Chapter 9: The Ride of Prongs
The light of the moon was shining across the grounds, and Lily was standing terrified, unable to move, as the werewolf slowly moved towards her. But James couldn't move; he was helpless as the werewolf advanced on Lily, as it grabbed her, as it slowly tore into her perfect body…
"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!" James woke up screaming, tossing and turning in the hospital bed. Sweat was running down his face and his hands were shaking uncontrollably. Madam Pomfrey ran out of her office.
"Mr. Potter, what is wrong? Are you okay? Calm down, Mr. Potter!"
"I'm okay… I just had a nightmare… I'll be okay."
"Well, if you're sure. Try to get some sleep, Mr. Potter."
James fell back into his bed, trying to calm himself down. It wasn't true, anyways. He had saved Lily; she was going to be okay, even if she never wanted to see him again…
James rolled over and buried his face into the pillow. I lost Lily! He started pummeling the mattress with his fists, trying to release some of the emptiness and horror inside him. But nothing he could do would change the fact that he lost the girl of his dreams, the girl he thought he couldn't live without, the girl he loved with all his heart. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
Then he sat up. He was James Potter. He wasn't going to give her up that easily. He loved her, after all, and he never backed down from a challenge. He would go to her, he would make her understand, and he would get her back.
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James didn't get out of the hospital wing for over a week. It took that long for Madam Pomfrey to convince herself that he was going to be okay. But as far as he was concerned that was okay, for he figured that the longer Lily had to think things over the more receptive she would be towards forgiving him. And he secretly wanted her to have plenty of time to worry about him. Maybe it would help her realize that she really did love him if she thought he might not make it.
When Madam Pomfrey finally released him on Monday morning (she had held him up for one last check up) James headed reluctantly down to the potions lab. He was already late, and he wasn't sure he was ready to see Lily yet.
Sure enough, when he walked in and headed to his seat in the back he saw Lily look up at him briefly. She turned bright red and then buried herself in her potions book, refusing to look up for the rest of the class. When the bell finally rang signally the end of class, James raced after Lily's quickly retreating form, trying to catch her.
"Lily…" he called desperately after her, fighting his way through the crowd.
But she was long gone.
This continued for three days. Three days of torture, as far as James was concerned. He was even more useless than he had been before he had got the girl. He had dreamed about her for so long, and then he had had her. And it had been even more amazing than he had dreamed possible. And now that he had he couldn't imagine going back to life without her. He had to get her back, no matter the cost; he would make her understand, make her forgive him and take him back.
But first he had to catch her…
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By Wednesday night he had enough. He waited anxiously outside the portrait hole for her to return after dinner, determined to catch her this time. But he had learned caution; he was hiding down the hall so that she wouldn't see him and bolt as soon as she did as she had been doing for the last three days. When she finally came around the corner he raced forward, grabbed her arm, and, ignoring her sputtered protests, he dragged her down the hall until they were alone.
Even though she was fighting against him as he held her, Lily still refused to look into his eyes. He thought that this was because she was so angry at him that she didn't even want to look at him, but he was wrong. Lily was refusing to meet his gaze because she knew that once she did her resolve would disappear. Her mind was still angry at him for lying to her, still convinced that the relationship could only end in heartbreak, but her heart was telling a different story. And she knew that if once she allowed herself to look into his hazel eyes then the weakening protests in her mind would stand no chance.
But James did not know this. He did, however, know that he needed her to look him in the eyes so that she could read the truth: that he loved her and would never hurt her.
To this end, he took both her arms and shoved her back against the wall so that she had no way out.
"James! Let me go! I said I never wanted to speak to you again!"
"No, Lily. I love you, and I am going to force you to hear me out." She was bright red and angry, but she was stuck, and she knew it.
"I am sorry that I lied to you. But you have to understand, if I had told you I would have had to told you why I was an animagus, and that would lead to Moony's, well, his 'furry little problem', and that is not my secret to tell." There was pleading in his eyes, though she couldn't see it. Pleading that was running underneath all of his words. "I will never lie to you again, Lily. That night, when I thought I was going to lose you, I promised myself that I would never put you in a situation that could get you hurt because of my stupidity. I promised myself that I would never lie to you again."
She wouldn't even look up at him, and James got desperate; he had to make her look at him.
"Lily, please. I can't stand to lose you. I thought I was going to lose you that night and it nearly killed me, I can't go through that again. Lily, please look at me…"
Tears were running down Lily's face as she fought within herself.
"Lily, I love you more than life itself, and I can't lose you." The hands that were holding her in place began to shake with uncontrollable emotion. "Please, just look at me…"
She slowly brought her head up until her eyes were looking into his. And deep in his hazel eyes she read the truth. He really did love her, and he would stand by his promise. He would never lie to her again. She could see that. And finally, Lily realized that she could trust him. She realized that she never wanted to be without him again, and that he would be there for her, no matter what, that he would never leave her.
Lily slowly reached up and placed her hands on the back of James' neck. She brought his head down to meet hers and responded to the look in his eyes by a kiss on his lips. James responded in kind, and for several minutes the only thought in his mind was the sheer joy of having Lily back. But then he pulled back from her, a sly smile on his face.
"Lily…" he whispered.
"Yes, James."
"Get on."
A devilish grin broke out on his face for a few brief seconds, and then standing in his place was a beautiful white stag. Lily laughed with joy, and pulled herself onto his back. She grabbed onto his neck as he reared onto his hind legs, and then they took off through the castle.
They escaped out the front doors without anyone noticing—good thing, too, for Lily didn't know how she would have explained the large stag she was riding—and then James took off around the lake. He seemed to know the grounds better than even Hagrid did. Probably because of the many nights he had spent wandering around during the full moon. And even though it was dark and late, Lily felt no fear, for she knew that James would protect her from anything.
He took her on a ride around the lake and through some of the less scary parts of the forest, and then brought her to a secluded grove of trees on the far side of the lake that she didn't think she had ever seen before. Once there she slowly climbed off of his back and watched as James appeared once more in front of her.
"Thanks for the ride, Prongs." She smiled at him as she took a step towards him.
"Now you know how I got the nickname." She laughed, and then looked down shyly.
"James, I… I love you."
"Oh, Lily…" he grabbed her hand and puller her to him. He wrapped one arm around her waste and used the other to gently tilt her head up so he could look into her eyes, those beautiful green eyes. Slowly, he brought her up to meet his mouth.
Wow, Lily thought, I should almost get killed more often if this is how he kisses me afterwards. But that was all the thought she was allowed, for James was demanding all of her attention. He had never kissed her so deeply and so passionately before, and it was wonderful. But soon he pushed her away from him.
"James, what's wrong." He was holding her away from him.
"Lil, I think we should stop there. Let me just hold you, okay?" She smiled at him. He is so sweet! He sat down and pulled her down to sit curled up in his lap. He slowly stroked her hair as she rested her head on his chest. And the only thought in his mind was that he had to be the luckiest man in the world, for he was with the most beautiful creature in the world, and she loved him.
And so they sat all night, with their hands entwined together. In the early hours of the morning, Lily began to shiver with the cold, and James folded her in his arms and conjured a large warm blanket around them. He buried his face into her hair and whispered into her ear,
"Lil, I never want to be parted from you again…"
She turned her head and looked into his eyes. And for the first time in seven years James looked into the green orbs of his dreams and saw there that his love was finally reciprocated.
"Well, Mr. Potter, I'll have to see what I can do about that." She grinned, and digging her hands out of the folds of blanket, she reached up and wound her fingers into his wild and unruly hair, messing it up even more. He stared transfixed into her eyes as she grinned mischievously and turned herself around so that she was straddling his waist and had her face inches from his own. "I do believe that it is about time you kissed me."
James didn't need to be told twice. He pulled her into him even more and sought her mouth with his own. After several minutes she pulled away a fraction of an inch and whispered,
"So, never going to lie to me again, are you?"
"Are you kidding? Never! You sure do have excellent ways to motivate a guy, Miss Evans…"
"You ain't seen nothing yet…"
A/N: I know that some of you didn't like Lily's behavior in the last few chapters, but this will be explained shortly. She had good reasons for believing James would leave her and hurt her, and she needed to learn that she could fully trust him before she could admit to being in love.
