Over the last year, a routine of sorts had developed on the full moons. Remus would be taken down to the Willow by Madam Pomfrey under a disillusionment charm half an hour or so before sunset. He'd usually feel so crap on days of the full moon that he would be in the hospital wing all day anyway, bedridden with cramps, fever and a number of other uncomfortable symptoms. The moonrise was shortly after sunset so he usually had 15 or 20 minutes before the transformation where he would try and calm himself. James, Sirius and Peter would try to be there for him during the transformation but it truly was a horror to watch. After the first transformation Peter had thrown up when the night was over. Often it was exceedingly difficult for the marauders to be there for the whole ordeal. After the transformation the animals would play in the shack for a while and about halfway through last year Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail got confident enough that they would herd Moony into the forest. They'd spend the nights exploring the forest or the moors around Hogwarts. The exercise would calm the werewolf down enough that he (usually) wouldn't try and hurt either himself or his friends. Moonset was shortly before sunrise and Remus had one last painful transformation before the night would be over. Pomfrey would come down to attend Remus shortly after sunrise, giving the marauders a tight window in which to return to the castle. Moony would often fall asleep a few hours before sunrise if he'd ran around enough so sometimes the boys would return to the castle earlier to get some sleep themselves. Full moons were always a gruelling night for all but if you asked any of the marauders they wouldn't trade it for the world.
James and Sirius had reached a large rock near the Willow where a rat was perched on top of it. They didn't take the cloak off until they were behind the rock. The grey rat with the familiar eyes transformed into Peter once it was safely behind the rock as well.
"Where the hell have you two been?" Peter hissed. "You told me you were on your way over half an hour ago." James had given Peter his mirror and they had kept him updated on the status of their detention through Sirius'. Peter handed James back his mirror which he slipped into his robes gratefully.
"Have you got the stuff Pete." James asked quickly.
Peter nodded and lifted his robes to reveal a small satchel attached securely around his waist. The marauders had decided on always bringing an emergency pack on full moons after an unfortunate incident in fifth year when James almost bled out. The satchel contained some dittany, bandages and a few other medicinal potions. Peter was looking expectantly at James for an explanation. A quick glance at Sirius told James that he was still attempting to regain control of himself.
"I'll tell you later Pete." James muttered. He manoeuvred to face Sirius. "Padfoot!" Sirius' gaze was fixed on the muddy ground. His chest rising and falling as his hand clenched and unclenched around his wand. "Snap out of it mate." James asked frantically, Remus could have seriously injured himself by now. James placed his hands on either side of Sirius' face and forced him to meet his eyes. Sirius' eyebrows were furrowed.
"Just think of Moony now Padfoot. Please. Snape is nothing, he's just trying to get under your skin." A sudden howl split the night, it was Moony and it echoed in the silence of the dusk. It was keening and lonely, all three marauders turned to the Willow where it swayed gently.
Sirius' face cleared and his hands relaxed.
"Right." He said wearily. "You're right, of course you are, sorry." James clapped him on the shoulder.
"Good man, just take a moment before you transform ok? Don't want something going wrong." He turned to Peter. "Ready Wormtail?" Peter nodded nervously.
Their small friend took a breath and closed his eyes before transforming into his animal's form. James squeezed Sirius' shoulder and he himself took a breath and cleared his mind for a minute before smoothly transforming. James appeared from behind the rock as a magnificent stag. He snorted and shook himself, it felt good to be Prongs again.
His coat was black with some familiar messy tufts running from the back of his head to between his shoulders. Sirius thought he looked a bit bigger and his antlers a bit grander than they had been last time and especially compared to before summer. A surge of adrenaline rushed through James as Prongs, an urge to run and just keep running overcame James and he bucked slightly, hooves pawing the ground. He could discern the shape of Sirius still crouched behind the rock more clearly in the dusk than he would be able to normally. His sense of smell was jumpstarted- Prongs had a much keener sense of smell than James and Prongs shook his head a few times at the sensory assault. Prongs could smell Sirius' breaths as he exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. Sirius transformed and Padfoot emerged. The marauders weren't entirely sure what kind of dog Padfoot was. If they had to give an answer they'd probably say a cross between a wolfhound; an old English sheepdog; a Newfoundland and a German shepherd. Basically he was big, dark, soft and shaggy. His grey eyes looked excitedly at Prongs and he bounded towards him, his tail starting to wag.
Everything was simpler when you were an animal. Animals didn't waste time thinking, they'd exert their brainpower on looking around and determining their surroundings, investigating different sights, smells and sounds. Of course it was different as they were animages, they could still think intelligently and all, it was just easier to stop. They reached the willow and Peter must have pressed it as it went still. Prongs went in first, ducking his head so his antlers wouldn't brush the ceiling, Padfoot followed close behind with Wormtail bringing up the rear darting between Padfoot and Prongs' legs, ensuring they didn't stand on him. Prongs could smell blood that he recognised to be Moony's and he whinnied uneasily, speeding up to a trot. Padfoot smelt it too and he could hear Moony pacing in the shack, jumping at the boarded up windows in an attempt to break them. They were nearing the trapdoor when Moony started to hear them, he sniffed at the trapdoor curiously.
They reached the trapdoor and Prongs nudged it open slightly with his antlers. Moony was startled by the movement and jumped back, giving Wormtail time to run in squeaking loudly. This distracted Moony enough to allow Prongs to open it a bit farther, Padfoot wriggled in and bounded towards the werewolf, pawing at him playfully. With Moony thoroughly distracted Prongs carefully entered- it was surprisingly difficult in hooves. He checked that it was shut properly before grunting a greeting towards Moony, his leg was bloody where he had chewed it in his torment and the right side of his body was speckled with cuts from charging the walls of the shack. The werewolf had retreated from Padfoot's attempts to play and was sat in a corner, looking at the animals that had suddenly entered. Padfoot sensed his hesitancy and sat patiently. Their full moon encounters were always interesting for all the marauders. Moony looked basically like a normal wolf, albeit a rather large one. Although his snout was shorter, his tail was more tufted, his feet were slightly more elongated and his eyes were Remus' but with something absent from them, like he was missing a spark that made him completely human but he wasn't completely animal either. From what they gathered about the wolf's body language, he was stressed, they had after all been very late. Prongs stepped forward haltingly and ever so slowly bowed his head towards Moony, his neck was completely exposed and if the wolf flipped, it would suffice to say that Prongs would not come out very well. The wolf got to its feet, Prongs didn't move. The wolf bowed its head in return and lightly nudged one of Prongs' antlers. Padfoot trotted forward and rolled onto his back as an apology. Moony acknowledged this and in no time the stag, wolf and dog were bounding around the shack, knocking into furniture and play fighting. It was rather hard for the rat to join in so Wormtail tended to act as lookout for the larger animals.
An hour or so had passed when Padfoot began to look meaningfully at Prongs and then at the trapdoor. Prongs relented and cracked the trap door open with his antlers, Wormtail squeezed out first. Moony rushed over excitedly but Padfoot barged him out of the way with a light growl. The two canines stared each other down, both baring their teeth. Padfoot seemed to win and left the shack first. Moony followed close behind and Prongs brought up the rear. Their convoy raced through the tunnel, excited to be out of the small confines of the shack. They slowed as they reached the entrance, Moony was panting slightly, either with excitement or fatigue it was hard to tell. Padfoot sniffed the air, ears pricked. Prongs sniffed as well whilst Wormtail looked around curiously. Moony whined in anticipation and Prongs nibbled his tail lightly as if to say: Soon, don't worry. Prongs couldn't smell any humans that were near and evidently Wormtail couldn't either as Padfoot nudged him lightly with his damp nose. The rat darted out and froze the willow, he scampered towards the forest squeaking, Padfoot went next and stood facing the willow and the forest and blocking the way to the castle, his tail wagging all the while. Moony clambered out and sniffed the air, he looked curiously towards the castle but Prongs who had clambered out behind him nudged him with his antlers and moved toward the forest beckoning for him to follow. Moony took a final look at the castle before bounding towards the forest, the rest of the assembled animals let out a breath they hadn't known they'd been holding. They were playing a very dangerous game here, but it was for Remus, and it seemed the least they could do.
The animals romped through the forest, Padfoot was leading tonight with Moony close behind him or occasionally next to him- one always tried to keep ahead of Moony as that way he was more inclined to follow rather than go his own way. Prongs was close behind, ready to gently correct Moony if he tried to veer off. Whilst Wormtail nestled comfortably between his antlers. The rat's little legs just couldn't keep up when they ventured into the forest. They stayed far way from the Acromantula nest and headed towards a clearing they knew well. It was about a 20 minute run north northeast of the willow. The trees thinned out and gave rise to a clearing with a fresh spring in the centre of it. The warm water steamed slightly in the cool night, but that wasn't the best bit, the bottom of the spring was made up of gorgeous minerals. Bismuth lined the floor of the spring like a carpet of metallic colour- pinks, yellows, greens and blues formed a mesmerising geometric labyrinth. Fluorite was dotted on the sides, its royal purple caught the light of the moon and opals and geodes sparkled, not wanting to be left out. Fluorescent mosses reflected a gentle light from the rocks on which they grew. To top it all off this clearing was populated by a flock of luxuductu birds- these birds were a very rare species and the marauders hadn't even known the forest was home to them. They were small birds, similar to robins, but instead of a red breast theirs was royal blue and the rest of their feathers radiated light. It was suspected this ability came from their consumption of fluorescent mosses similar to the ones in this clearing. They were like fireflies but the light from their feathers changed. Some of them mirrored the gems at the bottom of the spring, some emanated a fiery golden light, some changed as you looked at them, darting through the colours of the rainbow. They had large golden eyes which studied the new arrivals intelligently, upon deciding that the newbies were no threat they took up a song, a smooth, lilting melody that lent a cheerful edge to the dark night.
Padfoot padded forwards and took a drink from the fresh water, Moony did the same, still looking thoughtfully at the luxuductus. Prongs followed- the water was delicious and oddly sweet. As Prongs bowed his head, Padfoot looked around mischievously before placing his large front paws on Prongs' rump and pushing him in. His face seemed to grin as Prongs looked at him indignantly from the warm water, Wormtail was squeaking loudly from his perch on top of Prongs' now soaking head, it was probably expletives but it was hard to tell. Moony then barged Padfoot in and jumped in himself. The luxuductus had paused their song at the commotion but carried on swiftly as the motley crew of animals continued to play. They stayed by the spring for a few hours, the water was mineral rich and reenergised them before they moved on. They ran some of their usual trails and explored some new areas. They had probably been out five or six hours when Moony started to flag. The werewolf didn't have as good a stamina as Padfoot or Prongs so they made their way back to the shack. Wormtail pressed the knot, stilling the tree. Prongs stood with his back to the castle motioning for Moony to go in but the wolf was staring longingly at the castle again. Prongs looked anxiously at the tree, it was still motionless but they were running out of time. Moony took a step towards the castle. Prongs pawed the ground threateningly whilst Padfoot growled a warning. Moony reluctantly slunk into the passageway. Padfoot motioned for Prongs to enter first so he did. Before Padfoot made it in as well however the willow came alive and a hulking branch swept towards the dog.
Prongs heard the branch swing and attempted to turn around but his antlers made it difficult. He heard a yelp as the branch hit his friend and desperately managed to turn around, eyes wide with fright. It seemed it had just clipped Padfoot but he was whining in pain. Prongs pawed the base of the tree, searching for the knot. Padfoot dodged another branch and barked for Prongs to hurry up. He found the knot but not before another branch swung into Padfoot, he wasn't quick enough and it slammed into his shoulder. The Willow had stilled but Padfoot was on the ground, panting. Prongs whinnied towards him, not wanting to vacate the entrance in case Moony, who was currently waiting impatiently behind the stag, ran towards the castle. Padfoot struggled to his feet, limping heavily as he entered the passageway. Prongs noted with alarm that it was the shoulder/arm that Sirius had injured during summer. The stag managed to turn around again and they made their way back into the shack. Moony jumped on the bed after assuring himself that Padfoot wasn't too gravely injured and settled down for the night. Wormtail settled on the windowsill and looked through the cracks between the boards at the sky. The only way they could really tell what time it was on these nights was via the position of the moon or sun. They had fallen into a routine where one of them would take watch whilst the other slept and after about an hour had passed they would wake another up to replace them. They had to always make sure that they were out of the shack before Pomfrey arrived to tend to Remus. Padfoot managed to lay himself down with a slight whine escaping. Prongs couldn't see any blood and after some probing with his nose and a few whines from Padfoot he guessed that his ribs were bruised if not broken and his shoulder was probably injured again, there was nothing they could do about that until they got to the castle. Wormtail let Prongs sleep for a bit longer than usual before waking him for next watch, they left Padfoot to sleep as he'd been injured and Prongs waited anxiously for the sky to lighten, sometimes they stayed with Moony as he transformed back but that was always riskier as Pomfrey could come down earlier than usual and James was exhausted, plus Sirius had been injured so he didn't want to chance it.
Once it began to lighten he snorted in Wormtail's ear to wake him up and nudged Padfoot's head. Padfoot began to laboriously get to his feet and Prongs nudged Moony to let him know they were going as it felt wrong to just leave. Moony awoke and tiredly scrambled to the trapdoor. He stood over it and looked longingly at his friends, he still had to transform back and he didn't want them to go. Prongs whinnied gently at Moony nudging him with his antlers. The werewolf didn't move. A pang of anxiety darted through Prongs, if Pomfrey ran into a dog, a stag and a rat on her way down to the shack there was bound to be questions. He looked pleadingly at Moony and then motioned towards Padfoot who was swaying unsteadily. Padfoot let out a soft woof at Moony and he eventually relented, allowing them to exit. He didn't try to leave with them, just watched sadly from the bed and that broke James' heart.
The marauders left the shack, Prongs eased the trapdoor back down and sent Moony a look that he hoped was understood to be saying they were sorry. They traversed the tunnel at a much slower pace than when they entered and managed to leave smoothly. They had cleared the willow when Padfoot stumbled and fell, he hit the ground as Sirius Black. James transformed back and went to his side with Peter following behind. Sirius was pale and sweaty.
"Padfoot, mate, I'm so sorry." James said in a low voice.
"I'm fine." Sirius grunted as James reached out to him. James' hair was still wet from their dip in the spring and drops fell as he shook his head adamantly, running a hand through the damp locks. His eyes were tired but bright.
"We know you're not so you can cut the bullshit." Sirius groaned.
"It's my shoulder again and I think my ribs got busted pretty bad." He pulled up his cloak and shirt with difficulty to reveal a bruising torso.
"Reckon you can make it back to the castle?" Peter asked anxiously, glancing at the sky.
"We could conjure a stretcher."
"I don't need a fucking stretcher Wormtail." Sirius growled.
"Yeah, of course not." James said sarcastically. "Lets just ask Pomfrey to fix you up on her way past." Sirius shot him a glare. James rose to his feet and held out a hand. "I'll carry you if I have to mate, but anything I do will put pressure on your ribs." Peter rose and stood by James.
"C'mon Pads, we're almost there. We can sort you in the room."
Sirius grimaced and attempted to rise to his feet, clutching himself with his good arm. He stumbled and fell to his knees, gasping as the impact jarred him. "Ah shit." Muttered Peter looking at the sky again.
"Get on my back." Said James suddenly.
"What?" Grunted Sirius, still attempting to rise.
"I'll transform and then you and Pete get on my back. Prongs has a dark coat, I'll stick to the shadows by the west tower and we'll go in through the back courtyard. It's the only way we'll get in without Pomfrey seeing us as she's bound to be arriving soon. Put the cloak on as well, just to be sure and we should be fine."
"I don't need to get on your back like an invalid James. I-"
"Sirius." James interrupted authoritatively. "I love you buddy, but you need to swallow your pride alright? If we don't move quick, we're all screwed." Sirius grimaced, before nodding once. James chucked Peter the cloak and transformed. Prongs bent low to allow Sirius to climb on but it was still a challenge. Peter climbed on as well and threw the cloak around Sirius before transforming into Wormtail to lessen the weight and the odd sight began making its way towards the castle.
Lily clutched her hands around the conjured blue fire slightly tighter. She was back on her balcony in the courtyard. She had woken up early at stupid o' clock and for the life of her simply could not get back to sleep. She had tried until she couldn't take it anymore and then she had slipped a hoody and some slippers on, wrapped a cloak around her and came to her balcony. It was before dawn so she figured she would watch the sunrise and just start the day early.
Technically speaking her balcony wasn't really in the best position to watch the sunrise- sunset - yes, but it wasn't really on the right side for morning excursions, but she couldn't be bothered to think of a better place. The full moon was still visible in the brightening sky and Lily felt for Remus. She had worked out he was a werewolf back in third year, even before Severus had started dropping hints and his regular absence last year from prefect duties was enough to affirm her belief. She didn't really understand the big deal about it. Of course it was unfortunate that he had lycanthropy but in the end that's just what it was- an unfortunate disease that put him out of sorts once a month. It was very similar to the female population of Hogwarts, just slightly worse. It didn't change how she thought of him as a person. He was still lovely old Remus Lupin, her good friend. She was pretty sure he didn't know she knew and Lily would happily keep it that way if he wanted to, she wasn't about to go shouting about it. A lonely howl pierced her thoughts and Lily wondered if it were Remus. She often wondered how he went about his transformations, she was confident the Headmaster knew, hell he probably made special arrangements for Remus to cope with it. Whatever he did Lily hoped he was alright. Her thoughts were interrupted once more however by the appearance of a different animal.
Walking towards the castle was a magnificent stag. Lily crept forwards to get a better look, it wasn't unusual to see deer around the Hogwarts grounds but this deer in particular was a very unusual specimen. It looked like its coat was black instead of the normal brown, it had a proud set of antlers and was making its way purposefully towards the castle. Lily had always loved watching the deer on the grounds and she had an urge to go down and see if she could touch him- she resisted and settled for simply observing. She was squinting in the bad light to try and see the dark creature. He was getting closer to the castle and Lily continued to watch curiously. Eventually her view was obstructed by the walls of the courtyard and although she rose to her feet she couldn't seem to see him, she searched frustratingly for the gorgeous stag- she had wanted to see where he was going. When suddenly she heard voices, she extinguished her fires in a panic and fell back into the shadows, ears pricked.
"C'mon Sirius we can do this." Lily recognised that voice.
"Just think of the nice, hot shower waiting for you." It was the marauders! She edged forwards, and there they were in the courtyard. Where the hell did they come from?
"I'm fine. I just need a minute." That was Sirius. She could see them now, she saw James' familiar, stupid hair. He seemed to be breathing heavily and his hair was… wet? What exactly are they doing? They were crowding around Sirius, who looked like he might be injured? Lily craned her neck, looking for the stag. Stupid prats probably scared it off, poor thing. I'd probably have ran away too. She had missed what had just been said but Potter was now looking at a piece of parchment. Lily squinted but couldn't see what it was in the bad light.
"Hold up." Came James' voice. "It says Lily is somewhere around here." Lily froze.
"What?" Hissed Peter. "How?" He groaned. "We're screwed if she finds us." Lily was vaguely offended but she scampered back into the shadows again.
"The map never lies." Came Sirius' unusually quiet voice. It took all of Lily's self control not to sneak forward again and look at them, but she managed. There were a few more mutterings which Lily couldn't make out.
James eventually spoke and Lily strained her ears to hear.
"Lets just get inside, Padfoot needs sorted out and I'd love to get some sleep." There were a few more murmurs of assent and their footsteps faded away. The sun had fully risen before Lily emerged and after looking once more for the mysterious stag she too, headed inside. A hundred questions about the marauders late night antics rushed through her head and it was while Lily was washing her hair later that morning that the rather ridiculous idea that one of the marauders secretly had that stag as an animagus form darted through her head. The idea was so silly that she actually laughed to herself in the shower. As if the hyperactive marauders could manage to become animagi, and for one of them to have such a beautiful form? Pfft, if it was anyone it would probably be Remus and Lily knew it couldn't have been as he would've had another animal form to deal with this morning. She carried on with her morning routine, attempting to wash her random thoughts down the drain along with her shampoo.
(Monday 6 October 1976) Lily went down to breakfast with the rest of the girls in her dorm at the normal time. She was speaking with Dorcas who seemed to be having a good day. Lily took in her tall friend. She had put some weight back on and was currently tucking into a big bowl of cereal. She had more colour in her cheeks and was now actively participating in conversations instead of just letting everything wash over her. Lily couldn't suppress her smile, she just wanted her friend to be ok. Dorcas must have noticed as she swiftly turned to Lily.
"What is that face about?" She questioned lightly.
"What?" Lily asked. "This is just my face."
"You're looking at me funny." Dorcas continued.
"Am not."
"Are too.
"Am not."
"Spit it out Red."
"Ugh fine." Lily caved. "I just-" She faltered.
"What?" Dorcas said, grinning slightly.
"It's just nice to see you're feeling better." Lily squeezed her hand. "I missed your sarcasticness." Dorcas rolled her eyes jokingly.
"Cheers Evans." Lily laughed.
"In all seriousness though. I just- I'm glad."
Cas smiled warmly at her ginger friend.
"I am feeling a lot better." Dorcas began. "I mean I'm not okay. But I think I can start trying to be y'know?" Lily nodded. "Also." Dorcas added, turning to the other girls with a twinkle in her eyes. "I think I'm gonna need your guys' help with something tonight." Dorcas didn't elaborate and the girls gave up trying to get it out of her.
Lily didn't see the marauders until her first lesson- double transfiguration and only three out of the four turned up- Remus was absent but that was understandable. They all looked exhausted and they stumbled to their seats blearily. Sirius seemed a bit ginger about his movements but Lily may have been imagining that.
In reality Sirius was very much in pain. James and Peter had made him sleep with ice on his bruising ribs and James force fed him some skele-gro. Sirius hadn't trusted it at first, as James had brewed it but he had scoffed and reminded him that his great grandfather had invented the potion and after that Sirius didn't complain. Sometimes they would skive off lessons after the full moon but this was transfiguration and they didn't trust Minnie not to hunt them down and ask questions. Peter had managed to grab a flask of energy elixir on their way out of the dorm and they managed to get a few gulps in each and so transfiguration passed normally except for the fact that perhaps the three best friends were a bit quieter than normal.
Lily didn't see much more of the marauders until lunch time when they ended up sitting near each other. Across from her was Frank who was sat next to Alice on one side with Potter on the other. James was staring wearily into his potatoes, one hand buried in his hair, holding up his sagging head. Lily was tempted to get his attention and ask him why he was so tired but she knew he knew that she had been at least near them this morning so she refrained in case it stoked his curiosity. She still wasn't quite sure what she thought of James Potter. Most of the things he had done last year which had annoyed her he seemed to have stopped or was at least doing less of. They had also seemed to have hung out more- the marauders and her dorm mates- than last year, they'd fought off death eaters and found a cursed student together, so all in all she was a bit confused and more than a little uncertain. She mentally shrugged, she'd just have to wait and see. She had just turned back to her own meal when the wizard in question looked at her.
"Alright Evans?" He asked casually.
Lily shrugged nonchalantly, hoping to high heavens she looked casual. "Yeah, I'm not too bad. How about you?"
James cocked his head slightly and straightened up.
"Okay." He said conversationally. "Had a late night, messing around with this lot." He nodded his head towards Sirius and Peter. Sirius was currently laughing at Peter as he tried to see how many carrots his mouth was capable of holding.
"And I'd be better if we didn't have double potions with the Slytherins to end the day. But you can't have everything, right?" Lily nodded and there was a pregnant pause. Was it just Lily's imagination or was he looking at her expectantly?
"When's a good time for you to work on transfiguration?" Lily asked abruptly. James dropped his gaze back to his meal. Was he disappointed?
"I guess maybe Thursday night?" Lily smiled and nodded.
"Sure, see you then." Alice then began talking to Lily and James turned to Sirius and Peter, leaving Lily more than a bit confused at their interaction.
Potions rolled around sooner than James would have liked and he found himself at his usual bench next to Sirius, towards the back in Slughorn's dungeon. Lily was at a bench a few places in front of James and he watched her curiously. He had seen her on the map last night. She must want to know what they were doing, he didn't know what she'd seen but she could very well have seen him transform into a stag. He wanted to bring it up but that would also bring up the map and Remus and open a whole new can of worms, the stakes were just too high. He tried to put it out of his mind but he couldn't stop his eyes wandering to her, but then again, that wasn't really something new.
Slughorn was doing his usual rounds of the class and stopped for his usual chat with Lily. He smiled down at her potion.
"Excellent as usual Lily, 5 points to Gryffindor."
"Thank you Professor." Lily said with a charming grin. "Did you read that article I mentioned to you last week?"
"I did indeed my dear, and I think that that particular field of interest would be a lovely topic for your report this year. Which." He raised his voice, addressing the whole class. "I will need your plans for by the beginning of November." There was an assortment of groans and questions from other members of the class. "You got my invite for Friday I trust Lily?" Slughorn asked with a wink.
"Of course, I'll be there." Lily replied.
"Excellent, excellent, there are some very important people I'd like you to meet." He then carried on with his rounds.
"Mr Potter." Slughorn began. Lily's ears pricked against her will as he addressed the Quidditch Captain a few rows behind her. "Will you be turning up to my little get togethers this year? I double checked that your invite was dispatched, so no excuses."
Lily didn't turn around, but she could positively hear his smirk as he replied.
"You've caught me Professor." He said genially. "I will indeed be turning up, though I can't promise I'll be very pleasant company."
"Nonsense Mr Potter." Slughorn stated. "Henby Harrington will be there, I believe he knew your grandfather?"
"That he did Professor, though from what I remember he's a bit of a snobby old sod." Slughorn roared with laughter. Lily wasn't so sure James was joking. After a bit more small talk Slughorn moved on.
"So you're going then?" Asked Sirius. Lily heard a sigh escape James.
"Yeah." He said, resigned. "Slughorn isn't lying when he says there are some important people there. I figured with career talks and all coming up it'd be good for me to make some connections."
Sirius scoffed. "You're a Potter. You already have connections."
"I'm trying to have an open mind Padfoot." James said, half laughing.
"You're a regular old kiss up Prongs, wait til Moony hears."
"Shove off." James grunted with an accompanying scuffle which Lily was pretty sure meant he'd just punched Sirius in the arm.
It wasn't much longer before the bell rang and their last class of the day was over. There was an expected rush towards the door. Lily ended up somewhere near the back next to Alice, suddenly a bulky Slytherin slammed into Lily sending her careening to the side, narrowly missing the wall. A strong arm darted out from behind her and steadied her before she could lose her balance completely.
"Watch it mudblood." Hissed the Slytherin, glaring at her.
"Shove off Mulciber, your fatass went into her." Came a voice behind her who Lily assumed to be the owner of the arm. A quick glance confirmed that it was James' reflexes which saved her from the wall.
"Did you just say what I thought you said blood traitor?" He threatened.
"Oh don't think too hard Mulciber." Snapped Lily. "Wouldn't want to hurt yourself." This elicited a laugh from the small group of students still in the dungeon and Mulciber narrowed his eyes, his hand went to move towards his pocket, the atmosphere tensed.
"Is there a problem Mr Mulciber?" Called Slughorn from behind his desk. The student in question grunted a negative.
"Watch yourself you mud blood whore." He grunted at her before walking away. Lily's cheeks coloured but she watched him go.
"Thanks for saving me from the wall." She muttered to James as she left the classroom, Alice, Sirius, Marlene and Dorcas following close behind.
"Don't worry about it Red." James replied, waving a hand through the air.
"So." Lily started, looking at him as he walked next to her, emboldened to be friendly. "You're coming to the slug club on Friday then?"
James groaned, swiping a hand through his hair. "You heard that then?"
Lily laughed, "sounds like he's had his sights set on you for a while."
"I've been putting him off since fourth year." James said seriously. "I honestly have just run out of excuses. The podgy old walrus is nothing if not persistent" Lily laughed again.
"So tell me, is it your great respect for him or your conversational skills which have lured him in?" James laughed begrudgingly.
"He just wants me because my dad's side is good at potions." Lily turned to him questioningly.
"Honestly I feel so used." James added mock hurt.
Lily elbowed him. "Oi, some of us worked for the opportunity to suck up to influential people Potter." James scoffed, nudging her back.
"You didn't work for your invite, Slughorn's liked you since the first day due to your freakish potion skills."
Lily looked like she was about to argue but she conceded with a shrug.
"What can I say? You're absolutely right." James laughed loudly.
"So humble too." James replied making Lily smirk. "And you say I'm the cocky one." She shoved him gently.
"Shut it Potter." They made their way back to the tower, with Alice and the others joining in on their relatively newfound easy banter.
That evening as the girls were getting ready to go down for dinner Dorcas finally told them what she'd been hinting at at breakfast.
"You're cutting your hair?" Alice exclaimed. Dorcas grinned wickedly as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"Yeah." She said simply, fiddling with the dark locks. She span around on the the stool to face her friends.
"I think it's time for a change don't you? I need to get better." She swallowed hard. "If/when my dad wakes up I can't be a depressed state." She took a deep breath. "I need to be strong for my mum and Marcus and Toby." Dorcas was one of the only people who ever called Tobias Toby. "Out with the old, in with the new." She looked challengingly at Alice.
"I need your help, I can't cut it all myself or I'll never look half decent."
"You could have no hair and still look decent Cas." Alice said affectionately.
"I'm all in favour for a dramatic hair style change." Lily said grinning.
"Same here." Said Marlene bounding over to Dorcas to fiddle with her hair. "I'm sensing a diva moment and I love a diva moment."
A/N: Alright, another chapter down. The full moon bit was good fun to write, I don't imagine the marauders staying in the shrieking shack when they go and keep Remus company, even though leaving is very unsafe, but when did the marauders ever care about that? Also, the luxuductu birds are something that I completely made up but they're quite cool.
James and Lily are kind of becoming friends, Sirius has some anger management issues and Dorcas is finally coming out of her funk. Thanks again to everyone for reading and feel free to leave any feedback :)