A Fine Line

Lily looked up as the entire house began flooding through the portrait hole. "Gryffindor wins!" someone exclaimed, and everyone broke into cheers.

Lily rolled her eyes. She wasn't interested in Quidditch. To her, it was a rather barbaric sport in which people intentionally bashed rather large objects into other players without any consideration to what injuries the other player could experience. It horrified her that some people could be so inconsiderate of their peers. She rose from the couch and scanned the crowd for Potter. They had a few Head duties to discuss, and after that was done, she'd be retiring to her rooms for some trashy Muggle romance novel reading.

Instead, she had to settle for Sirius, who was enthusiastically retelling every detail of the story as if everyone else hadn't been at the game to see it. She waded through the masses, carefully watching him. He jumped up on a coffee table and waved his arms dramatically, completely oblivious of her attempts to get his attention.

Lily wasn't one to settle for being ignored, so after calling his name several times and not receiving an answer, she tugged on his robes' hem. He looked down and grinned. "Miss Evans!" he boomed, throwing his arms out. "Were you at the game?" He jumped down from the table and ran his hand through his hair. "Or did you have very important duties to dutifully attend to?"

Lily crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I had bigger things to worry about than a silly game."

Sirius' jaw dropped in mock horror. "Silly game? Oh, how you insult one of the world's greatest competitions by calling it a 'silly game'! Let me tell you, if you insulted me like that, I'd demand an apology."

Lily's patience was wearing thin. She wasn't one to believe in stereotypes, but the infamous 'redheaded temper' applied to her. "Black, just tell me where Potter is."

Sirius gave her a pointed look. "You would know if you had been at the game."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, before Davis caught the Snitch, one of the Slytherin Beaters, Kingrey, I think, hit a Bludgers into Prongs. Knocked him clear off his broom, that bugger did. Pomfrey had to levitate him off the pitch." Sirius shrugged. "James is a tough boy; I'm sure he'll be okay. But it was quite a nasty fall he took."

Lily's stomach dropped. "So he's in the Hospital Wing?" she asked stupidly, trying not to let any panic slip into her voice.

Sirius nodded. "That is where Pomfrey tends to take the injured."

Lily glared at him. "Do you know if anyone is allowed to see him? We have to have a discussion."

He looked at her like she had grown another head. "I wouldn't know; I came straight from the game. I was going to go see him later."

Lily fought the urge to groan. Some best friend he is. "Well, I'm going to go find out," she informed him, raising her chin and pursing her lips. "Since you are obviously too busy celebrating to do so."

Sirius grinned wickedly. "You know me all too well, Evans."

Lily fought her way through the masses, and her mind was reeling. I hope he didn't get hurt too badly... She shook her head. This is Potter you're talking about! Why do you care if he was hurt? If anything, he was probably egging Kingrey on.

She entered the infirmary and found Potter right away. He looks horrible. There was a bandage over the left side of his face and his right arm was wrapped up in another thick, white bandage. "James?" she whispered, standing at the side of his cot.

He stirred slightly, mumbling something she couldn't quite understand. "Come again?" she asked softly, bending down and moving her head so her ear was above his lips.

"What color are your knickers?"

Lily's eyes widened, and when she looked down at him, he was trying to hide a smile. "You smarmy git!" she exclaimed, stepping back and placing her hands on her hips. "I bet you aren't even hurt!"

He opened his eyes, reached up, and pulled the bandage off his head. "Actually, my arm is pretty banged up. My head's fine though." The smile he flashed her only made her temper flare. "Oh, come off it, Evans. You know it was funny."

"No, it wasn't!" she exclaimed, feeling the urge to stamp her foot like a little schoolgirl. She resisted, but just barely. "Here I was, feeling sorry for you, and then you go and pull a stunt like this."

"Evans, the day you feel sorry for me will be the day hell freezes over," he said seriously, rubbing his left shoulder and wincing. "Actually, my shoulder is killing me, but you didn't come here to hear about my injuries."

"No, I didn't."

He tossed his legs over the edge of the bed, and that was when Lily realized he was only wearing a thin, standered issue hospital gown. He felt around the top of the nightstand for his glasses, and after sliding them up his nose, he looked back at her. "Now, why are you here?" he asked, reaching for the trousers tossed over the end of the bed.

Lily turned her back, surprised he was going to change in front of her. "We have some Head duties to discuss," she told him, crossing her arms and rolling her neck. "There's the Prefect meeting we have to plan for Monday night, and we still have rounds to make."

"You can turn around now," he told her, the amusement apparent in his voice. She did, and blushed when she saw he was in the middle of buttoning his shirt. He got the last button and hitched up his trousers before ruffling his hair. "We have to plan a meeting?"

Lily straightened up. "Of course. It's one of our duties at Head Boy and Girl. Didn't you read the letter Dumbledore sent you?"

James grabbed his Quidditch robes off the chair next to his bed. "Yes. I guess I just forgot." He stopped in front of Lily, looking down at her. She folded her arms across her chest and glared back at him. "So how are we going to plan this meeting?" he asked, lightly touching her arm. His grip was firm as he spun her around, and his hand moved to her lower back as he guided her towards the door. She opened her mouth in protest, but he cut her off. "I want to leave before--"

"Mr. Potter, where do you think you're going?"

Both teens whirled around at the sound of Madam Pomfrey's voice. "Madam Pomfrey!" James exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across his face. "Your potions are miraculous! I don't know how you did it, but I feel one hundred percent better and ready to leave. Miss Evans and I have very important Head business to attend to, so if you'd excuse us, we'll be on our merry way."

Madam Pomfrey looked skeptical. "Nothing hurts?"

"Not a bone, muscle or ligament in my body."

Lily saw her chance. "Actually, he was complaining about his left shoulder earlier," she told the older woman, giving James a sweet smile. "Can't have Gryffindor's star Chaser's shoulder bothering, now, can we?"

"No, we can't," Madam Pomfrey chirped, going to her desk and bumbling through it. When her head was down, James glared at Lily, who tilted her head in reply. "Here, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey announced, handing him a jar of slimy, yellow cream. "Rub some of this on it tonight, and if that doesn't work, come see me tomorrow for a stronger potion."

"Thanks," he replied, taking the jar. "That's it?"

She nodded. "I'm sure Miss Evans will make sure you put it on tonight, won't you, Miss Evans?"

Lily smiled awkwardly. "Of course."

"We'd better be going," James announced, tugging lightly at the hem of Lily's blouse. She could feel a furious blush creeping up her neck. "Thanks, Madam P."

When they were outside, Lily whirled around and slapped his hand. "Don't touch me," she hissed, desperately hoping she wasn't blushing like a tomato.

James threw up his hands. "Sorry, I just wanted to make a quick escape!"

Lily crossed to the other side of the hallway, occasionally glancing over at James. He had his head down and was rubbing his shoulder, grimacing whenever he hit the sorest spot. She didn't realize she'd been staring until she bumped into a suit of armor. She stumbled backwards and tripped over her feet, landing flat on her back. When did I turn into such a klutz?

Lily could tell he was trying not to laugh as he helped her up, but the minute he let go of her arm after pulling her up, he groaned. "Maybe you should have asked Madam Pomfrey for something stronger," Lily suggested when they started moving again.

James laughed nervously. "Her potions taste like dog shite."

"But you wouldn't be in pain."

They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, and James hesitated. "There's going to be a party, isn't there?" When Lily nodded, he continued. "I don't really want to deal with Sirius in my first hour out of the hospital wing. Shouldn't we be planning that meeting anyway? Let's just go back to the Head Dorms. Unless you wanted to go back in."

Lily shook her head. "No, that's okay. We really need to plan that meeting."

The walk to their dorms was spent in silence, and the minute they got through the portrait hole, James collapsed on the couch. "Can you put that stuff on my shoulder?" he asked, the pillow in his face making it hard for Lily to understand him. He held out the jar and sat up. "It's killing me."

Lily hesitantly took the jar. She really didn't want to do this; all she wanted to do was plan the meeting with as little physical contact as possible and then hide in her room and read her books. But no... I'm stuck massaging this stuff into his shoulder...

James unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off, before throwing himself down face-first. Lily almost laughed. What a string bean! She bit her lip and smiled, twisting the cap off the jar. Her smile faded, however, when she realized the contents of the jar smelled like rotten eggs. "Ewww," she mumbled, scooping up a bit of the stuff and dropping it on his shoulder. "It smells."

She spread it out carefully, making sure to cover his whole shoulder. "It's going numb," he told her, closing his eyes as she began to rub it in. "Harder, and go to the left a little bit."

Lily did as she was told. "Should I put more cream on it?" she asked, digging her palm into his shoulder blade.

"Oooo... I don't know." James groaned and winced, burying his face into the pillow. "Right there, and harder," he told her, his voice muffled.

Lily pressed down hard and James' groan turned into a squeak. "I thought you said it was numb?" He mumbled into his pillow something she couldn't quite hear. "You told me harder," she laughed, easing up on the pressure.

He relaxed a bit. "Your fingers are magical," he mumbled, turning his head to the side so she could hear him. "I feel like I should pay you for this."

Lily stopped and put the cap back on the jar, her face on fire. "I think that's enough. Now can we talk about the meeting?" She couldn't help but smile when he opened one eye to glare at her. "I did make sure you put it on. Madam Pomfrey didn't say a full massage was included." She plopped down in the chair next to the fire, took her wand out of her pocket and summoned a quill and roll of parchment. "We should make a list," she told him, getting straight to the point.

She laughed when James groaned and rolled on his back. "Kill me," he moaned, throwing his arm over his face.

---

Sirius liked to think of himself as suave. He was, after all, ridiculously good-looking, charming and funny. Girls practically threw themselves at him, and despite his busy schedule of trouble-making and havoc-reeking, he liked to think he never let them down.

Which was exactly why he was currently being mauled by a sixth-year in the corner.

The party had ended before it began. Despite the excitement that had followed the game, many people had gone up to their dorms. Sirius was always in favor of a party, but even he couldn't party by himself. So he gave up the idea of a killer party and instead pulled out the bottle of Firewhiskey he 'borrowed-without-permission-and-with-no-intentions-of-returning' from his father two years ago, headed to the common room and roped Remus, Peter, two sixth-year boys and sixth-year Nicolette Wilkins into having a little fun. They sat around the fire and took turns drinking from the bottle before Nicolette suggested they sneak off to the corner for a little hanky-panky.

Even though Nicolette was a very good-looking girl, Sirius was getting bored. Despite the plan they had made on James' way to the hospital wing, he knew he should be going to check on James. James told him to lie low in the hopes Evans would show up first, and Sirius hoped Evans had already handled that situation. Maybe they were off shagging somewhere so he wouldn't have to deal with the sexual tension anymore.

He biggest concern at the moment was getting out of Nicolette's grasp. She had him pinned against the wall, and his back was beginning to protest this. He was beginning to wish he hadn't followed her over here, because while attracting girls was easy; getting rid of them was a whole different story. The last girl he tried to let down easy almost robbed him of his ability to have children, and that was definitely an experience he did not want to repeat.

He pushed her off him as gently as he could, and when she looked up at him, he grinned and winked. "I'll see you later," he whispered, maneuvering past her. He turned around to watch her saunter up the stairs, and when she reached the top, she spun around and waved at him. He waved back before heading towards the couch.

He sighed, sitting on the back of the couch and sliding down until he was lying across it. A quick glance out of the corner of his eye showed Remus was still seated and leaning back against an armchair near the fire, so Sirius sighed loudly and dramatically, while draping his arm across his face. "Woe is me," he exclaimed, sighing again and trying to make himself look completely miserable.

Remus turned his head. "What?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Remus rolled his eyes and stood, plopping into the chair he'd previously been leaning against. "I'm sure I wouldn't," he said sarcastically, "but you could try me anyway."

Sirius stuck out his lower lip and made it quiver a bit as he said, "Why must I be so good-looking?" He quickly raised his arms to keep the pillow viciously chucked at him from hitting his face. "Hey, you could have really messed up my face there!"

Remus shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to hide the smile about to spread across his face. "Yes, it would be a shame if a piece of fuzz got stuck in your nose or something."

---

Usually, Alice wasn't a fan of Friday-night rounds. She hated wasting her Friday nights, stalking the halls of Hogwarts for wrongdoers. Of course, that was the burden of being one of the oldest Gryffindor Prefects, and it seemed Alice was doing a lot of sacrificing for the greater good lately.

Tonight, however, she didn't mind as much.

Despite getting stuck with a fifth-year Ravenclaw Prefect who ditched her the first chance he got, Alice was enjoying herself. Mainly because she had run into a certain Defense professor on her lovely stroll, and he had taken this opportunity to discuss her work in his class with her. Well, he hadn't wanted to talk about it as much as she had, but she wasn't really interested in what he had to say. She just wanted the opportunity to study him up close.

She was pleased to find he had left the robes behind and opted for a slightly more casual version of the school uniform. He was much thinner than she had first realized, but all the hours one had to put into Auror training probably had the tendency to thin one out. He wasn't much taller than her, so the one time he made eye contact with her, they'd been practically eye-to-eye. She knew that she probably should have been listening to what he was telling her, but she was too busy relishing the moment to actually care.

"Well, McCoy, I'm going to have to let you go," he told her, finally looking up from the floor and offering her a small smile. "I've got papers to grade and such."

"Of course," she replied, wringing her hands. Why did he have to go so soon? Snap out of it! You sound like a stalker... "Thanks for the advice, Professor."

"Glad to help."

He continued walking straight, and when she was sure he was out of earshot, she sighed. She was trying to fight the stalker-esque urge bubbling in her stomach and not follow him, but it was just so darn tempting. Making sure she stayed close to the wall, she tip-toed down the way he had gone. Immediately, she was overwhelmed with a sense of wrong. I must be bloody insane. He's going to catch me and have me sent to the loony bin.

As she cautiously rounded the corner, she ducked behind a suit of armor. She adjusted herself so she could see him through the gap between the armor's arm and torso, and she watched as he stopped in front of the portrait of a girl with blonde curls and a huge, poofy, blue dress. He said something she couldn't quite make out, and the girl let him through. "You're quite a cute one," the girl cooed, batting her blonde eyelashes at him. "You make me wish I wasn't stuck on this wall."

Frank smiled at her and scratched his head. "I'm glad you think so, Clara."

Despite her better, more intelligent side telling her it was just a stupid portrait, Alice's blood boiled. Stupid tart... Oh how I would love to get her alone in that frame. I'd give her a duffing she'd never forget. Alice watched as the portrait swung shut and the girl giggled. Alice turned around and stalked off, not bothering to finish her rounds. It's not like anyone's going to be out in the halls anyway, they're all too busy snogging in their common rooms...

Alice was still a little tweaked when she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Lily probably isn't here, meaning I'm left to my own devices. Looks like I have no excuse to not start that Transfiguration essay-- She sighed loudly as she stepped through the portrait hole, suddenly feeling depressed.

"McCoy!"

Alice wasn't surprised to see Sirius lying across the couch and Remus in the chair beside him. "What are you two up to? Hopefully you've stayed out of trouble."

Sirius grinned. "You obviously don't know us very well. We're waiting for Peter to finish his detention with Slughorn and for James to tear himself away from your lovely redheaded friend so we can begin plotting our next bout of troublemaking."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Actually, we're waiting for Peter and James so we can start that project Slughorn gave us. You're welcome to sit with us, if you'd like."

Sirius sat up and punched Remus in the arm. "Why must you ruin my fun?"

Remus shook his head and stood, motioning for Alice to take the seat he had just occupied. "Actually, I'm heading up so I can finish my Transfiguration essay." She smiled at Remus and said, "Maybe later?"

He nodded. "Good luck with that essay; it took me three hours."

Sirius rolled off the couch. "Stop speaking nerd!" he cried, writhing on the floor. "It pierces my heart and burns my ears!"

Alice took that as her cue to leave. "Goodnight, boys. Good luck with that assignment."

She took the stairs two by two, and when she reached her trunk, she pulled out the beginnings of her Transfiguration essay , several pieces of parchment, an inkwell, and a quill. She threw herself onto her bed and began writing.

Her face flushed as she hesitated, staring at the four words. Merlin, what have I become? She scratched the words out, a feeling of satisfaction rushing through her when they were nothing more than a black blob. Below the blob, she wrote, I am over Frank. It was a complete lie, but if she let herself believe it for a bit, maybe she could make it happen.

She felt empowered as she reread the line. She decided to push aside the little voice in her head telling her that feeling would only last until she saw him again, and enjoyed the moment. Frank who? she thought, tossing the paper aside. She opened her book and began her essay, pushing all thoughts that were not related to Transfiguration out of her head.

Her brilliant moment of realization and peace lasted approximately fifteen minutes.

Lily burst into the room, her face flushed. "We need a plan. Right now."

Alice didn't look up from her essay, but suddenly her mind wasn't focused on Transfiguration. "Why? What happened this time?"

Lily suddenly snapped out of her angry mode and looked around the room. "Nobody's here, right?" Alice nodded and Lily snapped back into her earlier anger. "Potter! He hurt his shoulder, right?"

"He did?" Alice asked, unaware of that fact. She hadn't been at the game; she'd been attempting to start her essay. "Is he okay? How'd he hurt it?"

"He fell off his broom, but that's not the point. The point is, he's succeeding and I'm losing, and I am not one to go down without a fight."

Alice got up and crossed the room. "Okay, take a breath and tell me what in bloody hell you're talking about."

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm confused."

"I gathered that much."

Lily flung herself on her old bed and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling. "So it all started when I found out James was in the hospital wing..."