friendshipmods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
friendshipmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hp_friendship2012-07-09 06:00 pm
friendshipmods) wrote in hp_friendship2012-07-09 06:00 pm
"Invisible" (Remus Lupin, Lily Evans)
Author: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zofbadfaith
Prompt/Prompt Author: After being betrayed by Snape, Lily has no one she can turn to until Remus, never more than a casual acquaintance due to his friendship with James and Sirius, comes upon her and asks what's wrong. –realmer06
Title: Invisible
Characters: Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, James Potter, Sirius Black
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 2.076
Summary: One can’t always remain invisible.
Author's Notes: I’ve always had a thing for Marauder’s Era fic, so I thought I’d give it a try this time. I listened to ”Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi” by Yann Tiersen while writing and I think it suits the mood of the fic very much. Thanks to L for the great beta-work and for helping me all the way, and the mods for the great support. I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it, Realmer06. :D
All his life, Remus Lupin had strived to become invisible. Not because he didn’t like other people, but because he had learned, maybe too soon, that people didn’t like him. Making friends at Hogwarts was a surprise, as friends always were a surprise for him; at first it was very hard for him, to grasp the concept that people wanted his company, that they didn’t mind being seen with him. Of course, they didn’t really know what he was, at least not in the beginning, but the surprising thing was that they didn’t change at all after they found out about him. The other good thing about being invisible to others was that it allowed him to see other people; and if there was one thing about himself that Remus was proud of, it was his observation skills. Because, as Remus himself would say, “If people can’t see you, if they don’t pay attention to you, they don’t feel inhibited and just act like they would if there was no one around.”
And that was why he saw Lily Evans one night.
It was a coincidence, really. He decided to go down to the Common Room, after at least two hours of tossing and turning and definitely not sleeping in bed, and stopped the moment he heard the quiet sob coming from downstairs. He was, as always, careful not to make any noise as he peered to see who had gotten there before him and clearly had the same case of insomnia he did.
And there she was, the last person he thought it could be, wrapped in a blanket sitting on an armchair in front of the fireplace. Lily Evans. Crying.
---
From then on, Remus found himself with two choices: (a) talk to Lily about what had happened and why exactly she had been crying in the common room at two in the morning or (b) pretend he had never seen or heard anything and not talk about it to absolutely anybody. And he, being who he was, opted for (b); it was the rational, logical thing to do. Lily Evans was the most stubborn girl in the entire school, and he knew she’d deny everything in a heartbeat if he ever even mentioned it.
So he avoided it, avoided her; it wasn’t like they saw each other all the time, except for classes. It would be easy.
---
“Remus, would you mind doing me a favour?” James sat beside him one afternoon, disrupting all of his parchments and notes.
“Can’t do it,” he said quickly, stuffing everything inside his bag and getting up to leave.
“But Moony…” James pleaded, grabbing his arm.
“You don't get to Moony me this time, James,” he half said, half whispered. “You know bloody well what you did.”
“But he was begging for it, Remus! And he called Evans a –“
“I know that,” Remus said, pulling his arm back. “And she was trying to protect him, from you. So don't go thinking that an apology, coming from me, will do something this time.”
“I know, okay? I bloody well know it. But she won't even look at me, she's been avoiding me since it happened.”
“Wouldn't you?” He scowled, looking down at James, “I'll… I’ll talk to her. I will make no excuses for you.”
---
“Oh, Snivellus! Why so down?” Sirius sniggered, looking at the boy who was hanging upside down in the middle of the garden.
“Let me down, you two sack of dragon shite!” the boy replied loudly, looking menacingly at the ones who had him up in the air. “Or I swear to Salazar you'll both get it!”
“We'll get it, yes? I'd like to see that happen!” James laughed out loud, making people pay even more attention to them.
Not too far from where that scene was happening, Remus Lupin found himself leaning on a tree, a half-eaten bar of chocolate in hand, clearly pretending not to pay attention to what was happening on the other side of the tree. He had already discussed things like that with both James and Sirius, saying he didn't wish to have a part in any of it; he still remembered Sirius' hand on his shoulder and his comment - “You're such a good boy, Moony.” Remus himself had been bullied countless times, and had been defended by his friends the same number of times, so he never understood why they did it to Snape. This time, though, it looked to the boy like they had stepped outside a limit. He bit his chocolate, trying to think of the best way to make them stop without getting himself caught up in the middle, but before he could even come up with a solution he saw her going in their direction. Carefully, so as not to be seen, he entered the shadow of the tree a little bit more.
“What is going on here?” Lily Evans yelled, her hands in fists and her hair looking more dishevelled than ever.
“We're just having a bit of fun, isn't it, Snivelly?” Sirius said, the laughter following his line effortlessly.
“Let him down,” she said, looking James in the eyes. “He hasn't done anything to you.”
“Lily, go away! I can very well deal with them on my own!” Severus moved his hands about, staring at everything that had fallen from his bag on the grass.
“See? Life's much funnier when you're upside down!” James laughed, grabbing his tummy with his free hand.
“Potter.”
“Evans!”
“Potter, I mean it.” She stared at him, pulling her wand from its holster. “Let him down or I'll turn you into a ferret.”
James laughter was cut short when he realized she meant what she said. He instantly finished the spell, which promptly made Severus fall flat to the ground on top of all his things. She put her wand back on its holster and was walking to help the fallen boy when he got up with a jump, his hair pointing everywhere, his wand in hand.
“You brainless troll!” Severus yelled at James. “Next time you try anything like this I'll hex your hands off your body, and don't think I can't! I'll make you pay for this, Potter, and I'll show you that I don't need any mudbloods to stand by me so you'll leave me alone!”
Remus stared at the scene, but by the time Severus realized everything he had said, it was too late.
---
“Lily,” Severus whispered in the half empty library, trying to call for the girl who had been avoiding him for almost a week now. “Lily, please!”
“There's a Potions quiz tomorrow, Sev,” she replied tersely. “I need to study.”
“I'm sorry,” the boy blurted out, sitting on the chair beside her, “I never meant to call you that, I never... I would never think that of you.”
“You said it didn't make any difference, Sev,” she whispered, trying to hold back the tears. “You said it didn't make any difference if I was a muggle-born or not.”
“And it doesn't! I promise it doesn't,” he replied desperately, not knowing how to deal with her tears.
“Really, Sev?” Lily said, cleaning her face with the back of her hands quickly so people wouldn't see she was crying.
He didn't know how to reply to that. Of all the things he could have said... he took a deep breath, trying to think of something to say that would make things better with her. Nothing came. He had no excuse, and he knew it; her being a muggle-born had never mattered to him, it still didn't, because it was Lily, but how could he explain?
“Do you still plan on joining the Death Eaters?”
She didn't look at him when she asked this. Instead, she got up, doing her best to deal with whatever reply he would give her; but instead of saying anything, he just nodded his head once, looking at the floor and not at her either. She put her hand on top of his, not moving until he looked up, looked at her, and when he did she took a deep breath, to stop the tears from falling.
“I'm sorry, Sev.”
The image of Lily's bright green eyes stained with the red of all the held back tears would forever be imprinted on his mind.
---
It’s funny how life throws things at you sometimes, or at least that’s how it happened with him. He felt that it didn’t matter that he had always tried to become and stay invisible to others, because right now he was under a spotlight; and it bothered him a lot more than he was letting show. It was bad enough that he had said he’d talk to Lily, he never thought that he’d have to find an opportunity to do it now, because the girl was always surrounded by other friends, girls. Remus had decided, though, that going with option (b) wouldn’t cut it this time, because the brief talk with James had made him aware that the girl might be suffering a lot more than anybody knew.
“Lily?” He stepped closer to her the exact moment she was leaving her Potions class. “I– I thought maybe we could have a talk?”
“Remus, if this you apologizing for Potter again – ”
“It’s not.” He cut her off, following her quick steps with ease, “I promise. I just wanted to talk.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “My next period is History of Magic, with Binns. You have all the way to class to talk.”
“I saw you.” He whispered, and in the next second he was unexpectedly pushed inside the nearest classroom.
“You what?” She looked exasperated.
“The other night in the Common Room,” he said nervously, fixing his bag on his shoulders. “After… you know. I didn’t mean to.”
“I think you’re mistaken,” she said stubbornly, her eyes holding some kind of promise that did not seem of the good kind. “And whoever it was that you saw, Remus, it wasn’t me.”
“Lily…”
“It wasn’t me, Remus.” She got closer to him, his back brushing the wall. “Are we clear?”
Remus Lupin was a very smart, very logical boy. He was not very brave. He was invisible. People did not know who he was, people did not see him. He hardly ever went with his heart; because he knew that doing that would usually end in trouble. And, right at that moment, his logical mind was telling him to agree; agree and run and keep pretending that nothing, absolutely nothing, had happened, because he knew that Lily Evans could hex his balls off if she wanted. But his heart, his heart told him no; it clenched at the memory of the crying figure in front of the fireplace.
“No.” He sure sounded braver than he felt. “I saw you. It was you. And you were crying.”
“I was not!” Lily banged her fist against his shoulder, speaking louder.
“It’s okay.” He held her arm gently, doing his best to not see the tears she had in her eyes. “It hurts, it’s okay. You don’t have to be strong all the time.”
When she lifted her head to look him in the eyes, though, there was no pretending the tears weren’t there. She still looked like she was holding back, and the tears fell silently on her face while she shook her head. Remus had no idea what he should do, what he could do; and so he did the first, the only, thing that came to mind: he hugged her. He held her firmly, tightly, and at first it felt like she was trying to release herself, but soon he could hear the sobs and feel her body shaking.
“I won’t pretend I know what it feels like, but I know it’s not easy,” he said when he felt she had calmed down, “but you shouldn’t have to carry that weight. I think he really likes you.”
“And I really liked him.” She untangled herself of him, brushing her hands on her tear-stained face. “But he’s made his choice. And it feels like we’ve broken up, except that I didn’t know you could break up with your best friend.”
“Everything can be broken.”
She looked at him tiredly, heaving a big sigh. “I guess you’re right.”
He opened his bag, taking something from inside it and extending to her.
“Chocolate?”
zofbadfaithPrompt/Prompt Author: After being betrayed by Snape, Lily has no one she can turn to until Remus, never more than a casual acquaintance due to his friendship with James and Sirius, comes upon her and asks what's wrong. –
realmer06Title: Invisible
Characters: Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, James Potter, Sirius Black
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 2.076
Summary: One can’t always remain invisible.
Author's Notes: I’ve always had a thing for Marauder’s Era fic, so I thought I’d give it a try this time. I listened to ”Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi” by Yann Tiersen while writing and I think it suits the mood of the fic very much. Thanks to L for the great beta-work and for helping me all the way, and the mods for the great support. I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it, Realmer06. :D
All his life, Remus Lupin had strived to become invisible. Not because he didn’t like other people, but because he had learned, maybe too soon, that people didn’t like him. Making friends at Hogwarts was a surprise, as friends always were a surprise for him; at first it was very hard for him, to grasp the concept that people wanted his company, that they didn’t mind being seen with him. Of course, they didn’t really know what he was, at least not in the beginning, but the surprising thing was that they didn’t change at all after they found out about him. The other good thing about being invisible to others was that it allowed him to see other people; and if there was one thing about himself that Remus was proud of, it was his observation skills. Because, as Remus himself would say, “If people can’t see you, if they don’t pay attention to you, they don’t feel inhibited and just act like they would if there was no one around.”
And that was why he saw Lily Evans one night.
It was a coincidence, really. He decided to go down to the Common Room, after at least two hours of tossing and turning and definitely not sleeping in bed, and stopped the moment he heard the quiet sob coming from downstairs. He was, as always, careful not to make any noise as he peered to see who had gotten there before him and clearly had the same case of insomnia he did.
And there she was, the last person he thought it could be, wrapped in a blanket sitting on an armchair in front of the fireplace. Lily Evans. Crying.
---
From then on, Remus found himself with two choices: (a) talk to Lily about what had happened and why exactly she had been crying in the common room at two in the morning or (b) pretend he had never seen or heard anything and not talk about it to absolutely anybody. And he, being who he was, opted for (b); it was the rational, logical thing to do. Lily Evans was the most stubborn girl in the entire school, and he knew she’d deny everything in a heartbeat if he ever even mentioned it.
So he avoided it, avoided her; it wasn’t like they saw each other all the time, except for classes. It would be easy.
---
“Remus, would you mind doing me a favour?” James sat beside him one afternoon, disrupting all of his parchments and notes.
“Can’t do it,” he said quickly, stuffing everything inside his bag and getting up to leave.
“But Moony…” James pleaded, grabbing his arm.
“You don't get to Moony me this time, James,” he half said, half whispered. “You know bloody well what you did.”
“But he was begging for it, Remus! And he called Evans a –“
“I know that,” Remus said, pulling his arm back. “And she was trying to protect him, from you. So don't go thinking that an apology, coming from me, will do something this time.”
“I know, okay? I bloody well know it. But she won't even look at me, she's been avoiding me since it happened.”
“Wouldn't you?” He scowled, looking down at James, “I'll… I’ll talk to her. I will make no excuses for you.”
---
“Oh, Snivellus! Why so down?” Sirius sniggered, looking at the boy who was hanging upside down in the middle of the garden.
“Let me down, you two sack of dragon shite!” the boy replied loudly, looking menacingly at the ones who had him up in the air. “Or I swear to Salazar you'll both get it!”
“We'll get it, yes? I'd like to see that happen!” James laughed out loud, making people pay even more attention to them.
Not too far from where that scene was happening, Remus Lupin found himself leaning on a tree, a half-eaten bar of chocolate in hand, clearly pretending not to pay attention to what was happening on the other side of the tree. He had already discussed things like that with both James and Sirius, saying he didn't wish to have a part in any of it; he still remembered Sirius' hand on his shoulder and his comment - “You're such a good boy, Moony.” Remus himself had been bullied countless times, and had been defended by his friends the same number of times, so he never understood why they did it to Snape. This time, though, it looked to the boy like they had stepped outside a limit. He bit his chocolate, trying to think of the best way to make them stop without getting himself caught up in the middle, but before he could even come up with a solution he saw her going in their direction. Carefully, so as not to be seen, he entered the shadow of the tree a little bit more.
“What is going on here?” Lily Evans yelled, her hands in fists and her hair looking more dishevelled than ever.
“We're just having a bit of fun, isn't it, Snivelly?” Sirius said, the laughter following his line effortlessly.
“Let him down,” she said, looking James in the eyes. “He hasn't done anything to you.”
“Lily, go away! I can very well deal with them on my own!” Severus moved his hands about, staring at everything that had fallen from his bag on the grass.
“See? Life's much funnier when you're upside down!” James laughed, grabbing his tummy with his free hand.
“Potter.”
“Evans!”
“Potter, I mean it.” She stared at him, pulling her wand from its holster. “Let him down or I'll turn you into a ferret.”
James laughter was cut short when he realized she meant what she said. He instantly finished the spell, which promptly made Severus fall flat to the ground on top of all his things. She put her wand back on its holster and was walking to help the fallen boy when he got up with a jump, his hair pointing everywhere, his wand in hand.
“You brainless troll!” Severus yelled at James. “Next time you try anything like this I'll hex your hands off your body, and don't think I can't! I'll make you pay for this, Potter, and I'll show you that I don't need any mudbloods to stand by me so you'll leave me alone!”
Remus stared at the scene, but by the time Severus realized everything he had said, it was too late.
---
“Lily,” Severus whispered in the half empty library, trying to call for the girl who had been avoiding him for almost a week now. “Lily, please!”
“There's a Potions quiz tomorrow, Sev,” she replied tersely. “I need to study.”
“I'm sorry,” the boy blurted out, sitting on the chair beside her, “I never meant to call you that, I never... I would never think that of you.”
“You said it didn't make any difference, Sev,” she whispered, trying to hold back the tears. “You said it didn't make any difference if I was a muggle-born or not.”
“And it doesn't! I promise it doesn't,” he replied desperately, not knowing how to deal with her tears.
“Really, Sev?” Lily said, cleaning her face with the back of her hands quickly so people wouldn't see she was crying.
He didn't know how to reply to that. Of all the things he could have said... he took a deep breath, trying to think of something to say that would make things better with her. Nothing came. He had no excuse, and he knew it; her being a muggle-born had never mattered to him, it still didn't, because it was Lily, but how could he explain?
“Do you still plan on joining the Death Eaters?”
She didn't look at him when she asked this. Instead, she got up, doing her best to deal with whatever reply he would give her; but instead of saying anything, he just nodded his head once, looking at the floor and not at her either. She put her hand on top of his, not moving until he looked up, looked at her, and when he did she took a deep breath, to stop the tears from falling.
“I'm sorry, Sev.”
The image of Lily's bright green eyes stained with the red of all the held back tears would forever be imprinted on his mind.
---
It’s funny how life throws things at you sometimes, or at least that’s how it happened with him. He felt that it didn’t matter that he had always tried to become and stay invisible to others, because right now he was under a spotlight; and it bothered him a lot more than he was letting show. It was bad enough that he had said he’d talk to Lily, he never thought that he’d have to find an opportunity to do it now, because the girl was always surrounded by other friends, girls. Remus had decided, though, that going with option (b) wouldn’t cut it this time, because the brief talk with James had made him aware that the girl might be suffering a lot more than anybody knew.
“Lily?” He stepped closer to her the exact moment she was leaving her Potions class. “I– I thought maybe we could have a talk?”
“Remus, if this you apologizing for Potter again – ”
“It’s not.” He cut her off, following her quick steps with ease, “I promise. I just wanted to talk.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “My next period is History of Magic, with Binns. You have all the way to class to talk.”
“I saw you.” He whispered, and in the next second he was unexpectedly pushed inside the nearest classroom.
“You what?” She looked exasperated.
“The other night in the Common Room,” he said nervously, fixing his bag on his shoulders. “After… you know. I didn’t mean to.”
“I think you’re mistaken,” she said stubbornly, her eyes holding some kind of promise that did not seem of the good kind. “And whoever it was that you saw, Remus, it wasn’t me.”
“Lily…”
“It wasn’t me, Remus.” She got closer to him, his back brushing the wall. “Are we clear?”
Remus Lupin was a very smart, very logical boy. He was not very brave. He was invisible. People did not know who he was, people did not see him. He hardly ever went with his heart; because he knew that doing that would usually end in trouble. And, right at that moment, his logical mind was telling him to agree; agree and run and keep pretending that nothing, absolutely nothing, had happened, because he knew that Lily Evans could hex his balls off if she wanted. But his heart, his heart told him no; it clenched at the memory of the crying figure in front of the fireplace.
“No.” He sure sounded braver than he felt. “I saw you. It was you. And you were crying.”
“I was not!” Lily banged her fist against his shoulder, speaking louder.
“It’s okay.” He held her arm gently, doing his best to not see the tears she had in her eyes. “It hurts, it’s okay. You don’t have to be strong all the time.”
When she lifted her head to look him in the eyes, though, there was no pretending the tears weren’t there. She still looked like she was holding back, and the tears fell silently on her face while she shook her head. Remus had no idea what he should do, what he could do; and so he did the first, the only, thing that came to mind: he hugged her. He held her firmly, tightly, and at first it felt like she was trying to release herself, but soon he could hear the sobs and feel her body shaking.
“I won’t pretend I know what it feels like, but I know it’s not easy,” he said when he felt she had calmed down, “but you shouldn’t have to carry that weight. I think he really likes you.”
“And I really liked him.” She untangled herself of him, brushing her hands on her tear-stained face. “But he’s made his choice. And it feels like we’ve broken up, except that I didn’t know you could break up with your best friend.”
“Everything can be broken.”
She looked at him tiredly, heaving a big sigh. “I guess you’re right.”
He opened his bag, taking something from inside it and extending to her.
“Chocolate?”
no subject