A/N: Thanks to my reviewers, I really appreciate it! This is a transitional chapter, but it'll get more interesting in the next one. Oh, and most of it is from James' point of view. Enjoy!

James was too sore to move. He could just barely turn his head. He was in the infirmary, that much was obvious. But how had he gotten there? He looked left. Remus was in the bed next to his, and he was still out. He remembered that he had been running away from the transformed Remus. But why? Werewolves couldn't hurt him when he wasn't human. He looked right. Then did a double take.

Lily Evans was asleep. Not just in a chair, but in a chair pulled close to his bed, with her head resting on the mattress and her hand not quite touching his. From the looks of things, she had been there all night. His breath caught in his chest. He had been carrying her to safety. She didn't look hurt, so it must have worked. And now she was concerned about him, she wanted to know that he was okay.

Suddenly he was full of energy. He wanted to leap about the room, or congratulate all of his fellow students on a job well done, what for, he didn't really know. He just needed to do something.

Then again, if he got up, it would disturb Lily, maybe even wake her. Then she would be embarrassed and leave as quickly as possible.

He settled for moving his hand closer to hers until they touched.

"Prongs!" Sirius called from the infirmary doorway. "Moony, wake up, we're here to see you." He strolled in, with Peter right behind him.

"Go away," Remus groaned, pulling his pillow onto his face. So he hadn't been asleep after all.

"Sirius, keep your voice down!" James said, motioning with his free hand to Lily. Sirius stopped in his tracks.

"What's she doing here?"

"No clue. What was she doing in the Forbidden Forest last night?"

"I told you she'd follow us," Remus said from the depths of his pillow.

"No you didn't," Peter corrected him.

"But I told you something would happen."

James examined his best mate's face. There were several deep cuts. "Did you get those checked out?"

"What? Oh yeah, I was in here earlier. They're healing. Slowly." He pulled up another chair and sat between James and Remus.

"You still haven't answered my question," he accused James.

"Yes I did, I said I didn't know."

"You lied. Why's she here?"

"I think she brought me here."

"I think so too," Remus added, having finally removed the pillow. "She was here when I came in."

"Yes, but it doesn't explain why she's still here," Sirius emphasized.

"Why does it matter?" Peter asked.

"It doesn't," Remus complained. "Wake me up when we talk about something useful."

"Why did she follow us?" James asked before Sirius could ask his question again.

"I've been thinking about that," Sirius said, rocking back so that his chair was on two legs. "It could be, that someone, and I won't mention names here, but someone tipped her off while they were having their little chat back in the common room."

Remus and Peter looked to James for an explanation, but he was saved from answering by Madam Pomfrey.

"Shouldn't the two of you be in class?" she asked of Sirius and Peter.

"We were," said Peter.

"Professor McGonagall sent me back," Sirius took over. "The poultice doesn't seem to be working." He pointed to the cuts on his face.

"Well, it would work if I knew what did that to you." She sighed in exasperation and beckoned him over to her workstation.

"I told you," Sirius said with a grin on his face as he sauntered over, "there was this huge dragon, he'd kidnapped my sister, and-"

"Spare me," she said, but she couldn't prevent the smile that spread across her face.

James looked back at Lily. Peter shuffled over worriedly. "Is she…" He hesitated. "Is she going to tell?"

Remus blanched. "She can't!"

Lily's eyelids fluttered, then snapped open. She started. When her eyes met James she breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, you're all right!" she cried. "You all are!" she added as she scanned the others. "I was so worried." She glanced down and noticed that she had grabbed James' hand. She quickly released it and sat back in her chair. She could feel the tension in the room, but she couldn't identify the source of it.

"Lily," said James, waiting for her to meet his eyes again. "We need to talk."

Her eyes widened and she jumped up. "Oh no, I'm late for class! McGonagall's going to have my head." She darted to the door. "I'll see you later, get well soon," she called back from the corridor, trying to erase the image of James' crestfallen face from her mind.