It hadn't even been a choice now that Lily thought about it. There were certain things that had to be done, and chasing after Remus was one of them. There was no time to call on a teacher for help, and she couldn't wake up any of the other Marauders without alerting other people to Remus's condition. The only choice she had was going after him herself, so she did.
It was late, Lily didn't really know how late, but it must have been past two. Honestly, if it wasn't a week before finals, she would be asleep right now. It was only because she was cramming for potions that she even noticed the commotion outside her window.
Lily had known about Remus's lycanthropy for two years, but she'd never said anything about it. No one knew that she knew, and she was content with that until Remus decided to tell her. But ever since she had found out in the middle of third year, she had educated herself on it just in case a night like this arose. Honestly, Sirius, Peter, and James were a lot less subtle than they'd care to think. Lily had covered for them more times than she could count, and tonight was just going to have to be one of those times. It was just like pureblood wizards to not be aware that leap year would have an effect on the full moon.
So here she was, with Remus changed a day earlier than anticipated, alone at night. Perfect. At least after tonight, everything Lily knew would be out in the open and maybe they would trust her a bit more.
She could hear him running outside just out of her site. He was in the forbidden forest, she could tell. On a normal occasion, going into the forest would scare her, but tonight wasn't a night for fear. Tonight was a night where she had to be a Gryffindor. She had to be brave, or she didn't even know what would happen.
She slowly wove through the trees in the direction she thought she'd scene Remus going. Her ears had not deceived her, and soon Lily spotted him lapping up water from a stream. She paused and just watched him. Reading dozens of books was all well and good, but it could never have fully prepared her for actually facing one. Lily took a deep breath and a small step forward.
"Remus," she said gently. Part of her prayed she had said it quietly enough that he wouldn't have heard her, but his head whipped around and his eyes became fixed on her, "It's me," she said, trying to stop the tremble in her voice, "It's Lily"
Well, he hadn't killed her yet. She figured that was a good sign and took another step forward, this time with her hand raised, "I know you can hear me, Remus," she said softly, "And I know you have some sense of control."
Remus took a wary step closer, and it took all of Lily's willpower not to flinch, "I know where the others take you," Lily said, "I'm going to go with you so you're safe."
Remus could hear her, he had to. If he couldn't hear her, than Lily would be dead already. A small voice in Lily's head told her how deeply flawed her logic was, but she couldn't afford to be reasonable right now. She wasn't an animagus like the other Marauders, and she couldn't outrun Remus if he turned on her. And she certainly couldn't abandon him to do God knows what. She pressed her shaking hand down gently on Remus's shoulder.
She didn't know the inner workings of the map like the others did, but Lily could at least find her way to the Whomping Willow without being seen. Getting inside was another story entirely. One problem at a time, Lily, she thought, "Yeah," she said soothingly as she slowly led him out of the wood, "You know it's me."
She found it was easier if she pretended she was leading a dog instead of a werewolf. She was good with dogs. Dogs loved her and listened to her, and would never hurt her. Remus wouldn't hurt her. They more she said it to herself, the more she found she wasn't trying to convince herself. Remus wouldn't hurt her. Lily accepted it as fact. Whether it was actually fact or not didn't matter, it was a fact to Lily, and that was what she needed to get thought this.
The longer they walked, the more comfortable Lily became with touching him. Lily could sense that the more comfortable she was, the more comfortable Remus was in return. She soon found herself making idle chit chat to keep his attention. She supposed she was lucky there was no movement on the forest tonight. Lily was an idealist, but even she knew that Remus would be off if there was anything he could make his meal.
"I found out about the animagus part before the werewolf part, actually," she said after running out of small talk. Why did the Whomping Willow have to be so damn far, "It was Sirius who spilled what you were doing, but I pretended like I hadn't caught on? Honestly, it's impressive that I was the only one who found out. I guess I am just that smart"
Lily silenced herself when she saw the tree in sight. To be honest, she didn't know much about it, but it hadn't reacted to them yet. Maybe if they were quiet, she would be able to get Remus inside safely.
"We made it, Remus," she said quietly as they neared the tree.
Lily slowly walked forward, testing it. In her mind, it was okay of she got hit. She wouldn't lash out and kill something if she got hurt. If Remus was hit on the other hand…
As if on cue, the tree sprung to action, as if it sensed her presence. She barely dodged a branch aimed directly for her head. Okay, think. But no logical thoughts came. She was a 16 year old girl alone without a wand trying to protect a werewolf from a murderous tree. If she wasn't under the imminent threat of death, Lily might have laughed at the situation. She racked her brain about everything she'd ever read about the Whomping Willow as she stepped back from its reach. A weak point. She remembered suddenly. The Whomping Willow had a weak point near its base. But how could she ever get there?
It suddenly made sense to her why Peter transformed into a rat. He was perfect to be able to hit the knot that would still the tree. Lily, however, was not the perfect size to dart beneath the branches. She had to try though.
"Remus," she said as she turned back to him, "If there is any part of you still in control, stay here and wait for Me." she quickly turned back on her heel and ran directly at the tree.
She supposed it was foolish to try and use the element of surprise on a plant, but she soon regretted running in without any sort of protection. There were branches everywhere, threatening to bludgeon her to death. Lily had the fleeting thought that this must be what James felt while playing Quidditch, with the Bludgers trying to un-broom him and all. She was just thinking how unfortunate it would be to be hit in the head when a medium size branch hit her directly in the stomach knocking her off of her feet. Lily ignored the biting pain in her torso and stood back up. She was almost there. She could see several knots that could be the one to disable the tree. She had one shot at this, or she would surely be killed by a branch. Before she could talk herself out of it, Lily dove to the base and hit a knot at random. And it didn't work.
She didn't even look up, she hit more knots. Thought there were fewer branches here, there were still several that could hit her and do quite a lot of damage. As if on cue, and small branch hit her square on the back. Her head hit the ground. Hard. There weren't that many options left in terms of a weak spot, and a few more hits like that could kill her. She turned her head up as another branch barreled towards her. It made contact with her chest just as she hit the final knot.
Everything stopped around her as she struggled to regain her breathe. Either she had died, or it had worked. Either way, she could barely move. But move she did, and Lily limped back to Remus, who by some miracle was still there.
"There see," she said as she spit out a mouthful of blood, "Nice and safe."
She led him carefully to the opening at the trees base and down to the Marauders secret room. Lily felt like she should leave, but how could she explain this? Going now would only send people back here, to where Remus was. She could put him in that kind of danger, not when she'd almost gotten herself killed to keep him safe. Besides, she was confident that Remus would still understand her. He wouldn't hurt her.
Lily barely gave him a glance as he bound through the tunnel going God knows where. She knew the Marauders would never lock him up, so there must not be a way out except for through here.
When Lily could no longer hear him, she gingerly lifted her shirt to see scratched and bruises already decorating her stomach. Bruises and quite a bit of blood. It seemed like a branch had actually pierced her stomach, and much to her shock was still in there. Lily figured it must have been the adrenaline coursing through her, but she didn't really feel any pain. Her head was spinning, but past that, she didn't feel much of anything.
She felt tired, she supposed that counted as feeling something. Lily knew she shouldn't sleep. There were a million other things to be done. She had to wait for Remus and take care of herself. But right now, she wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for about a million years.
She was starting to feel the pain of her numerous injuries. It was only a matter of time before the stick protruding from her side became unbearable. She gritted her teeth and wrapped both hands around the branch and pulled. She felt that one, and it took everything she had to suppress the scream.
She could feel her clothes becoming soaked and her blood beginning to pool beneath her. She needed to get to the hospital wing, but she didn't have the strength to move. Breathing was getting difficult and she figured she had at least a few broken ribs.
She laid down on her back and prayed that someone would find her in time to bring her Madam Pomfrey. But at the blood continued pouring and her vision grew dimmer, Lily began to feel that her hope was a lost cause. She didn't know what time it was, and every minute that ticked by was another closer to her death. Finally, Lily couldn't stand it any mire and she closed her eyes and resigned herself to whatever would happen.