40 minutes

"Why are you even here Lily? You weren't supposed to come. Why were you all coming through the forest? And where the hell is Peter?" Remus was shouting, pacing, and waving his hands around.

"Remus, there was an attack. The Death Eaters have taken captives" James started in a smooth even tone. "Dumbledore wanted Lily to go back to Hogwarts with us; the rest of The Order is meeting there tomorrow. Peter didn't join us because he wanted to escort his sister back to the ministry of magic. Dumbledore suggested that we come through the Forest to avoid tipping off any Death Eaters as to where we were headed. That obviously hasn't worked." James recounted sadly as he held Lily's hand. Sirius leaned against the invisible wall which would have looked amusing any other time and Remus sunk to the cave floor.

"This is all my fault." Remus put his head in his hands.

"It's not all your fault, I think it's just the fates conspiring against us." Sirius came off the wall. "Remus it's going to be alright, even if we can't find a way out of here, we can hhuumm…control the situation."

Remus looked up at Sirius with something new and angry in his eyes "Old Friend have you some how come into possession of a power that can let you stop the moon from rising?" Remus stood now. And looked at what he preserved not as Sirius's way of trying to console him but as abhorrent ignorance to their present condition. "Well my friend if that is not the case then I do believe that the situation is entirely OUT OF YOUR CONTROL."

James tried to comfort everyone especially Lily who was still in the dark as to the nature of their problem.

"Remus we've been able to handle it before."

"I'm sure in the past you have, but not trapped like this and certainly not with any one in such immediate danger as Lily is." The other boys didn't know what to say to that. Remus spoke the truth it would be near impossible to control the monster in such close courtiers with it's meal of choice only a few feet away with no where to run. The situation was looking bleaker than bleak.

"As I see it there is only one thing to do in order to save your lives." Remus now stood very still and looked pasted his friends out of the cave to where the sad sun was somberly setting.

"You have to kill me."

20 minutes

"Remus NO! We won't let it come to that." James and Sirius protested.

"James have you looked at your watch, have you looked outside. There's 20 minutes left before hell lets loose in this cave. It has come to that and if you want to save Lily. You will kill me." Remus was unconsciously pulling at his hair. Lily was now crying. She had figured it out, smart as she was and as much as it explained so many things over the years it scared her.

"Remus are you a werewolf?" Remus's was forced to take his eyes from James's and turn to Lily's wet ones and tear stained cheeks.

Remus met Lily's question like a deer in head lights. It had been a long time since anyone had feared him and it scared him. He stared at her but was unable to say anything in response. He just bit his lip and nodded his head; hands still tugging at his hair. She was silent and grabbed hold of James's arm. With everything out in the open the morbid situation seem more real than ever.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt…" Remus cried. "Anyone."

Sirius was becoming just as worked up as Remus. "There's got to be a way out we just haven't found it yet." He started beat on the solid cave walls clawing at any crack or fissure he found. Lily and James had gotten very quiet.

A dark shadow fell upon the cave as the sun sank beneath the trees. Remus dropped to his knees in front of his friends "Please, Please." Madness had taken over his eyes.

"Remus no." Lily gaze was hard and stern. She was not willing to except the death of anyone that night.

"Lily you don't understand, if I remain alive you… will die."

"Then I will die."

"Lily no." James gasped.

"He is too important to The Order to die here." Lily strongly stated.

"Lily please do not speak in such grand terms… my life is worthless. I have been fortunate to get as far as I have and to have such wonderful friends and the opportunity to help others… but my life is not worth yours." Lily found it hard to believe that the Remus she loved thought so little of himself.

"Remus how can you say such things?" Lily knelt down to the ground, level with Remus. Tear flowed freely from all eyes in the cave accompanied by sobs and hiccups for someone was going to die tonight and the dilemma was going to be the death of them all.

"If you don't kill me to spare your life them do it to spare mine PLEASE. I don't want to live with your blood on my hands."

"Remus we're your friends…." James shook his head.

"I'll make easy." Remus tore the neck of his shirt to expose fully his long neck and bare chest. Lily gasped at the amount of scars that already covered his slender body. Remus then turned his head and closed his eyes.

"I love you all and except that you do this now. Feel no guilt for my death. You do this in self defense." Remus waited chin up.

"NO" Sirius ran at Remus and roughly pushed him back. Remus sprawled in the dirt. "I told you. NO ONE is going to die here, not today." Sirius hissed through his teeth. "You are not going to sacrifice yourself for us. Now stop it." But Sirius was too late; there was no longer a choice.

No time left

"NOOoooooo!!!" Remus half screamed half sobbed. Sirius looked up and saw the full moon burning down on them throw the hole in the ceiling of the cave. Remus started to claw at his own flesh scratching long red lines in his bared skin. Sirius tried to hold his friend down to keep him from hurting himself.

James pushed Lily who was crying buckets behind him. Remus's back arched and his limbs elongated as he screamed and his choked scream turned into a howling wail. Sirius could no longer hold onto his friend letting go he backed up and transformed himself. Lily nearly fainted as all of her friends changed Remus into a werewolf, Sirius into a dog, and her beloved James into a stag.

The werewolf stood on its hind legs and scented the air. Lily pressed herself hard against the invisible wall that was the cause of all their problems and made herself as small as she could.

Sirius bared his canine teeth at the werewolf. The werewolf growled in response and stalked forward. A low and guttural growl emanated from Sirius belly. The werewolf smelled Lily and turned its attention to her, not concerning its self with the dog or the stag. Sirius lunged at the werewolf dragging his claws across the beasts face. The werewolf in turn swatted the dog aside. James in stag form snorted and bucked as the werewolf got closer. Sirius jumped on the werewolf's back and bit deep causing the beast to howl and grab for Sirius furiously. Unable to reach the dog the werewolf went crazy thrashing around trying to shake the dog off.

Lily watched all this in horror. She imagined her death at the hands of the terrible beast. She shrieked as the werewolf and Sirius attacked one another.

The werewolf managed to temporarily stun Sirius and moved in on its desired prey. Lily cried hard as the stag tried to hold off the monster. She held her arms up in front of her face and waited for the inevitable.

She was screaming with the last of her voice when the wall she had been pushing so hard on disappeared. She lost all control. The werewolf sensing her venerability charged. Before he could reach her she was grabbed by the hand and lifted into the sky. The werewolf jumped for her but Sirius latched on to its leg, sinking his teeth into the larger beast's calf.

The last thing Lily saw of the werewolf was it running off into the forest ahead of the dog and the stag.

To be continued…

I am working on the next part "the morning after" any suggestions are welcomed. Hope I haven't gotten anything too horribly wrong and I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far. Thanks for reading.