Dear James and Sirius,
Hey guys, I know we talked about this already, but I just wanted to be sure that everything is still okay for the full moon. I really don't want to risk anything, but my parents were just called to Mungo's. There was some emergency that they needed to be there for. Are you positive there is somewhere safe for me? There is no chance I'm putting anyone at risk, right? I just don't think I can do it alone. When I was younger, my parents built this little shack for me, but I've outgrown it since then. But seriously, I don't want anyone getting hurt. You said the place you were was basically empty?
Thanks,
Remus
Lily knew that the Marauders were known for recklessness, but to bring a werewolf to a ski resort was taking a step too far.
"No chance," she told James who had started to look a little nervous as Lily had read the letter.
"But Lily," he tried to protest.
"No."
"He's our best mate-"
"No."
"He needs us!"
"He needs a couple of teenage boys? For what, a midnight snack?" said Lily, standing her ground.
James seemed to be searching for an answer. His eyes were darting around the store, but never resting on Lily's. Lily just patiently waited for an answer.
"You wouldn't understand," was what he finally came up with.
"That's right, I don't understand. Please, enlighten me," she deadpanned.
"Seriously, Evans," chimed in Sirius, "just believe us when we say we can help him in certain ways."
"We make his transformation easier," added James.
"How, by brewing a potion? Potter, you and I both know you can hardly even brew a simple cough tonic. How do you plan on helping him," she asked, her eyes narrowing.
"You wouldn't believe us, even if we told you," said Sirius.
"Try me," spat back Lily, it was clear she was getting angry.
"We can't tell you," said James. "Sorry."
"Fine, then he can't come."
"Lily, he has to come. Don't worry about it, we have a plan."
"In his letter, Remus said he was only coming if there was no chance of hurting anyone. This resort is jam-packed with Muggles! He's going to slip up! Werewolf's can't control themselves, can they?" said Lily, her voice rising.
"No, they can't, but I swear everything will be fine. Every single person at this resort is completely safe," said James.
"But with the Death Eaters...," Lily brought her voice down to a whisper as Cassie turned down their aisle.
"Come on, everyone," Cassie called, "we're waiting for you to check out!"
"We'll continue this discussion later," said Lily.
"We'll continue this later," imitated James from behind her and Sirius chuckled. Lily ignored them.
The group checked out and headed back to the Christophe Brazier, grocery bags in hand. They went to their respected rooms, Lily, Cassie, Jill, and Bess to theirs and James and Sirius to theirs, to drop off the food.
"So, we'll have pizza and then watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," said Cassie, thinking about the night's plans.
"Oh, I love that movie!" exclaimed Bess.
Lily hadn't actually seen the movie, but decided that you couldn't go wrong with a movie about chocolate. In fact, Lily had hardly seen any movies since she had started Hogwarts. She suddenly felt excited about watching some Muggle entertainment with her friends, it would be just like old times.
"Lily, would you go get the boys?" asked Bess and Lily agreed. She wanted to have a word with James and Sirius.
"Come on in!" yelled Sirius from the other side of the boy's door. Lily let herself in and walked over to where James was sitting on the couch.
"Lily! How lovely to see you, should we head over to your place now? I've never seen a mov-thingy before, is it fun?"
"What did you tell Remus?"
"What did I-- oh. Yeah, I replied to him." James shifted in his seat.
"What did you say?" asked Lily suspiciously.
"Stuff...."
"You told him he could come, didn't you." It was more of a statement rather than a question.
"Look, Lily, you wouldn't understand," said James, standing up from the couch.
"Oh, that's where you're wrong," said Lily. "I understand perfectly that you're bringing a dangerous werewolf to a resort that's teeming with Muggles. I know he's your friend, James, and I like Remus too, but it's too much of a risk. There's no denying that."
Lily noticed that James was so surprised that she had used his first name while arguing with him, that he didn't even seem to have heard what she had said.
"I'm glad that we can stay on a first-name basis, even when we're fighting. It shows progress," he said as he gave her a wink.
"You're impossible," Lily shot back.
James just ruffled his messy hair.
"How is Remus even getting here?" Lily asked at last. That had been on her mind since she had read the letter.
"He's flying," said James simply.
"Flying?"
"F-L-Y-I-N-G, Evans," said Sirius from the other room. Lily rolled her eyes.
"Did he get plane tickets?" asked Lily.
James laughed. "He's not taking a plane, he's flying on his broom."
"Are you mental? He can't be well enough to fly if he's about to transform!" shouted Lily. How daft were these boys?
"It's fine, the full moon isn't for another week, so it's okay to fly. He's done it before," said James.
"He's done this before? Why?"
"He came to my house over Easter break last year," James explained.
"How do you help him?" Lily asked, trying to get the answer out of him. There had to be something special they did, werewolf were highly dangerous.
"Lily, I can't tell you. I'm sorry. I really am," James said, looking straight into her eyes.
She held his gaze for a moment and then looked away. She didn't know what to say. James seemed to be certain that nobody would get hurt, but Lily didn't know if she could believe his word. Sev had always warned her that the Marauders were not to be trusted, but now that she had spent more time with James and Sirius....
All of the sudden, something clicked. The sudden memory of Severus in the Hospital Wing flashed across her mind. Lily remembered the way he had told her about Sirius playing a nasty trick on him. Sev had said they had almost killed him. He had mentioned the Whomping Willow and Remus at the end of it... had Sev run into the werewolf Remus? It was all starting to make sense, but one thing didn't fit. Lily, and the rest of the school, knew that Sev and the Marauders weren't on good terms, but did Sirius hate Sev so much that he would try to get him killed?
"Black!" shouted Lily suddenly. Sirius walked into the room, his eyebrows raised.
"You called?"
"I need you to answer me. It's very important."
Sirius nodded his head slowly.
"What prank did you pull on Severus Snape last year?" asked Lily. She begged that he would tell her that her theory was wrong.
Sirius seemed to be thinking over his response, and James was tense at his side.
"Look, Lily, I wasn't looking to kill him, if that's what you're thinking," said Sirius slowly.
"You led him strait to the werewolf Remus, didn't you? How could you do something like that?" Lily said, her temper rising with her voice.
"Look, I was immature, stupid, horrible..."
"Yeah, this is why I hate you both so much!" shouted Lily. She couldn't believe that anyone would play such a dangerous prank for a laugh.
"Hold on, Evans," said Sirius, "James wasn't apart of it."
"Oh, like I'm supposed to believe that?!"
"He wasn't! If it weren't for James, your little Snivellus would probably be dead! James saved him!" shouted Sirius, back. "James wasn't the bad guy, I was."
Lily stared at Sirius, standing there with an ashamed look on his face. She was trying to wrap her mind around the whole story.
"Wait," she said at last, "James... saved Sev?" Lily glanced at James, who had sat back down in his seat and was looking uncomfortable.
"Yeah, he did," said Sirius after a long silence. "See, I thought it would be funny to teach Snape a lesson. He was always sticking his slimy nose into Remus' business, so I thought I would show him a glimpse of Moony. You know, only to give him a right fright. It was stupid, and when James found out, he was pissed. He headed to the Whomping Willow, which is where Remus goes to get to the place where he transforms, and pulled Snape out just before Moony could get him. Of course, they both had to deal with the Willow afterwards. That left them pretty beat up. But Evans, Trust me, I've learned my lesson and I can assure you, I have matured."
"Is that true, James?" asked Lily. She was stunned at both Sirius' idiocy and James' bravery.
James nodded his head, slowly, and met Lily's gaze.
"Wow," she whispered. Then she turned to Sirius. "You're awful, Black."
"I'm well aware."
"And James, thanks, I guess."
He looked at her.
"Thanks for saving him," she continued. "I know he's a prat and all, but I'm glad you risked your life for him. It's very... Gryffindor of you. Did he- did he ever thank you?"
"No," said James quietly.
"He's got too much pride," added Sirius.
Lily took a deep breath and pushed Severus out of her mind. She shook him from her memory and looked at the two boys before her. Slowly, she reached down and took James' hand and pulled him to his feet. "Come on," she said, "Let's go watch a movie."
Snowflakes by The_Dream_Team
Chapter Notes: Hey guys, here is chapter twelve! I hope you enjoy =]
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading! This chapter took a little while, sorry. At least it was a shorter wait than chapter eleven! And you all did an excellent job with reviewing! I got so many lovely comment! I really appreciate hearing your feedback, so keep it up guys =D