A/N: Just a little one-shot I thought up. This is set in the Marauders' (avec Lily) 7th year, after James and Lily started dating. Pure adorable fluffiness!
Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling, and I do not own the Harry Potter series of any of its characters.
Lily Evans sat waiting in the Heads' Common Room for James Potter, her immature/idiot/prat/handsome/sweet/wonderful boyfriend. Of course, She thought. Of course, he just had to be an Animagi who goes off with his other mates to accompany his other mate, who just happened to be a werewolf, every full moon. Just had to be.
The minutes ticked by painfully slowly. James had gone out around 7, and it was 2:42 a.m. Lily had already finished all her homework for the entire week, finished James' homework for the day, duplicated that for Sirius, Remus, and Peter, fixed theirs so they weren't completely the same and therefore rouse suspicion, stunned a very brave fly that dared cross her path, taken a bath, visited her friend Marlene, gone to the kitchens, and tried to sleep. The last one didn't work so well. She just couldn't sleep; she was so fraught with worry. Lily shifted her position on the couch for the umpteenth time. What if Death Eaters caught them? What if another werewolf found them? What if Remus accidentally hurt them? Stop, She told herself. You'll only make yourself more worried.
Another hour and a half passed. Lily knew that Remus usually transformed back into himself around 3:30. It was now 4:13, and they were exactly 43 minutes and 39 seconds late. Understandably, Lily was getting more anxious by the minute. For some unknown reason, Lily had changed into one of James' Muggle t-shirts rock band and short terry cotton pajama shorts. Her flaming mass of red hair was tucked into a messy bun, and her wand was tucked behind her ear. It was now 4:26, and Lily was going mad with worry.
4:27.
4:28.
4:29.
All the sudden, the portrait hole opened, and Lily bolted straight up. Peter Pettigrew entered first, holding the Marauders' Map and James' Invisibility Cloak. His wand was drawn and he peered around the Head's Common Room. He acknowledged Lily with a slight tilt of the head, and beckoned to those behind him.
Sirius Black and James Potter came in supporting a weak looking Remus Lupin between them. They settled Remus down quickly on the nearest squashy armchair and looked up, panting.
Both boys' robes were torn, and were scratched up and bleeding in various places. Sirius was limping slightly, and James had a long gash on his cheek.
James turned, and saw Lily. His hazel eyes softened and he smiled.
"Lily," He breathed. She jumped at him, wrapping both her arms and legs around him tightly. He hugged her back just as fiercely.
"Ouch," he winced. Lily relinquished her hold on him and set her feet back on the floor.
"Sorry, James," She murmured, and took out her wand to heal his cuts quickly. Lily then ran to Sirius and hugged him.
"Hey, Lils," He greeted her, hugging her back. "Wondered when you'd remember us."
Lily scowled at him, but didn't punch him for fear she would hit a bruise. She quickly healed his injuries too, and repeated the process with Remus and Peter.
"I'm sorry we were late, Lily," Remus told her when she was finished. "It was my fault, for that and their injuries."
James spoke before Lily could answer him. "Moony, it wasn't your fault," He reassured Remus, while walking over to sink down onto on a couch. "It was the wolf."
"Who just happens to be me."
"Remus, stop it!" Lily admonished him. "The wolf isn't really you, because you aren't really yourself on full moons. You can't control yourself." Remus sighed in defeat.
"That was a lot of 'yous'," Sirius remarked. Lily rolled her eyes.
"Of all the things to say, you just had to say that," She shook her head in exasperation. Sirius just grinned at her.
"Padfoot, do you ever say anything intelligent?" James asked him bemusedly as Lily crossed the Common room to sit beside him.
Sirius turned indignant. "I do, Prongs!" He exclaimed. Everyone present fought the urge to smirk.
Remus stood up shakily. "I think its time to head back to our dorm," He announced. Sirius and Peter stood up and joined him, mutely nodding their assent while yawning loudly.
"G'Night, fellow Marauders," James said, yawning as well. He tossed them his invisibility Cloak. "Take this. Give it back tomorrow."
Sirius caught it, and followed Peter out of the portrait hole. With a final wave, they were gone.
Lily moved herself so she was sitting cross-legged in James' lap, and snuggled into him, her head resting on his chest. James folded his arms around her and kissed her hair.
"You shouldn't have stayed up to wait for us," He told her gently.
She pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes.
"James," She told him softly. "I wanted to. Every single full moon, I'll be here, waiting for you to come back."
He smiled at Lily and hugged her tight against him, putting his forehead against hers. "And every full moon," James whispered. "I'll be waiting to come back to you."
Lily smiled at him, and kissed him softly. "Goodnight, James," She told him, pushing him down to lie across the couch. She snuggled into his arms and fell asleep.
Fin!
Aw844 :)