Disclaimer: Hmm… I'm all out of witty ways to let you know that I am not JK Rowling, or one of her impersonators… If she even has impersonators… well, there was that one guy in China who published a fake HP book in like, 2002, but other than that…. Okay, let's just get it through our heads: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!!!
A/N: Well, here I am, back again. Hope you all enjoyed Chapter Five, sorry it wasn't out as quickly as three and four were. Please Review and let me know what you think of Chapter Six…and everything else, you know, if you're new or something. 3
BEST FRIEND'S GIRLChapter Six: Full Moon…
Lily settled into bed, hoping desperately that tonight she would be able to sleep. Crossing her fingers, she turned out the lights, climbed under the warm blankets, gripped her stuffed frog Egbert, and closed her eyes as tightly as she could.
She lay there, completely still, for the longest time. All of her friends had fallen asleep quickly, one by one, until only Lily was left. This was how things usually went. Lily had spent hundreds of nights, just like this one- lying awake for hours, just thinking.
Lately, she had been thinking about Remus. More specifically, about that kiss, and the patrolling night. She would relive those moments in her head, and then desperately try to make sense of them. Evidently he had enjoyed the kiss- he had even said that it was 'everything to him'- but he had also insisted that they couldn't have a relationship, and refused to give her an adequate explanation as to why! She thought about the kiss itself, too- how he had tasted like chocolate and felt like velvet. She thought about the shivers that the kiss had sent down her spine, how they hadn't felt like the horror movie shivers, but like something else, something… magic. Lily laughed despite her self at this cheesy Muggle-ish description. Magic. Magic was her everyday life- and that kiss was not something that would happen any old day. Lily thought about the overflowing misery that she had felt that night, the night when he had told her that it was 'just a kiss' that it didn't mean anything- and then the confusing sort of sad happiness that she had felt afterwards…
Lily thought too much for her own good. Sighing, and thinking, she tiptoed out of her bed towards the window. It was a nice night out, clear and starry. Probably pretty warm, too… smiling, Lily opened the wardrobe, and pulled out her racing back tank and sweatpants. For once, she thought something useful- it was time for a run. Glancing out the window, she grinned. She loved the sky at full moon…
---
Lily Evans was no rule-breaker. She was clever and quick thinking, which were two very useful rule-breaking traits, but she didn't abuse them. Lily was a favorite of all her teachers-particularly Professor Slughorn, who James had nearly attacked once in third year for 'coming on to his girl'. Lily smiled wryly, remembering how she'd hexed him mercilessly and refused to speak to him for weeks. But anyway, Lily did not break rules… she was a prefect, for God's sake!
However, there was one little, insignificant- okay, rather strict and largely important- rule that she had trouble following. This was the rule about students being out of bed after hours.
See, Lily was an insomniac. Ever since she was a little girl, she had always had trouble sleeping. Her parents would wake up in the early hours of the morning to find Lily reading, practicing her ballet routine, or chatting up her sister Petunia- who happened to be knocked out asleep.
As a child, she was also very fast, so she had joined her primary school's running team. Since she lived in a very safe neighborhood, she starting to practice running at night when she couldn't sleep, and she discovered that it cleared her head. Once she had gone for a run, she was able to sleep peacefully. Finally, she had found a solution!
So, understandably, she had been dismayed to discover that her new school did not allow students out of bed after 10:30. She had complained to Professor McGonagall, but the teacher had insisted that the rule was only for the safely of the students. That was when Lily decided that she would break a rule. She didn't run every night, of course- just when things got really bad. Like in third year, when James had started going out with Aimee Scott; or in fourth year, when Petunia announced that she was getting married- and that 'the freak' was not welcome at the ceremony. Like fifth year, when her mum had died of cancer, and James wasn't even her friend anymore. Like tonight.
The Hogwarts grounds provided a much more interesting route than Lily's old neighborhood, though. Nowhere in Little Whinging could you find a patch of giant pumpkins, a huge tree that violently moved, a forest full of magical creatures… or three teenage boys who had transformed into animals and were accompanying their best friend the werewolf…
---
Indeed, Lily was not the only student running around the Hogwarts grounds after hours. The Marauders had arrived hours ago, at sundown. However, if anyone had stumbled across them, they would have found only a deer, a rat, a dog, and, more alarmingly, a werewolf.
Currently, the group was chasing each other around by the Black Lake, the deer running circles around the other three. Everyone but the wolf, who was sort of out of his mind at the time, was enjoying himself.
Remus didn't mind being an unfeeling, perhaps insane werewolf. It was a relief, actually- he had been feeling and thinking far too much lately. For the first time, he had been looking forward to a few hours free of human emotion.
If he had known what would happen that night, he never would have been so eager…
---
Lily reached the edge of the lake, panting. Leaning up against an oak tree, she looked out to the other side of the lake and gasped.
Three figures- no, four, one just a bit smaller than the others, were running around the lake, headed her way. As they got closer, she could tell what they were- a stag, a big black dog, a rat, and- she gasped- a werewolf.
---
Sirius saw her fist, and immediately panicked. A girl… a girl so close; if Remus saw her…
"James!" he barked. As animagi, they could communicate with each other, as well as other animals.
The deer looked back at him, curious. Although the Marauders could speak to each other in their animal form, they rarely chose to- simply running around, behaving like wild animals was fun enough.
"James- a girl- by that tree, look!" Sirius yelled.
James looked at the girl by the lake, and his eyes widened in horror. "Lily!" he yelped.
"It's Evans?"
"Yeah! Go- go distract Rem, I'll get her away!"
With that, the stag trotted away towards the oak, quickly. He was pretty sure that he could get Lily away from here- he only hoped that Sirius would be agle to hold Remus off…
Lily stood, frozen, by the tree. She felt as though the Leg-Locker Curse had hit her. Her were three large animals running in her direction, two of which were dangerous…she squinted. The dog, the wolf, and the rat had turned around, and now only the dear was coming towards her. Only, as it got closer, it started to look less like a deer and more like a boy- like James Potter…
"James?" she gasped, "But you were just- how did you…"
"No time to explain, Lils," he said seriously. "Look, I need you to go back to the castle, right away."
"Wha- why? I was only out for a run…"
"You picked the wrong night to go running, Lily. Now, just go back."
Suddenly, James was cut off by loud footsteps.
"RUN, LILY!" He yelled, turning back into his deer form.
Despite her better judgment, Lily stood still, gaping in shock. The deer threw its head towards the castle, but it was no use- Lily was somehow frozen.
The wolf- he looked so familiar. In fact, all of the animals did, but the wolf most of all. Something about him- his eyes, maybe- were so achingly recognizable that Lily was sure that she knew him.
This, in addition to the fact that James Potter seemed to be an Animagus, had caused her to freeze. She simply stood there, confused and worried and terrified, for at least a minute.
Until she felt something- something large- knock her to the ground. All she saw was black, darkness… and then, nothing.