It was midnight and most everyone in the school was asleep. James, however, was wide-awake. He was walking in the halls under an invisibility cloak his father had given him when he got his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Making his way to the hospital wing, all he thought about was what had happened there earlier. Lily had screamed his name. She had screamed his name, not Remus's. Didn't that mean something?
He reached the hospital wing and carefully opened the door. Walking inside, the infirmary was very quiet. James took the cloak off and walked over to Lily's bed. He sat on the edge and looked into her face. "I love you, Lily," he murmured. James reached up and ran his hand down the side of Lily's face. He sat on the bed looking at her angelic face for a good fifteen minutes.
He was about to get up and leave when he heard Lily groan. Then her eyelids started to flutter. Lily slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She groaned again, brought her hand to her forehead, and said, "My head." She lowered her hand and saw James looking at her with such concern in his eyes that it almost looked as if he would cry. Lily sat up and hugged James. She started kissing his face wherever she could before grabbing him in a hug again and saying, "I thought I'd lost you for sure this time. It was just another nightmare. Just a nightmare." Lily was crying.
"Shh," James said. "Shh. It's okay. I'd never leave you."
Lily looked around her and took in her surroundings. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital wing. Remus brought you here after we arrived at Hogsmeade with Dumbledore."
"Where is Remus? Is he here too?"
James looked down. "Ah, no, he's not in the wing. I snuck out under my invisibility cloak."
"You have an invisibility cloak and you never told me!"
"Ah, yeah, sorry about that."
"Well, I wish Remus was here right now. Has he been here frequently?"
"He was here the entire night last night. I would have been but…" James trailed off.
"I have one question. The last thing I remember is pushing those stupid gits up the corridor. What happened that Remus had to bring me here?"
"Well, you yelled at them for calling you a little flower and then this burst of light appeared between you and those stupid gits. It knocked you all unconscious and threw everyone backwards. Remus stopped you from going to far, but the idiots were thrown a good ten, fifteen feet."
"How many days has it been and when did they wake up?"
"Well, they woke up last night and it's been one full day. You missed all first day classes."
Lily giggled. "I guess the professors will understand." Lily looked at her hands. "Why are there bandages on my hands?"
"I'm not exactly sure I can explain that."
"I can, James, Lily," said a voice behind them. They both looked in the direction of the voice and saw Professor Dumbledore sitting in a chair behind them.
"Professor!" Lily said with surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Keeping an eye on you, Miss Evans. I was the one who received the letter telling what had happened on the train. You seem to be having quite an interesting year already. Dreams similar to those you had last year, showing powers not seen an ages. You have kept me on my toes these past few nights," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"You said you know why there are bandages on my hands Professor. Why are they there?"
Dumbledore pulled out an old book and turned to a page that he had marked. He brought the book over to Lily and showed it to her. "Ever seen this mark, Lily?" he asked showing her a partially squared off spiral. Lily shook her head. "Well, it is a sign of very ancient magic. It appears on the palms of a person when they use that ancient magic. They can be knocked unconscious from the use of these powers the first few times. The mark gradually disappears after the use but where the mark was on the palm becomes inflamed. It's like a fire in the skin."
"Professor," James interrupted, "is that why the center of Lily's hands felt on fire to Remus earlier?"
"Yes, James, it is. Those powers may also be what are causing your glimpses of the future, Lily. The first true use of these powers is brought on by a strong emotion. I believe that there were a few boys causing trouble for you?" Lily nodded again. "Yes, that is what Remus said. You'll need to be careful, Lily. You were very lucky that Misters Malfoy, Snape, Crabbe, and Goyle were not severely injured. Now James, I must ask you to go back to your dorm. Lily needs her rest."
James nodded, put his cloak back on, and left. As soon as James left, Lily asked, "Is Remus alright?"
"Remus is as healthy as ever. No harm was done to him in this."
"When's the next full moon?" Lily asked the question without even realizing it. "Uh oh," she said quietly.
"So Mr. Lupin has told you about his condition." It was a statement, not a question. Lily nodded. "Well, I trust that you are keeping his little secret. The next full moon is in two days."
"Oh, yes Professor. I wouldn't want anyone to be afraid of Remus just because what he becomes once a month. I love Remus and know him too well to be afraid of him or wish him harm." Lily suddenly had a pang of guilt. "Professor, did you see me kiss James?"
"Yes, Lily, I did."
"Could you please not tell Remus. I wouldn't want to hurt him. He knows James likes me. I just…I was just so happy to see James alive."
"Lily, I wouldn't tell Remus, because it's not for me to tell. But it is for you. Tell Remus before James does, and explain what you just told to me. I'm sure he'll understand."
"Thank you, Professor." Lily lay down and went back to sleep.
When Lily awoke, Remus was there. She sat up and enveloped him in a hug. Remus sat on the bed and hugged Lily harder. "Professor Dumbledore said you had something to tell me before he left," he said.
"Yes. Yes, I do." She pushed Remus away so she could look into his face. "Look, last night James came to see me. I woke up and saw him. I was so happy to see him alive that," Lily took a deep breath. "I kissed James," she finished quietly.
Remus stood up and walked away from the bed and then came back. "Why were you so happy to see him alive?"
"I had dreamed that he was killed. And then I was killed. I was so happy to be alive and see him alive that I kissed him. It wasn't even the lips. It was just on the cheek." Lily was silently crying. "I'm so sorry, Remus."
Remus sat back on the bed and lifted Lily's head. "You love me, right?"
Lily looked directly into his eyes. "Of course I do. I was afraid to tell you this. I didn't want to hurt you because I know you know that James likes me."
Remus kissed away Lily's tears. "I love you, Lily. James did tell me you woke last night, but he didn't tell me that you kissed him. You telling me before James did just proves that you love me. Though, I have to ask: Who's Harry?"
"Who's Harry? What Harry are you talking about?"
"Yesterday, you were talking in your sleep. You kept telling someone that you wouldn't leave him or her. Then you screamed James's name. Then you started telling someone to take you instead of this Harry. Finally, you screamed."
"My dream," Lily said quietly. "Well, I was telling James I wouldn't leave without him. Someone wanted to kill him so he told me to run away. The person killed James. That must have been when I screamed his name. Then they started to come after…" Lily thought for a moment. Remus could barely hear her next words. "The baby."
"The baby," Remus said puzzled. "What baby?"
"I was holding a baby. The baby must have been named Harry. I wouldn't let this person kill the baby, so he killed me."
"Do you think maybe you should tell Dumbledore. He might know what the dream was about."
"No!" Lily said, loudly and quickly. She lowered her voice and said, "No. I don't want anyone to know. Not even James can know. Promise me you won't tell anyone about the dream."
"I promise, Lily. I won't tell anyone." Remus took her in a hug and kissed her. They spoke for a little more and then Remus left for classes. Lily was in the hospital wing the rest of the day.