Previously:

Lily cut herself off from people at Hogwarts the first year and a half she was there- her Father's abuse and mother's cancer taught her that relationships would cause her more pain than they were worth. Things changed when James saved Lily from an attack organized by her father (a death eater of sorts). She became friends with the Marauders, especially with James. James wanted to be involved with Lily romantically, but Lily wouldn't allow it.

Chapter 14

Lily couldn't sleep. The night was too perfect to ignore. It was two weeks after term had started, but Lily still hadn't adjusted to going to bed before 1 AM. She was sitting on her bed in sweatpants and a cotton tank top, with the curtains pulled back as to reveal the window. Through the glass she had a startling view of the lake and grounds, all of which were engulfed in beautiful light beaming from the fully round, watchful moon. The usually black water of the lake looked as if it was pure silver.

Every night the grounds seemed to calm her- they were calm and in sync- they gave her the feeling that everything in her life would be alright. She hadn't spoken to her room-mates more than she needed to, and they didn't seem to mind that she let in the light.

Though it had been a mere fortnight, it had seemed like two months. The battle raging between her heart and head made every second longer. James had kept cornering her, asking her what was wrong, and if she could give him a shot. Sometimes boys were just dumb: if you say no and walk away, you are going to do the same thing an hour later. Besides, what did he really care? He had Cassandra, or whatever that Hufflepuff's name was. It seemed as if what they had had over break had turned into somewhat as a joke in James' eyes. Oh, what was she kidding. She secretly longed to see him in the hallway. There was something about him… something inviting, and warm. But then again, she couldn't accept a date. Her mother was doing worse, and had stopped writing letters. Instead the hospice nurse gave her daily updates…

Suddenly, something jumped out of the trees. It was a beautiful, sleek deer of some sort, with long, branch-like antlers. It leaped across the opening between the forest and the lake, bounding towards the west grounds. It was so graceful, but then, what was following it? A dog, big, and black like a grim. Was it chasing the graceful creature?

The next thing Lily saw made her jump and pull the covers around her tight. A werewolf, like those they had studied in DADA, came bounding along, now besides the dog. What was this bizarre group doing? A dog, a deer, and a werewolf? And they seemed to have a common mission in mind, and they seemed to not have any interest in eating each other.

Bizarre.

The next day after classes, Lily was still perplexed. The only possible answer was that they were anamagi. How else would they all be running around like that? Her curiosity was driving her crazy. All she needed right now was for something else to screw with her brain; James Potter was bloody enough. She wasn't fool enough to go on the grounds and approach them tonight, if they came back tonight, but still, maybe she could watch from afar. She knew a spell that could turn an anamagi back into their human form, and planned on practicing it after dinner, just in case she got a proper, safe shot. For the first time since her chilling encounter before break, Lily was going to break curfew.

(A/N For this next scene, think about the Harry Potter movies if you have seen them- Lily is hiding in the stone area where Hermionie punched Malfoy )

It was half past twelve, and colder than she had anticipated. The gray-brown stone scraped her fingertips as Lily grasped the uneven stones of the wall. Her fear of the grizzly dog and the werewolf were the only thoughts in her mind not consumed by her heart-pounding adrenaline. Would they come again? Would the strange group roam the grounds again tonight? And what if she got hurt… if a werewolf bit you, the rest of your life would be scarred with transformations. As if she needed another painful visitor every month… Lily had no fear of being caught by administrators. Though they wore off within ten minutes, she had charmed herself invisible. She would simply recast the charm when she started to see her hands moving in front of her again.

The moon was as bright, full and beautiful as it had been the night before. The grounds were slightly windy, as if the silvery air was lace blowing in the trees. It had been this time last night that the threesome had wandered through these parts…. Only twenty yards away.

For the entire day, Lily had searched all of her memories for the slightest hint of a student or teacher who showed signs of being a werewolf. It had to be someone… There were no full werewolves anymore- only humans that transformed. She had to be sure to stun the wolf before she transformed one of the others- the spell wouldn't work on natrually transformed creatures, and if the werewolf saw a human right infront of him, he would surely attack.

She heard a rustle in the trees, followed by hooves beating the ground and the sound of breaking limbs.

They were coming.

First came the stag. Seeing the creature close-up, she was in awe of its beauty and grace. It's coat shown a light brown, and it's eyes were patient. Then came the dog, a rash and scraggly creature who playfully nipped at the stag's heals. Lily's breath caught in her chest: she knew what had to come next. Out stepped the werewolf, looking physically menacing, but there was something about the eyes: soulful, understanding, and even greatful. This was her chance. As she raised her wand she saw the pale flesh of her arm: the charm had worn off. But there was no going back.

"STUPIFY!" The werewolf howled and fell over.

"MEGABLE!"

The spell hit the dog, and a electric blue-white light penetrated the night. The huge stray was lifted in the air, it's legs working madly to stay put. Moments later, the light disappeared, and a very confused, very naked Sirius was left standing where the dog had been. Lily's eyes widened and she gasped. The stag ran quickly to the other side of Sirius, in between him and the werewolf, who was sniffing in the opposite direction. Sirius Black the animagi! And now he was… naked, and very well built. A growling noise was coming from the werewolf: the stunning spell had knocked it off it's feet, but not frozen him. The werewolf slowly got back on it's legs. Lily panicked.

"SIRIUS! SIRIUS TRANSFORM! HE'LL ATTACK YOU"

Sirius looked up, and saw Lily screaming from the top of the hill. The werewolf, realizing that human flesh was within feet of him, bounded at Sirius. The stag pierced him with his antlers defensively. Sirius closed his eyes tight and suddenly began to spin very quickly, resuming his dog form. The werewolf, seeing that there was only one human left, howled and started to run up the slope to where Lily stood, petrified. Sirius jumped after him, snarling and biting at the creature with every bit of force he could muster. Without thinking, Lily ran as fast as she could. In through the courtyard, in through the double doors, and in through the entrance hall. She made sure to shove the doors completely shut- after all, a werewolf didn't have thumbs. Howls and barks came through the doors, but quickly faded. Lily quickly pulled out her wand and made herself invisible. That had been close, and she wasn't taking any more chances.

Lily woke up late the next morning. She hurriedly pulled on robes and socks, her shoes in her hand. She stumbled down the staircase, only to find Remus, James and Sirius in the common room staring at the fire. Lily quietly took a seat, knowing that they were waiting for her. Remus opened his mouth to say something, but spoke first.

"I… are we alone?"

Sirius nodded calmly, looking from the fire to Lily. As she saw them close-up, Remus, James and Sirius were all heavily cut and bruised. They needed to see a healer.

"Sirius, I'm so sorry- you could have been killed by what I did and-"

"Damn straight he could have been! You transformed him right infront of a werewolf. What the hell were you thinking?" James yelled, sending chills through Lily's body. His face was contorted with fury, as if Lily had intentionally tried to murder his best friend.

"James, it's not her fault. What would you of done? Besides, she didn't know the stunning spell wouldn't work. We knew there was risk when we decided to become-"

James snarled. Lily looked into the fire, ashamed.

"Sirius, I'm sorry. I thought the werewolf would stay stunned.. I should have researched it more thoroughly. It's my fault. But… James, or Remus, which is-"

"I'm the werewolf." Remus said gloomily. He sighed and began to tell Lily his whole tale.

While Remus was telling his story, James watched Lily. Perhaps he shouldn't of been so hard on her, but how could she have done that? At least she tried to hold Remus off. Somewhere in the back of the mind Sirius' words resonated. He would have done the same thing.

"… I will not take offense if you don't want to associate with me. As you saw last night, I am dangerous."

Lily looked as though she might cry. She got out of her chair and pulled Remus into a tight hug. Remus looked thoroughly relieved and hugged her back.

Sirius spoke quietly, his eyes entranced in the flames. "Lily, you have to understand that you CANNOT tell ANYONE about this. Both that Moony is a werewolf and that we are anamagi. Moony would be kicked out if students knew, and James and I would go to Azkaban for illegal transformation."

"I trust her. We can trust her," James said quietly. She had, after all, kept so many secrets in her lifetime.

Lily smiled weakly. She still didn't want to look at James. "We missed breakfast, but we can make first class. And here…" She whipped out her wall and healed they boys in turn. It was mandatory for Beauxbatton students to know simple healing spells…

The day progressed uneventfully. Classes were boring, though things seemed less colorful than usual. After dinner Lily retreated to the Library to check facts for her Transfiguration essay. The isles and isles of books were deserted, but still Lily went to her usual spot in the corner by the window.

Two hours and six books later, she was no where. She sighed and closed the books, dust flying in the air as the pages shut. Lily put her face on the desk and closed her eyes.

"Lily?"

Lily looked up. James was standing in front of her, looking uncomfortable. "Is it, I mean, can I sit down?"

"Sure! I'm not doing much… what do you need?"

"I just, I mean to say… I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have gone off like that. I would have done the same thing."

"No it's fine. I deserved to get yelled at. Sirius could of died."

"It wasn't fine. "

"Fine." Lily crossed her arms and slumped back in her seat. "Why a stag?"

James relaxed. "It fits my personality I guess, and it's always been my favorite animal. The woods behind my house are full of them, and I always admired them."

There was a silence. Both James and Lily looked out of the window.

"So… I haven't really talked to you since Sirius' party. How are things?"

"Things are okay, actually. My mom- well, things are okay."

"That's good to hear."

Lily stood up and grabbed her bag. "I'm going to go McGonagall's office to ask her a question, was there anything else?"

James looked weary. Did he need to have a reason to talk to her? And they were getting along so nicely. "No, nothing. Just, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted, James. See you in class," she said as she walked out of sight through the isles.

Lily chose the scenic route on the way to McGonagall's office. The east hallway, which was covering in windows of all shapes and sizes, revealed a beautiful view of the mountains around Hogwarts. Lily wondered what mountains they were- it had always bothered her that she had no idea where she was on the Earth.

There was a sudden BANG on a window as something hit it and bounced off. Flustered and tired, Lily's owl had not seen the glass. Lily quickly opened the latch to the window and pulled in the owl, disconnecting a small scroll attached to his foot. She had sent her mother a letter just a few days ago… this was an unusually rapid response.

Lily read the note and backed to the wall, sliding down to the floor. Tears poured down her face, and the world around her spinned in and out of focus.

Mom passed last night in her sleep. The funeral is day after next at the St. Alexandria Cathedral on West 23rd street. Her Will will be read that afternoon. Lily, we knew this was going to happen: be happy that she lived a full life and never regretted anything.

Petty

I really didn't like this chapter, though it was the longest one ever… I felt bad since I hadn't updated in like a month and decided to put two chapters into one. School has been INSANE and I never have time to write. Forgive me and review?

What do you think will happen next? Predictions?