Lily sat cross-legged on Remus's bed, next to Remus, and broke off a bit of chocolate from the large bar of Fudge Nougat Delight that she'd gotten from the book on Remus's shelf. She drew a damp cloth over his face and handed the bit of chocolate for him. "Here you are, Rey," she said, smiling down at him as she smoothed the curls away from the top of his forehead. "Eat, you'll feel better soon."
Remus smiled weakly, taking the chocolate. "Thanks Lily," he said, voice scarcely above a whisper.
It was early afternoon on the night of the full moon and James and Sirius were packing their things for the night in the Shrieking Shack while Peter had gone to fetch food from the kitchens. Remus was feeling especially moony, a fever and chills racking his body and he was wrapped in several layers of thick woolen sweaters as he lay beneath his covers, head propped up on a good deal of pillows.
"Can't believe this is the last time we're going to be doing this," said James, bending to yank an old jumper from his trunk. He shoved it into his rucksack.
Sirius shook his head, "Me, either."
"Reckon we ought to dismantle the clubhouse tomorrow morning."
"Probably would be for the best," Sirius agreed. "Do you suppose Dumbledore will tell the village the place's been exorcised now?"
James shrugged.
"How long have you lot been going out there?"
"Ages!" Sirius said.
"Ever since we became animorphamanguses," James replied.
"Animagi, Prongs," Remus murmured. Lily smiled at Remus and rolled her eyes in amusement.
"Yeah," James said, "That."
"I'm going to miss the cruddy old place," Sirius said reminiscently.
"I'm not," Remus murmured darkly.
James and Sirius exchanged glances and went back to their packing.
Lily said, "I do wish that I'd been friends with you lot when you figured out how to become animagi." She looked into Remus's green eyes. "I would love to keep you company, too."
"Just think, if you'd been friends with us all along, all the bloody heartache and bullshite you would've saved yourself," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Could've been with that ding-dong over there back in second year, I reckon."
"Could've been with this ding-dong first day on the Express if you'd wanted to," James muttered, flushing.
Lily smiled sadly. She looked around the dormitory. "Gods, I'm going to miss this place."
James paused in packing his rucksack. So did Sirius. "Me, too," Sirius said. "It's... Hogwarts is... it's home."
"Yeah," James agreed. He took a deep breath, "But home is wherever we all are at, I reckon, really." He smiled ruefully, and went back to packing.
When Peter returned carrying a sack of food, he packed his own rucksack while Sirius packed Remus's and James went out to the corridor to say goodbye to Lily. She leaned against the wall and he splayed his palms, leaning forward before her and kissing her softly on the lips. She pulled away after a few moments.
"Are you four going to be getting a flat? Remus said something about a flat."
"Yeah," James nodded, "Well, Sirius, Remus, and I were talking of it any rate. I reckon Peter will go home to his parents... We're going to go looking 'round east London, me and the fellas. Mum and Dad are staying in the Lupin house, Remus has offered them."
"I was going to ask," Lily said. She ran her fingers along the hairline on the back of his neck. "Gods, you're so pretty. How'd you get to be so pretty, Potter?"
"It's biology, Evans."
Lily smiled and leaned in and kissed him. "Oh I do love biology."
He kissed her back.
"Bloody hell, get a room," came a shriek from around the corner as some younger students passed by. James and Lily laughed and went on kissing.
The four Marauders stood on the school grounds, shoulder to shoulder, rucksacks 'round their torsos, Peter holding a bag of food and supplies while Sirius and James stood, supporting Remus between them. They all stared at the Whomping Willow, with its fistlike branches and spikey tendrils that hung down, bearing a bright green foliage that was glowing in the late afternoon sun.
"Look at it," Sirius said wistfully, "The most bastardly tree that ever grew, that is."
The branches twitched like a sleeping person being mildly disturbed by the buzz of a nearby fly.
"Reckon Dumbledore will tear it up next year?" Peter asked, "Since it's such a violent tree, I mean? It isn't very safe."
"I hope not," Remus said. "I hope it's here for a very long time and that perhaps others like me will get to study at Hogwarts thanks to it being here." He smiled, imagining it, but also imagining that maybe one day he himself would teach at Hogwarts and make use of it once more.
"Gonna miss the bloody thing," James said. "Remember that one time when we didn't move quickly enough and it reanimated and lifted Sirius right off his feet and hucked him clear across the grounds?" James laughed.
"Gods, that was the first time I had Skele-Gro from Pomfrey!" Sirius made a disgusted face. "That stuff tastes like a dirty arsehole."
"How do you know what---"
"Better not to ask, Peter," Sirius replied.
Peter shut up quite abruptly, looking nervous.
"Well," James said, adjusting his rucksack, "We'd better go, if we're to make it in time to relax a bit before moonrise."
Sirius nodded, "Yeah, reckon we better."
They stood there for a long moment still, though, all staring at the tree despite the decision to move on.
Remus looked around at the others, "Thanks for coming out with me, mates," he said thickly. "I know tomorrow is the NEWTs and it really means a lot to me that you're forfeiting your last study hours to accompany me."
Sirius grinned up at Remus, "You think we'd let you spend the last full moon at Hoggy Warty Hogwarts alone, Moony? You're mad!"
"Barking mad!" James said.
"He is not lying, doe!" Sirius pitched in.
"Howl could we ever forgive ourselves for missing such a monumental occasion?" James asked.
"Yeah, we would be really mousing out if we didn't come."
"I'm a rat, not a mouse!" Peter objected.
"Relax Peter, he's just taking the mickey out of you," James said, and Sirius exploded in a great snorting laugh, though Peter looked slightly confused. James shook his head when Peter asked him to explain, "Nevermind, Wormtail, it wasn't that funny anyway."
"Yeah," Remus piped in weakly, "Quite cheesy."
"Oh Moony, joining in on the puns... I do love you with all my hart!"
"I canine believe we're still standing here making such ridiculous jokes when we ought to be off to the shack," James said with a smirk.
"Staggering, isn't it, Prongsy?" Sirius snickered.
"Paws-itively," James agreed, and Sirius let out a shriek of mirth.
It went on for several more minutes before finally they fell silent and stared once again at the tree. "Well," James said, "This is the last time out. Let's make it a good one."
"Here, here!" Sirius cheered.
Peter was dispatched then, and he transformed, running across the grounds quickly in a weaving pth among the grassy area between the other boys and the trunk of the Whomping Willow. The moment the rat got too close, the tree awakened and its branches flailed about violently, trying to strike down whatever enemy had approached. It shook and groaned, and leaves fluttered about as it waved angrily about. The other three watched as Wormtail scurried up and climbed against the bark, pressing the knot on the side of the tree firmly with his little paws. The tree fell still once again.
"Here we go!" James said, and he took Remus's hand, draping the weaker boy's arm across his shoulders, and they started off for the very last time to the Shrieking Shack.