AN: On to the next one! This immediately follows our last chapter. I split it up so it wasn't massive! Obviously, I do not own Potter. Review please, and let me know what you think. They are much much appreciated. Also, thanks for the favorites and follows!
Chapter 12: Couldn't Miss It
It didn't take long and the Gryffindor team was split up as students offered their congratulations and hugs. When James was sandwiched between so many bodies that he could hardly move was about the time his adrenalin wore off. His head was spinning, his limbs felt heavy, and he was entirely nauseous.
Sirius and Remus pushed their way through the ever growing mob, trying to find their best friend and congratulate him on an epic win.
"There he is!" Remus yelled from behind, pointing over Sirius's shoulder at a mop of sopping black hair wrapped in a bandage who seemed to be trying to escape the crowd.
Sirius surged forward, pushing through the densely packed bodies and caught James's arm before he lost sight of him.
"Prongs, that was bloody brilliant!" He yelled over the crowd, spinning his friend towards him, "Completely brilliant!"
When James turned and met his eyes, Sirius immediately knew that something was wrong. He had become all too accustomed to James in distress this year.
"James, what's wrong?" He asked frantically, scanning his entire body. He then put a hand on his chest patting about, as if he could distinguish blood through his already sopping robes, "It didn't open again, did it?"
"No, Pads." James panted, "I'm fine. It's just…everything is spinning." At these words James stumbled forward despite standing still a moment before, and would have probably hit the ground if Remus hadn't caught his arms.
"Sirius, it's his head," Remus said steadying the boy and trying to meet James's eyes, "The excitement must have worn off. Let's get him to Pomfrey, she'll fix him right up."
Sirius took the lead, clearing the crowd while Remus propped James up and dragged him out. It didn't seem like the sea of celebrating bodies would ever end, and James began to look more and more like he was on the verge of losing consciousness. By the time the three boys finally broke through onto open grass, James's body weight dropped and he began to retch violently onto the ground. If it wasn't for Remus's quick reflexes of moving behind his friend and wrapping his arms around his bent over waste, James probably would have collapsed in his own vomit when he had finished.
Being the loyal friends that they were, Remus and Sirius took positions on either side of James and hauled him up after he had emptied his stomach.
"Let's get him under the tent!" Remus yelled over the still cheering crowd, as he pointed ahead with his free hand.
As soon as the tent flaps closed on the three soaking wet boys, Madam Pomfrey was upon them.
"What on earth?!" She exclaimed seeing James between them, "I told that boy not to play!" She motioned Remus and Sirius over to an open cot, "Quickly boys, put him there. Mr. Lupin, would you please grab a bucket just in case he gets sick."
Remus and Sirius glanced at each other as they lowered James down. "I'm not sure if there's anything left to come up," Sirius said in a slightly repulsed voice.
"Oh?" she replied in an apologetic tone, patting James lightly on the chest, "Well, at least that's over."
Remus and Sirius stayed huddled in the corner of the tent while the healer performed her work quickly and efficiently. She checked his pupils asked him some easy questions and handed him a full goblet of some kind of tonic.
"Drink this," She demanded, "Mr. Potter, you have a concussion. Obviously. And you shouldn't strain yourself, as you just have – your body is healing!"
James reached out a shaky hand and took the goblet, chugging it down.
"Now, I'm sure you would like a nice long nap," the healer went on, attempting to straighten James's hair, "but unfortunately I will not allow that. It's unsafe to sleep so soon with the type of head injury you obtained. I want you awake for the next six hours."
While James finished with his cup, Sirius stepped forward and chimed in, "Six hours, huh?"
The healer nodded, "It's too dangerous to let him sleep. God knows if he would even wake up! Look at him. This boy cracked his skull not two hours ago! Foolish boys and their brooms." She muttered the last part too herself as she took the empty goblet back from James.
"Six hours," Sirius repeated as if he was making small talk. "Maybe you should give him to us."
Before Pomfrey could protest, he went on, "I know James. His attention span is ten minutes at best. If you leave him alone in bed, he's sure to fall asleep within the hour. Let him loose with us – we'll keep him entertained and awake. You know us, Madam Pomfrey, we're relentless. And I promise to take it easy on him." The handsome boy finished his case with a smile, to which Remus added a more innocent one of his own.
The healer looked over at the boys, scanning them skeptically from head to toe.
"I suppose after an hour you're free to take him," she replied with pursed lips. Just then there was movement across the tent – Gryffindor's keeper was beginning to stir.
"Excuse me," she said, hurrying over to Tim's bedside.
Remus looked from Sirius's grin to James, lying on the bed staring at the ceiling and making a disgusted face as he opened and closed his mouth.
"That was revolting," James remarked.
"What are you trying to pull, Pads?" Remus whispered.
"Gryffindor just won the Quidditch Cup! James here was the hero of the game. There's probably a party raging in the common room as we speak." Sirius moved his gaze to the occupied bed, pity in his eyes, "I'm his best mate. I couldn't let him miss that."
Remus shook his head, a small smile on his face, "You're ridiculous… but brilliant."
An hour passed with Madam Pomfrey fussing over James and Tim. The boys weren't able to talk much, but they were able to tell the keeper that Gryffindor had taken the victory. And after receiving instructions and a lecture from the healer, the three friends found themselves walking out of the tent into the still drizzling air, into the castle, and ascending the many staircases that led to Gryffindor tower on the seventh floor.
Whatever was in the tonic James had taken had steadied his vertigo, but he still looked utterly exhausted.
"Liven up, Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed skipping forward, "This is going to be the biggest party in our school career!"
They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Sirius practically bursting with excitement, James looking like a flutter of wind from a pixie wing might knock him over, and Remus eyeing James worriedly as he hovered behind him. Sirius spat out the password, moving forward before he even finished the phrase, but the Fat Lady did not swing open. Instead her gaze was fixed on James.
"What have you three been up to this time?" She said in an exhausted fashion. This was clearly not the first time they had showed up with one of the three boys looking a bit worse for the wear. "You better take that boy to the hospital wing."
"He's fine, now let us in," Sirius responded impatiently.
As she swung forward, the Fat Lady wore a displeased expression, muttering to herself. Fortunately, James did not hear the curse words he was sure she was directing at his best mates because when the portrait opened he was met with an impossibly loud roar of applause and hollers. His first reaction was to wince and step back as the loud noise made his head pound, but Remus's hand had found its way to his back to steady him. Once the shock wore off, a grin broke out across his face and he was pulled forward into a sea of half hugs and pats on the back.
It didn't take too long for the commotion to die down to a tolerable level as James's fellow Gryffindors went back to celebrating, leaving the chaser who had saved the game to his own business. As James headed toward a squishy arm chair in a quieter corner of the room, a mass of damp curls and filth pummeled into his chest, momentarily winding him. Joey wrapped him in a tight hug which he returned.
"I never got to congratulate you!" She said, "You did great. It was incredibly mental. But great." Before the boy could reply, Joey pulled away, placing her hands at the base of his neck and looking him over, focusing on the new white bandages around his skull, "You alright?" she asked as her eyes x-rayed him.
James shrugged. "I'll be okay," he said in an indifferently before breaking into a smile of his own, "And congratulations to you! You've got to fill me in on the half of the game I missed. How the hell did they get to three hundred points?!"
Joey laughed and nodded, releasing him, "Oh god, Potter. It was brutal."
Before any further pleasantries could be exchanged between the two teammates, Sirius butted in. "Now I'm sorry to interrupt, but if this party is going to be one to go down in Gryffindor's books, we're going to need some more fuel. Now, these fools have tried to fend for themselves in my absence but I would say the supplies are going to run out in less than an hour. That means," he paused for dramatic effect and grinned, considering all his friends, "Hogsmeade run."
This was Sirius in his element, and he would be damned if he did not gain ten minutes of partying for every minute he had missed. The determined boy looked to his friends in turn, "Now Remus, I know you're a Prefect and all, and are against breaking the rules in the public eye, but this is an emergency. Joey, find Taylor, we're going to need some extra hands and so you're about to be let in on a Marauders secret. Where's Lily? She's on Potter watch. Prongs here has been ordered to stay awake for five more hours. Now where's Peter, we could use him…" he trailed off before pushing back into the crowd with his soldiers on his heels.
While Sirius was still giving his plan of attack, James stiffly walked over to a couch and sunk ungracefully into its welcoming cushions. He felt another form take a seat beside him, and before he could crack open an eye, she spoke and James recognized the voice immediately – Lily Evans.
"Five more hours, huh?"
James simply grumbled in response.
"Come on, Potter," James felt her shift and heard her snap her fingers in front of his face, "let me see those beautiful hazel eyes."
"Beautiful eyes?" he responded, eyes still closed but his signature grin spreading across his face, "That's my line."
Lily laughed and James opened one eye to catch the site.
The red head huffed, relaxing back against the cushions, "How did I get put on Potter watch anyway?"
James responded with his eyes still closed, "Because you're responsible. Because you don't like breaking the rules… Because I can easily stare at you for five hours." With that, he opened his eyes fully and waited for the famous Lily Evans eye roll he so often received.
But it didn't come since Lily seemed to have missed his entire last statement.
"Wait. Breaking the rules? What are you talking about, Potter? I thought they were going down to the kitchens."
James chuckled, "More like Hogsmeade. If they hurry, they'll be back in an hour. Great idea with the kitchens though. Let's go for a walk, get something to hold the party over until they get back."
James groaned as he pushed himself up from the couch, every muscle protesting. Falling off a broom was never fun. After taking a moment to gain his equilibrium he set a course for the portrait hole.
He heard Lily's voice behind him, still on the couch, "Hogsmeade? How?"
James didn't turn around, on account of that would require too much movement and responded, "Come on, Evans," as he purposefully moved toward the exit, "Sirius gave you a job. Don't let the poor guy down."
The two found themselves slowly descending a staircase, in route to the kitchens, as Lily still questioned this supposed supply run to Hogsmeade.
"Potter, you're telling me that five people are currently sneaking off to Hogsmeade? Just waltzing out of the castle gates to return with arm loads of food and butterbeer?" Her tone was disbelieving.
"Not out the front gates, no."
"Then how, exactly?!" Lily said, exasperated.
James didn't answer, instead he slowly came to a stop in the middle of the narrow staircase and grabbed the railing on either side of him, clumsily lowering himself to take a seat.
"James?" Lily asked, worriedly, grabbing his shoulder from behind.
James could tell by the use of his first name that he had startled her.
"I'm fine, Evans," he replied, though a bit unevenly. "Let's just sit a moment. Let everything… settle."
Lily gave the back of his head a concerned look, before squeezing herself in to sit beside him, trying to get a good look at his face.
"Maybe the kitchens were a bad idea," she suggested in what she hoped was an offhand voice. "I think the party will be fine until the others get back."
Just then there was a rumble beneath them and the staircase began to move.
"Oh Merlin," James moaned, arm shooting just in front of Lily's face to brace himself on the railing with a vice-like grip. As the dark haired boy breathed deeply and tried hard not to vomit, Lily looked up into the high ceilings of the castle. This was a view she often saw, but never quite appreciated. The staircase slowed and settled into a new position, breaking Lily's enchantment and she lowered her gaze back to the boy beside her.
James still had both hands tightly gripping the rails, eyes squeezed shut, and was breathing roughly between a few choice curses. His sun kissed face from playing quidditch all season had become pale white and Lily quickly conjured a bucket and shoved it between his bent knees.
Not a moment later, James began to heave into the bucket, his hands still holding their white knuckled grip on the railing. Lily winced, awkwardly patting his back as the boy continued to violently dry heave, seeing as he didn't really have anything left to bring up.
After what felt like an eternity, James relaxed his grip and slumped forward, completely exhausted. "Sorry," he breathed, giving Lily a side glance, but not making eye contact. Lily continued to rub small, soothing circles on his back, her other hand braced against his abdomen to stop any chance of him tumbling forward.
"Don't worry about it."
"I just continue to completely embarrass myself in front of you this year, don't I?"
Lily half laughed, "Maybe you should have done it earlier. It seems to have formed a friendship between us."
"Mmm," James hummed, "Truly show you I'm not some arrogant toe rag – but an actual pathetic human being? Genius."
They sat like that for a few more silent moments before James seemed to get his bearings and huffed a true laugh, "So maybe the kitchens weren't a good idea."
Lily chuckled, "Just realizing this, Potter? Sirius should be back any minute now anyway."
James lifted his head, perplexed, "It's been an hour?...Already?"
"Time flies when you're having fun."
Lily grinned and James rolled his eyes, breathing out a, "Yeah."
Lily looked at him in concern again, "But seriously, you're pretty slow moving. It took us a while to get this far."
James groaned, "And now I'm going to have to walk back up. This was a terrible idea you had, Evans."
Before Lily could defend herself that this impromptu trip was, in fact, not her idea, the pair was interrupted by a loud clatter and a curse on the landing below.
"Peter! Be more careful," came a familiar voice. Not a moment later Sirius Black appeared from behind a tapestry below them, a bursting rucksack on his back and a box in his arms, his fellow supply men filing out behind him. As Sirius emerged from the hidden passage, he glanced up, a look of surprise falling across his face when he spotted Lily and James.
"Prongs?"
He shoved the box he was holding into Joey's empty hands, who seemed to sag under the weight, and hurried up the stairs to the pair.
"Merlin," he cursed moving his gaze from his best friend and the mostly empty bucket at his feet to Lily beside him, "I thought I told you to watch him, not worsen his already pitiful state."
"Don't yell at her, Pads," James replied in a drained voice, "It's not her fault. I thought I'd seduce her on a nice evening stroll." He gave a shadow of his usual grin and braced himself for a slap from Lily that never came.
"Yeah, yeah," Sirius muttered, shrugging off his rucksack and reaching down to lever James to his feet, "Up you get, Romeo. We've got a party to save."
Sirius took point, with James's arm draped over his shoulder and the rest followed, Lily having taken Sirius's abandoned pack. As they rounded a corner on the sixth floor, the group froze. It seems in Sirius's struggle to drag James back to the tower he had not checked the Marauders Map, folded and forgotten in his back pocket. They now stood face to face with their Head of House, well past curfew and weighed down with mostly legal goods (under normal circumstances) from Hogsmeade, no less.
No one made to move or speak except Sirius whose voice seemed to stall on the syllable "Errrr," as his mind scrambled for a believable alibi. McGonagall's piercing gaze seemed to first survey every inch of James, then shifted to scan Sirius before she spoke.
"Mr. Black, have you forgotten how to speak English, or are you practicing a new dialect of Troll?"
Her sharp voice broke the tense silence and Sirius mumbled, "Neither Professor," in a voice that sounded unlike his usual confident bark.
She surveyed the pair again – James propped up by Sirius, whose neck was bent at an awkward angle in order to meet McGonagall's eyes due to his friend's arm.
"I thought so. Potter, Black – follow me," she responded, never sparing a glance at the group behind the two boys.
As Sirius and James rounded the corner to follow their Professor the five Gryffindors left behind remained silent and frozen, still in complete shock. Remus and Lily, the two Prefects, slowly turned to meet each other's bewildered gaze. Each could tell the other was thinking the same – how were they still standing, shining badges pinned to their robes and weighed down with boxes, and not cowering in the corner facing McGonagall's rage as all of Gryffindor's house point rubies poured out of their hourglass, pummeling their rule-breaking backs.
Peter was the first to recover, "Should we just… go then?" his small voice spoke up.
That seemed to pull the others out of their trance. "Yeah, let's go," Taylor said while shifting the box in her arms, "She knows where to find us if she wishes."
James and Sirius followed McGonagall into her office, the silence thick between the three as she settled behind her desk – they were going to be in detention for the rest of their lives, and that was if they weren't just flat out expelled.
"Sit," she said nodding at the mismatched chairs in front of her.
Sirius stiffly sat on the edge of his seat while James not so graciously flopped into his. McGonagall's eyes once again first slowly surveyed every inch of James before moving over Sirius more quickly.
"A little worse for the wear, eh Potter?" she finally said to the unnaturally silent students before her.
James shrugged without making eye contact as she went on, "I was told you were released from Madam Pomfrey under the watchful eye of Mr. Black here and Mr. Lupin."
The two boys still did not verbally respond, simply nodding, their eyes fixed firmly to the wooden floor before them.
"That was a nice bit of flying there."
James looked up at her dumbly at those words, "Thanks, Professor."
She smiled at him, "Brought the Cup back to Gryffindor tower. Now, let's see," she rummaged in the pockets of her robes, "Ah, here it is." She brought out a small glass vile, "Madam Pomfrey asked me to give this to you. Bit of Pepper Up potion – she figured your last dose had worn off."
James blinked at her, not sure if this whole conversation was some sort of crazy hallucination. McGonagall then rattled the bottle a bit in front of the boy's blank face as if to wake him from a day dream.
"Come on now, Potter. Drink up." As James took the vile she turned to Sirius, "Another four hours before he sleeps, Mr. Back."
"Yes, ma'am," Sirius replied, quickly shutting his agape mouth.
When James had finished with the potion the professor shooed the two students from her office. James now seemed to be steadier on his feet, and needed no help from Sirius after the potion. As they reached the door frame McGonagall's voice called the still silently shocked boys back, "Oh, Mr. Black,"
Here it comes, Sirius thought with a wince as he slowly turned around.
"Do try and keep it down."
And Sirius sore he saw her wink before the door swung shut with the flick of her wand.
Sirius was right in saying that this celebration would be a party to go down in Gryffindor history. By the time the two boys strutted through the portrait hole – their new found luck adding even more to the spring in Sirius's step – the party was newly into its second wind with the help of the supply drop. Students milled around rowdily, some with butterbeer clutched in their hands, others with suspicious goblets that seemed to be smoking a bit. Remus and Lily turned a blind eye to the barrel that was placed upon a study table in the far corner of the common room in which someone had hastily charmed the words "Completely Legal Drinks," to shine gold upon it. Older students walked away freely with full smoking goblets, but anyone who tried to stumble out of the portrait hole was quickly apprehended. Though the Prefects did not want their entire House turned against them, they were not about to lose their shining badges due to someone stumbling into a suit of armor.
James was passed from one friend to another as the night wore on. Joey recounted the half of the quidditch match that he had missed, Peter kept giving him refreshments, and Remus's watchful eye never strayed far. Shortly after Sirius had drunkenly tried to climb the girl's staircase and who now lay laughing hysterically on his back where the slide had spit him out, their downed Gryffindor keeper – Tim Jackson – came walking through the portrait hole. Now fully recovered and his bitterness about having missed a majority of the match driven away by the pure euphoria of his celebrating House, Tim was eager to hear what had happened.
The entire quidditch team gathered around the fire, and once again James got to hear the match retold. Except this time he got to come in when they reached the part where he came, "storming onto the field like a bat out of hell, his head strongly resembling a mummy from the Gringotts tombs." When the recount was finished, before they split up once again, someone came around and snapped a picture of the team who had achieved the perfect season – John York, their captain and seeker hoisting the cup, flanked by the rest of his team. Beaters Bobby and David holding up goblets of steaming liquid, keeper Tim Jackson behind John, clasping him on the shoulder, and chasers Matt, Joey, and James with their arms slung around each other's necks – James giving an exhausted yet delighted grin.
The team scattered back to their personal friends and James was left alone, occupying the squishy couch in front of the fire. His head only dully ached at this point, but he was exhausted beyond belief. Without realizing it, he relaxed into the welcoming cushions, the fire comfortably warming his face and his eyes drifted shut.
Lily approached James, watching his eyes slowly close as the boy gave in to his clear fatigue. He was alerted to her presence as she took a seat beside him, causing the cushions to sink down.
"I'm up," he sputtered, violently twitching upright, "I'm awake."
Lily laughed lightly as James's eyes focused on her in a glare. "Evans," was all he said in an off handed sigh as he relaxed back into the couch.
"Potter," she laughed again, "seeing as Sirius seems to be a little unable to do his duty at the moment," they glanced across the room to where Remus was attempting to wrestle the wand out of a drunk Sirius's hand. She continued, "And he did appoint me to Potter watch – which is a job I take very seriously, by the way."
That gave James a laugh.
"Hey, I do." She then glanced down at her watch, "I have come to inform you that you've done your time." She smiled at him, "We're over six hours now. You're free to sleep as you wish."
"Thank, Merlin," he huffed, settling further into the cushions and propping his feet on the table, letting his eyes close.
"Aren't you going upstairs?" Lily asked, bemused.
"Nope," he responded without opening his eyes, "Sirius didn't want me to miss this party, and so here I will stay." And within a minute, Lily swore his breathing evened out.