Chapter XIV

Truth Hurts

((James's POV))

I didn't find Lily until our evening patrol. She was waiting for me by the Portrait of the Fat Lady, tapping her foot idly.

"Ready?" she said stiffly.

"I'm ready," I said, and then we began to walk.

We were silent for about ten minutes. Lily sniffed occasionally. It was rather annoying, actually.

"Look, I'm sorry, Lily," I said after a while. "I didn't want Sirius to embarrass you in front of everybody."

"So you took his side?"

"Look, Lily," I said soothingly. "Sirius and Peter are my friends, too. I'm trying to do what's best for everyone. Except the Slytherins."

She folded her arms, realizing she had lost. "All right. Fine."

When we reached the common room later that evening, I turned to go to my room, but the redheaded girl stopped me.

"Well? Did you not check your daily schedule?" She smiled.

I grinned back at her, and then we snogged on the sofa for fifteen minutes. However quickly it took to make her mad, it was even faster making her forgive you for it. Finally we stopped snogging.

"Lily, I'm not going to be here tomorrow night," I said. "I need you to patrol for me again."

"Again?" she looked down. "Okay. I never asked you before, because we weren't—er—on friendly terms, but I think I have a right to know why you disappear every once in a while. It seems like you go a few weeks, and then you skip patrolling, and then it's normal again."

I took her hands and looked at them. "It's, well, it has to do with Remus…"

"Yes?"

I sighed, thinking of the best way to put it. "Well, you know how werewolves transform at the full moon…"

She blinked. I continued.

"Well, he's sort of…a werewolf." I let out my breath. "He was bitten as a child."

"Remus was?" she whispered.

I nodded. "And we—the Marauders and I—go with him to the Shrieking Shack every full moon. That's why it's called the Shrieking Shack. Because Remus the werewolf is there once a month."

She looked confused. "But wouldn't you get bitten? Are you a werewolf, too?"

I shook my head. "Um. You remember how we read that werewolves can't affect other animals?"

Lily looked at me in anticipation.

"Well. We—Sirius, Peter, and I—sort of, well. Are Animaguses. I turn into a stag every full moon."

Lily's jaw dropped. She stood up. "I didn't see you anywhere on the list of registered Animaguses," she said, rushing into her room and rummaging in her desk drawers. She came back with a roll of parchment. "I can't believe I missed it—"

"Lily—"

She ignored me, running her finger down the long scroll. "Oh, well of course you aren't up here with the A's…you'd be down here…in the P's…"

"No, Lily, you won't—"

"P…P…Plat…Plum…Pom…" Her eyes slowly widened. "And then Potts. No Potter. Not a single Potter!"

"Lily—"

She tossed the scroll on the floor and started waving her arms about like a maniac. "I can't believe you played this joke on me! I believed you! But there's not one single bloody Potter among all of those Plums and Poppers and Potts and Parkinsons—"

I grabbed her wrists, and she immediately stopped talking to look up at me.

"Lily…" I said softly. "I am an Animagus."

"Prove it," she said.

I nodded and stepped into an open area and closed my eyes, concentrating. This was like Apparating. I remembered our Apparating tests, and I remembered coming back, having passed the exams, to brag to Lily, who was too young at the time…

Anyway. So I concentrated on my stag form, and then there was a tingling sensation all over my body, and then I opened my eyes and looked down to see hooves instead of shoes.

Lily gasped and dropped onto the couch, closing her eyes and opening them again. I changed back into a human and sat next to her.

"You aren't registered," she said. "That's against the law."

I nodded. She stood up and looked at me. At first her eyes her wide, and then she was glaring at me.

"I can't believe you would do something like this," Lily breathed. "Not even before, when you and I hated each other. Maybe you would turn my eyebrows pink, or set a spider loose in my dormitory, but break the law?"

"Lily, I had to—"

"Had to?" she snapped. "I thought I knew you, Potter. But I guess I never did. Good night." Lily then turned and raced into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

((Lily's POV))

I could not believe James Potter. The only thing worse breaking the law is using an Unforgivable Curse (and even that is breaking the law). James could have gone to Azkaban for that! If anybody ever found out…

What if I was still his girlfriend? If somebody discovered that he was an Animagus, they would've used Veritaserum on me to find out if I knew about it. And then I would've been in trouble for not telling on him.

But then, I didn't just not want to be his girlfriend. I wished he weren't an Animagus. I still cared about him, and I didn't want him arrested.

I never wanted him arrested, not even when I hated him the most.

I sat on my window seat, legs drawn up to my chest, for a long time. It was a while before I heard the shutting of James's door, meaning that he had gone back to his room. Maybe he was waiting for me to come back out.

I couldn't look at him anymore.

March came and went, and I didn't speak to him. Not even to snap at him. He would try to stop me in the hallways to explain, but I would always run away. He never, however, tried to speak to me on our evening patrols.

Because he knew I couldn't run anywhere. He was giving me the choice to talk to him or not to talk to him.

And that made me want to hug him furiously.

But I did not, however, do so.

It wasn't like I had time to talk to him, anyway. All of the fifth and seventh years were busy studying for O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. McGonagall had told me, back in fifth year, that if I wanted to be an Auror, I'd have to put all of my time into studying.

And it was after I had signed up for all of my N.E.W.T.s classes that I realized James was going to be an Auror, too.

How could he possibly be an Auror if he was breaking the law? Maybe he planned to register himself after he got out of school. The Ministry always needed Animaguses for Aurors.

My mind kept wandering to him as I studied. My mind kept wandering to the people in the hallways that would look at me as I passed. Their faces spoke to me: "How could you possibly break up with James Potter?" they would say.

I told no one why I broke up with him.

Boys asked me out. I declined each offer. What did they think, that I was over James? That was the last thing I was! Besides, I was only fitting in eight hours of study time on weekdays! A half an hour before breakfast, one hour at lunch (which I skipped), two hours during our free time to study, and four and a half after dinner! They could not possibly think that I had time for a relationship, when I still needed time to study! I was even skipping Hogsmeade to study.

"You're crazy," Pansy told me. "You're only studying so much because you don't have anything to do now that you and James aren't together."

That made me angry.

But maybe it was the truth.

UNDERPANTS!

So, now that I have your attention:

PLEASE, PLEASE,PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES. There could be something important written here!

NotthatIactuallyhaveanythingimportanttosay, but. I appreciate it.

A/N: Anyway, with that said and done, I am not very pleased to inform you that I ama horrible liar. Avada Kedavra me now.

Ilied about this chapter. I said I would have it to you guys yesterday, but I decided to do it today. Sorry. Don't kill me.

Fairy-GYAKUTENNO-MEGAMI: I've come to love the word "chappie".

Nienna Nolwe x: I thought she did, too. I just love it when they're together.But I always thought they would fight a lot in the beginnings of their relationship: thus, the reason for this chapter.

I ship Harry/Ginny. But you are completely entitled to your own opinions.

filthylittlemudblood: Lily is a very gifted young witch. Thanks for reviewing!

Also, I am a Muggle-born.

I LOVE ALL OF MY REVIEWERS!

Anyway. I've noticed that I sort of rush through my scenes. This is because I have almost as much patience as Lily (I know, bad quality to have as a writer, but I'm working on it). So, if you have noticed that I rush through my scenes, know that I do try to make them good.

I've noticed that my author's notes have been getting longer and longer. I feel very talkative. I'm surprised I haven't started telling you guys what I eat.

Actually, I did do that once. In my author's note for chapter 9. Ah, well.

Anyway, I'm going to stop typing now before someone hires Michael Jackson to jump in my window and, well, you know the rest.