When Lily woke up, the first thing she noticed was that it was still dark
out. The second thing she noticed was that James was not in the bed
anymore. "James?" she asked as she sat up. "James, are you in here?" Lily
looked around the room and saw a shape on the floor near the door. "James,
is that you?" Carefully, she walked over to the person and lightly laid a
hand on their shoulder. "James?" she asked as she gave the person a light
shake. She rolled the person over and saw James and screamed. His face was
scratched up and blooded. Bruises outlined his neck and his clothes were
torn. Lily wanted to scream for someone, but her voice couldn't seem to
work. She couldn't move, she seemed to be frozen, kneeling by James's
unconscious body. She heard somebody run up the steps, but couldn't tear
her eyes away from James to see whom it was.
"Lily? What happened? Lily," the person said as they shook her, trying to get her to look at them, "tell me what happened."
Finally, she looked up and saw Sirius staring at her, his hands on her shoulders. "I - I don't k - know. I woke up and I - I saw him like - like this," she stuttered. Suddenly tears started pouring out of her eyes. She threw herself on James and started to cry into his torn and tattered shirt. "James, don't leave me! Please me okay! You can't die, James. You can't die on me. Don't die, don't die," she sobbed into his chest.
"Lily, calm down. We have to think about this rationally," Sirius said soothingly. "He won't die. He'll be okay. We'll get Madame Monte and he'll be okay. He won't die, Lily. He won't." Gently, he lifted her off of James and called for someone to come up. Lily felt limp and lifeless in his arms and her face was white. "Lily, he will be okay."
"Who would do such a thing? Why would anyone want to hurt James? He's so loving, and sweet. Why would anyone want to kill him?" Lily wondered.
"I don't know, Lily. I don't know," he whispered and shook his head. He heard a gasp from the doorway and saw Remus, frozen by the sight of his friend injured.
"What happened?" he asked tentatively as he stepped into the room.
"I don't know. Could you get Madame Monte? And Dumbledore. We have to find out what happened."
"Yeah, I'll go," Remus said, still looking at James. He quickly turned around and ran out of the room. Just as he reached the common room, Madame Monte and Professor Dumbledore entered. "Madame, Professor! It's James! He -"
"We know, Remus," Dumbledore interrupted. "We need to help him as soon as we can. If we don't get to him in time . . ."
"Yes, right this way. Follow me," Remus said and ran off in the direction of James's dormitory.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Lily paced outside of the hospital wing. Remus, Sirius, Peter, Sol and Cassandra were sitting on the floor near the locked doors. James had been in the hospital wing for two days, and they were letting nobody in to see him.
"Lily, would you please sit down? You're making me dizzy," Sirius said. Although he sounded like his usual self, Sirius was shaken pretty badly. He couldn't seem to get the image of Lily thrown over James's body, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I can't. I'm restless. God! When are then going to let us in?!" Lily exclaimed as she threw up her hands. "We haven't even seen him since they took him away. We don't even know what happened."
"I know. But there's nothing we can do. There's nothing we can do but wait," Sirius said sympathetically.
"There has to be something we can do. I can't stand all the waiting. It leaves me time to think. I can't stand it!"
"Calm down, honey," Cassandra said. "I know how you feel. We all do. But there simply is nothing we can do."
"I know, I know. It's just that I wish there was something I could do. I can't stand feeling helpless, and right now I feel as helpless as can be. Dumbledore hasn't come out of that room in two days and I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. I guess I'll just admit it. I'm terrified," she said as she turned to face the group. "I'm afraid that he'll never wake up. That he'll die on me."
"We all are. We all are feeling the same thing you are. We all are afraid," Remus reasoned. "We all feel helpless. We all want to do something, but know we can't. So all we can do is wait, and hope. And have faith."
"Why do you have to be so sensible, Remus?" Lily asked with a sigh.
"It keeps the rest of the Marauders in check."
"Yeah. We'll make it through this, guys. And so will James. We won't let him die."
"Of course not, Lily of the Valley," Sirius said. "If he dies on us, I'll just have to kill him."
"Oh, yeah, that'll work," Sol said sarcastically.
"Yo, Wormtail! You still with us over there, buddy?" Sirius said. Peter had just been sitting in the corner with a distracted look on his face.
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm here Padfoot."
"What are ya thinking about over there? The only one that's supposed to think out of all of us is Remus. It doesn't work to well with the rest of the Marauders."
"I'm trying to think about who would have done that to James."
"Who isn't?" Lily replied. She knew that she had spent the whole night thinking of people.
"The only people I can think of are Severus Snape and Lucious Malfoy," Peter said thoughtfully. "But they aren't that strong and they couldn't get into the Gryffindor rooms. They don't know the password or the entrance."
"Unless they're as mischievous as we are, Wormtail. We know where the Slytherin entrance is."
"I know, Moony, but we don't know the password. They can't be that good."
"I don't know . . ."
"Maybe it's -" Just then, Dumbledore opened the hospital wing door and came out with his back to the students. He almost walked right past them, and he looked like he was headed for the Gryffindor common room.
"Professor!" Lily exclaimed as she jumped up. "How is James?"
"Oh, hello, Lily. I didn't see you there. He's . . . recovering. I was just on my way to find you. Where is Remus, Sirius, Peter, Sol, and Cassandra?"
"We're right here, Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said as he stood up with his arm around Cassandra. Remus stood up with Sol, and Peter stood alone. "How is he?"
"He'll be fine in a few days. He's only allowed one visitor at a time, he needs his rest. And each of you will be allowed in to see him for ten minutes. I don't want James to get over excited."
"Professor? Could I go in first? I'll be leaving soon and . . ."
"Yes, Remus, you can. Go ahead in. I'll tell you when your time is up."
"Thank you, Professor," Remus said and went through the door to see his friend.
"Lily, you can go in next. I have to talk to you about what happened."
"Do you have any idea who it could have been, Professor?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"Yes, Sirius. I do."
"Who, Professor? Who could have wanted to do such a thing to James? He hasn't done any wrong," Lily said.
Dumbledore stood there and measured up the people that stood in front of them. He knew something that they didn't know he knew. He knew one amongst them was a traitor. Sirius stood there, serious for once in his life with Cassandra by his side. Cassandra leaned ever so slightly against him and waited for Dumbledore's answer. Sol waited for her love to return, and stood with hands clasped in front of her, knowing that the answer that was sure to come would not be good. Peter stood partly hidden by shadows, his face a mask. Remus came back and went directly to Sol and put his arm around her. Here was the voice of reason. Remus was kind, and his eyes were filled with pain. And Lily stood closest to Dumbledore, her eyes full of fire, pain, and knowledge. They all stood as a group, and Dumbledore knew one of them was a traitor.
"What I am going to tell you now, you must never whisper to another soul. I'm only telling you because I know all of you love James to some degree or another. And I know that all of you would stand by him in a battle."
"Who was it, Professor?" Lily whispered.
"It was Voldemort." Gasps were heard around the group and Peter flinched at the name.
"Voldemort? But why would he want to hurt James?" Lily asked, perplexed.
"Because of his future," Dumbledore answered vaguely. "Lily, you may go in to see James now."
"Thank you, Professor." As Lily turned to the doors, she felt a chill creep up her neck. She turned and saw the eyes of a traitor looking back at her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
So, what do you think, guys? Poor James, he got hurt. (((tear))) Don't worry, he'll be fine. And I still didn't put more Peter or Sirius/Cassandra!! Bad me!! Don't worry it will show up. I promise. In the mean time, please review!! Like I said before, my ego loooves it! That and KFC. But that's besides the point. Review like (this is for you, Kayla) MAD AARDVARKS!! Well, over and out!
"Lily? What happened? Lily," the person said as they shook her, trying to get her to look at them, "tell me what happened."
Finally, she looked up and saw Sirius staring at her, his hands on her shoulders. "I - I don't k - know. I woke up and I - I saw him like - like this," she stuttered. Suddenly tears started pouring out of her eyes. She threw herself on James and started to cry into his torn and tattered shirt. "James, don't leave me! Please me okay! You can't die, James. You can't die on me. Don't die, don't die," she sobbed into his chest.
"Lily, calm down. We have to think about this rationally," Sirius said soothingly. "He won't die. He'll be okay. We'll get Madame Monte and he'll be okay. He won't die, Lily. He won't." Gently, he lifted her off of James and called for someone to come up. Lily felt limp and lifeless in his arms and her face was white. "Lily, he will be okay."
"Who would do such a thing? Why would anyone want to hurt James? He's so loving, and sweet. Why would anyone want to kill him?" Lily wondered.
"I don't know, Lily. I don't know," he whispered and shook his head. He heard a gasp from the doorway and saw Remus, frozen by the sight of his friend injured.
"What happened?" he asked tentatively as he stepped into the room.
"I don't know. Could you get Madame Monte? And Dumbledore. We have to find out what happened."
"Yeah, I'll go," Remus said, still looking at James. He quickly turned around and ran out of the room. Just as he reached the common room, Madame Monte and Professor Dumbledore entered. "Madame, Professor! It's James! He -"
"We know, Remus," Dumbledore interrupted. "We need to help him as soon as we can. If we don't get to him in time . . ."
"Yes, right this way. Follow me," Remus said and ran off in the direction of James's dormitory.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Lily paced outside of the hospital wing. Remus, Sirius, Peter, Sol and Cassandra were sitting on the floor near the locked doors. James had been in the hospital wing for two days, and they were letting nobody in to see him.
"Lily, would you please sit down? You're making me dizzy," Sirius said. Although he sounded like his usual self, Sirius was shaken pretty badly. He couldn't seem to get the image of Lily thrown over James's body, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I can't. I'm restless. God! When are then going to let us in?!" Lily exclaimed as she threw up her hands. "We haven't even seen him since they took him away. We don't even know what happened."
"I know. But there's nothing we can do. There's nothing we can do but wait," Sirius said sympathetically.
"There has to be something we can do. I can't stand all the waiting. It leaves me time to think. I can't stand it!"
"Calm down, honey," Cassandra said. "I know how you feel. We all do. But there simply is nothing we can do."
"I know, I know. It's just that I wish there was something I could do. I can't stand feeling helpless, and right now I feel as helpless as can be. Dumbledore hasn't come out of that room in two days and I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. I guess I'll just admit it. I'm terrified," she said as she turned to face the group. "I'm afraid that he'll never wake up. That he'll die on me."
"We all are. We all are feeling the same thing you are. We all are afraid," Remus reasoned. "We all feel helpless. We all want to do something, but know we can't. So all we can do is wait, and hope. And have faith."
"Why do you have to be so sensible, Remus?" Lily asked with a sigh.
"It keeps the rest of the Marauders in check."
"Yeah. We'll make it through this, guys. And so will James. We won't let him die."
"Of course not, Lily of the Valley," Sirius said. "If he dies on us, I'll just have to kill him."
"Oh, yeah, that'll work," Sol said sarcastically.
"Yo, Wormtail! You still with us over there, buddy?" Sirius said. Peter had just been sitting in the corner with a distracted look on his face.
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm here Padfoot."
"What are ya thinking about over there? The only one that's supposed to think out of all of us is Remus. It doesn't work to well with the rest of the Marauders."
"I'm trying to think about who would have done that to James."
"Who isn't?" Lily replied. She knew that she had spent the whole night thinking of people.
"The only people I can think of are Severus Snape and Lucious Malfoy," Peter said thoughtfully. "But they aren't that strong and they couldn't get into the Gryffindor rooms. They don't know the password or the entrance."
"Unless they're as mischievous as we are, Wormtail. We know where the Slytherin entrance is."
"I know, Moony, but we don't know the password. They can't be that good."
"I don't know . . ."
"Maybe it's -" Just then, Dumbledore opened the hospital wing door and came out with his back to the students. He almost walked right past them, and he looked like he was headed for the Gryffindor common room.
"Professor!" Lily exclaimed as she jumped up. "How is James?"
"Oh, hello, Lily. I didn't see you there. He's . . . recovering. I was just on my way to find you. Where is Remus, Sirius, Peter, Sol, and Cassandra?"
"We're right here, Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said as he stood up with his arm around Cassandra. Remus stood up with Sol, and Peter stood alone. "How is he?"
"He'll be fine in a few days. He's only allowed one visitor at a time, he needs his rest. And each of you will be allowed in to see him for ten minutes. I don't want James to get over excited."
"Professor? Could I go in first? I'll be leaving soon and . . ."
"Yes, Remus, you can. Go ahead in. I'll tell you when your time is up."
"Thank you, Professor," Remus said and went through the door to see his friend.
"Lily, you can go in next. I have to talk to you about what happened."
"Do you have any idea who it could have been, Professor?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"Yes, Sirius. I do."
"Who, Professor? Who could have wanted to do such a thing to James? He hasn't done any wrong," Lily said.
Dumbledore stood there and measured up the people that stood in front of them. He knew something that they didn't know he knew. He knew one amongst them was a traitor. Sirius stood there, serious for once in his life with Cassandra by his side. Cassandra leaned ever so slightly against him and waited for Dumbledore's answer. Sol waited for her love to return, and stood with hands clasped in front of her, knowing that the answer that was sure to come would not be good. Peter stood partly hidden by shadows, his face a mask. Remus came back and went directly to Sol and put his arm around her. Here was the voice of reason. Remus was kind, and his eyes were filled with pain. And Lily stood closest to Dumbledore, her eyes full of fire, pain, and knowledge. They all stood as a group, and Dumbledore knew one of them was a traitor.
"What I am going to tell you now, you must never whisper to another soul. I'm only telling you because I know all of you love James to some degree or another. And I know that all of you would stand by him in a battle."
"Who was it, Professor?" Lily whispered.
"It was Voldemort." Gasps were heard around the group and Peter flinched at the name.
"Voldemort? But why would he want to hurt James?" Lily asked, perplexed.
"Because of his future," Dumbledore answered vaguely. "Lily, you may go in to see James now."
"Thank you, Professor." As Lily turned to the doors, she felt a chill creep up her neck. She turned and saw the eyes of a traitor looking back at her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
So, what do you think, guys? Poor James, he got hurt. (((tear))) Don't worry, he'll be fine. And I still didn't put more Peter or Sirius/Cassandra!! Bad me!! Don't worry it will show up. I promise. In the mean time, please review!! Like I said before, my ego loooves it! That and KFC. But that's besides the point. Review like (this is for you, Kayla) MAD AARDVARKS!! Well, over and out!