James grumbled under his breath as he ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Bloody Sirius. If Snivellus is in any way damaged then, by Merlin, I think he has gone too far this time."

He reached the common room and swept his invisibility cloak up over his shoulders, cursing as it snagged on his knee.

"I think I'm a bit too tall for this now." He reflected, "now to undo Padfoot's dirty work…"

"Where are you going?" said a low voice from the couch in front of the fire. The silhouette turned around to reveal a very cold stare coming from one Sirius Black.

"Speak of the devil." James thought, sighing.

"I'm going to undo your dirty work, Padfoot." He replied quietly, repeating his thoughts.

Sirius grinned, his smile not one of happiness. The light from the flames flickered on half of his face.

"Why would you want to do that? It's just getting rid of an outstanding problem. And if he survives, what about Moony's secret?"

James had to admit he had a point. If Snape survived, he would tell everyone about the werewolf in their midst. But it would be worse than murder if he let a relatively innocent boy go to his death. No matter how bad Snape ever was, James still had morals. It was just plain wrong.

"Padfoot, what you are doing is… wrong. Its like you-know-who murdering Muggle-borns."

Sirius's face went slack, almost empty, and James knew he had hit a sore spot.

"I'm sorry." James sighed, "It's true. And if you weren't ever blinded by your anger, you would think so too."

He strode out of the common room, flicking his invisibility cloak into place.

Sirius knew he had left when the portrait swung shut. He sighed and looked back into the fire, it reflecting in the centres of his grey eyes.

"Maybe Prongs is right." He thought, rubbing his face, "maybe I have overstepped the line."

Sirius thought of Snape in Remus's claws…

"Nah. No way!"

There was a thud as Peter stumbled down the stairs.

"Are we going out?" he asked Sirius, his eyes alight with a strange mischief. Of course he knew about the Snape prank.

Sirius sighed.

"No, I am going for a walk. You should get to bed."

Peter sighed.

"I haven't been out for ages." He whined.

Sirius sighed.

Fine, you can go. But I want to be alone."

"Alone as one can get on a full moon." He added silently as he walked out of the common room, snatching a cloak off a chair.

------------------------------------

Lily sighed and, proverbially and realistically, let her hair down. She ran her fingers through her long red locks, humming softly. She stretched like a cat and then reached into her backpack.

The lens came out, sparkling as the moonlight from the window hit it. Lily sighed.

"So what the hell is this thing?" she thought, waving it backwards and forwards.

She glanced at it in a half-hearted manner. It was truly a wonderful piece of magic mechanical work, but it still had a slightly, well very, lecherous manner about it.

There was a flash of pale pink that caught her eye. She stopped waving the lens around and stared deep into it.

Suddenly she fell over backwards, rubbing her eyes with a whimper.

"I just saw James Potter's butt! Holy shit, I just saw the big-heads butt."

She groaned softly.

'He had a nice arse, though."

The afterthought shocked her.

She most certainly wasn't checking him out!

Well, ok, maybe a little bit.

Lily bet her head slowly on her bedpost before coming to her senses.

What was Potter doing outside of the dorms at this time of night? What was he planning on a full moon?

As Lily ran downstairs, another thought reached her brain.

"Why did she even care?"

--------------------------

Lily ran down into the moonlight. She didn't know where she was going, or what she was going to do once she found James. A few thoughts rushed over her mind.

"I'll give him detention! I'll tell Professor McGonagall!"

A snide little voice piped up.

"Or maybe, you'll just hug him for worrying you."

She screeched to a stop and shook her head, dislodging any disturbing thoughts.

Sometimes she hated her brain.

Lily grumbled and kept running, her worry increasing. She was heading towards the forbidden forest.

"I think not." She thought, "I'm going to go right alongside it. I'm not as crazy as some people I could mention."

"Don't you mean brave and dashing?' the snide voice was still there.

Lily growled and blocked it out. She must be going crazy.

Lily kept running, losing her bearings in the darkness. Suddenly, her feet were swept out from underneath her and she landed on her behind with an 'oomph'.

Something whistled over her head and she knew where she was.

The Whomping Willow.

She got to her feet, spun around and ran smack bang into Severus Snape.

He staggered, his greasy hair flopping into his eyes.

"Evans! You stinking little Mudblood! What are you doing out here?"

Lily clenched her fists in rage.

"It is none of your business, Snivellus, why I am out here. The question is, however, why are you out here? I am a prefect and I order you to get to bed."

Snape drew himself up.

"You dare to order me, mudblood? You filthy little wretched piece of slag dares to command Severus Snape?"

Lily growled.

"I would have thought that was obvious, Slime-ball."

Severus went pale, his nostrils flaring. Then he did the most insulting thing he could do at that time.

He spat on her.

Lily gasped in shock and disgust. Snape used the distraction to push her behind him.

"Go back into the castle, Mudblood. I don't want you stinking up my space with your filth."

Lily bit back tears and retorted to his back.

"You're doing a fine enough job of that on your own, Grease-bag."

Snape didn't even turn around. Lily supposed that he hadn't heard her. She crouched on the ground, crying softly. It still stung when Snape called her a mudblood or any of those other insulting terms he used.

And to spit on her! Lily wiped it off her cheek with a tear-covered hand. That was the worst of all, worse than the names.

Suddenly, Lily heard a creak as the Whomping Willow stood perfectly still. She furrowed her brow and stood up.

She approached the tree cautiously. Nothing happened. Not a twig moved. Lily exhaled a nervous breath and continued to walk.

There was a scream from a voice that sent shivers up her spine, a voice she had heard but minutes before.

Something seriously bad had happened to Snape. Lily was half happy, as he deserved it… but something wasn't right about tonight.

Lily ducked around the trunk of the tree and was greeted with a horrific sight.

A werewolf was clawing its way out of the Whomping Willow trunk towards Snape, who seemed paralysed with fear.

And with Snape was James, his face stern, his hair even more ruffled than normal. Snape took one look at James and bolted.

The werewolf howled and Lily could see its eyes. They were dark amber…

Remus Lupin was out of control.

It sniffed the air and began to head towards James, who ran away into the forest, obviously sprinting for his life. But the werewolf stopped and sniffed the air again. James skidded to a halt, a confused look on his face as he realised that he was no longer the werewolf's prey.

The werewolf glanced over it's shoulder, fangs gleaming and Lily knew who it was that Remus had chosen.

It was her.

The werewolf crouched low and sniffed the ground. Lily gulped. Maybe if she stood still…

Suddenly the werewolf sprung and Lily fell backwards onto her back. The werewolf towered over her, licking its chops. Lily screamed, her eyes darting over to where James was standing.

He wasn't there anymore. Lily felt a solitary tear run down her cheek.

"This is it." She thought, "He never cared. I'm just werewolf food…"

The werewolf snarled and raised a claw. Lily screamed again and raised an arm, trying in vain to protect herself from the impending death.

Strangely enough, the sound of hooves reached her ears. She shut her eyes trying to block out her fate

The Werewolf growled and snapped and the claw descended.

Lily heard the hooves louder and the werewolf gave out an anguished howl. Lily opened her eyes with a start.

A tall stag, with a full head of antlers, stood in between her and the werewolf, the marks of the werewolf's claws along its side. The stag swept Lily up with his antlers onto his back and spun around to face the werewolf, head and antlers first.

The werewolf howling in annoyance at having it's prey taken from it. It raised a claw and the stag butted the werewolf's chest, sending it back into the now reactivated branches of the Whomping Willow.

The stag then turned on his back hooves and galloped off, with Lily holding onto his neck for dear life (a/n: yes, I know this is an old joke but hey!).

The stag suddenly skid to a halt and let Lily slide off his back. She turned around and held out a hand. The stag snuffled into her palm, making her smile.

As she used her other hand to stroke his neck, the stag looked up.

"Hazel eyes." She thought, "Odd, for a deer."

Then the stag reared and galloped off into the forest, leaving Lily alone.

Or relatively alone.

"Miss Evans." The voice came from under a tree.

Lily spun around, drawing her wand. To her utmost surprise, it was Sirius Black who was leaning against the tree, with a long black cloak draped over his shoulders. He looked particularity sinister, with only a strip of moonlight illuminating a small part of his face, an ear and an eye.

"Fancy meeting you here." Sirius continued, nonplussed, "I was wondering what all the commotion was about."

He didn't have his wand drawn, as his arms were crossed, so Lily lowered hers, strictly out of courtesy.

"Why are you out here?' she asked him, shivering a bit. The cold was getting to her.

Sirius sighed and undraped the cloak. He threw it at her and she caught it.

"James would hate it if I let you get a cold."

Lily sniffed a bit as she draped the cloak around herself, drawing it tight. It smelled familiar. Lily looked up at Sirius.

"He wouldn't care. He ran away from the werewolf tonight, leaving me for dust."

Sirius laughed darkly.

"James could have done nothing…"

Lily noticed the strange slant Sirius put on James's name.

"What do you mean?" she asked, accusingly.

Sirius laughed coldly again.

"Getting concerned are we?"

Lily looked down.

"Not at all." She mumbled.

Sirius chuckled. Lily realised that, by clever means, Sirius had avoided the question.

"What are you doing out here?"

Sirius clicked his fingers.

'Drat. Thought I had you distracted."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"James does that." Lily thought before mentally slapping herself.

"Very well, Miss Evans." Sirius said, "I was here to watch the show. Happy?"

Lily most certainly wasn't.

"You told Snape this?" she snarled.

Sirius clapped his hands slowly.

"Very clever, Miss Evans, although, we always knew there was some genius behind that pretty face of yours."

Lily was stunned.

"What?" she spluttered, "Why?"

Sirius sighed and threw his hands up in the air.

"Because Snape has been a thorn in everyone's side all the time we have been here. Because he wouldn't have been in a condition to tell anyone about Remus unless they liked to talk to werewolf poo. Because I thought it would be an adequate revenge on him."

Sirius sighed.

"I hate him. He caused James and I to fight. And he hates you."

Sirius's eyes went bright, like a puppy's.

"You understand, right? Snape hurts you so much. Don't you think he should be destroyed?"

Lily sighed.

"Snape hurts me, but no one deserves death. At least, not before their time."

Sirius grunted.

"I suppose. We had better get back up to the castle…"

His words were cut short by growling. Sirius cursed.

"Look who finally sniffed us out."

Lily spun around in horror to see the werewolf with his nose to the ground. He looked up and howled. Sirius cursed a blue streak, some of the words even shocking Lily.

Sirius caught her expression.

"I could switch to Italian if you like..."

Lily shook her head.

"I think we should run."

Sirius's face lit up.

"No, look."

Lily stared where he was pointing. James stood, proud in the pale light. He threw a rock that hit the werewolf square on the back of the skull. The werewolf howled and faced him.

Sirius sighed.

"James would kill me if you saw this."

He clapped his hands over Lily's eyes. The sounds were terrible, growling, tearing, hooves clopping.

Then the darkness of Sirius's hands was gone. Lily cleared her vision just in time to see the stag from before trot off, looking tired but still magnificent.

"It saved him too!" Lily exclaimed, "The stag saved him too!"

Sirius laughed.

"As I said before, James could have done nothing."

Lily sighed in frustration. She hated it when people spoke in riddles.

Sirius bowed mockingly.

"Cometh thee, my lady, and I shalt be thy one to escort thy to thou castle."

Lily growled and began to walk up to the castle.

"I will never take that from the likes of you, Sirius Black."

Sirius grinned and called after her back.

"But maybe from my lord Prongs…"

Lily stopped dead in her tracks. It's couldn't possibly be that…

"No." she muttered.

She kept walking until she reached the steps. There, shivering stood James Potter, his back to her. He was clutching his side as if in pain…

"No." Lily thought and took the cloak off.

She draped it around his shoulders. James grinned.

"Ta, Padfoot."

Lily allowed herself a grin. There was something mildly ironic about him thinking she was Sirius.

"No problem." She said.

James spun around, mouth open as he stuffed something silvery inside his cloak.

"Lily." He gasped and bent sideways, "What are you doing out here?"

Looking for you." Lily replied, "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"Merlin, Evans, can't a guy rest?' Sirius Said from behind her, "Prongsy, my dear, you get your hide inside or I'll bite it."

Lily shook her head before realisation nudged her again.

"No." she thought, shaking her head, "No, nup, nah, no way, no."

Lily left the two boys and went back to the Gryffindor tower.

"No." she thought with every step up to her dorm.

As she brushed her hair and washed her hands, thoughts came to her that made her doubt her mind's true sanity.

"No?' she thought as she brushed her teeth."

Lily flopped down on her bed, hearing as Tamara let out a startled snore.

Lily rolled over and went to sleep. One last word tickled her cerebellum before sleep overtook her.

"No."