The end-of-year tests came and went. Lily, Remus, James, Sirius, Rini, and
Damien would lay outside under a tree near the lake every free moment they
had talking about this or that. Rini and Damien would lay a little off to
the side, giggling over something. Lily would lie down and James, Remus,
and Sirius would lay above and beside her, leaving only the area near her
feet empty. Strangely, Lily was more tired then she should be. Whenever
they lay down she would fall asleep in a matter of minutes.
On the third day of doing this, James looked at the guys and said, "You guys, what do you think is wrong with Lily? I mean, why does she always fall asleep whenever we come out here?"
Sirius looked at Lily and said, "Our little angel is probably tired. She was staying up late into the night always studying, you know. Her mind and body is probably catching up on their sleep."
Remus shook his head and said, "I don't think so. I agree with James. Something isn't right with her falling asleep every time she lay down."
James, who was laying above Lily, started stroking her hair. "This can't be normal. Maybe we should take her to Madam Pomfrey. Just to be sure."
James was still stroking Lily's hair when she suddenly jerked upright, gasping for breath and clutching her chest. All three boys sat up and started asking Lily if she was alright. She looked from Sirius to Remus, then from Remus to James. She had barely looked at James before she fainted.
Rini and Damien had gotten over to the group by now to see what was wrong. She got to the group and cried out, "Lily!" looked at James and said, "What happened to her?"
James was trying to pick Lily up to take her to the infirmary. "I'm not sure, Rini. She fell asleep again and she suddenly woke, gasping for breath and clutching her heart. Then she looked from Sirius to Remus, then from Remus to me and fainted."
James carried the unconscious Lily to the infirmary with the other four behind them. When they arrived, Madam Pomfrey took one look at James carrying Lily and asked, "What happened to the poor dear?"
James shook his head and said, "We're not quite sure. She was sleeping when she awoke grasping for breath and then fainted."
"Put her on the bed there," Madam Pomfrey instructed. James gently set Lily on the bed and backed away. Madam Pomfrey closed the curtain around Lily and started to examine her to see what had happened.
They waited outside the curtain to hear what was wrong with Lily. They even missed dinner. When Madam Pomfrey finally came out around 9 o'clock, they five stood up expectantly. "Has Miss Evans been falling asleep frequently at odd times?"
The question surprised them. James answered for them all. "Yes, she has."
"I see."
"What is it, Madam Pomfrey?"
"Well, Mr. Potter, during each and every one of these sleeps, Miss Evans has been dreaming. Dreaming a continuous dream. Every time, the dream progressed a little further. Miss Evans must have reached the most horrifying part of the dream. After she awoke, what did she do before she fainted?"
James looked uncomfortable as he said, "Well, she looked at Sirius, then at Remus, and finally at me. She barely looked at me before she fainted."
"I see." Madam Pomfrey would say no more. "Well, Miss Evans is sleeping peacefully now."
Rini finally spoke. "May I stay the night with her, please?" Madam Pomfrey looked skeptical but said the Rini could. Then she told the others that they would need to go back to their dorms. Remus and Sirius kissed Lily on the forehead, hugged Rini, and left. James went over to Lily, kissed her cheek, hugged Rini and then he, too, left. Damien hugged Rini before leaving. Then Rini went and sat beside Lily's bed.
Rini woke up in the middle of the night, hearing her name. She looked over and saw that Lily was awake. "Lily, are you okay? Want me to go get the nurse?"
Lily shook her head. "No, I'm okay. What am I doing here, though."
Rini looked at her hands in her lap and then back at Lily. "You fainted. Those dreams you've been having when you fall asleep, something happened in them. It must have terrified you."
Lily's expression was blank. "How'd you know I was having dreams?"
"Madam Pomfrey told us. Lily, what were you dreaming?"
"I'm not quite sure. I think James was there. Yes, he was there, except he was older. I couldn't hear anything, but I know he was shouting at someone to do something. Then this green light came and engulfed him. The last I saw him he was lying on the ground."
"Is that when you woke up?"
"Yeah. I saw Sirius's face, then Remus's, then James. That's all I can remember." Lily lay back in her bed.
"That's why you fainted. I'm guessing you just saw James die and then you see him alive. It makes sense that you fainted."
They were quiet for a short time afterwards. Lily broke the silence by saying, "Rini, I'm scared."
"Of what, Lily?"
"That my dream will come true."
Lily said quickly, "Lily, don't be ridic—"
"Don't tell me not to be ridiculous, Rini! Some of my dreams have come true before. You know that! Remember I dreamed of meeting a new girl that looked exactly like Tina and we met Tina! I dreamed you had a broken leg and you broke your leg! I'm not being ridiculous, Rini!"
"Lily, calm down! Relax and keep your voice down. Let's just get some sleep, okay?"
"Okay," Lily said quietly.
When they woke up the next morning James, Remus, Sirius, and Damien were all waiting for them to wake up.
"Morning, sleepy heads!" James said cheerfully. Lily just lay back down and turned on her side. James looked at Rini and whispered, "What's wrong with her?"
"Later," Rini mouthed to James. James nodded to show that he understood.
Remus sat in the chair on the other side of Lily's bed. "Lily, are you alright? We were so worried about you."
"I'm alright, Remus, or I will be. It was just fits of sleep filled with weird and scary dreams."
"What were they about?" Sirius asked.
Lily looked up at the ceiling, crossed her arms, and said, "I don't want to talk about them!" Her voice was a bit broken because her throat had gotten tight thinking of James dying.
"Did you two sleep well?" Damien asked.
"Well," Rini said, "I slept as comfortable as I could in a chair."
Damien looked at Lily. "And you? Any awful dreams again tonight?"
Lily shook her head. "No. I think they are over."
"That's good," Sirius said.
Lily nodded. Just then Madam Pomfrey entered the infirmary. "Hello Miss Evans. How are you feeling today?"
"A little confused but, other than that I'm fine, thank you."
"Well, just to be sure, I'll examine you and then you may go down to breakfast. The rest of you should go down now."
After the others left, Lily looked at Madam Pomfrey and asked, "Can you tell me why I've been having those dreams?"
"Well, Miss Evans, from what I can tell, you have a gift. You can see things in dreams that have or will happen."
"Do they always come true?"
"Most of the time, unfortunately."
Lily's eyes widened as she asked, "Does that mean James will die?"
Madam Pomfrey stopped what she was doing and looked at Lily. "There's a nine out of ten chance. He didn't look young, did he?"
"No, he looked about in his early twenties."
"Good. Hopefully, by then whatever is going to happen that will make James be killed will be altered."
Lily nodded and Madam Pomfrey finished her examination. "You may go now, Miss Evans."
"Thank you," Lily said as she left the room.
Later that day during one of their breaks, James and Rini were in the Common Room. James started talking first, "So Rini, just what exactly was Lily dreaming?"
Rini looked down at the floor. "Well, she dreamed about you."
"Me? Am I that frightening to her?"
"No, you misunderstood. In her dream, you were older and she witnessed you die."
James sank down into a chair. "Is she sure it's me she saw?" Rini nodded. "Oh my. That's why she fainted when she looked at me." Rini nodded again. "Has she had dreams like that before?" Rini nodded again. "And they came true?" Rini nodded once more. "Oh my."
They got their test results the next day. Lily got the highest scores of the entire first year. Everyone else in Gryffindor did average or above average. To Lily and Rini's disgust, and to James, Sirius, and Remus's delight, even Severus Snape had managed to pass.
"Really," Lily said when she saw their happy faces, "why is it so much for to pull pranks on Severus and get him in trouble?"
Sirius sighed. "Ah, Lily, Lily, Lily."
"What, Sirius, Sirius, Sirius?"
Sirius chuckled. "It's so much fun because we don't like him. Just like it's fun to pull pranks on each other because we are friends."
"Sirius, you are demented!"
James jumped in. "No, it's true! If we weren't friends, doing this," James quickly put a tickling charm on Lily who burst out laughing, "just wouldn't be fun," he finished.
"Take it off! Take the charm off me, James!" Lily said between laughs. James shook his head. "Remus, help, please! Take the charm off me!" Remus also shook his head. "Take the charm off or I'll tell!" Remus immediately took the charm off. Lily calmed down and said, "Thank you."
James, Sirius, and Rini looked at each other. "Uh," Rini said, "What was that about?"
Lily shook her head. "Nothing."
Remus also shook his head. "No, nothing at all."
The three looked at each other again when Remus gave Lily a weird look.
It was time for breakfast so the five plus Damien set off for the Great Hall. They formed a little triangle: Lily in front, followed by Rini and Damien, who were followed by James, Remus, and Sirius. They reached the hall and took their seats. It was a day of no classes so they went down to the lake as usual. Today, Lily stayed awake talking to the guys.
Suddenly Remus asked, "Lily, what where you dreaming about?"
Lily was startled by the question. "Wha—what do you mean?"
"Before you woke up and fainted. What were you dreaming about?"
Lily glanced at James quickly, not knowing whether to tell them yet. She sat up and looked at her hands in her lap. "I was dreaming—No!" Lily stood up. Her voice shaking, she said, "No. I can't tell."
Sirius said, "But Lily, we just want to know. We're worried—"
"No! I can't tell you! I won't!" and she ran, not caring about the tears streaming from her eyes. Lily didn't know where she was headed. When she looked up, she saw she was at Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Lily walked up the steps and knocked on the door. "Ha-Hagrid?" she called through gasps. "Hagrid are you there?"
The door opened. Hagrid saw Lily and said, "Lily? "S'at yeh?"
"Yes, Hagrid. It's me. May I come inside?"
"O' course! Would yeh like some tea?" Lily nodded as she went inside. Hagrid poured two cups of tea and handed one to Lily. "Now, tell me what happened."
Lily started by telling Hagrid how after the finals, she had begun falling asleep more often than she should. She told him about the dreams. She told him how she saw James dying and then waking up and seeing him alive. How she had fainted and been taken to the infirmary. She finished her story saying, "And then just a few minutes ago, Remus asked what I was dreaming about and I couldn't tell them. Then Sirius said that I should tell because they were worried and I said I wouldn't tell and ran. I wound up here."
"Ah, Lily. Yeh gonna have to tell 'em."
"I know, Hagrid! But I'm scared. What if-," Lily paused. "What if the dream comes true?"
"What if it does? Yeh said yerself that he was older. Means it won' happen fer a while."
"I know. I'm just not ready to tell them, especially James."
Hagrid nodded. "I know, Lily. I know."
There were only a couple days before the Final Great Feast. Everyone was in a buzz with excitement. Lily knew she'd have to tell James her dream and soon. Her opportunity came that night in the Common Room. Rini and Damien were in the corner talking in hushed voices. James and Lily were sitting on the couch watching the fire and talking about what they might do over the summer. Lily's head had fallen on James's shoulder when she had fallen asleep. Now it was in his lap. James was happily stroking her soft ginger-red hair.
Then James heard a soft sound. He wasn't sure and then he realized Lily was crying quietly in his lap. "Lily, what's wrong?"
"James, promise you won't put yourself in a situation that you could get killed," Lily said in a whisper.
"Why would I do that, Lily? Then my promise to wait for you would be worthless," he whispered back.
"James, it was awful."
"What was?"
"The dream! My nightmare!"
James sighed, knowing what was coming. "What happened in the dream, Lily?"
"Oh James, it was so terribly awful. I—I saw you get killed, murdered."
James raised Lily and wiped away her tears. "Lily, I promise you I will not be dying anytime soon. As much as I like you, I would never die before having a chance with you." Lily laughed and James loved the tinkling sound her laugh was. He loved the shine in her brilliantly emerald green eyes from her tears. James gently wiped the tears away from her cheeks. Lily shivered from how gentle his hands were on her skin. "Lily, I have to confess. Rini told me about the dream."
Lily looked at her hands. "She did?"
James nodded. "Yes, but hearing it from you is what I wanted so I didn't say anything. I trusted you would tell me in time."
Lily suddenly gave James a hug. "Thank you, James. Thank you so much!" Lily kissed his cheek. James put his arms around her. The feel of her in his arms felt incredible to him. Lily let go and laid back down with her head in James's lap facing the fire. "James, promise me one more thing."
"What's that."
"Promise me that you'll always be my best guy friend."
James bent down, kiss her head and whispered in her ear, "I promise."
Lily fell asleep in his lap with the promise still in her heart. James continued to stroke her hair until he, too, fell asleep. Rini and Damien were heading to bed around midnight when they checked on Lily and James and saw them asleep. Damien was about to wake them up when Rini touched his arm. He looked at Rini who was shaking her head. She made a motion as if to say leave them be. They walked over to the stairs, kissed goodnight, and walked up to their dormitories.
At about 5:30 in the morning, they were awoken by Remus. Lily sat straight up from being startled by him while James just mumbled and woke up slowly. After Lily had calmed down, she looked at Remus and said, "Damn you! Never do that to anyone." Remus just laughed. Lily looked at the clock and said, "How long have you been down here?"
"Half an hour to an hour."
"Really! Wow! I never knew you woke up so early."
"Well, I've woken up early ever since the bite."
"Oh, I see. Well, if you don't mind, some of us would like to sleep. Night Remus," said Lily and lay back down in James's lap.
James was waking up. He saw Remus and waved to him. "Morning James. Did, ah, you and Lily have a good night?"
"Ha, ha, ha Remus. We haven't done a thing. She and I have just been sleeping. She also told me about her dream."
"What was it about?" Remus asked with interest.
"Well, she dreamed my murder."
"What! Are you serious!" James nodded. "Wow. Does it happen any time soon?"
"No. Not until I'm out of school. Early twenties maybe."
"Is there a real possibility it could happen?"
"According to Rini it could. She said Lily has dreams that tell the future a lot."
"Ah man. Looks like the cosmos doesn't like you that much."
"Or someone."
They fell silent. James continued to stroke Lily's hair. Remus watched the two closely for a few minutes and then said, "You love her, don't you?"
James was startled by the question. "What!"
"You love Lily."
James looked down at Lily. "I—I don't know. I mean, I like her a lot."
"Do you wish she was always in your presence?"
"Yes."
"Do you like the way she feels in your arms when she hugs you?"
"Yes."
"Do you always like the way she smells?"
"Well, yea. I've never been around when she didn't smell lovely."
Remus waved that away. "And how do you feel with her touching you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like right now, with her head on your leg. Or when she hugs you."
He put a hand over his eyes. "Ugh! Don't tell Sirius. Whatever you do, don't tell Sirius."
"Don't worry, James. I won't tell. I kept Lily's game a secret didn't I?"
They laughed. Lily turned over and her face turned towards the ceiling. James had an idea. "Hey Remus, Snow White or Sleeping Beauty?"
"Sleeping Beauty."
"Okay," James said. He leaned down and kissed Lily on the lips. He sat back up. "Guess it didn't work."
Remus just laughed.
On the third day of doing this, James looked at the guys and said, "You guys, what do you think is wrong with Lily? I mean, why does she always fall asleep whenever we come out here?"
Sirius looked at Lily and said, "Our little angel is probably tired. She was staying up late into the night always studying, you know. Her mind and body is probably catching up on their sleep."
Remus shook his head and said, "I don't think so. I agree with James. Something isn't right with her falling asleep every time she lay down."
James, who was laying above Lily, started stroking her hair. "This can't be normal. Maybe we should take her to Madam Pomfrey. Just to be sure."
James was still stroking Lily's hair when she suddenly jerked upright, gasping for breath and clutching her chest. All three boys sat up and started asking Lily if she was alright. She looked from Sirius to Remus, then from Remus to James. She had barely looked at James before she fainted.
Rini and Damien had gotten over to the group by now to see what was wrong. She got to the group and cried out, "Lily!" looked at James and said, "What happened to her?"
James was trying to pick Lily up to take her to the infirmary. "I'm not sure, Rini. She fell asleep again and she suddenly woke, gasping for breath and clutching her heart. Then she looked from Sirius to Remus, then from Remus to me and fainted."
James carried the unconscious Lily to the infirmary with the other four behind them. When they arrived, Madam Pomfrey took one look at James carrying Lily and asked, "What happened to the poor dear?"
James shook his head and said, "We're not quite sure. She was sleeping when she awoke grasping for breath and then fainted."
"Put her on the bed there," Madam Pomfrey instructed. James gently set Lily on the bed and backed away. Madam Pomfrey closed the curtain around Lily and started to examine her to see what had happened.
They waited outside the curtain to hear what was wrong with Lily. They even missed dinner. When Madam Pomfrey finally came out around 9 o'clock, they five stood up expectantly. "Has Miss Evans been falling asleep frequently at odd times?"
The question surprised them. James answered for them all. "Yes, she has."
"I see."
"What is it, Madam Pomfrey?"
"Well, Mr. Potter, during each and every one of these sleeps, Miss Evans has been dreaming. Dreaming a continuous dream. Every time, the dream progressed a little further. Miss Evans must have reached the most horrifying part of the dream. After she awoke, what did she do before she fainted?"
James looked uncomfortable as he said, "Well, she looked at Sirius, then at Remus, and finally at me. She barely looked at me before she fainted."
"I see." Madam Pomfrey would say no more. "Well, Miss Evans is sleeping peacefully now."
Rini finally spoke. "May I stay the night with her, please?" Madam Pomfrey looked skeptical but said the Rini could. Then she told the others that they would need to go back to their dorms. Remus and Sirius kissed Lily on the forehead, hugged Rini, and left. James went over to Lily, kissed her cheek, hugged Rini and then he, too, left. Damien hugged Rini before leaving. Then Rini went and sat beside Lily's bed.
Rini woke up in the middle of the night, hearing her name. She looked over and saw that Lily was awake. "Lily, are you okay? Want me to go get the nurse?"
Lily shook her head. "No, I'm okay. What am I doing here, though."
Rini looked at her hands in her lap and then back at Lily. "You fainted. Those dreams you've been having when you fall asleep, something happened in them. It must have terrified you."
Lily's expression was blank. "How'd you know I was having dreams?"
"Madam Pomfrey told us. Lily, what were you dreaming?"
"I'm not quite sure. I think James was there. Yes, he was there, except he was older. I couldn't hear anything, but I know he was shouting at someone to do something. Then this green light came and engulfed him. The last I saw him he was lying on the ground."
"Is that when you woke up?"
"Yeah. I saw Sirius's face, then Remus's, then James. That's all I can remember." Lily lay back in her bed.
"That's why you fainted. I'm guessing you just saw James die and then you see him alive. It makes sense that you fainted."
They were quiet for a short time afterwards. Lily broke the silence by saying, "Rini, I'm scared."
"Of what, Lily?"
"That my dream will come true."
Lily said quickly, "Lily, don't be ridic—"
"Don't tell me not to be ridiculous, Rini! Some of my dreams have come true before. You know that! Remember I dreamed of meeting a new girl that looked exactly like Tina and we met Tina! I dreamed you had a broken leg and you broke your leg! I'm not being ridiculous, Rini!"
"Lily, calm down! Relax and keep your voice down. Let's just get some sleep, okay?"
"Okay," Lily said quietly.
When they woke up the next morning James, Remus, Sirius, and Damien were all waiting for them to wake up.
"Morning, sleepy heads!" James said cheerfully. Lily just lay back down and turned on her side. James looked at Rini and whispered, "What's wrong with her?"
"Later," Rini mouthed to James. James nodded to show that he understood.
Remus sat in the chair on the other side of Lily's bed. "Lily, are you alright? We were so worried about you."
"I'm alright, Remus, or I will be. It was just fits of sleep filled with weird and scary dreams."
"What were they about?" Sirius asked.
Lily looked up at the ceiling, crossed her arms, and said, "I don't want to talk about them!" Her voice was a bit broken because her throat had gotten tight thinking of James dying.
"Did you two sleep well?" Damien asked.
"Well," Rini said, "I slept as comfortable as I could in a chair."
Damien looked at Lily. "And you? Any awful dreams again tonight?"
Lily shook her head. "No. I think they are over."
"That's good," Sirius said.
Lily nodded. Just then Madam Pomfrey entered the infirmary. "Hello Miss Evans. How are you feeling today?"
"A little confused but, other than that I'm fine, thank you."
"Well, just to be sure, I'll examine you and then you may go down to breakfast. The rest of you should go down now."
After the others left, Lily looked at Madam Pomfrey and asked, "Can you tell me why I've been having those dreams?"
"Well, Miss Evans, from what I can tell, you have a gift. You can see things in dreams that have or will happen."
"Do they always come true?"
"Most of the time, unfortunately."
Lily's eyes widened as she asked, "Does that mean James will die?"
Madam Pomfrey stopped what she was doing and looked at Lily. "There's a nine out of ten chance. He didn't look young, did he?"
"No, he looked about in his early twenties."
"Good. Hopefully, by then whatever is going to happen that will make James be killed will be altered."
Lily nodded and Madam Pomfrey finished her examination. "You may go now, Miss Evans."
"Thank you," Lily said as she left the room.
Later that day during one of their breaks, James and Rini were in the Common Room. James started talking first, "So Rini, just what exactly was Lily dreaming?"
Rini looked down at the floor. "Well, she dreamed about you."
"Me? Am I that frightening to her?"
"No, you misunderstood. In her dream, you were older and she witnessed you die."
James sank down into a chair. "Is she sure it's me she saw?" Rini nodded. "Oh my. That's why she fainted when she looked at me." Rini nodded again. "Has she had dreams like that before?" Rini nodded again. "And they came true?" Rini nodded once more. "Oh my."
They got their test results the next day. Lily got the highest scores of the entire first year. Everyone else in Gryffindor did average or above average. To Lily and Rini's disgust, and to James, Sirius, and Remus's delight, even Severus Snape had managed to pass.
"Really," Lily said when she saw their happy faces, "why is it so much for to pull pranks on Severus and get him in trouble?"
Sirius sighed. "Ah, Lily, Lily, Lily."
"What, Sirius, Sirius, Sirius?"
Sirius chuckled. "It's so much fun because we don't like him. Just like it's fun to pull pranks on each other because we are friends."
"Sirius, you are demented!"
James jumped in. "No, it's true! If we weren't friends, doing this," James quickly put a tickling charm on Lily who burst out laughing, "just wouldn't be fun," he finished.
"Take it off! Take the charm off me, James!" Lily said between laughs. James shook his head. "Remus, help, please! Take the charm off me!" Remus also shook his head. "Take the charm off or I'll tell!" Remus immediately took the charm off. Lily calmed down and said, "Thank you."
James, Sirius, and Rini looked at each other. "Uh," Rini said, "What was that about?"
Lily shook her head. "Nothing."
Remus also shook his head. "No, nothing at all."
The three looked at each other again when Remus gave Lily a weird look.
It was time for breakfast so the five plus Damien set off for the Great Hall. They formed a little triangle: Lily in front, followed by Rini and Damien, who were followed by James, Remus, and Sirius. They reached the hall and took their seats. It was a day of no classes so they went down to the lake as usual. Today, Lily stayed awake talking to the guys.
Suddenly Remus asked, "Lily, what where you dreaming about?"
Lily was startled by the question. "Wha—what do you mean?"
"Before you woke up and fainted. What were you dreaming about?"
Lily glanced at James quickly, not knowing whether to tell them yet. She sat up and looked at her hands in her lap. "I was dreaming—No!" Lily stood up. Her voice shaking, she said, "No. I can't tell."
Sirius said, "But Lily, we just want to know. We're worried—"
"No! I can't tell you! I won't!" and she ran, not caring about the tears streaming from her eyes. Lily didn't know where she was headed. When she looked up, she saw she was at Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Lily walked up the steps and knocked on the door. "Ha-Hagrid?" she called through gasps. "Hagrid are you there?"
The door opened. Hagrid saw Lily and said, "Lily? "S'at yeh?"
"Yes, Hagrid. It's me. May I come inside?"
"O' course! Would yeh like some tea?" Lily nodded as she went inside. Hagrid poured two cups of tea and handed one to Lily. "Now, tell me what happened."
Lily started by telling Hagrid how after the finals, she had begun falling asleep more often than she should. She told him about the dreams. She told him how she saw James dying and then waking up and seeing him alive. How she had fainted and been taken to the infirmary. She finished her story saying, "And then just a few minutes ago, Remus asked what I was dreaming about and I couldn't tell them. Then Sirius said that I should tell because they were worried and I said I wouldn't tell and ran. I wound up here."
"Ah, Lily. Yeh gonna have to tell 'em."
"I know, Hagrid! But I'm scared. What if-," Lily paused. "What if the dream comes true?"
"What if it does? Yeh said yerself that he was older. Means it won' happen fer a while."
"I know. I'm just not ready to tell them, especially James."
Hagrid nodded. "I know, Lily. I know."
There were only a couple days before the Final Great Feast. Everyone was in a buzz with excitement. Lily knew she'd have to tell James her dream and soon. Her opportunity came that night in the Common Room. Rini and Damien were in the corner talking in hushed voices. James and Lily were sitting on the couch watching the fire and talking about what they might do over the summer. Lily's head had fallen on James's shoulder when she had fallen asleep. Now it was in his lap. James was happily stroking her soft ginger-red hair.
Then James heard a soft sound. He wasn't sure and then he realized Lily was crying quietly in his lap. "Lily, what's wrong?"
"James, promise you won't put yourself in a situation that you could get killed," Lily said in a whisper.
"Why would I do that, Lily? Then my promise to wait for you would be worthless," he whispered back.
"James, it was awful."
"What was?"
"The dream! My nightmare!"
James sighed, knowing what was coming. "What happened in the dream, Lily?"
"Oh James, it was so terribly awful. I—I saw you get killed, murdered."
James raised Lily and wiped away her tears. "Lily, I promise you I will not be dying anytime soon. As much as I like you, I would never die before having a chance with you." Lily laughed and James loved the tinkling sound her laugh was. He loved the shine in her brilliantly emerald green eyes from her tears. James gently wiped the tears away from her cheeks. Lily shivered from how gentle his hands were on her skin. "Lily, I have to confess. Rini told me about the dream."
Lily looked at her hands. "She did?"
James nodded. "Yes, but hearing it from you is what I wanted so I didn't say anything. I trusted you would tell me in time."
Lily suddenly gave James a hug. "Thank you, James. Thank you so much!" Lily kissed his cheek. James put his arms around her. The feel of her in his arms felt incredible to him. Lily let go and laid back down with her head in James's lap facing the fire. "James, promise me one more thing."
"What's that."
"Promise me that you'll always be my best guy friend."
James bent down, kiss her head and whispered in her ear, "I promise."
Lily fell asleep in his lap with the promise still in her heart. James continued to stroke her hair until he, too, fell asleep. Rini and Damien were heading to bed around midnight when they checked on Lily and James and saw them asleep. Damien was about to wake them up when Rini touched his arm. He looked at Rini who was shaking her head. She made a motion as if to say leave them be. They walked over to the stairs, kissed goodnight, and walked up to their dormitories.
At about 5:30 in the morning, they were awoken by Remus. Lily sat straight up from being startled by him while James just mumbled and woke up slowly. After Lily had calmed down, she looked at Remus and said, "Damn you! Never do that to anyone." Remus just laughed. Lily looked at the clock and said, "How long have you been down here?"
"Half an hour to an hour."
"Really! Wow! I never knew you woke up so early."
"Well, I've woken up early ever since the bite."
"Oh, I see. Well, if you don't mind, some of us would like to sleep. Night Remus," said Lily and lay back down in James's lap.
James was waking up. He saw Remus and waved to him. "Morning James. Did, ah, you and Lily have a good night?"
"Ha, ha, ha Remus. We haven't done a thing. She and I have just been sleeping. She also told me about her dream."
"What was it about?" Remus asked with interest.
"Well, she dreamed my murder."
"What! Are you serious!" James nodded. "Wow. Does it happen any time soon?"
"No. Not until I'm out of school. Early twenties maybe."
"Is there a real possibility it could happen?"
"According to Rini it could. She said Lily has dreams that tell the future a lot."
"Ah man. Looks like the cosmos doesn't like you that much."
"Or someone."
They fell silent. James continued to stroke Lily's hair. Remus watched the two closely for a few minutes and then said, "You love her, don't you?"
James was startled by the question. "What!"
"You love Lily."
James looked down at Lily. "I—I don't know. I mean, I like her a lot."
"Do you wish she was always in your presence?"
"Yes."
"Do you like the way she feels in your arms when she hugs you?"
"Yes."
"Do you always like the way she smells?"
"Well, yea. I've never been around when she didn't smell lovely."
Remus waved that away. "And how do you feel with her touching you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like right now, with her head on your leg. Or when she hugs you."
He put a hand over his eyes. "Ugh! Don't tell Sirius. Whatever you do, don't tell Sirius."
"Don't worry, James. I won't tell. I kept Lily's game a secret didn't I?"
They laughed. Lily turned over and her face turned towards the ceiling. James had an idea. "Hey Remus, Snow White or Sleeping Beauty?"
"Sleeping Beauty."
"Okay," James said. He leaned down and kissed Lily on the lips. He sat back up. "Guess it didn't work."
Remus just laughed.
