Choices

Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. If it did, James and Lily Potter would be alive.

Last Chapter

Sirius heard a faint 'shush' and suddenly, where his friend had been on top of him, there was a beautiful stag. He moved his head and saw Remus transforming.

'It's a full moon!' was his last thought before transforming himself into Padfoot.

Not long after getting dark, the kids were sent to their beds and tucked in. Lily felt really relieved for Potter Manor having so many spare bedrooms, otherwise there wouldn't be enough rooms for everybody.

The children were very tired, as the day had started really early, so they didn't complain that much when their mothers decided that time was up. Fred and George cried a bit though, but Molly said it was just a scene. After a sharp look from their mother, they swallowed their tearless cries and went to bed rather excitedly. Alice and Lily couldn't help but feel amazed how intelligent the two little boys were. They couldn't even speak clearly, but they surely could get things done the way they wanted. Well, if Molly wasn't around to stop them, that is.

Harry, Ron and Neville were in Harry's nursery, and after so much playing, they slept quickly. Charlie seemed to still be having problems to sleep alone in the dark, so he and Bill were sharing a room.

The mothers sat around the fireplace chatting, trying to make themselves entertained so they wouldn't think about their husbands and friends and the dangers they might be facing. Conversation topics were varied: School times, Routine, Children… But eventually they started talking about the Order again.

"When I was told that my brothers had died, I remember I was in deep shock." Molly said. She had a cup of tea in her hand, and just the thought of that terrible day made her shiver enough to shake the porcelain saucer. "I have to admit I got extremely angry at the Order for it, but then I realized it was You-Know-Who's fault."

"Frank actually had doubts if we were doing the right thing when his mother was… you know…" Alice lowered her head and kept her gaze on the floor. She seemed lost in her own thoughts for a while before continuing speaking. "But then, we decided we were far too in to back out now."

"Well, I and James tried to end with the Order, as you remember." She said a bit too harshly. In one of the first the meetings after the attack, Lily and James said that they thought the Order didn't need to go on anymore, as Voldemort was apparently gone. However, Dumbledore didn't agree with them, as he believed the Dark Lord would return soon enough, so Harry and the Potters should be protected, and Bellatrix Lestrange's threat shouldn't be overlooked. Needless to say, everybody agreed to continue with the group, which didn't make the Potters happy. They felt they were disturbing people's life, and putting most of them in danger, something neither of them could accept.

"Oh, Lily, I have to say I agree with Dumbledore on that one…" Alice said. Lily just grunted. "If the Order didn't exist, then we would be in pretty bad shape, right? With all this going on…" her voice started dying.

"Dumbledore is a wise man…" Molly said. "A bit loony, but still very wise… I will never forget the day he came to tell me my brothers had… passed away. It was terrible, but he surely helped make it less… hurtful, I guess."

"Yes." Alice added, absentminded again. "When he told Frank, he mentioned all these stories that I didn't know about Augusta…"

"When we joined the Order, he gave us an introduction, told us everything we needed to know. He actually organized a meeting so we could get to know everybody." Molly continued.

"When was that?" Alice asked, curious.

"Not long after your two families went into hiding. He heard everything you were going through, and I remember telling Arthur how bad I felt for you, but how I would have done the same thing in your place." Molly had tears in her eyes. Lily and Alice smiled at her, trying to show her their appreciation.

"I am sure I know how you felt in the first meetings. Overwhelming, isn't it?" The three girls giggled bitterly.

"I can't tell you how I felt!" Molly laughed lightly, albeit humourlessly. "But Dumbledore helped even with this. He always goes to the Burrow to inform us of the next steps of the Order. For example, today, in the morning, he himself went there to tell us about the raid. I'm glad we can help, but it's a pity they decided to do it today. Albus was irreducible about the date, though…"

"Why? Did you have anything special to do?" Alice said, still smiling.

"Well, Arthur and Bill discovered a Mooncalf burrow near our house one of these days, and it was still there. We thought it would be a nice family time watching it dancing, but as it only dances on full moon days, I guess we missed it. I also wanted to harvest some mooncalf dung to apply on our vegetables as well, but…"

Lily wasn't listening anymore. She couldn't believe she had missed it. That she, James and Sirius had missed it. Mooncalves only dance under the full moon. Which is tonight. Which meant that… Lily turned to Alice and saw her friend staring back at her, her eyes large and the fear evident on her face. Both of them stood up, which ended up startling Molly.

"…maybe we can watch it together next… Girls? What's wrong?" Molly looked from one to the other. She seemed surprised, but not frightened. 'Of course she isn't.' Lily thought. 'Only I, the Marauders, Alice and Frank know about Remus'… Furry problem. We and… Dumbledore.'

When Lily had set up her mind to yell in desperation, she felt the members of the Order entering the wards. She, Alice and Molly ran to the entrance to wait for their family and friends. One of them was anxious and excited. The other two were trying not to throw up because of fear.

When you are an animagus, you are able to maintain your ability to think straight, and decide what you want to do. But there is one special thing that can hinder some of your mental faculties: Instinct. You get the same instincts your animal counterpart would have, which can befuddle the wizard or witch during their first transformations. After spending some time in their animal form, however, the person ends up getting used to some of those instincts, which can help them control their animal bodies.

The only problem seemed to be that, after many transformations, said instincts got so intrinsic that the person would generally end up developing a new habit related to their animals.

That's mainly the reason why Sirius barked went he laughed, James had very quick reactions, such as jumping out of the way, when he got surprised (People generally thought he was a really jumpy person, though), and Pettigrew lowered his back and put his hand over his face like a rodent when frightened. Sirius used to say that, if somebody scratched Minerva McGonagall's ear, she would purr, but, obviously, they were never brave, or stupid, enough to test it.

But some instincts were common to almost all animals. And self-preservation was one of those. James and Sirius were having a hard time trying to control their own fear, a strong and dark dread that made their animal forms want to run the opposite direction from the one they were going. They thought, 'follow Remus', but the stag and the dog thought, 'run from the big, bad wolf'.

Of course they had accompanied Remus many, many times before, but that time, it was completely different. This was not the Dark Forest, so they didn't know where they were going, or what they could find ahead. They knew for sure that the forest was a magical one, because Prongs had found some fairies and Padfoot was sure he saw something too big for that kind of forest moving nearby. Even the werewolf seemed to recognize the magic of that area.

But the forest was not the only problem. Only people who actually knew werewolves knew that, even though the person couldn't control their counterpart, they could create some resistence. That made the difference between Greyback, for example, and Moony. Greyback embraced the monster within, adding his own interest in killing to create a foul killing machine, ruthless and completely insane, liking both the pain and the death it could provide. Moony, on the other hand, was calmer. Still deadly, of course, but somehow careful. It would kill, but the 'man inside' would guarantee that it was something as painless as possible. This flicker of control also made a lot of difference when there weren't humans around, like these moments in which the Marauders were running free.

When it was only the Marauders, the wolf would recognize that stag, that dog and that rat as pack. So the wolf never attacked them deliberately. It would also wait for them, and even play with them a bit. That meant Remus' will made the werewolf almost a normal, but especially vicious, wolf.

But this night, Remus was not there. That was a free werewolf. One that didn't have 'packs' or 'care'. All the suffering and pain and starvation that Remus had been put through for all those days weakened him so much he couldn't control it, he couldn't make it try to be calmer. Actually, he wasn't even there, it seemed like he had just passed out.

And Prongs and Padfoot could feel the difference. They had to stay as far as they could, because every time they got too close, the werewolf would snarl and their instincts would make them back away. They knew Remus was not there. In fact, it had already happened once, when Remus' parents died when they were in their seventh year. Then, Moony had attacked them both and itself, because Remus had been too mentally absent to oppose enough. But this time, the werewolf had total control, as Remus was absent not only mentally, but also physically.

Suddenly, the werewolf stopped, and the dog and the stag stopped as well, a few feet away. Prongs and Padfoot just watched as the werewolf howled and jumped to its side. It actually took them a while to recognize what it was doing, but they finally saw it: A large snake with three heads. Well, it had had three heads, because the werewolf ripped the right head off, killing it instantly. The other two tried to fight and bite the werewolf, but it was way faster than the snake heads. With a bite, it killed the former middle head and it used its claws to kill the last one. The runerspoor was dead.

Prongs and Padfoot turned their head so they could see each other. Their eyes locked and they saw the same emotion in their friend's eyes: fear.

The first person to enter the house was Frank Longbottom. He had some bruises on his face and a nasty cut that had already stopped bleeding, and his glasses seemed to have been damaged during the fight, but, other than that, he looked okay. Alice threw herself at his arms and held him tightly, while Lily and Molly waited for the others.

Soon enough, Savage, Proudfoot and Emmeline entered the house, being followed shortly by Moody and Arthur. They were all very serious and barely nodded a greeting. Upon seeing her husband, Molly made a loud noise with the back of her throat that sounded strangely like a choke, but at the same time, a laugh. Her smile was wide as she jumped on his arms, which almost made him fall.

Finally, Dumbledore entered the hall. The aurors and Emmeline had already moved to the living room probably to floo to their own houses, so there were only the two couples, lost in themselves, Lily and Dumbledore there. Dumbledore held Lily's gaze and closed the door, locking it.

"Wait, James is still outside." She said calmly.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I think James, Sirius and Remus are only going to arrive here in the morning." Albus' face was expressionless, his eyes lacking the usual twinkles they normally had.

The couples separated themselves and watched the scene unfolding before them. "What do you mean, Albus?" Frank asked, fearing the worse. The old headmaster glanced in the Weasley's direction before speaking.

"They are helping their friend tonight, Frank." Dumbledore said.

"Helping? Helping how?" Molly said, her wide smile disappearing.

"Remus is a werewolf, Molly. Shortly after James and Sirius rescued them, he turned." Arthur answered. Then, he turned poisonously to Dumbledore. "I can't believe you didn't tell us that, Albus! How could you! I can't imagine even the danger! Now we lost both James and Sirius!" Molly quickly formed tears in her eyes as she spoke again.

"W-what? B-but..." she cried. "W-why didn't they come?"

"You don't have to worry about this. It's not something people are informed of, but James and Sirius are animagi. I saw them transforming myself, so they are safe." Albus said.

"You knew that?" Frank asked. The headmaster nooded, chuckling.

"I noticed somebody had been studying how to turn into animagus. It didn't take long for me to discover who those were. Very few things happen at Hogwarts that I am not aware of."

"So that was part of a sick plan, Dumbledore?" Alice asked, her eyes sparkling dangerously with anger. Alice was a soft, kind girl, who seemed like she could break down fairly easily, but, in reality, she was a force to be feared, and that made her such a good auror. "You knew it was a full moon tonight, and you still carried on with this... STUPID IDEA?" she said, shouting the last two words.

"It was our best chance, Alice." Albus replied. "As soon as he transformed, the Death Eaters recognized it was a lost battle and left." Silence took over the room as the words sunk in.

"Were there... were there any casualties, Albus?" Arthur asked. A pained look crossed the headmaster's face.

"Sadly, yes. One of the aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and, I'm sorry to say, Hestia Jones." Alice and Molly cried silently while the men looked sick and pained.

Lily, on the other hand, didn't even acknowledge the information. In fact, during the whole conversation she kept on staring at the door, as if waiting for something to happen. Alice still had the tears falling from her eyes when she noticed this.

"L-Lily?" She said, her voice hoarse from the crying. The redhead moved her head slowly so that their eyes met. Lily's eyes were completely dull, her green eyes lacking any kind of emotion.

She finally moved. With small steps, she made it to stand in front of her former headmaster. Their eyes met before she opened her mouth and spoke.

"If something happens to them... If my baby loses his father or any of his two godfathers because of you... I'm going to hunt you down. And I'm going to kill you myself."

And then, she left to the living room, where she sat on the couch and started the long wait for her husband. In the hall, everybody was shocked. The women were covering their mouths with their hands, and the men didn't seem very calmer either.

Dumbledore was dumbfounded. He knew he would find... resistence to his plan, but... The way Lily Potter said what she said, the pure loathing and resolution in her voice... He wasn't ready for that. He thought that, as the raid was probably going to work, they wouldn't be so angry, but it seemed things wouldn't be so easy on him.

The night dragged itself. Lily couldn't stop worrying about her husband, and Dumbledore was waiting to see how his relationship with his former pupils, now friends, would be after all this. Alice, Frank, Molly and Arthur offered to stay with them, but were dismissed with a shake of Lily's head. They stayed there under the pretext that they wanted to give support, but actually, they were worried about Lily's reaction to Dumbledore. Of course they knew the headmaster could defend himself and Lily probably wouldn't attack their old mentor, but they didn't want to have the Order broken in such an irreparable way. After a few hours, though, tireness made them give up and go to bed, so, by the time the first sun rays appeared, it was only Lily and Dumbledore there.

Lily didn't even look at the armchair the headmaster sat. She actually pretended the armchair didn't even exist, and that she was alone there. It helped her if she just forgot the anger she felt. The old man, on the other hand, didn't make any noise, focused in his own thoughts, and had the conscience of not talking to the redhair.

Not so long after the morning was there, they heard the arrival of other people. Lily, as now part of the Potter family, was linked to the wards, so she knew there were three people there. She stood up and went to the entrance hall to wait for the rest of their family.

Soon enough, the door was opened and Sirius and James entered the manor with a floating Remus behind them. The two animagi seemed exausted, and both of them had big dark circles around their eyes, but their faces lit as soon as they saw Lily standing there.

"Lily-flower!" James said before his wife moved forward and kissed him harshly, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Get a room..." Sirius said, but he had a smile on his face. Things seemed to be getting better, finally. After a few minutes, the couple broke their kiss and panted a bit. Lily moved and held Sirius in a tight hug. "Good to see you too, Lily."

The three were smiling, but the fact that Lily hadn't said anything wasn't ignored. Her smile didn't reach her eyes and she seemed rather angry. "Did you know?" She finally asked, losing her smile.

"What, Lily-love?" James asked, cautiously. His wife turned at him, her face serious, but not exactly angry.

"That it was a full moon last night."

Both men lowered their heads to the floor, which ended up being misinterpreted by Lily, who started to swell in anger. Before she could start shouting, though, James replied.

"No, we didn't." his wife looked from him to Sirius, and she calmed down when she saw sincerity in their eyes. "But we should have! God, we were so stupid! How could we overlook the date, principally if we were saving Remus!"

"I don't think it's our fault, Prongs. I spent the whole day preparing ourselves to the combat, so we actually didn't have time to think about the plans in deed." Sirius said.

"Still, Padfoot... We have been concerned about the full moon for 10 bloody years!" James passed his hand through his hair furiously. It actually seemed like he wanted to pull his own hair in anger.

"Was it... was it that bad?" Lily asked in a whisper.

"Our friend was not inside that... monster. I guess this was the first time we really ran with a werewolf. And I am not that anxious to do it again, I guess." Sirius answered.

"Are you hurt?" Lily asked softly.

"Some mild scratches, but nothing that would heal better naturally." James said. But then he added angrily: "But Remus here in a bad shape. Not only has he been tortured for 10 days straight, but also he had to suffer the transformation."

A 'hem hem' on the passageway to the living room made them turn to look at Dumbledore, standing right before the entrance of the hall.

"Good morning, Headmaster." Sirius and James said in unisson. They looked at each other and smiled because of the coincidence. Lily, on the other hand, twisted her face in fury.

"Good morning, gentlemen." The old man said, with a tiny smile on his lips. "I will take Remus to Hogwarts with me. I'm sure Poppy will get him back to full health shortly."

"Thank you." Both men said, nodding and still smiling. Lily continued with her frown of hatred.

"It's terrific to see you are okay, boys..." At this point, lily could hold it any longer.

"NOT BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU OLD FOOL!" Lily shouted, startling James and Sirius. Albus, however, just dropped his smile, clenching his jaw.

"Lily!" James exclaimed. He had never heard his wife shout at any of her teachers, much less the headmaster. But calling him names?

"No, James! He planned this! He knew it was a full moon... In fact, he wanted it to be tonight!" Lily said, still staring at the old man with anger. The younger men moved their eyes to look at the headmaster, who sighed. Neither boys knew what to do, they were all tired.

"Is that... real, Albus?" Sirius asked. The headmaster simply nodded. James and Sirius looked at each other, and then both of them back to Lily. The hall was in deep silence. Dumbledore looked calm, but his eyes were dull. Lily, on the other hand, was panting in anger, her face red, while James and Sirius were strangely expressionless.

"I guess... You should take Remus to Hogwarts, Dumbledore." James finally said. Lily turned her head to look at her husband, her face a frown. She couldn't believe he wasn't going to say anything!

Albus Dumbledore pointed his wand to Remus and gently moved him closer. He turned around and entered the living room once again, being followed by the three young people. As soon as he got close to the fireplace, though, he stopped and turned around.

"I apologize for not telling you about the full moon, boys." He said, and then sighed. "I really wanted to get Mr. Lupin to safety. I did my best, I hope it was enough, even with the casualties... James and Sirius, I hope you can forgive me." He then entered the fireplace and traveled back to Hogwarts, not even waiting to see the boys' answers.

Lily was staring at her husband in disbelief. She still had her face pinkish in anger.

"I can't believe you let him go like this!" She said.

"What did you want me to do, Lily?" James answered, exasperated. Upon seeing Lily inflating in anger, Sirius intervened.

"I'm going upstairs. I'm tired as fuck, so I've gotta sleep!" He said. He sent a smile to Lily, hugged James and went to bed.

"You cannot let him manipulate our lives like this, James!" Lily said, the moment Sirius was gone. She had her hands on her hips ad her face was still twisted in a frown. "He could have killed you both with his insane plan!". James sighed.

"I understand, Lily-love, but what can I do now? At least we rescued Remus..." James said, but then he remembered something his former headmaster had said. "Did anybody... you know?" Lily stiffened.

"Y-yes. Auror Shacklebolt and Hestia..." She said, slowly.

James inhaled soundly and closed his eyes, sitting down on the sofa. He then covered his face with his hands. Lily felt bad for seeing her husband like this, but she had already prepared herself. James could never take death well, so she knew the loss of two friends were heartbreaking for him. After a few minutes, he lowered his hands and looked at his wife, who had sat next to him and was rubbing circles on his back. He had tears in his eyes, but he apparently didn't want to let them go.

"That's why I'm not going to argue with Albus now, Lily... This stupid war is slowly killing us or driving us apart. He may have screwed up big time for not telling us about his plans, but we should have paid attention to it as well, and we didn't. It's just... It hurts, Lily, seeing all these people dying. And imagining my friend in that condition..." He sighed when he couldn't hold one adventurous tear that rolled from his eye. "I'm tired, Lily. Hell, three years ago we were teenagers, literally teenagers who had just discovered they were expecting a child. And then all this bloody crap started to happen, all at once, and... I feel I am far too young for this, most of the time. I don't know what to do, and the fear of losing you, or Harry, or Sirius or Remus paralizes me. I can't help felling that, if we hadn't made some of the choices we made, we might have been killed as well..." he stared deep into those green eyes, now flooding with tears. "I lost my parents and one of my best friends already, Lily, but if I lose one of you four, I'll go crazy. That's why I believe in Dumbledore. That's why I let him control us. I'll do anything, anything to keep you safe."

Lily just stared back at her husband now with her tears rolling freely. She eventually swallowed her cry and smiled weakly. She was still furious at Dumbledore, of course, but at least now she had a reason to just keep this anger away.

"When did you become this adult?"

James smiled bitterly. "I hope you're not disappointed..." He said, joking humourlessly.

"A bit, my husband has never been serious. His best friend is." She said, still smiling, as James chuckled with Sirius most used joke. "But again, the moment I discovered I was in love with you was the moment you showed me the adult you were. And it is times like this that show me how I love you even more each day." James simply nodded and pulled his wife. He gave her a soft kiss before letting her go and standing up.

"Let's go, Mrs. Potter." He said, giving her a hand so she could stand up. "Let's go to bed. I am, indeed, very tired, and tomorrow we have a friend who needs us"

Lily took his hand, but after standing up, she held him in a tight hug.

"I love you." She whispered in his ear.

"I love you too, Lily-love." He replied.

And then, the couple went to bed, after that long day, of a long week, of a long life.

A.N.: There you guys have, another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I hope you like this one better. I don't know when I'll update again, but I hope it is soon. This was the last chapter of this phase of the story, the next one will be a kind of a storyline so we get to the next phase. R&R, please, your feedback will give me inspiration to continue. Thank you for every one who reviewed, favorited and followed the story.