AN: Well, I'm back! And if I am really quick on this note and the end note, then I will submit it before Wednesday is over! That way, I won't have lied to you! Thanks to barefoottoes for your review! You really made me smile :) So, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
"Sucks, doesn't it?" asked a voice from above Lily as she sat at breakfast the next morning.
"What does?" asked Lily. She looked up and scowled as she saw Sirius standing across the table from her. His black hair was messy and his robe was wrinkled, but he had that ever-present smirk plastered on his face. It was just what she needed, another reminder of the huge mistake that she had made first thing in the morning.
"Being shut out," said Sirius, gazing over at James, who was sitting halfway down the table with Remus and Peter. Lily looked at James, who was pushing eggs around on his plate and looking blankly at Remus. Lily sighed and went back to poking her own eggs. Sirius lowered himself to sit across from her.
"Black, do you think it's really a good idea to sit with me?" asked Lily, raising her eyebrows at him and darting a glace back at James, who still wasn't looking her way.
"No," he said, sitting down anyway and helping himself to several pieces of toast.
"So why are you?" she asked after a moment of silence as he buttered and spread marmalade over his toast.
"I'm sure it's because you're always so pleasant to be around," said Sirius, rolling his eyes and biting into a piece of the toast.
"You always bring out the best in me. Maybe it's your complete lack of charm," said Lily sarcastically.
"I'll have you know I got decent marks in charms, thank you very much," he said, grinning at her over his toast. Lily was shocked to see that his short stack of toast had dwindled down to the one he was holding. She had no idea how he had eaten all the other pieces so quickly.
"Lame, Black," said Lily, rolling her eyes.
"I'm just trying to be serious," said Sirius, grinning broadly.
Lily shot him an annoyed look but he just laughed.
"So what are you really doing here, Black?" asked Lily.
"Well, we're both kind of outcasts right now, Evans, aren't we? Outcasts should stick together," he said, smiling up at her.
"Sorry, Black, but I'm not actually an outcast. I'm just waiting for Hannah," said Lily, smirking at him.
"Are you trying to tell me that I'm not welcome here?" asked Sirius.
"Wow, how perceptive of you!" said Lily, smiling at him.
"Come on, Evans, this is your fault, the least you could do is try to be nice," said Sirius, frowning at her. "Besides, I actually came over here to help you."
"Help me?" asked Lily, choosing to ignore his other statements.
"Yeah, Evans. I know a guaranteed way to get James to forgive you," said Sirius, smirking at her as he piled eggs and bacon onto his plate.
"Oh, really?" asked Lily stoically. In her head, though, the possibility of winning James back over was tempting.
"Sure! All you have to do is put yourself in danger. James never can resist the urge to be the hero when someone's in trouble. When he sees you in peril, then he'll realize he's still pathetically in love with you," said Sirius. "You don't have to tell me, I know I'm brilliant." Lily snorted and almost sprayed the table with pumpkin juice.
"What a great idea, Black. How do you think I should endanger myself? Should I jump into the lake and make sure I smack my head on a rock, or should I just go to the Shrieking Shack late at night?" asked Lily.
"Psh! That place isn't even haunted," said Sirius around a large mouthful of eggs.
"And how would you know that?" asked Lily pointedly.
"Oh, look, Matthews showed up after all. So you weren't lying about meeting her to get rid of me," said Sirius, gesturing behind Lily with his fork.
"Black," said Hannah curiously as she sat down next to Lily and stared questioningly at her.
"Lily and I were just discussing the best ways to win James back," said Sirius.
"Yeah, Black thinks I should put myself into great danger and hope that James will come to my rescue. It would be slightly unfortunate if he decided he didn't care and I had to find my way out of the danger on my own," said Lily, glaring at Sirius.
"James wouldn't even let Snape be in danger without rushing to his aid. He's so bloody noble all the time. It's really irritating," said Sirius. "He would not leave the love of his life to die."
"I'm sure you're right, Black. But anything could go wrong if we intentionally put Lily in danger. James could get hurt himself! I don't think that's such a good idea," said Hannah thoughtfully.
"Alright. Then we just have to think of something better," said Sirius, looking as if he was straining to do just that.
"No, we don't. As much as I wish it wasn't true, James and I are done. We'd better just accept it and move on," said Lily.
"Are you a complete dolt?" asked Sirius.
"Excuse me?" asked Lily, offended.
"You can't give up, Lily. If there were ever two people who were meant to be together, it's you and James," said Sirius.
"I'm not exactly interested in becoming a star-crossed lover, Black. As Shakespeare proved centuries ago, a relationship between two very different people can only end in tragedy," said Lily.
"What are you talking about, Evans? Whose this Shake-whatever guy?" asked Sirius.
"Never mind, it's a muggle thing," said Lily.
"I think Black is right, Lily. You can't just give up," said Hannah, placing a hand on Lily's arm, trying to comfort her.
"I'm not even going to comment on how scary that sentence was, Hannah. Why can't I just give up?" asked Lily.
"Because, Lily, he makes you happy. I've seen you in classes with him for the past week. He makes you light up like no one else can," she said quietly.
"Aha! I've got it!" Sirius exclaimed. Several students at the Gryffindor table looked over at them. Lily caught James's eye and saw him frown as he looked from her to Sirius.
"Shh Black!" said Lily.
"Sorry," said Sirius sarcastically.
"Well, what is it?" asked Hannah enthusiastically.
"We make him jealous!" said Sirius.
"And how are we going to do that?" asked Lily.
"Well, you could pretend to go out with someone else. James would get jealous and he'd realize his feelings for you, and he'd beg you to be his," said Sirius, a self-satisfied smile on his face.
"You're just trying to get me to kiss you again," said Lily.
"Please, Evans! Kissing you was like kissing the Giant Squid!" said Sirius in horror.
"I have heard that rumor about you and the Giant Squid," said Lily, smiling at him.
"Actually, the Giant Squid was a better kisser," said Sirius.
"Well, anyway, I don't think making Potter jealous is the way to go. I mean, isn't that how all this started?" asked Hannah.
"I guess," said Sirius, falling silent in thought.
"We'll just have to keep thinking, Lily," said Hannah, patting her hand.
"Sure. You guys keep coming up with really impractical ideas and I'll just be realistic," said Lily.
"Lily!" Hannah screamed as she barged into her room later on that afternoon. She raced to the window and pulled back the drapes, letting a huge swath of sunlight fall over Lily's face where she sat on her bed, rolls of parchment and books surrounding her. Doing homework always calmed her and made her forget about her problems.
"Hannah?" Lily asked distractedly, rifling through one of her books for a bit on the Goblin Rebellions that she had read a few nights ago.
"Lily, I have great news!" said Hannah, beaming at her from the side of the bed and looking like she was about to start bouncing up and down.
"Merlin, Hannah. I forgot how annoying you can be when you're excited," said Lily grumpily, although she couldn't keep a smile off of her face. It felt so good to be friends with Hannah again, to see her hyper and excited face.
"Normally, I would get really mad at you for that, but we don't have time," said Hannah. "Now hurry up and put your books away! We have to get to work!"
"Um, I love your enthusiasm, Hannah. But would you mind pausing long enough to tell me what you're up to. I've got a lot of work myself," said Lily, running her finger down the page of the section on Goblins.
"That's not important now. I'll tell you over lunch! Now COME ON!" she shouted, picking up several of the books surrounding Lily and dropped them on the floor. She just rolled her eyes at the irritated look Lily sent her. As soon as the side of Lily's bed was free, she grabbed Lily's wrist and pulled her towards the edge. Lily stumbled out of bed, staring at Hannah curiously.
"Whoa, Hannah. I'd like to keep my arm, thanks," said Lily, as she rubbed a tender spot on her arm.
"Hurry up, will you!" said Hannah anxiously. A bright red sheet of parchment was clutched in Hannah's hand and it fluttered as she moved her arms around.
"What's that?" asked Lily, pointing to the parchment as she stumbled towards her closet and looked over her options, trying to decide what to wear. She had changed into a comfortable pair of shorts and camisole after breakfast.
"Nevermind that. I'll explain everything at lunch, which I am dragging you to in five minutes, whether you are dressed or not," said Hannah, still smiling excitedly.
"Alright," said Lily, rolling her eyes as she shoved on a pair of jeans and a random t-shirt, barely glancing at them to make sure they looked alright together. She was instead staring at Hannah, wondering if there were such things as alien invasions. Hannah was always cheerful in the morning, but this was verging on manic.
"Let's go," said Hannah, dragging Lily out of the door as soon as she had her arms in her shirt sleeves.
"Hold on, I need to stop at the bathroom," said Lily.
"Fine, you've got two minutes," said Hannah, sighing and plopping on the couch where she couldn't keep her legs from jiggling up and down.
When Lily returned Hannah jumped up and grabbed her arm again, towing her down the corridor towards Gryffindor tower.
"Wait, I thought we were going to lunch," said Lily as Hannah hurled the password (hippogriff) at the snoozing fat lady, who glared at them before the portrait swung forward.
"We are, but we need to get someone first," said Hannah cryptically.
"Oh, no," said Lily, stopping suddenly and planting her feet into the plushy red carpet.
"What?" said Hannah, stumbling sideways as she still had Lily's arm clutched in her hand.
"I am not going to see Carrie, Hannah. I hope you're not trying to get us to make up," said Lily, trying to keep her anger reigned in so that she didn't get into another fight with Hannah. She wouldn't budge on the issue between her and Carrie, but she didn't want to ruin her newly restored friendship with Hannah.
"I'm not getting Carrie. We need to get someone else to help with our plan," said Hannah, tugging on Lily's arm and towing her towards where the boy's dorms were located.
"Our plan? What plan?" asked Lily curiously as she ascended the steps beside Hannah.
Hannah just looked at Lily exasperatedly before she turned and opened the door of the seventh year boys' dorm. Loud snores filled the air as Lily followed Hannah directly across the room to one of the beds and pulled aside the hangings. Lily was horrified to see the slumbering figure of Sirius Black. He was curled up in a ball and she could instantly tell that he was the source of all of the noise. She noticed with horror that there was also quite a bit of drool on his pillow.
"Black," Hannah whispered quietly, leaning over him. Sirius just moaned and turned the opposite way.
"Don't get too close, Hannah. He might slobber on you," said Lily, backing into the middle of the room, thoroughly disgusted.
"Black," said Hannah louder, poking him with her finger.
"Mmmh," said Sirius, squirming in his bed. He turned towards Hannah and grabbed her around the wrist, pulling her towards him.
"Black," said Hannah in a panic, trying to pull her wrist out of his grasp.
"Mmmh," said Black again. He tugged her arm and she toppled onto him. He put his arms around her and hugged her, rolling to the side.
"Lily, a little help here," said Hannah, glaring as Lily began laughing hysterically.
"Mmmh, Evans," said Sirius, tightening his grip on Hannah. Lily froze, the laughter dying on her lips as she stared at Sirius. Hannah began laughing now, although he was pushing her head awfully close to the drool marks.
"Oy! Black!" screamed Hannah shoving at his chest. His eyes opened and he jumped when he saw Hannah in his arms.
"Oh, hello Matthews. You didn't have to wait until I fell asleep to cuddle with me. I wouldn't have said no," said Sirius, grinning cockily.
"Ugh, Black, you have dog breath," said Hannah, moving her head away from his. Sirius's bark of a laugh echoed through the room.
"What's going on?" asked Remus as he entered the room. He instantly focused on Hannah and Sirius laying in bed together and his eyes widened.
"Get off me, Black!" said Hannah, shoving his chest again.
"If you're sure that's what you really want," said Sirius, smirking as he sat up and moved away from Hannah. Hannah tried to roll off of the bed as gracefully as she could but she slipped on an edge of the sheets that was lying on the floor and slid onto her butt. When she stood up her face looked really red.
"Hi, Lupin," said Lily from behind him, in an effort to give Hannah a chance to compose herself.
"Hi, Evans. Hi, Matthews. What are you two doing here?" asked Remus, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Remember what we talked about last night?" asked Hannah shyly.
"Yes," said Remus.
"Well, I came up with a great idea. Why don't you guys meet us in the Great Hall for lunch?" asked Hannah.
"Alright," agreed Remus, a shy smile flashing across his face.
"I'm going back to bed," said Sirius, sinking back into the pillow.
"No, you're not," said Hannah defiantly.
"Wouldn't you rather cuddle some more, Matthews? We could get Moony to bring us lunch in bed," he said, holding the covers up for her to slide in, a smirk on his face.
"I don't know, Black. I think you'd rather cuddle with Lily," said Hannah, pushing Lily in front of her.
"What? What makes you say that?" asked Sirius, a slight pink tinge coming over his cheeks.
"Wow, I am SO hungry. I need to go to lunch right now Hannah," said Lily, grabbing Hannah around the wrist and dragging her out of the dorm.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Hannah as they sat at the Gryffindor table for lunch. The Great Hall was packed, so they had a bit of trouble finding room at the table.
"Talk about what?" asked Lily.
"The fact that Black was fantasizing about being in bed with you," said Hannah, smiling at Lily as she grabbed a sandwich from a silver platter in front of her and inspected it.
"Shh, Hannah! He was not talking about me," Lily insisted through gritted teeth. She looked around the table to make sure no one had heard Hannah.
"How many other Evans does he know?" asked Hannah.
"There's a chaser from the Holyhead Harpies whose last name is Evans," said Lily triumphantly after a minute.
"Yeah, ok. But I doubt Black was dreaming about her. She looks like she's taken one too many bludgers to the face," said Hannah, smiling irritatingly at her.
"Fine, there's always the famous Healer, Chantley Evans," said Lily.
"We're talking about Black, Lily," said Hannah.
"Why don't we talk about Lupin instead, Hannah. Why don't you tell me why were you so flustered when he saw you in bed with Black?" asked Lily, smiling maliciously as she turned on Hannah.
"Oh, um, that? I just, I didn't want anyone to see me with Black that way. Anyone would be embarrassed," said Hannah off-handily.
"All right, I will give you that much, but what about that shy smile you gave him when he said your name?" asked Lily, putting a roll and a bit of Shepherd's pie on her plate.
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Hannah quietly, focusing way too much attention on buttering her roll.
"Yes you do. You're blushing right now just thinking about him," said Lily, amused to see patches of red appear on her cheeks.
"Hey Matthews, Evans," said Remus, sitting down across from Hannah. Lily noticed with excitement that he was blushing a bit when he looked at Hannah. The thoughts in her head all started swirling around. How was she going to get them together?
"Where's Black?" asked Lily, staring at the entrance to the Great Hall.
"Why, Lily? Thinking about going to cuddle with him?" asked Hannah, smirking at Lily.
"Shut it, Matthews," Lily growled.
"Um, I think he's coming soon. He was finally crawling out of bed when I left," said Remus, rolling his eyes.
"Well, should I wait for him to start?" asked Hannah.
"No, go ahead," said Remus. He stared at Lily as he poured himself some pumpkin juice. All of the Marauders were now very suspicious of their drinks.
"I didn't do anything to it," said Lily. Remus took a big gulp. "Or did I?" Lily asked, smiling at him.
"I better not start talking like a cowboy again," said Remus, tucking into some of the bacon on his plate.
"I'm sure Hannah wouldn't mind going to a shindig with you," said Lily, looking pointedly at Hannah.
"Anyway, my plan," said Hannah, glaring at Lily and blushing madly.
"Does it involve chaps and lassos?" asked Lily.
"Lily," said Hannah in an irritated tone.
"What?" asked Lily in an effort to appear innocent.
"Remus and I have been thinking about how to get you and Potter together," said Hannah, putting her hand on Lily's arm.
"You've been WHAT?" asked Lily angrily.
"Don't get mad. We know you both like each other, so we're just doing you guys a favor," said Hannah.
"I think you're forgetting about the fact that James hates me right now. Didn't you hear him last night?" asked Lily, frowning as she remembered his indifferent face. She didn't want to deal with this right now.
"I know what that must have seemed like to you, Lily. But to me, it only proved that he does still like you. He wouldn't have been so hurt if he doesn't like you," said Hannah logically. Lily just couldn't see that he still cared.
"Lily, I know James is in love with you," said Remus.
"It's so pathetically obvious," said Sirius, rolling his eyes as he slouched beside Remus on the bench in front of the table.
"Nice of you to show up, Black," said Hannah.
"Hey, you're lucky I got out of bed at all. It's the weekend," said Sirius.
"Whatever. Listen, so I came up with an idea for how we can get Lily and James back together," Hannah said excitedly.
"I think you guys all forgot about my brilliant plan," said Sirius.
"Anyway, I think Lily's best chance for winning James over is if she gets on the Gryffindor Quidditch team," said Hannah enthusiastically. She held up the red parchment, which turned out to be an announcement for tryouts on Thursday. Lily snorted the pumpkin juice she was drinking across the table.
"I think you're forgetting one tiny fact, Hannah," said Lily.
"What's that? I think it's a brilliant plan," said Remus, beaming at Hannah.
"Yeah, it would be, if I could FLY," said Lily.
"Well, that's why Black is here. He can teach you how to ride a broomstick," said Hannah simply.
"I don't think he can make me good enough in four days to beat people who have been flying for years," said Lily.
"But Lily, you're the hardest worker I've ever known. If anyone can master something in a short amount of time, it's you," said Hannah.
"Maybe that's true of spells and academics, but that's not true when it comes to sports. I was always picked last for kickball and soccer teams in school," she said.
"What?" asked Sirius, Remus, and Hannah at the same time, staring curiously at Lily.
"Nevermind," said Lily. Sometimes it was hard being a muggleborn surrounded by pure and half-blood wizards.
"Lily, don't you want to be friends with James again?" asked Hannah, looking down the table to where James sat with Peter. Lily looked longingly down the table at James's rumpled hair, his shining hazel eyes, and his handsomely sculpted body and remembered how nice he had been to her in the past week, before that awful night.
"Yes," Lily admitted sadly.
"At least try to learn to ride a broom. I'm sure it won't be that bad," said Hannah.
Lily's palms sweat as she gripped the broom tightly. She was standing on the cushiony ground in the room of requirement. She had been amazed when Hannah and Remus had shown her the room, but she felt none of that amazement now. She just felt completely terrified.
"Ok, Lily. All you have to do is put your leg over the broom and kick off," instructed Sirius, demonstrating beside her. He kicked off and flew smoothly into the air.
"I don't think I can, Black," said Lily. Her arms and legs were shaking so much that she was afraid she was going to fall over from just standing near the broom.
"Of course you can, Lily. Little kids do it all the time. I was three years old when I rode my first real broom," said Black, who was now circling above Lily on his broom.
"Then I'm too old. I can't do it," said Lily.
"You know what? You're right, Lily. I don't think you can," said Hannah, remembering her friend's fierce stubborn streak. She struggled to keep a smile off of her face, knowing she was manipulating Lily.
"What?" asked Lily incredulously, staring at her best friend.
"You're right. I should have never mentioned it. I should have known all along that the broom is just not something you can master," said Hannah.
"You don't think I can do it?" asked Lily, her anger peaked.
"No, Lily, I don't," said Hannah firmly.
"Just watch," said Lily, funneling her anger into kicking off of the ground. She soared quickly upward, barely stopping in time to avoid hitting the ceiling.
"Yeah, Lily!" Remus and Hannah cheered from the ground.
"Well done, Evans," said Sirius as he flew towards her.
"I did it!" Lily shouted happily.
"I knew you could all along. You just needed to get over your fear," said Hannah, smiling impishly at Lily.
"You did that on purpose," said Lily angrily.
"Yep," Hannah said.
"You!" said Lily, pretending to be angry. She couldn't keep a huge grin off of her face.
"Come and get me," said Hannah tauntingly.
"You better watch it, Matthews. I'm a natural at broom riding," said Lily, zooming only a bit wobbly down to where Hannah stood.
For the next two days, Lily spent more hours than she cared to admit with Sirius. After two days of practicing broom flying skills fit in whenever they didn't have class or Lily didn't have patrol, she had improved quite a bit. On Tuesday night they worked at finding what position Lily would be best playing.
"How about being the seeker?" asked Sirius. He released the Golden Snitch and after several attempts of diving after the snitch and nearly crashing into the ground, Sirius decided that they better try something else before Lily ended up in the hospital wing. Lily had become quite fearless on a broomstick ever since that first day.
"Let's try you as a Keeper," said Sirius, hopping onto his own broom and carrying the Quaffle tucked in his left elbow. "Just keep your eye on the Quaffle and don't let it into any of the hoops," said Sirius.
"Alright," Lily agreed, hovering in front of the goal posts.
The first three Sirius threw lightly, and Lily caught them easily. The next one he threw, however, was thrown hand and fast. Lily dived to the right and back. She caught it just before it went into the hoop, but at the same time, her broom hit the bottom of the hoop and she was jolted backwards. She fell off of the broom and backwards through the hoop, still clutching the Quaffle.
Sirius zoomed forward and caught Lily before she could fall to the ground. His laughter echoed through the room as he took her back to her broom, which was hovering beside the goal post.
"Quit it, Black," said Lily, hitting him in the ribs.
"Ouch, Evans. You can't blame me for laughing. I'm pretty sure that's the first time a Keeper has let the Quaffle through the hoop after they've caught it," said Sirius, smirking at her as she climbed onto her broom. "I wonder if that would be worth extra points."
"Shut up, Black, before I pummel you with a bludger," said Lily, her cheeks reddening. Although she had gotten past the obstacle of not being able to fly, she wasn't sure she'd be able to make the team. She couldn't be on the Quidditch team if she couldn't play any of the positions.
"That's it!" said Sirius, zooming to the ground and running to the box with the Quidditch balls.
"What? You want me to pummel you with a bludger?" she asked before comprehension dawned.
"No, I want you to try hitting it. I think you'd make a perfect beater," said Sirius. He took a thick bat out of the trunk and held it towards Lily.
"I don't know if I'll even be able to hold that thing," said Lily, reaching out to grab it. Sure enough, as soon as she had the bat clutched in her hand, she almost fell off of her broom.
"Hmm," said Sirius. "What if we shrink it or make it lighter?"
"I guess we could try. But it might not be as effective," said Lily, pulling out her wand and trying to make it lighter first. Now she could hold the bat in her hands without buckling under the weight.
"Alright, I'm going to release one of the bludgers now. Just chase it and smack it," said Sirius, pulling the leather strap that was holding the ball in place to release it. The bludger zoomed into the air and Lily flew after it. When she reached it, she pulled back the bat and gave it a forceful smack. It flew through the air in the opposite direction, collided with the middle goal post with a metallic clang, and zoomed back at her. She hit it forcefully again, and it flew through the air again, this time towards one of the walls, where it bounced off.
"I'm going to get it through the hoop now," said Lily. She smacked the bludger when it came back towards the hoop. It zoomed through the air and went sailing through the right hoop, banking off the wall behind it, and zooming towards the box with the other balls. Sirius slowed it with his wand and stuffed it into the slot for it, pulling the leather strap over to secure it.
"I think Gryffindor has found its next beater," said Sirius, beaming at Lily.
James stifled a groan as a knock sounded on his door early on Wednesday morning. Rolling onto his side, he shoved the pillow over his head and tried to fall back to sleep. Two seconds later the knock sounded again. James pulled on a shirt and threw open his door, ready to blast whoever was behind it. But when he saw who it was, all of the anger in his body evaporated.
"Matthews?" James said in confusion.
"Potter, you've got to help me," Hannah said frantically.
"What? Matthews, what's going on?" asked James as he rubbed his tired eyes.
"I don't have time to explain, Potter! Please come!" said Hannah desperately. Her hair was sticking up all over the place and her eyes were wide with terror.
"Alright, Matthews, just let me get dressed," said James, starting to close the door.
"There's no time, Potter," she said, wringing her hands.
"Alright," said James, grabbing a pair of pants off of the back of his chair and rushing through his door. James followed as Hannah moved quickly down the hallway. He nearly fell over onto his face as he tried to quickly shove his legs into his pants while running.
Hannah stopped in front of the tapestry that was across from the room of requirement and paced three times back and forth before the door appeared in the wall opposite the tapestry. As soon as the door appeared, Hannah pulled James inside. The room of requirement was transformed into a huge, cavernous room with a high ceiling, the same one that he used to practice Quidditch when the weather was bad. Lily was lying on her back in the center of the room, her eyes closed.
"Hannah, what happened?" asked James frantically. He ran over to Lily and saw that she was still breathing, but her breaths sounded like they were shallow. He felt her pulse and it was beating very slowly.
"I'll explain after we get her to the hospital wing," said Hannah, rushing over to them.
"I've got her," said James. He picked Lily up from the ground and when her head rolled towards him he gasped. The left side of her face was one giant bruise.
"Hannah, what happened to her?" asked James in a panicked voice.
"Careful, she fell quite a bit," said Hannah, tears spilling down her cheeks.
James clutched Lily close to his chest and ran down the corridor to the hospital wing, panic growing in his stomach with each second that passed. He stared down at her perfect face, his eyes glazing over with tears. He couldn't believe that his Lily had been so badly hurt. And just then he realized that what he had thought was completely, one hundred percent true. She was his Lily, and she would always be his Lily.
As he burst into the hospital wing, Madame Pomphery, the young healer, jumped and walked quickly out of her office.
"What happened?" asked Madame Pomphery, walking over to one of the empty beds and gesturing for James to put Lily onto it.
"She was practicing Quidditch, Madame Pomphery," said Hannah as she walked into the hospital wing, winded from her jog through the corridors, "she had lightened her beater's bat because it was too heavy for her. It snapped in half when she hit a bludger and the bludger hit her on the side of the face. She fell from about five feet above the ground."
"When will they stop playing that dangerous sport? Half of the injuries that I have to deal with are caused by it!" said Madame Pomphery, bending over Lily to examine her.
"Will she be alright?" asked James in a worried voice.
"Why don't you come back around lunch time? Classes will be starting soon and I need some time to examine her," said Madame Pomphery distractedly, looking at the bruise on Lily's cheek.
"Couldn't I just stay here and wait?" asked James hopefully, his eyes transfixed on Lily.
"No, out," said Madame Pomphery firmly, turning to shoo them out of the hospital wing.
"Please," said Hannah.
"Get going, or I won't let you back at lunch time," said Madame Pomphery, shutting the door to the hospital wing with a bang.
"Matthews?" asked James as they began walking down the corridor to the Great Hall for some breakfast.
"Yeah?" asked Hannah.
"Why was Lily practicing Quidditch in the first place? I thought she was afraid of riding a broom," said James.
"She was afraid, before I convinced her that she might be able to win you back if she tried out for the Gryffindor team. It's all my fault," said Hannah miserably.
"No, Matthews. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine for being such a bloody prat. I should have just forgiven her on Saturday night when she asked me. Merlin, I shouldn't have even thrown that stupid party after Lily told me not to," said James in distress.
"She will wake up, won't she Potter?" asked Hannah, a torrent of tears running from her eyes.
"I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't," said James, thinking about Lily's limp body lying on the hospital wing bed.
AN: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Check back again next Wednesday for the next installment. I must warn you though, I might be slower at posting after next week, cause classes start a week from Monday :( I will still try to post every Wednesday, but I can't promise anything.
Well, as always, feel free to tell me what you liked/ didn't like in this chapter. The review button is sitting right below, tempting you to click on it! See how it's mocking you?
Lol.
Anyway, good night and happy fanficing.
Love,
Littlemisskrissy.