Back after this cliff-hanger! How have you been this week?

This chapter's got a bit more action, and I hope you'll enjoy.

If you haven't had the chance, check out "Professor Potter", which I posted earlier this week!

See you next Sunday! Enjoy and remember: authors feed on comments.

Benjy Fenwick wasn't a guy who usually complained about his job. He loved being an Auror; the rush from missions, the rewarding feeling of succeeding, the pleasure in helping other people…and, of course, his fellow Aurors.

Lily, his partner and great friend, for instance, never left him hanging. She helped him with the reports, gave him tips, and always had his back. She never hesitated on helping him, whatever it was he needed her for.

In a similar way, Benjy always was available to lend her a hand, no questions asked.

And it was exactly for that mutual trust that he followed the well-known doe, not even blinking, when it awoke him in the early hours, bringing the panting (and slightly despaired) voice of his partner:

"Benjy, I know it's a lousy hour, and that this is insane, but I need your help. Please, please come."

20 HOURS AGO

Lily sat beside Remus on the couch, reading the newspaper, when James entered the room, still with wet hair and holding his shoes.

"Early rise today," Lily noted, checking her watch to see if it really was seven in the morning.

"Yeah, practice's starting a bit earlier , I need to talk about some tactics," he answered with a smile, sitting on the chair close to them. "Alright, Moony?"

"Could be worse, but Lily's potions are keeping me up."

Lily gave him a smile and wink, returning immediately to the paper.

"You ready to go?" James asked after a quick trip to his bedroom. Lily nodded. "Alright, then, just waiting for Padfoot. Peter and Marlene are staying with Moony again-"

A knock on the door interrupted him Lily frowned.

"Any of you ordered food?" she asked. James and Remus denied, and she sighed, getting her wand. "Stay here, okay?"

She walked calmly to the door, but her wand was held firmly with her right hand.

"It's me, Evans, open up," a bark came from the other side. Lily chuckled.

"Mr. Moody, please, come in!" she said, opening the door. The chief of Aurors entered and Lily closed the door.

"Potter, Lupin," he greeted with a nod, then turned to Lily, "I need to talk to you in private."

"Erm…"

"I'll head downstairs for breakfast, no worries," James said quickly. He got up from the chair and was followed by Remus.

"I'll come along."

"Remus…" James said warningly.

"I'm well enough for this, James. Let's go."

"What's up with Lupin?" Moody asked as the door closed.

"He's not feeling very well. You know, his health isn't the best."

Moody nodded and fixated both of his eyes on the girl.

Oh, no, she thought immediately.

"Evans, I need progress."

"I'm-"

"Let me talk. I need progress. At the moment, I've only got one suspect. I need more. Or that you tell me our suspect is actually guilty. It's a serious situation, Evans, and I'm being pressured."

"Sir, I understand. Babysitting James-"

"James?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Potter. Babysitting him is making everything a bit harder, not to mention the secrecy and all. And Rita Skeeter. And the fact we've got absolutely no leads."

"But nothing about suspects?" Moody asked and Lily bit her lower lip.

"I'm almost positive that J- Potter is not our guy."

Moody didn't reply immediately. He eyed her for a few seconds.

"Have you got any evidence?"

"No, sir, but…it's instinct."

"Evans, you know I trust your instinct. But in this case, it won't be enough. I need evidence."

"I know that, I swear I know, but whoever did this, did it pretty well. It's one of my hardest cases, for a number of factors."

"I understand. But I've got to pressure you. You either tell me Potter is innocent and point to someone else, or you give me him. And soon, Evans. I need answers."

"Yes, sir."

He started to leave, but he hesitated and turned to her again.

"Lily, I chose you for the case because you're the best, and because you don't get starstruck. Please, don't lose the objectivity, alright?"

"This shan't be a problem, sir," Lily assured him, glaring right back at him.

In the bedroom the boys shared, Sirius finally heard the door shutting and decided to go to the living room, slightly stunned with what he had heard. He stopped, however, when he saw Lily still in the room, sitting on the couch with her face on her hands.

He hid on the door and watched Lily scratch her eyes tiredly, then getting up with a worried expression on her face, and followed to the door, leaving the hotel suite too.

Things weren't looking very good to James.

James knew that the feeling he got while flying would never go away. He loved being in the air, just going forward, breaking the wind…the lightness, the speed…it was simply one of the best experiences James had.

Even more when it was his team. He was responsible for his country's squad.

And he loved that.

The tactical part of the training hadn't taken that long – just enough for the rest of the team to understand what was said. Soon they were in the air, meshing better than James ever pictured in the beginning, showing just why they were one of the big names in that tournament.

Not even Sirius could point out something wrong (well, Sirius didn't seem to be paying close attention to the field anyway), and Lily was going through her papers. But that didn't make James worried or bummed (not much, anyway). Both of them had watched so many practices that they deserved a break.

"Too much Quidditch already?" James asked Lily while they had lunch with Sirius.

"It's been way too much for me a while ago, actually," Lily confessed. James grinned.

"I promise you we'll spend a whole day without anything Quidditch related. Deal?" he proposed. Lily narrowed her eyes.

"A whole day?"

"Yup."

"Not even a single mention?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"Not even a peep," James confirmed, still grinning.

"And how do you plan to do this in the middle of a Quidditch World Cup?" she challenged him. James's grin turned to a smirk and he winked.

"You'll just have to trust me."

Still not believing completely in the boy, Lily kept eating.

When they got back to the hotel, Lily went straight to her bedroom.

"Padfoot, are you alright?" James asked when his friend completed a whole hour without talking.

"What? Yeah, alright. Just worried about tonight," Sirius replied, lowering his tone. James nodded.

"I scheduled today's training earlier and tomorrow's later exactly for that. Let's just rest a bit in the afternoon, yeah?"

Remus, Marlene and Peter had already had lunch, and the two boys were playing chess. Marlene had gone out to meet some friends who were in France for the World Cup. As Sirius and James were asleep, Lily used the calm to transcribe the interviews on the recorder, and also to organise the case's materials.

When Peter also went to bed, Lily moved to Remus's side. She hadn't talked to him privately for a long time because of the World Cup, and she too was a bit tired.

"How was your day, Rem?" Lily asked, sitting on the sofa next to him. Remus rested his head on Lily's lap.

"Good, thanks. Resting. Tomorrow will be worse."

"Already know where to go?" She asked while laying her head on the couch and closing her eyes, her hands playing with Remus's hair.

"Everything's under control. The lads will take me and bring me back tomorrow."

Lily mumbled something in agreement, and felt her consciousness slowly slipping away, in a quick and unexpected sleep – but very welcome…the wind coming from the open balcony relieved the day's heat, and not even the light disturbed her sleep…

"Lily!"

She woke up with a start as she heard Marlene's calling, sitting down quickly with her wand in hand.

"What time is it?" Lily asked, watching the full moon's shine sparkling brightly on the dark sky.

"Two in the morning."

Lily sighed and rubbed her eyes. Then she focused on her friend and noticed the anxious expression that coloured her face.

"Marlene…"

"They're not here," Marlene blurted out, like it was a breath she had been holding for a long time. "I've searched the whole place, went down, but I couldn't find any of them."

"Marlene, when you say 'them'…"

"All four of them. None of them are here. Including…including James."

Lily cursed under her breath. Remus had told her that Sirius and Peter would help him on the transformation, but she didn't expect that idiotic James would go along. Hadn't he gotten in trouble with the Ministry for the same bloody reason just a month ago?!

When she got up from the couch, ready to go looking for the four buffoons, the door opened and half of the aforementioned buffoons entered, covered in sweat and dirty.

"Oh no," Marlene mumbled, realising James wasn't one of the buffoons who had returned. "I'll, um, buy something at the bar…" She said and left.

Lily crossed her arms, the badarse aura that had intimidated Peter greatly back on full force.

"Wormtail, you go get it…I'll talk to Lily for a bit…"

"Auror Evans." Lily corrected him while Peter ran to the bedroom. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Back to formalities, then?"

"At this point, yes. I let myself get carried away by you, you managed to get my mind off the case…just exactly what Moody didn't want to happen…"

"We got your mind off the case?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Where's your mate, Black?" Lily asked, straightforward. Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a gesture that could only have been taught by the friend in question.

"Lily, you've got to understand that…we just want to help Remus. He's your friend too, you know how he gets near days like today…on days like today."

"I get that. I know. But at the moment James Potter's got an express order to not stay away from me, no matter the reason. Bloody hell, Black, have you got any idea how hard it is to investigate like this?"

"Lily…"

"No! You don't get it! I accept all of Moody's complaints in silence because I know that he's right. But this? I'm only being a nanny, and simply that. Your precious mate's not only in Azkaban at the moment because he's a bloody Quidditch player! And because he is, I need to watch what a 24-year-old imbecile does, because he simply cannot obey a fucking order from the Chief or Aurors, who's laying it lightly on him."

"Lily, I know it's hard for you, I understand that…but you've got to believe me, James is innocent! He didn't murder Jack, he'd never kill anyone!"

"I think Potter from a few years back would disagree with that!" Lily cried, throwing her hands in the air. Sirius chuckled in disbelief.

"The Potter who saved Snape's arse from Remus? This Potter? Or the one who always defended people from Slytherins? Because neither would murder Jack. Or nowadays James."

"I don't think you're getting it, Black. Even if I do believe in his innocence – and I'm not saying I do! – it's the second time he breaks his side of the deal we made for him to keep playing this bloody World Cup! What in the world do you do that's so important to Remus? Because I honestly-"

Lily was about to say some notions she had kept for herself for a very long time – if it weren't for the Petrificus Totalus that caught her.

"Wormtail!" she heard Black screech. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"I…I panicked! We've got to go back now!"

Lily heard Sirius sighing and then moving right in front of her to look her in the eyes.

"Listen, Lily, I'm sorry, alright? But it's for Remus. Only for Remus. You know how he is…It's the only thing we can make to actually help him. I'm sorry."

Sirius's apparently honest apologies were not successful in calming her down. She still couldn't believe she had been cursed from behind and (worse) by Peter Pettigrew! She used all of her concentration to manage to cast the non-verbal countercurse, but it was too late. By then, they both probably had already apparated.

"Bloody hell!"

The door opened again, this time letting Marlene enter.

"Lily?"

The redhead told her quickly what had happened, pacing the whole room. Marlene sighed.

"What these idiots have got on their heads?" she mumbled quietly.

"A big pile of shit, that's what they've got on their bloody heads. And now I've got to run around like a fool looking for them, because…"

This time, Lily stopped talking voluntarily, widening her eyes and smiling smugly.

Marlene didn't fully understand what was happening; the reason her friend had ran to their bedroom to get a world map and open it flat against the living room table, mumbling a few spells until a specific point of the map started glowing.

"5112'0.00" N, 030'0.00" E. Alright." Lily finally turned to Marlene. "I'll sort this out. Stay here. If Moody appears, just tell him you know nothing."

"Well, it'll be easy, since I truly know nothing," Marlene replied as Lily ran to the door.

It was a good thing they had so much physical training in the Ministry, or Lily would have tired rather quickly. She needed to leave the apparition free area on the complex and go to where Potter was…and when she got there…oh, wouldn't Potter just hate what he would get…!

With the coordinates clear on her mind, she spun and next she knew she was surrounded by trees that barely allowed the moonlight through. According to the map, that could easily be the forest Potter had previously claimed to be with his mates on the night of the murder.

She lit up her wand and took a deep breath, casting a spell to protect herself from the forest cold weather. Lily wasn't naïve to call Potter out loud; in a forest mostly likely magical, calling attention to herself was probably not the brightest idea.

So she walked through the trees, taking extra care to not make any noise and extra-extra care to not let Potter go unnoticed. She was just remembering about Potter's Invisibility Cloak and cursing the object when she heard the sound of hooves coming in her direction.

Shortly after, an impressive deer appeared, slowing his gallop down as he supposedly saw Lily, who neared it slowly as the animal stared at her.

But suddenly it wasn't a deer anymore; suddenly, she reckoned she had gone mental, that she was dreaming or that she had been cursed; she thought that perhaps her eyes had mistaken her, that this past month had been a lie and she was in a coma.

Because suddenly, the deer gave place to James Potter.

"I…you…what?!"

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Potter asked, clearly shocked. Lily woke from her reverie, realising it was all true. Oh, Merlin.

"I'm the one who should ask this, Potter!" was her reply. "What are you doing here, unsupervised?"

"How did you find me?" he ignored her.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't cast a location spell on you after what you pulled on that party?"

"Location sp- Lily, that's invasion of privacy!" he cried, making Lily chuckle.

"Well, in your case running away from me gets you jail time, so I believe you're worse than me."

Potter shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, we'll talk later, you need to leave. Now." He said, nearing Lily. She rolled her eyes,

"I'm coming along with you, Potter. I've covered up for you too much already."

"Lily, you don't get it. I'm here for Remus-"

It all happened too fast. In a moment, James was telling Lily to leave, on the other, he was on the forest grounds, blood spreading quickly around him, and when Lily looked up, wand first, she met with Remus in his wolf form.

Luckily for her, however, the huge werewolf was dragged by an equally gigantic black dog to a different path in the forest and left Lily alone with a bleeding James Potter.

"Bloody hell…oh, fuck, shit, fuck!"

Lily neared Potter, kneeling by his side and checking if he actually was unconscious. The blood still poured on the ground, so she turned his back upwards and couldn't help the gasp that mixed surprise and shock

The damage made by the werewolf's claws was quite noticeable through the (torn) shirt: four deep slashes that bled much more than any cut Lily had ever seen before.

She took the small vial of Essence of Dittany that she always carried with her and spread on Potter's back. For a few seconds, it seemed to work, but soon the wounds started bleeding again, in full force.

"Oh, bloody hell! Don't you dare die here and now, Potter!"

Despite her efforts to not despair, she felt the hopelessness spreading through her. Lily knew werewolf wounds were cursed, that it required knowledge far above what she possessed now to solve it – she would only be trained for it in the next year.

She also knew that she couldn't go to St. Mungo's. There would be no possibility to hide how Potter had been hurt, which risked Remus's secret. Furthermore, she would have to admit to Moody that Potter had tricked her again, and that was information she was truly hoping to withhold; Moody already had enough reasons to scold her, and she certainly didn't want to give him another one.

She thought about what she knew about these wounds, which was basically what her father, a muggle physician, had taught her: it needed to be stopped, and they needed to replace the lost blood. She had the blood replenishing potion in her bedroom, but she also knew it wasn't enough: Potter still was bleeding, and quite a lot. It would be the same as putting a water hose on a leaky bucket.

No, what she needed was to stop the bleeding. If only she had a bit more experience…

And that's when she remembered. A person with more experience than her, and who she trusted blindly. Without further ado, she conjured a Patronus to deliver her message.

"Benjy, I know it's a lousy hour, and that this is insane, but I need your help. Please, please come."

Her doe disappeared quickly, and she applied the essence again, hoping it would contain the haemorrhage at least a bit. Lily knew the feeling that hours were slipping away quickly was just that, a feeling; but knowing it didn't stop the anxiety from slowly taking over her.

She knew Benjy would find her – all the Aurors had a location spell similar to the one she had cast on Potter. She only wished he could find her now. Potter couldn't die there, no way. It would be all her fault. And Remus…

"Lily, what's going on?"

Benjy's voice was like a glass of water in the desert. Lily turned to him, only realising then that her eyes were filled with tears.

"Is that Potter? Lily…?

"It's him, Benjy, he was attacked by a werewolf!"

"But…?"

"Benjy, I don't know either, we'll question him later, but for the love of God, please close these wounds or there won't be a James Potter for us to question!"

Benjy nodded and kneeled on James's other side, facing Lily, already performing the spells to stop the bleeding. After a few seconds, the blood stopped pouring, and Lily sighed in relief.

"He still needs to replace the blood," she said, "he's lost too much."

"Let's go to my accommodations. We can apparate there, and I've got a potion."

She agreed with the suggestion, and held one of Potter's arms, while Benjy held the other. The next moment, they were at what probably was Benjy's bedroom. They got James on the bed, and Benjy left to search for the potion.

Despite her partner's requests, Lily didn't say anything about the subject, only that she had followed Potter with a location spell.

The Sun was starting to rise when Potter finally regained conscience. He blinked quickly until he recognised Lily and Benjy. Then he groaned.

The Aurors were standing beside the bed James rested, both wearing crossed arms and non-friendly expressions.

"You owe us a hell of a good explanation, James Potter," Lily told him when he stared at her. He sighed and tried to sit.

"Can't I just say it was for Remus's sake and period?" He tried.

Lily's lips thinned.

"No, you cannot give us evasive answers and expect us to buy them, Potter. Have you got any idea…?

"This talk again?" James interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Yes, I know exactly what I've done, which proves that it's of extreme importance, or I'd…"

"Wait up. What's Remus's got to do with all this?" Benjy asked, looking between Lily and James.

"I won't say a thing in front of him," James replied. Lily snorted.

"Well, you should be on your knees thanking Benjy, because if it weren't for him, you'd be in custody on St. Mungo's. On your bloody knees, Potter!"

"You know pretty well the reason I won't talk!"

"I trust Benjy, Potter! Much more than I trust you! Why do you think I called him? Do you honestly think I'd risk everything? Benjy and I have been partners for a long time, and it gives us mutual trust. So you either talk, or you go to Azkaban, because it's the second time you don't play by Moody's rules."

James clenched his teeth and looked to the ceiling.

"It's way more than what you think you know. It's not only my secret to spill," he insisted.

"Alright then. I'll start." Lily announced, turning to Benjy. "Remus Lupin is a werewolf. Has been since a child. And he's gone through all seven years of Hogwarts, with no problems."

Benjy raised his eyebrows.

"So he attacked James?" he asked.

"Evans, I swear to Merlin, if you…"

"Now you're threatening me?" she snapped, getting closer to James. "You and your mates are something else, did you know that? You lie, you run away, curse me from behind, and now you're threatening me? Me, who allowed this clownery to go on? No fucking way."

Lily proceeded to tell that was the reason she hadn't bought James's alibi, what had happened until she had gotten to the forest, which she suspected was the same place they claimed to have been on the night of the murder…

"Just imagine my surprise when I saw the deer turning into James Potter, who was ordering me to leave until he was attacked and I had to call you," she finished, while Benjy's face was a mask of surprise. "So he either did some extraordinary spell, or he's an illegal animagus."

"Why illegal, Evans?" Potter asked, getting Lily's eyes to him.

"Because, you ginormous beast, I work in the Ministry, and it's my duty to know all of the animagi in case they turn. So you'd better tell us everything."

James sighed and messed up his hair with both hands, looking between Benjy and Lily.

"This can't leave this room. If they find out…hell, Azkaban will be a vacation." James sighed again. "We found out about Remus in second year. We were thrilled to have a werewolf for our best mate…"

He told them everything. How they figured out a way to help their friend, the challenges of becoming illegal animagi under the nose of all the professors, what they still did with Remus nowadays, and how important it was. How he was a deer, Sirius a dog, and Peter a rat.

And, well, Lily was trying to not be impressed. She truly was. She wanted to be passive, objective. But for Merlin, how could she learn they had decided to become illegal animagi just to give Remus some comfort? All of the dangers they went through? And all that at the age of fifteen years old.

"And that's how we manage to help Moony. That's why I take some nights off. Sirius is big, you saw it today, but it's hard to control a werewolf alone. So I need to go. And Remus…all of them are more important than Quidditch to me. I'd do it again and then some without as much as a blink. Because that's what you do for your family."

The end of James's statement (who looked to a point in front of him, not being able to face either Auror) was met with a couple of minutes of silence.

"Alright." Benjy said. "Moody. We've got to tell Moody."

"No!" James cried. "I beg you, not a single word to him!"

"Potter, this could rid you of Azkaban. Well, not fully, because illegal animagi serves a bit. But much less time! It won't be a life sentence," Benjy said.

"No. If you want to take me to Azkaban, do it. But leave the others alone. I'll leave with handcuffs straight to the Dementors, but don't touch the others."

Benjy gaped, looking at James's fierce expression.

"It's not a choice, Potter, it is what it is. I can't-"

"Benjy."

The call was calm, quiet, but the request was clear in her voice. It wasn't very loud, but it was enough to silent the men.

"Potter, what you've done is illegal. Terribly illegal. All steps of the transformation must be accompanied by the Ministry. You need to get registered."

"Evans…"

"But," she continued as if she hadn't been interrupted, "it's not immoral. Not in the least."

"Lily…?" – Benjy said. She turned to him

"Benjy, I know. I know. But…how…listen, they…fifteen years, Benjy!

"Which only makes it worse, Lily!"

"Benjy, the reason, Benjy! Not for glory, but to help…I don't…"

Fenwick looked at her. What was Lily thinking? Had she really gone that direction?

"Are you suggesting we don't say anything about it?"

"Just until the end of the investigation. If we talk now, they'll be arrested immediately. And it'd end my chances to finish the case." Lily sighed, and grabbed his hand. "Benjy, this explains how he was with Remus on that night. It fits with our suspicions. Please, trust me. I know I'm asking a lot, but…"

Fenwick sighed and started pacing.

"Potter, I like you, mate. But this is…"

"Too much," Lily finished.

"I couldn't…I…it was not only me. It was Sirius and Peter and Remus," James explained.

Benjy sighed.

"You don't have any other secrets, right?" He asked. James made a face.

"I'll confiscate your Invisibility Cloak," Lily informed. "Anything else?"

"Nothing else. No other secret beyond this." James guaranteed.

"I'll keep mum, but only for what Lily said. A single toe out of line, and I'm not making any promises."

James nodded and thanked, lying back and closing his eyes. Lily turned to Benjy and hugged him, whispering a quiet "thank you".

"That's what partners do, right? Trust each other?" He answered when they stepped away. Lily grinned and nodded.

"I think it's better if Potter and I go. They're probably looking for us, but there's no reason to worry. We were just at a party with Sirius and Peter, right?" She said, looking at Potter and raising her eyebrows. He grinned.

"I should probably change my shirt. I spilt something on it that I reckon won't come off that easily."

As expected, the others were worried at the hotel suite. They were waiting in the living room, a sleeping Remus included.

Lily quickly explained what had happened; although a bit apprehensive, the boys took it well. Marlene was gaping.

"Anyway, I only managed to hold Benjy back until the end of the investigation. After that, I don't know," Lily warned them.

"You can convince Benjy, Lil. I'll help you," Marlene said.

"Maybe." she pointed the wand to her bedroom and a potion flew to her. She offered it to James. "Drink this and go get some sleep. You've got to be fine in the afternoon for practice. But, for Merlin, do not disappear again."

Remus approached Lily, and she recognised at once his guilty face.

"Oh no, you don't, Remus Lupin. I shan't accept your apologies. You aren't guilty of anything. If I were to blame someone, it'd be your mate. Your mates, actually. Peter, have you realised you've attacked an Auror from behind?"

The boy blushed and apologised profusely, getting a smile out of Lily.

"I'm very tired, so I'll let it pass today. I'll lie down a bit, but I'll be up for practice."

James watched her going to her bedroom, and followed Sirius to theirs.

"You reckon she'll get Fenwick to keep quiet?" Sirius asked.

"Yup."

"Even after the investigation?"

"I believe Evan's got a special way to ask for his silence," James grumbled. Sirius gaped at him.

"After everything that happened, you're jealous of Fenwick, Prongs? Because if so, this isn't rational at all."

That's the thing, James pondered as he made himself comfortable, he can't know it, because he never felt like this, but jealousy almost never is rational.