Disclaimer~ I don't own anything here that you recognize. However, if there are any characters, spells, or any other things (such as the plot) that you don't recognize…well it belongs to me!
Okay…I don't have that much to say, really. Thanks to all who've reviewed!!! I've got TWENTY-FIVE in two weeks!!!!! Wowzers! That's all for now, so…
On with the fic…
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
"Lily?" James called once again. However, the pretty redhead showed no sign of responding to James. She didn't look like she'd respond to anyone. She was too busy trying to control her breathing. Her only problem was that every time she tried to get air, her throat just seemed to get tighter, her air supply decreased, and a soft wheezing sound escaped her throat.
"Professor! Come quick!" Lily heard James call, a hint of panic in his tone.
"Yes James—oh my! Miss Evans!" The petit man rushed over to the wheezing Lily. "We need to get her to the hospital wing, quick!"
"Professor Flitwick then summoned a stretcher and levitated Lily to the hospital wing as her ran, trailed closely be seven ashen-faced friends. Upon reaching the hospital wing, Professor Flitwick muttered an incantation and the door to the hospital wing burst open.
"Poppy! Poppy!" he yelled.
"What is it?" asked Madam Poppy Pomfrey, a young plump nurse with dark chestnut hair and almond eyes (A/N-nutty!), as she came around the corner. "Oh my!" was her response to seeing the now unconscious Lily. "Quick! Get her to a bed and then you must leave IMMEDIATELY! She won't be cured with all of you watching my every move." After she realized Lily's friends and the Professor didn't plan on going anywhere she yelled once again, "Alright! Stop staring at me like I'm crazy and get a move on! Shoo! Out! Now! Before I have to make you leave. Don't doubt me! I've done it before and I'll do it again." She then pushed them all out the door before sweetly turning to Remus, smiling sympathetically, and slamming the door in their faces.
~~~***~~~
"What was that all about?" Sirius asked Remus, referring to the sympathy he received from the nurse.
Remus simply shrugged his shoulders, claiming to have no clue, but was really thinking about the full moon that night. He hated the fact that he was who he was, hated the fact that he had to constantly lie to his friends, hated the fact that if he didn't he'd have no friends. Be this as it may, Remus knew it was his life, the lowly life of a werewolf, and nothing…NOTHING…could change that, so he thought.
As Remus's bitter thoughts raked through his brain the rest of the group chatted concernedly about Lily.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Peter asked, genuinely worried. (A/N- I know, we hate Peter…but he was a good enough guy to become the secret keeper, right?)
"I dunno…I hope so," replied a nervous Melanie.
"Me too," Robyn agreed, "but what really happened?"
"I don't quite remember. All I know is that James here called me and I rushed over, thinking he had done the charm, only to find Lily having some sort of…I don't know what!" Flitwick replied. He then realized that most of his class was (hopefully) still in the classroom, unattended. "You seven are dismissed. You should go get some lunch. You're all looking very pale. But now I must go make sure my class is still in one piece!" Having said that, Flitwick waddled down the hall, as fast as his tiny legs would allow.
Snapping right back into the conversation, Sirius asked James, "So, what happened? You were the only one who really saw."
"Oh, well Lily was, err…, well that's not really important," James mumbled, reluctant to admit he needed help.
"Oh, is somebody afraid to admit they needed help from a girl?" asked Arabella pointedly.
"N-no! I was just…err…"
"Would you stop mumbling and tell us what happened already?!" viciously snapped the seemingly quiet Melanie, receiving shocked stares.
"Ok, fine!" James yelled. "She had just shown me how to move my wand the right way—"
"Yeah, you were way too stiff," Sirius noted and the rest of the group nodded and mumbled agreements.
"Well, I'm sorry if I don't move my wand the right way, but if you don't stop interrupting me I won't get a chance to tell you what happened!" James paused for breath and then continued. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, Lily was helping me with my stiff wand movements. She had shown me the right way and my feather rose when I tried the charm again. I was about to thank her-yes guys, thank her-when I noticed her face had gone really red and she was wheezing. So then I called Flitwick and you know the rest." Everyone paused, taking in what James had just told them.
"So, what do you think it is?" Peter asked the question everybody had been wondering. All except Remus shook their heads. Soon, all eyes were on him, expecting him to know the answer.
"Remus?" with one word James asked if he could diagnose Lily's condition.
"Huh?" was Remus's only reply, as he was still in the land of the lost at the time of the question.
"What's wrong with Lily?" James asked impatiently.
"Oh…" Remus replied coming back down to Earth. He stopped, stood and unhurriedly let the thought be processed in his brain, "James, how am I s'posed to know?" James just rolled his eyes and the others groaned with exasperation. "I'm hungry. When can we eat?" was Remus's response.
"I say we eat now and then go visit Lily, though I don't have much of an appetite at the moment." Robyn suggested. Everyone found that to be the most logical thing to do and followed her to the Great Hall where lunch awaited.
~~~***~~~
"Mmmmm…" Sirius moaned as he took a bite of his cheese sandwich, "I just looove cheese!"
"I don't." Peter stated, "Because it seems that whenever you eat cheese you fa—"
"Feel miserable!" Sirius saved-somewhat.
Arabella and the other girls pretended they hadn't heard what Peter had been hinting at. However, Remus and James looked towards Peter and mouthed, 'I know!' Sirius just sat, beginning to resemble a ripe tomato as his embarrassment trebled. He wore a lopsided grin, but his eyes were shooting daggers at Peter.
Eventually, Sirius finished eating his cheese sandwiches and the seven friends rushed back to visit Lily. They had no more classes that day and planned to spend all of their free time with her, or at least persuading Madam Pomfrey to let them see her.
~~~***~~~
"Excuse me?" Melanie shyly asked as she knocked on the hospital wing door that stood ajar, "May we come in…t-to see Lily?" After receiving no response, she cautiously took a step inside the room, but before she'd even had a chance to blink, the pudgy nurse came storming around the corner.
"Oh no you don't!" Poppy called to Melanie, who had already removed her foot from the 'forbidden' wing.
"But-" Melanie tried to explain.
"No but's! Out!"
Now, Sirius had persuaded many a person in his time and thought it was about his time to take over. Putting on an innocent smile and a goody two-shoes tone he started, "Mrs…I'm sorry. I didn't happen to catch your name."
"Madame Pomfrey." Poppy replied, agitated.
"Oh, what a lovely name! Please, I hope you'll understand that we have been worried sick about our dearest friend, Lily, and will only find our comfort in knowing all is well when we see her."
"I assure you, she's well young man. No need to see her."
Remus decided to cut in before Sirius made matters worse, "Please excuse Sirius, Madam Pomfrey. I'm afraid he's eaten one cheese sandwich too many and now I fear he has a severe case of gas." As if on cue, Sirius's stomach made a weird bubbly noise, confirming Remus's conviction. "He never is quite himself in that state. But I have to agree with Sirius on visiting Lily. I would like to be sure that she is okay before I have to go visit my…sick grandmother tonight." Remus added quietly.
Madam Pomfrey's expression hinted that she was completely unconvinced by Remus's explanation…until she heard about his 'sick grandmother.' Her stone cold features softened and she sighed, beaten. "Very well…but only for a moment!" she added, regaining her strict composure.
The crowd of first years rushed into the Hospital Wing, quickly finding Lily's bed.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Sirius could be heard yelling. Everybody thought he was complimenting Remus's great explanation until they realized he was looking at and rubbing his stomach. "Oh, you too Rem," Sirius added, noticing the astonished stares he was receiving.
"Hi guys," a weak voice suddenly said.
"Lily!" practically the entire room yelled joyfully.
Lily was immediately showered by hugs and similar questions she didn't hesitate to answer. She explained how she had had an allergic reaction to the feather and that she'd be fine as long as she stayed away from them. Still, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't allow her to leave until the next morning.
A few hours later Sirius had just told a hilarious joke and the group of friends were in stitches making a ruckus in the normally silent wing. Unfortunately Madam Pomfrey heard them and realized it was time for them to 'leave Lily to rest' since she'd had a 'hard, long day.' Five students hurriedly left the wing, fearing Madam Pomfrey would 'make them leave' while two students, Remus and James, stayed behind for different reasons.
James, who had stayed by Lily's bed as the others left turned to Lily and said, "Thanks…for helping me with Charms today."
"And you, James, for helping me with Transfiguration." Having finished what he'd really come to do, James quickly exited the Hospital Wing with a small smile and wave to Lily before Poppy took notice of his presence and had a royal conniption.
~~~***~~~
Meanwhile, Remus approached Madam Pomfrey who simply asked, "Are you ready dear?"
Remus merely gulped and nodded, not at all feeling up to the night that was ahead of him. He especially wasn't looking forward to the rest of the month. This was because an early full moon meant it was a month of a Blue moon. Remus wasn't looking forward to a double dosage, especially it being his first month at school. But he couldn't do anything at all about it. He either went with Madam Pomfrey, or endangered his friends, giving away his secret.
Remus definitely didn't want to do that so he followed Madam Pomfrey out of the room, dragging his feet with his head hung low, staring at the ground. After exiting the castle they crossed school grounds until they came upon a thrashing tree.
Breaking the odd silence, Madam Pomfrey spoke, "This, my dear, is the whomping willow. Stand back and watch me."
Remus obeyed and watched as Madam Pomfrey grabbed a stray branch and prodded a single knot on the tree's trunk. The thrashing tree halted mid-swing, and suddenly was immobile. There was an opening in the ground near the tree's roots and Remus pessimistically thought he would be locked up in a muddy hole for several nights of the year. Yet, Madam Pomfrey walked into the hole, gesturing towards Remus to follow her.
As he entered the gap between the roots, Remus realized he was in some sort of underground tunnel. After walking for about ten minutes he saw a small square of light in the distance that kept growing as he approached it. Suddenly he saw Madam Pomfrey climb upwards and out of the tunnel through the hole of light. Remus again followed and found himself in an old, dusty room. It had an eerie feel to it with its boarded up windows and sheet-covered furniture. The dust on the floor was so thick Remus felt his feet sink as he walked across the floor.
At this point Madam Pomfrey checked her wizard watch, which read, 'you need to leave…SOON!' She turned to Remus again smiled sympathetically, "Well, I better be off. You see this trap door here? I'm going to lock you in. I'll be back for you in the morning. Have…have a nice night," she quickly added as she descended through the trapdoor. Remus heard the click of the door being locked and thought to himself, 'Whelp. Here goes…'
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
~DanniBannani~
Okay…so…how was it? Sorry it was a little short (only 2035 wds) I hope you weren't too disappointed. I tried my best! Well, tell me what you think and REVIEW! C'mon guys! You can do this…just…try…c'mon…your mouse is slowly moving…dragging the arrow towards the 'GO' button…closer…Closer…CLOSER…