A strange feeling washed over me as I sat in the dim lighted room, staring at everything but not quite seeing anything. We had learned all about werewolves and animagi in our third year, but it had never seemed so real until now. Unlike muggle school, where you learn how to solve math problems you will never have to use again, everything we had learned at Hogwarts so far was preparing us for the rest of our lives. I was no longer just a student at Hogwarts – I was a witch, and all the spells, potion, and charms I had perfected through the years weren't just schoolwork. They were my reality.

I looked over at James, who was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed as he stared out the window at the darkened field. He had to grow up so young after this reality was forced upon him so early. It was a shame…or was it an advantage?

Another strange sensation hit me, causing my spine to tingle and goosebumps to appear all over my body.

James and I were alone.

I suddenly felt very vulnerable as I sat on the lumpy couch, with nothing to do but stare at James. The comfortable silence we had fallen into now felt awkward, and I felt like I needed to break it. The question that had been in the back of my mind for a while now rose to my lips.

"James?"

"Mm?" He didn't turn away from the window.

"Why can't I just go back to the castle? Hogwarts is arguably the safest place in the world, besides Gringotts of course. I'd be fine there."

James pursed his lips. "I agree, the werewolf would not be able to get inside. But like I said, it has your scent, and it will not stop until it finds you."

"But it won't be able to-"

"It will try, Evans. It will howl and circle the school and wait. It will cause a commotion and wake up the entire school. What will the kids say when they see a werewolf stalking the school? A whole investigation will have the be launched, and when they find out it's Remus, he'll be expelled and exiled for sure," James explained, his unfocused eyes clearly seeing the scenario he portrayed in his head. "Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey are the only staff that know about Remus. They will not be able to protect him. So it's our job."

I felt incredibly selfish and ashamed. Remus was one of the most brilliant wizards I knew and his education meant everything to him. It would all be taken away if he was exposed…and I would never forgive myself if I were the one who exposed him.

Again, silence. My palms began to sweat and I looked for something else to talk about. In front of me were the contents Sirius had pulled from his pockets. I picked up the piece of parchment, wondering why Sirius Black of all people who be carrying such a thing around. It wasn't like he had any bright ideas that needed to be written down.

"Confused?" James smirked and strode casually over to the couch. His hands were in his pockets and he exuded the typical 'No worries' air, even when a vicious, uncontrollable werewolf was after us.

I smiled despite myself. "Sirius have an essay to finish?" I joked. James sat down beside me and took the paper from my hands.

"Before I reveal the secrets of the Map-"

"That's hardly a map," I pointed out, but he ignored me.

"-You must realize it was never made to spy on others, but merely know who was where at what time."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but before I could question him, his wand was out and pointed at the parchment. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

I gasped as the parchment slowly filled with ink, although no one was writing on it. Traces began to form and in no time the parchment was completely filled. It was a map after all.

"Is this….Hogwarts?"

James smiled proudly. "Indeed it is."

I opened up the parchment to reveal the several levels and corridors of the school. Even weirder, there were tiny pairs of footprints that moved throughout the map, showing where people were at all times.

"Normally I would be completely appalled and threaten to report you to the Ministry for stalking," I began as I stared at the map in amazement. "But this, this is incredible."

"Sirius, Remus, and I have been working on it since 5th year. We needed a new project after we mastered becoming Animagi," James explained fondly. "We call it the Marauder's Map."

I smirked at the self-given title and continued to turn flaps and tried to find familiar footprints. All the girls in my dormitory were asleep…in fact, the only pair of active footprints I really saw were located in the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore was wide-awake and pacing.

"He does that a lot," James added, noticing where I was staring. "Dumbledore rarely sleeps on Full Moons. It's like he expects for something to go wrong."

"So, you have a magical map that tells you where everyone in the castle is at all times, a chocolate bar-"

"Remus' favorite. It tends to perk him up a bit after the transformation back to human."

"-And a cloak…wait, is this…?"

James grinned and reached out for the cloak. He threw it over himself, and in no time, he was gone. My eyes grew wide.

"Merlin, you're completely invisible!" I cried in excitement and pulled it off him. He smiled stupidly and tried to smooth down his hair, but it didn't help. I wrapped the cloak around myself and it had the same effect. "How long have you had this?"

"My dad gave it to me when I left for school. Told me to stay out of trouble with it," James snickered. "As if."

"I bet many pranks have been pulled off because of this thing," I inferred and ran my fingers over the silky, water-like fabric.

"Don't forget the multitude of sleepless nights Filch has experienced," he joked and I laughed openly.

"If only the werewolf couldn't smell. It would never find me with this thing," I stated, but fell quiet as the harsh reality set in once more. I was still being hunted, and no cloak would be able to fix that.

James stared at me with concerned eyes, sensing my change in mood. "I know you're scared, Lily-"

I scoffed, although I was.

"-But just like we've protected Remus for the past two years, we can protect you, too."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Protect?"

"The werewolf will not touch you if we can help it," James reassured and reached out for my hand. I pulled it away.

"I don't need to be protected, Potter," I scoffed, crossing my arms defensively.

James gave me a look. "Sirius, Peter, and I have been doing this for the past two years. We know what we're doing."

I frowned and squinted my eyes in annoyance. "Yes, well, so do I."

"Don't be ridiculous, Evans. You didn't even know Remus was a werewolf until now!"

"But I aced the essay on werewolves in our Third Year!" I snapped, standing up from the couch.

"An essay is nothing compared to real life!" James retorted, clearly frustrated with the fact I wasn't going to play the part of some damsel in distress. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you or anything-"

"Offend? Please," I rolled my eyes, although I did feel a tad bit of inferiority from his words. "It's just that I can take care of myself, no thanks to you."

James looked as if he was going to reply but instead chose to close his eyes and lean back on the lumpy couch. I smirked at the fact I had gotten the last word and began to wander around the room. There was nothing more to see really, so I pulled my wand out of my pocket and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" I assumed James had opened his eyes, but when I turned back they were still close and he was rubbing his forehead. His hearing abilities must be impeccable.

"Don't get your antlers in a twist, I'm just going to explore the shack," I mocked. A part of me could have sworn I heard him chuckle as I left the room.

"Lumos."

The entirety of the house consisted of broken, worn furniture and creaky, unstable floors and staircases. There was a bedroom upstairs with a semi-stable bed, but I would still not recommend anyone to spend vacation here. After a while I got bored, and my thoughts wandered back to the previous conversation I was trying very hard to forget.

I, Lily Evans, was never one to play the girly-card. Sure I enjoyed makeup and sleepovers as much as the next female, but I had always been notably independent, too. I certainly did not need anyone to take care of me as I was more than capable to do so myself.

Eventually, I wandered back into the room to find James' examining the Marauder's Map. Without greeting him, I walked directly to the window and tried to find something interesting to look at. It didn't take long for me forget my boredom, however.

A loud, angry howl shook the house, much like the one that sounded before Sirius and Peter had left. However, this one seemed much closer, and much more hostile. Instantly, the lamplight vanished and the room was completely dark. I stood there, petrified, as I listened to James gather up the objects we had been looking at earlier in the dark.

"Mischief managed," he muttered for whatever reason, and soon I felt his hand clasp around mine. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

"Where will we go?" I asked frantically as he led me through the darkened house, too accustomed to it to need light as a guide. He didn't respond and pressed me against a wall.

"Stay here." And he was gone, leaving me all alone in the big, creepy shack.

All right, so perhaps his presence was a tad comforting. Standing there, alone, in the dark, with the chance a ferocious werewolf being right outside ready to attack, caused my breathing to become heavy and senses to be on high alert.

"Lily, the coast is clear. Follow my voice," whispered James from somewhere in the room.

"Where-"

"Just follow my voice," he repeated and I decided the sound was coming from my right. "Stay quiet, we're making a run for it, that's it."

I had reached him and wrapped my hand tightly around his, feeling safe once again, which bugged the independent part of me to no end. James opened a door next to us and shimmied through, me following diligently behind him.

"All right, get on my back," he instructed and let go of my head. I was about to question what he meant when James was no longer; the proud stag had taken his place.

"You have got to be joking," I muttered as the stag leaned its head forward, gesturing me to hoist myself up. I had never felt so awkward. Oh, the jokes Sirius could make about me riding James.

We took off into the moonlit night. The tall grasses of the field ticked my ankles but I stayed quiet as I gripped James- er, the Stag tightly around it's next, holding on for dear life. I kept a weathered eye out for anything moving in the grasses, but thankfully, I saw nothing.

In no time we had reached the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, when a dark figure jumped out of nowhere and stopped our movement. I screamed loudly and the Stag stood up on its hind legs in defense, causing me too fall off.

The figure's bark-like laughter caused me to look of from the ground to see a black dog quickly transform into a hysterical Sirius. I rolled my eyes, my heart still beating, and ignored Sirius' hand, instead hoisting myself up.

"Damn it, Sirius, don't do that!" A newly transformed James snapped and turned to me. "Are you all right?"

"Never better," I grumbled and dusted the dirt off my jeans.

"Sorry, sorry, but that was funny as hell," Sirius snickered and it took all of my willpower not to wipe the grin off his face. "It's good to see you out of the house, though."

"What happened? Where's Peter?" James demanded, sounding worried.

"The werewolf was by the lake for a while, still conflicted over moralities. We revealed ourselves and caused some Remus to come back, but not for long. I tried to fight it but it got away. I told Peter to hide out in the caves for us," Sirius explained and whipped his now untidy hair out of his face.

"Are the caves safe?" I asked, my eyes darting around our location for any sign of more moving shadows.

"Yes, but we can't go now. The werewolf is out in the field now, we have to get into the forest to hide," James' elaborated and started to lead the way into the thicket of trees.

"Come on, I know just the place we can go," Sirius proclaimed and stepped ahead of us. I sighed, feeling exhausted already, and trekked behind the two Marauders for our new hiding spot.

Sorry for the late update, but here you go! Thanks to everyone so much for subscribing, reviewing, etc. You are all so appreciated.

Next: Lily, James, and Sirius get into a massive argument that distracts them from seeing creatures in the forest that have been hungry for a long time…after all, Hagrid is usually their only visitor. Fending them off will be a challenge, but escaping without injury is impossible.

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