Days in Avalon

Chapter Forty-Six: Blue Moon

As the girls left the tavern, Lily thought it was the best time to change the subject. "So what have you been up too?"

Andy shrugged her shoulders as she swung Lily's garment bag over her shoulder. "Same old stuff. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," said Lily lightly. "And Tristan?"

"Tristan is fine. Things have never been better," said Andy with a smile.

"That's great!" said Lily happily. "And Sirius?"

Andy stopped dead in her tracks upon Lily's question. "Where did that come from?"

"Well you two have been spending quite a bit of time together lately," said Lily. She could sense that Andy was getting ready to attack if things took a turn for the worse.

"So have you and Potter," said Andy in a matter of fact tone. "That doesn't mean I'm having dreams about him."

"Ha ha," said Lily dryly.

"Damn," Andy said suddenly.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"Honeydukes is closed," Andy said as she motioned over toward the now dark sweet shop. Lily then saw the closed sign and knew that sneaking back into the castle just got a bit harder.

"What about the other passages?" Lily asked, knowing of a few that they could get to soon before some of the other shops closed up.

Andy shook her head as she tried to think of a way back for them. "Flitch will be watching them this time of night."

"Guess we have to sneak in the old fashion way," sighed Lily.

Andy thought for another moment before an idea formed in her head. "Hold on," she said while stopping Lily from heading back up the road toward the school. "I know of another passage."

"Where?"

"Just follow me," said Andy with a smirk.

Lily followed Andy through the little streets of Hogsmeade until they arrived at a darken path leading away from the town.

"This path leads to the Shrieking Shack!" Lily said upon realizing where they were heading.

"Can't pull one over you Lil," Andy laughed.

Lily shook her head as she tried to think of where and how her friend was able to know about all these passages. "How do you even know this passage even exists?"

"I used it a couple of weeks," Andy said playfully. She knew Lily was trying to figure out her secrets but she was just willing to divulge the truth just yet.

"Have you been spending time around Haunted Houses and not telling me?" Lily inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"What's with the twenty questions?" Andy asked. When she saw that Lily was not going to give up until she knew the truth she sighed in defeat. "Fine. I went to the shack with someone."

"Who?"

Andy sighed deeply before answering. "Black."

Lily watched Andy for a moment before taking a breath. "Hmm."

"Don't start Lil," Andy fired before Lily could say anything. "It was nothing. The guy got hurt, so I took him there to stich him up."

"That's it? Nothing else happened?" Lily asked as she watched her best friend's face in the pale darkness.

Andy paused for a moment as her mind wandered back to that day when he had kissed her. The feel of his lips on hers and how they made her feel things she had never really felt before with anyone. In her mind she knew it was wrong to have kissed him. But in her heart, she never felt happier.

"Nope. Nothing happened," she said with her stone cold poker face. The face she only really uses when talking with her parents or a professor.

Lily knew she was lying, but decided that she would not push her any more on the matter. "Just make sure nothing does."

"What's that supposed to mean Lily?" Andy asked with a raised eyebrow

"People have been talking about you," Lily said with a warning tone.

"People always talk about me. I'm used to it by now," Andy laughed at her friend's revelation.

"Yes but not about you and Black," Lily said with a serious tone.

Andy glanced over at Lily while they walked the now darken path in the woods. "Where have you been for the last few years? Remember a little war started by Blackie?"

"Did your little war involve the two of you meeting late at night for secret meetings? Or Black practically stalking you around the castle when he knows you have a boyfriend?" Lily said with concern as she tried to make her friend see the seriousness of their topic.

Andy stopped in her tracks upon Lily's statement. "Excuse me?"

"Andy…Sirius is obsessed with you. He's made you his new target," Lily said with earnest. She knew that her best friend didn't care much for the gossip around the castle when Andy was the subject. In fact Andy usually just let people think what they wanted because as she put it 'it's easier for people to believe in a lie than in the truth'.

Andy scoffed at her friend's revelation. "No he hasn't Lily."

"Andy, you are the one person in his life that he can't have. You are the ultimate challenge for him," said Lily trying to make her see a bit of reason in this situation.

Andy sighed deeply while looking at the dark cloudy sky for some help. She could see the small sliver of moon light trying to break free of the dense clouds. "Lily for the last time there is nothing going on between me and Sirius Black. We are just friends. We've called a temporary truce. The war is over, and now it's time for all of us to grow up. There is nothing going on and there never will be. End of story."

Lily could tell that for once she was being serious. But she could also see that Andy was starting to believe her own lies or better yet didn't want to deal with the possibility that Sirius Black could have feeling for her. "Okay. If you say nothing is going on, then I believe you."

"Thank you," sighed Andy.

The two girls continued on the path to the shack and a more normal pace, rather than the leisure pace they had been going at. As the girls reached the second to last bend that would put the shack into view, Lily heard a sharp crack not far behind them.

"Did you hear that?" Lily asked suddenly.

"Here what?"

"That noise," said Lily. "It almost sounded like hooves."

Andy stopped for a moment and listened to the night. She could faintly hear the soft padding of something rather big that was running through the woods. "It's probably a deer or the centaurs running around."

"Maybe," said Lily looking out into the dark woods trying to see if she could find the cause of the noise.

"Come on the shack is not far now," said Andy as she swung the garment bag from one shoulder to the other. Just as they had taken two steps, the girls heard an ear piercing howl that sent chills down their spines.

The two of them stood there in a state of shock and fear of how close the howl was. Both of the girls turned to one another, each with now labored breathing. "What the blood hell was that?" asked Lily in a whispered voice.

Before Andy could respond they heard another howl that now seemed even closer than before. "Oh crap," Andy breathed out. Not even thinking, she quickly pulled out her wand and began to turn around a bit to see is she could detect movement in the woods.

"Wolves?" Lily asked breathless as she tried to control her breathing and pulled out her wand as well.

"Or wolf," said Andy darkly as she tried to remember what day it was. "Lily you don't think?"

"No it's can't be," said Lily as Andy turned around to face her. "There was a full moon already this month. I remember it clearly."

Andy looked up at the sky as a slightly dense cloud began to roll over the moon revealing more of it than before. "Are you sure about that?"

"Positive," said Lily as she watched Andy's face change into disbelief. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Because there is a full moon behind you," said Andy thickly as she watched the moon come into full view.

"What?" Lily spun around and saw with horror that indeed a full golden moon was hanging in the inky black sky with a few thick clouds slowly rolling through it. "Oh shit."

Andy shook herself out of her state of shock and allowed her instincts to kick in. "Blue moon," she muttered more to herself. Thinking that they had a chance to get to the shack, Andy walked up to Lily and began to pull her along. "Come on."

"We can't head for the shack," protested Lily as she dug her heels into the earth.

"Well he's not in there now. You have any better ideas?" Andy barked as she continued to look around and listen for any signs of movement.

"We could head back into town and bum a ride back up to the school. Or we could use the floo network," said Lily trying to come up with a rational idea in her state of panic. She tried to keep the memories of her previous encounters with a werewolf at bay. Memories that still occasionally caused her nightmares when she least expected them.

Andy shook her head before over powering Lily and pulling her down the road. The girls continue on the path toward the shack until they hear a branch snap in two and witness a large wolf sniffing the ground on top of a nearby hill.

"Remus," Lily breathed out as she prayed that the wolf before them did not look up.

"He's not Remus now," said Andy darkly as she flexed her fingers around her wand.

At that moment a soft breeze blew from behind them, causing the werewolf to catch their scent. The growled softly as he stared down at his new prey. The wolf took a small step forward while keeping his head low.

Both girls slowly took a step back from the coming wolf and tried to keep from any sudden movements.

"Nice Remus. Good Remus. You don't want to hurt us," said Lily softly as she hoped by chance that Remus would suddenly loose interest in them, or that some part of his human mind was still intact.

"Talking to him is not going to help Lil," said Andy as she watched the werewolf's footing and for any signs of attack. As she was keeping an eye the wolf, Andy was also looking around for any sign of the others that should be out with him.

'Where the devil could they be?'

"You have any better ideas, because we seem to be fresh out of silver bullets and a gun," Lily snapped.

"Great, now you become as sarcastic as me," said Andy. "Besides we can't kill him."

"Oh great! Now you want to get sentimental," muttered Lily as she continued to watch the wolf's movements.

"Do you think he's going to charge?" Lily asked in a hush tone.

"Merlin, I hope not. Come on Remus, just be a good little werewolf and let us by," said Andy in a calming tone. At that moment Andy accidently stepped on a twig sending a snap that sounded more like a gun shot through the night air.

Andy swore under her breath, as her instincts kicked in telling her that her friend was about to attack them.

"Run! On three," said Andy in a dark voice. Lily nodded softly as she pulled her wand tightly to her.

"Sorry for doing this Remus," Andy said softly. "THREE!"

With that Lily saw a bright purple light shoot from Andy's wand and hit Remus square in the chest sending him flying back at least fifteen feet.

The two girls ran into the woods and soon were separated in the thick of the woods. After a moment Lily suddenly saw bright red sparks shoot into the sky followed by Andy's voice in the distance yelling "Keep running!"

Lily ran with everything she had. At times she thought she could hear the werewolf right behind her, but every time she glanced back, she saw nothing but trees and darkness. After a few more minutes, Lily had to stop and catch her breath. As she leaned up against a tree she could hear the soft growls of an animal off in the distance.

"Back off you mangy mutt!" shouted Andy in the distance. A high yelp was followed by Andy's shout. Lily wondered where her friend could be and if she was alright. Lily sent off some red sparks into the air in hopes that Andy would take the hint and signal that she was fine.

A moment later Lily saw a set of white sparks that were a little over a hundred yards away. She began to run in that general direction to meet up with Andy. After a few moments Lily came to a clearing with a sudden drop about eighty feet away from where she turned up. On the other side of the clearing Lily saw Andy running towards her with a small cut near her hairline.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked.

"I'm fine. I just had a brush with a low tree branch," Andy huffed as she tried to regain her breath. "He's right behind me. I did manage to stun him, but I'm sure he has the scent of my blood."

"Now what?" asked Lily.

"We climb," said Andy she pointed to a pair of nearby trees with some branches low enough to climb up on.

"Climb?"

"I'll help you." As Andy began to give Lily a boost, the werewolf appeared and began to charge them.

Both girls ended up rolling out of the way as the wolf tried to choose his target.

"I'm getting real sick and tired of this Rem," said Andy as she fired yet another stunning curse at the wolf. She only managed to clip him as he began to stalk Andy. Before he could even lunge at Andy, Lily fired her own stunning curse at the wolf and sent him flying a few feet.

"Get up in the tree," said Andy as she rushed over to help her friend. Once Lily had a good grip on the low branch, Andy began to hoist her up more until she could get to a high enough branch.

"Andy watch out!" Lily shouted as she saw a blur of fur out of the corner of her eye.

Andy turned just in time to see a large paw come within inches of her chest. At the same time, Andy had let go of Lily's foot and fell backwards, while Lily began to slip. The bark of the tree cut into Lily's leg and she could feel a small trickle of blood roll down her leg. Lily fought and pulled herself up enough to sit on a fairly sturdy branch that could hold her weight at least for a little while.

As she looked down at her friend, she saw that the werewolf was now stalking Andy, circling her as if he were a shark. Lily took a deep breath before firing yet another curse at him. With each curse Lily fired, the werewolf jumped out of the way and a bit further away from Andy.

Andy looked around and saw the sudden drop of the hill nearby, along with an Oak tree that had a low branch hanging just above the drop. She also noticed that the tree's thick roots were sticking out as well. An idea suddenly popped into her head.

Before she could let Lily know she had a plan, the werewolf began to charge Andy like bull. Thinking on her feet Andy dodged out of the way and ran around the clearing knowing that the wolf would follow her. As she began to zig and zag through the clearing, Lily watched as Andy was nearly hit or bitten by the wolf.

Soon, Lily saw Andy make a mad dash toward the tree at the other end of the clearing were the drop was. She watched as her friend leaped on to the root and jump off it, while grabbing a hold onto the low branch. The force of her motion forced Andy to swing out from the branch like a gymnast on a high bar.

At the same time, Remus continued to charge after her and leaped over the root. Andy watched as her friend rolled down the hill and landed at the bottom of the hill hard.

"He's going to be feeling that in the morning," said Andy to herself as she jumped off the branch and walked back over toward Lily.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked from the tree.

"Yeah, but Lupin is going to have one hell of a headache in the morning. How about you?" Andy asked as she wiped her brow.

"For the most part," laughed Lily. "Now how do I get down."

No sooner than the words left her mouth did the branch give way underneath her. Lily crashed to the ground with a loud thump landing almost squarely on her behind.

Andy rushed over to her friend's side, "Are you hurt?"

Lily took a moment to get her bearing straight and take assessment of her state. "Just my pride," she laughed a little while groaning in pain.

"That's one way to get out of a tree," said Andy lightly as she helped her friend up.

"Is he…" Lily started to ask as she brushed off some of the dirt on her clothes.

"He'll live," Andy said dryly as she rubbed the shoulder that she had fallen on. The two girls took a moment to figure out where they were in relation to the main road.

"Where are the bags?" asked Lily after a moment.

"I dropped them back when Remus was chasing me. Don't worry I'll find them in the morning. If they aren't too badly ruined," said Andy apologetically.

Just as the girls were about the leave they could hear shuffling coming from the edge of the drop. Both of the saw a large paw come up from the edge and claw its way to the surface.

"You've got to be kidding me!" shouted Lily.

"Son of a bitch can't just stay down long enough for us to leave," said Andy darkly.

Before they could do anything, the werewolf had climbed back up the hill and was staring down Lily and Andy.

"Now what do we do?" whispered Lily.

"I'm thinking," Andy said in a low voice.

The two friends had their wands pointed toward the werewolf ready to cast whatever spell came to mind at that moment. But luckily, they never had to.

Right at the moment the werewolf was about to rush at the girls, a large hairy figure jumped out from a brush and collided with the werewolf. A second later, a large stag leaped into view and stood in between the girls and the two other animals.

Lily and Andy stared at the creatures with wide eyes as they watched the large black dog and werewolf square off. At one point in their little dance, the werewolf managed to get by the black dog and charged at the girls again. This time the werewolf was met with the stag's antlers that flipped him in the air and landing on his back some twenty feet away from him, Andy, and Lily.

"Looks like the cavalry finally arrived," Andy said in a low tone.

Both girls watched as the werewolf got back up and quickly made a mad dash into the woods and away from the stag and dog. Nearby, Andy heard a pile of leaves move could have sworn she saw a rat or chipmunk scurry off into the night after the werewolf. When she drew her attention back toward the stag and dog, it took her a moment to realize that this was the first time she had ever seen James or Sirius in there animagus form.

Lily walked up toward the stag and noticed how familiar the creature looked to her, yet he seemed a bit bigger than the last time she saw him. Once she was right next the stag, she gently touched its nose while the stag nuzzled into her soft caress. She soon became slightly lost at the velvety softness of the stag's fur and the beautiful hazel eyes that gazed back at her.

Andy watched on in the distance and had a feeling that she was watching a very private moment. It took her a second to realize that the big black dog was now standing next to her also watching the scene before them.

"And it only took the near death experience of a werewolf to get them to act like this," Andy said in a low tone while shaking her head. A second later she heard dog let out a low growl, and saw that its grey eyes were now staring darkly at her.

Andy knew what was going through his head at that moment just by the look he was giving her. "Don't even think about it there Snuffles!" Andy said in a harsh tone.

The sound of Andy's voice shook Lily and the stag out of their moment and forced them to turn toward the commotion. Lily saw Andy standing off to the side with her arms crossed having a staring contest with the black dog. A moment later the dog turned his head toward Lily and the stag. It was then that she noticed the striking grey eyes the dog possessed.

"Come on Lil. We should get going," Andy said as she turned to walk back toward the main road to Hogwarts. She took about four steps until the black dog stopped her.

Andy stared down at the dog as she did with a number of her enemies. "Get out of my way…mutt".

The dog lightly growled and barked at Andy causing her to slightly flinch at the loudness of his bark. Lily wondered why Andy seemed to be getting into a battle with a dog like she normally did with the likes of several Slytherins or one Sirius Black.

The stag made a noise that caused everyone to stop what they were doing. Once he had everyone's attention he began to head toward another path.

"I think he wants us to follow him," Lily said feeling compelled to follow the creature.

She noticed that Andy and the dog continued to stare at one another in some sort of silent battle that Lily didn't understand.

"Andy, come on! Please," Lily pleaded as she began to follow the stag.

Andy sighed in defeat before nodding toward her friend. "This isn't over by a long shot," she said roughly toward the dog.

The dog seemed to adopt a smug look upon his face as he watched Andy walk past him toward the stag.

The two girls followed the stag in silence for a long while. Both had their wands out, ready for any sort of surprise attack. After walking for about twenty minutes in the dark they soon could see the outline of the Shrieking Shack off in the distance.

"Are you completely nuts?" said Andy suddenly causing the party to stop in their tracks.

"Andy what are you talking about," Lily questioned.

Andy ignored her friend for a moment as she stared directly into the stag's hazel eyes. "I'm not going in there," she said in a stern tone.

Lily started at her friend as if she had suddenly grown another head. "What? Why not?"

"What if Remus went back into that house?" said Andy as if it were obvious. A second later the four of them heard the call of the werewolf off into the distance.

Lily and the stag looked upon Andy wondering if she had any other objections to the plan. The black dog on the other hand began to pant hard as if it were laughing. Andy glared down at the dog before rolling her eyes.

"Oh shut up you flea bitten mongrel," she said darkly. She quickly marched past the lot of them and headed toward the house. The stag trotted toward Andy trying to once again take the lead.

A moment later, Lily let out a small shriek causing everyone to stop once more.

"What is it Lil?" Andy asked.

"Something just ran past my feet," said Lily as she turned around in place trying to see what it was.

"Probably just a field mouse or rat," said Andy off handedly. The moment she realized what she had said the air around them changed to a serious tone once more. The stag and dog once again took on a defensive stance around the girls as they looked around for any signs of the werewolf.

Soon the lot of them could see the silhouette of the werewolf down the path they had just walked through. Both the stag and dog looked at one another silently communicating.

"Go!" said Andy suddenly causing both of them to turn toward her. "I know where the tunnel is in the house. Go deal with him until were back to Hogwarts."

She could see the werewolf begin to pick up some speed as it came down the path. The dog nodded in understanding, but the stag continued to look upon Lily with concern.

Andy walked up toward the stag and said to him a low voice, "I'll keep her safe, Jay. I promise. Trust me." The stag stared at her for a moment before nodding slightly. He bowed toward Lily before running off down the path with the black dog toward the werewolf.

Lily and Andy watched the two creatures run off for a moment before making a mad dash toward the Shrieking Shack. Once they were inside, Andy threw herself toward the hidden passage in the floor.

"Get in Lil," she said as she held it open the entrance to the tunnel. Lily quickly took the stairs down to the tunnel. As Andy began to descend the stairs, she could hear the growls and barks outside the shack. She didn't know where Wormtail was so she quickly decided to leave a calling card to let them know they were safe. She quickly conjured a small lily flower and left it by the entrance before heading down the tunnel with Lily toward the safety of Hogwarts.

AN: Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Life has been getting in my way, as well as a case of writer's block. Luckily the block is over and for the most part this story is almost finished.

Once again I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I'm sorry if some of my depictions of the characters are not to your liking or slightly go against cannon storyline/character history, but when I first began this story the series was not yet complete. (And yes, I have read all seven books multiple times) So now that J.K. Rowling (and soon Warner Brothers) has finished with the adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, please keep in mind now that this story is a slight alternate universe story. If this offends anyone…well I'm sorry, but that is the way the cookie crumbles. I thank you for your interest in this story, and I'm sorry if my interpretation is not to your liking. I'm sure you can find some other story on this site that will better meet your literary needs.

Now to all my faithful readers, thank you so much for sticking with this story! I appreciate your loyalty and interest. I hope the wait has met to your expectations, and that you will not be disappointed.

As always, flames, praises, comments, and criticisms are appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except this story and the characters I made up. Everything else I borrowed from J.K. Rowling.