Accio Evans

Chapter 23: Answers

"Jessica?" curled up on the sofa; Lily sleepily lifted her head from James' chest to see her friend stumble through the portrait hole. "What are you doing here? You should be in the hospital wing!" she squeaked, suddenly wide awake and worried about her friend's health.

Shaking her head, tears ran down Jessica's cheeks. Jumping up from the sofa, Lily embraced her friend, standing on her tip toes so they were around the same height. Wrapping her rams around Jessica's shoulders, Lily felt her friend's body shake as she began to sob into her shoulder.

"Come on, I think you need to go to bed." Lily advised, pulling her friend up the stairway and towards their dormitory, leaving a very confused and sleepy James still half asleep on the sofa, wondering what had just happened. Shaking his head and stretching his arms high above his head, he pulled himself off the sofa and up the stairs towards his dormitory, if he was awake when he didn't want to be, the Marauders had to be too.

Forcing Jessica into her bed, Lily pulled the duvet up to her chin and pulled the curtains around her bed so she'd be in darkness with little protest from Jessica. Staring at Jessica's face, as she snuggled down into her duvet, Lily wondered what had gone on in the hospital wing to upset Jessica so much, guessing it was to do with Remus and his secret, Lily hoped she was wrong.

"Sleep tight Jess." Lily whispered so quietly she wasn't even sure if Jessica had heard her, but she was trying not to wake her other two friends were sleeping in their beds, but as Lily finished sorting out Jessica, Alice and Hestia began to stir.

"Is that Jessica?" Alice asked, rubbing her eyes groggily and sitting up in her bed. Lily nodded as she walked over to her own bed and looked at it longingly, what she would give to curl up in there and sleep for the whole day. Shaking her head, she tore the idea from her brain. "Can I see her?" Alice asked tentatively, still sounding half asleep.

"She needs some time to rest Alice, we'll see her later." Hestia cut in seeing the way Lily looked worriedly over towards Jessica's bed. The girls had always understood each other, without either of them saying a word. Taking a deep breath in and stretching her arms out in front of her, Hestia grimaced when she saw the time on the clock. 'Oh well, I'm awake now.' She inwardly sighed. Pulling the duvet back and slipping out of her bed, Lily smirked as she saw Hestia's attire. A man's t shirt, probably Sirius', large and baggy, it hung off her slender frame, paired with a pink pair of skimpy knickers, coupled with her long curly hair stuck out at odd angles, Hestia really was a sight. Raising an eyebrow, Hestia dared best friend to object and then they both grinned, not daring to speak in case she woke Jessica up. Slipping across the floorboards towards the bathroom, Hestia locked the door and got ready as Lily and Alice, who was still groggy, tip toed around their dormitory getting dressed and washed as quickly and quietly as they could; then creeping down the stairs and into the common room, trying not to disturb Jessica.

It was barely six o'clock but when the girls got down to the common room they were surprised to find the Marauders and Frank there, bleary eyed but awake. James, Lily and Sirius exchanged worried glances. Frank took Alice's hand and smiled reassuringly, they didn't understand what was going on, but he knew it must be serious, and now that Alice was here with him he was calmer, knowing she was alright. The 7th year Gryffindor's all stood in silence there for a moment, dressed in their school robes, without saying a word. Time seemed to stop as Lily looked around her friends, they'd have to find out sooner rather than later about Remus – it was a surprise they hadn't already found out to be honest, his excuse of visiting a sick aunt was not very convincing and anyone who had a basic grip on astronomy could have plotted the timings of the full moons and compared to Remus' visit to 'his sick aunt'. Then Lily wondered how her friends would react, she liked to think none of them would take it badly and nothing would change in their group, but as the current climate proved – you couldn't fully trust anyone. The thought of nay of her friends not accepting Remus and being prejudiced against werewolves was hard to stomach but she had to prepare herself for it, it was a possibility, it could happen.