Disclaimer: All my base are belong to JK Rowling.

Chapter One

A heavy branch struck her face and she tasted blood. She whipped around, flinching away from the source of her pain. Her long red hair flew in front of her eyes and she doubled over, her hands sinking into the carpet of dead leaves on the ground. She started crawling, head bowed low, praying that she could find a way out of the tree's reach. Branches creaked and leaves brushed together to make a racket loud enough so that she could not hear the thud of hooves behind her. She pushed herself up off the ground and stood, preparing to make a run to safety. She dodged a falling bough and felt thin branches lashing against her neck. Ducking low, she side stepped one branch, only to be walloped by a second moments later. She flew back towards the trunk of the tree and landed in a heap at its roots. She groaned and sat up, gingerly feeling her ribs. She raised her eyes and gasped.

Standing before her was the stag. He towered over her, tall and broad with a sinewy strength to his thick torso. His antlers were so wide that she thought she could probably fit in the space between them. His hazel eyes were intelligent and almost human. She noticed all of this before she even had the chance to scream. She should have been frightened by the immense creature but the immediate danger associated with the beating she had just suffered at the hands of the tree effectively shadowed her fear of being trampled by the deer. As though in a daze, she reached out to touch his muzzle and as her hand met his soft fur, a tree branch swung down, knocking into her knees and sweeping her to the ground again. She clamoured to her feet and felt the stag nudge her shoulder. She turned toward him and she swore he gave the slightest flick of his head, as though inviting her to climb onto his back. With tree branches flailing all around her, she did not hesitate to wrap her arms around his neck and pull herself up. Hugging him tightly, she gave his flank a soft pat to say she was ready to go. Immediately, he took off, accelerating quickly from a trot to full gallop, leaping, prancing and skirting past the violently waving branches. Branches thrashed against her back and she pressed her face into the stag's neck. A thick bough sliced through the air and cracked against the side of his head. The stag stumbled and the girl screamed as she felt the animal's legs give out from under her. Twisting and trying to stay upright, the stag fell to the ground with a sickening crunch. Panicking, the girl fumbled in her robes for a long, slender, willow wand and wondered why she had not thought of it earlier.

"Locomotor deer!" She cried, her voice swallowed up by the night.

The stag rose from the ground and began floating away. Branches swung down toward her and she ran to catch up with the injured creature ahead of her. Finally, when they were outside the reach of the swinging branches, she let the stag fall gently to the ground. Casting her wand aside, she knelt down next to him and let her hand fall softly against his head where a bump was surfacing and a small trickle of blood stained his fur. Her eyes traveled down to his hind leg which was bent at an unnatural angle. She was racking her brain to think of healing spells when she noticed a scraggly, gray rat scampering towards them. She jumped to her feet and the rat made a straight run towards the stag's head, squealing and squeaking as it ran.

"Shoo! Go away!" she yelped as she stomped toward the rodent.

It was at that moment that the stag started to change. Both the rat and the girl fell still and watched him. The antlers gave way to a shock of untidy black hair, the large hooves turned to feet, and instead of a furry torso there was a ripped t-shirt and jeans.

"James!" she exclaimed and knelt down next to him again.

"Erghh," he groaned and rolled onto his back. He opened his eyes and there she was, red hair hanging past her shoulders and her green eyes peering searchingly into his face.

"Lily, are you okay?" he asked and sat up, reaching towards her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said as his hand closed around her wrist. She was bruised and sore but it was nothing an ice bath would not fix. She had more pressing things to worry about. Like the fact that just a few moments ago this boy had been a deer. Or that he was still bloodied and beaten up.

"You're bleeding," she said in a high voice, "and I think your ankle's broken-"

"Wormtail!" James cut her off. "Where the fuck were you on that one, mate?" he yelled.

"What?" Lily asked in confusion and followed his gaze to the rat who was still sitting in the grass.

"You really left me hanging there, you couldn't come press the fucking knot in the tree like you're supposed to?"

"Potter, it's a bloody rat," she muttered furtively. "You were hit in the head, maybe you should lie back down," she said and pushed her hand against his chest, trying to force him down.

"Don't be a git, she already knows, just transform so you can help us out," James said irritably as he peeled Lily's hand from his chest.

Lily looked from James to the rat, waiting for it to do as James said and "transform". She watched in fascination as its fur fell away, paws grew to hands, and elongated snout shrank back into a nose.

"This is mad," she muttered as she recognized the boy before her as Peter Pettigrew.

James turned toward her and tightened his hold on her wrist.

"Lily I know this isn't what you expected-"

"That's an understatement," she grumbled.

"But we're not safe right now and I need you to just trust me, alright?"

Her steely glare passed over him and Peter, she had a million questions and it was just like Potter to act as if she were just a helpless child who needed to let the grown-ups handle things. She wanted to put her foot down and demand an explanation but his hold on her wrist was urgent and there were clearly a number of things going on of which she was unaware.

"Alright," she said reluctantly, not seeing much choice in the matter.

"Great," James sighed in relief. "We need to get out of here," he continued decisively, casting a nervous glance toward the forest. He tried to push himself to a standing position and fell back to the ground.

"Agreed," Lily said, "but you're not going anywhere fast. I think I should use locomoter again."

"No," James protested flatly. "I can't transform when I'm being charmed."

"I didn't realize my wit had such an effect on you," Lily commented dryly. "Why would you need to transform anyway?" she asked, speaking seriously again. "We're just heading back to the castle and we'll be there faster if I can just-"

"We'll get there faster if we stop arguing," James growled. "Didn't you just say you would trust me? We'll have plenty of time to talk later," he insisted as he looked back over his shoulder.

Grudgingly, Lily hauled him up to his feet and tossed his arm over her shoulder while motioning for Peter to do the same.

"There better be one good explanation for this," Lily grumbled.

"There will be," James promised, wincing with each limped step. His head snapped up as the sound of insistent barking cut into the night air.

"Is that Sirius?" he asked and looked towards Peter.

"I think so," Peter huffed, "I told him to stay with Lupin."

"Why? What's going on?" Lily asked and glanced over her shoulder.

"Just keep moving," James said and tried to pick up the pace. His arm tensed around Lily's shoulder and she was shocked to feel him shaking against her. She wasn't sure if he was trembling from pain or fear but both options frightened her.

"Peter, do you think you can lift one leg, and I'll lift the other?" she asked.

Peter grunted his affirmation and together they scooped James up and started to shuffle forward as quickly as they could.

James whispered a string of obscenities as each movement sent a shot of pain up his leg.

"Almost there Potter," Lily gasped. Even with two people carrying, the six foot tall Quidditch player was a heavy load.

A long and drawn-out howl spiraled through the dark making Lily and Peter stop dead in their tracks.

"Sirius?" Lily asked tremulously.

"No," James whispered. "Run."

Peter lead them toward the hidden castle entrance as he and Lily half ran, half dragged James along. The barking was coming nearer and nearer as did the tortured, guttural howls. Lily's calves were aching and her lungs were fit to burst but she kept pulling, not daring to hazard a look behind her. Her wand was tucked into her pocket but she hoped to use every free hand to carry James so that she wouldn't be put in a position to actually have to use the wand.

The animal was close. She could hear twigs snapping and leaves rustling behind them. They approached what looked like a small porthole in the castle wall. It was paned with a stain glass scene depicting a complex system of archways.

"This is it!" James panted.

"We won't fit!" Lily cried in a panic.

"Peter!" James barked.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" he griped and dug through his pockets for his wand.

"Hurry!" Lily yelped. She swore she could hear the beast's ragged breathing. She glanced over her shoulder as a shadow passed over her. It was far too dark to tell what it was but there was no doubt, the beast was upon them.

A/N: I thought I'd try a bit of drama for once since I'm always writing silliness. I hope you like it but remember to tell me if you do or don't ;) Rabiscar.