A/N: I'm back! I'll update a couple chapters tonight. I just want to let all my UK reviewers that I sympathize with you all and I hope everyone is as safe as can be. I was worried sick all day, as my best friend's older sister (who I've known since I was 4) is living in London this summer for summer sessions at Oxford… I wasn't able to get up with her family and I was really, really worried as she had just gotten used to riding the tube. I just reached her a few minutes ago...the attacks occurred right outside her flat though, and she's sort of trapped there, seeing as everything around her is closed down. Seeing as I just got off the phone with them...my stomach is still in a knot, a little unnerving, but I knowit's probably nothing to what you folks are feeling.That being said, I hope you find some sort of instant gratification from my story today. I really hope everyone is all right and things get sorted out. Please read and review!

Chapter Thirty: Animagi Uncovered

James looked at Lily in astonishment. How long had she known? Had she told anyone? James smiled to himself. He knew he could trust Lily.

"How long have you, er, known?" James asked, taking a seat beside her.

Lily turned to look at him and smiled sympathetically. "Well, I figured it out tonight…after Ellie came and talked to me. I realize that the nights you say you're out with the guys coincided with the dates Remus was out, and I checked the calendar the last time he was out and I realized it was a full moon then, and how he always looks so sick and bothered." She gave another sympathetic smile. "It's got to be hard for him. Does he even have a sick mother?"

James shook his head, still amazed that Lily had figured it out in a day, where it had taken Sirius, Peter and him over a month, granted they had been second years, but Lily was brilliant nevertheless.

"Well I guess that's good." she replied. "I've just got one more question."

James nodded for her to continue.

"You all are always gone with him, how are you able to… stay with him?" she asked, slowly and carefully.

James smiled. "Well see, we decided to all become werewolves."

"James." Lily responded, with an almost demanding tone.

James took a deep breath. "Sirius, Peter and I…decided to become animagi."

Lily's jaw dropped. "You, and Sirius…and Peter? That's real advanced magic…you, you were able to do it?"

James nodded and grinned. "Well yes, we started researching third year…and we were all able to transform by mid fifth year…it took a while but…we did it and now Remus's transformations aren't as painful, because we can sort of, communicate with him a little better, at least."

Lily was still in disbelief. She was dating an animagus. "And I'm assuming you all are illegal animagi."

James nodded. "Of course, we couldn't exactly get registered at fifteen, could we?"

Lily shook her head, but was smiling all the same. "That's remarkable…to be that devoted to your friends."

"Yeah." was all James replied with. "But they're your friends, you know? What else can you do? You love them, you do what you can to make them happy."

Lily leaned in and gave him a tender kiss, which James in turn responded with deepening it. After a few moments, Lily broke away.

"You have to show me." she replied. "What do you turn into?"

James smiled. "You'll see."

He pulled out his wand and muttered the spell, and before Lily knew it, an elegant white stag stood before her. When she looked at the eyes, she could tell it was James.

"Can you understand me?" she asked as she put her small hand on his nose. James nodded his head and Lily smiled. "You're absolutely beautiful."

James, or rather Prongs, bowed his head to show appreciation. Lily laughed as he began to trot around the common room. After a few minutes he transformed back, smiling.

"So that explains the nicknames." Lily replied as James wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're Prongs, and a stag, Remus is obviously a werewolf…so he's Moony…why is Sirius Padfoot and Peter Wormtail?"

James kissed her nose. "Sirius is a big, black, shaggy dog, a grim, really. Peter is a rat."

"Well that explains a lot." Lily replied, yawning. "What do you think I would be?"

James grinned as he thought. "Either a cat or a dove."

Lily smiled. "Why?"

"Because, a cat is very clever and practical and playful, it tries to act all serious but you know as soon as you dangle a piece of yarn in front of its face it will go nuts."

"So what are you?" Lily asked, smiling playfully. "My yarn?"

James laughed. "Exactly. Now you could be a dove, because they are pure, and sweet, and beautiful."

"But they love to crap on windows." Lily replied, laughing.

James laughed. "I guess there's a flaw in every animal."

Lily smiled and then yawned again, causing James to yawn as well.

"We better go to bed. We have approximately an hour and fifteen minutes to sleep." James suggested as he looked at his watch.

At breakfast James couldn't help but feel terribly sorry for Ellie. She looked horrible, if not down right depressed. He decided right then and there that he was going to do everything he could to talk Remus into telling her the truth. Meanwhile, he had to explain to Peter, Sirius, and Remus when he got back, that Lily knew their secret.

After kissing Lily good morning on the cheek, he got Sirius's and Peter's attention, which was rather hard to do, as Sirius had fallen asleep and was threatening to fall into his porridge.

"Huh, wha?" Sirius sleepily replied.

"We need to talk after breakfast." James replied, a little more coherently.

"I have some Pepper-Up potion for you all." Lily whispered in James's ear. "It's in my bag."

"You just think of everything, don't you?" James smiled as he took a sip of coffee.

"I try." Lily replied.

Ten minutes later, when Sirius had stopped scarfing down liberal amounts of porridge and waffles, the Marauders, except Moony, met outside of the Great Hall.

"Now what was so bloody important that you had to drag me away from my breakfast?" asked Sirius in his usual post-full-moon-hangover grumpiness.

James sighed and hoped his friends would take it well. "Lily knows about Remus."

"What about him?" yawned Peter, as James and Sirius stared fixedly at him.

"You bloody told her?" muttered Sirius, anxiously.

James shook his head. "No…no…she figured it out."

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. "Well she won't tell anyone, right?"

"Of course not." replied James defensively.

Sirius shrugged. "Just checking."

James let out another long sigh. "There's more."

Sirius's black eyebrows raised in question. "More?"

"Lily…knows we're animagi. I told her." James looked at the floor with his hands in his pockets, unsure of how disclosing their most precious secret would go over.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" Sirius asked sharply. "That's our secret."

"Yeah! We're illegal…and if anyone found out we'd be in Azkaban worthy trouble!" rebuked Peter, uncharacteristically angry.

James looked at them in his most pitiful look he could muster. "She had to know, guys. I love her and it's hard to keep things from her. Relationships are about honesty, and I had to be honest, I'm sorry."

Sirius's violent eyes softened and he patted James on the back. "I don't exactly understand, but I forgive you."

James's eyes brightened and he pulled Sirius into a bear hug, which was quickly released. Peter, however, still looked disgruntled.

Sirius nudged him. "Lighten up, mate. It's not that bad. Lily won't tell a soul."

Peter nodded but said nothing.

"She made us some Pepper-Up potion this morning." James offered as they walked back into the Great Hall.

"I knew I loved that wench for something." Sirius replied, tiredly but happily nevertheless.

Two days later, Remus had returned. Almost immediately, he was ushered into the Seventh year boys' dorms by James, Sirius, and Peter.

"What's up?" he asked, frantic at what was making his friends act so oddly.

Sirius smiled mischievously and motioned to the bed beside him. "Take a seat, Moony."

Remus shook his head dismissively but sat down anyways.

"So, what's up?" he asked again anxiously.

"Lily knows about you." James said, looking at his friend sympathetically. "I'm sorry, she just figured it out, and don't worry she won't tell anyone, and she doesn't think of you any less."

Remus's face became slack and his face paled. Lily knew what he was? And she wasn't terrified?

"Oh." was all Remus replied, looking at the floor.

"Yeah…and she knows about Sirius, Peter, and me being animagi." he continued. "I had to tell her, I love her…I had to be honest with her…you understand, don't you?"

Remus shrugged. "Not really…I see no need to tell Ellie about my…situation. I forgive you, though, and I trust Lily."

James shook his head. "You've got to tell her, mate. She's getting suspicious. She was worried half to death last full moon and came crying to Lily."

Remus strickened. "She didn't tell her?" he asked, feverishly.

"No…she didn't figure it out till after Ellie left." James replied, gazing at his sickly looking friend.

"James is right, you know." added Sirius in support. "You've got to tell her, if you really love her, tell her."

"I CAN'T!" yelled Remus, standing up. "It would ruin what we have!"

Sirius's eyebrows shot up. "Well what exactly do you have, then? If your relationship isn't the kind where you are honest, there's something wrong with it!" Sirius replied, almost harshly.

"We are honest!" Remus defended, his voice loosing its angry tone as he sat back down. "I just can't tell her that, she wouldn't understand. It's better just like this."

"Like I said before, Moony, Ellie will understand. She's a great person, if it's love, she'll understand." Sirius continued, calmly.

"It is love, isn't it?" James asked, concerned.

Remus shrugged. "Yes, I guess it is."

James eyed him, Remus was usually exact, but he supposed Ellie was the exception. "Well, love brings conditional understanding and acceptance. If it's really love, she'll be alright about it."

"What if she's angry that I didn't tell her earlier?" Remus asked, worriedly as he explored the option of coming clean to Ellie. "What if she hates me for that?"

"Then that's how it is." James replied. "People don't like not being trusted. Especially in a loving relationship. Trust and honesty are the biggest things, and it's time you start doing it."

Remus sighed; he was at odds of knowing what to do. Why couldn't things be simple? Why couldn't things just continue as they had been? Things had been perfect.

Slowly, Remus nodded and got up, making his way down the stairs and to the Gryffindor Common room, where he saw Ellie chatting with Allison and Lily. James was right, she had to have been worried. She looked tired, and sick, almost as bad as he did. Ellie saw him at the bottom of the stairs with Sirius, James, and Peter behind him, and came rushing to greet him.

"I've got to talk to you." she stated eying the boys behind Remus. "Alone."

Thanks to: May Olivia, jillybean90 (sorry for misspelling last time), The Angel From Your Nightmare, BornTooSlow, chikichiki, MissMrprk, 2005girl, IAMSOAP, hpgirl7777, Zippy-Wings, X.Little.Black.Cat.X, WhiteCamellia, Lily Evans 4 Life for being great, patient reviewers.