James woke during the feeling of Roger, the cat, jumping onto his chest with a wholloping thump. He grunted, the breath leaving him - Roger was, after all, a very large cat - and winced as Roger's legs speared into his chest. "Gods, Roger, how bloody much have we been feeding you?"
The house was quiet, the starlight from the street pale lavender-blue. Lily was next to him, the sheets wrapped about her. The way the moon highlighted her skin, it made her freckles stand out and James smiled at the little dots that sprayed over her nose and even on her shoulders and arms. He thought about reaching out and touching one, about connecting them with his fingers, running his hands all over her... Gods, he'd been foolish worrying about what that stupid doctor had said, he thought. He hadn't realized how much he was craving the taste and touch of her skin until they'd been in the midst of everything. They'd had a bit of a laughed when he'd paused and told her so, and she'd said, "Oh okay that's great, but please don't stop just to tell me that, Potter!"
He looked up at Roger. "We're lucky men to have her in our lives, you know," he said. He stared up at the cat, whose glowing, incandescent eyes stared down at him, loads of knowledge emanating from them. Roger was pushing against James with his paws, claws tacking into James's skin. "Hey, you little bastard, stop at that..." he swatted at Roger.
Roger let out a meowl of disapproval, low and disgruntled.
"Look, I'm not getting up to feed you. I know for a fact that replenishing charm Lily put on your bowl hasn't worn off yet, and you've eaten plenty. Probably enough for three cats, even. Which, might I note, you're about the size of these days... Pretty soon, you aren't going to fit through the cat door - and then what? Then you'll be so fat, the birds and mice won't even bother running away from you. You'll have mice tap dancing 'round you in fun. Mocking you, like, on account that they'll know you're too damned fat to get up and catch them. You'll be sorry you ate all the replenishing food then, won't you be?"
Roger was relentless.
"Knock it off, or it'll be off to the hallway with you, you ruddy pickle," James threatened.
He was just about to get up and chuck the cat into the hallway and bid it good riddance when he heard his Mother's voice.
"James!"
His sat up, knocking Roger off him. The cat flumped onto the mattress and James leaped up from where he'd been. He tugged on his discarded pyjama pants - the ones with the snitches on them that he loved so much - and he rushed for the door.
"What's going on?" Lily's voice was muffled by the pillow. James didn't answer, he was already in the hallway.
"James!"
The light under the door of Dora's room glowed and he pushed the door open to find her standing, leaning against the bed, bent forward and grasping onto the bed frame with all her strength. Her wand lay on the floor several feet away, and what he'd thought was her bedroom light was actually fire burning up the curtains in her window.
James reached for his wand - realized he didn't have it and nearly bowled into Lily in his effort to rush back to fetch it. Lily ran into the room, raised her wand, and was putting out the fire. Seeing she had that much under control, James turned to his mother, gathering her into his chest. She fell against him, weak, nearly slipping out of his grasp. He hoisted her up into him, lifting her completely up so that she was draped across his arms.
Dora was coughing heartily, her face flushed with shame as she cried. Smoke was rising up from her with every cough, which rattled dangerously in her lungs, her eyes pouring tears. She clutched onto James. He held her close and he sank onto a chair as he cradled her in his arms, his heart absolutely banging in his chest.
Please no, not yet. Please. Mopsus? Do you hear me? Please not yet...
James pressed his forehead against Dora's as his mother's breath came out in rattling wheezes.
She'd just had flint removed, just that very day...
Lily looked over her shoulder. She had doused the flames thoroughly and was working on drying the curtains. Her eyes full of concern. Lily met James's eyes. He nodded, and she went to the closet, pulling out Dora's knitting bag and some changes of clothes - her slippers, her bathrobe... She tucked the framed photo of Charlus from the nightstand into the bag and she went out in the hall to go and get dressed and to get a change for James from their room.
James pulled back just enough to look at Dora's face, "Mum, we're going to get you to Mungo's, alright?" he said quietly.
Dora nodded, choking on the smoke rising up from her lungs. She couldn't speak around it, it was so thick and it seemed to get darker, greyer, nearly black, the longer they sat there.
"Lily," James called down the hallway. "Lily, we need to go."
"I'm coming." Lily came out of the room, her jeans and a jumper thrown on, still kicking on her flats and pulling her hair through a ponytail loop. She had Dora's bag slung 'round her shoulders. "I've got a change for you."
"I'll change there," James said, already starting down the stairs, carrying Dora.
"Alright. Careful of the last step - it always trips you up," Lily reminded him.
James was extra careful to avoid falling on the stairs.
"Oh. Evans. I've forgotten my wand, can you --"
"I'm on it," Lily answered, turning 'round and rushing back up the steps.
"And mum's too. I saw it on her bedroom floor."
"Alright."
James carried Dora right down into the living room, and he said, "Hang on 'round my neck, mummy, so I can get the powder for the floo --" Dora held on, her face pressing into his chest as she hacked and hacked and he struggled with the box and nearly dropped it, but managed and threw the powder into the floor. "Saint Mungo's --" he called, and the fireplace hearth lit up bright green. He stepped through, holding extra tightly to his mother and they were gone in a blur of color.
Lily wasn't far behind. She caught them up before he'd even gotten through the hall of floos at Mungo's, rushing toward the receptionist desk. Lily ran ahead, even, and shouted, "We need a room - dragon pox."
The witch behind the desk looked up in shock and used her wand to cast a charm which covered her face, rushing to the doors that led to the hall and waved her wand - the doors opening on the lift. "Go on up, I'll let them know you're coming."
James got her into the lift and Lily pressed the button for the floor and by the time the lift had gotten upstairs, there were mediwizards-and-witches at the door awaiting them and they levitated Dora up out of James's arms and into a bed, rushing her down the corridor. "She was here - earlier to day," Lily was talking to a mediwitch as she followed along, "Or yesterday ,I don't know what time it is, gods... Sunday. They did a flint removal and a light descaling. We've been on top of the descaling and dousing procedures at home and --" she could feel herself getting dizzy from the anxiety and hustle.
James was clutching his Mum's hand, trying to keep up, but at the doors to the procedure room, the mediwizard took James hand away and said, "I'm sorry son, you have to wait here."
"It's going to be alright, mummy," James called out to Dora as they wheeled her away.
"She's in good hands," and he ducked through the door.
James stood in the hall, staring at the doors as they swung behind the wizard.
Lily grabbed hold of James's arm, holding on tightly. She looked up at him expectantly. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the little galley window in the door until they'd turned a corner down the end of the hallway and Dora was out of his sight. But the moment he couldn't see her anymore, he dropped, his knees giving out.
Lily looked up from where she sat at one end of a small couch, James's sleeping head in her lap, arms round her waist. She had been brushing his hair off his forehead. He stared ahead, eyes not moving, features emotionless, as her fingers worked gently.
Sirius and Remus had just walked into the room, Remus carrying Sirius's boots and leather jacket, holding them out and trying to get him to put them on, even as Sirius, in boxers and stocking feet, came crashing into the waiting area.
"What's happened?" Sirius demanded.
"How did you know where we --"
"LOVE EVANS," Sirius shouted. Then, he repeated his question, "What's happened?"
"Mum's... well, she - she had an attack. There was some - some fire -"
"She breathed fire," James said, voice quiet and flat.
Remus frowned as he sank into the chair next to Lily and James's couch, reaching over and laying his hand on James's shoulder.
"Like... literally breathed fire?"
"Yes," James said. "She set the curtains blazing."
"Did your Dad ever do that...?" Remus asked gently.
James stared very hard at Lily's stomach without moving. "Yeah. That's why he was in hospital so much that one summer. They couldn't douse it. They didn't think they'd get it out, and they kept telling Mum and I to prepare for the worst."
Lily looked pleadingly between Sirius and Remus.
The door opened again, then, and Peter came in the room. "Sorry! I hurried as quickly as I could! I brought pumpkin juices, and snacks... I wasn't sure how long we'd be here... and - and Remus, I have an extra jumper for you that I grabbed and - oh Sirius, I ought to have gotten you a jumper," he said, noticing Sirius was in just his shorts.
Remus held up the leather jacket and shook it and Sirius took it and shrugged it onto his shoulders, then bent to line his feet up with the boots and hopped in place as he pulled them on.
"I can go back and get you something," Peter suggested. But Sirius waved him off.
"Thank you Peter," Remus said, taking the jumper and pulling it on over his head. It was the one with the tiny wolves in a fair isle pattern. "Very thoughtful."
Peter sat in a chair, dropping the bag of snacks and juices onto a side table.
Sirius was pacing, hands in his pockets. He drew out his pack of Players and shook one out, sticking it in his mouth and was about to light up when he heard, "Really? Sirius? Really?" He looked up to see Emma just coming through the door of the waiting room. "I can't believe I have to tell you that you can't smoke in a bloody hospital."
"Some muggles think smoking is healthy," Sirius said. He put the pack and lighter away, but left the unlit cigarette between his lips as Em gave him The Look.
Remus said, "They'll figure out it's not soon enough."
Emma nodded, then turned to James and Lily, "So. I just came from the procedures room -"
James sat up, realizing Emma wasn't there just for the visit. He stared up at her. "Is she alright?" he asked.
"Yes, she's alright, we've got the fire under control for now, but she's going to have to stay here a bit. It seems there was some flint in her left lung. We're not sure if they missed a bit of flint earlier or if she's had a quick regrowth. We'd like to monitor her lungs and keep her doused regularly."
James nodded, fearful.
Emma said, "Just to be safe."
"Is it terribly easy to miss some when a deflinting procedure is done?" Lily asked.
Emma shrugged, "It's not uncommon."
"About thirty percent," Remus spoke up.
Emma looked at Remus. Remus shrugged. "I read a book on it once."
"On deflinting?"
"Yes," he said.
Peter's eyebrows were raised in surprise.
"Bit of light reading, huh Lupin?"
"When Mr. Potter was having it done. I was at Fallengunder and read quite a lot of books. So I'd have answers if James ever had questions."
James looked at Remus, "Really?"
Remus flushed and nodded.
Emmaline patted James's shoulder. "I've volunteered to stay on an extra shift so I can be here for her, so you know she's in good hands, being taken care of."
James nodded.
"Thanks, Em," Lily said.
Emmaline left and the five of them stood about, all facing one another, all lost in thoughts and feelings that seemed to hover heavy in the air around them.