School: Ilvermorny

Year: 1

Theme: Humility

Prompt: Disgust

Second Prompt: Real

W/C: 2631 words

Misunderstanding Secrets

"Shush."

The whisper echoed around the room, pulling Lily from her studies. She lifted her quill from her parchment and glanced around, trying to find the source of the noise.

Silence reigned as she waited, willing for something to let her know what had made the noise.

Then it happened.

The moonlight drifting through the window caught on something that flickered by, like it was breaking free from an invisibility spell. It seemed to be someone's shoe.

Lily stood and edged closer to where she had seen the shoe appear. Following her suspicions, she reached out until her fingers brushed against something. She grabbed it and yanked her hand back. The cover fell, draping over her hand and exposing three young men, all of whom froze as if they didn't want to be seen.

Crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, Lily watched as the cogs turned in their brains, waiting for the piss-poor excuse that she knew was coming.

Suddenly, one of them turned with a large gesture.

"Lilykins," he exclaimed.

"Black," Lily grunted.

"Now, now, no need for that," he said, waving off her grumpiness. "What are you still doing up on this fine evening?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Yes, but I asked first." Sirius grinned with what she was sure he thought was charm.

"Homework. Your turn." She levelled her glare at them, looking at each in turn and trying to find the crack in the armour. She bypassed the taller two and zeroed in on the smaller and quieter one of the trio. Lily placed her hands on her hips and took a step closer to Peter as he began to shake.

"Peter," she said through gritted teeth, "where were you going?"

He began to show cracks, his resolve weakening as he glanced between Lily and the pair shaking their heads. He gulped several times, wringing his hands together before opening his mouth. Lily smirked.

"We…" he squeaked out.

"No," James and Sirius shouted in unison.

Lily watched as they communicated with each other, their eyes darting back and forth, Sirius's less than subtle head tilts in Lily's direction made her roll her eyes. Finally, they nodded and then turned back to face her.

"There is a very important thing that we must do," Sirius started.

"And unfortunately, it cannot be done during the day, so we must be off," James finished, linking a hand through Peter's arm and beginning to pull him away. He paused and reached out to pull the cloak off Lily's arm.

"We'll need this," he said with his award-winning smile.

The trio scurried to the portrait hole. Lily growled, trying to think of some way to get them to stay put. Pulling at straws, she tried one final thing.

"I'll take points off if you leave," she threatened, her voice trailing off and weakening the impact.

"They wouldn't be our first," Sirius called back as they disappeared through the door, the cloak billowing around them.

Lily's breath quickened. She clenched her fists and stamped her feet before grabbing the nearest crimson-coloured velvet cushion. Burying her head in it, she screamed, the soft fabric muffling her frustrations.

Releasing her grip, she stepped back from where the decorative pillow landed, horrified at what she had just done. Lily inhaled deeply, feeling her breath shake as she began to calm down. She picked up the cushion and placed it back on the sofa, patting the fabric before returning to her work to tidy it up. There was no point in finishing it tonight. She still had two weeks left.

"I cannot believe you let them get to you," she muttered to herself, crinkling her nose. "It's been five years; you should be able to let it go. It's what they want. They want the attention." She spat out the last few words as she shoved her belongings into a pile in her arms and trudged up the stairs to bed.

That night was the first of many.

At least twice a week, maybe three times, Lily caught them sneaking out and threatened them with the loss of house points. Each time, all they did was smirk and wave before disappearing through the portrait. Each time, their blatant disregard for their house's standing caused the anger to bubble under Lily's skin.

Until, finally, one evening, she had had enough. It was time to find out what the real reason was behind the boys sneaking out. What made it so important that they were willing to lose hundreds of points?

She waited until they snuck out as per usual and then grabbed her black cloak and slipped out after them.

Lily crept along the edge of the wall, careful to remain in the shadows that the lantern lights never reached.

She followed them down the corridors, guided by Peter's foot sticking out every time they took a step.

Hallway after hallway passed her by as she continued behind the trio. They went up and down the ever-changing staircases until finally, they arrived at the entrance to the school. Watching the door as it was opened by an invisible force, Lily turned her nose up at the heedlessness the boys possessed.

Huffing, Lily pushed open the now-closed door, confident that the boys were far enough away not to notice. As she shut the door behind her, her ears picked up the subtle clip of well-heeled shoes. Gasping, she shoved the door shut and dived for the darkness surrounding the outside of the school.

Crouching to conceal herself as she caught her breath, Lily scanned the grounds, trying to make out something, anything that would give away the boys' position. And then, as if on cue, three shadows appeared in the light of the full moon. Lily snarled and made to follow them.

Suddenly, the creak of the wooden doors forced her back to huddling in the black.

Lily could just about make out the figure of Professor McGonagall poking her head out the door and watched as she scanned the area before shaking her head, her hat wobbling. "You're getting old and hearing things, Minerva."

Lily bit her lip to try and keep in the giggles that were threatening to escape. A combination of nerves, relief, and amusement fell out once the door shut.

Shaking her head, Lily let out one final giggle and then, steadying her stance, she looked back at where she had last seen the boys. They were gone, but Lily knew where they had to be. The only thing in that direction was the Forbidden Forest.

"Now, let's go find out what they're up to."

Lily ran the distance between the school and the forest, pausing at the edge, the trees looming over her. Summoning her Gryffindor spirit, she took the first step into the woods.

Branches closed around her as she ventured further and further in, their leaves blocking any semblance of light.

Finally, a sliver of relief appeared ahead of her, and she ran towards it, breaking out into an opening.

Above her, the sky lit up with twinkling stars, outlined by the treetops.

Lily's breath caught at the beauty before she lowered her head back to study the surroundings. Turning in a circle, she halted as her sight latched onto glinting yellow eyes. The towering beast growled at her.

Lily urged her feet to move as the creature bounded towards her, but she was frozen. The very real possibility of death flooded over her as the werewolf got closer. Her eyes widened before suddenly, a streak of black collided with the creature, and she was no longer in its path.

Gasping, she stood frozen in place, her chest heaving. A pressure on her back shoved her forward. She stumbled and landed against a coat of fur that magically appeared in front of her.

The being knelt and she fell across the top of it. She yelped as it rose. Lily scrabbled for something to hold onto, finally finding a large, velvet horn.

Adjusting herself, she found herself sitting on a stag that seemed to notice she had stopped fidgeting and bolted. Lily screamed and closed her eyes as the forest flew past her, only opening them when the ground became less rough.

She shuddered as the stag kept running, finally stopping when it reached the front of the school.

The animal deposited her on the steps and in a flash of bright light, it transformed, and a fuming James stood in front of her, his brown eyes sparking. He took a step towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"What were you thinking?" James yelled, shaking her.

"What was I thinking? What were you thinking?" Lily shook his hands off and raised her hands to push against his chest. "What were you all thinking? This is what you've been doing, sneaking out every night? Practicing to be Animagi just so you can go out gallivanting through the Forbidden Forest? How delusional do you have to be?"

"Merlin, could you keep your voice down?" James snarled.

"Why?" Lily mocked. "Don't want anyone to find out your little secret?"

"Because we've worked too damn hard for a stuck-up little brat to ruin this for us now," James said, taking a step closer to her so that he towered over her.

"I always knew you disregarded rules, but I never thought you'd be this bad." Lily softened her voice so that the disappointment and disgust flowed through. She crossed her arms and levelled her gaze at him, wrinkling her nose up as if she smelt something disgusting.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." James's steely voice submerged her with fear, but she held her ground, reminding herself that they were the ones that had broken all the rules.

"You're involved. It's all for shits and giggles, of course." She rolled her eyes at him. "With everything that's going on, you couldn't just behave, could you?" She turned on her heel and walked away from him, shaking her head as she went.

"Oy, Little Miss High-and-Mighty," James called after her, "you can't judge us tonight. Wouldn't want you to be hypocritical."

Lily let out a noise of irritation low in her throat, refusing to give him the satisfaction of turning back. Flipping him off, she stormed through the front doors before catching herself and sneaking the rest of her way back to the tower.

The days following Lily's night of spying consisted of scowling at the Marauders, even at Remus, who spent his days with a permanent look of confusion marking his face.

There was no reason for her to talk to any of them, so the evening that Sirius appeared at her table in the library concerned her.

Masking her curiosity behind narrowed eyes and pouting lips, she folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, staring at him.

"You're really just a bitch, aren't you?" Sirius said, landing his hands on the table and loomed over her.

"Excuse me?" she yelped.

"A bitch? A cow? Someone who just can't help getting her nose stuck in where it's not wanted? What James sees in you, I will never know," Sirius sneered at her.

Lily let out a hollow laugh. "You're one to talk. What happened? Pranks became less fun, so you decided to completely disregard the rules?"

"Shut it. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about. Your little escapades at night just to what? Run around the forest at midnight," Lily spat out.

"You know what I think?"

"I didn't know you could."

"I think you're jealous," Sirius said, leaning further down to glower into her eyes.

"Jealous of what?" Lily scoffed. "Jealous of your ability to lose 245 points between three of you over the course of a month?"

"Jealous that we succeeded in doing something that you can't," Sirius snapped back. "Little Miss Perfect is stuck watching the year's misfits pass her in leaps and bounds."

Lily clenched her jaw, refusing to let him see the effect his words had on her. "Pure fluke, I'm sure." She sniffed, sticking her nose in the air.

"No. It wasn't a fluke," Sirius said, slamming his hands down on the wood. "It was weeks of hard work and studying and practising. And it wasn't just for... what was the phrase you used? 'Shits and giggles?' We did it for a reason and a bloody good reason at that. Just because you don't have friends like we do…" Sirius's anger dissipated as Lily's jaw dropped. "Shit, sorry, Lily. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, I think you did," Lily huffed, standing up and shoving her belongings in her bag. "You might be right. I don't have friends like you. But believe me, that is not something I want." She yanked her bag onto her shoulder and stormed away.

"Lily," Sirius shouted after her, but she ignored him, pushing past Madam Pince with her pinched face that made her look like she was going to kill someone – or worse, ban them from the library.

"You know they did it for me, right?" Remus's voice broke through Lily's thoughts, forcing her to lower her book to be able to see his unusually cold brown eyes staring down at her.

"What?" She crinkled her forehead as she tried to make sense of his words.

Remus rolled his eyes, walking to her side of the table, and pulled her up from her breakfast. Grabbing her by the arm, he marched out of the Great Hall and dragged her towards a hidden alcove.

"I wasn't finished eating, you know," she said, yanking her arm free.

"Not my biggest problem," Remus snapped back before taking a deep breath, pushing his finger and thumb against the bridge of his nose. "Your big issue with the boys, my friends, at the moment? They did it for a reason. A real reason."

"Yeah, 'a bloody good one too', apparently," Lily scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Lily," Remus snapped, "they did it for me."

"What?" Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know my secret…"

"Yes, since second year."

"Well, the boys found out that it will be better controlled if it has other animals to be around…" Remus trailed off.

"So they found out how to transform because they can't help as humans," Lily said slowly, her eyes widening as she caught on to the scheme. That cannot be true. It almost made them seem genuine.

"Exactly."

"Well, why didn't they tell me this instead of letting me think it was for fun?" Lily huffed, shoving Remus back against the wall.

"Would you have believed them?" Remus asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Well… I… I mean… I… No," Lily admitted, hanging her head.

"That would be why then." Remus chuckled. "Want to give them a break?"

"Over that, maybe. But anything else is fair game," Lily said, putting her hands on her hips and sticking her nose in the air.

Remus laughed at her. "Deal. Abuse them all you want for the pranks," he said, throwing an arm over her shoulder and walking her back to the Great Hall.

Just before they reached the large wooden doors, the pair met the rest of the Marauders. Swallowing her pride, Lily gave them a tight-lipped smile, nodding at them before separating from Remus.

Lily pushed the door to the hall open, praying to Merlin that her bag was still at her seat when Sirius's voice called her attention back.

"A bloody good excuse, right?"

"This time, Black, this time," Lily replied.

"Lily?" James's voice caused her to turn back towards them. "Maybe next time, don't judge so quickly."

"One good deed does not make you angels," she snipped in return.