. . . another blow hits ya
Somebody else gets what you wanted again . . .
"Ok, now that she's out, what are we gonna do about our fair James here?" Iris stood up from her seat and ruffled James's hair. Sirius looked mutinous. James blushed and stole a glance at the unconscious Lily.
"Well, I think Wormy had the right idea. He shouldn't have a wand." Remus nodded decisively.
"Yeah, that was a good idea." Sirius put in. "I never would have thought it of you, Pete." Everyone laughed and Peter rolled his eyes.
"Ok then, James." Iris spoke to James. She stood at attention and made a strict face. "Staaaaaaaaand up!" James stood at once. Iris turned to Kylie for help with her policewoman charade.
"Stand up and put your hands against the wall." Kylie pointed her wand at James. He did as he was told.
"Remus," Iris said importantly. "Do the honors." Remus stood and took James's wand from him, then proceeded to pat James down. Peter let out a squeaky giggle and Sirius fell on the ground laughing. Last year, Kylie had introduced the Marauders to Muggle crime novels. She'd grown up loving them, and had showed them to Remus, and he passed it one to the rest. Iris and Lily already knew about the standard police pat down, thanks to Lily's Muggle family and the amount of times Iris had visited her house.
Remus finished with James, having uncovered half a dozen dung-bombs, two broken quills, a folded piece of paper, two stink pellets, five tiny rolls of parchment and a rather mushy chocolate frog.
"What's with the minis?" Giggled Kylie, the tiny pieces of parchment rolling around in her hand.
"It's something my dad taught me." James explained, sitting back down next to unconscious Lily. "You shrink the parchment so that you can carry a bunch of it and never feel the weight or run out."
"That's genius!" Iris took one of the minis and weighed it experimentally in her hand. "Very smart." She complimented.
"Just one question," Said James as everyone got up and prepared to leave. "What are you guys doing with my wand and stuff?"
"I'll hold onto it," Said Remus. "I never loose anything." He dropped the small pile of debris into his pocket.
"All you boys must have abnormally large pockets." Remarked Kylie, stretching.
"What do you mean?" Asked Remus, sliding James's wand up his sleeve.
"How did James fit all of that stuff in his pocket? How did you fit all of his stuff in your pocket?" Iris caught on to Kylie's question at once.
"I dunno." Remus shrugged. "Okay, then. Let's go." Remus held the door open for the group.
"Who knows? Maybe we'll run into Snivellus." Sirius fingered his wand mischievously.
"Maybe we'll meet the new prefects." Kylie smiled shyly at Remus. The two had met and bonded over their jobs as prefects. Remus blushed.
"Maybe you'll get lucky!" Said James suggested sarcastically.
"Merlin's pants!" James exclaimed. "Prefects!"
"What?" Asked Iris, the smile whiping itself right of her face. "What is it?"
"God! I just remembered why I was trying to find Lily! I knew she was the Gryfindoor head-girl and I had to find her before going to the meeting!" James moaned. "Now we'll have missed it."
"No problem." Said Kylie, calmly. "We'll stop at the heads' compartment on the trip and see if we can get some notes for you."
"Thanks." James waved good-bye as the door shut behind Remus, Kylie, Peter, Sirius and Iris. James sighed as he slipped into the seat across from Lily. She slept peacefully and he suddenly felt awkward. Am I seriously watching her sleep? He asked himself, turning away and facing the window instead. Soon, he grew bored and closed his eyes.
About an hour later, he was woken by a loud bump as the train went over a lump in the track. Lily stirred in the seats across and sat up as James rubbed his eyes. James crept over to her, and she woke with a start.
"James?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion. She lifted her arm, and yelped in pain, Slowly, she set her arm back on the seat.
"What-?" She began and then stopped-
Lily's hair pulled painfully at her scalp, she screamed in pain. Blinded, she tripped over her bag and fell against the wall, loosing consciousness.
"Lily!" The voice echoed in her searing head.
"I tripped." She finally understood what had happened to her and she said that? What was wrong with her? She looked up at James.
"What?" He asked, agitated. "Here, you have to take more of this." He tried to sound soothing, but came across as more drunk-on-fear.
"Wait-no-what?" Lily blanched.
"Huh?" James cocked his head, the potion in his hand.
"Wait, we have to talk; No, I will not take that potion; and what, what's happened while I was asleep; and," She added suspiciously, "What have you been doing?"
"Ok, two can play at that game, what do we have to talk about; why won't you take the potion; the others went exploring; and I've been asleep too." James shot her a smile to mask his terror: Lily seemed delicate enough to break.
"We have to talk about where the others are; I don't' want to be asleep right now, and, um . . . what was it? Oh, let's just stop this!" Lily blustered, blushing. James grinned.
"I can beat you at your own game, huh, Evans?"
"My name is Lily, you arrogant toe-rag." Lily made a face at him and tried to sit up.
"Don't!" He almost yelled.
"What?" she asked innocently, sounding almost frightened.
"Don't move." He put out a hand to touch her, and then pulled back. "Don't hurt yourself."
"Oh no, I'm so not taking that stuff." Lily glared with a repulsed look at the bottle James held.
"Why not?" There was pain in his voice, something buried deep inside.
"I hate thinking that anything could happen and I wouldn't know. I couldn't do anything about it." Her voice broke.
"Look, I will not let anything happen to you. Promise." He placed his hand on her face, and she was powerless. He poured the stuff down her throat and she lost consciousness.
About an hour later, James was snoozing on the other side of the compartment when he heard a soft cry.
"Ja-ames!" Lily called. "Jim-jams!"
"Huh-whoassat-what-Lily?" James fell off the seat and pointed a wand at the ceiling.
"Whoa, were did you get a wand? They took yours!" Lily asked suspiciously. "Wait," She moved her uninjured hand to her belt. "You took my wand!"
"No, I borrowed it." James smirked and twirled the wand between two fingers.
"Yeah, well, right." Lily groaned. "How am I supposed to keep you from giving me more of that stupid medicine?"
"You're not. That's the point." James approached her and uncorked the bottle again.
"No! James, please?" Lily made puppy eyes at James, who was holding the purple liquid up to the light.
" James." Lily knew that if she could get James to look at her, she could bend him to her will.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly, pursing his lips. "But you're in pain otherwise."
"Please?" She looked straight at him.
"Stop it." He muttered. "You're trying to make me do what you want. It's not going to happen."
"James?" He finally looked at her. And he fell for it.
"Fine, you have half an hour awake, and then say hello to the 'stupid medicine'." James put said medicine down on the windowsill and flopped down next to Lily.
"Well, thank you." Lily sighed. "I wonder what the others are doing."
"Maybe they ran into someone."
"Maybe they got lucky." Lily chuckled.
"Yeah," James laughed. "Hey, wait- you were supposed to be asleep!" He sputtered.
"Well, the sleepy stuff kicked in right away, but I heard snatches of the conversation." Lily blushed.
"Well, in that case, you deserved to loose your wand!" James laughed.
"Ha ha." Lily smiled ruefully.
"Hey, no need to mock, we both know I'm hilarious." James raised his eyebrows and shot some sparks out of Lily's wand. Lily frowned.
"What? Oh, yeah, your wand. Sorry." James handed it to her.
"That's just it. You could be half decent." Lily turned away.
"Wait, what? I am so more than half decent." James lifted her chin with two fingers, making her look at him.
"You do something nice, and I think maybe you might be somewhere close to decent, and then you just expect that you can go ahead and be big-headed again. It makes me sick." She made a face and pulled away.
"Well, I'm sorry I make you sick, as you honestly can't get much sicker. I think I'll send a patronus to the others." He added as an after though.
"You can do a patronus?" Lily raised her eyebrows, distracted from her anger.
"Uh-huh." James felt in his pocket for a wand, and came up empty.
"Ha ha." Lily grinned over at him, extending her wand.
"You'd let me use your wand after I took it from you?" James widened his eyes.
"Good point." Lily teased, pressing the wand into his hands.
"Thanks," He flicked the wand. "Expecto Patronum!" He exclaimed. Three silver stags erupted from the end of Lily's wand.
"Your Patronus is a stag?" Lily asked.
"Yup. What's yours?"
"A doe." Lily glanced out the door of the compartment, watching people scatter and stare at the silver animal.
"Really?"
"Yes, why?" Lily turned to him in exasperation.
"Oh, nothing, it's just that's also Snivillus's." James sat down next to the reclining Lily.
"Sev?" Lily looked surprised.
"Sev?" James made a gagging face and clutched his throat.
"Hey!" Lily wrinkled her nose. James laughed.
"You're cute when you're annoyed." He smiled.
"I'm cute all the time!" Lily laughed.
"That's a little over the top." James said sarcastically, shaking his head.
"Well, think of it as a taste of your own medicine." Lily said triumphantly.
"Too true. Speaking of medicine, it's time for yours!" He tapped his watch.
"No!" Lily covered her mouth with one hand.
"It's been at least forty-five minutes." James sighed, grabbing the potion off the sill and sitting beside Lily.
"Please?" Lily made a face.
"Sorry," James said sadly, placing a hand on Lily's shoulder and poring the potion into her mouth.