Coming Together ༄ Sirius Black

Chapter Fifty

Lily stood alone, leaning against the Covered Bridge, staring out at the views of the lake and surrounding hills. She had been trying to spend as much time alone as possible, but this proved to be a challenge with James Potter following her round. Although the boy was only attempting to comfort her, it did only cause Lily to linger on these feelings of sadness.

Had she truly failed Severus as a friend?

Tucking her gloved hands into her pocket, Asteria strode down the bridge as quietly as she could manage.

"Hey... Lil, you alright?" She questioned, leaning against the wooden fencing of the bridge beside her friend.
Lily look over with a small smile, "Yeah I'm okay."

"You haven't..." Asteria wasn't sure how to proceed, "You haven't spoken to him?"
"Who?"
"Sna-Severus?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders, "Isn't Sirius around somewhere?"
"Lily..." she sighed in response. Clearly the redhead was just trying her best to avoid the uncomfortable topic. However, it was unfair for Lily to always put others before herself and never want any help in return.

"I just want to help you, you know? Nobody likes seeing you upset." Asteria nudged Lily's shoulder softly.

"I'm not upset."
"Alright, distressed."
"I'm not distressed."
"You're not happy and nobody likes it." Asteria countered.

Lily looked over at her friend now, "I promised a girl called Heidi from Hufflepuff that I'd help with some Potions work. She's in her fifth year, so has her OWLs coming up."

"You know how annoying James can be?" Asteria began with a smirk.
Lily narrowed her eyes, signalling for her to go on.

"He has become extraordinarily annoying now. He keeps pestering me to check in on you because he's worried. He did forbid me from telling you that but anyway. The point is that I-we all need you to get back to being happy."

"Well I'll try my best." Lily replied shortly.

The real truth was that Lily was all too aware of James' attempts to comfort her in the wake of the events in the Forbidden Forest. He hadn't been pestering the girl as usual, in fact he had been quieter, more serious, and gentle with her. Lily had noticed he wasn't yelling or joking so much. James was different. He had been trying to comfort Lily without stepping on her toes too much, and that was something that did not go unnoticed by the Gryffindor girl.

Asteria pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. She had never been very good at comforting people but she could think of one trick she still had up her sleeve.

"Lil, I need you to come with me. There's something really important I have to show you." Asteria gripped Lily's wrist and pulled her down the Covered Bridge and back towards the castle.

"What?" Lily sighed, following her along slowly.

Asteria didn't reply and instead led the way back into the warmth of the castle and down the corridors. As this went on, Lily only became more and more confused as they seemed to be making their way towards the Hospital Wing.

"Ria, why are you taking me to the Hospital Wing?" Lily asked, pulling her wrist free and causing the girl to finally stop and face her.

"You need to see something." Asteria insisted, waiting for Lily to continue following her.

"What is it? Is someone hurt?"
"Just-come, please."

Lily gave in, hurriedly following Asteria down the corridor. Unsurprisingly, Asteria pushed open the door to the Hospital Wing and waited for Lily to enter first.

She glanced over at her friend, hoping for some sign as to what was awaiting her but was met with no help. Instead, Lily turned back around and took a deep breath before stepping inside. Her eyes darted about the room and only one bed appeared to be occupied, but there were tall white curtains drawn all the way around it.

"Go on." Asteria gestured quietly, standing behind Lily and pulling the doors closed behind them.

There was some chatter from behind the curtain, although it was muffled and inaudible. Upon the door slamming behind them, that chatter abruptly stopped.
Neither girl stepped forward until someone poked their head around the curtain to see who had entered.
Or rather, James pulled open the curtains and stumbled out, coming face to face with the two girls.

"Lily! Lily... Ria? What... I don't understand." James hurriedly pulled the curtains closed behind him and held them shut behind his back as he shielded them from view.

Asteria stood beside Lily now, "Ask if this is alright, will you?"

Lily grumbled, throwing her hands up in the air in anger and exasperation, "Will someone just tell me what on Earth is going on?"

James and Asteria just looked at each other for a moment before someone behind the curtain spoke up.

"Lily? What are you doing here?"

Lily frowned, taking a moment to process the information before replying. "Remus, is that you?" She neared the bed, pushing past James and finally turning around the curtain.

She stopped mid-stride, her gaze falling upon the boy lay in the bed in the Hospital Wing. The boy that was meant to be home visiting his sick mother. Instead, he was covered in scratches with his arm propped up in a bandaged sling.

"Merlin... What happened?" Lily stood, frozen at the end of his bed, not even registering the presence of Sirius and Peter beside her.

Remus shuffled up in bed, resting on his elbows to prop himself upright. He didn't reply at first, just stared intently and Lily and then Asteria.

"Don't look at me. You said you were ready." Asteria held her hands up defensively.

"You're right." Remus sighed, "I just don't know what to say."

Lily looked around at everyone, "Will someone tell me what happened? Are you alright?"

"I have... Well... I'm a... I-I have lycanthropy." Remus spoke quietly, his voice barely audible. Asteria moved around to stand beside Sirius as they all waited for Lily's response.

"Why?" She asked slowly.
Remus stammered, "Why am I a werewolf?"
"No! No. I mean, why are you telling me?"

Everyone looked around at each other. Nobody had been expecting that response.

"Well... I... Er... I don't know." Remus admitted sheepishly, adjusting the bed sheet to cover himself up more.

"People need you, Lily." Asteria spoke up.
James stepped forwards now, "We're good for making Moony laugh and all but sometimes you need more than to just repress your sadness or whatever. You're good at talking to people."

"I think there's people out there that need to be comforted by someone like you. However much I hate to admit it, Evans." Sirius added.
Peter agreed, "So to make it fair we all need to be here to comfort you."

Remus chuckled before holding onto the side of his ribs and wincing slightly, "You're in our gang now, there's no escaping. It's the six of us for good."

"The marauders plus Lily and Asteria." James nodded triumphantly.
"I don't think you can add that to the map." Asteria joked.

"Map? What map?" Lily frowned.

"Oh we have so much to tell you. This better lift you mood out of the gutter by the way." James added with a wink.

"Just wait till you hear about us becoming Animagi." Peter laughed.

"Wait... What?" Lily almost shrieked.

"Nice going Wormy." Sirius shook his head.

Remus smiled, "Who'd have thought that illegal Animagi could be worse than a werewolf?"
Lily turned back to Remus, "I love you either way, you idiot. Like anything would stop us being friends."

Then Lily turned back to the others, a scowl frowning on her face, "Now what is this about becoming illegal Animagi?"