A/N – I've been working on this story for a long time. A really long time. And to be honest, I don't see an end for it in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, I just wanted to thank all you readers for the support these past five years. Thank you for constantly reminding me that this story is something worthwhile. I hope I'll be able to finish it for you one day.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"A faithful friend is a strong defense; and he that hath found him hath found a treasure."

~ Louisa May Alcott

The following few days were those filled with stress, chaos and pain for the fifth years of Hogwarts – except for James and Sirius. The two, who had never taken to studying, were spending hours out of the castle every day, in an attempt to get away from Hogwarts and its exam-obsessed inhabitants.

Remus was particularly hard to be around. James and Sirius both knew he was generally tense around the exam season, but the upcoming O.W.L.s seemed to have forged a tenser, more stressed out Remus Lupin. Tired of being victims to his constant snapping and demands to test him, James and Sirius left him alone with Peter, using Quidditch as their excuse of escape.

Though he did not have Quidditch practice nearly as many times as Remus believed, James spent a lot of his time on the Quidditch pitch, flying round with Sirius, who wasn't an expert at the sport, but a fair flyer all the same.

When they weren't occupying their time down at the Quidditch Pitch, James and Sirius were taking refuge at Hagrid's hut. A week before the O.W.L.s began, however, Hagrid had closed his door to his two favourite troublemakers, as he did every year close to exam time. Still, every year, James and Sirius always managed to give him the same, hurt look on their faces, which was occasionally followed by Hagrid saying exasperatedly, 'Don' give me tha' look, boys, it's fer yer own good.'

The next Monday marked the start of the O. for the fifth year students of Hogwarts. The fifth years had their Herbology exams on Wednesday (Peter was particularly careful with the Mandrakes after his unsuccessful run-in with them in his second year; and then, on Tuesday, Charms. Reviewing for the Charms exams had paid off for Lily, especially when the balding examiner, Professor Tofty, asked her about the Cheering Charm.

By Thursday, Lily only had three exams left: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration and Arithmancy. She, Kalah and Alice were found studying for their Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L that afternoon in the Common Room.

'Animagus,' said Kalah suddenly.

'A wizard who can morph him or herself into an animal. It takes years of strenuous practice to master and is so dangerous that you have to be registered with the Ministry to become one,' recited Lily. 'That's it, isn't it?'

'Don't forget that you have to have noticeable markings,' said Kalah, checking her notes. 'Right… What does a Patronus fight against?'

'Dementors.'

'Brilliant.'

The fifth years marched into the Great Hall slowly an hour later, a familiar feeling of dread occupying the air around them.

Lily caught sight of Severus off to the edge of the hall. She offered a wave, but dropped her hand when she realized that he hadn't noticed.

Moments later, when Flitwick passed out the exams, Lily was pleased to read the first question:

Name the side effects of the Cheering Charm.

She picked up her quill and poised it to write.

An hour later, in the same room, James Potter yawned hugely and rumpled his hair. Apart from that trick question on pixies, the exam was fairly easy and already out of his mind. He gave a short glance toward Professor Flitwick, turned in his seat and grinned at Sirius.

Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. James glanced round the room, searching for Remus. A moment later, he caught sight of him sitting two seats along from Violet Summers, who seemed to be stealing glances at Sirius. Remus was rereading his answers on his parchment, scratching his chin with the end of his quill and frowning slightly. Peter was near the front row, chewing his fingernails anxiously. James snorted as he saw him glance hopefully at Padman Patil's paper.

James pulled out the piece of scrap parchment on his desk underneath his exam. He began to absent-mindedly sketch a Snitch.

The Golden Snitch always seemed to intrigue James more than the other balls used in Quidditch, despite the fact that he was a Chaser. The Snitch appeared to stand out, with its tiny, gold and floaty appearance. In a glance, despite the fact that he was always working with the Quaffle, he could always spot the Snitching flying around him.

Perhaps it was because a Snitch was currently fluttering in James' pocket that he had begun to draw it. Or perhaps it was because James could clearly see the back of Lily Evans' head from his seat.

She was sitting in the second row from the front, three seats from the right and was chewing the end of her quill as James knew she did whenever she was deep in thought.

He wasn't even aware that he was tracing her initials into the middle of his drawing until he'd finished.

'Quills down, please!' squeaked Professor Flitwick. 'That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!'

Over a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backwards off his feet.

James chuckled. A couple of students at the front desks got up to help Professor Flitwick to his feet. James watched as Lily crouched down, picked up several of the scrolls that had fallen to the ground and held them out to Flitwick.

'Thank you... Thank you,' panted Professor Flitwick. 'Very well, everybody, you're free to go!'

James hastily crossed out the 'L.E.' on his parchment, deciding he'd have to get rid of the parchment before Sirius got to it. Stuffing his quill and exam paper into his bag, James jumped to his feet, and waited for his mates to join him.

(Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, p. 483)

Towards the front, a small group of girls exited the hall.

'So?' asked Lily, grinning at Mary MacDonald. 'How'd you do?'

Mary shrugged, a reluctant smile on her face. 'Alright, I suppose... Did you get question seventeen?'

Kalah rolled her eyes. 'Mary, nobody remembers the question numbers.'

Mary waved her hand dismissively. 'The one about the uses of pixie dust. It's only momentary levitation, right?'

Lily made a face. 'Afraid not, Mary. Momentary levitation is only caused by ground pixie hair. There's no such thing as pixie dust.'

Mary groaned. 'Brilliant. That's what I get for watching Peter Pan during the Easter hols.'

Lily gave a laugh, but Alice furrowed her eyebrows. 'Who?'

Mary waved her hand dismissively. 'Never mind,' she said.

Alice gave a shrug and looked of into the distance. 'Well,' she said suddenly. 'I'm off to start studying for Transfiguration.'

'But that's not until tomorrow,' said Marlene.

Alice cleared her throat. 'Still, I've got loads to review. I'll catch up with you all later.'

Lily followed her gaze, and then noticed Frank Longbottom waiting by the Entrance Hall. She hid a smirk. Studying, indeed.

Kalah stretched 'Yeah, I think I'll join you,' she said. 'If I don't start studying, I'm going to fail for sure.'

Alice blinked. 'Er—are you sure, Kalah?' she asked.

Lily, suddenly sympathetic to Alice's cause, jumped in to help. 'Yeah, sure you don't want to relax a bit? You just wrote an O.W.L., for Merlin's sake!'

Kalah shook her head. 'Nah, I think I should really get started. You too, Lily—you should join us, too.'

'I don't think Lily needs to study,' said Alice quickly. 'She's rather brilliant already.'

'Still,' said Kalah. 'A little reviewing doesn't hurt anybody.'

Lily felt rather caught in an uncomfortable situation. 'Not today,' she replied. 'I'm exhausted. I'm not touching another book today.' When she glanced over at Alice, she noticed that her mate appeared relieved.

'Are you sure?'

'Absolutely. Relax for a bit, Kalah. Lily turned to Alice to be fair. 'You too, Alice.'

'Oh no, Lily,' said Alice immediately. 'I really should get to work. You two have fun.'

Kalah stared at her for a moment before giving a jerky shrug. 'Fine,' she said.

Lily grinned at her. 'Come on,' she said, grabbing Kalah's elbow. 'Let's go down to the lake. It's warm out.'

Behind them, another crowd of students were leaving the castle.

James rumpled his hair as he stretched and yawned next to his mates.

'Did you like question ten, Moony?' asked Sirius as they emerged into the Entrance Hall.

'Loved it,' said Remus briskly. 'Give five signs that identify the werewolf. Excellent question.'

'D'you think you managed to get all the signs?' said James in tones of mock concern.

'Think I did,' said Remus seriously, as they joined the crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. 'One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his names' Remus Lupin.'

Wormtail was the only one who didn't laugh.

'I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail,' he said anxiously, 'but I couldn't think what else –'

'How thick are you, Wormtail?' said James impatiently. 'You run round with a werewolf once a month –'

'Keep your voice down,' implored Remus.

The four strode off down the lawn towards the lake.

'Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake,' said Sirius. 'I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least.'

'Me too,' said James. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch.

'Where'd you get that?'

'Nicked it,' said James casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away before seizing it again. Peter was watching in awe. The four stopped in the shade of a beech tree on the edge of the lake and threw themselves down on the grass.

The sunlight was dazzling on the smooth surface of the lake, on the bank of which Lily and her friends were sitting, with their shoes and socks off, cooling their feet in the water.

(Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, p. 484 – 485)

Lily glanced around the grounds attempting to catch sight of Severus. She had not seen him in a while, not since he was supposed to be her Potions partner. She wondered momentarily whether he found better company amongst his Slytherin mates—perhaps he no longer wanted to be her friend…

'Oi, you lot,' said Greta Catchlove, approaching with Daisy Dodderidge and Stacey McKinnon. They sat down at the water's edge and proceeded and take off their shoes. 'Mind if we join you?'

Lily shifted to make room. 'No problem,' she said. She leant back, closed her eyes and let her mind wander, trying not to think about Severus abandoning her.

Remus had pulled out a book and was reading. Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking haughty and bored. James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom further and further away, almost escaping but always grabbed it at the last second. Peter was watching him with his mouth open. Every time James made particularly difficult catch, Peter gasped and applauded.

James looked over at the water's edge where Lily was lying down on the grass with her arms propped under her head, her legs stretched out and slightly crossed and her eyes closed. He rumpled his hair absent-mindedly and let the Snitch get away for longer than he had intended in his distraction. He jumped up and made a fine catch, and Peter let out a cheer.

'Put that away, will you,' said Sirius finally, 'before Wormtail wets himself with excitement.'

Wormtail turned slightly pink, but James grinned.

'If it bothers you,' he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket.

'I'm bored,' said Sirius. 'Wish it was full moon.'

'You might,' said Remus darkly, from behind his book. 'We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored, you could test me. Here...' And he held out his book.

But Sirius snorted. 'I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all.'

'This'll liven you up, Padfoot,' said James quietly. 'Look who it is...'

Sirius' head turned. He became very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit.

'Excellent,' he said softly. 'Snivellus.'

Snape, who was settled on the grass in the dense shadow of a clump of bushes nearby was on his feet, and was stowing the DADA O.W.L. paper in his bag.

As he left the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Remus and Peter remained sitting: Remus was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows; Peter was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with the same look of avid anticipation on his face he had whenever James hexed students in the halls when they mouthed off to him.

James sat up, his wand hand twitching with anticipation.

All right, Snivellus?' he said loudly.

Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack: dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, 'Expelliarmus!'

Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

'Impedimenta!' he said, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet halfway through a dive towards his own fallen wand.

Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had got to their feet and were edging nearer. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained.

James looked down at Snape coldly, remembering what had happened when Snape had tried to come to the Shrieking Shack, when Snape had almost revealed Remus' secret to the school.

Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands raised, James glancing over his shoulder at the girls at the water's edge as he went. Peter was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging round Remus to get a clearer view.

(Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, p. 485-486)

Lily opened her eyes slowly to the sound of loud, excited talking.

'What's going on?' she asked, sitting up and turning to Kalah, who was on her feet, stretching her neck to gauge what was happening.

'I don't know,' said Kalah, a look of concern on her face. 'But there's a crowd gathering over there.'

From the distance, Lily saw Mary rushing over to them. 'It's Potter and Black,' she panted when she got close. 'They're attacking Snape.'

'What?' Lily whipped her head around to face the scene. The crowd was thick now. Lily could not see what was in the middle.

'Yeah,' said Mary. 'They've got him on the Impediment Curse.'

Lily immediately reached for her shoes and socks. 'How dare they,' she said angrily, pulling on her socks.

'Lily, what are you going to do?' asked Greta.

'What do you think I'm going to do?' replied Lily, shaking with fury as she put on her shoes and got to her feet. 'I'm going to help my friend.'

'How'd the exam go, Snivelly?' said James.

'I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment,' said Sirius viciously. 'There'll be great grease marks all over it; they won't be able to read a word.'

Several people watching laughed; Peter sniggered shrilly. Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.

'You – wait,' he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing, 'You – wait!'

'Wait for what?' said Sirius coolly. 'What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?'

Snape let out a stream of mixed swear words and hexes, but with his wand ten feet away, nothing happened.

'Wash out your mouth,' said James coldly. 'Scourgify!'

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him –

'Leave him ALONE!'

James and Sirius looked round. James' free hand immediately jumped to his hair.

The crowd seemed to open up to reveal Lily.

'All right, Evans?' said James, and the tone of his voice had changed into the pleasant, deep and mature voice he used whenever he spoke to Lily.

'Leave him alone,' Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. 'What's he done to you?'

'Well,' said James, appearing to deliberate the point, 'it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean...'

Many of the surrounding students laughed, Sirius and Peter included, but Remus, still apparently intent on his book, didn't, and nor did Lily.

'You think you're funny,' she said coldly. 'But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone.'

'I will if you go out with me, Evans,' said James quickly, feeling a rush of adrenaline. 'Go on... go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.'

Lily narrowed her eyes. If Potter thought this was supposed to impress her, he had another thing coming.

Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch towards his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds as he crawled.

'I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid,' said Lily.

'Bad luck, Prongs,' said Sirius briskly, and turned back to Snape. 'Oy!'

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James' face, spattering his robes with blood. Lily jumped, looking startled. James whirled about: a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside-down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.

Many people in the small crowd cheered; Sirius, James and Peter roared with laughter.

Lily's mouth twitched momentarily at the sight, but her expression became furious again an instant later.

'Let him down,' she said sternly.

'Certainly,' said James and he jerked his wand upwards; Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, 'Lococomotor mortis!' and Snape keeled over again at once, rigid as a board.

'LEAVE HIM ALONE!' Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.

'Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you,' said James earnestly. The voice at the back of his head laughed at his lie.

Lily gripped her wand tightly, prepared.

'Take the curse off him, then!'

James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the counter-curse.

'There you go,' he said, as Snape struggled to his feet. 'You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –'

'I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!' shouted Snape.

His words were a blow to her stomach.

Lily blinked.

'Fine,' she said coolly. 'I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.'

'Apologise to Evans!' James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

Suddenly, Lily too, let go of all her frustrations.

'I don't want you to make him apologise,' she shouted, rounding on James. 'You're as bad as he is!'

'What?' yelped James. 'I'd NEVER call you a – you-know-what!'

Lily clenched her fists. 'Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can – I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.'

Lily couldn't take it anymore. She needed to get away from them – both Potter and Snape. She turned on her heel and hurried away.

'Evans!' James shouted after her. 'Hey, EVANS!'

But she didn't look back.

What is it with her?' said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.

'Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate,' said Sirius.

Damn it.

'Right,' said James, who looked furious now, 'Right –'

There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside-down in the air.

'Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?'

The crowd, which had quieted down after Lily's appearance, started to cheer again.

'James,' said Remus quietly. James and Sirius turned to look over at their friend. He had closed his book and had gotten to his feet. 'We've got our Transfiguration exam tomorrow. Come on, let's go.'

This was how Remus usually intervened. He wouldn't tell them to stop, but he would always come up with an excuse so they wouldn't be able to do more damage.

James knew this was a sign that he'd gone too far. He looked over to Sirius, who shrugged noncommittally. Peter was looking disappointed.

James sighed. 'Alright, alright,' said James. He walked over to the beech tree, picked up his bag and followed Remus into the castle.

'Isn't someone going to let him down?' asked Ludo Bagman, a second year.

(Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, p. 485-486)

'Lily? Are you there?'

The door clicked open and Kalah and Alice tentatively walked into their dormitory. Lily was sitting on her bed, fingering a string bracelet.

Kalah and Alice exchanged glances.

Lily held up the bracelet. It was the one given to her by Snape on her eleventh birthday. The bracelet looked exactly as it had on that day, with different colours of rope twisted in the same messy manner.

'Do you remember this?'

Kalah and Alice nodded.

'He—er—he gave it to me,' said Lily. She paused. 'Snape, I mean.'

There was silence for a few moments.

'He called me a Mudblood,' said Lily. She looked straight ahead with a transfixed gaze, as though picturing the scene.

Alice crouched down so she was level with Lily's face.

'I know,' she said. 'And it was wrong.'

'You lot were right,' said Lily, swiping a forearm over her eyes. 'I should never have been friends with him. He's a right foul git.'

Kalah was crouching down too now. 'I'm sorry.'

A reluctant grin tugged on the ends of Lily's mouth. 'No—all those times I got annoyed at you two when you said Snape was trouble,' she said, shaking her head. 'I'm sorry...'

There was more silence. Then Lily got to her feet.

'It's just... I knew most of his friends were Slytherins. I just didn't know he'd be like them.'

'Lily,' said Alice, 'You-Know-Who's getting a lot more powerful than you think. A lot of the Slytherins' parents are probably Death Eaters. It's no excuse, but I'd bet he'd do anything to become one them.'

'Merlin, I'm such an idiot,' said Lily, sinking her head into her hands.

'Padfoot, I messed up,' said James, massaging his temples.

'Yeah,' agreed Sirius. He and James were getting ready for bed.

'Oi, you're not supposed to agree, you know.'

'There's no getting around it, mate. Evans pretty much hates your guts right now.'

'But I didn't do anything!'

Sirius shrugged. 'Nothing I'd argue with. But look at it in Evans' point of view.'

'What do you mean?'

'I dunno... I guess; the way Evans sees it, you're the one who made her best friend call her a – you-know-what.'

'I didn't make that git say anything!'

'OK, OK,' said Sirius. 'It's a theory, alright? Don't bite my head off.'

'Lily?'

Mary had stuck her head into her dormitory. Lily, dressed in her nightgown for bed, looked up from her Transfiguration textbook.

'Yeah, Mary?'

Mary looked nervous. 'It's Snape. He's outside the common room.'

Lily cringed. 'Again?'

Mary nodded. 'He's – er – he's threatening to sleep there if you don't go out there.'

Lily debated whether she should. Snape had been waiting outside the common room since that evening, hoping to talk to Lily. At first, Kalah and Alice had convinced her not to go out there – she didn't need to hear his excuses.

But now, by threatening to sleep out there, Snape would be disturbing the whole castle – not to mention that a part of Lily still didn't want him to get in trouble.

'Fine,' she said. 'I'll be right back.' Lily got to her feet and walked out of her dormitory determinedly, remembering that she had no intention of forgiving her oldest friend this time.

Snape's whole face lit up when he saw Lily appear.

'I'm sorry,' he said.

'I'm not interested.'

'I'm sorry!'

'Save your breath.'

Lily stood with her arms folded in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

'I only came out here because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here.'

'I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood. It just –'

'Slipped out?' There was no pity in Lily's voice. 'It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends –' Snape hung his head, silent. '– You see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?'

He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking.

'I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine.'

'No – listen, I didn't mean –'

'– to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?'

He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look, she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole...

(Rowling, Deathly Hallows, p. 356)

Snape didn't know that Lily was on the verge of tears – she had lost her oldest friend – she had been betrayed and had lost someone dear to her. She had lost a piece of her childhood, and she was certain she would never go back to the park near her home again, where she had once played joyfully with her best friend, Severus Snape.

Lily didn't know that Snape had lost the love of his life – he had lost the chance to see her smile, to laugh with her, to share her happy and sad experiences. He had lost the opportunity to be her best friend. All in all, on that day, as Snape retired to his empty dormitory alone, as he sat on his bed in the dark and pointed his wand at the ceiling, shooting down flies, he realised that he had ultimately lost Lily Evans. Forever.

It was funny, really, that once one part of Lily's life, Severus Snape, had changed, many others had begun to change in reaction. She was to return home for the summer to face her sister, Petunia, a task that seemed more daunting than ever without the occasional company of Severus Snape. Lily imagined the look on Petunia's face if she told her that she and Snape were no longer mates—it caused her stomach to churn unpleasantly.

Lily continued to see Snape in the Great Hall during meals, giving her hopeful glances which she did her best to ignore. He attempted to talk to her in the halls a few times, but Kalah and Alice always managed to steer her away.

It was not even as though lily could look to final examinations in order to keep her mind off things; now that exams had finished, she found she had too much time to wallow in her thoughts. In fact, as the days went by, Lily found her mind preoccupied with a rather curious matter. Perhaps it was because she missed her former best mate; perhaps it was because of her contempt at how they were made to end their friendship; but on nights when she stayed awake completing homework, Lily started to really think about what Snape had implied when he mentioned that Remus left the castle on full moon nights.

Of course, Lily had her own suspicions and a part of her believed Snape whenever he hinted at her, even though she didn't particularly want to be aware of it. She'd also noticed that Remus always seemed to ask her to switch Prefect patrols with her whenever his shift came up on a full moon night. Still, that didn't answer why Snape believed that Remus' mates also left their dormitory on these nights, especially if Snape was right about his theory.

Lily's thoughts became obsessive over the next few days. She contemplated confronting Remus regarding the manner, but decided against it almost immediately—surely the subject would be a sore one for him and Lily had no intention of making her fellow Prefect feel uncomfortable. She thought about asking Black or Pettigrew—they owed her after what happened when Potter lost his memory—but then, she knew they'd deny everything; if anything, they were loyal mates.

And confronting Potter was out of the question. Lily made every attempt to ignore him after her outburst after the DADA O.W.L.s. Surprisingly enough, though, Potter made no attempt to pester her about it. Perhaps he finally understand that the world did not revolve around him, and that she could not nor would not tolerate his company—in any case, he made no attempts to bother her since the incident at the O.W.L.s, and Lily was quite satisfied about that.

In fact, Potter's determination not to engage her in conversation worked rather well for Lily, because it meant that his conversations with his mates were no longer those she was certain he was staging. The deliberately loud voices and exaggerated conversations about Quidditch, which she was positive was for the benefit of the Gryffindor girls in the common room, had been replaced with huddled, whispered conversation with his mates, and they were speaking in such hushed tones that Lily was certain they weren't discussing Gryffindor's last match with Ravenclaw in Charms.

Lily made a point to sit behind Potter and Black in Potions. Since she'd decided that she and Snape were no longer mates, she'd begun to share cauldron with Alice and Kalah. Alice had subsequently suggested that she'd work with Frank Longbottom to reduce the crowd, a suggestion she made rather timidly and self-sacrificingly. Lily had agreed out of pity—Alice was not prepared to tell her about Frank yet, but her insistence to spend every waking moment with him for 'innocent' reasons was endearing. When Alice had left to join Frank at his table, Lily could have sworn that she saw Kalah smirk; but then Snape had walked in and was staring at her, so Lily had no time to pose any questions. Snape gazed a hole in Lily's head before making a jerky turn and stalking off to the other side of the dungeon, leaving Lily to huddle over her cauldron and avoid his gaze.

Through Lily had to strain her ears to eavesdrop on Potter and Black's conversation throughout the class period, and still, she heard nothing more than wisps of voices, none of which she could make sense.

'Lily, what's next?'

Lily's eyes snapped up to meet Kalah's. She was waiting at the cauldron they were sharing, with a ladle in her hand.

'Er—' Lily checked her textbook. 'Three turns clockwise, followed by one counter-clockwise turn for seven repetitions,' she said quickly. Kalah proceeded to stir the mixture after giving Lily the lift of a quizzical brow at her uncharacteristic distraction during Potions class.

Lily waited until Kalah was engrossed in the counting of her stirring before she leant casually in Potter and Black's direction. From the corner of her eye, she saw Potter's head twitch involuntarily at the act, and she trained her eyes on her textbook busily.

'Only one day left,' Sirius Black was saying in an excited murmur.

Potter responded with a mumble Lily could not hear. Frustrated, she flipped the page on her textbook and stood.

'I'll get the snakeweed, shall I?' she said with a bright smile. Kalah nodded noncommittally. Lily ran her finger over the word 'snakeweed' written in the textbook with unnecessary dramatics before walking to the ingredients cabinets at the other side of the room, walking past Potter and Black's cauldron slowly in the hopes of catching a few of their exchanged words as she did so.

'… for Moony, you know, call it a gift for our last one for the year…'

Lily would have stopped walking altogether to listen to their conversation if it weren't for the fact that Potter had lifted his head as she walked by. Lily found her way to the cabinets faster than expected. She pulled out 4 slivers of snakeweed immediately and backtracked to her seat.

'… excellent—way to make our last trip memorable, Padfoot,' Potter was saying.

Lily reached her seat and could no longer hear the murmured conversation next to her, but already she was certain of one thing.

Potter and his mates were taking a trip tomorrow. And it was going to be a full moon night.

Lily Evans was in the common room when James came downstairs that night to check whether the coast was clear.

He hesitated upon seeing her—normally, he was quick to engage in conversation, but the events of last week were still fresh in his mind. He cleared his throat awkwardly, opened his mouth to speak, and then decided against it at the last moment. He pivoted his feet to move towards the portrait.

'Going somewhere, Potter?' asked Evans coldly. When James glanced back at her, he noticed that her eyes hadn't even left her parchment as she scribbled.

'Just the kitchens,' he said with an easy grin. 'Want anything?'

Evans made no response to his question, but merely raised her eyebrows as she continued to write. 'Curfew's in five minutes,' she said with a curt voice, ignoring his question entirely.

James shoved his hands into his pockets, a bit put off. 'I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Mum,' he mumbled.

The last thing he saw before he slipped out of the common room was the scowl on Lily Evans' face.

'She's down there,' said James, when he returned to his dormitory ten minutes later. Frank, always the early sleeper, was already busy setting his pyjamas on his bed as James strolled up to Sirius and Peter, falling onto Peter's bed with a decided jump.

'Who?' said Peter, his eyes round. 'McGonagall?'

James scoffed. 'No,' he said with a dismissive wave. 'She's probably still with Moony, making sure he's settling in.' James said the last bit using air quotes and a dramatic tone of voice. 'I meant Evans.'

Sirius made a look of disgust. 'What's she doing down there anyway? O.W.L.s are finished. We don't even have any assignments left to hand in.'

'I think she's writing home.'

'What for? She's going to be there in a couple of days!'

James shrugged.

'We've got the Cloak,' suggested Peter. 'Though, I'm not even sure all of us fit under there anymore.'

'Yeah,' agreed James. 'Remember when we used it to get into Honeydukes? The day we found the cellar door? Or even last month when Remus nearly got his ear sliced off when we tried to score some Firewhiskey from those old codgers at the Hog's Head?'

Sirius gave a bark of laughter. 'How could I forget? Moony thought it would be easier if he hid behind the cloak while I talked to them because I was more passable for seventeen. Then he had to go and show some ankle and scare the living shit out of them!'

Peter began to laugh too, wiping the mirth from his eyes. 'The one with the eye patch whipped out his wand and slashed at the air randomly. Oi, Padfoot, you should have seen the look on Moony's face—he didn't see it coming!'

'Yeah, and even though it healed easy enough, he's still got the scar,' added James.

Sirius shook his head reminiscently. 'That was brilliant.'

'Yeah, well,' said James, glancing in Frank's direction. 'I guess we have no choice but to use the cloak anyway. What else do we have?'

Lily could not believe how easy it was to nick Peter Pettigrew's wand. Sure, nearly every professor made a point of criticizing his carelessness since first year—McGonagall especially seemed to come down hard on him in Transfiguration—but Lily did not think Pettigrew was as forgetful as he was. This particular trait served especially useful when he set down his wand at the beginning of their Potions class the next day, and forgot to take it with him on the way to lunch before doubling back to pick it up ten minutes later.

Lily had been in the dungeon after class that day, clearing out her potion and inquiring after Professor Slughorn's health when she saw Pettigrew's discarded wand. She waited until Professor Slughorn slipped into his office before moving towards the wand and placing a Tracing charm upon it—after all, Potter had an Invisibility Cloak. How else would she be able to follow him and his mates?

It was only because of this, that when the portrait door opened suddenly as she wrote her letter and no one arrived nor left, Lily inwardly smirked. She pulled out her wand, muttered an incantation and watched as the tip of her wand shone brightly immediately and began to dim with every step Pettigrew took away from her.

Potter was on the move.

James wasn't certain what made him want to check. Perhaps it was because Evans had been in the common room, and hadn't so much as flinched when the Portrait door had opened surreptitiously. Or perhaps it was because he'd been particularly cautious ever since Snape had managed to follow them into the Shrieking Shack. But a prickly sensation continued to taunt him as he and his mates walked down the corridor.

Peter's wand had been slow all day. Lily Evans was writing a letter in the common room when she would see her family in a few days' time. She'd been particularly keen on asking him where he was headed so close to curfew.

James stopped in his tracks.

'Oi, Wormtail,' he croaked. 'Let me see your wand.'

As she stepped down the corridor, her wand held high in front of her, Lily felt very much like she were seeking some sort of treasure, and her wand was her map. She took anxious steps, hesitant to make much noise in case Filch should come running. She kept her eyes trained on her wand, turning into one corridor, walking past another, reaching a fork in the hallway, and then—

Nothing.

Lily froze. The glowing at the end of her wand had dissipated. Lily looked around her, seeking any signs of movement. She glanced back down at her wand. Nothing.

Lily began to run forward, taking the first path of the three that were available. It was implausible—how could Pettigrew have disappeared? It was impossible to Disapparate within the castle, and anyway, they were right there, her wand proved it—

Befuddled, Lily hurried forward, whipping her head to scrutinize as many paths as possible, only to be met with empty corridors in her search for any trace of Potter and his mates.

James held still as Lily Evans hurried past him, her auburn hair flying behind her and leaving behind the scent of lavender and vanilla.

When she'd disappeared around a corner, Sirius gave a low whistle. 'Bloody hell,' he muttered.

'How'd you know she was tracking us?' asked Peter, looking aghast.

James nodded towards his wand. 'Something was off. And magic always leaves traces.'

Sirius clapped him on back hard, the momentary panic having subsided, and the comedy of it all finally bubbling to the surface. 'Good thinking, mate. That was a close one.' He chuckled. 'Your bird Evans… sneaky little vixen, isn't she?'

James' heart was thumping rapidly in his chest. He hadn't expected Evans to follow him out of the common room after hours, let alone put a Tracing charm on them, the Prefect that she was.

A part of James was relieved to have discovered her plan before it succeeded—after all, where they were headed was no place for a human, at least not one that wasn't an Animagus. And Evans was a Prefect; James couldn't imagine the trouble she could have gotten them into for sneaking out of the castle at that hour.

Still, another part of him, a greater part, had never been more attracted to Lily Evans…

Remus was grinning when James, Sirius and Peter finally pushed open the trap door into the Shrieking Shack. He swung his arms back and forth as he wanted for them to scramble out and dust themselves off.

'Last one for the year,' he said.

Sirius returned the grin. 'And we're going to make it a special one,' he said.

A furrow appeared between Remus' eyebrows. 'What do you mean?' he asked.

Sirius reached into his robes and pulled out a large bottle. He held it up in the air. The bottle was dusty, but the glint of its ruby contents was unmistakeable. A neat maroon label was wrapped around the bottle.

Remus' jaw dropped. 'Firewhiskey?' he rasped.

Sirius waggled his eyebrows. 'I figured since we weren't too successful last time around, we'd get one for this month.'

'Where did you get it?' A disapproving frown was etched on Remus' face.

'Ask me no questions, Moony, and I'll tell you no lies.'

James rolled his eyes. 'Come off it. Padfoot here just paid a bloke double the galleons to buy it for him. After last month's run in, the codger who runs the Hog's Head gets shifty-eyed whenever he strolls in.'

Sirius gave a careless shrug. 'I got the Firewhiskey, didn't I? Now quit your whining and Transfigure me some goblets. I'm going to crack it open.'

James grinned and picked up a few shavings of wood that were discarded on the floor after Remus' transformation the month earlier. He tapped each shard once with his wand and muttered the spell under his breath before passing the goblets to each of his mates. Peter hesitated before taking his goblet in his hands.

'Drink up, Wormtail,' said Sirius, holding his goblet up in the air. 'You only live once.'

Remus gave a reluctant smile, rolling his eyes as though to say, 'how I ever became mates with you lot, I'll never know'. Then he raised his goblet as well.

There was a pause, and then the resounding clink of four glasses.

It was quite fortunate that no witch or wizard was taking a casual stroll past the Shrieking Shack, because an hour later, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs were certainly a sight to behold.

It was bizarre enough to see a large, black dog stumble out of the Shrieking Shake, or the stag, with a rat on its antlers, burst its way into the opening, but it was the wolf that followed behind, more than anything, that would have made any passers-by do a great double-take.

Moony was on his hind legs, strolling forward with ease. He had a wolfish grin on his face, and had the neck of his goblet held delicately between his sharp teeth as he whistled and swayed to his own beat.

Padfoot made a swipe at him, and the goblet came crashing down to the floor. Moony froze and narrowed his eyes, but this only resulted in a bark of laughter from Padfoot.

Everything about the night seemed infinite. They were together, the four of them, on the last full moon night of their fifth year. The school year was coming to a resounding end, and they had Firewhiskey to commemorate the occasion; and even though no one had said or done anything particularly funny, all four of them, in their very tipsy state, were in stiches with hysterical laughter.

They had managed to stumble onto the empty, yet exposed Main Street in a clumsy and rather unwise move, and were guffawing at an oddly shaped shrub across from Honeydukes when Moony froze.

Out from the Three Broomsticks was a middle-aged couple. They were laughing, arm in arm with bottles of Butterbeer in their hands.

Moony twitched.

'Look, honey,' said the man, nudging the pretty woman next to him and pointing at Padfoot. 'It's a doggie.'

A low rumbling emitting from Moony's snout. His lips began to separate, revealing a white wall of sharp fangs.

Prongs tensed. 'Moony?'

The rumbling grew louder. Little bits of spittle began to make its way out from in between Moony's fangs.

'Moony,' squeaked Wormtail, crawling across Prongs' antlers towards Moony's huddled figure.

Moony began to shake. The couple standing outside the Three Broomsticks was oblivious—they were laughing about a joke the woman had said now, and were making their way casually to the end of the street.

'Moony!' barked Padfoot.

Moony lunged, and many things happened at once.

The woman shrieked; her partner's eyes went wide. He began to stutter and as Moony approached at top speed, he dropped the woman's hand and began to run in the opposite direction. Prongs gallowed forward with every intent of tackling Moony, but it was Padfoot who rammed him from the side, mere feet away from the woman, who was now backing away and fumbling through her robes for her wand. Moony slammed into the solid stone wall opposite the Three Broomsticks, giving Padfoot enough time to turn to the shaking woman and say, 'Nice bloke, that boyfriend of yours'. His voice came out in a dog's bark, but it was enough for the woman to give off yet another shriek and run off in the direction of her cowardly mate.

Padfoot did not have enough time to chuckle and appreciate the comedy of the scene, because Moony was on his feet in the next instance, and charging towards him at top speed. The force of the impact of nearly two hundred pounds of muscle sent Padfoot back, smashing his head against the ground, and he crumpled immediately at the foot of Honeydukes' door, soundly unconscious.

'Padfoot,' squeaked Wormtail, scurrying down Prongs' back to tend to his mate.

'Moony!' roared Prongs. 'But the stag's roar, which had usually managed to calm Moony down, only served to anger him further tonight. Moony's lips were stretched over his teeth and sticky saliva was dripping down his chin. His yellow eyes were piercing and palms were clenching and unclenching, revealing sharp claws. He was panting and growling, rearing his legs back in preparation of an attack.

'Moony,' called Prongs cautiously, and the two of them began to circle one another, searching for an opening. 'Moony, what's happened to you? It's me, it's Prongs.'

Moony swiped a paw over his snout, growling. He paused and the dark clouds above him parted slightly, just enough to reveal the brilliant silver of the moon pulsing behind him. Moony gave a loud, resounding howl.

Prongs charged. His antlers caught under Moony's chin and lifted him clear off the ground with what looked like little effort. Prongs reared back, preparing for yet another tackle, but in his haste, he lost sight of Moony's fast approaching claws until they sliced clean across his middle.

Prongs roared with pain, his eyes momentarily blinded. Moony squeaked loudly in protest. There was crimson blood everywhere. Moony was advancing, Prongs was retreating, and consciousness was slowly leaving him as dark spots filled his eyes.

The last thing Prongs saw before he collapsed was Moony standing on his hind legs and holding still. His snout was twitching as though testing the air tentatively, and then he was bounding off in the opposite direction, retreating into the forest, as Prongs' head hit the stone ground below.

When James came to, he was human again.

He attempted to sit up, with his arms propping him up from behind as he surveyed the situation, momentarily confused as to where he was and what time it was. He saw the blood first. Then came the pain.

James groaned and collapsed.

'Shit!'

'Oi, don't move!'

'Wormtail?'

From through the bushes came Peter Pettigrew. He appeared shabby, as though he'd been roughed up, but apart from that, seemed in good health.

'You took a hit, mate,' said Peter, nodding to James' stomach. 'It's pretty bad. I dragged you off the street. Away from people, you know. Brought you to this oak tree, it looked like it'd be good cover.'

James ran a hand over his midsection. From his side to his belly button was a large horizontal gash. James swore.

'I tried everything,' said Peter, his voice shaking. 'But you know I'm no good at healing spells, James, I can't make it stop bleeding.'

James winced, rolling to his side. 'It's okay,' he gasped. 'Where's my wand?'

Peter withdrew it from his robes. 'I found it on the ground next to you once you clocked out,' he said.

'Where'd Moony go?' croaked James as he reached for his wand and tapped his middle with it.

'Not sure,' responded Peter, sitting with crossed legs across from James and wiping the sweat off his brow. 'But I think he's smelled something, the way he was standing. I nearly gnawed Padfoot's ear off, trying to get him up to go after him.'

James swore again. 'What'd he smell?'

Peter shook his head. 'I'm not sure. But he's off today. I think it might have been the Firewhiskey. Moony's smell senses are doubled, at least. I think he may have smelt a human.'

'What?' roared James. He winced again from the pain, tapping his wand against the wound once more.

Peter sunk his head in his hands. 'We messed up, Prongs. We messed up real bad. There are too many people in Hogsmeade. And Moony—he's not himself. Padfoot's tracking him now. He's got a better sense of smell than either of us, so if anyone could find Moony, it's him.'

'Damn,' cursed James, tossing his wand aside. 'I can't do it. Bloody wound won't heal.' He attempted sit up, pressing his right hand flat over the gash and using his left to help prop him up. 'I need to go after them. Before Moony does something he's going to regret.'

Wormtail jumped to his feet, reaching for his own wand. 'Let me try to heal it again. I can do it, I know I can.'

He scrunched his face up in concentration. Sweat glistened from his face. He tapped James' middle with his wand.

'Vulnera Sanentur!' he hissed.

There was a red-hot flash and from the edges of the wound, working its way to meet in the middle grew a very thin layer of pink skin. Peter gave a whoop.

'Look, mate! Look, I did it!'

James grimaced. 'Nice job, Wormtail.' He made to sit up again, but the small movement must have been too much, because the skin gave way almost immediately, revealing the deep gash once again and allowing more dark blood to flow.

Peter sunk to the ground. 'I'm sorry, Prongs. I tried.'

James pressed his hand to his side hard, stopping the blood flow. 'It must be because Moony's a werewolf—permanent or something, it would just figure.'

'Let's just try to make it to the castle,' said Peter nervously. 'Pomfrey's brilliant. And she never asks shifty questions, I think we can do it.'

'Okay.' James pushed himself up with a bloody hand, biting down hard on the inside of his cheek as he fought through the pain. 'Let's go.' He took a step and found himself crumpling the next second.

'Ah, never mind,' said Peter with a moan. 'Forget it. It's a long walk, and let's face it—you're a mess. You're losing blood fast, and at this rate, you'll pass out by the time we reach Honeydukes.'

'Fine—go back to the Shack—my Invisibility Cloak, I left it there right before we transformed.'

'What good'll that do us? Moony seeks by scent. The Cloak doesn't hide scents, Prongs!' Peter's voice had raised an octave.

'We're in trouble, Wormtail,' said James, settling down. 'I just hope that Padfoot's found Moony and is holding him down somehow. With the amount of human blood around us now, we're an easy target.'

'Don't worry, mate,' said Peter, fingering his wand. He tightened his grip. 'I've still got a wand. I'm here.'

It was moments like these when Padfoot resented Hogsmeade's large and colourful population. As he stuck his snout to the stone tiles below him and sifted through at least a dozen different scents in order to single out a mere trace of werewolf, he cursed the Hogsmeade inhabitants soundly.

When Peter had bitten him away, Padfoot was only able to register the fact that his head was throbbing painfully. It was only when Peter had squeaked with panic at him that he jumped onto all fours and bounded down the main street in search for Moony.

But the search had been a long one. If Padfoot though that tracking down a two hundred pound wolf was going to be an easy task, he was sorely mistaken. In fact, Padfoot had been across Hogsmeade and back at least twice now, and still had not managed to find a single trace of his werewolf friend. And the alcohol he'd consumed earlier did nothing to aid his tracking skills—every scent was heightened, and Padfoot found himself distracted by the scent of peppermints wafting from Honeydukes and masking all other odours. He gave a loud, frustrated bark.

'Moony!'

He was met with decisive silence. Padfoot slumped upon the ground with a groan. Perhaps Moony had retreated into the depths of the Forbidden Forest. But Wormtail's urgency when he'd recounted what had happened while he had been unconscious seemed to suggest otherwise. Moony had taken off at the scent of a human.

Padfoot wondered what was happening back with Wormtail. Prongs had been hit fairly hard, and neither he nor Padfoot were any good with healing spells.

It had become a mere race against time. If they could manage to last until sunrise without suffering casualties, they would be alright.

It was only when that particular thought struck him that Padfoot heard the loud, unmistakeable growl of the werewolf.

Padfoot leapt to his feet and bounded toward the sound. A cold chill of fear slid down his back as he attempted to sort through scents and sounds. There was another—a more familiar one, though he couldn't quite place it—Padfoot shook his head rapidly to clear it. It was still throbbing—he was going to sleep for twelve hours straight if they ever got through this one.

When he stopped galloping, he realized that'd come come in full circle. At the edge of the forest, Moony was advancing towards Wormtail—or rather, Peter. Peter had a gash in his left year that was dripping with blood. He held out his wand unsteadily, retreating with slow steps. Behind him, James was slumped on the ground, unconscious.

Moony attacked, and for a frightful instance, Padfoot's heart leaped out of his chest. Peter held his wand out resolutely, his eyes shut, waiting for the blow—

But it never came. At the last minute, Moony missed completely, rebounding instead off the tree to Peter's right. Peter recovered instantly and shot a Stunning spell that hit Moony square on the forehead, but failed to Stun nevertheless. Padfoot's mental faculties resumed working order, and with adrenaline pumping through his veins, he charged at Moony in a full-on tackle.

The attack, unexpected to both Moony and Peter, resulted in a painful grunt from the former and a strangled cry from the latter.

Peter froze, eyes wide with fear until he realized that it was Padfoot, only Padfoot, who'd returned.

'I'm taking him into the forest! Watch James!' barked Padfoot, and without stopping to consider the fact that Peter was now human, and could not possible comprehend his dog barks, he bounded off through the forest with Moony's collar secure between his jaws.

Peter gave a whimper. Perhaps it was because he had not slept that night. Perhaps it was because he'd feared for his life and the life of his mates since midnight. Perhaps it was because the stress of the situation, now that he was safe, was now dawning on him in its full glory. But the minute Moony and Padfoot disappeared into the forest, Peter swayed dangerously and fell, fainted upon the floor.

'Wormtail. Wormtail!'

Peter's eyes opened groggily. 'What do you want?' he murmured.

'Wormtail—wake up, you idiot—'

'Prongs?' Peter sat up quickly, whipping his head around. 'James,' he said, his voice hoarse. 'What happ—where the hell are we?'

'Same place we were for the past six hours,' said James bracingly. 'What do you thi—'

Peter scratched the back of his head idly, taking in his surroundings. His eyes drifted to James' exposed wound.

'Oi—James, you're stomach, it's—'

James' midsection was no longer emitting blood. A thin layer of skin had made its way across, though unlike the case with Peter's previous efforts with healing, it did not seem as though it were going to break at any moment.

James pressed his hand to his stomach and pulled away. His hands were clean of blood. 'Thanks a lot, mate. Whatever you did, it must have helped. It's not bleeding anymore.'

Peter stared. 'I did that?' he asked, his voice barely audible.

'Who else?' said James with a grin. 'I knew I could count on you, Wormtail. Thanks for watching out for me.'

Peter blinked, appearing wonderstruck. 'I did—I mean, I tried—but—it just kept bleeding when I tried to heal it.'

James clapped him on the back. 'Maybe all it needed was some time,' he said.

When Padfoot and Remus finally approached them, the morning had taken on a rather misty appearance. Remus had finally regained his human form, and trotting next to him in a slight limp was Padfoot, still retaining his Animagus. Padfoot became Sirius in mid-walk as he neared James and Peter.

'Oi.'

James got to his feet to greet his mate. 'Long time no see,' he said with a grin.

'Bloody hell,' said Remus, as he surveyed the blood on James' shirt. 'You're—'

James waved him off, lifting up the hem of his shirt to reveal the healing wound on his side. 'It's nothing,' he said. 'Wormtail healed it for me.'

Sirius clapped Peter on the back. 'Nice one, mate.'

'Not one of your better nights, eh, Moony?' asked Peter with a grin.

Remus shook his head, though the humour on the faces of his three mates was absent on his.

'Hey, it's okay,' said James easily. 'These things happen. We knew what we signed up for when we decided to become Animagi. Don't worry about it.'

'Who was that, by the way?' said Peter. 'You ran off halfway through kicking Prongs' arse. We thought you found yourself a human or something.'

'He doesn't remember,' said Sirius, with a shrug. 'He's been moping about it ever since he turned back to human. But it's not making it through to his thick skull that whoever the human was, he lived. Moony didn't have the scent of blood on him, apart from Prongs, of course.'

'Sorry about that, by the way, James,' said Remus.

'Always a pleasure,' returned James.

Remus sunk his head into his hands with a groan. 'I could have hurt someone—'

'You couldn't have,' insisted Padfoot. 'Because this,' he tapped his nose, 'doesn't lie, mate.'

'But I don't remember anything—anything—'

James started. 'Yeah? But you usually remember something—blurs, at least—'

'—I think it was the alcohol!' Remus cried wildly. 'It—it messed me up—'

'—that's ridiculous,' said Sirius, 'You barely had any—We split the bottle between the four of us—'

'You don't understand, Sirius,' said Moony. 'It was different for me! Usually, when I'm with you lot, at least, I have some kind of control. And because I have that level of control, I'm able to retain my memory of some of the events the morning after. But now—I just—I can't remember anything. At all! All I remember is McGonagall leading me to the Shrieking Shack—'

'You know what it is, Moony?' said Sirius, as he tossed his arm around Remus' shoulder. 'What you're going through is just a common phase that every young man goes through.'

'What?' asked Remus incredulously. 'Murderer's guilt?'

'Of course not,' said Sirius, punching him playfully and throwing his arms behind his head. 'A hangover.'

James, Sirius and Peter roared with laughter, and soon, with the events having already passed, and the results having turned out so favourably, Remus found himself joining in. They laughed merrily, all troubles forgotten; any pain they'd suffered, any worries, any sleep they might have lost—all forgotten in the company of comrades.

James glanced briefly back at the oak tree before he departed, taking in its protective cover, the solace it had provided that night. He smiled, almost as though to thank it, and clapping Sirius on the back, they strolled to the Shrieking Shack to make it back into the castle before breakfast commenced. ('Some pumpkin juice will do your hangover some good, Moony.' 'Shut up, Padfoot.')

Twenty minutes passed.

And when she was sure that they'd all disappeared, Lily Evans removed Potter's Invisibility Cloak, and emerged from behind the oak tree, running a shaky hand through her auburn hair.