(Note from the author: These are not my characters, my world, or my situations. They all belong to J. K. Rowling, and are protected by copyrights.)

(Blooper Alert: And still, I spell the Killing Curse wrong. When will I learn? Sigh. Okay, I'll get it right this time . getting out the handy book .)

(Reply to Twilight's Dawn: Thank you for reading my story, and taking the time to point out my mistakes and grammatical errors. It's truly much appreciated. One thing that you did bring up was that Sirius wouldn't know much about the Bible, therefore wouldn't be able to make his comment about Dumbledore being very "biblical." Well, Sirius spent most of his time away from school at the Potter's house, and all of his time at school with James. James's family was Catholic. When he went over there for the first Christmas, he was introduced to a nativity scene, and saying "Grace" at the table. So I just guessed that he knew enough about the Bible to make a snide comment. And yes, I know, Sirius's ongoing battle with Lily is becoming tiring. But it's finally over, so thank God that we don't have to listen to his angst anymore. Lol. Oh, and I brought up the mirror during their first date . . . fyi . . . now I'm feeling like a critical person, lol. Thank you so much for taking the time to write out well written and thought out reviews!)

(And a note to readers worried about Moody hating Sirius: Keep reading . . . it's going to be okay . . .)

Lily had sat by James's bedside the entire night. She had not slept. She had not taken a break. She had loyally pulled up a chair to the head of his hospital bed, and held his hand as the spells wore off slowly.
James was lost in his own world. The visions of Remus and Lily continued to replay themselves before his eyes. The death of his mother and father and Sprite. The funeral of Wendy. All of it . . .
It just played over and over again in an unending nightmare. His head was still hammering, and he could hardly see the true scene before him, because of the limp bodies of his beloved friends dancing in front of his eyes.
He felt Lily's hand. He felt it more than anything else. It was the only thing that was real to him.
And then, as the sun peered through the window into the room of St. Mungo's, her sparkling eyes broke his dream. They were staring into his soul, and into his mind. He felt himself resurface from the spells that Voldemort had put on him, and come face to face with the most beautiful creature on earth.
"Lily," he murmered, and Lily stroked his hair.
"Sh," she said, "You had a hard night."
"You're okay," he said, the world coming into focus. He hoisted himself into a sitting position, "You . . . you made it out. You're not dead."
"No," Lily said, "He couldn't kill me if he tried."

They shared a small, nervous laugh, and then James gripped her hand, "God, I was sure that you were gone . . . I was sure . . ."

"Don't think like that," she interrupted him, "Just don't."
James nodded solemnly, and then looked around at his room. It was white, and an older man was speaking quietly to his bedridden wife across the way from them. Healers and assistants could be found throughout the room, and then out in the hall.
"St. Mungo's," he snorted, "They took me to St. Mungo's."
Lily smiled sadly, "You don't remember anything about last night, do you?"
James searched his memory for any recollection, and then finally nodded, "I do. I remember . . . I remember he asked me . . . he asked me to join him."
"And you said no," Lily said, "You said no to him."
"How did we get out?" James asked, and Lily shrugged, "I alerted the others with some sparks, and he went running. Seemed not to be ready to face three Aurors at the moment. Not exactly sure why."
"Dumbledore must have been on his way," James coughed, and then a Healer interrupted their conversation to check his vitals, and then declare him well enough to go home that afternoon.
"Miss Evans," the Healer addressed Lily, "We need you to sign a few papers before he leaves, seeing that you're his only family left. If it wouldn't bother you . . ."
"No," Lily said, "That's fine. Thanks."

The Healer left, and James gave Lily a look, "Family?"
Lily shrugged, "They wouldn't let anyone come with you if they weren't . . . if they weren't your family. And so I lied."

"What did you tell them?"
Lily bit her lip, and then let go of his hand. Looking around, to see if anyone was in earshot, she said quietly, "I told them that I was your fiance."
James's eyes grew big, and he looked sick, "What?"
"Well, they wouldn't let me come any other way," Lily said, "And Sirius tried to go, but they stopped him. And I had to be with you when you snapped out of it . . ."
"Oh, God," James said, hitting his forehead, "Sirius probably thinks that we were going to get eloped or something!"
"What? You're worried about Sirius now?" Lily said, looking back at him.
"He's so sensitive when it comes to you and me," James explained, turning pale, "He thinks that I didn't tell him! He thinks . . ."

"He's a big boy, James," Lily cut in, sounding sort of disgusted, "I think he'll be able to handle it."
James sighed, "No, he won't. God, Lily, why did you say that?"
"I thought that you'd like to have someone with you when you woke up," she defended herself.
James groaned, and rolled over in his bed.
"Well, I'm glad to see that the idea of us getting married makes you sick to your stomach," Lily said, crossing her legs.
James moaned, and his head hurt with pain again. But not from Voldemort's spell. From Lily's voice sounding in his ears.
"Look," Lily said, "Let's just . . . let's just get you home. And be thankful that we're still alive. We could have died last night."

James nodded, but he didn't turn around. Marriage. Marriage.
He was seventeen.
Marriage.
"You can't come in here!"
The two of them looked to the door where a Healer had screamed from the hallway. The white-clothed woman was trying to stop a taller and long haired man from entering the ward.
"Watch me," the man growled, and then pushed her out of the way.
James laughed as Sirius came strolling into the room, his hair dangling in his face, and face very pale and tired.
It was now Lily's turn to groan as he made his way to the bed, two Healers running after him. He was still wearing his robes from last night, his large biker boots protruding from underneath them, and a chain locked on his belt buckle.
"I'm sorry," another quieter voice came from the door, as the newcomer tried to help the Healer up from the floor, "He's got a bit of a temper."
Remus Lupin came rushing in after Sirius, as if he was a father running after his escaped crazed child. Sirius didn't pay any attention to Remus as he stopped at the edge of James's bed, and took a look at him.
"Are you all right?" he asked quickly.
"I'm fine," James said, giving him a look, "Why? And . . . what . . ."
"We escaped," Remus said, finally catching up to Sirius at the bed, "Padfoot wanted to make sure that you were all right. They told us what had happened back at Headquarters . . . and . . ."
"He wanted you to join?" Sirius interrupted him.
"And he thought that he needed to talk to you," Remus continued on, "And I can't let Sirius out in society by himself. He'll end up killing someone."
"Sirs, I'm going to have to ask you to vacate the room now . . ." The female Healer said, running from behind them, holding her wand out to them.
"It's fine," James said, "They're not bothering me."

"We have strict orders from Mr. Crouch that you are only supposed to have family members to visit," she said.
"Well, Mr. Crouch can go throw himself off a bridge," Sirius barked, "I'm trying to talk to my friend here, so if you don't mind . . ."

"Don't make me stun you, sir," the Healer raised her wand.
"Don't you point that thing at me!" he shouted, "I'm trying to have a civil conversation! Now if you don't mind you can turn your . . ."
"Excuse me, miss," Remus said, cutting Sirius off again, "We are very good friends with James, and we just want to talk with him for one moment. Could you just please lower the wand and let us have two minutes with him alone? That's all we're asking for."
The Healer gave them one last look, and then lowered her wand. She sighed, putting her hair back into place, and mumbled, "I could lose my job for this."
"Now," Sirius said, turning back to James, "What happened. Tell me exactly what happened."
James sighed, mussed his hair, and relayed the entire story to his friends, with help from Lily. Sirius's face grew paler with every single word, and by the time that James lay back in his bed, done with his story, he looked like a white sheet.
"That's it," he said, like he had just decided something, "You're going into hiding. All three of you. I'll be your Secret Keepers. I'll . . ."
"Padfoot, no one's going into hiding," Remus said, "We're perfectly fine where we are. As long as we're in the Headquarters, we'll be safe."
And the little color left in Sirius's face faded, "I am not spending the rest of my life in that madhouse," he croaked.
"Well, he's not after you, is he?" Remus said dryly.
"I'm not going to hide either," Lily said, speaking up, "As soon as the training's over, I'm going to find a house. And I'm going to live there, like a normal human being."
"Oh, yeah, because we all know that you're a normal human being," Sirius huffed, "Especially with this whole Order member thing, and . . . oh, wait . . . you're a witch. Forgot that small little detail."
"You know what I mean," Lily snapped, "I'm not going to let him scare me into hiding."
James didn't say a word.
And no one seemed to care, because the three of his friends just kept on ranting and raving at each other.
"And what's this all about you two getting married?" Sirius shouted. James's train of thought was broken, and he looked into the dangerous face of his friend.
"We're not," James said, shooting a look to Lily.
"Told you," Remus muttered from behind his hand.
Sirius's eyes softened, and then his cheeks became colored again, "Ah . . . well, that's . . . I knew that."
Lily glared back at James, and then turned away from the three boys. Remus could swear that he saw her left eye twitching with annoyance.
"Well, that's great," Remus said, "Now that we have everything figured out now, maybe we can get back into our rooms before Moody finds out that we're gone."
"Oh, he's probably figured that out by now," James said.
"We locked out doors," Sirius said, "I put a spell on mine. We thought it may hold him off for a while. We escaped through the windows. Crawled into his backyard, and down an evergreen," he massaged his shoulder, "Not the most comfortable thing ever. And then we got a car to take us here."
"More like stole a car," Remus corrected him.
"Remus, I'm impressed," James said, giving him a thumbs up.
"I think we've been a bad influence on him, Prongs," Sirius laughed, and Lily shot a glare at him. He grew quiet.
"He's being released," Lily said, "You two could have waited a few more hours before breaking out."
"Ah, but where would the adventure be in that?" Sirius laughed his barking laugh, and Lily had to give a small smile.
The four of them were alive. That's all that mattered, as Lily had pointed out. They were young. They were innocent, carefree, and ignorant. How could any of them had known what was in store for them? How could any of them know that the incident of last night was just the beginning of a long spiral of death and destruction?
How could any of them had known that?