*Lilah POV*

I walked through the common room nervously, doing my best to ignore the jeers and glares. James, however, had a different approach.

"Oi fuck off you slimy sod!" He called out, his handsome features settled into a look of anger.

He tightened his grip around my shoulders as if protecting me from the world was the only thing that mattered. He guided me up the stairs, leading me confidently towards to Marauder's dorm room.

I paused before the door, taking a deep breath, allowing such a small, insignificant action to prepare me for the oncoming slaughter. My thoughts must've shown on my face as James let out a deep chuckle, pulling me impossibly closer into his chest and tightly holding me in his embrace.

"You'll be fine, he's more worried than angry at the moment. Once everything is sorted out between you two, Sirius and Peter will follow. They're just trying to be good friends," He explained, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"Then why are you here? With me?" I asked hesitantly, unsure as to if I wanted to hear his answer.

"Because sometimes you have to be selfish, Li." He said so softly I barely heard him.

"And you're being selfish when you're with me?"

"Yeah, I am, because instead of being with my best friend I'm doing something for myself. Sometimes it's alright to be selfish Li because being here, with you, right now – there's no other place I'd rather be."

Holy fudge nugget cue heart melt.

My knees were slightly shaky; as was the smile I shot him as I glanced up at him, emotions swirling in my eyes.

He beamed down at me, interlinking our fingers as we barged into the room.

"We have arrived!" James bellowed out dramatically, falling onto the bed closest to the door.

"Get off my bed you git, I just made it!" Sirius whined, huffing and puffing as he crossed his arms and pouted. One raised eyebrow from James quickly evoked the truth, "Okay so it was Moony but still!"

"Hey Lilah," Peter nodded before walking out the dorm.

"Lilah? Where?" Sirius yelled out, scanning the room frantically before spotting me. "Oi Moony! You might want to see this!" He called loudly to the door of their bathroom. "So you're back, huh?"

I nodded meekly, stepping closer to James, afraid of what's going to come out of his mouth next. James quickly stood up, by my side in an instant, as if he already knew what I was feeling.

Sirius looked a little sullen at that, smiling solemnly, "I'm sorry for how I reacted, everyone's got their secrets. I'll remember to respect yours."

I grinned in return, walking forward to ruffle his hair affectionately. "Thankyou, I appreciate your apology."

"What?" Remus asked, opening up the bathroom door, towelling off his wet hair as I walked back to my position beside James.

I coughed awkwardly into my hand, leaning my body against James as I shrunk behind the weight of Remus' stare.

"Lilah?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Hi," I responded, all of a sudden shy.

"Okay," James drawled out, shifting me slightly so that he could back away without me falling. "So Sirius and I are gonna go play a game of exploding snap, have fun!"

He and Sirius basically sprinted from the room, making it an unspoken competition as to who could get through the door the quickest.

'I'm not going anywhere' I mocked in my head, furious that he had left me to deal with this on my own.

But it was my mess in the first place and I should be the one to clean it up.

"I was really worried," he broke the silence, shuffling across the room to sit on his tidy bed.

"I don't see why, I mean it's not like we're cousins," I spat, internally flinching at my bitter and harsh tone.

"Yeah," he mumbled, "right."

I sighed, my shoulders falling as I knew that he deserved the truth. I walked over hesitantly, sitting down gently beside him, paying no mind to the creases it caused.

"I owe you the truth," I spoke carefully, refusing to meet his eyes.

"I know," he nodded, playing with his fingers nervously. A habit I had inherited.

"Look I-" I started before cutting myself off, unsure where to start.

"Just start from the beginning," he smiled weakly, moving to sit in front of me, crossing his legs beneath him as he got comfortable and I mimicked his actions, facing him straight on.

"You can't tell a soul," I warned, only continuing at his nod of acceptance. "I'm not from here, Remus."

"What do you mean? Like from the UK?" he inquired, confusion playing across his face.

"No," I sucked in a deep breath, mentally preparing myself as I uttered, "as in I'm not from this time."