"Stop the world.
Seize the moment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James Potter was wearied.

Yesterday evening had been incredibly frightful and worrisome. After he, Remus, and Peter had left the strangely-unconscious Sirius in Bell's care, they'd rushed down the Grand Staircase, out the side door, past the Herbology greenhouses, and down the hill to the Whomping Willow. They scrambled through the tunnel, Remus going first and panicking about being late, and James hadn't even noticed when little roots poked out of the dirt walls and scratched his face or the tree above them started to shake itself back awake and sent soil falling onto their faces and into their hair.

The storm above gave them an extra few minutes, and thank Merlin for it, for just as they'd finished sealing up the basement of the Shrieking Shack, Remus started shaking and Peter and James shared a glance, knowing tonight would be a rough one without Sirius. As a dog, he was the most effective at keeping Remus' werewolf form at bay because of the paws, teeth, and all-around strength. If Bell had ever wondered how Sirius was as muscular as he was without ever 'working out' or playing Quidditch, she might have been surprised to know it was because of these monthly excursions.

That night had, indeed, been tough on Peter and James, and when Remus finally came to, he started crying at how beaten up his friends looked. They always seemed drained after a full moon, but Peter had a broken finger and James had a long scratch on his cheek as well as various bruises all around. He also sported a series of scratches along his left side, but didn't let either of his friends know because he knew Remus would feel even guiltier. As the minute hand on James' watch turned to five am, the three of them stumbled into the Hospital Wing. Remus had crawled up on one of the beds nearest to the door, across from the bed Sirius was recovering in (though he didn't seem to notice his friend in his exhaustion) and promptly passed out, whereas Peter had stayed awake for another half-hour to get his finger mended by Madam Pomfrey, and James didn't sleep at all.

As the sun started the brighten up the Hospital Wing around six-thirty that morning, James leaned back on the bed beside Sirius'. Bell had woken when he and the others had arrived, having fallen asleep in a chair beside him, and James couldn't help but smile despite his fatigue when he saw she was holding his hand and didn't let go even when she woke. They'd talked in hushed voices for some time about that night, and James was furious when he learned of the wicked trick Bellatrix had pulled. He would have described her with considerably colorful language had Bell not beaten him to it in a flurry of curses and snapped words of anger.

Though James was careful not to say anything about why he, Remus, and Peter had needed to leave so urgently, he noticed Bell didn't ask either and only questioned if the three of them were alright. After they'd both run out of things to say and James saw that Bell seemed just as tired as Remus was that night, he told her to go back to the dorm, get some sleep, but she refused, saying she wanted to be there when Sirius woke. James insisted, Bell pushed right back, but after a few minutes, they reached a compromise.

Now, as James looked to Bell and Sirius, he smiled to himself. His mate would have one hell of a thing to thank him for later when he woke up with the girl of his longtime affections curled up next to him in that hospital bed. They looked so peaceful like that, and James gave a soft sigh. He wished two things in that moment- firstly, that Bell would just hurry up and fall for Sirius already or, if she already had, admit it to him, and secondly, that one day he'd be able to wake up with his dear Lily in his arms. He imagined how her hair would look spread out on the pillow, and how her dreams would be only sweet, and they would be content.

His eyes, along with his spirits, dropped to the floor. At this rate, that wasn't about to happen anytime soon. Sure, he'd had that one moment when on Head Girl and Boy patrol with her a week or so ago, but since then, she'd acted rather standoffish and reacted even more annoyed to his flirting attempts and requests of a date than she ever had in the past. He worried there was something he'd said, or a negative rumor she'd heard about him, or worst of all, that she'd just decided enough was enough and was trying to get rid of him from her life. Merlin, he hoped not.

"James?"

Immediately his gaze flicked up to meet those green eyes of the very girl he'd loved for so long. In the past week, she'd only called him by his last name, and this use of his first brought a smile to his face along with the pleasure of simply seeing her face.

"Good morning, Lily," he replied quietly, neglecting to offer her a wink, a smirk, or a request of a date, and this seemed to surprise her, but not in a bad way. She walked past the bed where Sirius and Bell were now breathing in sync in their sleep and gave a soft smile at them before taking a seat on the end of the bed James was also sitting on.

"If only she'd see..." Lily shook her head and gave a sigh. James' smile grew a little to see she shared his views on the feelings between Sirius and Bell. "How long has he liked her?"

"Since fourth year. But Lily..." James' gaze grew fond when he looked at her, and was pleasantly surprised to see her blush and glance away when she noticed. "He doesn't like her. He loves her."

Lily didn't say anything for a long moment. James took a chance and scooted over from where he was sitting, his back up against the headboard of the bed. He tilted his head at the now-empty space beside him and tried to no avail to squash down the smile that grew ear-to-ear when she rolled her eyes but swung her legs up and slid back to sit beside him, leaning back and letting her head tilt up as she leaned it against the wall just above the end of the headboard. Her red hair fell around her face like a pretty curtain and James resisted the urge to twirl a lock of it around his finger.

"You really think so?" She let her head roll along the top of the headboard to face him and he realized this question was broader than just Sirius' feelings for Bell. She was asking about all this time James had sought Lily's affections, too. He took a moment to really think through his answer before replying.

"I know so." He didn't break her gaze and silence fell for a long moment as they stared at each other, green eyes gazing into hazel. "Because he's told me a hundred times." This was true, Sirius did tend to express his love for Bell during late-night study sessions, when a little drunk on firewhiskey, while making a hat during his two-day-long knitting obsession last May- but never when Miss Roac herself was around. Considering Sirius was such a confidant person who knew well how to draw a girl's affections and yet he still hadn't found the words to tell Bell of his feelings nor had he often openly flirted with her spoke volumes to James. If a girl could get Sirius Orion Black in such a tizzy without even meaning to, that girl was the be-all-end-all for him.

Lily yawned. James wondered if she'd slept very little tonight, too. And what was she doing here so early in the morning, anyway? He asked her this and when she chuckled and replied she'd come to get Bell but that plan was certainly out the window, he told her she should get some more sleep before classes started at eight. 

"I'll bring you something from breakfast," he promised, "and drop it off with Marlene to bring to you."

"Because you can't get up the girls' stairs."

James pretended to be disgruntled and nudged her side, but he couldn't hide his smile at her giggling. It was a running joke among the Marauders, Marlene, Bell, and Lily how James always, always, forgot about the anti-male enchantment on the stairs up to the Gryffindor girls' dorm and often tried to follow Lily up them as he read her a poorly-written poem, tried to serenade her a love song with her name instead of the original subject's, or persuade her to go on a date with him through other wordly means. A good share of bruises and self-deprecating jokes came of James' forgetfulness and as he laughed a bit along with Lily, he found himself more at ease than he had been all night.

There was something about her presence that calmed him and brightened his spirits, and James wondered if she knew how genuinely grateful he was to have her in his life. He considered telling her now, in case she didn't comprehend this, but he decided against it in case it scared her away. This was a nice moment they were having, and he didn't want to ruin it with words too strong, no matter how true they were. James, whose gaze had been drawn to a painting of a rushing river across the Hospital Wing, felt a weight against his side and stopped himself from turning to her as Lily leaned her head on his shoulder. Her hand brushed against his and he wondered if he dared. This was already more than he could have hoped to happen in the next few months, and his heart gave a skip as he slowly leaned his head to rest on top of hers. 

Lily let out a long sigh, shaky at first but steadier as it went on, and James' pinkie curled around hers. Not a word was spoken between them, and he was alright with that. Little by little, the rest of his hand moved to hold hers, and she didn't stop him- in fact, when he ran his thumb against the side of her hand, she let out a short breath as if amused, or, James hoped, endeared. And there they sat, leaning up against the headboard of the hospital bed, staring at the river as it flowed down the hillside and under a simple bridge, the trees swaying in the painting's wind along its foremost bank, lost in their own thoughts but still present in the moment with each other.

And just like that, James Potter somehow fell further in love with Lily Evans.