It's not mine; it's all J.K. Rowling's.

Chapter 3: In Which Lily Exercises her Reflexes

Or

(Nifer's Alternative Title): In Which Lily and James Take a Trip to the Hospital Wing

Where we left our heroine:

I guess I'll have to ponder later. It seems a bit far fetched though. After all, it's not like we're madly in love or something.

ooo...ooo

I made my way over to Potter and helped him swing his arm over my neck. I held on to his forearm tightly trying to help support him. He wobbled and I desperately grabbed at his waist with my other arm, wrapping it tightly around him. It felt nice, very nice; pleasant even.

What was that? I was joking about the madly in love thing, does my arm realize that? It's not supposed to feel nice around his waist. Stupid arm can't even get the simplest of things right.

Ignoring my arm as best I could, Potter and I hobbled down the corridors like an injured animal of some sort. Poor Potter, this really isn't his day. First the table leg and now this.

Hey, I just had the most brilliant idea!

Fact, Potter keeps getting hurt around me.

Assumption, he'll now associate pain with being around me.

Hope, he'll be trained to avoid me and, thus, avoid pain!

It's brilliance; it's pure genius!

This sort of thing worked with dogs didn't it? It was that Pavlov dude. He rang a bell whenever he fed his dogs and eventually whenever he rang a bell they'd start to drool, even if he didn't feed them. What's it called … conditioning! I'll condition Potter!

I know it'll work with Potter too, it's not like he's too much smarter than a dog.

Fine, he's slightly smarter than the average dog.

I had actually managed to develop a rhythm of sorts for our crazy little walk, step, drag Potter a bit, step, leave Potter behind a bit, step, bring Potter along a bit ... and so on. It was working pretty well until I realized Potter was being left farther and farther behind me.

Puzzled I really looked at him and what I saw was definitely not good. His breathing was becoming terribly labored and raspy, seeming to rattle in his chest and his face was as pale as Nearly Headless Nick. He was losing too much blood. I twisted to look over our shoulders and I saw we were making a bloody trail through the hall. Good Gods, there had to be pints of blood in this corridor alone.

I felt a tendril of panic moving up my spine as I realized we needed to move faster or else I'd have an unconscious James Potter on my hands.

"Potter, you aren't going to pass out, are you?" I asked. Stupid question, I know, but I couldn't think of anything more subtle.

"Not just yet, Evans," he said, sounding terribly strained. Like his voice was barely making it out of his mouth.

I took his answer, put it through my handy dandy Potter B.S. Translator, and I figured out that he really meant he'd be passing out any minute now.

Darn it!

Wait ... if he passed out, he'd be inanimate. While that may seem to be a fairly obvious fact, it is actually of the utmost consequence because when something is inanimate a lovely levitating charm works wonders on it. To do a levitating charm on an animate thing, lets just use James Potter as an example here, to do a levitating charm on Potter one would have to possess not only a supreme mastery of charms (which I have), but also a nearly limitless power source (which I kind of don't have, although I'm loathe to admit it). Levitating inanimate objects is no sweat for any ho-hum witch or wizard, but animate objects ... that's another story all together very few people can do that and even then, not for long.

I suppose that's another one of the reasons Potter bothers me so much, I'm jealous. I don't understand where he gets all his power from. Heck, he levitates people just for fun and doesn't even break a sweat. If he ever put his mind to it he could do ... anything. I hate it when people don't live up to their potential. But I suppose it won't matter over much seeing as unless Potter passes out in the next minute or so, he's going to die of blood loss before I can get him to the hospital wing.

I snuck a look at Potter as we feebly made our way down the corridor. He really is a stubborn idiot. Occasionally, I'll grudgingly admire that about him, but now is not one of those times. Judging from the set look on his face, he's probably going to be able to hang on for another good 10 minutes ... then he'll pass out and die.

If I levitated him we could be at the Hospital Wing in 45 seconds flat. Well maybe a little longer seeing as I'd have to stop my dead out run before we got to the Hospital Wing for appearances sake. After all, I wouldn't want Madam Jeffries to know I might actually care if Potter died. Then again, I might be able to pass it off as casual interest since he saved my life. I bet she would buy that.

Potter let out a moan of pain and I was forced back to my problem of how to get him to pass out. I could ... curse him, I guess ... or kick him in the leg, but that would really hurt him ... and I'd get blood on my shoes. I like these shoes.

I stopped our forward shuffle and turned towards Potter. I think I'm just going to curse him. A nice gentle swish of my wand and he'll be on his way to the Hospital Wing.

I felt a pang of guilt; who am I kidding? This is going to cause him severe pain.

"I'm sorry, Potter," I said, and kissed him right on the lips. I figure this is the least I can do. Maybe he'll be so distracted by the dubious pleasure of kissing me he won't notice how much pain he's in.

I gently ran my hand down his cheek and he pulled me closer to him. Apparently James doesn't let a little thing like immense blood loss affect his joy in kissing. He's such an idiot sometimes; have I mentioned that lately?

I stealthily moved my wand up behind his back and for unknown reasons Potter took my movement as a sign he should start kissing along my jaw line.

Please, don't let him open his eyes! I shot my prayer up to any deities who were within hearing range. If he did, he'd see me trying to suppress the urge to kick him in the shin.

It's not my fault that I've been trained to kick sense into men. Especially extra nice and good looking ones ... ahhh! I was distracted. This is all Potter's fault, he needs to stop distracting me, although, it is kind of nice this distraction, but that's not the point. He's going to DIE! And that is the point.

I really ought to be thankful that he's not kissing me on the mouth anymore anyway. Seeing as I have to open my mouth to say the incantation and that could get slightly uncomfortable.

I moved my wand in a quick circle and was just about to say the incantation when Potter's lips moved down to my neck. I guess he took the jaw thing as a good sign. Unfortunately for him, there was little I could do to stop my reflexes at that point because I don't let anyone (especially someone who I was only kissing to make up for cursing) kiss their way down my neck.

As my foot connected with his leg I realized a split second too late that I'd kicked his injured leg, which was, needless to say, not a good thing.

James let out a strangled cry that sounded distinctly like a dying hippogriff and collapsed on the ground unconscious.

At least he's not kissing my neck anymore.

Poor baby. Really poor me, though, since he's going to kill me when he gets up.

Oh well, it was for his own good.

I levitated him quite easily (gods, charms are so much better than transfiguration) and raced to the hallway. I actually managed to shave a few seconds off that estimated 45 since I didn't slow down at the doors and instead sprinted right through them and skidded to a halt right in front of a very startled looking Madam Jeffries.

"Help!" I cried, gesturing wildly toward Potter's unconscious floating figure. Great, I sounded desperate; there is no way she's going to buy the story about mild concern now.

Madam Jeffries hurriedly levitated Potter on to the nearest bed and set about examining his wound and cleaning up some of the blood. Having nothing better to do I shuffled along behind and collapsed in the chair next to Potter's bed. I inspected my shoes as Madam Jeffries tried to stop the blood flowing out of Potter's leg.

I have blood on my shoes. James Potter's blood. At least they aren't my new shoes or my absolutely, all-time favorite ones. I did like them, though.

I looked up toward the empty hospital beds at the other end of the ward until Madam Jeffries scurried off to find some blood replenishing potion. I turned to James and looked at his face. He doesn't look half bad when he's unconscious and his leg looks ten times better now. There's an ugly red bite mark on it, but there isn't anymore blood.

I reached out and took off his glasses, laying them on the table by his bed. I don't want him to break them if he rolls over or something.

I meant to put my hand back in my lap; I really did! So I can assure you that I have no clue what so ever as to how it ended up brushing his hair off of his forehead. But his hair was so soft and it just felt nice as it passed through my fingers.

His eyes flickered open and I tried to jerk my hand back, but it wouldn't move! It was like it was trapped ... like his wonderful black hair had turned into a Devil's Snare and was grasping my fingers into death and beyond. Now death and beyond wouldn't be too bad with Potter, but I'd rather not be attached to his head seeing as he's nearly a foot taller than me and the circulation in my arm would be gone in no time.

I watched as his eyes focused on me and I immediately felt guilty. I'd just kicked him in the leg, not only that, but I'd caused him so much pain that he'd passed out (which may or may not have been a good thing if you were judging by being dead or being in intense severe pain).

But why hadn't I just cursed him or something? Now he's going to associate me with pain and he'll never come near me again. Wait ... isn't that supposed to be a good thing?

No ... no ... it's most certainly not because ... ummm ... because I said so. How lame is that; I can't even come up with a decent justification in my head. Stupid brain, stupid justifications, always failing me. But why hadn't I just cursed him? That would have been so sensible, so logical, so typically me.

My eyes locked with James' and then I remembered why I'd kicked him. He'd been kissing my neck, my NECK, which is not allowed. I mean come on; we haven't even french kissed yet ... not that we ever will, but that definitely comes first and that neck thing comes ... never. Besides, what if he'd left a hickey?

Oh great gods, I don't have one do I? Is there a mirror in here? There's got to be a mirror. Why didn't I put one in my pocket this morning?

I felt my neck; it seemed ok, besides he really didn't have time to leave one. I kicked him first.

Oh drat, I'm feeling guilty again.

I leaned over his bed so he could see me clearly even though he didn't have his glasses on, so that I could apologize and then it happened ... the invisible magnet in his lips switched on.

I swear that's what it is. I just meant to tell him how sorry I was about his leg and the next thing I knew my lips are on his. I felt even guiltier as James stiffened up, clearly expecting me to inflict severe pain on him again. Darn stupid magnets.

I gave my head a violent jerk backwards and my whole body flew with it landing heavily in the chair next to his bed. Cleverly enough, the chair decided it would be funny to tip onto it's back two legs and after a good bit of wobbling on its part and arm waving on my part, dump me over backwards, so I went sprawling on the floor.

"Lily?" James cried, sounding worried. The idiot. I'd just made him pass out and seemed to be having problems stopping kissing him and he was worried about me. Honestly, I'd be more worried about those magnets. Feeling sorry for myself and the sorry state of my life, I just curled into a ball and moaned.

"Lily?" he called again.

"Go away," I mumbled. Then I felt a hand on my arm. I raised my head up and saw James kneeling over me looking quite worried.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," I said rather stupidly.

"Are you alright?" he asked, ignoring my question. I inched myself up into a sitting position.

"Yeah." I looked at him and felt the insane urge to start babbling. What is up with my urges today? They need to check into an insane asylum because they've been giving me some pretty insane advice lately. Sadly enough, I still listen to them.

"Do you know how sorry I am about kicking you? Because I really am. I mean I was just planning on cursing you or something, but I've got this reflex and once the neck thing started, well you had it coming. Of course, if I had been thinking I could have kicked your other leg, but I was kind of preoccupied because I thought you were going to die from blood loss. That was the whole problem you know. I had to get you to the hospital wing, but I don't have the power to levitate animate things. Gods, you don't even know how lucky you are, do you? You have all that power and you just shove it into pranks. If you wanted to you could probably be the most powerful wizard in the world. But back to the problem of the blood loss, I couldn't just wait for you to pass out, could I? I hate to admit it Potter, but you are perhaps even more stubborn than I am and you would have held off passing out until you were dead. And if you died it would have all been my fault since I was the one who accidentally transfigured that stupid carnivorous sunflower. I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself, would I, James? I mean, you saved my life or my limbs at the very least. If you died I'd never get to see you again and I have to train a new Head Boy, and our Quidditch team would lose to the Slytherins, and Sirius would murder me, and you'd never kiss me again and ..."

I broke off as James pressed his lips to mine.

ooo...ooo

Thanks for reading! Please review if you have the time! Sorry for the long wait I'm in a summer program and the access to computers is slim to none … I'll try to get as much up as possible while I'm on break.

Lorwyn Daystar - I'm going to miss you so much! What am I going to do without you? I'm going to die of ... of no nifer-ness! WAAAHH! Batman! Duh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Batman!

TajM - I'm glad you liked the titles. I'm afraid I have a bit of a fetish with titles, so I like to get as many of them in as possible.

october tuscany - The whooshes do sound a bit like cramps; don't they?

cath-a2ff - Oh no! Don't be scared of flowers! I love flowers.

madame-knight - I'm glad you liked the comedy ... but it's never good to assume anything.

eluding-you - Yeah, I did get the idea for the style of chapter titles I use from Patricia Wrede.

misconceptions - Thank you!

Withered Quill – I hope the dialogue lives up to your expectations!

Prongs(f) – Don't die! I need all of the reviewers I can get. (but if you do die would you mind popping down and reviewing anyway, I'm sure no one would mind too much).

Thanks and Hugs for - HarryluvsMoaningMyrtle, siriusforeva, GoddessoftheMaaN, drumer girl, The Big Dance, passionflower24, Artemis Teranika Ryanncar, sumrandumperson, suckerforlove, and Prongsie-Jamsie.