Title: Accidental Witnesses

Chapter: The Animagus Conversation

Note: I wrote chapter 1 five years ago, and suddenly felt like the story deserved a second part. So, here we go.

Marauder's seventh Year: Early December

The light of the full moon streamed through the large castle window, bathing the hallway in soft light. James stood, staring out into the night, watching the snow glitter toward the ground.

"James?"

He didn't have to turn around; he had heard Lily's light footsteps coming around the corner. "I'm here, Lily," he answered. The damp castle air made him shiver, and he worried briefly about the overdo conversation they were about to have.

She padded softly toward him, her robes swirling around her feet. "Did you sweep the South corridors? I caught Melvin and Littles snogging down in East Hall, you won't believe what they…" she paused for a moment, looking at him curiously, "Potter, did you see a ghost?"

James turned to look at her, his train of thought momentarily disturbed, "Huh? Erm—yeah, I saw The Bloody Baron a few…."

Lily's cheeks turned pink, "Oh, that isn't what I meant—silly Muggle expression… doesn't make much sense at Hogwarts, I suppose."

"Right," he said, thoughtfully adding, "because we see ghosts." The conversation wasn't going the way he had planned.

"Yeah, frequently," she looked down at her feet.

James took a deep breath. "Lily, I have—to tell you something." His voice wavered slightly. He had been avoiding this subject for so long, it was difficult to find the words.

"What—what did you do?" she asked, shaking her head at him.

"Huh?" His eyes shot to hers, searching her face. She looked expectant, a disappointed expression fixed on him. "No, I didn't do anything this time!" He said quickly. He took her hands and led her to a stone bench nearby. "You'd better—erm—sit down."

"James, you're scaring me," she said as she sat.

James knelt in front of her so their eyes were level. He looked down at their intertwined fingers briefly. "Okay, here we go then." He took another deep breath, "Remus is a werewolf," he spat out.

"Yes." Her response was matter-of-fact.

"Right," he said, "you know that."

"His knickname is Moony, Potter… it isn't that difficult to…."

"And I'm an Animagus," he continued, speaking over her. His voice echoed through the empty corridor. The last word had come out more forcibly than he had intended.

Lily's green eyes widened. "Wha—what?"

"We—erm—Sirius, Peter, and I felt bad that Remus had to leave school every full moon by himself. So, we studied the process, and…"

Lily stood up, robes swirling around her, "And you thought that an incredibly difficult and dangerous process was the answer?" she finished his sentence, eyes flashing at him.

He had hoped she would stay calm. "Nothing went wrong, Lily!" He said, standing to face her.

"And you are lucky, James Potter!" she howled, "the library is filled with horror stories about painful… death… and… and… WHEN did you do this?" She turned on her heel, throwing her arms in the air. "HOW LONG did you even study it?"

James gulped, "which question did you want me to answer first, then?"

Lily whirled around again, and shoved James in the chest, causing him to backup a step. "If you had told me before, I could have helped… or… or stopped you.!"

James grabbed her wrists as she came forward again, holding her close. "It was fifth year, Lily… we did it during fifth year."

She was breathing hard. She shook her head and looked up into James' face. "What?"

James was grateful that she had stopped shouting. He let go of her wrists and tucked her hair behind her ears, holding her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "The three of us completed the transformation two years ago."

"But… the books say that you have to be a powerful, skilled wizard to—James, you were only fifteen!"

"Sixteen," he corrected. "We technically finished after my birthday." He laid his hands on her shoulders.

"But… how?"

"Look, " he said, "we could discuss specifics all night, but it isn't why I told you." He took her hand, "Evans, I don't want to hide anything from you. I need you to understand… we did this for a reason."

"To help Remus."

"Yes."

"And tonight is the full moon."

"Yes."

She nodded, "alright."

"Alright?"

She looked up at him again, her green eyes soft. "It may be… noble, or stupid. I haven't decided yet." She reached up and smoothed his hair, "but please be careful."

James leaned down and kissed her softly, running his fingers through her silky hair. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. Pulling back, he kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Lily Evans."

She smiled into his chest, "I…."

"I would suggest you head back to your dorms," a low, snide voice said.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut for a second, recognizing the voice immediately. She met James' eyes briefly before stepping backward and turning to face the boy, standing at the end of the hallway.

Severus Snape's mouth fell open, a shocked expression frozen on his face. "Lily?" he asked. Her name reverberated through the empty hallway, spoken with disgust and hurt. He moved slowly toward the pair, each step looked as painful as the next.

"Go, James," she ordered.

James shook his head, "No, I'm not leaving you to get cursed by…."

"Go!" she said, staring at the approaching Severus with narrowed eyes. "He won't hurt me," she added quietly, trying to convince herself as much as James.

James shot her a worried expression, but followed her command, backing toward the castle door slowly.

Severus waited until he was around the corner before speaking. "You're under a spell."

"No, Severus, I am not."

"Then explain to me why you are sleeping with the biggest prat at Hogwarts."

Lily raised her hand and slapped him across the face. Snape stumbled back.

"Explain to me, Severus, why you insult me every time we cross paths! We were friends once."

Snape rubbed his cheek, "Excuse me, which part did you not agree with, Lily? The part about you sleeping with Potter, or him being a prat?"

"I am not a trollop," she whispered.

"But, Potter is a prat."

She thought back to all the times James had annoyed her with his antics. "There is more to him then his prattish behavior."

"Clever choice of words," Snape replied. He looked at her with heavy eyes. "I was hoping you had been Confunded." He turned away from her, making to leave. Partway down the hallway, he stopped. "You don't… love him, do you, Lily?"

She stared at his back, feeling sad. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt someone she once considered so dear. "Yes, Sev," she said softly, "I'm sorry."

He didn't turn around or say another word. With a swish of his robes, he hurried away, leaving her alone in the dark hallway.

Lily took a deep breath and wiped a tear away. Turning toward the stairwell, she took one more look out the window, at the full moon, before starting toward Gryffindor Tower.

fin