A/N: Thank you all for reviewing! Prongsssssssssssss (did I get enough
s's?) my story is originally posted in the HP official site
harrypotter.com from Warner Bros. It's a lot more ahead than it is here.
Disclaimer: I do not own HP nor anything related to it, only the plot and secondary characters.
Chapter 11 ~ The Recovery
When the Potters returned to the infirmary, they found James and Lily laughing with an empty try on the night table. Mrs. Potter almost broke down with relief at seeing her son. But she got hold of herself and tried to sound cheerful and carefree. She didn't want James to know how close he had come to death.
Lily left the infirmary soon after, she didn't want to intrude in what clearly would be a family moment. She also knew that the others would want to know that James had regained consciousness and she wanted them to know before it was time for Remus to leave for the night.
She quickly made her way down the corridors, they were empty and seemed formidable in the approaching darkness. Dinner time would soon be upon them. Lily finally arrived to the Gryffindor Tower where the Fat Lady greeted her with "Password?"
"Moonlight magic." Quickly responded Lily.
The Portrait promptly opened and Lily swiftly entered the common room. The room was full, students sat all around the room occupied with different things. She looked around searching for her friends until she spied Sirius and the rest by the stairs. She quickly made her way toward them.
"There you are, we have been waiting for you." Exclaimed Sirius with an impatient tone.
"Well I'm sorry, but I didn't want to leave James alone until his parents had returned." Lily snapped.
"Sorry, we just want to know how he is doing." Said Sirius with a crestfallen expression and a pair of puppy eyes looking at her.
"You and James are so alike, charming your way pass anything." Exclaimed Lily with a laugh.
"Of course we do, we are two charming men." Smiled Sirius winking at the girls. The girls giggled as the boys chuckled.
"So, how is James, is he doing much better?" Asked Emma as the group settled down once more.
"Oh, I have great news." Squealed Lily. "He has regained consciousness. He doesn't remember much but he has gotten his appetite. He ate a whole tray full of his favorite food by the time I left." The group cheered at this news and the boys were getting ready to leave the room when they were held back by Lily.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"We are going to see him." Said Remus.
"You can't, in case you have forgotten, Dumbledore said that only when he asked for visitors he would get them, and Remus should be leaving soon."
Sirius swore, Remus smiled sadly and Peter exuberance suddenly left his body.
"Don't worry, now that he is awake we will allowed to see him soon." Said Katie.
"I suppose."
The rest of the room had noticed that something had happened and started to ask Lily if something had happened to James, when she told them that he was finally awake the room exploded into cheers and many claimed that it was time for a party that night.
The Great Hall was in a cheerful mood that night. Dumbledore had reported that James was now conscious and that he would be receiving visitors soon. The Hall was in a festive mood, food was shared and drink overflowed. Laughter and good will seemed to permeate the room.
The stars twinkled and shined through the bewitched ceiling, and the candles lighting the room seemed to shine brighter than they had before.
After dinner Gryffindor threw a party worthy of a king's welcome. Although the guest of honor was not present, toasts were made for his speedy recovery and pictures were taken which were planned to be sent to him to cheer him up.
After Professor McGonagall finally put a stop to the festivities, Gryffindor Tower settled to sleep, and two shapes were appearing near the Whopping Willow.
When Lily arrived at the infirmary on Monday afternoon she found a scowling James. He didn't seem too happy.
"What kept you?" He snapped.
"Somebody is in a bad mood." Lily Responded.
"I'm bored."
"I imagined you are. Where is your mom?"
"She went to the kitchens to make sure that the elves prepare 'invalid food'" He said with a disgusted tone.
"I see that you're not too happy about that."
"I don't want to live on just soups and toast."
"Do you think you feel better for a small lesson."
"Depends, what kind of lesson?"
"A lesson in patience perhaps."
"Lily!"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself." She laughed.
"Come here." He said motioning her to approach him.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"I don't trust you."
"Why don't you?"
"You have that twinkle in your eye."
"What twinkle?"
"The twinkle that tells me you're up to something."
"I'm bedridden what can I do if I'm trapped into this bed."
"You'll think of something."
"Oh? Do you think so?"
"Yes I do."
"Do you care to find out?"
"No thank you."
"Will you two stop that, you sound like a pair of lovebirds." Said a voice from the door. Lily and James turned to look at the door and found a grinning Sirius with Remus and Peter laughing behind him.
"What is so funny?" Asked Lily.
"If we didn't know better, we could've sworn that you two were a couple." Chuckled Remus.
"A very entertaining conversation." Said Peter.
"What do you lot want, don't you see I'm trying to get some privacy here." Laughed James. Lily blushed furiously while the others laughed and approached James' bed's side.
"If you are trying to charm your way into Lily's heart you are obviously feeling better." Smiled Remus slapping James' back.
"I agree, we need to help him get stronger now, wouldn't do to have Lily have all the fun now do we?"
"Sirius! Really! I don't know what goes into your mind sometimes." Snapped Lily.
"Now my dear, don't let them get to you."
"I am not your dear James Potter and if you lot are not going to be serious I'm going to leave." And Lily stormed off the room.
The boys laughed as she snapped the door close.
"What was that all about?" Asked Peter.
"I don't know but I love getting her mad." Chuckled James.
"Careful my friend, you will fall in love with her." Teased Sirius.
"Oh no, I would never do that, she's a friend." Exclaimed James.
"Relationships have started based on much less." Said Remus.
"E tu Brute?" Groaned James.
"Ok, we'll change the subject. Wouldn't want you to lose consciousness on us once more." Replied Sirius as he sat on the bed next to James'.
"Why didn't you come in earlier?" Asked James.
"We weren't allowed to." Said Peter.
"Why not?"
"Dumbledore forbade it, said that unless you asked for visitors nobody would be allowed in here." Responded Remus.
"You could've sneaked in here. You have my cloak."
"Dumbledore put Ministry guards around the infirmary, there was no way we could get pass them." Said Peter looking at an arrangement of flowers beside James' bed.
"And with Remus sick, we thought it best to stay with him, we could do nothing for you anyways." Shrugged Sirius as he noticed a pile of candy at the foot of James' bed.
"I remembered about it when I woke up. It's all done for this month isn't it? Last night was the last night."
"Yeah, we don't have to do this again until next month." Replied Remus.
"At least I'll be there then."
"Only if you are strong enough, your mother will have our hide if something happens to you while we're out there." Said Peter.
"I hope she is gone by then." James sighed.
"How can you not sneeze with all these flowers in here?" Complained Sirius finally noticing all the flowers around the room.
"I would throw them away if mum would let me. But she says they are gifts and I should be grateful that people cared that I was sick." Said James with a disgusted tone.
"Who sent them?" Asked Remus looking at a vase full of posies and dandelions.
"I don't know. I read some of the cards and as far as I know they were from girls. That they would think that I would like flowers is beyond me."
Sirius laughed and turned to see the gifts on a table at the foot of the bed. "A teddy? Somebody sent you a teddy?" Sirius laughed harder.
"Disgusting isn't it? Not very manly either. What am I going to do with a teddy? Of course mother thought it was sweet."
"James, most of these gifts are from girls!" Exclaimed Peter.
"I noticed."
"You are going to be busy sending thank you notes." Chuckled Remus looking over the gifts the girls in the school had sent to his friend.
"Ugh! I'll hate it, but I still don't know what I'm going to do with them. I suppose I can send them to my nieces, the twins would love them."
"Perfect, the twins will adore you, how old are they now?" Asked Sirius trying hard not to laugh as he spied a set of golden combs among the gifts.
"They are three, and Elizabeth says that they are becoming quite a handful and the nursemaid can hardly keep up with them." Chuckled James.
"They took after you. The poor woman must be losing her hair after pulling on it too often." Said Peter, shaking his head.
"I wasn't that bad as a child, just a little active."
"I wager that your mother would not say that."
"You are right Mr. Black, I wouldn't say that about James." The boys turned to see Mrs. Potter standing on the door. "I see that you boys are doing fine. You are not tiring my son now are you?"
"Of course not Mrs. Potter, we would never do anything to worry you." Said Sirius with a courtly bow.
"Hmph! That is not what the owls I have received from Dumbledore say."
"We have been behaving ourselves mum, didn't you hear about the Festival we did?"
"The only reason you got through it was because you had Lily to work with, I'm sure she kept you from doing things you shouldn't do."
"Mum! I'm not a little kid, and Lily had nothing to do with me being able to manage a small festival."
"Well I will agree that you seem to be a good manager."
"Thank you!"
"I like Lily, she seems like a nice girl."
The boys laughed while James rolled his eyes.
"I bet. What is this I hear that you hired her to tutor me?"
"I thought that you should keep up with your studies and I asked Dumbledore who was the best person for the job and he recommended her."
"Well, I suppose that's true, she is kind of smart."
"Kind of smart, James, if you had a higher grade in charms you would be in the same level with her." Said Sirius.
"Glad you agree with mother and think I need help with my studies."
"I'm not saying you need help James, I'm saying that I want you too keep up with them, I want you to keep studying while you recover, is that understood young man?"
"Yes mum."
"Good, now I'm going to ask you boys to leave, he needs to rest."
The boys said goodbye to James and marched out of the room.
"I'm glad she's not my mother, she scares me." Said Peter.
"She is not so bad, she just tries too hard to make James happy." Said Remus.
"Well she's doing it the wrong way." Said Sirius.
Lily went to the infirmary every afternoon to tutor James. He was not very happy about it in the beginning but as the days passed he started to have fun. Most of the times they didn't study for long, they were both smart and didn't need to study things for long to learn them, they spent most of their time talking. James found out that Lily's older sister, Petunia, was horse-faced and too nosey for her own good. Lily learned that James loved his parents, his sister and nieces even if he didn't say it too often.
On this evening, Lily was telling James about her sister's latest boyfriend.
"Pig looking, that's what he is. I really don't see why she likes him so much."
"Maybe you have better taste in men." James laughed.
"Of course I do, I wouldn't go out with Vernon Dursley even if he was worth millions of pounds."
"What do your parents think of him?" James was playing with his fingers as he talked to Lily.
"I don't know, we haven't discussed him really. I suppose they think she might change her mind later, she has done it so often it would not surprise me if she did it once more."
"You're not very fond of your sister." Lily noticed that James didn't questioned; he made a statement.
"Is it so obvious?"
"Only to those who know you."
"She hasn't been very nice to me. When I was very young I remember her making fun of me, and ignoring me. I suppose it's normal among siblings to have some rivalry, but I always felt like she didn't like me. Then strange things started to happen when I was around. Dead flowers blossoming to life, if I needed something it would suddenly appear before me. She started keeping her distance, said that I was a freak and she didn't want to catch it. Mum and dad tried to make peace between us, but it was difficult when she didn't even want to be in the same room with me. When I received the letter saying that I was a witch she acted as if her actions were justified. She tried to get our parents to send me here to Hogwarts and leave me here, of course they didn't like that idea and she got in trouble for even suggesting it. Our relationship was even more strained since then. Every summer she goes off with her friends and boyfriends to some place or other, just to stay away from me, and that's all right with me. I can't stand her friends, they are as ugly and nosey as she is."
"I'm sorry you don't get along with you sister. Mine is five years older and I missed her a lot when she was away. I was six when she came to Hogwarts and I cried the whole day when she got on the train that first year. Mother was afraid I would make myself sick so she brought all of my sister's pictures into my room. It calmed me down a bit but it didn't last for long." James laughed.
Lily smiled and wished that she had a sister that would miss her like that.
"The next day I woke up to find an owl from her, that cheered me up. She sent an owl at least two times a week with long letters during all the years she was away until I joined her here during her sixth year. She made sure that I was happy and she covered for me during my first two years here, I didn't get into too much trouble because of her. By the time she graduated I had made friends, so it wasn't that bad when she wasn't here with me anymore. She met her husband during a trip to Italy during the summer after graduation. They fell in love and married a year later. She has two twin daughters now, and complains that they took after me as punishment for all the times she covered for me." He chuckled.
"You really love her." Lily said with a wistful tone.
"Yeah, my family has always stayed together even if we do get in each others nerves sometimes."
The young couple stayed up late every time talking, and getting to know each other for the two weeks that James was in the infirmary.
On the day he was finally relieved from the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey gave a huge sigh of relief. Her infirmary looked like a green house with flowers at every corner, small gifts and get well cards covered every table in the room. James got irritable every time he was left alone and drove his visitors insane with his whining.
"You cannot know how relieved I am of finally leaving this place." Said James behind the screen as he dressed.
"I can imagine. It's a miracle you didn't develop any allergies." Laughed Sirius as he waited for him to be done.
"If I had to stay any longer I would probably developed allergies."
"What are your plans once you leave this place?"
"Quidditch Pitch, I need to get some air."
"I'll join you then, we should make it a flying party. The whole team just flying around, we haven't had a good practice since you been in here."
"How did the game go?"
"Not one of our best, we won, but only because Hufflepuff was not playing their best either." Said Sirius shaking his head.
James groaned. "I see that there is a lot that I have to catch up on. At least I don't have to make up any work, thanks to Lily."
"Hmmm.you two have spent a lot of time together."
"Don't you start, we are just friends."
"I didn't say anything, I was just commenting that you spent a lot of time together. Nothing wrong with that."
"It is when you say it in that tone."
"What tone?" Sirius asked innocently.
"The tone you use when you are planning something or are feeling very pleased with yourself."
"I didn't know I had a tone like that."
"Well you do, so stop it."
"Fine, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"So you say."
"Are we having this flying party or not?"
"Of course we are, we can go now, I'm ready." Said James stepping around the screen.
"Good."
The two boys left the room in excitement.
Lily was agitated when she entered the girls' dorm.
"I cannot believe him!" She exclaimed as she threw the book she had on her hand to the bed.
"What is wrong Lily?" Asked Emma, looking at Lily. Lily never threw a book.
"James, he was just relieved from the infirmary." She said.
"That is good! Isn't it?" Said Katie, why was Lily mad that James had been relieved?
"But he is supposed to rest, and what do you think he is doing?"
"What?" Asked Emma with a cautious tone.
"He has gone flying with the team, that's what!"
"Oh Lily, calm down, you know how Quidditch mad he is." Laughed Katie.
"He deserves to do what he pleases, he is such a bear when he is sick." Said Emma.
"I suppose, but he should be resting." Said Lily in a low voice.
"Don't worry, he will tire soon and the team will make sure that he returns to rest." Said Katie.
"He won't be returning to the Tower." Said Lily.
"What? Where will he stay?" Katie asked.
"With his parents, a room was readied for him near their living quarters."
"They want to keep a close eye on him then." Commented Emma
"I think they still think that he might be in danger." Lily said.
"Poor James." Sighed Katie.
"I don't see how you could pity him, he's being spoiled rotten. Have you seen how the infirmary is overflowing with flowers and gifts?" Snapped Lily.
Katie and Emma laughed. Lily was clearly jealous of all the attention that James had received from the girls in the school.
"As I said, Poor James. He won't be alone for quite a while. Girls will want to keep him entertained." Said Katie.
"I bet he will enjoy it." Said Lily.
"Don't worry Lily, he won't fall for it."
"Why should it worry me?"
"You don't need to I suppose."
"Of course I don't, he can do what he pleases." And Lily stormed off from the room and closed the door of the bathroom with a snap.
"We have to do something, she really has it bad." Said Katie looking at the bathroom door.
"She is so stubborn. Why will she not accept her feelings for him?" Sighed Emma.
"Maybe she is afraid he doesn't feel the same way."
"He is going to be a problem. He is more stubborn than she."
"We need to talk to the boys."
"You are right, we need to make plans."
"Do you think we should involve Mrs. Potter?"
"No, it would only make things worse if James finds out that his mother is involved."
"I suppose you are right."
"Let's go to the common room, we'll ambush the boys when they return."
"Very well, and Lily needs sometime to think."
The girls left the room.
Lily stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. She was washing her hands and let her mind wander.
This is so confusing. Why should I care about what James does? I'm not his keeper for goodness sakes! If he wants to kill himself that's his problem. Lily angrily threw a towel against the wall. I'm doing it again. I'm getting mad about something that shouldn't concern me. Oh dear! What does this all mean? Why do I feel like my body tingles every time he is near? Why do I look forward to spending time with him? Why am I going to miss having him all to myself during the evenings? I can't be in love! I don't want to be in love! I am not in love! It's absurd to even consider it. Lily quickly returned to the room and noticed that her friends had left. She sighed with relief, she really didn't feel like talking to them at the moment.
Lily lay on her bed and started to study the canopy on her bed. I wonder what he thinks about me. Could he ever think of me as something more than friends? Oh, what am I thinking? I don't want him to think of me as anything else. Lily grabbed one of the pillows on her bed and covered her face with it. I'm acting like a lovesick first year! What am I going to do? Lily stayed on the bed for a long time, thoughts fleeting through her mind.
The boys entered the common room to find Emma and Katie impatiently waiting for them.
"Hmmm.it seems that you girls missed us a lot." Smiled Sirius.
"Oh please, step down from your pedestal big shot, we need to talk." Said Katie with an exasperated tone.
"Why does that sound ominous to me?" He said.
"I think I'm going to my room, I'm getting out of the line of fire." Said James who had followed the team into the common room. He quickly stepped out of the portrait hole and left his friends to face the two girls by themselves. The rest of the team quickly left them and went to their respective rooms.
"Cowards." Whispered Remus.
The girls walked to their customary place near the fire and the boys follow them.
"What did we do?" Quickly asked Peter.
"Nothing, this has nothing to do with you." Said Emma. The boys released their breath in relief, which they hadn't noticed that they were holding.
"What's wrong then?" Said Sirius putting his broom on the floor.
"It's Lily. I think she has started to notice that she has feelings for James." Said Katie.
"Isn't that what we wanted?" Said Remus, he didn't see a problem with that.
"Yes, but what about James?" Said Emma.
"He is too stubborn, I don't know how we're going to bring them together." Groaned Sirius.
"I thought that all the time they were spending together while he was sick would bring on something, but now that he's out, they don't need to spend anymore time alone." Remus replied.
"We need to find a way for them to spend some time together. The weather is starting to get colder and it will start snowing soon." Said Peter.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Asked Katie.'
"Well, if the weather was warmer we could plan a picnic for them."
"That would do the trick." Sighed Emma. "A picnic would be romantic."
"Why can't we plan one?" Said Sirius his eyes sparkled with the forming of a new idea.
"Didn't you hear? The weather is not good now for a picnic." Said Katie with a gentle nudge to his arm.
"The picnic doesn't have to be outside, we could use one of the empty rooms to have it."
"That wouldn't be romantic! What would they see in a room? Four walls and pictures, that's what!" Snapped Katie.
"We could charm it, to look as if they were outdoors." Sirius snapped back.
"That would be a good idea, but Lily is the only one who could perform such a complicated charm." Said Emma.
"Can't any of you do it?" Asked Remus.
"We are not as good as Lily." Said Katie shaking her head. "I'm sorry I snapped at you." She said kissing Sirius in the cheek before holding his hand.
"That's all right." He smiled. "I'm sorry I snapped back." And he gave her a quick peck on her lips.
"Would you two stop? We need to get Lily and James together not you." Laughed Remus.
"What else can we do?" Asked Peter playing with the twigs in his broom.
"I don't know. Why don't we think about it for a while? We are bound to think of something." Said Emma.
"There's nothing else to do so we might as well do as you say." Said Katie putting her head on Sirius' shoulder.
"I'm going to see if Lily is all right. It's almost time for dinner." Said Emma rising from the couch.
"We need to get clean." Said Remus.
"Right, we'll meet you here later." Said Sirius as the boys rose and made their way to the stairs.
The girls watched them leave and then turned to each other.
"What do you think? Can we pull this off?" Asked Emma.
"I don't know, but we can try." Katie replied.
"Let's see if Lily is ready." Together, they walked up to their dorm.
"Are you sure you want to go down to the Great Hall James? We could ask Minnie to bring your meal here." Said Mrs. Potter when James told her that he planned to go down to dinner.
"I'm sure mother, I want to be with my friends." Slowly said James. Mrs. Potter knew that James was losing patience; he always called her mother when he did so.
"Very well, if you are sure. Your father and I will sit by Dumbledore." She said.
"Ok, I will see you down then." And James quickly made his escape out of his parents' room.
Mrs. Potter sighed as James left the room. Mr. Potter smiled and put his arms around her shoulders.
"Don't worry dear, he will be all right." He said as he kissed the top of her head.
"I know, but I worry Aliaster, we almost lost him." She exclaimed.
"I know. But we can't always be there to protect him Susan. We must leave him to learn things on his own."
"You are right. But I can't shake this feeling that he is in danger."
"We're doing all we can to find out who is responsible for all this."
"And I know that you will succeed."
"I'm glad you have faith in me my dear. Don't worry, he's safe now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, nobody would dare to hurt him while he's under Dumbledore's watchful eye." He said turning his wife to look at him and giving her a long kiss.
A/N: Sorry it took me a while to post this chapter, but the beginning of the semester is always busy for me. I'll try to update more often. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own HP nor anything related to it, only the plot and secondary characters.
Chapter 11 ~ The Recovery
When the Potters returned to the infirmary, they found James and Lily laughing with an empty try on the night table. Mrs. Potter almost broke down with relief at seeing her son. But she got hold of herself and tried to sound cheerful and carefree. She didn't want James to know how close he had come to death.
Lily left the infirmary soon after, she didn't want to intrude in what clearly would be a family moment. She also knew that the others would want to know that James had regained consciousness and she wanted them to know before it was time for Remus to leave for the night.
She quickly made her way down the corridors, they were empty and seemed formidable in the approaching darkness. Dinner time would soon be upon them. Lily finally arrived to the Gryffindor Tower where the Fat Lady greeted her with "Password?"
"Moonlight magic." Quickly responded Lily.
The Portrait promptly opened and Lily swiftly entered the common room. The room was full, students sat all around the room occupied with different things. She looked around searching for her friends until she spied Sirius and the rest by the stairs. She quickly made her way toward them.
"There you are, we have been waiting for you." Exclaimed Sirius with an impatient tone.
"Well I'm sorry, but I didn't want to leave James alone until his parents had returned." Lily snapped.
"Sorry, we just want to know how he is doing." Said Sirius with a crestfallen expression and a pair of puppy eyes looking at her.
"You and James are so alike, charming your way pass anything." Exclaimed Lily with a laugh.
"Of course we do, we are two charming men." Smiled Sirius winking at the girls. The girls giggled as the boys chuckled.
"So, how is James, is he doing much better?" Asked Emma as the group settled down once more.
"Oh, I have great news." Squealed Lily. "He has regained consciousness. He doesn't remember much but he has gotten his appetite. He ate a whole tray full of his favorite food by the time I left." The group cheered at this news and the boys were getting ready to leave the room when they were held back by Lily.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"We are going to see him." Said Remus.
"You can't, in case you have forgotten, Dumbledore said that only when he asked for visitors he would get them, and Remus should be leaving soon."
Sirius swore, Remus smiled sadly and Peter exuberance suddenly left his body.
"Don't worry, now that he is awake we will allowed to see him soon." Said Katie.
"I suppose."
The rest of the room had noticed that something had happened and started to ask Lily if something had happened to James, when she told them that he was finally awake the room exploded into cheers and many claimed that it was time for a party that night.
The Great Hall was in a cheerful mood that night. Dumbledore had reported that James was now conscious and that he would be receiving visitors soon. The Hall was in a festive mood, food was shared and drink overflowed. Laughter and good will seemed to permeate the room.
The stars twinkled and shined through the bewitched ceiling, and the candles lighting the room seemed to shine brighter than they had before.
After dinner Gryffindor threw a party worthy of a king's welcome. Although the guest of honor was not present, toasts were made for his speedy recovery and pictures were taken which were planned to be sent to him to cheer him up.
After Professor McGonagall finally put a stop to the festivities, Gryffindor Tower settled to sleep, and two shapes were appearing near the Whopping Willow.
When Lily arrived at the infirmary on Monday afternoon she found a scowling James. He didn't seem too happy.
"What kept you?" He snapped.
"Somebody is in a bad mood." Lily Responded.
"I'm bored."
"I imagined you are. Where is your mom?"
"She went to the kitchens to make sure that the elves prepare 'invalid food'" He said with a disgusted tone.
"I see that you're not too happy about that."
"I don't want to live on just soups and toast."
"Do you think you feel better for a small lesson."
"Depends, what kind of lesson?"
"A lesson in patience perhaps."
"Lily!"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself." She laughed.
"Come here." He said motioning her to approach him.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"I don't trust you."
"Why don't you?"
"You have that twinkle in your eye."
"What twinkle?"
"The twinkle that tells me you're up to something."
"I'm bedridden what can I do if I'm trapped into this bed."
"You'll think of something."
"Oh? Do you think so?"
"Yes I do."
"Do you care to find out?"
"No thank you."
"Will you two stop that, you sound like a pair of lovebirds." Said a voice from the door. Lily and James turned to look at the door and found a grinning Sirius with Remus and Peter laughing behind him.
"What is so funny?" Asked Lily.
"If we didn't know better, we could've sworn that you two were a couple." Chuckled Remus.
"A very entertaining conversation." Said Peter.
"What do you lot want, don't you see I'm trying to get some privacy here." Laughed James. Lily blushed furiously while the others laughed and approached James' bed's side.
"If you are trying to charm your way into Lily's heart you are obviously feeling better." Smiled Remus slapping James' back.
"I agree, we need to help him get stronger now, wouldn't do to have Lily have all the fun now do we?"
"Sirius! Really! I don't know what goes into your mind sometimes." Snapped Lily.
"Now my dear, don't let them get to you."
"I am not your dear James Potter and if you lot are not going to be serious I'm going to leave." And Lily stormed off the room.
The boys laughed as she snapped the door close.
"What was that all about?" Asked Peter.
"I don't know but I love getting her mad." Chuckled James.
"Careful my friend, you will fall in love with her." Teased Sirius.
"Oh no, I would never do that, she's a friend." Exclaimed James.
"Relationships have started based on much less." Said Remus.
"E tu Brute?" Groaned James.
"Ok, we'll change the subject. Wouldn't want you to lose consciousness on us once more." Replied Sirius as he sat on the bed next to James'.
"Why didn't you come in earlier?" Asked James.
"We weren't allowed to." Said Peter.
"Why not?"
"Dumbledore forbade it, said that unless you asked for visitors nobody would be allowed in here." Responded Remus.
"You could've sneaked in here. You have my cloak."
"Dumbledore put Ministry guards around the infirmary, there was no way we could get pass them." Said Peter looking at an arrangement of flowers beside James' bed.
"And with Remus sick, we thought it best to stay with him, we could do nothing for you anyways." Shrugged Sirius as he noticed a pile of candy at the foot of James' bed.
"I remembered about it when I woke up. It's all done for this month isn't it? Last night was the last night."
"Yeah, we don't have to do this again until next month." Replied Remus.
"At least I'll be there then."
"Only if you are strong enough, your mother will have our hide if something happens to you while we're out there." Said Peter.
"I hope she is gone by then." James sighed.
"How can you not sneeze with all these flowers in here?" Complained Sirius finally noticing all the flowers around the room.
"I would throw them away if mum would let me. But she says they are gifts and I should be grateful that people cared that I was sick." Said James with a disgusted tone.
"Who sent them?" Asked Remus looking at a vase full of posies and dandelions.
"I don't know. I read some of the cards and as far as I know they were from girls. That they would think that I would like flowers is beyond me."
Sirius laughed and turned to see the gifts on a table at the foot of the bed. "A teddy? Somebody sent you a teddy?" Sirius laughed harder.
"Disgusting isn't it? Not very manly either. What am I going to do with a teddy? Of course mother thought it was sweet."
"James, most of these gifts are from girls!" Exclaimed Peter.
"I noticed."
"You are going to be busy sending thank you notes." Chuckled Remus looking over the gifts the girls in the school had sent to his friend.
"Ugh! I'll hate it, but I still don't know what I'm going to do with them. I suppose I can send them to my nieces, the twins would love them."
"Perfect, the twins will adore you, how old are they now?" Asked Sirius trying hard not to laugh as he spied a set of golden combs among the gifts.
"They are three, and Elizabeth says that they are becoming quite a handful and the nursemaid can hardly keep up with them." Chuckled James.
"They took after you. The poor woman must be losing her hair after pulling on it too often." Said Peter, shaking his head.
"I wasn't that bad as a child, just a little active."
"I wager that your mother would not say that."
"You are right Mr. Black, I wouldn't say that about James." The boys turned to see Mrs. Potter standing on the door. "I see that you boys are doing fine. You are not tiring my son now are you?"
"Of course not Mrs. Potter, we would never do anything to worry you." Said Sirius with a courtly bow.
"Hmph! That is not what the owls I have received from Dumbledore say."
"We have been behaving ourselves mum, didn't you hear about the Festival we did?"
"The only reason you got through it was because you had Lily to work with, I'm sure she kept you from doing things you shouldn't do."
"Mum! I'm not a little kid, and Lily had nothing to do with me being able to manage a small festival."
"Well I will agree that you seem to be a good manager."
"Thank you!"
"I like Lily, she seems like a nice girl."
The boys laughed while James rolled his eyes.
"I bet. What is this I hear that you hired her to tutor me?"
"I thought that you should keep up with your studies and I asked Dumbledore who was the best person for the job and he recommended her."
"Well, I suppose that's true, she is kind of smart."
"Kind of smart, James, if you had a higher grade in charms you would be in the same level with her." Said Sirius.
"Glad you agree with mother and think I need help with my studies."
"I'm not saying you need help James, I'm saying that I want you too keep up with them, I want you to keep studying while you recover, is that understood young man?"
"Yes mum."
"Good, now I'm going to ask you boys to leave, he needs to rest."
The boys said goodbye to James and marched out of the room.
"I'm glad she's not my mother, she scares me." Said Peter.
"She is not so bad, she just tries too hard to make James happy." Said Remus.
"Well she's doing it the wrong way." Said Sirius.
Lily went to the infirmary every afternoon to tutor James. He was not very happy about it in the beginning but as the days passed he started to have fun. Most of the times they didn't study for long, they were both smart and didn't need to study things for long to learn them, they spent most of their time talking. James found out that Lily's older sister, Petunia, was horse-faced and too nosey for her own good. Lily learned that James loved his parents, his sister and nieces even if he didn't say it too often.
On this evening, Lily was telling James about her sister's latest boyfriend.
"Pig looking, that's what he is. I really don't see why she likes him so much."
"Maybe you have better taste in men." James laughed.
"Of course I do, I wouldn't go out with Vernon Dursley even if he was worth millions of pounds."
"What do your parents think of him?" James was playing with his fingers as he talked to Lily.
"I don't know, we haven't discussed him really. I suppose they think she might change her mind later, she has done it so often it would not surprise me if she did it once more."
"You're not very fond of your sister." Lily noticed that James didn't questioned; he made a statement.
"Is it so obvious?"
"Only to those who know you."
"She hasn't been very nice to me. When I was very young I remember her making fun of me, and ignoring me. I suppose it's normal among siblings to have some rivalry, but I always felt like she didn't like me. Then strange things started to happen when I was around. Dead flowers blossoming to life, if I needed something it would suddenly appear before me. She started keeping her distance, said that I was a freak and she didn't want to catch it. Mum and dad tried to make peace between us, but it was difficult when she didn't even want to be in the same room with me. When I received the letter saying that I was a witch she acted as if her actions were justified. She tried to get our parents to send me here to Hogwarts and leave me here, of course they didn't like that idea and she got in trouble for even suggesting it. Our relationship was even more strained since then. Every summer she goes off with her friends and boyfriends to some place or other, just to stay away from me, and that's all right with me. I can't stand her friends, they are as ugly and nosey as she is."
"I'm sorry you don't get along with you sister. Mine is five years older and I missed her a lot when she was away. I was six when she came to Hogwarts and I cried the whole day when she got on the train that first year. Mother was afraid I would make myself sick so she brought all of my sister's pictures into my room. It calmed me down a bit but it didn't last for long." James laughed.
Lily smiled and wished that she had a sister that would miss her like that.
"The next day I woke up to find an owl from her, that cheered me up. She sent an owl at least two times a week with long letters during all the years she was away until I joined her here during her sixth year. She made sure that I was happy and she covered for me during my first two years here, I didn't get into too much trouble because of her. By the time she graduated I had made friends, so it wasn't that bad when she wasn't here with me anymore. She met her husband during a trip to Italy during the summer after graduation. They fell in love and married a year later. She has two twin daughters now, and complains that they took after me as punishment for all the times she covered for me." He chuckled.
"You really love her." Lily said with a wistful tone.
"Yeah, my family has always stayed together even if we do get in each others nerves sometimes."
The young couple stayed up late every time talking, and getting to know each other for the two weeks that James was in the infirmary.
On the day he was finally relieved from the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey gave a huge sigh of relief. Her infirmary looked like a green house with flowers at every corner, small gifts and get well cards covered every table in the room. James got irritable every time he was left alone and drove his visitors insane with his whining.
"You cannot know how relieved I am of finally leaving this place." Said James behind the screen as he dressed.
"I can imagine. It's a miracle you didn't develop any allergies." Laughed Sirius as he waited for him to be done.
"If I had to stay any longer I would probably developed allergies."
"What are your plans once you leave this place?"
"Quidditch Pitch, I need to get some air."
"I'll join you then, we should make it a flying party. The whole team just flying around, we haven't had a good practice since you been in here."
"How did the game go?"
"Not one of our best, we won, but only because Hufflepuff was not playing their best either." Said Sirius shaking his head.
James groaned. "I see that there is a lot that I have to catch up on. At least I don't have to make up any work, thanks to Lily."
"Hmmm.you two have spent a lot of time together."
"Don't you start, we are just friends."
"I didn't say anything, I was just commenting that you spent a lot of time together. Nothing wrong with that."
"It is when you say it in that tone."
"What tone?" Sirius asked innocently.
"The tone you use when you are planning something or are feeling very pleased with yourself."
"I didn't know I had a tone like that."
"Well you do, so stop it."
"Fine, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"So you say."
"Are we having this flying party or not?"
"Of course we are, we can go now, I'm ready." Said James stepping around the screen.
"Good."
The two boys left the room in excitement.
Lily was agitated when she entered the girls' dorm.
"I cannot believe him!" She exclaimed as she threw the book she had on her hand to the bed.
"What is wrong Lily?" Asked Emma, looking at Lily. Lily never threw a book.
"James, he was just relieved from the infirmary." She said.
"That is good! Isn't it?" Said Katie, why was Lily mad that James had been relieved?
"But he is supposed to rest, and what do you think he is doing?"
"What?" Asked Emma with a cautious tone.
"He has gone flying with the team, that's what!"
"Oh Lily, calm down, you know how Quidditch mad he is." Laughed Katie.
"He deserves to do what he pleases, he is such a bear when he is sick." Said Emma.
"I suppose, but he should be resting." Said Lily in a low voice.
"Don't worry, he will tire soon and the team will make sure that he returns to rest." Said Katie.
"He won't be returning to the Tower." Said Lily.
"What? Where will he stay?" Katie asked.
"With his parents, a room was readied for him near their living quarters."
"They want to keep a close eye on him then." Commented Emma
"I think they still think that he might be in danger." Lily said.
"Poor James." Sighed Katie.
"I don't see how you could pity him, he's being spoiled rotten. Have you seen how the infirmary is overflowing with flowers and gifts?" Snapped Lily.
Katie and Emma laughed. Lily was clearly jealous of all the attention that James had received from the girls in the school.
"As I said, Poor James. He won't be alone for quite a while. Girls will want to keep him entertained." Said Katie.
"I bet he will enjoy it." Said Lily.
"Don't worry Lily, he won't fall for it."
"Why should it worry me?"
"You don't need to I suppose."
"Of course I don't, he can do what he pleases." And Lily stormed off from the room and closed the door of the bathroom with a snap.
"We have to do something, she really has it bad." Said Katie looking at the bathroom door.
"She is so stubborn. Why will she not accept her feelings for him?" Sighed Emma.
"Maybe she is afraid he doesn't feel the same way."
"He is going to be a problem. He is more stubborn than she."
"We need to talk to the boys."
"You are right, we need to make plans."
"Do you think we should involve Mrs. Potter?"
"No, it would only make things worse if James finds out that his mother is involved."
"I suppose you are right."
"Let's go to the common room, we'll ambush the boys when they return."
"Very well, and Lily needs sometime to think."
The girls left the room.
Lily stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. She was washing her hands and let her mind wander.
This is so confusing. Why should I care about what James does? I'm not his keeper for goodness sakes! If he wants to kill himself that's his problem. Lily angrily threw a towel against the wall. I'm doing it again. I'm getting mad about something that shouldn't concern me. Oh dear! What does this all mean? Why do I feel like my body tingles every time he is near? Why do I look forward to spending time with him? Why am I going to miss having him all to myself during the evenings? I can't be in love! I don't want to be in love! I am not in love! It's absurd to even consider it. Lily quickly returned to the room and noticed that her friends had left. She sighed with relief, she really didn't feel like talking to them at the moment.
Lily lay on her bed and started to study the canopy on her bed. I wonder what he thinks about me. Could he ever think of me as something more than friends? Oh, what am I thinking? I don't want him to think of me as anything else. Lily grabbed one of the pillows on her bed and covered her face with it. I'm acting like a lovesick first year! What am I going to do? Lily stayed on the bed for a long time, thoughts fleeting through her mind.
The boys entered the common room to find Emma and Katie impatiently waiting for them.
"Hmmm.it seems that you girls missed us a lot." Smiled Sirius.
"Oh please, step down from your pedestal big shot, we need to talk." Said Katie with an exasperated tone.
"Why does that sound ominous to me?" He said.
"I think I'm going to my room, I'm getting out of the line of fire." Said James who had followed the team into the common room. He quickly stepped out of the portrait hole and left his friends to face the two girls by themselves. The rest of the team quickly left them and went to their respective rooms.
"Cowards." Whispered Remus.
The girls walked to their customary place near the fire and the boys follow them.
"What did we do?" Quickly asked Peter.
"Nothing, this has nothing to do with you." Said Emma. The boys released their breath in relief, which they hadn't noticed that they were holding.
"What's wrong then?" Said Sirius putting his broom on the floor.
"It's Lily. I think she has started to notice that she has feelings for James." Said Katie.
"Isn't that what we wanted?" Said Remus, he didn't see a problem with that.
"Yes, but what about James?" Said Emma.
"He is too stubborn, I don't know how we're going to bring them together." Groaned Sirius.
"I thought that all the time they were spending together while he was sick would bring on something, but now that he's out, they don't need to spend anymore time alone." Remus replied.
"We need to find a way for them to spend some time together. The weather is starting to get colder and it will start snowing soon." Said Peter.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Asked Katie.'
"Well, if the weather was warmer we could plan a picnic for them."
"That would do the trick." Sighed Emma. "A picnic would be romantic."
"Why can't we plan one?" Said Sirius his eyes sparkled with the forming of a new idea.
"Didn't you hear? The weather is not good now for a picnic." Said Katie with a gentle nudge to his arm.
"The picnic doesn't have to be outside, we could use one of the empty rooms to have it."
"That wouldn't be romantic! What would they see in a room? Four walls and pictures, that's what!" Snapped Katie.
"We could charm it, to look as if they were outdoors." Sirius snapped back.
"That would be a good idea, but Lily is the only one who could perform such a complicated charm." Said Emma.
"Can't any of you do it?" Asked Remus.
"We are not as good as Lily." Said Katie shaking her head. "I'm sorry I snapped at you." She said kissing Sirius in the cheek before holding his hand.
"That's all right." He smiled. "I'm sorry I snapped back." And he gave her a quick peck on her lips.
"Would you two stop? We need to get Lily and James together not you." Laughed Remus.
"What else can we do?" Asked Peter playing with the twigs in his broom.
"I don't know. Why don't we think about it for a while? We are bound to think of something." Said Emma.
"There's nothing else to do so we might as well do as you say." Said Katie putting her head on Sirius' shoulder.
"I'm going to see if Lily is all right. It's almost time for dinner." Said Emma rising from the couch.
"We need to get clean." Said Remus.
"Right, we'll meet you here later." Said Sirius as the boys rose and made their way to the stairs.
The girls watched them leave and then turned to each other.
"What do you think? Can we pull this off?" Asked Emma.
"I don't know, but we can try." Katie replied.
"Let's see if Lily is ready." Together, they walked up to their dorm.
"Are you sure you want to go down to the Great Hall James? We could ask Minnie to bring your meal here." Said Mrs. Potter when James told her that he planned to go down to dinner.
"I'm sure mother, I want to be with my friends." Slowly said James. Mrs. Potter knew that James was losing patience; he always called her mother when he did so.
"Very well, if you are sure. Your father and I will sit by Dumbledore." She said.
"Ok, I will see you down then." And James quickly made his escape out of his parents' room.
Mrs. Potter sighed as James left the room. Mr. Potter smiled and put his arms around her shoulders.
"Don't worry dear, he will be all right." He said as he kissed the top of her head.
"I know, but I worry Aliaster, we almost lost him." She exclaimed.
"I know. But we can't always be there to protect him Susan. We must leave him to learn things on his own."
"You are right. But I can't shake this feeling that he is in danger."
"We're doing all we can to find out who is responsible for all this."
"And I know that you will succeed."
"I'm glad you have faith in me my dear. Don't worry, he's safe now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, nobody would dare to hurt him while he's under Dumbledore's watchful eye." He said turning his wife to look at him and giving her a long kiss.
A/N: Sorry it took me a while to post this chapter, but the beginning of the semester is always busy for me. I'll try to update more often. :)