ME: All these characters belong to JKR and always will, except Sara and Lucy. WHOA THERE! 128 reviews!! *Happy dancing*. You guys make me smile :D. THANK YOU to every one that kindly reviewed my story, and my dedication is to.. (drum roll please) Treadstone!!!! Treadstone, you will see why quite shortly, if you continue reading. ONTO THY STORY!

Where had they gone?Why did the tree freeze? Obviously there was some type of latch to make the tree pause in it's rampaging, but what was under the Whomping Willow? Curiosity tickled her stomach. Her need to know everything (even if she had good judgment most of the time) mixed with her ability to think reasonably. She had to find out.

The sweater she was wearing was warm enough an April night, and after stuffing her pale legs through old jeans, Lily was ready to head out. She had to remember, there was a werewolf lurking somewhere under the willow, but a wand would be enough, right? She would be careful, anyway, what danger was there? Werewolves couldn't be that bad.

Lily paced out the Gryffindor common room portrait, jogging down the stairs. A thought got through her deaf mind as she snuck into the great hall, scanning for teachers. Was she being driven by a need to see the stag again, even if she knew it was James? Her brain stubbornly refused to think about it, resorting to a simple, 'no.'

The air was warmer than Lily expected, hugging the curves of her body like a perfect dress. She approached the Whomping Willow, eyeing it worriedly as it thrashed about like a fish out of water.. Except it could decapitate you. (ME: But no need to worry about that!) So where was the thing she was looking for? What WAS she looking for? A bump? A ridge? Probably something hidden when the tree was moving, so it was most likely on the trunk. Lily's eyes searched the tree, examining every detail that wasn't a blur. Nothing. Just a bunch of moving bark, leaves, and the occasional flower. There was absolutely no hint of a button.

Maybe you had to touch the tree? But there was no way Lily was going to try that, she'd probably get killed. Could she throw something? Lily bent down, scooping up a few twigs. She wasn't exactly the most coordinated, but it was worth a try. She jerked forward, throwing the wood as hard as she could, aiming as carefully as possible. Closer.. Closer… inches from the trunk- crunch!- the twig shattered as the willow smashed a branch into it. Maybe another..? She threw a different twig. This time, the twig got to the tree, but simply bounced off of it. Pointless.

Or maybe not.

The tree, struck by a remnant of itself, stilled for a fraction of a second, and Lily saw it. There, about 3 feet up from the creature's base, was a knot.

The only knot in the tree.

It had to be what she wanted.

But how to get to it? The key question. When facing a giant, man killing tree that you want to get underneath, and you find out how to do it but you have to TOUCH the tree, how do you do it? A question Lily never would have imagined she would ever have to ask herself, but it awoke an idea. Why not distract the tree? She could use a few twigs, throw them in a direction away from the knot, and then press the knot while it was busy. Simple… But hard to pull off. And the risks were high.

Lily sighed, trying to muster a little bravery in herself. She was a Gryffindor, wasn't she? She could do this. She pulled at the dark ground, gripping anything hard she could find tightly in her hand. The scratchy surface of a rock comforted her. Yes, she could do this.

She pulled the rock and other items back, clenching her finger muscles. Air hissed through her teeth as fear bit into her body. What was she doing? She lurched the arm forward, opening her hand.

The items flew into the air to the right of the tree, and as expected, the tree whipped out at them. Now, she had to run. Lily sprinted to the tree, pressing her palm against the rough bark on the knot. She held her breath as the tree creaked. Did it work? Well, she wasn't dead yet, was she? No time to waste. She stumbled and clambered into the ditch right at the base of the willow, slipping through it. She landed with a huff! on her butt.

The area around her (ME: I don't remember what it looked like, but I'm trying) reminded her a bit of a tunnel. Well, an old, falling apart, dust covered tunnel. Lily stood, brushing herself off, and wandered to where it turned right. From there the faint echo of a bark and padding of feet against the ground came through the walls to the left. Okay, follow the sounds, right? But no getting too close. Lily reminded herself. She approached the turn, squinting her eyes to see through the velvety darkness. Her breath seemed way to loud, as did the thumping of her heart. She wondered if the marauder's animal ears could hear her. No way, right? They were so far away.. But what if their ears were enhanced or something as animaguses? That couldn't be possible. She shook her head. She was getting to scared, it was making her worry about silly things. Deep breath. Remus couldn't be near here, the barking is far off. I'm safe. No worries. Lily squeezed her sweaty palms, taking the turn to the left.

And found herself face to face with a werewolf.