Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine. And I wish I owned the Marauders (specifically Sirius and Remus) but most unfortunately, I do not. L

A/N: I would really appreciate it if SOMEBODY reads the Author's note at the end – and yes, I realize how long it is, but it's to clear up a few things, and it took me forever to write out, so I really appreciate if somebody reads it! Thanks!

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Snape gripped his wand, looking around with a frown. He had been expecting an ambush from Black by now, but after his conversation with Janine, he assumed the other boy was too busy cleaning up the common room. Gryffindor was, after all, notorious for their rambunctious parties, and no rambunctious party came without a huge mess following. They'd be up all night.

And so, it was only after Janine had left did he decide to go out to the Whomping Willow for himself. He'd hidden there, and then seen Madam Pomfrey pull herself up through a hole at the base of the Whomping Willow, which was unusually still. Breathing hard, she'd jogged off. Frowning – Black mentioned 'teaching me a lesson,' does this have something to do with it? – Snape quickly slid down the hole and heard the tree begin to move behind him.

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Lily frowned, seeing the figure in the distance – Was he by the Whomping Willow? Lily wondered frantically. She didn't even register that the tree wasn't moving. Is he trying to get himself killed?

"Evans!" Lily paused, startled, and then whirled just as she had been about to step out the double doors. James Potter seized her arm and dragged her backwards. "Are you nuts?" he hissed.

"No, I'm not! Potter, what are you doing out here? You're not supposed to be out after curfew-"

"You are!" he protested angrily. She fixed him with a deathly glare.

"I am a prefect, and have license to patrol the hallways or stop any troublemaking I happen to see. You, on the other hand, are not a prefect, and thus do not have that privilege."

"You don't understand!" James snapped. "There's something big going on here, and Snape is-" He froze. The tree had begun to move again, but Snape was nowhere in sight. Which could only mean…

He was in deep shit.

On one hand, he hated going after the greasy git, but nobody deserved to die. And Remus wouldn't want that on his conscience. And Sirius had been an arse, but Remus would be the one to pay for it. Which left him with only one choice…

Besides, saving Snape's life might score him some points with Lily.

"And Snape is what?" she asked suspiciously. If her friends know about Remus, it stands to reason that she does. She probably forgot to check the lunar chart, though… I need to get her out of the way, for the time being.

"Evans, I have no doubt you're going to hate me for this," he told her in a hurried whisper. "And I just want you to know it's for your own good."

"What is-?"

James dragged her to a closet underneath the staircase, and pushed her in.

"James Potter!" she screeched. "What do you think you're-"

As an afterthought, James kissed her swiftly – she sputtered in rage when he pulled back – and then he slammed the door shut, placing an Anti-Alohomora Charm on the door. "Sorry, Lily," he whispered. Then he hurried out the door.

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It took Lily the work of a few moments to nullify James's charm (he'd never been as good as she had at them). She pushed the door open, swearing – I am going to kill Potter when I see him next – and then she hurried out the double doors. She couldn't see James or Snape, and she would have heard them if they had returned to the castle. Which left only one place they could have – realistically, anyway – gone.

The Forbidden Forest.

Swearing again, Lily broke into a dead run for the trees. She had almost reached it when the double doors opened again, and out came Sirius, Peter, Janine, Jen, and Alyssa.

Sirius spotted Lily just as she disappeared at the edge of the forest, and swore. He turned roughly to Janine. "Go after Evans and drag her inside," he ordered. "You know why." She nodded.

"Where are you going?" she called as he set off at a run.

"After James!"

Janine turned to Alyssa, Jen, and Peter. "Go get Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall." Panic made her feel a bit unsettled. "Scratch that. Peter, go get the first teacher you can find. Jen, Alyssa – you guys get Professor Dumbledore or McGonagall."

"Forget it," snapped Alyssa. "I'm coming with you – I want to know what's going on."

Briefly, Janine thought of arguing with her – but then decided there was no time. "Fine. Jen, go get a teacher. Go!" she shouted, and Jen and Peter took off at a run. Janine's eyes locked onto Alyssa's. "Let's go get Lily."

Just as the two girls hurried towards the place where Lily had disappeared, the Whomping Willow froze.

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"Lumos," hissed Lily, looking around. The Forbidden Forest was eerily silent, save the occasional owl hooting overhead. Where did Potter go?

And where's Snape?

Because now, Lily was certain – she had see Snape out on the grounds. She had figured it out when she'd first seen him at the Whomping Willow, and James had confirmed it for her.

Just thinking of the fact that he had kissed her brought a crazy blush to her cheeks (although she was still furious), but she forced it down, raising her wand higher to shed light on the path ahead.

She couldn't see anybody, or even, for that matter, footprints. Where were they?

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Sirius ran after James down the long hallway. James ran after Snape down the long hallway.

Although James was faster, he was making an effort not to make any noise – if he was too loud, Snape would know he was there, and probably be prepared to hex him when he flew into view – and thus it didn't take long for Sirius to catch up to him.

Both boys hastened after Snape.

By the time they found him, he had almost reached the trap door, was cautiously stretching out his hand. The time for silence was over. "Snape!" bellowed James.

The other boy whirled, pulling out his wand and pointing it at both of them, although his eyes were widening a bit as he heard sounds of a scuffle above him. "What is…?" A determined look crossed his face.

James and Sirius lunged simultaneously, but it was too late – Snape shoved the door open, and out surged Moony, the werewolf. James managed to yank him out of the wolf's path just in time.

Not that it did much good. The wolf made a scarily fast turn and jumped at Snape.

James lunged again and shoved Snape up against the wall so hard that he knocked the other boy out, a faint trickle of blood oozing from his head. Moony had jumped at open space, but was quickly on his feet again, snarling at the scent of the three human boys.

Swiftly, Sirius changed and lunged for Moony. Within moments, a full-blown canine fight was on its way. James was calculating quickly what to do – he would have to change soon, too, but Snape was moaning, meaning he was coming around…

"Padfoot!" he shouted. "Get him out of here!"

After a few seconds' more snarling and biting fighting, Moony raced down the hall, Padfoot hot on his heels.

As soon as they disappeared from sight, James felt a fist connect with his cheek, hard. He staggered backwards, gasping, and saw a snarling Snape leering down at him, looking triumphant. "So." He laughed bitterly. "That's Lupin's secret. He's always saying his mother's 'sick' – honestly, if the woman was as sick as he said, she'd be dead by now! He's a werewolf!" Then he stopped laughing and his eyes narrowed. "Black was going to send me out to get killed! And I'll just bet you and Pettigrew were in on this! I'm making sure that you three and Lupin are expelled for this!"

He shrugged his shoulders furiously and started off down the hall, but James yelled after him, "Leave Remus and Peter out of this, you stupid bastard! They had nothing to do with it!" He was long past caring about himself or Sirius, at this point.

Snape whirled on him, his eyes furious. "You expect me to believe that?" he snapped. "I'm not stupid, Potter."

"You do an amazing impression of it!" James shouted. "You stupid wanker – I should have let you get bitten, see what you think of it then-"

"Why, then?" spat Snape. "Why bother saving me?"

James briefly considered snarling that it was only so that Lily would like him, but that was too coldhearted for his taste. He couldn't say that was sparing Remus or Sirius from having to go to Azkaban – that would only give Snape ideas. Instead, he leveled his hazel eyes coldly at Snape and said emotionlessly, "I would have done it for anybody."

Ignoring Snape's glowers, he pushed the other boy aside and ran out to help Sirius deal with Moony.

Moments later, Snape heard a howl that sent shivers up his spine, and then he made a break for the castle, intending to find Dumbledore.

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"Lily!" Lily whirled, shocked, just as Alyssa and Janine ran into view, panting.

"What are you doing out here?" she demanded. "I'm a prefect, I have license to be out here, and Snape and Potter are-"

"We know," panted Janine. She paused, and amended, "I know. Did you forget to check the lunar charts, Lil? Full moon," she hissed.

"Come on, guys, that's not even funny," said Alyssa nervously. "There aren't any werewolves at Hogwarts. Right?" She looked from Lily to Janine. "Right?" She scowled, suddenly. "There's something you guys aren't telling me, and…"

A howl split the air, and it sounded nearby.

"RUN!" yelled Janine at the top of her lungs, and she began sprinting around trees. Lily had no idea how to get out of the forest, but anywhere was safer than where they were at the moment. She took off, Alyssa hot on her heels.

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"Where'd Moony go?" demanded James, encountered a dog-form Sirius. Sirius quickly changed – he was now crouched on the ground, in human form.

"No idea. I lost him. I've been trying to track his scent, but he must be in some sort of frenzy. He's all over the place, and so is his scent. I'd hoped Garnet had gotten Evans back to the castle, but apparently not…"

James felt the blood drain from his face. "Evans is out here? Garnet, too?"

Sirius nodded. "Comforts, too. They went after Evans, who went into the Forbidden Forest. Their scents are all over the place, too – fear, and sweat, and perfume… There's these flowery scents all over, so I think that's them."

At any other time, James would have found this an extremely odd comment, but now wasn't the time to be thinking such things. "But I locked her in the closet!" Sirius stared at him, and James flushed a little. "I didn't want her to come with me to get Remus, and I didn't want to tell her that. So I shoved her in the closet and locked the door. I put an Anti-Alohomora Charm on the door, too…"

"Well, we all know that your charms work is shoddy, especially when you're rushed," replied Sirius. "We'd better change – it'll be easier for me to find Evans, Comforts and Garnet that way. We may have to beat Moony off of them with a stick."

Or antlers, thought James as he closed his eyes and concentrated on becoming Prongs.

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Lily ran through the woods, not knowing where she was going, only following the sheet of brown hair attached to the head of her best friend. Sounds were pressing in on them from all around and Lily, not accustomed to running so much, was becoming short of breath – every time she breathed, her lungs strained-

And then Janine tripped on a root and went flying. Lily was going too fast to stop – she tried slowing down – Alyssa smacked into her – and both girls flew into the dirt besides Janine, was frozen as she sat up on her elbows and twisted. Her breath came out shallowly, in short gasps.

"Come on," panted Lily. "We have to keep-"

"Lil!" Janine hissed, her eyes wide with fear. "Don't make any noise and don't move."

Lily slowly turned, and her eyes widened with fright as well. Alyssa made whimpering noises beside her.

From the darkness came forth two yellow eyes, set deep into a wolf's skull. But Lily was aware of only one thing – the long, sharp fangs that glinted in the darkness as the wolf bared its teeth in a silent growl.

Janine grabbed her arm, half-cutting off the bloody supply, but Lily didn't care – If I make it through this night, I'll never tease Petunia again, she promised. I'll never pull out my wand and threaten her just to see her scream and run to Mum and Dad. I swear…

The wolf snapped its jaws menacingly, advancing with a low growl. Lily saw the muscles in its legs tense – it was going to jump – they were going to die-

And suddenly, a big, bear-like black form leapt out of the bushes and pounced on the wolf with a snarl. Watching them fight, Lily realized it was a dog, and she paused, seeing a reddish-brown stag canter into the clearing to kick the wolf in its sides…

Janine hauled Lily to her feet, and Lily complied, helping Alyssa up as well, although she felt a sharp pain in my ankle. "I think I… twisted my ankle…" She looked up. Alyssa was holding her shoulder; Janine had a trickle of blood running down the side of her face from her forehead.

"Quick!" Janine hissed. "Let's get out of here while we can." She and Alyssa quickly helped support Lily, half-carrying her out of the clearing as they fled as quickly as they could.

Lily glanced back only once, to see the stag and the dog engaging the wolf in a feral fight. Its howls followed them into the night.

X-X-X-X-X

Halfway to the castle, Alyssa stopped them. Janine rounded on her, annoyed – pain no doubt making her irritable. "Alyssa, come on," she snapped. "Just because we're out of the forest doesn't make us safe."

Alyssa looked at her miserably, and Janine's look softened, although Lily spoke for her. "She's sorry," Lily said quietly. "That must have been terrifying for you – we know how scared you are of-"

"I was so stupid!" she burst out. "How could I have not realized?" Lily and Janine exchanged looks. "Don't glance at each other like that," cried Alyssa desperately. "I know, okay? I figured it out! He's a werewolf, isn't he? I always knew he was lying to me… I just didn't know about what…" Her voice quieted. "I've seen Mrs. Lupin," she said at last. "She looks perfectly healthy. If she were as sick as Remus always said she was, she wouldn't look that good. But I trusted him, and didn't ask about it. I should have known!" She looked up at them. "You guys knew, didn't you?"

Janine nodded heavily, but it was Lily who explained. "We figured it out third year," she said quietly. "We always figured – well, it's not our secret to tell. And you guys weren't going out then. But when you started going out… well…" She sighed. "We always assumed that if anybody had the right to tell you, it was Lupin, and we hoped you wouldn't judge him for it."

"I don't know," said Alyssa softly. "I don't know anymore. I don't think I'll be comfortable around him after this. Not just because he's a werewolf – because he kept it from me, knowing I was scared of them. Any other lie, I could have accepted. Well," she added with a ghost of a smile, "maybe not any other lie. But…"

"Lys, I'm sorry," Janine said, hugging her awkwardly with one arm. "But we'd better get inside. We're not safe until we get past those doors." She looked up, and swore. "Bloody, bloody hell."

"What?" Lily and Alyssa glanced up, and Lily cursed quietly, cringing. Dumbledore, followed by a tight-lipped McGonagall, was striding towards them. And they both looked furious.

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A/N: I'm really sorry it took so long for the update! And yes, this chapter is a little short. Thanks for sticking by me, all of you guys – I really appreciate it. My life's all cool now; I can get back to writing. As always, reviews are loved to death (I love you consistent reviewers, you guys are my new best friends!!!), and part of the reason this chapter is so short is so that I can answer a few questions and address a few concerns that have come up in your reviews. Here we go!

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: (Warning: This contains MINOR OotP spoilers, plus it's really long, but I hope it answers some questions for you all!)

1. Yes, Hagrid will appear as soon as I can make it – this whole Whomping Willow-Remus-Snape thing has to be completely resolved, first, though, and that might take a couple of chapters. But never fear, Hagrid will show up! Truthfully, I'd forgotten all about him, but… hey, whatever. I'll put him in here as soon as I can. Thanks to bookbug for pointing this out to me!

2. Okay, as to having James make Lily fall for him – Lily might become attracted to him in later chapters, but, as mentioned in the fifth book, James and Lily only start dating in seventh year, so you'll have to wait until AT LEAST the summer before seventh year for them to really start getting together. But I'll have a few LJ interactions here and there. Don't worry, it's coming - J

3. As to when the story takes place, they're sixth-years, it's in November so far, and the year is 1972. You do the math.

4. Okay, why James is not a Seeker anymore – yes, I know I'd written him that way originally, and this is why I changed it: JKR said in an interview that James was a Chaser. And while I've known that for a good long time, the reason I originally wrote him as a Seeker was because of the chapter titled "Snape's Worst Memory" in Book 5. You'll notice that James is playing with a Snitch there, and in the first movie, it says Seeker. Okay, well, I decided that I liked James better as a Chaser, one of the main reasons being that it's lots of fun to write him from a Chaser's perspective (and I can always write a story with Harry or Draco Malfoy, who can be my Seeker). The other reason is that I've always pictured Harry as looking a lot like James but being, personality-wise, a lot more like Lily. But I wanted some superficial differences (aside from eyes and the nose, and the whole not-having-a-scar thing) between Harry and James. So as of now, the reason James plays with a Snitch in that chapter is 'cause he's practicing – you need good reflexes, no matter WHAT position you play – and he's trying to show off by doing something that's not even in his job requirement. And the movie was a mistake. Okay?

5. The reason James was present when Sirius told Snape how to get into the Whomping Willow – I talked a bit about this last chapter (or was it the one before? I can't remember) – but I'll just quickly reiterate – James is a bit of an arrogant prat, if you know what I mean, so he doesn't think of the consequences. And, well, let's face it – he really doesn't like Snape. But he saves his life despite all that (although not exactly for the right reasons) and I see that as he somewhat redeems himself, although it takes the idea of Lily being in danger for him to realize exactly what could happen to Snape. So James, so far, hasn't exactly WON any points with Lily, but because he saved Snape's life, he hasn't LOST any either. Besides, James kind of stood there and laughed – he just didn't stop Sirius, which, yes, he should have done, but he wasn't the one to actually tell. So there.

6. Will there be a Janine/Snape romance? I honestly have no idea. I'm kinda working on that. You can kind of tell who I really want Janine to end up with (I think it's obvious, anyway) and she will end up with him (most likely) but I haven't officially decided. Maybe, some time in the VERY, VERY, VERY FAR FUTURE, she and Snape will have their happy ending (or they'll have their ending, but it's not likely to be your fairy tale standard, and you'll find out why later. Here's the secret to Janine's future failed relationships – it has a lot to do with Lily).

7. Lily, as you've noticed, hasn't found out about the Marauders being the Animagi. And I always pictured it as she doesn't really find out until James tells her when they're going out, but she's a smart girl; she can probably piece PARTS of the puzzle together. And Lily definitely isn't going to fall head over heels for James after his incident – like I said, that's a ways in coming. I know the story moves slowly, but I'm trying to base it on the clues JKR provided, and she said (well, it was actually Remus and Sirius in Umbridge's office, but whatever) that they didn't get together until their seventh year, so I have to wait for them to officially become a couple until then. But no worries – there'll be LOTS of LJ interactions, like I said before. Just be patient (yes, I do know how hard that is).

8. Yeah, I guess Sirius kind of is a pervert. Sorry – I hadn't meant to make him that bad. No worries, I adore him too, and I cried (okay, not really, but I was horribly upset) when JKR killed him off. And he'll get better (more thoughtful, nicer) as the story goes along. He's still in the process of maturing (although a Marauder never really matures – well, except for maybe Remus), and so he's young and thoughtless, and a bit of a perv, yes. I can't help but base him off some of my guy-friends… whom, I assure you, are at least ten times worse. But he'll get better, I promise.

9. Okay. List of the characters – that I'll be glad to do. So, here goes:

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter – come on, these are the Marauders. I don't need to talk about them.

Lily Evans – okay, nothing needs to be said here.

Severus Snape – again, 'nuff said.

Lily's Friends: Janine Garnet, Jennifer King, Alyssa Comforts, and Marlene McKinnon

Janine: The flirty, outgoing girl. She's been friends with James forever (due to their families) and is a pureblood. Has this weird sort of friendship with Snape which may/may not develop (See #6). Also gets along fairly well with a lot of the Slytherin boys (but definitely NOT the Slytherin girls). She's a Chaser, like James. She also has a major problem with Sirius that involves family animosity (see the fourth chapter, where Janine and Remus have a rather pointless but funny (or so I've been told) conversation). Notorious for cheating on her many boyfriends (tut, tut).

Jen – she's the Keeper of the Quidditch team. Also a pureblood, but she's less flirty and outgoing, but more… tomboy-ish, in a way. She has a major crush on Remus Lupin, and gets on fairly well with all of the Marauders (yes, all). Long time friend of Janine and Alyssa. I was going to make her a really good artist, but it's actually not that important at this point in the story. She's kind of a Dean Thomas figure – you know, does the decorations for the parties, that kind of thing.

Alyssa – the last pureblood of the group. She's a really nice person, and she was, up until now, going out with Remus Lupin. Most unfortunately, she's also deathly afraid of werewolves, which turns out to be a problem… Commentator for the Quidditch matches and a starter of most of the rumors flying around the school (she loves gossip).

Marlene – last of Lily's friends, a half-blood. Aspires to become an Auror, is a very serious student (not quite as anal as Lily, though). She wanted to be prefect (even though she knew Lily would get it). Recently started dating Fabian Prewett (just after Janine broke up with him). Is an all-around nice girl; generally gets along with everybody. The confidante of the group, really – everyone confides in here, to be assured that their secrets won't be spread around. She has an older brother (who is never mentioned, even by name) who is already an Auror; she wants to be like him.

Damien and Perseus Garnet – Damien is a seventh-year Gryffindor, Janine's older brother; Perry is a first-year Gryffindor (he's going to become EXTREMELY important in the future, so just remember him for later), Janine's younger brother. She has two more brothers – Lyon (who's 21) and Jeffrey (who's 18).

Audrey Caphis – Okay, she's not that important. I just included her because she's James's current flavor of the week. She's a sixth-year Ravenclaw, and that's kind of all that's important about her.

If I missed anyone, I'm really sorry – that's the best I can do for right now – I'll come back to it. Just point out some random character that I need to explain. And I should add this, by the way – there'll be a few more OC's dotting the scene here and there, but it's HIGHLY UNLIKELY that they'll be as important as the ones mentioned here. I hope this helps.

10. I think this is really important, and I was going to wait to add this, but I'm going to do it now – I'll reiterate it later, when the issue comes up – this story is just a teensy bit AU for what's coming in the future. For example, Jen, Alyssa, and Janine will most likely be involved in the Order. When Moody shows Harry the picture of the old order in the Fifth book, these characters aren't there… well, too bad, because they are now.

11. I just have to ask. Did anybody actually READ this? I realize how extremely long this is, but I just wanted to clear up a few things, and I really hope someone reads this, because it took me like forty minutes to type out. So please-please-please-please read it, okay? (Or skim it, at least – although it won't hurt you if you don't).

12. REVIEW, PLEASE!

Love you all! Peaches