Well hello there, children! Before we begin this chap, I'd like to extend my thanks to Hazel Maraa, who kindly wrote 'YOU HAD BETTER GODDAMN UPDATE SOON! YOU EVIL EVIL EVIL EVIL EVIL PERSON!' I feel so..:sniff:.. loved. Well, without further ado, here's chapter 15! Hope it was soon enough, Hazel! Because I'm a bit scared of you now…
Previously:
"Lily? Are you alright?" she heard Rhia say urgently, as she stared at Tennison uncomprehendingly. The last thing she saw was a small frown beginning to form on his face, before she toppled from her chair and onto the cold stone floor, completely unconscious.
"What the-" Tennison said, looking appalled.
"No leeway, eh?" snarled James, who looked as though he was trying to decide what he wanted to do more, help Lily or beat the shit out of Tennison. "Well, you're a bleeding genius!"
"Mr. Potter, I will not be spoken to like that-" the sallow man began.
"Oh, stuff it, Professor," Rhia said, glaring at him. The man just stood there, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Kneeling down next to Lily, James looked questioningly at Rhia, his forehead creased in worry.
"What spell did you use?"
"Ennervate," the girl said anxiously. Looking concerned, she added, "Is that bad? I know it's only meant to be used on unconscious people, but she was nearly out cold, so I figured…"
"No, that should have been fine; since she was awake, even only a little, the spell shouldn't have done anything, really," Remus broke in, kneeling down with Sirius around the comatose girl.
"Lily?" Sirius asked, his voice low in concern. "Lily? Can you hear me?" The girl moaned softly and sat up, holding her head.
"Jesus Christ! What happened? And why is it so goddamn bright?" she said dizzily.
"Can you walk?" James interrupted, smoothing down her hair.
"Let's find out, shall we?" Lily said lightly, though they could all tell that she was in a considerable amount of pain. Gripping James's outstretched hand, she attempted to lever herself up. Her vision collapsed in an explosion of white.
A second later, she awoke to find herself lying on the cold dungeon floor, blinking groggily.
"Alright," James said nonchalantly. "That's a no-go, then. Guess there's only one way to do this."
"This is so humiliating," Lily grumbled as they made their way down to the Hospital Wing, leaving behind a thoroughly befuddled class and an irate Professor who looked to be on the verge of an apoplexy.
"Oh, but think how lovely this'll be for your image," James said, grinning. Walking slowly through the hall, he earned many stares, but not nearly as many as one would think. They must be getting used to us, Lily thought. Somehow this was not a comforting idea. Though, perhaps the gazes were deserved, she thought reflectively. After all, she was being carried down the hall, curled up in James Potter's strong arms, and looking as though she would die any minute. Yeah, she thought. They're definitely getting used to us.
"Is this really necessary?" she asked for the umpteenth time.
"Well, you can't walk, and I could levitate you, but then, that wouldn't be much fun, now, would it?" James said flippantly. "Besides, I think this episode totally enhances my 'studly hunk of manflesh' image, don't you agree?"
Lily groaned and turned her head into the crook of his neck and shoulder.
"Are we there yet?" she asked in her whiniest voice.
"Actually, yes," James said amusedly, a tinge of relief clear in his voice as he pushed open the door to the Hospital Wing with his foot. Sirius, Remus, and Rhia had stayed behind in Potions, as the group had reached the conclusion that it would not do to enrage Tennison further by half of his class vacating the room. Depositing Lily gently onto the bed, he stalked over to the young mediwitch's office door, clearing his throat loudly before sticking his head in.
"Er…Poppy? Oops, sorry. Madam Pomfrey? We have a bit of a situation here…" The nurse got up from her chair, where she had been going over student records, and followed James out into the main room quickly. She was a young woman, just out of Hogwarts four years ago. She knew James from the time they had both been students, as well as his numerous stays in the Hospital Wing because of his risky behavior, both in Quidditch and with his friends. The stern-looking witch, unbeknownst to most, had a wicked streak in her a mile wide, one that James had been quick to exploit.
"Already, James?" she asked now in resignation, spotting Lily lying weakly on the bed. "You've barely been back a day…" She listened intently as the young wizard explained what had happened in Potions, grimacing when he mentioned Tennison's reaction to Lily's affliction. She ignored James' amused smile at her expression, turning instead to examine the girl in question.
"Hmmm…" she said, walking around the bed as she inspected the now sleeping girl.
"'Hmmm'?" James said, a hint of panic seeping into his normally calm voice. "What the bloody hell does 'hmmm' mean?" he said, pacing back and forth. "Is that a 'hmmm, there's nothing wrong here', or a 'hmmm, this girl will be fine in a few minutes', or a 'hmmm, she's gonna die within the hour' hmmm? 'Hmmm' could mean anything!' he said, his voice gradually rising in volume until it was nearly hysteric. The mediwitch turned and slapped him full in the face. James clutched the side of his face, mouth wide in astonishment. "Hey!" he said indignantly. "She's the only one allowed to do that!" he said, pointing at Lily.
"Oh well," the witch said briskly, turning back to continue looking over Lily. "I get special privileges. And, for the record, that was a 'hmmm, I'm going to need to get a better idea of what's going on inside Miss Evans's body before I can diagnose her' hmmm. Happy?"
"Fine," James said sullenly. "How long will you need?"
"She'll have to stay the night, at least," Poppy said, her gaze softening slightly as she saw that James was truly worried for the sleeping girl. Putting a hand on the young man's shoulder, she said kindly, "Don't worry. She'll be fine." James sighed and nodded, straightening his shoulders.
"Go down to dinner now, dear," she said, pushing him towards the door. "There's nothing you can do for now. You can come up and see her after dinner; she should be awake by then." James attempted a feeble protest, but was quickly overridden and soon found himself traversing the halls, headed for the Great Hall.
Lily opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing at her temples groggily. "Where am-" she began. Then the sharp smell of potions and cleaning supplies assaulted her nose. "Oh," she finished, grimacing. "Never mind. I don't want to know where I am."
"I'm taking that as an insult, Miss Evans," the nurse said, as she came into view and handed Lily a potion.
"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Lily said, not really meaning it. Taking a deep breath, she pinched the bridge of her nose, and gulped down the potion. Her eyes widened slightly as she drank it down, and she swallowed quickly. Holding the beaker up in amazement, she gaped.
"It tastes…good!" she said disbelievingly. "Like…lime. I like lime!" For some reason, the mediwitch was looking at her watch, a wicked grin spreading over her face.
"Three…two…one." The woman said, looking up at Lily. The girl's hand flew up to her mouth and she retched, straining to keep the contents of her stomach inside. A cold sweat broke out on her brow, and she was panting. Finally, she flopped back onto the pillows, breathing hard.
"What…the bloody hell…was in that?" she asked, wiping her mouth.
"You don't want to know," the nurse said, shuddering. "Delayed reaction. What?" she asked, seeing the girl's incredulous face. "You actually thought there was a single remedy I would give you that didn't taste foul?"
Lily groaned.
0 0 0 0 Two Days Later 0 0 0 0
"So, I copied all the notes from Potions for you," Rhia said, handing a sheaf of papers over to Lily, who was lying on the Hospital Bed, looking miserable.
"And I got you started on the first three paragraphs of our History of Magic Essay, you just need to do the last one," the girl continued.
"You know I love you, Ree?" Lily said, staring at the neat handwriting that filled up 2/3 of the parchment.
"Only because I do your homework," Rhia said offhandedly. "That's what I'm here for," she said, grinning as Lily playfully socked her in the arm. "Hey!"
"What? You deserved that!"
"Much as it kills me to say this, you're right. I did deserve that. Bt you deserve this more!" Rhia said, swiping a pillow from a nearby bead and swinging it into Lily's face. Lily retaliated quickly, and soon it escalated into a full-blown pillow fight.
"Not that I want to interrupt two gorgeous chicks having a pillow fight, but you have visitors, my dears," a voice announced from the doorway, causing both girls to stop battering each other and look up, faces flushed, towards the speaker.
"Hey Sirius," Rhia called, taking expert aim and whacking the tall boy in the face with a pillow. "Stick a pillow in it!" The room dissolved in laugher as Remus and James came forward, arms raised, crying, "We surrender! Please, show us mercy!" and Sirius pouted. Gradually the group reformed around Lily's bed, talking animatedly.
"So, Lils…what exactly is wrong with you? Other than the obvious stuff, I mean," James asked playfully, but with a serious undertone to his voice. "It's not our fault we had detention last night! Seriously! I have no clue how Ogg figured out it was us planting those Dungbombs in his cabin…honestly!"
"Sure…" Lily said, rolling her eyes at Remus and Rhia. "Like anyone else would have the nerve to. But anyway, Madam Pomfrey says I'm 'suffering from a combination of the flu and shock-induced trauma.' The spell Rhia performed added to these effects slightly, and what with that mixed with the lack of sleep from the night before…well…ta-da!" Lily said, with an attempt at lightness that failed miserably. She gave a small smile and said, somewhat more cheerfully, "at least I get to get out of here tomorrow, thank god. I can't stand looking at these walls for one more minute, let alone a day." She was interrupted by Rhia's frantic voice, cracking slightly as she cried,
"Oh my god, Lily, I swear I never knew the spell would hurt you, I swear I didn't…"
"Rhia. Calm. Breathe. We've been over this. In. Out. In. Out. Calm." Rhia breathed deeply, settling back in her seat.
"Sorry," she said embarrassedly.
"It's okay, Ree. It's not your fault," Lily said reassuringly. "So, yeah, I get out of this bloody room tomorrow, and then I get to go back to having a life." She smiled brightly. "Won't that be fun?"
"Ah, cheer up, Lils," James said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You'll be fine, right?"
"Of course she will," Remus put in. "Besides, you know she wouldn't miss another Divination class for the world. Trelawney's having a field day. Apparently, 'an evil spirit lives restless within the innocent' that's you, Lils, the 'innocent'." He snorted, and Lily laughed.
"Well, I'm sure you all have homework to do, and I," she gestured expansively at the books and scraps of parchment crumpled into balls covering the bed, "have my own to finish." Agreeing, the four students left her bedside, calling goodbyes over their shoulders. Lily sighed and settled back to do her essay.
0 0 0 0 One Day Later 0 0 0 0
Lily was swept along the tide of people surging back to Gryffindor Tower after dinner. Talking enthusiastically with Sirius, she paid little attention to where they were going, trusting the crowd to steer her to the Fat Lady.
"No, I'm telling you, Siri, muggle Press-and-Seal is way better for this kind of thing than a sealant charm…the only glitch is that we've got no way to get a hold of any…"
"What I don't understand is the theory behind it…what's the difference between the charm and that Press-and-Seal stuff?"
James grinned as he past the two, loving the feeling that he has on a turbulent river, being swept around bends and steering himself away from rocks. Or trying to. With a quick surge, he was over the lip of the common room entrance and spilling into the room beyond. Flopping into an armchair, he felt Lily land on his lap with a thud.
"Oof," he said mildly. She grinned, wiggling a bit to get comfortable. His face turned red, and he put his hands on her waist, holding her still. "Don't do that," he complained, leaning into her ear. She just smiled wider.
They stayed that way for about three hours, just talking to Rhia, Sirius, and Remus about normal things. Lily was overcome with a feeling of peace so complete that she could barely stay awake. Thinking for a moment, she said, "Everyone stay still. Don't move a muscle. I'll be right back." Sprinting up to the girls' dorm, she grabbed the object form her trunk and ran back to the common room. "Got it!" Snagging a passing fifth-year by his robes, she smiled sweetly. "Take a picture of us?" The student nodded, and Lily flopped back into the armchair with James. The boy took a picture of them, and then with everyone else gathered around them. "Thanks, kid," Lily said.
"What was that all about?" Rhia questioned later, as she and Lily climbed the dormitory stairs up to bed.
"Something a wise friend once told me," Lily responded quietly. "Take advantage of happy times, because they never last."
OOOOOOH!
I updated really quick!
I did my best to not make this a cliffie...so please review! much love,
shade