Who I Really Am (A Remus Lupin Love Story)

Chapter Five

The carriage stops at Hogwarts, and Lily and I jump out.
We're walking up to the castle when Lily stops, reaching into her pocket. "Oh crap! The mud!" she says, and she points at her robes and mumbles something. The
mud disappears.
She does the same to mine. "Thanks! How did you get covered in mud, Lily?" I
wonder. I'm starting to feel comfortable around Lily. I'm actually talking to
her at normal volume! I'm not whispering to her. It feels nice, taking this much
and this loud.
"Oh! I was taking to Hagrid, and then I realized I was late, so I ran over here
and fell a couple of times. How did you get covered in mud?" she asks.
"Well... I was walking over to the carriages, and some fourth year pushed me." I
tell her.
"Why did he push you? I bet he was just being a jerk, right?" Lily says, glaring
at the people in front of us.
"Yeah, he was just being a jerk."
Lily rolls her eyes. "That's not a very good excuse to push someone into mud."
"No, it isn't."
We're in the Entrance Hall now. People are staring. I hear the whispers going around, "Is that Lily Evans walking with Noble?" "Did Noble just talk?" "Did you hear that, Noble wasn't whispering!" "What happened to the mud on her robes?" "Did Noble get a friend?"
Lily and I ignore them, and we walk to the Great Hall. Immediately after we sit down, James Potter comes running over shouting "Evans! Evans!"
"What do you want, Potter?" Lily asks, glaring at him.
"Evans, why were you walking with her? Do you know who she is? That's Noble!"
"Yes, I do know who this is. And her name is Bria, not Noble. Why do you care?" she says back coldly.
"Well, you're hanging out with Noble. Why? Evans, that's not a very good idea. You used to have a pretty good reputation, until this!" he exclaims.
"A good reputation?" she asks him, "A good reputation? Potter, I don't care whether or not I hang out with the 'cool kids' or whatever you want to call them. I can hang out with whoever the hell I want. And Bria is pretty cool. Now, go away!"
"Fine! I was just warning you. You're going to regret this, Evans!" he says as he walks toward where his gang is sitting.
"What an idiot! Why does he care?" Lily exclaims, hitting the table, "It's my choice! I get to be friends with whoever I choose!"
"Maybe he'll leave you alone now. Maybe he'll think you're a loser because your hanging out with Stupid Noble, so he'll stop trying to ask you out." I suggest.
Lily considers it for a while, then she nods. "I guess you have a point. Let's
hope he does. And don't call yourself that!"
I'm about to reply, but Dumbledore cuts me off. He gives a little speech, and then the table is covered with a feast. Lily and I chat occasionally, but I'm starving. I pile the food high onto my plate. And for once, I do it without caring. I'm not worrying about anyone calling me fat or a pig right now. Because when you have a friend, it's a lot easier to ignore it.