James groaned slightly as he stirred. He instantly wished that he had not awoken from his peaceful slumber, for the pain in his head was nearly unbearable. However much he longed for the soft throes of unconsciousness, he knew that it was time to face…whatever it was that had made him feel like he had been stomped on by a herd of hippogriffs. He remembered having made a stylized grab for the Quaffle…then getting a bludger to the chest…and attempting to help Sirius…but that was all. Was it another bludger? He wondered, reaching for his glasses. It must've been.
The first thing James noticed was Sirius sitting up in the bed, next to him, awake and restless, as Madam Pomfrey bandaged his torso. He already sported bandages aplenty; the right half of his face and the top of his head were completely covered by bandages and his nose was wrapped in gauze. He was fidgeting, a put-upon expression on the part of his face that James could see, while his one good eye roved around the room, surveying what he seemed to feel was his prison. His left arm was bandaged as well, and was in a sling tied around his neck. When Sirius realized James was awake, he bounced slightly in the bed, smiling and waved his right hand at him, which promptly earned him a stern rebuke from Madam Pomfrey, and a plea to "just sit still."
"Oh, you're awake, are you?" Madam Pomfrey asked briskly, glancing over at him.
"Unfortunately." James mumbled, his voice thick.
"How are you feeling?"
"I've been better…much better." He responded groggily.
"That is undoubtedly accurate."
"Hey…did we win?" James asked abruptly.
"What?"
"Did we beat Slytherin? The whole game is sort of hazy to me…"
Sirius tried to snap his fingers adamantly at James, but as he had always been hopeless at snapping, it came out more like a soft flicking sound, so James paid it no attention.
"You suffered severe head trauma; that your memory is not perfect right now is no surprise."
"Er, yeah, but did we win?"
Sirius grunted, in response.
James turned towards him, confused as to why his friend would not just tell him what was going on, frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned.
Sirius, wanting to convey to James how he had saved him, and how they had won the game, made a wild one-handed gesture which James assumed to be was him falling from his broom, then pointed at himself, and gave James a thumbs up.
"So we did win?"
Sirius nodded his head vigorously, and Madam Pomfrey chastised him again. "Honestly, one would think when someone told you not to move or you'll injure yourself worse, then you would not move." Madam Pomfrey muttered.
"He never was one for following orders. Or rules." James told her, then added, as an afterthought. "Or the law."
"Don't I know that!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "Although I could say the same for you. You're both in here all the time for not following directions."
Sirius rolled the one eye not covered by bandages.
"At least he's doing one thing right! I told him not to talk and he has yet to talk."
"Why can't he talk?" James asked, nodding at Sirius. He winced as a sharp pain came up from the base of his skull. Mental note: don't nod. It doesn't feel very good.
"He received a bad injury to the side of the face, sustained in that dreadful game. I had to give him something to grow back some teeth and heal other oral wounds." She replied matter-of-factly. "A bludger to the face is no laughing matter." She frowned at him. "Nor are bludgers to the skull."
"I guess playing Quidditch in the middle of thunderstorms with heavy winds don't always end nicely?" James suggested wryly. "The winds kept blowing the brooms—and bludgers—off course."
Madam Pomfrey frowned at him. "The sport—a term I use loosely—is too dangerous for any of you children to play, no matter the weather. I get more serious injuries from Quidditch than any potion or charm mishap!"
James thought it would be wise to not reply to the embittered tirade.
She finished bandaging Sirius, and turned around to fully survey James. "Is there anything you need?"
"Drugs of some sort." James responded, half-joking. Off of her stern, disapproving look, he added, "er, I mean something to dull this throbbing in my skull."
"Well, I'll be with you as soon as I finished with this troublemaker, here…and done, finally!" Madam Promfrey announced.
Sirius saluted her with his good hand. Madam Pomfrey shook her head with relief at being rid of Sirius, as she came over to James. Sirius grinned. Without even turning around, Madam Pomfrey chastised him, again.
"I told you not to move your mouth, unless you want the whole process to have to start again."
Sirius crossed his good arm and his arm in a sling obstinately.
"Stop moving your body in general!"
It was amazing how Sirius was able to convey his extreme annoyance with Madam Pomfrey to James, with only one eye.
Mental note: Silent Sirius might be a great improvement...
A/N: OK, now I'm back on track. Sorry for the errors in the first chapter. Thank you for those who pointed them out, they have all been fixed I hope. The problem was that I have a whole bunch of random events written from later on in the Marauders' time at Hogwarts, and I wanted to break them up into different short stories to post, so I am re-writing and editing older work. Thanks for the understanding, and I think it will all flow much better now.