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The Wind Through My Hair
Lily turned around quickly ready to run as fast as she could with Snape's useless dead weight dragging behind her. She clutched the collar of his shirt and pulled with all her might, trying her best not to break down in hysterical tears or to turn back that instant and try to help her friends.
"I just called them my friends," Lily muttered to herself, already tiring from the arduous task of getting her 125 lbs., plus an extra 160, to safety. She found that the castle walls were a lot farther than they had at first seemed, and when she finally arrived there, she heard a sick yell of pain from where she had left behind. "Uh oh…" she thought panicked. What if they were in trouble? "Of course they're in trouble, you great dolt…they're fighting a rabid werewolf…" The lead feeling in her stomach got worse as several different scenes of torture and struggle flashed through her mind, where the horrible yell she had heard fit in somewhere. She glanced around, even more nervous than before, and decided that they all needed some real help, not just two teenage boys. Lily seemed hesitant, but she propped Snape up against the wall near the entrance and raced inside in search of a professor. "I'll be back soon to retrieve him…shouldn't be a problem."
XXX
James saw that Lily was definitely moving away from the situation at hand with his peripheral vision, and began to transform as quickly as possible into his animagus form. Sirius could be seen doing the same, and they stood on opposite sides of Remus.
Moony, though his bite did not affect other animals, that did not mean that he was docile around them. Often times, he was in an angry rage, which his friends would have to beat out of him. A full-fledged fight might occur in order to tranquilize him. In this instance, he happened to be extremely enraged, more so than usual. This was probably because he had not gotten his prey tonight (which happened to have been Snape, if you were wondering), and had been in such close reach. And now…now, these foul creatures who were supposedly his friends, were trying to prevent him from getting what he wanted, he thought. The beast that had always been inside him, but roamed freely throughout him on full moons, was clouding the common sense that the real Remus almost always portrayed.
Now, now, Moony…hehe…there's no need to be getting your temper out of hand…just stop and think about the circumstances here! James directed his thought towards him. The only response he got was a low, threatening growl, as he got into an attack position.
Hey, buddy ol' pal! What are you so angry about, eh? Let's just…uh, go into the forbidden forest and resume our game of hide-and-go-seek we had going like last time, Sirius said. Moony did not move, but his growl got a bit softer, and he seemed to be getting less hostile.
Yeah, Moon-ster! Kill a couple of innocent birds like last time! You liked that, didn't you? Peter, in his rat formed, asked in what he thought was a soothing tone. Unfortunately for him, his word choice did not get the sort of reaction he had been hoping for. The moment he said "moon-ster," Sirius and James blanched. They thought that Remus has made it clear he did not like the pet name, when they called him that teasingly in the corridors one day, because it sounded like "Monster." Apparently, Peter hadn't heard…
The small, sane part of Remus's brain flared in anger as he heard Peter say he enjoyed killing innocent birds. He became truly angry, along with the already twitchingly mad beast part of him, and roared in fury as he ran full speed toward the small rat and prepared to pounce. As he leaped in mid-air, a large shaggy dog pushed him off course and wrestled him on the ground.
XXX
Lily staggered through the double doors and ran down the stone corridors. It was eerie at night, and even more so with Lily's active and, especially on this night, over-stimulated imagination. She had started heading for Gryffindor common room without thinking, and before she knew it, she stood before Professor McGonagall's elegant wood private quarters door. Lily tried to catch her breath, and tentatively knocked on her door. It seemed so much more intimidating now that she was actually here. But she forced her knock to sound clear and audible as she thought about the trouble her friends might be in. I called them my friends again…She thought, appalled.
The door creaked open, and the Professor stood there looking miffed. "Miss Evans! I was expecting you to check in long ago…I thought you might have forgotten," she said.
"No, Professor, that's not it at all…you see…well, there's this thing…and a tree…" Lily tried to make what she was trying to say sound believable, but it was just impossible. She cursed herself for not sorting out her words earlier. "And you see…I've left him on a wall…and it's just horrid! They could die!" McGonagall seemed bored an aggravated, but he eyes narrowed when she heard 'They could die!'
"What are you talking about, child?" She asked sharply.
"Well…" Lily groaned, and finally said what would explain everything yet sounded so made-up. "James and Sirius are out there…er…fighting a…werewolf." Even she said it questioningly, as if she couldn't believe she'd said that.
"Dear lord, my child! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" McGonagall raced out of the room without even shutting the door, in her carpet slippers and night robes with her hair in a net and walked briskly to Dumbledore's office.
When McGonagall and Dumbledore arrived at the scene, James was just punching Sirius in an angry rage, and Sirius was taking it without protest.
"YOU MORON. YOU ALMOST GOT US KILLED!" James yelled. Sirius stayed on the ground clutching his face, but otherwise trying to hide any other emotion. "Not only did WE almost just die, but you almost killed Snape AND LILY! ANNNDDD, You USED moony! I can't understand this!"
Dumbledore cleared his throat patiently. James whipped around ready to draw his wand, but his eyes widened when he realized that the headmaster had been standing right there during his every loud rant. "Mr. Potter. Mr. Black. Would you please accompany me to my office? Ms. Evans, it would be best if you came as well. Minerva. Could you perhaps fetch Mr. Snape? I believe he's leaning against a wall near the entrance."
xxx
"I do hope you realize the extremity of this situation. Would you care to explain how you managed to fight off a fully-fledged werewolf and live to tell the tale? Perhaps, how you came to ever wrestling a werewolf in the first place would be appropriate." Dumbledore asked them, with that annoying stare he always had. It was imploring and could seem to see right through you. It seemed as if he had undying patience in those soft blue eyes.
James and Sirius glanced at each other, and before Sirius could even open his mouth, James intervened. "Sirius and Snape got into a bit of a fight, and somehow it led to the Whomping Willow. Sirius and I have known about Remus's condition since first year, so we know all about the shrieking shack and such. They were fighting underneath the tree, and fell on the stump accidentally and Sirius…had to, er, pretend he didn't know what was going on. So Snape went down, being the git—I mean, being ignorant of the fact of what was down there, and didn't listen to Sirius. I…uh, was taking a nightly stroll outside and saw them as Snape came running out with Remus not far behind. And well. Lily was just. Uhm…."
"She came out looking for Snape since he was supposed to be completing Head Boy duties with her." Dumbledore finished, slightly amused.
"Erm. Yes Sir," said James.
"I see. That is all. You man leave. Please tell Mr. Snape that I'd like to see him in here now."
xxx
They strolled out and Lily was there, sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. She was sleeping, but jerked out of her reverie when she heard them talking.
"What did Dumbledore ask you guys? I wonder why he wanted us in there separately." She asked.
"Probably to hear if we all have got the same story," Sirius said. James rolled his eyes, realizing that his story was probably completely different from what Snape or Lily would say.
She got up and shrugged. "Reckon we should go to our dorms now?" She looked out the window to see that the sky was turning pink. "We've got about 3 hours before classes start. I think the sleep would do us good."
"I don't think three hours of measly sleep will do us any good. We might as well just stay up," James said. Sirius, however, yawned loudly.
"I'm tired…"
"And who's bloody fault is that?" James asked irrated.
"So, I'm going to sleep," Sirius said even louder, pretending to ignore what James ahd said. "Come to the dorm whenever you please."
"Right, just go already," James spat. Sirius rolled his eyes and mumbled about how he was going. As he turned the corner, James looked at Lily, and smiled exhaustedly. "Care for a bit of ice cream from the Kitchens?"
She thought for a moment and nodded. "Sure."
They walked to the kitchen in silence and when they go there, were immediately bombarded with eager house-elves. "What can Yodel do for mister and miss? Would mister and miss care for a cup of tea? Or food? Or would mister and miss like something else? Yodel is at mister and miss's service!"
"Er. Just a chocolate ice cream and…er…" James said.
"And a Strawberry." Lily added. Two bowls of ice cream came out almost immediately, and they sat down at a table to eat, once again in silence. They each seemed absorbed in their thoughts.
"James?"
"Yeah, Lils?"
"I'm glad you're okay from that fight with that werewolf…" She mumbled. James raised his eyebrows, and Lily realized what she had just said sounded incredibly sentimental and caring.
"Well, what I meant was that…you were…it was very. Well, you are a Gryffindor, so of course you were brave, but I mean, that was incredibly great what you did—but, I'm not just saying that or anything, I mean, it was really really great…" Lily took a deep breath and got up. "I think it's time we head back." James shrugged and got up, ready to leave.
They walked back in silence, again until Lily spoke up as they walked across the common room. "You see, what I meant to say is that, I think you were very brave out there…and…and…thanks for saving my arse out there." She grinned, as they stopped in front of the staircases to their dorms.
James was shocked, and, in spite of himself, he smiled as well. "No problem."
Lily laughed and found she was leaning toward him and pecking him lightly on the cheek. She blushed slightly, waved awkwardly and walked up the stairs as casually-fast as possible. James still felt the spot where she had kissed him on the cheek still burning, even as he walked up the staircase, dumbfounded five minutes later.
A/N: OMG. I am SO sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I didn't update like, at all over the summer. I'm sorry! I was either too lazy, way too busy (I hate school!), or just didn't have any inspiration in me. You know how that is. I didn't have that writing urge in me. But tonight I finally got to finish writing this incredibly slow chapter. I hope it's not TOO boring or dragging. I'm sorry if you think it is, but I can't help myself. Please review and tell me what you think. :D Yeah…and if there are grammar or spelling mistakes, just disregard them. I was far too lazy to fix them, and I was eager to get this chapter up for your benefit.
P.S. And thanks bunches and oodles to all my reviewers! I love you all! I appreciate you all too, so don't think I don't!
