A/n: Okay, here's another chapter before the weekend, because I can't write on weekends. Okay, and thanks to all who reviewed! Enjoy! ~Lilz
* * * * * * * * * *
James, Remus, Sirius and Peter walked down the halls, mostly making rude jokes and comments about Snape. The were having so much fun insulting the boy, that they didn't realized how time was flying by. They also didn't seem to be aware that if they were caught out of bed the would be in deep trouble, as they had been found guilty of being out of bed so many times before.
"Hey you guys, it's getting pretty late." Said Remus, looking at his watch, which was flashing 11:58. The rest of the boys agreed that they would go back to the common room, as the thought of getting caught finally seemed to get through to them.
The all sat down in a corner, so the few people that were in the common room wouldn't hear them talking. People had started to filter out of the common room, and they were aware of a sound coming from up in the dorms. James recognized the sound at once. It was Lily and her friend, and from the sounds of things they were both having a very good time. Remus also could distinguish the sound as Lily and Bea's familiar hysterical laughing. Sirius shook his head in disbelief.
"Man, I told you they were always laughing about one thing or another!" he said in amazement. "I mean, things can't be that funny, can they? What could be so funny, I don't hear them blowing things up?" he said curiously, and then an evil plan came to him. A wicked grin came across his face and he said, "Why don't we check out what they're doing?"
Remus and James both felt their stomach's drop. "I-I dunno if that's a good idea, mate. Let the girls have some privacy..." said James, quickly, and becoming very pale. Remus nodded, to show he sided with James.
"Ya. I don't think that's right. How would you feel if someone was listening to a very private conversation?" he asked, giving Sirius a critical stare.
"Well... they're being so loud they probably WANT us to come and see what they're doing." Said Sirius, still defending his idea. He wanted to know what those girls were up to, and he was going to find out sometime.
"Come on, Sirius, they would be down in the common room if they wanted us to hear them." Said Remus, who once again used thinking logically to his advantage. Sirius didn't have much about this, and he mouthed soundlessly looking from James, to Remus, who both were grinning, feeling they had won. Then he looked at Peter, asking silently for support. Peter just shrugged, wanting to side with James, and hoping he would notice.
"Fine then. We'll find something else to do." Said Sirius, irritably. They sat there talking about quidditch until considerably late. Then all four boys decided that they best be off to bed. Climbing in, they could still hear the girls next door howling with laughter, but about 20 minutes after the boys climbed into bed, it sounded like the girls had also given in to sleep.
James, however, couldn't fall asleep. He kept thinking about Lily. And about how it would affect his and Remus' friendship if he got her. How it would affect their friendship if Remus got her. And what about Snape? He was very determined to get Lily, and he knew many jinxes and curses that might influence Lily on her decision.
He sat up in his bed, so confused, and not knowing what to do. Then he had an idea. It was a dumb idea, but it was an idea. James quietly got his invisibility cloak out of his trunk, and sneaked outside of his dorm.
* * * * * * * * * *
Lily turned over in her bed, unable to get to sleep. She couldn't help thinking about what she had to do the next day. It was very good to briefly forget about it, when she was chatting with Bea, but now all the worries, and anxiousness had returned.
And then she thought of Bea. There was something not quite right about Peter, but Lily just couldn't put her finger on it. Lily was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the loud crash that occurred right outside her door until a few seconds later. She peeked out of her hangings to see if anyone else had awoken due to the noise.
From the usual sounds of snoring, she guessed that no one had. Lily decided to investigate a little, so she cautiously opened the door. She saw nothing, but with years of experience in the wizarding world, she knew that just because you couldn't see something didn't mean that it wasn't there.
"Hello?" she whispered, suspiciously looking around. Suddenly a boy with messy black hair and deep blue eyes appeared from nowhere. She breathed a sigh of relief to see that she wasn't in any danger, and she snapped, "What did you do that for?" giving him a harsh look.
~ This is where you say something that will make her not mad at you, James ~ he thought, thinking of something to say that would make her love him.
"To see you." He said, trying to look as innocent and sweet as possible. Her look softened, and she smiled at him. ~ Yes! Point for me ~ he thought, complimenting himself on his excellent remark.
"Well, I see you everyday. What do you want?" she said, not really minding his being there, but wanted to sound as prefectly as possible.
"I just really wanted to see you. I missed you." He said, not realizing he was blushing.
"Aww..." she said, almost not believing what she was hearing. But then she remembered what she was telling James in the morning. Should she tell him now? That's what she promised herself. Whoever approached her first, would get the news first. "James there's something I need to tell you." She said looking at the floor.
"Okay..." he said slowly. "Okay, what is it?" he asked, now starting to feel nervous. What if it was bad news? Ah, but what if it was good? He didn't know what to think, but he all of a sudden became very nervous.
"Well... I know that both you and Remus are interested in me. And I am going to have to choose only one of you. You know that right?" she asked, feeling worse and worse with every word. James felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. This couldn't be good.
"Well. I have made up my mind. I really like both of you so it was re-!"
"Just tell me!" he said, not able to take it any more. He felt as though he wanted to cry.
"Okay. Well I chose-!" but there was a loud bang from down in the common room. This one was so loud; Lily didn't see how anyone could not be awake. The two ran downstairs and saw the common room immersed in smoke. The smoke was so dense that Lily had to crawl on the ground for air. She gasped for breath, but not enough oxygen was getting through. James was panic-stricken, but did the only thing that made sense. He held his breath, and picked Lily up. He dragged her upstairs, and propped her up against the wall.
"Come on honey, it's okay. You're safe now." He said, lifting up her chin, and trying to get her to take breaths again. She was lifeless. "Oh God... Oh please be alright." He put his head close to hear heart, and heard it beating. He did feel very relieved she was alright, but didn't know what to do next. Taking her to the hospital wing seemed appropriate, but how to get past all the smoke without going out cold himself, and making Lily even worse.
Then he did the only thing he could think of, "HELP! EVERYONE WAKE UP! HELP!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. People started coming out of their dorms, and when Bea came out she screamed in horror, and looked at James with a cold look.
"What the hell did you do to her?" she asked, tears coming at the sight of her motionless friend. "What did you DO?" she asked, no dissolving into tears. She ran down to the common room, which had cleared up a bit by now, and ran out through the portrait hole. James tried to tell her that it wasn't his fault but she had ran away too fast, and he was afraid that he might be sick if he went to talk. Gently, he picked her up and decided to go quickly through the common room, as the smoke was airing out, and he could see down there at last. People were standing at the top of the stairs, and looking very alarmed at the scene.
James ignored it all, and walked with Lily in his arms, over to the hospital wing. He was almost there, when something blocked his way. It was a very irate looking Professor McGonagall. Standing next to her was a very pale, bleary-eyed Bea, who was looking straight ahead, expressionless.
"P-P-Professor! I-I can explain this! Well, I can't explain it, but I can tell you what happened. You see professor-."
"Potter, the important thing is we get Miss Evans to the hospital wing. Then your excuses, Potter." She said, as the walked towards the hospital wing, and James laid her on the first bed that was in sight. He sat down in a chair next to her bed, and was soon joined by Bea on the seat to his left. She looked very distressed, and he couldn't blame her. He felt the same way.
"It's going to be okay." Said James, turning to look at Bea, who nodded, but didn't look like she believed it, nor heard it.
The matron came over to take a look at Lily, and after a brief examination she finally said, "Smoke inhalation," as she looked at all Professor McGonagall.
"Well I could have told you that!" said James, looking startled.
"What happened?" McGonagall asked sharply, and James took a deep breath in.
"Well I-I had sneaked out of bed to see Lily, and we were standing just outside of her dorm room when there was an explosion. The common room filled with smoke, and we went down to see what was going on. That's where she inhaled the smoke. And she couldn't breathe. It knocked her out, so I carried her back upstairs. Everyone is up now thanks to the explosion. And me yelling, but is she going to be alright?" he asked, hoping and praying that she would return back to normal.
"Yes, she'll be fine." Said the matron, and she walked out to leave the three of them all gathered around Lily's bed.
"Well Potter, you did the right thing and got her safe. But you were, however, out of bed when you should not have been. Fortunately for you, I can't punish you because I wasn't there, and because you did not go far enough out of your room." She said, but James had a feeling that she could have punished him if she had really wanted to.
A few seconds later, James heard a moan, and he turned around to see Lily slowly moving in her bed. Both Bea and James jumped up and rushed over to her bed. "Don't crowd her!" said McGonagall, but neither of the two students paid any attention.
"Are you alright, what happened?" said Bea, anxiously, which annoyed James because she knew just as much as he did.
"I-I-!"
"Are you okay? I tried to get you here on time, and you went out cold and-!"
"Shh!" said Lily sounding annoyed. "I can only hear one person at once, and if you're going to ask me questions, please let me answer them." She said. Her voice was very croaky, and scratchy, but it was still that same lovely voice James had always cherished.
James and Bea both muttered apologies and then the room was silent.
"Well Miss Evans, I think we are going to have to keep you over night. Miss Groves, you may stay with her if you wish. I would like to see you in my office, Potter."
"Okay." Said James, and he turned to leave, but something grabbed him. He turned around to see that it was Lily who had a handful of his robes, and to McGonagall's annoyance ("hurry UP Potter!") he went closer to her and said, "Ya?"
"You saved my life. Thank you." She said, looking almost startled by this fact.
"I'd do anything for you." He said simply, then kissed her on the forehead and walked out behind McGonagall.
"Oy, now you'll have to choose James. You can't have him save your life and then dump him for his friend." Said Bea, and then she turned to look at Lily. She looked ahead, her face expressionless, not knowing what to say.
* * * * * * * * * *
A/n: Okay! That's it for a few days. I'll write more after the weekend for ya. Well, hope you enjoyed, and R&R as always! ~Lilz
* * * * * * * * * *
James, Remus, Sirius and Peter walked down the halls, mostly making rude jokes and comments about Snape. The were having so much fun insulting the boy, that they didn't realized how time was flying by. They also didn't seem to be aware that if they were caught out of bed the would be in deep trouble, as they had been found guilty of being out of bed so many times before.
"Hey you guys, it's getting pretty late." Said Remus, looking at his watch, which was flashing 11:58. The rest of the boys agreed that they would go back to the common room, as the thought of getting caught finally seemed to get through to them.
The all sat down in a corner, so the few people that were in the common room wouldn't hear them talking. People had started to filter out of the common room, and they were aware of a sound coming from up in the dorms. James recognized the sound at once. It was Lily and her friend, and from the sounds of things they were both having a very good time. Remus also could distinguish the sound as Lily and Bea's familiar hysterical laughing. Sirius shook his head in disbelief.
"Man, I told you they were always laughing about one thing or another!" he said in amazement. "I mean, things can't be that funny, can they? What could be so funny, I don't hear them blowing things up?" he said curiously, and then an evil plan came to him. A wicked grin came across his face and he said, "Why don't we check out what they're doing?"
Remus and James both felt their stomach's drop. "I-I dunno if that's a good idea, mate. Let the girls have some privacy..." said James, quickly, and becoming very pale. Remus nodded, to show he sided with James.
"Ya. I don't think that's right. How would you feel if someone was listening to a very private conversation?" he asked, giving Sirius a critical stare.
"Well... they're being so loud they probably WANT us to come and see what they're doing." Said Sirius, still defending his idea. He wanted to know what those girls were up to, and he was going to find out sometime.
"Come on, Sirius, they would be down in the common room if they wanted us to hear them." Said Remus, who once again used thinking logically to his advantage. Sirius didn't have much about this, and he mouthed soundlessly looking from James, to Remus, who both were grinning, feeling they had won. Then he looked at Peter, asking silently for support. Peter just shrugged, wanting to side with James, and hoping he would notice.
"Fine then. We'll find something else to do." Said Sirius, irritably. They sat there talking about quidditch until considerably late. Then all four boys decided that they best be off to bed. Climbing in, they could still hear the girls next door howling with laughter, but about 20 minutes after the boys climbed into bed, it sounded like the girls had also given in to sleep.
James, however, couldn't fall asleep. He kept thinking about Lily. And about how it would affect his and Remus' friendship if he got her. How it would affect their friendship if Remus got her. And what about Snape? He was very determined to get Lily, and he knew many jinxes and curses that might influence Lily on her decision.
He sat up in his bed, so confused, and not knowing what to do. Then he had an idea. It was a dumb idea, but it was an idea. James quietly got his invisibility cloak out of his trunk, and sneaked outside of his dorm.
* * * * * * * * * *
Lily turned over in her bed, unable to get to sleep. She couldn't help thinking about what she had to do the next day. It was very good to briefly forget about it, when she was chatting with Bea, but now all the worries, and anxiousness had returned.
And then she thought of Bea. There was something not quite right about Peter, but Lily just couldn't put her finger on it. Lily was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the loud crash that occurred right outside her door until a few seconds later. She peeked out of her hangings to see if anyone else had awoken due to the noise.
From the usual sounds of snoring, she guessed that no one had. Lily decided to investigate a little, so she cautiously opened the door. She saw nothing, but with years of experience in the wizarding world, she knew that just because you couldn't see something didn't mean that it wasn't there.
"Hello?" she whispered, suspiciously looking around. Suddenly a boy with messy black hair and deep blue eyes appeared from nowhere. She breathed a sigh of relief to see that she wasn't in any danger, and she snapped, "What did you do that for?" giving him a harsh look.
~ This is where you say something that will make her not mad at you, James ~ he thought, thinking of something to say that would make her love him.
"To see you." He said, trying to look as innocent and sweet as possible. Her look softened, and she smiled at him. ~ Yes! Point for me ~ he thought, complimenting himself on his excellent remark.
"Well, I see you everyday. What do you want?" she said, not really minding his being there, but wanted to sound as prefectly as possible.
"I just really wanted to see you. I missed you." He said, not realizing he was blushing.
"Aww..." she said, almost not believing what she was hearing. But then she remembered what she was telling James in the morning. Should she tell him now? That's what she promised herself. Whoever approached her first, would get the news first. "James there's something I need to tell you." She said looking at the floor.
"Okay..." he said slowly. "Okay, what is it?" he asked, now starting to feel nervous. What if it was bad news? Ah, but what if it was good? He didn't know what to think, but he all of a sudden became very nervous.
"Well... I know that both you and Remus are interested in me. And I am going to have to choose only one of you. You know that right?" she asked, feeling worse and worse with every word. James felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. This couldn't be good.
"Well. I have made up my mind. I really like both of you so it was re-!"
"Just tell me!" he said, not able to take it any more. He felt as though he wanted to cry.
"Okay. Well I chose-!" but there was a loud bang from down in the common room. This one was so loud; Lily didn't see how anyone could not be awake. The two ran downstairs and saw the common room immersed in smoke. The smoke was so dense that Lily had to crawl on the ground for air. She gasped for breath, but not enough oxygen was getting through. James was panic-stricken, but did the only thing that made sense. He held his breath, and picked Lily up. He dragged her upstairs, and propped her up against the wall.
"Come on honey, it's okay. You're safe now." He said, lifting up her chin, and trying to get her to take breaths again. She was lifeless. "Oh God... Oh please be alright." He put his head close to hear heart, and heard it beating. He did feel very relieved she was alright, but didn't know what to do next. Taking her to the hospital wing seemed appropriate, but how to get past all the smoke without going out cold himself, and making Lily even worse.
Then he did the only thing he could think of, "HELP! EVERYONE WAKE UP! HELP!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. People started coming out of their dorms, and when Bea came out she screamed in horror, and looked at James with a cold look.
"What the hell did you do to her?" she asked, tears coming at the sight of her motionless friend. "What did you DO?" she asked, no dissolving into tears. She ran down to the common room, which had cleared up a bit by now, and ran out through the portrait hole. James tried to tell her that it wasn't his fault but she had ran away too fast, and he was afraid that he might be sick if he went to talk. Gently, he picked her up and decided to go quickly through the common room, as the smoke was airing out, and he could see down there at last. People were standing at the top of the stairs, and looking very alarmed at the scene.
James ignored it all, and walked with Lily in his arms, over to the hospital wing. He was almost there, when something blocked his way. It was a very irate looking Professor McGonagall. Standing next to her was a very pale, bleary-eyed Bea, who was looking straight ahead, expressionless.
"P-P-Professor! I-I can explain this! Well, I can't explain it, but I can tell you what happened. You see professor-."
"Potter, the important thing is we get Miss Evans to the hospital wing. Then your excuses, Potter." She said, as the walked towards the hospital wing, and James laid her on the first bed that was in sight. He sat down in a chair next to her bed, and was soon joined by Bea on the seat to his left. She looked very distressed, and he couldn't blame her. He felt the same way.
"It's going to be okay." Said James, turning to look at Bea, who nodded, but didn't look like she believed it, nor heard it.
The matron came over to take a look at Lily, and after a brief examination she finally said, "Smoke inhalation," as she looked at all Professor McGonagall.
"Well I could have told you that!" said James, looking startled.
"What happened?" McGonagall asked sharply, and James took a deep breath in.
"Well I-I had sneaked out of bed to see Lily, and we were standing just outside of her dorm room when there was an explosion. The common room filled with smoke, and we went down to see what was going on. That's where she inhaled the smoke. And she couldn't breathe. It knocked her out, so I carried her back upstairs. Everyone is up now thanks to the explosion. And me yelling, but is she going to be alright?" he asked, hoping and praying that she would return back to normal.
"Yes, she'll be fine." Said the matron, and she walked out to leave the three of them all gathered around Lily's bed.
"Well Potter, you did the right thing and got her safe. But you were, however, out of bed when you should not have been. Fortunately for you, I can't punish you because I wasn't there, and because you did not go far enough out of your room." She said, but James had a feeling that she could have punished him if she had really wanted to.
A few seconds later, James heard a moan, and he turned around to see Lily slowly moving in her bed. Both Bea and James jumped up and rushed over to her bed. "Don't crowd her!" said McGonagall, but neither of the two students paid any attention.
"Are you alright, what happened?" said Bea, anxiously, which annoyed James because she knew just as much as he did.
"I-I-!"
"Are you okay? I tried to get you here on time, and you went out cold and-!"
"Shh!" said Lily sounding annoyed. "I can only hear one person at once, and if you're going to ask me questions, please let me answer them." She said. Her voice was very croaky, and scratchy, but it was still that same lovely voice James had always cherished.
James and Bea both muttered apologies and then the room was silent.
"Well Miss Evans, I think we are going to have to keep you over night. Miss Groves, you may stay with her if you wish. I would like to see you in my office, Potter."
"Okay." Said James, and he turned to leave, but something grabbed him. He turned around to see that it was Lily who had a handful of his robes, and to McGonagall's annoyance ("hurry UP Potter!") he went closer to her and said, "Ya?"
"You saved my life. Thank you." She said, looking almost startled by this fact.
"I'd do anything for you." He said simply, then kissed her on the forehead and walked out behind McGonagall.
"Oy, now you'll have to choose James. You can't have him save your life and then dump him for his friend." Said Bea, and then she turned to look at Lily. She looked ahead, her face expressionless, not knowing what to say.
* * * * * * * * * *
A/n: Okay! That's it for a few days. I'll write more after the weekend for ya. Well, hope you enjoyed, and R&R as always! ~Lilz