Hey all!
Well - this is a super long chapter. Just to give you a warning. It took forever and a day for me to write it... I honestly stayed up until 2 o'clock in the morning writing this (not on a school night...haha). No joke. It's totally my favorite and it was really fun to write.
Leave some reviews to let me know what you think!

Chapter Seven

Lily tiptoed quietly up to the Fat Lady and muttered, "Cockroach Clusters." The Fat Lady opened her eyes and looked down at Lily in disgust.

"What are you doing up so late?" she said wickedly with a scowl.

"That's none of your business," Lily replied coldly, "I said the password, so let me in."

"Fine."

Lily looked down to see the porthole and went through it. She quickly looked up after she went through to see if any other Gryffindors were in the Common Room. There was no one. She slowly went over to the couch and collapsed on top of it. What a beautiful animal that was. I wonder if I'll ever see it again. Lily closed her eyes and pictured the stag and wanted to touch it again. However, as much as she had loved the animal, it had kind of given her the chills. There was something so – human about the animal. Something about it seemed as if it were a person that was communicating with her. I am exhausted, that is all, Lily reassured herself.

Suddenly, there was a rustle at the porthole. Lily turned her head, eyes wide, to the porthole to see what it was. On the other hand, perhaps she was just delirious. But she wasn't delirious. Emerging from the porthole was none other than Sirius Black. He was clutching his nose, looking at the ground.

"What the hell are you doing up so late?" Lily hissed, getting up from the couch and moving to stand a few feet in front of him. Sirius raised his head and shook it so he could move his hair out of his eyes. He still was holding his nose. Although he was doing so, Lily could tell that he was smirking at her.

"Why must you show so much animosity toward me, my dear Miss Evans?" Sirius said with a mature tone.

"Because you're a pain, that's why," Lily crossed her arms; "You didn't answer my question." Lily then could tell that Sirius' smirk was growing wider.

"I'll tell you what I am doing up so late when you tell me." Sirius said.

"You know nothing of manners. Don't you know that is no way to speak to a lady?" Lily said, with an uncomftorable look on her face.

"Ah, I see. So you were doing something that you weren't supposed to be doing?" Sirius said.

Lily, who had just been looking at the ground while she was shuffling her feet, looked up at Sirius. She had always wondered why James was the leader of the Marauders. She had wondered this since she found out that was their "official name". Honestly, she thought Sirius Black was the best looking, by far. Many people such as Felicia or Babette would disagree, saying it would definitely be James by a long shot. Nevertheless, Sirius had a naturally elegant look about him that no student at Hogwarts could achieve, as far as she could tell. If James had looked at Lily like this last night for no reason, she would have not held back. She would have kissed him immediately. However, Sirius was just plain ticking her off.

"I was not doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing…and would you please take your hand off your nose! You look absolutely ridiculous!" Lily said in an annoyed tone.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. I broke my nose, and it would be quite a nasty sight…for a lady to see." Sirius stated, shaking his head and still smirking.

"How about I repair your broken nose and I won't tell Professor McGonagall that you were not in bed at this hour?" Lily bargained.

"That doesn't matter much to me, Evans. You see – I could then tell Professor McGonagall that you were out tonight as well." Sirius said, looking pleased with himself that he had thought of this.

"How did you know I was out tonight?" Lily said, raising her eyebrows.

"I have my ways." Sirius said. Lily scowled, then thought of something.

"I'll repair your broken nose and not tell Professor McGonagall about you, if you don't tell her about me being out. If you tell her…" Lily stopped and smiled. A look of pure horror struck Sirius' face.

"What will happen if I tell her?" Sirius croaked.

"Then I will have to tell Babette Overly that you have certain feelings for her." Lily finished.

"You wouldn't."

"I would – that is if you break our little deal."

"You know that the one girl I truly can't stand besides you is Babette Overly. You know that for a fact, you do, Evans!"

"That's why it struck me! I'm so good at this! And I'm sure she would be pleased to hear it…knowing how much she fancies you…"

Sirius scowled.

"Fine."

"Alright then," Lily said with a smile, "Go over to the couch."

"Couch? Why couch – there was nothing said about couch!"

"You imbecile…I need to clean your nose off first!"

"Oh, right…"

Sirius walked over to the couch with a look of fear on his face, as if he had no idea of what to expect. Lily went up into the bathroom in her dorm. She grabbed a washcloth and soaked it with water. She squeezed some of the water out. She quietly went downstairs to find Sirius still on the couch, straight as a board. She could tell he was truly terrified. She went over in front of the couch to face Sirius.

"Lower your hand, Black." Lily said plainly.

"It's pretty grotesque…are you sure –"

"LOWER IT NOW!"

Sirius immediately did so. For the first time ever, Lily could say Sirius was right about something. The nose was covered with blood. More noticeably, it was extremely crooked. On the other hand, he still looked extremely handsome, as usual. The fact made Lily sick to her stomach. If my nose ever looked like this, I'd be identical to a pig.

"This is going to hurt really bad…just to warn you."

"I don't feel pain, Evans."

Lily shrugged. She got on the couch, on Sirius' left side. She was standing on her knees so she could reach him. She took the washcloth and gently washed the blood from his cheeks and under his nose.

"Now it's going to hurt." Lily warned.

She started at the top of his nose and cleansed it. As she moved further down Sirius' elegant nose, he closed his eyes. He cringed from the pain. When Lily finished cleaning, Sirius' nose was purple from bruising. Lily rushed to her bag in her dorm and retrieved a book, looking for a spell that could repair Sirius' nose. She found one, recited it, and Sirius' nose went back to how it's supposed to be. Lily handed him a mirror and he looked in it, having a look of pleasure on his face.

"Wow…I have to admit it – you're good." Sirius said with a smile.

Lily blushed, "Thanks."

Sirius handed her the mirror back with a smile. He moved to stand, but when he used his left arm to help himself get up, he squinted with pain. Lily gave him a puzzle look.

"Is the pain still there?" Lily inquired.

"No…it's my arm." Sirius answered.

"I'll clean that too." Lily said, reaching for the washcloth once again.

"No, it's fine. I'll just go to bed."

"I insist. What's going to happen is that the wound will get infected and you will have to go to Madam Pomfrey. That will lead to her asking how it happened. Then the bargain will be all for nothing."

Sirius gave her a look of defeat and sat back down. There was no look on his face when Lily came over. She knew what she had to do to clean this one. She hesitated a bit.

"May I?" Lily asked, motioning towards Sirius' robes.

Sirius nodded. Lily thought he would make some sort of joke out of this, saying how she "wanted him" or something. She was totally ready for it. But Sirius looked solemn about it. Lily slowly took off his black robes, so she wouldn't hurt him. She folded them and lay them aside. She then took off Sirius' tie, and placed it with his black robes. Then there was the long-sleeved, white, collared shirt that was in front of her. She could see several gashes on his left arm. She gave him a look of hesitation while preparing herself to remove his shirt. Sirius was staring into the fire, but smirked, knowing she was concerned.

"I won't tell James," Sirius simply said.

Lily smiled and then felt comftorble. She never thought she would be in this position, but she was. She reached so she could unbutton his shirt. She slowly did so, stopping between each button to give a light breath, just so Sirius couldn't hear her and make a joke of how nervous she was. After what seemed like forever, she parted the shirt and took it off. She was relieved to see an undershirt. But she couldn't help noticing how good Sirius looked. While James was pale, Sirius was not. He was not extremely tan, but not pale. He was fair-skinned, but not pale. She folded the shirt and put it with the robes and tie. She then took the washcloth and wiped the blood that was coming from the gashes.

"You can tell me, I promise I won't tell. What happened to you?" Lily asked. Sirius turned to her.

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." was how he responded.

Lily pictured the stag that she had met tonight, that acted like a human. She was ready to hear just about anything.

"I'll tell you what happened to me." Lily said, while wiping the blood.

"You go first…you might faint from what I have to say." Sirius said with a smile.

"Don't you dare laugh at me." Lily said, smiling.

"I won't." Sirius said, still with the smile. Lily looked at him and saw that he was smiling, but serious all the same. She decided to tell him.

"…And then the stag rescued me. It was such – such a mysterious animal. There was something strange about it. I can't put my finger on it but it was almost like it was human. Like – someone I had known for years. It was amazing. I hope I get to meet it again someday. So that's that. Now tell me yours."

"I don't know…I don't think it's such a good idea."

"Oh come on! Please…I told you mine, so you have to!"

"Well…okay."

Lily looked up at him, still wiping.

"Yes…?" she said after awhile. Sirius turned to her with an extremely serious look on his face. One that Lily had never seen before.

"I got attacked by a werewolf." Lily stopped wiping and looked up at him.

"In the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yeah…and I saw you, too." Lily lowered the washcloth and looked at him with a somewhat scared expression on her face.

"That's not funny…stop it."

"I tried to rescue you."

Tears were forming in Lily's eyes. She had just spilled her heart to him. And he was making fun of her for what she said? This was cruel treatment. Just utterly cruel treatment. The tears were coming down her cheeks, she didn't even care. Sirius reached over with his right hand and wiped the tears. Lily quickly stood up and backed away from him.

"Get away from me, you snake."

"There was a dog, wasn't there, Lily?"

Lily stopped short. This wasn't because it was the first time Sirius had ever called her Lily. It was because she hadn't mentioned the dog. She honestly hadn't even remembered the dog until now. Lily shook her head.

"What are you saying?"

"Lily…I'm an animagus." The words hit Lily and she didn't even know what to make of them for awhile. She kept shaking her head.

"That's impossible. With becoming the animagus, the ministry – " Sirius laughed at this.

"Come on, Lily. We're the Marauders, we have never played by the rules." Lily gave a shocked look to Sirius.

"Wait…it's not only you? It's all four of you?" Lily, looking stunned, stopped looking at Sirius and started pacing.

"That's right."

"Then…" Lily stopped pacing. "Who was the stag?" There was a pause. Lily stood in front of Sirius. He looked into her eyes, frowning. All at once, she kissed him. Not a long and passionate one. Just a kiss, nothing more. After letting go, Sirius looked stunned.

"What was that for?" he said hoarsely.

"For trying to save my life." Lily said with a smile.

"But I didn't succeed."

"But you tried, right?"

"Yeah…I did." Sirius said with a half smile.

"Sirius…" Lily said, backing up a bit, "who is the stag?" Sirius shifted uncomftorably in his seat. He didn't say anything, but started to shake his head.

"You don't want to know. It'll ruin everything for you."

"Please tell me." Sirius looked back into Lily's eyes, which were full of desperation.

"It's…" Sirius looked at Lily again, waiting for the answer. He continued:

"It's James."