Chapter 10 Bad Moon Arising
Even though, at Sirius' insistence, James didn't spend the entire holiday moping, he did think a good deal about what Lily had said to him that day in the hallway, and he grew more and more convinced that she had been right.
Unfortunately, she wasn't around so James could tell her.
He had found out from Remus after he and the others had come back from visiting Lily in the hospital wing that Lily would be staying with Marlene McKinnon for the holidays and was leaving the next day, as soon as Madam Pomfrey let her leave the hospital wing, in fact.
James was not as put out by this as he would have been before Bellatrix's attack. The mere idea of facing Lily Evans right now was galling. He did not share this information with his fellow Marauders, and if they were surprised by how well he was facing Lily's departure they did not say anything, even though they knew that James had planned to use this holiday to spend more time with her.
The holiday passed by as pleasantly as it usually did. Ever since they had learned Remus' secret in their second year, James, Sirius, and Peter had always made it a point to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays with him. Remus stayed because of the convenience of using the Shrieking Shack; he didn't like to burden his family more than he had to. So James, Sirius, and Peter kept him company. And this year, of course, they could keep him company the entire time.
The full moon wasn't until the last weekend of the holidays this year, but the four Marauders found loads of things to occupy their time, mostly pulling pranks on the students and staff who had remained at Hogwarts, planning new pranks to try once school began again, and, in Sirius' case anyway, snogging at least half, if not the entire, female population that had remained over the holidays. They also made frequent trips to the kitchens; they were longstanding favorites with the house elves, who had known the Marauders since they had found the kitchens in their second year.
James was having so much fun, in fact, planning and executing pranks and ribbing Sirius about being Hogwarts' reigning slut, that he wasn't thinking too often of Lily Evans, only a dozen times a day or so, which was a new personal best for him.
Which was why he was completely unprepared to see Lily at breakfast two days after New Year's Eve.
James felt the bottom drop out of his stomach and his heart flip- flopped more violently than usual. It would seem that he wasn't getting over her after all.
* * *
Despite its nightmarish start, Lily had had a marvelous holiday. Being with Marlene had been very comforting; she could tell her what had happened and how she felt about it without having to explain anything about being a Muggle born witch to Marlene as she did with her other friends.
They had spent Christmas with Marlene's husband Andrew's parents at their estate in Yorkshire. Andrew's parents had had a large party and none of the witches or wizards present, to Lily's surprise, had thought any the less of her or Marlene for being Muggle born. Andrew's father and several of his Ministry friends had all gotten a bit tipsy on eggnog and had sung several rousing choruses of "God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs" at the tops of their lungs, which had indeed been a sight to see.
Marlene and Andrew had hosted a party at their London flat for New Year's, which had been another marvelous time. Lily had visited with several people who were Marlene's age that she hadn't seen since they had been at Hogwarts, and she'd met a famous Auror from America who had been brought in to help in the fight against Voldemort.
Lily had told Marlene that she wanted to go back to Hogwarts on New Year's Day so she would arrive before the others and have some time to get used to being back.
"It's so strange to think of Hogwarts feeling unsafe," Lily had said thoughtfully as she and Marlene were packing her trunk.
"It's still the safest place in the wizarding world," Marlene said matter of factly, then added in a sad tone. "And to think even it hasn't been untouched by Voldemort and his Death Eaters."
"I have to admit that even after what happened to me there Hogwarts still does seem to be the safest place. Nobody knows where Voldemort is, the only place they know he isn't is Hogwarts." Lily said, putting a stack of folded robes into her trunk.
"And the Aurors can't do much to find him really, not with all of the Death Eater attacks they have to contend with, and they haven't the right contacts in the first place," Marlene pointed out. "They have no idea where to begin looking because they don't know much about him really."
After that conversation, Lily had felt much better about returning to school. And it hadn't been so bad seeing everyone at breakfast. She sat with her friend Olivia Sullivan, who was in seventh year, and exchanged holiday stories.
Lily noticed that James Potter was staring, as he often was, but she couldn't send him her usual filthy look or scathing comment. She didn't want to look at him and be reminded of what he had done to Bellatrix and Lestrange that day, of the fury in his expression and his voice. It disconcerted her in more ways than one. That he had descended to the Slytherins' level was one matter, and that he had done it on her behalf was another point of discomfort, and it confused Lily more than she cared to admit. So rather than be reminded, she simply ignored him.
* * *
James noticed Lily ignoring him deliberately, and he felt even worse. She hated him even more now, if that was even possible. He finally looked away and tried to pay attention to his friends' conversation.
Sirius was glaring at Snape as had become his habit over the past couple of weeks, and if looks could kill, Snape would have been a medical marvel after having died so many times. It rankled deeply with Sirius that Snape hadn't been punished for his role in the Slytherins' attack.
"How could Dumbledore do it?" Sirius snarled, not for the first time. "How can he let that bastard off after we SAW him Stun Lily?"
"Dumbledore must have had his reasons," Remus replied, also not for the first time. "Trust Dumbledore to do the right thing, Sirius."
"No!" Sirius practically shouted, turning a few heads. He lowered his voice. "The fact is, Moony, that Dumbledore let a person walk who helped Bellatrix catch Evans so she could torture her with the Cruciatus Curse. And Dumbledore did it despite all of the evidence against him. James and I saw him do it, for Merlin's sake. And that was wrong."
"Take it easy there, Padfoot," James said, slightly alarmed by his friend's vehemence.
"I can't take this easy, Prongs," Sirius said simply. "I can take loads of things easily, but not this."
* * *
Snape stifled a yawn over breakfast on Friday morning. Another holiday had nearly come and gone, thank Merlin. Snape abhorred Christmas and the ridiculous sentimentality and false good cheer it promoted. Classes would begin again on Monday, and Snape looked forward to the return of his normal routine.
And for the first time this year it would truly be his normal routine without the watchful eye of Lestrange hovering over him. His Stunning of Evans in the corridor and avoidance of any kind of repercussions had convinced Lestrange of his commitment to both the Dark Lord and to the principles that he embraced as well as his skill at keeping such activities from the notice of the wrong people. Lestrange had told him as much, though not in so many words, before departing for the holidays.
Snape looked up to find a school owl holding a letter in its beak and looking at him expectantly. Puzzled, Snape took the letter and the owl flew away. He had no idea as to who would send him a letter via school owl. His parents would use the family owl, and Snape did not correspond with anyone else.
He weighed the letter in the palm of his hand for a moment, debating whether or not he should open it. Snape detested surprises and was not certain that he trusted whoever had sent him this letter.
Curiosity won out this once, however, and Snape left the table abruptly, the letter clutched in one fist. Once he had reached the privacy of the small study room near his dormitory, Snape locked the door magically and then opened the letter.
The handwriting was indistinct and written in all caps, making it impossible to trace. The message was short and there was no signature. Frowning, Snape leaned closer to read it.
"Snape - " The letter began,
"If you are curious to know where it is that Remus Lupin disappears to every month and what he does during that time, come to the Whomping Willow alone at six thirty tonight. The tree will be deactivated. Follow the tunnel under the tree, and you will have your answer."
* * *
James was lounging on his bed late that afternoon, yawning and reading Quidditch Through the Ages for the eleventh time, when Sirius walked in wearing what James privately thought of as his "suspicious look."
"All right, Padfoot?" James greeted his friend. "Full moon in approximately.." James consulted his wristwatch, "an hour and a half. Is there really a vampire meeting in The Hog's Head tonight or were you just taking the mickey out of Peter because I - "
"Prongs," Sirius interrupted in a rather tense tone, glancing round the room furtively. "Where are Moony and Wormtail? We're still going at seven like we talked about, right?"
"Moony's in the hospital wing, obviously, Peter's in the library taking a nap, and yeah we're still leaving at seven," James replied, puzzled. "What are you on about anyway? You're a bit jumpy you know."
"Prongs, I'm going to tell you a secret and you can't tell the others, ever , especially Moony," Sirius said urgently.
"What are you on about? Tell them what?" James was thoroughly baffled by now.
Sirius took a deep breath. "I sent a note telling Snape to go to the Willow at six thirty if he wanted to see where Moony goes every month."
"WHAT?!!" James exploded. "HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY DAFT?"
"Keep your voice down," Sirius cautioned him irritably.
"Sirius," James said in a would-be calm voice. "If Snape goes through the tunnel into the Shrieking Shack, he'll meet the REAL Moony, and Moony will tear him into bite-sized pieces."
"I wouldn't let that happen," Sirius protested. "I'll be watching the whole time. But I said I wouldn't let him just get away with what he did. I told you I wanted to get Snape for Stunning Evans, and you agreed!" Sirius exclaimed, incensed.
"When I said that I thought you were going to Stun Snape and tie him up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom or put a Dungbomb down the back of his robes or something, not feed him to a werewolf!" James retorted just as hotly. "Don't you get it? Snape could die!!"
"I told you, I won't let it come to that, I just want to scare him a bit," Sirius scoffed. "And it serves him right to be scared. Can you even imagine how Evans felt when that bastard Stunned her? Can you imagine how all of them felt when Snape helped to attack them? He's the only one we saw planning that meeting and who we know attacked someone who didn't catch it from Dumbledore. It's not fair, James, and I can't let him get away with it!"
James looked frantically at his wristwatch. "Damn, it's nearly six now! Where would Snape be? Help me think! We can still stop him!"
"I'm not stopping him," Sirius said firmly. "And I can't believe you would let Snape get away with this. I thought you cared about Evans."
"What Snape did to Lily and the others was wrong, but it doesn't mean we should feed him to Moony," James said. "That's more payback than he deserves and you know it."
"Evans has turned you soft in the head, Prongs," Sirius said sadly. "Just a few months ago you'd have thought this was funny, would've helped me plan it. We would've had a good laugh over it. It's just Snivellus, James."
"Well then I reckon it's about time I realized that it's not funny, and it's about time you did too," James replied grimly. "I'm going to go and try to find Snape, head him off before he gets there. You can come or not."
With that, James caught up his invisibility cloak and dashed out of the room and down the stairs, still trying to determine where Snape would most likely be.
* * *
Lily pulled her cloak more closely around her as she walked briskly across the grounds toward the castle. She had stayed at Hagrid's hut longer than she had intended to playing Exploding Snap and now it was almost completely dark.
Lily had been friends with Hagrid the gamekeeper ever since her second year when he had found her crying in his pumpkin patch after Avery and Wilkes had called her a Mudblood. She went to his little hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest periodically for dinner and Exploding Snap, even though Hagrid was a terrible cook and she never knew exactly what she would find in her food. Even still, Hagrid was one of the kindest and most interesting people she knew.
Walking a bit faster, Lily stifled a shiver. Merlin, but it was cold tonight.
Approaching the front doors of the castle, she saw a figure in a black hooded cloak hurry out, look furtively behind them, and then begin striding purposefully in the general direction of the lake. Lily sighed, debating. As a Prefect, she probably should follow the student and see where they were going. On the other hand, it was bloody cold out here and she had recently learned to be cautious the hard way.
The figure was disappearing farther and farther into the distance, in a minute they would round the corner. Lily started forward discreetly and very quietly, intending to watch from a distance to determine whether she should summon a teacher or tell the student off herself for snogging or some other such minor infraction.
The figure rounded the corner and Lily hurried forward so as not to lose sight of them. She could just make out the cloaked figure as it made its way to the Whomping Willow. Lily was puzzled: what would anyone want to do with that horrid tree, especially after what had happened to Davy Gudgeon in first year?
But apparently this person was quite interested in the tree for whatever reason. The figure circled the tree cautiously before tossing a stick into the branches. Lily waited expectantly for the telltale snap, but it never came. The tree remained immobile, harmless as any ordinary tree. Stranger still.
Apparently satisfied, the figure wasted no time in clambering down a hole or some such thing at the tree's base and disappeared from view.
* * *
James tore through the corridor, his cloak tucked under his arm. He didn't stop till he'd reached the entrance to the Slytheirn dormitories, where he hurriedly pulled the cloak on and whispered "Serpent" to the portrait, which immediately swung open.
The common room was completely deserted, so James immediately headed for the right-hand staircase, which he knew from experience to be the one that led to the boys' dormitories. Pushing open the door to the sixth year dormitory, James peeked inside. No Snape here either. He quickly tried the study rooms. Nothing.
After a quick survey of the library and Great Hall, James had no choice but to face the worst: Snape had already left for his "rendezvous" at the tree. Making up his mind, James made for the front doors.
* * *
Afraid that the figure had somehow fallen and was unable to get back up, Lily hurried over to the tree and, darting forward, peered into the hole, which wasn't a hole at all, as it turned out, but some sort of tunnel. She could see the figure a bit further on; apparently he or she had heard her as well because it paused, listening, then continued gingerly on.
Reluctant but too curious to turn round now, Lily descended the rest of the way into the tunnel and began following the figure, careful to keep her distance.
A few moments later, Lily heard running footsteps and someone gasping for breath behind her.
"Snape!" whoever it was bellowed. "Snape, wait, don't go any further! Stand where you are!" Obviously this unknown person thought she was Snape. Lily turned around, her hand on her wand in her pocket, and saw James Potter running toward her.
"Potter?" Lily exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
James came to an abrupt halt when he heard that voice. "Evans.." James moaned. "No no no, this can't be happening!"
"Are you playing some sort of prank on Snape?" Lily demanded.
"Is he here? Have you seen him?" James queried, looking deeply upset. "It's really, really important, Evans."
"If you're playing another cruel prank on him I'm not going to help you," Lily said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not playing a prank on him, Lily, I swear to Merlin," James said earnestly. "But if you don't tell me where he is, he'll be in very deep shite. And I mean life or death, literally. Snape is walking into something very dangerous and he doesn't know it."
Lily tilted her head to the side and studied James for a moment, deciding that she believed him.
"I followed someone into the tunnel but I can't make out who, he's wearing a hooded cloak," Lily admitted. "But he seemed to know exactly where he was going and what he needed to do to get into the tunnel. He's up ahead a ways"
"Shite!" James swore, kicking the tree. Then he turned to face Lily and put his hands on her shoulders. "Lily, listen to me very carefully," he said earnestly. "You need to turn round and go back to the castle, and whatever sounds you may hear coming from the tunnel, don't come back here. There's - something - down here that's very, very dangerous and you could get hurt if you come. I can't tell you anymore, but please, please just trust me on this, Lily. Just this once?"
Mesmerized and more than a little surprised by the honesty and intensity in James' hazel eyes as they burned into hers, Lily slowly nodded her head. James gave her a small smile before moving past her and racing hell-bent down the tunnel.
* * *
Author's Note: Sorry this update was such a long time in coming. The next chapter should be up on Saturday or Sunday. While you're waiting, don't forget to review. I don't even know who to thank specially this time, all of your reviews were really sweet. So special thanks to everybody. You're all amazing and motivate me to keep writing.
Even though, at Sirius' insistence, James didn't spend the entire holiday moping, he did think a good deal about what Lily had said to him that day in the hallway, and he grew more and more convinced that she had been right.
Unfortunately, she wasn't around so James could tell her.
He had found out from Remus after he and the others had come back from visiting Lily in the hospital wing that Lily would be staying with Marlene McKinnon for the holidays and was leaving the next day, as soon as Madam Pomfrey let her leave the hospital wing, in fact.
James was not as put out by this as he would have been before Bellatrix's attack. The mere idea of facing Lily Evans right now was galling. He did not share this information with his fellow Marauders, and if they were surprised by how well he was facing Lily's departure they did not say anything, even though they knew that James had planned to use this holiday to spend more time with her.
The holiday passed by as pleasantly as it usually did. Ever since they had learned Remus' secret in their second year, James, Sirius, and Peter had always made it a point to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays with him. Remus stayed because of the convenience of using the Shrieking Shack; he didn't like to burden his family more than he had to. So James, Sirius, and Peter kept him company. And this year, of course, they could keep him company the entire time.
The full moon wasn't until the last weekend of the holidays this year, but the four Marauders found loads of things to occupy their time, mostly pulling pranks on the students and staff who had remained at Hogwarts, planning new pranks to try once school began again, and, in Sirius' case anyway, snogging at least half, if not the entire, female population that had remained over the holidays. They also made frequent trips to the kitchens; they were longstanding favorites with the house elves, who had known the Marauders since they had found the kitchens in their second year.
James was having so much fun, in fact, planning and executing pranks and ribbing Sirius about being Hogwarts' reigning slut, that he wasn't thinking too often of Lily Evans, only a dozen times a day or so, which was a new personal best for him.
Which was why he was completely unprepared to see Lily at breakfast two days after New Year's Eve.
James felt the bottom drop out of his stomach and his heart flip- flopped more violently than usual. It would seem that he wasn't getting over her after all.
* * *
Despite its nightmarish start, Lily had had a marvelous holiday. Being with Marlene had been very comforting; she could tell her what had happened and how she felt about it without having to explain anything about being a Muggle born witch to Marlene as she did with her other friends.
They had spent Christmas with Marlene's husband Andrew's parents at their estate in Yorkshire. Andrew's parents had had a large party and none of the witches or wizards present, to Lily's surprise, had thought any the less of her or Marlene for being Muggle born. Andrew's father and several of his Ministry friends had all gotten a bit tipsy on eggnog and had sung several rousing choruses of "God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs" at the tops of their lungs, which had indeed been a sight to see.
Marlene and Andrew had hosted a party at their London flat for New Year's, which had been another marvelous time. Lily had visited with several people who were Marlene's age that she hadn't seen since they had been at Hogwarts, and she'd met a famous Auror from America who had been brought in to help in the fight against Voldemort.
Lily had told Marlene that she wanted to go back to Hogwarts on New Year's Day so she would arrive before the others and have some time to get used to being back.
"It's so strange to think of Hogwarts feeling unsafe," Lily had said thoughtfully as she and Marlene were packing her trunk.
"It's still the safest place in the wizarding world," Marlene said matter of factly, then added in a sad tone. "And to think even it hasn't been untouched by Voldemort and his Death Eaters."
"I have to admit that even after what happened to me there Hogwarts still does seem to be the safest place. Nobody knows where Voldemort is, the only place they know he isn't is Hogwarts." Lily said, putting a stack of folded robes into her trunk.
"And the Aurors can't do much to find him really, not with all of the Death Eater attacks they have to contend with, and they haven't the right contacts in the first place," Marlene pointed out. "They have no idea where to begin looking because they don't know much about him really."
After that conversation, Lily had felt much better about returning to school. And it hadn't been so bad seeing everyone at breakfast. She sat with her friend Olivia Sullivan, who was in seventh year, and exchanged holiday stories.
Lily noticed that James Potter was staring, as he often was, but she couldn't send him her usual filthy look or scathing comment. She didn't want to look at him and be reminded of what he had done to Bellatrix and Lestrange that day, of the fury in his expression and his voice. It disconcerted her in more ways than one. That he had descended to the Slytherins' level was one matter, and that he had done it on her behalf was another point of discomfort, and it confused Lily more than she cared to admit. So rather than be reminded, she simply ignored him.
* * *
James noticed Lily ignoring him deliberately, and he felt even worse. She hated him even more now, if that was even possible. He finally looked away and tried to pay attention to his friends' conversation.
Sirius was glaring at Snape as had become his habit over the past couple of weeks, and if looks could kill, Snape would have been a medical marvel after having died so many times. It rankled deeply with Sirius that Snape hadn't been punished for his role in the Slytherins' attack.
"How could Dumbledore do it?" Sirius snarled, not for the first time. "How can he let that bastard off after we SAW him Stun Lily?"
"Dumbledore must have had his reasons," Remus replied, also not for the first time. "Trust Dumbledore to do the right thing, Sirius."
"No!" Sirius practically shouted, turning a few heads. He lowered his voice. "The fact is, Moony, that Dumbledore let a person walk who helped Bellatrix catch Evans so she could torture her with the Cruciatus Curse. And Dumbledore did it despite all of the evidence against him. James and I saw him do it, for Merlin's sake. And that was wrong."
"Take it easy there, Padfoot," James said, slightly alarmed by his friend's vehemence.
"I can't take this easy, Prongs," Sirius said simply. "I can take loads of things easily, but not this."
* * *
Snape stifled a yawn over breakfast on Friday morning. Another holiday had nearly come and gone, thank Merlin. Snape abhorred Christmas and the ridiculous sentimentality and false good cheer it promoted. Classes would begin again on Monday, and Snape looked forward to the return of his normal routine.
And for the first time this year it would truly be his normal routine without the watchful eye of Lestrange hovering over him. His Stunning of Evans in the corridor and avoidance of any kind of repercussions had convinced Lestrange of his commitment to both the Dark Lord and to the principles that he embraced as well as his skill at keeping such activities from the notice of the wrong people. Lestrange had told him as much, though not in so many words, before departing for the holidays.
Snape looked up to find a school owl holding a letter in its beak and looking at him expectantly. Puzzled, Snape took the letter and the owl flew away. He had no idea as to who would send him a letter via school owl. His parents would use the family owl, and Snape did not correspond with anyone else.
He weighed the letter in the palm of his hand for a moment, debating whether or not he should open it. Snape detested surprises and was not certain that he trusted whoever had sent him this letter.
Curiosity won out this once, however, and Snape left the table abruptly, the letter clutched in one fist. Once he had reached the privacy of the small study room near his dormitory, Snape locked the door magically and then opened the letter.
The handwriting was indistinct and written in all caps, making it impossible to trace. The message was short and there was no signature. Frowning, Snape leaned closer to read it.
"Snape - " The letter began,
"If you are curious to know where it is that Remus Lupin disappears to every month and what he does during that time, come to the Whomping Willow alone at six thirty tonight. The tree will be deactivated. Follow the tunnel under the tree, and you will have your answer."
* * *
James was lounging on his bed late that afternoon, yawning and reading Quidditch Through the Ages for the eleventh time, when Sirius walked in wearing what James privately thought of as his "suspicious look."
"All right, Padfoot?" James greeted his friend. "Full moon in approximately.." James consulted his wristwatch, "an hour and a half. Is there really a vampire meeting in The Hog's Head tonight or were you just taking the mickey out of Peter because I - "
"Prongs," Sirius interrupted in a rather tense tone, glancing round the room furtively. "Where are Moony and Wormtail? We're still going at seven like we talked about, right?"
"Moony's in the hospital wing, obviously, Peter's in the library taking a nap, and yeah we're still leaving at seven," James replied, puzzled. "What are you on about anyway? You're a bit jumpy you know."
"Prongs, I'm going to tell you a secret and you can't tell the others, ever , especially Moony," Sirius said urgently.
"What are you on about? Tell them what?" James was thoroughly baffled by now.
Sirius took a deep breath. "I sent a note telling Snape to go to the Willow at six thirty if he wanted to see where Moony goes every month."
"WHAT?!!" James exploded. "HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY DAFT?"
"Keep your voice down," Sirius cautioned him irritably.
"Sirius," James said in a would-be calm voice. "If Snape goes through the tunnel into the Shrieking Shack, he'll meet the REAL Moony, and Moony will tear him into bite-sized pieces."
"I wouldn't let that happen," Sirius protested. "I'll be watching the whole time. But I said I wouldn't let him just get away with what he did. I told you I wanted to get Snape for Stunning Evans, and you agreed!" Sirius exclaimed, incensed.
"When I said that I thought you were going to Stun Snape and tie him up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom or put a Dungbomb down the back of his robes or something, not feed him to a werewolf!" James retorted just as hotly. "Don't you get it? Snape could die!!"
"I told you, I won't let it come to that, I just want to scare him a bit," Sirius scoffed. "And it serves him right to be scared. Can you even imagine how Evans felt when that bastard Stunned her? Can you imagine how all of them felt when Snape helped to attack them? He's the only one we saw planning that meeting and who we know attacked someone who didn't catch it from Dumbledore. It's not fair, James, and I can't let him get away with it!"
James looked frantically at his wristwatch. "Damn, it's nearly six now! Where would Snape be? Help me think! We can still stop him!"
"I'm not stopping him," Sirius said firmly. "And I can't believe you would let Snape get away with this. I thought you cared about Evans."
"What Snape did to Lily and the others was wrong, but it doesn't mean we should feed him to Moony," James said. "That's more payback than he deserves and you know it."
"Evans has turned you soft in the head, Prongs," Sirius said sadly. "Just a few months ago you'd have thought this was funny, would've helped me plan it. We would've had a good laugh over it. It's just Snivellus, James."
"Well then I reckon it's about time I realized that it's not funny, and it's about time you did too," James replied grimly. "I'm going to go and try to find Snape, head him off before he gets there. You can come or not."
With that, James caught up his invisibility cloak and dashed out of the room and down the stairs, still trying to determine where Snape would most likely be.
* * *
Lily pulled her cloak more closely around her as she walked briskly across the grounds toward the castle. She had stayed at Hagrid's hut longer than she had intended to playing Exploding Snap and now it was almost completely dark.
Lily had been friends with Hagrid the gamekeeper ever since her second year when he had found her crying in his pumpkin patch after Avery and Wilkes had called her a Mudblood. She went to his little hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest periodically for dinner and Exploding Snap, even though Hagrid was a terrible cook and she never knew exactly what she would find in her food. Even still, Hagrid was one of the kindest and most interesting people she knew.
Walking a bit faster, Lily stifled a shiver. Merlin, but it was cold tonight.
Approaching the front doors of the castle, she saw a figure in a black hooded cloak hurry out, look furtively behind them, and then begin striding purposefully in the general direction of the lake. Lily sighed, debating. As a Prefect, she probably should follow the student and see where they were going. On the other hand, it was bloody cold out here and she had recently learned to be cautious the hard way.
The figure was disappearing farther and farther into the distance, in a minute they would round the corner. Lily started forward discreetly and very quietly, intending to watch from a distance to determine whether she should summon a teacher or tell the student off herself for snogging or some other such minor infraction.
The figure rounded the corner and Lily hurried forward so as not to lose sight of them. She could just make out the cloaked figure as it made its way to the Whomping Willow. Lily was puzzled: what would anyone want to do with that horrid tree, especially after what had happened to Davy Gudgeon in first year?
But apparently this person was quite interested in the tree for whatever reason. The figure circled the tree cautiously before tossing a stick into the branches. Lily waited expectantly for the telltale snap, but it never came. The tree remained immobile, harmless as any ordinary tree. Stranger still.
Apparently satisfied, the figure wasted no time in clambering down a hole or some such thing at the tree's base and disappeared from view.
* * *
James tore through the corridor, his cloak tucked under his arm. He didn't stop till he'd reached the entrance to the Slytheirn dormitories, where he hurriedly pulled the cloak on and whispered "Serpent" to the portrait, which immediately swung open.
The common room was completely deserted, so James immediately headed for the right-hand staircase, which he knew from experience to be the one that led to the boys' dormitories. Pushing open the door to the sixth year dormitory, James peeked inside. No Snape here either. He quickly tried the study rooms. Nothing.
After a quick survey of the library and Great Hall, James had no choice but to face the worst: Snape had already left for his "rendezvous" at the tree. Making up his mind, James made for the front doors.
* * *
Afraid that the figure had somehow fallen and was unable to get back up, Lily hurried over to the tree and, darting forward, peered into the hole, which wasn't a hole at all, as it turned out, but some sort of tunnel. She could see the figure a bit further on; apparently he or she had heard her as well because it paused, listening, then continued gingerly on.
Reluctant but too curious to turn round now, Lily descended the rest of the way into the tunnel and began following the figure, careful to keep her distance.
A few moments later, Lily heard running footsteps and someone gasping for breath behind her.
"Snape!" whoever it was bellowed. "Snape, wait, don't go any further! Stand where you are!" Obviously this unknown person thought she was Snape. Lily turned around, her hand on her wand in her pocket, and saw James Potter running toward her.
"Potter?" Lily exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
James came to an abrupt halt when he heard that voice. "Evans.." James moaned. "No no no, this can't be happening!"
"Are you playing some sort of prank on Snape?" Lily demanded.
"Is he here? Have you seen him?" James queried, looking deeply upset. "It's really, really important, Evans."
"If you're playing another cruel prank on him I'm not going to help you," Lily said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not playing a prank on him, Lily, I swear to Merlin," James said earnestly. "But if you don't tell me where he is, he'll be in very deep shite. And I mean life or death, literally. Snape is walking into something very dangerous and he doesn't know it."
Lily tilted her head to the side and studied James for a moment, deciding that she believed him.
"I followed someone into the tunnel but I can't make out who, he's wearing a hooded cloak," Lily admitted. "But he seemed to know exactly where he was going and what he needed to do to get into the tunnel. He's up ahead a ways"
"Shite!" James swore, kicking the tree. Then he turned to face Lily and put his hands on her shoulders. "Lily, listen to me very carefully," he said earnestly. "You need to turn round and go back to the castle, and whatever sounds you may hear coming from the tunnel, don't come back here. There's - something - down here that's very, very dangerous and you could get hurt if you come. I can't tell you anymore, but please, please just trust me on this, Lily. Just this once?"
Mesmerized and more than a little surprised by the honesty and intensity in James' hazel eyes as they burned into hers, Lily slowly nodded her head. James gave her a small smile before moving past her and racing hell-bent down the tunnel.
* * *
Author's Note: Sorry this update was such a long time in coming. The next chapter should be up on Saturday or Sunday. While you're waiting, don't forget to review. I don't even know who to thank specially this time, all of your reviews were really sweet. So special thanks to everybody. You're all amazing and motivate me to keep writing.