A/N: Hello! I running out of different ways to greet you guys and we're only on chapter six. Looks like you'll be stuck with 'welcome back' next time.

Anyway, thanks for reading and thank you to fancy blood for your review. It really made my day reading your review - I'm glad you like that characters, and Hagrid's accent was fine. Honestly, I don't get how people write accents. It's so hard to sound passable.

Disclaimer: I own the storyline and that's all. It's fine. I don't care. Honest.

Enjoy :)

Chapter Six

She was running. Running without oxygen. Breathless. Sweat clung to her forehead as she grasped the crystal ball in her hands for dear life. The woods around her were thick but up ahead, through the dense vegetation, she could make out a lake that reflected the moonlight. Throwing a terrified look behind her, she sped up.

Doomed.

The word repeated itself again and again in her mind as she fled, desperately trying to reach the lake before it was too late. From behind her came a cackling laugh.

'You can't run from me girlie!'

Tears were running down her cheeks as she clutched the orb to her chest, holding onto it as if it were her own child. She broke through the trees and skidded onto the pebbled beach of the lake. There was another cackle from behind.

'Looks like you can't hide!'

With all the strength she had, she flung the orb out into the lake, where it broke the smooth surface and sank down into the depths.

'Idiot girl! What have you done?'

A hand grabbed the back of her neck and forced her face first into the water. She struggled, her lungs quickly filling with water, her mind going funny from no oxygen. She couldn't breathe. Everything was going black. She needed help. She needed saving. She was drowning.

…

Lily awoke with a start, drenched in sweat. She looked around, feeling about for the hangings of her fourposter to reassure her that she wasn't still trapped in her nightmare. Thankfully, she wasn't. For a moment she remained in her bed, sitting up and staring about in the dark. Then she pulled back the hangings and slid out of bed. Fumbling about in her drawer, she pulled out a fresh pair of pyjamas and crept into the bathroom, taking care not to wake her friends.

After a quick shower and changing into her clean pyjamas, she left the bathroom and threw her old pyjamas onto her bed, picking up her dressing gown, which she wrapped around herself before leaving the dormitory. Silently, she made her way down the girls' staircase and, when she appeared in the common room, took a seat on the sofa opposite the dying fire.

Then she started.

'Remus!' she exclaimed, clutching at her heart. 'I didn't see you there.'

'That's all right.' Remus chuckled tiredly from his armchair. 'I'm well-hidden here.'

'On purpose?'

'No, no.' He stretched, leaning forwards so that the light from the fire flickered in his pale face. 'James' snoring woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep.'

'Potter snores?' Lily checked, her nose wrinkling comically. 'How disgraceful.'

'He's not that bad.' Remus defended, grinning as she giggled. 'But once you're awake it's just annoying.'

'Incredible how he manages to be annoying when he's unconscious too, isn't it?' Lily mused, fiddling the belt of her dressing gown. Remus snorted.

'So why are you awake?'

'Potter's snoring.' Lily said seriously.

'Really?'

'It's very loud.' Then she blushed, realising what she had been implying with her joke. 'I mean, I was joking… I wasn't… I wouldn't… I don't…'

'I know, Lily.' he told her, smirking. 'Believe it or not, I'd notice if you were sleeping in our dormitory.'

'That's a very bold assumption.' she replied, as he raised an eyebrow. 'I'll have you know I've been living in there for years.'

'I must have missed that.'

She laughed but then fell silent after a while, glancing at Remus' face, which looked so gaunt in the firelight. Of course, the extensive shadows cast never did anyone any favours, but he did look ill. The full moon had only been a few days ago and it always took a while for Remus to recover. Nevertheless, she grew concerned.

'Are you all right, Remus?' she asked softly. 'You look a little peaky…'

'I'm fine.' he dismissed, not looking at her but at the fire. 'I've just been thinking.'

'About what?'

'Nothing really.'

'It doesn't look like nothing.'

Remus didn't reply. He got up from his armchair and went to stoke the fire, throwing on a fresh log for good measure. Slowly, flames began to crackle and lick their way around the log.

'Some children were attacked during the last full moon.' he murmured so quietly she barely heard him. 'They died yesterday in St Mungo's – it was in the Evening Prophet.'

'Oh, that's awful…' Lily whispered, unconsciously raising her hand to her mouth, her eyes widening. 'But, Remus –'

'They're saying that the werewolf who attacked them was – was…' Remus' hands were trembling as he put down the poker he was holding. 'Was Fenrir Greyback.'

Lily stood up and went to wrap her arms tightly around him. Though much taller than she, Remus rested his forehead on her shoulder. They remained that way for a few minutes.

'It's sick.' he spat, pulling back. 'It's just sick.'

'I know, Remus, I know.' Lily agreed gently, leading him to sit down on the sofa.

'You know, when I was younger, I used to feel sorry for him.' He was glaring at his hands now. 'I used to think he was like me. I used to think he couldn't control himself – just like I can't.'

'He's a murderer, Remus.' Lily said fiercely, placing a hand over his. 'You're a good person. He is nothing like you. It isn't being a werewolf that makes him that – even if he wasn't, he probably would be out there killing for fun – he's chosen to be the way he is. You've chosen to be kind and loyal – and all the things he'll never be – because that's who you are. Being a werewolf doesn't change any of that.'

'To you maybe.'

'Remus – Remus – look at me,' Lily gently but purposefully moved his head so that he was looking directly at her. 'Up there,' she gestured vaguely at the boys' staircase, 'are three boys who would murder the whole of Hogwarts for you without a second's hesitation. If you were anything – anything – like Greyback, do you really think that would be true?'

He didn't say anything in response and Lily accepted her victory with a small smile. She had worked out Remus' secret for herself in second year after hardly failing to notice that her Charms partner was always ill around the full moon. It had taken another two years before she confessed this, blurting out that she knew during a very late-night game of chess when neither of them had been able to sleep. Severus had always been suspicious of Remus, concluding correctly that he was a werewolf just over a year after Lily had realised, but Lily had never encouraged his 'theory' as she always called it; they might have been best friends at the time, but Lily had known even then that she couldn't trust Severus with everything.

'Come on,' she said, standing up and offering him her hand. 'Let's go get some hot chocolate. Filch will have finished his late night round by now.'

…

Lily was walking back from the owlery when she heard jeering from around the corner. Pulling out her wand and then concealing it beneath her sleeve, Lily rounded the bend, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. And she had been correct to be suspicious; the scene she came across froze at their new company.

Severus, Mulciber, Avery and Wilkes were all with their wands out, pointing them at a small first year – Daisy. At the sight of Lily, they turned to face her, and she watched their faces turn from brief apprehension, thinking she might have been a teacher, back to leers. Severus looked a little uncomfortable at having been caught by his former friend and shifted slightly away from his comrades.

'Evening.' said Lily mildly, limping over to them and going to stand next to Daisy.

'Evans,' Mucliber growled, his eerie grin widening. 'So, kind of you to join us.'

'It is rather.' she agreed, kneeling down gingerly so that she was on eye level with Daisy. Studying her for a second, Lily turned her head back to the Slytherins and smiled a rather tight smile. 'I'm going to make a deal with you.'

'What kind of deal?' Mulciber inquired, his grin, if it were possible, stretching even wider. Severus had shrunk back so far now he was almost against the opposite wall. Lily scoffed quietly.

'My deal is that you four let Daisy go and you can pick on me instead.' she offered casually, glancing to her right to see Daisy trembling; she was doing the right thing. 'I'll still have my wand of course, but it isn't that hard to disarm someone – is it, Wilkes?'

Wilkes started at being directly addressed by her and then sneered. He was notoriously bad at the Disarming Spell.

'Four against one, Mudblood.' Mulciber reminded her, his eyes taking her in hungrily as if deciding what jinx to hit her with first. 'That's not exactly in your favour.'

'Same odds as before.' she replied, shrugging and then turned back to Daisy. 'Now, Daisy, I want you to go back to the common room. Can you do that?'

Daisy nodded and then scurried off. Wilkes pointed his wand after her.

'Expelliarmus.' she said, almost lazily and caught his wand in her free hand as she straightened up. 'Come on, Wilkes, we're picking on me, remember?'

Mulciber and Avery advanced on her, clearly not enjoying her jibe at their comrade. Lily didn't back away, she couldn't; there was barely any space between her back and the wall, and she wanted to guarantee as much retreating space as possible when she really needed it.

'Petrificus totalus!' Mulciber spat, his wand arm shaking. Lily ducked, just missing the spell that came pelting towards her. She wasn't quite so lucky with the Stinging Hex Avery sent little more than a second later, his aim anticipating her doge of Mulciber's curse. It grazed her cheek painfully, so she struggled to direct her own retaliating spell.

The Bat-Bogey Hex she fired missed and she was forced to cast a Shield Charm to deflect the joint advance of her two opponents.

'Aren't you going to join in, Severus?' Lily called, blasting Mulciber with her wand so that he was thrown backwards. 'Don't miss the opportunity to hex a Mudblood. Isn't that what your little gang's all about?'

'Shut up, Evans!' Avery snarled, stepping closer to her. Wilkes was helping Mulciber to his feet, a little unsure how to be of use without his wand. Mulciber muttered something to him and Wilkes smirked. Lily's stomach clenched. 'Tarantallegra.'

Lily's feet avoided the spell by inches as she dashed to the side, a feat made difficult by her previously injured leg. She needed the length of the corridor to manage this duel properly, so she hurried on a little further, casting a Shield Charm behind her for good measure. What she hadn't anticipated was Wilkes coming out of nowhere and smashing his foot into her right leg.

Pain spread thick and fast over her injury and she fell with a gasp, clenching her teeth together at the agony cascading across her calf.

Leering, Mulciber, Wilkes and Avery loomed over her, their wands out. Then they paused.

'Snape, want to come and do the honours?'

Mulciber's unnaturally wide grin was back and Lily shrunk where she sat, her right leg clutched in her hands. She couldn't see Severus, but she could hear him walking over to where his friends towered over her. He appeared between them, his wand pointed directly at her, his face blank. Lily couldn't read anything in his empty black eyes, not that she wanted to. Whatever was about to happen to her, she didn't want to cling to some false hope that he might spare her. They weren't friends.

'Oy!' a voice called from the end of the corridor. Footsteps.

James strode forward, his eyes flashing furiously, flanked by Sirius, Remus and Peter, all with their wands out.

'What the fuck do you think you're doing?' he snarled, less that a metre from Lily. 'Put your wands away now!'

'Only if you do, Potter.' Mulciber retorted, redirecting his wand at James. Avery and Wilkes followed suit, but Severus' remained on Lily.

'Very clever, Mulciber.' Sirius taunted from beside James. 'Did Voldy teach you that line?'

'Shut your fucking mouth, you little blood traitor!' Mulciber growled.

'Evans, get out of the way.' James said, glancing down at her. 'We'll deal with this.'

Avery, Mulciber and Wilkes drew away from Lily and Severus, as did James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, all of them moving to begin a duel without obstructions between them.

'We really should bow first.' James suggested, rolling up his sleeves and grinning sideways at Sirius.

'Good idea, mate.' Sirius agreed, with his own wolfish grin. 'Can't forget our manners.'

'Stop messing about.' Remus murmured from behind them, his own eyes fixed warily on their opponents. 'Don't get distracted or –'

'DUCK!' Peter interrupted, shoving James out of the way as a Stunning Spell came directly towards him.

As the duel began, Lily glanced at Severus, who was still watching her, his wand trained on her chest. The pain in her leg was slowly receding back to the level her painkilling potion allowed, so Lily, sensing Severus wasn't planning to send a spell at her any time soon, took to opportunity to get to her feet. She hobbled over to the wall so that she could rest against it, waiting for her leg to go back to normal. Severus followed her.

He towered over her, his eyes boring into hers. There was a strange kind of hunger in them, a lust of some kind. Lily blinked, breaking their eye contact with a sigh.

'Just get on with it, Severus.' she told him irritably, folding her arms.

'Wh–'

'Just bloody hex me, will you?' she snapped. 'Stop gawping and do it.'

'I…'

Something flickered in the pits of Severus black eyes; it made Lily's stomach lurch, knocking out any irritation to replace it with something even more familiar. Fear. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her step back, thudding into the wall as her heart pounded.

'Be my friend again.' he murmured, his voice dangerously quiet.

Lily's eyes widened, shrinking where she stood. He seemed to loom over her, trapping her without any hope of escape. The wall felt very solid against her back.

'Be my friend again.' Severus repeated, his knuckles whitening as he tightened his grip on his wand. Lily glanced down at it before bringing her gaze back to his glittering dark eyes. Something writhed in those endless pits; something that made her body tremble. 'Be my friend again or I'll hurt you.'

'You –'

'I swear it, Lily!' he snarled, his face inches from hers, his wand swishing up to press against her neck. 'If you say no, I'll hurt you, I will.'

His wand pushed harder against her skin. Lily's eyes watered.

'Say it.' he growled. 'Say we're friends.'

'I…' Lily took a deep breath. 'I won't. We're not friends.'

'You won't?'

When, at the start of term, Lily had been chased by Death Eaters she hadn't had time to truly feel scared; everything had just moved so fast. But this, her former friend's ideals glaring in her face, his wand against her throat, waiting to hex her, made her sick to her stomach. This drawn out anticipation was far more frightening than running head long through the danger.

'I won't.' she repeated, closing her eyes so that she couldn't see the fire kindling in his eyes. It was all she could do to calm her heart palpitations. With any luck, Severus would curse her soon, ending this cruel wait for his offensive.

'Get the fuck away from her!' James barrelled into Severus, roughly shoving him to the side.

'That's enough, boys.' Professor McGonagall voice interjected sharply from somewhere along the corridor as Severus made to retaliate, his face contorting. 'Mr Potter, please accompany Miss Evans to the hospital wing – you will both receive details about your detention via letter.'

'But, Pro–'

'No, Mr Potter.' she interrupted, her nostrils flaring as she strode furiously over to the scene. 'Rules are rules, no matter the circumstances. You both used magic in the corridors alongside everyone else. You will face the consequences.'

'Of course, Professor.' Lily mumbled, gingerly pushing herself off the wall with a glance at Severus before moving to stand beside James. 'We'll go now.'

Peter grimaced at the pair of them, next to McGonagall, evidently having gone to fetch her to stop things escalating too far. Her appearance certainly worked because all others on the scene had ceased fighting to shift awkwardly, having been caught in the act.

Linking arms with James to steer him in the direction of the hospital wing, Lily was glad to leave the scene. The look in Severus' eyes seemed to be branded into her mind; he was a long shot from the boy she had once spent her holidays with, running around Cokeworth and playing harmless pranks on Petunia.

'Sorry for getting you a detention.' James apologised once they were alone. 'I sent Pete off to get Minnie – reckoned things could get nasty if I didn't.'

'Thank you.' she replied, smiling slightly. 'That's twice you've rescued me now. I owe you.'

'I'll hold you to that, Evans.' he joked, smirking. 'And promise me you won't take on four Slytherins on your own again.'

'We'll see.' she said noncommittedly, chuckling at the alarmed expression that flitted across his face.

'You're worse than me, Evans.' James observed and she elbowed him lightly to let him know her feelings about his comparison. 'I mean,' he elaborated, grinning, 'you're even more reckless than me.'

'I'm not as big headed though, so I think I come out on top.' She winked and he laughed.

Silence fell between them and James glanced down at Lily every so often as they made their way towards the hospital wing. He was studying her shrewdly by the time Lily pushed open the ward doors.

'Ev–'

But he was cut off by the furious growl from Madame Pomfrey as she took in her new arrivals.

Well, what did you think? Nothing like a bit of fighting in the corridors to brighten up your day. Another point for James here, saving Lily again; she's really dropping being. Unbelievable. Then again, all's not fair in love and war.

Anyway, never mind my ramblings. Make my day and leave a review! I'll see you in chapter seven!