Chapter Twenty-One:

Moony's Attack

Although she wasn't completely back to her normal self, Dorcas was slowly getting there. Never, in the six years that I'd known Dorcas, had I ever seen her so beaten down. It took a lot to hurt her feelings. That's why I didn't understand why the thoughts of such a snobby family would affect her so much.

Sirius wasn't helping. He still refused to speak with her. Any mention of Dorcas and he would change the subject or ignore us completely. It was infuriating, especially since he would be the best person to help Dorcas out of her funk. He knew her best (even better than Marlene), and he knew just how to get her to talk.

Dorcas was trying her best to earn his forgiveness, but Sirius was just as stubborn as she was. Anytime he saw her in the hallway, he'd suddenly start walking in the opposite direction, even if it meant being late to class. Then again, I doubted Sirius cared about tardiness. And when Dorcas was lucky enough to get him alone, he would completely tune her out, acting as if she weren't even there.

"You need to talk to him," I said to James, once again bringing up the topic of Sirius and Dorcas.

He looked at me. "Evans, I'm not getting involved."

"Why not?" I demanded angrily.

"Because Dorcas asked me not to," he said solemnly.

"And you choose now to start listening to people?" I asked in disbelief.

He grinned. "Hey, if you want to talk to Padfoot, then go ahead. But I'm warning you, he's a stubborn pain-in-the-arse."

"Gee, I can't imagine what somebody like that must be like," I said sarcastically.

James shrugged. "You think I'm stubborn? Try convincing Sirius to do something he doesn't want to do."

"But the thing is," I said seriously, "I think he does want to talk to Dorcas. I mean, obviously, there are still feelings there."

James grimaced. "She's with Drew. He knows that."

I made a face. "I hate Drew."

"No," James corrected me, "you hate Drew's family. Drew did nothing wrong. In fact, I was talking to him just the other day and he was worried about Dorcas too. He hadn't realized how much his parents had affected her."

I glared at him. "And since when are you so chummy with Drew?"

"We're not chummy."

"Didn't you two get into a fight at Hogsmeade?"

"That was Sirius and I've already apologized for that."

"I'm starving," Sirius exclaimed, plopping down on the bench across from us. "I could eat a hippogriff." He eagerly piled his plate with food.

Marlene took a seat beside me. "Sirius, you act like you haven't been fed in weeks," she said, watching him with a mixture of disgust and amazement.

"Hey, Sirius," Dorcas said hesitantly. Sirius nodded coldly in her direction before turning around and starting an abrupt conversation with Peter. Dorcas sighed but sat beside me anyway. I kicked Sirius under the table. Git.

Throughout the rest of dinner, I noticed Dorcas sneaking quick glances at Sirius with a sad look on her face every time he would ignore her. I knew he had been the one to snap her back to reality by yelling at her, but I also knew he had been the one to hurt her the most. Out of all of us, his opinion mattered the most to Dorcas.

"Where's Remus?" I suddenly asked, noticing there was one marauder missing.

James shrugged. "He said something about doing homework."

"Homework? Oh, I really need help with that essay on the properties and uses of unicorn blood," Peter exclaimed, jumping up.

"I'll go with you," Dorcas said, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "Remus always lets me copy off him."

"Not lately he hasn't," James grumbled, also getting up.

"Maybe you should try doing your own work," I suggested.

Marlene snorted. "Good luck trying to get him to do that."

"See you guys, later," James said, waving. He followed the other two out.

"So," I said importantly, turning to face Sirius, "looks like it's just the three of us."

He looked up at me warily. "What?"

"Nothing," Marlene said lightly. "We just wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Dorcas," I said seriously.

"You've been a complete arse to her lately," Marlene told him, keeping her voice level.

"She deserves it," he grunted.

"What did she ever do to you?" I snapped.

"She was a rubbish friend for months. And then she just goes back to being normal? And expects me to pretend nothing happened?" he said, flaring up.

"Maybe if you talked to her, you'd find out why she was in such a funk," Marlene said reasonably.

"Well, I don't want to talk to her," he said stubbornly.

"That's incredibly immature of you," I told him matter-of-factly.

"Well, I never claimed to be mature," Sirius retorted.

"Well, you claimed to love Dorcas," Marlene shot back.

"I do," he said instantly.

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it," I said.

"If you really loved her, you would be there for her," Marlene told him.

"I tried!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Well, try again."

Sirius glared at us. "What aren't you two telling me?"

"You'd have to talk to Dorcas," Marlene said coyly.

"No," he shook his head, "you're going to tell me now."

"You really don't know, do you?" I said in disbelief.

"Know what?"

"Why Drew's family is a bunch of arrogant prats who think they're practically royalty with their stupid money and blood status," Marlene snarled.

"Sounds like my family," Sirius said.

"They're worse," I said dramatically.

"What'd they do?" Sirius asked, putting his fork down and gazing intently at me.

"Well, they're not worse..." Marlene said reasonably, though there was immense dislike in her voice.

"What happened?" Sirius asked impatiently.

I sighed. "They basically told Dorcas she wasn't good enough for Drew and that she wasn't going anywhere in life."

"They what?!" Sirius barked, his eyes flashing.

"And they said all this stuff about how Drew deserved better and that she would only hold him back," Marlene added.

"They killed her confidence," I said sadly.

"She's gotten better, though," Marlene reminded me. "She's almost back to normal."

Sirius stared at us.

"Are you gonna say anything?" I asked, irritated.

"What in the bloody hell is wrong with that girl?" he demanded, his face turning red from anger.

"What do you mean?" Marlene asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I can't believe she'd let herself get so cut up over some stupid family," Sirius growled menacingly, jumping up from his seat. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and stormed out of the Great Hall, muttering under his breath. Marlene and I exchanged exasperated looks before hurrying to follow him.

"Where are you going?" I asked nervously as he marched up the stairs.

"I can't believe you two would even let her think something like that!" Sirius snarled, turning on us.

"Sirius," Marlene said seriously, "where are you going?"

"To yell at the stupid blonde twit," Sirius growled.

Marlene and I exchanged startled looks before following an angry Sirius up to the common room.

"She didn't do anything wrong," I cried, pulling back his arm.

Sirius easily shook me off and climbed through the portrait hole. Dorcas was sitting against the window, idly twirling her blonde hair as she read a thick text book, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Remus and James were sitting across the room from her, explaining something to a confused looking Peter. James smiled when he saw me enter but his smile quickly turned into a frown as he watched Sirius march toward Dorcas.

I bit my lip anxiously as Sirius approached her, his fists clenched.

"Sirius," Dorcas said, her eyes widening. She straightened up and put her book down.

"What's the matter with you?" he demanded.

"What'd I do now?" she asked warily.

"Oh, don't give me that! Sorry, I'm not the only one of our friends to kiss your arse after you treated all of us like rubbish for weeks. You did all of this because of what some stupid family said to you? What's the matter with you? Do you even realize how selfish and stupid you've been? The old Dorcas would-" Sirius paused as Dorcas tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, revealing the earrings he had given her all those months ago for Valentine's Day.

She glared at him. "You know I'm really sick of you yelling at me and judging me. First off, who do you think you are, coming in here and yelling at me about something you don't even know the full story about?! Have you even bothered to ask me what really happened? Or why I let it affect me so much?"

But Sirius wasn't even paying attention as she yelled at him.

"Why are you wearing those?" he asked, distracted by her earrings.

Dorcas frowned in confusion. She reached up to gently touch her earrings. "Because they're pretty...and they matches my bracelet," she said uncertainly.

"Oh," said Sirius, sounding slightly disappointed.

Dorcas shrugged. "Plus, you gave them to me."

Sirius stared at her, stunned.

"What are you staring at me like that for?"

Sirius shook his head. "Why'd you let them treat you like that?" he asked her quietly.

"I don't know," she said honestly.

He shook his head, sighing, and turned around abruptly. We watched until the portrait hole swung shut behind him.

"Well, that was dramatic," Dorcas said, rolling her eyes before returning to her book.

"Dorcas?" I asked hesitantly.

She looked up from her reading. "Yeah?"

"What just happened?" Marlene asked.

She shrugged. "Who knows. Sirius has always had a flair for the dramatics. It's so annoying sometimes."

"Did they just make up?" I whispered to Marlene.

"I don't know," Marlene replied, looking bemused.

Our question was answered the next day when we came down to breakfast. As I walked into the Great Hall with James, yelling at him about making inappropriate jokes in front of teachers, I froze halfway down the hall.

"Lily, Minnie knows I was just kid-Lily?" James asked, turning to face me.

"They're...laughing," I said and pointed ahead. Sirius was in the middle of telling a laughing Dorcas what appeared to be a very funny story or joke.

James rolled his eyes. "Come on."

I grinned and followed James.

"I'm glad to see you two finally made up," James said as he took his usual seat beside Sirius.

Dorcas grinned. "Oh, you know Sirius can't resist me."

"Watch it," Sirius warned her but there was warmth and happiness in his eyes that I hadn't seen in months.

"So, what's the plan for tonight?" I asked Marlene.

"Girls night?" Marlene suggested.

"I was actually going to visit Hagrid," Dorcas said.

"Sounds good. I haven't seen him in a while," I said, nodding.

"You boys want to join us?" Dorcas asked, turning to the marauders.

"Sorry," James said through a mouthful of porridge. "We can't."

"We've got detentions," Sirius said. James nodded.

"You have detention?" I scoffed, turning to face Remus.

"No, but I do have loads of homework." Remus grimaced.

"Yeah," Peter squeaked, "Remus is tutoring me...Blimey, I honestly don't know how I'm going to pass the final exams this year."

Dorcas stared at Sirius suspiciously, her eyes narrowing slightly. She had the uncanny ability of always being able to tell when Sirius or James were lying. I guess that was one of the perks of knowing someone for so long. After a moment, she sighed in defeat. "So, looks like it's just three of us!" she said cheerfully to me and Marlene.

"Well, come on in," Hagrid said, stepping aside when he opened the door for us. "You lot bin studying fer yer exams?"

Marlene snorted. "Are you seriously asking us that with Lily in the room?"

"We've been studying non-stop," Dorcas told him miserably.

I glared at her. "You'll be thanking me when you get Outstandings on all of your exams."

"She's even got Sirius and James studying," Marlene said to Hagrid.

Hagrid grinned. "I saw James the other day."

"Did you?" I asked vaguely, perching myself on the couch.

"He said you two had gotten loads closer this year," Hagrid continued with a small smirk. Marlene and Dorcas raised their eyebrows at me.

"He's my friend." I nodded.

"But he wants more," Marlene stated pointedly.

"I know," I replied, staring at my skirt.

"You can't keep stringing him along, Lily," Marlene said, sounding slightly angry.

"Marlene," Hagrid said warningly.

"I'm just saying that maybe you shouldn't lead him on so much. You know the bloke is crazy for you, so I don't understand why you insist on hurting him like this. He wants more than friendship, Lil, and you know it!

"Maybe I want more too," I retorted.

Dorcas nearly choked on the rock cakes Hagrid had been giving her. "What?"

Marlene's eyes widened. "When did this happen?"

I blushed. "Let's talk about something else."

"Let's not," Marlene said, crossing her arms.

"Lily," Dorcas said, "do you have feelings for James?"

I sighed. "I think I might...love him," I admitted, closing my eyes. I could hear Dorcas squeal in delight and Marlene's tiny gasp.

"I knew it!" Dorcas beamed.

"Me too!" Hagrid said eagerly. "Called it first year remember? Right when I was takin' you lot ter the castles in the boats and Lily had nearly pushed James into the water? I said it, didn't I? I said those two are gonna end up together one day! I said it, didn't I?"

"I remember!" Dorcas nodded fervently, her grin widening.

"Why haven't you said anything to him?" Marlene asked quietly.

"I'm scared," I admitted miserably.

Marlene smiled. "Lily, you just said you loved him. You could barely say it to Austin and you two were together for over a year."

"You have to tell him!" Dorcas said suddenly.

"Not yet," I said decisively.

"Why not?" she complained.

"I'm not ready," I told her, "and you two better not blab to anyone. Not even Sirius. You got that?"

"Fine," Dorcas said begrudgingly. "Not even Sirius."

"Fine, but he's not gonna keep waiting for you forever," Marlene warned me. "You're gonna have to tell him someday."

"But not today," I said firmly. "And you too, Hagrid. You have to promise."

Hagrid beamed. "I promise."

"Right, well it's time to go," I said.

"But you just got here!" Hagrid exclaimed.

"But I know the three of you are going to make fun of me all night for this if I stay," I told them, pulling on my jacket.

"You've got a point," Dorcas said, grinning.

Hagrid sighed and opened the door for us.

"But just because we leave Hagrid's doesn't mean we won't make fun of you," Marlene warned, a wicked grin on her face.

"Oh, I've never been so glad we share a room." Dorcas sighed dreamily.

"I hate both of you," I grumbled as we walked back to the castle, leaving behind a chuckling Hagrid.

"Oh, look the sunset!" I beamed, pointing to the fading sun.

Dorcas and Marlene paused beside me, each of them watching the sunset.

"Is that Sirius...and James? Those prats! They told me they had detention," Dorcas exclaimed, pointing to two distant figures.

"Peter's with them," Marlene said, squinting her eyes.

"Where are they going?" I said, tearing my eyes away from the sunset.

"I don't know, but I fancy a word with them!" Dorcas huffed and marched toward them.

"There's no need to yell at them." Marlene sighed, going after Dorcas. "I'm sure they have a good reason for lying."

"I wonder what they're up too," Dorcas said thoughtfully.

"Remus isn't with them," I noted, catching up with Dorcas and Marlene.

"It must be something good then," Dorcas said, her eyes lighting up mischievously.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because Remus is the prefect. He's got morals and all that nonsense," Dorcas said, rolling her eyes.

"It's not nonsense," I told her. "I'm glad at least Remus has the common sense not to participate in whatever rubbish they're up to."

Marlene grinned. "Can I just take this moment to remind you that the bloke with no common sense is in fact the bloke you're in love with."

I glared at her. "Seriously?"

"Shh," Dorcas whispered, "or they'll hear us."

"We're not going to follow them, Dorcas!" Marlene whisper-yelled.

"Oh, come on, please!" Dorcas begged, her eyes twinkling as the sky darkened.

Marlene and I exchanged looks. We could see the old mischievous Dorcas coming back.

"Fine," I snapped.

"We'll follow those idiots," Marlene agreed with a sigh, "but if we get into trouble, it's all on you."

Dorcas grinned. "Let's go."

We tip-toed across the grounds, following the three boys as they stealthily ran across the campus.

"Where are they going?" Marlene wondered.

"Blimey, they're headed for the Whomping Willow!" I squeaked, terrified. My eyes were locked on James as he slowed down and neared the tree.

"If they get to close, it'll attack," Dorcas whispered, terrified.

And then...Peter disappeared. One second he was there...and the next he wasn't.

"What the-" I began.

"It must be the invisibility cloak," Marlene said, shushing me.

"They have an invisibility cloak!" I gasped.

"How do you think they get away with so much?" Dorcas asked, her eyes locked on Sirius.

"I wonder where he's going..." Marlene said, inching closer.

Her question was answered a few seconds later, though, as James and Sirius moved closer to the tree.

"It's not attacking them, though!" I exclaimed.

We watched as Sirius and James covertly looked around and slid into the tree.

"What the-since when has that been there?" Dorcas exclaimed as the boys disappeared into the tree.

"There must be some underground tunnel or cave under there," I said thoughtfully.

"Well, let's go," Dorcas said decidedly.

"Dorcas, no! It's going to be after hours soon!" I shrieked. "And the moon is almost up! We'll get into trouble!"

"Don't you want to know where the love of your life is going?" Dorcas demanded.

"He's not the love of my life!" I hissed.

"What if he's meeting some other girl down there? Wouldn't you want to know?" Dorcas asked.

"I'd rather not, actually," I snapped.

"Oh, come on, Lil! Where's your sense of adventure?" Marlene asked.

"Not you too!" I groaned.

"Fine, you can stay," Dorcas said, turning around.

"We need to go quickly before the tree starts moving again," Marlene said following Dorcas.

"OI!" I called after them. When they didn't turn around, I followed them, muttering under my breath.

"Knew you couldn't resist coming," Dorcas said smugly as I caught up with them.

"Shut up," I muttered, sliding into the tree. Marlene quickly followed me.

I took in my surroundings. We were in a tunnel. Dorcas, Marlene, and I quickly started down the dark pathway, wondering why it was so eerily quiet. As we got further down the tunnel, though, we heard obnoxious laughter.

"Found them," Dorcas said grimly.

I grinned as we neared what appeared to be a room.

"Blimey, is this a house?" Marlene asked, looking around.

"How are you feeling, Moony?" James asked from somewhere up above. I frowned.

"Remus is here, too!" Dorcas whispered.

"It sounds like he's ill," I said worriedly.

"It's time..." Remus gasped.

"This way!" Marlene exclaimed, pointing to a flight of rickety stairs. Grinning, we rushed upstairs.

"Aha! Found you-REMUS!" Dorcas cried, rushing into the room.

"Dorcas?" Sirius gasped.

"Marlene! Lily?" James yelped as we entered the room they were all huddled in.

"Get out, now!" Remus heaved, clutching his chest.

"What's the matter? Remus, are you ill?" I squealed, rushing toward him.

"Get them out," Remus gasped to James and Sirius.

"No!" Marlene said stubbornly. "Remus, what's the matter?"

"Your eyes..." I breathed, staring as Remus's usual dark eyes turned to a sinister yellow.

"Uh oh," Sirius said.

"Let's go," James said, grabbing my arm.

"James!" I snapped angrily, snatching my arm away from his grip.

"Lily, now," James said, his tone unnervingly serious.

I turned to face him, getting ready to yell, but I heard a crack, almost like a bone breaking. I turned back to Remus and watched in horror as his hands began transforming...his nails extending, fur growing out of his skin. His teeth began to sharpen and he looked around at us hungrily. I stood there, transfixed by the gruesome image.

Next thing I knew, James was pulling me out of the room.

"James, what's happening?" I asked, terrified.

"Where's Wormtail?" James barked at Sirius. "I need him to help the girls out!"

Just as he said this, Remus let out a howl. His legs shot up and fur grew from his skin.

Dorcas grabbed Sirius. "Sirius, what's happening?"

"Dorcas, GET OUT OF HERE! RUN NOW!" Sirius roared, pushing her out the door. Next thing I knew, in the spot Sirius had perviously been standing was a big shaggy dog.

"Oh my, Godric!" Dorcas gasped faintly, staring at the shaggy dog that was once Sirius. He licked her hand adoringly and Dorcas absentmindedly patted his head, looking pale.

"James-" I began, but he was already pulling me out of the room. Remus, who was now almost completely a werewolf, turned his head to me and whimpered. I shrugged off James's grip and cautiously stepped toward Remus. He stepped forward, bowing his head shamefully.

"Remus," I whispered, holding out my hand.

Remus whimpered forward, his yellow eyes locking with my green ones.

"Lily," James hissed, attempting to pull me back .

"Be careful, Lil," I heard Marlene say from behind me.

Remus whimpered again, coming closer.

"It's okay," I said gently, smiling. Remus howled loudly, making me jump. He looked at me again and pounced forward. I shrieked, covering my face with my hands, preparing myself for the attack, but it never came. Shaking, I lowered my hands and saw Sirius, the shaggy dog, on top of Remus.

"James-" I whispered, turning to face him.

"Run!" James shouted at me. He grabbed my hand and we sprinted out the door. Marlene and Dorcas closely followed behind us.

"James, will Remus hurt him?" Dorcas asked as we fled down the stairs.

"Nah, Sirius is tough, but he won't be able to hold him for long," James replied, grabbing Marlene's hand and pulling her ahead of him.

Behind us, we heard a clatter and a loud yelp. I wondered which one of my friends was hurt: Sirius or Remus?

James let out a frustrated groan. "Where the hell is Wormtail?"

"I told you we shouldn't have followed them?" I yelled at Dorcas.

"Lily, this is so not the time for I-told-you-so's!" Dorcas yelled.

"Sorry, but I'm kind of panicking here!" I said, grabbing James' hand. He squeezed my hand but didn't let go. It strangely calmed me down, knowing that he was beside me, protecting me.

I heard a loud bark and Sirius' body flew over our heads, landing at James' feet.

"SIRIUS!" Dorcas shrieked.

"You alright, mate?" James murmured.

Sirius jumped back to his feet, barking confidently. Beside me, Dorcas sighed in relief.

"Go get 'em," James said authoritatively as we heard Remus howl loudly behind us. "I'll be right behind you."

I heard heavy footsteps and I knew Remus was getting closer. I turned to James and knew he was thinking the same thing.

"RUN!" James commanded. Marlene and Dorcas nodded before taking off.

"Lily, come on!" Dorcas screamed, realizing I wasn't beside them.

"What about you?" I asked James fearfully.

"I'll be fine," he promised.

"I can't just leave you!" I told him frantically.

"Lily!" Marlene shrieked, as we heard Remus and Sirius struggling behind us.

James grinned. "I'll be right behind you, I promise."

And then for the third time that night, I witnessed as a close friend of mine disappeared and transformed into a different animal. One minute I was staring at James Potter, the bloke with messy hair and twinkling hazel eyes, and then the next minute, I was gazing at a big, powerful stag with large antlers and strong legs.

"Prongs," I whispered, finally understanding the nickname.

"Lily!" I heard Dorcas shriek, pointing behind me. I turned around to see Remus running at top speed toward me.

James stopped him, blocking Remus with his hoofs. Sirius jumped on top of Remus, knocking him sideways. James turned and pushed me in the direction of the exit with his antlers. I took off running, grabbing Marlene and Dorcas' arms as we all saw a small light at the the end of the tunnel. Behind me, I heard Remus and Sirius howling and whimpering. James, the stag, was running behind us protectively, afraid Remus might chase after us again.

As we neared the light, the four of us jumped through the small opening, glad to be out in the Whomping Willow. We all sprawled to the ground, breathing heavily. I didn't even notice that James had returned to his regular form and was lying on the grass beside me, wheezing.

"So," I said between breaths as I sat up, "that's Moony."

"That's Moony." James nodded, sitting up.