Lily glared at Remus, who sat sprawled all over the
table, watching her with his head resting on his arms. "Look, this is supposed
to be a team thing! One of us turns the book into
a rocking
horse, and the other turns it back while McGonagall watches!"
Remus raised his eyebrows at her lazily. "Come off it,
Lil. It's Friday afternoon before Easter holidays. Can't you stop being
perfect for a little while?" But he saw McGonagall inspecting Peter
and Bertha's horse, whose back still bore the title of their book, three
tables over. He looked back at his partner. In a softer voice, he replied,
"Look, I'm hopeless at changing things. You turn it into the horse and
I'll turn it back."
Lily pursed her lips. "Come on, Remus, that's the way
we've done it most of this term! You're going to have to do it on your
own for the exam, you know." But now McGonagall was praising the saddle
on Molly and Stephen's rocking horse, and was moving on to James and Sirius,
right next to them. "All right," she sighed, and her copy of Hogwarts,
A History turned into a white plush rocking horse with a red cardboard
saddle.
McGonagall gave Lily an 8 out of 10 for the horse since
its tail and mane were made out of pages, but Remus earned a perfect score
as Lily's book returned to its original state, the cover bent in all the
right places. As the professor moved on to Cosmo and William next to them,
James and Sirius sidled over.
"Peter's fraternizing with the enemy," Sirius smirked.
"What?" said Remus, his brow furrowed.
"Bertha. You know, that nosy Hufflepuff girl he's partnered
with."
"Oh yeah, the match." Remus peered between James and Sirius'
arms and then remarked, "I don't suppose either of them can help it."
James looked at Lily. "Are you coming to the match tomorrow,
then? If we beat Hufflepuff we're up for the cup with Ravenclaw."
She shrugged. "I have some chapters of this I need to
read up for Binns, but if I'm done with that, yeah, I'll go."
Sirius clucked his tongue and made a wicked face. "Dear
me, Lily, don't you ever get out? I can think of plenty of other
uses for a book than reading it!" He snatched it. "Here James, think quick!"
He tossed it up and it levitated a few inches out of reach.
"Hey!" Lily protested. She lifted her wand. "Accio
my book!"
"Impendio incantem," James shot back. He raised
his own wand and said, "Tranfiguro leo avii!" Lily's book was suddenly
a red, cat-sized flying lion, which hovered above them, flexing its legs
and wings. As Remus laughed, Sirius jumped and caught the lion, then conjured
a string and tied it around its midsection. He handed it to Lily like a
circus balloon.
James flashed her a buffoonish grin. "Come to the match
tomorrow," he said. The bell rang, and with a whoop Sirius dashed out the
door, followed by his two friends. Lily sat, astounded, looking at her
book-cum-lion. McGonagall glanced up from her desk and saw the little Gryffindor
mascot.
"Ah, finally coming out for the team, Miss Evans?" she
asked with a slight smile.
* * *
"Lily?" Emma Donnelson, one of her four roommates, knocked
on their dormitory door. "Lily, are you in there?"
She heard a muffled thump, and a crash. "Ow! Yes, I'm
here. Come in! Wait, Emma!"
"What?"
"Don't let my book out."
Emma sighed and edged her way inside. Lily was standing
on a desk, trying to snatch the flying lion from the top of a wardrobe.
"Are you coming down?" Emma asked as she watched. "It's dinner soon."
"Yeah, just give me a sec -- ow! it bit me! Em, I'll meet
you down there, I've got to catch this thing of -- hey!" The lion had suddenly
launched itself toward the ceiling and was now circling. As Lily made a
grab for it, it shot past her and landed on the windowsill. "Oh no you
don't!" she cried, and dove toward the window, which was ajar. The book
anticipated her and squeezed through the gap and tauntingly hovered on
the other side of the glass. Lily groaned, and stormed past Emma. "I'll
be back!" she called. "As soon as I get that monster back and maul James
Potter!"
Before Emma had a chance to respond, Lily had slammed
the door shut and was racing down the spiral staircase. Emma shook her
head. "Lily, it's only a book..."
* * *
Lily could see the silhouette of the little lion mocking
her against the brilliant pink and orange of the sunset, darting about
and eating moths. It's too high up for me to reach, she thought.
She glanced around at the empty grounds. She wasn't too far from the broom
shed, where Madam Hooch kept the school's worn-out Silver Arrows for their
mandatory flying lessons. Lily had always been hopeless at flying, and
had managed to avoid it since her fourth year. Still, catching a stupid
transfigured history book shouldn't be too trying. She headed toward
the shed, noting the direction the book was flitting in. She opened the
door with a breathless "Alohomora!" and grabbed the first broom
her hands found in the darkness.
She hid her wand under the doormat, reasoning that she
would be back within ten minutes. She then stood holding the broom in the
dying sunlight uncertainly, telling herself Come on, you know
how to do this. After several awkward attempts to mount it, she managed,
and sat there trying to balance. The broom reluctantly obeyed her commands,
and rose slowly skyward.
The light was fading fast, and her stomach was rumbling.
Give
it up! said the voice of reason. It'll come back to the castle when
it gets tired...
But that essay is due first thing on Monday! answered
another voice. Damn those boys!
As she passed over Hagrid's hut, she spotted it perched
on the paddock fence, sniffing the gamekeeper's deerhound, Sheila. Lily
was fairly high up by this time, however -- about thirty feet -- and she
wasn't entirely sure how to make the broom go down. She thought about Quidditch
matches -- what did they do after the game? Hesitantly she pointed the
hand down.
A mistake. She shot earthward, and only missed crashing
into the vegetable garden by inches. She shrieked, and jerked the handle
up again. But the broom had sensed an inexperienced rider and panicked.
It veered up high, lunged to the left, and was barreling straight for a
tree --
Lily scream as the flailing branches of the Whomping Willow
lashed out and hit her. The broom and its rider were roughly tossed from
limb to stinging limb. When she finally landed on the main trunk, Lily
gace a sigh of relief. Forget the book, she panted in her head,
I'm
getting back to the castle!
Yet the tree had other plans. Lily felt the trunk bend
back, and a sinking feeling erupted in her growling stomach. The Willow
pitched her out over the trees and she was jettisoned through the night,
too shocked to scream.
* * *
Luckily, the bushes she landed in, somewhere deep in the
reaches of the Forbidden Forest, did not hit back. She lay still, a dull
aching throb overtaking the sharp pains in her body. An hour passed: by
the time she could move again, the full moon was high and bright in the
sky.
Well, lucky for that. At least I won't be fumbling
around in circles in the dark. She gingerly picked herself up and,
shaking, stood. Lily had never felt more lost or alone in her life. The
moonlight created shadow everywhere; various animals were hooting and chirping
and screeching and whirring, and she was sure she heard something resembling
a roar in the distance. If only I had my wand! she cursed desperately.
Point
Me. That's all it would take.
Ah well. Let's see what you remember from Girl Guides
with Petunia, Lily Evans. She craned her neck to try and spot the moon,
which should be in a fairly easterly direction. Hogwarts is...Hogwarts
is east of the Forbidden Forest, right? So if I just follow the moon...
As she was turning to try and leave the clearing, a sight
met her eyes that made her freeze. A huge wolf was watching her from the
edge of the trees; right behind it, at its shoulder, she could just make
out the outline of an enormous dog.
Lily had never taken much stock in the rumors that there
were werewolves in the Forbidden Forest, but as she and the creature exchanged
stares, an essay she'd written her second year for Defense Against the
Dark Arts came rushing back:
werewolves are different from true wolves because werewolves
have shorter snouts and smaller ears and darker fur and their eyes glow
slightly red --!!!
She watched helplessly as the werewolf lunged toward her.
I'm
going to become a werewolf! I'm going to be bitten and it will all be --
be -- I'm --
A gigantic brown creature suddenly filled her vision.
It had charged out of the brush and bowled the werewolf over. Enraged,
the werewolf was desperately clawing and biting at the animal, but by this
time the large dog had tackled it, and was holding it back.
The creature bounded over to Lily. It's a stag, she
thought numbly. Just like in King Arthur...
The stag was on its knees, kneeling and making frantic
tosses of its magnificent head. It wants me up on its back...I...suppose
I'd better...
She was still busy -- entranced -- watching the dog and
the werewolf fight: she didn't make a move until the stag snorted urgently
and swung his antlers toward her, into her hand. She climbed up, still
dazed, and they fled, abandoning the wild howls behind them.
The forest flew by very quickly. Lily didn't even consider
that the stag didn't know where he was going.
At one point the werewolf caught up with them again. He
leapt at Lily, snapping, and the stag dealt him a sharp kick in his side.
Lily heard a crack, and the werewolf collapsed, whimpering. The stag continued
running, bearing Lily along like a feather.
* * *
They reached the lake just as blueness was seeping into
the sky. The stag knelt down and Lily slid off, landing on the ground in
a heap. The stag headed into the water, and stood where the lake covered
his bleeding flanks. They gazed at each other in a bewildered sort of way,
although there was something comforting about the stag's countenance that
made Lily calm.
He really was a very fine creature. By the faint glow
of dawn, Lily could make out some features now. He was much darker than
pictures of other stags: his antlers at least were ebony-black, and he
had strange dark patches around his eyes.
Like a child, Lily felt herself reach out with her hand
to touch the muzzle. The stag stood there, perfectly still, but the nearer
her hand came, the darker and blurrier he got... until finally he became
night and Lily knew no more.
* * *
She awoke in a bed that didn't belong to her. The sky
was darkening: it was sunset. She rolled over, trying to figure out where
she was.
Remus was sitting on the bed to her left. His head was
bowed and his shoulders were hunched. He looked paler and thinner than
usual. Something thick and battered lay beside him.
I'm in the hospital. Why am I in the hospital? Oh yes
-- because -- because --
Remus noticed she was awake and a relieved smile broke
across his ashen face. Lily noticed that the circles under his eyes were
more pronounced than ever. "Lily!" he breathed. "You're alive!"
Lily gave a short, amazed laugh. "And why should I be
dead, Remus? That little monster of James's wasn't enough to do me in..."
The smile vanished from Remus's face. "Lily, I..." He
seemed to be choking on his words. Finally he whispered, "I'm really sorry
about... what happened to you last night."
She sat up in her bed, and stared at Remus, her green
eyes searching for something he wasn't saying. When she spoke next, however,
she had changed the subject, "How... how was the was Quidditch match?"
Remus shrugged, and stared out the window. "I don't know.
We won, but I didn't go."
"Why not?"
He looked at his feet. "It was an illness..." After a
long pause, a timid and apologetic smile appeared on his wan face. "But...
I found your book." He handed her the ill-treated copy of Hogwarts,
A History, the cover bent in all the right places.
