Strawberry Kisses

James Potter stood by the steps to the boys' dormitory, arms crossed as he waited impatiently for someone to trigger the prank that he and Sirius had set for the common room. It was April Fool's Day, and one of their last, so naturally they gone all out with another spectacular pull on the common room: they had carefully charmed the ceiling to rain down tropical fruit and the wireless to break into reggae music as soon as someone said the magic words. So far, no one had mentioned Merlin's beard yet, so the party had yet to begin.

Lily Evans entered and James frowned. Something nagged at the back of his mind, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. He glanced around, thinking he needed to do something, but before he could, a group of fifth-years swore and triggered the charms to begin. The ceiling exploded with kiwis, mangos, papayas, and other tropical fruit, and the air was filled with the sound of steel drums and Bob Marley. After an initial gasp of surprise and a few irritated shouts as fruit splattered here and there, the common room burst into a joyful celebration—laughing and dancing.

James saw Lily cover her head with her arms and frantically make her way back toward the steps to the girls' dormitory, but she was hit on the face with several strawberries the size of small melons. The terrified look in her eyes reminded him of what had been bothering him mere moments before: Lily was extremely allergic to strawberries.

He rushed toward her, pushing his way through the laughing Gryffindors, desperate to protect her. She was coughing as she tried to reach safety, but no one seemed to notice her distress. Eyes wide with panic, Lily suddenly fell to her knees as she struggled to breathe.

Pulling out his wand, James cast a Shield Charm to keep any more of the offensive fruit from hitting her. Yet by the time he had gotten through the dancing, cheering crowd, Lily was laying on the floor at the bottom of the steps, eyes closed and lips blue.

Raising his wand toward the ceiling, he cried, "Finite!" The fruit stopped falling, the music stopped playing. The Gryffindors muttered good-naturedly about the abrupt end to their fun. Suddenly incensed that no one had seen Lily collapse—and that he hadn't thought about her deadly allergy before the prank—James cast a Vanishing Charm. His anger lent him power, and not only did the fruit disappear, but so did just about everything else in the common room: tables, chairs, books, bags, and even some robes. The students began to complain loudly.

Kneeling next to Lily, James pointed his wand at her chest and murmured, "Rennervate." She did not awake, and his fear doubled with the thought of what he had unintentionally done to her. He was relieved to feel a fluttering pulse, but she was still not breathing. Trying to remember what he had learned in one of their weekend hospital wing classes, he pinched her nose and blew several breaths into her swollen lips. He stopped to listen and tried again.

By now everyone had stopped to stare at the scene by the steps. Several girls gasped and began to cry. Suddenly Remus was next to him, looking at Lily with a mixture of fear and sympathy. "She'll be okay if we can get her to the hospital wing right away. Madam Pomfrey has a shot for her there."

James didn't even stop to question how Remus knew what to do; he figured it was probably a Muggle thing. He picked up Lily and snarled at people to get out of his way as he hurried toward the portrait hole. A trail of silence followed him as he carried one of their own, seemingly lifeless, through the stunned room. When he got to the portrait hole, Sirius pushed it open, his face pale.

"Prongs, I'm so—"

James barely acknowledged his friend as he left the common room and began to run as fast as he could toward the hospital wing. He wasn't angry at Sirius; he was mad at himself.

"Come on, Lily," he whispered as he ran, his lungs burning with the effort. "Don't leave me now. I can kiss way better than that."

Lily's eyes fluttered. "Doubt it, Potter," she murmured. "You're just a prat."

James didn't know whether to laugh or cry with relief. He continued down the corridors, hoping that when Lily pulled out of this she would not only forgive him, but let him prove it.

And he vowed he would never pull a prank like that again.

~FINIS~