JAMES DIDN'T HESITATE FOR A SECOND to accept Lily's bag, even though he probably knew how heavy the thing was. Faye wondered how in Merlin's beard Lily couldn't notice how much James liked her even though it was obvious to everyone else. The two were absolutely perfect for each other and the way he wore her things without hesitation was just a small reason why.

The group hadn't even reached the black lake when Sirius started complaining about how heavy Faye's bag was. She shook her head, grinning, and sighed before releasing it from her bag. "Weak, Black. Weak," she teased, giggling as the eight finally reached their favorite spot.

"You'd be surprised how-" Sirius was about to argue again and try to flirt his way out of it, but Remus quickly intervened and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder to stop him from embarrassing himself further.

He watched her go by and almost had to force himself not to stare because she was so beautiful in his eyes. He loved her dark hair, her brown eyes, her tan skin, freckles and her button nose. In his eyes she was perfect. She had a sense of humor, was adventurous and always had an easy-going nature. She also helped him whenever she noticed that he was having difficulties in class, just like Remus did with him. He loved everything about her.

He watched her walk by, suppressing the urge to stare as she passed. In his eyes she was too beautiful not to admire. Her long and dark hair, brown eyes, tanned skin and freckles suited her perfectly. He loved everything about her, from her sense of humor, her sense of adventure, her easygoing demeanor, to the way she always came to his aid in class and took time to study with him, just like Remus. He loved her crazy sunglasses that made him laugh all the time.

Each of the eight Gryffindors had taken a towel and, together with the others, had formed a nice circle in which the group could gather. Marlene and Faye had prepared some snacks and Remus and Peter had drinks with them. And James, Sirius and Peter wasted no time and immediately made their way into the water.

The eight Gryffindors each grabbed a towel and gathered in a circle. Marlene and Faye had prepared some snacks, including ice-cold bowls of watermelon, peaches and berries, and there were also cookies and chocolate for anyone who wanted something sweet. And Remus and Peter had taken care of the drinks.

But not long later, James, Sirius and Peter wasted no time and headed straight for the water. Mary seemed to be taking all the time in the world to go there; she would much rather tan and chat with the other girls and show them her brand new pink swimsuit.

Mary shook her head in amusement. "Boys," she sighed as she sat down next to Lily to apply sunscreen. Together, the two took their time applying sunscreen to each other, enjoying the relaxed and relaxing atmosphere of their day at the lake.

"More like idiots," Faye joked, putting on her colorful sunglasses as the girls agreed with her with a laugh. They all agreed that it was a perfect summer day in every way, and they were excited to see what else awaited them.

Remus suddenly stepped in front of the warm sun, casting a shadow over Faye's body. She looked up at him and raised a hand to shield herself from the light.

Remus Lupin and Faye Avery had met long before Hogwarts, and if she were completely honest, she would describe him more as family than as friend. The couple's families have always been close and spent many holidays together. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered how he had always been present in her life, even as they grew older.

"Fancy coming into the water, Fairy?" Remus asked, making Faye smile when he heard her nickname.

"You don't have to ask me twice, Moony," she replied, not shying away from accepting his invitation.

When Faye was younger and Remus first went through his transformation, he was particularly worried about telling her. He was afraid that she would see him as a monster and not want to have anything to do with him anymore. But in truth she was a little jealous of him. "What?! Why are you allowed to be a wizard AND a werewolf?" she had said. But joking aside, that was back then. Faye was very proud of him, how brave he was and how he dealt with his transformations. She couldn't stand him to see him suffer, and Faye was just happy to be there to support him.

It was then decided that she should be a fairy, and Remus always joked that she was his very own fairy godmother, fulfilling his wishes like a real fairy godmother. The nickname "Fairy" seemed to have stuck with her and she didn't mind being called that. Her fairy looks didn't go unnoticed either, and as a quarter Veela, she liked to joke with Remus and her friends that with her "stunning" looks and sing-song voice, she could always charm any boy in sight (even if Faye knew exactly how her singing voice was terrible).

A little further away from the three boys, who were trying their best to push each other into the water and submerge themselves, Faye and Remus swam away from the shore. Together they seemed to enjoy the water and the peace and quiet away from the loud and playful boys. The calm of this moment was a beautiful contrast to all the fun, laughter and chaos that filled their time outside of school.

"How long will it take until Lily and James finally admit that they like each other?" Faye asked after a while, which made Remus laugh quietly.

"I don't know, but I could ask you the same thing," Remus simply replied.

She gasped in surprise and splashed some water on his face. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, frowning.

"What about you and Sirius?" Remus replied after a moment of thought, raising an eyebrow as he looked up at her. "You flirt all the time too," he said with a small grin, his tone playful and all not serious, he wanted to know what she thought of it first instead of actually asking her about it.

"Ha flirting?" Faye called out playfully, shooting him a look as she tried to defend herself. "That's called joking around, Moony."

Remus, however, saw through her playful facade and couldn't help but roll his eyes and shake his head in response. "If you say so. But I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you weren't joking," he replied knowingly, grinning slightly at her. Faye might not want to believe it, but Remus knew that Sirius liked her. And he really couldn't understand, why they didn't just admit it to each other since it seemed obvious even to him.

Faye's annoyed groan was met with a small smile from Remus, as he wasn't surprised by her reaction. "Yes, Remus," she laughed. "Of course he wouldn't mind, he's Sirius Black."

"Okay, you're not wrong here," Remus laughed with her.

Remus knew it was almost impossible to get Faye to admit something she wasn't even aware of, but he couldn't help but try to provoke her into admitting it. He enjoyed watching her blush a little, and a small part of him hoped that she would just admit her feelings for Sirius soon. However, the small smile on his face said enough; Even if she wouldn't admit it, he knew there was already something between the two of them. It was almost too obvious to ignore.

After slowly letting the topic rest for a few moments, Remus decided to change the conversation. "What about tomorrow's exam? Are you ready?" he asked, before she shrugged. Her feelings about the exam that would take place tomorrow were hard to define, and it was almost as if they changed every day. Some days she was prepared for the exam, at others she felt like she could never be ready enough.

As Faye turned and walked back to shore, she simply nodded in response to his question about what he was going to do. "I think I'll read through Lily's notes again before bed, that should be enough. What about you, Moons?" she asked.

"Yeah, me too," Remus replied. "I'm more worried about our two troublemakers."

Faye's gaze wandered over to James and Sirius, who had returned to their place on the towels next to Lily, Marlene, Mary and Peter.

"That bad?" she asked, causing Remus to raise an eyebrow. "Let's put it this way, they probably won't get much sleep tonight if they don't want to fail," he replied with a small shrug.

"Somehow they always manage though, don't they?" she said.

"Sure, but at what cost?" he answered her as they both laughed together and finally reached solid ground. James cracked funny jokes left and right, only to make Lily giggle and laugh while Marlene and Peter giving slightly annoyed looks at the two while Mary smiled and dealt a deck of cards. The whole scene was pretty chaotic, but funny at the same time.

However, as Sirius watched Faye and Remus from a distance, his jaw tensed and he felt a twinge of jealousy over their friendship. He knew he shouldn't think like that, but so often he wished she would speak to him the same way she spoke to Remus.

They both enjoyed teasing and fooling around with each other, but there was an underlying feeling of wanting something more. Something had always stopped him from taking another step, be it fear or insecurity or something else entirely...