It was raining again. Lightning clapped overhead, thunder rumbled. Most of the students were inside, not wanting to get caught in the storm. And I? I welcomed the storm, having come out right when it had started. Being in the rain made me feel closer to Neil, even closer, perhaps, than when I was in the Hospital wing with him. It had been in the middle of a rainstorm that Neil had told me he loved me... It had been in the middle of a rainstorm when I was happy. Happy with him.

Neil's recovery hadn't gone for the better or for the worse. He was still unconscious, and Madam Pomfrey said that if he didn't regain consciousness in the next day, he would be flown out to St. Mungo's hospital.

The idea of him going to the hospital so far away at first scared me. Having him leave, and maybe never come back scared me more. How would I live myself if he died there, without me being there with him? I wouldn't.

His mother, Jane Griffith was going to arrive today to see him. If this had happened at any other time, I would be thrilled to meet my favorite author. But now, I was too depressed to care.

It had been over these last days that I had realized how much I relied on Neil. He was the first thing I thought about in the morning when I woke up... The last thing I would think about before I went to sleep. He was always on my mind, especially now.

I spent as much time as I could in the Hospital Wing with him, never tiring of looking at his blank face... My cousins attempted to lure me away from the Hospital Wing, but their attempts were fruitless.

It was only now that I ventured out of the castle. The last time it had rained, I had been with Neil.

Lightning struck the ground in front of me. Much to close. I was unharmed, but barely. Silently he took a step back, panic beginning to well inside of me. The storm was directly overhead, and it was a rule that students weren't to go out in the rain at times like this. I could very well be hit by lightning.

Any other person would turn and run, but I stood there, frozen with fear. It was an awful quality I possessed, not being able to run when in danger, but now wasn't going to be the moment to get over it. I tried to step back, slipping and falling into a mud puddle behind. My robes became soaked in mud, and I coughed, having swallowed some.

"Lily!" The voice took me by surprise, and I stood up, almost falling in again. Will was running towards me, his hands over his head in an attempt to shield himself from the rain.

"Lily- what are you doing out here?" he demanded, taking my arm to help me from falling. "We're in the middle of the storm- it's dangerous!" He watched as I coughed some more, trembling with fear and cold.

"Sorry," I gasped, flinching as thunder clapped above us.

"Come on," Will said quietly, turning and marching towards the castle, still holding onto my arm.

I didn't attempt to get free; he was helping me from falling into other puddles.

We entered the castle, and I felt a surge of relief as we were out of the rain.

"Why on earth were you out there?" Will asked as I broke free from his grasp, leaning up against the wall with my hands over my face. My world was spinning around me dizzily from swallowing so much dirty water.

How could I think of an answer that wasn't the truth? I was a terrible liar. "I was... I wanted to see the rain," I murmured, looking up to see him raise an eyebrow.

"Right," he said under his breath. I knew he didn't believe me. "Jane just got in... she's in the Hospital wing with Neil."

My head whipped up. She was here... already? "She is?" I breathed, feeling a rush, for a reason that I couldn't quite explain.

Will nodded. "You should go get changed before you go see her... are you all right?" he asked, seeing me choke slightly.

"Yes- fine," I said quickly. Would Jane judge me...? Would she know that I was the reason for Neil's accident?

"Let's go to the common room then," Will said finally, after watching me for a moment. He didn't seem quite convinced by my actions, and I wondered if he would question them.

He didn't, to my relief. We walked up to the Gryffindor tower in silence, me seeing things in double.

"I'm sure Jane is excited to meet you," Will said as we approached the portrait.

I gulped. "W-why?" I asked quietly, hating how my voice came out sounding squeaky from fear.

Will raised an eyebrow. "Because you're his girlfriend, of course!" he exclaimed, smirking. "I bet she knows all about you. He talked about you to everyone... probably to her, too."

My stomach did a summersault. He had? "Oh," was all I could choke out.

We approached the portrait, and Will glanced over at me again. "Don't be nervous... I'm sure she'll love you." He smiled slightly, probably trying to comfort me.

I nodded fervently, and walked forward, right into the portrait. Inwardly I cursed, having forgotten to say the password.

"Watch out, deary!" The fat lady trilled, who was lately into singing.

Will looked concerned as I picked myself up off of the ground. "Lily, are you all right? You look awful."

"Gee, thanks," I muttered, reciting the password to the fat lady, who swung open. "Thanks for worrying though, Will... I'm fine; honestly." I forced a smile, which I suspected came out as a grimace.

Will hesitated. "If you say so," he murmured. "I'll wait for you down here... I'm going to visit Neil too."

I nodded, and quietly walked over to the stairs that led up to the girl's dormitory.

When I reached my dormitory, I opened the door, feeling slight shock to see my dorm-mates sitting on my bed. The girl named Trisha rushed forward, hugging me.

"Oh Lily! Are you all right? We heard about what happened to Neil." Trisha pulled away, probably noticing my shock. I had frozen again; this girl had never spoken anything that wasn't 'can you pass me that paper?'.

She had? But Neil had been injured days ago. I stayed silent, feeling my cheeks redden as I looked down at the ground. "I- yeah," I stuttered.

"Are you all right?" My other dorm-mate, Kayle, stood up too, stretching. "It must be hard... losing someone you love."

My face drained of color, and I met their gazes. "He's not lost," I said quietly, feeling myself shaking. From anger or fear, I wasn't sure. "He's going to recover."

"Why of course he is," Trisha said quickly. "You're going to visit him, I suspect?" She flipped her hair, and I caught the scent of lavender from her shampoo.

"Yes," I replied, crossing over to the bathroom. "Thanks for..." My voice trailed off, and I felt awkward. "Thanks for... caring." I didn't really think that they cared, but I didn't really want to be rude. Silently I entered the bathroom, not meeting their gazes as I shut the door.

As I turned to look in the mirror, my eyes widened. My hair limply fell on my shoulders, and I had bags under my eyes. How do I look so different? I hadn't changed that much, but it was a shock nonetheless. My appearance hadn't changed so drastically since I had been eight.

Quickly I took a shower, changing into fresh clothes. As I turned to face the mirror again, I felt slight relief to see that I looked more or less the same as I had when Neil was still here.

I exited the bathroom, slightly glad to see that my dorm-mates had left. Quickly I left the dormitory, padding down the steps to meet Will. He was waiting in a chair near the portrait, not talking to anyone. I wondered faintly where Jake was, but it didn't bother me very much; he would be all right.

Will looked up at me as I approached him. "Nice," he commented. He must have noticed how unkept I had looked a few minutes ago.

I blushed, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. "Thanks," I said, smiling slightly. It took me by surprise; I hadn't smiled for days. "So... are we going?"

He nodded, getting up and stretching. "Yes."

OoOoOoO

Will and I entered the Hospital wing, and I looked around, trying to see Jane. She was there, sitting next to her son's bed. As Madam Pomfrey nodded at us, she looked up, and my heart skipped a beat. She was the person I had looked up to my whole life... and now she was here..

My eyes fell on Neil again. He was still unconscious, and my excitement evaporated.

"Lily Potter?" Jane smiled, getting up. She wore a green dress, with a necklace made out of green stones. Her hair was up, and she had bags under her eyes. By the redness in her eyes, I could see that she had lost sleep over the whole event.

"Yes," I said, my voice much to soft.

She came up and gave me a hug. I froze, my eyes wide. Will smirked slightly at my reaction, and went over to Madam Pomfrey to ask if Neil had recovered slightly.

"Lily, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you!" Jane said warmly, releasing me. "Neil told me all about you in letters... Since the day he met you, which was five years ago." She smiled slightly.

My face reddened, and I blinked. "It's nice to meet you, too," I stuttered, feeling stupid.

Will came up beside us. "Lily's a bit shy," he said to Jane, and I looked down. "But she's been so excited to meet you... Think she read some of your books."

Jane was still smiling, and she looked over at me. "You have? Which ones?"

"All of them," I replied, feeling more comfortable around her already. "Your writing is amazing."

She smiled. "You are as sweet as Neil told me." Her eyes became dull again as she looked over at Neil. "Oh dear, I do hope he recovers." She glanced over at Madam Pomfrey. "Is there any sign of it...?"

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Today he almost became conscious again... I have hope that he will get better before he has to go to St. Mungo's.

My eyes lit up. "Really?" I breathed, feeling happier than I had for days.

As if to answer my prayer, I heard a noise from Neil's bed. I rushed over, my eyes wide with excitement. "Was that him?" I whispered, as everyone clustered around him.

Before anyone could reply, Neil moved his head slightly, grimacing. "Lily?" he muttered, having heard my voice.

My heart skipped a beat, and I bent down beside him. "Neil! You're awake!" My voice was full of happiness, and I felt tears in my eyes from joy.

Jane was clutching at the bed-frame, her eyes wide. "Neil, dear, are you all right?"

Neil opened one eye slightly, seeing everyone around him. "Mom?" he whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to make sure you're okay," Jane replied, smiling.

Neil closed his eye again. "What happened?" he said under his breath, his voice still scratchy from not being used for so long.

"You got hit in the head by a bludger, mate," Will replied. I was glad he didn't mention who had hit it. It was inevitable that he would hear about it someday, but right now, the only thing that mattered was that he was all right.

"What? How?" Neil attempted to sit up, but fell back again, flinching. "Ouch... I feel really hurt."

Madam Pomfrey rushed off to get him some medicine, and the rest of us watched him anxiously.

"You all right, Lily?" Neil asked, smiling slightly, despite the pained look on his face.

I nodded. "Yes," I replied, smiling. "I missed you... I thought you were going to..." My voice trailed off, and I was unable to finish my sentence.

"...Die?" He finished it for me.

I nodded fervently, my eyes wide. "I was so afraid." My voice was barely a whisper, and I looked down.

He closed his eyes again. "I'm not going to die for a while yet," he promised.

Jane reached a hand out and touched her son's forehead. "You're burning up a fever!" she exclaimed.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over, putting a bit of medicine into Neil's mouth, which he swallowed. "You'll be better in no time," she said.

I could hear the relief in her voice.