A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, and my first time
posting anything on FanFiction.Net. I hope everyone enjoys it, and I hope
to get some good feedback, so review, review, review!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter related materials. The only things that are mine are the plot and anything you don't recognize.
Pairing: Lily and James (This is my favorite pairing. If anyone has read good L/J fics, tell me what they are in a review, please and thank you.)
Rating: PG
Ch. 8 Christmas Break and a Werewolf
The year progressed smoothly until December. The castle had undergone quite a few changes for the upcoming winter hols. Twelve grand Christmas trees were placed in the Great Hall, decked with garland and beads, and glowing lights, which turned out to be real fluttering fairies.
The halls, too, were now sparkling clean, and hanging portrait frames were now gleaming gold and silver. Garland could be found scarlet, blue, yellow, and green in their respective common rooms, and everyone was filled with the joy of the upcoming break.
The Marauders, as James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had come to call themselves, had become very close to Lily and Carly, whom they had named honorary Marauders, as they had assisted greatly with numerous pranks. Lily and James were top of most classes, with Sirius and Remus trailing not far behind. Carly was doing very well, but Peter was a lost cause.
Everyone, it seemed to Lily, was perfectly content. Everyone, that is, except Remus. Once a month, Remus disappeared, sometimes saying that his mom was sick and that she had to go visit him, or that a family member had died. At first Lily didn't think anything of it, but after the death of three grandfathers, she couldn't help but think that something was up. She couldn't figure out what was wrong, until one day in DADA when they started studying werewolves. It was around that time when Remus starting acting quite oddly. But with the buzz of Christmas in the air, Lily wasn't as observant as she should have been.
Soon it was the last day before break, and Lily and Remus could be found waving goodbye to the Hogwarts Express as it took their friends home for the holidays. Lily wasn't going home because her parents decided to take a vacation for just the two of them, and if she'd gone home, she'd have been stuck with Petunia the whole break. Remus stayed to keep Lily company, even though she insisted that she'd be fine and that he go home to spend Christmas with his family. However, he said he'd rather be with a friend then his family, and for that Lily was very grateful. Lily and Remus would be the only two Gryffindors to stay behind this Christmas, so they'd have the whole common room to themselves, not that they minded of course.
Break had started off wonderfully, as both of them had finished their holiday homework the day break started so they wouldn't have to worry about it, and would be able to enjoy themselves. It wasn't until the day before Christmas Eve that Lily started worrying about Remus.
They were in the common room, each reading a book. Remus was reading a book about dark creatures, and Lily was reading Hogwarts: A History. She was halfway through the chapter about Godric Gryffindor, when she glanced out the window. It had started snowing from the time that she and Remus had sat down with their books.
"Doesn't the full moon look beautiful with all that snow?" She asked Remus.
He jerked up nervously, sweat already pouring down his face. Full moon? No, it couldn't be. He'd been counting the days until the full moon. It wasn't supposed to be until the twenty-third. Today was only the twenty-second. Wasn't it?
"Full moon?" He half asked himself. "Lily, what day is it?"
"The twenty-third, Remus. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, don't you remember?
"I-I've got t-to go!" He managed to squeak out, as he dropped his book and ran out of the common room.
What was that all about?, thought Lily to herself. What's wrong with a full moon? And then the pieces of the puzzle started coming together. He couldn't be.not a werewolf! Impossible. But then. that does explain a lot of odd things he's been doing lately. He's been leaving often to visit family, or so he says. I'd say he's gone about once a month. That's got to be it then. The full moon comes once a month. He just ran out of hear because I complemented on how beautiful the full moon looked. It all makes sense now. He's been acting strange ever since we started studying werewolves in DADA. And I remember on the first day of classes when Carly said she had heard that one of the teachers was a werewolf. He went really pale. Her eyes fell to the book Remus had discarded on his way out. Dark creatures? She opened the book, and sure enough, the chapter on werewolves had been marked. Poor Remus. I'll go down to the hospital wing tomorrow morning and visit him. Maybe sneak him some food.
She then decided she might as well go to bed. She trudged up to the girls' dormitory and changed into her flannel pajamas. But it wasn't any good. She couldn't get to sleep and she kept thought she was hearing howling. Needless to say, it was not a good night.
The next morning dawned a bright, clear day. Lily was up with the roosters, as she hadn't been able to get a proper night's rest. She got dressed in her muggle cloths, since they were on break. A pair of flare jeans, and a dark green turtleneck. She transfigured her normal book bag into a basket, and headed down to the Great Hall first. Upon arrival, she loaded the basket with breakfast for Remus and herself, two plates of bacon and eggs, some toast, and two flasks of pumpkin juice. She was hoping no one noticed her odd behavior, and luckily no one did.
She made her way out of the Great Hall and up to the Hospital Wing. She opened the infirmary door, and made her way to Madame Promfrey's desk.
"Excuse me, Madame Promfrey?" asked Lily.
"Yes?" she answered, a bit startled.
"Is Remus Lupin here? I came to visit him."
"Why, yes of course. He's down that way." She pointed to a bed at the very end of the row.
Lily walked down the row of empty hospital beds until she reached Remus's. He was propped up on his pillow, the blanket drawn up to his shoulders. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted.
"Morning, Remus."
"L-Lily! What are you doing here?" he asked worriedly.
"I came to visit you, silly." She said as she took the seat next to his bed. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Just a.a cold." He replied nervously.
"Remus Lupin, don't you lie to me. Honestly you think I didn't figure it out by now?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you most certainly do. Don't worry Remus. I know. I figured it out last night, after you ran out. You're a werewolf." She finished. He flinched.
"I suppose now you're going to tell everyone, right?" he said disdainfully. "And they'll all think I'm a freak and stop being friends with me. You can leave now Lily, I'm used to it. Once they find out I'm a werewolf, it's over."
"I'm not going anywhere." Said Lily, as a look of shock came over Remus's face.
"You mean you're not going to run, or flinch? You don't care?"
"The only thing I care about is being a good friend."
"Thanks, Lily." He said, with a genuine smile.
"No problem. Oh, I brought breakfast. I figured hospital food must be the pits." She said, as she procured two still piping hot meals from her basket, thanks to the heating charm she'd used.
"Thanks, Lily!" He said, and the two started eating. "So do you think the others suspect?"
"I don't think so. But you might want to tell them, before they figure it out by themselves, and get mad. I know they won't treat you any differently."
"Do you think you could write them for me and tell them. I won't be out of here until tonight."
"Sure, no problem. I'll go now."
"Ok. Bye. And thanks Lily."
Lily made her way back to her dorm and took out four pieces of parchment.
Dear James, Sirius, Peter, and Carly,
Hi you guys. You only left yesterday, and already Remus and I miss you terribly. Remus asked me to write to you guys, and tell you something important. I'm warning you now to sit down first.
Are you sitting? This is your last chance. Anyway. Guys, Remus is a werewolf. Yes, a werewolf. He was petrified when I figured it out. But I don't care if he's an alien. He's still a very kind person who deserves to be treated as such, and I know you guys will not think any differently of him, now that you know the truth. He's a little uncertain. Write back and tell him for yourselves what you think. Merry Christmas Eve! We'll be sending you presents along with stronger owls later.
Love, Lily
That night, Remus was let out of the hospital wing, and he and Lily sent gifts to the rest of the Marauders and Carly. They then headed down to the Christmas Eve Feast, which was a rather formal occasion, and required them to wear dress robes. At around eleven, they received four owls, one each from James, Sirius, Peter, and Carly, all saying that they're glad Remus finally told them the truth, and that they're all still his friends.
"Told you so," said Lily smugly. Remus just smiled. They spent that night in the common room, sleeping on sleeping bags. The next morning, they woke up to find piles of Christmas gifts at their feet.
Lily got a letter from her parents saying that they wished they could spend the holiday with her and were sorry that they were vacationing. They gave her a beautiful collar for her owl. It was lilac, with fake jewels glistening on it. Carly got her a bracelet that said 'Best Friends L.E. & C.W.' and a note saying she had one exactly like it. Peter sent her a bar of chocolate from Honeydukes. From Sirius she got a bag of dungbombs, which she knew would be used for pranks on the Slytherins. But James's gift was the one she liked by far the best.
It was a picture frame, engraved with lilies all around the border. A picture of herself was in the middle, and the surrounding pictures were of all her friends. James put a note saying that the pictures were charmed to magically change, so that they would always show what her friends looked like at that exact moment.
A few days later, Christmas break was over and Lily's friends returned. The rest of the year went without major incident, unless you count James accidentally cursing Sirius so that he spoke in Latin for an hour every Saturday, until they got tired of it and went to Dumbledore for help, or the time Sirius dyed Lily's hair green. Supposedly, that was an accident too, but Lily never knew. She didn't care either, because it went back to normal after a week or so. And Sirius never told that he had caught James and Lily snogging, and for that they were both grateful.
A/N: Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. I'm hoping to get 5 reviews per chapter, and remember that every review counts!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter related materials. The only things that are mine are the plot and anything you don't recognize.
Pairing: Lily and James (This is my favorite pairing. If anyone has read good L/J fics, tell me what they are in a review, please and thank you.)
Rating: PG
Ch. 8 Christmas Break and a Werewolf
The year progressed smoothly until December. The castle had undergone quite a few changes for the upcoming winter hols. Twelve grand Christmas trees were placed in the Great Hall, decked with garland and beads, and glowing lights, which turned out to be real fluttering fairies.
The halls, too, were now sparkling clean, and hanging portrait frames were now gleaming gold and silver. Garland could be found scarlet, blue, yellow, and green in their respective common rooms, and everyone was filled with the joy of the upcoming break.
The Marauders, as James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had come to call themselves, had become very close to Lily and Carly, whom they had named honorary Marauders, as they had assisted greatly with numerous pranks. Lily and James were top of most classes, with Sirius and Remus trailing not far behind. Carly was doing very well, but Peter was a lost cause.
Everyone, it seemed to Lily, was perfectly content. Everyone, that is, except Remus. Once a month, Remus disappeared, sometimes saying that his mom was sick and that she had to go visit him, or that a family member had died. At first Lily didn't think anything of it, but after the death of three grandfathers, she couldn't help but think that something was up. She couldn't figure out what was wrong, until one day in DADA when they started studying werewolves. It was around that time when Remus starting acting quite oddly. But with the buzz of Christmas in the air, Lily wasn't as observant as she should have been.
Soon it was the last day before break, and Lily and Remus could be found waving goodbye to the Hogwarts Express as it took their friends home for the holidays. Lily wasn't going home because her parents decided to take a vacation for just the two of them, and if she'd gone home, she'd have been stuck with Petunia the whole break. Remus stayed to keep Lily company, even though she insisted that she'd be fine and that he go home to spend Christmas with his family. However, he said he'd rather be with a friend then his family, and for that Lily was very grateful. Lily and Remus would be the only two Gryffindors to stay behind this Christmas, so they'd have the whole common room to themselves, not that they minded of course.
Break had started off wonderfully, as both of them had finished their holiday homework the day break started so they wouldn't have to worry about it, and would be able to enjoy themselves. It wasn't until the day before Christmas Eve that Lily started worrying about Remus.
They were in the common room, each reading a book. Remus was reading a book about dark creatures, and Lily was reading Hogwarts: A History. She was halfway through the chapter about Godric Gryffindor, when she glanced out the window. It had started snowing from the time that she and Remus had sat down with their books.
"Doesn't the full moon look beautiful with all that snow?" She asked Remus.
He jerked up nervously, sweat already pouring down his face. Full moon? No, it couldn't be. He'd been counting the days until the full moon. It wasn't supposed to be until the twenty-third. Today was only the twenty-second. Wasn't it?
"Full moon?" He half asked himself. "Lily, what day is it?"
"The twenty-third, Remus. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, don't you remember?
"I-I've got t-to go!" He managed to squeak out, as he dropped his book and ran out of the common room.
What was that all about?, thought Lily to herself. What's wrong with a full moon? And then the pieces of the puzzle started coming together. He couldn't be.not a werewolf! Impossible. But then. that does explain a lot of odd things he's been doing lately. He's been leaving often to visit family, or so he says. I'd say he's gone about once a month. That's got to be it then. The full moon comes once a month. He just ran out of hear because I complemented on how beautiful the full moon looked. It all makes sense now. He's been acting strange ever since we started studying werewolves in DADA. And I remember on the first day of classes when Carly said she had heard that one of the teachers was a werewolf. He went really pale. Her eyes fell to the book Remus had discarded on his way out. Dark creatures? She opened the book, and sure enough, the chapter on werewolves had been marked. Poor Remus. I'll go down to the hospital wing tomorrow morning and visit him. Maybe sneak him some food.
She then decided she might as well go to bed. She trudged up to the girls' dormitory and changed into her flannel pajamas. But it wasn't any good. She couldn't get to sleep and she kept thought she was hearing howling. Needless to say, it was not a good night.
The next morning dawned a bright, clear day. Lily was up with the roosters, as she hadn't been able to get a proper night's rest. She got dressed in her muggle cloths, since they were on break. A pair of flare jeans, and a dark green turtleneck. She transfigured her normal book bag into a basket, and headed down to the Great Hall first. Upon arrival, she loaded the basket with breakfast for Remus and herself, two plates of bacon and eggs, some toast, and two flasks of pumpkin juice. She was hoping no one noticed her odd behavior, and luckily no one did.
She made her way out of the Great Hall and up to the Hospital Wing. She opened the infirmary door, and made her way to Madame Promfrey's desk.
"Excuse me, Madame Promfrey?" asked Lily.
"Yes?" she answered, a bit startled.
"Is Remus Lupin here? I came to visit him."
"Why, yes of course. He's down that way." She pointed to a bed at the very end of the row.
Lily walked down the row of empty hospital beds until she reached Remus's. He was propped up on his pillow, the blanket drawn up to his shoulders. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted.
"Morning, Remus."
"L-Lily! What are you doing here?" he asked worriedly.
"I came to visit you, silly." She said as she took the seat next to his bed. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Just a.a cold." He replied nervously.
"Remus Lupin, don't you lie to me. Honestly you think I didn't figure it out by now?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you most certainly do. Don't worry Remus. I know. I figured it out last night, after you ran out. You're a werewolf." She finished. He flinched.
"I suppose now you're going to tell everyone, right?" he said disdainfully. "And they'll all think I'm a freak and stop being friends with me. You can leave now Lily, I'm used to it. Once they find out I'm a werewolf, it's over."
"I'm not going anywhere." Said Lily, as a look of shock came over Remus's face.
"You mean you're not going to run, or flinch? You don't care?"
"The only thing I care about is being a good friend."
"Thanks, Lily." He said, with a genuine smile.
"No problem. Oh, I brought breakfast. I figured hospital food must be the pits." She said, as she procured two still piping hot meals from her basket, thanks to the heating charm she'd used.
"Thanks, Lily!" He said, and the two started eating. "So do you think the others suspect?"
"I don't think so. But you might want to tell them, before they figure it out by themselves, and get mad. I know they won't treat you any differently."
"Do you think you could write them for me and tell them. I won't be out of here until tonight."
"Sure, no problem. I'll go now."
"Ok. Bye. And thanks Lily."
Lily made her way back to her dorm and took out four pieces of parchment.
Dear James, Sirius, Peter, and Carly,
Hi you guys. You only left yesterday, and already Remus and I miss you terribly. Remus asked me to write to you guys, and tell you something important. I'm warning you now to sit down first.
Are you sitting? This is your last chance. Anyway. Guys, Remus is a werewolf. Yes, a werewolf. He was petrified when I figured it out. But I don't care if he's an alien. He's still a very kind person who deserves to be treated as such, and I know you guys will not think any differently of him, now that you know the truth. He's a little uncertain. Write back and tell him for yourselves what you think. Merry Christmas Eve! We'll be sending you presents along with stronger owls later.
Love, Lily
That night, Remus was let out of the hospital wing, and he and Lily sent gifts to the rest of the Marauders and Carly. They then headed down to the Christmas Eve Feast, which was a rather formal occasion, and required them to wear dress robes. At around eleven, they received four owls, one each from James, Sirius, Peter, and Carly, all saying that they're glad Remus finally told them the truth, and that they're all still his friends.
"Told you so," said Lily smugly. Remus just smiled. They spent that night in the common room, sleeping on sleeping bags. The next morning, they woke up to find piles of Christmas gifts at their feet.
Lily got a letter from her parents saying that they wished they could spend the holiday with her and were sorry that they were vacationing. They gave her a beautiful collar for her owl. It was lilac, with fake jewels glistening on it. Carly got her a bracelet that said 'Best Friends L.E. & C.W.' and a note saying she had one exactly like it. Peter sent her a bar of chocolate from Honeydukes. From Sirius she got a bag of dungbombs, which she knew would be used for pranks on the Slytherins. But James's gift was the one she liked by far the best.
It was a picture frame, engraved with lilies all around the border. A picture of herself was in the middle, and the surrounding pictures were of all her friends. James put a note saying that the pictures were charmed to magically change, so that they would always show what her friends looked like at that exact moment.
A few days later, Christmas break was over and Lily's friends returned. The rest of the year went without major incident, unless you count James accidentally cursing Sirius so that he spoke in Latin for an hour every Saturday, until they got tired of it and went to Dumbledore for help, or the time Sirius dyed Lily's hair green. Supposedly, that was an accident too, but Lily never knew. She didn't care either, because it went back to normal after a week or so. And Sirius never told that he had caught James and Lily snogging, and for that they were both grateful.
A/N: Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. I'm hoping to get 5 reviews per chapter, and remember that every review counts!