A Legacy of Love

Chapter 4: Discovery

"So, Prongs, ready for tonight? We're going to Hogsmeade. I want to go roll on the grass again. That was fun," Sirius said lazily as he stretched, yawning on one of Gryffindor common room's sofas.

"Mm hmm…" was James's only answer as he bent down trying to finish one of his many assignments due the following day. He didn't like looking at McGonagall's angry face tomorrow when she'd oh-so-definitely put him in detention. Not that he minded detention. He never did. He just thought that he ought to be setting an example as Head Boy. Right at that moment, Lily bounded down the stairs that led to the girls' dormitories.

"James! Patrol in five minutes!" she called when she spotted James. Startled, James accidentally unsettled his inkbottle as all three Marauders looked up at Lily. Remus was in the hospital wing getting ready to follow Madam Pomfrey down to the Whomping Willow to transform. Ink started spreading on his parchment as James looked horrified at his partner.

"Wh-What? Patrol?" He asked, dumbfounded. "Since when?"

Lily looked at him suspiciously. "Since the beginning of the month, James, when the patrol shifts changed. Didn't you notice?"

James was aghast. He'd never back out on Remus before. Never. How could he forget that there was patrol today? He should have remembered all the full moon dates and changed patrols beforehand. How could he forget? Probably because patrols hadn't clashed with any full moons yet before this. Merlin, he should have been more careful.

"Lily, can we please switch patrols with other Prefects? Just for tonight? I... I have something else to do." His guilty face softened Lily's heart. Probably the humungous pile of homework, she thought, though she did not miss the other two Marauders' thunderstruck looks when she mentioned about tonight's patrol. Something wasn't right. Lily decided to worm a full confession about that later. Duty came first.

"All right then, I'll ask the Gryffindor fifth years to do it." Lily relented. James was relieved. "Thanks, Lily. I'll make it up to you," He beamed gratefully as he turned back to his homework. He swore loudly when he saw that his parchment was drenched in ink. Taking out his wand, he quickly performed a spell that wiped out the spilled-over ink before continuing his assignment.

Lily smiled at him as she scanned the room for the Gryffindor fifth year Prefects. Spotting them, she hurried over and requested them to take over for James and her for that night and arranged to take over for them on a different night. Thank God there were no difficulties in the arrangements. She then made her way back to her dormitory to pick a novel, since she didn't have to patrol tonight and she had finished all her homework, which was an incredible feat. Just as she was about to return to the common room, a bright gleam that shone through the window caught her eye. Full moon.

Poor Remus, she thought, to have to go through this transformation every month. She already knew about Remus's condition since fifth year, when Remus had to frequently change patrol dates in order to 'visit his sick mother'. Lily had thought that he was the one who was sick rather than his mother, as he always looked pale and peaky before his 'visits'. It did not take long for Lily to find out about his secret. Remus was so scared when she confronted him about it. He was afraid that she'd leave him, ignore him, cold-shoulder him, or worse, expose him if she knew the truth. But Lily Evans was not a person like that. Quite on the contrary, she, like the Marauders, accepted him completely for who he was. "You're still the Remus we all know and love. Nothing's changed," she had assured him. And she still thought so. Moreover, she could empathise with him. She, too, had been the victim of prejudices, because of her lineage as a Muggle-born. She settled in an armchair in the common room not far from the three Marauders and began reading her novel.

Barely two minutes after that, James rolled up his Transfiguration essay and rubbed his eyes, yawning. "Finally!" Then, he turned to Sirius and Peter, and spoke in a low voice so that the other Gryffindor students won't hear, but Lily, being the nearest to them and completely hidden from view, heard every word.

"Reckon we should go down to Moony at around half past ten?" James was saying. Lily, by now used to the Marauders' nicknames, understood that Moony meant Remus. What are they doing? Didn't they know that Remus would be a fully-grown werewolf then?

"Yeah. Peter and I will transform as usual. There should be enough room under the Cloak for one person. Just try to crouch when you walk. Blimey, you've grown so tall your trainers would show if you didn't." That was Sirius's voice. Then, all three fell silent, as if they'd finish discussing their plan.

Lily froze. Transform? What the hell did they mean, transform? Something fishy was definitely going on with the Marauders. And she would find out. Oh yes, she would. And she'd show them that they weren't the only students who can snoop out after curfew.

She didn't move from her place at the armchair. After the last person (except the three Marauders and her) left the common room at twenty past ten, she heard James's voice said, "Peter, bring the Cloak and the Map. Quickly."

She heard scurrying feet as Peter scrambled up the boys' dormitory staircase. He reappeared minutes later and all three Marauders exited the portrait hole. Once she heard the portrait hole shut, she counted to ten, then followed suit. She looked around. They had gone.

Fuming, she returned to the portrait of the Fat Lady, only to face an empty portrait. The Fat Lady, apparently, fancied a night time stroll too. Sighing, she walked into the nearest classroom (which was some distance away), lit a few candles and sat down in front of one of the desks. Feeling very tired all of a sudden, she laid her head on the desk and was asleep within minutes.

An exhausted (and, in James's and Sirius's case, wounded) trio walked slowly back to the castle near dawn, with Sirius's eye trained on the Marauder's Map. Remus had been rough the previous night, so they had cancelled the Hogsmeade trip on the spot. Lucky they had too, or Remus might accidentally bite someone. Then, they'd all be exposed.

As they neared Gryffindor Tower, Sirius flung out his arms, stopping the other two in their tracks and muttered, "No way. James, Peter, look." He pointed at a point close to where they were standing. The tiny little ink dot Sirius was pointing out was labelled 'Lily Evans'.

"Lily?" James exclaimed loudly. "What the heck is she doing there at this time of the day?" Without further ado, the three men (Peter went very unwillingly) advanced to the classroom, with Sirius wiping the map blank and stowing it into his pocket just before they entered. Their quarry was fast asleep with her head on her arm.

"She'll get a crick if she sleeps like that," James said fondly. Lily looked so peaceful as she slept, like an angel, in James's opinion. Sirius, who wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed, had no time to admire her sleeping expression, but marched up to her and prodded her awake. Lily stirred and rubbed her eyes.

"Rise and shine, beautiful! What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?" Sirius merely asked as a habit, he didn't really want to know. He was already yawning hugely.

"The Fat Lady went visiting yesterday when I came out, and… Merlin! What have you done to yourselves?" she yelped as she saw the state of James and Sirius. They were spattered with blood and covered with very nasty wounds on their faces. She waved her wand and chanted, "Tergeo!" and the blood vanished. She gave her wand another flick, and the wounds healed. "There, all done!"

"Thanks a bunch, Lily. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed…" Sirius yawned again. Lily's expression suddenly changed.

"No, you don't," she said in a terse voice. "You're going to tell me where the hell you three went and what the hell happened until you're wounded and covered in blood!"

All three Marauders immediately switched from sleepy, tired expressions to awake and alert ones. No one was supposed to know about their secret. No one. Especially not Miss Head Girl herself. Miss Lily I'm-a-law-abider Evans.

"Umm… We… ah… just went for a night time stroll and ah…" All three were stumbling in their speeches. Lily looked from one guilty face to another, demanding an answer.

"Don't you know how dangerous it was last night? It was full moon yesterday!" Lily fumed, though she was actually more anxious for their safety.

"We err… what?" They were taken aback as Lily's words hit them. "Hang on, you know about…"

"Remus? Yes. Since fifth year. But that still doesn't explain why you three were out in the middle of a full moon night and coming back looking as though you have been savaged!" Lily cried hysterically. She wanted answers and she wanted them now!

"Relax, Lily. Please keep it down. Remus didn't mean it!" James let slipped in a panic. He covered his mouth in horror of what he'd said.

"So you were with Remus. But that's insane! Werewolves are dangerous to humans! They are only safe in animal company. Unless… No…" Suspicion after suspicion hit Lily, none of which made sense.

Peter supplied hopefully, "Unless we're Animagi?" James and Sirius hit Peter. He instantly fell silent. But the damage was done. Lily was shocked and was rendered temporarily speechless. She looked at the three Marauders in horror. She didn't want to believe it, but James's and Sirius's look of panic was enough to confirm Peter's story.

"Oh… Merlin… I… Since when?" Lily managed to choke out.

James and Sirius exchanged a since-it's-out-might-as-well-tell-all look. "Fifth year. It took us three years to figure out how. We found out his secret during second year," James said.

"His injuries were far worse than now. He's loads better when we're with him. We just couldn't let him suffer alone," Sirius added. His face was uncommonly grim.

"And you did all this… for Remus?" she asked faintly.

"He's our friend. We couldn't just let him be. We had to help him," James replied tiredly, shrugging. He and Sirius seemed to have aged a couple of years when Peter accidentally let slip their greatest secret.

"So that's what you meant by transform!" Lily exclaimed. Sirius went pale.

"How did you know?" he demanded. "I was there all the while, reading. You probably didn't notice me because I was slumped in the armchair. I couldn't help overhearing, really," she disclosed. "That explains the nicknames too. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs…"

"Lily, listen. Since you've kept Remus's secret for so long, we trust you to keep our secret too. Please? You see… we're unregistered. Only wizards who are of age are allowed to register, and we were only fifth years then," James pleaded urgently after a few moments silence. Lily nodded absentmindedly. She looked as though she might faint.

"Right then. Err… do you mind if we all return to the Tower? We're way overdue and we won't want Filch or Mrs Norris to find us here," Sirius wondered hopefully. Lily finally looked up.

"No… You two go ahead. I need to speak to James alone," she requested, still light-headed from the impact of the information she'd just heard.

"But Lily…" Sirius wasn't sure if he should leave James alone with the unpredictable Lily Evans.

"Please, Sirius. I need to talk to him alone." Lily's face was tired but determined. I hope this is going to be OK, Sirius thought as he exited the room with Peter, leaving James to face Lily.

James resigned himself to face the Head Girl. How did she feel about it? Judging by her Miss Two-Goody-Shoes reputation, she was sure to lecture him whole night long before turning all three of them in. They'd be sent to Azkaban for Merlin-knows-how-long even before they've finished school and their reputations were all going to be ruined.

Nervously, James began trying to defend himself, "Lily, look. I –"

To his utter astonishment, Lily cut him off by hugging him. "I'm so proud of you three," she mumbled into his shoulder. "I'm sorry for calling you a big-headed prat all these years. I never knew that you'd do this much for a friend. Not many wizards are able to become Animagi! I… I don't know what to say except that I'm sorry I ever thought of you only as a childish and bullying toerag. You're more mature than I gave you credit for. You're really brave. Remus is so fortunate to have your friendship."

James was amazed. He thought he was in for it for sure this time! And Lily had called him brave! Not only hadn't she lectured him for breaking the wizarding law, she'd actually approved of his actions! He felt his heart soar. Lily admired what he did for Remus. Thank Merlin it didn't have a tragic end.

She pulled back from the hug a little. "You… I… err… you're all right with it then?" he managed to stammer out, for his overflowing emotions were completely in the way of his ability of speech. Lily looked into his hazel eyes with her emerald ones and replied with a soft "Yes, just be careful."

She… cares about me? James marvelled wondrously. Just be careful, she said… Yes, she does care about me! Yes! Lily Evans, my Lily, cares about me! After so long…Finally… My dreams come true… I love the world. Thank you, Merlin. Hey, wait a minute… where did that came from? Why am I thanking Merlin?

"James, you all right? You kind of spaced out a bit there…" Lily's worried voice penetrated his happy reverie. He grabbed her waist, lifted her in his arms and, grinning widely, spun her around the room. Lily cried out in surprise and delight as she threw her arms around James's neck on instinct to steady herself.

"All right? Of course I am all right! Who wouldn't be?" James demanded joyously. "I came in here to find you snarling at me for the truth, and not only did you not turn us in, you told me that you are proud of our achievements and we are brave. Now that's not something you get from Lily Evans everyday!" James's ecstasy was contagious as Lily beamed at him in return. "And you…" James began, but trailed off. He actually wanted to say "And you practically told me that you cared about me", but thought better than to risk jeopardising their growing friendship. If it were only a few years back, he would have said it without a second thought, and coupled with the usual amount of arrogance of his age, he would surely make Lily angry without a doubt, which was the last thing he needed to do right now.

"And I what, James?" Lily asked, curious to know why James stopped mid-sentence so abruptly. James coloured and said, "Nothing" a little too hastily while he set her down on the floor. Lily saw right through that, but decided to respect his decision not to tell her. It must've been very embarrassing to have James Potter think twice before he spoke, she thought, smiling secretly. But then again, this isn't the old James anymore. He has grown up.

"Knut for your thought, Lily?" James asked. Lily still grinned devilishly as James tried to catch her attention by snapping his fingers in front of her face. "You want to know why I am smiling, huh?" she returned slyly. Her co-Head shrugged and said, "It would be nice to know, but if you don't feel like it, it's all right. No pressure there."

Lily smiled at him. "Come on then, we'd better get back to Gryffindor Tower. It's getting late, and by the look on Sirius's face when I asked to talk to you alone told me that he didn't think it safe to leave you with me. He might think that I am plotting to kill you three separately and accidentally-on-purpose if we didn't return soon." Hearing that, James threw back his head and laughed, with Lily joining him, but they quickly lowered it to a chuckle when they remembered that it was still dawn, and Merlin knows that they didn't want to risk anyone waking up just then.

They had barely exited the classroom, with James walking behind Lily, that Sirius came running up, still dragging a complaining Peter, and, seeing Lily first, burst out saying, "Lily please don't tell me that you've killed-" He faltered when he saw James alive and well behind Lily. The couple burst out laughing again. Lily gasped out, "What did I tell you!" And they fell about with laughter, and a clueless Sirius wondering aloud, "Did I miss something I ought to know?"

"Nothing, Sirius, other than the fact that you're too damn predictable, you are," Lily calmed down enough to say. "Hey, I resent that as much as James resent being called Jamesie, you know," Sirius protested, pouting. Lily laughed. She seemed to be doing that a lot now around the Marauders. They were great fun once they shed the pompous and bullying surface. "It is true, Sirius. You are. Anyway, I hope the Fat Lady's back. I need to crash on my fluffy bed for a few hours, at least."

"Hear, hear!" James, Sirius and Peter replied together tiredly, with Sirius's alert demeanour crumbling gratefully when he realised that Lily wasn't murdering them for their being Animagi. He continued wearily, "I've been deprived of a quarter hour of my beauty sleep, do you know that? And because of you, Lily, insisting on speaking with James. I swear that you looked ready to kill. But now I swear that you two look very cosy together," he added the last part quietly and coyly, so that only James could hear. James merely smiled secretly at his best friend as the four of them traipsed up to their Tower, with the three boys extremely exhausted and fatigued after the full moon. They slept soundly once their heads touched the soft pillows.

Just before Lily closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, her mouth curled up into a smile as she remembered the warm feeling she had when James was spinning her around the room. That brought a weird wave of butterflies in her stomach, even now as she recalled that memory. James isn't bad at all. In fact… Her train of thought was cut off when slumberland claimed her.

– To Be Continued –