[On Hiatus] It Was Meant to Be (A James and Lily Story)

Chapter 11

"James!" Lily shouted as she turned to Bellatrix.

"Enough! This is enough! I'm taking fifty points from Slytherin for this unnecessary violence. You got what you wanted." Lily gritted her teeth, anger flooding her veins.

"Oh my dear Evans, how pathetic you must be that you have to beg for me to stop. But I'm glad you found your place. You will always be under us purebloods. Tell your precious boyfriend that." Bellatrix sneered and walked away, Snape trailing behind her.

Lily ran over to James. His eyes were closed and his hands were outstretched. His cut from earlier that week had begun to bleed again and there was a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. She shook his entire body.

"James, wake up! Rennervate!" she said, trying to revive him.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. He squinted, and a pain erupted behind his eyes. He could taste blood in his mouth. "Urgh."

"Oh, thank god," said a voice above him. He knew that voice.

"Lily?" He could barely make out her silhouette above him.

"Yes, it's me, you jerk. You scared me to death." She said as she hit his shoulder.

"Ow!" he groaned, as he tried to sit up. The pain in his head was blinding.

"Whoa, take it easy. Are you sure you're okay?" Lily questioned.

James opened his eyes fully and his hazel eyes sought out her green ones. He studied her face quietly. Sweat beaded her forehead and she looked on the verge of tears. He frowned as his eyes skimmed over the cut on the side of her face. He reached up and traced his thumb over her gash, stopping when she sucked in a breath.

She slapped his hand away. "I'm fine. We should get to our dorm, it's getting late."

"Lily-"

"We should go, James." She stood up and offered him her hand. He grasped it, groaning as she pulled him up. He felt light-headed and closed his eyes to stop the feeling of dizziness. He held his head and tried to regain his balance.

Lily gasped and pulled his hands away from his head. He opened his eyes in confusion and saw his hand covered in blood.

"Oh shit," he murmured.

"James, we should get you to the Hospital Wing. You don't look so good," Lily piped up beside him, still holding his hands.

"No. Just get me to our dorm," he grunted.

Lily released his hands and slung his arm around her shoulder and helped him to their dorm.

"Who goes there? How dare you interrupt me? Let's duel!" challenged the portrait of Sir Cadogan.

"Not in the mood. Wolf's Bane," Lily said.

The portrait swung open and Lily rushed James to the couch. She summoned a glass of water and gave it to him to drink. He gulped it down and slumped against the couch. Lily sat next to him and took the glass from his hand, lost in thought.

"I guess we got some pretty big targets on our backs, huh?" James asked her.

"What?"

"I mean, Dumbledore making us Heads made a pretty big statement. I'm a blood traitor and you're muggleborn. We pretty much rule the school," he smiled and nudged her.

Lily frowned. "Yeah, actually about that. James, I don't think we should hang out as much anymore."

"What? Lily, what are you talking about?"

"I just don't want what happened tonight to happen again. It's just easier if we keep some distance for a while."

"Lily, did Bellatrix say anything to you?"

"No, not exactly. She just reminded me that, well, you're pureblood, James. You're safe. You can keep living your life. Bellatrix only holds a grudge against you because you're associated with me."

James blinked at her. "Lily, Bellatrix does not hold grudges against people. And yeah, you're right, I'm pureblood. But what difference does that make? I'm supposed to treat you as inferior to me because you have muggle parents? Lily, that makes no sense. You're smarter than me and all the other purebloods I know."

"James, it's not about that. I just-"

"Lily, let me show you something."

He grabbed her bloody hand and laid it next to his own blood-soaked hand. "I'm a pureblood and Bellatrix calls you a... mudblood," he painfully gritted the word out, "but our blood is the same. All blood is red, Lily. Nothing about you makes you inferior. We're equal. And I'll fight anyone who thinks otherwise."

Lily looked at him, her green eyes pooling with unshed tears. James' heart constricted as a few tears rolled down her face. She wiped them away quickly.

"James, you're delusional. You hit your head too hard or something. Let me go get something to help you," Lily said as she turned away.

James grabbed her hands and clutched them in his own. His hazel eyes bored into her green ones. "Lily, I need you to understand that I'm not saying this just to make you feel better. I truly believe it and that's why I'm going to fight till my last breath in this war."

She smiled weakly at him and nodded. She went to go get her first aid kit, his words still ringing in her head. Her heart had warmed at his words. She knew that even if James Potter had annoyed her to no end in her younger years, his conviction never wavered. If James Potter believed something, he would show the entire world and never back down.

She returned and sat next to him on the couch. He turned toward her and she began to work. She grabbed his chin and cleaned the trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. She willed herself not to look at his lips, afraid she would lose all self-control. She continued to clean the wound on his head, bandaging it up. She then moved to the cut on his arm, her mind remembering the events associated with it. She cleaned it and re-bandaged it.

"There, all done," she said and went to put everything away.

James put his hand over hers. "No, we're not done. Look at me," he said, as he brushed her hair aside.

He grabbed a piece of gauze and cleaned the gash on her cheek. Lily could feel his breath on her cheek as he worked, eyes focused. She watched his fingers gently rub ointment onto her skin and glanced at him while he worked. He had a crease between his eyebrows and his nose was scrunched up in concentration. Her eyes traveled down to his lips but she looked away quickly. What was happening to her?

"Ok, there. I think I did it right. It's as if tonight never happened," James smiled at her.

"Nothing could ever make me forget tonight. You should get some sleep, James." She stood up to leave.

"I don't know about you, Lils, but there's no way I'm going to be able to sleep tonight."

Lily turned around and looked at him. "Neither am I. What are you gonna do?"

"I was going to sit here, but I'd like some company." He looked at her, hopefully.

"James, I don't think-"

"It's ok. I understand. Good night, Lily."

"On second thought, what the hell? I have nothing better to do." She said as she sat down across from him.

He smiled at her, but then his eyes widened. "Oh shit, Sirius is going to kill me."

"What, why?"

"I lost the list for Quidditch tryouts," James said, sheepishly.