It was Thursday, which meant the full moon was tonight. Remus was in the hospital wing that day, just as he always was the day of the full moon. He was too agitated and grumpy to be in classes.
Lily came to visit him, holding his homework from Transfiguration. "Here," she said kindly. "I thought you might like something to do."
"I don't want to do homework, Lily," Remus snapped. Lily was unperturbed. This happened every full moon. "I brought you some chocolate as well," Lily said and handed that over as well. This caught Remus' attention. He loved chocolate. "Thanks," he grumbled. He immediately ripped into the packaging and started eating.
"James and Sirius said they'll come around after dinner," Lily informed Remus. He nodded – this was normal, as they accompanied him to the Whomping Willow to transform. "And Marlene and Hestia send their love to your mother, along with these." More chocolate was handed over.
Remus always forgot that Marlene and Hestia didn't know of his condition and believed the old cover story. He was so used to being able to speak openly about it with his closest friends that it often slipped his mind.
"Why are you here, Lily?" Remus asked around his chocolate. Lily smiled.
"Because you're my friend, and friends help each other get through hard times."
She sat on the visitors chair and began her own Transfiguration homework. "James said that the entertainment provided on our date was your idea," Lily said conversationally. Remus forced more chocolate into his mouth. "So what?" he said around the food. Lily tried not to show disgust. Remus always took it the wrong way, thinking that she was disgusted he was a werewolf instead of being disgusted by his bad manners.
"So, I would like to say thank you for helping him out," Lily said honestly. "You're a really great friend."
Lily and the marauders (except Remus) had a theory that if they reminded Remus of his humanity before he transformed, transforming into a werewolf wouldn't be so rough. Their theory was unproven, though Lily liked to believe it worked, even just a little bit.
"You would make a great marauder, Lily," Remus said at last.
Lily was shocked. Was that meant to be a compliment? "How and why?"
"Because friendship is the most important thing a person can have," Remus paused to yawn. "Sorry, Pomfrey gave me a sleeping potion before. You are a valuable friend, Lily. You see us as pranksters… we see us as… friends…"
Remus began snoring and Lily smiled. She took the chocolate out of Remus's hands to stop it from melting and straightened up his bed sheets. "Sleep well, Remus," Lily whispered.
Lily didn't sleep well that night. She was too hot, then too cold. She woke needing the toilet at least three times. Lily even almost jumped in the shower because she thought she was late for class.
Lily's bed was next to the window, and next to the glass jug of cold water. She helped herself to a cup and stared out of the window. The moon was full and bright. Lily wondered if Remus was alright. She knew the transformation process was awful.
Deciding a cool breeze would be nice on her face, she opened the window and leaned out hopefully. Out of her peripheral vision, she spotted movement. Lily looked directly down below the window to see strange creatures moving about the grounds.
Under the moonlight, Lily recognised a werewolf. It was prowling about, sniffing everything it came across. On its left side, almost out of Lily's view because it was so close to the castle wall, a shaggy black dog was bounding happily alongside. On the right, a stag was standing tall.
"James?" Lily gasped. The stag looked up, having heard Lily. The werewolf also looked up and began growling. The black dog nipped the werewolf's leg and ran away with a quiet bark. The werewolf began chasing him.
The stag hadn't looked away from Lily the entire time. Lily looked at it at last, only to watch it toss his head proudly and gallop off to where the werewolf ran off to.
Lily was shocked. Were the boys really that stupid? Well, she supposed she didn't see Peter… but that wasn't the point! They were letting a werewolf roam about the school! Unprotected!
As furious as Lily was, she wasn't stupid enough to go outside and confront them right away. Remus could very easily kill her… or turn her. Lily wasn't sure which the worse fate was. Anything Lily wanted to say would have to wait until morning.
But morning didn't come quickly. Lily was wide awake and completely unsure as to what she should do. Going to Dumbledore seemed to be the logical option… but they were unregistered Animagi, they could get expelled and arrested!
Deep down inside her heart, Lily knew that they were only supporting their friend. But logic was telling her that they were being dangerous and reckless. Her emotions fought back, arguing that James had recognised her in his Animagi form (Lily had read up on them once she'd discovered James' secret and knew that in your animagus form, you were almost completely overcome by your animal's brain and instincts). All throughout the night she fought with herself, until she drifted off into an uneasy sleep at dawn.
James confronted Lily in the morning as she was coming down the stairs. "I know you have something to say so let's go somewhere private so no one can hear," he said quietly. Lily was not furious anymore; rather, she had toned herself down to just a tad angry and more than disappointed.
He led her to an abandoned classroom on the sixth floor. "You look tired," Lily observed. James ran a hand through his hair. "Well, you know why. So let's get this over with. Feel free to start yelling."
Maybe a few months ago, Lily would have started screaming. Maybe even just a single month ago. But Lily had matured so much in such a short amount of time, and learned things about James and discovered a depth to him that she had never seen before. Lily had all last night to think about what she was going to say, and she had discarded everything. She wasn't going to yell.
"I can't believe that you would do something so reckless," Lily said at last. James winced at her quiet tone. "He's a werewolf, James."
"He's my friend," James corrected. "He needs support in the full moon."
"Support, yes!" Lily agreed strongly. "But not adventure, James! You're putting everyone's lives at Hogwarts at risk! What if someone else saw you through the window?"
"Usually, we don't linger at the castle," James defended himself. "We run straight to the Forbidden Forest."
"So what made last night so special?" Lily asked. She leaned back on a desk, crossing her arms over her chest. "Wanted to feel the breeze in your antlers?"
James glared. "They're prongs. And I… it's stupid, but I was hoping to see you. I wanted to know if I would recognise you."
Lily rolled her eyes. "You can't risk exposing Remus' condition for a girl, James."
"That's exactly what Sirius said," James admitted with a smile. "But I had to know."
"As sweet as that is, James, I stand by what I said before. I can't believe you would do something so reckless."
James' temper flared. "We've been doing this since fifth year, Evans. We know what to do if things go downhill. We've never been caught, not ever. Don't expect us to stop helping Moony have fun during the most awful and depressing part of his life just because you tell us to," James argued ferociously. "You may be Head Girl, but newsflash: I'm Head Boy too. I know that I'm doing the right thing."
Lily felt sad. What she was trying to say just wasn't coming out right and James wasn't hearing it.
"I'm not telling you to stop what you're doing, James," Lily said calmly. James looked surprised.
"You're not?"
"No! Of course not. I completely agree with you; you're making light of a bad circumstance. I'm trying to tell you to be careful. Roaming about in the open is reckless and you could get caught." Lily's voice dropped to a whisper. "You could go to Azkaban."
James shrugged carelessly. "Maybe we could share a cell together."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Just… please, please don't linger in sight of the castle anymore, okay?" Lily begged. "I don't want you guys to get in trouble. The authorities won't be as understanding as I am."
James smirked. "Well, I have to admit, I didn't expect you to understand."
"I know." Lily smiled up at James, a smile which James returned. "But I'm a different person, James. I understand your value of friendship, and I understand that I have been rather narrow-minded to you in the past. I'm trying to remain open-minded now and accept that you're a bit different from me."
James laughed. "A bit?"
"A bit."
"So how are we similar?" James asked. Lily shook her head.
"I'm not going into that right now. I need my breakfast!"
Together, the two exited the classroom and made their way to the Great Hall. "Are you going to come to classes?" Lily asked. James looked extremely tired.
"I have to," he shrugged. "People have seen me. The others won't though, the lazy bastards."
Lily was concerned. "But you won't be able to concentrate. Your magic might not work properly."
James gave Lily a lazy grin, smothering a yawn. "You'll just have to help me out then."
That's right, Lily and James had classes together today. Only two though; Transfiguration and Potions. Lily was sure it was going to be an interesting day.