bA/N: I don't know if I said this already, but thank you Jenna for your awesome reveiw!
Chapter Eleven
"C'mon, Pete, let's go find the prat who deserted us." Remus said and dragged Peter away from the sweets in Honeydukes. The first place Remus thought to look for James was the three broomsticks.
Remus and Peter walked into the shop and Remus looked around. "Tell me if you see Prongs." Remus told Peter, and Peter helped Remus look in the crowded resturaunt. "Oh, there he is!" Peter said and pointed over to the bar. When Remus looked over, he saw a very bored looking James and a talkative Beth.
Remus walked over to James and tapped him on the shoulder. James looked at Remus and pretended to be having the time of his life with Beth. "Hey Moony, this is Beth, my date." James said and pointed to Beth. Beth just kept talking. "She's very interesting." James said and pretended to listen to her.
"James, could I talk to you?" Remus asked. "Beth? I'm going to talk to Remus for a second, I'll be right back." James said and Beth nodded while taking a sip of her butterbeer. James followed Remus to an empty table in the Resteraunt.
"So?" James asked Remus when they sat down. "What are you doing with Beth?" Remus asked. "I'm having a drink with her." James answered. "No, you misunderstood me. I mean, why are you going out with people who you don't even remotely like, much less love?"
"I do like Beth!" "No, you like Lily. You love Lily! What are you doing?" Remus repeated. "I don't like Lily anymore, I'm over her. I like Beth, okay?" James lied and stood up. "You're lying." Remus said. "You don't know that." James said and walked away. Remus couldn't have been more disappointed in James.
The Hogsmeade trip was finally over and Lily found herself sitting next to a tree by the lake, reading her favorite book. "Lily?" someone asked. Lily looked up to see Remus' concerned face. "Remus? Is everything okay?" Lily asked and closed her book. "Lily, I need to talk to you." Remus said. "What happened?" Lily asked worridly and Remus sat down next to her. He ran a hand through his sandy colored hair. "Lily, I think you should stop dating Kyle." Lily's concerned face vanished and an angry one came on."Why? You have no right to tell me that! He is kind and funny and..." Remus held up his hand. "You're right, I'm sorry. But..." Remus couldn't tell Lily that James still had feelings for her if he didn't want anyone to know. "Ok, James has a crush on this girl, but she doen't know that. So he started dating another girl to make the first girl jealous." Lily nodded at Remus to continue. "Right, but his stupid plan isn't working, and recently, she started dating another guy." Remus said.
Lily put on a sympathetic look, "That must be so hard for him." Lily said sadly. Remus' jaw dropped. Was she really that stupid to not figure it out? "Ok, well, everything is just a big mess and he doesn't have a clue what to do." Remus concluded. Lily put her book in her bag. "I think that James should tell the girl he likes that he has feelings for her." Lily said and stood up. "Why are you asking me about this? Shouldn't James be asking?" Lily asked. Remus stood up too. "He's to stupid to know his plan isn't working." He replied simply. Lily nodded and walked in the castle.
Remus clutched his stomach; it was nearing the full moon."James! Pete! Hurry UP!" Sirius said. Remus was lying on his bed and James and Peter were tying their shoes quickly to leave for the Shreiking Shack. James finished and nudged Peter to hurry up. When Peter was finished, James, Sirius, and Peter walked out to the Forbidden Forest and Remus walked to the Hospital Wing.
"Ready, Mr. Lupin?" Madam Pomfrey asked Remus when he walked through the door. Remus nodded and together, they walked out to the Womping Willow. Remus took a long stick and prodded the knot on the tree. He crawled through the tunnel and Madam Pomfrey walked back to the castle. When the other three Marauders made sure that Madam Pomfrey left, they followed Remus in their animal forms.
"I have to go patrol the halls, I'll see you guys later!" Clare said and stood up from the couch. Tereesa and Lily looked up and waved goodbye to Clare. "I'm glad I'm not a prefect. Too many damn responsibilities." Lily muttered and turned a page in her book. "How many times have you read that?" Tereesa asked. "This is my eleventh time." Lily answered, not looking up from her book. Tereesa rolled her eyes, "You are such a nerd." Tereesa said and looked into the fireplace. "I resent that." Lily said half- heartidly.
"How was your date with Kyle?" Tereesa asked. "Are you going to let me read at all today?" Lily said, her mouth forming into a smile. Tereesa shrugged and Lily put her book on the table. "It went perfect. James was on a date too, although he didn't seem so happy." Lily said. Tereesa looked surprised. "Really? Who with?"
"Oh, with Beth." Lily said casually. Suddenly, her eyes widened with realasation. "Oh my lord! James is going out with Beth!" Lily said. "And you didn't realize that until now?" Tereesa asked. "I was so wrapped up with Kyle, I didn't even stop to think about James!" Lily said worridly. "You have to talk some sense into him." Tereesa said and picked up Lily's book. "You're right. How could I be so stupid?" Lily said and flew out the portrait holeJames, Sirius, and Peter watched as Remus transformed from a normal teenage boy to a bloodthirsty demon. Peter's tail twitched and he covered his eyes with his small paws. James and Sirius were up and ready to stop Remus if he did anything stupid. The werewolf that stood in front of them glanced at the three animals and then looked at his surroundings. He clawed at the walls, willing to be free. Remus gave up and started scratching his own arms. Sirius jumped up and barked loudly and James used his antlers to get in the way of the werewolf's teeth and arm.
Unfortunatly, Remus flung the two animals aside and let out a painful bark- like shreik. He was growing more and more fierce and his clawed at the walls more frantically now. He let out a loud howl and Peter whimpered into the shadows.Lily had been searching for James for twenty minutes and was beginning to get frantic. She decided to look on the Hogwarts ground for the third time. She walked outside and realized it was raining but she didn't care. She squinted her eyes and saw a big clump in the distance she started running towards it and as she neared it, she saw that the clump was really four people. She ran closer still and saw the familiar faces of the Marauders.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" Sirius asked, his voice frightened. "I should be asking you the same thing!" Lily replied. "We...uh..." Peter began but Lily cut him off. "I have been looking everywhere for you! You have no idea how scared I was! Thank god you're all right!" Lily said and hugged them. "You sound like my mother." James muttered. Lily saw that James and Sirius were helping Remus stand. "Remus? Are you ok?" Lily asked. She stepped closer to him and gasped.
"Remus! You look aweful! Are you feeling alright? You should go to the Hospital Wing right now!" Lily exclaimed and felt Remus' forehead. "Get inside! The rain will just make us all sick! Remus, what happened to you?" Lily asked and looked at Remus' ghostly features. Remus didn't answer. Lily was becoming very worried. "James, what happened to him?" Lily asked in what sounded like a whisper. The group reached the castle and walked into the warm halls. James looked at the other Marauders before answering.
"We were playing Quidditch, and Remus got a cold. Colds have a rather...harsh effect on Remus." James lied. James looked at Lily and realized she was crying. "You're lying." she said and sniffed. "Please, tell me what happened! I want to help!" Lily pleaded. James looked longingly at his friends. He wanted to tell Lily the truth, but he would be risking too much. "I can't tell you Lily, I'm sorry." James said sincerely. Lily looked hurt. She vowed to herself that she would find out on her own.
Remus looked at the floor and let a tear escape from his eye. This was one of the many consiquences of being a werewolf. "I'm sorry, Lily." Remus whispered. Lily was really starting to worry about them. "Just please tell me why this happened!" Lily pleaded. Sirius shook his head. "Lily, just forget about it." Sirius said in a stern face.
Lily looked desperatly at Peter. He just looked at the floor. James watched Lily as she looked at each of the Marauders for answers. James hated seeing Lily with tears falling down her soft cheeks and her expression was helpless. James reached out to touch her should comfortly, but she wrenched it away and gave him a cold glare.
"I thought you guys could trust me." Lily said softly. She turned her heel and walked away, ignoring James and Sirius' attempts to call her back. Remus lifted his head and watched Lily turn the corner and felt a pang of guilt. Life was definatly not easy for the werewolf.Clare turned the corner at the same time Lily did and they hit eachother and fell to the ground. Clare scrambled up and held out a hand to Lily. "Here, let me help you up. Sorry for bumping into you. I wasn't watching." Clare said kindly and expected Lily to grab hold of her hand and pull herself up. Instead, Lily ignored the helping hand and she brushed passed Clare.
Clare looked at Lily, clearly confused. "Lily, you should head back to the Common Room, it's after hours!" Clare called to Lily's back. Lily ignored Clare and walked up to the Prefects bathroom. Being friends with Prefect Clare had it's advantages. "Crystal Clear" Lily muttered and walked in the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and walked to the pool-sized bathtub.
Lily went here when she needed to clear her thoughts and calm down. She turned a couple of faucets until the tub was filled before removing her clothes and sliding in. The water was warm and bubbly. Lily closed her eyes and tried to figure out what could have happened. 'They could have entered the forest and gotten hurt. That sounds like something they would do.' Lily thought to herself. Lily opened her eyes and glanced around the bathroom. She sighed to herself and stepped out of the warm water.
She wrapped a large fuzzy towel around her and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and her hair was half wet and half dry. She wasn't in her best state. Lily sighed again and quickly got dressed. The shuffling noises she made with her feet echoed around the large bathroom.
Lily leaned again the door with her ear pressed against the crack. She couldn't hear anything, so she quietly opened the door and looked down to see Mr. Gruff, the caretakers cat. Lily closed her eyes and counted to ten silently before opening them again to the the old cat disappearing down the hall. This only meant one thing; The goddamn cat went to alert the caretaker.
Lily ran down the hall as fast as she could to the Common Room. Suddenly, Lily ran into something, causing her to be knocked down for the second time that day. "Not again." Lily muttered and rubbed her head. When she looked up, she didn't see anything. She looked around but nothing was in sight. She slowly got to her feet. She could sense something was watching her.
"Lily?" A voice whispered. Lily whipped around but saw nothing. "Who-who's there?" Lily asked, trying to sound brave. Then James and Sirius appeared in front of her. Lily's eyes widened. "How did you to that?" she demanded. James put a hand over her mouth. "Shh! Filch will hear us." James whispered.
Lily removed James' hand. "Filch! He's after me! Please help me, if I get caught, McGonagall will sever my head off using my own wand!" Lily said frantically. James grinned and held up some silvery material. Lily gasped. "Is that a-" "Invisabilty cloak? Yeah, it is." James answered before she could finish her question. Lily looked releived, but still a bit puzzled. Sirius chuckled and took the cloak from James. "Look, Lily. If you want to escape, you'll have to go with us." he said. Lily nodded and Sirius draped the cloak over the three teenagers.
Lily had to squeeze between James and Sirius so that nothing would show beneath the cloak. "Where are we going?" Lily asked quietly. "We're getting a snack." James answered. "How did you get the cloak?" Lily said in the same queit voice. James grinned, "I have my resources." he answered. Lily decided not to pry further.
"Why weren't you in the common room?" Sirius asked suspiciously. "I was taking a bath." Lily asnwered and blushed faintly. "You were taking a bath? Even I don't get out of the common room just to take a bath." Sirius said. Lily opened her mouth to reply but Sirius covered it with his hand. Lily instantly new why.
"Where are they? Where is the student who's out late?" The three students heard Filch and froze. They saw him turn the corner so he was facing them. James, Lily, and Sirius backed away quietly. Filch examined the 'empty' hall and walked past the teenagers. When Filch was out of earshot, James let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
Lily bit Sirius' hand hard, which was still cupped around her mouth, causing him to yelp in pain. Lily grinned evily as she watched Sirius nursing his hand. James rolled his eyes. "Come on." he said and lead them to a potrait of a bowl of fruit. Lily immediatly knew why they were there and she reached out and tickled the pear. James and Sirius watched in awe as she turned the doornob and entered the kitchens.
"How did you know about that?" Sirius demanded as he followed Lily to a small table. "Oh please, I'm not a complete idiot. Tereesa, Clare and I know quite a lot about Hogwarts secrets." Lily said and winked at the two Marauders. "Twinkle!" Lily called and about ten house-elves came rushing to the table. Lily looked at the one in front. "Hello, Twinkle. We would like pork-chops, mashed potatoes, spinach, squash, pumpkin juice, and a vegetable salad please." Lily said and turned to the boys again.
They were accepting pudding from the house-elve. Lily took out her wand. "Accio pudding." Lily said and dropped her wand while catching a little bowl of chocolate pudding in each hand. She gave the pudding back to the house-elves and picked up her wand. "What was that for?" Sirius demanded. "You'll ruin your appetite and you won't have room for a real dinner if you eat desert first." Lily explained while a bunch of house-elves rushed over to the table and served the students thier dinner.
"Sorry, mother." Sirius muttered. Lily ignored him and piled food onto her plate and started eating very fast. James and Sirius were amazed. They turned to their own plates and started eating as well. When James finished, he looked up and saw Lily getting a second helping that was just as big as the first and started shoveling the food in her mouth. Sirius was doing the same thing. "Who are you and what have you done with Lily?" James asked Lily as he stared at her while she ate.
She swallowed and gulped down her full glass up pumpkin juice in less then six seconds. She looked at James. "I eat fast, so what?" she said and started eating again. "Yeah, but how do you stay so...small when you eat so...much?" James asked. She looked up and him again and swallowed. "Fast matabolisom." she answered and poured herself more pupmkin juice. Next to James, Sirius belched loudly to show that he finished eating. Lily did the same thing at the same time. Sirius narrowed his eyes at Lily.
"I challenge you to a competition. Who ever eats their pudding the fastest gets five galleons from the loser." Sirius said. Lily grinned, "You're on." she said and snapped her fingers. A bowl of pudding appeared in front of Lily and Sirius. James looked at them amusedly. "On three. One...two...THREE!" James said and Lily and Sirius picked up their spoons. Lily put her spoon back down, picked up her bowl, and tipped it so the pudding would fall in her mouth. Lily was soon finished. "Lily wins!" James yelled and Sirius looked at Lily, who was licking her fingers angelically.
"Cheater." Sirius muttered as he dropped his spoon in his bowl. "Not cheating, technique." Lily said and held out her hand. Sirius stuffed his hands in his pockets while muttering and pulled out three galleons. He placed the money in Lily's hand and she took it gratefully. "Thank you, Sirius." Lily said and kissed him on the cheek in a sisterly way while saying 'Mwah!'. James laughed as Lily jingled her pockets to show Sirius how much money she had. He crossed his arms stubbornly. "Aw, is Sirius having a hissy fit?" Lily asked and pinched his cheek. "Shut up." Sirius muttered and Lily and James chuckled.
A/N: I like this chapter. It really shows some bonding between Lily, James, and Sirius. I hope you liked it. Please review! I won't update until I get at least five reviews on this chapter!
