A good amount of teasing, hexing, and trying to kill each other later, it was finally just a month until they were going home for the summertime for the Marauders and Lily and Emmeline. The weather was breathtakingly captivating as their exam time rolled around. It was all they could do for the stressing students to keep their minds on their studying and not on the fresh air just out the window. Many took refuge in the classrooms with no windows so that they wouldn't be so tempted.

One who seemed immune to the stress over exams was Lily Evans. Because she'd already known each of the notes she took that year forwards and backwards, she would stroll the grounds looking for something to explore. She'd already become familiar with every square inch of the grounds, and had now taken to adventurous treks deep into the Forbidden Forest.

It was dusk on one of those days that she'd nothing to do again and didn't feel like going on a hike that there was an owl perching at the window of her dormitory. Curiously, she took the note from the owl's leg, gave it a pat on its tawny head, and rapidly read the letter:

Lily,

You and Emmeline meet us in the Astronomy Tower at 10:00 this evening. Come armed. –M.W.P.P.

She hesitated. She disliked them to the greatest degree before hatred, the person keeping it below hatred being Remus.

And yet…

What did she have to lose? They couldn't get into bad trouble, just detention, if they were caught. She may dislike the Marauders, but she needed a change in atmosphere. She yearned for some suspense, and the rustling of leaves behind her in the forest weren't cutting it.

She left the dormitory in search of Emmeline, only to be stopped short on her way out the door by Emmeline herself. Lily thrust the letter at her and they met eyes with a look of knowingness. They didn't need to say that they were in.

They talked little as they piddled around the castle together, each girl deep in her own thoughts. Ten o'clock just couldn't come quick enough, but finally it was time to walk up, up, up to the Astronomy tower, and they still had time. But luckily they could start early since the boys were there even before them, all on their toes and ready to go.

"Well?" Emmeline inquired excitedly.

Each of the boys looked to one another. "We need your help," Peter had spoken, for once in his tagalong life.

"What?" Lily had to admit that she was disappointed. She couldn't hide it. She had expected a sort of adventure, not a bunch of errands.

"Don't look so down. There's a tree there-" James pointed down to an ugly, knarly, tree that looked to have been literally twisted down on the grounds.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what it does?" Sirius asked, annoyed.

"Err…correct me if I'm wrong, it provides shade, sheds leaves, and sits there," Lily said sarcastically.

"See for yourself," Sirius challenged with such a superiority that Lily wondered for a moment what exactly she was getting into. But hey, it a challenge, and she needed something to occupy her.

"You're on," Lily agreed.

So all of six of them made their way back down to the grounds, illuminated by the half moon, until they were right in front of the tree.

"Right, Lily, try to touch the trunk," Sirius was enjoying this. Oh, he was enjoying this more than anyone could say.

And so she walked towards it, but as soon as she came within its shadow, it came at her, literally came at her. It grabbed her around the waist and brought around in the air, down, then up, and then down again, hitting her on its other branches along the way. She was too scared to scream.

With quick senses and a calm gesture, Remus called "Accio, Lily!" And he brought her flailing out of the grasp of the tree.

"That was mean," he muttered, staring down at his shoe. He didn't like to scold his friends, but he didn't want to be the one tricked into going to face his near-death.

Lily sat there, on the ground for a moment, stunned. She couldn't move, she could barely even breathe. It was as though she had been turned to stone.

"Lily?" Emmeline said unsurely.

"She's in shock," Peter's voice came from the darkness.

Emmeline walked over to Lily, and held her hand out to touch her shoulder. She jumped at the contact, but then relaxed seeing it was Emmeline. She collapsed into her best friend's arms, shivering, even though it was warm out.

Sirius felt a pang of pity for Lily, but just as quickly as it had come, it was gone once again. He and the other boys walked to where the girls crouched, forming a protective circle around them.

"Does it really just 'sit there', Lily?" Now it was Sirius who spoke, with a hint of a smile.

Lily took a shuddering breath. "You win,"

"So what do you need with the…" Emmeline searched for the right word, but eventually just settled with: "thing?"

"We need to know how to make it stop doing that," Remus said matter-of-factly.

"Why can't you just do it?" Lily breathed reproachfully.

"People won't get suspicious with you looking for information on murderous trees, but they'll think we're up to something," James explained.

"Aren't you though?" Emmeline asked.

"We have permission from a superior," Sirius said, puffing out his chest.

"But yet you're worried about people thinking it's suspicious," Lily had regained her composure after a few more shuddering breaths.

"They asked us to keep it quiet, but we need your help," Peter spoke.

"Okay," the girls agreed. Emmeline and Lily immediately went to the library, followed by the boys, who were more than willing to help.

"Herbology…herbology…trees…" Lily spoke quietly under her breath as she ran her finger over the books until she found one, Magical Trees and Their Uses.

She looked in the glossary until she found just what she was looking for. "Here it is: The Whomping Willow is known for its way of protecting itself. Whenever someone gets close to it, it tries to kill him by means of its branches. They natively grow in the West quadrant of Spain, but one can find them all over the world."

"Does it say how to make it stop trying to defend itself?" James asked her.

Lily held up her hand and continued reading. "While many believe that a simple immobilizing charm will make it vulnerable, the best way to do so is to find and press upon its single Freezing Knot, which will freeze the tree for exactly one minute."

"So all we needed to do is push a knot and it will stop trying to kill us? It's that easy?" Sirius asked, in awe.

"Seems so," Said Emmeline, who was reading over Lily's shoulder.

"But the question is, how are you going close enough to the knot so that it doesn't kill you?"

"We've gotten that part figured out," Remus said with a knowing glance at each of the other Marauders.

"Well?" Lily said impatiently.

"Ask us no questions, we'll tell you no lies, Evans. Your services are no longer needed, thank you," James said coolly.

"Uh, no. We came this far only to be told that you were using us?" Emmeline snarled angrily.

But the boys just stood there, both girls fuming furiously. "Just don't expec-" Sirius clapped a hand over Lily mouth. "SHHH! Do you want to be discovered?"

She bit his hand, hard. "Just don't expect us to do your dirty work next time." She whisper-yelled.

And she turned on her heel and walked out, being sure to slam the door behind her and Emmeline and taking the long way around to the Astronomy tower.

"Where are we going?" Emmeline was jogging to keep up with Lily's speed-walk.

"If they won't tell us what they're doing, then we're just going to have to find out for ourselves, then." Lily matter-of-factly explained.

"Right. But what if-" Emmeline got tired of running and spun Lily around. "But what if they already suspect that. You have to make them believe that you've forgotten everything about it." Emmeline had a point.

"You're right," Lily gave in. "They just make me so mad sometimes. I wasn't thinking,"

"It's alright, Lily. Let's go to bed. And remember, tomorrow, you're over it." Emmeline reminded.

And the two girls hurried off to their dormitories unseen.

A/N: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling comes out tonight at 12:00am.

WAHOO!! )

Please R&R!

-Ali