DISCLAIMER: You know the drill: I don't own any of this…yada yada yada, blah blah blah….J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. Thank you.
A/N: Okay…I will try, try being the operative word, to make my chapters longer. They are already prewritten which means it is hard for me to go back and add stuff because it may change something that will happen later on. But I will try.
Little note to sirusblackhottie: Excellent Guess! Read on to see if you're right! J
Chapter 26: Saving A Life
"Well, well. Don't you look tired. And you should be, staying out till five a.m.," Lily said in a mother-like tone when she saw Hermione's puffy eyes. Hermione glared evilly at her but curiosity got the better of the redhead. "So where did Sirius take you?"
Hermione finally smiled at her friend and lazily walked around the room. "Wouldn't you like to know."
"Oh come on Hermione! You have to tell me!"
Hermione smirked, "To the same place he took me for Christmas."
Lily looked at her expectedly but Hermione said no more. The redhead thought she would die with anticipation. "Well…?"
Hermione tried her best to look confused. "Well what?"
"I want details! James just gave me a ring, but Sirius went all out. I WANT DETAILS!"
Hermione laughed and finally conceded. "Well he cooked Italian food and made the alfredo you gave him the recipe for. He had a very lovely scene set up and it was all very romantic. Then he gave me this necklace," she said as she held the necklace out for Lily's inspection.
"That's gorgeous! I wish James had got me something like that. Forget the necklace, I would have been happy if he just cooked me dinner."
"How did he give you the ring. It had to be romantic," Hermione teased.
"It was…for James. We were sitting on the couch and he put his arm around me. Then he looked at me and said 'Lily, I love you. Here,' and then he gave me the ring. I've got to give him credit, though, he tried. At least he said he loved me."
"Yeah, Sirius told me he loved me," Hermione smiled.
"What else did you guys do?" Lily asked slyly.
"Well we…," Hermione's face turned a bright yellow.
Lily gasped, "You didn't!"
Hermione just nodded her head, a stupid smile plastered on her face.
"Holy Merlin! How was it? What was it like? Did you enjoy it?" Lily asked excitedly.
Hermione smiled, "It was wonderful really. Magical too."
Lily's face grew somber. "He didn't hurt you or anything did he?"
"No, not at all," Hermione said smiling. "He was actually really sweet. He told me he loved me the whole time like he was making sure I knew it. And he kept asking me if he was hurting me. I really love him."
"Oh wow! This is terrific Hermione. I am so happy for you both," Lily said honestly.
Hermione was walking towards the library later on that evening when she heard Sirius' voice near the library doors.
"I can't wait to see Snivellus' face when he goes down the tunnel and sees Moony!"
"Padfoot, how thick can you get! If Snape goes down that passage way, he'll be killed!" James growled at him.
"Would that be such a great tragedy Prongs?"
"No one deserves to die Sirius!" James yelled as he ran in her direction. He nearly collided with her as he rounded the corner. He looked at her suspiciously. "How much of that did you hear?"
Hermione wasted no time. "You have to save him James. If Snape dies, it will come back in Sirius. Not to mention the stuff Remus will have to go through. He will be tormented and discriminated against for the rest of his life if he kills someone while he's in werewolf form."
Perplexed, James was staring at her open-mouthed. She stared at him frustrated. "Go James! You have to stop him before he gets all the way through the passage!"
James didn't need to hear anymore. He quickly bolted down the corridor towards the main doors. He ran as quickly as he could towards the Whomping Willow.
He saw a shadow, that he assumed was Snape, enter the hidden passage way of the tree. Realizing he was short on time, he ran as fast as he could into the passage way. He grabbed Snape by the back of the robes but it was too late. Snape had seen Remus transform into a werewolf.
As he drug Snape out of the passage way and threw him on the ground, he was met by a sorry looking Sirius. "Take him back to the castle," James growled at his best friend. "We need to inform Dumbledore, but first," he turned towards Snape and saying in an undertone so Sirius wouldn't hear, "you better not tell anyone what you saw down there. If you do, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Oh and you better thank Hermione also. If it wasn't for her, you'd be dead right now."
James watched as Snape's face turned from a pale white to yellow at the thought of apologizing and thanking Hermione. Then he watched as Sirius and Snape walked back up to the castle in silence, for once not tormenting each other.
When they were at last out of sight, he released the breath he had been holding from the very moment Sirius told him of this little "joke." That was a close one. Poor Moony, not he'd have to trust another with his secret and Snivellus at that.
No, he corrected himself, two more. Hermione knew of Remus, but how he did not know. Maybe she looked at a moon chart and noticed his disappearances coincided with the full moon. Could they trust her with this secret or would she go and tell everyone? He didn't know and right now he didn't want to find out. All he wanted to do was give Moony some much deserved company.
Checking for any sign of anyone watching, he changed into a stag. He turned and awaited Moony at the base of the tree. At the sound of the familiar howl, he let all the worries leave him. Tonight, he would run with Moony and tomorrow. Well tomorrow he would get answers and then decide what the best course of action to take.
A/N: Is that better? I actually added a lot to make it longer. I know, it probably doesn't seem that much longer. Anyways…I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I decided to actually do my homework (even though it was actually last Thursday's work, I did it). I'm hoping I can get this story done by sometime next week. There will be an update tomorrow (April 6) I have no school…Thank Merlin for Faculty Senate days! A much needed break has finally arrived. Thank you for reading!
