Days in Avalon

Chapter Thirty-four: Slipped Away

The next couple of days went by fairly fast. Before anyone knew it, the weekend was upon them. Most of the students had decided to take a break from studying and enjoy the warm weather outside. All except for Lily and Everett. They on the other hand could be found in the library working on their studies. Well…at least one was.

Since there talk a few days ago, Lily couldn't get James out of her mind. She found herself once again daydreaming about what it was like to kiss him and be with him. He seemed to bring the best out of her and showed her that is was okay to have fun more often then usual.

"Lily? Lily?" called a voice from a distance. Lily blinked back into reality and saw that her boyfriend had been talking to her.

"Lily, what's wrong?" asked Everett.

"Nothing," lied Lily. "Just stressed out because of classes."

"You shouldn't be," said Everett with a smile. "You are the best student in your year."

"No I'm not," said Lily defensively.

"Yes you are," he said warmly. He then closed up his book and began to pack up his things. "Come on."

Lily nodded and began to pack up her things. "Where are we going?"

"Just follow me."

Once they were outside of the library, Everett pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around Lily's head like a mask.

"What are you doing?" inquired Lily a little miffed.

"It's a surprise," was all he said.

Lily felt like an idiot being led around the castle by her boyfriend blindfolded. From the senses and memory Lily was pretty good in visualizing what path they were taking. Everett led Lily down the various corridors trying to throw her off as they headed for the front doors of the school. Once outside though, Lily's mental picture was gone. The high winds for the day swept between the two of them, and nearly knocked Lily off her feet, as Everett weaved too and fro throughout the grounds confusing the heck out of Lily. After a good length of time and a few gusty winds that impaired their journey, Lily was about to tell him off when he suddenly stopped.

"Are we there yet?" asked Lily trying to hid her anger. She didn't receive a response from him. Instead, he silently walked behind her and untied the handkerchief from her head. Lily blinked a couple of times to regain her correct vision and saw that she was now standing in the middle of the Quidditch field. She looked around as waves of complex emotions coursed through her body. 'Is this some sort of joke or punishment?' she though.

"What's going on?"

"Well, I know you once told me you wanted to learn how to fly properly. So…I'm going to teach you," said Everett brightly.

"Oh…but," started Lily. She really didn't mind the gesture he was doing, but secretly she never wanted to climb back on a broom again.

"No buts. Come on now, it's not that hard."

Lily consented to his demands. Soon the two of them had mounted their brooms that Everett had gotten from the supply closet and were up in the air. For nearly twenty minutes Lily listened to Everett as he barked orders to her, while she fought to stay on her broom. The more she listened to him, the more she wished that James was the one shouting instructions at her. At least he knew how to teach someone to fly a broom without making them feel like a complete imbecile.

"Come on, Lily. You can do it," said Everett as he climbed higher into the air.

"Everett, it's too high!" shouted Lily as she tried her hardest to steady her broom in the strong winds.

"Nonsense, the air is great up here," called Everett.

Lily took a deep breath and rose a few more feet up into the air. By the time she had reached Everett, she was more than a hundred feet into the air.

"See I told you it was easy," said Everett with a wide smile.

At that moment James, Sirius, and Peter came out onto the field to practice for a bit.

"Prongs are you sure you want to practice today?" asked Sirius as he tried to keep his hair out of his face.

"Of course! Why not?" said James a little agitated.

"Umm…well…although you know I'm always up for pushing things to the extreme, don't you think it's a tad bit too windy out here? Even by our standards?" he asked. The three boys looked up at the sky and saw a bird fly into the air and quickly fall out of the sky by the gusts of wind.

James simply shrugged his shoulders. "All the more reason to practice, Padfoot. I want this team to be the best flyers Hogwarts have ever seen."

"James we already are," exasperated Sirius. Peter nodded in agreement. Sirius saw Peter's actions and merely rolled his eyes a bit before turning back to James.

"Besides the team isn't even out here."

"Yeah, why is that? Where is everyone? I thought you said you'd round them up?" asked James a little miffed.

"Everyone else is busy. Robin's studying for N.E. as well as Bryan. And, both of our beaters are studying for their O.W.L.s," said Sirius as he fought to keep a piece of his hair out of him mouth.

"What about Andy?" James asked.

"Couldn't find her," said Sirius in an odd tone. "Probably off with that Tristan bloke again."

"Actually," said Peter, "she said this morning that she was going to the library to study for that Defense exam we have, and work on Transfiguration."

"Oh," said Sirius a little surprised and relieved. James noticed his best friend's reaction. Come to think about it, every time someone mentioned Andy or her new boyfriend around Sirius, he'd start to act very strangely.

"Is there something wrong between you and Andy?" asked James.

"Prongs, when has there been anything right between us?" said Sirius smoothly.

"True. But you two were getting along earlier in the year. Heck one might even assume that you two became friends," he commented.

"So what if we have," said Sirius a little defensively.

James was startled and blinked at his best mate's reaction. "Okay, now I know there is something going on."

"What are you getting on about?" asked Sirius. He kept his facial expression ice cold, but deep down he was slightly worried that his feelings for Andy were beginning to show publicly. Normally he wouldn't care if people knew who he was interested in. But with Andy it was different. He guessed that since most of their relationship had been kept a secret from public eyes for so long, so should his feelings for her.

"You never snap at me unless there's something or someone that's got you riled up," said James with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nothing," said Sirius as he brooded over his feelings.

"Right," said James staring him down.

Sirius mimicked James actions for a few moments before he cracked. He knew if he didn't tell him something now, he'd never let up. "I don't know. It just…that Tristan guy she's seeing now. He doesn't seem right for her."

"Actually he isn't that bad of a bloke at all," said James remembering the few times he talked to him in class. "I think he's almost perfect for her."

"Maybe, but I just don't trust him," said Sirius.

"Whatever," sighed James. Sirius took this opportunity to change topics a bit.

"What about you and Evans?" he asked.

"What about us?" inquired James unsure as to what he was getting at.

"I take it you too are still not talking to one another?"

"No, we talk. But only through owls," he stated simply.

"Why don't you just tell me what the hell happened between you two?" said a frustrated Sirius.

"It doesn't matter now," said James darkly.

"Well obviously it does. Come on now, it can't be that bad. I mean it's not like you kissed the poor girl," chuckled Sirius.

James remained silent as he walked over to the locker rooms to grab some of his padding.

"Bloody hell!" whispered Sirius as he ran to catch up with James. By the time he caught up with him he was already to the locker room doors. Sirius jumped in front of him to stop him from leaving the field.

"You did, didn't you? That's why you've been miserable for so long. You kissed Lily Evans," he said in amazement.

"So what if I did!" said James in a raised tone. "Still doesn't change the fact that she's not speaking to me."

Sirius had no response. He could see that his best mate was still upset over what happened. 'Knowing James', he thought, 'he probably feels like a right old git'.

"Come on let's get out there before it gets too bad," said James.

The three boys then walked into the locker room to put on some of their Quidditch pads and walked onto the field. Once they got back onto the field they noticed that there were two people flying around the field.

"Looks like we'll have to take a rain check," said Sirius noticing the two flyers.

"Wait a minute. Isn't that Everett flying up there?" asked Peter.

"Looks like it," said Sirius. "But who's that up there with him."

All three of them watched as the other flyer fought to keep their broom steady. The more James watched her flying around, the more he recognized the red hair girl flying through the air.

"What the devil is she doing up there?" said an irate James. Not only was the sense of jealously sinking in, but also the feeling of anger towards Everett for taking her out on a day like today. "He knows she can't fly all that well. Everyone does!"

"Probably trying to give her a flying lesson," commented Sirius.

Upon hearing his words, James began to brood over the memory of their flying lesson.

"Everett I can't hold on!" shouted Lily. "It's too windy."

"Just do what I told you. Tuck you elbows in and lock your knees, and you'll steady out," yelled Everett.

Lily tossed backed and forth as the wind blew against her hard. "I'm trying but it's not working. I think I'm just going back down. AHHHH!"

At that moment, a huge gust of wind swept up and literally blew Lily off her broom.

"LILY!" shouted Everett as he tried to catch her.

"Oh shit," said Sirius as he watched Lily fall from the sky almost a hundred and ten feet in the air.

"Lily!" screamed James as he jumped onto his broom and bolted toward her with his wand extended. Sirius was right behind him, but both of them were blown slightly off course. They used their wands to try and slow her down enough for a soft landing, but they were only partly successful. Lily continued to fall and land with a slightly loud thud on the ground.

Andy was in the library working on her Transfiguration project; researching about how to transfigure inert objects and into useful everyday items such as a stove, a bed, or other such items that would be useful when traveling. As she hunched over in her chair coping down note after note, she was shocked to say the least when James's owl Bailey flew into the library and landed right on the book she was taking notes from.

"Boy, aren't you a little anxious today," she commented. 'Just like his owner.' Bailey held out his foot where a note was attached to it. She untied the parchment and began to read the scrawl.

Come to the hospital wing now. Something's happened that you need to know. Sirius

Andy re-read the note once more before she threw everything into her bag and bolted from the library.

As she came around the corner she skidded to a halt when she found Remus, Peter, and Sirius standing outside of the hospital wing. All three of them looked up when they heard her arrival.

"What is it? What's wrong? Did anything happen to James?" she asked when she noticed he wasn't among them. Sirius walked over towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady.

"Andy."

"What is it Sirius?" she asked quickly thinking the worst. "What happened to him?"

"James is fine. But...there's been an accident."

"An accident? But you just said he's..."

"He is...but..." he stuttered.

"Sirius, what is it?" she demanded.

"It's Lily."

"Lily? W-what happened?" she said in a low voice.

"Everett was giving her a flying lesson when she fell off her broom," he said with his head hung low. He couldn't bear to see the look in her eyes when he told her what happened to her friend.

"Flying lesson? In these winds?"

"That's what we said," said Remus and Sirius at the same time.

"How is she doing now?" she mumbled trying to digest what just happened.

"We don't know. She's in there with everyone else," said Remus.

"Who?"

"Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, James and Everett," squeaked Peter.

"Everett? What are they..."

"Talking to Dumbledore about what happened," said Remus. Andy stood there for a moment taking in what they had just told her. When her eyes caught the hospital wing doors, she began to march over towards them.

"Andy, what are you doing?" said Sirius.

"I want to see her."

"Andy, no!" said all three of them.

"I want to see her!" yelled Andy as she ripped opened the doors startling everyone in the room.

Andy saw that Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were standing across from Everett and James in the middle of the hospital wing, along with Madam Pomfrey. She looked over to the left and saw her best friend lying in a bed where a white cloth was magically wrapping around her head.

"What is the meaning of this? Ms. Starmenter, what do you think..." yelled McGonagall.

"It's alright Minerva. Come in everyone, we're almost done here." called Dumbledore.

As Andy walked into the room with the three boys behind her, she saw that Lily's right arm was also in a sling, and she had a few bruises showing on her arms and left cheek. To her, it felt like a case of deja vu, only the roles were reversed. At that moment Karen, Felicia, and Kelly came running through the doors and halted abruptly when they saw everyone.

"Where is..." started Kelly until she saw Andy walking toward Lily's bed.

"Oh my!" cried Karen.

"Who did this?" asked Felicia darkly. Andy looked up at her group of friends as she began to come out of her somewhat trance. She saw that James was now standing next to Dumbledore staring at Lily's bed. As for Everett, who was standing on the other side of Dumbledore, he looked terrified at the sight of his girlfriend's state.

"What happened to her?" asked Felicia a little annoyed.

"Why don't you ask her boyfriend here," said James darkly. Everett looked as if he was about to jump out of his own skin when he heard James utter his name.

"I...I..." stuttered Everett.

"Ms. Evans had a nasty fall out on the Quidditch field," said Dumbledore.

"Why was she out there?" asked Karen.

"Headmaster I really must ask for you all to leave so that I can tend to my patient," said Pomfrey.

"Very well Pomfrey. Everyone let us all leave our nurse to her job. We are finished here," said Dumbledore.

"Professor...can we..." started Andy.

"Yes, of course you may stay outside until Madam Pomfrey says so."

"Thank you."

Everyone at that moment filed out of the hospital wing, while the professors walked down the corridor in silence. As for the small cluster of students, outside the now closed doors of the hospital wing, the air around them felt razor sharp, as if at any moment now all hell was about to break loose. Unable to with stain the silence any more, Karen was the first to speak.

"What happened to her?" she asked aloud, looking at the group of boys. Remus, Sirius and Peter were huddled together while Everett leaned up against the cold stone wall with his head gazing at the floor. As for James, he was silently staring out into the twilight sky from the window across the hall.

"Why was she out on that field?" she asked in general.

"Because Everett was giving her flying lessons," said Andy darkly, as she glared at Everett's state.

"What?" shrieked Kelly.

"How do you know that?" asked Felicia.

Andy blinked away from her death stare to look at her friends. "Blackie told me."

When she looked back at her best friend's boyfriend, Andy found that James was now standing in front of him with a look she'd never seen on his face before.

"Are you happy now?"

"Excuse me?" blinked Everett up at James.

"I said, 'Are you happy now?'" he repeated in a dark tone.

"No! You're mad, Potter," said Everett.

"That maybe true, but at least I know when the right time for a flying lesson is and when it isn't!" he roared.

"Don't start with me, Potter."

"Why not? You've been waiting to take me out of her life for awhile now. Well congratulations, you've got your wish."

"James," warned Andy not liking where this discussion was leading. The rest of the Marauders saw this too and decided to step in.

"Prongs, not here mate," said Sirius putting a hand on James's shoulder. He merely shrugged his hand off and didn't pay attention to what his two friends were saying.

"No. You've wanted me to stay away from Lily from the moment you found out I was her partner. Normally blokes would try to hex or hit me in order to send me a message, but I got to say this is a new one. Putting an innocent girl in a coma," growled James.

"James stop it," said Andy not wanting to break up a fight. "That's enough now."

"What you figured if you couldn't have her no one would either?" roared James as he began to advance on Everett. Sirius stepped up next to James and grabbed a hold of his arm, trying to keep him at bay.

"If I feel threatened by someone who is trying to steal my girlfriend, then yes." growled Everett as he gave James a deadly stare.

"I wasn't trying to steal her. She's not an object!" yelled James.

"Oh that's rich coming from someone who gets kicks out of kissing others girlfriends when he can't take the hint that he's nothing but a control freak who wants everything done his way or else he'll take it for himself."

"James, don't do it," said Remus.

"Everett, would you just shut up!" screamed Kelly. Both boys continued to ignore everything around them.

"You're nothing but a psychotic stalker who can't take no for an answer."

"Why you blimey little..." growled James as he lunged at Everett.

"Okay James that's enough playing for now," grunted Sirius as he grabbed a hold of James by he waist to restrain him. Andy and Felicia had run over to Everett and held both of his arms to hold him back as well.

"Stay out of this, Padfoot," barked James.

"I don't think so," said Sirius with a little bit of light humor. "Come on, let's got take a little walk." With that Sirius dragged James down the hall in order for his friend to cool down.

"Come on Everett, I think it's time you left," stated Andy. The boy blinked rapidly at her words with a confused look over his face.

"Me? Why should I? I'm her boyfriend! Not that bugger."

"Boyfriend?" asked Andy with raised eyebrows. "Do you really think that after this little stunt she's still going to stay with your sorry ass?"

Everett remained silent while looking anywhere but at Andy's face.

"You knew she wasn't a good flyer!" she exasperated.

"I know! That's why I wanted to teach her."

"But not in 80mph winds, Everett," barked Andy.

"I-I thought that the best..." he stuttered.

"No, you just thought that you could show Lily that James wasn't the only one who could teach her to fly," she stated with attitude.

Everett was lost for words. He stood there for a few moments opening and closing his mouth trying to find any words.

"I don't care what you say to me. I'm staying right here," he said firmly.

"The hell you are," said all four girls at once.

"If you think I'm afraid of Potter, then you're completely wrong," stated Everett.

"Potter is the least of your worries now," said Andy darkly. "The one you should be worried about doing something against you is me."

"What?"

"You heard me. If I find out that you were anywhere near her, I'll make your life a living hell. Stay away from Lily. Stay away from James, or else you'll wish you'd never even heard of my name," she growled darkly. With that said Andy stormed away from the group and went into a nearby empty classroom trying to cool down.

"Is she for real," he asked, white as a ghost now.

"Without a doubt," said Felicia coldly. "And if she doesn't hold true to her word, which is completely unlike her, I definitely will."

"Same goes for the rest of us," said an icy Kelly.

With nothing else to say and feeling slightly intimidated by the group of girls before him, Everett quietly bowed out and left the hospital wing.

Andy walked around the empty classroom muttering to herself trying to keep her temper in check. She couldn't begin to fathom what was going through Everett's head. All she could think about was the fact that her best friend was in a hospital bed right now, possibly in a coma like she was. As visions of Lily passed through her head, Andy began to feel guiltier for not being there. Since she had become friends with the other girls, everyone had their own little role to play. Felicia was the flirty one. Kelly was the artistic one. Karen the compassionate one. Lily the level headed one. As for Andy, she was seen as the somewhat protector. She was the first to stop any trouble that came along their way, no matter if it landed herself in trouble. Everyone kind of thought it was second nature to her since she was now the eldest of four siblings. She always was keeping an eye out for her little brother and sisters, so it wasn't a surprise that she would act the same way toward her friends.

But with this unofficial responsibility, Andy always took it to heart. No matter what happened to any of them, she would always feel responsible. Even if she had no control over it.

Sirius had left James alone in order for him to calm down a bit. He knew that no matter what he said, James would not listen to him. He would forever feel like he let Lily down when she needed him the most. Sirius felt emotionally drained as he walked down the hallway back toward the hospital wing. As he walked past an open door of an empty classroom, he heard a desk or two be pushed around. He popped his head in and found a livid Andy muttering to herself as she pushed a couple of desks and chairs.

"Andy?" he said after a few moments had past.

"WHAT?" yelled Andy as she spun around to find Sirius at the door. "Oh...hi," she said a little distraught.

"How are you doing?"

"I've been better," she said as she looked down at the floor. "Did you see the little confrontation I had with Everett?"

"No. But I kind of figured you make it well known that if he came near Evans again, you'd hex him," he said with a small smirk.

"That stupid idiot!" she growled. "You know some days I just like to...urgh!"

"Hey, calm down, Sparky. We don't need you blowing a blood vessel in that pretty little blond head of yours," he said charmingly.

"That's something Lily would tell me," she said in a haunting tone. "She'd always be the one to tell me to calm down or she'd put me under a hex."

"Now that doesn't sound like our perfect little Lily," commented Sirius.

Andy chuckled a bit at his responds. "You obviously never hung out with her long enough to know how she treated her friends."

"Well, I guess I'll have to make sure to arrange some time with Ms. Evans."

"Yeah, that's if she wakes up," she said in a strange tone.

"Of course she will. What are you talking about," said Sirius.

Andy shook her head absent mindedly. "Nothing. Just forget it." With that, she began to head toward the door that was behind Sirius. But as she passed him, he grabbed a hold of her arm so that she would look at him.

"Sparky, what is it?" he asked as he searched her face and eyes.

"Nothing. It's just..." she said trailing off.

"Just what?"

Andy let out a deep sigh as she looked up into Sirius's eyes. "I'm just remembering something Lily and I use to talk about."

Andy pulled out of Sirius's grip and walked absent minded around the room. "After we get out of here, we were going to have all these plans, and we could do everything best friends would do. We were going to live our days in Avalon."

"Excuse me?" said a confused Sirius.

"It's a saying my gran use to tell me. Avalon was supposed to be this place of peace, beauty, and harmony, as well as joy. But since not everyone could live there physically, we can only live there in our hearts."

"That's really prophetic," he said admiring her words.

"Yeah...but to bad it's only a fantasy."

"How do you know?"

"Because it is only a fantasy. Nothing here is really real. Only...this," she said with open arms. She shook her head as she looked to the floor.

"Hey. Hey what is it?" he asked.

"I just remembered I have to tell Lil's family what happened and I need to get back to the rest of them," she said quickly. "I'm sure Karen and Felicia are a couple of basket cases right now."

Sirius could see the physical pain in her face. As she headed towards the door, he saw tears forming in her eyes.

Before she could leave, he grabbed a hold of her again and spun her around so that she was now directly in front of him.

"What is it, Miranda," he said in a sweet soothing voice.

"Nothing. Just let me go," she begged.

"No. I'm not letting you go," he said as he pulled her closer to him in an embrace. Andy tried with all her might to wiggle her way out of his hold, but he wouldn't let up.

"Just let it out, Miranda," he said soothingly as he held her firmly while she fought him. "It's okay."

After a few moments, he could feel her begin to give in as her body went limp in his arms.

"It's okay," he repeated over and over again, as he stroked her head soothingly.

"I don't want to loose my best friend," sobbed Andy as she clung to him. "I don't want to feel like this. I don't want to feel helpless, anymore."

"She'll be fine," he said in low voice. "Hey, if you could pull through it, she can."

Andy took a couple of deep breaths as Sirius continued to hold her. He could feel all her pain, wash on to him. As he looked down at her tear stained face, his could feel his heart break into two. He knew that no matter what happened between them, he'd never wanted to see tears on her face again.

"I'm sorry," said Andy after a few moments of silence. She pulled away a bit to whip away her tears. As she raised a hand to wipe away a tear on her cheek, Sirius's hand quickly covered her cheek as he ran his thumb across her cheek.

"Don't be," he said softly. "You know, you don't always have to be the tough one. It's okay to be...normal in front of everyone."

"This coming from a guy who still acts like a first year," she said jokingly.

"I'm a child at heart," he said with a shrug. "What can I say?"

Andy couldn't help but chuckle at the adorable smile he was giving her now. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it, princess," he said sweetly.

Looking at him now, Andy's heart began to ache with want. At that moment, she would give anything to be in his arms like she was before. To have his hand touch her face like was before. To have his lips on top of hers.

Sirius didn't know if he could control his desire any longer. See her as she was now, so tempting. He didn't care if it was wrong. He didn't care if she had a boyfriend who she was crazy about. He didn't care if she knew exactly how he felt for her and desired her. He was crazy about her. He wanted more than anything now to have her as his own.

Andy didn't know what to do anymore. She could almost feel herself being pulled towards him, like a giant magnet. She looked away in hopes that this strong desire would go away, but it wouldn't. As she looked towards the door, she saw an image flash by of a boy with brown hair.

"Tristan," called Andy. Sirius looked at her as if she had slapped him. It was then that he noticed her boyfriend now standing in the door way. He painfully let go of her as she took a step back.

"Hey, I got here as soon as I heard," he said while trying to catch his breath. He walked over towards Andy and held her while giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Sirius's hand instantly clutched together at the sight of his display of affection.

"How are you? How's Lily?" he asked Andy.

"We don't know yet," said Andy as she clung to Tristan.

"I'll go and see if there's any news," said Sirius feeling as if he were about to be sick. As he walked past the couple, Tristan grabbed a hold of Sirius's shirt to get his attention, while still holding Andy.

"Thanks," he whispered to him. Sirius merely nodded as he walked away from the two of them feeling sick to his stomach.

Sirius tried his best to keep his emotional turmoil in check when he returned to the hospital wing doors. He found the girls sitting on the floor waiting silently along with Peter. Remus was leaning against the wall as he stared at the floor. As for James, he was standing near the window looking out at the grounds.

"Hey, how's she doing?" he asked James as he walked up next to him.

"We don't know yet. I should have gotten to her sooner," said James in a low voice.

"You did what you could mate. There was no way you could know this would happen. Plus with the winds..."

"I know. I know," sighed James as he rubbed his tired eyes. He noticed that Andy had returned with Tristan as she went over to talk to Remus and Karen.

"It's a wonder that you didn't get thrown from your broom. Why did you want to practice today?" asked Sirius.

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking," muttered James. Silently he reflected on the pain he was feeling before Lily's accident. He wanted to feel reckless, and do anything that would get Lily out of his head. But the sight of her falling like that scared him to death. "My mind was else where, I guess."

"I know where it was," said Sirius knowingly. At that moment, the hospital wing doors opened and Madam Pomfrey stepped out.

"Madam Pomfrey! How is she?" asked Andy.

"She's alright," stated Madam Pomfrey to the group of students. "She had a few broken ribs and a broken leg, but she will be alright. You boys did a great job trying to slow her fall."

Everyone began to breath a sigh of relieve. Everyone...except for James.

"Has she woken up yet?" asked James.

"I'm afraid not. But there is hope she'll wake up soon."

"Can we see her?" asked Andy, noticing the look of worry on James's face.

"One at a time," nodded the nurse.

"Go on Andy," said Tristan in a low voice.

"No. Jay should be the one to go first," said Andy looking at James. James blinked rapidly upon hearing his name. He looked at each person as he began to walk into the now dark hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey.

There on the bed was Lily, still asleep and in her pajamas now. Her head and arm and leg were wrapped up for the time being. Although she had been through hell, to James she had never looked more perfect in his eyes.

"I'll be in my office if you need me," said the nurse.

He silently walked over to her bed and took a seat next to her. He could see her chest rise and fall ever so slightly. She looked so peaceful. He blamed himself for not being quick enough to catch her. In his mind, a life without Lily in it was a life he couldn't bare. Even if she never talked to him again, just knowing that she was alright would be enough for him.

Silent tears began to trickle down his face as he took a hold of her hand.

"Lily? Can you hear me? It's...James," he said quietly, praying that she would open her eyes. "Oh Lily..." he sobbed. "I'm...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't fast enough. I'm sorry. Please Lily...please wake up. We need you. I need you." James placed his head on her bed next to her hand he was holding.

He didn't care if anyone saw now how much he cared for the girl in bed. All he wanted more than anything at that moment was to hear her voice.

"James?" she said in a groggy voice. James's lifted his head quickly and let out a small gasp. Lily was now blinking slowly while looking at him.

"Lily?" he whispered softly. She moved her head a bit and let out a groan of pain. When her vision finally came back into normal focus, she saw the boy with a tear stained face stare at her. At that moment, she didn't care that she wasn't talking to him anymore. She was happy to see him there.

"Hi," was all she could manage to say.

"Hi."

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except this story and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.