When Lily woke up, the first thing that she was aware of was an aching pain all over her body, and sharper burning pains in her shoulder and abdomen.

It took a moment for her memories of the night before to come back to her, but when they did she couldn't help but let out a tiny, strangled gasp. Almost instantly a figure appeared by her side. she would have expected Madam Pomfrey, but it was the person who before last night she'd always designated as her worst nightmare.

James Potter. She wanted to frown athim, but she didn't have the energy to face his pouting.

"What happened?"She croaked. James looked exhausted, as if he'd been up for days.

He looked absolutely petrified and looked around rapidly for madam Pomfrey.

No luck.

He gave in to emotion for a moment.

"Lily, thank God you're okay. I thought you'd never wake up!" he tried to smile, to make it a joke, but instead a choking sound came from his throat and to his absolute horror and disgust he began to sob.

While he was trying to get himself back under control, a small hand was placed weakly on his back.

"It's okay." Lily tried to reassure him, while the less charitable side of her tried to work out what idiot let Potter in to see her. "Shh. I'm fine."

Though, now that she thought about it, Madam Pomfrey could usually heal wounds instantly. Why was she still bandaged up and in pain?

James nodded, managing to get himself under control.

"I know, i'm sorry...I can't believe I'm doing this." He gave a nervous, very watery chuckle and for just a moment her heart went out to him.

"So, what did happen?"

Again he looked around for any sign of Madam Pomfrey before swallowing nervously.

"Well, um...Evans, there's no easy way to say this, uh..." He had to pause to get himself under control. "Do you remember what attacked you last night?"

She nodded. "Some kind of animal... a bear? A wolf?"

Ice seemed to trickle through her veins and she stared at him. Everything was falling into place but she had to be wrong, she just had to be.

She would never forget the look on James' face when he nodded and spoke again.

"I'm sorry, Lily. It was a werewolf."

She stared at him, her mind racing, her eyes begging him to take back those words.

"So...every month..." It was a struggle to speak, her throat feeling tight.
James nodded.

"No." she said, covering her face. "No! you're lying, this is one of your stupid little tricks-"

"No, Evans, i swear-"

"Get out! Get out!" She didn't realise she was screaming until the burning in her throat registered on her senses. A door at the other end of the Hospital wing opened and Madam Pomfrey hurried out. She nodded to the shellshocked looking James and motioned gently with her hand for him to leave.

He did so, with one last desperate and anguished glance back at Lily.

Madam Pomfrey immediately moved to her side.

"How are you feeling?"

Lily's throat was burning and so were the wounds were she'd been bitten,but she didn't say that.
"Is it true? I'm a...It was a ," she mouthed the word werewolf."That bit me?"

Madam Pomfrey nodded, her expression a mask of motherly concern."I'm afraid so. You'll be ableto remain at school, provided that nobody finds out. Werewolves aren't treated particurlarly kindly in the wizarding world." She gave a snort of disapproval. "I'll treat any injuries you sustain each month. I know this is a lot to take in..."

Lily couldn't speak. Her throat was constricted with her growing urge to scream, so she just nodded.

"Injuries like this take longer to heal. I changed the bandages shortly before you woke up. Do you want a potion to take away the pain?"

To Pomfrey's surprise, Lily shook her head. She knew that it was irrational, but she felt like she needed the reminder, to prove to herself that life would be different now. She wanted to force it to feel real, ratherthan continuing to seem so unthinkable.

Maybe if she just waited long enough this would actually feel real.

Something occurred to her.
"Madam Pomfrey...how did Potter know? If this is a secret?"

Pomfrey smiled gently. "He was the one who saved your life last night. He brought you in here while his friends kept the wolf away."

Lily blinked. She'd thought it had been animals who'd chased the wolf away. Maybe the pain had made her delusional.

She struggled to process the thought. "So...Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Remus all know?"

She tried to hide her horror. If they knew, it would be on the front page of the Prophet in another week.

Pomfrey nodded, and smiled again as if she sensed Lily's alarm.
"I think you'll find they've had practice keeping secrets."

It was a few hours later that Lily was woken up from a nap by footsteps which stopped by her bed.

"I'm so sorry, Lily." The whisper woke her fully and she blinked her eyes open to see Remus.
Her tongue felt heavy from the painkilling potions Madam Pomfrey had ended up ordering her to take.

"Remus?"

He started, jumping backwards as she spoke. She blinked at him for a moment.

"Remus, you look terrible!" He had shadows under his eyes and a grimace of pain which he was clearly trying to hide. He looked pale and anxious.

He gave a small chuckle. "Hello, Lily. Nice to see you too." but there was no real mirth in his laughter or words. It was as if he was preoccupied with something.

She grabbed his arm to pull him closer and he winced. Looking closer, she saw a bandage around his wrist. She gasped.

"Oh, Remus, I'm so sorry! Did that happen last night fighting the wolf? Oh, Remus!" Impulsively, she reached up to hug him. He held himself rather stiffly, as if he thought he was under attack.
"Uh, Lily...What did they tell you?"

Her eyes took on a sad and fierce fervour. "The wolf attacked me. It attacked me. I was in the Hogwarts grounds," she said, slowly going through it all. "I should have been safe. How did a monster like that get in the grounds?"

She stared up at Remus, remembering, her face blank with confusion. "Who let it in? Who let a monster in?" Her voice was getting louder as she remembered the pain as it sank it's teeth into her, the fear she'd felt, how she was a monster now-

"I have to go." Remus' eyes were wide and his voice high pitched as he stumbled rapidly away from the bed. Lily barely noticed. She was relieving it again, and again and again-

After a few moments Madam Pomfrey came out and gave her some Soothing solution and dreamless sleep, but by then Remus was long gone.