Lily in Full Blossom

Chapter 14: Werewolf Trap

Pre-Author's Notes: This fic is based on the manga, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e also known as For You in Full Blossom. I had to change some elements from the Harry Potter story to make it work, so live with it. Yes, I am aware that some of the facts from the Harry Potter series is off, but I had to change it for the story. ^^


The month of January seemed to fly by quickly. Sirius and James stopped fighting again, but Sirius was still sore. They put their differences aside for Remus' sake. The week of the full moon was fast approaching. Remus needed his friends to be united.

Lily didn't ask anymore about Remus. She did talk to him from time to time during Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was fun, but at the same time a very valuable class to have. The professor talked about the threat of Voldemort from time to time, but he also taught them about regular things to look out for.

Lily was more scared of Voldemort than most of the students. She was a Muggle born witch, so she knew that she was in more danger than anyone else. She didn't voice her concerns out loud for fear of making herself so obviously different from the others. She did know that almost everyone else was afraid of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The only people she noticed who were unconcerned were James, Sirius, and Remus. Peter was a different story.

Lily didn't know what to make of Peter. He seemed more like a tagalong than anything else. She sort of pitied him because Sirius and James had such strong personalities. Remus was more of a quiet observer, but his opinion was always valued. He was the one who got James and Sirius to stop fighting.

"That's all for today. Finish your essays on creatures of the night by next week," said the professor. "I'll see you all again next time." There were loads of nocturnal creatures that were explored in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Everyone was assigned a topic and no two students had the same topic. Lily's topic was werewolves.

They all walked out of the room. "I think I should go to the library. There's probably tons more stuff on werewolves there," said Lily as Frank walked next to her.

"You don't need to go all out, Lucas. You always do that," said Frank.

"I don't think we need to go to the library," said Sirius with a slight smirk as he looked at James. "Don't over work yourself, Lucas."

"Don't be so cocky," muttered Remus as he kept his face neutral.

"I'll talk to you guys later," said Lily as she went toward the library.

"Yes, I'll see you later. Try not to work to hard," said James as he smiled for her. Sirius looked at him questioningly because he still had no idea who James' girlfriend really was. On top of that, the map was still in James' possession. He was putting the finishing touches on.

Little did they know that Severus Snape had spent more time observing them. He knew now that Lily would be the easiest one to approach. Lily was more trusting than the others. It was something that Severus could easily handle.

The only other person who was keeping an eye on things was Sirius Black. He realized that Severus was looking for a way to get him and his friends expelled. We'll see about that. Sirius thought to himself, already hatching a plan.

*

Lily started by getting a book on werewolves to help her write her essay. She wanted to do better than well in the class. She had just settled at a table when Severus Snape sat down. He took the seat next to her. She looked up and noticed that there were other empty tables. That was odd. No Gryffindor nor Slytherin sat next to each other or even at the same table unless forced.

"What do you want, Snape?" asked Lily suspiciously.

"Is there a crime against a Slytherin talking to a Gryffindor, Evans?" asked Severus with a shrug.

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm very busy here, Snape. I need to do well on this essay," she answered. "Leave me alone and let me work."

Severus didn't look perturbed at all by Lily's hostility. "What are you working on?" he asked.

"None of your business," muttered Lily.

Severus picked up one of the books on the table and read the cover out loud, "Lycanthrope: A Study of Werewolves." Lily grabbed the book from him. "So, you're doing that essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I do know quite a bit about that."

"I'm sure you do," said Lily through her teeth. "So does everyone else in your house."

"That is an exaggeration, Evans," said Severus. "Besides, you've already written that first part of your essay wrong."

Lily glared at him. "What the Hell are you talking about Snape?" Severus opened the book that was previously in his hands, skimmed it, and turned it for her to look at. He put his finger on the third sentence of the essay. "You see you wrote that wrong. The snout of a werewolf is wider than than a regular wolf."

Lily looked down and read what she had written. She looked at the page that Severus had opened. Rather than admit to her mistake, she opened another book and looked it up. She read it and opened another. She sighed. "Okay, you're right," she admitted begrudgingly as she corrected her mistake.

Severus smirked at her. He looked at the book that he had opened and read it again. There was no denying how much Severus knew about the Dark Arts. "Ahem," said Lily, looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

"I need that book," said Lily.

"Evans, I've been thinking," started Severus.

"There's a surprise," said Lily sarcastically as she grabbed the book out of his hands. "Go away," she said more forcefully.

"Evans, you know James Potter pretty well, but I've noticed that you don't hang out with his other little friends, do you?" said Severus as he folded his hands in front of him.

Lily looked at him again. "Well, they've been friends since the first year. Sirius and James were best friends even before Hogwarts. It's not a problem. I don't really want to hang out with them anyway."

"Is that so, Evans? You and Potter are so close, yet he keeps you from being around him. I see how the two of you are like around each other," said Severus as he moved closer to her. Lily froze up. "Look, I don't care what Potter and you are really doing in your room. I am not against that sort of thing. However, I think that the teachers might care, Evans. Neither you nor Potter want to get expelled, do you? The wizards are just as intolerant of that sort of thing as the Muggles are."

Lily realized what he was getting at. He thinks that James and I are gay. That's pretty funny. Or he could know I'm a girl. She didn't really want to think about what he really thought. "Snape, you're jumping to conclusions," she told him finally.

"Am I? Just the same, Potter likes to keep his little secrets from you, doesn't he? It seems like you trust him more than he trusts you, Evans."

"I trust him. Besides, it's none of my business."

"No, of course not. I'm just saying," said Severus innocently. "I suppose you're not as close as I thought. Sorry. I take back anything I said."

Lily watched him stand up. "See you around, Evans," he said as he walked away with a smirk on his face. She didn't watch him leave. Instead, she looked at the paper she had been trying to write, wondering if he was right about James.

She closed all her books. She couldn't concentrate that well. Her eyes traveled to her essay. She reread it again and corrected her mistakes. After that she just stared into space.

*

Sirius Black was sitting in the Gryffindor common room reading his Transfiguration book. He was worried about a few things. First, James still had the map in his possession. They were going to need it soon as the full moon approached. Second, Snape was lingering around, looking for anything that would get them expelled. Many times Sirius had underestimated the greasy haired git over the years, but this was the only time he was actually worried that Snape would do something. It had do with the fact that James was the weak link in the group.

"Stop brooding, Padfoot," said Remus as he looked up from his book. He was reading for fun like he always did.

"We need him to finish work on that map. I bet he told him everything about you. Why the Hell aren't you mad?" asked Sirius without looking up from his book.

"Because I don't think Lucas knows anything," said Remus. "I mean he hasn't given any indication. And James wouldn't do that. You have to have a little more faith in him."

"There's something going on between them. I don't know what though," said Sirius.

"I agree, but we'll have to wait and see," said Remus. "I think you're jealous. Though I don't know why."

"I am not."

"You're like a five-year-old. You're probably thinking that you're being replaced."

"Shut up."

Peter came in just then. He was nearly out of breath as he staggered over to them. "Snape. Snape." He was gasping for air.

"That's the other problem. What about Snape?" asked Sirius.

"He's up to something. I was just walking back from the kitchens when I saw him. He was coming out of the library. I looked inside and only Lucas was in there," managed Peter. He looked extremely worried as he switched back and forth between Remus' and Sirius' calm faces. It made him panic even more. "He could get us into trouble!" he exclaimed.

"Stop panicking," said Remus, turning a page in his book without looking up.

"What's new? Snape is always doing that," said Sirius. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"But--" started Peter.

"Don't do anything rash, Padfoot," said Remus warningly.

"I won't do anything drastic, Moony," reassured Sirius. "I was just thinking of rewarding his hard work that's all."

Remus lowered his book and looked straight at Sirius. He didn't like his tone. "What are you thinking about doing to him, Padfoot?"

"Nothing. Honest. I'm just sick and tired of him always watching us. He's just itching for us to do something wrong and get us expelled. I'm only thinking of a preemptive strike. Just a little one. It will teach him a lesson. Trust me."

Remus shifted uncomfortably, while Peter looked back and forth between them again. If they were going to fight, it was going to be hard for him to pick him a side. It would be hard because Sirius and Remus were equally matched. Peter went with them because James was alone. He was always good at picking sides. It kept the bullies away.

"Sirius, just don't do anything stupid," said Remus with a sigh.

*

Over the next few days, Lily didn't talk much with James. He was starting to wonder what was wrong, but he didn't have time to ask. The full moon was the next day, so he had to work on the map and do the modifications. He also had to come up with something to tell the other guys because he wasn't taking it with him. James realized that he was going to have to ask Lily, if it was all right that the others knew that she was really a girl.

"Lily, I need to talk to you," James told her.

"What about?" she asked as she worked on her werewolf essay again. She had left it alone ever since that day at the library.

"About Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Look, I know that we agreed that I wouldn't say anything to them about this whole thing, but I think we can trust them," he said.

Lily looked up from her essay. "You can't just do that. I don't know them," she said after an awkward silence.

James' brow furrowed. "Look, I could have just told them. I asked you first," he said angrily. "I know them. We can trust them."

"Why is it that you can trust them, when you can't trust me? I don't know anything about them really. And you're expecting me just to agree just because you suddenly think it's a good idea. Too many people around here already know. The more people who know, the more there's a chance someone will let it slip!"

"They won't say anything!" shouted James. "I know them! None of them would tell!"

"How do you know that? You keep saying that you want us to have an honest relationship, but you won't tell me anything about yourself!"

"Is this about Remus again?!" demanded James.

"No. This is about you. You don't want to tell me anything. Like, why are you always gone from sundown to dawn every month? What's that paper you've been working on?! You don't tell me anything! On top of that, you suddenly want to tell them about my secret without a good enough reason!"

"I only want to tell them to protect you. If they find out without any kind of warning, you'll be in bigger trouble. You could get expelled!"

Lily started laughing as she stood up. She wasn't very tall. James towered over her by so many inches. "I never thought I'd live to say this, but Severus Snape might actually be right. You keep talking about trust, but I have to be the one to give all, while you give nothing."

"When did you talk to Severus Snape? Why were you talking to him? Answer me," demanded James.

"I don't have to answer any of your questions because you don't answer mine," said Lily coldly as she gathered up her things.

"Where are you going?"

"To the library. You can work alone," answered Lily as she yanked the door open and left.

James stood there stunned for a moment before reacting. "URGH!" he exclaimed because words had failed him. "I was only trying to protect you," he muttered as he went to the map. His thoughts were spinning as he thought about Snape talking to her. What did that greasy haired git tell her? When did they talk? James pulled up the map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The map appeared instantaneously. There were more points now that labeled everyone in the school. He looked and saw the dot labeled "Lily Evans" moving towards the library. James looked at the three dots in Gryffindor Tower. Then, he turned his attention to Severus Snape, who was in the Slytherin common room.

James put a special charm on the map so that it not only labeled where people were in the school, but also so that it would show their true identities. He put it there on purpose, even though it was a complex spell. If Lily was hiding her identity, who knew who else was doing that.

There came a knock at the door. James wiped the map clean before standing up to answer the door. It was Sirius. "What's up?" asked James.

"Are you coming with us tomorrow night?" asked Sirius.

"Of course," replied James. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, you weren't there the last time," Sirius reminded him.

"I was at the Pomfrey's," said James. "Why don't you come in?" Sirius walked in and noticed that Lily wasn't there.

"Where'd he go?" asked Sirius.

"To the library. I got on his nerves," replied James. "He's always studying at the library anyway."

"Did you finish working on the map yet?" asked Sirius.

"I just need to put some finishing touches on it," answered James.

"Oh. Just bring it with you to the usual place. I have to take care of something before then," said Sirius as he went to the door to leave.

James didn't like the way Sirus was acting. He was acting like a cat ready to swallow a cornered mouse. "What are you up to?" he asked him.

"Tell me what you're up to, then I'll tell you," replied Sirius. James opened his mouth, then closed it. "I thought so. So, don't bother asking," finished Sirius. "Later."

James sat back down on his bed as soon Sirius was gone. How did things become like this? I just want everything to work out. What did I do to deserve this? Has all the trouble I've caused caught up with me? Great. At this rate, no one will be talking to me. These thoughts ran through his head before he decided to turn in early.

*

The next morning, Sirius was all set to put his plan into action. He didn't bother telling anyone. He would have normally told James about them, but Sirius didn't want him babbling to Lily. Sirius watched as Snape spied on them. He had a feeling that Snape had kept track of the past few months. Sirius decided that it was the perfect time to play his trick.

The plan was very simple. That was the genius of it. Sirius would allow Snape to follow them. He knew that Snape knew that he and James weren't exactly on speaking terms. Therefore, Sirius wouldn't have James' Invisibility Cloak.

Sirius didn't tell Remus and Peter what he was really up to. He knew that Remus would immediately disapprove of his plan. Remus would have accused Sirius of exploiting him. He wouldn't be wrong. Sirius didn't tell Peter because he would most likely disapprove of the plan. He knew that Peter would be the first one outside with Remus. Peter would have sensed Snape coming and gotten Remus to move out of the way.

Lily was still angry at James and wasn't talking to him. It bothered him to no end. And he couldn't just ask her in front of everyone why she was talking to Snape before. She returned to their room very late and got up early. She had gone to breakfast without him. Every once in a while, James would look over at the Slytherin table to find Snape smirking at him. Nothing would have made him more happy than to lunge across and strangle Snape until the smirk was gone.

There was another reason why Lily had returned to her room late. She had completed her essay on werewolves and needed to edit it. The more she read it the more she realized something. All of the things that labeled a werewolf could describe Remus Lupin who was already looking rather ill. A more accurate word would have been anxious. Lily had reread the essay several times over.

It explained why Remus had wanted the topic in class. It wasn't because he was a werewolf, but he didn't want another person figuring out that he was. That was the big secret that James was hiding from her. It was a secret she would have gladly kept for both of them.

Remus noticed how she looked at him from time to time during the breakfast. He wondered if she had figured it out yet, but he couldn't be sure. There was a lot of tension in the air. Time was up, so everyone had to get going to class.

Lily picked up all her things and went ahead of James again. He was about to follow her, but Sirius had stopped him to ask about the map. Peter stayed behind with them. Remus took off after Lily. "Hey, Lucas," called Remus.

Lily stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Oh, Remus. I thought you were James," she said.

"He's been getting on your nerves, hasn't he?" said Remus with a slight smile. There was a definite twinkle in his eyes. I don't care if he's a werewolf. He's a nice human being. Lily thought suddenly. "How did your essay go?" he asked.

"Fine. I just finished it last night. It's all edited and ready to turn in," replied Lily.

"Oh, did you learn anything interesting? Do you need any help anyway?" asked Remus.

"Yes. It was," replied Lily, acting as if she didn't know anything at all. Remus gave her a smile, but she was sure it was a smile of relief. She decided that her telling him she knew was the last thing he needed to worry about, especially with the full moon being that evening. "Oh, yeah, James is going to join you guys for the study session. I don't need any help on my essay."

Remus nodded as the other Marauders caught up with them. "Let's go to class," said James. "We can't be late. After all, it wouldn't look good for a prefect." Everyone laughed.

*

Much later in the afternoon, James and Lily were in their room doing their homework. They decided not to have dinner because James had grabbed something from the kitchens earlier. Every full moon he would do that to avoid being late for Remus. Lily decided it was better to say something rather than continue being mad at him. "I understand why you couldn't tell me anything," she admitted.

"What?" asked James, sitting at his desk with his back to her.

"About Remus," replied Lily. "I figured out what was wrong with him when I was editing my essay."

"Oh? You did?" asked James, hiding his nervousness.

"You can tell them the truth about me, if you want. The four of you have proven that you can keep a secret," said Lily. "I just don't have the energy to be mad at you anymore. I'm sorry."

James turned around. His features had softened. He stood up and went to her bed where she was doing her homework. "I knew you'd figure it out sooner. You see Sirius, Peter, and I have to help him every month. But we don't mind. We have a lot of fun doing it."

"I understand," said Lily with a smile. "I just don't like sitting here and waiting when you went out like that. I had no idea what you were doing. I was worried."

James pulled her into his arms. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry, too. Okay, I'll show you what I've been working on. I'm sure that the guys won't mind. Besides, I want you to see it first."

"What?" asked Lily. He pulled her up and lead her to his desk. "That's the scrap of parchment you've been working on, but there's nothing written on it."

James pointed his wand at it and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map appeared. Lily's eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "That was what Sirius and I came up with. I added the new feature myself. Look closely."

Lily's green eyes surveyed the map very carefully. Her eyes widened a bit more when she saw her name on the map next to James'. "This all the people in the castle. Everyone on the grounds. This is brilliant, but James' my real name is on the map."

"I made it that way. I only have to finish labeling the name of the map on it. That's all," said James. "I thought it would be useful to put a charm on the map that would be able to tell the true identity of a person, even if they take Poly Juice Potion."

"That's incredible, so that's why you wanted to tell the others about my secret, so that they wouldn't be so surprised," said Lily. James nodded. She smiled at him as she looked outside. The sun was beginning to set. "Oh no, you'd better get going. Remus is going to need you. Wait...just one more thing I don't get. How can you possibly help him? He'll attack you."

James smiled. "Well, you see..." He stopped suddenly.

"See what?" asked Lily. "What's wrong, James?" She saw his eyes on the map. Something had caught his eye. She followed his line of vision and realized what it was. "Oh, no," she whispered. "Go. Stop him."

James nodded and opened his trunk. He pulled out his cloak. "I have to stop Snape before he gets Sirius into trouble," he said as he put on the cloak. Only his head was visible. Lily was about to mention that she had no idea that he had an Invisibility Cloak, but he kissed her before putting on the hood and leaving. He knew where they were going.

*

"You guys go on ahead. I'll go and get James. We'll meet you at the Whomping Willow," said Sirius as they snuck out of the tower.

"All right, but hurry up," said Peter anxiously. There was no way his small Animagus form could keep Remus in control. He followed him all the way to Madame Pomfrey's. Every month, Madame Pomfrey would lead Remus to the Whomping Willow just before his transformation. Peter would follow along in his rat form during that time.

"Don't worry. We'll be right there," Sirius assured him. He waited until Remus and Peter left before going out another way. He wasn't going anywhere near James' room. Instead, he knew that Snape would be in Great Hall having dinner. All he had to do was walk in, make his presence known, and walk out quickly.

Sirius walked and grabbed some bread to make it look like he was hungry. Snape immediately noticed and whispered something into Malfoy's ear. They both kept an eye on Sirius as he stopped to chat with his other housemates before leaving.

When he was gone for about a minute, Snape stood up slowly. He said out loud that he had forgotten to do something. He walked out and saw that Sirius was walking down a corridor. He stealthy followed him. Snape had no idea what he was walking towards.

Sirius was walking fast, but not too fast. He paced himself very carefully because it was a matter of timing. He had to keep his face straight as he walked along. Just a little bit more. He's still behind me.

Snape should have realized that it was too easy, but after five years of trying to catch the Marauders, he didn't care. After all the things that the four of them had done to him, especially James and Sirius, they deserved to get expelled. These were the thoughts that consumed him as he continued down the corridor. There was no way he was going to lose him.

Just a little bit more, you stupid git. Sirius thought as he watched Snape. It was just as easy as Sirius had predicted. Snape was walking right into his little trap.

Sirius kept walking until he had led Snape to the Whomping Willow. He picked up a stick. He was going to push the knot to freeze the tree. Snape came up from behind him. "What are you doing, Black?"

"Nothing," said Sirius, displaying some surprise in his voice. "Why don't we go back inside?"

"Where are Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew? There are rules that expressly forbid us from going near this tree," said Snape.

"I wasn't doing anything. Let's go back inside," insisted Sirius. He gripped the stick in his hand. Snape noticed and grabbed it. "What are you going to do with this?"

"Nothing."

"Then why do you have it? You know we can go back inside and explain to the Headmaster."

Sirius grimace, or pretended to. He sighed and handed the stick to Snape. "Remus went in there and went down the tunnel. Do you see that knot over there? All you have to do is press it and it will freeze the tree."

Snape did exactly what he told him. He pressed the knot and the tree completely froze. "Well, you weren't lying after all, Black." He stepped into the tree. Sirius went along with him.

*

James was running as fast as he could from his room to the usual corridor where he and the others exited the school to go to the Whomping Willow. He cursed himself for not knowing what Sirius was up to. He should have been able to stop him. If Severus Snape got killed, Sirius wouldn't be the only one in trouble. Remus would be as well. James knew that Remus wouldn't want to live with the guilt of killing someone in his werewolf state.

He went through the Whomping Willow quickly and ran as fast as he could. He was only minutes behind Sirius and Snape.

The hood of the cloak was almost slipping off James' head, but that was the less of his problems at this point. He kept going until he got to the final corridor. James saw Sirius in his dog form sitting and waiting. He must have transformed when Snape was distracted. James pulled off his cloak. He felt like saying something to Sirius, but he chose not to. He surprised Sirius when he took off the cloak. He threw it next to him and kept going.

"Snape! Stop!" shouted James as he pulled Snape back away from the tree. "You can't go in there! You're going to get killed! There's a werewolf in there!"

"A werewolf! There's been a werewolf in this school the whole time!" growled Snape as he wrestled out of James' grip. "You knew about it, too, Potter?" Snape glared at him. "You're going to get expelled for this. I don't know what was going on over there, but you can kiss this school goodbye, Potter," snarled Snape as he took off running.

James watched Snape run for the castle. There were two choices: he could go and help his friends by helping control Remus or go and stop Snape. James grabbed his cloak, but didn't put it on. He took of running in the same direction towards that Snape had gone. He knew where he was going to go. He could only glance at Sirius as he left.

James followed his hitch and found himself going down another corridor. This time it led to a hall with a stone gargoyle. It moved out of his way. It seemed that someone was expecting him. There were stairs leading somewhere, which James stepped on. They moved him a room he had been to before. Dumbledore's office. He stepped inside.

He saw Severus Snape standing in front of the Headmaster's desk. Albus Dumbledore looked rather calm as he looked at James. "I was wondering when you would join us, James. Severus had been telling me about a werewolf. Perhaps, you would like to explain what happened."

Severus didn't really want James to have a say, so he went on, "He wasn't there. Only showed up at the last minute. I was following--"

Professor Dumbledore held his hand up and Snape quieted. "I asked that James explain himself, not you, Severus. You have already had your say."

"Did he tell you where Sirius went?" asked James. Professor Dumbledore shook his head. "Then, perhaps, Sn--I mean Severus, might be wrong."

"You were the one who came out of no where!" roared Severus. "And I know that werewolf is Lupin!"

Professor Dumbledore looked at them thoughtfully. "First of all, Severus, since you found out about the werewolf, I will tell you the truth. However, Remus has just as much right to study here as you do. Nothing really happened, except for the fact that you were out on the grounds. If James hadn't come, you would have been attacked by Remus. James saved your life."

Severus' jaw dropped and he went pale. "Saved my life?!" he said in a higher voice.

"Furthermore, you are forbidden from telling anyone about Remus Lupin," said the Headmaster. "Now, you can go back to the Slytherin common room."

Severus opened his mouth, but stopped from speaking. He walked to the doorway of the office and glared at James one last time before he left.

"I just hope I didn't do anything wrong by saving him," said James to fill in the awkward silence.

"You saved his life. That puts him in your debt. You two now have a special bond," said Professor Dumbledore. "He may return the favor someday."

"Favors from him, I don't need," snorted James. "He doesn't have to do anything."

"Tell me how are things with you," said Professor Dumbledore.

"Everything is fine," said James.

Professor Dumbledore smiled at him as his eyes twinkled. "Then, you should go and get some rest." James nodded and left. He shook his head as he thought about how different James became when he fell in love.


Post Author's Note: I heard the little sound sample of the fifth book. I found it very interesting. I'm guessing it's from the first part of the book. Peter gets some "on-screen" action here. I thought it would be interesting to write how James saved Severus' life. Don't think that Sirius isn't capable of being that conniving or devious. This was a longer chapter than I had planned before. Good for me. The next part will be the last part. I just wanted to get this fic done before the 21st. I had to before the fifth book came. ^_^

Go to kirikarin.livejournal.com for more info.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (For You in Full Blossom). I just borrowed these for my fic.