James had been waiting for Lily to come outside into the grounds and meet him after school had finished. Sirius and Remus were meeting some girls they knew in the common room, as he had asked them to, so him and Lily could be alone for a while.
He stood there by the old oak tree, scuffing his feet on the grass, thinking of what he could say to her. He didn't want to sound too soppy, but also not like he was still trying to act 'cool' around her. He wanted to tell her how he really felt, that he had fallen hopelessly and completely in love and wanted to be with her always. He was worried though; what if she didn't feel the same way? No, maybe he should play it cool, at least for now, just to see how it went. He wanted her to admit her feelings first, before he totally committed himself. She may even be frightened off if she thought he was too serious, too soon.
Suddenly, a first year boy with messy hair and freckles approached and awoke James from his musings.
"I...I've got a message for you. It's from Lily" the boy seemed very intimidated by James whom everyone knew, was one of infamous 'Marauders'. He took a deep breath, before finishing the message. "She says to meet her in the forest, in the clearing, down the way from where we do Care of Magical Creatures," the boy seemed relieved now he had completed his task, but he hovered, unsure of whether to go or not. James nodded, smiling in his direction and the nervous boy ran off.
James made his way down to the forest clearing; he knew it well, having used it for many Marauders meetings. He smiled to himself, this must mean she really liked him, why else would she want to meet him somewhere so out of the way, where they were unlikely to be disturbed? He felt a sense of anticipation and excitement rise within him as he walked.
When he was nearly there, he saw something flash out of the corner of his eye. 'What was that?' He thought to himself, then shook his head, disregarding it as unimportant.
He pushed himself through the bushes and stepped into the clearing. He was not prepared for what he saw there; Severus Snape, someone he had hated since they were in their first year, was on top of Lily, his Lily! He also realised that Lily was not a willing participant, as her arms looked like they were being held down forcibly.
Anger rose within James like a burning fire, adrenaline rushed around his body, readying him for a fight. The sense of injustice at what was being done to her and deeper primal feelings, that something of his was being taken by another, increased his rage. He no longer felt responsible for his actions as he held out his wand towards Severus. The pulse of power that shot out the end nearly knocked James off his feet. He looked on with satisfaction as Severus was lifted up and thrown into a tree trunk with a sickening thud.
Blood was rushing in his ears now cutting out all sound and nothing else mattered at this moment in time except getting revenge on Severus for what he had done. Lily had got up and looking around saw James and immediately called out his name, but James paid her no heed, he was totally focused on what he wanted to do. But as he approached the tree where Severus now sat slumped, he felt himself being grabbed from behind.
The mood he was in sent him into a frenzy of kicking and punching, they nearly lost hold of him twice and turned the air blue as they felt the pain of James's efforts to free himself.
As James opened his mouth to shout in protest at his detainment, he felt something cold and wet being dribbled in. He was suddenly struck with fear, he knew it must be some sort of potion, but had no idea what. Then everything went black.
When he came to, it was dark and he felt around with his hands, trying to work out where he was. Looking up he saw the dim outlines of tree branches and the ground beneath him was cold, damp and crunchy. He now knew he was in the Forbidden Forest.
His questing fingers suddenly touched something soft and warm, another person's hand. As he felt this hand he knew instinctively that it was Lily's, without even being able to see her. He shivered and realised he was cold, very cold, then as his eyes got used to the dim light, he saw why; he had been stripped naked and left without a wand. His hands and feet were loose, but the tops of his arms and chest were bound against a rough barked' tree trunk with thick rope, he guessed that Lily had befallen the same fate on the other side. He soon wriggled out of the bindings and stood up rubbing his stiff aching back. Although under normal circumstances he would have loved to have seen Lily naked, he knew it was not fair to look at her when she was asleep and couldn't cover herself. His vision was a little fuzzy anyway as his glasses were also missing. He crouched down beside her sleeping form and nudged her shoulder, calling her name softly; he really did not want to attract too much attention, not this far into the Forbidden Forest.
Lily moaned and started to stir, her head rolling about against the tree. She opened her eyes and squinted trying to make out her surroundings.
"Lily, it's me, James. You have to get up we need to get back to the school. Erm, just to let you know though, you're..er..naked." James said, trying to be tactful
"What? Where..ohh!" As she jumped in shock, the loosened ropes fell off her; she quickly put her arms up to cover her chest and curled her legs up. James immediately turned around.
"Look Lily, we have to get out of here, we're in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, at night, it's freezing and on top of that our clothes have been taken. I just don't understand why, all I remember is coming to meet you and then .. .nothing." James rubbed his head as if trying to stimulate his memory. "Come on we'd better get back" he held out his hand to Lily, but she refused to take it.
"I hope this isn't one of your pranks James Potter!" Lily said sternly, "if it is, I'll..I'll never speak to you ever again, that's it, we're over for good!" Then her tone softened as she concentrated, trying to search her memory.
"Ohh..I can't remember anything either, just coming to meet you..I think, look, you go in front, I'll follow you."
She got up slowly, trying to cover herself as best she could "Don't look! Turn in that direction if you please!" She warned him and he duly turned around, though he couldn't really see anything anyway.
They started to walk; it was scratchy when you were dressed but naked it was horrendous. After what seemed like an age and many "ow's" and "ouch's" later, they heard movement up ahead, then voices. James put out his arm and indicated to Lily to scoot down low. They waited with baited breath and then saw several Centaurs getting closer into view, carrying dim lights, their outlines mingling in with the dark trees. James felt frustrated, without his glasses he couldn't see a clear way past them and without his wand he couldn't defend against them.
It was too late now anyway; the Centaurs were sniffing the air, their excellent sense of smell leading them to the unfortunate pair.
"What are you doing in our Forest!" said one standing over them, shining a light in their eyes, "You have been warned not to come here, we are tired of humans ignoring our warnings, you shall pay dearly for this disrespect!" A young sounding, but gruff voice shouted at them.
"No wait, give them chance to explain why they are here, look, they wear no coverings, humans always wear coverings. I think they may be students from the school, they still look quite young" said another much softer voice
"Nevertheless they have flouted the rules, we were guaranteed by those wizards that our privacy would be maintained and that no students from the school, or otherwise, would be allowed to enter our homeland!" said an older, more authoritative voice.
"Yes, let us take them back and punish them," the gruff voice spoke again
James felt terrified of what the punishment would entail; knowing the Centaurs could be pretty heartless when it came to trespassing humans. Suddenly another much brighter light appeared in the darkness; a magical light - from a wand.
"I don't think that will be necessary Hesperus, I will take it from here!" A familiar voice said
James felt enormous relief; it was Dumbledore, their defence against the Dark Arts teacher.
Dumbledore commanded respect wherever he went, even grudgingly from the centaurs. They turned to look at him.
"These poor children have been missing all night, we have been looking everywhere for them. It is a relief to find them at last." Dumbledore explained
"But they have trespassed! We were promised that no humans would come in to the forest any more, especially this far in " Said the older centaur
"I apologise for their disobedience, I can assure you they will be punished, but now is not the time or the place. Come on you two, let's get you back up to the school." Dumbledore called to James and Lily through the unmoving Centaurs.
"Erm.. there is a problem Professor... we haven't got any clothes on" James said sheepishly
"What? Why, what on earth have you been up to this time James, this is bad by even your standards!" said Dumbledore, coming closer. He looked at the pair as his light shone upon them, then with a wave of his wand produced two robes and passed them over.
Lily and James put them on gratefully, enjoying the warmth they provided, then they got up and walked over to Dumbledore.
More voices could be heard now as they got closer to the edge of the Forest. Other teachers had also been looking for them and on seeing the threesome, approached with their lighted wands raised.
James for once couldn't think of an explanation out of his predicament, but he knew one thing; the thought of climbing into his warm, comfortable bed right now was the only thing he wanted to do.