The Marauders didn't have many more fights for a while. Sirius and Remus both decided to befriend Amber instead of trying to ask her out. Fewer fights broke out, but their strength was tested for the Valentine's Day ball. Both of them wanted to ask Amber to go, but knew the other would be raving mad.
Hannah offered to go with whoever didn't go with Amber, as she didn't like Robbie anymore. Remus and Sirius would've both gladly said yes, but they didn't want to rid the chance of going with Amber.
"Well... one of us is going to have to ask her - it's in three days and she'll already have a date if we don't ask her soon. What do you say we flip on it?" Sirius asked.
"Don't bother," Remus said glumly. "It's a full moon that night. Not much point unless I wanted to kill her."
"So... you wouldn't mind if I asked her, bud?" Sirius said hopefully.
"I don't care," Remus said.
"Thanks, mate!" Sirius said and he ran out the portrait hole.
"Hey - there's still the end of the year ball," James said when Remus looked as though he was going to die in three days.
"Yeah - lucky me," Remus said. "You know what I've realized, James? I am very lucky!"
James gave Remus a puzzled look.
"I'm so lucky, that out of all the people in the forest that night, I was bitten by a werewolf! What are the odds, huh?" he said sarcastically and stormed off.
"Oh great," James said to Lily. "What are we going to do to cheer him up? He'll be alone that night!"
"Not necessarily," Lily said and she raised her eyebrows.
"What do you mean?"
"Honestly, James! There's a very unlikely chance that Amber doesn't have a date! Sirius will come back just as depressed! Why don't you guys skip the ball and stay with Remus?"
"What about you?" James asked.
"I'm getting kind of sick of the balls! I'm only looking forward to the end of year one. Besides, Remus needs this. He's going to be really down. This'll be twice in a row he's been alone!" Lily said.
"Okay - that is unless Sirius is going with Amber. Then you're stuck with me!" James said, grinning.
"I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed that Amber turns him down!" Lily joked.
Sirius returned fifteen minutes later, looking as though he was floating on air.
"She said yes! She actually agreed!" he said, punching into the air.
"Wow," Lily said. "I wonder if she's ill..."
"Very funny," Sirius said, glaring.
"Well, Sirius, I'm afraid you're going to have to cancel," James informed him.
"What? You're kidding, right? This'd better be a joke!"
"It's not," James said, shaking his head. "It's Remus. He isn't okay with it. He was really - I don't know - feeling unfortunate of his luck. He was just pissed! We should stay with him - make sure he doesn't hurt himself -"
"Are you out of your mind? He'll be fine! C'mon, this is a big chance for me! I want to go with Amber!" Sirius whined.
"Fine. I'll stay with Remus, then. He's not going to be okay - he isn't himself! Sirius - trust me! This'll mean a lot to him!" James said.
"James, I'm sorry! I can't! I really like Amber! But I'll make it up to him, I promise. Next month will be our best yet!" Sirius said before turning to the portrait hole again.
Remus seemed to become more depressed with each growing day until Valentine's Day. When it finally came, he wouldn't come out of the dormitory at all.
Sirius was very giddy and jumpy all day. He seemed very excited about going with Amber - almost too excited. Hannah hadn't managed to find a date since she thought Remus would be accompanying her, so she made Lily come and hang out with her.
Everybody at the ball was dressed in red, pink, purple, or white. Lily tried to avoid wandering away from Hannah, who was deep in conversation with the Hufflepuff boys.
Sirius had a bemused look on his face in every dance with Amber. They were having an extremely good time, and Sirius only stopped relaxing when James burst through the doors of the Great Hall and ran to him.
Lily walked over to him to see what was wrong.
"Sirius!" James panted. He had small scratches over his face and a gash in his robes.
"What is it?" Sirius asked, trying to speak quietly so that Amber wouldn't hear.
"It's Remus! He went berserk! I had to wrestle him down, but he's gotten out of the Shrieking Shack and I can't find him!" James looked back to the doors.
"Oh my God!" Sirius said, and he hurried away with James.
"What's going on?" Amber asked, looking after Sirius.
"Oh - it's Remus... he's - er - really sick," Lily invented.
"Oh," Amber said sadly.
Lily turned and ran to the doors. She ran out the entrance hall and onto the grounds. From the distance, she could see two figures slipping into the gap in the trunk of the Whomping Willow. She ran there, found a large branch, and hit the knot on the tree. The branches froze and she slid into the gap and into the tunnel. She could hear distant footsteps, although it sounded more like paws on the ground.
"Lumos," Lily muttered to light her wand, and she darted down the tunnel as fast as she could. Once inside the Shack, Lily darted to one of the windows and looked through a crack in one of the boards. There was a big black dog and a brilliant stag running at full speed down the hill on into the streets of Hogsmeade. Further away, she thought she could make out the shape of Remus, but it was hard to tell.
Lily ran down the stairs and out the side door that James used. Outside seemed to be even darker. Lily ran with her wand outstretched to see as far ahead of her as possible.
And then she heard it: an angry growling surrounding her; it was as though it was amplified in the silent of the night. Lily saw a little ways to her left a huge black dog sneaking past her, and it deliberately pushed Lily to the side -
Then something pounced out of the shadows. It was the werewolf, and it was headed straight for Lily. Lily lost all the use of her muscles in shock. She didn't raise her wand in time - it knocked her off her feet, and she dropped her wand.
The werewolf was about to get its second blow at Lily, but something bit its leg and started to drag it away.
The dog ran back to Lily and transformed into Sirius.
"Lily - go!"
"Where's James?"
"I don't know! Just go -" Sirius's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. "Get her out of here!"
Lily turned around to see a girl walking towards them - it was Amber. Sirius transformed back into the dog and went after Remus again.
"AMBER!" Lily shouted, running over to stop Amber.
"What is it Lily? Why are you guys out here? Did you know that the Whomping Willow was a secret passageway? Where did Sirius go?" Amber babbled on - but she froze. Lily turned back and she could see Remus charging at them again.
Then Lily heard the galloping of hooves approaching. A stag was charging with its antlers faced ahead, and it tackled the advancing werewolf.
"Amber, c'mon!" Lily whispered in a hoarse voice and she pulled Amber away from the scene. Both the stag and the dog were wrestling Remus to the ground. Lily broke into a run and led Amber into the Shrieking Shack.
"Oh my God!" Amber panted with her mouth hanging open. "That was a werewolf! Where the hell did Sirius and James get off to, and where is Remus?"
"I'll explain everything later, but we've got to get back," Lily said and they began on the tunnel. "Amber, you can't tell anyone what you saw!"
"What are you talking about? Dumbledore should know if there is a werewolf roaming around!" Amber said.
"He does know! The werewolf - Amber, that was Remus," Lily said.
Amber stopped dead in her tracks. "That... that was Remus?"
"Yes - and the dog was Sirius, and James was the stag. You can't tell anyone, Amber!" Lily pleaded.
"But - Dumbledore knows?"
"Yes - well... He knows about Remus. You just can't tell him that James and Sirius are Animagi!" said Lily, and she motioned Amber to keep moving. "Remus came to the school after he was bitten. Dumbledore makes him go out into the Shrieking Shack once a month. Sirius, James, and Peter found out what he was, and they became Animagi. They did this to make his transformations more bearable. "He must have gotten out of the Shrieking Shack, so they had to go after him. Amber, you mustn't tell Dumbledore about tonight or Remus will be in real trouble! He can't control himself when transforms, so he shouldn't be punished!" Lily finished, and Amber looked even more confused. But, she nodded and the scrambled out of the Whomping Willow.
"Will they be able to get him back into the Shack?" Amber finally said once they reached the castle.
"Yeah, they will," said Lily, though she could hardly hide the doubt in her voice.
"Will you let me know what happens tomorrow morning?" Amber said on her way down to the Ravenclaw dormitories.
Lily nodded and head back to the Gryffindor common room.
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Hannah said. She was sitting in front of the fire reading her Arithmancy book. "You didn't sneak off to meet James did you?"
Lily shook her head and sat down next to Hannah.
"Well? Where did you go?"
Lily broke into tears.
"Lil! What happened?" Hannah asked, and she put the book on the floor. "Does it have anything to do with Amber? Cause she followed you... what happened?"
Lily looked at her concerned friend and shook her head.
"Lily - tell me what happened, please," Hannah begged.
"I can't Hannah. I p-promised. I r-really can't," Lily said and she ran up the stairs and into bed.