Hate Is A Strong Word (A Jily Fanfic)//FINISHED!

Full Moon

I'm going to try to keep posting over the next week so please be patient with me! I hope you like how the story is coming along. Please comment your thoughts!
Disclaimer: JKR owns everything.

James
Remus looked fatally ill. He always looked sickly the day of the full moon. All of the Marauders were nervous about the evening. Even though they had helped Remus before, it was still unnerving to know how dangerous it was.

They spent Sunday out on the grounds enjoying the sunlight. They tried to avoid contact with any of the other students on the days of the full moon. The last thing they needed was people getting suspicious.

When evening started to approach, the Marauders went to speak with Professor McGonagall. She was aware of what happened every evening of the full moon. They found her in her office. She looked as if she had been expecting them.

"Well, good evening boys," she said. Her hair was pulled up into her usual tight bun. She looked at Remus with what James assumed was pity. She turned to the other Marauders with a weary expression.

"Are you sure you all want to do this?" she asked them. James nodded firmly. McGonagall had never been too keen with the idea of them going with Remus while he changed. She thought it was unsafe, but she had not been able to stop them.

She stood and led them out of her office and down to the grounds at a brisk pace. The sun was starting to set and nerves were high. The five of them made their way to the Whomping Willow, which had a eerie appearance in the fading light. Once they reached the tree, McGonagall flicked her wand. The tree's branches, which had been rapidly moving, stopped suddenly.

McGonagall sighed and turned to the boys. "Please be safe," she told them.

"We will," James said, taking a look over at Remus.

"Alright, now hurry," she said to them. She turned and began to walk back up to the school. The four Marauders made their way into the tunnel under the willow. It was a dark and confined space. James, who had trouble squeezing through all of his life, could barely fit through it anymore.

After a few minutes of crawling on their hands and knees, they filed out into the Shrieking Shack. The house had always seemed frightening to James in a way. All of the furniture in the house had been torn apart from previous full moons. It was silent for a moment. All of them seemed to be waiting.

"I'd start to change if I were you," Remus said quietly, his eyes on the floor.

"Alright Moony," James said. He concentrated for a moment and felt his form change. He no longer appeared a teenage boy, but a powerful stag. Around him, he saw his friends change into a black dog and a rat. They surrounded Remus, who was beginning to shake slightly.

James was tense, waiting to go to work. Remus had started the transition. He hunched over, his body writhing slightly. He cried out in pain, terrible noises coming from him as his body morphed. James was breathing hard. He couldn't stand seeing his friend in such pain.

Finally, the transition was over. Remus was gone and the wolf stood before them. It was an eerie looking thing with patches of hair and wild eyes. James had to remind himself that it was his friend. There was a moment of silence, all that could be heard was heavy breathing.

Then, suddenly Remus howled. Their night had just begun.

Lily
Lily woke up early Monday morning. She dressed in her robes and pinned her Head Girl badge proudly over her chest. After combing through her hair, she walked down to the common room. It was still quiet this early in the morning. Lily exited and walked alone down to breakfast, her footsteps echoing through the halls.

Once she reached the Great Hall, Lily settled down with some pancakes. After a short while, people began to seep into the hall. At first, Lily didn't notice it, but she began to be aware of the whispers going around the hall. Something had happened.

She caught the words "hospital wing" and "wounded" from a group of girls sitting to her left. Someone tapped her on her shoulder.

Lily turned to see a young Gryffindor third year. "Excuse me," he said politely. "Have you seen James Potter today? Today is Quidditch tryouts and no one has seen him."

Lily thought for a moment. She hadn't seen him much yesterday. "I'm sure he's here, but I'm sorry I don't know where."

The boy nodded and walked away.

"Lily! Come quick!" a voice called behind her. Marlene was running towards her, her face filled with fear.

"What is it Mar?" Lily demanded.

"Sirius and the others are in the hospital wing," she said, out of breath.

"James, too?" Lily asked quickly.

"And Remus and Peter," Mar said with a nod. They looked at each other and ran to the hospital wing.

James
James woke up in a daze in the hospital wing. He faintly remembered the long night with Remus, walking back up to the hospital wing, and crashing in one of the hospital beds.

Sirius and Peter were awake next to him. They smiled when they saw him wake up. Remus was sleeping soundly in the bed next to him.

"How are you feeling, Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"Pretty good. You?" he asked. James had a slight head ache and a few scratches, but was otherwise unharmed.

"Not bad," Sirius said. He seemed to be in a similar state as James. Peter's arm was in a sling, but he looked okay as well.

"Good enough for tryouts tonight?" James asked him.

"Oh I totally forgot!" Sirius exclaimed.

Just then, the hospital doors burst open. Marlene burst in and threw herself at Sirius.

"Young lady!" Madam Pomfrey called to her, but neither Marlene or Sirius seemed to care.

Then, James saw her. She looked slightly out of breath. Her bright red hair was falling in her face. And her green eyes were fixed directly on him.

"Evans?" he asked. Part of him wondered if he was still dreaming.

"What happened to you Potter?" she asked him.

"Nothing to worry about, Evans," he told her, fearing that she would find out all of the Marauders' secrets.

"But I do worry. I worry about you," she said quietly. Her pale cheeks were flushed red. She sat cautiously on the edge of his bed and slowly reached out for his hand. The feeling of her soft, delicate hand on his felt like he was going shocked with electric sparks.

They just held their hands in silence. He didn't know who was comforting who, but he could have cared less in that moment. For a moment they were connected, their hands intertwined, their eyes on each other's.

Eventually, Madam Pomfrey made Lily and Marlene leave and told the boys that Quidditch tryouts would be postponed a day. James laid in his hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to hold onto the memory of Lily Evans' beautiful green eyes. In that moment, he prayed that such a wonderful moment would never end.