Crescent Moons ; J.S. Potter

24. butterfly effect.

If there was something that Daisy knew James would've loved to see, it would be the sight of her sitting by his hospital bed.

Unfortunately, he was currently unconscious in the Hospital Wing after being knocked off of his broom by a Bludger an hour ago.

Alongside Daisy, there was Marlee, Gwen, Thomas, Benjamin, Lily, Remus, Rose, Alice, and a group of other Gryffindors or James Potter admirers. Daisy and Remus were given bedside chairs while Lily opted to sit on the foot of James' bed.

"Why should I get a chair?" Daisy had asked. Lily had given her an obvious look.

"You caught him," Lily had replied.

Madam Pomfrey had cast some spells on his arm but decided not to wake him up as there was "no need for that" and she "didn't want to hear his blabbering." She had stated that he would be fine after a few days in the Hospital Wing.

"Remember when he said not to worry about the Bludgers?" recalled Marlee, sighing as she looked at James' arm, which was now in a cast.

"I've never seen him knocked out after a Quidditch game," said Benjamin, who had brought the mountain of candy that they had bought for the party. Their efforts of organizing the party were clearly futile now. "It's only after the excessive amounts of Firewhiskey that he drinks—"

Thomas coughed loudly when Madam Pomfrey gave them a suspicious glance.

"Did you tell Mum and Dad?" asked Lily to her conscious brother.

"Yeah," replied Remus, the only non-Gryffindor in the room. "Sent them an owl as soon as I heard. They should've got it by now."

Madam Pomfrey strode past the crowd of Gryffindors and toward James' bed. She had a potion bottle in her hand that likely had some medicine inside of it. She gave the crowd a stern look.

"I understand you lot are all worried about Potter here but I assure you that he will be fine in no time," she said. "That being said, there are far too many people accompanying him. His siblings are allowed to stay considering they are family. The rest of you: you can visit him one by one tomorrow."

Daisy stood up and began filing out with the rest of the crowd when Madam Pomfrey stopped her.

"Wood," she said, "you can stay. I know Potter well enough to know that he would like that."

Daisy felt blood rush to her cheeks. Benjamin scoffed.

"I'm his best friend but of course, you get to stay," he told her teasingly. Daisy laughed and the crowd filed out, leaving Daisy with Lily, Remus, and an unconscious James.

"Thanks for saving him," said Lily. "I never really got to thank you for that. I know that must've been hard for you to do."

"I barely had to think about it," confessed Daisy. "James is one of my closest friends. I'd rather have lost the game than have won it and he was more hurt than he is now."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, Remus taking some of his brother's candy and tucking it into his pocket.

"Are you still mad at him?" asked Remus. "Look, I know he's a cocky bastard and he's a bit of a jerk but he's really trying, I can tell."

Daisy thought about the question. If she was being honest, she hadn't felt any negative emotions toward James for weeks. He was kind, caring, and something must've sparked Daisy to abandon the Snitch for him.

"No, I'm not," she decided. "James is a great friend."

Lily and Remus exchanged smug glances.

"Say that to his face when he wakes up," said Lily teasingly. Daisy chuckled.