A/N: I am soooo sorry this took so long! The A drive in my computer died and I have the internet on my mom's computer, so I haven't been able to transfer it. So now I have to get the bloody sucker fixed. So you better appreciate this chapter a lot! I had to print it off of my computer and completely re-write it onto my moms! Oh yes, and reviews would be wonderful! :-)



Chapter Thirteen

Full Moon Follies



"You did what?" James asked Sirius in shock, lowering his voice so no one else in the Common Room could hear. Candace watched intently.

"Just prodded him in the right direction towards Remus." Sirius grinned.

"Prodded?" James growled. He pulled Sirius up the stairs and into his old dormitory slamming the door shut behind him. "Do you realize how dangerous Remus is when he's a werewolf?! He can't harm us because we turn into animals as well, but he could kill Snape!"

"And rid the world of quite a hassle." Sirius beamed, obviously very proud of himself.

"And rid Hogwarts of the Marauders as well!" James said angrily. He paced around the dormitory. "I've got to stop him!" James said, moving quickly to the door.

"Nah, let Remus have a little fun with him first. Please?" Sirius begged.

"Sirius, what happened to your common sense? That's murder since you pushed Snape towards Remus, and murder is life in Azkaban, wand snapped in half, and needless to say expulsion!"

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad." Sirius said, his smile now non-existent on his face.

"I've got to stop him, and I've got to stop him now!" James strode across the room and threw the door open, pulling it so hard it slammed against the wall and rang throughout Gryffindor tower.

He marched through the students in the Common Room, who were staring at him like he was a maniac, and pushed the portrait hole open and slammed it shut behind him.

"Honestly!" The Fat Lady shrieked. "Don't even apologize!"

"Shut up you stupid piece of pastel." James growled under his breath. He broke into a run down the corridors towards the Entrance Hall, and checked his watch impatiently. It was eight twenty. Snape was due at the Whomping Willow at any moment, and James had missed dinner. His stomach rumbled impatiently.

"James?" A voice came from behind him. James stopped in his tracks, and sighed impatiently. Any more time and Snape might be dead. He turned to face Lily, whose face was stern and unforgiving.

"Where are you going? We have rounds soon." She said, her hands firmly on her hips.

"I'm not feeling so good." James lied quickly. "I was actually off to the Hospital Wind."

"But the Hospital Wing is that way." Lily said, eye brow raised as she pointed in the opposite direction.

"Dilly me." James muttered sarcastically. "Must have forgotten with this headache of mine."

Lily's eyes searched him up and down. "You're not sick, Potter." She said firmly. "Where are you going? You don't come to rounds then we'll both get in trouble!" Lily insisted.'

"Lily, listen to me. I've got to go. Time is running out for me, and I don't want to even think of what will happen if I run out of time." He turned and continued towards the Entrance Hall.

"Potter, where are you going?" Lily demanded, her voice loud, firm, and angry.

"Run along, Evans." James snapped impatiently.

"You'll never learn, will you?" Lily asked heatedly. "Tell me, Potter. Did you win against Snape? Are you going off now to drag his dead body into the forest and bury it?"

James groaned and turned to face Lily in exasperation. "I didn't fight him. I listened to you and left. Look! Get out of here! Do mind your own business! Get a life and stop worrying about mine!" James yelled. "I am running out of time. I have to go. You can't follow me. Leave." James ordered, hurrying away.

Lily stopped in her tracks. 'The nerve of him!' She thought furiously. 'How dare he insult me like that?! I'll find out what he's up to, and I'll make him pay for it, whatever it is. And to think he was actually growing on me! Just goes to show you Potter will never change! He will always be the same mindless, arrogant, big-headed prat who can never be trusted!' Lily waited until he disappeared around the corner before following him, full of determination.

'I was too harsh on her.' James thought. 'Damn me, I was too harsh. I insulted her! God she's beautiful. But I probably hurt her. The look on her face. She'll never want to talk to me again...God I love her...' James stopped his thoughts. 'More important things to worry about.' He forced himself to think.

He pushed the grand oak doors open and hurried outside. Once outside, he broke into a full out run, moving as fast as his legs could carry him. Which he had to admit was pretty fast.

Finally the Whomping Willow loomed in the distance, and there was Snape, holding a long branch. He prodded the knot on the tree causing it to freeze in place.

"Snape!" James bellowed. "Stop! Don't go down there!" He called. Snape just laughed, a high pitched cold laugh, and strode into the tree.

"Christ." James cursed. Things were going to be a lot more difficult then he wanted them to be. He ran to the tree and grabbed the same long stick, prodded the knot, and followed Snape into the tree.

"Where the hell did he go?" Lily asked impatiently. She was able to keep up with him running, but almost instantly, he had disappeared after yelling a few words to Snape. At least Potter hadn't killed Snape.

Lily peered around frantically in the darkness trying to find him. Finally the clouds shifted revealing a full and beaming moon just in time for Lily to see a branch as think as a python swinging in her direction.

"Ohmigod!" Lily screamed. She bolted in attempts to escape, but the tree branch lashed her, knocking her to the ground blood oozing from her shoulder.

Meanwhile:

James chased after Snape who was already a great deal ahead of him. He rounded the corner and saw Snape at the end of the hall turning into the room that Remus transformed in.

"No!" James yelled, hurtling after him. He finally reached Snape, but it was too late. He had entered the room, and Remus was advancing on him, hackles raised and yellow inch long teeth bared, ready to strike. "Don't move." James hissed to Snape.

"What do you think I am, an idiot? Of course I'm not moving!" Snape growled. James slowly reached into his pocket for his wand, Remus still advancing on them.

A loud howling bark came from somewhere in the building. Sirius was coming. But James didn't have enough time to wait for Sirius to fight Remus off, and he couldn't transform. Snape was already going to have a field day knowing that Remus was a werewolf.

Snape whipped his wand out. "Stupify!" He called, sending a jet of red light towards Remus. It struck Remus in the muzzle, and caused him to howl in agony.

"You idiot! You can stun a werewolf by yourself!" James cursed to himself. Remus pounced onto Snape, a whirl of gray and black hair, claws and hands rolling across the musty green floor.

"Get off him, Remus!" James yelled, trying to bring human senses back to Remus. He pulled his wand out. "Impedimenta!" He called. It was going to be very hard to stop Remus by magic. Werewolves were protected by a strong form of magic which is what made them transform every full moon. "Impedimenta! Stupify! Impedimenta!" James yelled, his voice growing hoarse.

Remus froze. Finally the spell had worked. Snape untangled himself from Remus and jumped to his feet.

"Did he bite you?" James asked frantically.

"No." Snape gasped, dusting himself off.

"Get out, now!" James ordered.

"No need to be hasty, Potter." Snape growled. "The spell will last at least a minute or two."

"Not on a werewolf!" James yelped as Remus jumped to his feet and pounced on him.

"Remus! Stop!" James roared, hands firmly clasped around Remus's neck to keep him from biting him.

The door burst open, and Sirius bounded in, attaching his jaws around Remus's throat, pulling him off of James with a force that was unimaginable. James raised his wand. "Stupify! Stupify! Stupify!" He bellowed. "Stupify!" The fourth jet of red light hit Remus, and he finally fell limply to the ground. Sirius pulled away, and bounded out of the room away from James and Snape.

"Didn't think you could have ever given me a hand there, did you?" He growled.

"Sod off, Potter." Snape growled, but a satisfied sort of smirk was plastered on his face. "So, this is Remus Lupin's secret. He's a werewolf."

"Get out." James growled, wand pointed at Snape's face.

"You know Potter, you don't scare me." Snape growled, pulling his own wand out.

"Get the hell out." James roared, his temper flaring.

"Just admit it, Lupin's a werewolf and I'll leave." Snape growled quietly. James had enough. He raised his fist and brought it hard across Snape's face, knocking him to the ground blood flowing freely from his nose.

"Get the fuck out!" James yelled. Snape cursed under his breath standing to his feet. "I don't want to fight you, Snape." James sighed. "Get out or I'll curse you."

"Terrified, trust me, Potter." Snape growled. "But this one's without magic." He hit James square in the nose, breaking the bridge of his glasses and knocking him to the floor. James' face seared with pain, it felt like the bridge of his nose was broken.

"Dammit, Snape!" James yelled angrily, standing to his feet tapping his glasses to fix them. "I don't want to fight you!"

"Because you know you'll lose." Snape laughed with the same satisfied smirk on his face. He prepared to throw another punch at James when Sirius bounded into the room and pounced on him, knocking him off his feet. James sighed in relief.

Sirius growled in anger, his teeth bared merely inches away from Snape's face. Snape threw Sirius off of him mutely and ran full out away from him, and out of the room.

Meanwhile:

Lily sat outside shivering in the brisk November night. Where had Potter gone? When would he be back? How much longer would she have to sit there waiting, her shoulder searing in pain?

Finally a dark figure appeared out of the Whomping Willow. By the light of the full moon, Lily was able to identify him as Snape, and he was running as fast as his gangly little legs could carry him. "What on Earth are they doing in the Whomping Willow?" Lily muttered quietly, waiting. James couldn't be far behind.

Finally, nearly a half hour later, two more figures appeared. James and Sirius. Where had Sirius come from? How did he get down there? Lily stood up from the wet grass and followed far enough behind to not be heard, but close enough so she could hear what James and Sirius were talking about.

"Great appreciation I get for saving his ass." James growled.

"Snape's a git. What more do you expect from someone like him?" Sirius agreed.

"You are the biggest moron I have ever met." James told Sirius, shaking his head in disgust. "Getting him to chase after Remus. We've got to tell Dumbledore he knows."

"Does Dumbledore even know that we know?" Sirius asked. What in God's name were they talking about?

"I'm sure he does. And if no one has told him, he would figure since we're with him all the time."

"It was a good plan at the time. You bailed on me and wouldn't fight him."

"Lily was right, I shouldn't fight him just to beat him. Besides. It was two to one. Not fair."

'I was right?' Lily thought wildly, continuing to follow after them.

Sirius was quiet for a long while.

"What's wrong with you?" James asked.

"Nothing, it's just you've finally grown up and I haven't. I don't want to either. I liked those old days where we would run around the school every full moon, attack Snivellus just for the pure thrill of it, and the Marauders Map. Come on. Those were the best days when we made that. Who has it by the way?"

"It's in the bottom of my trunk." James answered. What was the Marauder's Map? "The old days were fun, but I have grown up. I just can't see that being as fun anymore."

"Dammit!" Sirius yelled. "We're all splitting up. Peter is never around, wherever the hell he goes, I have no idea. Remus is still pissed about breaking up with Evans so he's a bit depressed, and you're growing up."

Lily's heart skipped a beat. Remus was upset about their breakup? But he was the one who dumped her! Why did he care?

"Things change, and with change, people have to change and adapt. I'm sorry Padfoot."

"So that's just it, huh? No more moon follies, no more rule breaking, no more transforming?"

"I've grown up, I haven't changed identities." James laughed. "I'm still Prongs, James Potter, and I definitely see some rule breaking in out futures."

"I'm sorry." Sirius finally said. "I promise I'll make it up to you somehow." James pulled the large oak doors open and the two of them disappeared into the castle.

Lily waited for a while outside, not wanting to burst in right after them so they would know that she had followed.

What had James set out to do? It must have been important, for all the he made it out to be when she had met him in the castle. Was he really growing up? Imagine that!



Wow, that took a long, long, long, long time. Hopefully for the next chapter my computer will be up and running again so I won't have to re-copy it onto my mom's! Well, please review, after all the effort I took to get it out for you guys to read.