Secretly
Lily Evans and James Potter have been best friends since their first year at Hogwarts. What happens when Lily discovers the one thing that has the potential to ruin their friendship? (Starts mid 6th year.)
Disclaimer: Right, like I own them.
Chapter Eleven: After I Fall
James stormed into the common room, ignoring his friends' questions. He stomped up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, but when he turned to slam the door, Sirius was in the way. "Bad day?" Sirius asked.
"I'm not in the mood, Sirius," James snarled.
"Whoa," Sirius said, backing up a little. "Prongs, what happened?"
"Nothing," James snapped.
"Not gonna fly. Tell me what's going on. If you're going to be in this sort of mood, it certainly affects all of us.
"Lily…" James began.
"What about her?"
"She told me Sarah is cheating on me. Can you believe she would lie about something like that? I thought we were best friends."
"You arebest friends, James. What makes you think she's lying?"
"I heard you and Lily talking in the common room," James confided. "When she told you that she's in love with me."
"And you still think she would like just to hurt you?" asked Sirius.
"I feel bad that she's jealous, but…"
"Maybe you need to get your priorities straight, James," Sirius told him, sounding disgusted. "Think about it. She's been your best friend forever. She's always loved you. Now that she's in love with you do you really think she'd want to see you hurt?"
"I think she wants to see me without Sarah."
"You're completely made, James. If you think that you can replace Lily with your girlfriend of the week, you're wrong. And if you think the most selfless girl I've ever met would try to break you and your girlfriend up just so she would be happy? You're an idiot," Sirius spat, uncharacteristically angry with James. With a look he normally reserved for Severus Snape, Sirius stalked out the door and returned to the common room, leaving James standing alone in shock.
"What was all that about, babe?" Bella asked Sirius when he returned to the common room.
Sirius opened his mouth to answer, but instead McGonagall's voice was heard. "Black, come quick. The rest of you as well," McGonagall said, indicating Remus and Bella. As they exited through the portrait hole, McGonagall asked, "Black, where's Potter?"
"Sulking in the dorms," mumbled Sirius.
"Professor what is this about?" asked Remus, ever the practical one.
"Lily. In the Hospital Wing," McGonagall said simply.
"What?" Bella practically shouted. "What happened?"
"She had a fall," came McGonagall's barely informative response.
"Shouldn't James be here?" Bella asked Sirius as they hurried down the corridor.
"Trust me, he's the last thing Lily will need right now," Sirius growled.
Bella was about to ask why, but they had already reached Madame Charisse's door. "Here we are," McGonagall announced, opening the door for the three teens.
Bella rushed to Lily's bed, gasping as her eyes took in the bruises covering Lily's body. "How high did she fall from?" she whispered.
"I don't know," answered McGonagall. "Madame Charisse has already mended her bones, they just need to be left in place a while longer. The bruises should fade soon on their own."
"As bad as it all looks, she isn't in any pain," Madame Charisse said softly, joining them at Lily's bedside. "She's in a coma while her body tries to heal itself. Her injuries weren't caused by any sort of spell, so I can't magically bring her out of her coma. But I gave her something just in case she starts to feel anything."
"Do you know when she's going to wake up?" Sirius interrupted.
"No," admitted Madame Charisse. "Unfortunately all we can do now is wait and hope."
"Madame Charisse has agreed to allow you three to stay for a half hour right now," McGonagall informed them. "You will be allowed to visit after classes during the week and anytime until 10 pm on the weekends."
"Thank you," Bella spoke for all three, her voice wavering slightly.
"We'll leave you now," McGonagall said, motioning to Madame Charisse to follow her.
Bella watched them walk out of the room before turning to Sirius. "So, what's going on? Where's James?" she asked quietly, as if she thought Lily might be listening.
"James and Lily had an argument. He accused her of lying to him about Sarah because she's jealous. He listened in on Lily's conversation with me. The one where she told me how she feels about James." Remus and Bella nodded knowingly. "That guy isn't James anymore than this lifeless body right here is Lily," Sirius concluded. "And I don't really think any of us need to deal with him right now."
Bella leaned over and gave Sirius a comforting hug. ""It'll be okay Siri. Let's just sit here for a while so that Lily doesn't have to be alone." She reached over and held Lily's hand between her own. "We can deal with James some other time. He's not what's important right now."
"Not caring about your friends goes both ways," Remus said wisely. "James will learn soon enough."
Meanwhile, James still sat in his dormitory, sulking about the day's events. Finally he decided to get up and face everyone in the common room. However, when he got down the stairs and into the common room, it was practically empty, except for a few stray first years. Shrugging it off, he walked out of the room and went in search of Sarah.
Turning a corner in the dungeons, James practically ran over a Slytherin girl who he recognized as one of Sarah's dorm mates. "Karen, right?" James asked. She nodded in response. "Can you find Sarah in there for me?" he asked, pointing toward the Slytherin entrance.
"Sure," Karen answered, smiling slyly. She slipped into the common room, leaving James alone in the hall.
A few minutes later, Sarah tapped James on the shoulder expectantly. "My kiss?" James obediently kissed her. "So what do you want to do, baby?"
"Find an empty classroom?" James suggested eagerly. Sarah laughed the same icy laugh she had earlier that night with Dustin. James reached for her arm and the pair began walking through the dungeons in search of a room.
After a sufficient amount of snogging, James walked Sarah back to her common room. When he finally made it back to Gryffindor tower, the common room was empty. 'Just as well,' James thought, not caring to get into it with Sirius or Lily again. He tiptoed up to his dorm and entered quietly, not bothering to undress before flopping onto his bed and closing the curtains around himself.
The next morning, James walked into the Great Hall to have an early breakfast, successfully avoiding the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors. He went to Charms and sat in a different seat than usual. When everyone else trickled in and class began, James looked around and noticed that Lily was missing. 'Her favorite class?' James wondered. 'She wouldn't miss it on my account.'
When Charms was over, James walked up to Sirius and Remus, ignoring Bella's glare. "What happened to Lily? She wouldn't miss Charms."
Bella gave James an evil look. "How dare you…"
Sirius put a hand over her mouth. "Bella, let it go."
"She's in the Hospital Wing, James," Remus answered. James' eyes widened. "McGonagall said she fell. We don't know what happened. She might not even be able to tell us when se wakes up. She'll stay in the Hospital Wing until she wakes up, and over the summer she'll be at St. Mungo's if necessary."
James sat there stunned. "Can we visit her?"
"We can," Bella said. "But maybe you shouldn't." At that, Bella turned and walked out the door. Everyone else followed, leaving James by himself.
The weeks went by and the end of the year came without fanfare. James continued to date Sarah and the Marauders continued to hold onto their argument, causing a shortage in havoc and mayhem at Hogwarts. Lily still hadn't woken up, but her friends save James, continued to visit her daily, making sure fresh flowers and stuffed animals always surrounded her. Her owl, Noellia, had been sent home with news of Lily's injury and her transfer to St. Mungo's for the summer.
Everyone had finished their exams and passed in varying degrees; Lily of course was excused, based on her illness and the assumption that she would have passed anyway.
The day of the final feast of the year and the celebration of the winner of the House Cup snuck up upon everyone quickly. Sirius, Bella, and Remus spent their time with Lily in the Hospital Wing rather than at the feast, with permission from Dumbledore.
James, still branded a loner by the Marauders, walked down to the dungeons to see if he could find Sarah before the feast. Almost all of the Slytherins had already made their way to the Great Hall for the feast. James slipped into the Slytherin common room as a distracted first year ran out to join his friends at the feast. Walking into the cold, empty common room, James felt a foreboding chill pass over him. "Sarah?" he called out tentatively.
Hearing her name, Sarah Sills, her hair a mess from activity, sat bolt upright to see James' eyes boring into her.
"What are you doing?" James asked slowly, walking toward the couch Sarah had popped up from behind.
"Nothing!" Sarah exclaimed, still breathless, desperately willing James to stop walking toward the couch. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I could ask you the same," James aid, his eyes narrowing. He walked around the couch to where Sarah was sitting, still on top of someone. James pushed her aside onto the couch to reveal a very excited Dustin Ivers. "Happy to see me?" James asked sarcastically. He pulled Dustin up and punched him in the face.
As Dustin fell tot eh floor moaning in pain, Sarah jumped up and grabbed James' arm. "James, wait! Let me explain!" Sarah pleaded.
"No," James told her, his voice cold with fury, "There's nothing to explain.
"But… this was a one time thing! I swear it!"
"You're a liar, Sarah. A liar and a bitch." James thought for a minute. "What did you do to Lily Evans?"
"Nothing," Sarah lied, her eyes betraying her as she trembled.
"Right," James sneered. "I don't ever want to see your face again. Stay away from me, and stay away from my friends. Trust me, you will pay for what you've done." With those words, James turned and walked out of the room, leaving Sarah shaking on the couch and Dustin moaning in pain on the cold stone floor.
James walked toward the Great Hall, still fuming over what had just happened. As he approached the open doors of the Great Hall, he heard Dumbledore proclaim Slytherin the winner of the Hous Cup and saw the glaring green banners hanging from the enchanted ceiling. Having had enough of Slytherin victories for one day, James turned and walked instead back up to Gryffindor tower, where he packed his trunk in silence, all thoughts on Lily. After packing all of his belongings and feeling guilty about Lily for a while, James got up, intending to go to the Hospital Wing, but not really knowing why.
He entered the Hospital Wing to find it surprisingly empty. Madame Charisse was pulling linens off a bed. "Lily woke up?" James asked hopefully.
Madame Charisse nodded sadly. "No. Dumbledore and your other friends just went to bring her to the transport to St. Mungo's."
"Oh," James said, deflated. "Thanks then."
Madame Charisse looked at him softly. "She'll pull through," she said kindly.
Before the students knew it, they were on the train back to King's Cross. While the Marauders and Bella shared a compartment, along with Laci and Vita, James was stuck wandering the train by himself. Finally he decided to suck it up and headed straight toward the compartment he usually shared with the Marauders at the back of the train. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and entered the compartment.
Everyone inside it looked up at the noise and was shocked to see James standing before them. Bella started to stand up, but Sirius kept her seated. "No," she said fiercely to James.
"Let's hear what he has to say," Remus reasoned with her.
James took another deep breath. "I was wrong," admitted James, exhaling slowly. "I should have listened to you. I should have listened to Lily," he added softly. "I tried to go see her, but she was gone."
"Apology accepted, James," Remus said, with everyone's nod of agreement.
"Yeah, James. And sorry your girlfriend turned out to be a whore," Sirius quipped. A pained look crossed James' face. "Too soon?"
"Just a bit," James said. "I'd rather just forget that and get back to normal. D'you think Lily'll be back by next term?"
"Possibly. Hopefully. My mum works at St. Mungo's and she says Lily's got the best of the best," Bella offered reluctantly, not so quick to forgive the boy who hurt her friend so much.
"Can we visit her?" James asked eagerly.
"No," Bella told James, starting to soften towards him. "She's in a private ward. Family only. Something about Dumbledore worrying about security, since nobody knows what happened yet."
James' face fell. "Right."
The group began talking about other things eventually, but James' mind remained stuck on Lily. Plans for the summer were made and owl exchanges were promised as the train pulled into the secret platform at King's Cross. The seven friends said their goodbyes and went their separate ways for the time being. James joined his parents, who were puzzled by his silence the whole way home. However, James didn't notice, still lost in thoughts of Lily.
I already have the next chapter written. It should be up within the month. Review please, and tell me what you think!