Chapter Four – Back in the Hospital Wing Again

I woke with nothing but a fuzzy tongue and a monster headache; oddly enough, the burning pain in my ankle was gone. With a slight groan, I opened my eyes to find a blurry face staring at me. I could just make out green eyes dark with concern.

"What happened?" I mumbled as Lily helped me sit and handed me my glasses. I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I replaced them and glanced around. I knew immediately I was in the hospital wing; it seemed between Quidditch and my friends I spent an inordinate amount of time there. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you, of course," Lily replied. "Didn't want you dying before our date."

I tried to give her a lopsided grin, but I still felt groggy. "I thought it was a working lunch."

"Whatever it was, it's long over," she said, pulling up a chair beside my bed and studying me thoughtfully. "You've been out for a few hours."

"I have?" I asked. "What time is it?"

"Almost time for Astronomy," she replied. I glanced out the window: it was still light outside, though the clouds were clearly thickening.

"Funny," I said, leaning back. "No, really—what happened and how long was I unconscious?"

"Well," she began, her eyes sparkling mischievously, "you collapsed in my arms outside the kitchens, which was dramatic, but hardly the most romantic way to start lunch. I did like the flowers, though," she added with a wink.

"Good, because I just about died getting them for you."

Lily's face suddenly grew more serious. "I know. Remus told me what happened. He came running up after you collapsed and helped me get you to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey said the venom had spread fairly far, but she was able to give you a potion to get rid of it. She fixed up your ankle, too. You've been asleep for about three hours, that's all."

"So I missed Charms, then." When she nodded, I rolled my eyes. "You probably went over love charms or something like that anyway."

"You can't charm someone into loving you, Potter," Lily admonished playfully.

"Sirius could," I said without thinking. We laughed, enjoying the secret of her revenge in Potions class once more.

"Actually, Flitwick thought it would be a good time to talk about sex charms, which mostly involved a lot of sniggering and rude comments." Lily paused and gazed into my eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"You mean, besides stupid?" I asked. I sat up again and stretched. Aside from a lingering fatigue, I felt surprisingly well. I thought about how lucky I was that the plant hadn't got in a good bite, though. I could have ended up with more than just a bruised ego.

Lily smiled. "Well, chivalry has its price, apparently."

"An expensive one, I'd say." I shook my head. "What a day."

"How so?" she asked quizzically.

"First the daises, then Potions, then Arithmancy—"

"What happened in Arithmancy?" she asked.

I hesitated, mentally kicking myself for even mentioning it. How could I tell her I had charted our destiny together and that it was not quite the glowing future I'd hoped for? Simple: I couldn't. Therefore, I went for vague misdirection.

"Wenlock went a bit strong on the mallowsweet and had us charting our future."

She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what Arithmancy is about?"

"Yes."

"Let me guess—he had you predict your love life because it's Valentine's Day?"

I nodded and looked around for my clothes. Lily pointed toward the foot of my bed, but was not fooled by my attempt to move on.

"We did the same in Divination," she said, handing me my wand and robes. "Only with tea leaves."

I snorted. "Sounds about as accurate as random numbers."

Lily shrugged. "It wasn't all that bad," she said enigmatically.

"What wasn't?" I asked. I was curious what she was getting at, as it seemed like she was hinting at something.

"The future," she replied.

I tilted my head and studied her. "I wonder if it was the same as my numbers told me," I said softly, a bit surprised at both my boldness and my conclusion. I hoped it wasn't the same short and tragic future I'd seen, though I certainly hoped I was a part of it somehow.

Lily raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer. I could once again sense the vanilla on her hair, and my breath caught in my throat at her sudden nearness. "Why don't you tell me your prediction first," she whispered, her lips moving closer to mine.

"I think it went something like this," I replied, lifting my hand to her face. Her eyes started to drift closed, and I moved my lips toward her, hardly daring to breathe as something I'd been thinking about for a year was about to finally happen…

"Oi, Prongs!"

Lily's eyes flew open, and she jumped back into her chair. I fell into my pillows with a frustrated groan as Sirius, Remus, and Peter waltzed into the hospital wing wearing identical grins. Well, Remus looked a bit sheepish and Peter appeared somewhat guilty, but Sirius positively glowed with wicked energy.

"Watch where you're sticking that tongue, Potter," he said, coming up beside the bed and giving Lily a pointed look. "She's a wily one, that Potions Princess of yours."

Lily gave him the blandest response she could as she stood and straightened her robes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Black."

"Not even that extra bit of gurdyroot?" he asked. Remus hid a grin behind his hand.

"Got any sneezewort left?" Lily shot back without missing a bit.

Sirius stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Even, then?"

Lily seemed to think about it. "For now." She turned to me and smiled, and I could see her eyes twinkling merrily at the exchange. She might put on that Sirius drove her mad, but she enjoyed getting to him as much as he did getting to her. I wasn't sure whether to be jealous or proud.

"See you at the feast, then?" she asked. I nodded, trying to think of a way I could get her alone again without coming right out and saying it in front of the others. I had no doubt they would crash any special moments I had planned, and knew I would have to get creative after they left if I wanted to salvage any part of the day.

"Get some rest, Potter. I'm not taking care of you for another Valentine feast." She winked and left me with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who proceeded to take the mickey out of me every which way. After letting them have a go, I turned it back on Sirius. Remus and I couldn't resist acting out his stellar performance in Potions for Peter, who laughed appreciatively.

"Listen, we're heading to the library to work on that Transfiguration essay due Thursday," said Remus after we settled down. "We'll fill you in on the Charms assignment later. Lily's right—you cut it close with that plant, so get some rest or Pomfrey won't let you come down to the feast."

"And I don't want to make your excuses to Evans," said Sirius. "I think I've had enough of her today."

"Prongs hasn't," murmured Peter. I raised my eyebrows at him. "We interrupted your big moment, didn't we? I bet you'll want to pick up where you left off."

"If I do, it certainly won't be with you lot hanging around," I replied. I meant it, but they just laughed.

They left me alone and I quickly drifted back to sleep. I dreamed about a large daisy, as tall as the castle, with beady black eyes and long, pointed teeth. It picked me up and put me on top of the Astronomy Tower, and Lily on Gryffindor Tower. We kept shouting to one another, but Sirius was flying back and forth on his broom and whooping so loudly we couldn't hear anything. Remus was on the ground with Elizabeth, casting spells and trying to get the monstrous plant to put us down, while Peter watched from the shadows of the castle entrance, laughing and sneezing. Then Snape swooped down from the sky with a burst of green light, laughing madly, and I awoke with a nervous start.

When I opened my eyes and saw that it was now dark, I felt a surge of panic at the thought that I had missed the Valentine feast. I bolted up and jumped out of bed, grabbing my robes and throwing them on as quickly as I could. Madam Pomfrey must have heard me swearing under my breath, because she hurried out of her office, hands on hips.

"Take it easy, Mr. Potter," she admonished. "You don't want to overtax yourself after a run-in with a Venomous Tentacula, even if it was a baby."

"I have to go," I said, turning toward her. "I feel fine."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "You haven't missed the feast, if that's what you're worried about. It's only just begun."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey," I said, deliberately trying to slow down and stay calm so she would let me leave. "I just don't want to miss my last one at Hogwarts."

"I understand," she said a little more kindly. "Off you go, then—but stay away from the greenhouses!" I wished her a Happy Valentine's Day, giving her my best smile as I left; I think she blushed.

As soon as I left the hospital wing, I hurried toward the Great Hall. I had not gone far, however, when I turned a corner and ran straight into Lily, knocking her backward to the stone floor with a strangled cry of surprise.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "What's the big hurry?"

I helped her up, apologizing profusely. I was starting to feel as if I were cursed and that nothing could possibly go right that day. "I'm sorry," I practically babbled, brushing off her robes. "I was actually coming to find you, I didn't want to miss the…" I trailed off at the amused look on her face.

"Well, you found me," she pointed out. "Rather inelegantly, I might add. I was just coming to wake up you."

I grinned, feeling a bit of confidence return. "You were?"

"You still owe me a meal," she pointed out.

"I do, don't I?" I replied. "Then let's go. It's our last Valentine feast at Hogwarts, after all."

We set off toward the Great Hall together, reminiscing about our years at Hogwarts. Inevitably, the previous year's debacle at Valentine's Day came up, and I let Lily have her go at me, delighting in her laughter, even if it was at my expense.

"Oh, you should have seen the look on your face when you got slapped by Penny Pinkerson," she giggled.

"I seem to recall you slapping me as well," I reminded her.

"You were a big-headed git," she replied.

"I was under a spell," I shot back.

She burst into helpless laughter all over again. "You were so messed up. Oh, James, I hated it at the time, but looking back, it was…" She stopped and smiled, giving a little shrug.

"What?" I asked, hoping she would finish. I wanted to know what she really thought.

"It wasn't that bad," she said, her cheeks slightly pink. "Better than patrolling the corridors, anyway."

We continued in silence, until I finally plucked up the courage to ask her what was on my mind.

"Lily? Can I ask you something about that night?"

She gave me a curious glance sideways. "Of course."

"At the end, when we…you know, kissed…"

"Yes?" she asked. We had stopped not far from the Entrance Hall. I looked down at her, her beautiful green eyes gazing back at me expectantly, and took a deep breath.

"Did you, well…did you notice anything?" I asked.

"Like what?" she replied.

Damn, but she wasn't going to make it easy for me. I had to just lay it on the line.

"The first time we kissed, it was the love potion, and I apologize for that because I was a complete prat at the time." She nodded, clearly amused at my discomfort, so I swallowed and continued. "But the second time, it was different, and I've always wondered…was it just me, or did you feel it, too?"

Lily's face lit up as she opened her mouth to reply. And then from above us we heard…

"Pffffffffft!"

Peeves.

"Potty and Lily-flower!" he cackled, pelting us with chocolates as he zoomed by overhead. "Did I interrupt something, lovies?"

"Yes, you did," snapped Lily, whipping out her wand and blasting a spell at the poltergeist. He twisted out of the way and blew another raspberry at her.

"Now, now, Head Girly-girl," he laughed, shaking his finger at her. "You should be thanking me, you know. Didn't you used to hate this one?" He paused as if he were thinking. "Called him loads of names, if I remember."

He stopped in front of Lily and smacked his lips. I took Lily's hand and pulled her the opposite direction. She fired off another spell over her shoulder, and this time she sent Peeves shrieking away, though still chortling about the Head Girl and Boy.

We turned a corner and walked straight into Remus and Elizabeth.

"Hi!" said Elizabeth brightly. "Did you like your daisies?"

Lily burst out laughing; I groaned and turned down another corridor.

"Where are you going?" called Remus. I could hear Elizabeth asking if she had said something wrong, but I just needed to get away from everyone—and everything—that might interrupt us.

"Good question," murmured Lily. "Where are we going?"

"Back to Gryffindor," I replied.

"But I'm hungry," she said, affecting a pretty pout. "And what about our last Valentine feast at Hogwarts?"

"Sod it, I can't stand the thought of running into anyone else tonight." It was true: if one more thing went wrong, I thought I would explode.

She pulled me to a stop and looked at me with concern. "Are you okay? You seem a bit too upset for what happened."

"For what's happened?" I stared at her incredulously. "Lily, I gave you daises and you got sneezewort instead. Potions was embarrassing, Arithmancy was depressing—"

"Why?" she asked sharply. "What did your numbers say?"

"Never mind." I waved her off. "I was attacked by a giant plant with poisonous vines, missed lunch because I was unconscious, slept through class and had bizarre dreams, and now every time I try to get serious, we get interrupted." I took her both of her hands and looked into her eyes. "I had all these ideas and they've all fallen apart. I just want to celebrate Valentine's Day with you. I want to make up for last year. Lily…I want to see if there's something there."

She touched me on the cheek, which was both maddening and exhilarating. "There is, James, there is. What do you suggest we do?"

"Let's get our cloaks," I said, tugging her along with me again. "We're going to Hogsmeade."

* * *

End Notes:

And here I confess that I am starting to mock myself. The title refers to my rather unfortunate habit of landing James in the hospital wing, St. Mungo's, or some other painful situation in just about every story I write. It apparently reflects my subconscious belief that men suffer for love...or at least, some men. ;-)