Pesky Little Words

Remus Lupin had a problem.

And it wasn’t that his friends were complete and utter morons, or that he changed into a wolf every full moon (though that was, indeed, a problem). It wasn’t that he hadn’t been doing too well in Potions or that he had a slight partiality for chocolate, and it wasn’t that he hadn’t heard from his parents since he’d left their house last Christmas.

His problem, rather, was one of the heart. You see, his heart had the rather fickle problem of beating too fast when a certain somebody walked by, and a habit of aching when they weren’t around. And as if it wasn’t enough trouble to hide everything that he had to from those around him, he had to deal with the fact that he could not – would not, fall in love with the person that he was currently enamoured with.

Because he couldn’t. Love, that is. Love was an undeniably selfish emotion and though Remus was admittedly a rather selfish person, this was one emotion that he refused to surrender to.

And so he didn’t love her. Didn’t because he couldn’t, because he didn’t want to, because he really, really shouldn’t. Didn’t because he wasn’t supposed to think about her, and though this was a relatively easy task for him a lot of the time, seeing her face made it particularly hard.

Yes, Remus Lupin had a problem. In fact, he had many, and sitting on the stiff bed in the middle of the Hospital Wing he began to realise just how many he happened to have. Because his problem wasn’t just fancying someone, or heaven forbid, falling for them, it was feeling that way for someone that was clearly in love with somebody else.

Oh yes, it was a rather turgid problem indeed.



Lily Evans had a problem.

Severus Snape, her old best friend, had been following her around everywhere, asking to speak to her in private and giving her those looks with his big, dark eyes that made her feel helplessly guilty for just walking on by. Because really, the last thing she wanted was to speak to him. Heavens, she’d rather go on a date with James Potter than deal with a conversation with Severus.
Okay, she thought to herself, maybe that was a bit of an over exaggeration. But regardless, she did not want to speak to him or even hear what he had to say, because every time she looked into those black eyes of his she felt the same hurt and the same betrayal and she couldn’t stand to be around him.

But Lily was, and always had been, quite weak when it came to saying no. She’d said it countless times before, but each time it got harder and harder and she felt so guilty that she could barely concentrate on her homework. And so when Severus asked her – for what must’ve been the twentieth time, to meet up with him and have a talk, she found herself saying yes. Not because she wanted to, because she really, really didn’t, but because he was so desperate that she felt the need to give him a chance.

“Just a talk,” she’d told him, watching the way he brightened after she said those words. “It doesn’t change anything, and we’re certainly not friends again.”

And that was how she found herself, albeit reluctantly, inside the Room of Requirement at 6pm the following day. She had discovered the room when she was in third year after the Welcoming Ceremony, when she was on her way back to the Gryffindor Common Room and was ambushed by a cackling Peeves, who seemed to think that throwing cupcakes at trembling first years was a good way to start the new term. She had managed to sneak through the first door she’d come across, mindful of the new robes that she’d just managed to afford from Diagon Alley a week or so earlier.

That was back when Severus was her best friend, of course. She had brought him back there the next day, excited because it was a place that they could talk to each other without receiving calculating looks or whispers behind poorly-placed fingers. For years it had been their spot, the place they went to do their homework or to simply talk and talk for hours without being disturbed. But after the incident in fifth year… well, she had never been back.

Until now, of course. And it wasn’t at all what she had imagined; not the conversation, the feelings, the looks between them. Because at approximately ten past six that evening, just after Severus had greeted her, the closet door had opened and a rather unexpected person had fallen out of it. Directly onto her lap.

Minutes seemed to pass in which nobody spoke, minutes in which a look of hatred consumed Severus’ features and a flush began to creep up the back of her neck. The man in her lap just sat there with an awkward look on his face, his bare legs brushing against hers under his robes and his hands sweeping across her hips as he attempted to move around. “Evans,” he finally said, lips curling up into an uncomfortable smile. “Er… fancy seeing you here.”

Severus’ lip curled in disgust and in a second his wand was out, pointed towards the awkwardly-placed boy in her lap, who was still staring up at her with morbid confusion. Lily was still sitting in stunned silence, a blush painting her cheeks as she pointedly looked at the wall. “James…” she said simply; it was the first time she remembered calling him by his first name, and from the look on his face he seemed to realise this. But in all honesty, she’d never been in a situation quite like this, and she was shaken at the very least. “What on earth were you doing in that cupboard?”

He blinked at her, eyes flickering over to look at the boy whose wand was directed at his face. “Erm… napping, I think.”

She frowned at him. “In a closet? Why not in your bed? Merlin, you don’t expect me to actually believe that, do you?”

He grinned at her, hazel eyes twinkling beneath errant strands of dark hair. “Probably not. You’re far, far too smart for that, Evans.”

She flushed a deep scarlet, both from indignation and mortification. James thought she looked rather cute, actually, with her skin a shade darker than her hair and her green eyes blinking at him in exasperation. Her face was just inches from his, and he supposed he could have kissed her, if not for the fact that she notably thought he was an arrogant toerag. And, he thought to himself, he wouldn’t be surprised if she joined Snivellus in hexing him.

“Get out,” Severus snarled lowly, as if reading his thoughts. His dark eyes were squinting angrily at James, his wand trembling in his fingers and his nostrils flaring.

“Lord, Snivellus, if your nostrils flare any more you’ll have all sorts of stuff dripping out of it.”

Severus flinched, raising his wand in fury. “Levic-“

“Expelliarmus!” The shout came from Lily, who was flushed red with fury. Her hands were shaking as she pushed James off of her lap, her wand still pointed at Severus. “If you ever, ever think of telling me that you’ve changed again – or heaven forbid, asking for forgiveness, look in the mirror first and realise that you will always be this person, and for that you will never be my friend. You’re daft if you think otherwise.”

Standing up, she glared furiously at a paling Severus. “I think it’s about time you realised that you’ve become exactly what I used to protect you from,” she said angrily, pushing her wand back into the pocket of her cloak. “And as for you, Potter, you-“ She stopped, flushing furiously as she glanced back at the boy with hopelessly messy hair laying across the floor, shocked into silence at her outburst. “Try to refrain from napping in any closets when I’m nearby.”

Breathing in deeply, she turned around, ready to storm from the room, when: “Evans!”

Letting out a sigh, she turned towards the voice, pushing her hair away from her red face in exasperation. “What – what do you want?”

“Come with me to Hogsmeade this weekend.”

It was probably bad timing, or more likely, the worst timing possible, considering the state she was in and the fact that from his position in the floor he could see right up her robe. Then there was the fact that his enemy was sitting behind him, wand lowered to the floor, eyes dark and forlorn as they looked towards the girl in question. But he had never seen her up so close, never had her defend him of all people from someone else. Nonetheless, from her old best friend. And it was almost like he couldn’t stop the words from leaving his mouth, as though it was impossible to be around Lily Evans without asking her out, or at the very least, making a fool out of himself.

“Potter… wha – what are you on about? This isn’t a joke,” she said loudly, spluttering slightly as she stared at him as though he’d gone crazy.

“Come with me to Hogsmeade this weekend? Please?” He smiled at her sweetly, looking utterly odd from his position on the floor. His eyes were twinkling so brightly that she couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not.

Heavens, where was that ‘no’ when you needed it? she thought to herself, cheeks still flushed red with fury. Because she didn’t want to go... at all, if she was honest. Being around James Potter for five minutes was nearly more than she could deal with, but a whole weekend?

She didn’t hate him. In a way she kind of respected the way he treated his friends, but she most certainly didn’t fancy him. But for some strange reason, the ‘no’ had died from her lips. “Fine,” she said furiously, turning a deep shade of scarlet that highly resembled an overcooked beetroot before pulling her eyes away. And then, with her head held high and her hands trembling, she stormed from the room.

As soon as she’d left, Severus stood up, wand clenched tightly in his right hand. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to hex the boy on the floor, his dark eyes narrowing into murderous squints as he stared down at James. “If you-“ He stopped, lower lip trembling with rage. “If you speak to her again, so help you… I’ll-“ his fingers tightened around the wand, raising it slightly.

And then, he too, stormed from the room.

There was a moment of silence. “That,” a pause, “that was bloody brilliant.” Sirius Black stepped out of the closet, letting out a laugh as he looked down at his stunned friend. “Bloody hell, Prongs, you fell onto her lap and she actually said yes. And the look on his face, James...” He let out a laugh, eyes twinkling as he grinned at his friend. “Hard not to laugh, but you know… I had to remain hidden, of course.”

Coming to his senses, the boy with the glasses stood up, glaring at his ecstatic friend. “You could’ve come out to help… you know, when he was about to hex me across the room,” he said, his voice becoming louder towards the end of the sentence.

Sirius laughed, clapping his friend on the back as he shook his dark hair away from his eyes. James had suddenly become silent, staring blankly at the closed door that two people had just stormed out of. “Bloody hell…” he said in alarm, blinking at the door, “I’ve got a date with Lily Evans.”



Mary McDonald had a problem.

She loved her dad. Far too much to be healthy, when it came down to it. But really, that was a problem for another time.



Later that day, Lily found herself walking back towards the Common Room with her friend Marlene, hands still trembling slightly as she thought of the day’s earlier events.

“Merlin, I knew going to meet Severus would be weird, but I didn’t expect it to be quite that peculiar.”

“What happened?” Marlene asked reluctantly, slightly sour at the fact that her friend had gone to meet the Slytherin.

“I think…” She blinked, coming to a stop outside the Gryffindor Common Room. “I think I’ve got a date.”

And lord knew that was a problem that she had to get out of.

“You’ll never believe what happened to me today.”

Sirius was frowning at them, legs dangling against the top of a chair and grey eyes flickering around. “Peeves locked me and that bloody Holloway from Slytherin in the broom cupboard. Honestly, could you think of anything worse?” Sirius asked, rather insensitively, actually, considering the fact that those that surrounded him could think of many, many things worse. Not that he was to know this, of course, but the air around him had stiffened considerably after the words had left his mouth. Remus was glaring furiously at the floor, Lily’s pen had dropped from her fingers and Mary was biting down on her lower lip. “You’re lucky you haven’t had a problem like that, I tell you. You better wish you never do. Couldn’t be anything worse in the world,” he complained, arms crossed over as he leant backwards in his chair.

The others looked at him grimly.

You see the problem with magic was, unfortunately, that there were some things that you couldn’t wish for.