Chapter Seventeen

Lily was sitting in the hospital wing again, over by a window, looking outside, looking back at James every few minutes in concern. He hadn't said anything to anyone or moved at all for a few days; she was so worried. Dumbledore said he would examine the wand and inform her when he got any news about the incident. It was all so strange to Lily - why would anyone want to hurt James?

She moved and sat down gently on his bed, covering one of his hands with her own. She watched his chest rise and fall slowly, a small assurance that he was still alive, still breathing. She watched him breath and it made her smile. He was so fatally attractive, with that heart-melting smile, dark messy hair, intense hazel eyes . . . eyes that she loved to see. They brought peace to her heart and assurance to her soul. If only she could see them now . . .

When his hand flinched under hers she looked up at his face, hoping to see some change, but disappointed to see nothing. Still he lay there, never moving. She scooted closer, placing a hand on his chest as she leaned over his face.

She couldn't explain why, but ever since she had seen James fall from the sky, since she had felt that heart-wrenching fear, she had spent more time here with him. More time thinking of him, and the great vision of Travis in her mind was slowly disappearing. She thought of the many secrets in the letter from James' father. What did James say to his parents about her? Why did they so openly approve of her? What did James really think of her?

This was the one that haunted her the most: What James Potter really felt for her. Now, when she was dying to know, he decided to be unconscious. Perfect timing.

She studied his face as she leaned over him, her eyes traveling from his hair, his closed eyes, his lips . . . Yes, it was true. Over the past few days, she had found herself constantly pondering that of James' kiss. Whether it would thrill her beyond all description as she had always dreamed of, being swept off her feet by prince charming with a single kiss - could James fulfill this? Or would he fall short in her expectations of him, leaving her with disappointment, as Travis' kiss had?

As she softly ran her fingers over his lips, her heart began pounding. Maybe . . . if she just leaned over and ever-so quickly brushed his lips with her own, it would cease this foolish day dreaming and she could move on. Oh, to taste James Potter's kiss . . .

Suddenly, as if his subconscious read her mind, James eyes flashed open. His arm came up so quickly that she couldn't have fought it even if she wanted to. But when he pulled her down onto the bed next to him, covering her chest and shoulders with his own and brought her face to meet his, all fighting stopped. He delivered a powerful passionate kiss that Lily had never imagined in her wildest dreams. His kiss sent a thrill through her, as she placed a hand on his jaw. She didn't even realize she was kissing him back, but when her breath was deliciously taken from her body, she didn't care.

But with one final gesture of his kiss, he fell once again into unconsciousness. Lily, still in shock, slid out from underneath him and backed up onto a bed beside his. She sat down, pulled her knees up to her chin and stared at him in awe.

"Oh. My. Gosh." she whispered.

---

James couldn't help the smile that kept tugging on his lips every time he looked at Lily. She was sitting beside a blond-haired girl in the hospital wing, with Sirius standing beside James' bed, staring out the window. James, too, would look outside until he felt her stare, then he would look at her and smile. Her eyes would dart away nervously and she would fidget in her seat - this was the reason for James' laughter - she looked so darn cute!

James was doing all he could do to keep from laughing. He knew that since their kiss, she would be uneasy around him. He thought the whole situation was quite funny, actually. He had awaken when she had sat on his bed and covered his hand with her own. But when she touched his lips, he had lost all resolve and took her in his arms, kissing her the way he had wanted to for years. And her sweet kiss was exactly as thrilling and perfect as he knew it would be. It sent his senses to the moon and all he knew then was Lily Evans. Then, in the midst of their glorious kiss, he remembered that he was supposed to be unconscious, so he went back to his deathly state. He officially woke up the next morning, but he was ever awake and fully responsive to that kiss.

Now, Dumbledore had some news about James' attacker and this mysterious wand, so he had called a meeting in the hospital wing with the four there so all questions could be answered.

James turned to look at Lily again, catching her yet again in this little game of eye-tag. She looked away, causing James to stifle a laugh. Suddenly, the doors opened and in walked Travis, Madame Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore. They all took a seat and all eyes turned to him.

"Thank you all, for coming to this little meeting, though it is so sudden. I have been investigating this little incident and now most of these mysterious questions have answers." Then he lifted the wand, causing Sirius and the tall blond girl to gasp.

"What does my cousin have to do with any of this?" Sirius bellowed angrily.

"Please calm yourself, Mr. Black, Miss Black. All will be explained shortly." Sirius sat, the blond girl sat - now all was quiet. "Mr. Potter. If you would please, tell me what you remember of this incident."

"Well, I was flying up after the snitch. I was really close when I was suddenly hit in the head with a bludger. The last thing I remember was someone on a broom, shooting a bright spell at me. It hit me in the face, knocking me out and off my broom."

"Three guesses who," Sirius muttered, earning an evil glare from Travis across the room, who was sitting next to Lily.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Now, it was brought to my attention that one of the quidditch players, Mr. King, was no where to be found until later that evening. Mr. King, could you please tell me what you recolect?"

"I was just guarding my post on the field," Travis began, "when I saw a small bright light come up behind me, then I woke up on the forest floor with that want in my hand." he said, pointing to the wand that Dumbledore held.

"Very good, thank you." Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Now, Miss Black, I must ask you what you know as to the whereabouts of your sister, Bellatrix Black."

The tall blond beauty with intense gray eyes smirked. "Why should l tell you?" Dumbledore cleared his throat and raised one eyebrow impatiently, then she sighed. "Well, she doesn't write home much, but before she left, she was very fond of the Dark Lord's plan to wipe out the mixed bloods and muggle-borns," she said, glaring at Lily.

"Oh, give it up, Sissy! You know as well as I do that Bellatrix is out there running around with Voldemort right now!" Sirius said.

Lily and Travis stiffened at the name, but to all the others in the room, it seemed like a familiarity.

"Well then," Dumbledore said, "After examining the wand, it appears that it does indeed belong to Miss Bellatrix. The last two spells conjured from this wand was the Stupefy spell, used to attack Mr. Potter, and the Imperious Curse, an Unforgivable Curse, used to gain control of Mr. King."

"Damn," Sirius muttered, kicking the wall softly. Lily put a hand on Travis' knee, which caused James to scowl, and Narcissa only smirked to herself.

"Now, Mr. Potter, I must ask you one more question. Can you think of any reason at all why Lord Voldemort would want you attacked?"

James thought for only a moment. "Well, my parents work for the ministry." he said, throwing a wink at Lily, causing her to blush and Travis to narrow his eyes. "And it's Classified matters, but they are a few of the many who are chasing Him down. My thought is maybe he sent Bellatrix to kill me, which would cause my parents to come here and give Him more of a chance to accomplish . . . whatever he's planning."

"Very good assessment, Mr. Potter, thank you. Now, as I send you all back to your classes I must ask that you speak of this to no one. There are too many mysteries. And to also be on your best watch - rumor has it that there was a bitter young woman with shadowy eyes and black hair causing trouble at Hogsmeade a few days ago. So please - be careful. You may go."

James was in shock. He didn't know what to say. Sirius sat on the bed as everyone left the room, with a look of shame and hatred in his eyes. "I'm sorry, mate. You'll never know how much I hate the fact that I'm blood relative of the one who did this to you."

"It's not your fault, Pad. Voldemort's influence is obviously more powerful than we had imagined." James said quietly.

"Oh, Sirius!" said the smooth voice of Narcissa Black from the door. "I don't suppose I'll be seeing you at the Christmas dinner at the House of Black?" she said with an evil smile.

"No, don't plan on it, Sissy." Sirius said in utmost revolt and disgust. "I doubt my loathsome parents would allow me back. Besides, I never want to see that bloody place again."

"Wonderful. I'll let them know you send your best wishes." Then she left.

"Yeah, I wish they would go jump off a cliff, the whole lot of them." Sirius muttered after the room had emptied.

"So, that girl Narcissa - she's your cousin?" James asked when he suddenly realized that he hadn't seen Lily leave. Probably with Travis, no doubt.

"Technically, yes. Though we don't openly admit that we're related to many people."

"And Bellatrix, I think I remember her. Mean nasty Slytherin witch, graduated last year, right?"

"Yup, hated her, too." Sirius said bitterly.

"Okay, Narcissa and Bellatrix are your cousins. Anyone else I should know about?" James asked with a lopsided grin.

"Yeah, they have an older sister, Andromeda. She's my favorite cousin. She got married last year, remember? Over the summer, when I left?" James nodded. "She's got a baby now. New little girl named Nymphadora Tonks." Sirius grinned for the first time since he had entered the room. "Nymphadora. Oh, I'm going to have loads of fun with that kid!"

---

A/N: So many mysteries... and romance!! -snickers-

-thinks "Snickers are a really good candy bar... mmmm, snickers........"-

Yes, I know. EVERYONE hates Travis - it's only natural - lol! When I was posting this on the WB Harry Potter boards, I had to make a seperate thread just to hold all the deaths threats and killing plans for Travis. It was on about 25 pages last time i checked (before WB screwed up the boards... -grrrrrr- ) but anyways...

Yes, I am also trying to make the posts longer. I thought I was going to have a problem getting to the "Grand Finale" soon, but obviously not if we're already getting to the... never mind. Ya'll will just have to read and find out! -snickers-

And yes, James says "Voldemort" instead of "You-Know-Who." He only said it that one time for Lily's sake.

Okay - maybe a few more chapters tonight! -huggles-