After the Quidditch match, the Marauders immediately dashed to the hospital
wing. When they got there, they were met by the sight of Dumbledore sitting
in a chair near Lily's bed. He looked up when they entered.
"Hello Headmaster." Remus greeted.
"Hello to you too. I saw your game just now. Well done, boys." He said, beaming as though he himself had just won. "Anyway, I'm here for a reason other than to check up on Miss Evans." He went on, then he directed his attention to James, "Your family is finally able to make it up here to see her."
"What took them so long?" James asked.
"Your mother has told me that your father has been a bit busy at the Ministry. This was the fastest they could come. And also the fact that your sister had to finish up something at her school." He answered.
James nodded, "Yeah that makes sense. Melanie told me something about working on a big project for her auror training." Then he went on, "So when are they arriving?"
"Sometime this afternoon" Dumbledore replied. Then, in a slighter business- like tone, he said, "Well, I best be off. I have something important to do." With that said, he walked out the room.
James felt relief flood him when he took it all in. His family would be here. That information made him feel a little better. He'd be able to see his mother, who had always managed to calm him when something bad had happened.
"Well, that's good news, isn't it?" Sirius said, interrupting James' thoughts.
James answered back, "Yep."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
James was pacing back and forth in the hospital wing, in front of Lily's bed, where she was clueless as to what was going on. Sirius was sitting on one of the chairs Dumbledore had occupied a couple of hours ago, bending his head every once and a while to see if anyone was coming into the wing, Peter was sitting on the other one, staring sadly at Lily, Remus was sitting on the bed next to hers, watching James' pacing.
Remus said into the thick silence of the room, "James, would you stop that already? They'll be here soon."
James stopped and muttered something incoherent, but sat down next to him on the bed nonetheless. Just as he sat down, the doors whooshed open. James sprang back up onto his feet as quickly as he sat down. It appeared that finally, they all made it to the castle. His sister was the first on he saw. She looked much more serious then the last time he saw her; but that could have only been expected when you were about to see a close friend in a coma. Her dark brown hair was as usual, swept up into a pony tail. A little bit of eye makeup could be detected from behind her thin-framed glasses. She looked around the room, and immediately spotted the marauders. Smiling slightly, though it did not reach her eyes, she made her way over to them.
James' father and mother followed not far behind her. They both looked the same as usual, other than their expressions, which were noticeably sullen and old. They too managed small smiles. Seeing James, his mother rushed forward and hugged him.
"Umph!" James grunted, almost being knocked over, "'Lo mum." He said simply.
"Oh, James darling, how are you? Are you eating right? You're looking a bit too skinny if you ask me." His mother said quickly.
"I'm fine, mum. I'm eating healthy and getting good grades." James replied, looking exasperated and embarrassed both at the same time. He heard his friends sniggering quietly behind him and inwardly groaned. She always did that in front of people!
His father placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. When she looked up at him expectantly, he nodded his head towards the bed, which she had yet to notice. She let out a shaky gasp as she took in the unconscious form.
James thought she couldn't have reacted anymore realistically. His sister and his father both looked down at her as well, faces pale. Lily still looked as though she were dead. Gone were the cuts and bruises, her face was drained of emotion; so unlike her normal self.
The four boys looked at their reactions. James' mother had tears in her eyes; his father was clenching his jaw in an effort to not cry; his sister, though, was crying silently, not looking at anything but Lily.
"What's Madame Pomfrey's diagnosis on her?" his father asked no one in particular.
"She doesn't know when she'll wake up." He said sullenly to his dad. "I don't know how much you know about her accident, but..." James recounted the entire story to his family.
As each passing word, the three looked more horrified than before.
"We weren't aware of all the obvious effort that went into this conspiracy. All we thought was that the Dark Lord ordered for her death, and his minions just up and attempted it." His father said once James, Sirius, and Remus, and even a little bit from Peter, all explained the story further.
"Does her family even know?" His mother asked suddenly. James closed his eyes, painfully, for a moment, then opened them back up and looked at them.
"Do you think they care?" he replied in more of a tone of a statement than a question.
His mother looked down at her and whispered, "No." then she looked back up at him and said dully, "I don't suppose they do."
"I know they don't." Peter said suddenly. When everyone looked at him with questioningly looks, he went on, "Oh, I owled her sister and told her what had happened about 2 days after her accident. I haven't gotten a reply yet, so I'm assuming that she doesn't care."
Everyone was still staring at him when he finished. This time, not with questioning looks, but admiring looks. James said with awe in his voice, "You did that, Pete?"
Peter nodded quickly, "Yeah."
James walked over and clapped him on the back, "Good job, Petey. I'm sure Lily will be happy to hear that her sister at least 'knows' what went on. Even if Petunia doesn't care." He added.
Peter was beaming with happiness. For once, he did something right. Just then, Madame Pomfrey came over to them.
Mr. Potter walked forward and held out his hand. "Harold Potter." He introduced himself while shaking her hand. "You must be Madame Pomfrey."
She replied, a little surprised that the Minister of Magic knew who she was, "Yes, I'm Poppy Pomfrey. It's an honor to meet you."
"And this is my wife, Anastasia, and of course you know my daughter Melanie." He went on.
"Yes, yes of course I remember Melanie." She said, nodding her head toward Melanie then she shook Mrs. Potter's hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"So, do you have any news on Lily's condition?" Harold asked when all the formalities were done. Sirius, James, Remus and Peter all turned their attention to the nurse, eagerly.
The nurse shook her head sadly and replied, "No, I'm sorry to say there is no change. I'm assuming you know all about her case."
"Yes, James has told us all about it." James' mother answered.
"Yes, well, I do in fact have some news. Though I don't know if it is relevant to Miss Evan's condition." The nurse went on.
"What is it?" Remus asked from his spot on the bed.
"Now like I said before, I don't know if it could help any. I have found something odd, though. On her right shoulder, there is a mysterious looking scar."
Harold furrowed his brows. "A scar? What kind of scar?"
"I'm assuming she got it from her fall, though there was no blood on her robes by her shoulder, so I'm not so certain that is the case. It is in shape of a flower. Most peculiar." The nurse moved to Lily's right side and lowered her shirt off her shoulder so they could see in clear view, a scar.
Mrs. Potter shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe it's a birthmark." She suggested.
James shook his head seriously. "No, Lily didn't have a birthmark on her shoulder. I'm sure of it. She only had one on her left knee after she fell off her bike when she was three."
"James, honey, are you sure that she didn't have any other scars at all. I mean, you missed a few years of her life. Maybe she got it between those years she was gone." His mother said.
James shook his head again, stubbornly. "No, I'm positive that's the only scar she had. After we met up again here, she practically told me her life story. I'm sure she would have mentioned something about another scar."
"Oh well, it really doesn't matter, does it?" His father broke in.
"She's not in danger of dying anymore, is she Madame Pomfrey?" Melanie asked, changing the subject.
The nurse replied, "I'm almost positive she'll live through all this. I just don't know when she'll wake up."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Unfortunately, James' family couldn't stay for very long. Melanie had to get back to college, and James' father had to get back to the Ministry. After he heard that Voldemort tried to poison the kids as well as the other crimes he committed, Harold became even more determined to stop Voldemort. So, a few days later, James said goodbye to his family. Now, the next big event was on its way. Christmas was coming up. James decided he would not be coming home for Christmas; he and the rest of the marauders wanted to stay and spend it with Lily. His parents understood and his mother said that if it wasn't for his father's job, they would be staying for the holiday as well. But since they couldn't, they left the kid's their gifts and the James gave his parents and sister their gifts.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
James and crew decided to ditch their Potions class and sneak off to Hogsmeades to buy their Christmas presents for one another. So, as soon as they arrived there, they bid each other farewell and went their separate ways.
It was around an hour later when they all met up back in the Gryffindor common room.
"I don't know why girls take so long to shop for presents. It only took us approximately forty minutes to buy the stuff." Sirius said when he arrived last.
The other three just shrugged their shoulders. Sirius then took a seat next to James on the sofa, with Remus on his left in a plush chair and Peter next to Remus in a slightly beat up chair. They all had bags at their feet.
Everyone else was in class, so it was safe for them to be in there with shopping bags.
"So, what'd you all get me?" Sirius asked excitedly.
James snorted, "By that tone of voice, I seem to have the strangest impression that we're actually going to tell you."
Sirius started to whine like Cassandra would, "But Jamsieeeeeee. Like, I really want to know, like what you, like, got meeee."
This time, Remus snorted and said, "You better be careful there, Sirius. Start doing that too often and you're going to start sounding that way...permanently."
That shut Sirius up real quick.
Peter widened his eyes and said in a terrified voice, "Does that really happen?"
James rolled his eyes and said, "No Peter. It doesn't happen. Remus just said that to shut Sirius up."
Folding his arms across his chest in a way a two year old would pout, he sniffed and said, "Fine, be that way."
They all laughed at his antics. Then, Remus turned serious and said, "Hey, you guys. What'd you get for Lily?"
They stopped laughing immediately. James and Sirius had looks of sadness on their faces and Peter looked, for the second time that night, terrified.
"W-were we supposed to get something for her?" he sputtered out.
The other three turned their heads sharply to look at him, unbelievable expressions on their faces. "What do you think, Pete?" Sirius asked sarcastically. "Of course we got her something."
"I-I didn't know we were supposed to get her something." Peter said, almost hysterically.
Seeing his worried look, James felt a pang of sympathy for the boys, so he said, "Come on, Peter. Let's hurry back to Hogsmeade and find her something."
"But, James, you'll miss History of Magic. It starts in a half hour." Remus argued.
James shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Oh well, it's just History of Magic. Plus, I think this is the last chance we'll get to go to Hogsmeade before Christmas. Come on Peter." And the two of them left the room.
As it turned out, James and Peter made it back just in time for History of Magic. Since it was the last day of class before Christmas break, is seemed that Professor Binns decided to make the lesson more boring than usual.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On Christmas morning, Sirius decided to wake up the rest in his own way. He decided to make the boys dormitory a replica of the outside. So, James, Remus and Peter woke up to see that their bed, and themselves, were covered with snow.
"SIRIUS!!!" James bellowed, hearing his friend's maniacal laughter from the common room.
"Presents!" Peter said happily when Sirius came up and got rid of the snow. Peter made a move to open his presents, but James stopped him.
"Let's go see Lily and opened our presents there." He suggested. The others agreed, so they grabbed their gifts and walked to the hospital wing.
They bid Madame Pomfrey a Happy Christmas and then walked over to Lily's bed. Even on Christmas she looked the exact same.
"Happy Christmas, Lilz." They each said softly. James and Sirius took the chairs on either side of her and sat, Remus and Peter sat on the bed beside hers. They had put her presents next to the mound of others at the foot of her bed. James read a couple of the notes on them. Many of her male admirers had gotten her gifts, as well as some others.
They all unwrapped their packages there, exchanging thanks to one another for their gifts. James had gotten Sirius a new broomstick, which Sirius had announced was the greatest gift he'd gotten. He gave Remus a book that he knew he had been wanting. Peter received a Rememberall from him. James received a book of Quidditch from Remus, a broom polish set from Sirius, and a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Peter.
Madame Pomfrey came up to them, holding five gifts in her hands, when they had finished opening the presents,
She cleared her throat and the Marauders turned and looked at her. "I believe that Miss Evans had gotten your presents quite early this year." And she gave them each a colorfully wrapped package.
"How could she have gotten these?" Remus asked.
Madame Pomfrey shrugged and said, "I do not know, but Dumbledore found them somehow and they were addressed to you from Miss Evans."
Then she left them to open their presents. James unwrapped his and saw that Lily had bought him a golden necklace (Not a girly one. A manly one) with a flame of red fire pendant on it. He smiled at it and then looked up at Lily. He reached over and kissed her forehead gently and whispered, "Thank you Lily."
Sirius had gotten a necklace as well. His had a blue raindrop instead of fire. Remus had also got a necklace; instead of a blue raindrop, his had a yellow sun on it. Peter didn't get a necklace like the others. He received a book. When he opened the pages, he noticed they were blank other than a few straight lines going horizontally across the page. The cover of the book said 'Homework Helper'. Remus told him that what he had to do was write the assignment name and subject, along with the teacher's name on there, and the question he needed help on, and the book would help him to solve the problem. James personally thought that that was the best present Peter could have received. No doubt that he definitely would use it.
"Hey, there's another package." Remus pointed out, indicating a much smaller package. "James, why don't you open it. It's addressed to all of us. Look."
He was right. On the top of the gift, a little white card said, "To the Marauders. With Love, Lily."
So, James tore the gift wrap from the little box and when he opened the top, all he saw was another note.
"It's a note." He announced.
"Read it out loud then, why don't you." Sirius replied.
"'Dear Marauders, I know I've already given you your gifts already, but I've decided to give you one as a group as well. No, this isn't it. Give me a little more credit. The gift is down at Hogsmeade at the moment, we'll just have to go down there later on to pick it up. As I'm guessing, Sirius is probably going out of his mind right now waiting to hear what I got you all-,'"
"You got that right." Sirius said, bouncing up and down in his seat. James rolled his eyes and went on.
"'-so I guess I'll tell you. I've gotten you an owl. The official Marauder owl. This way, it will be easier to send messages to each other during the summer and whatnot while the parents use the owls we have right now. Probably a stupid idea, I know. But, hey, don't make fun of me, I'm probably giving you a glare right at this moment. With love, Lily.'" When he finished, no body said a word.
~*~*~*~*~
Later that day, they snuck down to Hogsmeades and entered the pet shop there.
Walking up to the counter, James noticed many interesting creatures. One included a phoenix that was staring at him. For some reason, James felt drawn to that bird. Then, finally breaking eye contact with it, they all reached the counter to see a man staring at them.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Yeah, um, we're here to pick up an owl our friend got for us." Remus answered.
"And what's this friend's name?" the man inquired.
"Lily Evans" James replied.
The man nodded and said, "Alright, I know who you're talking about. Just a minute." He walked into the back, leaving the boys to look around. James decided to take a closer look at that phoenix he saw.
"Hey Remus." Sirius said loudly.
Remus walked over to where Sirius was. "What?" he asked.
"Take a look at this cat. Ugly little thing, ain't it." Sirius said, laughingly.
Remus grimaced when he saw the cat. It was orange and fat. Not a pretty feline. "What's its name?"
Sirius looked at a plate above the cage the cat was in. "This says its name is Crookshanks."
On the other side of the room, Peter was looking at some frogs in cages. Not far away from there, James was staring intently at the red phoenix. He didn't know why, but he realized that he should buy this bird.
When the man walked back out, the boys walked back up to the front. The man was holding a white, beautiful owl with bright green eyes that reminded James of Lily's.
"Here she is, boys." He said, handing the cage to Remus.
"Thanks." Remus replied.
"Hey, mister, how much is that phoenix?" James asked, pointing to the red bird.
The man looked to where James was pointing and said, "That bird? It's a real rare phoenix. A bit expensive."
"How much?" James asked again, reaching inside his pockets for his money.
"20 galleons." The man replied (A/N-I'm not sure about wizard money, so just overlook that part.)
Peter let out a low whistle, but James nonetheless, pulled out the exact amount.
~*~*~*~*~
When they got out of the shop, the phoenix in James' hand, the owl in Remus' hand, Sirius asked James, "So, why'd you get the bird?"
James shrugged and said, "I dunno. I just don't think a phoenix should be locked up inside a store. Plus, I figured since Lily got me two gifts, so will I."
"So that's for Lily?" Peter asked.
James nodded, "Yep."
"So, what should we name the owl?" Remus asked them.
"Pauly." Sirius replied, sniggering for some reason.
Remus furrowed his brows, "Why Pauly?"
"Pauly wanna cracker?" Sirius answered back, still sniggering.
Remus rolled his eyes and said, "Sirius, that's a parrot."
Sirius stopped laughing for a moment and said, "Oh yeah." Then, he got a gleam in his eye and said, "We should 'get' a parrot."
"What's a parrot?" Peter asked.
"Muggle bird, Petey." Remus replied, then he said to the rest, "But seriously, what should we call it?"
"How 'bout 'Lily'." James suggested.
They agreed to naming the owl Lily.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And so school went on. The days and weeks passed and still no sign of change for Lily. And as school went on, the teachers seemed more determined to assign more homework than ever. Sirius dubbed this as a conspiracy of the teachers to kill the students with work overload. Remus rationed with Sirius saying that they're just preparing them for the OWLs that were coming up rapidly. Sirius replied that even if that implausible reason was true, there was still a chance that his theory was most likely correct in the Potions teacher's case.
So, whether it was because the teachers were trying to kill them, or the OWLs were coming up, the homework managed to take up most of the guys' time. They had barely had the chance to visit Lily once a week, let alone once a day.
It was now four months since Lily's accident in October. The school had gone back to its original routine. People could get through an entire conversation without mentioning Lily once. The Marauders went on with their pranks, occasionally forgetting to put a lily at the end of it. Quidditch matches went on with Lockhart still playing chaser.
Now, don't get me wrong. Nobody really forgot about Lily. They were just getting use to not having her around. They were moving on. Sirius even started to date as much as before. James also dated, though not as mush as Sirius. Remus was going steady with a fifth year Ravenclaw, though he was planning on ending it soon. Even Peter was dating a girl, a third year Hufflepuff.
It was now February. And more and more people were accepting the fact that their little Hogwarts flower...may never wake up.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N- ok PLEASE don't hate me for this chapter. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I just finished book 5. Extremely sad at one part, but I must say that J.K. Rowling really outdid herself this time. Well, anyway, please read and review and enjoy. Oh, and I feel the need to reply to the reviews. And also, since there is so many, instead of the previews I usually do, I'm going to just give you a scene from the next chapter. Hope that's alright.
SotMoon- thank you so much for pointing that out. You're right, his eyes are blue. Sorry everyone for the mistake.
Dakie- You are right. I've been ignoring Peter. I agree with you. He should be in here more. I've tried to do that in this chapter. Hope that's enough. Thanks for the review.
WithAPenInHerHand- thank you 'SO' much for the review. Actually, the person I was talking about, Avery, was a different person. Not Avery Nott. I feel bad for all of them too. It's so sad, isn't it. Thanks for the review.
JerseyGirl03- thanks for the review! Keep reading!
Anarane Anwamane- thanks so much!
Neo-Queen Serenity- thank you very much for reviewing! I hope you like this update.
Freakyfroggurl22- thank you for reviewing. I love your story, 'Life Is Even More Complicated'. It's a wonderful story!
East of the shore- thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I know, I dislike Cassandra too. Well, I hope you like the update.
Love2write- thank you very much for the suggestion! I might have Snape in here soon. Keep readin'.
Bebe-chrissy- thanks you 'SO' much. I'm honored that you actually cried over this story. That's what I was kind of aiming for ;-). Please keep reading.
EbonyQuill- thanks for the support. So, do I get that cookie? Lol! Keep a- reading, I'm working on my other one, too. ;)
Ravenmist- thank you for reviewing and reading!
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
The Preview:
The Marauders arrived at the hospital wing in between classes. This seemed to be the only time they could actually manage to see her.
Walking up to her bed, James noticed that the flowers on her bedside were wilted and dying. He realized with a pang in his heart, that no one had been around to change them for her. Not that it was anyone's fault, they were so busy studying and doing their homework that they barely had time to sleep.
"We don't come around here enough." James spoke out, saying his thoughts.
"We've been busy. It's no big deal." Sirius said, shrugging his shoulders.
James sighed and said, "Yeah, I just feel guilty, that's all." And he went over to her bedside and took out the flowers, replacing them with fresher ones.
"Have you guys finished the Transfiguration homework yet?" Remus asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Lily's.
Peter gasped and said, "I forgot about that!"
Sirius and James groaned and said, "So did we!"
Remus said, "You guys better get it done; it's due tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, but when can we finish it?" James asked desperately.
"Should we go and start it right now?" Sirius asked.
"I think you probably should." Remus said.
James sighed and said, "Here's another time when we have to ditch Lily.
~*~*~*~*
Hope you like it!
"Hello Headmaster." Remus greeted.
"Hello to you too. I saw your game just now. Well done, boys." He said, beaming as though he himself had just won. "Anyway, I'm here for a reason other than to check up on Miss Evans." He went on, then he directed his attention to James, "Your family is finally able to make it up here to see her."
"What took them so long?" James asked.
"Your mother has told me that your father has been a bit busy at the Ministry. This was the fastest they could come. And also the fact that your sister had to finish up something at her school." He answered.
James nodded, "Yeah that makes sense. Melanie told me something about working on a big project for her auror training." Then he went on, "So when are they arriving?"
"Sometime this afternoon" Dumbledore replied. Then, in a slighter business- like tone, he said, "Well, I best be off. I have something important to do." With that said, he walked out the room.
James felt relief flood him when he took it all in. His family would be here. That information made him feel a little better. He'd be able to see his mother, who had always managed to calm him when something bad had happened.
"Well, that's good news, isn't it?" Sirius said, interrupting James' thoughts.
James answered back, "Yep."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
James was pacing back and forth in the hospital wing, in front of Lily's bed, where she was clueless as to what was going on. Sirius was sitting on one of the chairs Dumbledore had occupied a couple of hours ago, bending his head every once and a while to see if anyone was coming into the wing, Peter was sitting on the other one, staring sadly at Lily, Remus was sitting on the bed next to hers, watching James' pacing.
Remus said into the thick silence of the room, "James, would you stop that already? They'll be here soon."
James stopped and muttered something incoherent, but sat down next to him on the bed nonetheless. Just as he sat down, the doors whooshed open. James sprang back up onto his feet as quickly as he sat down. It appeared that finally, they all made it to the castle. His sister was the first on he saw. She looked much more serious then the last time he saw her; but that could have only been expected when you were about to see a close friend in a coma. Her dark brown hair was as usual, swept up into a pony tail. A little bit of eye makeup could be detected from behind her thin-framed glasses. She looked around the room, and immediately spotted the marauders. Smiling slightly, though it did not reach her eyes, she made her way over to them.
James' father and mother followed not far behind her. They both looked the same as usual, other than their expressions, which were noticeably sullen and old. They too managed small smiles. Seeing James, his mother rushed forward and hugged him.
"Umph!" James grunted, almost being knocked over, "'Lo mum." He said simply.
"Oh, James darling, how are you? Are you eating right? You're looking a bit too skinny if you ask me." His mother said quickly.
"I'm fine, mum. I'm eating healthy and getting good grades." James replied, looking exasperated and embarrassed both at the same time. He heard his friends sniggering quietly behind him and inwardly groaned. She always did that in front of people!
His father placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. When she looked up at him expectantly, he nodded his head towards the bed, which she had yet to notice. She let out a shaky gasp as she took in the unconscious form.
James thought she couldn't have reacted anymore realistically. His sister and his father both looked down at her as well, faces pale. Lily still looked as though she were dead. Gone were the cuts and bruises, her face was drained of emotion; so unlike her normal self.
The four boys looked at their reactions. James' mother had tears in her eyes; his father was clenching his jaw in an effort to not cry; his sister, though, was crying silently, not looking at anything but Lily.
"What's Madame Pomfrey's diagnosis on her?" his father asked no one in particular.
"She doesn't know when she'll wake up." He said sullenly to his dad. "I don't know how much you know about her accident, but..." James recounted the entire story to his family.
As each passing word, the three looked more horrified than before.
"We weren't aware of all the obvious effort that went into this conspiracy. All we thought was that the Dark Lord ordered for her death, and his minions just up and attempted it." His father said once James, Sirius, and Remus, and even a little bit from Peter, all explained the story further.
"Does her family even know?" His mother asked suddenly. James closed his eyes, painfully, for a moment, then opened them back up and looked at them.
"Do you think they care?" he replied in more of a tone of a statement than a question.
His mother looked down at her and whispered, "No." then she looked back up at him and said dully, "I don't suppose they do."
"I know they don't." Peter said suddenly. When everyone looked at him with questioningly looks, he went on, "Oh, I owled her sister and told her what had happened about 2 days after her accident. I haven't gotten a reply yet, so I'm assuming that she doesn't care."
Everyone was still staring at him when he finished. This time, not with questioning looks, but admiring looks. James said with awe in his voice, "You did that, Pete?"
Peter nodded quickly, "Yeah."
James walked over and clapped him on the back, "Good job, Petey. I'm sure Lily will be happy to hear that her sister at least 'knows' what went on. Even if Petunia doesn't care." He added.
Peter was beaming with happiness. For once, he did something right. Just then, Madame Pomfrey came over to them.
Mr. Potter walked forward and held out his hand. "Harold Potter." He introduced himself while shaking her hand. "You must be Madame Pomfrey."
She replied, a little surprised that the Minister of Magic knew who she was, "Yes, I'm Poppy Pomfrey. It's an honor to meet you."
"And this is my wife, Anastasia, and of course you know my daughter Melanie." He went on.
"Yes, yes of course I remember Melanie." She said, nodding her head toward Melanie then she shook Mrs. Potter's hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"So, do you have any news on Lily's condition?" Harold asked when all the formalities were done. Sirius, James, Remus and Peter all turned their attention to the nurse, eagerly.
The nurse shook her head sadly and replied, "No, I'm sorry to say there is no change. I'm assuming you know all about her case."
"Yes, James has told us all about it." James' mother answered.
"Yes, well, I do in fact have some news. Though I don't know if it is relevant to Miss Evan's condition." The nurse went on.
"What is it?" Remus asked from his spot on the bed.
"Now like I said before, I don't know if it could help any. I have found something odd, though. On her right shoulder, there is a mysterious looking scar."
Harold furrowed his brows. "A scar? What kind of scar?"
"I'm assuming she got it from her fall, though there was no blood on her robes by her shoulder, so I'm not so certain that is the case. It is in shape of a flower. Most peculiar." The nurse moved to Lily's right side and lowered her shirt off her shoulder so they could see in clear view, a scar.
Mrs. Potter shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe it's a birthmark." She suggested.
James shook his head seriously. "No, Lily didn't have a birthmark on her shoulder. I'm sure of it. She only had one on her left knee after she fell off her bike when she was three."
"James, honey, are you sure that she didn't have any other scars at all. I mean, you missed a few years of her life. Maybe she got it between those years she was gone." His mother said.
James shook his head again, stubbornly. "No, I'm positive that's the only scar she had. After we met up again here, she practically told me her life story. I'm sure she would have mentioned something about another scar."
"Oh well, it really doesn't matter, does it?" His father broke in.
"She's not in danger of dying anymore, is she Madame Pomfrey?" Melanie asked, changing the subject.
The nurse replied, "I'm almost positive she'll live through all this. I just don't know when she'll wake up."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Unfortunately, James' family couldn't stay for very long. Melanie had to get back to college, and James' father had to get back to the Ministry. After he heard that Voldemort tried to poison the kids as well as the other crimes he committed, Harold became even more determined to stop Voldemort. So, a few days later, James said goodbye to his family. Now, the next big event was on its way. Christmas was coming up. James decided he would not be coming home for Christmas; he and the rest of the marauders wanted to stay and spend it with Lily. His parents understood and his mother said that if it wasn't for his father's job, they would be staying for the holiday as well. But since they couldn't, they left the kid's their gifts and the James gave his parents and sister their gifts.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
James and crew decided to ditch their Potions class and sneak off to Hogsmeades to buy their Christmas presents for one another. So, as soon as they arrived there, they bid each other farewell and went their separate ways.
It was around an hour later when they all met up back in the Gryffindor common room.
"I don't know why girls take so long to shop for presents. It only took us approximately forty minutes to buy the stuff." Sirius said when he arrived last.
The other three just shrugged their shoulders. Sirius then took a seat next to James on the sofa, with Remus on his left in a plush chair and Peter next to Remus in a slightly beat up chair. They all had bags at their feet.
Everyone else was in class, so it was safe for them to be in there with shopping bags.
"So, what'd you all get me?" Sirius asked excitedly.
James snorted, "By that tone of voice, I seem to have the strangest impression that we're actually going to tell you."
Sirius started to whine like Cassandra would, "But Jamsieeeeeee. Like, I really want to know, like what you, like, got meeee."
This time, Remus snorted and said, "You better be careful there, Sirius. Start doing that too often and you're going to start sounding that way...permanently."
That shut Sirius up real quick.
Peter widened his eyes and said in a terrified voice, "Does that really happen?"
James rolled his eyes and said, "No Peter. It doesn't happen. Remus just said that to shut Sirius up."
Folding his arms across his chest in a way a two year old would pout, he sniffed and said, "Fine, be that way."
They all laughed at his antics. Then, Remus turned serious and said, "Hey, you guys. What'd you get for Lily?"
They stopped laughing immediately. James and Sirius had looks of sadness on their faces and Peter looked, for the second time that night, terrified.
"W-were we supposed to get something for her?" he sputtered out.
The other three turned their heads sharply to look at him, unbelievable expressions on their faces. "What do you think, Pete?" Sirius asked sarcastically. "Of course we got her something."
"I-I didn't know we were supposed to get her something." Peter said, almost hysterically.
Seeing his worried look, James felt a pang of sympathy for the boys, so he said, "Come on, Peter. Let's hurry back to Hogsmeade and find her something."
"But, James, you'll miss History of Magic. It starts in a half hour." Remus argued.
James shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Oh well, it's just History of Magic. Plus, I think this is the last chance we'll get to go to Hogsmeade before Christmas. Come on Peter." And the two of them left the room.
As it turned out, James and Peter made it back just in time for History of Magic. Since it was the last day of class before Christmas break, is seemed that Professor Binns decided to make the lesson more boring than usual.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On Christmas morning, Sirius decided to wake up the rest in his own way. He decided to make the boys dormitory a replica of the outside. So, James, Remus and Peter woke up to see that their bed, and themselves, were covered with snow.
"SIRIUS!!!" James bellowed, hearing his friend's maniacal laughter from the common room.
"Presents!" Peter said happily when Sirius came up and got rid of the snow. Peter made a move to open his presents, but James stopped him.
"Let's go see Lily and opened our presents there." He suggested. The others agreed, so they grabbed their gifts and walked to the hospital wing.
They bid Madame Pomfrey a Happy Christmas and then walked over to Lily's bed. Even on Christmas she looked the exact same.
"Happy Christmas, Lilz." They each said softly. James and Sirius took the chairs on either side of her and sat, Remus and Peter sat on the bed beside hers. They had put her presents next to the mound of others at the foot of her bed. James read a couple of the notes on them. Many of her male admirers had gotten her gifts, as well as some others.
They all unwrapped their packages there, exchanging thanks to one another for their gifts. James had gotten Sirius a new broomstick, which Sirius had announced was the greatest gift he'd gotten. He gave Remus a book that he knew he had been wanting. Peter received a Rememberall from him. James received a book of Quidditch from Remus, a broom polish set from Sirius, and a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Peter.
Madame Pomfrey came up to them, holding five gifts in her hands, when they had finished opening the presents,
She cleared her throat and the Marauders turned and looked at her. "I believe that Miss Evans had gotten your presents quite early this year." And she gave them each a colorfully wrapped package.
"How could she have gotten these?" Remus asked.
Madame Pomfrey shrugged and said, "I do not know, but Dumbledore found them somehow and they were addressed to you from Miss Evans."
Then she left them to open their presents. James unwrapped his and saw that Lily had bought him a golden necklace (Not a girly one. A manly one) with a flame of red fire pendant on it. He smiled at it and then looked up at Lily. He reached over and kissed her forehead gently and whispered, "Thank you Lily."
Sirius had gotten a necklace as well. His had a blue raindrop instead of fire. Remus had also got a necklace; instead of a blue raindrop, his had a yellow sun on it. Peter didn't get a necklace like the others. He received a book. When he opened the pages, he noticed they were blank other than a few straight lines going horizontally across the page. The cover of the book said 'Homework Helper'. Remus told him that what he had to do was write the assignment name and subject, along with the teacher's name on there, and the question he needed help on, and the book would help him to solve the problem. James personally thought that that was the best present Peter could have received. No doubt that he definitely would use it.
"Hey, there's another package." Remus pointed out, indicating a much smaller package. "James, why don't you open it. It's addressed to all of us. Look."
He was right. On the top of the gift, a little white card said, "To the Marauders. With Love, Lily."
So, James tore the gift wrap from the little box and when he opened the top, all he saw was another note.
"It's a note." He announced.
"Read it out loud then, why don't you." Sirius replied.
"'Dear Marauders, I know I've already given you your gifts already, but I've decided to give you one as a group as well. No, this isn't it. Give me a little more credit. The gift is down at Hogsmeade at the moment, we'll just have to go down there later on to pick it up. As I'm guessing, Sirius is probably going out of his mind right now waiting to hear what I got you all-,'"
"You got that right." Sirius said, bouncing up and down in his seat. James rolled his eyes and went on.
"'-so I guess I'll tell you. I've gotten you an owl. The official Marauder owl. This way, it will be easier to send messages to each other during the summer and whatnot while the parents use the owls we have right now. Probably a stupid idea, I know. But, hey, don't make fun of me, I'm probably giving you a glare right at this moment. With love, Lily.'" When he finished, no body said a word.
~*~*~*~*~
Later that day, they snuck down to Hogsmeades and entered the pet shop there.
Walking up to the counter, James noticed many interesting creatures. One included a phoenix that was staring at him. For some reason, James felt drawn to that bird. Then, finally breaking eye contact with it, they all reached the counter to see a man staring at them.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Yeah, um, we're here to pick up an owl our friend got for us." Remus answered.
"And what's this friend's name?" the man inquired.
"Lily Evans" James replied.
The man nodded and said, "Alright, I know who you're talking about. Just a minute." He walked into the back, leaving the boys to look around. James decided to take a closer look at that phoenix he saw.
"Hey Remus." Sirius said loudly.
Remus walked over to where Sirius was. "What?" he asked.
"Take a look at this cat. Ugly little thing, ain't it." Sirius said, laughingly.
Remus grimaced when he saw the cat. It was orange and fat. Not a pretty feline. "What's its name?"
Sirius looked at a plate above the cage the cat was in. "This says its name is Crookshanks."
On the other side of the room, Peter was looking at some frogs in cages. Not far away from there, James was staring intently at the red phoenix. He didn't know why, but he realized that he should buy this bird.
When the man walked back out, the boys walked back up to the front. The man was holding a white, beautiful owl with bright green eyes that reminded James of Lily's.
"Here she is, boys." He said, handing the cage to Remus.
"Thanks." Remus replied.
"Hey, mister, how much is that phoenix?" James asked, pointing to the red bird.
The man looked to where James was pointing and said, "That bird? It's a real rare phoenix. A bit expensive."
"How much?" James asked again, reaching inside his pockets for his money.
"20 galleons." The man replied (A/N-I'm not sure about wizard money, so just overlook that part.)
Peter let out a low whistle, but James nonetheless, pulled out the exact amount.
~*~*~*~*~
When they got out of the shop, the phoenix in James' hand, the owl in Remus' hand, Sirius asked James, "So, why'd you get the bird?"
James shrugged and said, "I dunno. I just don't think a phoenix should be locked up inside a store. Plus, I figured since Lily got me two gifts, so will I."
"So that's for Lily?" Peter asked.
James nodded, "Yep."
"So, what should we name the owl?" Remus asked them.
"Pauly." Sirius replied, sniggering for some reason.
Remus furrowed his brows, "Why Pauly?"
"Pauly wanna cracker?" Sirius answered back, still sniggering.
Remus rolled his eyes and said, "Sirius, that's a parrot."
Sirius stopped laughing for a moment and said, "Oh yeah." Then, he got a gleam in his eye and said, "We should 'get' a parrot."
"What's a parrot?" Peter asked.
"Muggle bird, Petey." Remus replied, then he said to the rest, "But seriously, what should we call it?"
"How 'bout 'Lily'." James suggested.
They agreed to naming the owl Lily.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And so school went on. The days and weeks passed and still no sign of change for Lily. And as school went on, the teachers seemed more determined to assign more homework than ever. Sirius dubbed this as a conspiracy of the teachers to kill the students with work overload. Remus rationed with Sirius saying that they're just preparing them for the OWLs that were coming up rapidly. Sirius replied that even if that implausible reason was true, there was still a chance that his theory was most likely correct in the Potions teacher's case.
So, whether it was because the teachers were trying to kill them, or the OWLs were coming up, the homework managed to take up most of the guys' time. They had barely had the chance to visit Lily once a week, let alone once a day.
It was now four months since Lily's accident in October. The school had gone back to its original routine. People could get through an entire conversation without mentioning Lily once. The Marauders went on with their pranks, occasionally forgetting to put a lily at the end of it. Quidditch matches went on with Lockhart still playing chaser.
Now, don't get me wrong. Nobody really forgot about Lily. They were just getting use to not having her around. They were moving on. Sirius even started to date as much as before. James also dated, though not as mush as Sirius. Remus was going steady with a fifth year Ravenclaw, though he was planning on ending it soon. Even Peter was dating a girl, a third year Hufflepuff.
It was now February. And more and more people were accepting the fact that their little Hogwarts flower...may never wake up.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N- ok PLEASE don't hate me for this chapter. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I just finished book 5. Extremely sad at one part, but I must say that J.K. Rowling really outdid herself this time. Well, anyway, please read and review and enjoy. Oh, and I feel the need to reply to the reviews. And also, since there is so many, instead of the previews I usually do, I'm going to just give you a scene from the next chapter. Hope that's alright.
SotMoon- thank you so much for pointing that out. You're right, his eyes are blue. Sorry everyone for the mistake.
Dakie- You are right. I've been ignoring Peter. I agree with you. He should be in here more. I've tried to do that in this chapter. Hope that's enough. Thanks for the review.
WithAPenInHerHand- thank you 'SO' much for the review. Actually, the person I was talking about, Avery, was a different person. Not Avery Nott. I feel bad for all of them too. It's so sad, isn't it. Thanks for the review.
JerseyGirl03- thanks for the review! Keep reading!
Anarane Anwamane- thanks so much!
Neo-Queen Serenity- thank you very much for reviewing! I hope you like this update.
Freakyfroggurl22- thank you for reviewing. I love your story, 'Life Is Even More Complicated'. It's a wonderful story!
East of the shore- thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I know, I dislike Cassandra too. Well, I hope you like the update.
Love2write- thank you very much for the suggestion! I might have Snape in here soon. Keep readin'.
Bebe-chrissy- thanks you 'SO' much. I'm honored that you actually cried over this story. That's what I was kind of aiming for ;-). Please keep reading.
EbonyQuill- thanks for the support. So, do I get that cookie? Lol! Keep a- reading, I'm working on my other one, too. ;)
Ravenmist- thank you for reviewing and reading!
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The Preview:
The Marauders arrived at the hospital wing in between classes. This seemed to be the only time they could actually manage to see her.
Walking up to her bed, James noticed that the flowers on her bedside were wilted and dying. He realized with a pang in his heart, that no one had been around to change them for her. Not that it was anyone's fault, they were so busy studying and doing their homework that they barely had time to sleep.
"We don't come around here enough." James spoke out, saying his thoughts.
"We've been busy. It's no big deal." Sirius said, shrugging his shoulders.
James sighed and said, "Yeah, I just feel guilty, that's all." And he went over to her bedside and took out the flowers, replacing them with fresher ones.
"Have you guys finished the Transfiguration homework yet?" Remus asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Lily's.
Peter gasped and said, "I forgot about that!"
Sirius and James groaned and said, "So did we!"
Remus said, "You guys better get it done; it's due tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, but when can we finish it?" James asked desperately.
"Should we go and start it right now?" Sirius asked.
"I think you probably should." Remus said.
James sighed and said, "Here's another time when we have to ditch Lily.
~*~*~*~*
Hope you like it!