Disclaimer: I own the plot and the characters you don't recognise. Everything else belongs to the great and hallowed J.K.Rowling. Amen.

A Question of Faith

Lily sat completely still for five minutes, watching the place where the wolf had disappeared in shock. Then a curiosity was born through the fear.

She navigated through the winding passages of Hogwarts, blending with the shadows so as not to be seen. Although she generally disapproved of breaking rules, she could sneak as well as the next Hogwarts student. Save perhaps the Slytherins, who must have classes in sneaking at some point in their student careers.

With a form of feline grace she navigated onto the lawn, moving cautiously to the head of the stone steps that led onto the grass and the rest of Hogwart's grounds.

The illogicality of what she was doing suddenly crashed into her. If what she had seen had been a wolf, or even possibly, a werewolf, then she was only putting her life at risk by coming out to investigate. Yet still a part of her was determined to stay out there and watch, to make sure her eyes hadn't deceived her.

Tonight there was a definite edge to the atmosphere, like it was teetering on the brink of all hell breaking loose. For the first time, Lily resolved to be in the middle of it.
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James watched his two best friends diligently; well at least he tried to. Technically all there was to see was a flying knut and sickle.

Sirius was at the front; well he was pretty sure it was Sirius who kept swearing as Peter trod on his heels. If it wasn't they may have to worry.

Peter was a little way in front of James, the knut he carried bobbing along, seemingly suspended in midair.

The invisibility potion had worked a dream, but James thought it might have disagreed with certain important areas of his anatomy. Such as his stomach.

The sickle abruptly stopped bobbing but Peter didn't notice, instead ploughing straight into Sirius-the-sickle and both coins went cascading (rather noisily) across the floor.

James was torn between freezing and giggling, deciding on the former. Then promptly remembered he couldn't be seen. "Get up you idiots," he snickered. He checked the corridor to make sure there was no one about who would suspect a magically flying knut, sickle and galleon. He wished they could have found other ways to work out where each other were. Behind him he heard Sirius being swearing in uniquely imaginative way, as only he could, about Peter's clumsiness.

He walked calmly out of the double doors of Hogwarts, expecting it to be clear sailing from here.

Lily Evans sat elegantly on the cornerstone of the terraced grey stonewall, staring pointedly at him as though she could see him.

For the second time in five minutes James froze. Then realised that she couldn't be looking at him, because there was nothing to see. He sighed quietly, playing with the galleon in the palm of his hand.

"Galleons don't fly on their own," her voice cut through his relief. "And they certainly don't sigh."

James thought that maybe it would be best to come back and find out what Remus was doing another time. That was until Sirius and Peter clamoured through the doors making enough noise to weak the dead, the undead and probably a decent number of the long-since-dust dead. James rolled his eyes wearily.

They went silent the moment they saw Lily.

"Sounds like Black," observed the redheaded Gryffindor. "Which would make the knut and the galleon, Pettigrew and Potter. Am I right?" she smiled disconcertingly in the general direction of the three friends.

"No," muttered Sirius, attempting, and failing, to disguise his voice with a different pitch.

Lily smirked. "But where's the fourth? You're not the complete trouble-making group without Lupin." She paused for a second thoughtfully. "Or maybe you just ran out of coins."

"We'd like to know that too," agreed Peter apparently unthinkingly. James trod on where his foot should theoretically be. A small whimper of pain satisfied him.

A glimmer of movement on the wide expanse of lawn directly behind Lily caught James' eye. The grass ran down to the lake, perfectly trimmed and tended by Professor Baden, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. He focused his eyes on the spot where he thought he'd seen movement, but it was difficult to tell. It could be any number of small animals, or even simply the wind whispering in the trees of the Forbidden Forest. Or it could be something worse.

Before they'd left the common room the three remaining friends had decided that whatever secret it was Remus had and was keeping from them, it had to be something big or he would have told them long ago. Although the 'Marauders' had been formed in their first year, Remus had only become a proper, all-involved best friend in the group at the end of the second year and going into the third. Before then he had been very shy and had preferred to study rather than spending enough time with the other boys. Surprisingly it had been Sirius who had pushed the hardest for all of Remus' friendship, and they'd got there in the end.

"Well I'm sorry I can't help you," the girl, Evans, was saying. She arranged herself comfortably cross-legged on the solid stone block and casually watched the world around her.

A cloud blew from in front of the moon, displaying the silver orb in all its full and rounded glory. The blackened clouds scudded around it, forming rings that haunted the four students far below.

A howling abruptly erupted from somewhere worryingly close to the Hogwarts entrance and the four teens looked up to see a fully-grown werewolf with its head tilted towards the moon. James felt fear and adrenalin pump through his veins.

"Holy fucking shit," swore Sirius quietly but with emphasis.

But there was no more time for thinking (or swearing) because as soon as the wolf saw he had their attention it began to bound towards them, teeth bared.
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CrystalizedLily – yes, you will be seeing more of Caroline in the not-too-distant future, fear not. I'm glad you are enjoying this story, I hope you like this chapter also!

Madame-knight – he was indeed the boy in the library. I will try and keep my updating consistent! Thank you for reviewing every chapter – you are very patient! I am grateful indeed :)

Poky – Aww, don't feel bad! You are one of my main story reviewers! Without you and a couple of other dedicated reviewers I may have lost the will to write ages ago! But anyway, the next chapter will be up soon methinks (Can't leave y'all on a cliffy now can I?)

Xx Susannah xx