And here's chapter seven. This one has a lot more interaction with Lily and James.

Chapter seven

"Don't move a muscle..." James whispered, trying to keep his lips from moving.

Lily took a step backwards. "I doubt that would do much good James..."

"We can't outrun this thing..." James hissed and Lily saw his grip tighten on his wand. "Especially you."

"Well then what's the plan?" Lily asked beofre taking another step backwards, eyes on the great spider emerging from the trees. "Sit here and wait for death?"

"Uh...unless you have a better ideas."

Lily didn't reply. Her voice had just lost her. The spider had, at that very moment, noticed their presence and was observing them menacingly as if telling them, "How dare you enter my territory."

Lily took one last step backwards before tripping over a root and falling onto her back.

That was when the spider advanced on her.

"Try stupefying it!" Lily screamed forgetting that she had already decided she had lost her voice.

James immediately obeyed, but the curse had no effect whatsoever on the giant spiders' thick black skin. The only thing it did do was cause the spider to go for James instead of Lily.

"Watch out!" Lily yelled as one of the spiders eight legs swung around at James and knocked him off his feet. Lily heard him groan and saw him pick himself painfully off the ground. The spider advanced again, pincers clicking threateningly.

Lily's heart was racing. She didn't know what to do. She had no wand on her, every step she took was pain...

The redhead winced as the spider hit James again and sent him crashing into a tree.

Even in the dim light Lily was given, she had seen James's wand soar out of his hand and he went flying once more.

"Hey!" she cried in a desperate attempt to distract the spider. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food!"

The spider showed no signs it had heard her.

Well, Lily thought, it was probably stupid of her to think it even understood english.

She had to do something. It would be her fault if he died tonight. He had followed her out here when he could have just left her and also lured the spider away from her. There was no one else to blame and Lily knew she could never have lived with herself if something happened to him.

She had to get the fallen wand. The task was set and so was her mind. Now forcibly determined, Lily leapt to her feet and, ignoring the pain in her feet as they made contact with various twigs and rocks, rushed over to the wand.

She only got about halfway there before James cried, "Duck!" Distracted, Lily looked over at him and suddenly got knocked backwards by a large hairy, black leg.

It didn't hurt as much as Lily thought it would have;by now every feeling in her body had been replaced by a numb terror.

She got up shaking from head to toe, trying to keep herself calm and brace herself for the next attack. The spider was now inching towards her slowly, apparently trying to catch her completely by surprise, or tormenting her with anticipation.

Lily backed up until she felt the back of her collide with a tree. She stood there watching the spider as it looked back at her. Both of them were motionless; Lily's breathing coming in steady gasps.

"Come on," she whispered. "Come on, do it now. Get it over with."

"If you're that impatient," the spider replied. Lily didn't even have time to register the fact that this large creature had spoken to her before it sprang towards her. But Lily had something in store for it.

When the spider was only an inch away from her, she raised her bare foot and kicked it as hard as she could in its face, catching even herself by surprise.

She pulled her foot back quickly in horror for she had felt a few of the spiders many eyes pop under her toes, causing a pasty white goo to flow over them.

But Lily's previously stunned face was now a satisfied one as she watching the spider stumble back in pain, legs wobbling. She could have sworn she had heard a deep moan of anguish coming from it. She let out a cry of triumph despite knowing her problems with this overgrown arachnid were far from over.

The giant spider had seemed to have lost its temper and angrily scuttled back over to James. And this time, instead of just tossing him aside, the spider took a hold of him with two pincers and liftedhim high up in the air.

Lily was momentarily too terrified to move, there was blood dripping off James's face and she realized, with great regret, that she was their only hope.

She staggered over to the spider and dropped onto her knees, squinting her eyes and feeling the ground for James fallen wand. It was a tough job. There were so many sticks on the ground that finding one wand amongst them seemed an impossible task and Lily could feel hot tears starting to slide down her face as she desperately tried to find it.

And then, as if Lily and James's situation wasn't enough, the spider was now starting to walk back into the thicket of trees it had come through.

"No!" Lily cried and jumped up from the ground, determined to follow it. She wasn't going to leave James here.

"No Lily!" she heard James cry from the spider's clutches. "No Lily, stay there and find the wand!"

"But - "

The spider was already halfway through forcing its way through the thicket.

"Find the wand!" James hollered again. "And leave me if you have to!"

"No!" Lily yelled again and continued running towards him. She tripped on her way there and fell hard on her nose. Ignoring the blood now leaking out of it, she raised her head and saw one smooth stick lying in a group of otherwise crooked ones. The wand!

Her heart leapt and she almost laughed out loud. Lily pulled herself into a crouching position and grabbed the wand. Then, leaning back onto her knees she looked at where the spider was just disappearing and thought with all her might, Levicorpus!

With an enormous flash of white light, the spider was suddenly suspended upside down in the air, its legs flailing wildly and, of course, it had let go of James in the process.

Lily rushed over to him and handed him back his wand, smiling through the smeared blood on her face. "I'm so sorry," she said as he took the wand from her, her smile fading."Sorry I got you in this mess." Lily didn't even notice the tears continuing to leak from her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Ya, I think so. I just need to sit down for a bit. Here," he gestured to a rock near Lily just before collapsing on it. Lily sat down on the ground next to him, still crying silently.

"You're bleeding," said James looking at her face.

"So are you," Lily said quietly. "Are you hurt."

"Nothing broken," James said. "Just sore. Thanks for saving my life back there. Now you can say we're even."

Lily smiled. "Now I don't have to live in your debt."

"Damn," James said jokingly and Lily laughed weakly.

They sat there in silence for a few more minutes.

"Ok, we should get out of here," James said after a while. "Its nearly four in the morning."

Lily nodded and got up from the ground shivering. She had just begun to realize how cold she was and wrapped James's jacket tighter around herself.

"Let's not go that way," James said pointing to the thicket.

Lily laughed. "No, that wouldn't be the best idea."

"Come on, this way."

xxx

Nearly half an hour later the two of them emerged from the forest tired, dirty, and rather proud of themselves. One: they had both fought a giant spider and lived to tell about it with only a few minor scrapes and bruises, and two: they had successfully managed to find their way out of the forbidden forest without running into any wild animals.

As soon as she stepped out into the open, Lily headed straight for the lake. James followed her, at first curious as to why she was going to that particular place, but then wondering why it hadn't been obvious to him at once.

Lily kneeled down beside the water and cupped some of the liquid ice in her hands before splashing it on her face in an attempt to get the blood off. It worked well and soon her face was clean, but cold.

As James did the same thing with his face, Lily dipped her sore feet into the water and uttered a little gasp as the burning cold water engulfed her feet. She rubbed her feet, washing off the blood, dirt, and spider eye mucus they were currently coated with.

"Those feet look painful," James commented mildly.

"Ya...I should really start wearing shoes to bed now that I know I'm capable of sleepwalking," Lily said pulling her feet out of the water. She looked up at James. "And I don't think we're exactly even."

James didn't say anything for a moment, but eyed her curiously. "You were the one responsible for the airborne acromantula right?"

"Yes of course I - acromantula?"

James nodded. "The giant spider."

"Oh right. I forgot," Lily said through her now chattering teeth. She pulled her feet inwards and sat on them in an attempt to warm them up. "What on earth are they doing in the forest?"

James shrugged. "There could be a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in there and it wouldn't have surprised me."

"A what?"

James smirked, "Nothing. You really should have continued with Care of Magical Creatures."

"It's a rather worthless subject don't you think."

James leaned back on his elbows before continuing. "I like being outdoors and have no idea what I should do when I leave school so I thought I might as well continue."

"Mmm..."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, listening to the gentle chirping of the crickets and the quiet lapping of the ripples on the lake.

"Oh, you never did say why we're not even," James said breaking the silence.

"Oh. No, I just meant that you didn't really have to follow me out into the forbidden forest," Lily shifted uncomfortably. "And I had to do something about you and the spider and you wouldn't have even have been in trouble if you hadn't followed me..."

"Of course I had to follow you," said James looking surprised. "I'm sure anyone would have. It's the right thing to do. But you should be more careful now. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Thanks, but I can look out for myself," said Lily. "When I'm conscious," she added.

"If you say so," said James shaking his head. "But I'll still help you if you need it, you know."

"Don't worry about it," Lily told him. "Like I said before. I can take care of myself."

James grinned, "And now you say you'd go to the ends of the earth to save me."

Lily shook her head and smiled. "Not to the ends of the earth no. Sorry."

James laughed. "I'd do it for you."

"I saved your life today," Lily said. "I'd be content with that if I were you."

"Ya, ok."

They sat their for a moment longer, not saying a word to each other.

Lily then broke out of the stupor she was in and got up quickly. "Well I'm freezing so let's head back up to the castle shall we?"

"Defiantly," James got up as well. "I was waiting for you to say that."

"Alright come on then. Quickly while I've still got my toes!" Lily said before walking over to the entrance to Hogwarts.

"I could do that spell again to warm them up," James suggested, now shivering slightly himself.

"No, it's alright," Lily told him. "I'm sure they'll warm up in the castle."

"If you're sure," James said before pocketing his wand.

"Very su - " Lily stopped mid-word. She had just pushed on the door to the castle and it wouldn't budge. She stared at it for a second and then tried again. When that didn't work she tried a third time, pushing on it with all her might and letting out a frustrated cry. When it wouldn't budge then she angrily kicked it which had no effect whatsoever exceptit send a sharp pain shooting in her toe.

She continued to stare at the door for a moment before turning, red faced, to James.

"Problem?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, no everything's fine," Lily said sarcastically, half hysterical. "Of course there's a problem!" she suddenly yelled. "I've had enough tonight! There was getting lost in the forest, this ice cold weather, this stupid astromentula and - "

"Acromantula," James interrupted calmly and quietly.

"Whatever! That stupid acromantula and now we can't get into the stupid castle!" Lily stopped, breathing heavily. There was a moments pause.

"Calmed down now?" James asked.

Lily nodded, blushing madly at her sudden outburst.

"Ok," said James. "Then I have an idea. And don't roll your eyes at me Evan's, its not one of my stupid ones. This one is going to help us."

"Ok, let's hear it," Lily quivered, hugging herself.

"We can get brooms from the broom cupboard near the quidditch pitch and then fly up to the window in my dormitory. Sound good?"

Lily nodded and the two of them ran down the stone steps and towards the quidditch pitch. Lily's feet were now so numb she didn't even notice anymore when she had trodden on a rock or stick.

They stopped short of the storage cupboard and Lily waiting for James to open the door.

"Most people don't store their brooms in here," James explained while rummaging through the items inside. "I keep mine in my dormitory, it just seems safer. So usually the only ones in here are the schools. The ones you can borrow whenever you like."

"Mmm."

"So we're going to have to make do with some really bad ones," James emerged from the cupboard holding a broomstick in either hand. He handed one to Lily.

Lily took the broom awkwardly by the twigs. James looked at her shocked.

"No, take it by the handle. Ok? Good. Now just let staddle it - when was the last time you were on one of these things anyway?- and kick off from the ground and you're good to go."

"The last time I was on a broom," Lily said while tentatively straddling the broom. "Was six years ago when I was eleven in our first year."

"Oh..." James looked worried for a second which didn't make Lily feel any better about flying.

"Don't worry about it," Lily said after a while. "I'll be fine. I had fun the last time and I didn't break anything. I'll just take it slow."

"I don't think you can go very fast on these brooms anyway," James said kicking up off the ground and hovering up a few feet in the air, waiting for Lily.

Lily kicked off as well and felt a half excited, half nervous whoop in her stomach as she rose into the air.

"Alright, now see. It's not that difficult," said James rising a few feet up in the air.

"Which way to we go?" Lily asked breathlessly.

"Just follow me," James said before flying off into the direction of the castle.

"Ok..." Lily flew after him wondering if being afraid of heights caused you to get unspeakably dizzy with nerves while flying. It certainly had been a long time since she'd done this, but it felt energizing. She even managed to let out a shaky whoop of joy.

"See, its fun isn't it?" James said. "Watch this."

"Ah James don't! You're making my head spin," Lily said for he had just done a back flip on his broom making Lily really conscious of the ground now far below them as well as making her even dizzier.

"Sorry," James grinned sheepishly. "Come on here's the window. Just land on the edge."

"That's a really narrow edge..."

James had already jumped onto it and was now fiddling with the latch on the window. "It's locked too." He banged on the glass while yelling, "Sirius! Sirius wake up!"

Sirius being the one with his bed closest to the window, woke up almost instantly at the sound of his name. Lily saw him sit up on his bed and gaze out the window at the two of them, looking slightly surprised - but only slightly. James gestured at him to unlock the window and Sirius moaned and pulled himself out of bed. He groggily walked over to the window and pushed it open, eyes half closed.

"Hey thanks Sirius mate," James said stepping into the dormitory and then standing aside so that Lily could fly in the room without colliding into him.

"Don't mention it," said Sirius rubbing his eyes. "Where on earth were you?"

"It's a long story," James said looking at Lily. "But right now its five a.m. and I'm exhausted. I'll tell you everything in the morning."

"Here's the broom back," Lily said handing it to him.

"Oh!" Sirius's eyes widened. "Romantic broom ride eh?" He turned to James. "What happened to Amy."

"I told you, I'll explain in the morning," said James.

"Wazzgoingon?"

"Shh! Peter go back to sleep. You'll wake up Remus."

"I'm already up," said a muffled voice in the corner of the room.

"I'd better go," Lily whispered, waving to James. "I'll see you tomorrow I guess. Good luck on the quidditch match."

"Blimey," James ran a hand over his face. "I completely forgot about that. Doesn't help our chances of winning if the captain only gets about three hours of sleep."

"Goodnight Sirius."

"Goodnight Lily. Hope you had a fun night," Sirius winked and James punched him in the arm.

Lily forced herself not to laugh and walked over to the door, letting herself out.

She was finally starting to warm up and she couldn't deny that she had just had a certainly exciting adventure.

Lily yawned and stepped into her own dormitory, stumbling over to her bed. She reached into her trunk and retrieved a fresh pair of pyjama's. She then pulled them on and crawled into bed, reminding herself to tell her friends she now had a sleepwalking problem.

Hope you liked that and as I've said before please review and give me some constructive critisism. I hope my portrayal of these characters was canon enough.