A/N: Enjoy!

Chapter 13

James's POV

The clean smell of the Hospital Wing burnt my nose as we stepped through the doors. I kept close to Severus as we walked through the room; I didn't know how many people were there and didn't want to bump into anyone.

"Mr Potter!" Madame Pomfrey's voice reached me along with the sound of footsteps coming over to us. "What have you done this time?"

"It wasn't his fault!" Peter protested. "Avery, Wilkes and Mulciber ambushed him in the corridor."

"Yes," Pomfrey hummed with disapproval. "I've already treated those three and you can guarantee that Professor Slughorn will be having words with them when they wake up."

"Rosier might be joining them soon," Remus informed her. "We ran into him outside, but Regulus is with him at the moment while he's waiting for Dumbledore."

Madame Pomfrey huffed in exasperation. "Honestly! Since you boys joined Hogwarts I haven't had a peaceful moment!"

"It's not our fault," Sirius told her with his 'I'm-so-innocent' voice. "Trouble just seems to find us."

"I'm sure," Pomfrey agreed doubtfully. "Minerva told me that you were coming to see me, Mr Potter. I was getting worried when you didn't turn up."

"Sorry Madame Pomfrey," I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly before sending a smile in Sirius's direction. "Trouble found me before I got here."

"I assume you wanted a check up on your eyes?" She asked. Severus led me over to one of the beds and I could hear the others settling themselves down around me. "And I'll sort your arm out too." She healed up the cut on my arm and checked the others over to make sure they weren't injured as well.

"I lost the final bit of my sight," I blurted out as she cast spells over my face.

"What?!" Sirius chocked. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

"I didn't want you hovering around me all the time," I muttered, keeping my head facing down. "I knew you wouldn't leave me alone if you knew."

"For good reason!" Sirius exclaimed. "Look what happened!"

"Mr Black," Pomfrey spoke up sternly. "If you can't keep your voice down then I will make you leave."

"He'll be quiet," Remus said quickly, no doubt shooting his prefect-look at him. "He's just concerned."

The Hospital Wing doors opened again before anyone could say anything else. Madame Pomfrey went to meet whoever it was while a pair of footsteps came in my direction. I could hear Pomfrey talking quietly to someone and then recognized Dumbledore's voice.

"James!" Lily cried, letting me know who had come in. "I was with Dumbledore when a portrait told him what happened. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Lily," I assured her quickly. "And at least now we know who was responsible for the explosion."

"I can't believe someone would do that on purpose," Lily sounded sick at the thought of it. "I was so worried when I heard that you were in the Hospital Wing after having two fights in one day!"

"I only got a small scratch on my arm," I told her truthfully. "Even blind I'm no match for them."

"And there's that Potter ego I remember," Severus said dryly. "I was wondering where it had gone."

I shot a smirk at where I thought he was but Pomfrey returned before I could reply. "You're right, Mr Potter. I'm sorry to say that you are now completely blind," she sighed sadly. "Other than that though you're fine and are free to go."

"Thank Merlin!" I exclaimed, climbing off of the bed with a grin. "I've seen more than enough of this place."

I began to walk towards the doors without any help. I'd been in the Hospital Wing so many times over my years in Hogwarts that I knew it as well as my dorm room. In fact, I probably knew it better than my dorm room since there were always random items on the floor in the dorm. The others followed me after a moment's hesitation. Thankfully, none of them tried to lead me, though I knew that there was a person at either side of me in case I needed any help.

"You're completely blind now?" Lily repeated quietly. "When did that happen?"

"This morning," Severus answered from somewhere to my right. "Apparently he didn't feel the need to tell anyone of this latest development."

"Let's go to the Room of Requirement," I interrupted, unwilling to listen to them discuss how irresponsible I was. "Maybe we can start that training."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Remus questioned hesitantly. I smiled as I realized that he was on my immediate right and wondered who was on my left, I guessed it was Sirius.

Proving me right, Sirius spoke up from my left as he took hold of my sleeve and pulled me slightly to the side before letting go again. I guessed that he'd directed me away from another suit of armour. "Haven't you had enough 'training' today?"

"Those two fights just prove that I need to know how to defend myself," I argued stubbornly. "When better to train if not when I can remember what it feels like to be in a duel while blind."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Lily spoke up. "You need to rest and recover."

"You heard Pomfrey," I responded. "I'm perfectly fine."

"No you're not!" She shouted. "You're blind! You need time to come to terms with that all over again now that you've lost all of your sight. You might not feel it now, but soon the fact that you can't see anything is going to hit you."

"In case you've forgotten," I said through my gritted teeth. "I lost my sight fully hours ago. I've mourned the loss and I'm ready to move on now."

"I'm just trying to help, James," she murmured, moving so that she was stood in front of me and held my wrists in her small hands. "I'm sorry about what happened to you."

I basked in her comfort for a few milliseconds before my frustration lashed out. "I don't need your apologies!" I pulled my arms away from her and glared at where I knew she was. "And I certainly don't need your pity so why don't you just leave me alone?!"

A strangled gasp escaped from her as we stood in silence and then I heard the noise of footsteps racing away. Instinctively, I knew that it was Lily that had run away and my heart twisted guiltily at the thought.

Lily and I had always had an explosive relationship; she'd hated me from the first time we'd met and I'd returned the feeling until Third year when I realized that I was in love with her. Since then we'd argued more than ever before; she'd been forever throwing insults and hexes at me while I had just continued trying to show her how much I cared.

Admittedly, I'd given as good as I got when she'd insulted me in the past, but I tended to just accept her anger and pretend she'd never said anything. Since the accident that had taken my sight, it was like our roles had reversed; I was trying to push her away while she just wanted to help me.

The problem with that was that I'd taken her role as the one with the explosive temper, but she hadn't taken mine as the calm one. Instead, what we'd been left with were two people who couldn't stop lashing out at each other even though neither of us meant any of it anymore.

"Well done," Severus congratulated me sarcastically. "You've just managed to upset the one person you've been trying to win over for over six years."

"I didn't mean it," I groaned, scrubbing my hands over my eyes. "She just seems to bring out the worst in me lately."

"You don't need to tell me that," Severus patted my back and gave me a push forward. "Go tell her, and for Merlin's sake don't shout at her."

"He can't go after her on his own," Sirius protested.

"The people who would have targeted him are either unconscious in the Hospital Wing or detained in Dumbledore's office," Severus responded calmly. "His only problem will be finding her without falling down the steps."

"Wormtail," I reached out to try and find him, smiling when he stepped forward and took hold of my sleeve. "Come with me to find Lily. You can read the map and help me walk around, as long as you leave once we've found her."

"M-me?" Peter stammered in surprise. "Of course I'll go with you, Prongs."

I purposely stepped on Sirius's foot before he could protest about whether Peter was fit for the job. I trusted him to get me to Lily safely and after the day I'd had I knew he would have my back in a fight if it came to that. Plus, I knew that it made him feel important to be chosen and in my opinion he could do with the occasional confidence boost.

"Do you want us to come too?" Remus asked while Sirius passed me the Marauders Map. I could feel Severus's questioning gaze on the map but I just smiled secretively at him. I would tell him about it later since I didn't have time, but I knew it wouldn't hurt to let him be curious for a while.

"I think it would be better if I spoke to Lily alone," I said nervously. "And I'm sure Wormtail can get me there on his own just fine."

I felt Peter stand a little taller and hid my smile as we began to walk in the direction Lily had gone. I handed the map to Peter and heard him activate it once we were out of sight of the others. My stomach churned anxiously at the thought of talking to Lily after all I'd said to her again. I could only hope she'd forgive me yet again and I promised to myself that if she did I'd never do this to her again.

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. Please review! :)

WARNING: I may not be able to update every week anymore until September. I will update whenever I can, though it will still always be on a Thursday if I do update. If I can't update during the summer you can be sure that I will continue this in September. This story is NOT abandoned!