"…As well as your body, and can you lie next to her and confess your love?"

Lily was feeling extremely anxious. She had been waiting in James' dorm for about an hour now. He had yet to come back from… from whatever he was doing.

What could he be doing at this hour?

Lily was sitting on the edge of his bed, hands folded tightly in her lap, feet crossed over one another and switching every so often. She glanced at the clock on James' bedside table- 3:45 A.M. Then she glanced out the window. The full moon was completely visible in the cloudless night sky. Lily sighed, and pulled her camisole down as it had begun to ride up on her torso.

She had woken from a nightmare that had her whimpering in her sleep and soaking her with a cold sweat. Her dream had involved a serpentine face, hooded figures with skeletal masks, and a bright green light. She had sat up very quickly as the light in her dream had hit first James, then her. The flash of residual green had met her eyes when she opened them. She realized that she had tears pouring down her face. Instantly, she had kicked off her duvet, and padded down the hall that connected the two Head's bedrooms and entered James' room only to discover his empty bed, still made, and no James in the room anywhere. Confused, she had looked out in the common room to see if he was studying, but they had all the same classes and no exams were coming up anytime soon. She had tentatively called out his name seeking to know where he was.

There was no answer.

So, she had decided to wait in his room. He couldn't be long, he must be with his mates or something.

Lily wrung her hands a bit, and her leg began to bounce up and down in nervousness. What if something had happened to him? She knew that his mates and he would leave the Hogwarts' grounds without permission. She didn't know how they did it, but she knew they managed it somehow. Lily also knew that James was not stupid. He wouldn't leave the grounds with the increasing Death Eater threats lately and the Dark Lord making random appearances in Muggle and Wizarding towns alike.

Lily's nightmare came back to her full force, and she began biting her nails. A nervous habit she had picked up from Petunia when she was 5.

From the common room, Lily heard the portrait slide open. Her eyes widened in fear and she ran to close James' bedroom door. She grabbed her wand from the bedside table she had placed it on and ran behind the bed, pointing her wand at the door.

She could hear footsteps padding their way down the hall to the room. The door opened slowly, and the light turned on. Lily shrieked and almost yelled out a hex when she saw her familiar head of unruly black hair, and the warm eyes of her boyfriend: James Potter.

He walked into the room and discarded his shirt. He jumped a little as he noticed the frazzled red-head on the other side of his bed.

"Lily?"

"James."

Lily tossed her wand onto the bed as she hopped onto and over it and ran over to James leaping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

"Ah… Lils… ouch…" James hissed, but wrapped his arms around Lily nonetheless.

Lily lifted her head from the crook of James' neck and looked at his face. It was bruised and scratched. Her eyes trailed down his neck to his chest. The same afflictions covered his skin there, too.

Lily traced the beginnings of a bruise that was developing on his collar bone. It was the ugly pinkish purple, the color before the blackish-blue that would take over in a few hours.

James hissed again and bit his lip.

"James… what happened to you? I knew it… you left the grounds! And… and I was afraid that… they… are you alright? Did you get any of them? What happened? Tell me." Lily's hands frantically traced his skin, trying to find every last injury on James' beautiful body.

James carried Lily over to his bed and sat down. Lily was still straddling him, her legs wrapped around his waist. Lily carefully placed her hands on each of James' pectoral muscles, her thumbs caressing him. James closed his eyes and reveled in Lily's ministrations.

"Tell me, James. Where were you?"

James opened his eyes and gazed into Lily's.

"I wasn't in any danger. I was still on the grounds… kind of. Er, for most of the time."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Tonight was a full moon, Lily. And you should know… I should tell you… that Remus…"

"…Is a werewolf."

James gaped at Lily is surprise.

"How…"

"I've known since third year. Don't worry, James, Remus knows I know, too. I wouldn't treat him any differently because of something that isn't his fault."

"You're one of the few these days, Lils." James' eyes shone with affection and relief as he looked at Lily's face.

"That still doesn't explain what happened to you, though."

James gulped. Lily watched his Adam's apple bounce in his throat.

"Well, you see, Remus is a werewolf, as you know. But what you don't know, is that my mates and I… keep him company on full moon nights."

Lily's eyes widened, her gaze piercing into James' eyes, which looked down.

"Are you meaning to tell me, James Potter, that you purposely stay with a transitioning werewolf, then… keep him company while he's a werewolf, knowing perfectly well that if he bites you, you'll turn into a werewolf, or worse yet, he'll just kill you?"

"It's not like that Lily. We're…" James took a deep breath. "We're not human when we're with him."

"You're… not… hum- you're an animagus."

"Yes."

"Registered?" Lily asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Not exactly."

"What does that mean?"

"Dumbledore knows."

"Where do you go?"

"The Forbidden Forest… sometimes. And the Shrieking Shack. It's not haunted. Dumbledore spread that rumor. It was built for Remus. The Whomping Willow was planted for him, too." James shrugged.

There was silence between them as Lily processed this new information and James waited, dreading her reaction to it. It surprised him.

A tiny smile graced Lily's face and she leaned her forehead against James'.

"You're such a great friend to him, James. I'm proud of you."

James leaned forward and pecked Lily on the lips.

"I thought you'd be angry, completely explode at me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I wanted to wait until…"

Lily placed her finger on his lips.

"You don't have to explain, James. I understand. I know you would've told me when you were ready. I guess that time came just a bit earlier than you wanted it to."

James smiled with Lily's finger still placed on his lips. He playfully nipped her fingertip. Lily drew her finger away and mockingly glared at him.

James brought his arms around her back and pulled her in for an embrace. Lily buried her face in the crook of his neck. James rubbed her back soothingly, while Lily played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"What had you bothered, tonight, Love?" James asked. "You were in my room for a reason. Don't think it won't go unnoticed."

Lily tensed and James' grip instinctively grew tighter.

"Lils?"

"I had a nightmare. Death Eaters were attacking us. And then… and then the… he came. And he killed… oh, James. He killed you. And then… he pointed his wand at m-me…"

Lily buried her face in the crook of James' neck once more. James rubbed her back with soothing circles.

"It was just a nightmare, Lils. I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you came in… and then I come in all bloodied up like… oh Lils. I'm sorry."

Lily nodded.

James continued softly, "Hey… you're okay. I'm okay. Alright? Look at me."

Lily looked up. James gave her a reassuring smile, and she couldn't help but smile back, the coldness of her nightmare seeping from her mind being replaced with the warmth only James' eyes and smile could give. She leaned her forehead against James'.

"Stay with me, tonight?" James asked.

Lily slowly lifted her head and looked at James square in the eye.

"You… you mean…"

James' eyes widened.

"N-no! Not like that… I mean… if you… then I… we don't have to… I just…"

Lily leaned forward and kissed him, effectively shutting James up.

When Lily drew back, she was content to see James' eyes still closed.

"Let's get you patched up and ready for bed."

James smiled and nodded.

Lily grasped her wand once more and set to work repairing the scrapes, cuts and scratches on James' back, torso, neck and face. She then made the bruises less prominent, and some went away altogether. James hissed his approval as the cuts stitched themselves up with new skin, and the bruises faded from existence.

Lily kissed each part of skin as it repaired itself. James' breath was becoming shallow and inconsistent.

"Lily… if you… shit….."

Lily kissed her way up to James' neck and stopped a millimeter away from James' lips.

"Now… about that. I… I want to, James."

James opened his eyes and stared incredulously at Lily, who was blushing profusely and refusing to look at him.

"Lily… Lils, look at me… please."

He coaxed her chin up to see her gorgeous eyes.

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I want this, James."

James looked from one eye to the other. He couldn't see a single trace of doubt or fear. He leaned forward slowly and placed his lips on hers. Lily responded eagerly, pushing him back onto his mattress. James wasted no time in flipping them over so he was on top. He stopped kissing her for a moment.

"Lils, if it becomes too much… you can tell me to stop. I won't feel bad. Honest."

"Shut up, James." Lily grinned.

James grinned back and once again descended to kiss her.

They shared their first time with each other, the first time they had given their bodies to anyone. It was awkward at first, but then got better. Afterwards, Lily was asleep in James arms. James was thinking so hard, he was afraid Lily would wake up. But she didn't. She remained in a quiet, peaceful sleep, chest rising with each breath she took. Her dark red curls tumbled down her back and James absentmindedly ran his fingers through the silken waves.

The thoughts that James was having were borderline scary. He had never felt this way about anyone before. Lily was… something else entirely. It was like she was literally a piece of him. His other half. When he wasn't with her… he wasn't James Potter.

He wasn't sure he was ready to say it to her, it was too soon for that… but he was damn well ready to admit it to himself:

I love Lily Evans. I always have.

AN

I'm not one for writing lemons. Never have been. Plus, I heard somewhere that if the content is not explicit in a book or story, it actually means more to the people who share that moment, like it's more special and more about love… I dunno where I heard it, but I remember it. Who knows.

Also, listen to the song "White Blank Page" by Mumford and Sons. It's such a great song, and when I heard it for the first time, I instantly thought of Lily and James. Nerdy? I guess. Do I care? Nope.

LiLy S.C.