Alignments Outtake: Thunderstorm
Title: Thunderstorm
Word Count: 1200
Characters: Lily, MWPP
Summary: A story about a rainy day and a discovery.
For urazy2. Because your comments made me smile.
It's a late afternoon thundershower in early June. The air is hot to the point of shimmering, pregnant with the first few drops of rain. The sky is pitch black to the east.
Lily is sweating, cross, ruining her nicest blouse, on her way to Hogsmeade to meet James, taking a shortcut, running late. Even after seven years at Hogwarts, she is still enough of a Muggle to curse herself for forgetting an umbrella. Only after the drops become a shower and then soak her to the skin does she remember that there are spells for these things. It's already too late.
She is close to the village but not close enough, and after a few minutes of running she stops. She is soaked, her hair sticking to her cheeks, her robes scratchy and heavy, and there is suddenly no point to hurrying out of the rain. She stops and stretches her arms out, tilts her head back, closes her eyes, and opens her mouth. She can feel the heavy drops falling on her face, bruising her eyelids.
It is quiet in that thundershower-way, the rain loud but the rest of life drowned out, until she hears a shout.
"James!"
The voice is familiar.
"James! Sirius! You bastards! Wait up!"
And suddenly, not too far away, there is a giant black dog chasing a deer through the trees down the hillside, and a soaked and laughing Remus Lupin running after both. Lily looks from the dog and the deer to Remus and back again, but the animals are already gone. She shakes her head bemusedly and squeezes her eyes shut, then opens them again.
Remus is now standing there in the rain, gasping for air, doubled over, hand pressing against his stomach, chest heaving. Lily is about to call out and walk towards him when suddenly the black dog runs back and leaps on top of him, knocking both of them over onto the muddy ground. Lily watches with horror as the two tussle.
After a moment she comes to her senses. She runs over, tries to pull the dog off Remus, and hits it with her hand. She is screaming, "Off, off! Down!" She is fumbling for her wand, trying to pull Remus up from the mud. She raises her wand and aims for the dog.
Then she realizes that the dog has backed off and is watching her, mewling beneath its breath, while Remus is looking at her with frightened eyes and a strange expression.
She lowers her wand.
She and Remus stare at each other for a moment, and then Remus straightens his robes and smiles crookedly. "It's okay, Lily. He's friendly."
He bends over and scratches the dog's neck, and the dog, like Remus, seems oddly calm. He growls softly and wags his tail.
"Just a bit of fun," Remus says mildly, standing up. "Are you, erm, going to Hogsmeade, too, Lily?"
The worst of the storm has passed, and the rain has slowed to a shower. They are both rumpled and covered in mud, and Lily's heart is still pounding, and Remus' detached politeness strikes Lily as almost comic.
Lily looks at Remus, then the dog, then, though she doesn't know quite why, she scans the edge of the forest and sees the outline of the deer, a wet, shimmering shadow behind a tree.
"You can come out, James," Lily calls. She doesn't know how she knows this, but, as she stands there, soaked, muddy, adrenaline still racing, it makes perfect, crazy sense.
After a pause the deer walks towards her, shimmering for a moment, then transforming into James. The dog transforms into Sirius.
"Where's Peter?" Lily asks suspiciously.
Shamefacedly, Remus puts a hand into the pocket of his robes and pulls out a wiggling, protesting rat by the tail. Lily shrieks in spite of herself, but by the time Remus has let go of the rat's tail it has transformed into Peter.
"What is this? What have you been up to now?" she splutters. "I'm sure this is not allowed."
"You can't tell anyone, Lily," James says imploringly. "I can explain, really, but no one can know, please--"
Lily is frowning, tilting her head to one side. "A deer? A dog, I understand," she says, lips tight, nodding at Sirius. "And maybe even the rat. But a deer?"
James stands a little taller. "A stag, actually. Look."
And a moment later a stag is standing there in front of her, and Lily shakes her head at the absurdity of it all.
The stag transforms back, and James looks anxiously from Remus to Lily and back again. Sirius is oddly subdued, and Peter looks at his feet.
"Lily," Remus says hesitantly. "Please, you can't tell. For me. Please. It's, erm, not, mmm, permitted. Not exactly legal, actually."
"And probably not safe, either?" Lily asks, thinking about what she has learned in class. Her hands are on her hips and she can hear her own Head Girl voice. "At least at the beginning?"
Now no one except Remus will look her in the eye. He looks oddly unrepentant. "Please, Lily," he says in a low, serious voice.
Lily wonders for a moment why he hasn't transformed, too, then understands a little more.
"Too much transforming for you already, I suppose," she says, her voice softening. "But fun on full moon nights?"
The corners of Remus' eyes crinkle and the crooked smile comes back and he nods almost imperceptibly. They stand there silently for a moment. Now the rain is slowing to a drizzle, and the sun is breaking out from behind the clouds.
The boys are waiting for her to say something, so Lily pulls out her wand and mutters a drying spell for the group. Suddenly her eyelashes aren't stuck together anymore and her robes feel lighter. She fumbles in her pockets for spare quills and pulls out three, no, four, handing them to each of the boys. She fumbles in her other pockets and finds a ball point pen for herself. She utters a spell McGonagall once taught her, and each turns into an umbrella. She and Remus have theirs up immediately, but the others fumble for a moment before getting theirs open. Lily smiles to herself and doesn't offer to help.
On that afternoon in early June, Lily is not yet eighteen. She is still Head Girl. She is starting Auror training that summer. She hasn't fallen in love with James Potter, not yet, and, though she can see her friends starting to pair off, she's much more interested in becoming an Auror than becoming a wife. She has no real loyalty to Sirius or Peter, who have caused her all kinds of trouble this past year. She has real affection for Remus, who has become a good friend, and she respects him more than ever now that she knows about the wolf. But she is not concerned about loyalty right now. She is not even that worried about school rules or the Ministry. All she can think is: What is magic for, if not to make life a little easier?
"No point in getting wet," she says sensibly, turning towards the village. "Have I missed my date this afternoon?"
Lily can feel the air shift around her--not magic, just relief--and suddenly Remus is talking quietly to Peter and Sirius, and James is by her side, clearing his throat, saying something about her talents at Transfiguration. There was a time when she might have scolded, when she might have been mad or frustrated, but now she feels oddly protective and not angry at all. The rain is almost over, the sky is now a deep pink as the late afternoon sun shines across the clouds, and the air is cooler. She squeezes James' arm and falls into step beside him as they walk toward Hogsmeade.
*
Author's note: I'm doing a series of "outtakes" this month--not full-fledged fics, nothing serious, just a little post-Alignments fun. This one is for urazy2, who wanted to know how Lily found out about the Animagus transformations. Thanks for everything, sweetie!
Word Count: 1200
Characters: Lily, MWPP
Summary: A story about a rainy day and a discovery.
For urazy2. Because your comments made me smile.
It's a late afternoon thundershower in early June. The air is hot to the point of shimmering, pregnant with the first few drops of rain. The sky is pitch black to the east.
Lily is sweating, cross, ruining her nicest blouse, on her way to Hogsmeade to meet James, taking a shortcut, running late. Even after seven years at Hogwarts, she is still enough of a Muggle to curse herself for forgetting an umbrella. Only after the drops become a shower and then soak her to the skin does she remember that there are spells for these things. It's already too late.
She is close to the village but not close enough, and after a few minutes of running she stops. She is soaked, her hair sticking to her cheeks, her robes scratchy and heavy, and there is suddenly no point to hurrying out of the rain. She stops and stretches her arms out, tilts her head back, closes her eyes, and opens her mouth. She can feel the heavy drops falling on her face, bruising her eyelids.
It is quiet in that thundershower-way, the rain loud but the rest of life drowned out, until she hears a shout.
"James!"
The voice is familiar.
"James! Sirius! You bastards! Wait up!"
And suddenly, not too far away, there is a giant black dog chasing a deer through the trees down the hillside, and a soaked and laughing Remus Lupin running after both. Lily looks from the dog and the deer to Remus and back again, but the animals are already gone. She shakes her head bemusedly and squeezes her eyes shut, then opens them again.
Remus is now standing there in the rain, gasping for air, doubled over, hand pressing against his stomach, chest heaving. Lily is about to call out and walk towards him when suddenly the black dog runs back and leaps on top of him, knocking both of them over onto the muddy ground. Lily watches with horror as the two tussle.
After a moment she comes to her senses. She runs over, tries to pull the dog off Remus, and hits it with her hand. She is screaming, "Off, off! Down!" She is fumbling for her wand, trying to pull Remus up from the mud. She raises her wand and aims for the dog.
Then she realizes that the dog has backed off and is watching her, mewling beneath its breath, while Remus is looking at her with frightened eyes and a strange expression.
She lowers her wand.
She and Remus stare at each other for a moment, and then Remus straightens his robes and smiles crookedly. "It's okay, Lily. He's friendly."
He bends over and scratches the dog's neck, and the dog, like Remus, seems oddly calm. He growls softly and wags his tail.
"Just a bit of fun," Remus says mildly, standing up. "Are you, erm, going to Hogsmeade, too, Lily?"
The worst of the storm has passed, and the rain has slowed to a shower. They are both rumpled and covered in mud, and Lily's heart is still pounding, and Remus' detached politeness strikes Lily as almost comic.
Lily looks at Remus, then the dog, then, though she doesn't know quite why, she scans the edge of the forest and sees the outline of the deer, a wet, shimmering shadow behind a tree.
"You can come out, James," Lily calls. She doesn't know how she knows this, but, as she stands there, soaked, muddy, adrenaline still racing, it makes perfect, crazy sense.
After a pause the deer walks towards her, shimmering for a moment, then transforming into James. The dog transforms into Sirius.
"Where's Peter?" Lily asks suspiciously.
Shamefacedly, Remus puts a hand into the pocket of his robes and pulls out a wiggling, protesting rat by the tail. Lily shrieks in spite of herself, but by the time Remus has let go of the rat's tail it has transformed into Peter.
"What is this? What have you been up to now?" she splutters. "I'm sure this is not allowed."
"You can't tell anyone, Lily," James says imploringly. "I can explain, really, but no one can know, please--"
Lily is frowning, tilting her head to one side. "A deer? A dog, I understand," she says, lips tight, nodding at Sirius. "And maybe even the rat. But a deer?"
James stands a little taller. "A stag, actually. Look."
And a moment later a stag is standing there in front of her, and Lily shakes her head at the absurdity of it all.
The stag transforms back, and James looks anxiously from Remus to Lily and back again. Sirius is oddly subdued, and Peter looks at his feet.
"Lily," Remus says hesitantly. "Please, you can't tell. For me. Please. It's, erm, not, mmm, permitted. Not exactly legal, actually."
"And probably not safe, either?" Lily asks, thinking about what she has learned in class. Her hands are on her hips and she can hear her own Head Girl voice. "At least at the beginning?"
Now no one except Remus will look her in the eye. He looks oddly unrepentant. "Please, Lily," he says in a low, serious voice.
Lily wonders for a moment why he hasn't transformed, too, then understands a little more.
"Too much transforming for you already, I suppose," she says, her voice softening. "But fun on full moon nights?"
The corners of Remus' eyes crinkle and the crooked smile comes back and he nods almost imperceptibly. They stand there silently for a moment. Now the rain is slowing to a drizzle, and the sun is breaking out from behind the clouds.
The boys are waiting for her to say something, so Lily pulls out her wand and mutters a drying spell for the group. Suddenly her eyelashes aren't stuck together anymore and her robes feel lighter. She fumbles in her pockets for spare quills and pulls out three, no, four, handing them to each of the boys. She fumbles in her other pockets and finds a ball point pen for herself. She utters a spell McGonagall once taught her, and each turns into an umbrella. She and Remus have theirs up immediately, but the others fumble for a moment before getting theirs open. Lily smiles to herself and doesn't offer to help.
On that afternoon in early June, Lily is not yet eighteen. She is still Head Girl. She is starting Auror training that summer. She hasn't fallen in love with James Potter, not yet, and, though she can see her friends starting to pair off, she's much more interested in becoming an Auror than becoming a wife. She has no real loyalty to Sirius or Peter, who have caused her all kinds of trouble this past year. She has real affection for Remus, who has become a good friend, and she respects him more than ever now that she knows about the wolf. But she is not concerned about loyalty right now. She is not even that worried about school rules or the Ministry. All she can think is: What is magic for, if not to make life a little easier?
"No point in getting wet," she says sensibly, turning towards the village. "Have I missed my date this afternoon?"
Lily can feel the air shift around her--not magic, just relief--and suddenly Remus is talking quietly to Peter and Sirius, and James is by her side, clearing his throat, saying something about her talents at Transfiguration. There was a time when she might have scolded, when she might have been mad or frustrated, but now she feels oddly protective and not angry at all. The rain is almost over, the sky is now a deep pink as the late afternoon sun shines across the clouds, and the air is cooler. She squeezes James' arm and falls into step beside him as they walk toward Hogsmeade.
*
Author's note: I'm doing a series of "outtakes" this month--not full-fledged fics, nothing serious, just a little post-Alignments fun. This one is for urazy2, who wanted to know how Lily found out about the Animagus transformations. Thanks for everything, sweetie!