AN: I apologize if this chapter has a different…tone, I guess you could call it; I'm a little angry at the moment because of my wonderfully amazing and supportive family *note the extreme sarcasm* Gosh, I'll be glad when I can get out of here next week.
So glad that the Nole won the final =] he's a great guy and deserves to be ranked No. 1-not to mention fudging hilarious.
Thanks to my reviewers!: Loslote, LadyLupin98, MayFairy, rolfshuvakomail, Panamo, and cara!
Yeah, I just noticed that I posted the legacy story stats one chap too early… 0.o sorry, I lost my sanity a long time ago…
Red
Chapter 10
XXX
He [the werewolf] was much faster than me on foot But I doubted he had ever swam in werewolf form. I kicked off my shoes as I ran to the lake, and dove in. The wolf chased after me, following onto the dock. When he realized what was below him, he skidded to a stop, paws flailing everywhere as he tried to halt. He did just in time, and for a moment I was safe.
XXX
For a moment.
The water pulled me down into its icy depths, and the weight of my bulky sweater and scarf was not helping my predicament. I treaded the best I could, but it was a losing battle. It was just too cold—I was surprised that it had not frozen yet—and my clothes were dragging me down.
The wolf waited impatiently on the dock, snarling and snapping his dripping jaws at me. The dog and stag again tried to divert him by pouncing on him and scratching and biting him playfully, but was not taking the bait. The dog ran off, and later I heard a long, sorrowful howl at which the werewolf perked up its ears and bounded off eagerly, forgetting the nice meal that was waiting for him in the water. I swam over to the edge of the water as fast as I could—which turned out to be pretty slowly—and once I got to the shore realized that I was numb from head to toe. The wolf wasn't in sight. I sat there for a few moments until I stood up and stated back to the castle. I was turning in circles as I walked quickly across the grounds to enable myself to see if the werewolf was coming back. I lost my footing on a protruding branch and stumbled backward. There was a sickening crunch, and I winced as pain flooded through my ankle. I tried to stand back up, but fell down again because of my ankle which could bear no weight. I was able to only crawl pathetically along the frosted ground. I heard the sound of only two feet pounding rhythmically on the ground. I turned around to see a familiar form racing towards me. The moonlight illuminated the distinct features, dark black hair, bold eyes, defined jaw, and tall frame.
"Lemme help you, Evans," Sirius Black offered as he stooped to pick me up. "You ok?" he added.
I shook my head no.
"You don't look it," he admitted. "Your lips are blue, your face is gray, you're sopping wet and freezing cold."
"Magic," I croaked out.
"Eh?"
"Magic," I said, only a few decibels louder.
"Right!" he said, as we neared the castle. He was still running, and glancing periodically behind him. "As soon as I can reach my pocket, Evans."
I nodded feebly. We were in the security of the castle within seconds of another shrill howl. Sirius stooped and let me down on the floor, and I sat with my knees to my chest as he fished in the pocket of his robes for his wand.
"Here we are," he announced triumphantly, pulling out his wand. He then cast a heating and drying spell on me. I felt a wave of gratitude and warmth wash over me.
"Thanks," I said, meaning every bit of it.
"Anytime, love. Let's get you back up to your dorm." He held out his hand. I took it gently, and he pulled me up and didn't let go. I thought this might be what it feels like to have a big brother. I smiled to myself.
"I bet you're wondering exactly happened back there."
I was. "I am," I replied.
"And I bet you're expecting me to tell you."
"I am," I repeated.
"But I won't. Well, at least not now."
And I was okay with that, because at the moment I was glad just to be safe, and didn't really want to have to be pressed with the whole story—which I had a feeling would be a long one. "Its alright. I will want to know sometime, though."
"And you probably will know sometime."
"thanks again, Sirius. I don't really want to know what would have become of me if you hadn't been there."
His expression clouded over. "Yeah," he replied noncommittally. "But we don't have to worry about that," he told me, and the storm on his face was pushed over by the sun as he smiled.
XXX
The next morning I woke up feeling terrible. My head hurt, my back was sore, and my left ankle throbbed with a dull pain. I groaned and swung my stiff legs out of bed. Trying to not put any pressure on my ankle, I hobbled into the bathroom.
I looked like a bloody nightmare.
My hair was disheveled, my eyes had purple bags underneath them, and there were various scratches on my cheeks and a bruise above my right eye. I had never used any glamour charms, and the only makeup I had was a tube of mascara. It looked as if I was stuck.
Getting dressed was a battle. My ankle refused to cooperate, and I ended up lying on my bed trying to pull on my skirt. My tights were next, and after that my shoes. I pulled on my right flat with ease, but the left would not go on. My foot was too swollen. I grudgingly put an enlargement charm on my shoe, and then shoved my foot inside. I grabbed my bag and limped out of my dorm, thinking that I probably couldn't go through the whole week or two—or however long it would take for my ankle to heal—like this. I wanted to try and do something about it, but I hadn't even a proper diagnosis. So I decided I would see how it felt at the end of the day, and if it was still causing me trouble I would go to Madam Pomfrey with some made up story of how I hurt it.
Throwing open the door in an agitated hurry, I shuffled out of my room. I had thirteen and a half minutes to get down five flights of stairs and through seven corridors to get to my first class—I had already decided I hadn't the time for breakfast.
Potter was pacing our common room, running his hand through his hair and muttering to himself. His head jerked up when he heard me open the door, and a grin lit up his ace. He crossed the room quickly and enveloped me in an unexpected hug.
I had never hugged Potter before.
I awkwardly wrapped my arms around him as well and he stood there for a bit, not letting go.
"Merlin, Lily, I was afraid you were…"
"What?"
"I didn't see you in here for a while, and I was waiting up for you but I never saw you come. I was too afraid to go into your room and check to see if you were still…there and…a-alive," he said shakily into my hair. I stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.
He sighed. "I suppose I have some explaining to do," and let his arms fall to his sides.
"Well explain later; we have classes to get to."
He dismissed that with the wave of a hand. "Nah, I already cleared it with McGonagall. You're skipping your first class and we're getting notes from Remus."
I felt at ease, knowing that the handsome studious boy would be taking notes; he was best qualified for the job since we often compared notes and he would know what information I would like and how I would want it to be taken down.
"Sit down," he instructed, motioning to the spot next to him. I obeyed.
"So last night," he began but cut himself off with a sigh. "Last night," he started again. "I wasn't actually called away. I was here the whole time. Because of a friend who needed my help.
"That werewolf who was chasing you? Remus. He said I could tell you, and apologized for the fact that he couldn't get himself to tell you. And he apologized for what happened last night. And for being too much of a wuss to never be able to tell you," he grinned a bit at the last part. "I added the last one."
He was a quiet for a second and I thought over what he had said. Remus was a werewolf. I supposed that if I had really thought about it, I would have been able to figure it out. But the thought never occurred to me.
"You won't—I—what do you think about it?" Potter asked.
"What do I think? I think that its terrible how someone so—so kind, so gentle, so caring has to be cursed."
Potter sighed with relief. "Ok. I agree. So. We figured out that Remus was a werewolf in our second year. He used to rip himself apart in the Whomping Willow because there was nothing else to distract himself with. He would come back in shreds, barely hanging on. So in our what, fourth year? We did something about it. We became animagi. Sirius's a dog, I'm a stag, and Peter is a rat—that's where our nicknames came from. We go to the Whomping Willow every full moon—Peter presses a knot that freezes the branches and we can all go in. Sirius and I distract Remus while Peter looks out for Madam Pomfrey or anyone else wandering around on the grounds. I dunno why he was slacking so much last night; so far nothing like that has ever happened.
"So when I saw you, I freaked out. I was so afraid something would happen to you—you'd get bitten or k-killed…Sirius went off to make the wolf call, and then I urged Remus to follow. I managed to keep him there by myself for about an hour, until he dashed off suddenly. And then I lost him.
"You wouldn't believe how afraid I was that something had happened to you. I-I don't think I could have lived with myself if I had let Remus get out of control—"
"Potter, it's fine. I'm ok."
"You're not angry?"
I grinned. "No, Pot-James. I'm not. I'm amazed at how much risk you'd take for a friend, and the amount of loyalty you have—"
James laughed. "I not all that great, Ev-Lily. Lily. Huh. Your name is nice."
I laughed with him. "Thank you, James."
James. His name was nice too. I had never called him by his first name before. He had never called me Lily, either. It felt nice to say it. It was such a…friendly, good-natured, pleasant kind of name.
Just like him.
XX
Previously…Lily Evans is back for her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and has been appointed Head Girl. With just her luck, the person who irks her the most, James Potter, is Head Boy. He isn't as bad as she thought; fairly tolerable at best. They go to their first day of classes and she is his partner in Potions class. After Potter takes away her Transfiguration book, telling her that she doesn't know how to have fun and only studies, he forces Lily to go outside with him. He has her prove that she really can have fun by jumping in the lake. Later that day he proves that he really can't handle responsibility by skipping out on rounds. Lily goes to study with Jacob Dawson, the handsome, smart, quidditch captain from Ravenclaw, and quite enjoys his company. James is very irritated at something, and Lily picks up on this right away. He doesn't specify why he is so angry, though. He later admits that he is still irritated but decided he better just back out of the situation and let it be. Lily finds that Jacob can be quite possessive, but she decides that as long as he doesn't go too overboard, that she can deal with that. During rounds, Lily and Remus discuss the ever-growing threat of Voldemort, and the chapter ends with "Severus, finally you've arrived. Any news from the Dark Lord?" Lily cant believe it, and feels horrible that she couldn't have prevented it. James manages to talk her out of believing it's her fault. Brittani admits that she fancies Sirius, and Lily is expecting Jacob to make a move on her soon. Out on rounds by herself, Lily is cornered by a vicious werewolf and has nowhere to go and seemingly no means of escape.
