The little creature squeaked and the woman didn't look stern at the moment
she realized who she was talking to.
"My goodness!" the old woman whispered
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Miss Evans?" the little creature squeaked questioningly.
Lily smiled wearily. Maybe she wouldn't get suspended after all. Nonetheless, though, she was still terrified.
She bit her lip and nodded slowly to the question. Looking between the two, she realized their eyes were opened so wide she was afraid they might pop right out of their sockets. Lily fiddled with her hands, nervous and a bit uncomfortable at being stared upon so intently.
The older woman turned pale and she put her hand up to her mouth in shock. The little creature just smiled widely and happily.
"It is wonderful to see you up and about, Miss Evans." He squeaked, then changing the subject, he turned his attention to the stunned woman. "I better get Argus off to the Infirmary." She nodded in reply and he levitated the unconscious man off to the hospital wing.
Lily turned her attention back to the woman when the little creature had rounded a corner at the end of the hall. The woman had seemed to get over the shock of seeing Lily up and walking around. She nodded sternly, though Lily could almost detect a faint smile upon her face, and said, "You best be off to your dormitory, Miss Evans. It's almost 5 o'clock." With that said, the old woman turned, ready to walk away, but Lily stopped her abruptly.
"Er, well, I-I don't exactly..." she paused for a second, then said, "I don't 'know' where my dormitory is." She looked as though she was going to say more, but decided not to.
The woman's jaw dropped. "Can you please explain, Miss Evans?" she asked faintly, as though she already knew the answer.
"I have amnesia." Lily said sheepishly. "Actually, I'm not really supposed to be out of the hospital wing." She said, looking at her feet.
The woman nodded in understanding, "Oh, I see. Well, then, I should probably escort you back to the hospital wing." she suggested, Lily nodded in relief.
"If you would. I'm really lost." she said with a little laugh. As the two walked along, Lily said in a carefree, polite way, "So, what is your name?"
The woman looked down at her and a faint smile appeared on her face. "I am Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration teacher here. That other man you saw here a minute ago was Argus Filch, the caretaker here. And the one you saw levitating him to the hospital wing was Professor Flitwick, he is the Charms professor here. "
Lily opened her mouth wide and said, "Oh." Then, she smiled as wide as she could. "Well, it's nice to meet you...again."
This caused a full smile on McGonagall's face. "Lovely to have you back, Miss Evans."
Lily asked curiously, "So, I am a good student in transfiguration?"
McGonagall smiled faintly once again. She was thinking about all the pranks her and her friends pulled in that class. "Academically or socially?"
Lily shrugged then smiled, "Both I guess."
"Well, let's see. In your studies in that class, you are the second in your year. Mr. James Potter is in first." McGonagall explained, secretly wondering if Lily knows who he and the rest are yet.
Lily thought about that name for a minute. She recognized it as one of her friends that came in to see her. "Oh!" Lily exclaimed excitedly, happy that her friends weren't totally against learning. "So James is good in that class." That answered McGonagall's silent question.
"Yes, he is rather exceptional in that class." She answered.
"Ok, so how about socially? Do I talk a lot in that class?" Lily asked, a mischievous glint in her eye that, McGonagall could have sworn, had taken refuge in Sirius' eye since the beginning of first year. Occasionally, she would see the same mischievous look in the other four; like right now.
"Well, you're not too bad. It is mostly Mr. Potter and Mr. Black that disrupt the class. Though, there are times when you, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew join in." she answered with a sigh.
"I'm sure that we mean nothing by it." Lily said.
McGonagall looked at her from the corner of her eye, "Well that's a relief." Lily giggled and then the next minute, they were at the hospital entrance.
The minute they opened the door, Madame Pomfrey rushed forward. She looked as though she was about to have a heart attack. "Miss Evans! Thank goodness you are alright, child! I woke up when Professor Flitwick brought Argus in here and you weren't in here!!!" she exclaimed, sounding like a worried mother. Lily noticed that the caretaker must have been revived because he was no where to be seen. "Where have you been?!" she demanded in a stern tone.
Lily paled, feeling the dread in her stomach she felt back in the hallway when she met the two teachers and Mr. Filch. Would she get suspended? Maybe she could talk her way out of it.
"I-I couldn't sleep. I just went for a walk. You know, explore the castle." Lily said in mock innocence, apparently one of her personality traits were kicking in.
Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall obviously knew what she was trying to pull. The corners of McGonagall's mouth twitched as she tried to suppress a smile. Madame Pomfrey raised an eyebrow and asked in a serious voice, "How long have you been out of bed?"
Lily laughed, amused, "I don't think you want me to answer that." she said, in a carefree way.
McGonagall couldn't help it. She let out a snort of laughter and abruptly stopped when seeing the stern gaze Pomfrey sent her. Then, Madame Pomfrey looked back at Lily and said, "I've just talked with Dumbledore not five minutes before you came in. We were both worried sick! He left and he is, at the moment, informing the head of houses, the head boy and girl, and the prefects, to search for you."
Lily's eyebrows shot up. All this just for her?! "Surely it isn't 'that' big of deal." She said, sounding guilty once again.
"A student, whom just woke up from a five month nap, has amnesia, has the Dark Lord after her, and is missing from her bed in the middle of the night- ,"
"Technically, it isn't the middle of the night."
"Nonetheless, it would cause some sort of concern." Madam Pomfrey finished sternly.
Lily lowered her eyes to her slippers, sighed quietly and then said just as quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd cause this much trouble for anyone. I just had trouble sleeping and I wanted to explore."
Madame Pomfrey's eyes softened as did McGonagall's. "Well, I guess there really no harm done. Maybe if we hurry, we can stop Dumbledore from waking up all the prefects and head students."
Lily decided against telling them that it was already about 5:30. Some people are probably already awake anyway. So, despite that fact, she followed McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey along the halls, foolishly trying to locate the headmaster.
Lily thought it would be more useful if they split up.
"Under no circumstances will I allow you to wonder off on your own again, Miss Evans. That is what started all this in the first place." Madame Pomfrey announced.
"But, I already know my way to some parts of the school. I won't get lost. I've spent most of the night wondering around anyway. Plus, if I do get lost, someone will be 'bound' to find me. After all, that is what they're doing anyway." Lily reasoned. Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall eyed her skeptically. Lily smiled cheekily to them and knew she had won them over.
"Alright, but if you get lost, look for anyone and I mean 'anyone' in the school, and asked them for directions to the Infirmary." Madame Pomfrey said, still not entirely convinced.
Lily smiled again then rushed off the other direction. Everything around this place still fascinated her. She was just rounding a corner when suddenly, she was ambushed.
"Oomph." Lily mumbled. Then, she was grabbed around the shoulders and spun to face her 'attacker'.
"Lily!!!" Sirius said, relief clouded in his eyes, "Thank goodness you're ok! We've been worried SICK!"
"Oh, hi er... Sirius." Lily finally said as she thought of who this was. She didn't notice the sad look in his eyes when he realized she was trying to figure out who he was. But, nevertheless, he quickly replaced that look with a mock stern look.
"Where have you been?" Sirius asked, trying to look stern. If it had been anyone else he did this to, they would have been laughing their head off right about now. But to someone who didn't have any memory of Sirius' antics, Lily answered, thinking he really was mad.
"Oh, I was taking a stroll around the castle. That's all. I'm sorry, I just couldn't sleep and I was bored, I had to get out of there. I'm really sorry if I caused some much trouble." Lily said quickly, concerned.
"Calm down, Lils." Sirius said, sounding a little surprised at Lily's reaction. "I was only joking. I'm not mad or anything. We were just worried." He paused, guilt now placed in his eyes, "Come on, let's go find the rest of them. They're still looking for you." He finished, placing his arm around her shoulder.
"Who else knows about me being missing?" Lily asked as they walked along.
"Just James, Remus, Peter. The head boy and girl, Melissa Miller and Bradley Anderson. Good Merlin, they were pretty surprised when they were woken up at 6 in the morning to go and look for LILY EVANS, the girl who was in a coma for '5' months." Sirius went on dramatically. Lily giggled. He smiled down at her, happy to see her laugh. It was like music to the ears.
By now, there was an occasional early riser heading down to breakfast. One person they walked passed was a boy, probably in forth year. He had light brown hair with dark brown eyes that simply stared straight ahead. Sirius was still making her laugh.
"Lily BILLY! Can I have a carrot?" Sirius said, hopping up and down like a bunny. She giggled 'real' loud after that and the kid who had just passed widened his eyes when he heard the recognized sound and turned to look curiously at her. While he was doing this, however, he didn't realize where he was going and he ran straight into a wall.
They just rounded another corner when they heard a voice shout, "LILY!" they turned around and saw Remus and Peter running up to them. "Good job, Sirius. You've found her." Peter said.
"Where've you been Lily?" Remus asked, concern etched in his voice.
"I just took a walk. It was really no big deal. Erm...Remus and Peter, right?" Lily said, trying desperately to remember their names.
They nodded, sadness flashed in their eyes for a split second. Lily noticed this and said morosely, "I'm really sorry, you guys. I-I'm trying to remember...It's just really hard."
Remus quickly shook his head and said, "No, no Lily. It's alright. We understand, so don't feel bad. We'll help you remember. It's just a matter of time."
Lily smiled a little. Then, Peter changed the subject to her 'midnight walk'.
"But late at night...after curfew?" Peter said, sounding like he would have a heart attack at the idea of breaking curfew. Even though they had done that at least 200 times since they've attended Hogwarts.
"A true Marauder, eh?" Sirius said with pride. "No respect for the rules."
Remus and Lily both rolled their eyes, though Lily laughed, nonetheless. Then, they heard another voice. The last Marauder.
"Lily Flower!" James said, rushing up to them, out of breath. "Thank goodness your alright." He walked over and hugged her fiercely. Then, he held her at arms length and said, "Don't ever do that again! I was so worried."
"I'm really sorry...James." Lily said, feeling guilty for what seemed like the 50th time that morning. "I just couldn't sleep. I went for a walk on the grounds."
James sighed and said, "It's alright, Lils. I was just so worried. If anything happened to you...I just don't think I could live with that again." He involuntarily shuddered as he thought about the recent incident.
Lily nodded, not really understanding, but pretended to nonetheless.
"Anyway," Remus said, cutting in. Apparently, that subject seemed to need to be avoided for a while. "We should probably try to find Dumbledore and the head students."
They all nodded and started walked.
Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter all felt complete again. Their fifth member was back with them. Their favorite girl in the world was back with them again. It felt a little odd, her walking around aside of them. Yes, indeed, it did feel weird...but right.
"So Lily," James started, grinning widely, "nice outfit." Lily looked down and realized she was still wearing her white cotton robe with matching slippers.
She looked back up at them. All four were staring at her, amused. She simply laughed. "Why thank you James. If you would like, I'm sure I could find one in your size and color. They make these in pink, don't they?" she asked in mock seriousness.
Remus, Sirius, and James all cracked up. Peter just looked confused, "James likes the color pink?"
That caused another round of laughter. Lily, feeling pity for the poor boy, walked closer to him and said, "No, I was just joking Peter."
Even though she only really knew these boys for less than an entire day, she felt like she knew them forever. Peter Pettigrew was definitely the protected one in their little group of four. He stuttered when he was nervous and he sometimes didn't realize that they were sometimes joking around. Despite all that, Lily decided he seemed like a loyal, good hearted friend. (A/N- HA!) Lily would place him under the category of: loyal.
Lily turned her head and stared at the next boy in the group. Remus Lupin was laughing in a carefree way. Though, Lily could tell there was something different about him. Maybe it was something he was hiding. Whatever it was, he at times seemed a little bit like Peter...timid. And despite all that, Lily placed him under the category of: smart. He had a sort of studious aura about him. Most likely a brilliant student. He was sensitive and level- headed. The kind of person that you could trust with anything. Lily felt safe in his presence.
Next in line was Sirius Black. He was laughing, looking as though he didn't have a care in the world. His name and his personality...two very, VERY different things. That said it all. Lily would definitely place him under the category of: joker. Sirius was definitely the joker of the group. He could make the saddest person in the world laugh. Though, he did seem like quite the flirt. Mind you, after that little unpleasant display Sirius made when Lily had first woken up, she had no doubt in her mind that her and him would 'ever' hook up together. To be honest, that was the way she wanted it. Sure, he was handsome to no end, but she really felt a brother-sister connection between them.
Next was James Potter. Lily's feelings for him were defiantly different than those of the other three. James was just as handsome as Sirius. Maybe more in Lily's opinion. Her feelings for James were unsolved. She felt as though...ugh, she was just so confused. She felt a different connection to James that she didn't with the rest. Maybe it 'was' love that she felt last night after he kissed her cheek. Anyway, back to the task at hand. The one word Lily could use to describe James was: leader. James was probably the leader of the group. He just seemed to have a knack for sticking up for people and such. As stated before, though, Lily had only known them for about a day. There was really no way she was positive on all these assumptions. She just felt that those were the traits they all possessed. There was no doubt in her mind that these four cared about her. They already showed her just how close they were to her. She was probably very well protected between these four. 'I've probably never had a date before in my life', Lily thought to herself, inwardly giggling.
So, the leader, the joker, the smart one, and the loyal one. Where did that put her?
James noticed Lily's pensive thought and suddenly asked her, "What're you thinking about, Lilz?"
She snapped out of her reverie and looked at him. There 'was' something on her mind that she didn't know the answer to. It had been subconsciously driving her mad.
"James, do my parents know about me being awake? Are they coming to see me?" she asked hopefully. Maybe if she saw her parents, she'd remember everything. James exchanged uncomfortable looks with Remus, Sirius, and Peter.
"Er, Lily." James started, gently. They all stopped walking right in the middle of the hall. He took a deep breath and after Sirius and Remus nodded at him seriously, he went on, saying softly, "I'm really sorry, sweetie...Your parents...died a few years ago."
Lily looked down at her slippers. She nodded sadly. "Oh.", she whispered softly. Her right hand flew immediately up to her golden locket. She didn't even realize she did it. It just seemed to come naturally to her. James put an arm around her shoulder. So that was why her parents weren't here. Because they couldn't be. It was a weird feeling. Her stomach felt as though it had been dropped about 50 feet. She felt sad, yes, but not as sad as she should. She didn't know the people, but they were still her parents. Then, she asked another question. Surely she had more family than just her parents, "Do I have any brothers or sisters?"
James sighed again and said, "Yeah, you have one sister, Petunia."
Lily's eyes lit up, "How old is she?" she asked as though she were a small child, right hand still playing with her locket.
"She's 20." Remus said simply, noticing Lily's behavior with the necklace.
Lily's face seemed to glow with happiness, "Is she coming to see me?"
Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked back at James again, expecting him to answer. James let out a small cough. Then, he said just as gently once again, "I-I don't she will be coming to see you, Flower."
Lily's face fell, "Why not?"
"Lily, your sister...well she isn't the easiest person to get along with." Remus started. Sirius snorted in the background, covering it with a cough. Lily, with her mouth half open and her puppy dog eyes, looked over at Sirius then back at Remus, not loosing her curious look. "You and her...never really got along." He finished quietly.
Lily closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then opened them back up again a said hopefully, "Aunts or uncles?"
They shook their heads, not really wanted to go into that subject.
Lily then asked, "Well, whom do I stay with over the summers. Do I just stay here? Or do I go to an..." she gulped, "an orphanage?"
James shook his head firmly and said, "No way! You stay with me and my family every summer." Lily tilted her head in question. He went on saying, "You and I have known each other since we were three. We used to live on the same block. Then, I moved away. Remember...I told you that already. Our parents were very close friends, so when they found out about your parents, they insisted you stayed with us. It's been like that ever since our first year."
Lily nodded in understanding. Maybe that was the different connection she felt with James. They had known each other since they were merely children. A lot longer than she had known the other three.
They started to walk again. Five minutes later, they came across Dumbledore, McGonagall, the head students, and Madame Pomfrey.
"Excellent. Well, then everyone, you may go down to breakfast if you wish. We should get Lily up to the Infirmary. I think she may need her rest." Dumbledore announced. The four guys bid goodbye to Lily after she received hugs from Melissa and Bradley. They all six went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Not long after, McGonagall left to the Great Hall to make sure no chaos had ensued.
Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey guided her back to the Infirmary, where she laid back in her bed.
"Headmaster?" she asked.
"Yes, Miss Evans." Dumbledore replied.
"When do you think I can leave? I really want to try magic." she asked, an excited gleam in her eye at the prospect of actually doing 'real' magic.
Dumbledore refrained himself from chuckling at her excited look. "Well, I'm guessing Madame Pomfrey will want to keep you in here for a few days. After all, you've just recovered from a five month accident. You need to build up your strength." But, seeing Lily's hopeful look, he said quietly so Madame Pomfrey couldn't here from her position in her office, retrieving some sleeping potion for her, "I can try to get you out of here in two days." Lily smiled widely at him.
Though, it wasn't just Lily's wanting to try magic out that made Dumbledore agree to help her get out of there earlier. He had been thinking about it. The OWLs were fast approaching and she needed all the practice she could get. He really didn't want to hold her back a year. He would have all of her teachers tutor her outside of all her classes everyday, teach her the basics. Then, he would have all her friends help her out with her daily school work. Though, Dumbledore was positive he wouldn't have to do much persuading in that area.
He also had decided not to tell anyone of the students about Lily waking up. True, there were a lot of people that would be thrilled at the idea of Lily being awake. He just didn't want to overwhelm her with all the certain visitors that would be knocking the door down at the thought to see her. So, they would just have to wait to see her when she started attending classes again.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Madame Pomfrey gave Lily some of the sleeping potion. Lily took it in her hands and brought it to her lips...and promptly spit it out.
"Ugh! What is 'in' that?" Lily asked, wiping her mouth. "It is 'vile'!"
"It's sleeping drought, Miss Evans. Now kindly drink the rest without spitting it out. You need your rest." Madame Pomfrey answered sternly. Lily did as she was told, pinching her nose as she did. Instantly, she felt her eyes droop. She barely set the goblet on the table before she fell into a well deserved sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Shh. You're going to wake her up, Peter." Lily heard a voice scold.
"Too late." Another said as Lily opened her eyes slowly. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. She saw James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all seated around her in hospital chairs.
"Well, Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken." Sirius teased. Lily giggled softly.
"What are you lot doing here?" she asked, stifling a yawn, "Isn't there classes?"
"Yeah, actually this is our lunch break. We've got about an hour till our next class. Here, we brought you some food. It's better than the hospital's." James explained as he handed her an assortment of goodies. She ate them, savoring the wonderful flavors on her tongue.
"This is delicious." She announced as she finished her brownie.
"It is." Remus agreed. "But, we did come here for another reason."
"Oh yeah?" Lily asked.
"Yep. We just talked to Madame Pomfrey when we first came in. She's been holding these for you so when you woke up, you'd be able to unwrap them." Sirius said happily as they all pulled out a Christmas gift from behind they're backs.
Lily's eyes lit up. "Presents?" she asked.
"Uh-huh. You see, while you were sleeping, you missed Christmas. So, this will make up for it. Now open them." James said mock-stern.
Lily smiled widely as she took Peter's present. She unwrapped it. That was one thing different about her. She didn't carefully unwrap them like she used to. She pretty much ripped off the paper as fast as she could. The guys all found this pretty funny.
"Oh, Peter, it's gorgeous! Can you help me put it on?" she asked as she held out her wrist. She had gotten her a sterling silver bracelet with little charms on it. Peter's hands shook as he struggled to get it on her wrist. She hugged him, causing him to squeak, then she turned to the next one.
Remus handed her is gift. She unwrapped it. It was a book. "1,000 Most Memorable Quotes." She read on the cover. She looked up at him, joy evident on her face, "Thank you, Remus."
"Your welcome. I know you don't remember this, but you used to love to read all sorts of quotes. And recite them to anyone you could. Maybe this will help you remember." Remus said, shrugging his shoulders. Lily bent and hugged him.
"I hope so. Thank you very much." She said. Then, Sirius handed her his present.
She opened it. It was a dress/robe. And boy, it was GORGEOUS! She gasped, "Sirius! This is 'beautiful!" She held it up. It was a shimmering, glittery white. The material was incredibly soft. It felt as though it was just water being held together in a form of a dress. That's how soft it was. She hugged him firmly and mumbled, "Thank you so much, Sirius."
Sirius smiled fondly at her, "A beautiful dress for a beautiful girl. You can wear that to the next ball we have. Whenever that will be."
James handed her his present last. He seemed nervous about it. Lily tore it open and gasped again. "Oh James..." she trailed off.
"Do you like it?" James asked hopefully.
With her eyes wide, she slowly nodded her head, "It's beautiful, James." she whispered. "I can't accept this. It's too expensive." At that, all four of them laughed. She looked at them, confused.
"Lily, if anyone could afford it, James can. He's bloody rich." Sirius exclaimed. James blushed a deep red. Apparently, they all loved to tease him to no end about that, Lily assumed.
Lily leaned over and hugged him tightly, "Thank you so much, James. It's so pretty." She looked down at her hand at the sparkling necklace placed on her palm. The large flower-shaped pink stone and white crystal made her eyes twinkle. "Can you help me put this on?" she asked. He nodded and clasped it on her neck. "Thank you again. Actually, I have a question. Where did I get this?" she indicated the heart-shaped locket around her neck as well.
Sirius smiled and said, "I got that for you for your twelfth birthday. You've never taken it off." Lily smiled as she fiddled with it.
"Oh yeah, one more thing." James said as he stood up and walked away. Five minutes later, he came back with an odd looking bird perched upon his shoulders. It was a large, red bird. Lily stared right into its eyes. They were so enticing.
"Lily, this is Fawkes. He's your phoenix. I bought him for you for Christmas, though Dumbledore's been taking care of him for you until you woke up. So, here you go." James said. The phoenix flew and landed on Lily's shoulder. She giggled.
"He's beautiful." Lily said.
'So are you.' James thought to himself, wishing he had enough courage to say it out loud.
"So, did I at least get anything for you guys?" Lily asked hopefully. She felt a little weird receiving gifts from friends when she had no memory of giving them anything.
"Oh yeah." Remus assured her. He pulled out a necklace he was wearing out of his shirt and showed it to her. "James, Sirius, and I all got necklaces from you. Peter got a sort of homework diary from you." Remus said. Lily studied the guys' necklaces. One was of the sun, one of fire, and one was a rain drop.
She looked back up at them, "You did like them, didn't you?" she asked, biting her lip.
They smiled, "Yeah. They're awesome. We never take them off." Sirius said.
Lily smiled and then James said, "You also got us all an owl. We named her Lily after you."
Lily smiled even wider. "What color is she?" she asked.
"A white, snowy owl with emerald green eyes, just like yours. She's really pretty. You've got good taste." Sirius answered.
"Hey, guys, we should probably go. Class starts in fifteen minutes." Peter said, looking at his watch.
"You're right, Pete. Come on everyone, we better hurry." Remus said. Then, he looked back at Lily and kissed her cheek. "See you later, Lils."
"We'll come back after class." Sirius said as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Bye Lily." Peter said, awkwardly hugging her.
"Get some more sleep, Flower, you still look exhausted." James said, concern in his voice.
"I will James. Thank you again for the necklace and bird. They're both great." She said as Fawkes flew over to his post bed to Lily's bed.
James bent over and kissed her softly on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Lily."
And he walked out the room. Lily stared at the door for five minutes after he left. Then, she closed her eyes and nodded off; not noticing both her locket and her new crystal necklace started glowing a faint pink.
~*~*~*~*~
A/N- hello everyone. Well, ff is finally back up! That's a relief. I'm sorry for this chapter. It's really hard to read with all that added stuff in place of the apostrophes and quotation marks. Anyone know how to stop those? If you do, email me or review. Well, anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing!!!
"My goodness!" the old woman whispered
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Miss Evans?" the little creature squeaked questioningly.
Lily smiled wearily. Maybe she wouldn't get suspended after all. Nonetheless, though, she was still terrified.
She bit her lip and nodded slowly to the question. Looking between the two, she realized their eyes were opened so wide she was afraid they might pop right out of their sockets. Lily fiddled with her hands, nervous and a bit uncomfortable at being stared upon so intently.
The older woman turned pale and she put her hand up to her mouth in shock. The little creature just smiled widely and happily.
"It is wonderful to see you up and about, Miss Evans." He squeaked, then changing the subject, he turned his attention to the stunned woman. "I better get Argus off to the Infirmary." She nodded in reply and he levitated the unconscious man off to the hospital wing.
Lily turned her attention back to the woman when the little creature had rounded a corner at the end of the hall. The woman had seemed to get over the shock of seeing Lily up and walking around. She nodded sternly, though Lily could almost detect a faint smile upon her face, and said, "You best be off to your dormitory, Miss Evans. It's almost 5 o'clock." With that said, the old woman turned, ready to walk away, but Lily stopped her abruptly.
"Er, well, I-I don't exactly..." she paused for a second, then said, "I don't 'know' where my dormitory is." She looked as though she was going to say more, but decided not to.
The woman's jaw dropped. "Can you please explain, Miss Evans?" she asked faintly, as though she already knew the answer.
"I have amnesia." Lily said sheepishly. "Actually, I'm not really supposed to be out of the hospital wing." She said, looking at her feet.
The woman nodded in understanding, "Oh, I see. Well, then, I should probably escort you back to the hospital wing." she suggested, Lily nodded in relief.
"If you would. I'm really lost." she said with a little laugh. As the two walked along, Lily said in a carefree, polite way, "So, what is your name?"
The woman looked down at her and a faint smile appeared on her face. "I am Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration teacher here. That other man you saw here a minute ago was Argus Filch, the caretaker here. And the one you saw levitating him to the hospital wing was Professor Flitwick, he is the Charms professor here. "
Lily opened her mouth wide and said, "Oh." Then, she smiled as wide as she could. "Well, it's nice to meet you...again."
This caused a full smile on McGonagall's face. "Lovely to have you back, Miss Evans."
Lily asked curiously, "So, I am a good student in transfiguration?"
McGonagall smiled faintly once again. She was thinking about all the pranks her and her friends pulled in that class. "Academically or socially?"
Lily shrugged then smiled, "Both I guess."
"Well, let's see. In your studies in that class, you are the second in your year. Mr. James Potter is in first." McGonagall explained, secretly wondering if Lily knows who he and the rest are yet.
Lily thought about that name for a minute. She recognized it as one of her friends that came in to see her. "Oh!" Lily exclaimed excitedly, happy that her friends weren't totally against learning. "So James is good in that class." That answered McGonagall's silent question.
"Yes, he is rather exceptional in that class." She answered.
"Ok, so how about socially? Do I talk a lot in that class?" Lily asked, a mischievous glint in her eye that, McGonagall could have sworn, had taken refuge in Sirius' eye since the beginning of first year. Occasionally, she would see the same mischievous look in the other four; like right now.
"Well, you're not too bad. It is mostly Mr. Potter and Mr. Black that disrupt the class. Though, there are times when you, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew join in." she answered with a sigh.
"I'm sure that we mean nothing by it." Lily said.
McGonagall looked at her from the corner of her eye, "Well that's a relief." Lily giggled and then the next minute, they were at the hospital entrance.
The minute they opened the door, Madame Pomfrey rushed forward. She looked as though she was about to have a heart attack. "Miss Evans! Thank goodness you are alright, child! I woke up when Professor Flitwick brought Argus in here and you weren't in here!!!" she exclaimed, sounding like a worried mother. Lily noticed that the caretaker must have been revived because he was no where to be seen. "Where have you been?!" she demanded in a stern tone.
Lily paled, feeling the dread in her stomach she felt back in the hallway when she met the two teachers and Mr. Filch. Would she get suspended? Maybe she could talk her way out of it.
"I-I couldn't sleep. I just went for a walk. You know, explore the castle." Lily said in mock innocence, apparently one of her personality traits were kicking in.
Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall obviously knew what she was trying to pull. The corners of McGonagall's mouth twitched as she tried to suppress a smile. Madame Pomfrey raised an eyebrow and asked in a serious voice, "How long have you been out of bed?"
Lily laughed, amused, "I don't think you want me to answer that." she said, in a carefree way.
McGonagall couldn't help it. She let out a snort of laughter and abruptly stopped when seeing the stern gaze Pomfrey sent her. Then, Madame Pomfrey looked back at Lily and said, "I've just talked with Dumbledore not five minutes before you came in. We were both worried sick! He left and he is, at the moment, informing the head of houses, the head boy and girl, and the prefects, to search for you."
Lily's eyebrows shot up. All this just for her?! "Surely it isn't 'that' big of deal." She said, sounding guilty once again.
"A student, whom just woke up from a five month nap, has amnesia, has the Dark Lord after her, and is missing from her bed in the middle of the night- ,"
"Technically, it isn't the middle of the night."
"Nonetheless, it would cause some sort of concern." Madam Pomfrey finished sternly.
Lily lowered her eyes to her slippers, sighed quietly and then said just as quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd cause this much trouble for anyone. I just had trouble sleeping and I wanted to explore."
Madame Pomfrey's eyes softened as did McGonagall's. "Well, I guess there really no harm done. Maybe if we hurry, we can stop Dumbledore from waking up all the prefects and head students."
Lily decided against telling them that it was already about 5:30. Some people are probably already awake anyway. So, despite that fact, she followed McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey along the halls, foolishly trying to locate the headmaster.
Lily thought it would be more useful if they split up.
"Under no circumstances will I allow you to wonder off on your own again, Miss Evans. That is what started all this in the first place." Madame Pomfrey announced.
"But, I already know my way to some parts of the school. I won't get lost. I've spent most of the night wondering around anyway. Plus, if I do get lost, someone will be 'bound' to find me. After all, that is what they're doing anyway." Lily reasoned. Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall eyed her skeptically. Lily smiled cheekily to them and knew she had won them over.
"Alright, but if you get lost, look for anyone and I mean 'anyone' in the school, and asked them for directions to the Infirmary." Madame Pomfrey said, still not entirely convinced.
Lily smiled again then rushed off the other direction. Everything around this place still fascinated her. She was just rounding a corner when suddenly, she was ambushed.
"Oomph." Lily mumbled. Then, she was grabbed around the shoulders and spun to face her 'attacker'.
"Lily!!!" Sirius said, relief clouded in his eyes, "Thank goodness you're ok! We've been worried SICK!"
"Oh, hi er... Sirius." Lily finally said as she thought of who this was. She didn't notice the sad look in his eyes when he realized she was trying to figure out who he was. But, nevertheless, he quickly replaced that look with a mock stern look.
"Where have you been?" Sirius asked, trying to look stern. If it had been anyone else he did this to, they would have been laughing their head off right about now. But to someone who didn't have any memory of Sirius' antics, Lily answered, thinking he really was mad.
"Oh, I was taking a stroll around the castle. That's all. I'm sorry, I just couldn't sleep and I was bored, I had to get out of there. I'm really sorry if I caused some much trouble." Lily said quickly, concerned.
"Calm down, Lils." Sirius said, sounding a little surprised at Lily's reaction. "I was only joking. I'm not mad or anything. We were just worried." He paused, guilt now placed in his eyes, "Come on, let's go find the rest of them. They're still looking for you." He finished, placing his arm around her shoulder.
"Who else knows about me being missing?" Lily asked as they walked along.
"Just James, Remus, Peter. The head boy and girl, Melissa Miller and Bradley Anderson. Good Merlin, they were pretty surprised when they were woken up at 6 in the morning to go and look for LILY EVANS, the girl who was in a coma for '5' months." Sirius went on dramatically. Lily giggled. He smiled down at her, happy to see her laugh. It was like music to the ears.
By now, there was an occasional early riser heading down to breakfast. One person they walked passed was a boy, probably in forth year. He had light brown hair with dark brown eyes that simply stared straight ahead. Sirius was still making her laugh.
"Lily BILLY! Can I have a carrot?" Sirius said, hopping up and down like a bunny. She giggled 'real' loud after that and the kid who had just passed widened his eyes when he heard the recognized sound and turned to look curiously at her. While he was doing this, however, he didn't realize where he was going and he ran straight into a wall.
They just rounded another corner when they heard a voice shout, "LILY!" they turned around and saw Remus and Peter running up to them. "Good job, Sirius. You've found her." Peter said.
"Where've you been Lily?" Remus asked, concern etched in his voice.
"I just took a walk. It was really no big deal. Erm...Remus and Peter, right?" Lily said, trying desperately to remember their names.
They nodded, sadness flashed in their eyes for a split second. Lily noticed this and said morosely, "I'm really sorry, you guys. I-I'm trying to remember...It's just really hard."
Remus quickly shook his head and said, "No, no Lily. It's alright. We understand, so don't feel bad. We'll help you remember. It's just a matter of time."
Lily smiled a little. Then, Peter changed the subject to her 'midnight walk'.
"But late at night...after curfew?" Peter said, sounding like he would have a heart attack at the idea of breaking curfew. Even though they had done that at least 200 times since they've attended Hogwarts.
"A true Marauder, eh?" Sirius said with pride. "No respect for the rules."
Remus and Lily both rolled their eyes, though Lily laughed, nonetheless. Then, they heard another voice. The last Marauder.
"Lily Flower!" James said, rushing up to them, out of breath. "Thank goodness your alright." He walked over and hugged her fiercely. Then, he held her at arms length and said, "Don't ever do that again! I was so worried."
"I'm really sorry...James." Lily said, feeling guilty for what seemed like the 50th time that morning. "I just couldn't sleep. I went for a walk on the grounds."
James sighed and said, "It's alright, Lils. I was just so worried. If anything happened to you...I just don't think I could live with that again." He involuntarily shuddered as he thought about the recent incident.
Lily nodded, not really understanding, but pretended to nonetheless.
"Anyway," Remus said, cutting in. Apparently, that subject seemed to need to be avoided for a while. "We should probably try to find Dumbledore and the head students."
They all nodded and started walked.
Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter all felt complete again. Their fifth member was back with them. Their favorite girl in the world was back with them again. It felt a little odd, her walking around aside of them. Yes, indeed, it did feel weird...but right.
"So Lily," James started, grinning widely, "nice outfit." Lily looked down and realized she was still wearing her white cotton robe with matching slippers.
She looked back up at them. All four were staring at her, amused. She simply laughed. "Why thank you James. If you would like, I'm sure I could find one in your size and color. They make these in pink, don't they?" she asked in mock seriousness.
Remus, Sirius, and James all cracked up. Peter just looked confused, "James likes the color pink?"
That caused another round of laughter. Lily, feeling pity for the poor boy, walked closer to him and said, "No, I was just joking Peter."
Even though she only really knew these boys for less than an entire day, she felt like she knew them forever. Peter Pettigrew was definitely the protected one in their little group of four. He stuttered when he was nervous and he sometimes didn't realize that they were sometimes joking around. Despite all that, Lily decided he seemed like a loyal, good hearted friend. (A/N- HA!) Lily would place him under the category of: loyal.
Lily turned her head and stared at the next boy in the group. Remus Lupin was laughing in a carefree way. Though, Lily could tell there was something different about him. Maybe it was something he was hiding. Whatever it was, he at times seemed a little bit like Peter...timid. And despite all that, Lily placed him under the category of: smart. He had a sort of studious aura about him. Most likely a brilliant student. He was sensitive and level- headed. The kind of person that you could trust with anything. Lily felt safe in his presence.
Next in line was Sirius Black. He was laughing, looking as though he didn't have a care in the world. His name and his personality...two very, VERY different things. That said it all. Lily would definitely place him under the category of: joker. Sirius was definitely the joker of the group. He could make the saddest person in the world laugh. Though, he did seem like quite the flirt. Mind you, after that little unpleasant display Sirius made when Lily had first woken up, she had no doubt in her mind that her and him would 'ever' hook up together. To be honest, that was the way she wanted it. Sure, he was handsome to no end, but she really felt a brother-sister connection between them.
Next was James Potter. Lily's feelings for him were defiantly different than those of the other three. James was just as handsome as Sirius. Maybe more in Lily's opinion. Her feelings for James were unsolved. She felt as though...ugh, she was just so confused. She felt a different connection to James that she didn't with the rest. Maybe it 'was' love that she felt last night after he kissed her cheek. Anyway, back to the task at hand. The one word Lily could use to describe James was: leader. James was probably the leader of the group. He just seemed to have a knack for sticking up for people and such. As stated before, though, Lily had only known them for about a day. There was really no way she was positive on all these assumptions. She just felt that those were the traits they all possessed. There was no doubt in her mind that these four cared about her. They already showed her just how close they were to her. She was probably very well protected between these four. 'I've probably never had a date before in my life', Lily thought to herself, inwardly giggling.
So, the leader, the joker, the smart one, and the loyal one. Where did that put her?
James noticed Lily's pensive thought and suddenly asked her, "What're you thinking about, Lilz?"
She snapped out of her reverie and looked at him. There 'was' something on her mind that she didn't know the answer to. It had been subconsciously driving her mad.
"James, do my parents know about me being awake? Are they coming to see me?" she asked hopefully. Maybe if she saw her parents, she'd remember everything. James exchanged uncomfortable looks with Remus, Sirius, and Peter.
"Er, Lily." James started, gently. They all stopped walking right in the middle of the hall. He took a deep breath and after Sirius and Remus nodded at him seriously, he went on, saying softly, "I'm really sorry, sweetie...Your parents...died a few years ago."
Lily looked down at her slippers. She nodded sadly. "Oh.", she whispered softly. Her right hand flew immediately up to her golden locket. She didn't even realize she did it. It just seemed to come naturally to her. James put an arm around her shoulder. So that was why her parents weren't here. Because they couldn't be. It was a weird feeling. Her stomach felt as though it had been dropped about 50 feet. She felt sad, yes, but not as sad as she should. She didn't know the people, but they were still her parents. Then, she asked another question. Surely she had more family than just her parents, "Do I have any brothers or sisters?"
James sighed again and said, "Yeah, you have one sister, Petunia."
Lily's eyes lit up, "How old is she?" she asked as though she were a small child, right hand still playing with her locket.
"She's 20." Remus said simply, noticing Lily's behavior with the necklace.
Lily's face seemed to glow with happiness, "Is she coming to see me?"
Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked back at James again, expecting him to answer. James let out a small cough. Then, he said just as gently once again, "I-I don't she will be coming to see you, Flower."
Lily's face fell, "Why not?"
"Lily, your sister...well she isn't the easiest person to get along with." Remus started. Sirius snorted in the background, covering it with a cough. Lily, with her mouth half open and her puppy dog eyes, looked over at Sirius then back at Remus, not loosing her curious look. "You and her...never really got along." He finished quietly.
Lily closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then opened them back up again a said hopefully, "Aunts or uncles?"
They shook their heads, not really wanted to go into that subject.
Lily then asked, "Well, whom do I stay with over the summers. Do I just stay here? Or do I go to an..." she gulped, "an orphanage?"
James shook his head firmly and said, "No way! You stay with me and my family every summer." Lily tilted her head in question. He went on saying, "You and I have known each other since we were three. We used to live on the same block. Then, I moved away. Remember...I told you that already. Our parents were very close friends, so when they found out about your parents, they insisted you stayed with us. It's been like that ever since our first year."
Lily nodded in understanding. Maybe that was the different connection she felt with James. They had known each other since they were merely children. A lot longer than she had known the other three.
They started to walk again. Five minutes later, they came across Dumbledore, McGonagall, the head students, and Madame Pomfrey.
"Excellent. Well, then everyone, you may go down to breakfast if you wish. We should get Lily up to the Infirmary. I think she may need her rest." Dumbledore announced. The four guys bid goodbye to Lily after she received hugs from Melissa and Bradley. They all six went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Not long after, McGonagall left to the Great Hall to make sure no chaos had ensued.
Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey guided her back to the Infirmary, where she laid back in her bed.
"Headmaster?" she asked.
"Yes, Miss Evans." Dumbledore replied.
"When do you think I can leave? I really want to try magic." she asked, an excited gleam in her eye at the prospect of actually doing 'real' magic.
Dumbledore refrained himself from chuckling at her excited look. "Well, I'm guessing Madame Pomfrey will want to keep you in here for a few days. After all, you've just recovered from a five month accident. You need to build up your strength." But, seeing Lily's hopeful look, he said quietly so Madame Pomfrey couldn't here from her position in her office, retrieving some sleeping potion for her, "I can try to get you out of here in two days." Lily smiled widely at him.
Though, it wasn't just Lily's wanting to try magic out that made Dumbledore agree to help her get out of there earlier. He had been thinking about it. The OWLs were fast approaching and she needed all the practice she could get. He really didn't want to hold her back a year. He would have all of her teachers tutor her outside of all her classes everyday, teach her the basics. Then, he would have all her friends help her out with her daily school work. Though, Dumbledore was positive he wouldn't have to do much persuading in that area.
He also had decided not to tell anyone of the students about Lily waking up. True, there were a lot of people that would be thrilled at the idea of Lily being awake. He just didn't want to overwhelm her with all the certain visitors that would be knocking the door down at the thought to see her. So, they would just have to wait to see her when she started attending classes again.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Madame Pomfrey gave Lily some of the sleeping potion. Lily took it in her hands and brought it to her lips...and promptly spit it out.
"Ugh! What is 'in' that?" Lily asked, wiping her mouth. "It is 'vile'!"
"It's sleeping drought, Miss Evans. Now kindly drink the rest without spitting it out. You need your rest." Madame Pomfrey answered sternly. Lily did as she was told, pinching her nose as she did. Instantly, she felt her eyes droop. She barely set the goblet on the table before she fell into a well deserved sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Shh. You're going to wake her up, Peter." Lily heard a voice scold.
"Too late." Another said as Lily opened her eyes slowly. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. She saw James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all seated around her in hospital chairs.
"Well, Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken." Sirius teased. Lily giggled softly.
"What are you lot doing here?" she asked, stifling a yawn, "Isn't there classes?"
"Yeah, actually this is our lunch break. We've got about an hour till our next class. Here, we brought you some food. It's better than the hospital's." James explained as he handed her an assortment of goodies. She ate them, savoring the wonderful flavors on her tongue.
"This is delicious." She announced as she finished her brownie.
"It is." Remus agreed. "But, we did come here for another reason."
"Oh yeah?" Lily asked.
"Yep. We just talked to Madame Pomfrey when we first came in. She's been holding these for you so when you woke up, you'd be able to unwrap them." Sirius said happily as they all pulled out a Christmas gift from behind they're backs.
Lily's eyes lit up. "Presents?" she asked.
"Uh-huh. You see, while you were sleeping, you missed Christmas. So, this will make up for it. Now open them." James said mock-stern.
Lily smiled widely as she took Peter's present. She unwrapped it. That was one thing different about her. She didn't carefully unwrap them like she used to. She pretty much ripped off the paper as fast as she could. The guys all found this pretty funny.
"Oh, Peter, it's gorgeous! Can you help me put it on?" she asked as she held out her wrist. She had gotten her a sterling silver bracelet with little charms on it. Peter's hands shook as he struggled to get it on her wrist. She hugged him, causing him to squeak, then she turned to the next one.
Remus handed her is gift. She unwrapped it. It was a book. "1,000 Most Memorable Quotes." She read on the cover. She looked up at him, joy evident on her face, "Thank you, Remus."
"Your welcome. I know you don't remember this, but you used to love to read all sorts of quotes. And recite them to anyone you could. Maybe this will help you remember." Remus said, shrugging his shoulders. Lily bent and hugged him.
"I hope so. Thank you very much." She said. Then, Sirius handed her his present.
She opened it. It was a dress/robe. And boy, it was GORGEOUS! She gasped, "Sirius! This is 'beautiful!" She held it up. It was a shimmering, glittery white. The material was incredibly soft. It felt as though it was just water being held together in a form of a dress. That's how soft it was. She hugged him firmly and mumbled, "Thank you so much, Sirius."
Sirius smiled fondly at her, "A beautiful dress for a beautiful girl. You can wear that to the next ball we have. Whenever that will be."
James handed her his present last. He seemed nervous about it. Lily tore it open and gasped again. "Oh James..." she trailed off.
"Do you like it?" James asked hopefully.
With her eyes wide, she slowly nodded her head, "It's beautiful, James." she whispered. "I can't accept this. It's too expensive." At that, all four of them laughed. She looked at them, confused.
"Lily, if anyone could afford it, James can. He's bloody rich." Sirius exclaimed. James blushed a deep red. Apparently, they all loved to tease him to no end about that, Lily assumed.
Lily leaned over and hugged him tightly, "Thank you so much, James. It's so pretty." She looked down at her hand at the sparkling necklace placed on her palm. The large flower-shaped pink stone and white crystal made her eyes twinkle. "Can you help me put this on?" she asked. He nodded and clasped it on her neck. "Thank you again. Actually, I have a question. Where did I get this?" she indicated the heart-shaped locket around her neck as well.
Sirius smiled and said, "I got that for you for your twelfth birthday. You've never taken it off." Lily smiled as she fiddled with it.
"Oh yeah, one more thing." James said as he stood up and walked away. Five minutes later, he came back with an odd looking bird perched upon his shoulders. It was a large, red bird. Lily stared right into its eyes. They were so enticing.
"Lily, this is Fawkes. He's your phoenix. I bought him for you for Christmas, though Dumbledore's been taking care of him for you until you woke up. So, here you go." James said. The phoenix flew and landed on Lily's shoulder. She giggled.
"He's beautiful." Lily said.
'So are you.' James thought to himself, wishing he had enough courage to say it out loud.
"So, did I at least get anything for you guys?" Lily asked hopefully. She felt a little weird receiving gifts from friends when she had no memory of giving them anything.
"Oh yeah." Remus assured her. He pulled out a necklace he was wearing out of his shirt and showed it to her. "James, Sirius, and I all got necklaces from you. Peter got a sort of homework diary from you." Remus said. Lily studied the guys' necklaces. One was of the sun, one of fire, and one was a rain drop.
She looked back up at them, "You did like them, didn't you?" she asked, biting her lip.
They smiled, "Yeah. They're awesome. We never take them off." Sirius said.
Lily smiled and then James said, "You also got us all an owl. We named her Lily after you."
Lily smiled even wider. "What color is she?" she asked.
"A white, snowy owl with emerald green eyes, just like yours. She's really pretty. You've got good taste." Sirius answered.
"Hey, guys, we should probably go. Class starts in fifteen minutes." Peter said, looking at his watch.
"You're right, Pete. Come on everyone, we better hurry." Remus said. Then, he looked back at Lily and kissed her cheek. "See you later, Lils."
"We'll come back after class." Sirius said as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Bye Lily." Peter said, awkwardly hugging her.
"Get some more sleep, Flower, you still look exhausted." James said, concern in his voice.
"I will James. Thank you again for the necklace and bird. They're both great." She said as Fawkes flew over to his post bed to Lily's bed.
James bent over and kissed her softly on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Lily."
And he walked out the room. Lily stared at the door for five minutes after he left. Then, she closed her eyes and nodded off; not noticing both her locket and her new crystal necklace started glowing a faint pink.
~*~*~*~*~
A/N- hello everyone. Well, ff is finally back up! That's a relief. I'm sorry for this chapter. It's really hard to read with all that added stuff in place of the apostrophes and quotation marks. Anyone know how to stop those? If you do, email me or review. Well, anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing!!!