"Ms. Evans."

Lily's back is pressed firmly against the chair; her eyes are bloodshot and puffy, and drips of mascara stain her tinted cheeks. All the screaming earlier had left her voice hoarse and brittle. In front of her Professor Dumbledore stands, his knuckles pressed into his desk as he leans forward with an intense gaze. Behind him Professor McGonagall stands with her hands folded in front.

"Can you tell us in detail what happened tonight?" Professor Dumbledore asks.

Images of blood stained snow flashes in her mind. Sounds of screaming and gasping echo in her ear.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she nods. Her fingers squeeze the armrest tightly as she recalls the memories of the night. "I went to follow Remus Lupin...

2 hours earlier

Stoney grey clouds roll overhead, blocking the full moon completely. Lily waits patiently on her bed, a pillow tucked under her arms as she watches the clock tick by. Eleven o'clock, she had decided. She was going to see if her hunches were right about Remus Lupin. As the last stroke of ten passed, Lily quietly crept out of her dorm with a heavy winter cloak draped over her shoulder. The dorm was still, so quiet you could hear a pin drop which was a blessing considering Abigail tended to snore most nights.

Two months ago she had seen James and Peter running across the grounds to where she assumed Remus went every full moon: the Whomping Willow. Now she was going to see for herself.

A brisk wind whips her face the second she steps out into the open. She huddles her cloak closer, bearing the harsh conditions and trudging through the foot of unplowed snow. Up ahead the Whomping Willow stood seemingly frozen, nothing but the faint glow of the moon, hidden by the translucent clouds, to illuminate the darkness. Puffs of cold air circulate around Lily's face with every breath as her cheeks become numb from the polar temperatures.

A shadowy figure halts Lily immediately, and she ducks for safety behind a couple of bushes. The figure turns around suddenly, waving a bright tipped wand around in search of the noise. Crouching in the snow with her wand gripped tightly, she peers around to get a better view. It was Sirius Black. Lily leans closer, digging her hand into the frozen ground to balance herself.

"Black!" a voice shouts.

Both Sirius and Lily turn to face the caller. Some girl with brown hair Lily had never seen in her life was quickly jogging down the hill with her wand pointed at Sirius. She's still in her school robes, but the house embroidery is too small for Lily to see clearly.

"Fuck off Ward," Sirius shouts.

"Don't even try and pull your wand," Lisa Ward warns. "This will be sweet payback."

"Ward!" another voice shouts. Lily claps a hand over her mouth to keep her cover secret when Severus Snape comes rushing to the scene. His slick black hair blows around in the wind, pushing over his eyes haphazardly. "Don't do it! Leave her out of it!"

"I'm slightly offended," Sirius says with a hint of a smirk. "Of all the things to call me, a girl?"

"Go away Snape," Lisa mutters, twisting her wand. "I can handle it on my own."

Snape draws his wand. The clouds shift overhead, revealing the brilliant full moon. Lily stares up in awe of the sky when a howl slits the air. Sirius holds his wand high, slowly backing from the Whomping Willow. The three stand in a line with Lisa in the middle, all wands drawn.

"You have to go," Sirius says, all humor stripped from his voice. "Now."

"Scared?" Lisa taunts.

"I swear Ward. If what Mulciber said is true tonight, you're dead to me," Snape grits.

A large bang hits the Whomping Willow, ricocheting off and sending a mass of snow and ice up into the air. Lily ducks for cover, burying her head in her arms behind the bushes. Sounds become muffled in the snowstorm picking up. The temperature drops so much so that a tear could freeze before falling. The Whomping Willow swings its branches in defense generating heavy winds that circulate the area. Chips of ice slash against exposed skin as flurries of snow blind anything within an inch of your face. A scream breaks through the noise from the depths of one's throat. It's tortured, horrifying. And then it stops.

The Whomping Willow stops attacking, resuming its original position. Lily pops her head up, dusting the snow off of her face with desensitized hands. Pushing herself to her feet, she follows the sound of soft whimpers.

"L-l-Lumos," Lily stutters weakly.

Her hand trembles the closer she gets. Splotches of red stain the snow growing larger and larger until the source is found. Lily screams, slapping a hand over her mouth. Her body involuntary begins to shakes as her eyes take in the scene. A hundred gashes slash over Lisa Ward's body, gushing deep velvet blood. Her white shirt slowly becomes soaked with red. It pools into the snow, dying it until the only thing Lily can see is red. Lisa's eyes are screwed shut, but her mouth quivers, eliciting muted wails and whimpers of suffering. Both Snape and Sirius are knocked out in the snow, but neither endure the same lacerations as Lisa.

"LILY!"

Stumbling backwards, Lily falls into the arms of James. He falls to the ground, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Peter, go to Dumbledore!" James orders. "Get help! His password is some dessert!"

Only a few feet behind, Peter immediately whirls around back to the castle. His legs carry him faster than he'd ever run in his life. "HELP!" he shouts in the halls. The light from his wand waves around the corridors awaking every portrait on his way to Dumbledore's office. "PROFESSOR! PROFESSOR!" He kicks at the statue trying to gain his breath back. "ACID POP! TREACLE TART! MINCE PIE!"

The sound of stone scraping against stone frightens Peter, causing him to step back. The statue circulates until a set of stairs appear.

Outside James had taken off his own cloak, pressing it onto Lisa's body to stop the blood flow. But nothing was helping. Her body was paling by the second, the blood draining uncontrollably from the slits deep in her skin.

"Lily you have to try and wake the others up!" James shouts.

Lily scrambles to her feet, rushing over to Sirius unstably. She presses her hands against his chest, her long auburn hair tumbling over his face. His heart was still beating which greatly pleased Lily. Grabbing her wand, she says, "Rennervate."

Sirius shudders, blinking his eyes twice to see Lily hovering over him. "Thank god," she gasps, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Here." Hastily she shrugs off her cloak, laying it over his body before hurrying across the snow to Snape. She repeats the spell, a wave of relief washing over her when he awakes. But she doesn't do anything more.

"Nothing's working!" James calls helplessly.

Lily rushes over to him, kneeling by his side. His hands are frozen to the bone, covered in blood.

"Move," Snape grunts, shoving the two aside. He holds his wand over her body, tracing the wounds while repeating, "Vulnera Sanentur" in a songlike manor. Slowly the blood flow beings to cease and the cuts were repairing themselves like stitches. Lily's hand clenches over James' forearm, watching in amazement as Snape continues to heal Lisa.

"James!" Peter's fragile voice calls.

James tears his eyes away from the body to see all Heads of Houses, Dumbledore, and Peter heading their way. Getting to his feet, he pulls Lily up beside him, holding her upright. "Professor," he breathes.

Dumbledore marches up to Snape, examining Lisa's near drained body.

"Come on you three," McGonagall calls motioning to the pair and Sirius. "Inside, all of you!"

Present

"Did you see who cast the spell?" Professor McGonagall asks calmly. Lily shakes her head. "The only people you saw were Ms. Ward, Mr. Black, and Mr. Snape?"

"Yes," Lily answers.

"Mr. Lupin?"

"No, I didn't see him."

Professor Dumbledore sits at his desk deep in thought. "You should get some rest, Ms. Evans," he tells her with sorrowful eyes. "It's been a long night."

"Sir, is she - is she alive?"

"Yes. Ms. Ward is recovering in the Hospital Wing."

"She's lucky you were there to save her life," McGonagall adds. "If it weren't for you and Mr. Potter, she might as well have died."

Lily stares at the ground shamefully.

"And Ms. Evans," Professor Dumbledore says. "I ask of you to never reveal Mr. Lupin's condition to another soul."

"Yes, Sir."

Lily stands with weak knees, shuffling to the door. Her legs barely carry her down the stairs without collapsing. A hand shoots out as she reaches the bottom step, catching her around the waist.

"I got you," James says holding her up.

The color is back in his face and a twinkle still shines in his hazel eyes. It amazed her that he was so level headed in a state of emergency. "James," she whispers. "What were you doing tonight? Outside?"

He chuckles softly, "I could ask you the same thing." She rests her head against his chest, clinging to his body for leverage. "I know Snape saved the day, but we make a pretty good team, Lily."

Lily nods exhaustedly, melting against his body. "We do, don't we?"