A/N: Sorry for the long wait...I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do next, because I'm trying to figure out the best way to end this story. And I know you'll ask- so just to let you know I'm still not sure :) And I'm still deciding how much longer it should be. Because one of the ideas I had wouldn't take long to finish- and they other would take quite a while. Though, to be truthful, I haven't put much thought into it. So we'll see ;)

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Chapter 34- Listen to my heart

       Lily kept her hand on James' face, softly running her fingers over it. The skin was so cold, so lifeless.

Sirius and Remus each grabbed part of their friend and so began the journey back to the castle. It was long and terrible, with Lily staring at nothing and Jennifer and Chloe looking worried. The two boys had enough on their mind just by carrying him that they were concentrated, but even though they didn't show it, they were afraid as well.

What would Dumbledore say? Obviously they would have to get him into this. But they had been out without permission and...well, what could he say? It wasn't something that could be easily punished or dismissed. This was the second time they had seen Voldemort. He would be back. He would be waiting in the forest, because he knew that -they would come back.

Lily walked quietly, behind the rest of them. She stared at James' face, wondering why this had to happen to them now. The night would have been fun...they had just made up and...The point was, it just wasn't fair!

Gradually the castle came into view. They would have taken the passage way, but it was late; Honeydukes was locked up.

They entered the Entrance Hall, the doors closing behind them with a bang, but it was hardly worth the time to worry about not waking anybody up. Sirius and Remus looked about to pass out. Apparently, James wasn't very light.

They approached the gargoyle statue- deciding to get Dumbledore before going up to the Hospital Wing. How else would they explain themselves to Madam Pomfrey? Sirius mumbled something almost inaudibly, and the statue moved aside.

"How did you know the password?" Lily asked, staring at him.

Sirius purposely ignored her question. "I've been up here lately." Lily opened her mouth to ask, but it was clear that he would say no more.

The girls went first, hurrying up the steps and knocking on his door. Sirius and Remus came up more slowly, with the burden of James weighing them down.

Dumbledore called for them to come in, and as they did, he was bombarded with all three of the girls trying to talk at once.

"Professor-"

"James is-"                 

"Voldemort-"

"Wait, wait. Calm down, and tell me slowly." His eyes flickered slightly as the boys walked in, carrying James and lying him down on the floor, grunting as they did so. "I need an explanation." he added softly, his eyes running over the raven-haired boy on the floor.

"We went to Hogsmeade, Professor...to-to celebrate. And well, we split up and it was late...and Voldemort is hiding in the forest...and he took Lily and James. We didn't know...And when we found out, we came looking...they would have been killed maybe..."

Dumbledore stared almost indifferently, excluding the sad look that seemed to have been more common in his expression these days.

"I don't know what to tell you. I could say a million times that you were not allowed to be there at this time of night and this is what you get for it...but it wouldn't do you any good. All I can suggest to you at this point is to take James to Madam Pomfrey and hope for the best." He sighed, glancing again at James and shaking his head sadly.

Remus and Sirius looked to each other, then picked James up again. But suddenly, they remembered that they didn't need to carry him. Magic would do…

"Stupid." Remus mumbled. He quickly cast a spell that caused James to float along behind them on an invisible stretcher.

They took the long trip to the Hospital Wing, looking back sadly to see James floating along every now and then. Nothing was said. There was nothing to say.

Lily walked through the door first, in one look telling Madam Pomfrey, who was sitting in a chair a few feet away, what was wrong.

"I swear…I always have the Potter's in here the most often. His father too…" she trailed off, trying to make the best of the situation but it wasn't working.

She quickly prepared the bed closest to the door for him, pulling the sheets back and helping the guys lower him in. Then she proceeded to find out how to help him.

"What happened?"

"Voldemort cursed him and…" Lily choked back tears, watching him so lifeless in the bed.

"It's okay dear." Madam Pomfrey straightened from the bed. "I think he'll be okay, with rest and some time. Don't you worry."

Lily nodded, a tear falling down her cheek. She walked over to the bed and leaned down, grazing James' cheek with a light kiss. Smoothing his hair back from his face, she straightened as well.

"But I don't think you should all be in here right now. Much to late, in any case. Shoo- off to bed!" she said, gesturing with her hands. They all left with another look at James. Except Lily.

"Er- Madam Pomfrey? May I stay a bit? I promise not to make any noise at all."

The nurse looked as if she was going to say no, but then she noticed Lily's expression and took pity. "Yes dear." She sighed. "I'll get you a chair."

"Thank you." Lily replied almost absently, bending over James. No way would she leave now. No way. She was asleep five minutes after she sat down.

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"Lily," a hoarse whisper woke her. "Lils…"

She opened her emerald eyes slowly and cast them upon James, who looked, well, dreadful. "James!" she jumped up from her chair, almost knocking it backwards in her hurry. "You're awake! You're okay!"

He gave a weak laugh. "Almost. I'm getting there."

She bent down and gave him a careful kiss. After she pulled back, she scrunched up her nose. "You need to brush your teeth." She laughed.

"Yes, you're thrilled to talk to me again, I see."

"Of course." Lily replied, her eyes shining happily. She gave his hand a squeeze. "You have no idea how good it is to see you awake. I wasn't sure when you'd be up."

"Well, you know me. I just wish I could get out of this bed…"

"You can't?"

"I'm sure I could…Madam Pomfrey won't let me." He pouted. 

She laughed again. "That might be a good thing, for now."

"How can you say that? A good thing? My legs are cramping!"

"Oh poor baby." A pause. "You want me to bring the others?"

"It was nice talking to you alone…but if you want to bring them."

"No, I was asking you." She grinned. He was still the same person as before they had been mad at each other, and before…this.

He sighed. "You make things to complicated for my one-track mind."

"Oh- is that right?" Even as she finished, he nodded, his eyes trailing towards the door, where the rest of their friends stood.

"Prongs- nice to see you awake." Sirius said, grinning at them. "And you too, Lily."

Jennifer came over to stand beside Lily, and Chloe at her other side. Remus walked right up to James.

"Dumbledore has been in a strange mood since we saw him. He was walking around the school this morning humming sad tunes. By the way, we're all excuses from classes today. Except Peter. His mom was sick or something, and he went home for the week."

"His mom is always sick." James replied, sitting up. His hand touched his head and he winced.

Lily tried not to wince with him, for his own good, but it was hard. She wanted to take his pain away, at least some of it, but she couldn't. Her hand wrapped tightly around his.

"I want out of this place." James said. "I wonder when she'll let me leave."

As if in answer to his question, Madam Pomfrey appeared. "Dumbledore has told me that you may be let out this afternoon. And your friends are to keep a close watch on you for the next week or so…until everything is as it was before." She smiled.

"Oh- good." He said. "I thought I'd have to stay a lot longer than this."

Madam Pomfrey's smile faded. "So did I." she muttered, turning away to attend to another patient a few beds down, suffering from a charm gone wrong.

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          Lily laid her head down next to James, on his bed in the boys' dorm. He was happily humming and tickling patterns on her hand.

"It shouldn't have been so easy James…"

"What do you mean?"

"Getting away from Voldemort. It shouldn't have been that easy. And you getting better so quickly…No, it wouldn't have been that easy. I feel something…something wrong is going to happen. I don't know what, but…the air doesn't feel right."

James laughed. "Maybe you're just imagining things. We'll be fine."

"Yeah. I guess so." She sighed. "I guess I'm just restless."

She laid a hand on his chest and rose herself up on one elbow to lean over him. A soft kiss on his lips had his humming quieted. She smiled down at him, her eyes still closed.

"I don't know how much longer I can wait, James…"

"For what?"

"To make sure that we'll be together forever. To make sure that you're mine." She said quietly, licking her lips.

He looked confused. Had he heard right? What was she implying? Was there a guy that existed that understood girls and their 'subtle hints'?

Lily smiled at his bewildered expression. "I basically told you no once, James. But that was my head speaking. Listen to my heart." He stared. "Listen to my heart." She said again, her green eyes closing while she leaned down to drop another kiss on his lips. He grinned in response, encircling the hand on his chest with his and squeezing it lightly.

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A/N: Thanks to my reviewers- I loved reading the comments! I hope you'll review this chapter too, and I'll get the next chapter up sooner than this one- that is, as long as my computer doesn't break again. In any case, I hope you liked this chapter!

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Phoenixheart- Lol, yep it's past my bedtime too…but no school tomorrow! Yess! Thanks for reviewing ;)

SilverTears13- Hehe, yes, well James is certainly warm now. I thank you for another review!

Heehee- 'I'm melting' Lol, that's a good one. Well, thank you for the star recommendations!

(no name)- True, true. We all know he has to live…but the question is- how long? Hehe…thanks for reviewing ;)

Princess pixie ice- Yes, way to go Remus. A bit unlike him…and thank you.

LaminaCourt- Added to your favorites? I'm soo touched! Thanks!

Emily- Thanks a lot for your review…nice to hear from another Emily. So many little Emily's now though, doesn't it seem like? Or maybe it's just may…anyway, I'm glad you like the story. I do jump around a lot though; welcome to my mind! Lol, plus I don't plan anything before I start writing. Not with fanfiction stories, anyway ;) Thanks again!

IceChilli- Thanks! Realistic? I'm glad! I hope these last few chapters weren't too farfetched for you.

SatanicGnomes- Lol…Sirius/serious jokes…yes, well, I think I was so sick of reading them that I couldn't possibly put them in my stories or I'd go crazy. Thanks for reviewing!

~`Sugar`~ - Lol, you're welcome. But now I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter…Thanks for your review!

Ash- I'm glad you like them both ;) I want to thank you for reviewing both!

The Lady Lillian- True, true. I just never wanted to end this story…first one you know, so I just felt like I had to keep going, and going. But anyway, this is the story that I just throw out random ideas with, and so, I end up with a random plot. Well, thanks for your comments ;)

Sabre gurl- Thanks a lot! I hope you liked this chapter too =)

SMAC- I agree- it was too easy. So I'm trying to twist the plot around to fix that…but I don't have much time, sadly, to dedicate to the cause. Well, thanks for reviewing!

Lady of Magic- Thanks a lot; nice to see your name again ;) I appreciate your reviews whenever you can give them…God knows I have been taking forever to update anyway. Well, I hoped you still like the story and thanks again!

Kase- Lol, sorry about the wait…I really am. But I do appreciate another review from you!

Pottergirl- Thanks so much!

Wicked-women- Lol, too bad he doesn't just die…wouldn't that be nice? Well, thank you for reviewing!

(Luvalwayzk88@aol.com)- I updated- but it wasn't very soon ;) Thanks for reviewing!