Shaking with fright, Lily glanced at the map, then back up at the creatures. They were in the exact spot where Sirius, Remus, James and Peter should be. Movement in the grass caught her eyes, and Lily squinted until she could make out a rat, running around the larger animals' feet.

Chapter Four – Animagi

It was near dawn when James returned, looking exhausted with his silver Invisibility Cloak draped over one arm. He jumped when he saw Lily on the couch, staring at him.

"I – I was – " he started guiltily.

"I think you dropped this," she said quietly, holding up the map. His eyes widened, but he said nothing

"Severus is right, isn't he?" Lily said, still in that quiet tone. "Remus is a werewolf."

"Lily, I can explain – "

"And you – " She was struggling to maintain control of her voice. "You're an Animagus. You, and Sirius, and Peter."

"We're not – "

"And the three of you spend every full moon running around with a werewolf?!" Her voice had a slightly hysterical edge to it. "What on earth possessed you? And I bet you're not even registered!" She got to her feet. "That's illegal! Why are you doing this? Don't you realise how dangerous werewolves are?!"

"Lily, calm down – " James said desperately, trying to placate her.

"Don't tell me to calm down! I spent half the night staring at this stupid map, wondering if any of you were going to come back alive! Knowing that you were running around with a WEREWOLF!" Lily collapsed back in the seat and put her hands over her face, not wanting James to see that tears that had welled up in her eyes.

"Lily," James said softly, sitting down beside her. "You're right about us being Animagi. That's why I came back alive. Because werewolves don't attack animals, only humans."

"How?" Lily whispered. "How did you become an Animagus?"

"Padfoot and I figured it out. It wasn't easy."

"Padfoot…That's Sirius. He was the big black dog, wasn't he? And Wormtail – Peter – he's the rat. Moony, because Remus is a werewolf. And you – Prongs. A stag." Lily looked up at him. "Why do you do it?" she asked.

"When we figured out what was going on, we couldn't just abandon Moony." James replied. "He's our friend. A fellow Marauder. All for one and one for all."

Lily gave a small, weary smile.

"Lily, are you going to tell anyone?" James asked seriously. Lily just looked down at the map in her hands, then gave it back without a word.

"Thanks," he said, refraining from questioning her further. He pulled out his wand, tapped the map and muttered, "Mischief managed!" before stowing both away in his pocket. They sat in silence for a while, as the sky outside grew steadily lighter.

"Can you – can you show me?" Lily asked shyly, breaking the silence.

"Show you what?" he said, confused.

"You know – transform. Become a stag."

"Oh." He smiled. "I guess so." James stood up, and the transformation began. Lily watched, captivated, as short brown hair sprouted all over his body, which was blurring and shifting. Horns shot out of his head and his face grew elongated until suddenly she was looking, not at James Potter, but at Prongs the stag.

"Wow," she whispered, standing up and walking closer. He stared at her with the same hazel eyes he had in human form, watching as she circled him.

"Wow," she said again, lightly touching the tip of one of his horns. "I can't believe this – wow. Is it – is the transformation difficult?"

He snorted and shook his head. Around his eyes were faint black circles, as if his glasses had become part of his hair.

"Wow," Lily said for the fourth time, stepping back to get a better look. Her eyes travelled over his body – then froze as they sighted three long, bloody gashes running down his left foreleg. "What happened? You're bleeding! I told you it wasn't safe!"

He changed back, and one of his hands ruffled his hair. Lily didn't even notice. She was too intent on the wicked-looking cuts on his arm.

"You need to go to the Hospital Wing," she said firmly.

"No," he replied, just as firm. "How would I explain? Anyway, it's not too bad. I've had worse."

Lily raised an eyebrow at him, then sighed. "Sit down and don't move," she ordered. She waited until he was seated before heading into her room and rummaging through her trunk.

"What are you doing?" he called, but she ignored him. When she found what she was looking for, she pulled it out and went to kneel beside James.

"What is that?" he demanded as she opened the box.

"It's a first-aid kit," she replied. "Hold out your arm."

He obediently stretched out his arm. "What's a first-aid kit?"

"It's something Muggles use," Lily said absently, concentrating on what she was doing. She poured anti-septic onto a fluffy cotton ball and gently wiped it over the cuts. James jumped with a startled exclamation, "Ouch! That hurts!"

"It's supposed to," Lily said calmly.

"What else is it supposed to do?" he said grumpily.

"It stops the wounds from getting infected." Lily put away the anti-septic and pulled out a length of bandage.

"What? No!" James protested as she began wrapping it around his arm. "I don't want a bandage!"

"Stop whining. It's either this or I heal you with my wand, and as I haven't quite got that spell exactly right, I'd rather not take the risk. No one will see it under your robes, anyway." She fastened the end with a little clip and packed everything else away.

"What do you have a Muggle first-aid kit for, anyway?" he asked as Lily returned the box to her room.

"Emergencies," she replied, grinning, then yawned widely.

"I think we both need to catch up on some sleep," James said through a yawn of his own.

"Mm-hm," Lily murmured. "Oh, and James?"

"Yeah?"

"I saw you play Quidditch. Congratulations on winning."

"You saw – " he began in a surprised voice, but she had already closed the door.

"Guess what?" Mary said excitedly, as they ate lunch later that day.

"What?" Andrea asked tolerantly.

"Chris asked me out! We're going to Hogsmeade together next weekend!"

Andrea began to quiz Mary on the details, but suddenly Lily wasn't listening. When was the last time James had asked her out? … The last day of school before the holidays. And she had replied with a simple: "I'd rather die!" Before then, not a week would pass without him asking her out. But she hadn't heard any such question since they had come back for their final year. Did that mean…maybe he didn't like her anymore. Maybe he had finally moved on.

Lily tried to feel glad about it, but she felt was flat and empty. She glanced over to where James was sitting, and felt a shock as she saw that he and his friends were all staring at her. She jerked her eyes away and stared at her plate, feeling strangely nervous.

"Lily?" Mary poked her. "Earth to Lily! Honestly, what is with you these days?"

"Sorry, what did you say?" Lily dragged her eyes up to look at her friend.

"I said, on a scale of one to ten, what would you rate Chris Fleming? I gave him a nine, but Andy reckons he's only a six."

Lily looked across at Chris Fleming. His hair was a light wavy blond, all smoothed flat. His nose was slightly hooked, and his cheeks dimpled when he smiled. He was tall and athletic; all in all, he wasn't too bad. But… "I agree with Andy," Lily said. "Six."

"Of course, he's no James Potter," Mary said slyly, and Lily his her playfully on the shoulder. "So Andy," Mary grinned. "Lily has Potter. Who's your excuse?"

To both Mary and Lily's surprise, Andrea turned bright red. "No – no one," she stammered.

"Tell! Tell!" Mary pleaded. Andrea shook her head, her lips pressed tightly together.

"Come on, Andy," Mary begged. "Please t– " She stopped abruptly as something whizzed past her hear and landed in front of Lily. They all stared at it in surprise – a paper plane with the words 'OPEN ME' scrawled untidily on the wings.

"Go on, Lily, open it!" Mary encouraged. Slowly, Lily reached out and unfolded the plane. Written on the inside was brief note.

Lily Evans,

We need to talk. Go to the Astronomy Tower at 1:00. ALONE.

-The Marauders

Thanks for reading, and please review! Sorry this chapter was a little late; I was away for a week. Hope you're enjoying the story!

DarkenedWaters