Favorite Animal?

By SXS

Disclaimer: I don't own any copyrighted aspects of this story nor did I intend any copyright infringement. Try saying THAT three times fast.

It was late. Lily Evans's Transfiguration essay was due in a matter of hours, and she had been paraphrasing "conjuring mammals is very difficult" for about five lines. Transfiguration had never been her strongest point. Additionally, it was very late, and Lily could just feel the curtain of tiredness being draped upon her shoulders…

CRACK.

Lily stared down at her quill in shock; it had snapped in two. It was quite old and she'd probably been pressing too hard on it this entire time. Now she was faced with a dilemma—finish her essay during another class, or breakfast, or something and probably receive an A, or ask someone in the Common Room for a spare?

Normally, she would've done the second one without any trouble, but the thing was, there were only four other people in the Common Room this late at night, chatting by the fire, sharing butterbeers (she didn't dare ask where they got them—probably illegally), and talking about the stupidest topics.

You guessed it—the Marauders.

She hesitated. Asking the Marauders would draw attention to her, which would inevitably end up in James Potter asking her to Hogsmeade, probably for the eighteenth time this week, Sirius Black making some profane comment about conjuring mammals (honestly, he could make a sexual reference out of anything), Peter Pettigrew chortling along with them, and Remus Lupin being the only one that would actually lend her a quill. It seemed like an awful lot of trouble…but the essay had to be finished.

"Remus," she called out, turning around to face them, "D'you think I could borrow a quill for the night?"

"I've got one!" offered James enthusiastically, whipping out a luxurious-looking eagle-feather quill. Lily rolled her eyes—as if a quill would make her say yes to Hogsmeade….

"So, would being offered such a fine quill incline you to accept my invitation to—"

"No, Potter. But thanks for the quill," she said briefly, turning back to her essay.

"You know Evans," James said knowingly, "You should really take a break. Come talk with us."

"Potter! Honestly, this essay is due tomorrow, and I probably wouldn't be interested in your mindless conversation anyway," Lily retorted. She then caught Remus's eye, and ducked her head briskly and apologetically; Remus was the only one of them who didn't seem mindless.

"Oh c'mon," Sirius chimed in, twirling his wand in his fingers, "our conversation is really deep and intellectual, spanning difficult and complex topics, such as—"

"We're just talking about our favorite flavors of pie," Peter admitted, probably realizing he was unable to feign speaking about difficult and complex topics. "What's yours?" he added squeakily.

"Oh um," Lily started, a bit flustered. Peter wasn't as much of a nuisance as James or Sirius, so she felt it was only proper to respond. "I…don't really have one. Apple, I guess…?"

"Don't have a favorite?" gasped James, as if she'd just stated she didn't have a soul. "That's like not having a soul!" Lily rolled her eyes. Typical James.

"Well, what's your favorite food, then?" Remus tried, trying to prove that Lily did indeed have a soul.

"I have a soul!" she snapped, and answered Remus's question, "I umm…I like salad," she admitted dully, not able to think of her favorite food on the spot.

"Salad?" Sirius narrowed his eyes, unable to comprehend why people would want to eat vegetables. "Jeez Evans—prove to us you're at least human!"

"What's your favorite animal?" interjected James, and now all three of them looked at Lily with widened eyes. It was a bit unnerving.

"Do you like dogs?" Sirius asked hopefully. "Dogs are great. They're loyal, intelligent, caring, responsible, brave, strong, fluffy, and just wonderful animals."

"I don't like dogs," Lily admitted truthfully. "The way they smell isn't so loyal, intelligent, brave, or fluffy in the slightest." Sirius scowled at her, and turned away, as if she'd really insulted him. Lily wondered why…perhaps he had a dog at home.

"What about mice?" Peter questioned, "I like mice. They're small and quick."

"Oh I'm…not much of a mouse person, either," Lily replied. "For Muggles, they're seen as pests."

"Oh," Peter mumbled, looking downtrodden. Seriously, what was with these guys and animals?

"What type of animal do you like, then?" Remus asked, breaking the tension. Lily glanced off at her right, and saw James staring at her with wide eyes, as if he had a special animal to name also, but was afraid she'd turn it down. Honestly, it was just opinions on animals….

"I like, um, forest animals," Lily said, which was true. Her family had a cottage near many acres of woods, and as a child, she'd loved to frolic among the pine trees, spotting patches of strawberries, rabbits, and the occasional deer. Those were her favorite, especially once when she saw a doe and a fawn together.

James's face went from terribly anxious to one of elatedness. He looked as thought Lily had just said yes to one of his ridiculous date requests.

"Do you like stags?" he gasped, grinning hugely. Sirius nudged Peter, and the two of them smiled at each other knowingly. Lily had absolutely no idea why.

"Oh well," Lily stammered, unsure of whether to be honest or not. What harm would it do? It's not like James would transform into one or anything. And even if he asked her to go out with him as a talking deer, well…she didn't know about that one, but it wasn't like he could, anyway. "I suppose I do. I like deer and bunnies and things like that."

"You like stags and you don't like dogs?" questioned Sirius with a grin. "Why's that?"

"Well…stags are brave and mysterious and they're really appealing…they're not cute, I guess, but I really like how they look. And they're so majestic, too," she added, mentally asking herself why she was telling all this to them.

"I'm all of those things!" James cried, and Remus shot him a look. "I mean, the whole brave and mysterious and good-looking thing."

"James," Lily managed a laugh, "you're not a stag."

Apparently she had said hit a trigger, because James grinned devilishly, and rushed out of the portrait hole. Lily stared after him, bewildered.

"Must've remembered he left something somewhere," Remus explained vaguely, catching Sirius's eye, and all three of them bid her goodnight hastily, and headed back up to their dormitory.

Lily finished her essay in about twenty minutes, and headed up to the girls dormitory, where she heard a bizarre clunking sound on the window.

She looked out, and what she saw took her breath away.

There was a slender, but well-muscled stag standing on the grounds, near the lake. Even from far away, she could see it quite clearly. Its body was muscular, but still quite graceful-looking. Its hoofs were a shiny jet-black color; so unlike the deer she had seen at the zoo as a child, and even in the forest. This was a very healthy stag; even in the darkness, she could see the glossiness of its coat, in the crescent-moon's light, assisted by the stars. Its antlers were a deep brown color, so royal-looking and distinguished. There was something pale-colored in its mouth. It seemed to be staring straight at her. She grabbed a telescope, and stared through it, to find something that seriously shocked her.

It was holding a lily in its mouth.

And, as suddenly as it seemed to have appeared, the stag raced off, into the distance. Lily could see a tiny speck, but before long, it was gone.

She turned around, and sat in her four-poster, her heart beating rather quickly. She didn't know where that stag came from, or how it got that lily, or how it got her window to make noises—no, no wait, the stag didn't do that…stags don't know magic, after all…. Lily stared up at the ceiling, confused. But she did know one thing.

It had something to do with James Potter.