Chapter 47- Stand By Me
When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me
"Wake up, sweetie," Lily whispered, brushing loose stands of hair from James' face. She hated to see him stuck in the hospital wing, captive with such energy.
He stirred slightly, mumbling random words that she couldn't make out. She kissed his nose and a smile perched upon his face.
He opened one eye, then the next, revealing the depths of their hazel chambers. He saw her, the only thing that reassured him at the present moment.
"How long have you been there?" he asked, clearing his throat slightly to find his voice.
"Only a short while," she replied. She glanced an eye over at Madam Pomfrey, working endlessly at the nurse's station. "She didn't want to let me in."
"How'd you manage to get here then?" James questioned, raising an eyebrow at his girlfriend.
"I went for the persuasive tactic taught to me by someone I love very much," she replied, very proud of herself.
"Buttered her up, did you?" he teased.
"If she asks, I really need to know where she bought her hair net," Lily divulged, keeping her voice low. "When do you get out of here?"
"Well," James started. "She reckons I could use another week. Luckily, Professor Dumbledore happened to walk in at the perfect moment and saved me. Tonight's my last night. I still have to come to her for potion between classes though. She determined I'm far too delicate to walk on my own just yet. Been doing it for seventeen years, I told her. Shouldn't be too hard."
Lily laughed. James hated being cooped up inside the same room for hours. She knew it drove him mad. She sympathized, but also found humor in Poppy's hidden admiration.
She thought back to the conversation she had held with Severus Snape only an hour beforehand. It had been oddly unnerving, the seriousness in his voice scared her witless. She knew he could have only provided such information if he, himself, were inside Voldemort's inner circle.
"I ran into someone in the halls earlier," she stated, a vague hint of irritation in herself. She didn't want to hide it from James, but she also didn't want it to appear that she wasn't capable of handling Snape. After all, she had just come out alive from a battle with Voldemort.
"Oh, who?" James asked, rubbing his fingers along her palm. He knew she liked it when he did such, as it tickled her. Today, she kept a straight face.
"Snape," she coughed.
"What?" he questioned. "Didn't quite here that."
"Severus Snape," she repeated, slowly, dreading his name on her lips.
His face darkened, although she knew she was being finicky in noticing such. He tried to keep a normal, calm, rational face in her presence even though she knew Snape caused intense discomfort for him.
"Really?" his newly curious voice asked. "What did he want?"
She knew he was on the verge of questioning whether he had hurt her in any way. She was glad he had kept such questions to himself. She knew he was starting to trust her with her own ability. He would never completely change, but she was glad he didn't. She liked him and his jealousy, even if it didn't agree with her all the time. His flaws made him real. She loved that about him.
"He told me some interesting things," she hesitated. Lily loved him so much and didn't know how to share things with him in a less than subtle manner.
"Like..?" James impatiently wondered. She knew it was killing him to wait out her responses. He tried sitting up, even though it caused him to disperse into a round of hysterical coughing. Madam Pomfrey leaned back in her chair slightly, checking to see if she was needed. Lily quickly grabbed a glass of water and fed it to James. She didn't need the school nurse knowing her and James' business.
Once James had calmed down, she arranged the pillow behind his head. She sat on the edge of the bed a little sturdier, to keep her balance. The connection between them was strengthening.
"He told me that my relationship with you increases my chances of being attacked," Lily confessed.
She saw his eyes slowly assume sadness. He had looked at her briefly, as if thinking of an answer to something this blunt.
"He also told me that the two of us are going to go down fighting Voldemort," she quickly blurted out. Her voice was nervous and full of anxiety. Everything she had kept bottled up in the past hour, all the contemplative thoughts she had held, were coming out. "He told me that we chose the losing side of the war. He propositioned me with a role on Voldemort's side."
She looked up at James, her eyes wide in fear of him degrading his impression of her. Instead, he didn't look surprised at all.
"He knows that you're powerful, Lily," James indicated. "Of course the dark side would want someone like you on their side."
"I'm number two though," she corrected quietly. "They would rather have you on their side."
"First of all, I couldn't have possibly become a threat to Voldemort without you. You drive me to fight, Lily. If you want to look at it in terms of rank, then you're probably right. Yet, Voldemort knows I'm weak when it comes down to you," he admitted. His eyes were warm and pleasant, staring straight into her own. "He knows I would never join his side. Never. It hasn't even entered my head. My parents fought this man for god knows how long. I couldn't do that to their memory. He went after you in hopes of bringing not only you down, but me as well."
"I told him no," she assured him. "I would never-I could never join him."
"I know you wouldn't, Lily. You're too pure," James emphasized. "You're exactly what the dark side would need. Powerful, pure, innocent. Yet, what they don't know is that underneath all that innocence is a true fighter. Trust me, after nearly seven years knowing you, you are quite the fireball."
She laughed, shedding a few tears from his words, and slapped his arm playfully.
"Snape tried to tell me you were no good for me," she recalled. "He went on to say someone like you would only bring me down in this world."
His eyes were fearful for a moment, not so unlike her own had been only a minute ago.
"And what did you say?" he stammered out.
"I told him that I have no intention of leaving your side."
The words flowed out of her mouth, true as day, with meaning and passion held within. She saw James smile and knew he appreciated what she had done. More times than not, he had always been a bit insecure about his relationship with Lily. It had been too good to be true.
"I meant it, too," Lily insisted. "I love you, James Potter. You couldn't change that if you tried."
"I'll always be there for you, Lily," he whispered into her ear. "Always."
Lily knew for once that he always had been, even when they hadn't been together.
He kissed her on the mouth, lightly but giving off the same jittery feeling nonetheless. Madam Pomfrey had her hands on
her face and was watching them, deeply engrossed as if they were a highly interesting movie sequence being played
before her eyes.
.X.
"I'm free at last!" James shouted, jumping into the Charms classroom in the middle of the lesson.
Professor Flitwick looked at him, seemingly amused, but contended to settle for a mock-stern, disapproving face.
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter," he squeaked, welcoming him into the classroom.
"Thanks, Professor," James responded, not embarrassed at all by his dramatic entrance. Sirius' spirits seemed to brighten at an increasingly fast rate.
"Prongs!" Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs before tackling James to the ground.
"Mr. Black," Professor Flitwick piped up. "Mr. Potter has just gained his health back to a prominent level. Do you wish to bring it down already?"
Sirius got off of James quickly, smiling in the process. Several people were laughing, something that happened often when Sirius was in a good mood.
James took his seat beside Lily, in front of Sirius and Remus.
"I sure am glad James made it out of that mad nurse's care," Sirius spoke at an extremely loud volume. Remus looked as if his ear had been blown away and left for dead.
"Mr. Black," Professor Flitwick countered. "I am teaching a class here. Please do use your inside voice."
"I am," Sirius insisted, the volume of his voice still heightened.
"He can't seem to control the volume of his voice, sir," Lily called out. "Someone must have put a Shouting Jinx on him."
"Is that what happened?" Sirius bellowed. "Beastly luck, that is. I was trying to put it on dear old Snape this morning. Crummy spell must have backfired."
The lesson continued on, interrupted slightly by Sirius making comments to Remus. Unfortunately, everyone heard all of these comments.
Lily smiled in spite of herself. Charms was back to being her favorite lesson. Now that James was there with her, it was far more enjoyable.
"I can't tone it down a notch!" Sirius shouted at Remus. "I'm stuck like this. Do you think I'll go deaf?"
"It's good to have you back," Lily whispered into his ear, kissing the knuckle of his hand.
She wasn't lying. He completed her in a way she had not known until the moment she wasn't beside him. She never wanted to feel that way again.