Lily
Lily wouldn't necessarily classify the feelings she has for James as love.
She was glad that he seemed to have moved on from being in love with her. She didn't hate being around him. She really did get now that he was an important part of their wider friend group and now that he had eased off in his attempts to irritate everyone at all times. She had come to feel a sort of warmth of semi friendship when she was around him.
She did love Remus however. It was sort of impossible not to, despite what Remus thought. He was one of her favourite people. Always willing to study with her and always quietly slipping her study snacks. A calming companion at all times but more than willing to have a laugh. She loved Remus because she felt you couldn't help but love Remus. Some days he was integral to her surviving at Hogwarts, and often integral in her surviving James and Sirius.
Lily did not think James hated Remus. Nor the other way around. With the amount of time the group is together, one would have to be a fool to think so. And Lily is no fool. But if asked, she would not say that James loved Remus, nor Remus loved James. They always seemed, to her at least, friends of convenience. But still friends.
She is forced to reevaluate that in 6th year when she ends up in an argument with James. Earlier in their years at Hogwarts, disagreements were very common between the two of them. Or at least Lily would yell at James whilst James kept that annoyingly smug smile on his face. Later on though, she did not have many reasons to disagree with James. They seemed to get along at their own pace and since James had gotten over his crush, had a kind of ships passing in the night relationship.
This argument seemingly came out of nowhere.
Maybe it sort of started because Lily was exhausted from working on a potions essay. She and Remus had been working on it for hours in the library and they had just made it back to the dorm room where James was recently back from Quidditch practice and sitting with Peter and Sirius on the armchairs.
They had barely made it into the common room, only far enough in for Remus to press a kiss to Sirius' cheek in greeting and Lily to drop her bag on an empty armchair when James spoke up.
"Moony mate. I'm glad your back. Could I grab your potions notes? I need them for my essay." James says, smiling over at Remus from the other end of Sirius' claimed couch.
"Yeah of-" Remus starts, but Lily cuts him off.
"Could you just use your own fucking notes Potter? Honestly." She says, rolling her eyes and dropping into her chair.
"Chill Evans. Moony and I share notes. It's not like I'm asking to copy his essay." James says, rolling his eyes right back at her.
"The professors would know you weren't clever enough to write it if you did. Even his notes are an easy way out for you given how much better attention he pays in class." Lily sneers. A little voice in the back of her mind is screaming at Lily that she is out of line. But she's so exhausted that she only really hears it muffled.
"Lay off Lily. Here Prongs, all yours." Remus says, handing James the notes as he sits between him and Sirius on the couch.
"I'm just standing up for you Remus." Lily insists, leaning forward and looking over at Remus.
"I don't need you to stand up for me Lils. He's welcome to the notes. They are his too." Remus' voice is calm but his eyes are serious as he looks back at her.
"You do need someone to stand up for you! It's pretty clear to everyone that James only hangs out with you cause you're dating Sirius and he needs your help with his homework. He doesn't love you Remus. Sometimes with your other shit, it seems like all he does is pity you-" Lily begins her rant but is cut off by James himself standing up.
"Lily, I'm asking you to shut up. James mate it's fine, sit down." Remus says, outright glaring at Lily and tugging at James' hand.
That little voice is again screaming at her. And it is amplified by the look in James' eye. She has never seen so much hatred directed at her. If looks could kill, Lily would be no more.
"Prongs let's get out of here yeah?" Sirius says, standing up too.
"No. If this is what Lily really thinks about my relationship with Moony, it's not fine. Is that really what you think Lily?" James asks, his voice feels like it's dripping venom.
Lily wants to flinch away from them.
"Well I-" She starts, attempting to back peddle on her words. James doesn't let her.
"You are wrong Evans. You are so wrong. I am not around Remus because he is dating my mate. I am not around him because he helps with my homework. I'm around him because he is one of my best friends, and I love him. I love how kind he is and how smart he is. I love that he has never once made me feel inadequate when I didn't understand something or couldn't pay attention to something. I've loved him from the moment I met him. He makes me feel balanced. Sometimes, when the world gets so loud, it feels like I can only breathe when I'm next to him. I would rather die than take advantage of him. And how dare you day that I pity him. As if there is something of him that needs pity. He is the strongest person I know. It would be disrespectful of me to even think he needs my pity. Most of the time he is my strength. So go ahead and go fuck yourself Evans. You don't know shit about my relationship with Remus. You've proved today that you don't even know shit about me. Next time, keep your fucking opinions to yourself." James all but spits the last words at her, staring so deeply into her soul she could swear he has etched the words there.
Lily has never felt so small.
Actually no, she feels even smaller when James storms out of the common room and she is left with the other Marauders. A group she is so fond of, all looking at her as if she is some kind of monster. Maybe today she is.
Remus says nothing to her, just stands and follows James. Peter shakes his head at then trails after Remus.
It's just Sirius who remains. He's just standing there, staring at her.
"I've never known you to be so cruel Lily." He says, his voice almost a whisper.
"I didn't mean it. I swear. It all just came spilling out. I'm so tired of this essay. I'm so sorry Sirius, I swear I did not mean to say that." Lily says, stumbling over her words in her rush to get them out. To get someone to hear them.
"You know that's not an excuse Lily. You hurt him. Hell, you hurt both of them. You don't owe an apology to me. Go to bed Lily. Tomorrow, when you've got a clearer head, you can say some of this stuff to the people you hurt. I just hope that James gave you something to think about. Maybe you'll think differently of the way they love each-other in the future." Sirius offers her a pained smile before following the others.
She does sleep. And the next day she apologises first to Remus. He doesn't say much, only that he understands that she feels bad and regrets what she said. They don't study together for a while, or talk much at all. She seems to have taken their friendship back a few steps.
James does not speak to her for weeks. And honestly, it's painful. She hadn't realised that she had come to care for James over the last few months. That the general prattle that was always fairly consistent when being around James, became a soothing noise for her. Generally having the brightness of James avoiding her, came to sting. She is eventually able to track him down alone and profusely apologise.
It takes time for both of them to warm back up to her.
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From the argument onwards, Lily takes more time to notice James and Remus' relationship. Especially when she is no longer studying with Remus.
She finds Remus and James hunched over a table in the library pretty much every evening after dinner. Apparently something they had always done to go over the lessons of the day and go over their mutually compiled notes.
A few months after the fight, Lily is invited to one of the study sessions, sort of. She sits at one end of their table and does her work, but mostly the two are in their own bubble. They keep up a constant conversation of every lesson they are working through. They offer an equal amount to the conversation. James has a more impressive understanding of their subjects than she realised. He points out things Remus doesn't seem to have considered or asks complex questions that also challenge Remus' understanding. Remus in turn seems to work hard to keep James engaged in the studying, finding ways to keep his busy mind and body still for long enough to work their way through things. The combination of the two is impressive.
Another thing Lily notices is the little bickering arguments between the two of them. It's probably the funniest part of their friendship. They argue, but no English is ever spoken. James argues in Hindi and Remus in Welsh. She didn't even realise either of them are bilingual.
She asked Sirius what it was all about one day.
"It's kind of a two birds with one stone situation. Both of them get space to speak their first language, even though the other person does not really understand them at all. And they can argue about the other persons wellbeing. They're basically yelling at each-other to practice self-care. It usually starts when one of them forgets to eat or drink enough one day. Suddenly they're having a whisper argument in two completely different languages that the other only knows scraps of." The concept is funny, joyously funny. She loved seeing it again and again. The idea that they both look so impassioned, so frustrated with each-other. The idea that that they are arguing their love for each-other in languages the other doesn't understand. What a wonderful way to love.
Lily finds that the more she looks and listens, the more she values James and Remus' relationship. It was not obvious to her. Because it's not loud as she assumed James' love always was. It is gap filling. World centring. Perfect balance.