Life is full of miracles. Some big, some so small you miss them if you just blink. Some you are not sure should have happened. But they are there. I know they are. Many will disagree, and say that they are just mere coincidence. They say everything can be explained scientifically. But what bigger miracle, than mere coincidence? If that perfectly explainable thing had not occurred just then, at that very moment, would life be the same?

I first began believing in miracles when I was in my seventh year at Hogwarts. Before then, I did not believe in anything, really, except for magic, of course. I came from a family that didn't believe in such things. However, after my seventh year, not even my father could convince me to stop believing in miracles. Father had been quite stubborn in his ways ever since Mum had passed away. I still loved him with all my heart, and I missed Mum terribly, but he had changed. He was no longer the happy, loving, accepting father he had once been. That is the first factor in my miracle, as sad and unforgivable it is to say that. If he had told me to come home for Christmas instead of that he couldn't take care of me, I would not have stayed at Hogwarts. I wouldn't have found Orrielle.

Orrielle Mayleaf and I had been best friends for seven years, ever since our train ride to Hogwarts on the way to our first year. When we were both Sorted into Gryffindor, we were delighted. We would do everything together. There was only one difference between us. Orrielle would stay at Hogwarts every Christmas, because she was an orphan, and had no family to whom to go home. Sometimes, she would come over to my house, but my sister made us feel miserable whenever that happened. In the end, she preferred to stay away. As I watched her that Christmas, I knew how she must feel, being without any parents, without any family. I wondered how she managed to go on with her life like nothing in the world was wrong. One night, as we were preparing to go to bed, I heard Orrielle's coughing coming from the bathroom. Before that, I hadn't noticed it, as normally our dorm-mates would be stirring up a ruckus, screaming about the latest gossip and how much they love James Potter. That day, they were all in their own homes. I could hear Orrielle's coughing clearly.

I knocked on the door and asked her if she was alright. In reply I got more coughing spasms. I put aside common courtesy and barged into the bathroom.

There she was, black hair sticking to her sweaty face, bent over the sink. I could see blood going down the drain. As her coughing subsided, Orrielle turned to me and looked at me with those shocking blue eyes.

"I'm fine," she said quietly.

"Bull," I replied evenly. "I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey right now."

"Lily, I'm not going," Orri whispered, her voice barely audible. "I know what I have already."

"I don't care. You're going to get a potion for that cough," I said sternly as I dragged her out the door of the dormitory and down to the Common Room. As we left the Tower, all I remember is thinking, Don't you let her die.

When we reached the Hospital Wing I quickly sat her down on a bed and went in search of Madam Pomfrey. I found her in her office, labelling some potion vials. She looked up as I stormed in.

“Madam Pomfrey, come quickly!” I said, catching my breath. “Orrielle is coughing up blood!”

Madam Pomfrey raced out of the room. I ran out behind her. I kept my distance as the nurse talked quietly to Orri and then walked off towards the potion cabinets. Orri beckoned me forward. I sat down beside her.

“Lily, before I say anything, I need you to understand that this was my choice.”

She paused, looking at me. I nodded.

“I've known that I have SarMonia for the past two years, as my mother had it before me. I chose not to report it to anyone. SarMonia is only treatable for the first few months and even then, it isn't always cured. My mum still died after the treatment. So I decided that I would rather die naturally than because of the treatment.”

“But how do you know that the treatment would have been worse? You have no way of knowin-“ I began.

“When my mum was sick, I watched her pain. But when she was being treated, she wasn't even the same person anymore! She was too tired, too weak to even laugh! Even if they saved me, the treatments would have still destroyed the person I am. I like life better this way.”

She sat back against the wall. Madam Pomfrey walked over with a potion and a spoon.

“To ease the coughing, for a while at least,” the nurse stated as she handed Orri a cup of the potion.

Orri drained it and Madam Pomfrey left to her office.

“You should have told me,” I rebuked as we left the Hospital Wing.

“Would you have made me get treatment?"

Orri shook her head. "You don’t even need to answer, because we both know you would have made me go to St. Mungo's. I don't want to go for a reason, Lily. I've spent too much time there as it is. I made a choice, Lily. You would have made me change my mind. Now, you can't do that."

"I would've taken you to St. Mungo's only because I care for you," I replied meekly.

We reached the Tower. She waited for me by the stairs, for I had stopped by a sofa. The aching in my eyes was getting unbearable.

"I…" I cleared my throat of the lump that had formed there.

"I just realized that I have some homework in Arithmancy. Don't wait up, I'll be a while," I lied. It sounded fake even to my own ears.

Orri raised an eyebrow, but felt my need to be alone and walked up the stairs. I heard her cough once as she reached the top. The sound made my chest tighten another notch and I could no longer hold back the tears. I collapsed on the sofa as the sobs wracked my body. I curled up in the depths of the overstuffed piece of furniture as the tears dripped down my face and pooled on the leathery surface. I felt my fiery hair stick to my face, and it reminded me of the sight of Orri's coughing fit.

My chest tightened even further and my breath came in short spasms. As my sobbing continued, I felt another weight settle down on the sofa. A few seconds later, I felt a hand rub circles into my back soothingly. After I had calmed partially, I looked up to see my companion.

Sitting beside me in the Gryffindor Common Room was James Potter. When he realized I had seen him, he withdrew his hand and stood up.

"I…I'm sorry. I just couldn't stand to see you crying." He began to turn away.

"Why?" I asked hoarsely. He turned around to face me. His brows were furrowed.

"Why what?" he demanded softly.

"Why can't you see me cry? Why do you even care? All I've ever done to you is judge you, call you immature." I said, and saw him flinch. "Those are painful memories for us both. Yet now you seem so mature, you insist on caring about me. Why?" I asked again, tears still streaming down my face, voice still hoarse.

"No-one else does," I added under my breath.

His eyes were full of compassion. "You know that's not true. You want to tell me that Orrielle doesn't care for you? That your family doesn't?"

A sob escaped my lips and I doubled over, my chest painfully tight.

"What happened, Lily? Why are you crying?"

I shook my head, unable to speak, tears pouring down stronger than ever. My father didn't want me with him, Orri was going to die. No-one cared for me. James inched closer, and I saw his fingers twitch as if to wipe away my tears. I suddenly realized I wanted him to hold me.

"You didn't answer my question," I said quietly, choking through my tears, the bitter taste in my mouth matching the feeling in my heart.

"Why do I care for you? You’re beautiful, and funny, and smart. Because you care for everyone, and you deserve someone to care for you. And…because I love you." He finished and expelled a deep breath.

He looked nervous. "I know you think I'm foolish for hurting Snape, but for you, Lily, I would stop. I would."

"James, I -" I began, still hoarse, but surprise had stopped the tears.

"You don't have to answer. I just want you to think about it, alright?" He looked at me with those intense hazel eyes.

I used to hate that gaze, but now…it was so comforting. I nodded, and he once again turned to leave. The gesture symbolized too much to my already over-whelmed emotional system, and the tears returned. As I look back on that now, it seems childish of me, as much as it made sense as it happened. At the time it symbolized to me the world turning it's back on me. Now I know it was a part of something much bigger.

He must have heard one of my stifled cries, and spun around.

"Oh, Lily, please tell me what it is. Please," he begged.

He inched towards me again.

I looked up, and could see myself reflected in his eyes. I stared at him, even as tears leaked out of my open eyes. I simply looked at him, knowing my pride would never let me ask him to hold me. But he understood, anyway. He came over and wrapped his arms around me, as I wept into his shoulder.

I don't know how long we sat like that - I lay cradled in his arms. It didn't matter. We had all of time. Later, I told him what had bothered me. While he was there, though, the pain seemed distant. His hands on me felt so much warmer, so much more real.

Two months later, Orri was sent to the Hospital Wing. She didn't leave for a week. I would sit by her bed at any spare second I had. A lot of the time, James would accompany me and keep me from crying in front of Orri. She didn't need that. Every night, as the Hospital Wing door closed behind me, I would collapse into James' arms and he would always be there, keeping me sane.

Exactly a week later, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Heather, and myself were called out of Potions. We all rushed upstairs. She was so pale, so weak. But she was smiling, and it was contagious. I smiled through the tears that were already dripping down my cheeks.

"Lily," Orri said quietly, and I could practically hear the holes in her lungs. "Lily, don't cry. I would never have had treatment half this good at St. Mungo's. The only treatment there is for this sickness is love. This is the only place I could have gotten it. Lily, I want you to promise me that you will love people, now and forever. I want you to help people, please!"

I knew what she wanted me to do. I knew it would be hard, but I would do it. I would become a Healer.

"I promise, Orri. I promise," I said quietly, holding her hand.

"I know you'll do well." Her smile grew, and her labored breath stopped. I closed my eyes and gulped back the lump in my throat. I felt James wrap his hands around my waist and I turned into his embrace, weeping into his already tear-stained shirt.

I know that this does not seem miraculous. It seems, if anything, the end of a life, not the beginning of something new. That's not true. Orri brought meaning to my life. As I now walk the halls of St. Mungo's, helping the people in the Terminal Ward, her presence lingers. I can see her smiling when I come home into my James' warm embrace. She would be happy for us.

It may seem like life is over, but it is not. It was her choice. That spectacular beautiful tragedy brought more meaning to my life than anything else in the world ever will. There is nothing more miraculous in this world than the sharing of love, of hope - or even of acceptance of fate. There is nothing more miraculous than mere chance, or the strength needed to let go, or even the courage needed to face the world. Orri showed me all of that, and consequently, showed me the way to a life where I am happy.