Romance in the Hospital Wing
by Wo Ai Ni16
Disclaimer: Eeep! Forgot to put a disclaimer on the prologue! --;; J.K. Rowling forgive me... it was unintentional. As your humble servant, I am doing your fellow readers a favor by writing a fanfic. Some parts are your ideas, such as some of the locations and other details of your cannon characters. Other parts of your plot were twisted by me to make them fit into my fic. Do be kind, and don't sue... I am broke and you're filthy rich.
Chapter One: Aurors and Transfers
Two years later- First week of August 1978
James impatiently tried to blow his hair out of his eyes as he struggled to get into a better position. With one hand gripping his wand tightly and his other arm wrapped around a tree trunk, he desperately tried to steady himself. The pouring rain did not help him keep his balance, with all the mud making him slip to and fro. Squinting his eyes, he tried to peer through a space in the bushes he was hiding in, as he looked out for any Death Eaters. A spy of theirs tipped them off at Headquarters that there was supposed to be a meeting tonight amongst Voldemort's inner circle.
About twenty feet in front of him was Sirius, who was hiding behind a pine tree. They locked eyes and smiled to each other encouragingly, sending each other a silent good luck as they waited.
However, James was not nervous at all. This was his... what... fortieth Auror assignment perhaps? He was pretty famous for his accomplishments, too. He was taught by the great Alastor Moody himself. However, he is no longer the "prick, bullying toe-rag" as Lily Evans described him to be in his fifth year, and a couple of more similar descriptions throughout their time at Hogwarts. James grew up, both physically and mentally. Mentally, meaning that he was more mature and have seen a lot of the world. Physically, meaning that he has very good abs and muscles... I'll leave the rest for your imaginations' entertainment. He never went about in a wizarding village without being bombarded by the media.
As for Sirius, well, the same goes for him. He was also taught by Moody and is known as James' partner when it comes to their missions.
James tensed as he heard voices coming up the path. He saw two Death Eaters walking up, apparently arguing over something. He looked at Sirius and both nodded their heads. 1...2...3... and both of them quickly jumped from their hiding places and stopped in front of the two Death Eaters, wands in dueling stance. The two Death Eaters, who were so absorbed in their argument, stood stupidly as the two Aurors sprang out of nowhere. Not wasting any time, James and Sirius yelled "Stupefy!" in unison. The two Death Eaters quickly fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Well... that was much easier than I expected," Sirius snorted.
"Yeah," James was actually disappointed at the easiness of it all. "Shall I remove their hoods, Padfoot?"
"Go ahead, do the honors," Sirius yawned as he took out a piece of paper to document their findings.
"Okay, Death Eater number one," James said as he removed the black hood off the Death Eater. "Shit! Padfoot, it's Samuel!"
Sirius stumbled from shock, "As in Samuel Ames!?" He peered over James' shoulder to look at the Death Eater's face. "Cripes, it is him! I never would have thought a Hufflepuff like him would be a Death Eater." He shook his head sadly as he wrote the name on the paper. "Who's the other guy?"
"More like woman, I don't know who she is," James said as he pointed to a skinny brunette who looked like she never went outside in the sunshine. "We'll have to bring her into the ministry to get her identified and questioned." Both of the Death Eaters will be sent to a trial, but with Bartemius Crouch, they'll most likely be sent straight to Azkaban.
"Well, let's call it a day, I bet Ameile is already waiting for you at the Headquarters," Sirius teased, as he levitated the two Death Eaters in front of them.
"Yeah, Ameile, right," James said absentmindedly, looking for the portkey he left back in the bushes. "Here's the portkey, Sirius." The two Aurors held on one Death Eater as they touched the portkey simultaneously and felt a pull around their naval.
After a whirl of colors, they appeared at the Headquarters. As they walked in the entrance hall, they saw a young redhead run up to James and hug him tightly. "Ameile! Don't worry, I'm fine."
"Well, I'm sorry to be so worried over you," she said sarcastically. Now, sorry to disappoint you fellows, but no, this redhead isn't Lily. Her full name is Ameile Marie Collins. Let me give you some background information on how she and James met. Well, for starters, both of them are Aurors. To be more specific, James is under the first section of division two. His missions were usually on the field, either trying to capture more Death Eaters during their meetings or battling them and the big guy himself. Ameile on the other hand is part of third section, division six. Aurors like her were spies, always in places in Knockturn Alley to try to find any suspicious people who may be Death Eaters. The two of them met in a dirty pub a year ago where a Death Eater meeting was taking place. James saved Ameile from a rather nasty Cruciatus curse when he pushed her away and took the curse for her. Luckily, a team of reinforcements came to their aid before anything worse happened. So, there was that cliché moment of love at first sight.... well, for Ameile's part at least, she fell head over heels for James instantly... and as for James, he still secretly loved Lily, but he's not going to admit that any time soon.
As excited as you are to go back to the story, let me also give a brief description of how Ameile looks like. She's 5'5", very pretty, with long, braided dark red hair reaching her waist, a fair complexion, some very light freckles on her cheeks, and a thirst for adventure just like her boyfriend. She has an optimistic, but sensible personality, and was Head Girl of her time in Hogwarts, and a year younger than James.
"We have two Death Eaters to send to the Ministry at the moment," Sirius said, motioning to the two unconscious levitating bodies. "One of them is Samuel Ames, a Hufflepuff in our year back in Hogwarts. Do you have any clue what this woman might be?"
Ameile looked warily at the skinny brunette. "I think she may be Jane Higgins, I remember seeing a picture of her in the Daily Prophet once. She's supposed to be missing, but I'm not sure."
Sirius sighed. "Well, I'll just go and take these two to the Ministry. You can go ahead James with Ameile." He said the last part with a knowing wink.
James rolled his eyes and linked arms with Ameile. She never seemed to mind the dirt on his Auror robes, which can never be avoided if you were a Field Auror.
"So," Ameile began, smiling at James. "How does Ice Cream at Florean Fortescue's sound like for tomorrow?"
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries- Mr. David Aberforth's Private Room
Lily whistled a happy tune to herself as she walked up the flight of stairs to Mr. Aberforth's private room. The poor sixty-year-old man had such a weak constitution that he was a constant patient of the hospital. His family was wealthy enough to buy him a private room where he could stay. The man refused to allow any nurse take care of him, except for Lily and her friend, Sarah Higgins, who took care of him for the past two years they spent in St. Mungo's as MediWitches.
Lily opened the door and stepped inside the dimly lit room. Flicking her wand to make the light brighter, she opened up the curtains to allow some sunshine in the room.
Stepping up quietly to the old man, Lily whispered, "Mr. Aberforth, please wake up. It's time to take your potion."
The old man slowly opened his eyes and blinked rapidly, adjusting to the brightness. "Ah, my potion. Yes, yes... can you help me up, please?"
Lily put an arm around him as she adjusted the pillows to allow the elderly man to sit up. She handed him the goblet, which he drank quickly so as not to taste the potion's bitterness.
"Thank you, Lily."
"You're welcome, sir." Lily smiled at Mr. Aberforth. She went around to tidy up the room when a knock was heard at the door.
Lily dusted her dark blue uniform as she opened the door.
"Alice! What are you doing here?"
Alice Mapleson was another best friend of Lily's, along with Sarah Higgins. Alice, however, was an Auror. She also knew Mr. Aberforth well; he was actually an uncle of Frank Longbottom, a man she was recently dating.
"Just here for a quick visit. How are you doing, Mr. Aberforth?"
The old man smiled at her. "Fairly well, actually. It's good to see you Ms. Mapleson."
Alice turned to Lily, "Again, I'm just dropping by. Mr. Anderson from the Ministry told me to give this letter to you since I was paying you a visit anyway."
Lily held the letter in her hands. It was made of beige parchment paper, with a red Ministry Seal at the back. "Curious. Do you have any idea what the letter is about?"
Her friend simply shrugged, "I haven't the faintest clue, everything in the ministry has been just hectic with You-Know-Who's attacks here and there." She sat down in a nearby chair. "It just gets harder and harder for us aurors, although Frank, Sirius, and James don't seem to mind. You know how men are."
Lily smiled faintly as she remembered Sirius and James. The famous Marauders. She recalled, remembering their times at Hogwarts. Her thoughts were interrupted as Alice stood up.
"Well, I'd better be going Lily-dear. I'll see you around. And good day to you, too, Mr. Aberforth."
Lily walked up to Alice and gave her friend a quick hug. "Goodbye, Alice, and do take care of yourself. You know I'd die if anything were to happen to you in your missions."
Alice rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, mother," and closed the door on her way out.
Lily sat down in a chair and opened the letter. Written in black ink were the words:
Lily Evans
Mr. David Aberforth's Private Room
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
London
Dear Ms. Evans,
Due to an increasing number of Death Eater attacks, the ministry has enlarged the Hospital Wing of HogwartsSchool of Witchcraft and
Wizardry to house the victims of You-Know-Who's attacks. We must kindly request for you to transfer your services to the Hospital Wing, where
there is an increasing number of patients each day. Please pack all your belongings. The Hogwarts staff has agreed to allow the MediWitches
their own private rooms in the castle. You will be expected tomorrow, 1 o' clock in the afternoon, at the castle's entrance hall. Please forgive us
for this sudden change, but times like these call for us to take drastic measures.
Sincerely yours,
Mr. Fitzwilliam Anderson
Ministry of Magic- Medical Department
Order of Merlin, Third Class
Lily had to read the letter two more times to comprehend what the ministry was asking her. Transfer? By tomorrow? She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She'd better start packing up now, then, if she was expected by tomorrow in the early afternoon. Packing up won't be too much of a hassle, since she did not have many belongings. It's only Mr. Aberforth she felt sorry for. The poor man was only comfortable around her or Sarah to be his nurse. After two years, and on such short notice, she was expected to leave him so suddenly? He'll understand Lily thought to herself Besides, Sarah will still be here, he'll be alright.
She was about to tell Mr. Aberforth the news, only to find the man sound asleep, soft snores filling the room. She didn't have the heart to wake him up. She'll just quickly go to her apartment now, pack up, and will just tell him tomorrow in the morning.
Satisfied with her plan, Lily closed the curtains and flicked her wand to dim the lights. It won't be too bad, I suppose. Hogwarts always made me feel at home, and Sarah will take good care of Mr. Aberforth.
After she packed up all her belongings and charmed them to fit inside one suitcase, Lily was ready to go to bed. Her last thoughts were about her times in Hogwarts, especially that concerning a certain messy, black-haired bespectacled boy.
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So what do you guys think, eh? =) I'm really proud of this chapter. I put a lot of work into it. Teehee, I have so many big ideas for this story! I already made an outline of the whole story, so you could say in a way that I finished the backbone of this fic. I will now write my notes, and I hope you guys will take time to read them after every chapter, because they'll hopefully answer your questions and give you hints of what's to come. ; )
Aiii! Thought that the redhead in the first part of the chapter was Lily, didn't you? Don't worry, this won't be a James/OC paring, lol... And no, Ameile is NOT a Mary-Sue. Shame to you people who thought that. XD
Again, here is the complete summary from the prologue for those who skipped it or too lazy to have read it: Lily and James were not in the friendliest terms in their 7th year... But now, 2 years have passed and Lily, a MediWitch meets James, who is now a famous Auror, again as she saves him from death and nurses him back to health. And did I mention, she falls madly in love with him in the process? Now the only problems are the war they're in, James' girlfriend, Lily's fiancé, and mean old Voldie chasing after them... LOl, you guys already get a lot of clues from here.... now some of you might say "WHAT?! LILY HAS A FIANCE?" Yes, she does and you guys will meet him in the next chapter =)
In the next chapter:
- We'll see James' life as an Auror and a celebrity
- You guys will get to meet Lily's fiancé ; )
- James and Lily's world will collide when an unfortunate event takes place gasp
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To my reviewers: Hugs and Ai (Chinese for love: Thus my pen name Wo Ai Ni—I love you) for all you guys who reviewed! Reviews are very much appreciated, and will affect if this story will be continued or not =) So keep reviewing, lest you want this author to abandon this story! =P
Amhta: Congrats! You're my first reviewer! Thanx sooo much for your review, and I feel the same way: I need good fics to read too! =D The problem with vacations is that you always end up bored =P
Enno Vy: Thanks for your review! I have to admit, tenses aren't my best line when it comes to grammar =( I hope you'll pardon me for that ;;;;
Dangerous Perfection: Thanks so much for putting my story on your favorites list! Glomp Luv you lots! This is a record for me, I only put up a prologue and already it's on a favorites list! feels special I hope I was able to post up this chapter before you tore yourself to pieces, lol I will do my absolute best for in keeping this story one of your favorites, I have outlined the whole story already =D Thanks again for your review.
Ella: Thankiiiii! Yup, I did my best to keep this story very original, which is why I changed how they were supposed to be friendly to each other in seventh year. Now you may be wondering, why was Lily thinking of James at the end of chapter one? Am I not going against my plan of how she is supposed to be unfriendly to him? Well, no actually, because the key word is friendly, which does not reflect if she actually loves him or not. You can be in love with someone and unfriendly to them at the same time, ne? Oops, said too much ; )
tiggerbaby2430: Oooh! Thanki Thanki! Domo arigatou! (thank you very much in Japanese =P ) I'm very flattered with how you really loved my story from just reading the prologue. I hope you will continue to love it as I update the chapters! And I promise to read those fics of yours as soon as I can! =D
Tiger Lily21: Hiiii!!!!!!!! I'm very happy to get a review from you, you're one of my favorite authors! =D And, no, I'm not sucking up to you or patronizing you... I really do love your stories James and Lily are my absolute favorite couple. Oh, and is it okay if you can put me on your author alerts? I'm sorry, but again my email-account is always getting weird on me. I hope that won't be too much of a problem. And I'm a hopeless romantic too! Especially of Lily and James fics! And I can't wait for you Cinderella Sequel! Eeeeeee!!!
tRuE2U: Thanks! Hope you love this first chapter and continue reviewing please!
Lily Natalia Evans: Actually, I finished the story on the 26th of December... but, I decided not to update it yet... Being the git of an author I am, I wanted to see if more people would review and tell me their opinions of my story But still, I updated fairly quickly, ne? Thanks for your review!
brooke: Oooh! Thanks so much for your review! I need the encouragement
I hope all you guys continue reviewing my future chapters!
Ahem, isn't there something you're forgetting to do? Do your fair share of the bargain and review! (Wooo! That rhymes! =D )