Just another sappy love story.
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Chapter 2 - I'm sorry, I can't be perfect...
Disclaimer: Am not J.K Rowling.
19/9/2003
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James was too stunned to react for that first few seconds. Then, he immediately sprung into action.
"Evans! Bloody hell!" He swore loudly. "Accio Nimbus 1001!" He yelled and leapt towards the window sill. Lily had already fallen about halfway down, and without further thought, jumped out of the window behind her.
After a few bind-blowing seconds of falling through air, he jerked upwards as the broom came sliding exactly underneath him.
'This is gonna take some real fancy flying.'
--- Lily.
Lily stood on the edge of the window sill, looking down at the vast expanse of grass spread out in front of her.
'Should I? Should I not?' She wondered sadly to herself.
"Evans!" A voice yelled from behind her.
Shocked, Lily turned around. And, was surprised to see the person she least expected to be standing there, telling her to get down.
Lily turned back to the night sky.
"Evans, come down!"
No, I've lost everything. 'I'm sorry mum, dad...' And she stepped out into nothingness.
For a few moments, she stared numbly as the night sky whizzed past, but her sense soon returned to her.
"Did I do the right thing?" She asked. The wind blew the words away even before they had reached her ears.
*
Now its just too late
And I can't go back
*
'Goodbye Bella, Nikki, Gab, I'm sorry for the rotten friend I've been,' she thought to herself as a tear crept into the corner of her eye and was blown away.
*
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect...
*
She closed her eyes and awaited for the inevitable impact.
---- End Lily.
He brought the broomstick handle vertically downwards and plunged after Lily's small frame. The seconds seemed to drag into minutes...
'Am I gonna make it?' James wondered to himself. The broom was starting to vibrate badly.
"Guess I'll have to get a new broom next Hogsmead weekend. They weren't built for this sort of thing. God, even Wronski Feints aren't this bad," he mumbled to himself as his eyes fixed on Lily.
He gritted his teeth and urged the broom even further downwards so that they were flying practically parallel to the tower walls. He could feel his ears popping due to the fast descent.
The broom was quickly shooting towards Lily, the gap between them was closing fast. Lily was falling... falling she would smash into the ground in a few seconds, and even then magic would not work as, well, magic never works on pulverized pulp.
Time seemed at a standstill as he dropped further down, then he was level with her. They were just barely a metre from the ground.
James leaned over, concentrated his weight onto his left hand, while his right reached over to snatch Lily out of the air by the waist.
Then, it was over. Time seemed to speed up now, as the momentum of the broom carried them towards the ground. His both hands now on the broom handle, Lily seated in front of him, he grabbed and pulled upwards with all his might.
'Up, you bloody prat, UP!' And by some miracle, the broom pulled upwards just as James toes brushed the grassy floor. And they rose gently into the night sky.
---- Lily.
Lily waited for the impact to crush her bones. After moments of eternity, she felt a jerk upwards at her stomach area.
'That's it. I'm dead now. I'm floating to Heaven, where mum and dad are. Or maybe I'll stay to haunt Hogwarts until I can rest in piece.
She opened her eyes, and found that she was staring into the golden and red lion of the Gryffindor crest on a Hogwarts robe.
'I don't believe it! Potter... saved me.'
----- End Lily.
Up til then, he had been too fixed on getting them up alive, and only then, did he realise he was clutching Lily tightly to him, and she was pounding on his chest, causing rather severe sharp pains in addition to the breathlessness and dizziness of descending so rapidly.
"Evans, stop that you bloody prat!" He growled at her.
She was in hysterics. "I h-hate -hic- you Potter! Why d-did you have -hic- to s-save me!" She was shrieking and sobbing and stuttering into his robes and her words her punctuated with hiccups. "I hate you," she whispered quietly.
Her strength had gone and she slumped wearily onto him, still sobbing quietly into his robes. Her pounding had softened considerably until when James took her wrists, she just completely stopped.
When they reached the main entrance hall, James brought the broom to a stop and held it steady while he helped Lily climb down.
"Now what did you do that for Evans? Bloody Hell! Trying to kill yourself? What were you thinking exactly, huh?" James ranted as he shook her shoulder violently.
"I didn't ask for you to save me!" She yelled hoarsely. "It would have been much better off if I died. I mean nobody would care right? I have to thank you for that. At least I wouldn't get hurt anymore if I died." She glanced at James' hands on her shoulders.
"Let me go," Lily said softly but firmly. The look in her eyes was one which had no emotion in it.
James complied, but immediately, Lily began wobbling on her feet.
"I'm bringing you to see Pomfrey," he said. It was not a question, but a statement.
"I don't nee-" Lily stopped abruptly in the middle of the sentence.
"Evans?" James asked. "Evans?" A tiny hint of concern entering his brown eyes.
"I don-" Lily attempted feebly. She was swaying rather dangerously on her feet.
"I-I..." And she fainted.
"Absolutely fantastic. You just had to faint on me didn't you?" James muttered to himself as he stooped to catch Lily as she fell.
He swept her feet easily off her floor where she lay nestled in his arms. James looked down at her and for a moment, his usually angry features softened.
'She looks like an angel,' he mused in a fleeting thought, before he was back to his usual self. 'Angel from hell...,' he grimaced as he thought to himself, remembering all the fights they had picked over the past few months.
He had no problem carrying her to the hospital wing; she was nearly as light as a feather in his quidditch-trained arms, his broom trailing behind him like a lost puppy.
"Madam Pomfrey???" He bellowed as he entered the hospital wing, not at all caring about the strict silence rule she had deployed. "MADAM POMFREY?? This is urgent!"
A plump witch in her middle years came hurrying out of the office. Her brown hair was tied up in a neat bun, robes, pressed and not a crease to be seen, was looking disapprovingly at him.
"What now Potter! Please keep your voice low," she hissed like a wounded snake, trying to reprimand him while whispering. "There are patients that are trying to rest!"
James looked around the room at the empty beds. 'Oh yea... Lots of patients trying to rest eh?' He wandered sarcastically to himself.
"Madam Pomfrey, please look at my... err... friend, she's sick," James said, indicating Lily's presence.
"Oh, of course," Pomfrey blustered. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Well... I would have, if not for you trying to bite my head off," James answered drily.
Pomfrey rolled her eyes. "Come now Potter. We don't have time to waste. Bring her to a bed and let her rest, this one should be fine," she commanded in a business-like tone, indicating a large white bed at the corner of the wing.
James followed the nurse to the bed and deposited Lily on it.
"Now, Potter, what happened to her?"
"Well, she... err...she," James stuttered. 'Evans wouldn't want me to say she tried to commit suicide. She's too proud, any thing else would just hurt her more,' James thought to himself.
Pomfrey turned to look at him, her eyebrow raised.
"She tripped and fell off the astronomy tower, said something about star- gazing. I was playing quidditch when I saw her fall," he said hastily, and gestured at his vibrating broomstick.
"All right then Potter, kindly wait outside."
"Oh no Madam Pomfrey, I saved her. Let me stay here," he practically begged.
"No Potter, I don't like people around when I work. It's distracting," she hissed again, this time like a winded-goose.
"Aww, come on. I just-," James yawned. The exhilaration of the plummet was wearing thin, and he suddenly felt weary. "I think I need a little nap," he finished with a loud yawn, and keeled over on the floor motionless.
Pomfrey looked down at James, and pursed her lips, then she looked at Lily, then back at James, and smiled affectionately.
"I always knew they would end up together, those two..." she hummed to herself as she set off to work, levitating James off the floor and setting them him down on the bed besides Lily's and started tending to Lily.
James woke up rather suddenly, he felt soft sheets under him. 'Hmm, I feel good, not one bit tired, after that sky-diving feat Evans put me through. Pomfrey must have worked her magic.' Just as he was contemplating what had sparked his abrupt return into the conscious world, he looked upwards and a madly grinning head of Sirius Black swum into view. He was being poked by Remus from the other side too. -Poke poke poke- 'Boy is that annoying. God, I never knew Remus could be so. Ugghh'
"GAHHHHHHH!" James bellowed. "SIRIUS!!!! REMUS!!!! GEROFF!"
He sat up amid hearty sniggers.
"So, Prongs what happened, give us the entire scoop," Sirius said as he plonked himself on the bed beside James, and Remus scooted his chair closer so that he could hear the story.
"One wonders why I have such nosey friends. Padfoot my boy, curiosity killed the cat," James murmured, shaking his head mock-sadly.
"Well, Prongsie, that's easy, one, cause you absolutely adore us -James and Remus rolls eyes simultaneously- and two, curiosity killed the cat, but... you seem to be forgetting a very important point. But satisfaction brought him back!" He finished with a flourish, looking absurdly pleased with himself.
"So," Remus asked, "what's this we heard about you saving Lily's life?"
"Aww, that's nothing," James whispered. "Umm, I went to find Evans after I left. She was at the top of the astronomy tower, and when I reached there, she just jumped off. Just like that. I just performed the wronski feint to perfection today lads. Dived after her, parallel to the castle walls, got her and even braked in time to prevent us getting squished into human porridge. Boy, I guessed she's real upset, cause even after that, she kept pounding on me." James grimaced as he remembered her pounding on him.
Sirius' jaw dropped open, and Remus looked rather awestruck, which, James reckoned, was his biggest reaction to something in a long long time. Remus just wasn't one to show his emotions.
"Well, my broom's got banged up pretty bad to, need to get a new one soon, with the Gryffindor-Slytherin match coming up in a few weeks," he said, pointing to his broom which was now dancing wildly out of control in the room, nearly whacking Albus Dumbledore in the face when he entered.
"Now, don't whisper a word about her trying to commit suicide. You know how big her ego is, so if you spill a single word of what I told you, even to Peter, you know how he's a little loose with those lips..." he trailed of ominously, eyes glinting dangerously, choosing to let Sirius and Remus imagine what would happen to them.
Sirius gulped.
"Excuse me, Mister Black, Mister Lupin, I would like a word with Mister Potter here," Dumbledore spoke kindly to them, cutting off James chances of threatening Sirius yet again.
"Certainly." And Sirius and Remus walked away, Sirius gesturing rudely at James behind Dumbledore's back.
"No swearing please Mister Black," Dumbledore said in amusement.
Sirius sighed heavily and was comforted by Remus patting his back, shaking his head and sniggering.
"Violent broom you have there Mister Potter."
James' face turned beet red. "Headmaster, Lily tripped and fell," James blurted out before Dumbledore could say anything.
"Ahh, yes of course. I myself saw the entire scenario from my office. I must say, that it was your most magnificent catch to date," he said eyes twinkling. "But, one wonders why you simply didn't use your wand. You had it with you I assume?" He chuckled and amused himself with eating one of the chocolate frogs Sirius and Remus had brought.
James suddenly felt immensely stupid. He could have just cast a pillow charm so that Evans wouldn't be squashed into the ground. Now, he had a broken broom and a trip to the hospital wing instead. 'Isn't life just peachy?' He thought to himself. 'Hmm, no wonder Evans yelled at me the other time...'
--Flashback--
"Potter! You dumb ass! Come back down here now! And turn my quills back!" Lily yelled exasperatedly. A group of mad twittering minute owls (imagine ron's owl: pig) were zooming madly around her head. It was really a sight to behold.
James looked down from a height of twenty feet, lazily dangling from his broom.
"Come and catch me then Evans," he taunted. He flew downwards so his legs could brush the ground and when Lily had almost caught him, accelerated upwards again, doing this a few times just to infuriate her, and each time dancing frustratingly out of her reach.
Lily stamped her feet angrily! "You-You show off! That's the only thing you care about! Your stupid broom and stupid stunts. You're nothing but a disgusting stupid prick who wants to show off what meager amount of skill he has at Quidditch! I don't even want to know what they find so attractive about you! ARGGHHH!" And she stomped off, leaving Sirius and James sniggering at her back, and a dozen other fan girls pointing and taunting Lily.
--End flashback--
'A stupid disgusting prick who wants to show off what meager amount of skill he has at Quidditch huh...?' He mused to himself.
"Hmm, I must say that this picture rather... captured the essence of me don't you think? I always thought I was quite photogenic..." Dumbledore said, snapping James out of his thoughts, and showed James a chocolate frog card with his picture smiling mildly up at them.
James stared at Dumbledore.
"I assure you, I am still quite sane, despite my old age. Thank you, Mister Potter, for keeping this a secret. I'm sure Miss Evans will too, one day. Good night Mister Potter."
He walked towards the entrance, but was almost stampeded by a group of girls. He looked alarmed, but a small smile lifted the corners of his lips.
"Good evening Miss's Xu, Figg and Black, I trust you've come to see your dear friend. I'm sure she'll be fine after you all rushed here to see her, and in the process, almost decapitating me..." Dumbledore said lightly.
The three girls stopped, turned to face their headmaster. "Sorry professor," Bella mumbled sheepishly.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and he waved his hands at them. "Oh, go on in, don't let your senile old headmaster keep you waiting here." He chuckled and left the hospital wing.
James rolled his eyes. 'Senile' was hardly a word to describe Professor Dumbledore. He had more spring than some of those in the seventh year who spent most of their time studying for NEWTS. (remember: they're still in fifth yr here!)
"Lily! Oh my god, what happened," a flustered Gab said as she surveyed the still unconscious Lily.
"Madam Pomfrey, will she be fine?" Bella asked, biting her lip.
"Oh, she'll be just fine dears. Only the usual, nausea, dizziness, stress and trauma. Just the things you would expect when someone trips and falls off the top of the astronomy tower. Thank goodness Potter was there to save her, I wouldn't have wanted to know what had happened otherwise," Pomfrey said.
"Oh, year. Err, right. Thanks," Nikki flashed Pomfrey her most dazzling smile, and dragged the other two girls to James' bed.
"Hello little brother," Nikki said sweetly, addressing Sirius.
"Nikki Black!!! You-you... Evil little evil spinach-cabbage-brocolli- carrots!" Sirius said smugly with a -there-I-found-a-very-long-and- insulting-nickname-for-you-ain't-I-so-clever- look. (In truth, he had just put all the things he absolutely hated in the world together)
"Yea, that's right little bro, very clever," Nikki said, sniggering. James had stuffed a fist into his mouth to keep from bursting out laughing and Remus was shaking his head and chuckling.
"I am NOT your little bro! I am your BIG bro! I was FIVE minutes earlier than you!!!" Sirius yelled, now sounding like a five-year old child.
Nikki rolled her eyes and turned her attention onto James, fixing him with a stare.
"Out with it Potter, what happened." She eyed him suspiciously.
"Nothing happened," James replied nonchalantly. "As I said before, she tripped and fell off the astronomy tower."
Bella snorted. "Yeah, right, and I am a dumb blond. Honestly, James, we're not that stupid. Lily's got to be the most careful person since- well, since like forever. She didn't trip."
"I told you," James insisted. "She tripped and fell."
"Don't believe him," Gab said softly. Tears were streaming down her face as she stared into the depths of James eyes. James felt that she was reading his soul inside-out.
"Stop that Gab! You're freaking me out," James said in irritation, dragging his gaze away from her eyes.
"Why didn't you tell us James? We're her friends," Gab whispered. Everyone was staring at her wondering what was going on. "You're lying aren't you. Lily didn't fall. She jumped."
Everyone jaws' had now dropped open, and the room was frightfully quiet. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The only sound came from Madam Pomfrey, who was busy humming to herself in the corner of the room, totally oblivious to the drama that was being played out.
Bella stumbled backwards into Sirius, who instantly stabled her. She looked gratefully at him, but immediately stared at Gab.
"Sh-she... jumped? Lily? That's so not possible," Bella stuttered. "Gab, don't you think you're taking this psychology thing a bit too far?" She said, referring to the fact that Gab's parents were psychologists and could tell from a persons behavior what was going on.
Nikki paused and bit her lip, evidently deep in thought.
"She's Lily, damn you," Bella was now yelling unrestrainedly. "Not some whacked up person. She's the most sensible person on the face on earth! Don't insult her like that!"
"Wait Bella, shhh." Nikki said slowly. "Don't yell now, Lily's still sleeping and James just woke up." She paused to let Bella calm down. "Gab has a point there, you know. I know Lily's sensible and all that, but we've been giving her a hard time this week, and she had to give up her DADA grades (Remus had told them about this earlier in the Gryffindor common room), she probably couldn't take it any more." she said silently.
----- Lily.
Lily woke up as she heard the voices of her friends shouting at each other. She gasped when they came to the point where they discussed her falling down, and clamped her hands tightly over her ears, yet the voices still seemed to drill straight through to her brain.
'Gods, no. Not now,' she thought.
She suddenly felt tired and all the defenses she had built around her crumbled and did one thing she swore she would never do since her parents had died. She curled up in a small ball and cried. (yea, I know I made her cry the last chapter, but just take it as the whole episode, and not just this once.)
----- End Lily.
The six other Gryffindor students had turned around to look at Lily. To their dismay, tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes. Her eyes were clenched shut, as if she could shut out the world if she did not see what was happening.
----- James.
James looked at the sobbing form of Lily on the bed. She looked so vulnerable that instantly, he felt his heart go out to her. Her body was curled up in a ball. She had probably thought that the blows of reality could be softened like this.
He was absolutely shocked. All throughout his pranking for the good part of the past few months, she had not shed a single tear. The only emotion she showed was anger at him.
----- End James.
Bella looked at her friend and immediately felt tears well up in her eyes.
'This can't be happening to Lily. This isn't the same Lily that held us together through thick and thin and stuck to us no matter what,' she thought to herself.
Beside her, Gab was weeping silently, while Remus was patting her shoulder awkwardly. Now, if Bella had had time to think about anything else, she would have been wondering, 'since when did those two get along?' But she didn't.
"I haven't seen her break down like that since... since Voldemort killed her parents," Nikki muttered from beside Sirius.
"What have we done?" Bella asked herself.
She forced herself to walk towards Lily's bed.
"Lily dear? Lils, it's me, Bella. We're all here to see you," she said gently, shaking Lily's shoulders.
If anything, nothing helped and Lily had curled herself further into a ball.
The next day, Lily was discharged from the hospital wing. Nikki, Gab and Bella were escorting Lily back to the Gryffindor tower.
"Lils," Bella said. "We're so glad you're back."
Lily allowed a small smile to flit across her face, but that was all. There were bags under her eyes, which were red and swollen. Her face was pale and hair disheveled.
"I'm glad to be back too," she said softly.
"How do you feel?" Nikki asked in concern.
"Fine," came Lily's sullen reply.
After that, the group walked back to the tower in a very awkward silence, and attempt of conversation quickly ending.
Lily's friends frowned at her. This was so unlike Lily Evans. The Lily Evans they knew was head-strong, tenacious and talkative. This Lily Evans was quiet. They attributed this to the fact that she was still traumatised by the fact that she had nearly plunged to her death. No one dared to bring up the incident. They thought that it would just pass with time.
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Hmm, well, there's the second chap. Well, decided to continue since I was bored and cause of the encouraging reviews I got. After all you gotta start somewhere don't you? Argghhh! I'm soo sorry this chapter is way shorter than what I usually write, but as I said, I don't really have the time now... Physics.
Many many thanks to my reviewers. Hope you continue to support this story! Thanks guys!!! I love you all. Well, I would have put all your names here to thank you ppl specially, but unfortunately I'm typing this on my other lousy com with no internet connections so...
So, is it still good?
~cube
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Chapter 2 - I'm sorry, I can't be perfect...
Disclaimer: Am not J.K Rowling.
19/9/2003
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James was too stunned to react for that first few seconds. Then, he immediately sprung into action.
"Evans! Bloody hell!" He swore loudly. "Accio Nimbus 1001!" He yelled and leapt towards the window sill. Lily had already fallen about halfway down, and without further thought, jumped out of the window behind her.
After a few bind-blowing seconds of falling through air, he jerked upwards as the broom came sliding exactly underneath him.
'This is gonna take some real fancy flying.'
--- Lily.
Lily stood on the edge of the window sill, looking down at the vast expanse of grass spread out in front of her.
'Should I? Should I not?' She wondered sadly to herself.
"Evans!" A voice yelled from behind her.
Shocked, Lily turned around. And, was surprised to see the person she least expected to be standing there, telling her to get down.
Lily turned back to the night sky.
"Evans, come down!"
No, I've lost everything. 'I'm sorry mum, dad...' And she stepped out into nothingness.
For a few moments, she stared numbly as the night sky whizzed past, but her sense soon returned to her.
"Did I do the right thing?" She asked. The wind blew the words away even before they had reached her ears.
*
Now its just too late
And I can't go back
*
'Goodbye Bella, Nikki, Gab, I'm sorry for the rotten friend I've been,' she thought to herself as a tear crept into the corner of her eye and was blown away.
*
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect...
*
She closed her eyes and awaited for the inevitable impact.
---- End Lily.
He brought the broomstick handle vertically downwards and plunged after Lily's small frame. The seconds seemed to drag into minutes...
'Am I gonna make it?' James wondered to himself. The broom was starting to vibrate badly.
"Guess I'll have to get a new broom next Hogsmead weekend. They weren't built for this sort of thing. God, even Wronski Feints aren't this bad," he mumbled to himself as his eyes fixed on Lily.
He gritted his teeth and urged the broom even further downwards so that they were flying practically parallel to the tower walls. He could feel his ears popping due to the fast descent.
The broom was quickly shooting towards Lily, the gap between them was closing fast. Lily was falling... falling she would smash into the ground in a few seconds, and even then magic would not work as, well, magic never works on pulverized pulp.
Time seemed at a standstill as he dropped further down, then he was level with her. They were just barely a metre from the ground.
James leaned over, concentrated his weight onto his left hand, while his right reached over to snatch Lily out of the air by the waist.
Then, it was over. Time seemed to speed up now, as the momentum of the broom carried them towards the ground. His both hands now on the broom handle, Lily seated in front of him, he grabbed and pulled upwards with all his might.
'Up, you bloody prat, UP!' And by some miracle, the broom pulled upwards just as James toes brushed the grassy floor. And they rose gently into the night sky.
---- Lily.
Lily waited for the impact to crush her bones. After moments of eternity, she felt a jerk upwards at her stomach area.
'That's it. I'm dead now. I'm floating to Heaven, where mum and dad are. Or maybe I'll stay to haunt Hogwarts until I can rest in piece.
She opened her eyes, and found that she was staring into the golden and red lion of the Gryffindor crest on a Hogwarts robe.
'I don't believe it! Potter... saved me.'
----- End Lily.
Up til then, he had been too fixed on getting them up alive, and only then, did he realise he was clutching Lily tightly to him, and she was pounding on his chest, causing rather severe sharp pains in addition to the breathlessness and dizziness of descending so rapidly.
"Evans, stop that you bloody prat!" He growled at her.
She was in hysterics. "I h-hate -hic- you Potter! Why d-did you have -hic- to s-save me!" She was shrieking and sobbing and stuttering into his robes and her words her punctuated with hiccups. "I hate you," she whispered quietly.
Her strength had gone and she slumped wearily onto him, still sobbing quietly into his robes. Her pounding had softened considerably until when James took her wrists, she just completely stopped.
When they reached the main entrance hall, James brought the broom to a stop and held it steady while he helped Lily climb down.
"Now what did you do that for Evans? Bloody Hell! Trying to kill yourself? What were you thinking exactly, huh?" James ranted as he shook her shoulder violently.
"I didn't ask for you to save me!" She yelled hoarsely. "It would have been much better off if I died. I mean nobody would care right? I have to thank you for that. At least I wouldn't get hurt anymore if I died." She glanced at James' hands on her shoulders.
"Let me go," Lily said softly but firmly. The look in her eyes was one which had no emotion in it.
James complied, but immediately, Lily began wobbling on her feet.
"I'm bringing you to see Pomfrey," he said. It was not a question, but a statement.
"I don't nee-" Lily stopped abruptly in the middle of the sentence.
"Evans?" James asked. "Evans?" A tiny hint of concern entering his brown eyes.
"I don-" Lily attempted feebly. She was swaying rather dangerously on her feet.
"I-I..." And she fainted.
"Absolutely fantastic. You just had to faint on me didn't you?" James muttered to himself as he stooped to catch Lily as she fell.
He swept her feet easily off her floor where she lay nestled in his arms. James looked down at her and for a moment, his usually angry features softened.
'She looks like an angel,' he mused in a fleeting thought, before he was back to his usual self. 'Angel from hell...,' he grimaced as he thought to himself, remembering all the fights they had picked over the past few months.
He had no problem carrying her to the hospital wing; she was nearly as light as a feather in his quidditch-trained arms, his broom trailing behind him like a lost puppy.
"Madam Pomfrey???" He bellowed as he entered the hospital wing, not at all caring about the strict silence rule she had deployed. "MADAM POMFREY?? This is urgent!"
A plump witch in her middle years came hurrying out of the office. Her brown hair was tied up in a neat bun, robes, pressed and not a crease to be seen, was looking disapprovingly at him.
"What now Potter! Please keep your voice low," she hissed like a wounded snake, trying to reprimand him while whispering. "There are patients that are trying to rest!"
James looked around the room at the empty beds. 'Oh yea... Lots of patients trying to rest eh?' He wandered sarcastically to himself.
"Madam Pomfrey, please look at my... err... friend, she's sick," James said, indicating Lily's presence.
"Oh, of course," Pomfrey blustered. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Well... I would have, if not for you trying to bite my head off," James answered drily.
Pomfrey rolled her eyes. "Come now Potter. We don't have time to waste. Bring her to a bed and let her rest, this one should be fine," she commanded in a business-like tone, indicating a large white bed at the corner of the wing.
James followed the nurse to the bed and deposited Lily on it.
"Now, Potter, what happened to her?"
"Well, she... err...she," James stuttered. 'Evans wouldn't want me to say she tried to commit suicide. She's too proud, any thing else would just hurt her more,' James thought to himself.
Pomfrey turned to look at him, her eyebrow raised.
"She tripped and fell off the astronomy tower, said something about star- gazing. I was playing quidditch when I saw her fall," he said hastily, and gestured at his vibrating broomstick.
"All right then Potter, kindly wait outside."
"Oh no Madam Pomfrey, I saved her. Let me stay here," he practically begged.
"No Potter, I don't like people around when I work. It's distracting," she hissed again, this time like a winded-goose.
"Aww, come on. I just-," James yawned. The exhilaration of the plummet was wearing thin, and he suddenly felt weary. "I think I need a little nap," he finished with a loud yawn, and keeled over on the floor motionless.
Pomfrey looked down at James, and pursed her lips, then she looked at Lily, then back at James, and smiled affectionately.
"I always knew they would end up together, those two..." she hummed to herself as she set off to work, levitating James off the floor and setting them him down on the bed besides Lily's and started tending to Lily.
James woke up rather suddenly, he felt soft sheets under him. 'Hmm, I feel good, not one bit tired, after that sky-diving feat Evans put me through. Pomfrey must have worked her magic.' Just as he was contemplating what had sparked his abrupt return into the conscious world, he looked upwards and a madly grinning head of Sirius Black swum into view. He was being poked by Remus from the other side too. -Poke poke poke- 'Boy is that annoying. God, I never knew Remus could be so. Ugghh'
"GAHHHHHHH!" James bellowed. "SIRIUS!!!! REMUS!!!! GEROFF!"
He sat up amid hearty sniggers.
"So, Prongs what happened, give us the entire scoop," Sirius said as he plonked himself on the bed beside James, and Remus scooted his chair closer so that he could hear the story.
"One wonders why I have such nosey friends. Padfoot my boy, curiosity killed the cat," James murmured, shaking his head mock-sadly.
"Well, Prongsie, that's easy, one, cause you absolutely adore us -James and Remus rolls eyes simultaneously- and two, curiosity killed the cat, but... you seem to be forgetting a very important point. But satisfaction brought him back!" He finished with a flourish, looking absurdly pleased with himself.
"So," Remus asked, "what's this we heard about you saving Lily's life?"
"Aww, that's nothing," James whispered. "Umm, I went to find Evans after I left. She was at the top of the astronomy tower, and when I reached there, she just jumped off. Just like that. I just performed the wronski feint to perfection today lads. Dived after her, parallel to the castle walls, got her and even braked in time to prevent us getting squished into human porridge. Boy, I guessed she's real upset, cause even after that, she kept pounding on me." James grimaced as he remembered her pounding on him.
Sirius' jaw dropped open, and Remus looked rather awestruck, which, James reckoned, was his biggest reaction to something in a long long time. Remus just wasn't one to show his emotions.
"Well, my broom's got banged up pretty bad to, need to get a new one soon, with the Gryffindor-Slytherin match coming up in a few weeks," he said, pointing to his broom which was now dancing wildly out of control in the room, nearly whacking Albus Dumbledore in the face when he entered.
"Now, don't whisper a word about her trying to commit suicide. You know how big her ego is, so if you spill a single word of what I told you, even to Peter, you know how he's a little loose with those lips..." he trailed of ominously, eyes glinting dangerously, choosing to let Sirius and Remus imagine what would happen to them.
Sirius gulped.
"Excuse me, Mister Black, Mister Lupin, I would like a word with Mister Potter here," Dumbledore spoke kindly to them, cutting off James chances of threatening Sirius yet again.
"Certainly." And Sirius and Remus walked away, Sirius gesturing rudely at James behind Dumbledore's back.
"No swearing please Mister Black," Dumbledore said in amusement.
Sirius sighed heavily and was comforted by Remus patting his back, shaking his head and sniggering.
"Violent broom you have there Mister Potter."
James' face turned beet red. "Headmaster, Lily tripped and fell," James blurted out before Dumbledore could say anything.
"Ahh, yes of course. I myself saw the entire scenario from my office. I must say, that it was your most magnificent catch to date," he said eyes twinkling. "But, one wonders why you simply didn't use your wand. You had it with you I assume?" He chuckled and amused himself with eating one of the chocolate frogs Sirius and Remus had brought.
James suddenly felt immensely stupid. He could have just cast a pillow charm so that Evans wouldn't be squashed into the ground. Now, he had a broken broom and a trip to the hospital wing instead. 'Isn't life just peachy?' He thought to himself. 'Hmm, no wonder Evans yelled at me the other time...'
--Flashback--
"Potter! You dumb ass! Come back down here now! And turn my quills back!" Lily yelled exasperatedly. A group of mad twittering minute owls (imagine ron's owl: pig) were zooming madly around her head. It was really a sight to behold.
James looked down from a height of twenty feet, lazily dangling from his broom.
"Come and catch me then Evans," he taunted. He flew downwards so his legs could brush the ground and when Lily had almost caught him, accelerated upwards again, doing this a few times just to infuriate her, and each time dancing frustratingly out of her reach.
Lily stamped her feet angrily! "You-You show off! That's the only thing you care about! Your stupid broom and stupid stunts. You're nothing but a disgusting stupid prick who wants to show off what meager amount of skill he has at Quidditch! I don't even want to know what they find so attractive about you! ARGGHHH!" And she stomped off, leaving Sirius and James sniggering at her back, and a dozen other fan girls pointing and taunting Lily.
--End flashback--
'A stupid disgusting prick who wants to show off what meager amount of skill he has at Quidditch huh...?' He mused to himself.
"Hmm, I must say that this picture rather... captured the essence of me don't you think? I always thought I was quite photogenic..." Dumbledore said, snapping James out of his thoughts, and showed James a chocolate frog card with his picture smiling mildly up at them.
James stared at Dumbledore.
"I assure you, I am still quite sane, despite my old age. Thank you, Mister Potter, for keeping this a secret. I'm sure Miss Evans will too, one day. Good night Mister Potter."
He walked towards the entrance, but was almost stampeded by a group of girls. He looked alarmed, but a small smile lifted the corners of his lips.
"Good evening Miss's Xu, Figg and Black, I trust you've come to see your dear friend. I'm sure she'll be fine after you all rushed here to see her, and in the process, almost decapitating me..." Dumbledore said lightly.
The three girls stopped, turned to face their headmaster. "Sorry professor," Bella mumbled sheepishly.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and he waved his hands at them. "Oh, go on in, don't let your senile old headmaster keep you waiting here." He chuckled and left the hospital wing.
James rolled his eyes. 'Senile' was hardly a word to describe Professor Dumbledore. He had more spring than some of those in the seventh year who spent most of their time studying for NEWTS. (remember: they're still in fifth yr here!)
"Lily! Oh my god, what happened," a flustered Gab said as she surveyed the still unconscious Lily.
"Madam Pomfrey, will she be fine?" Bella asked, biting her lip.
"Oh, she'll be just fine dears. Only the usual, nausea, dizziness, stress and trauma. Just the things you would expect when someone trips and falls off the top of the astronomy tower. Thank goodness Potter was there to save her, I wouldn't have wanted to know what had happened otherwise," Pomfrey said.
"Oh, year. Err, right. Thanks," Nikki flashed Pomfrey her most dazzling smile, and dragged the other two girls to James' bed.
"Hello little brother," Nikki said sweetly, addressing Sirius.
"Nikki Black!!! You-you... Evil little evil spinach-cabbage-brocolli- carrots!" Sirius said smugly with a -there-I-found-a-very-long-and- insulting-nickname-for-you-ain't-I-so-clever- look. (In truth, he had just put all the things he absolutely hated in the world together)
"Yea, that's right little bro, very clever," Nikki said, sniggering. James had stuffed a fist into his mouth to keep from bursting out laughing and Remus was shaking his head and chuckling.
"I am NOT your little bro! I am your BIG bro! I was FIVE minutes earlier than you!!!" Sirius yelled, now sounding like a five-year old child.
Nikki rolled her eyes and turned her attention onto James, fixing him with a stare.
"Out with it Potter, what happened." She eyed him suspiciously.
"Nothing happened," James replied nonchalantly. "As I said before, she tripped and fell off the astronomy tower."
Bella snorted. "Yeah, right, and I am a dumb blond. Honestly, James, we're not that stupid. Lily's got to be the most careful person since- well, since like forever. She didn't trip."
"I told you," James insisted. "She tripped and fell."
"Don't believe him," Gab said softly. Tears were streaming down her face as she stared into the depths of James eyes. James felt that she was reading his soul inside-out.
"Stop that Gab! You're freaking me out," James said in irritation, dragging his gaze away from her eyes.
"Why didn't you tell us James? We're her friends," Gab whispered. Everyone was staring at her wondering what was going on. "You're lying aren't you. Lily didn't fall. She jumped."
Everyone jaws' had now dropped open, and the room was frightfully quiet. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The only sound came from Madam Pomfrey, who was busy humming to herself in the corner of the room, totally oblivious to the drama that was being played out.
Bella stumbled backwards into Sirius, who instantly stabled her. She looked gratefully at him, but immediately stared at Gab.
"Sh-she... jumped? Lily? That's so not possible," Bella stuttered. "Gab, don't you think you're taking this psychology thing a bit too far?" She said, referring to the fact that Gab's parents were psychologists and could tell from a persons behavior what was going on.
Nikki paused and bit her lip, evidently deep in thought.
"She's Lily, damn you," Bella was now yelling unrestrainedly. "Not some whacked up person. She's the most sensible person on the face on earth! Don't insult her like that!"
"Wait Bella, shhh." Nikki said slowly. "Don't yell now, Lily's still sleeping and James just woke up." She paused to let Bella calm down. "Gab has a point there, you know. I know Lily's sensible and all that, but we've been giving her a hard time this week, and she had to give up her DADA grades (Remus had told them about this earlier in the Gryffindor common room), she probably couldn't take it any more." she said silently.
----- Lily.
Lily woke up as she heard the voices of her friends shouting at each other. She gasped when they came to the point where they discussed her falling down, and clamped her hands tightly over her ears, yet the voices still seemed to drill straight through to her brain.
'Gods, no. Not now,' she thought.
She suddenly felt tired and all the defenses she had built around her crumbled and did one thing she swore she would never do since her parents had died. She curled up in a small ball and cried. (yea, I know I made her cry the last chapter, but just take it as the whole episode, and not just this once.)
----- End Lily.
The six other Gryffindor students had turned around to look at Lily. To their dismay, tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes. Her eyes were clenched shut, as if she could shut out the world if she did not see what was happening.
----- James.
James looked at the sobbing form of Lily on the bed. She looked so vulnerable that instantly, he felt his heart go out to her. Her body was curled up in a ball. She had probably thought that the blows of reality could be softened like this.
He was absolutely shocked. All throughout his pranking for the good part of the past few months, she had not shed a single tear. The only emotion she showed was anger at him.
----- End James.
Bella looked at her friend and immediately felt tears well up in her eyes.
'This can't be happening to Lily. This isn't the same Lily that held us together through thick and thin and stuck to us no matter what,' she thought to herself.
Beside her, Gab was weeping silently, while Remus was patting her shoulder awkwardly. Now, if Bella had had time to think about anything else, she would have been wondering, 'since when did those two get along?' But she didn't.
"I haven't seen her break down like that since... since Voldemort killed her parents," Nikki muttered from beside Sirius.
"What have we done?" Bella asked herself.
She forced herself to walk towards Lily's bed.
"Lily dear? Lils, it's me, Bella. We're all here to see you," she said gently, shaking Lily's shoulders.
If anything, nothing helped and Lily had curled herself further into a ball.
The next day, Lily was discharged from the hospital wing. Nikki, Gab and Bella were escorting Lily back to the Gryffindor tower.
"Lils," Bella said. "We're so glad you're back."
Lily allowed a small smile to flit across her face, but that was all. There were bags under her eyes, which were red and swollen. Her face was pale and hair disheveled.
"I'm glad to be back too," she said softly.
"How do you feel?" Nikki asked in concern.
"Fine," came Lily's sullen reply.
After that, the group walked back to the tower in a very awkward silence, and attempt of conversation quickly ending.
Lily's friends frowned at her. This was so unlike Lily Evans. The Lily Evans they knew was head-strong, tenacious and talkative. This Lily Evans was quiet. They attributed this to the fact that she was still traumatised by the fact that she had nearly plunged to her death. No one dared to bring up the incident. They thought that it would just pass with time.
-----
Hmm, well, there's the second chap. Well, decided to continue since I was bored and cause of the encouraging reviews I got. After all you gotta start somewhere don't you? Argghhh! I'm soo sorry this chapter is way shorter than what I usually write, but as I said, I don't really have the time now... Physics.
Many many thanks to my reviewers. Hope you continue to support this story! Thanks guys!!! I love you all. Well, I would have put all your names here to thank you ppl specially, but unfortunately I'm typing this on my other lousy com with no internet connections so...
So, is it still good?
~cube