A/N: As promised, the next chapter! Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter; you guys really put a smile on my face.
I hope you readers like where this is going. I don't like the idea of Lily and James being enemies most of their seventh year. So, I thought I'd try them being friends.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.
Murphy's Law
But it was too late. I could hear the sickening crack of the Bludger on Alice's skull. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she slid from her broom, plummeting towards the ground.
"Alice!"
Screams erupted from the pitch as people began to notice. The Gryffindor team began looking around, confused. The Slytherin team didn't really care.
James saw her first and started a steep dive.
"He's not gonna make it," I gasped as I clutched Marlene's arm.
"He has to," cried Marlene, on the brink of tears.
James managed to catch up to Alice, and managed to gracefully slide her onto his broom. He immediately started slowing down and pulling up. The other members of the Gryffindor team hovered around him, acting as spotters for the unconscious Alice. Madame March was already hurrying onto the field, a little bed levitating beside her. Madame Melvyn had focused her attention on Flint, and was now screaming at him and gesturing wildly. My guess was that he'd receive a Quidditch ban for the rest of the year. Served him right.
Marlene and I were on the field by the time James touched down.
"No one touches her," ordered March sternly. "I don't know the extent of the head injury." She made a complicated little gesture with her wand, and a neck brace materialized.
Marlene burst into tears when she saw the brace. I wrapped my arms around her as I stared at Alice. She had to be okay. I couldn't imagine going through the year without calm, rational Alice. She was the one that kept us both straight. If she was gone…
Cue the tears and hysterics.
"You'll have to wait to see her, girls," said March sympathetically. "I'll send for you." She turned and gently guided Alice off the field.
It seemed like an eternity, but Madame March finally sent for us. We'd explained the situation to the teachers and had been excused from class. We were sitting outside the hospital wing, waiting for Madame March's okay. As soon as she opened the door, Marlene and I raced in.
I almost burst into tears again when I saw the ugly, white bandage wrapped around her head. March noticed my distress and said, "Her head injury is not severe. She'll be fine."
I nodded and sat down. We held her hands for an hour until the Quidditch team cautiously poked their heads in.
"Only two visitors at a time, dears," she reprimanded. Marlene nodded and got up. "I need to get to class," she murmured. "I'll see you later?"
I nodded again and she left, letting James take her place. "Thank you," I whispered.
He shook his head. "I was just looking out for my teammates."
"Thank you anyway." I stood up; now that I'd seen her and knew it wasn't serious, I felt better about leaving. "I'll see you at patrol tonight?"
"Yeah."
That night's patrol was a disaster. Now, normally my patrols with James were pleasant affairs.
…Okay, so the first few were slightly awkward. But we'd settled into a pattern that I'd gotten used to. Hell, I'd started to look forward to them.
We met in the Entrance Hall, like always. I felt much calmer about the whole Alice situation; I was just quieter than normal. I'd discovered that when I was upset about something, I would clam up. Alice would rationalize and use logic, and Marlene would soon become hysterical. I just bottled everything up until it all blew over. I'm not sure it was the best coping mechanism, but it seemed to work.
James, I soon figured out, liked to pretend nothing was wrong. He was currently griping about Gryffindor's performance during the Quidditch match.
"I honestly thought Ericson was up to the task! I must have overlooked something, cause he could barely block anything out there. If he doesn't shape up, I'm going to need to replace him."
I'm getting flashbacks of Amos and that disastrous date. At least James' rambling meant that I wouldn't have to say anything.
"I'm just glad Alice managed to catch the Snitch when she did. Though honestly, it would have been better if she'd caught it a little later; we could've used a safety net."
"You dare criticize Alice right now? She caught the Snitch at the right time, and we won. Let's leave it at that!"
"Sorry, I'm just saying that everyone could have played a little better today."
I rounded on him impatiently. I did like Quidditch, but sometimes the lengths to which some people took it sickened me. "Alice is seriously injured and is in the hospital wing right now, and you're going to gripe about her playing? She could be dead right now!"
James wisely decided to keep his mouth shut after that.
We wandered down a hallway that was prone to affectionate couples after hours. James checked behind a couple tapestries while I threw open the doors of a nearby broom cupboard. Nothing.
I leaned against the windowsill at the end of the hall and gazed out while James completed his tapestry search. The full moon illuminated the grounds with its silvery light, giving everything a shadowy, mysterious feel. A few trees in the Forbidden Forest swayed ominously in the slight breeze.
James came up behind me and peered over my shoulder.
And swore loudly.
"James! What the hell?"
'Look, Lily, I'm really sorry, but I need to go. Right now."
"What? Why?"
He chewed on his lip in anxiety. "I can't tell you."
Um, excuse me? "What do you mean?"
"I just-I really need to leave right now. Can you cover for me?"
He wasn't going to tell where he was going, and then he expected me to cover for him? "I don't think so. Just tell me what's wrong."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
Now he looked really anxious. He was shifting his weight from foot to foot and was inching down the hall. "I really wish I could tell you, and believe me, if I could, I would. But it's not my secret to tell!"
"Now we're dealing with secrets?"
James stared at me resignedly with an exhausted look in his eye. "This is killing me right now, Lily."
"Well, it's not killing me," I lied. "I really thought you'd changed; that you actually wanted to mature. But I can see now that it was all just a ploy to cozy up to the Head Girl. What, you thought being in my good graces would help get you out of trouble?"
James looked down at his shoes for a moment, and when he lifted his gaze to meet mine, his expression was fixed in a stony stare. "I really did want to be your friend, Lily. I see now that it might have been a mistake. I don't want to be friends with someone who doesn't trust me. And this is something that requires your trust." And with that, he turned and quickly strode down the hall. Before he reached the end, he turned. "Oh, and Lily? It's not a prank, I can assure you. I haven't pranked anyone since fifth year. But then, you've been too busy hating me to notice." He rounded the corner, and out of sight.
I cannot believe I'd been so gullible. I was so quick to swallow his lies about growing up and wanting to know me. This was just like him! I knew I'd made a mistake the moment he'd offered the truce. And the nerve he had, yelling at me, as if this was all my fault! He was the one who was skiving off patrol for some illicit activity!
But as I trudged back to my dorm, I realized that his betrayal hurt more than I thought it would.
What was the saying? Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong? Oh yeah, Murphy's Law.
…
Screw you, Murphy.
That morning, I discovered a lollipop on my desk. A note was attached.
I'm sorry.
I snorted and crumpled up the note before tossing it in the trash. I looked at the lollipop hesitantly, not sure what to do with it. It was a gift from that traitor, but…it was a lollipop. I couldn't get rid of perfectly good candy! Torn, I threw in my trunk for later.
I resolved to visit Alice during my first free period. Unfortunately, History of Magic came first. On a normal day I could barely focus on the topic, but now I barely heard a word Binns was saying. I mean, who really cares about the Kelpie Accords of 1764 when your friend's in the hospital wing, and your other friends turns out to be a total fake?
Not me, that's for sure.
As soon as class ended, I made a beeline to the hospital wing. I was one hallway away when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned slightly to see Sirius Black behind me. I ignored him. I definitely did not want to talk to Mister Troublemaker Extraordinaire right now.
"Lily," he said sternly, hurrying ahead to block my path. I stopped huffily and crossed my arms. "You don't know what's going on. You have it all wrong."
"Do I?" I asked in a tone that would set most people trembling. But this is the boy who stares down McGonagall almost every day. Of course he was unfazed.
"You thought it was a prank?" He took my silence as a yes. "Then where is it? Why hasn't it happened yet?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He was right. If it was set up last night, something would have happened by now. Though, it could be planned for later. But the Marauders were not known for their patience.
He smirked at my crinkled up forehead. "Think about it," he said, patting my shoulder. By the time I had a retort ready, he was long gone.
Hey mouth? Yeah, you might want to work on your timing. Just a suggestion.
I shook off my thoughts and entered the hospital wing. I set my bag down next to Alice's bed and watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful; it was hard to believe what had happened to her.
"You're going to be fine," I whispered. Alice didn't stir. Madame March had assured me that Alice was not in a coma; it was just easier to repair herself when she was asleep.
Which sounded suspiciously like a coma to me.
I started as my gaze fell on Remus Lupin, then berated myself. James had told me he was sick; of course he was in the hospital wing. I made my way over to his bed.
He looked a little better than he had the past few days. I studied the potion on his bedside table to see if I could tell what was wrong with him.
The concoction in the jar was unlike anything I'd seen before. It was the color of mother-of-pearl, with swirls of gray shot throughout. The potion was constantly in motion, swirling and twisting around. A faint blue smoke wafted out, and the whole thing smelled bitter. The description sounded faintly familiar, and I wracked my brain to try and figure it out.
Mother-of-pearl…faint blue smoke…
Holy hell.
Remus was a werewolf.
James must know. They were best friends.
Yesterday was the full moon. Which meant that when James took off without warning, he was leaving to help Remus. And I'd just blown up at him.
Merlin, I was an idiot.
I tore through the halls of Hogwarts trying to find James. After a complete circuit of school, I was on the verge of giving up when I poked my head into the library, Lo and behold; he was sitting at a table near the back. I had almost reached him when he saw me coming. A flash of annoyance crossed his face, and he fixed me with a stony stare.
I strengthened my resolve and took the seat right across from him. He barely acknowledged me.
"I know."
His quill stopped moving across the parchment and his head slowly lifted up. "Know what?" he asked in a carefully controlled tone.
"I know why you left last night."
James' expression became panicked. "You can't tell anyone! He's not dangerous at all, he's never hurt anyone!"
I snorted. "Who do you think I am? I couldn't care less! Remus is still my friend. I just wanted to apologize to you. I blew up at you, and that wasn't fair."
He grew calmer, but remained wary. "About that…" He sighed and set his quill down. "I'm not going to say it's fine, because it's not. I've worked really hard to be friends with you; for you to see who I really am. I was really happy that it didn't take very long for us to be friends, but what you said last night…it really hurt, Lily. Have you been thinking that the entire time?"
I pondered this. I hadn't really spent a lot of time on my suspicion that he was using me. I'd thought of it first when we became friends, but it hadn't crossed my mind since. I think I was using it as my trump card. If he hurt me, I could just say it was because he was using me, not because I cared about him. I was still worried about others' opinions. I'd spent six years hating one James Potter, and know we were friends? I didn't want to be seen as soft.
"Look, Lily," James said, interrupting my thoughts, "friendship takes trust. I need you to trust me. If I say I can't tell you something, you have to be okay with that. Alright?"
I trusted Alice and Marlene; maybe it was time I trusted him. Relationships were built on risk. It was time I legitimately took one with him.
"Alright."
He smiled at me.
"How in the world do you help Remus? Doesn't he attack you?"
"Lily…"
"Right, trust. Got it."
A/N: Yay! Everything's all worked out. I'm about halfway done with the next chapter, and you know how to get me to write it: review!
Everyone excited for the premiere of HP 7 part 2? I know I can hardly wait! Even though I know I'm going to cry at the end.
