A/N: I forgot to mention last chapter; I hate the word crisp. They're chips and that's final, but because I'm writing British characters, I must use the crisp.

Chapter 43

September 4th, 1977

Cont.

For the last time, I promise…

With another glance at James, the man locked eyes with Lily again, and ever so slowly, nodded.

James saw the tension slide out of Lily's shoulders as she smiled kindly, "Okay."

She smiled at the man for a moment, before turning to James, "Can you help…" She skittered off, realising she didn't know the man's name.

"Toviyah." The man supplied with a small smile.

"Toviyah," Lily nodded at him, grinning at James, "Can you help Toviyah over to the stream, please?"

James narrowed his eyes, looking for this mythical stream, surprised when he saw a trickle of water making its way past a tree about ten meters deeper into the forest. With a look at Lily, who was smiling indulgently at him, he rolled his eyes, turning to Toviyah with a grin.

"Ready?"

Toviyah smiled weakly, and allowed James to help him to his feet and support his weight as they hobbled over to the water, Lily taking his other side.

"So," James grunted, "Toviyah, huh? Ever thought about shortening it? Tovie, maybe? Vi?" He grinned, "I know! I'll call you Tove!"

Toviyah smiled in baffled amusement, as James skittered away from Lily's jabby fingers.

"Shut it, Potter." Lily mumbled as James helped Toviyah to the ground by the stream of water.

"Just trying to make conversation, Evans. Tove doesn't mind, do you?" He directed this last question to Toviyah, who was looking at him in amusement as he adjusted his position on the undergrowth.

"It is…acceptable." Toviyah answered wryly.

Lily chuckled, shaking her head as she conjured up a pile of bandages, eyeing the cuts wrapped around Toviyah's arms.

Dunking one of the pieces of cloth into the water, and wringing it out, she winced as she held it out towards Toviyah, "This is gonna be cold."

Toviyah made no movement, simply stating, "It is what I deserve."

Lily and James shared a bewildered look, before Lily reached over and started dabbing at the cuts on Toviyah's arms.

They were silent as Lily worked, cleaning up the cuts and rinsing out the cloth in the river.

Wordlessly, James handed the rest of the bandages to Lily, which she took with a quiet, "Thank you."

With nimble fingers, Lily adeptly wrapped the bandages over the cuts, gently tucking in the ends and smiling at Toviyah as she pulled away.

The three of them were silent for a beat, as Toviyah studied Lily's handiwork. He looked up, his eyes faded from bright yellow into a soft brown, "I thank you, little Snidget," His gaze turned to James, "Cervus."

James blinked, "Uh…" His eyes darted to Lily, then back to Toviyah, "My name's…James?" He spoke questioningly.

Toviyah smiled, "Yes, James is what you are known as. Cervus is what you are."

"Oh." James said dumbly, not noticing Lily's fond smile in his direction.

With a chuckle, Toviyah stood, glancing out into the forest before smiling back down at Lily and James.

"Words cannot express my gratitude for what you have done. You have both gone out of your way to help one not of your kind, and have opened my eyes once more. I cannot allow myself to be lost to my despair – I must return to my people with my head held high." His eyes – which had flared a vibrant blue during his speech – quieted down to muted brown, and he gave each of them a nod.

"I shall be seeing you again, I think."

Lily stood up, and James scrambled to follow her lead, ignoring the amused look Toviyah sent him. With a small curtsey, Lily smiled, "It would be our pleasure."

With one last nod, Toviyah turned and strode off into the forest, disappearing from their sight within seconds.

After staring after him for a moment, James turned to Lily, "Uh…what exactly was he?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "A Nymph, James. A Nymph."

"Oh." James stated, turning to stare at the spot Toviyah had disappeared, "Right."

Lily didn't bother to reply, and the two of them slowly started making their way back up to the castle.

It wasn't until James was lying awake in his bed in Gryffindor Tower, staring at the ceiling and processing the night's events, that he realised Lily had called him James.

He fell asleep with a goofy grin on his face.

Two days later, Hermione arrived at Hogwarts.

A/N: song rec - Swear Jar by Illy (in a similar vein to the last one, just trust me)