James rushed into the Hospital Wing, Lily still in his arms, yelling for the new nurse, Madame Pomfrey. She came rushing out of her office, saw James and Lily, slowed, and smiled. Lily took that time to reveal the gash.

"What can I do for you, Prongs?" she asked, glancing at Lily confusedly.

He gestured at Lily with his head. "She needs help."

Madame Pomfrey suddenly turned brisk and business- like. She conjured a notepad. "Name, House, and Year," loading a quill with the ink she'd just conjured.

"Lily Evans, Gryffindor, Fifth," replied Lily in much the same manner. Pomfrey consulted the notepad and made a connection.

"What's your connection to each other?"

Lily glared up at James, clearly telling him that she would kill him if he did what she knew he was going to do.

He did it anyway.

"She's my girlfriend."

Lily visibly stiffened and glared at James harder.

"She's really in pain, and she might have splinters. She fell through a trick step. Shouldn't she be lying down? I think she'd appreciate lying down." James continued to ramble on, trying not to meet Lily's eyes.

Her beautiful, clear, strikingly green eyes.

James knew that even though Lily was mad at him and trying to bore holes into his head with her eyes, she was vulnerable. He never got to see Lily vulnerable. She was always shouting at him or scoffing at his many attempts to ask her out. She was always, calm, cool, collected, and in charge. Not even a flicker of uncertainty ever passed her eyes.

Not until now.

He knew Lily hated showing her actual feelings around others than the precious few that were extremely close friends and family. She was always one to retreat into a dark corner and spend hours just thinking. But she never let on to what she thought about. James knew all too well how much Lily hated pity. That was one of the reasons that she despised every aspect of her vulnerability.

James loved it.

He was shaken out of his reverie by Madame Pomfrey tutting loudly. She was saying something to Lily that James only caught the last part of.

"…serious, but you'll have to stay the night."

She gave Lily three bottles, one with a gold potion, one filled with a blue liquid, the other containing a purple one.

"It's no use picking them out the Muggle way. Take the blue one first. That'll stop you from feeling any pain in your leg. Immediately after that drink ALL of the gold one. You'll bleed the splinters out overnight. Then, when you're ready, take the dreamless sleep potion.

"Mr. Potter-"

"Please Poppy?"

James gave Madame Pomfrey puppy-eyes for a full minute before she relented. "Fine, you can stay. But for 15 minutes ONLY!" she called before locking herself in her office.

Looking back on the situation, James wondered why he even asked to stay with Lily. He settled on the idea that he probably thought that she was going to fly into his arms and consent to being his girlfriend.

No one had ever been more wrong.

For a few seconds, Lily just stared at James, opening and closing her mouth, evidently trying to find the words to properly convey her ideas. James knew at once that there was an incredibly slim chance of him surviving the fifteen minutes that they were left alone with. James prayed to fate and every higher being that Lily would just fall asleep from the potions she'd take.

Apparently, fate and the higher beings did not want to favor James.

"You ignorant prat! All you had to do was follow your friends up to divination! But that was too complicated for you, wasn't it? When will you get it thought your head that I do not like you, James Potter?"

She looked down at her leg. "Look where your antics have gotten us, James. We missed our first class, Filch probably told Dumbledore about seeing us in the hall, and I have a hole in my leg. James, this has absolutely got to stop. You've been after me since third year: probably when you found out that I was a girl," she added bitterly.

"What about First and Second Year, James?" What about when the eight of us were all really good friends? Can't you just think about us having a friendship first?"

James opened his mouth to say something, but Lily held up a hand: she wasn't finished.

"You have to stop. Stop following me around, creeping up to my dorm, asking me out at every turn. It needs to stop- James you need to stop. It would be so easy for us to become friends again. If I did, or- Merlin forbid- ever will like you as more than a friend, I'll let you know."

James nodded, knowing that Lily had finished. He turned to leave, when he felt her tugging on his hand. He looked at her. She was about to drift off, but seemed determined to get the words out.

"Do you promise?" she whispered. He nodded and she smiled slightly, letting go of his hand.

As he closed the door to the Wing, James made a resolve. Leaning against the door, he said "You'll know soon, Lily Evans. When you find out, I just hope that you'll tell me."