Visits, a harry potter fanfic

Title: Visits
Genre: Romance/ Hurt/ Comfort
Pairings: James/Lily, Marauders and Lily Friendship
Word Count: 3,867 words
Summary: The four times Lily visits a Marauder in the hospital wing and the one time they visit her.

Lily turned around once her Charms lesson started, confused by the quietness that had engulfed the classroom the moment Professor Flitwick entered. Usually, Potter and Black had either started disrupting the class by opening their loud mouths or playing a prank on their fellow classmates, Severus being the most targeted one.

The third year student subtly looked around and furrowed her eyebrows when she realised that neither Potter nor Black was in the classroom, and when she scanned the room once more, she realised that neither Remus nor Pettigrew were around either. She turned back to pay attention to her teacher, shrugging when Severus looked at her questioningly.

"The Marauders aren't here," she mumbled and he smirked. Lily raised her eyebrows at her best friend. "It's too quiet."

"It's peaceful," Severus snorted and Lily sent him an annoyed glance. "I heard this morning that Lupin's in the hospital wing. Maybe he had a rough night yesterday. It was a full moon."

Lily rolled her eyes at Severus' insinuation and tuned him out, unwilling to listen to another round of how Lupin was a werewolf and that he should be expelled from the school. Truth was, she liked Remus. He was friendly and kind, so unlike his companions. Lily made a mental promise to make sure that Remus was alright.

When she reached the hospital wing later that day, she stopped short at the sight in front of her. Remus was on the hospital bed, sleeping peacefully. If not for the way his chest rose and fell, Lily would have thought he was dead. The scratched and bruises on his face and those along his arm that she could see frightened her. What had Remus been involved in?

If the image of Remus' close to mangled face had not shocked her, then the image of his three friends would have. She had never seen them so broken and so quiet. Pettigrew sat at the edge of Remus' bed, his eyes glazed as he kept wiping them so that neither Potter nor Black saw that he was close to breaking down. Lily's heart ached for him. On the right side of Remus, Black sat on the chair, his eyes closed as he rocked back and forth, muttering about finding a solution. Lily felt her heart sink at that. A solution for what? Was Severus' claim about them true?

She turned her attention to Potter next. He stood at the window, staring out of the window with a lost expression on his face. She found herself walking towards him, wanting, for some reason, to make him feel better. As much as she disliked Potter, she had to admit that he was a loyal and protective friend. Seeing Remus that way was probably killing him.

"Is he okay?" her voice sounded timid to her own ears. Almost immediately, the three Marauders sprang up from their spots and Lily resisted the urge to throw a sarcastic comment. "Well?"

Potter cleared his throat. "Madame Pomfrey said that he'd wake up in a few hours. He needs the rest after what he went through."

"And what did he go through, exactly?" she asked, curious as she made herself comfortable on the other side of Remus.

"None of your business, Evans," Black replied coolly and Lily narrowed her eyes at him. Black rolled his eyes and Potter sat beside him and continued staring at Lily, as though he could not believe that she was with them, and that she was not cursing him. Deciding that she would get more out of Potter than Black, Lily raised her eyebrows at the prankster.

"He was practising one of the advanced spells and it went wrong," he said and Lily crossed her arms across her chest as she gave him a sceptical look. A few minutes later, when she realised that that was all the explanation she was getting, she huffed.

"Fine, don't tell me then," she scoffed and rose from her seat. Potter looked a puppy that had just been kicked when she grabbed her bag. She rolled her eyes at him and dug through her back, smiling when she found what she was looking for. "Give these to him when he wakes up. He told me once that they always make him feel better."

"Thanks, Evans," Potter's voice was soft as he took the three chocolate bars from her. She nodded at him, silently glad when he did not offer a remark his cocky self usually would, and mumbled a goodbye to the other two.

As she left the hospital wing that day, she could not help but glance back at the scene before her. Black and Pettigrew still staring at Remus as though they were afraid that if they looked away, Remus would be gone, while Potter put his hands on his two friends, trying so hard to hold it together.

She realised three things that day. Firstly, that the Marauders really were amazing friends. Secondly, Remus might really be a werewolf (something she confirmed a week later but never told Severus because she did not want to see the smug look on his face) and last but not least, maybe the Marauders were not as invincible or unbreakable as they made people believe they were. Maybe, just maybe, James Potter was not as bad as she thought.

The last thought only lasted for two days because as soon as Remus was out of the hospital and the Marauders were back to their usual selves, Potter sent her a singing Howler at lunch to ask her out again.

She had set the Howler on fire and told Potter that she would rather eat dung than go out with him and had sent a flock of owls after him when he offered her a Bertie Bott's dung-flavoured bean. Secretly though, as Potter ran from the Great Hall, she was glad that the haunted look she had seen in his eyes, in all their eyes, was gone.

The next time she visited a Marauder in the hospital wing was in her Fourth Year and it was to visit Peter. She had seen what those groups of Slytherins had done to him and was just about to intervene when Potter and Black had stormed up the corridor and fought for their friend. From her hiding spot, she'd Disarmed a few of them, fuming when she realised that Severus was one of them.

The Gryffindors ultimately won when Remus joined in not a few moments later. When the three of them had turned around to make sure Pettigrew was okay, they'd been shocked to see the boy shaking as his knees gave way. Potter had been the one to catch Pettigrew as he fell and Lily had rushed to them, immediately levitating Pettigrew as they brought him to Madame Pomfrey.

Thankfully, Pettigrew had just been in a state of shock. When asked what the Slytherins had done or said to him, Pettigrew just shook his head fearfully and insisted that it was no use repeating it.

"I just want to forget it," Pettigrew had said quietly and his three friends had looked at each other and nodded, as though they were silently agreeing to give him some space. Lily was amazed at how fast Potter had changed the subject, and how well Remus and Black had adapted to the change. Pettigrew had been stoic at first but gradually got more involved in their conversation, unable to resist his friends.

Feeling like an intruder, Lily slowly and quietly slipped out of the hospital wing. She saw it right then. It was them against the world. For a long time, she had thought Peter to been a tag-along on the group. After all, as much as it killed her to admit it, Black and Potter were the geniuses behind their pranks, as well as the strong brave ones. Remus was the calm and collected one in their group, the one who tried and (almost always) failed to get them to see sense.

Pettigrew, Lily realised that day, was not a tag-along. He was the little brother of the group, the one the other three genuinely felt protective over. He was not the fourth wheel in their friendship and nor was he just considered a pest they could not shake off. He was, and always had been, one of them.

"Evans!"

She spun around and came face-to-face with Sirius Black. Lily looked at him questioningly.

"Thank you for being there just now, Evans," he softly mumbled after a few moments and Lily raised her eyebrows at him. "Your best friend was one of them and yet, you fought for Peter. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiled at him and stopped once again when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She turned to him again, this time confused when she saw the hesitant look on his face. "What is it?"

"You do know that Snape is bad news, right?" Black asked her, and though Lily could see that he was genuinely concerned, she stilled and her face hardened.

"That is none – "

"I know that, Evans," Black rolled his eyes and tutted at her as though she was a child. "I was just warning you. Continue being friends with a person who goes around cursing those weaker than him and you're just going to get hurt in the end."

She stormed away from him, too tired to deal with anything else for the rest of the day. But that night, as she thought about hoe furious Potter, Remus and Black had been when they brought their friend to the hospital wing kept Lily awake. The fire in their eyes, the way they had glared at her (even Potter and Remus) as though Severus and his friends attacking their best friend had been her fault, she could not help but rethink her friendship with Severus not for the first time that year.

It was the final week of her Sixth year when she hears from Marlene McKinnon that Sirius Black was in the hospital wing because he had been found seriously injured the night before. Lily's eyes had widened as she spat out the toast that she had been eating and rushed out of the Great Hall, not once noticing the glare Snape was sending her way.

She heard whispered voices as she approached Black's bed, her heart thumping faster as she listened on.

"I told you this was dangerous, James! I should never have let you three –"

"Becoming Animagi was our choice to make, Remus, not yours."

"James is right, Moony. Besides, I am going to be fine!"

She squeaked at what she had just discovered and gulped when Potter and Remus turned to her, startled at their visitor. Pettigrew was nowhere to be found. Instead of excusing herself though, she casted a sound-proof spell around them and glared at the three boys in font of her, one of whom was lifting his injured arm in a vain attempt to show her that he should be spared a lecture.

Lily, unfortunately for Black, was too shocked to feel any form of compassion.

"Animagi? Honestly!" she yelled in a whisper as she walked up and down the lane beside Black's bed. Potter looked around the room before cowering under her withering glare. "Out of all the stupidest things you've lot ever done, this takes the cake!"

She watched as James – no, Potter – looked worriedly at Remus. Remus looked even guiltier and Lily stopped pacing, suddenly understanding what was going on.

"You did this for Remus, didn't you?" she asked softly and all three of them looked at her, their eyes wide as they realised that she knew about Remus' lycanthropy.

"Wait, you knew?" Remus asked, his hands shaking, and Lily shrugged.

"I may or may not have put it together in our third year here," Lily admitted and grinned when Remus just looked at her, stunned. In his bed, Black just chuckled and gave her a thumbs up while James was looking at her weirdly, as though he was seeing her for the first time.

"Why - Why didn't you say anything?" Remus stuttered, his eyes wide in horror. Lilly had just shrugged again.

"Because it doesn't matter," she answered simply.

"Of course it matters! I'm a bloody werewolf!"

"Once a month. That's not enough time to make up for the rest of the time in which you are a wonderful person and a wonderful friend, Remus," she said calmly.

Black barked out a laugh at that and gave her a high-five while Remus sputtered in his seat. Potter was looking at her differently, his face softer than she had ever since, and his eyes filled with something she could not put her finger on.

"You really are something, Lily Evans," he gave her a small smile and Lily felt her heart warm up at his words.

For the first time in a long while, James Potter did not ask her out that day. Instead, the four of them had stayed at the hospital the whole day, joking and goofing around to take Black's mind off from the pain the Skele-Grow was bringing him as well as to stop Remus from feeling guilty.

And for the first time in a long while, Lily felt wanted and she felt like she truly belonged. She finally felt accepted.

She takes his pale hand in hers and squeezes them, hoping that even in the state of unconsciousness he was in, he would know that he was not alone. On the other side of his bed, Sirius is shaking violently as he takes in how pale James looks. Remus was seated at the foot of the bed, staring into space as though he was recalling something. Not for the first time, Peter was nowhere to be found.

Lily choked back a sob as she ran her free hand through his hair, praying that the next time she did that would be when he was awake.

This was not supposed to happen. The first Hogsmeade trip was not supposed to end that way. It should have ended with students gathering at the Great Hall for dinner, chattering excitedly about their trip and the things they got. Instead, it had ended with a Death Eater attack, with students injured and James jumping in front of her to protect her.

It had not even been their first date. They had just agreed to hang out as friends, as the Head Boy and Head Girl of Hogwarts. The attack never should have happened.

But it did happen. And James was hurt. And she had not even told him that she loved him.

Lily jumped when a hand placed itself on her shoulder and she looked up to give Sirius a shaky smile.

"You alright, Lils?" he asked and Lily just shook her head, tears blinding her eyes as she was pulled into Sirius' embrace. "He's going to be alright."

"I know," she sniffed. "But I just can't help but think about what would have happened if that spell had been fatal."

Remus gave her a sympathetic smile. "Lily –"

"I know I'm being stupid, okay?" she angrily wiped her tears. "But what if that had happened, Remus? What if I never got the chance to tell him that ever since Seventh Year started, I've started seeing him differently? That I've noticed how much he has matured and how crazy he makes me every time he does something sweet for me? What if I never got to tell him that I love him so much it hurts because I'm not even sure if he likes me that way anymore?"

"Those are big what ifs, Lils," Sirius squeezed her shoulder and she closed her eyes to stop the tears that were coming. "I can tell you one thing, though."

"And what is that?"

"He never stopped loving you. This past year has been about showing you that he's serious about you, that he's grown up," Remus answered and she shot both of them thankful smiles.

"Love is a really strong word, isn't it?" she asked.

Remus and Sirius just rolled their eyes.

"Maybe. But you have to admit though. Nothing between you and James is weak, is it?"

Lily giggled at that.

A soft groan emitted from the bed and Lily jumped as James stirred awake, his hand automatically reaching for his head as he clutched it.

"I feel almost as dizzy as I did when you punched me in Third Year, Lily," he complained and Lily laughed as she launched herself at him, missing the wink Sirius threw at James and the snort Remus made as the two left them alone, assured that their friend was alright since he was already making jokes about the attack.

James buried his face into the crook of her neck and Lily hugged him tighter. When she pulled away, she put her hands on his cheeks.

"Thank you for protecting me," she whispered and James shrugged.

"There's really no need for that, Lils," he smirked. "I mean, that's what friends do, right?"

Her heart sank at his words. Maybe Remus and Sirius were wrong. So instead, she plastered a smile on her face.

"Yeah, friends protect each other."

Her head throbbed and she groaned as she struggled to open her eyes. She blinked a few times to focus and could not help but smile at the scene in front of her.

On her right, James was tightly gripping her hand as his head rested against the mattress of the bed, his eyes closed and yet, the troubled way his lips twitched made Lily regret the worry she had caused him. On the left side of her bed, Remus was asleep too, the Invisibility Cloak acting as a pillow for him as he rested his head on her bedside table. Peter and Sirius were on the floor, the pillows they were using no doubt from the bed beside hers.

She took a moment to process the scene she was witnessing. A sense of peace engulfed her as she took in the sight of her boys, three of whom had become her brothers and one who had become someone so close and special to her.

The next few days were going to be tough. They were all going to be so protective of her, she knew that she would blow up at them sooner or later. Then again, she had given them a reason to worry, what with fainting in the Common Room a week before NEWTs. She had been so stressed over her exams that she had forgotten that her body needed rest too, that it needed certain nutrition and meals that she had foregone so that she could study.

Slowly, she raised her hand to stroke James' hair, giggling softly when his troubled expression calmed and he squeezed her hand. Their relationship had been complicated ever since the day James was attacked. Sure, they were still friends, but Lily was sure that as each day passed, they were getting closer. She was now sure that she loved him, and she was almost positive that he felt the same way. She found that weird though, considering that they were only friends.

"James," she whispered softly and he jerked awake, his pained eyes easing as he just stares at her and blinks. When he finally realised that she was really awake, that he was no longer dreaming, he let out a relieved sigh and wrapped his arms around her, effectively waking Sirius and Remus up at the noise he was making.

"Don't ever do that again," his voice was soft, yet stern and Lily could even sense a hint of anger. She put her hand on his face, an action she knew comforted him. "I should have made you eat more. I should have noticed that –"

"Yes, because everything is about you," she jokingly said and quietened down when the three of them glared at her. Not used to them being angry at her after such a long while, she tried calming them down. "I'm sorry I worried you guys."

"We thought you were smart enough, Lils!" Sirius exclaimed and Remus nodded beside him. Beside her, James remained silent, though it was obvious that he was on Sirius' side. "We thought that you needed time alone so you could study. We thought that you needed some peace and quiet so that you would not freak out during the exams. We thought you needed a break from us and your friends!"

"You are my friends," she corrected his statement and was pleased when the tension in Sirius' shoulders seemed to ease and Remus' stern look had softened. James, on the other hand, remained stoic. "And that is a lot of thinking. You sure your brain can handle any extra stress from the NEWTs after all that thinking?"

"This isn't a joke, Lily!" James barked and she jumped slightly, taken aback by the frustration in his voice. Even Sirius and Remus looked startled as Peter jumped awake, rubbing his eyes as he stood beside Remus.

"We'll give you two some time alone," Remus nodded at her as he shot a warning look at James. He was guiding a still sleepy Peter when Sirius walked towards her and flicked her forehead.

"Ow!" Lily moaned. "What was that for?"

"For being stupid," Sirius simply said and kissed her on the cheek. "There's only so many times I'll be able to do it."

Lily narrowed her eyes at the boy she now considered her brother. "Don't even think about it, Black."

Sirius just laughed as he left the hospital wing, leaving her alone with James.

"This isn't your fault, you know," she said softly and he turned to look at her blankly. "I'm the one who decided to skip a few meals."

"I should have noticed," he mumbled and Lily scoffed. She held out her hand, beckoning him to hold it.

"It doesn't matter," she smiled. "You still saved me by finding me, right?"

"And what if I hadn't, Lily?" his voice broke, the despair he was feeling breaking her heart. "What if I had not checked the Map and realised that you were nowhere to be found? What would have happened if I had wasted time trying to find you at Hogsmeade instead of the Room of Requirement?"

"It's not that serious, James. I mean – "

"You're kidding, right? You're in the hospital wing because you're malnourished!"

"You found me though. You saved me, James ," she smiled at him and the next thing she knew, his lips were on hers.

The kiss had been a furious one at first, as though he was attacking her and taking out his frustration at her. She responded gently though, allowing him to realise that she was not going anywhere. Slowly, the kiss turned gentle and he joined her on her bed. When they finally needed air, they broke apart, panting heavily and smiling at each other.

"About damn time."

"Get out, Sirius!"

A/N: So what do you guys think? Am I good enough to be a Harry Potter and James/Lily author? Let me know what you think in the reviews! thanks! :)