Okay announcement PLEASE READ I PROMISE IT IS IMPORTANT!

So I feel like I need to address where I stand considering the situation right now. I just want to remind everyone that I write these oneshots because I love this fandom and I love watching the fandom come together. However, one thing about this fandom is that we all have very different opinions on characters, pairings, events etc. This can be a blessing...but also sometimes a curse, especially since the creator of this fandom, J.K. Rowling, has said some incredibly hurtful things about members of our community.

Therefore, as a fandom, we need fixing.

I will ask this only once but please, please, PLEASE, be respectful of others in the comments. If they say something that you have a different opinion of, you are perfectly welcome to debate but not to attack. Everyone is different and deserves to have their opinion heard.

That being said, know that I WILL NOT TOLERATE any sort of homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, ableism, trolling or any other malicious attacks in the comments. If you see a comment that you find offensive, please DM me immediately to let me know the chapter and paragraph the comment is located. I will then take action from there. 

PLEASE DO NOT ATTACK THE PERSON WHO WROTE THE COMMENT. 

I say this NOT to protect that person but to protect you. People who have any kind of prejudice against a community are often looking for a rise and a fight. Attacking them will only worsen the situation and hurt more people as a result. So, by informing me, I will personally take action and report the offensive comment immediately. 

I know that people don't like A/N's however I felt this was important to say.

Anyway, on with the fun stuff.

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Summary: Lily Evans could have had it all, but she chose to side with her werewolf best friend instead. They are now homeless and on the run from the Ministry. But Remus needs a doctor, so Lily is forced into a desperate choice.

Enjoy!

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Lily Evans held her breath, slowly drawing back the arrow and aiming at the unsuspecting hare that drank from the puddle only ten metres away. There was a slight crosswind today and the trees creaked and groaned with the strain. It was good for her. It meant prey couldn't hear or smell any attackers coming. Taking one last breath, she released to arrow. It found its mark before the hare even knew what hit it. Lily was relieved, to say the least. This would be their first meal in a three days and lord knows that Remus was starting to suffer. Lily couldn't let that be the state for long and that was why she was up at the crack of dawn this morning, leaving the friend that was more like a brother sleeping in their little den.

Moving forwards, Lily tread lightly on the forest floor towards the hare, removing the arrow and thanking the gods that the shaft hadn't broken. She quickly grabbed her hunting knife, skinning and gutting the hare before dividing the meat into little parcels wrapped in some cloth she had in her bag. It should be enough to feed them for a couple of days before she'd have to go hunting again.

Packing up the meat into her bag, she straightened up and headed back to the den. It was still pretty early, the sun hardly risen in the sky over the trees. The forest was full of life though, the birds singing their hearts out to welcome the light back to the world. It was a moment of peace in a terrifying world of prejudice and hate. Just a single moment where Lily could forget about all her worries and responsibilities. She could forget about the Purebloods wanting to enslave  and torture people like Remus. She could forget about wondering where their next meal would come from. But it was just a moment, though, and nothing more.

Soon she came to a small gorge that was carved into the ground from the ice age millions of years before. She slowly descended, being careful of the loose soil and rocks that could easily give way with on false step. Travelling along the gorge floor, she past the waterfall and the lake beneath it, following the stream that branched off from it until she made it to their little camp site, their cave just behind it.

Lily dumped her bag by the fire pit, removing the meat and placing it in their cooking pot. She'll stew it later when she'd gathered more fire wood. For now, she needed to check on Remus. Grabbing a make-shift cup that Remus had carved from a log, she quickly filled it with water from the stream that ran along their camp site then picked a handful of blackberries from the bushes opposite. Hopefully it should give him a bit of blood sugar to work with until this evening.

"Rem?" she called, walking into the cave and stashing her bow and quiver away. "Remus? You awake?" She found him at the back of the cave where they kept their firewood pile which was suspiciously bigger than when she had left it this morning. Remus was sat in front of it, sorting out the kindling from the bigger logs for when they started the fire later.

"Hey," he said, looking up at her as she walked towards him. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon. Any luck?"

"Got a hare," she replied but glared at him. "You should have left the fire wood to me. You need to rest. The moon's tonight." Remus only rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head as he continued to sort the wood out.

"I'm fine," he said although the tremor in his hands and the paleness of his skin suggested otherwise. He looked worse than yesterday already despite the brave face he was putting on. Lily knew that this moon was going to be bad even if Remus didn't want to admit it to her.

"Here, drink that," she said, handing him the cup. "And you better eat those berries too." He looked at the berries cupped in his hand, worrying his bottom lip.

"But aren't you hungry?" he asked.

"I'll get my own, don't you worry," Lily told him. "Now get that down you before I make you." He smirked at that, knowing that Lily wouldn't make him do anything if it came down to it. If Lily had one weakness, it was how much she loved Remus Lupin. She would do anything if it meant he was safe and well and without pain for once in his life. Unfortunately, there wasn't a thing in the world that could make Remus better. But by God Lily would try.

"I'm going to make some stew," she said to him. "You want to come out and get some fresh air?" Remus snorted.

"Lily, we live in the woods," he chuckled. "I'm forever getting fresh air."

"Alright, good point," she conceded. "I meant, do you wanna come sit outside with me? We should probably get a fire going then get you ready for tonight."

The two left the cave and, once the fire had got going, Lily started stewing the meat from the hare. She tried to hide it, but she was watching Remus carefully out of the corner of her eye. 

Ever since they became friends, Lily had always been protective of Remus. Their families had lived in the same neighborhood and used to be good friends. It was actually the Lupin's who first noticed signs of magic in Lily, and had explained patiently to her parents what it meant. She and Remus were only five at the time, but their magic was strong even at that age. It was clear to everyone that they'd both receive their Hogwarts letter when they turned eleven, learn magic and take the world by storm.

But everything had changed when Remus got bitten. 

Remus' father, Lyall, had somehow angered a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback. Greyback had sworn revenge and, one night, broke into the Lupin's house. He murdered Hope and Lyall where they stood but decided a much crueler fate was in store for Remus. That's when he bit him and ran off into the night. Lily would always remember the next morning when Remus turned up bloody and half dead at their door. Her parents had taken him in, of course they did, but they quickly realised that helping Remus during the full moons was much harder than they had ever imagined. They tried their best though and, even if their lives were far from perfect, it was okay. 

Lily's parents died in a car crash just before she turned eleven. Shortly after, the Ministry came for Remus. They had just passed a new werewolf act ordering all werewolves to be rounded up and contained in what they called 'secure environments'. So Lily did what she had to do. In a moment of pure rage, her magic exploded from her like a protective force field. The Ministry officials hadn't expected it and where blown off their feet. 

Lily grabbed Remus and ran.

They had been homeless ever since, moving from place to place constantly to avoid being caught. Lily didn't regret her decision. Sure, it would have been nice to go to Hogwarts and learn magic. But Remus was much more important to her than any of that. He'd stuck by her side through it all, even six years later. 

"Here," Lily said, portioning off some stew into a wooden cup and handing it to Remus. "Eat up." He took the cup gratefully, tentatively taking small bites. She frowned, knowing his lack of appetite definitely couldn't be a good sign. This was going to be rough night. 

She spent the rest of the day busying herself around their campsite and making sure Remus didn't tire himself out too much. He was much too stubborn for his own good, something that Lily both adored and was frustrated by at the same time. Soon, the sun began to set and Remus shakily stood up. "We should get ready," he said softly. Lily nodded, moving towards him and throwing his arm around her shoulders. Carefully, they made their way back into the cave, all the way to the back. She sat Remus down against the largest boulder, making sure he was comfortable and settled before reaching behind the rock for the heavy iron chains. As gently as she could, she wrapped the chains around Remus' wrists and ankles and then the boulder itself, effectively anchoring Remus in place. This was the one thing on earth that she hated more than anything. Having to tie Remus up and leave him there for the werewolf to take over...it was the hardest thing she had to do.

"I think you're all good," she said, crouching by Remus' side. He yanked on the chains experimentally, satisfied that they would keep him contained. 

"You should probably go," he whispered to Lily. "The moon will rise soon." She smiled softly at him, trying her best to remain positive. 

"I'll see you in the morning," she replied, kissing him gently on the forehead before standing up and making her way out of the cave.

On full moon nights like these, she would often sleep outside by the fire. Remus said that if she was in the cave, the wolf would smell her and would become more violent as a result. She hated the thought that she could put Remus in more danger so she stayed away, as much as it pained her to do so. Walking towards the fire, she collapsed down onto her pile of blankets and curled up with some stew, watching the moon rise in the sky. Remus' screams began soon after and Lily squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to block them out. She could not go in there. She couldn't help in any way. She just had to wait until morning. 

And that killed her.

***

Lily didn't get much sleep that night. 

It didn't help that the wolf was howling and snarling all night. But even if it wasn't, Lily wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. She lay awake, staring up at the moon, sick with worry. Once again, she wished that she could find some way to cure Remus. Some way that stopped his suffering. 

As soon as the moon set and the sun began to rise, Lily was already up and moving towards the cave. She hurried in, dragging a blanket, water and some food with her just in case. As she descended into the darkness, she suddenly became aware of the sickly scent of blood that penetrated her nose. The cave seemed even colder than before, the air still with tension. Lily started running. Something wasn't right.

When she reached Remus, she had to choke back a scream. He was lying on his side, his body twisted grotesquely. His clothing had been ripped to shreds, his body covered in huge gashes that ran deep. One particularly nasty one cut across his nose and cheek, severing his right eyebrow. Even from where she stood, Lily could hear the rattling of her friend's breathing in his chest. She ran forwards, falling to her knees by Remus and frantically checking him over. Her hands shook as she desperately tried to put pressure on his wounds. 

"Remus!" she cried. "Remus, please, say something!" 

But Remus didn't move. 

She didn't know how to fix this. This wasn't like anything she'd treated before. She knew she needed help, but where was she meant to get that? A muggleborn witch and a werewolf on the run were not welcome anywhere. She was about to start crying in despair, sure that Remus was going to die here, when she heard voices from outside the cave. 

Rising quickly to her feet, she picked up a stray rock, clutching it between her fingers. Someone was out there. Had they come for Remus? Had they heard him during the full moon? Lily didn't know who it was, but she did know that they weren't about to hurt Remus. Charging out of the cave, she raised  the rock and threw it at the newcomers. The first one yelped aloud as the rock flew past his head and tumbled across the grass just behind him. He went scrambling back to the second boy just as Lily had picked up another rock and lobbed it again.

"Merlin's beard, girl, stop throwing rocks at me!" he yelled.

"Get away from me!" Lily screamed, brandishing a third rock in his fist. "Back away now!"

"Alright, alright!" the second boy cried. "It's okay, it's okay! We're not going to hurt you! Just put the rock down!" Lily glared at the two, focusing in on the first boy who's glasses shone in the dawn light. Both boys looked about her age, dressed in smart clothes and holding wands in their hands. They were probably Purebloods, she was almost sure of it. What they were doing all the way out here though, Lily didn't know.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "How did you find us?!"

"It's alright," the first one said, holding out his free hand in a surrender motion. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Answer the question!" Lily spat.

"Right, sorry about him," the second boy said. "He tends to get distracted by pretty girls."

"Sirius," the first boy hissed but was apparently ignored.

"I'm Sirius," the second boy introduced himself, sliding his wand into his pocket. "Sirius Black. And this is James Potter. Sorry, we didn't mean to stumble across you. You see, we were just exploring at came across your camp. You're a muggleborn, right?"

"What's it to you?" Lily said cautiously.

"Thought so," Sirius replied. He took a few tentative steps forward. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you said 'us' a minute ago. Is there someone else here?"

"Stay where you are!" Lily threatened, raising the rock again. "Don't come any closer!"

"Listen to her, Sirius!" the first boy, James, said. "Don't push it." He turned back to Lily. "Look, we are sorry about this. We really didn't mean to come across you. Our parent's house is just through these woods. We like to explore through here sometimes. We weren't expecting anyone to be here."

"Your parent's house?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, it's just over there." James pointed to the east. Biting her lip, Lily slowly shifted her gaze between Sirius and James. She didn't realise how close they were to a Pureblood house. She should have been more careful. But then again...it might be a blessing in disguise. With Remus so badly hurt, Lily knew she needed help. Help that maybe only Purebloods could get. But would they turn them into the Ministry? She glanced back towards the cave, remembering the sight of Remus' blood splashed across the rocks. He needed her. He needed help. Whatever came of asking for it, she'd deal with it later. 

"My friend," she started slowly. "He's injured and not well. He needs help." Sirius' eyebrows quirked up. 

"Your friend?" he asked. "Where is he?"

"In the cave," she replied. "Look, I don't normally do this, but he needs medical attention. Potions and things like that."

"We can help him," James said quickly. "Mum's a healer. She can cure him, I'm sure of it." He started moving forwards but Lily took some nervous steps back.

"If you hurt him," she threatened. "If you try and hurt us, I will kill you. Don't try anything with me."

"We just want to help," Sirius said. "As much as we might look like it, we're not like those other Purebloods. We don't think any less of people. You're safe with us." Lily bit her lip. She hated this risk. It was too much, too soon. But she had to think of Remus. Remus was the only thing important right now.

"Alright," she conceded. "Follow me."

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Hiya my lovelies,

Very sorry for the massive long break I had. Between COVID and school, I was just so overwhelmed. This has been in my drafts for months now and although it's nowhere near the quality I would like it to be, I wanted to post something for you guys. So here we are!

I do hope you enjoyed it!

Love y'all!