The 88th Time

Lily, Sirius, Peter, Alexis, and Giselle entered St. Mungo's. It was very similar to a hospital, except that the patients had three eyes, a tail, and other peculiar things that you would never see anywhere except in the wizarding world.

"Where are Sarah Anix and James Potter staying?" Sirius asked the witch at the front desk.

          "Ms. Anix and Mr. Potter are both staying in room 770." The witch answered, smiling sweetly at Sirius. Giselle gave her a look of disgust.

          The group walked down the long white halls covered in pictures of former Healers. They passed by different wards; one had a trail of blood following from the hall into the room, another had a boy who was screaming in agony while sporting a hand that looked as if it had no bones. Lily shuddered hoping she would never need to be in this hell ever again.

          After many twists and turns, they finally reached their destination. Knocking softly, they opened the door. They saw Sarah with a large green bandage on her arm, reading Witch Weekly, looking so bored that she would jump off a cliff to amuse herself. She turned around and saw them. A large smile spread over her face.

          "I was waiting for you guys to come, I'm bored out of my mind!" she sat up and gave everyone a hug. "James didn't wake up until a few hours ago, and the Healers said that he needs his rest, so I'm stuck here reading the same magazine for the fourth time. Where's Remus?" she asked curiously.

          "Still full moon for him." Peter piped up.

          "Oh" she said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"We missed you so much! School isn't the same without you, even if it was barely two days. But why did you have to go to St. Mungo's- I mean, Madame Diggory could have patched you and James up in seconds." Alexis said.

"Yes, she could have stopped the bleeding, but they had to check that we weren't bitten or if his blood didn't get into ours. The bandage is just filled with a potion that kills any werewolf stuff, I don't know, don't ask me, as you may know, I'm stupid."

          The group kept on talking about the last few days, when out of nowhere Sarah asked, "So Lily, what's up with you and James. I heard him mutter your name while he was asleep."

          Lily blushed a deep crimson, "Well," she shrugged, "I'd prefer not to really talk about it now." she said firmly.

          "No need to worry Sarah, he not only says her name while he's asleep." Sirius said.

          "He doesn't only scream Giselle's name at the dead of night." They heard a familiar deep voice.

          "James!" everyone said at the same time. They all gave him a  hug.

          "I feel loved!" he said. "I wish everyday could be like this." his forehead was bandaged, his hair messy as ever, and his eyes- those dancing eyes made Lily's legs turn into pudding.

Once they continued talking, when Giselle thought no one was looking, she made eye contact with Sirius and mouthed to him "We need to talk". Everyone except for Sirius and Giselle suddenly seemed like they had a large mouse stuck in their throats.

          On Saturday, when Sarah and James came back from St. Mungo's, they were surprised to see that nobody, except for the Marauders, Lily, Alexis, and Giselle knew about Remus's secret.

          After dinner, Lily and James went to 'patrol' the lake together. It was a beautiful November day; despite the snow on the ground, the sun was out and birds were chirping. They sat down together under the beech tree.

          "Lily, I wanted to talk to you,"

          "Shoot" she replied

          "First of all, I am terribly sorry for the whole werewolf thing. Second, Um… Lily, I love you." He choked out, "Ever since I heard you say those words back to me, I feel whole, I feel alive." He took her hand into his, and looked straight into her emerald eyes, "So please, for the… what was it, 88th time, will you go out with me?"

          Lily laughed at herself, and at the hate that separated her from him for years. "Of course I will!" (A/N: Imagine "I Can't Stop Loving You" playing in the background.) James held her in his arms and kissed her, as she kissed him right back.

A/N: YAY! Finally! They're together! I've been waiting to get u to this chapter for quite a while. By the way, the laughing thing, its like, 'this is such a coincidence' not a funny laugh. Thanks to all my reviewers! R&R! Please also tell me if you understood the title before you read the chapter.