After James finished his goodbye with Lily, he slowly made his way to the
door. He opened it and walked out. Then, he stopped and turned to look at
it. Reluctantly, he reached out his hand and grasped the handle to pull it
shut. This was it. When he shut the door, it made it official. Lily really
was leaving. Maintaining all his willpower, he shut it firmly. Sighing, he
turned and exchanged glances with his solemn friends.
He wiped his tear streaked face and coughed. He broke the silence by saying quietly, "Let's go down to dinner." No body said anything, they just nodded in reply.
As they walked down the halls, most students they passed greeted them enthusiastically. They managed small smiles in return and occasionally forced out a small 'hi'.
When they reached the Great Hall, they sat and dragged food onto their plates. Peter and Sirius started to eat quietly while James and Remus just stared at their plates. They couldn't bring themselves to eat. Many Gryffindors gave them confused looks, but they ignored them.
After a while of silence, James decided he had to do something. He couldn't just sit there and try to eat when he knew he had no appetite.
"Hey, Remus, is Lily back yet with your paper?" James questioned dully.
Remus looked up and was about to reply when something else replied for him. Their owl, Lily, came swooping down unexpectedly and dropped an issue of the Daily Prophet in front of Remus.
"Guess so." Remus replied just as dully.
James nodded and got up. Lily perched herself atop his shoulder. "I'm going to send an owl to my parents. They should probably know Lily's going to be moved to St. Mungos." The other three nodded and James walked out the Great Hall.
~*~*~*~*~
Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore were preparing to take Lily to St. Mungos. Dumbledore just left for a moment to get a portkey. It was a little hectic. They wanted to get her there as soon as they could. After being officially dead for approximately five minutes and suddenly coming back to life, Lily could loose stability any minute.
While all this was going on, Lily was inconspicuously doing a lot more than she had done in the past five months. Her hand had twitched slightly and her eyes flickered. Right at this moment, she was doing the same amount of movements that a sleeping person would be doing.
It was like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon; only Lily was coming out of her coma. Her hand twitched again. Then, her left foot moved slightly. Her chest rose higher as she took in her first deep breath since the accident. Her lips parted a little.
Madame Pomfrey had her back to the waking beauty while she folded up some blankets as she waited for the Headmaster to return. Humming a little to herself, all movements of the formally unconscious girl went unnoticed. That changed when she heard a moan behind her. The nurse moved her eyes around the room. No one else was in there other than her and Lily. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned back around suspiciously and went back to her blankets
Another moan was heard. This time, Madame Pomfrey recognized it and her eyes widened. 'It couldn't be.' She thought. But it was. She turned and walked over to Lily's bedside and stared down at her. She jumped about a foot in the air when she saw Lily's right hand move. 'Good gracious! She's waking!' And at that moment, Lily's eyes opened for the first time in quite a while. Madame Pomfrey was changing her expressions from smiling one second to opening her mouth then shut it quickly, refraining herself from talking. She kept repeating this over and over as Lily blinked a couple times to focus her eyes.
Lily turned her head slowly and looked right at the nurse. Just at that moment, the doors opened and Dumbledore strode in, not noticing the major difference in Lily. He spotted Madame Pomfrey and said as he walked over, "I've just created a portkey." He held up an old rubber shoe, "Come, we must go quickly. The sooner we get her there, the better it is."
"Albus." Pomfrey said slowly.
Dumbledore stopped talking and looked at her expectantly. The nurse simply pointed her finger down at Lily. Dumbledore followed her movement. When he saw the reason of that action, he did a double take. Lily was staring at him intently. He blinked twice to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him and let out a gasp.
"Contact St. Mungos. Tell them we are keeping Lily here for now." he mumbled quietly to Madame Pomfrey. She nodded, still looking at Lily, and rushed off.
"Miss Evans, I must say it is quite a relief to see you awake again. I daresay I was worried we wouldn't see you here for a 'long' time. Your friends are all very worried about you." Dumbledore said happily.
"Ok..." she said slowly and looking very confused. Then she added timidly, "Who are you?" The nurse came back just in time to catch the question.
Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore widened their eyes. They looked at each other with worried expressions etched on their faces. "Oh dear." Madame Pomfrey mumbled.
Dumbledore looked back at Lily and said, "You don't know who I am?"
Lily shook her head slowly, "Should I?" she asked, sounding scared.
Dumbledore looked intently at her as though he was seeing her for the first time. He sighed sadly. The sparkle in her eyes was gone. "Do you know who 'you' are?" he asked, not answering her question.
Lily bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. She shook her head again slowly. "Do you know who I am?" she asked hopefully.
Dumbledore nodded and said, "Yes. Your name is Lily Evans. You are a student here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am the headmaster at this school. My name is Albus Dumbledore." Then he indicated Madame Pomfrey and said, "She here is Madame Pomfrey, the school nurse."
Lily's dull eyes widened, "I'm a witch?"
"Yes, and a good one at that, Lily." Dumbledore replied seriously.
Lily swallowed harshly and asked, glancing at her surroundings, "Why am I in here? The hospital, I mean. This is a hospital, right?" Dumbledore nodded.
"I think I should leave telling you that to four others." He answered vaguely. He then turned to Madame Pomfrey, who was at the end of the bed listening, and said, "I'll find Mr. Potter and the rest again." She nodded and he got up and left.
The nurse looked over at Lily and immediately sprang up and ran into her office. A minute later, she returned with some bottles of potion and medicine.
"I'm sure your many admirers and boyfriends will be glad to know you're finally awake." the nurse teased. She especially meant the Marauders.
Lily's brows furrowed in confusion. 'My boyfriends? I wonder if they are whom that man was going to get.'
~*~*~*~*~
Out in the hall, Dumbledore was smiling despite himself. Memory or no memory, Lily was awake. It was amazing to know that just two hours ago, Lily was in danger of seriously leaving this beautiful earth. Now, she wasn't only stable, she was awake. Seriously, she was 'awake'. No one could talk about Lily in a past tense anymore. In just a couple of days, she will most likely be returning to class with her fellow students. She will return to her position as a prefect and they wouldn't have to have only one Gryffindor prefect.
Yet, there was something that wouldn't be all peaches and cream. OWLs were coming up in a few short months. And Lily hadn't done a single spell since October.
Dumbledore was jerked out of his thoughts when he ran straight into something, or should I say, 'someone'.
"Oh, I'm sorry Headmaster." James said as he pushed himself off the ground.
"Quite alright, Mr. Potter, quite alright." Dumbledore said jollily. He too pushed himself off the ground and dusted his robes off.
James just stared at him. 'Why is he so happy? Doesn't he feel bad 'at all' that Lily won't be here anymore?' James thought bitterly.
When Dumbledore's full attention was on James, he smiled with his eyes twinkling. This just confused James even more. "Actually, James, I was just on my way to see you and the three others. Do you know where they are?"
James nodded mutely and led him into the Great Hall where Remus, Sirius, and Peter were all still picking at their food. When they reached the three, the boys looked up in surprise.
"Hello Headmaster." Remus said tonelessly.
"Hello boys. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time." He replied mysteriously. They nodded and followed Dumbledore. He led them to the Infirmary once again. They didn't ask why they were there or anything. They really didn't care. Surely, by now, Lily would already have been sent to St. Mungos.
Curiosity got the better of Sirius and he asked as they entered the room, "Why are we here, Headmaster?"
Dumbledore replied, "I think there is something you need and want to see, Mr. Black." And then he nodded his head towards Lily's bed. It was empty. James felt his heart sink when he saw it. She really was gone. By the looks on the other faces, Remus, Sirius, and Peter all felt the same way.
James looked back at the Headmaster and said, his voice breaking slightly, "So, what? It's just an empty bed. We know Lily's gone."
Dumbledore let out a slight chuckle and said, "That is where you are wrong, Mr. Potter." He would have said more, but he was but off by a bathroom door opening at the other end of the Infirmary. They all turned their heads to look at who had entered.
"I will be in my office now." Dumbledore said quietly as he started to leave.
James felt his eyes water up. 'It couldn't be...' But it was. Sirius' jaw dropped in disbelief and Remus sank into a chair. There was Lily. Walking around. Slowly, sure, but walking nonetheless. She was wrapped in a white cotton robe and her hair was no longer hanging limp, but shining and falling down her shoulders and back in cascades of red curls. Her eyes were the same brilliant green, but there was something different about them. She skin was no longer so pale like the dead. Her cheeks had a tinge of pink.
She looked over at them as she walked over to her bed and smiled slightly, even a little unsurely. 'Probably thinks we're still mad at her.' James thought to himself, feeling an immense amount of guilt weighing on his chest. No body said anything. It was quiet in the large room. The only sounds heard by anyone was Lily's bare feet tapping on the hard floor as she slowly made her way towards her bed. Lily soon looked at the ground instead of their surprised eyes. She felt a blush creep up onto her face as she realized they were all staring at her, unmoving.
Then, the almost silence was interrupted by the sound of Peter fainting suddenly. The others seemed not to notice as they just kept staring. Lily's head, though, jerked up when she heard the rather large 'boom!' Her eyes widened in worry when she saw a plump boy lying on the ground, eyes closed.
"Is he alright?" she asked, her soft voice filled with worry. It was like music to James' ears. The voice he had waited to long to hear again. Sirius, James, and Remus were dragged out of their thoughts when she spoke. They finally understood what she was asking and they all turned to pick up Peter and pulled him onto the bed next to Lily's. When they finished, they turned and looked back at Lily with awe in their eyes.
Lily squirmed under their gaze and after a minute, she asked timidly, "Wh- what?" She climbed back into her bed.
Remus shook his head to clear his thoughts. His face broke out into a wide, wide grin and he said, "Hey, Lils. You kept us pretty worried for a while."
Lily smiled at him, looking lost. Still grinning, she asked simply, "Huh?"
"You were out of it for five months, Lily. It killed us to see you like that." Sirius replied, not noticing the completely baffled look on Lily's face. 'Who are these guys?'
"Five months?.....W-what happened to me?" Lily asked with interest. Then, she asked with her head quirked to the side, "I don't mean to be rude. Um...who are you?"
The three exchanged worried looks. James looked intently on Lily, studying her face. When he reached her beautiful eyes, he immediately realized what was different about them. They used to sparkle. That was long gone and now her eyes were left with a dull, empty look to them. When her memory had gone, her sparkle and aliveness in her eyes had left as well. "Y-you don't know us?" James asked slowly.
Lily smiled brightly. She shook her head to answer their question. "Nope."
"Do you know who you are?" James asked.
"Oh, yes. That man with the long beard...was it Dumbledore...yes, he told me my name was Lily Evans. And he also said I was a witch." She answered with a happy, carefree attitude.
They nodded solemnly and Remus said, "So, you don't remember what happened of why you're here."
Lily nodded and said, "That's right. What are your names, anyway?"
Sirius decided to re-introduce them to her, "Well, My name is Sirius. This here is James. He is Remus. And the one on the bed is Peter. We're all very close to you." He added, unintentionally messing her up more.
She smiled at them, looking confused, "Ok, so I have...four boyfriends?" she asked, freaking them all out. Peter, who just woke up in time to witness this rather humorous scene, squeaked in terror.
Sirius and Remus both paled considerably while James blushed. They all looked horrified at what she just said. Sirius laughed uncomfortably and said, "Oh, no, no, no, no. Haha, you see, uh, we're not dating. I mean, no offence, you're a real knock out... I mean, you're 'really' hot..." he looked terrified at what he was saying, but nonetheless, kept going, seeming unable to stop, "I mean, if you were really any other girl and you still looked that way...I defiantly would-," a sharp, warning cough from Remus stopped him from babbling like an idiot. Lily's eyebrow quirked up and she just stared at them intently.
"Ok, I think we're just confusing her more. What he means is, er, w-we're not dating. We are just really close. 'Not' that way." Remus added quickly and uncomfortably.
Lily nodded in understanding. But still, she took things the wrong way and then said assumingly to James, "So, 'we' are dating?"
James turned even brighter red and started to almost hyperventilate. "Uh, uh, uh, n-no. We-we aren't dating. Um, y-your just my best friend."
"How come you think one of us are your boyfriends?" Remus asked, still feeling a little weird at the thought of going out with Lily. Now, there was nothing wrong with Lily. She was, as Sirius said, very pretty. She was the hottest girl at Hogwarts. Everyone knew that, even the Marauders. It's just, except for James, they all thought of her as a sister and nothing more. James lost his nerve at the last moment and decided not to tell her of his feelings for her.
Lily answered innocently by saying, "Well, Madame Pomfrey...is that her name...yes, she said that all my boyfriends and admirers would be happy I'm awake and everything. I thought she assumed you boys." They nodded in understanding. She went on, "So, if you aren't my boyfriend, who is?"
"Oh, you don't have one. I think Madame Pomfrey was just kidding. You see, in this school, you've got to be like one of the most sought after girls. You've got so many admirers here, it's amazing." Peter said, speaking for the first time. Lily nodded in understanding this time.
"Well, could you please tell me how, why, and how long I've been here?" she asked politely.
The four of them immediately launched into the long story. About thirty minutes later, they had finally finished and Lily was looking pale and overwhelmed. All she could muster up was a small, surprised, "Oh!"
James sighed and said, "You look exhausted. Get some rest. We'll stop by first thing tomorrow." He got up with the rest of them. Lily nodded at them, shaking a little. James noticed this and immediately grabbed her hand. She looked up at him with a look of wonder in her eyes. He squeezed her hand then did something for the second time that day that, a couple of weeks ago, he wouldn't have considered doing. He kissed her. Only, this time it was just on the cheek. He silently berated himself after that. 'You coward. Some Gryffindor you are, James. What happened to 'I'm not afraid anymore. I love you and I want you to know it'?
James walked out of the hospital with the rest of his friends. Lily was left to her own thoughts. The first thing she thought when they left was, 'Somehow, for some reason I don't really know, I think I love him.'
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N- Hello all! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. My computer was being stupid and it wouldn't let me on the Internet. Please forgive me and review. I hope you all liked this chapter. Also, to 'h-ermione-g-ranger'- thank you 'so' much for reviewing. I'm so happy I had an influence on you. I really look forward to reading some of your stories!
*She decided to explore some of the school. 'After all, it can't be 'that' big. I'm sure I won't get lost'.
*To her surprise, the staircase started to move.
*"Good gracious!" Lily turned and immediately put a hand up to her mouth to stifle a scream.
*No one but the nurse, the Marauders, and Dumbledore knew about Lily.
*The portrait opened and a whole bunch of little things she didn't recognize came out meekly.
*"Would Miss like something to eat?" one of them asked.
*She turned around, and let out another gasp of fright.
*This place was absolutely amazing.
*She didn't realize he directed her into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
*Lily looked up and was amazed by the scene she saw. It was like there was no roof in the hall.
*She decided to take a stroll outside.
*She noticed a little hut by the lake and saw a shadow move from within it.
*"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A student out of bed. Tut tut."
*She then heard the sounds of a few more sets of footsteps coming from down the hall.
He wiped his tear streaked face and coughed. He broke the silence by saying quietly, "Let's go down to dinner." No body said anything, they just nodded in reply.
As they walked down the halls, most students they passed greeted them enthusiastically. They managed small smiles in return and occasionally forced out a small 'hi'.
When they reached the Great Hall, they sat and dragged food onto their plates. Peter and Sirius started to eat quietly while James and Remus just stared at their plates. They couldn't bring themselves to eat. Many Gryffindors gave them confused looks, but they ignored them.
After a while of silence, James decided he had to do something. He couldn't just sit there and try to eat when he knew he had no appetite.
"Hey, Remus, is Lily back yet with your paper?" James questioned dully.
Remus looked up and was about to reply when something else replied for him. Their owl, Lily, came swooping down unexpectedly and dropped an issue of the Daily Prophet in front of Remus.
"Guess so." Remus replied just as dully.
James nodded and got up. Lily perched herself atop his shoulder. "I'm going to send an owl to my parents. They should probably know Lily's going to be moved to St. Mungos." The other three nodded and James walked out the Great Hall.
~*~*~*~*~
Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore were preparing to take Lily to St. Mungos. Dumbledore just left for a moment to get a portkey. It was a little hectic. They wanted to get her there as soon as they could. After being officially dead for approximately five minutes and suddenly coming back to life, Lily could loose stability any minute.
While all this was going on, Lily was inconspicuously doing a lot more than she had done in the past five months. Her hand had twitched slightly and her eyes flickered. Right at this moment, she was doing the same amount of movements that a sleeping person would be doing.
It was like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon; only Lily was coming out of her coma. Her hand twitched again. Then, her left foot moved slightly. Her chest rose higher as she took in her first deep breath since the accident. Her lips parted a little.
Madame Pomfrey had her back to the waking beauty while she folded up some blankets as she waited for the Headmaster to return. Humming a little to herself, all movements of the formally unconscious girl went unnoticed. That changed when she heard a moan behind her. The nurse moved her eyes around the room. No one else was in there other than her and Lily. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned back around suspiciously and went back to her blankets
Another moan was heard. This time, Madame Pomfrey recognized it and her eyes widened. 'It couldn't be.' She thought. But it was. She turned and walked over to Lily's bedside and stared down at her. She jumped about a foot in the air when she saw Lily's right hand move. 'Good gracious! She's waking!' And at that moment, Lily's eyes opened for the first time in quite a while. Madame Pomfrey was changing her expressions from smiling one second to opening her mouth then shut it quickly, refraining herself from talking. She kept repeating this over and over as Lily blinked a couple times to focus her eyes.
Lily turned her head slowly and looked right at the nurse. Just at that moment, the doors opened and Dumbledore strode in, not noticing the major difference in Lily. He spotted Madame Pomfrey and said as he walked over, "I've just created a portkey." He held up an old rubber shoe, "Come, we must go quickly. The sooner we get her there, the better it is."
"Albus." Pomfrey said slowly.
Dumbledore stopped talking and looked at her expectantly. The nurse simply pointed her finger down at Lily. Dumbledore followed her movement. When he saw the reason of that action, he did a double take. Lily was staring at him intently. He blinked twice to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him and let out a gasp.
"Contact St. Mungos. Tell them we are keeping Lily here for now." he mumbled quietly to Madame Pomfrey. She nodded, still looking at Lily, and rushed off.
"Miss Evans, I must say it is quite a relief to see you awake again. I daresay I was worried we wouldn't see you here for a 'long' time. Your friends are all very worried about you." Dumbledore said happily.
"Ok..." she said slowly and looking very confused. Then she added timidly, "Who are you?" The nurse came back just in time to catch the question.
Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore widened their eyes. They looked at each other with worried expressions etched on their faces. "Oh dear." Madame Pomfrey mumbled.
Dumbledore looked back at Lily and said, "You don't know who I am?"
Lily shook her head slowly, "Should I?" she asked, sounding scared.
Dumbledore looked intently at her as though he was seeing her for the first time. He sighed sadly. The sparkle in her eyes was gone. "Do you know who 'you' are?" he asked, not answering her question.
Lily bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. She shook her head again slowly. "Do you know who I am?" she asked hopefully.
Dumbledore nodded and said, "Yes. Your name is Lily Evans. You are a student here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am the headmaster at this school. My name is Albus Dumbledore." Then he indicated Madame Pomfrey and said, "She here is Madame Pomfrey, the school nurse."
Lily's dull eyes widened, "I'm a witch?"
"Yes, and a good one at that, Lily." Dumbledore replied seriously.
Lily swallowed harshly and asked, glancing at her surroundings, "Why am I in here? The hospital, I mean. This is a hospital, right?" Dumbledore nodded.
"I think I should leave telling you that to four others." He answered vaguely. He then turned to Madame Pomfrey, who was at the end of the bed listening, and said, "I'll find Mr. Potter and the rest again." She nodded and he got up and left.
The nurse looked over at Lily and immediately sprang up and ran into her office. A minute later, she returned with some bottles of potion and medicine.
"I'm sure your many admirers and boyfriends will be glad to know you're finally awake." the nurse teased. She especially meant the Marauders.
Lily's brows furrowed in confusion. 'My boyfriends? I wonder if they are whom that man was going to get.'
~*~*~*~*~
Out in the hall, Dumbledore was smiling despite himself. Memory or no memory, Lily was awake. It was amazing to know that just two hours ago, Lily was in danger of seriously leaving this beautiful earth. Now, she wasn't only stable, she was awake. Seriously, she was 'awake'. No one could talk about Lily in a past tense anymore. In just a couple of days, she will most likely be returning to class with her fellow students. She will return to her position as a prefect and they wouldn't have to have only one Gryffindor prefect.
Yet, there was something that wouldn't be all peaches and cream. OWLs were coming up in a few short months. And Lily hadn't done a single spell since October.
Dumbledore was jerked out of his thoughts when he ran straight into something, or should I say, 'someone'.
"Oh, I'm sorry Headmaster." James said as he pushed himself off the ground.
"Quite alright, Mr. Potter, quite alright." Dumbledore said jollily. He too pushed himself off the ground and dusted his robes off.
James just stared at him. 'Why is he so happy? Doesn't he feel bad 'at all' that Lily won't be here anymore?' James thought bitterly.
When Dumbledore's full attention was on James, he smiled with his eyes twinkling. This just confused James even more. "Actually, James, I was just on my way to see you and the three others. Do you know where they are?"
James nodded mutely and led him into the Great Hall where Remus, Sirius, and Peter were all still picking at their food. When they reached the three, the boys looked up in surprise.
"Hello Headmaster." Remus said tonelessly.
"Hello boys. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time." He replied mysteriously. They nodded and followed Dumbledore. He led them to the Infirmary once again. They didn't ask why they were there or anything. They really didn't care. Surely, by now, Lily would already have been sent to St. Mungos.
Curiosity got the better of Sirius and he asked as they entered the room, "Why are we here, Headmaster?"
Dumbledore replied, "I think there is something you need and want to see, Mr. Black." And then he nodded his head towards Lily's bed. It was empty. James felt his heart sink when he saw it. She really was gone. By the looks on the other faces, Remus, Sirius, and Peter all felt the same way.
James looked back at the Headmaster and said, his voice breaking slightly, "So, what? It's just an empty bed. We know Lily's gone."
Dumbledore let out a slight chuckle and said, "That is where you are wrong, Mr. Potter." He would have said more, but he was but off by a bathroom door opening at the other end of the Infirmary. They all turned their heads to look at who had entered.
"I will be in my office now." Dumbledore said quietly as he started to leave.
James felt his eyes water up. 'It couldn't be...' But it was. Sirius' jaw dropped in disbelief and Remus sank into a chair. There was Lily. Walking around. Slowly, sure, but walking nonetheless. She was wrapped in a white cotton robe and her hair was no longer hanging limp, but shining and falling down her shoulders and back in cascades of red curls. Her eyes were the same brilliant green, but there was something different about them. She skin was no longer so pale like the dead. Her cheeks had a tinge of pink.
She looked over at them as she walked over to her bed and smiled slightly, even a little unsurely. 'Probably thinks we're still mad at her.' James thought to himself, feeling an immense amount of guilt weighing on his chest. No body said anything. It was quiet in the large room. The only sounds heard by anyone was Lily's bare feet tapping on the hard floor as she slowly made her way towards her bed. Lily soon looked at the ground instead of their surprised eyes. She felt a blush creep up onto her face as she realized they were all staring at her, unmoving.
Then, the almost silence was interrupted by the sound of Peter fainting suddenly. The others seemed not to notice as they just kept staring. Lily's head, though, jerked up when she heard the rather large 'boom!' Her eyes widened in worry when she saw a plump boy lying on the ground, eyes closed.
"Is he alright?" she asked, her soft voice filled with worry. It was like music to James' ears. The voice he had waited to long to hear again. Sirius, James, and Remus were dragged out of their thoughts when she spoke. They finally understood what she was asking and they all turned to pick up Peter and pulled him onto the bed next to Lily's. When they finished, they turned and looked back at Lily with awe in their eyes.
Lily squirmed under their gaze and after a minute, she asked timidly, "Wh- what?" She climbed back into her bed.
Remus shook his head to clear his thoughts. His face broke out into a wide, wide grin and he said, "Hey, Lils. You kept us pretty worried for a while."
Lily smiled at him, looking lost. Still grinning, she asked simply, "Huh?"
"You were out of it for five months, Lily. It killed us to see you like that." Sirius replied, not noticing the completely baffled look on Lily's face. 'Who are these guys?'
"Five months?.....W-what happened to me?" Lily asked with interest. Then, she asked with her head quirked to the side, "I don't mean to be rude. Um...who are you?"
The three exchanged worried looks. James looked intently on Lily, studying her face. When he reached her beautiful eyes, he immediately realized what was different about them. They used to sparkle. That was long gone and now her eyes were left with a dull, empty look to them. When her memory had gone, her sparkle and aliveness in her eyes had left as well. "Y-you don't know us?" James asked slowly.
Lily smiled brightly. She shook her head to answer their question. "Nope."
"Do you know who you are?" James asked.
"Oh, yes. That man with the long beard...was it Dumbledore...yes, he told me my name was Lily Evans. And he also said I was a witch." She answered with a happy, carefree attitude.
They nodded solemnly and Remus said, "So, you don't remember what happened of why you're here."
Lily nodded and said, "That's right. What are your names, anyway?"
Sirius decided to re-introduce them to her, "Well, My name is Sirius. This here is James. He is Remus. And the one on the bed is Peter. We're all very close to you." He added, unintentionally messing her up more.
She smiled at them, looking confused, "Ok, so I have...four boyfriends?" she asked, freaking them all out. Peter, who just woke up in time to witness this rather humorous scene, squeaked in terror.
Sirius and Remus both paled considerably while James blushed. They all looked horrified at what she just said. Sirius laughed uncomfortably and said, "Oh, no, no, no, no. Haha, you see, uh, we're not dating. I mean, no offence, you're a real knock out... I mean, you're 'really' hot..." he looked terrified at what he was saying, but nonetheless, kept going, seeming unable to stop, "I mean, if you were really any other girl and you still looked that way...I defiantly would-," a sharp, warning cough from Remus stopped him from babbling like an idiot. Lily's eyebrow quirked up and she just stared at them intently.
"Ok, I think we're just confusing her more. What he means is, er, w-we're not dating. We are just really close. 'Not' that way." Remus added quickly and uncomfortably.
Lily nodded in understanding. But still, she took things the wrong way and then said assumingly to James, "So, 'we' are dating?"
James turned even brighter red and started to almost hyperventilate. "Uh, uh, uh, n-no. We-we aren't dating. Um, y-your just my best friend."
"How come you think one of us are your boyfriends?" Remus asked, still feeling a little weird at the thought of going out with Lily. Now, there was nothing wrong with Lily. She was, as Sirius said, very pretty. She was the hottest girl at Hogwarts. Everyone knew that, even the Marauders. It's just, except for James, they all thought of her as a sister and nothing more. James lost his nerve at the last moment and decided not to tell her of his feelings for her.
Lily answered innocently by saying, "Well, Madame Pomfrey...is that her name...yes, she said that all my boyfriends and admirers would be happy I'm awake and everything. I thought she assumed you boys." They nodded in understanding. She went on, "So, if you aren't my boyfriend, who is?"
"Oh, you don't have one. I think Madame Pomfrey was just kidding. You see, in this school, you've got to be like one of the most sought after girls. You've got so many admirers here, it's amazing." Peter said, speaking for the first time. Lily nodded in understanding this time.
"Well, could you please tell me how, why, and how long I've been here?" she asked politely.
The four of them immediately launched into the long story. About thirty minutes later, they had finally finished and Lily was looking pale and overwhelmed. All she could muster up was a small, surprised, "Oh!"
James sighed and said, "You look exhausted. Get some rest. We'll stop by first thing tomorrow." He got up with the rest of them. Lily nodded at them, shaking a little. James noticed this and immediately grabbed her hand. She looked up at him with a look of wonder in her eyes. He squeezed her hand then did something for the second time that day that, a couple of weeks ago, he wouldn't have considered doing. He kissed her. Only, this time it was just on the cheek. He silently berated himself after that. 'You coward. Some Gryffindor you are, James. What happened to 'I'm not afraid anymore. I love you and I want you to know it'?
James walked out of the hospital with the rest of his friends. Lily was left to her own thoughts. The first thing she thought when they left was, 'Somehow, for some reason I don't really know, I think I love him.'
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N- Hello all! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. My computer was being stupid and it wouldn't let me on the Internet. Please forgive me and review. I hope you all liked this chapter. Also, to 'h-ermione-g-ranger'- thank you 'so' much for reviewing. I'm so happy I had an influence on you. I really look forward to reading some of your stories!
*She decided to explore some of the school. 'After all, it can't be 'that' big. I'm sure I won't get lost'.
*To her surprise, the staircase started to move.
*"Good gracious!" Lily turned and immediately put a hand up to her mouth to stifle a scream.
*No one but the nurse, the Marauders, and Dumbledore knew about Lily.
*The portrait opened and a whole bunch of little things she didn't recognize came out meekly.
*"Would Miss like something to eat?" one of them asked.
*She turned around, and let out another gasp of fright.
*This place was absolutely amazing.
*She didn't realize he directed her into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
*Lily looked up and was amazed by the scene she saw. It was like there was no roof in the hall.
*She decided to take a stroll outside.
*She noticed a little hut by the lake and saw a shadow move from within it.
*"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A student out of bed. Tut tut."
*She then heard the sounds of a few more sets of footsteps coming from down the hall.