We walked. And we walked. And we walked.
With every twig-snapping step I took, the menacing trees got thicker, and the eerie moon shone less and less through the leaves above. Eventually, we all had our wands out to light the path we were following – if we even were on a path.
"Er, Padfoot," James would mutter every now and then. "Where exactly are we?"
Without looking at him, Sirius would wave his hand, dismissing the question. "We're almost there."
I rolled my eyes behind them while crossing my arms, trying to conserve what little body heat I had left. The June air that warmed the grounds during the day clearly did not persist for all hours of the day. I clenched my jaw together, trying to keep my teeth from chattering.
"Padfoot-"
"Just give me a minute!" Sirius snapped, spinning around and examining the trees around us. "Er, does anyone happen to have a compass?"
"Are you kidding me, Black?" I cried in disbelief. "We're lost?"
"I am never lost, Evans, merely…off course," Sirius replied uncertainly and I groaned in frustration.
"Where were you taking us to begin with?" James inquired breathily, clearly trying to keep from shouting.
"Well, one time Remus and I built a firepit-"
"And what were you planning to do once we got there, roast some marshmallows and sing campfire songs?" I growled. "In case you forgot there's a bloody werewolf that wants to kill me!"
"Well with that attitude, I'm not surprised," Sirius huffed and my fists clenched tightly at my side.
"Sirius, please live up to your namesake and be serious for once," James muttered as he placed his wand in his hand. "Point me!"
The wand spun around and then pointed back from where we had come from. Sirius walked over and stared at it for a while, before sighing. "Yeah, we're lost."
I started pacing menacingly. "Of all the stupid things you've done, Black-"
"Oi, pipe down Evans, we wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for you!" Sirius glared accusingly.
"Only because you wouldn't tell me where you were going in the first place-"
"Oh yes, that would have been the easiest route to take. Hello Evans, yes, we are going to go turn into Animagi and hang out with our werewolf friend for the night!" Sirius mocked and I breathed sharply out of my nose.
"I'm not the one who got us lost in the Forbidden Forest!" I yelled, my anger rising. "It's Forbidden for a reason!"
Sirius smirked sarcastically. "You believe the rumors, then? That there are werewolves in the Forest?"
"Look, I have classes tomorrow, my feet hurt, I'm freezing-"
"Oh, complain, complain!" Sirius shouted and put his hands on his hips, as if scolding me. "You know, when life gives you lemons-"
"I COMPLAIN ABOUT THE LEMONS!" I bellowed, roughly one more sarcastic remark from strangling him with his own, overgrown hair.
"Quit being such a bloody princess!" Sirius yelled back at me, his grey eyes hard. "What, are you in that time of the month or something?"
Oh, now he'd done it. "Why yes Sirius, I am currently bleeding, would you care to join me?"
"Like you could hurt anything larger than a fly-"
"Yeah? Care to test that theory out-"
"Enough!" James snapped and stepped in the middle of us, his fierce glare making me cross my arms defensively. "We're never going to get out of here if you two don't stop bickering."
Sirius began to mutter to himself. "It's not my fault she's such a-"
"Sirius, please attempt to be a gentleman," James pleaded, but it sounded more like a command than a suggestion.
Sirius groaned. "But she's being so difficult! You need to get your head out of your arse Potter and see she isn't the angel you think she is!"
"Shut your mouth, Sirius-"
"Will you quit defending her for once in your life?" Sirius bellowed, his grey eyes blazing. "You need to get your head out of your arse long enough to see how arrogant, condescending, and stubborn she is!"
I frowned, admittedly a little hurt as James stepped towards Sirius. "You're one to talk about arrogance, Black."
Sirius scoffed. "And now you're turning on your best mate for her, too!"
"Quit acting like a Saint, I can't even count how many times you've prioritize some girl before us," James accused. At that moment something tickled my arm, but I brushed it off without even thinking.
Sirius pointed a finger at James. "But I have never, nor would I ever favor a girl over Moony's well being, and that's what makes us different."
This time it was my neck that tickled once more and I brushed it again, uncaring. Silence hung over the misty ground as I stared at my shoes, wishing nothing more than to be back at my dormitory. The Forest was beginning to give me the creeps, and I started seeing things run across my feet.
"We better figure out some way to get out of here, then," James mumbled finally, still glaring at Sirius. I was hardly listening however, as I looked closer at my feet at the moving shadows.
Wait a minute…
I screamed and shook my feet, running over to a tree stump to stand on.
"What's wrong?"
But before I could reply, I noticed how the spiders on the ground were not alone, but were accompanied by hundreds more the size of dinner plates hanging down from the trees. James and Sirius must have followed my astounded stare as they too yelped and tried to find safety.
There was a clicking nose in the air. "Should we take them to Aragog?" one of them said, thought it would have been impossible to guess which one.
"No, then we will have to share with the rest," replied another sinisterly. "And I haven't had a proper meal in quite a while…"
Getting beat up by a tree, being hunted by a werewolf, and now this? I pulled out my wand a began firing curses at every spider I saw. James and Sirius began to do the same, but it seemed as if the arachnids multiplied with every hex I sent.
"Any ideas, Prongs?" Sirius yelled, fighting off a swarm of them.
"I'm thinking!" James yelled back.
"Think faster, Potter, because the only way we're getting out of here alive is if we spontaneously grow wings and fly-"
"The brooms!" James and Sirius exclaimed at the same time.
"Do you see any broomsticks around here?" I snapped as a shot a curse so powerful it sent at least a dozen spiders backwards.
"Accio broomsticks," James cast as Sirius protected him from the swarm of spiders still upon us.
"Do you honestly think that will work? Summoning broomsticks all the way back at the castle?" I cried, starting to get desperate and tired, overwhelmed by the number of spiders that continued their attack despite my strong efforts.
"Of course not," Sirius replied, almost laughing. "That's why we stored some at the shack just in case!"
At that moment, two broomsticks came zooming out of nowhere, promptly stopping in front of James and Sirius, respectively. In my amazement, I completely forgot to continue defending myself, and white-hot pain suddenly erupted from my wand arm.
I cried out in anguish as James' hexed the spider that bit me and wrapped an arm around me to lift me unto the back of his broom. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the pain as James rose up out of the trees and far away from the spiders.
I didn't know how long we had been flying; all my senses were focused on the pain in my arm, but in no time we had stopped by a cave in the mountains nearby Hogsmede. I practically fell off the broom, gripping my aching arm as I leaned up against the cold rock wall of the cave.
"Well, that was a close one," Sirius admitted, the hint of a smile exposing his love for adventure.
"Remind me to never trust your sense of direction again," James laughed, wiping his sweaty brow and grinning from the adrenaline. "Next time you might lead us right into the midst of banshees."
"Actually how cool would that be, we could totally beat them-"
"I know, I mean after all we just escaped a multitude of vicious spiders – speaking of which, who the hell is Aragog? Their spider leader?"
"'Dunno, we should ask Hagrid, he probably knows."
"Knowing Hagrid, they are probably his pets or something!" James joked and he and Sirius burst out laughing, punching each other and acting as if they hadn't just gotten into an argument a half hour ago. As long as I live I will never understand boys.
"What do you think Evans, has Hagrid-," Sirius stopped when he noticed my bloody arm in the moonlight. "Merlin's beard…"
"What is it?" James asked, still slightly chuckling as he turned to wear Sirius was looking. His face instantly contorted to a mix of emotions I couldn't guess. "Lily-"
"I'm fine," I managed, trying to sit up straighter.
"Like hell you are!" Sirius cried as James kneeled beside me, gently taking my arm in his hands.
"Why didn't you tell us it bit you?" he demanded and began fumbling for his wand in his back pocket. "I just thought it had gotten a good grip on you- Merlin, there's so much blood-"
"It's not poisonous, right?" I asked shakily, trying to not convey how truly terrified I was and how much the bloody bite hurt.
"I don't think so…" James trailed off. "Lumos."
In direct light it looked even worse and I winced at the sight of it, shutting my eyes. "Sirius, some water please."
"Aguamenti."
A cold stream of water made the bite burn even more and I couldn't help the moan that escaped my lips.
"Too much blood-"
"You have apply direct pressure, mate."
"Right," James said. "Lily, can you hear me?"
"I'm not dying, you prat," I snapped, hating feeling like the damsel in distress even in my present state.
"Okay, I'm going to take of your jacket for you then." James unzipped my jacket and helped me get my arm through one of the sleeves, before slowly rolling up my shirt to expose the bite, which was oozing ruby red blood.
"Hold on, Peter is supposed to be here," Sirius said suddenly, looking around the cave with his wand light. "Do you think…?"
"No, the wolf is after Lily, he wouldn't bother with Peter if Peter wasn't with her," James concluded.
"I meant do you think he…I dunno, ran off?" A silence hung heavy in the air.
"…You better go look for him, make sure he's all right," James insisted, and I got the hint this wasn't the first time Peter has pulled the disappearing act before.
"Right, good luck then," wished Sirius. "Hang in there, Evans."
"Thanks," I muttered, feeling tears fill my eyes from the wounds exposure to open air. James began to unbutton his flannel shirt before pulling off the white t-shirt underneath. He did that thing boys do where they tug at the back of the neck, pulling it over their heads. That, combined with his nicely toned chest gave me a pleasurable feeling in the pit of my stomach.
After his plaid shirt was re-buttoned (unfortunately), James began to tear the white t shirt to spreads, then tying them above my arm, making me wince once more.
"I'm sorry Lily, I've got to," James pleaded, sounding all most in much pain as I was. With the left over cloth he cleaned the wound with water, and soon enough the bleeding stopped.
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