Always and Forever

chapter 11

James' pov-
I scrunched up my eyes as the sun flooded into the room. Hadn't I close my curtains last night? I peeled one eye open, vaguely aware of a weight on my chest. I looked down to examine and was greeted with a sea of red hair and a wave of something that smelled like strawberries. I opened my other eye and peered down at the sleeping girl on my chest. Surely not...it couldn't be... I reached for my glasses and inspected closer. Holy mother of Merlin! Lily Evans was asleep on my chest again! What had happened last night? Oh god, we didn't do anything did we? Oh god, what if we did and I couldn't remember? I ran a hand through my hair as she turned her head and traced her nails along my chest.

"You awake?" She whispered.

"Yeah, just about" I shifted down lower, pulling her with me as she snuggled her head into my shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" Her voice was laced with concern as she continued to stroke smooth circles across my body. Memories suddenly came flooding back.

I was in stag form, Padfoot was stood next to me, Peter was stood between my legs. Moony was backed into a corner, the shackles just about holding him back. He lunged forwards, Sirius was just in his reach. I yanked him back with an antler and signalled for him to stay back. He obeyed and stood closer to me. Remus snarled and snapped his jaw, his red eyes burning into my brown ones. I stood my ground, tall and proud. He lurched forward, snapping his chains in the process. He growled as he reached his claw out to hit me, I turned as it hit my back and I felt it make its way down my leg. I collapsed, just far away enough so that he could not reach me again without having to break the final shackle that held his left ankle. I watched, barely conscious, as Padfoot transformed back into Sirius.

"James, mate I need you to transform" I moaned and tried to turn my body. The aches and pains overtook me as I began to turn from Prongs back into a human. I lay in a pool of my blood, murmuring as the pain shot through me.

"James? Are you okay?" A voice snapped me back to the present before I could replay anymore. I flinched in shock and Lily began to crawl off of me.

"I'm fine." I snapped. She cowered away from me and i amended my tone. "I'm okay Lils, come here," I held out my arms for her and she cautiously came forward. As soon as she was near enough, I scooped her into me and held her head against my chest.

"Merlin Potter, you scared me"

"James."

"What?" She pulled her head away to face me.

"I prefer it when you call me James," I explained smoothly, conscious of the fact that she was trembling.

"Maybe if you're lucky I'll remember that," she tried to smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes. I pulled her back into me, smiling when she didn't resist.

"What's wrong Lil?" I breathed in the scent of her hair as her whole body shook against me.

"Nothing, you just scared me that's all, you lost a lot of blood and we both know I'm not trained in that stuff and I wasn't sure if my spells worked an-" she stopped talking when I pushed my index finger against her soft lips. Tears were streaming down her face now.

"I know, Lily, I know. Don't cry though, I'm okay now. You saved me" she gulped and nodded, but the tears still fell.

"I thought you were going to...die" she whispered, burying her face into my shoulder. I didn't respond, I couldn't. I didn't know what to say. I thought I was going to die as well. Her body slowly stopped shaking and her breathing levelled out. She pulled away from me. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this." She turned away, allowing her long hair to hide her face. I resisted the urge to tuck it behind her ears, "if anything, I should be the one comforting you" she let out a dry chuckle and I smiled.