Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all.

Not on the lips, just on the cheek. But still, it was enough to set her off. "James Potter! I can not believe you just kissed me!" Thankfully they were almost at the Head's Den. Lily shrugged off the cloak and stormed up the last flight of stairs, cursing James the entire way.

Behind her, James shrugged. "I guess I wouldn't have known what to do if you hadn't reacted that way," he called up to her. When she didn't respond, he folded up the invisibility cloak and followed in her footsteps.

As he passed the closed door to her room, he paused. "Good night Lils," he said in a stage whisper. "I'm glad you didn't have to resort to eating cat food." Curled up in her bed, Lily smiled despite herself.

When she awoke the next morning, the almost full moon still hung in the sky. Lily groaned- her head felt like it'd been stuffed with Pygmy Puffs. Even though every part of her body begged her to crawl under the covers and go back to sleep she dragged herself out of bed. Jasper, who'd been sleeping by her feet, jumped down and followed her into the bathroom as she prepared herself for the day.

Today was the first Quidditch match of the year- Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw- and Lily had promised Alice that she would come. She'd even gone one step further, and decided to get a good seat at the top of the stands. She figured she might as well work on her fear of heights and watch the game at the same time, and if she wanted to get a good seat she'd have to get to the Quidditch pitch early.

A glance past James' open door told her that he was still asleep. She snorted- James was known for being uncharacteristically laid back when it came to games. While the rest of his team got up at the crack of dawn and then huddled over the breakfast table until it was time, James slept.

She left the Head Den with Jasper trailing her like a shadow, and together they walked down to the Great Hall. Just as she'd expected, she found Alice sitting mutely in front of an untouched plate of food. "Come on Al," she coaxed. "You've got to eat something."

Alice turned to smile at her, her dark brown hair swishing around her shoulders. "I'm glad you're here to make me eat," she said, her voice hoarse with nerves. "I'll need my strength for today's match."

Lily nodded. She'd heard that Ravenclaw's team was unusually strong this year. She pointed at some toast. "Eat that." Alice complied, picking it up with shaky hands.

While Alice nibbled on her toast, Lily loaded her own plate with eggs and sausage. As she ate, she tossed down bits of sausage and egg to Jasper, who was sitting on the bench next to her, and read snatches of the Daily Prophet to Alice. She tried to edit out the stressful news, as Alice already was nervous enough without hearing that one of their top Aurors had been killed and that it was suspected that Voldemort had infiltrated the Ministry.

Once Lily had managed to get two pieces of toast and an egg into her friend, she stood up to leave. The Great Hall was already filled with students wolfing down breakfast before the game, and already, students were filing out to get seats.

Marlene McKinnon, who was in Ravenclaw came up behind her. "Would you like to get seats together?" she asked, picking up Jasper.

"That'd be great," Lily told her with a genuine smile. After Lily had wished Alice good luck, they left for the grounds.

"I know we're on opposing sides," said Marlene as they walked, "but I don't care all that much about Quidditch anyway. I'd choose a good game of Wizard chess over a match any day."

"Then why are you coming to this one?" asked Lily, curious.

Marlene smiled. "My boyfriend, Philbert Deverill is the Keeper. He's crazy about Quidditch." She shook her head.

As they reached the Gryffindor stands Lily took a deep breath. It wasn't so bad going up- the stairs that led to the top were closed in on all sides, so as long as Lily didn't think about how high up she was, she was fine. After what felt like a hundred dizzying circles on the staircase, they stepped into the open viewing area. Marlene immediately led Lily towards the front, and it was all Lily could do to keep her eyes fixed on the back of her friend's blond head.

"Oh look, Lily!" said Marlene cheerily. "There are still two front row seats left!" She easily climbed over three first years and settled in one of the empty seats.

"Oh goody," said Lily under her breath as she scooted past the first years. Her knees turned to jelly as she caught a glimpse of the ground far, far below. Determined not to make a fool of herself- she was after all, Head Girl- she closed her eyes and placed one foot in front of another until she'd reached the empty seat. Only then did she allow herself to collapse.

Jasper hopped into her lap, and she pressed her shaking hands into his thick, black coat. A warm purr vibrated his entire body as she petted him, and slowly the sound began to slow her heartbeat. "You better not try to jump off the railing," she told him. "Because I'm not saving you if you do." He purred even harder.

"Oh, your cat followed us!" she said with delight, scratching under his chin. "My patronus is a cat you know."

Lily smiled. "Mine's a doe. Although I've never been able to figure out why... when I told my Dad he was shocked. Had his bets on a tiger."

"So your father's a Wizard too?" Marlene asked. "For some reason I thought you were from an all muggle family."

"You thought right. My dad just loves the idea of wizards... he always steals my schoolbooks during the summer and reads them. He was particularly taken with the idea of patronuses."

"That's fantastic!" Marlene's narrow face stretched in a grin. "I'm from an all wizard family, but I've got two older brothers so my parents are hardly interested in what I'm up to."

At that moment, the referee swept onto the field on his broomstick. Up in the announcer's stand Lily could just make out Sirius Black sitting next to McGonagall.

The stands quieted as down below, the two teams filed onto the Quidditch pitch. Lily felt an odd swooping sensation in her stomach she leaned forward for a better glimpse of the Gryffindor players. All you have to do is sit here, she told herself, trying to dispel the shakes she felt coming on.

A sharp whistle pierced the air, and up the two teams shot, James and the Ravenclaw chaser scrabbling for the Quaffle. At last they pulled apart, and Lily caught a glimpse of the reddish ball tucked under James' arm as he shot through the air.

"Potter has possession of the Quaffle!" said Sirius, "a brilliant start for the Gryffindors, as I'm sure Professor McGonagall will agree!" He grinned at the Professor next to him. Through her binoculars, Lily could make out the hint of a smile on McGonagall's face. Sirius and the Transfiguration teacher were famous for bickering their way through Quidditch matches.

Up above, Lily could just make out the red-clad form of Rolanda Hooch as she circled the pitch like a hawk, yellow eyes searching for the Snitch.

"Gryffindor scores! And take a look at Deverill's face! If it isn't usually ugly, it sure is now!" Sirius earned himself a sharp look from McGonagall for that one.

Lily cast a look at Marlene, but she merely smiled. "He is a sore loser," she said, and then turned her attention back to the game.

The game fell into a pattern after about twenty minutes- Potter would score, and then Deverill would make it in, keeping the game at a steady tie. Lily was soon so swept up in it all that she forgot she was sitting in a spindly tower high up in the sky.

Alice was doing a particularly good job- she even managed to prevent the Ravenclaw chaser from scoring with a well-aimed Bludger. Lily stood and cheered every time Sirius mentioned her (although often he only pointed her out to say that her figure was looking fabulous from all of the Quidditch practice). The game was nearing two hours long, with the score tied 100-100, when Hooch dove.

She streaked toward the ground, her robes a reddish blur, her yellow eyes wide with excitement. The Ravenclaw seeker spun to follow, but Hooch had already put too much distance between them. At the last minute, she pulled out of the dive, gold glinting from between her fingers. The air filled with screams and cheers and boos as Sirius said, "And Gryffindor wins! Obviously." The high score of this match would make Gryffindor a difficult team to beat.

Students began filing out of the stands in a mad rush to greet their Quidditch players.

"I'd better go see Philbert," Marlene said once they'd reached the ground. She headed off into the throng, her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders. Lily smiled at her back and then let herself be swept into the crowd that was heading towards the Gryffindors.

Alice greeted her with an enthusiastic hug once she'd reached the team, and Lily shouted, fighting to be heard over the roar of the crowd, "You were fantastic!" Alice grinned.

James detached himself from a mixture of teammates and lovesick girls to approach them. For a second his hands wavered by his sides, and he looked as though he wanted to hug her. Instead he stuck out one hand. Lily clasped it, still caught up in the excitement of winning the match.

"Good work," she shouted at him, and he beamed back, hazel eyes glittering. He does look handsome in his Quidditch robes, Lily found herself thinking, slightly surprised. Before she'd only seen an arrogant prat when he paraded around in his robes after matches. She shook her head at her thoughts and released his hand.

"I'll see you around," James shouted at her, and then he headed into the crowd to hoist spiky-haired Hooch onto his shoulders. The students around him helped, lifting her into the air as they marched toward the castle. Lily and Alice followed at a slower pace, still discussing the game.

They were heading into the Great Hall to get some lunch, when a scruffy looking owl winged its way towards Lily. She took the envelope from its leg and gave it an Owl treat from her bag. As they sat down, she opened up the letter.

"Oh it's from Hagrid!" she said at once, recognizing his spiky handwriting. "He's inviting us to lunch to celebrate the match. Would you like to go?"

Alice quickly agreed and they retraced their footsteps back onto the grounds, with Jasper twining around their ankles as they walked.

"Hullo!" Hagrid greeted them as he pulled open the door to his cabin. "See ye' got my note." The two girls filed into his cabin and settled themselves around the roughly hewn wood table.

"Did you see the game?" asked Alice as he poured tea into three clay mugs and then ladled stew into matching bowls. He tossed a piece of meat to Jasper, who was exploring his cabin.

"I sure did. Watched it from m' cabin. Yer turnin' into a great beater," he told her. Alice's cheeks pinkened. They chatted about the Quidditch game, and Lily told him about her quest to defeat her fear of heights. Hagrid thought it was a great idea, and even suggested ways for her to work on it- such as taking a broomstick up, or looking down from the Astronomy tower.

"Althou' you better watch ou' for couples if you do tha,'" he said, chuckling. The Astronomy tower was a known make out spot. Lily took another bite of her stew. It was surprisingly edible for one of Hagrid's concoctions.

"What's this stew made out of?" she asked once she had nearly finished the bowl. "It's delicious."

"Baby unicorn. Mos' tender meat you can find." said Hagrid without batting an eyelash. Both girls paused, repulsed. Lily felt faintly nauseous. "I'm jus' kiddin'. It's rabbit stew. We got plenty o' those in the forest."

When Lily got back to the Head's Den late that afternoon, James was still gone. Probably partying in the Gryffindor tower, Lily thought as she settled into her favorite chair to finish up her homework from the week. For some reason the idea bothered her- and not only because he was probably consuming copious amounts of illegal Firewhisky either. She pictured him leaning against the wall, a giggling girl wrapped in his arms... Ugh. What a fat headed prat.

It was almost dark when James climbed through the circular doorway. Lily had long since finished her homework, and was finishing a letter to her father at the common room desk.

"Have fun?" she asked, her voice dry.

"Yeah, I did. It was a great game. I love it when they last-" he stopped speaking, noticing the dark look on her face. "What's wrong? You aren't hungry again, are you?"

She shook her head, fighting to keep a smile from her face. "I do get grumpy when I'm hungry," she admitted. "But I'm not hungry right now."

"Ah," he said, scooting by her and into his room. Lily was relieved to find that he didn't smell like Firewhisky. Only grass and wind and soap. She shook her head, her thoughts bringing back her dark mood. He doesn't smell good, she told herself firmly.

She sealed her letter and then brought it into her room to save for when she could post it later. Outside her window, the sun was slipping behind the mountains, streaking the sky pink. She knew that from the other side of the castle, students could probably see a beautiful full moon.

Lily sunk onto the soft cushion of her window seat; her head was clear despite the height. She was just scanning the dark trees of the Forbidden Forest, when motion to her left caught her eye. She turned her head in time to see James Potter streaking down from his balcony on a broomstick, headed toward the Forbidden Forest. In the distance, a hair-raising howl sounded- the howl of a werewolf.

For a second, she wavered. Then, with a wave of her wand, she had disappeared the glass in her window and accio-ed a broomstick from the supply shed. She swung her leg over the broom awkwardly- she hadn't rode one since her first year- and pushed off from her floor. For a second, she hovered. You're a Gryffindor! She told herself. You're supposed to be brave! And then, determinedly pushing any thoughts of her weak knees, clammy palms and spinning head away, she zoomed out the window.

It took her awhile to get the hang of the broomstick and by the time she had reached the Whomping Willow, James had disappeared. Fear filled the pit of her stomach. She couldn't see where else he could've gone than the forest. Stupid pigheaded, overconfident, idiotic prat!

For a moment, she considered turning back. But then she imagined what Dumbledore would say if he found out she'd let a student go into a potentially dangerous situation by himself. He'd be mad, even worse, disappointed. She was Head Girl; it was her duty to stop James.

It didn't seem like a good idea to enter the forest on foot, so instead she urged the broom into the trees. Flying through the forest was much more difficult than flying through open air. It was almost pitch black, and she had to avoid tree limbs and trunks and leaves. She was tempted to use lumos to light her way, but she didn't want to draw attention to herself with the light. The thought of unseen eyes on her back made her shiver.

She flew doggedly through the forest, her ears alert for sounds of both James and predators. Two hours later, there still wasn't any sign of him and Lily's face was scratched and bleeding from flying into branches.

Finally, the slapping of the trees on her face and arms had gotten to be too much. She pulled the broom above the canopy and hovered in midair, attempting to rip off a piece of cloth from her shirt to use as a bandage for a particularly deep cut on her arm.

The crack of a branch below startled her, and she nearly dropped the cloth as she was tying it. Once she had firmly secured it around her arm, she dipped down below the canopy. In the darkness, she could barely make out a hunched, panting form. A beam of moonlight made the animal's intelligent brown eyes gleam, and Lily felt as though she'd walked through a ghost.

She held her breath as the animal sat and let out a long howl. Within seconds, an enormous black dog burst out of the trees, bounding forward playfully. The werewolf lowered itself into a crouch and waved its rump in the air.

Lily watched, amazed, as they tumbled together, snarling and panting. The dog had just managed to pin the werewolf down, and was vigorously licking his face, when a massive animal appeared from the woods behind her.

He was beautiful- with long delicate legs and reddish-gold fur. Velveteen antlers framed liquid golden-green eyes, and his long slender ears flickered forward and backward, capturing the forest around him in sound. Lily let a long breath escape as he pranced toward the wrestling pair- his coat dappled by moonlight.

The stag froze at the sound of her sigh, and surveyed the forest carefully before shaking his head. The shaggy black dog let out a delighted yip at the sight of him, and bounded off of his werewolf friend to greet the majestic animal with a lick on the nose.

She followed silently as they headed deeper into the forest side by side, the oddest pack she had ever seen- and she hadn't even noticed the rat that was trailing them. The thought of James had completely flooded from her mind upon seeing the animals, and guilt twisted her stomach when she remembered why she'd rushed into the forest in the first place.

Finding James would be like trying to pick out a kneazle at an animal shelter- practically impossible. She'd have much better luck if she followed the werewolf- they were made to hunt humans. Let's just hope I can get to him before the werewolf does, she thought grimly.

As the night wore on without any sign of James, Lily began to grow sleepy. The initial adrenaline rush of being in the forest and then finding a werewolf was wearing off, but she was determined to stay with the pack. Thankfully, she was becoming good at avoiding branches. At the very least, she thought as she managed to dodge yet another smack in the face, I'll be a good flyer after this.

The moon was well into its descent in the sky when the animals changed their course, working their way back toward Hogwarts. Lily was so exhausted that she hardly noticed- it was all she could do to stay on her broomstick. When they reached the edge of the forest, they made a beeline for the Whomping Willow.

Lily followed them into the open, her mind numbed with sleep and cold. She hardly noticed when the Whomping Willow froze, its branches poised against the lightening sky. Panic clutched at her thoughts as the animals disappeared into the base of the tree and she urged her broomstick forward, putting herself within reach of the great tree's limbs. She'd never be able to find James without them!

Everything was still for a moment and then WHAM, a branch as thick around as a Quaffle slammed her off her broomstick and into the ground. The long, unkempt grass bent around her like a cradle as she lay, cold and still.

She was still passed out when James, Sirius, and Peter trooped out of the tree. Remus was in the Shrieking Shack, waiting for the nurse to come pick him up.

"Oh shit." Sirius was the first one to notice Lily's crumpled form. "Prongs, get over here!" James' face whitened as caught a glimpse of her deep red hair.

"Lily." He breathed the word, dropping his broomstick on the ground as he rushed to her side. Her hands were freezing in his, but her pulse was still pumping strong. A large purple bump was forming on her forehead and her face was covered with tiny scratches.

"What happened?" Peter asked. He stood behind James and Sirius as they examined her body, feeling for breaks and, although neither wanted to say it, bites.

"I think she's alright," Sirius said at last, and James let out a sigh of relief. "Let's get her into bed, and then if she needs it we can take her to the hospital wing."

It took a few minutes of debate before they decided that covering her with the invisibility cloak and flying her up to her room was the best course of action. Sirius pulled the cloak out of his back pocket, and James helped him to tuck it snugly around her.

Then, as James straddled his broom a few feet off the ground, Sirius picked her up and placed her in front of him. Even through the cloak he could smell the sweet aroma of honey suckles. Her body felt small and cold against his own, and he felt his stomach contract with fear at the thought of her staying that way.

More carefully than he ever had in his life, he pushed off from the ground and soared toward the Head's Den.