A Cup Affair

Chapter Three

Hi, everyone! How has your week been? Posting this and reading your comments are bringing down my writer's block, hopefully I'll be able to finish a new one-shot I've been working on for quite a while.

Hope you enjoy this chapter and see you all next Sunday! Don't forget to follow me on tumblr: maraudersinparadise

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After reading all of the files she held, Lily had no choice but to agree with Moody's decision to investigate further. There was something weird – and even if Potter's was the only credential registered, he could not be the only suspect.

Therefore, Lily decided she would visit Remus and talk about the situation, then head to St. Mungo's and go over to Potter's after dinner at the magical hospital.

"Who's there?" a voice questioned when she knocked on Remus's door.

"It's me, Black. Lily Evans.

The door opened and Sirius Black's shining grin was the first thing Lily saw. He wore the same clothes of that morning's questioning at the Ministry, which made Lily think he, Potter and Pettigrew had gone straight to Remus's.

"We weren't expecting to see you so soon," Sirius said, indicating the way inside the small house.

"I'm not here for you three, actually," Lily explained, removing her overcoat, "I just came to talk to Remus. I was interrogating you a bit later."

Sirius shrugged and went ahead of her. When Lily entered the living room, she noticed what probably was a very usual scene. Peter laid on the couch, snoring lightly, while Remus had a chess board between him and Sirius, who had just sat down and ordered one of the pieces to move. Potter was sitting on the floor, hundreds of letters in front of him – but apparently the tiring day had been too much for him, as he had fallen asleep with his head on the sofa and mouth widely agape. She held back a chuckle.

"Lils!" Remus greeted with a tiny smile. She went in his direction and sat beside him.

"Hey, Rem. How are you?" Lily asked, holding his hand and assessing her friend's bruised face.

"I'm fine. Tired, but fine."

"Shouldn't you be resting?" she questioned, frowning.

"I've slept already, Lil. They're taking care of me," Remus replied. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"It might be better if you took care of them, huh?" she said. Remus grinned.

"Absolutely. I'm out of command for one night and Prongs becomes the main suspect of a crime."

Lily tried to hold back a grin, but couldn't.

"I've gotta ask you, Rem. They claimed they were with you the whole night," Lily said, pointing a finger to Sirius when he threatened to talk, "you stay quiet," Sirius raised his eyebrows, "but I know where you were last night. So... where were they?"

Remus sighed and cleared his hair from his eyes.

"They were making sure I was safe, Lily. And that my condition remained anonymous. As they've done since Hogwarts."

Lily sighed.

"See it through my eyes, Rem. This alibi is, well... nearly nonexistent. Potter told me you spent the night in the forest. He gave me the address, but even so."

"I see."

"And the worst is... how could I accept this alibi when I know it's a lie? I can simply say the story doesn't check... but Moody will want to know more, and I can't tell him why I know Potter is lying..."