A/N: Re-reading this chapter made me cringe. A lot. I'm sorry. Maybe one day I'll re-write it but I can't be bothered right now so here it is in all it's cringe-worthiness.
Lily awoke to the sound of the portrait hole swinging shut, and then loud voices and harsh breathing. She shook her head and looked around blearily, gently peeling the Transfiguration assignment she'd fallen asleep on top of off of her left cheek. She cast a quick tempus charm and blinked in shock when it told her it was 4.32 am. The voices that had woken her were Black, Potter and Petigrew, Lily realised as she listened silently to their conversation. She sat up and peered over the back of the couch to see what they were doing.
"Ouch! Damn that stings, Wormtail! Can't you be more gentle?"
"Nope, you know it has to be done, just deal with it," Peter told James, smearing a thick yellow paste down his arm. James' left upper arm was decorated with what looked like giant scratch marks: three long, deep gashes oozing blood. Sirius had similar wounds on his right leg, though they looked more shallow and had stopped bleeding.
"Easy for you to say, rat boy, you're not the one who has to deal with his violence."
"No-one forces you to do it," Peter reminded him sharply. "We do it for Moony, in case you've forgotten already." James looked slightly ashamed, and muttered an agreement.
"I know how you feel though, Prongsy. I don't know what was up with Moony tonight, he's never been that bad before," Sirius commented, applying the yellow paste to his own leg.
"I have no idea," James shook his head, casting healing spells on his arm which caused the skin to knit back together. "I'm just glad we got him back to the shack eventually. You don't think there was a person around somewhere that he could smell?"
"I suppose it's a possibility. But they must have been on the Hogsmeade side, I checked the map and no-one left Hogwarts," Peter told him. Sirius finally looked up from tending his leg and spotted Lily gaping at them over the back of the couch.
"Evans! What the hell are you doing awake?" He exclaimed.
"Oh shit!" James swore. "How much did you hear, Evans?"
"I um, I fell asleep on some homework. You guys woke me up when you came in, so I heard, well, everything."
The three boys exchanged meaningful looks.
"And what exactly do you think 'everything' means, Evans?" Peter asked.
"Look, I'm sure you're aware I already knew about Remus' umm, condition; I've known since fourth year. And I know he gave you those scratches," Lily gestured through the window at the full moon. "But since being around him as humans would be incredibly dangerous, and I don't think even you three are that stupid, I'm figuring you're animagus'. And Peter turns into a rat."
The three of them gaped at her, unsure how to handle the fact that someone else now knew their secret. Remus had indeed informed them in fourth year that Lily had figured out he was a werewolf, and informed him that she was perfectly fine with it. The animagus thing, however, had always been just between the four of them.
"Ok Lily, here's the thing. We've known about Remus since second year, and we've seen how dreadful he looks after his transformations; I'm sure you've noticed it too. We felt bad that he has to suffer alone every month, and so Sirius came up with the brilliant idea of becoming animagus' so we can keep Moony company. And it works, it keeps him calmer and means he doesn't have to be locked up in the shrieking shack every full moon," James explained, begging her to understand.
"I guess that makes sense," Lily agreed. "But surely it's still dangerous! I mean, you obviously got hurt tonight! And how the hell did you learn to do it? Aside from being illegal, it's very difficult magic!" The boys were pleased to see she looked more impressed than angry.
"Nah, not if we're careful. And tonight was the exception, usually he's a lovely wolf when we're around in animal form," Sirius grinned wryly. "We've been practicing transforming since the start of third year. Prongs and I got it figured by the end of fourth year, and Wormtail had it by the time we started fifth year."
Lily's mind was reeling. The fact that they put themselves in danger every month for the sake of their friend, well it wasn't actually that surprising coming from the Marauders. The fact that they could transform into animals was far more surprising and impressive. "Wait so Peter – wormtail – is a rat," something in her head clicked as the nickname finally made sense. "Padfoot and Prongs, though? What are you guys?"
James and Sirius grinned, pleased to have a chance to finally show off their skills to someone new. Within seconds there was a large, shaggy haired black dog spread across the couch where Sirius had been lounging, and a beautiful stag standing in front of James' seat. Sirius bounded over to Lily and nuzzled her hand while she laughed. James followed more slowly, bowing his head for Lily to stroke.
"Merlin you're soft, Potter," she breathed. The black dog turned back into Sirius, laughing along with Peter at Lily's comment. The stag turned to glare at them both, then tuned back into James.
"Thanks, Evans," he smirked. "Umm, I know we probably don't need to tell you this, but the whole animagous thing we do is very illegal. And if anyone found out we would be expelled, and probably trialled by the Ministry of Magic. So please, please don't mention this to anyone, alright?" He finished softly, staring at Lily with his big, hazel eyes.
"I – of course not. Since you do it for Remus and everything. Just – well be careful, ok?"
"Always, Evans," Sirius grinned. "I'm exhausted, bedtime I think." The others all agreed, and Lily said goodnight to the boys as they headed up their separate staircases.
