I think it's fair to say that I've hardly ever been so shit scared since that night. Remus, without us there, was wild. He was capable of anything. And the fact that a willing human was walking straight into what can only be called his lair was terrifying to me. One of my best mates would be expelled… two, if they found out that it was Sirius who had tipped Snape off about Remus. I was furious at him. He was only thinking of scaring the kid, he usually was smarter than this! Unless… but that idea made me feel sick.

I stumbled down the front steps and by the time my feet hit the grass they were hooves. I transformed as I ran and, within second, I was galloping at full speed across the grounds, hearing the wind whistle through my half grown antlers. After all, I was still a teenager. That means I wasn't yet a full grown stag.

I knew that Lily would be watching. I knew she'd be able to see only the white stag kicking up the tufts as it tore across the grounds. And I knew that she'd come to only one conclusion.

I skidded to a halt before the still frozen limbs of the willow. I transformed back into my more common form and slithered between the branches. A jolt of fear shocked me as I saw the outer limbs begin to sway. I moved faster. Too slow. A branch whipped across the back of my head as I dove for the hole. I felt the blood trickle down the back of my nek as I slithered through the gap between the roots. The familiar claustrophobia closed in around me and I felt the bile rise in my throat. Finally, the soil stopped pressing in around me and I staggered to my feet, crouched low.

A figure was ahead of me, inching closer.

'Severus!' My voice came out low, husky. Urgent.

He turned and glared at me. 'Potter! I knew it, I'm going to let everyone know that Dumbledore is hiding a…' He was still heading towards the opening.

'Severus, no!'

I tore after him and he ran. He never hesitated. Running up the stairs, two at a time, he ignored the dangerous creaking beneath his feet. My eyes locked on his back and I knew I couldn't turn back. If I did, he'd be dead, Remus would be shunned and probably killed and Sirius would have his wand snapped and be expelled. And that was the good news.

Snape stumbled to a stop outside the heavy oak door at the end of the hall. I reached him way too late. He reached out, turned the door knob and pulled.

I never saw Remus. I heard the menacing growl, I saw Severus' face collapse and grabbed the back of his shirt as his wand hand lifted. A bark. Heavy footfalls. A dark shadow leaping from beyond the doorway. I hauled Snape towards me and thrust my wand towards the door. I never uttered a word, but the door slammed shut and, with a crash and a crunch, Remus slammed into it. He howled and stratched at the wood, barking wildly.

My fist had a death grip on Severus' robes and I bodily hauled him away. He was too shocked, too stunned to even speak aloud his outrage. His normally pale face was red and I heaved him along the passage, down the stairs, running as we went. It wasn't until we both slithered out from beneath the willow, my hand automatically slamming into the knot on the trunk and we were well free of the reach of the swinging branches did we stop and breathe. Severus was sitting in the cold grass, head between his knees, wheezing. I was standing a few feet away, watching him. What on earth did Sirius say to make him think he could take on a werewolf? Surely he must have known the danger… I hated the slimy git. Hated him. But there was no way I was going to let a kid my age die.

'Mr Potter. Mr Snape.'

We looked up. Dumbledore was standing a few feet in front of us, his face white. McGonagall was beside him, in her customary tartan dressing gown. And right behind them, her green eyes locked disbelievingly on mine, was Lily.

'I swear sir, I never told anyone about Remus!' I stared pleadingly across the desk at Dumbledore. He looked as if he believed me, it was McGonagall who's eyebrows where threatening to disappear into her hairline. Snape, standing beside me, was still silent. He hadn't said a word.

Dumbledore nodded gravely. 'I believe you, Mr Potter. Now, I believe we need to have a word with Mr Snape about Remus' condition.' He fixed me with a stern look. 'I don't know who said what and what their intentions were. Frankly, I don't think I want to. But we are all facing the same enemy.' He sighed. 'We are not going to get through this in one piece if we keep fighting each other. I know you two don't get along, but I suggest you behave a little more like the grown wizards you try to be and at least respect each other. You're two very intelligent students, two of the best. Please behave wisely.'

It seemed I was dismissed. I nodded my thanks at Dumbledore and stepped out into the cool air on the spiral steps. Slowly, they began to turn and I bit my lip as I felt myself decend. There was a lot that needed discussing. And Sirius… what a complete wanker! I felt my blood begin to pump violently through my veins. He'd endangered Remus and Snape and, without knowing it, me. Some mate…

Lily was waiting for me in the common room. The map was nowhere to be seen so, naturally, I assumed she'd hidden it. I looked at her white face and sighed. It wasn't until she lifted her head and actually looked at me that I realized she'd been crying.

'Lily..?'

She bit her lip and swallowed hard, staring up at me. I scuffed over towards her and sat down, my hand resting between her shoulder blades. Of course, I asked the dumbest question imaginable.

'Are you ok?'

She choked out a half laugh-half sob and nodded. Wiping her eyes with her fingers she sniffed and turned to look at me. Her lip was red raw with bite marks.

'All I saw,' she whispered, her voice strained as if she'd just spent three hours screaming. 'was a white stag galloping across the grounds. And then, in the shadow of the willow, it turned into a human.'

My head dropped. I knew she'd figure it out. Merlin, I never thought she was stupid! I'd always thought she had a brain buried beneath all that red hair, but something inside me had hoped…

'Oh…' Yeah, great, James, just grunt at her, that'll sort everything out… With a sigh, I told her. My voice was a monotone as I described how we figured out about Remus and his illness, how we wanted to help him and make the experience less painful, how we researched and planned for two years and, finally, how we transformed in our fifth year into a shaggy black dog, a rat and a stag. Lily's face never changed. She just watched me intently as I spoke, my hands clutched together, my head lowered. I could barely look at her, but for the occasional glances. After I finished, we sat there in silence.

Eventually, she patted my hand and smiled. Standing, she dropped a kiss on my bowed head and headed up the stairs to her own dorm.

She wouldn't tell.