Run Lily, run, I told myself firmly. Don't look behind you. If you do, it might be the last thing that you ever do.
Hagrid's hut was lost in the shadows somewhere and I was fleeing for my life, already regretting my decision to hunt for the missing first-year in the Forbidden Forest. Full moon, you idiot, I cursed myself. I knew that there were far more dangerous things running about at full moon than superstitious centaurs and Hagrid's secret herd of Hippogriffs. I kept running until I couldn't see the pair of yellow eyes anymore. On the plus side, I was sure that I had lost what I was convinced had been Remus-the-werewolf. On the down side, I was definitely lost, what with my lack of experience with regards to the Forbidden Forest at night. Or in the day. At all.
"Lumos," I whispered into the night, suddenly afraid that some deadly creature would either see me or spot the light from my wand. I racked my brains for some spell which would help me out of my predicament but apart from Accio James (and he was in detention), I couldn't think of a single thing that would be useful. I wasn't even sure if the Summoning Charm worked on humans anyway, not from such a distance. My mind had gone blank at the worst possible moment. I was usually brimming with magical solutions to everything.
James would definitely reprimand me for getting myself lost in the forest in the middle of the night, I realised. We'd only been officially together for a few weeks and I had been looking forward to this full moon, in a strange way. I'd known about Remus since our third year, when we'd covered werewolves in Defence Against the Dark Arts but James still had no idea that I had any knowledge of what the Marauders thought was their best kept secret. I'd planned to tell James that I knew at this full moon so that when Remus awoke the next day, they didn't have to keep referring to his furry little problem when I was around. I was sure that he wouldn't mind but I did feel quite guilty that I hadn't told him yet.
I knew that the Marauders often disappeared too, around full moon and I did wonder what they did whilst their friend turned into a werewolf. I had worried that James was putting himself in danger and when he told me that he was in detention tonight, I was secretly a little relieved.
My breathing slowed as I reached a slight clearing in the trees. I decided that it was safe to stop for a few minutes, to catch my breath and try to come up with some solution to my situation. I was technically still on patrol as Head Girl and I'd only strayed away from the castle because a first-year student had been reported missing from the Hufflepuff dormitories. Last seen outside Hagrid's hut, I had been told.
Suddenly, and before I could even blink, the sound of snarling was quite audible. Petrified, I whipped around to discover the source of the noise. From behind a large bush, the pair of sickly eyes was visible. I screamed loudly, instantly regretting my confirmation of my presence. As the creature rustled through the leaves towards me, I prayed that it wasn't what I had initially assumed.
When a fully-grown werewolf emerged, arching its back and creeping closer to me, my suspicions were confirmed. My wand dangled uselessly at my side, no spells in my mind except for one word. James. So this was how I would die? Quite idiotic, I thought to myself. In one last, desperate attempt to save myself, I whispered to the wolf.
"Remus...it's me...it's Lily," I murmured, stretching out my hand. My brain was telling me to recoil in horror but my heart, although beating frantically, was telling me that it was fine.
"Remus, please…" I whispered again. "Moony…"
For a second, the wolf cocked its head to one side and although it was still snarling at me, it stopped moving, a few feet away from where I stood, rooted to the spot in a combination of fear and ridiculous determination. I didn't even know why I felt brave to be holding my ground. It would surely have been more logical to run away, screaming as loudly as I could.
And then, so quickly that I hardly saw what happened, the wolf was being dragged away by a huge black dog. The two animals were fighting viciously and as I watched in a new fascination, the wolf shook the dog off and snarling even more than before, it moved towards me with a sudden urgency. Even then, my fear was twofold, a panic for my life but I was also worrying about the dog and whether it had been injured in its clear attempt to drive the werewolf away from me.
The wolf lunged as I screamed "Moony!" and for the first time, I ducked down in a natural reflex. As I looked up, I saw something amazing.
Another creature, larger than the dog and even larger than the werewolf had leapt out in front of me. One swift swoop and the wolf was lying on the ground. What I assumed was a centaur was growling deeply at the wolf. The two creatures seemed to stare at each other, threatening, for a few moments until the wolf whined and limped away into the forest. In the distance, I saw the dog chasing after it.
As my saviour turned to face me, I found that I could not stand. I realised that what I had thought was a centaur was in fact a stag, gazing at me out of a very familiar-looking pair of eyes as it stood majestically between me and the rest of the forest. With tears pricking my eyes, I gasped for breath, the sudden danger and fear of what had happened hitting me too late. I flung my arms around the stag without even thinking, burying my face in its slender neck and stroking the soft of its fur absent-mindedly with my free hand.
"Thank you," I muttered into the stag. "Thank you for saving my life." My tears had started to flow faster and I hardly had enough sense left to wonder why the animal hadn't thrown me off. As I hugged it tighter, with one arm wound around its neck and the other draped across its back, the stag seemed to relax and it brought its head down to nuzzle into my neck. As I began to regain my senses a little, I could have sworn that it exhaled slowly as I settled into the warm body slightly.
The stag shifted after a few minutes and after gently bowing its head as I untangled my hair from the handsome pair of antlers, it beckoned me to follow it. Instead of walking behind the creature, I laid one hand on its back and walked beside the soft padding of its hooves on the forest floor.
We did not stop once we reached the edge of the forest. In the sudden burst of moonlight, I gasped at the stag's incredible beauty, its sleek fur, the gentle elegance with which it trotted along and the regal splendour of its smooth, curved antlers. It only slowed the pace once we had arrived at the edge of the lake and stood under mine and James's tree. I suddenly realised that I hadn't thought about him since my near-death experience. He was probably out of his mind with worry up at the castle. The stag nudged my arm softly, almost as if it could read my mind and wanted to tell me that everything would be fine.
"Thank you," I whispered once again, sure that the creature which had saved my life did understand me somehow. The stag bowed its head in response. I stroked the side of its face and it gazed into my eyes, blinking gently. Automatically, I wrapped my arms around the slender neck again and nestled into the especially soft fur which I decided I loved. The stag's scent was almost intoxicating and in my mind, only the smell of James's hair was delicious enough to rival it.
I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against the stag's neck. Strangely enough, the soft fur felt more like skin underneath my mouth. I opened my eyes and had possibly the biggest shock of my life.
James was grinning in my arms.
Suddenly, it all clicked into place. Prongs.
My lips found his as I tangled my fingers into the untameable hair that I loved so much. I could still feel him smiling against my mouth and when I finally pulled away for breath, the stag's eyes gazed at me again. I raised an eyebrow in mock surprise.
"By the way," he murmured. "I'm an Animagus."