A/N: Last Chapter! – another planned from the very start XD

Hope you enjoy it

And about the song lyrics at the start, I'm sorry they're so long, but I just thought they were so fitting, I just had to put the whole song in! anyways, you enjoy the last chapter, and there's always more waffle to look forward to at the end :P

Disclaimer: I own nothing etc etc

Chapter 12: Love you Lily

I had no choice but to hear you
You stated your case time and again
I thought about it

You treat me like I'm a princess
I'm not used to liking that
You ask how my day was

You've already won me over in spite of me
And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault

Your love is thick and it swallowed me whole
You're so much braver than I gave you credit for
That's not lip service

You've already won me over in spite of me
And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault

You are the bearer of unconditional things
You held your breath and the door for me
Thanks for your patience

You're the best listener that I've ever met
You're my best friend
Best friend with benefits
What took me so long

I've never felt this healthy before
I've never wanted something rational
I am aware now
I am aware now

You've already won me over in spite of me
And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault

-Head over Feet – Alanis Morissette

Lily opened her eyes to find herself in a simple bed surrounded by a half – drawn white curtain. Bustling round at the other side of the ward, by a bed just like hers, was an elderly witch in lime – green robes. Lily's eyes moved closer to home, where she found James Potter sitting by her bed, his fingers clasped round her hand, a pained expression on his exhausted face. He had fallen asleep in his chair. Lily's expression softened, she had no idea where she was, or why, but James looked totally exhausted, so she decided to let him be.

'Good afternoon dear' the old witch had noticed that Lily had woken up and had come to her side. 'How are you feeling?'

'I'm alright' Lily said, trying to sit up, but wincing with pain as her temples throbbed unbearably.

'Drink this, It'll help' the lady, whom Lily was starting to recognise as a healer, said as she handed lily a glass of purple liquid. Lily nodded and downed the drink in several gulps, screwing up her face at the taste, but noticing that the potion did in fact reduce the pain in her head significantly. 'Well done'

'Where am I?' Lily asked, sitting up properly now

'In 'St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries' dear. I did what I could for your boyfriend here, stopped most of the blood-flow, but he wouldn't let me do anymore or to lie down. Make sure he sees a healer when he gets back to school.' Lily nodded dumbly, not registering much of what the healer told her.

'But he's not my boyfriend' she blurted out automatically, quickly yanking her hand from his.

'Of course not' the healer smiled knowingly. 'As for you, I've patched up all those bruises and cuts you had, but I'm afraid nothing can be done about any emotional damage that has been inflicted. Merlin knows what you've been through, but I'm surprised you've managed to keep yourself together so long up to now.' Lily closed her eyes and sank back into the pillow, trying to block out the images of Lucius' hungry expression dancing before her eyes. The healer retreated, pity written across her face, she hated to think what those two could have been through, stumbling into the hospital in the early hours of morning, both soaked with blood. She'd tried to give the boy potion to heal that nasty chest wound, but he wouldn't let her. But he was weak with blood-loss, so she had insisted on performing a blood – replenishing spell and a spell to heal up at least the outside of the wound in order to staunch the flow, but he insisted on staying by the girl's side the whole time. She shook her head sadly as she left the ward, but she couldn't help but smile at his devotion. As long as those two had each other, they'd be able to get through virtually anything.

As the door clicked behind her, James started, his eyes flicking open. He sat up in his chair looking round. For a few seconds he had no idea where he was, but then he remembered. His gaze immediately travelled to Lily. She looked so beautiful, as always, even with all those faintly visible cuts and bruises, even with that unhealthy pallor to her skin, and her forehead wrinkled in pain, she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. James reached out to take her hand in his. But as soon as he made contact with her, Lily let out a strangled scream, her eyes flying open in terror.

'It's ok, it's just me' James said softly, after the initial shock, but had the sense not to touch her again. He watched as her chest rose and fell quickly, as she sat looking at him. Slowly, the fear left her eyes and her pulse fell again. She sank slightly into her pillows again.

'I'm sorry. You…scared me, I was just carried away with my thoughts' Lily managed a weak smile.

'It's alright. You scared me too. I thought you were asleep.' He shifted in his chair and as he did so, he noticed Lily starting slightly at the movement. He had no idea what had got her into this state, but realised that now was not the time to ask. 'How are you feeling?' he asked instead, very gently.

'I'm ok,' she lied. 'How long have we been here?'

'Um', said James looking at his watch 'well, we got here last night and now it's 5pm, so yeah, about seven hours…'

'WHAT? A whole day of school! Oh God, they're probably wondering where we are, Merlin, I'm going to have so much to catch up on and all those head duties: there's the, exam timetables to do and I still have to see Alice Longbottom about her charms, I was supposed to be tutoring her today! We have to go back NOW!' She was already swinging her legs out of bed, a worried expression on her face, when she realised her shirt was flapping open. She blushed violently, pulling it closed. She glanced up at James and was grateful to see he had had the decency to look away.

'After we've got you a shirt' he grinned, looking back at Lily, who was once again blushing profusely'

'Yeah'

'But are you sure, I really don't think you're in a fit state to…' James started, looking worried.

'No! I'm fine'

'But-'

'No!' she snapped, 'James you should know full well by now that I'm impossible to budge.' To which James sighed, but nevertheless, unable to resist a small grin creeping onto his face.

'How could I forget. Well, we'd better go get you a shirt then, and I suggest you keep your voice down, that old healer was ranting on about how you needed a break and should rest her for a few days'. Lily snorted and screwed her face up into an expression of disgust

'Didn't think so' James laughed, regretting it a second later as he felt a spasm of pain sear across his chest. Lily didn't notice him wincing.

'Let's GO!' she hissed, grabbing his arm and jerking him out of his chair, causing him to yelp with pain. Lily, still very much out of it, didn't even hear, and continued to pull him out of the room by the arm. James stumbled after her, removing his arm from her grasp before she managed to rip his wound open again or something.

After about fifteen minutes of stumbling through the corridors of the hospital, and receiving quite the few odd looks from visitors, Lily and James burst out into the afternoon air.

'Right. Clothes.' James said, felling his pockets 'oh crap'

'What?'

'Um, no money. Or wand'

'Ah yes, crap indeed. Me neither.' But then James' face lit up with that all too familiar grin.

'Wait here' James said, as he quickly talked to the dummy in the display of the closed down department store, behind which St Mungo's was concealed and darted back into the hospital

'What? Here? Where are you going? James!' Lily shouted at his receding back, leaning against the wall in exasperation, clutching what was left of her pyjama shirt to her, feeling very self-conscious, standing in ripped pyjamas in the middle of London. But luckily for her, no one even glanced her way as she waited for James to return.

Back in St Mungo's, James looked round for a suitably occupied and therefore unsuspecting victim, whom he found very quickly. A middle-aged wizard was standing waiting for a lift with a dazed expression on his face, his wand slightly protruding from his trouser pocket. He seemed somewhere else completely. Perfect. James snuck up to him silently, the balls of his feet treading silently on the polished marble floor. He grabbed the wand and muttered virtually inaudibly:

'Accio credit card', before quickly shoving the wand back into the wizard's pocket, just as the lift arrived with a 'ding', rousing the man from his daydream. He looked round, a little flustered

'Yes? Did you want something young man?'

'No, I'm just waiting for someone' the man nodded and walked into the lift. Just as the doors slid shut, a credit card crashed into them, falling to the ground, not a second too early.

James picked up the card off the floor with a grin, slipping it into his pocket. Sometimes he loved muggles so much, all the money he needed in this little piece of plastic. He remembered Lily out on the street, and in her current state. His expression of glee turned to one of anxiety as he sprinted back out of the hospital.

Lily saw James running back and felt relief wash over her. Ever since her last encounter, every unexpected movement, every glance, every touch scared the hell out of her. A couple of days ago she would have considered this pathetic, but after what she'd gone through and what could have been… She was terrified of it happening again. While standing in the street she kept seeing Lucius' leering face looming out of the crowd, his lustful eyes staring at her; only to melt back into the crowd and prove just to be her imagination. For some reason, on James' return she felt safe.

'Hey, you alright?' James asked as he saw her pressed against the wall behind her, her face pale. She nodded, giving him a weak smile. 'Okies then. So, a shirt for you, wasn't it?' Lily nodded again, absently, before glancing up at him confused.

'We still have no money.' She stated. James held up the credit card. She gasped, horrified. 'James! How could you?' now it was his turn to be confused 'I can't believe you'd steal someone's credit card!' James looked shocked

'I didn't steal anything!' he held out the card so she could read his name on it 'I just borrowed a wand to summon it with the accio spell' he said, laughing at her expression.

'Oh. Sorry' she blushed'

'Right. Shirt' James said, looking around him for somewhere that would sell women's clothes. He saw a clothes shop across the road and motioned towards it.

'What? No! Bloody hell James, the stuff in there's gonna cost lads, I wouldn't be able to pay you back…'

'You don't need to pay me back'

'Yes I do'

'No you really don't, but that's beside the point, shops will start closing in like five minutes and I don't see any other clothes shops around, so unless you want to go back to school in that…' he stated, nodding towards her ripped shirt. Lily blushed again, clutching the shirt to her ever tighter

'But James…' she moaned, but he was already dragging her across the street. 'Fine, we're getting the cheapest shirt in there, ok? And I'll pay you back when we get back to school.' James wasn't listening.

'Excuse me sir, we're closing in three minutes', said a smartly dressed woman at the door, eyeing Lily and James with a look of disdain.

'We won't need any longer' James flashed her his classic irresistible smile and she stepped aside to let them through. James grabbed the first shirt he saw of her size, and as an afterthought grabbed a jumper and a pair of jeans. It was getting chilly outside. And before Lily could protest, he was at the checkout, paying for the clothing.

'Ok, go put them on in the changing rooms; I'll wait for you. Just hurry up' Lily did what she was told, getting changed quickly, worried that the people in the shop would get angry because they wanted to close the shop and go home. She needn't have worried. In fact, the lady at the door looked sad to see James go as they walked out of the shop.

'James there jeans are Armani! They must have cost a fortune!' he shrugged it off.

'You look lovely though' Lily's cheeks turned crimson again. What was it with her lately; she just couldn't stop blushing in front of James. It was getting embarrassing.

'So, um, how are we getting back to Hogwarts?'

'Flying'

'Flying?'

'Yup'

'Um, James, I um, can't fly…' James stopped to look at her, surprised, as her cheeks coloured again.

'Only have one broom anyway' he shrugged 'I'll carry you'

'No you most certainly will not!' Lily glared at him, stopping in the middle of the street. 'I'm much too heavy, besides I-' but she was cut off by James laughing, which only aggravated her further.

'You? Heavy? God, Lily, you weigh like nothing. And I'll be carrying you, like it or not. Unless you've figured out a way of flying without a broom.'

'James. I- I'm scared of heights. What if we fall?'

'I'd never let you fall Lily' James said, gazing into her emerald eyes. He said it with such sincerity that she couldn't help but believe him, and despite herself, found herself nodding.

The wind whipped through her hair, stinging at her skin as they flew through the air. The feeling was unbelievable; she'd always wondered what it felt like to fly; now she knew. And it was amazing. However, the feeling was kind of lost, seeing as she was curled up in front of James, his strong arms supporting her on either side, ensuring she wouldn't fall. She'd never been so close to him before. Her initial reaction to such close contact was obviously to jump in fright, due to all the memories still fresh in her mind. But he'd managed to reassure her with gentle words and the wind had blown all nasty memories out of her head for the time being. She actually found herself really enjoying it.

One thing that would not go away, however, was the growing feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had been there for months, but now it was worse than ever and impossible to ignore. Lily had refused to acknowledge her feelings, but now it was so obvious it hurt and she couldn't ignore it any longer. She had fallen for James Potter. She didn't know when or why, all she knew was that she loved being this close to him; she loved his smell, the feel of his strong arms round her…

But she was scared. Terrified of rejection, of what had happened with Malfoy… She couldn't let anything happen. Not yet. They were just back on speaking terms, it would be just like her to go and ruin everything. So she said nothing.

'Lily?'

'Mmmmm?'

'How did you err, get to the shrieking shack last night…?' James asked awkwardly, voicing the question that had been troubling him for hours now. Images burst into Lily's mind, she was there again; in that dark corridor with Lucius, she could feel his dirty hands all over her again, his lustful eyes boring into her…

She shook her head quickly as the tears prickled at her eyes, unable to look up at James.

'Please' James said so gently. But Lily couldn't bring herself to. It hurt too much, just the thought of him ripped her to pieces. She couldn't let James see her weakness.

'Please tell me', he pleaded with her, his voice full of compassion and understanding. Lily felt herself give in to him, against all her better judgement.

'Malfoy – he –he tried to rape me - ' she whispered so quietly, it was almost inaudible, especially against the rushing wind. But James heard.

'MALFOY WHAT?' He shouted, the broom halting in mid air, jolting so hard that they both almost fell. 'OH MY FUCKING GOD! I'M GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD! HOW DARE THAT FUCKING CUNT LAY A FINGER ON YOU? OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!' Lily was taken aback by this sudden outburst from James. She had never seen him so angry in all the time she'd known him, and though usually she would have been terrified, she found it strangely comforting and reassuring. At that moment she knew, that James would never hurt her.

As his heavy breathing went down to normal, he kicked the broom back into action and they continued flying towards Hogwarts.

'I'm so sorry Lily' he murmured, his voice filled with pain and regret. She looked up at him shocked

'James, why are you apologising? It wasn't your fault' she said incredulously 'besides, he didn't quite…finish. Peeves dropped a suit of armour on him, and I ran for it. He only-'

'Ripped your shirt open covered you in bruises and drove you to collapse and even now you still jump at everything I do!' James growled with vehemence 'I just – I shouldn't have ignored you like that, then maybe I would have been there to help, this may never have happened…'

'James. James. Calm down' Lily said soothingly. 'You couldn't have done anything anyway; he would have got me sooner or later. Don't blame yourself. Just – calm down' He nodded slowly, reluctantly, and they flew on in silence.

After a considerable period of time, James got his thoughts under control again. There was no point fuming and making useless threats, Malfoy was a fucking bastard and he would make him wish he was never born; but now was not the time to think such evil thoughts, not with Lily Evans curled up in his lap. And with this revelation, James also felt a twinge of pain in his chest. The thin layer of skin, which had been magically re-grown over his chest wound, must have ripped when he had stopped the broom so abruptly. He could feel the warm blood trickling down his chest and soaking into his shirt. Shit.

Lily noticed it just as he did. She raised her hand to touch the still tiny patch of blood-soaked material. As her fingers made contact, a series of images flashed through her mind: The creaking floorboards, strips of moonlight, the werewolf running at her, the beautiful stag, deathly claws colliding and the blood on its chest… She raised her eyes up to his, with an almost inaudible gasp.

'You're – you're an - animagus…' her eyes were wide in surprise. Everything clicked, the monthly disappearances, the marauders' secrecy, their attachment, Moony, and Prongs…and he had risked his life to save her, had thrown himself in the path of a werewolf… James said nothing, just flew on, his eyes set on the night sky ahead and the castle looming out of the night mist.

They walked through the darkened corridors in silence; all the students were eating dinner in the great hall and their footsteps echoed against the flagstones. It reminded Lily so much of the other night with Malfoy, that she shrank back against James. He took her hand reassuringly, realising the cause of her terror.

'You need to go see Madame Pomfrey' Said Lily, suddenly remembering what the healer back at St Mugo's had said about James' condition. She bit her lip, ashamed that she hadn't given it a moment of thought up till now, even though she had been told that he was badly hurt.

'No, I'm alright' he answered quickly, 'seriously'

'James, you were attacked by a werewolf and half your shirt is soaked with blood, you're going to see Madame Pomfrey NOW'

'I'm fine really!' Lily just looked at him sceptically 'All right, fine, I'm um, scared of her…' James said awkwardly, colouring slightly. Lily had to fight hard to restrain a laugh. He was frightened of Madame Pomfrey. 'Please Lily, I hate all those potions, they scare me shitless, and it hurts like hell when you drink them…'

'Fine, we'll figure something out…'she sighed, just as they arrived in front of the portrait guarding the entrance to their common room.

They clambered through the portrait hole, ignoring the chiding of the portrait of the stately old man, as he grumbled about where they had got to. The fire was crackling welcomingly in the grate and James meant to sink into a chair but Lily, led him on into her bedroom.

'Um, Lily?' James asked confused 'why are we coming in here?'

'Sit down' she ordered, motioning towards her bed' James frowned, but obeyed. Lily went straight to her chest of draws and started rummaging round. Then she pulled out a big green box with a white cross marked on it, James had never seen a first aid box before, having grown up in a wizarding family, so was at a total loss as to what Lily was doing.

'Take off your shirt' Lily said, without looking up, fingering the contents of the box.

'What?'

'Just take your shirt off James' her voice carried a hint of exasperation. James decided to comply, unbuttoning his blood-soaked shirt and then struggling a little with the equally dirty T-shirt he wore underneath, finally managing to pull it over his head, unable to keep from wincing with the pain as the wound stretched.

Lily turned round to face him, with a bottle of disinfectant in one hand and a cloth in the other. But as she caught sight of his bare chest she couldn't help but pause for a fraction of a second to admire the toned rippling muscles.

'Right' she said, recovering herself 'This will probably hurt, but I need to disinfect it, God knows where those claws have been.' James looked a bit frightened, though he struggled hard not to show his fear to Lily. He could face werewolves but he was terrified of healers… He winced slightly when the cloth with disinfectant made contact with the open wound, but gritted his teeth and forced himself to take the pain.

After about five minutes of diligently dabbing and cleaning the wound, Lily drew back with a smile.

'You're luck James. Any deeper and I would have had to make you go see Madame Pomfrey, but as it is, it's not too bad and it's clean enough, didn't have time to get infected or anything.' James let out an involuntary sigh of relief, causing Lily to laugh. 'And don't worry, I only have to bind it now. I won't be hurting you any more.' Lily now returned to his side with a swathe of bandages in her hand and started winding them round his chest, dressing the wound.

Lily had never touched him so gently before, every movement she made was careful and tender, so as not to cause him any unnecessary pain. James watched her face as she dressed his wound, she looked so beautiful when she was concentrating, a slight frown creased her brow and her tousled hair fell about her face.

As Lily finished tying the bandages, she let her hands rest briefly on his chest. She glanced up at him, her eyes sad.

'I'm so sorry James' she whispered, looking down again, unable to hold his gaze. But his hand was under her chin, tilting her head upwards.

'Don't be' he whispered, against her mouth, and before she could respond, his lips were on hers.

James stroked Lily's unruly curls, as she lay curled against him, her head resting on his shoulder, breathing lightly. He kissed her forehead lightly, whispering 'I love you Lily', before allowing his eyes to close and his body succumb to the much-needed sleep.

That night, Lily did not wake up screaming from a nightmare. She lay curled up against James and her dreams no longer dwelt on the past; she looked to the future, where she and James would be happy and he would whisper to her 'I love you Lily'

FIN

A/N: I really hope you all liked it, I know it was on the long side, but I thought I'd kept you waiting long enough, for this chapter, so I might as well make it a nice long one. I know it was rather fluffy at the end, but I love happy endings and can never resist fluff…

So yeah, I hope you enjoyed it, there will be anther LJ fic coming in a little while (once I'm done with my GCSE's), but for now R&R and make me just as happy as Lily there… XD

Thank you everyone for reading

xxxxxxx