“You know, I think some fresh air will do you good James. You don’t seem to have a fever or anything, maybe you’ve just been cooped up for too long,” Sirius decided brightly.
James groaned and rolled over onto his side, incredibly comfy right where he was: on the couch in the Common Room.
“I’m not sure Sirius, Yesterday, me and Calista went outside for an hour, and it didn’t help much.”
“Come on James; you love flying!” Sirius reminded him.
James perked up a bit at the word ‘flying’.
“Suddenly, I’m feeling much better!” he informed his friends, and he, Peter and Sirius ran of to get their broom, laughing.
James flew a few circles around Sirius, with only the full moon to light his way.
Sirius attempted to grab at him, but failed; James was too skilled at flying.
Peter shakily hovered near them, clinging onto his broom with all his might.
James felt a rush of elation, as he did a mid-air back flip on his broom, laughing cheerfully with Sirius.
The great thing was, while he was out here with his friends, he was able to forget his problems easily and just have fun.
“James, don’t go so high!” Peter called out, as he struggled to catch up, teetering precariously on his broom.
“What’s the fun of flying if you can’t go high?” James laughed, but he lowered his broom a few meters reluctantly.
“It’s too cold out here James,” Sirius complained, wrapping himself in a tight hug.
James rolled his eyes. “You were nagging me to come out not long ago, and when I finally start to enjoy myself, you say it’s too cold.”
“Well, I have a low cold tolerance,” Sirius defended himself. A chilling howl in the distance made James jump slightly on his broom.
“What was that?” cried Peter in a high voice, hastily landing his broom.
Sirius lowered his voice mysteriously. “Don’t you know Peter? I thought everyone knew! Every month, on the full moon, all the dark creatures of the world haunt the shrieking shack, hungry for students blood.”
“Don’t Sirius, you’ll give pore Petie nightmares!” James scolded, pretending to be stern.
Peter quickly landed, stumbling as his feet hit the ground, but James stayed airborne, a slight frown setting on his face.
“Come on, we can’t go inside now; it’s not even eight thirty!” he protested.
“Don’t blame me, blame the weather,” shrugged Sirius.
James sighed and did one last lap of the pitch, bathed in the moonlight. As the soft white light washed over his body, he glanced up at the full moon.
“Lily, no matter who he goes out with, he’s still your friend, and friends don’t get into silly fights and hold silly grudges,” Jada chided.
Lily stretched out on her bed and looked sceptical. “Well Jay, if we are friends, and we are in a silly fight, then I’m guessing friends do get into silly fights and hold silly grudges.”
Jada frowned and brought her knees up to her chest. “Come on Lily, you know he still wants to be friends with you, and when he dumps Calista…”
“Which will be soon,” added Thaliana, joining the girls on Lily’s bed, followed by Krysta and Roxanna.
“As if anyone could stand her for long, I am surprised James made it this far,” she continued.
Krysta nodded. “And you would regret it if anything happened and all of a sudden, your chance to say sorry is gone forever,” she whispered solemnly.
Roxanna rolled her eyes. “Positive as always, Krysta,” she laughed.
Lily, though, took Krysta’s words into consideration. James meant a lot to her, and mad as she was, she wouldn’t be willing to give up their friendship for a fight.
“Alright, you got me,” she threw her hands up. “Let’s go and see him.”
Jada smiled. “I knew you’d see it out way. He’s on the Quidditch Pitch, let’s go.”
As James looked up at the moon, an awful thought occurred to him. He sat, perfectly still, adding up all the signs.
Tired, listless, always away, these couldn’t be just coincidences.
The horrible realization hit him all at once, and James started violently.
He suddenly lost his balance on his broom, and he felt himself start to slide sideways off his broom.
He tried to cry for help, but no sound came out, only a terrified gasp as he slipped off the broom.
He wasn’t aware of the blood-curdling scream he let out as he fell, or the cries of horror heard from the ground.
All he knew was a sickening crack, as his head hit the ground, followed by darkness.
Lily and Jada soon spotted James, Peter and Sirius flying around on the Quidditch Pitch. The other girls had decided not to come, in case another fight formed.
“They’re out late,” Lily whispered to Jada.
Jada smiled. “From what I have seen of James and Sirius, if they feel like doing something, not much will stop them.”
Lily looked up as Sirius and Peter landed. Lily and Jada approached them. “Where’s Remus?” Lily asked curiously.
Sirius looked impatient. “Somewhere or other… I don’t think anyone knows where he is these days,” he complained sullenly.
Next to Lily, Jada gave a gasp and grabbed onto her arm. Lily looked up in surprise, but her surprise quickly turned to shock as she saw James slide off his broom very, very high up.
Seeing her look, Sirius turned around, confused, and let out a horrified cry. The small group of twelve and thirteen year olds stood completely still in shock, helpless, as they watched their friend smack into the ground, roll a short way, and lie very still.
“JAMES!” Sirius’s anguished cry rang throughout the pitch, and Lily found herself running towards James’s motionless form.
Peter reached him first, and flipped James’s body over, to reveal his face, cut and bruised. There was a deep gash on the back of his head, and he seemed to be losing a lot of blood.
His face was as pale as a ghost’s, and his breathing was faint. Wait, his breathing was faint!
“He’s still alive!” Lily cried out. “He’s breathing!”
“Thank Merlin,” Jada moaned, pulling her near-dead cousin into a tight embrace.
“We’ve got to get him to the Hospital Wing!” exclaimed Peter.
Sirius surveyed him, and then turned to Peter. “We’ll both have to carry him,” he said firmly.
The two boys succeeded in carrying James back up to the castle and up to the Hospital Wing, where Madame Pomfrey set straight to work.
She immediately busied herself with her patient, forcing assorted potions down James’s throat and checking his pulse.
“Will he be OK?” demanded Sirius, looking worriedly at James.
Madame Pomfrey didn’t say anything for a long time, and then she sighed. “It’s very lucky that you were there when he fell,” she said finally.
Jada tensed up. “But is he going to be alright?” she pressed.
“Yes, I think he will be…though he is suffering from a severe concussion. It is fixable, but not easily; this is an extreme case.
Sirius swallowed, but Lily simply looked confused.
“But, can’t magic do anything?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.
“Not anything dear, most things, but not everything.
“Is he very bad, then?” Jada whispered in a small voice. Madame Pomfrey ignored her and continued to tend to James.
“Well, let’s just go, then…” Peter said awkwardly. The other three just looked at him, astonished that he could even suggest that.
“We aren’t going anywhere, Peter, this is our friend!” Sirius retorted.
Madame Pomfrey, however, shook her head. “No, Mr Pettigrew is right. The four of you should be getting off to bed, leave Mr. Potter to me. Off you go.” Madame Pomfrey ushered them out of the room, clicking her tongue.
“Any news on James?” Lily asked Remus the next day, as the boys returned from the Hospital Wing.
“Yes, plenty.” Remus informed her in a dull voice.
“What is it?” demanded Lily excitedly.
“His concussion has developed into a coma, and Madame Pomfrey is considering moving him to Saint Mungo’s in a few days if he doesn’t respond.”
Lily felt her heart drop faster than it ever had.
“Remus, what if he doesn’t wake up?” Lily asked. She knew all too well how extreme a coma was; one of her cousins had been in a car crash when she was six, and had never woken up from it, and had to have his oxygen cut off.
Remus didn’t reply.
Oh My God, this was...acepted? Im all of a dither! yay yay yay! Ahem, review challenge *squeals* OK, Now, this review challenge probably wont change who does and doesnt get paired up in later chapters... But it will be very interesting to see the results! ahem, drumroll!
Which of the characters (minus the paring of Lily and James) would you like to see paired up?
Thanks and cya!!!!