The Misadventures of Padfoot and Prongs

"Okay, I think it's safe now," said James as he studied the map. Professor Binns was floating along a few corridors down, but if they moved quickly he'd never see them. "Let's move," James was now stealthily creeping away, and Lyra couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked like he was trying to be that character from Muggle spy movies, James Bond. Peter followed behind him, looking just as ridiculous and Sirius stayed behind a moment to say goodbye to Lyra.

"You better get your mirror out if anything happens," said Lyra, poking him lightly in the chest. "I don't want to wake up in the morning and hear you've gone and nearly killed yourself again. I'm far too fond of you for that."

"I will," he said, smiling in spite of the serious look on her face.

"Swear it," said Lyra.

"Oh, now is that really-"

"Sirius-"

"Oh, fine," he said, "I swear. Happy now?"

"Very," Lyra smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Now off with you. James'll throw a fit if you three get caught."

"I'll see you in the morning," said Sirius, and with that he ran to catch up with his two friends.
Lyra turned around and walked to the nearest staircase, making her way up to Ravenclaw
Tower. She was halfway there when she ran into Lily, who must've been on her way down to the library.

"Lyra!" Lily exclaim, happy to find the Ravenclaw. "The boys haven't been in the Gryffindor common room all day! Have you seen them?"

"Hello," smiled Lyra, "Yeah, we were relaxing by the Black Lake for most of the day. Now that our exams are all over we can finally breathe."

"Oh," said Lily. "Well, do you know where they are now? I really need to borrow some notes from Sirius for Transfiguration."

"Lily.. Exams are over..." Lyra looked thoroughly confused.

Lily looked at Lyra perplexed. She then giggled nervously and said, "Right. Uhmm... so do you know where they are by any chance?"

"Lily, what's this really about? You can talk to me. Tell me what you need," Lyra was a little concerned.

The other sighed, "Alright, Lyra, but this can't get out." Lily grabbed the girl and dragged her around a dark corner. "I think the boys are going out tonight as Animagi. And if they are, we need to stop them!"

"What makes you think that?" Lyra tried not to look guilty or as nervous as she was at the change of subject.

Lily bit her lip, unsure if she should tell Lyra about Remus or not. In the end, she figured if she had to tell anyone, Lyra would be the most ideal person to tell.

Lily sighed and spoke, "Alright, what I'm about to tell you is only between us. I'm sure the boys know, but you have to promise me you won't bring it up to anyone. Not even Sirius."

"Okay, I promise. Now, what's worrying you?"

"Well... Alright, I'm just gonna say it," Lily took a breath, "Remus is a werewolf."

"Oh," said Lyra, relieved, "I knew that already. You really had me scared for a moment."

"Wait, you know? How?"

"Remus told me a few months ago," she shrugged.

"Oh," said Lily, a bit shocked. "Well, what are you waiting for! We have to find James and Sirius before they get themselves killed!"

"No, Lily, you can't go out there," Lyra grabbed the Gryffindor's arm as she was about to run down the stairs.

Lily whipped around, "Lyra, if we don't stop them, they can get killed. Remus isn't himself during the full moon! Now come on!!"

"Lily, stop!" Lyra shouted, afraid Lily would be the one ending up dead if she ran out into the woods unprotected, "They know what they're doing! If we interfere, we could all die!"
The redhead shook off Lyra's grip, "If you don't want to help me, then stay out of my way."
Lily turned and began running down the halls towards the entrance. Lyra spoke a few choice words under her breath before reaching into her robes, hoping to catch Sirius before he transformed.

Her efforts, however, were in vain as the mirror-she soon realized-had been left on her bedside table. Instead, she took off after her friend in hopes to catch her before she got out onto the grounds and right in the path of a vicious werewolf.

The dull thud of Lily's Mary Janes upon the stone floor was the only indication to Lyra that she was still within the castle, but Lily was much faster than Lyra had originally thought. The dark-haired Ravenclaw ducked through a couple of secret passages and soon found herself before the entrance to the castle itself.

Unfortunately, the door was just closing as red hair flew out of the way.

"Merlin, Lily," Lyra said and pushed on after her.

Much like Lyra, Lily was on a hunt to stop the Marauders from doing something so foolish it could end their lives. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she pressed on towards the horrible Whomping Willow.

The determined Gryffindor arrive just in time to see a big black dog disappear into a whole at the base of the malevolent tree. The limbs of the willow were frozen somehow, and Lily ran as fast as she could before the spell would wear off. Lyra was close behind her, shouting at her to stop and listen to her, but the foolishly brave Gryffindor ignored her pleas.
When Lily had just entered the passage, the Whomping Willow began to move. It swatted at Lyra and, if not for a well-time dive, it would have flung her away as if she weighed nothing at all.

"Lily, please," begged Lyra as she continued following Lily. She had a terrible feeling about what they were doing and was desperate to explain to Lily how irrational she was being.

"Hush!" Lily held a finger to her lips. The passage opened up to a staircase. They were now inside the Shrieking Shack. Lily climbed the stairs and was almost at the landing when Lyra just couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"Please, we need to turn back," whispered Lyra, "Lily-"

Suddenly, a loud howl ripped through the air. Lyra felt the tiny hairs at the back of her neck stand on end, and she reached forward and gripped Lily's arm tightly, her fingernails digging into her skin slightly.

"Lily..." said Lyra slowly and quietly. The Gryffindor made no acknowledgement that she had spoken.

"Ow," said Lily, pulling her arm away too quickly. When she did, Lyra's fingernails dragged across her flesh harshly, drawing blood.

What happened next occurred so fast that no one could say for sure what sparked it. It could've been the scent of Lily's fresh blood, of the sounds they made climbing the stairs, or
their normal smell that was innately human.

All that mattered though was the fact that a werewolf had noticed the girls and was now Hell-bent on getting to them. They heard him slam into a door, clawing and snarling, and the frame rattled with the force of it. The girls were frozen in fear, eyes wide and shaking. They backed away slowly down the stairs, afraid to make any sudden or loud movements. The wood started splintering and suddenly there was nothing between the deadly creature and them. Remus was gone now. In his place stood an animal. A ravenous, snarling beast that desired nothing more than fresh meat.

Before the werewolf could strike, a blur of black hurled itself at him, sending the two of them tumbling over the rail. They were a mess of teeth and claws and fierce animalism.

"Sirius!" shouted Lyra as she heard him yelp in pain.

James ran out of the room, fully clothed in his Hogwarts uniform, and raced down the steps toward the girls, a look of anger and determination on his face. Briefly, Lyra was thankful that the boys finally mastered the art of shifting while maintaining their clothes. She was sure that a naked James wouldn't be something either of them wanted to see at the present moment.

"Let's go!" he grabbed the two of them and started pushing them out of the shack and back into the passage.

James kept shouting at them to move faster and they ran as quickly as they could. Then they were out of the tunnel and on the lawn of the school grounds. James slammed his hand onto a knot on the trunk and the willow's ominous branches stopped flailing.

"Stay here," barked James as he headed back into the secret passage.

The two girls waited on the grass a safe distance away from the willow. They waited in silence with baited breath for what felt like an eternity before James and Peter emerged,
Sirius supported by them. He wasn't putting much pressure on his left leg, but they couldn't tell from where they were how bad his injuries were.

Lyra gasped and sprinted in their direction, close to tears as she neared them. She stopped short of Sirius, not wanting to touch him in case she hurt him further.

"Sirius-"

"Stop," said Sirius, holding up the hand that was slung over James' shoulder. His lip was bleeding and his hair was disheveled. "Are you alright?" Lyra nodded. "Thank Merlin," he sighed. James and Peter set Sirius down on the ground. "What the bloody hell were you doing there?"

"Nevermind that, are you alright?" Lyra knealt beside him, angling his face with her hand so she could see his cut. She took her wand out and healed it, and then searched for more injuries. "Where else are you hurt?"

"I think I bruised a few ribs, and I've got a gash on my leg," said Sirius. Now that Lyra could see, she noticed blood seeping through the leg of his trousers.

Lyra paled, "Did.. did he bite you?"

"What?" asked Sirius, "Oh, no, I got it from the railing when I jumped over with Remus." Lyra breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're lucky I've been paying attention while Madam Pomfrey mends your wounds," she said and lifted her wand again. She fixed his ribs, and sliced his left pant leg up to the thigh. Looking over the cut, she performed a few more spells, first to clean the wound, then to stop the bleeding, and finally to heal it.

"Thanks," said Sirius, "Now will you please tell me-"

"What the bloody hell are you three thinking?!" Lily spoke up, attempting to to keep her voice at a harsh whisper. "Poor Remus has to deal with the painful transformation every month and he doesn't need the worry about hurting, or even killing, the three of you! How could you do this to him? How could you place your lives in danger? Are your lives not exciting enough with all the idiotic things you do?"

Peter looked down in shame as the redhead yelled, while Sirius and Lyra gaped at her in honest surprise. It was James, with eyes flaring and patience wearing thin, that finally spoke up.

"Lets get back," James said. Lily waited until Lyra, Sirius, and Peter started walking before following them. She kept her eyes on James, who was keeping a close and careful eye on the girl.

The group of Sixth Years continued to walk in silence, until they came to the staircase that lead to the fifth floor.

"Sirius, get Lyra back to her common room," he said, not taking his eyes off of Lily. "Peter, go directly back to the Gryffindor tower. I'll meet you back there later."

"James-"

"Lyra, go!" the worried girl nodded and turned toward the direction of the Ravenclaw common room; Sirius hot on her tail.

The couple continued the silent walk until they finally they came to the door knocker. Before it could ask Lyra a riddle, she turned to Sirius.

"I want to tell you why we went to the Shrieking Shack," she said.

Sirius nodded, and stiffly said, "Yes, I think it may be best if you explain yourself."

"Okay," breathed Lyra, "After I left you, I started on my way toward my common room and I bumped into Lily. She seemed intent on talking to you about something, but she wouldn't tell me what. When I finally got it out of her, she told me that it needed to be a secret, so I told her I wouldn't tell anyone. She knew about Remus. I told her I already knew, and she went on about how you were going to be out with him and in danger and I tried to stop her, really I did, but she ran off and ignored me. I managed to catch up with her when she was on her way inside the passage to the shack, but by then it was too late. I couldn't let her go alone, Sirius. I was hoping I could get her to come back with me, but she just wouldn't listen." By the end of it, Lyra was close to tears, the stress of the evening finally taking it's toll.
Sirius sighed and his face softened. He grabbed his girlfriend's wrist gently and pulled her into a comforting embrace.

"I'm sorry I was a bit short, I was just worried," he said as he nuzzled his face in her soft, dark locks. "I'm just glad that you are okay." Sirius pulled away and looked into Lyra's eyes. "I don't care who is going down to see what we're up to, don't ever leave the castle during a full moon again. We can handle Lily or whoever just fine. I don't want to have to worry about you too."

Lyra sniffled and nodded, "I promise I won't do it again."

Sirius smiled and pulled her into his arms one last time, "Thank you."

"Well, look at the bright side. At least we don't need to find a way to get James and Lily talking again," said Lyra, smiling in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Sirius gave a hearty laugh, and nodded in response. "Yes, but let's hope they work it out instead of hate each other even more," he said. "It's been a rough night for us all. Go get some sleep, and I'll see you bright and early in the morning. I love you." He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers lightly.

"I love you too," said Lyra, "I'll see you later." The Ravenclaw then turned around and answered a riddle to enter her common room.

Meanwhile, James, Peter and Lily made their way up to the seventh floor. Before they could get to the portrait of the Fat Lady, James told Peter to go ahead to the common room and motioned for Lily to follow him.

Hanging her head, she obeyed and quietly walked behind him. She tried to think of what James would say and how she would counter it. Lily was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that James had turned around until she ran into his lean, muscular chest.

"Sorry," she said, but it was ignored, save for a grunt, as he began pacing in front of a wall. Lily watched the boy quizzically as he took a final step and turned to face the wall. The girl looked up in time to see a door appear before her eyes.

She couldn't believe it! James Potter had found the Room of Requirement.

James walked to the door before turning around to Lily. "Well, come on."

His tone was still harsh, and she knew that if he took the time to not only go to a room that wasn't near everyone, but the Room of Requirement itself, Lily knew that he was expecting their voices to get pretty loud. That and she figured he didn't want anyone overhearing what the ongoings are at Hogwarts behind the scenes.

Lily meekly stepped into the room and gasped at what James had come up with. The room was a brilliant purple, with a raging fire in a fireplace and a couple of couches in front of it. There was a small coffee table which held two mugs of warm butterbeers.

In her amazement, Lily almost failed to see James walk over to the fire and poke at it with one of the utensils.

"James...?"

"Sit down," he spoke; his voice cold and wavering. She bit her lip and obeyed his command. He paced back and forth in front of her, trying to keep control of his anger. Finally, he rounded on her. "Do you have any idea what you just did? What could've happened?"
Lily bit her lip, took a deep breath, and turned emerald eyes to hazel, "What about you, James? Do you know the danger you put yourself in every month?"

"What we do pales in comparison to the disaster that could've happened tonight! When we're in our Animagi form, Remus doesn't bother us. We're just a couple of friendly animals to him. We keep him company in the only way that we can," said James, "but what you did.. You deliberately followed us, knowing what you'd find! You're a smart girl, Lily! You should've known better!" James found himself getting angrier as he ranted, so he took a moment to compose himself. After a few deep breaths, he began again, "What would you have done if someone had gotten hurt? If Remus had killed Lyra or you because you brought her along?"

Tears welled up in Lily's eyes, and she wondered if this is how James felt every time she yelled at him. She cast her gaze to the floor, and said, "I- I didn't think-"

"Exactly! You didn't! Imagine the guilt Remus would've felt if he had hurt either of you, or what would've happened to Sirius if he hadn't been able to fight Remus off!," James was back to pacing, "All you cared about was making me look bad, and look where it almost got all of us!"

"I-I'm s-sor-sorry," Lily sobbed. He was right, she put everyone's life in danger, and for what?
"James, I'm s-sorry!"

James sighed and ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the ends slightly in frustration. He took a seat next to Lily on the couch, a few inches of space between them. "I know you are," he said, looking down at his hands. "I'm sorry I yelled so much just now, but I needed you to understand the gravity of the situation. This needs to stop, Lily. This whole war we've got against each other is going to get us killed."

Lily choked back a sob and nodded. She, too, was sick of the fighting. In fact, she had been missing his constant badgering. Finally, she turned to him, and smiled.

"Alright, James," she said as she hesitantly took a hold of his hand. "We'll stop. But only if you do one thing for me."

"And what's that?" asked James, the corners of his mouth turning upward in spite of himself.

"I wanna see you in your Animagus form."

James grinned wider, "I think I can arrange that."

James stood up from his seat on the couch and turned to face Lily. Before her eyes the black-haired boy turned into a magnificent stag, standing tall and proud. He shook his antlers and edged closer to the girl in front of him.

Lily's shock was short-lived before she giggled and petted the soft, but bristly fur between his antlers. The stag nuzzled her hand, and licked her hand. Lily let out a full blown laugh, and rubbed the saliva on the couch.

"I figured that you were a stag," Lily said motioning to the bracelet. "Alright, you can change back now."

James quickly shifted back, a huge smile playing on his lips. Picking up the mugs of butterbeer, James passed one to Lily before taking a seat next to her on the couch. He leaned back and swung his arm behind her before she got a chance to protest. But Lily didn't even bat and eyelash as she curled her legs under her and took a sip of the warm liquid.

"You're still wearing that?" the messy-haired boy asked.

Lily blushed, "Well, it's a beautiful bracelet."

James bit his lip to keep from breaking out into the psychotic grin Sirius always claimed he had when Lily was around. He asked, "So how long have you known about Sirius, Peter and me?"

Lily shrugged, "I had my suspicions after Christmas when Sirius got attack by... something."

"It was a graphorn," said James. "It attack Sirius when we wandered too far into the Forbidden Forest. Remus chased it off, though I'm not sure if it was for fun, or because it hurt Padfoot."

"Good," said Lily. She shut her eyes and grimaced at her stupidity. "I mean good that it was just a graphorn and not something worse. It's bad that Sirius got attacked. And I'm guessing by the nicknames, Sirius was that big black mass we saw attacking Remus.
Does he turn into a dog? I didn't see what Peter was, and Wormtail has me a bit stumped."

"Yes, Sirius' Animagus is a dog," James replied. "As for Peter, he turns into a rat."

"Oh! That makes sense now!"

"Lily, promise me you won't ever leave the castle during a Full Moon again."

Lily cast her gaze down. She returned them to James' hazel orbs, and meekly said, "I promise. You're very right, it was absolutely stupid of me and I apologize. It will never happen again."

"Thank you. You really don't know how much better I feel hearing you say that," he smiled as he spoke. "Lily, may I write you over the summer? Maybe we could go play that Muggle bowling game again."

"I'd like that," the redhead said before cuddling up to his side and starting up a conversation on exams.

As the night wore on, and the pair talked, James' smile couldn't falter.