Everything to Me

46.

Remus sprung into action on Lily's words as Sirius pulled on a t-shirt over his joggers. He dashed down out of the dorm and was halfway down the stairs when James pulled him back.

"We have the map, Moony. We'll find her." He tried to calm him.

"It's all my fault. I should've looked harder." Remus kept muttering under his breath. "I am sorry, James. It's my fault. All I had to do was - was look properly and she would've been back -"

Lily put her hand on Remus' mouth so as to shut him up and shook her head.

"It's not your fault, Rem. None of think that. Now let's look for her." James said urgently as he scanned the map for Juli's name.

Sirius and Remus peered over his shoulder as Lily fidgeted with her wand. Not sure of what to do. All she could do was hope that her best friend was not in trouble.

The ones more worried than her were James & Sirius. One could practically hear Sirius' heart thumping and even though James was trying to keep calm, he looked two seconds away from freaking out.

"There she is!" Remus exclaimed, pointing on the map. "Outside... Mcgonagall's office...?"

Lily didn't ask any questions about the map and ran out the stairs, followed by the boys.

James stopped at Juli sight. She was against Mcgonagall's door, unconscious. No one moved for the next few minutes until Lily was able to tear her eyes away from her figure and approached her.

"Juli?" She whispered.

Juli didn't open her eyes.

James then approached her. "Wake up, Jules!" James shouted frantically shaking her.

Feeling something wet on her back, he looked at others confused.

"James..." Sirius choked, his eyes widening and full of fear, "Th - there is blood dripping down on the floor."

"I'll get her to the hospital wing, you alert Mcgonagall!" He said, scooping her up in her arms.

* * * * *

James paced back and forth outside the hospital wing as Sirius looked out the window glumly.

"Madam Pomfrey says we can go in after 10 minutes. It took so much time because the bleeding wouldn't stop." Lily said. She was the only one Madam Pomfrey allowed in due to her ability to act calm.

"What's that Pads?" James asked when he heard Sirius mumble something.

"It looks like dark magic."

James breath was knocked out of his chest as he strode forward and opened the door of the hospital wing forcefully.

Ignoring Madam Pomfrey's words of anger, he went and sat down near Juli, taking her hand in his.

He sat silently, taking in her features. Madam Pomfrey had made her lay on her stomach and James could almost make out where the scar was on her back. She looked feeble and weak. Empty bottles of blood replenishing potions were kept near her bed.

He had picked one of the bottles up with his other hand to examine them when the door opened and Fleamont and Euphemia Potter walked in.

James looked up at them but couldn't bring himself to say anything so he just held his sister's hand.

"What happened to her?" Mr. Potter asked when Madam Pomfrey came with another potion bottle.

"Headmaster himself would like to talk to you about this." She replied. "If the children had not found her in time, the blood loss would've been too much and even St. Mungo's couldn't have helped. Thank fully the gash was not too long."

Euphemia's eyes glistened with tears and she held on to her husband for support. "Maybe we should go and see Dumbledore." She said.

Fleamont nodded and after giving a small smile to James, they went towards the Headmaster's study.

Not moments after they left, James felt Sirius' hand on his shoulder. "She'll be okay, Prongs." He looked up to see Remus and Lily standing behind Sirius.

He simply nodded.

"Do you hear me? She will be."

And at those words, James burst into tears, crying into Juli's hand. He couldn't imagine, rather, he didn't want to imagine what would have happened if they had been late. He wanted to find out who did this and once he did, he would make sure no one touches his sister again.

"Yu it."

His head snapped up when he heard Juli say something into the pillow.

"What?" He asked softly, inching closer.

She lifted her head slightly to look at him. "Now I'll have to wash my hands you git!"

He looked shocked at her words and laughed out, mostly in relief. "That's what you care about?" He asked, leaving her hand and giving her a napkin to wipe it. "You were unconscious for Merlin knows how long and all you care about is washing your hands?"

She chuckled in response. "I am fine, Jamie." She tried getting up but instantly fell back down on the bed.

"You're too weak to move Juli." Lily said, walking on the other side of the bed. She put her hand under her stomach and gently turned her around, helping her to sit up against the pillows.

James smiled and sat down on the edge of her bed followed by Lily, Remus and Sirius.

"I am sorry, Juli." Remus started. "I didn't look harder. If I had, I would've found and you wouldn't have gone through -"

Peter chose that moment to enter the Wing. He made his way to Juli's bed and handed her a chocolate frog. "Mcgonagall told me what happened."

She nodded gratefully and opened the box.

"Reeeeeeemus," Juli said, dragging out his name. "It is not your fault that you couldn't find me. Now, stop thinking that and as a proof of my belief, have the half of this chocolate." She laughed, handing him the half of her chocolate frog.

Remus smiled gratefully and bit into it, happy that she truly didn't blame him.

"You know what I realized?" Juli asked after eating.

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"I left last night because I couldn't forget a particular picture from my mind." She looked at Sirius who looked down in guilt. She chuckled again at his reaction and tugging on his t-shirt, pulled him close. "We are in the middle of a war, who knows how long we have. Life is too short to wait."

And if anyone asks, those were the words Juliette Potter said before crashing her lips onto Sirius Black's.