No Control // Wolfstar

Thirty Eight

Lily rubs her hands over her cloaked arms repeatedly to create some warmth in the frigid weather. She circles around, carefully avoiding getting too close to the Whomping Willow while trying to get the boys in their places, but it was taking much longer than she originated due to James and Sirius throwing snowballs at each other. "Boys!" she shouts. Both James and Sirius drop their snowballs and stand tall as if on the front-line. "Thank you."

"What was the first thing that happened?" Remus asks, standing behind the bush where Lily had two nights ago.

"I saw Sirius," Lily answers. "So I hid over there."

"And I was heading towards the tree," Sirius continues. "I came from over here." He saunters near the base of the hill, walking forward slowly with his wand out.

"Stop," Lily instructs. "That's where you stopped walking."

Sirius turns about face. "Yeah, I heard a noise."

"And that was Lily," Remus concludes.

"Then Lisa came," Lily explains. Peter walks over with his wand out. A piece of long brown yarn rests on top of his head and Sirius snickers. "Was the hair really necessary?"

"Of course it was Evans," Sirius says. "Look, they could be twins!"

Peter rolls his eyes, flipping the end of his scarf around his neck for more warmth. Remus groans, smacking his face. "Okay then Snape comes, right?" he questions. Lily nods. "James?"

James slouches. "Why do I have to be Snape?"

"James shut up," Lily growls. "We don't have all day to do this!" He mopes his way over into position, holding his wand out. "Snape said something to Lisa, like he knew she was going to be there." Lily stands afar, observing the scene before her. The Whomping Willow was still, as if frozen. One spot was much darker than the rest just above Sirius' head on the tree. Tapping a finger to her chin, her eyes light up immediately. "A spell came from this direction!" She rushes over towards James. "It hit the Whomping Willow, which caused the explosion."

Remus purses his lips, staring at the tree. "It had to have been Snape or Lisa if Sirius was the only one not facing the tree."

"Sirius do you remember if anyone cast a spell?" Peter asks.

Sirius stares at Peter and James with narrowed eyes, picturing the night. "Um..." He closes his eyes tightly. Flashes of the dark night come to mind, but it's a blur. "Maybe? But I can't be for sure, it all happened too fast." A bright blue beam comes at him and he opens his eyes with a gasp. The others stare expectantly at him, and he rubs his eyes. "Um...I saw a light shoot out of nowhere. I don't remember anything after that. It was too dark, it could've been anybody."

"Lily did you hear anything?" Remus asks.

Lily shakes her head. "No - I ducked when the Whomping Willow starting thrashing about causing the snowstorm. When it was over all I could hear was Lisa screaming."

"Which is when James and Peter came." Remus runs through the steps so far to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything. "So Snape and Sirius were unconscious," Remus mumbles to himself, pacing the ground. "Lisa was attacked. The curse was cast sometime in between the spell hitting the tree and Snape and Sirius getting knocked out. James, you were ahead of Peter. Did you see anything?"

"I only saw Lily," James answers.

"James, what were you doing, anyway?" Lily asks, crossing her arms. "You just happen to show up out of nowhere?"

Remus and Sirius exchange a worried look and Peter kicks the snow around him bashfully. James loosens his collar with a finger, licking his partially blue lips. "We were coming to find Sirius," he answers timidly. Lily's piercing eyes glower up at him suspiciously. "What? You think I did it?"