're not taking notes now?" Alice teased, drawing stick figures in the margins of Lily's notes and writing her name.

Lily was staring intently at the door. "I cannot believe James is skipping."

Alice shrugged, giving her stick figure a wild, curly hairdo. "I'm sure he has a good reason. Was he feeling sick this morning?"

"He looked tired, but he didn't say anything about being sick," Lily replied, her eyes not leaving the door. "Besides, he usually sleeps during this class. He could've at least showed up and slept."

Alice laughed. "You aren't one to advocate sleeping in class."

Lily didn't answer; she just kept staring at the door. Alice tried to direct her attention to Binns, but his incessant droning was just too much for her. Her eyelids were getting heavy, so she folded her arms on the desk and laid her head down.

She wasn't sleeping; she was just resting her eyes. Actually, Binns voice wasn't as soothing as she first thought. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. She let out a frustrated sigh and folded one of her legs underneath her. "These chairs are so damn uncomfortable," she mumbled, mostly to herself, but she hoped maybe Lily would hear and initiate another conversation. No such luck.

Class dragged on, and by the end Alice found herself extremely annoyed by Binns' voice. Good thing this is the last year of him.

Lily bolted out of the room at the end, and Alice chose not to rush after her. She really hoped James had a life-threatening, non-communicable illness, because if he didn't, his future children were in serious danger.

Alice walked slowly down the corridor to her next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Today was Frank's last day, and Alice had mixed emotions. On one hand, now she got to see him in a slightly less frowned upon and creepy way, but at the same time, she couldn't see him every day anymore.

"Ahoy, McCoy! Wait up!"

Alice spun around. "Sirius! Where have you been?"

He caught up with her while he was in the middle of pulling his collar out from inside his robes. He was having difficulties, so Alice lent him a hand. She pulled his collar out, smoothed the front, and straightened his tie. "I err--"

"Is that a twig in your hair?"

He reached up and ruffled his hair a bit. Sure enough, he pulled out a twig with a few dead leaves still attached. "I uh, went to a wal-- jog, this morning. Yes, a nice, brisk jog."

Alice was skeptical, but she quickly dismissed it. "Whatever. We're going to be late."

They walked to class, and Alice noticed he seemed nervous. "How was History of Magic?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair.

He chuckled. "Yeah, Lily cornered us in our dorm. She did seem a bit upset."

"Was she shouting?"

He nodded. "Does she ever not shout?"

They made it to the room, and instead of opting for a seat next to Peter, he followed Alice. Peter moved to sit behind them, and Sirius leaned back in his seat to talk to Peter. They started talking in whispers, but Alice wasn't really paying attention. She pulled out her notes and waited for Frank to begin class.

He was sitting behind his desk, reading his paper the way he always did. He lowered it slightly and looked over at her. She smiled and bit her lip, positive she was glowing red. He raised his eyebrows and smiled, his paper slowing rising back up. Alice put her head down on her desk to hide her smile.

Five minutes later, Frank started class. "Mr. Black, please sit up straight." Sirius' chair legs hit the stone floor with a thud. "Thank you. Now, everyone turn to page seven hundred and seventeen and start reading."

---

"Lily, please don't shout--"

"James, as Head Boy, you cannot just skip classes whenever you damn well please!" Lily shouted, not caring about why he didn't want her to shout.

Remus groaned from his bed. "If she's going to scream, please put a Silencing Charm up." He rolled on his side and put a pillow over his head. James sighed and muttered a quick spell over Remus' bed and pulled the curtains.

"James, you are setting a bad example! And Remus!" Lily's voice rose, like she was trying to be heard over the Silencing Spell. "You should be in class as well; after all, you are a Prefect!"

James sat on the side of his bed. "He's got an excuse, Lils. Besides-" he looked up at her, "-aren't you supposed to be in class now?"

Lily whipped around. "Don't you dare turn this on me," she hissed, marching over to him. She stood right in front of him and put her hands on her hips. "Where were you, James?"

He put his face in his hands. "Lily, please don't do this. Please."

Lily breathed in deeply. "James, you can't skip a class and not tell me why." She tipped his chin up to meet her eyes. "What were you doing?" She searched his face for any sort of clue.

James closed his eyes and fell back on the bed. "We were with Remus," he whispered, dragging his hands over his face.

"What?" Lily asked, sitting next to him.

"We were with Remus."

Lily stared at him, confused. "All night long?"

He tried to stifle a yawn. "All night long."

"What were you doing, playing Exploding Snap the whole time?"

James chuckled. "Not exactly."

Lily hit him in the side. "Then what were you doing? What's so important that you have to hide it from me?"

James sat up, realizing her issue wasn't that he was skipping class. He sighed an leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He ruffled his hair before looking over at her. "Do you remember what the weather was like last night?"

Lily's eyebrows rose in surprise. What difference would the weather make? "It was clear last night," she began slowly, trying to remember what she'd seen in the window. "Stars were out, there was a full moon--"

James raised his hand to stop her. Lily racked her brain, trying to think of what a full moon would have to do with anything. James grinned and looked down. "You're not too quick on the uptake..."

Lily shot up. "He's a werewolf!" she whispered, clapping her hands over her mouth once the words left her mouth. "Does Dumbledore know?"

James looked up at her. "How do you think we've kept it a secret for so long? Dumbledore made sure he had someplace to go."

"But how did you stay with him? Werewolves are so dangerous; you could've gotten killed!"

James ruffled his hair and stood up. He walked over to the window and looked out. "Remus flipped when we found out. He was scared we wouldn't want to be friends with him if we knew. Sirius came up with a few brilliant ideas, but the one that really stuck was the one where we could learn to become Animagi and keep him company. We spent three years trying to figure it out."

Lily was shocked. "You're kidding, right? James, that's illegal."

He grinned and looked down. "I know, amazing, right? The three of us are probably the youngest illegal Animagi ever."

"That's--" Lily sat back on his bed, completely overwhelmed. She'd known Remus for seven years and never suspected a thing. Now, when she looked back on everything, she could remember some pretty suspicious things, like several absences once a month from classes, not seeing him at dinner when he missed those classes and his abnormally hairy arms. "I don't even know what that is," she finished. "I can't believe it." She paused and looked over at him. "Who else knows?"

James walked back towards her. "Well, his mum and dad, Sirius, Peter and I, and you, oh, and Snape," he added distastefully. "Snape tried to oust him once."

"How did he find out?"

James shrugged. "He figured it out, back in fifth year. Sirius egged him on, and Snape went to go find out."

Lily was shocked. "What happened?" she asked. "You really didn't let him go, did you?"

"I got to him before Remus did," James admitted. "He hasn't let Remus forget that he knows." He sat next to Lily and cautiously took her hand. "Look, you can't tell anyone about this; it would kill Remus. Hell, he's probably going to kill me for telling you."

"Oh, I won't," she said quickly, glancing back at Remus' bed. "So is he--" she tried to think of the right word to use "--normal now?"

James nodded. "Perfectly normal. Same as he always was."

"What do you do when you're out there with him when he's... like that?"

James leaned against the headboard, pulling her towards him. As she went, she slipped off her shoes. "Well, we transform and go to the Whomping Willow. Then we head down the path to the Shrieking Shack and let Moony out and we go cavorting with all the wildlife in the Forest. Let me tell you, they flock around us, well, at least until Remus decides he wants to eat one..." James smiled at her. "It's not really as fun as I make it sound."

"What's your Animagus?" Lily asked. She scooted to the edge of the bed and slipped her shoes on.

James folded his arms behind his head and grinned. "A stag."

Lily looked back over her shoulder at him. "I can't believe you guys managed that so young. That's about as high up as magic gets."

James winked at her. "I'm not top in Transfiguration because I'm stupid."

Lily rolled her eyes and stood up. "Let's get to class."

---

"Hey, McCoy, the food isn't going anywhere."

Alice dropped her fork and glared at Sirius. "Lily didn't let me eat breakfast. Besides," she continued, motioning to the gravy coated turkey on her plate, "it's my favorite." She ginned at her food and continued to eat. "God bless the house elves, for they make me such delicious gravy."

Peter took another helping. "I agree with Alice. This stuff is awesome."

Sirius wasn't feeling so hungry anymore. He moved his foot around with his fork for a bit before pushing his plate away. "Where's James and Lily?" he asked suddenly, glancing around the Great Hall. "James said he'd be in Defense."

"Lily probably killed him and stuffed him in her trunk," Peter said after swallowing his bite. "I'm surprised she didn't hex us all into oblivion when she stormed in."

Alice nodded. "Wouldn't surprise me."

"Me either, but you'd think they'd be here by now. The last thing we need is a bunch of little Potters running around." The words had barely left his mouth when James and Lily came through the door. They waded through the crowd and came to the table, squeezing themselves between Alice and Sirius. "Nice to see you're still alive, Prongs," Sirius remarked, clapping James on the back.

James chuckled, snagging a piece of turkey off Sirius' plate. "There for awhile, I didn't think I'd make it."

"Way to skip class," Alice whispered to Lily, reaching over to get a roll. "I thought that was an unforgivable offense in your eyes." Lily shrugged, staying quiet. "What's on your mind?" Alice asked, buttering her roll. "Something I should know about?"

Lily gave her a halfhearted smile. "Nothing."

Alice offered Lily her roll. "Lunch is almost over."

Lily shook her head. "I'm really not that hungry. Besides, we should be getting to class." She rose and kissed James on the cheek. "See you guys later," she announced, taking her bag and turning around.

Alice turned to James. "What's wrong with Lily?" she asked, taking a bite of her roll. "Is she still upset about you skipping?"

James scratched the back of his neck and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, something like that."

Alice was a little put out. "Something's wrong and I don't appreciate being left in the dark. What's going on?" James, Sirius and Peter exchanged a glance. Alice slammed her hand down on the table. "Whatever. I don't care. But next time you need help with Lily, don't come running to me."

Alice stood and hurried out, suddenly infuriated. What the hell was that about? She marched down the hallway, towards Gryffindor tower. She didn't care if she had to beat it out of Lily; she was going to find out one way or another.

---

If there was one thing Lily truly loved about being Head Girl, it was the unrestricted access to the Restricted Section of the library. Sure, when she was younger she had came up with some pretty clever ways of getting in, but now all she had to do was go to Madame Pince and tell her she wanted in. Madame Pince allowed her to pass, and Lily could delve into whatever she pleased.

Currently, she was in the Potions section. They'd learned a lot about werewolves in third year, including a potion that supposedly made the transformation less dangerous. Lily carefully lifted a very thick book from the middle shelf and blew the dust off of it. Werewolves: A Complete Resource, it announced proudly in big, cursive, red letters.

She cracked it open, carefully making sure it wouldn't bite or scream. It didn't, so she opened it all the way, putting her foot up on the lower shelf and setting the book across her thigh. Her eyes scanned the table of contents until she found exactly what she wanted.

She laid the book on the floor and pulled out a sheet of parchment. She copied the directions exactly, and smiled. She folded the parchment, stuck it in her pocket and replaced the book. She brushed herself off and hurried out, mentally running through what she'd have to ask Professor Slughorn for. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and she knew he'd give her whatever she asked for.

Someone bumped into her. "Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed, whirling around to see who'd just stormed past.

"Watch where you're going, Mudblood," Snape hissed, turning on his heel and facing her. "Next time you might not run into someone so forgiving."

Lily set her lips in a tight line. "I said I was sorry," she snapped. She happened to see a white spot out of the corner of her eye, and she realized it was her parchment.

As she reached down to grab it, Snape snatched it. He unfolded it and smirked. "So you know about Lupin, too. I just can't believe you feel sorry for the beast." He tossed the parchment at her feet. "Good luck explaining to Slughorn why you need it."

She'd bent to pick it up as he left. She always felt sorry for Snape when James and Sirius tormented him, and while she still didn't believe he deserved all of it, their reasoning was becoming clearer.

She hurried to the dungeons, passing several groups of Slytherins, receiving several stares and whispers. She ignored it and pressed on, finally reaching Slughorn's classroom. "Professor Slughorn!" she chimed brightly, clutching the paper tightly in her hand. "I was wondering if I could use the caldron in the back."

He smiled. "Of course, Miss Evans! You help yourself to whatever you want."

Almost two hours later, Lily was at her wit's end. Here she was, amidst all the potion-making ingredients available to wizard, and the mix was not turning that vile shade of green. She'd followed the directions meticulously, making sure all the ingredient boiled to their proper temperatures and smoked appropriately.

She hung her head and studied the paper on her lap. The book warned the potion was extremely difficult, but Lily was top in Potions. She figured it would be hard, but not impossible.

Suddenly, a bubble emerged from cauldron and popped, splattering the room with green spots. Lily exhaled, blowing her hair out of her face. Great, how was she going to get this green off the ceiling.

She sat up and peered into the cauldron. Sure enough, the bubbling contents were a vile shade of green. Lily grinned. "Now all I have to do is wait for it to cool," she said aloud, taking her wand and attempting to straighten up a bit. "Brilliant."

---

Alice tossed her bag next to one of the fluffy chairs in the corner and collapsed into it. Lily had skipped almost all her classes that day, and Alice was seriously worried something was wrong.

And she was pissed as hell no one would tell her what was going on.

She folded her legs underneath her and curled up in the chair. She just wanted to drown herself in chocolate and never speak to anyone ever again. She loosened her tie and rolled down her socks, absentmindedly running her fingers over the lines her socks made in her leg.

"Remus!"

Lily's voice carried across the common room. She ran over to him and nearly tackled him in a hug. Alice's eyebrows rose. Remus hadn't been in a single class all day; he was probably sick as a dog. So why was Lily all over him?

Alice's curiosity peaked when she saw Lily hand him a small vile and whisper something in his ear. His tired eyes lit up. "Really?" he exclaimed, nervously looking around when he realized how loud he'd said that. He said something else to her and she hugged him again. He left, and Alice stood up.

She was going to make a dash up to her room to dive into her secret reserve of Belgian chocolate, but before she reached the stairs, she heard her name.

She turned around and Lily bounded up behind her, beaming. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked, her face flushed pink with delight. "Oh, who am I kidding? You're my best friend." Alice relaxed a bit as Lily continued. "You will never believe what I just did."