She was freezing.

James had never seen someone shake so violently in his whole life—not even when Sirius was a big black dog shaking the water off his back.

She was turning a light shade of blue—bailey noticeable—but it flashed quite horribly with her red hair. That was when James decided to take his invisibility cloak off; he immediately forgot the reason why he was wondering the corridors late at night.

"Evans, are you alright?"

Lily didn't seem to hear him, or she simply, couldn't care less.

"Evans, seriously, why are you shuddering like that?"

The girl with soaking red hair continued to wonder down the hall in a daze.

It didn't take long for James' panicked strides to catch up with Lily, his hand grasping her shoulder—it scared him terribly when the warmth of his palm met a frozen slab of meat and bone.

Taken aback, James pulled his hand away.

Was this even Lily?

This couldn't have been the Lily Evans that always had something to say—she would have never let him touch her.

The girl in front of him started to sway a bit like a drowsy drunk; her head lulled gently to the side, hair covering her face like a sheet of red.

Taking a hand, James lightly pushed her hair to the side, his fingers getting tangled in wet messy locks. The heel of his palm was pressed against her forehead, and underneath the freezing skin was a burning sensation. This girl's forehead was on fire, and he didn't need a nurse to tell him what that meant.

"Lily!" James snapped his voice to try and get a reaction.

After a few seconds, the freckle lidded eyes started to flutter open, and that's when James' heart stopped.

Those green sapphires that glared at him, yet glowed with laughter—that told him double meanings when her words were harsh, and that begged him to say just one more word to her when she was about to walk away—they were dull.

Her eyes were so dull that James had to stop himself from trembling as well. They were the color of dead moss, and so cloudy that James wanted to keep on yelling her name in hopes to try and cast the fog away.

This was undoubtedly Lily Evans.

Without warning, the sudden panic shocked his stomach with a jolt, and James was suddenly fully aware of his situation.

James grasped onto both of Lily's hands tightly, hoping to smother them in the warmth of contact.

"Lily, you're freezing, you're literally ice—bloody hell—you have a high fever. What do I do Lily? You'd know what to do in this situation."

James started to mumble useless words as he tried to warm up Lily's arms and shoulders. He raked his head for what to do, and it came crashing toward him like a Bludger to the head.

James pulled his wand out of his back pocket and pointed it at Lily—this was then he noticed his hands were quivering with nerves.

"Exaresco," James murmured.

Lily's hair absorbed the water like a sponge—leavening it a frizzy lions mane, and it evaporated from her clothes quickly, but her skin was still clammy and frozen.

It helped a bit, but dry clothes were not going to thaw Lily out; this ice sculpture needed to melt.

Without a second thought, James grabbed Lily's hand and started to gently pull her toward him.

"Lily, follow me, okay? You can do that—I know you can," James forced a smile trying to reassure her.

The dull eyes never looked up at him, but as James pulled, Lily followed.

James couldn't exactly remember where he needed to go, but his feet seemed to move in the right direction while his mind continued to panic. Everything looked exactly the same, and he soon felt like he was going in a circle.

Give James Potter any other situation than this and he would have been able to find his way blindfolded and skipping backwards.

It wasn't in till they finally reached the fifth floor that James took a relieved breath. He squeezed Lily's hand again—he seemed to be doing this often—as if to reinsure himself that she was still there.

Lily's hand was still clamped tightly around James' grip, and she made no move to rip it back, yelling about how sweaty his hands were—he wished she had.

James only used the Perfect's bathroom once when he heard about the swimming pool sized bathtub—Sirius tried to convince him to throw a pool party. Afterwards, when James brought this up jokingly to Lily, she threw her hands in the air declaring that Sirius was madder than a hippogriff in mating season.

It was eerie to think back on that—that girl seemed so far away, but the horrible truth was, James was holding her hand, yet Lily Evens never seemed so distant.

"Honey Blossom," The doors to the bathroom swung open, and James' heart leapt. He hadn't figured out what he'd do if they changed the password.

Once inside, James finally let go of Lily's hand and it slowly returned to her side.

James had to clench his hand into a fist a few times to try and wear off the stiffness that grew in his fingers. He wiped the built up sweat on his pants.

The moons bright light shined through the stained glass windows making Lily's skin glow in an alluring —almost haunting manner. The pattern of the colored glass danced across her skin, and it nearly brought her back to life.

For a split second James allowed his mind to wonder to Remus and the reason why he was out in the hall with his invisibly at night—to make the monthly preparations for Remus' "furry little problem".

To think that if he hadn't done so, no one would of found Lily wandering the halls alone at night; it had to be one of the worst feelings that sat at the pit of James' stomach.

James picked the first few bath tabs and turned them on, running his fingers under the water to make sure it was the right temperature. Whether or not this was going to actually help Lily, he couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but at the time, it was the smartest thing James thought he could do.

The water filled up remarkably fast, and James looked down into his own reflection; staring back at him was a scared looking boy, and next to that boy stood a red headed husk of the girl he cared for so deeply, though now she looked a bit better.

Lily seemed to be looking into the water as well—they locked eyes through their reflections before James stood up and turned to face her.

He couldn't be scared; he had to be strong for her.

"Here Lily, the warm water will make you feel better."

Lily seemed more alert than before, maybe the steam from the water was already helping, but as she looked at him, her eyes read uncertainty. Looking at the situation in a third point of view, James understood why.

"You can trust yourself around me, okay? I would never let anything bad happen to you—I'll keep my back to you—I promise, this will make you feel a lot better."

James grabbed her hand, and Lily followed.

The tips of Lily's pale toes dangled off the edge of the marble floor. James waited for Lily to make any movement of going into the bath, but she just stood there, with her hand in his.

James thought maybe Lily was waiting for him to turn around, so he tried to let go of her hand and walk away, but Lily wouldn't let him—she was holding on. He looked down at their cuffed hands, squeezed tightly, and pulled away.

The warm bath water gushed into his shoes as James lowed himself in—hitting to just about his bellybutton—his pant pockets filled up with water making them look like mini flotation devices.

James looked up at Lily and stuck his hands out for her.

When Lily touched the water you could almost see her skin jump. The warmth of the water brought out the blue veins that ran down the forearms of her pale freckled skin.

The Steam started to fog up James' glasses, and after a few times of rubbing the lenses on his shirt, he took them off.

The blurred figure of Lily engulfed James' vision, and on impulse, he pulled her closer to him so he could see the outline of her features.

Lily looked up at him—the color was coming back to her lips, and a smile formed on his.

"You look better already Lily."

Lily still looked disoriented, and hadn't uttered a word since James found her. The more the steam filled his mind, the more he realized there was more to this whole situation.

It had to be a spell or a curse that was making her like this; perhaps on her perfect duty, she found someone, and in an attempt to get away, they aimed their wand at Lily and yelled a curse.

It made James' blood boil, but being livid wasn't going to help anyone— especially Lily. He had to focus on the matter at hand.

James' hand fumbled out of the bath, and after his palm furiously making contact with his glasses, his fingertips brushed against the glass vase filled with bath salts he had seen prior.

Poring all that was left of the bath salts into the water, the aroma of lavender filled his nose, and the water became almost a form of liquid silk—which made James' skin feel smooth.

The silky warm water filled the vase as James held it underwater with both hands. Gently, he held it up between himself and Lily—water slushing out the sides of its wavy edges.

"Lily, I know you must think this is crazy—you can yell at me all you want after this is over—I'll be very glad of that, but I'm going to pour this water over your head. You know how good a hot shower feels when you have a stuffed up head? Well, your heads pretty stuffed up right now… stuffed of what, I have no idea, but this should really help. Do you trust me? Just—just close your eyes and lift your head up for me, okay?"

James cradled the vase in his arm as he curled his fingers under Lily's chin, gently lifting it upwards.

Her neck was exposed and beads of sweet shined off her snow-white flesh. James always loved her ivory skin; it made her so apart from the others.

Before pulling his hand back, James let his thumb gently trace her jawline, leaving behind a trail of prickly skin.

As quick as it happened, James cursed himself as he coiled his hand back.

He couldn't be doing things like this to her.

Lily sits here vulnerable—her lifeless body resting in the palm of his hands—and here James is, letting his own yearning get the better of him.

Instead, James pored the vase of water over his head—ramming his emotions back down to the pit of his stomach, where they have been since the loading dock of The Hogwarts Express at the start of this year.

Lifting the once again full vase with one hand, James placed his other on top of Lily's head; so he wouldn't accidently knock her with the edge of heavy glass.

The wavy edges pressed into the top of his hand as the water slew though his fingers; engulfing Lily in warmth.

James slicked her hair off her forehead and carefully watched the droplets of water drip off her golden eyelashes.

With hair pushed back, James was able to see two small pearls that rested on both of Lily's earlobes—he'd never seen those before, and it was almost exciting discovering something new about her.

Usually, Lily was hidden behind her tousled hair that framed her face.

After a few more vases of water, Lily's eyes fluttered open, and they stared up at him for quite a bit of time. All James could do was stare right back—swallowing down all his questions and frustration.

This was all James could have ever wanted, Lily. Lily not yelling at him; Lily standing here next to him; Lily standing here next to him in the perfects bathroom.

He hated himself for even thinking these things—especially at a time like this, but whenever he touched her, pushed her hair back, or held her hand, James' stomach leapt to his throat.

This was only the body of the girl James had admired. The part that made him see a shimmer of hope during the time he felt most alone in this world had been taken somewhere, somewhere before James had found her.

Though, James felt like he lost Lily along time ago; this year wasn't hard because of academics.

When James' mind would wander to that summer night with the Marauders, he'd always asked himself if was really worth it, and now, he knew the answer to that question more than ever.

James and Sirius roared with laughter.

Peter had shoved a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean up his nose.

Covering one nostril with his thumb, and a quick blast of air out his nose, Peter had shot a slimy bean at Remus' head.

Alone in the company of his three best friends, Remus took one angry look at Peter, and then joined in the harmony of James and Sirius.

Sirius wiped away laughter induced tears, "Wormtail, you could take out a group of Slytherin's with that aim!"

This caused them all to cackle harder at the thought of Peter launching nose beans from across the great hall.

"What do you think is slimier; Pete's nose beans, or Snivellus' hair?" James quipped.

Sirius joined in, "Maybe Snivelly washes his hair with Wormtails snot!"

"I start my weekly regimen off by blowing my nose into Snivellus' conditioner bottle!"

The three submerged themselves again into a fit of giggles while Remus shook his head at them.

"Come on guys, I thought we were over this—it's not funny anymore."

James pushed himself up from his laughing position to lightly slap Remus on the back, "Oi! Lay off it Moony, this is just between the three of us—we're done pranking that slime ball," James grinned at Remus' unsure face, "Besides! I never said anything to Snape about not causally bringing him up for laughs with my best mates."

This seemed to be all the reinsurance Sirius and Peter needed because they nodded their heads in agreement.

Remus made an unsure noise from the back of his throat, "I know, but..." he shrugged his shoulders.

Sirius tossed a chilled glass bottle in Remus' direction, "Have some firewiskey mate and relax! This is going to be our sixth year at Hogwarts, I say we're allowed to be our old immature selves again every once in awhile!"

"Exactly my point Padfoot!"

"Though," Sirius took a big gulp from his firewiskey bottle, "I'd stop talking about Snivllus, if James stopped talking about Evans."

Peter agreed, "I'd drink to that!"

Remus was the one this time to start laughing as he raised his bottle up in accord.

James started to grow red in the neck, "Way to turn this around Sirius—you talk about girls all the time!"

"Ha! Don't even try and relate this to me James—it's been how many years? And you're still hung up on this one particular red haired Gryffindor."

"Yeah, it's called being in love!"

Sirius' laughter almost turned bark-like, it wasn't deep and warm like it usually was, but more in a mocking one-syllable tone.

James clenched his firewiskey bottle in his hand—the cause for the twos sudden tipsy behavior—"Sod the fuck off Sirius! I never heard you," he turned towards his other two friends that seemed to want no involvement in the current quarrel, "or you two bitch about this before!"

"Because we thought you'd eventually pull your head out of your arse and see the light of day!" Sirius grew defensive out James' sudden outburst

James' grimace grew darker, and before he could reply, Remus put himself between the two—his body being a barrier between the two tidal waves that were about to crash into each other, "Relax you two! Maybe we can try and talk about this like adults rather than with the alcohol on our breath—let's all calm down, okay?"

Sirius stomped off swearing under his breath, but eventually came back, patted James on the back, and told him how he felt.

"Lily is like bad medicine for you," Remus explained, "You leave to go talk to her and always come back defeated—I think you'd make her more happy if you just left her alone for awhile."

The look on James' face made Remus squirm in pity, so he quickly added, "The quote 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' is famous for a reason…"

Sirius join in—this time much calmer and with a cup full of pumpkin juice, "Try to pretend she doesn't even exist this year and see how much your mood changes. We've only got a little bit more time at Hogwarts; enjoy the things you've missed out on before it's too late. I miss my best friend."

James' friends talked some scene into him; deep down he knew more than they did that what was being said was true.

And that night James Potter swore off Lily Evans for good.

"And for some miraculous reason Evans comes crawling on her knees, begging for you to be with her—then by all means mate, be with her; you have my blessing, but no more following her around like a lost puppy, getting constantly kicked in the face."

Well, this was sort of like that.

"You're going to be okay Lily, I promise."

James could try and take her to Madam Poppy—he should have done that in the beginning, but he wanted to be her hero, to help her. James just thought Lily needed a warm bath to unclog her head, but now he could of made this whole situation worse.

Lily did look a lot better though; color started to appear on her face, she looked more alive than dead—and her eyes… they seemed to be…

James' breath hitched at the back of his throat.

"Lily…?"

The mossy eyes that were scanning the room landed back onto him.

"Lily… do you know where we are?"

A small sympathetic smile slowly formed on Lily's face—James had to look closely to see it.

Lily understood—she was responding—she was getting better; she wasn't going to leave him.

James gently placed both shaking hands on her shoulders and peered into her eyes. He licked his lips a few times, trying to swallow down his inner voice.

"Can you speak?"

The small smile was now pressed into a thin line. Those beautiful green eyes were less hazy, but immediately, they looked distressed. James got his answer.

"Don't worry Lily, were going to get you out of here—with a nice warm towel."

James was trying to keep his composure, but once he let go of Lilly's shoulders, his hands seemed to move with a mind of their own—they shook and darted uncontrollably—his heart was trying to push its way down his stomach, and out of nowhere, James forgot how to breathe.

James was breaking down, but Lily was going to be okay.

James was losing it, but Lily was gaining it all back.

To try and tame his hands, James balled them into fists at his sides—before his attempt to leap out of the bath, his soaked clothes trying to pull him back down.

James' world was spinning all because of this girl—why hadn't he acted like this before?

Now that Lily seemed to be okay the grip on James' heart loosened—allowing his blood to flow—allowing all his senses to grasp at everything that was going on.

Allowing James to properly freak out.

He couldn't let himself react like this before; Lily needed him calm and collected. She needed him to be the person in control. His mind was at command to Lily in her time of need.

Now equipped with a towel and his glasses back on, James put his hand out to Lily.

When her fingers grasped around his wrist, James lifted Lily up gently, putting one hand behind her back for support.

Finally, James wrapped the towel around her shoulders like a cape.

Both their bodies created a puddle around them that grew bigger by the second.

"Exareso."

Lily's hair frizzed up again, and under all of it sat a girl that looked up at James with eyes he had never seen on her before—they looked confused, yet almost amazed by what was going on like a child seeing fireworks for the first time.

The hairs on the back of James' neck stood up when Lily slowly presented him with her towel. He first stared at it dumbfounded, then realized he was still dripping water onto the floor.

Even after everything that happened, James' cheeks were bright red.

Mumbling under his breath, James casted the drying spell on himself as well.

Lily could always make James feel embarrassed; his ears would turn red, and his hand would automatically shoot up to the back of his head. It had been awhile since he'd done that.

Maybe if James didn't try so hard to avoid her this year none of this would have happened.

What this was though…James had no idea. Yet his mind was telling him to apologize for turning the other way in the halls when he'd see her before class, or finding an interest in his text book whenever Lily answered a question, and that one time she actually came up to James about an assignment; he casually shrugged his shoulders and went back to talking to Peter.

"James?"

Whether James jumped out of his skin or not could be debatable, but there was no question that the rims of his eyes started to burn when a talking Lily stood in front of him.

James shoved his hands in his pockets to avoid the urge to pull her to his chest and hold her tight.

"James, what the bloody hell is going on?"

This response was quite odd, and James had no answer for her question other than to stare back at her, bewildered by her harsh tone.

notes:
Wow, thank you for taking the time to read this! That's crazy!
This is my first time ever posting my work, and I still might end up freaking out and taking it down—congratulations on reading it before that happens!
I apologize for any spelling and or grammar errors; I'm dyslexic. All of this is just me trying to get better and grow.

Check out part 2 for the ending!