The Chase(r)
Chapter 3

Everything was frozen.

Every single pair of eyes was glued to the two figures, suspended in air. Even the players had stopped to watch in anticipation.

Lily's knuckles were white, clutching Mary and Remus's forearms.

He could not get hurt.

The Bludger was hurtling towards him, blasting a path through the air. He was only just realizing what was happening, but too late. He was still focused on getting rid of the Quaffle and he barely had a second to spare as it was.

He was going to hit.

The world was still as James dropped the Quaffle to Marlene and turned just in time for the Bludger to hit him square in the chest.

The air rushed out of every person in the stadium just as it had been crushed out of James. Everyone stood still as James began to slide off the end of his broom in slow motion.

As he fell, one eerie sound erupted from the silence.

"JAMES!"

Lily's voice rang throughout the stadium boldly, bringing people out of the shock of the impact.

Lily leaned over the railing of the stadium, desperate to help. Time moved exceptionally slowly as she pushed through the crowd, trying to get to the staircase down.

She barely noticed Remus, Mary, and Peter on her heels. She didn't hear Dumbledore shout "Aresto momentum!" towards James' falling figure. She couldn't see the Gryffindor team, suddenly kicked back into gear, inches away from catching the Snitch and preparing to fly down to their fallen teammate. All Lily knew was that James could not get hurt.


James had a millisecond to watch come at him, the Bludger suddenly right in front of him. The Bludger collided with him, collapsing his ribs and crushing all the air out of him, adrenaline taking its place.

He was falling unconscious.

But he fought it. He still had a game to win.

He began to slip under again, but he held on long enough to see Marlene catch the Quaffle and Sirius ahead, open for the pass.

He slid off his broom. His eyes closing, he was engulfed in unawareness.

He imagined Lily screaming his name, his world turning black, leaving him behind.


Lily reached the field entrance just as Demascus Weasley caught the Snitch. She sprinted to James, her cloak billowing around her as she ran. His body was only slightly mangled from the fall, the Bludger's impact the real damage.

Lily was still screaming his name as she ran up to him, Mary and Remus on her heels – Sirius, Marlene, and the rest of the team just dismounting.

Lily felt like she was moving in slow motion, she couldn't move fast enough, the weight of possibility holding her back.

She slid to her knees when she reached him on his left, adrenaline pumping, heart racing. The rest of the group converged around him.

His black hair was genuinely windswept and his glasses were slightly askew.

"Oh Merlin, James." Lily said under her breath. "James, wake up!"

She felt like crying. Her heart was banging about in her chest. She didn't know what she was feeling. He could be seriously hurt! She hadn't even had time to put her feelings into coherent thoughts! But oh Merlin, why had he taken that Bludger? Surely he could have found a way to dodge it! She would have hit him in her frustration had he not been extremely injured. Instead, she reached out to him, remembering the possibilities of his injuries, and gently straightened his glasses.

James, what have you done to me? She thought.

"C'mon, mate. Wake up," Sirius whispered from Lily's right.

"James," Remus said, across from Lily.

Gradually, James began to move. At first only his fingers twitched, causing Lily to grasp his hand. Sirius and Remus looked at her, then at each other curiously, but she was too worried to care.

Then he began to cough, his breathing suddenly difficult. Professor McGonagall appeared, pointing her wand at his throat, causing his airways to clear and his choking to stop.

James turned his head a little and his eyes slowly fluttered open.

He awoke to Lily, Sirius, and Remus huddling over him protectively, and a dozen more people behind them. The concern on their faces was odd; he was fine—

He inhaled.

"Ow!" James shouted, causing a commotion around him. "Merlin."

James tried instinctively to lift his hand to his chest, but he stopped when he noticed Lily holding it.

He looked at their hands folded together on his stomach. James lifted his eyes up to her beautiful green ones. Lily didn't meet his eyes, but her cheeks turned pink in acknowledgement. She held on to his hand as she inspected his injuries, a curtain of perfect red hair falling down from her ear. James smiled.

He regulated his breathing and tried to speak again.

"What happened?"

"Well, you sort of got creamed but that Bludger, mate," Sirius said.

James rolled his eyes. "I meant the match."

"We won," Remus said. "Weasley found the Snitch just after you fell.

James relaxed.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked quietly.

James looked at her intensely, finally meeting her eyes, trying to understand.

"I am now," he said, his tone almost equal to hers. She thought she saw his eyes flicker towards their hands.

"You are not okay, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said. "How many ribs do you think are broken?"

"Four or five," he responded, not taking his eyes off Lily.

"Com on mate, let's get you to the hospital wing," Remus suggested.

"No, I think I'll stay here, thank you."

Lily rolled her eyes and tried not to smile.

"Let's go, James. You're hurt."

She called me James.

"If you say so, Lily."

He called me Lily.

Under McGonagall's supervision, Sirius and Remus lifted James up so he stood between them. They carried him up to the castle with his arms draped around their shoulders for support.

Lily, Peter, Mary, and Marlene followed behind them. They discussed the game or the fall, except for Lily, who walked quietly, trying to make sense of her feelings.


A/N:

HELLO!

So this was originally the chapter thing I posted, and now it actually might make sense as chapters 1 and 2 are also up! Weee!

Thanks for reading and please review! :)

(working on chapter 4.) (yay.)