Ch. 10 "Close Encounters"

James Potter ran down corridors, jumped down several flights of stairs, and, for the first time in his life, actually kicked Mrs. Norris, not caring if Filch was around or not. He reached the Great Hall and heaved the heavy wooden doors open. It took awhile for James to reach the entrance to the Forbidden Forest, considering how large Hogwarts actually was, and by the time he got there, he had a stitch in his side and was beginning to pant. Still, he didn't stop.

James was running at top speed, and wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. He failed to notice that as he furthered into the woods, the trees had become denser and the amount of moonlight shining through the trees was quickly decreasing. James only took notice when he could no longer see and he tripped over what he prayed to be a tree root.

James hit the ground with an "oof" and noticed that his leg had landed in a very uncomfortable position. He winced, stood up, and tried to take in his surroundings. Unfortunately, since it was pitch black in this part of the forest, there really wasn't all that much to process. Just the darkness.

Leaves rustled and James heard a thump a few meters from where he was standing. James gulped and as silently as he could, reached into his front robe pocket looking for his wand. His stomach tightened when he felt only lint.

He quickly searched his other pocket, and again, his hand returned wand-less. James checked his pant pockets, his shirt pocket, he even checked his shoes. He still didn't have a wand.

The wind howled and James was yet again reminded of the danger he had placed himself in, wandering into the Forbidden Forest unarmed.

He was afraid to sit down, since he had no idea what had once been there or what was lurking there now, and he couldn't see anywhere to go, so he just stood there, helplessly. Man, am I one hell of a genius, he thought grimly. And who knows what's going on with Remus and Evans . . .

He sighed loudly, then slapped a hand over his mouth in alarm. He really didn't want anyone, or any thing, to hear him. He gave a silent sigh and attempted to run a hand through his hair. Just before his hand reached his head, it grazed against something long and thin, that felt oddly like a wand. His wand, to be exact.

The knot in James's stomach loosened as he pulled his wand out from behind his ear. That was a waste of time, he said silently to himself. "Lumos," he muttered. The forest lit up around him, and James was finally able to get a good look.

The trees that grew this deep in the forest were huge. Two and a half Hagrids could easily fit behind one of them and would be invisible to anyone standing on the other side. They had a greenish tint to them, and even when James craned his neck up, he still couldn't see the tops of the trees. Large thorn bushes, some of them as tall as James, surrounded the trees and the small clearing James was standing in, and he was amazed that he managed not to get caught in one.

Apart from the light being emitted from his wand, it was pitch black. James frowned. How am I going to get out of here, he wondered. His eyes suddenly widened and he slapped himself in the forehead. "I forgot the map," he whispered. "I'm lost."

"No you're not!"

James yelped in fright and jumped back. He dropped his wand and it rolled under a bush, the light had gone out.

"James? What happened to the light? Urgh, I can't see! I've gone blind! I'm going to die out here! I –!"

James thrust a hand over Sirius Black's mouth, ceasing the yelling. "Padfoot," he hissed angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to save you," Sirius answered through James's fingers. He removed them. "What happened to the light? You idiot, where'd your wand go?"

"You are just as capable of getting out your wand as I am," James said quietly. "I dropped mine somewhere, all because of a certain someone. And lower your voice, will you? You don't know what's out here."

"YES I DO!" Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Sirius!"

The forest lit up again. It was coming from Sirius wand. He held it up, illuminating his face, which bore a comical grin on it. "Yes?" he asked innocently.

"I said, lower your voice."

"But I don't have to. Look, I'll show you." Sirius pulled out the Marauder's Map from his pocket and shone the light on it. "See? We're here, and the closest creature, which just happens to be a Clabbert, is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way over there. See?"

"What's a Clabbert?"

Sirius snorted. "I can see you pay attention in Care of Magical Creatures. Come on, we have to get going. To Lily, just in case you weren't paying attention. I couldn't go to her first because there was a centaur walking kind of in your direction, and as we all know, they don't exactly like you. But he's gone now. Now come on, we have to go."

Sirius grabbed James's wrist and began pulling him north from where they were standing. "If we keep going in this direction, we'll soon meet up with them."

"Wait, my wand!" James freed his hand and ran back to where his wand was. "Where is it?"

"Accio wand," Sirius said without missing a beat. James's wand flew out from under a bush and landed in Sirius's hand. He tossed it back to James and began to run. James caught up with him. "They're up here?"

"Yeah," Sirius panted. "Come on, faster."

"Why, is something wrong with Lily?" James asked worriedly.

"You mean aside from the fact that she's being chased by a werewolf?" Sirius checked the map again. He made a right. "This way," he called over his shoulder. He looked at the map again. "She's well ahead of him, but he's gaining on her. It's a miracle he didn't get her already."

The knot in James's stomach returned, and for awhile the two friends just ran in silence. "Sirius?" James asked.

"What?"

"Why haven't we transformed already?"

A look of puzzlement appeared on Sirius's face. "Good point." In seconds, a giant, shaggy black dog was standing in the spot where Sirius Black just stood. He barked and began running again. James, too, transformed. In his case, he turned into a giant, beautiful white stag. James's vision improved, as did his sense of smell and. James padded the ground and took off, following the scent of Sirius.

He flicked his ears and heard Sirius running, himself running, and also a rhythmic set of thumps on the ground, moving at a fast pace. From all the times James had been with Remus on the night of the full moon, James knew it was him. He caught up to Sirius and passed him. The sound of paws hitting the ground was getting louder, coming from just behind that grove of trees.

James passed the trees, and he saw it. He saw Lily Evans, a terrified look on her face, sprint past him. He saw Remus. A fully-grown werewolf, snarling and growling, looking at Lily with nothing but hunger and fierceness in his eyes. James stole his chance. Just as Remus was passing, James head butted him in the stomach, throwing him up in the air and landing on his side.

Remus's head snapped up and he glared at James. A low-pitched growl emitted from deep in his throat. He got up and circled James. Remus let out a snarl and attempted to pounce on James. Suddenly, Sirius appeared and attacked Remus in midair, pinning him to the ground.

Sirius struggled with Remus for a few seconds, then looked at James, letting him know he could handle Remus. James nodded and went over to Lily. She was breathing heavily and was leaning on a tree for support. She was sporting a large cut across her cheek and another one on her leg. James slowed his pace and continued to walk towards her.

Lily's eyes widened and she pinned herself against the tree, breathing even harder than she had a couple seconds ago. James stopped walking. She has to trust me, he thought. He heard Remus growl. I have to get her out of here, he decided. Now.

He walked up to Lily and nudged her side, forcing her to move. Her body jerked to the side, clearly very confused. James tried to nudge her again, but she wouldn't move. He snorted in frustration.

Sirius gave a warning bark and a small yelp, and James knew he had to get moving. He kneeled down in front of Lily, hoping that she would get the message. She was hesitant, but after one last glance at Remus, climbed hastily upon James's back. She wrapped her hands tightly around his neck, and James began to run. As a stag, he had a clearer idea of how to get out of there, and it didn't take him long to find the exit.

He exited the forest and spotted the lake. He walked up it and set Lily down on the beach, hoping she could have just a moment to rest. She shakily got off James's back and curled up in a ball. Resting her head on her knees, Lily let out a shaky sigh. As James watched her, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. After all that she went through.

He heard a rustling near his feet and looked down. He saw Peter Pettigrew, as a rat, look up at him. Peter let out a squeak and scampered off into the forest. James knew that once Peter reached Remus and Sirius, they would all go to the Whomping Willow, and they couldn't afford to let Lily witness any more of their secret.

He kneeled down again and this time it didn't take long for Lily to understand. As she was on James's back, see seemed a little calmer, and just a tiny bit more comfortable that she had the first time she had ridden on the stag's back.

Remembering to stay in the shadows so no one would see them, James carried Lily up to the castle. He dropped her off in front of a set of side doors that no one seemed to notice, and with a final nod of his head, ran off to join his friends in the forest.

Hi! Sorry for the long wait. Although, compared to some other authors that I will not mention, it really wasn't that long. See, I went to Florida on Wednesday, came back Sunday. It rocks down there. You should move there. Then, there's the whole school issue, and I have to admit that I'm not doing that good in gym, if anyone can believe that. Just two responses.

soccerchic1989: thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. okay, yeah i really screwed up on that chapter. see, it was kind of late at night and the only thing i cared about was getting that thing posted. i didn't bother to double check, and all that other lazy stuff. all i looked for was spelling or grammar errors, not exactly to see if it made sense. fortunately, for some atrange, bizarre reason, you were the only one who noticed. (???????) yeah. once again, sorry.

InLuvWitRupert: thank you for that review. it was so long! but then again, those are the best ones. uh, okay, i disagree with the amazing part, but then again i am too modest. about the song thing...yeah i wrote it myself and it took me FOREVER. poetry just doesn't like me that much. okay, if you read soccerchic1989's thing, you will see that i made a major goof in the whole "make sure the chapter make sense" thing. so i'm thinking that i'll just take that part and use it again for 7th year, since i am NOT writing that again. uh uh, no way.