The Unexpected Love [Rewrite]

Chapter 4

"Are you sure about this?" James whispered as he and Sirius crouched beneath the invisibility cloak. The only thing they hated about being so tall was the fact that they could no longer stand comfortably beneath the cloak. 

"Come on, it's been ages--"

"Last week, actually."

"--ages since we pulled a prank. Please."

James scoffed but nodded. The two waited for Slughorn to step out of his classroom, and rushed in before the door shut completely. Once they entered, the heavy door creaked and shut loudly, making James shudder. 

"Okay, hurry up, Padfoot. I'm worried about Remus. It's a full moon tonight, and all he's done for the past week is shiver, sweat, and faint." James said, running a hand through his messy hair. 

Sirius nodded and lifted a large cauldron off of a desk. "Alright, let's go."

James sighed and nodded. The two hid under the cloak once more, and James forced the door open wide enough for them to leave. They rushed away from the dungeons as quickly as they could without being caught, and succeeded in doing so until they neared the Gryffindor common room. They almost crashed into Lily, and James pulled Sirius's elbow back roughly. However, they stopped a second too late, and James lost control of the cloak. It slid off their bodies, and the cauldron smashed on the floor, spilling it's contents all over Lily's robes and body. 

James felt as if he were going insane. His feelings for Lily suddenly became a million times stronger. The smoke from the liquid entered his nostrils and filled his brain with her smells--ink, like the books that she always carried in her hands, flowers, like the smell her robes always carried, and oranges, like her shampoo. Then, the images began to flash across his eyes. Her bright green eyes, the freckles dotted across her nose and cheeks, her dark red hair, her crooked smile. His heart pounded against his chest as he heard her laugh, saw her hair fall across her back as her quill moved across the parchment, remembered the day of the party when he'd grabbed her warm hand. The smell was making him go mad, and he couldn't stop thinking about her. The memories and sights and smells and sounds came one after another, slowly possessing him. It was wonderful and terrible; both at once. He forced his eyes open, panting, and yelled, "Go wash it off! Now! It's making me go mad!"

Lily placed a hand over her nose and mouth and rushed off to shower. James looked over at Sirius and saw that he was shaking. His gray eyes were wide, and his mouth was open. 

"Padfoot--"

"It was her. I saw her! I saw her...and I felt her...and I realized I fancy her. But it was so much more than that. It was like--like I was obsessed." Sirius stammered, his hands shaking. 

The two looked at the broken pieces of the cauldron. The label was faded and torn, but they both knew at once what they'd smelled. 

"The strange thing about it is...it drove me mad, but I liked it. It made me forget everything--about my family, about Remus's condition, about the war. It was like being drunk, but it felt so, so good. And she was there with me, making me forget everything. I let go of reality for a second." Sirius said slowly. 

"But it wasn't real." James said quietly. "It was just a cruel reminder of what you desire most but can't have."

James crushed a large piece of the cauldron with his foot, and felt satisfied as it cracked into bits. 

~

After washing off all the liquid, Lily put on a clean skirt, blouse, tie, cardigan, tights, and shoes. She brushed off her skirt and sighed. She was glad the smell was almost gone. It had frightened her to realize what she truly desired, because she had been hiding it from herself for a long time, and a part of her had hoped that it wasn't true. Lily sighed and sat on the edge of an armchair in the common room. The portrait swung open, and Marlene stepped in. She sat next to her, and her nose wrinkled slightly. 

"You smell...weird." Marlene commented. 

"Like what?" Lily asked, her body tensing. 

Marlene sniffed her hair, and then cocked her head to the side. "I don't know. It's there, but I can't explain what it is."

"Is it a really strong smell? Could you smell it when you walked in?" Lily asked, her eyes wide. 

"...no. Why? Did Potter and Black prank you?"

"How did you know?"

"I heard them say something about a prank. Are you alright?"

"I will be when this curse wears off." Lily muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. 

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

~

Lily shivered, wishing she'd at least bought her robes. Her cardigan was too thin to provide much warmth. She looked up at the sky, and saw that the full moon was brighter than usual. It lit up the grounds, making the colors of the grass and trees shine. 

After a few minutes, Lily regretted having gone out after curfew in the first place. She thought a walk would help her clear her thoughts, but it had only earned her a runny nose from the cold. Just as she was about to turn back, she heard a howl in the distance. She froze and spun around. She heard another howl, and her eyes looked up at the full moon. The howls began to get louder, and then there were barks. 

Lily squinted slightly, and gulped as she saw that her prediction was correct. A werewolf was sprinting in her direction, followed by a stag, a dog, and another small creature she couldn't make out. She began to run back to the castle as fast as her short legs could carry her, but the wolf was much faster and larger than she was, and it reached her. It pushed her to the ground, and Lily forced back a scream that threatened to escape her lips. Her breathing quickened as she looked into the dark eyes of the wolf before her. The dog rushed forward and almost knocked down the wolf, but it was focused on attacking Lily, and it went back. The stag stabbed it with its antlers, and the two managed to force the wolf back. The stag looked back at Lily for a moment, bowed his head slightly, and kept running with the wolf. 

Lily stood up and rushed away to the castle, hoping no one would catch her. She felt her body shaking, and she felt adrenaline course through her veins. She had been so afraid that she didn't even move. Lily knew that if it hadn't been for the other animals, she would have been bitten or dead. She walked through the halls of the castle, and slowly made her way back to the common room.

"Did you think you wouldn't get caught, Miss Evans?"

Lily's heart stopped.