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You Know Lily Evans, Moony!


“Wait, Evans… You’re going the wrong way.”

James turned after her, running through the trees. His eyes still burning with tears, he was seeing a bit blurry and he walked into a branch that was still swinging from her passage and it knocked his glasses off and he paused to bend for them - they were cracked so he could only half see ‘round that and for the life of him he couldn’t remember the spell to fix them (something reparo) and even if -- he tapped across his chest and back for his wand. Well, he did have it - tucked under his sweater, twisted through a belt loop at his back. That was impressive, actually, he’d thought it was in the robes he’d given Frank. He drew the wand, “Lumos.”

“Evans!” he called out through the dark. But he’d paused long enough that he had no idea where she’d gone. He couldn’t hear her anymore and his eyes weren’t keen in the dark even without the broken glasses. He reached up and shook twigs and leaves out of his hair. He realized he’d lost his orientation, too, and he knew he hadn’t any choice but to turn back to the stag - even though he had a feeling it would make Lily even more angry/hurt if she saw him as the stag again so soon. It was the only way he was going to find her… Unable to see the castle he couldn’t be positive, but he was pretty sure they were headed in the direction of the clearing by the Black Lake, which was one of Sirius’s favorite places to go when they snuck into the woods… And unless Sirius had called off his plans on account of James not showing up at the Shack, then Padfoot and Wormtail were out and about with the werewolf in these woods…

The stag burst forward through the trees, hooves nearly silent on the bracken, moving with much more agility than James Potter had done. He breathed and could smell her, that shampoo of hers stuck out like a strobe light among the smells of the forest, unnaturally sweet and clean. James ducked and twisted his way through the brush, chasing after the wafting scent of her, each step closer they got to the Black Lake, the more his foreboding grew.

Suddenly, there was a great deal of barking coming through the trees to his left and he cried out in that terrible shrieking cry that his stag made, unable to hold it back as the panic rose up in him and he leaped through the brush.




Padfoot looked up, ears pricked.

He had definitely heard something in the woods, coming closer.

Wormtail was curled into the fur between his shoulder blades and he shifted about, too. Padfoot felt his tiny claws pricking his skin as he turned to look.

Moony? Padfoot looked over his shoulder, where the werewolf was lapping water up from the lake’s edge behind him. He inched backwards from the treeline beyond. Remus, you’re you, yeah?

Sirius?

Stay with me, mate. Padfoot moved over, standing close to his Moony, his hackles raising, I think James is coming. So the stag’s gonna come out of those trees in a second. Don’t lose yourself. Alright? Remember is just James…

Moony wagged his wolfy tail. Just James.

Yeah, just James.

Padfoot stood protectively just the same though as Wormtail wriggled and twisted his way down his leg and across the beach, excited because he felt much safer riding between James’s antlers than he did on Padfoot’s back. The fur of the dog was much less stable than James’s antlers and he played roughly with the wolf - Peter had nearly been caught up in their playful nips more than once and whatever Sirius said about it not mattering if the werewolf bit you as an animal, Peter had a feeling that a bite on something as small as a rat - venomous or not - would be enough to kill him, so he was still less than fond of the razor sharp teeth and claws that had been flying at him as he trembled about on Sirius’s back.

Sure enough, someone did break through the trees….

But it wasn’t the stag.

It was Lily Evans, running, crying… Somewhere along the way from the clearing, she’d tripped and cut her knee and scraped her hand… blood ran over her shin… and she stumbled on the line where the bracken turned to damp stones along the edge of the lake and nearly fell again there. She didn’t notice the two dogs (and rat) across the shore, she simply ran to the water’s edge and stuck her hand into the cold water, splashing a bit of it on her face. She was dizzy and she was hoping the shock of the water would reorient her senses..

Padfoot could feel the tension in Moony’s demeanor… could smell the blood as well as he could, and he turned back to face him. It’s just Evans! Look! You know Lily Evans, Moony! Just Evans… no need to get all wolf about it… No, Remus, stay with me. Remus… you got this, mate.

But Moony was trembling, his mind teetering on the edge of the werewolf’s instincts kicking in…

Stop me, Remus whimpered to Sirius just as he lost control.

Lily looked up when she heard the squealing of a rat coming up beside her. Peter had spotted her and panic had gone through him, the first to know exactly what was about to happen and he’d run for her, squealing loudly to get her attention so she’d look, see, and run… Hopefully with him in her pocket. He ran over before she could get to her feet and he climbed her dress and slid himself into the pocket of the cardigan that hung ‘round her shoulders, ducking into the folds of the fabric, his tail hanging out.

Lily was about to scream when -- Peter’s a rat. It was James’s voice echoing in her head and she put her hand over the rat curled in her pocket. “Pete?” she asked. He stared up at her, his nose twitching, whiskers bent against the sides of her pocket.

Suddenly there was a great deal of barking and Lily looked up.

The dogs were running towards her. Well, one dog, one wolf… and the wolf’s yellow eyes were glowing, his teeth bared, the dog barking frantically, racing, trying to get ahead of the wolf, bashing it with his shoulder, knocking him closer to the water, trying to push him off course. The barking was panicked and Lily turned and ran, her hand falling away from the rat, whose claws curled around the fabric in her pocket, terrified. Her shoes were slippery, no traction, and she skid on the rocks, her hands flailing to keep her balance as she dove for the trees…

She could hear the heavy breathing of the werewolf as he came up behind her, his rasping growls much more terrible than she’d ever imagined the times that she had thought of what Remus Lupin would be like as a wolf… Her heart was in her throat. She’d never pictured him like this - not sweet, innocent Remus Lupin with his golden heart… It couldn’t be the same soul in there… his eyes weren’t the same, they flashed terribly at her when she looked over her shoulder and she fell and he came closer, teeth gnashing…

Suddenly the big, fluffy black dog was leaping between her and the grey wolf, his teeth gnashing, too, but at the wolf, not at her, and she knew this was Sirius. She could see it in the way he moved, in the texture of the hair, even as he leaped forward to engage the werewolf, to stop him from grabbing her… She scrambled across the rocks, tears in her eyes. She wished she’d just gone back to the common room, that she’d never come out here with James Potter, that she’d just stayed oblivious, that she’d never found out about her stag’s true identity, that none of this was happening.

Nightmare, she thought, This isn’t real, it’s all a nightmare.

There was a shrieking yelp from the dog as the werewolf knocked him aside and Lily screamed as the wolf skulked toward her now - the dog already scrambling back to his feet, running at the wolf, biting at his shoulders, but the wolf wasn’t to be deterred, even as the dog barked desperately at his side…

Suddenly a great form leaped clear over her from the woods and with a scraping of the pebbles, the stag landed between her and the werewolf, skidding to a halt, his antlers lowered like weapons, shaking his head at the wolf, sparring him back. Lily scrambled to her feet behind the stag, her heart in her throat, watching as he stood his ground, regardless of the advances of the wolf, his antlers swinging wildly, great cries heaving from his heavy chest as the wolf growled and the dog snapped and tugged at the wolf’s side.

Lily could not believe what she was seeing. No matter how she tried, she could not see these huge, terrifying creatures as the boys - that wolf, with its long terrible teeth could not be Remus … that dog, his fangs bared by his snarling lips, it coudn’t be Sirius… that stag… brave and fighting for her defense, James Potter… She shook and her hand went to the warm little ball of trembling fur in her pocket.

It was a grand effort, getting to her feet, something she would remember as one of the hardest things she’d ever done, even years later… She managed it, though, the blood dried on her shin now joined with fresh from her latest fall, and she stumbled into the trees. She could still hear the snarling, yelping, barking, and the braying of the great fight amongst the animals behind her for sometime as she ran through the trees.

Lily ran as far as she could before her lungs started to ache and then she ran even further, afraid that if she stopped the wolf would come for her and she’d be killed, afraid if she stopped she’d hear a death cry from either the dog or the stag and she couldn’t handle that. The thought terrified her. So she ran as hard as she could, completely blindly through the trees. When she finally did stop, she had no idea where she was, lost in the dark, the moonlight filtering through.

She sat down in the leaves against a tree and started to cry all over again.

There was a pop and suddenly Peter Pettigrew was beside her. “It’s alright, Lily, it’s just us,” he said gently. He touched her shoulder, “That wolf was Remus and Sirius will get him under control -- he was the dog. And James is the stag, he won’t let Remus come after us… He’s very strong, those antlers… and… and Lily, it’s okay.” He patted her awkwardly. “We’re animagi.”

“I know,” she sobbed, “James told me.”

Peter was glad he didn’t have to try to explain any further. He looked her over, “You’re a right mess.”

“I’ve been through it, Peter, I expect I would look a right mess about now!” she said.

Peter flushed.

“I can’t believe this, I can’t believe it. What if he kills them? What if Rey kills them?” she sobbed.

Peter shook his head. Despite Sirius insisting that wouldn’t ever happen, Peter couldn’t bring himself to reassure Lily of that himself. Especially not after the horrid bite that Sirius had got last month.

“And now we’re out here in the woods, with that horrible werewolf after us and… and we’re lost,” Lily looked around.

“We’re not lost,” Peter said, “I know where we are.”

Lily looked up at him.

“Evans, I’m a Marauder, too,” he said, and he held out a hand to help her up. “I know the woods just the same as they do. Except maybe for Sirius, as he’s spent the most time wandering around out here… I usually ride up on top of Prongs’s head and I can sort of see everything… benefit of being a rat, you see…” Peter blushed. “Anyway, I know exactly where we are. There’s a cave over that way --” he pointed, “Sirius has been going on about exploring it a bit. And over there is the lake, through those trees. It sort of wraps around the castle a bit. But if we go that way about a half mile there’s a spot where you can get through the trees and it comes out by the Whomping Willow. Sirius found it once when he was living in the Shrieking Shack.”

Lily let him pull her up from the forest floor and followed him as he walked, pointing the directions he meant. Behind them, somewhere between the trees, a howl rang out and Lily shivered and moved closer to Peter, clutching his hand fearfully, just thankful to have someone there to help her.