Disclaimer: This still doesn't belong to me.
Lily froze; her basket with its precious seeds tumbled from numb fingers. She had always thought of herself as a reliable person in a crisis, but now, with a massive wolf merely one hundred yards away, she found herself quite unable to move a muscle. She silently cursed her stupidity in leaving her wand in her jeans pocket beneath several layers of winter clothing. But then she hadn't exactly expected to run into trouble between the greenhouse and the castle.
Lily barely suppressed a scream as a hand clapped over her mouth and an arm grasped her around the middle.
"Lily, it's me," a voice breathed into her ear. Lily relaxed slightly as she recognized James. She wasn't entirely certain that he was preferable to the wolf.
"You need to get out of here. Just nod," James whispered.
Lily inclined her head and James gently removed his hand from her mouth. She turned to say something, but the wolf snapped its head up, noticing them for the first time.
"The greenhouse," James said urgently. He grabbed her hand and towed her backwards. The wolf continued to stride towards them. James swiftly opened the first door and ushered her into the small antechamber. Through the glass, Lily could see the beast stalking them across the moonlit snow.
"Don't move," James told her. Lily wasn't sure if she could move; normal muscle commands didn't appear to be working. She felt events spinning out of control as they so often seemed to around James Potter; it was one of the reasons he irritated her so much. Once again, James grasped her about the middle and she saw a flash of silver before a thin, smooth cloth enveloped both of them.
The wolf paused just after Lily felt the Invisibility Cloak, for she assumed that must be what it was, cover her feet. It came right to the glass, and sniffed at the crack of the door, but looked confused. Now, the greenhouse glass, which had always appeared substantial during Herbology lessons and quite capable of withstanding Whomping Willow saplings, seemed terribly fragile. She wasn't sure what they'd do if the wolf did attempt to break through the glass, but she was suddenly happy that she wasn't alone. James's arm around her waist might not be much protection, but she did find it strangely comforting.
The beast paced back and forth several times across the doorway before settling back on its haunches. Lifting its head, it let loose a bloodcurdling howl. Lily shivered in spite of herself.
"I'll kill him," James muttered.
Lily twisted around to look at James, who was glaring out at the snow-covered grounds. "What?" she asked in shock. "The wolf?"
James glanced down at her. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten about her presence, which Lily could only attribute to the surrealism of the situation. "No, Sirius."
"What does Sirius …" Lily started to ask.
"Shhh …" James laid a finger over her lips, quelling her query.
Lily saw that the wolf had quit its howling and once again looked likely to resume its pacing. Just then a second dark form burst onto the scene. It ran full tilt at the wolf and bowled it over. At first, Lily thought that it must be another wolf, but then recognized the form as a large shaggy dog. A single mass of flailing paws and fur, the canine pair rolled together in the snow. As they tumbled away from the door, a cloud of pink powder enveloped them.
"Oh no," Lily moaned as she watched the animals thoroughly destroy her Herbology project.
"What was that?!" James exclaimed.
The dog and wolf were lying in the snow and panting heavily. Neither one seemed inclined to move.
"Just my perfect grade in Herbology," Lily said mournfully.
"Lily," James said carefully, as if to a small child. "Where did the pink powder come from?"
"My Herbology project." Lily twisted around again. "I spent the last three months cultivating an Aphroditus plant and then spent the last two hours harvesting the seeds and now it's all gone. I'm doomed!"
The wolf and dog stood up and started circling each other. Cautiously, they approached one other and took a long sniff. One sniff turned into several enthusiastic others until the dog started licking the wolf. James watched all this with mounting horror.
"What do the seeds do?" James asked, trying to stay calm.
"Oh … they're the main ingredient in love potions and stuff. I guess you could say that they're an extra-concentrated aphrodisiac," Lily replied distractedly. She was trying to calculate the probability of getting an extension on her project.
"Lily, what have you done?" James squeaked.
"What have I done? Those animals just destroyed months of work! Let go of me, you oaf!" Lily started slapping at James's arm, which had tightened and was now pressing painfully into her diaphragm.
James released her and spun her around in one movement. His fingers dug into her shoulders. "Do you have any idea what a disaster this is? Look at them!"
Lily glanced over at the dog and wolf, who did seem rather extra-interested in each other. Her discarded basket was thoroughly flattened. "I can't believe they managed to crush all the seeds."
"That is irrelevant. They're … they're … mating!" James forced out through gritted teeth.
"No they aren't," Lily clarified. "They're just licking each other … for now."
James groaned.
"It is kind of interesting that the seeds are affecting animals too … I wonder if I could work that into my final report," Lily mused.
"We have to stop them!"
"Why?" Lily asked curiously. Truth be told, she was wondering how far the pair would take it.
"Because …" James struggled to find the words. "They're both male!"
Lily's eyes widened. "Oh! Wait, how can you tell?" James looked at her steadily until she blushed. "Well, that's bit unusual, isn't it?" She waved her hand vaguely.
"Not. The. Point. How long will the seeds last?" James asked desperately. "I'm not really sure … you're not supposed to inhale just the seed powder," Lily pondered."Several hours at least, I'm sure."
James moaned. "Where's your wand? We'll need to cast simultaneous sleep spells."
"You can't possibly mean to go out there! Maybe the dog is alright, but that wolf is definitely not friendly." Lily shook her head firmly.
"Lily …" James pleaded.
She sighed. "Alright, fine. If it means that much to you ... my wand is in my back jeans pocket. I'll need to take off a few things to get it out."
"Why did you …" James shook his head. "Never mind."
He watched impatiently as Lily undid all the buttons on her cloak. Looking outside, he saw that the dog and wolf were now licking each other in areas that James really didn't want to think about. "Lily, there's no time." Without further adieu, he shoved his hands beneath her cloak.
Lily squawked in protest and started to ineffectually hit his chest. "James! Stop that!"
"Hold still," James muttered and tried to grope his way beneath the tens of layers that Lily was apparently wearing.
"You're trying to feel me up!" Lily struggled, but James had one arm clasped firmly around her back and was hiking up her bulky jumper with the other.
"I'm really not," James protested. His right hand finally felt denim … among other things, which he really wished he had more time to pay attention to. "Merlin's beard, you're wearing a lot of clothing."
"Eep!" Lily exclaimed as she felt his hand moving across certain lower parts of her anatomy. "Watch where you're grabbing!"
"Sorry." James really wasn't sorry. "Got it!" he exclaimed triumphantly and carefully extracted her wand.
Lily snatched her wand and backed away rapidly. She wondered if she'd get detention if she struck him with a full Body-Bind curse and left him out all night to freeze.
James seemed to read her intentions in her eyes. "Hex me later. Sleep spell now. I'll take the wolf." He pointed imperiously at the door.
Lily narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she huffed. "If it means so much to you."
James rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."
Together they opened the door to the greenhouse and stepped cautiously, ready to dart back in if the wolf decided to be threatening. They need not have worried; the dog and the wolf were acting as if the other were the only being left on the planet. James and Lily positioned themselves on opposite sides of the writhing pair. He nodded at Lily. They simultaneously leapt in and touched their wands to the wolf and dog. "Soporificus!" The animals collapsed to the ground.
James sagged into the snow. He felt as though he'd just run up a mountain and back. Lily studied the wolf and dog curiously.
"James … isn't this Sirius's dog?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes," James confirmed dejectedly.
"Oh. So that's why you were out here." Lily cocked her head to one side and considered the wolf. "This wolf doesn't look quite right."
"It's not a wolf, Lily." James wondered if sticking his head in the snow would erase the images from his brain.
"It's not?" Lily said in surprise. She looked closer. Suddenly she paled. "I can't … James, this is a werewolf!"
James lifted his head. "Yes, I know."
Lily felt her jaw drop open. "You know! Why didn't you tell me?"
James struggled to his feet. "I thought you knew!" He half-shouted at her. "It's not my fault you didn't pay attention in Defense!"
"Of course I didn't know! Otherwise … that's why you wanted to stop them! This werewolf is a human for most of the month! And it, I mean he, with the dog … ew." The full implications suddenly caught up with her. "James, we have to tell someone that there's a werewolf in the school!"
James smacked his forehead. Just when he thought this evening had reached the absolute bottom … "No, we don't."
"But …" Lily began.
"The teachers already know," James reluctantly continued, hoping against hope that Lily would just stop thinking about it.
"They do? But …"
James walked over to her. "The sleep spell should last until morning, but you should get out of here now."
Lily frowned as she realized just how close she had been to getting bitten. She came to a decision. "Thank you," Lily said softly. Before the rational part of her brain could catch up to the rest of her, she stepped close and kissed James lightly, but fully on the lips. "That was for saving me."
James blinked rapidly. He felt as if he'd just been Stunned.
Lily smiled and then snatched James' wand and tossed it to the side. "Petrificus Totalus!" she shouted and pointed her wand at James. He toppled backwards. "And that was for groping me. I do hope you're comfortable. The spell should wear off in an hour or so. Goodnight." She turned on her heel and stalked away.
James stared up at the moonlit sky and seriously tried to decide whether this evening had been the best or the worst night of his life. After what seemed like an eternity (though it was probably only fifteen minutes), James heard footsteps and Peter's face appeared, blocking the moon. James desperately hoped that Peter would free him first before attending to Padfoot and Moony.
"Finite."
James could move. He sat up. "Where in the bloody hell have you been?" he snarled, happy to at last have someone to vent his frustrations on.
Peter sat back on his heels. "How glad I am to see you, Peter. Thank you for rescuing me from freezing all night. Why yes, I'd be happy to tell you why Moony and Padfoot are snoring like logs. Please sit down and listen to my tale." Peter glared.
James buried his face in his hands. "Believe me when I tell you that you don't want to know."
A/N: This chapter ended up being a little more risqué than I had originally planned, particularly since I don't really do slash. But then this isn't really meant to be slash exactly (although I guess Remus/Sirius fans can interpret it any way they like). I hope I'm still on the PG-13 side of things; if you disagree, tell me. Also, I'm bit worried by Lily's rapid mood change; I always hate it when fic writers do that and look at me, going ahead and doing that. In her defense, she did have some justification. I'm having issues with the final chapter so I need some encouragement. Feedback please!