Chasing The Stars | Marauders | Sirius Black

44 ~ You Know Nothing

The werewolf sniffed the air, taking in the scents of the forest. The damp smell of moss filled his senses as he stalked about, moving slowly but he was alert, listening for any sign of human life. The sound of a stick breaking caught his attention as his head snapped up. A blur of white whipped past him and a small rabbit came into his line of sight. Although, for whatever reason, the wolf didn't feel the unresisting urge to rip it apart, he felt somewhat comfortable around it, familiar. Another figure joined the rabbit and bowed its head, allowing the small ball of fluff to clamber onto its back, resting her head on his, her face in between his undoubtedly impressive antlers.

The stag began to walk off and Moony took a few steps forwards, trailing behind them. There was a scurrying behind him and Moony watched as the brown rat scampered through the tall grass, sticking close to the stag's legs with a fear of getting lost. The animals continued to walk through the forest, their silhouettes being cast on the ground by the light of the full moon, the beams of which would peek through the gaps between the trees. The werewolf was embracing the air against his fur, being so used to the confinement of the Shrieking Shack. He was sniffing at the ground when he was tackled from behind. A black dog bounded around him, his stomach on the ground and his back arched in the 'playing pose'. Moony exhaled through his nose in a manner which could be interpreted as a snort of laughter as he nudged the dog, his added size giving him an advantage as Padfoot toppled over. The black dog growled as Prongs looked back over his shoulder, shaking his head at the sight of Padfoot on the floor. Puff bounded off of the stag's back and leapt onto the dog's belly, placing her front paws on his face. She nudged his nose with hers and he licked her cheek as a grunt came from behind them, Prongs trotted over, pushing Puff off of Padfoot with his antlers, obviously discomforted by their affection, even if they were animals.

Moony, who was watching the whole scene as if he was amused, suddenly froze, his ears perking up. His nose picked up on a scent, flowery, but not that of the forest blooms, it was a perfume. The wolf began to walk towards it, eyes narrowed and growling with his teeth bared. Padfoot noticed the change in Moony's demeanor and followed him, he too smelling the air. The other three followed curiously until they came to the clearing of the forest, Puff tensing as she noticed a figure on the horizon, her red hair falling in waves down her nightdress. Puff met eyes with Padfoot and they came to a mutual understanding as she and Prongs and bounded forwards towards the girl, Padfoot and Wormtail trying desperately to distract the riled Moony.

Puff reached Lily and started pushing her head with her legs to get her to move, though to no avail. Lily gasped in awe at the small rabbit and leant down to pet its head. She had left the castle after she had woken up to see Eloise's bed was empty and, after she may or may not have ventured into their dorm purely for investigatory purposes, so were the boys'. Using her prefect abilities to her advantage, she walked onto the grounds, looking for any sight of he troublemaking friends. Soon enough, Lily watched as a stag neared her and the rabbit, stopping as it reached her. She went out to stroke it when her attention was earned by the rabbit, its petite body growing and being replaced by none other than her best friend,

"Elle!" she gasped, "You're a- what are you- how?" she stumbled over her words and Eloise shook her head,

"Lily there's no time for this, get on James' back"

"James'...no way! Is that-" she pointed to the stag and Eloise nodded her head,

"If you could hold your questions Lils that would be great, we're short of time here" Eloise said, looking around her as she helped Lily onto Prongs' back,

"What in Merlin's name is going on?"
"Listen, you need to get out of here, a very hungry werewolf is very close by and I don't know how long Sirius and Pete can keep him at bay"

"Werewolf?! Sirius and Peter? What about Rem- oooh!" Lily's hands raised to her mouth as she understood what was happening and the stag sped off, carrying her far away from the danger.

~~~

Lily and James were sat in Gryffindor Common Room, the former of the two asking a hundred questions as she gripped the blanket around her, her eyes still wide from her narrow escape,

"So Remus is a-"

"Yep" James rubbed the back of his neck and Lily's eyes brimmed with tears, he was unsure of what to do, seeing is this was the first conversation which they had held without any insults or asking out.

"Oh poor him" she whispered, "I can't believe he has to go through that every month, how long has he been one?" she asked,

"He was bitten when he was four" James sighed at the thought of his best friend's troubles, thankful that he could at least be there for him.

"And you, Peter, Sirius and Elle are all-"

"Animagi, yes" he nodded and Lily' eyebrows raised,

"That's complex magic, how did you manage it?"

"Well it was mostly Belle really, she brewed the potion and told us what to do, we just drank it and kept the leaves in our mouths, didn't really do much" he shrugged and Lily frowned,

"Are you having a laugh Potter?" she asked and James looked up at her, confused, "Didn't do much? You went through the entire process of becoming an animagus and put yourself at risk to help Remus. Not to mention you all doing so under the noses of the entire school without their knowledge" Lily's hands had begun to flail around as she became more passionate, "I'd say that's doing rather a lot"

"If I didn't know any better Evans" James grinned, slight hints of a smirk shining through, "I'd say you didn't hate me"

"Oh shove off Potter, you arrogant toe-rag" Lily replied crossing her arms, trying, and failing, to mask the smile that threatened to take over her features, "You know nothing."