Chapter Four

Lily sat idly at her bedroom window, staring out at the bright full moon that was just beginning to rise. Her thoughts wandered as her eyes roamed over the grounds and the lake, shimmering in the silvery moonlight. She stopped and leaned forwards slightly out the window, watching the edge of the forest. A tall boy and a small, dumpy woman were standing right in front of a huge tree. The woman seemed to tip something, like a goblet, into the boy's mouth, then turned and touched the trunk of the tree. Lily gasped quietly and leaned forwards some more as the branches of the tree went crazy, seeming to reach down, trying to attack the two people at its base. Suddenly it froze, then bent back upright slowly, creaking. The boy turned to the woman, who nodded. The boy walked forwards, and, to Lily's utter amazement, seemed to walk straight through the tree, though he never emerged from the forest. Lily sat and continued to watch as the woman walked back up to the castle, closing the huge, heavy doors behind her. Just as she was turning away, Lily caught sight of three more figures, all boys, two tall and one small and keeping close to the others, appearing afraid in the darkness of the shadows from which they had emerged. Then the two taller figures turned to each other and, with a gasp from Lily, sitting on her windowsill, they disappeared into the thin air, replaced by two huge figures, one tall and slender, standing on four graceful legs, antlers sprouting out of its beautiful head. The other animal was up to what was probably the huge stag's shoulder, and looked to be a dog, shaggy and massive, blending in so well with the shadows Lily had to conclude that it was black in colour. The two animals looked at each other briefly, then, surprising Lily with its speed, the stag leapt and ran around the lake, butting the dog gently on its way back. The dog pounced on it, then tore off after it. The third boy ran hurriedly after them, then disappeared completely in mid-sprint. Lily leaned out further, unable to see where he had gone. Then she detected a small shadow streaking across the grounds after the other two.

The huge black dog turned to the stag, which lowered its beautiful head slowly, regally, with only the hazel eyes, shining with amusement and adrenaline, indicating that this stag had, only minutes before, been James Potter. He followed his friend slowly, with all the beauty and regality of a stag, but every so often tossing his head and galloping or leaping a little, enjoying the thrill and excitement of his stag form. Sirius stopped in front of the Whomping willow, pressing the knot in the trunk quickly to avoid the thrashing branches. The rat that was Peter streaked in first, followed by James and then Sirius, in pursuit of their werewolf friend.

'Morning Sunshine! Get your ass up, I want to talk to you!'

'Map- whaaa? Wozzgoinon?'

'It's seven in the morning on Saturday and you have got to get up. Morning!'

Lily laughed as James raised his head off the pillow, his hair sticking up at the back more than ever, making him look like he had some kind of messy afro. Lily gave him a quick kiss and giggled.

'God you look gorgeous in the morning.'

'Shut up!' James yawned widely and rubbed his eyes.

'Where were you last night? I looked for you. You weren't in your room till about 4 in the morning,' Lily asked him, sounding concerned and ever so slightly accusing, watching his face.

'I, erm, I, well….'

"Sirius, Peter and Remus were all away too. In fact, your roommates have told me you're never there this time of month.'

'Lily… look… oh alright, here, I'll tell you but it's Remus' secret, and now I suppose, all of ours. Anyway, I have to tell you I suppose, but you have to swear to me- swear on your life, that you will never, ever tell a single soul. Ever. Do you promise? I'm trusting you with a secret that doesn't belong to me.'

Lily raised her eyebrows. She had never seen James this serious.

'Well? Do you promise or not? Otherwise, my lips are sealed.'

'All right. I swear I won't tell a soul.'

'Ok, well..'

James explained about Remus, how he had been bitten as a child and how Dumbledore had allowed him to come to Hogwarts as long as, during his transformations, he stayed far away from the castle and took his monthly Wolfs bane potion, which kept him calm, almost tame. Then he explained how the other three had guessed Remus' conditioned and, instead of ditching him or allowing him to have all the fun once a month, they decided to do something that had never been done by a Hogwarts student before. They had become unregistered Animagi illegally, James becoming a stag, Sirius a dog, and Peter a rat, whenever they felt the need or the desire. James studied Lily's face as he told her this part. She was, after all, the Head Girl, and he and his friends had broken not only school rules, but also the law. Her face was surprised at first, but then her expression became unreadable, slightly stern but not exactly angry.

'So, every month you run around as a stag with a full-grown werewolf?'

'No, I run around with a teenage werewolf, and I become a stag more than once a month.'

'What? You actually risk transforming in broad daylight?' Lily asked incredulously.

'Oh no, most of the time its at night.'

'Most of the…?'

'Well sometimes on Hogsmeade weekends I slope off by myself and run round on the outskirts of the village. You have no idea what it's like, Lily, it's better than flying, even better than any feeling in the world. It's like pure freedom- just my heart beating, my hooves pounding on the ground. It's liking being liquid, or air, my body suddenly feels so fluid and weightless. And then, as a stag, I can smell everything around me so much more strongly, I can hear everything and see further and clearer than I ever could as a human, even with magic helping me. It's just so, it's, I dunno. I'm completely addicted to that feeling.'

Lily's face seemed almost transported, as if she was feeling these things as James described them.

'James…' He braced himself, waiting to be scolded. 'How… how did you do it?'

'Oh. Um, well it's kinda complicated, you know, potions, charms, all that sort of stuff. I don't think anyone at Hogwarts has really ever tried it before.'

'Can you show me? I mean, like, can I be one? An Animagus?'

James was taken aback. He had expected her to tell him off for breaking the rules, not ask to join in. ' Well, yeah I guess. We can try.'

'Great! So… when?'

'When? Oh right yeah, um, sure, well I need Remus and Sirius to do it, so we could start, I guess, the day after tomorrow?'

Remus, James, Sirius and Lily were standing together in the Room of Requirement, sitting on a few plush bean bags on the floor, reading about and discussing the methods used to become Animagi.

'Well,' said Sirius amazedly, 'Bugger me. This looks harder than it was the last time we did it. What exactly was it you wanted to become, Ev?'

'I didn't think you could choose.'

'Nah, Padfoot, mate, you can't choose. It reflects who you are,' said Remus, not looking up from his book, as if he was used to Sirius' messing up like that.

'So then,' asked James, sounding bored, 'Where do we start?'

'Well,' said Remus, studying his book, 'It says here that a potion comes first, which we have to brew for a week, then Lily drinks it and has to say a load of chants and stuff, then she concentrates hard on transforming herself into an animal of some sort. And that's it.'

'That's it?' Lily asked anxiously. 'Well I can deal with that I think. So, ingredients.'

The Room complied, filling its shelves with the necessary ingredients, clearing everything off the floor and providing a huge cauldron in the middle of the room., complete with bookstand and a book open at the instructions for the potion's preparation. Enjoying each other's company, the four of them started the complicated recipe with Lily, of course, the mistress of the cauldron, directing everything.

A week or so later, the four of them were once again in the Room of Requirement, checking and rechecking their books to make sure the potion was ready.

'Looks alright. It's gone gold anyway, and that smoke is getting pretty thick now. I think it's ready.' Lily squealed quietly in excitement and grinned. 'So now what? I mean, am I supposed to drink it now?'

"It says to stir it twice anti-clockwise, then three times clockwise after the potion goes gold. Once you do that its supposed to thin out, then turn clear and thick,' Remus said, reading from the book.

'Right. So, one, two anti-clockwise and then one, two three clockwise. There we go. Now what?"

'Now you take it.'

'Ok, here goes,' Lily scooped up a gobletful of the thick liquid and held it to her lips.

'Hang on!' James said, quickly grabbing her arm. 'Remus, you're sure it's alright now?"

'Yes. James, don't worry, it's fine. Now all Lily has to do is drink it, concentrating hard on transforming herself wholly.'

'Ok then. James, get off, it's alright, I'm taking it. Now.'

Lily drank deeply, the whole goblet, and stood rigid, her eyes closed, her hands trembling slightly. Suddenly it started. She shook violently. James stepped towards her, looking worried. She thrust her arm out to stop him.

'N-no. I have to do it myself. St-stay away.'

She closed her eyes tighter, her face straining, and then suddenly, in one swift, fluid movement, she seemed to melt into thin air, replaced instantly with a tiny robin, with plush, fluffy plumage, a red chest, and bright green eyes. The robin flew to James' shoulder and gently pressed it beak into his cheek, softly cooing, its chest and throat vibrating. Sirius stared at the bird, then laughed his bark-like laugh.

'Wow. A robin. Never would have guessed. Bit small, isn't she?'

The robin took off from James' shoulder, and, cuffing Sirius on the shoulder lightly as it passed, flew three times round the room.

The door banged open. All three boys swivelled round, and Lily stopped in midair. Severus Snape was standing in the doorway, looking triumphant, and pointing his wand straight at the small robin, perched on the windowsill, looking warily At the doorway.

'Hello, birdie. I'd change back if I were you Evans. Mudbloods like you shouldn't be breaking the law like this, not without getting punished.'

'You-' James made towards Snape, but, not taking his black eyes off the robin, he flicked his wand at him and, out of the corner of his mouth, yelled – "Impedimenta!'

James went flying across the length of the room, hit the back wall and landed, motionless, on the floor, a trickle of blood seeping from his forehead. Sirius and Remus both raised their wands and aimed jinxes at Snape, who Shielded himself lazily, smirking at them. Meanwhile, the robin flew across the room to James, spread-eagled on the floor. As it descended, it transformed fluidly into Lily, who, taking the opportunity as his back was turned, wrapped Snape tightly in thick ropes and closed the door with her wand.

'Expelliarmus!' Yelled Remus, while Sirius asked- 'Ev- how's Prongs?'

'He's alright, I think.'

Lily gently turned James onto his back and caressed his cheek with her hand, pulling his head onto her lap and stroking his messy hair. Using her wand, she healed the cut on his forehead, and looked round at Snape, bound tightly and gazing at Sirius' face in hatred, which was returned in equal measure as he and Remus stood over him, panting a little.

'You wait,' said Snape, 'I'm gonna get you. I swear it.'

'Ha! Right. Good luck. It's going to be a laugh watching you do it like that,' said Sirius smirking at the sight of the thick ropes make it impossible for Snape to even scratch his nose. Snape swore and spat at Sirius' feet.

'You're going to get in deep trouble when I tell Dumbledore what you and that filthy Mudblood were doing in here.' At the word 'Mudblood', Remus snarled and James' head moved slightly on Lily's knees as he groaned quietly.

'Yeah?' Sirius said mockingly, 'well, good luck doing it. Obliviate!'

'Sirius! You shouldn't have done that! What if it screws him up?'

'Like he's not screwed up enough already? I know what I'm doing Remus. He'll remember everything that happened to him before this morning. Plus, I've erased everything to do with us and this whole Animagus thing. So, what's going on with James? Is he okay?'

'Yeah, he's fine, I think he's just waking up,' Lily said, to more groans from the floor. 'But what are we going to do about Snape?'

Snape was still sitting, bound on the floor, his memory modified, his eyes blank, staring around in an almost comically bemused way. This would only last for a few minutes, so they had to move fast to get Snape out of the room before he could remember he was ever there. Remus unbound him and, grabbing his arm more roughly than was necessary, he led Snape out the door to a classroom four floors down.

When Remus returned, James was just raising himself back to sitting position.

'Hey birdie,' he murmured, grinning at Lily's worried face. Lily laughed and kissed him, throwing her arms round his neck.

'Hey! You wanna get a room?' Sirius asked, pretending to be offended.

'Yeah. And you can talk, ' James fired back, still grinning. 'Oww God!' His right arm was sticking out at an odd angle, obviously broken. 'Brilliant. Bloody brilliant. Remind me to thank Snape for breaking my arm two days before I'm supposed to be playing Quidditch. How am I supposed to score goals with my arm like this?'

'We'll just have to see what Madame Pomfrey has to say about it mate, but I'm sure it'll be fine,' Remus put in hopefully.

'It better be or we are seriously screwed,'

'You think that's why he did it?'

'Who did what?'

'Snape just attacked you, you idiot!' Srius said disbelievingly.

'Oh. Right, yeah. You sure it wasn't just cause he hates my guts?'

'Better hope so…' Remus muttered darkly.

'Anyway, we'd better get you to Madame Promfrey and then I'll go get McGonnagol,' Lily said.