11Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since my last update, my computer was acting up and I couldn't post. Thanks for all the reviews and alerts, they keep me motivated! If anyone has any ideas for the next chapter just pm me! And now without further ado…..
F is for Fascinated
Lily was alone in the deserted common room, with only the occasional ghost passing through for company. She sat up against the windowsill and glanced searchingly up at the stars, her forehead creased with worry lines. James was supposed to meet her for their patrol that night but he never came. A small smile appeared on her lips, who would have thought Lily Evans would worry about the well being of one James Potter? But then again no one ever thought she would actually date him.
Her eyes travelled across the darkened ground, and she froze when she noticed something odd. The Whomping willow, which usually swayed gently in the midnight breeze, was strangely still. What was even stranger were the three figures entering the trunk of the tree. She knew without a doubt that the figures were three of the four Marauders, and one in particular had a hell of a lot of explaining to do. Lily wasted no time in hopping off the stone window sill and creeping out of the common room, her wand gripped tightly in one hand.
"And where do you think you're going?" Lily winced as the Fat Lady spoke.
"Late night patrols, sorry to wake you." Lily murmured before hurriedly turning the corner.
"Give him Hell sweetie, Give him hell." The portrait called at her retreating form, causing Lily to smirk.
Lily was no fool; she knew the front doors were watched at night. It was for that reason that she used the hidden passage by the statue of the four eyed dwarf on the second floor to leave the castle. James had showed it to her during their patrol weeks ago, and no she was using it to ask him what in the hell he was doing.
The grounds were alarmingly quite and Lily's wide eyes darted every which way as she walked towards the still frozen willow. As she got closer she could make out a tunnel at the base of the tree, just big enough to crawl through. Lily debated briefly between going back and going forward. Soon enough, her desire to find James won out. She knelt to the ground and began crawling through the earthy tunnel.
After what seemed like ages of tunneling, Lily's hands were caked with dirt and her bare knees ached from crawling. She cheered a bit as a light was visible, and she crawled faster. She was just to the end when she heard it.
"AHOOOOOOOOOO!" Her hands went to her ears as a fierce howling echoed through the tunnel. She realized it was coming from the light ahead which was no doubt the Shrieking Shack. Lily bit her lip as she realized what she was getting herself into. But there was no turning back, James had to be close, and she was not sure she could move enough to turn around.
Lily plugged her ears again as the howling was joined by barking and a sound she was not familiar with. Curiosity pushed her forward and she soon found herself in the shack, and she also realized she was not alone. Timidly she looked forward. The room was small and bare of furniture except for a bed. But that was not what she noticed first.
A massive werewolf stood by the bed, his yellow eyes fixed on hers. Beside him stood a scruffy black dog, whose brown eyes darted between Lily, the werewolf and the most beautiful thing Lily had ever seen. A glorious white stag stood by the old door that hung dangling from its last hinge. His wide eyes stared at her in alarm. And then all Hell broke loose.
The wolf snarled and launched at her, Lily barely had time to let out a scream before the stag charged towards her as well. The stag stopped inches from her and blocked her from the hulking wolf which was being pushed towards the door by the dog. A rat she had not noticed before nipped at the heels of the werewolf until they all disappeared into the night.
The stag backed away to stare at Lily as she rose, brushing off her Hogwarts skirt. She simply stared for a while at the magnificent creature, awe evident in her gaze.
"What is going on?" Lily's voice was low and to her shame, trembled. She knew it was silly, talking to an animal but she knew this was no ordinary stag; everything was starting to come together. To her horror the stag mutated and shifted until a pair of wide hazel eyes and a head of messy black hair took its place.
Lily stared at James in awe and in anger forever before finally deciding on something to say.
"Hey." James chuckled at her attempt at being casual.
"Hey." He replied before walking over and tugging her towards the bed where they proceeded to sit.
"Remus is a werewolf." Lily stated, trying to sound blasé.
"Yes, we like to call it his furry little secret." James chuckled; it was evident that he was relieved she wasn't freaking out.
"And being animagi is you, Sirius, Peter's, and the ministries little secret?" She teased. James smiled sheepishly.
"Actually, the ministry isn't in on our little secret just yet." He mumbled, ducking his head. Lily dropped her jaw and stared at him yet again in open fascination.
"So not only is your friend a werewolf, you and the rest of your friends are illegal animagi?" Lily shook her head in disbelief.
"Yeah, and I guess I should tell you about my secret alias as Superman." James joked as he helped Lily off the bed. "Come on Lils, its getting late. Let's get back to the castle; the boys can handle tonight with out me I think. We can talk more in the morning."
The walk back was quiet and James led her all the way to the girl's staircase before giving her a quick kiss and heading over to his staircase.
"Oh, James?" Lily called before heading up. James turned around and paled as he saw the mischievous smirk on her face.
"Yes?"
"When exactly did you plan on telling me about this?" She asked, trying to sound hurt.
"Well…..um you see, I wanted too but then uh Sirius and then you but I…" He babbled for what seemed like ages before tousling his hair before bolting up the staircase.
Lily chuckled and turned to go up the staircase. James Potter never ceased to amaze her.