Deer to Me

Chapter Nine

James was presumably still in his bed for the rest of the weekend, for Lily did not see him once. She suspected that after spending a night out in the snow, one would have a good chance of getting sick. Sirius, Remus, and Peter kept coming back and forth from the room laden with bowls of soup and glasses of juice. Lily thought it incredibly overdramatized, he was just milking it by not going to Madame Pomfrey for some Pepper-up potion.

She had more to worry about because in a few days she would be going home to face Petunia and her ‘charming' husband. She spent Sunday putting a dent into her holiday homework ahead of time because she was sure that she'd have no time to do it during the holidays, what with planning the wedding and spending time with her family and such.

Monday, Lily noted, exasperated, that James was not among the three Marauders that sauntered in a moment before McGonagall. She thought that having his friends gopher him soup and juice all weekend was bad enough, but missing school was just unsatisfactory. McGonagall noticed as well and put down her quill.

"Mr. Black, the school and this class has been unusually quiet as of late. Where has Mr. Potter disappeared to? Taking an early break, is he?"

Sirius put on his best innocent face. "No, Professor. He's sick."

"So I shall have to check with Poppy, shall I?"

"No ma'am. James isn't in the hospital wing. He's sleeping in our dorm."

"Don't you think it would be wise to remind him that there are potions for whatever ailments plague him? Except, of course, laziness-"

"Sorry Professor. Must have slept in." Even Professor McGonagall looked surprised. The voice, once charming and smooth, was raspy and low. James Potter, the once the sexy and debonair, now was the sickly and pale. He shuffled past her to take his seat next to Peter who scooted away a little, to avoid catching anything.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black has informed me that you have not seen Madame Pomfrey for your illness."

"No ma'am," James shook his head. "I'm not that sick."

But he coughed so loud that people around him took the same idea from Sirius and scooted away from James.

"I'm sure. Potter, you are dismissed from class, and I want you to go straight to Madame Pomfrey."

"But-"

"Now Potter," McGonagall barked. James gathered his things and mumbled things to himself, some of which Lily could discern as ‘child molester' and ‘broad, one year out of healing school, has no real training.' He slumped out of the door and the students could hear his hacking down the hallway.

After class, Sirius, Remus, and Peter shuffled down to the hospital wing presumably to go visit James. Lily's curiosity at their loyalty got the better of her and she ran to catch them.

"Why are you going to visit him?" Lily asked, positioning herself in-between them. "He's made you run up and down the school just because he's too stubborn to go to the school nurse."

Sirius chuckled, "Well, Lily, first off, you haven't seen Poppy around James, now have you?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Not that again. I'm sure that James is imagining it-" They came to the door. James sounded very horse and very scared.

"P-Please! Madame Pomfrey, don't-"

"Come now, Jimsey! It's just a simple sleeping drought." The voice of the school nurse, usually steely and calm, was light and flirting.

"B-But don't you have a potion for the flu?"

"Of course I do, but you don't have the flu, now do you?"

"What?!"

"You've got a severe case of the....the...Epstein-Barr virus," she cooed.

"Mono?!" James's voice was skeptical. "But I haven't even-" Sputtering and choking followed and Madame Pomfrey made a very happy sound.

Lily didn't look completely convinced, but she had her doubts about her initial reaction. Sirius poked his head in and looked around; the nurse had already gone. He and Remus tiptoed into the room and snuck behind the curtains where James was staying. Lily just walked through the room and flung open James's curtains. He let out a gasp of sheer terror.

"Relax Prongs, it's just Lily," Sirius said, waving his hand in front of James's face. James swatted at it only to hit Remus in the face.

"I thought it was ‘Poppy,'" James croaked. He was very pale against the white sheets and he had taken his glasses off, which gave him a very innocent, boyish look to him. Lily almost felt sorry for him. Key word being almost.

"Why'd she give you a sleeping drought?" Lily asked, sitting down on the bed after closing the curtains again. "She could just give you some Pepper-up-"

"She's always trying to keep me here overnight like that," James shivered. "She's real creepy, too."

"She's always so excited around-" Peter started but then Sirius kicked him, remembering that Lily was present.

"Around what?" Lily inquired.

"Quidditch games," Remus finished, smiling.

"At this rate, I'm never going to get out of here." He folded his arms and pouted. "Epstein-Barr disease my ass." He turned to look at Sirius. "Padfoot, you know better than I do-"

"James, that's a potted plant. I'm over here," Sirius grabbed James's face and adjusted it.

"Why don't you just put on your glasses?" Lily interjected mildly.

"Because the stupid broad took them," James squinted and he was sure that he was looking at Lily because her red hair was catching off of the sunlight.

"Why?"

" ‘Cause she knows that I'm completely blind without them," James said. "Can't see a bloody thing. So I can't escape."

"Ok, Mr. Potter, let's see how that drought is doing! I've found the potion that can begin to kill the virus, but I think you'll have to stay here all night-" She sang and thrust open the curtains. Her eyes lighted up when she saw Sirius and then to the calendar when she saw Remus. But Lily, who had never so much as gotten sick (if she had a sniffle, she used a muggle remedy and it was gone), had never been to the hospital wing.

"And you are?" she said, very haughtily. James reached out and snatched her hand.

"My girlfriend," he said, defiantly. Remus sighed and took James's hand out of his and into Lily's.

"Really?" Madame Pomfrey glared at her. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over."

"But what about them?" Lily asked. "And if I'm not mistaken-"

"-which she isn't a lot-" James spoke up.

"-visiting hours are from 7 in the morning until 7 at night," Lily recited, wondering why she was sticking up for Potter like this, and why she was getting butterflies when he held her hand in his.

"Where did you hear that?"

"It's on the door," Lily reminded her sweetly and pointed. She fought down a shiver when James rubbed his thumb on the top of her hand. Madame Pomfrey gave her a final glare and sputtered in indignation. She turned and shut the curtains, sweeping away, apparently defeated.

"Now, let go of my hand, Potter," Lily said. James (albeit very reluctantly) let go of her hand. She felt cold, but attributed it to the hospital wing.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Only because you're sick," Lily stated, hoping that her cheeks weren't red. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall be going."

"Come visit me again." James begged. "I can't be here alone!"

"...I'll see what I can do."

Once she was gone, Sirius punched him in the shoulder. "OW!" James cried. "What was that for?"

"Did you not see her?" Sirius hissed.

"...mate, I'm blind."

"She was blushing," Peter said, excitedly.

"Was she? Really?"

"That she was," Remus said, a bit less enthusiastically.

Lily couldn't concentrate through History of Magic. She could just see James, sitting there in the hospital wing, being fretted over by Madame Pomfrey. She also couldn't help but remember that little pot of vapor rub sitting in her trunk and how soothing it was.

But this was Potter. She didn't owe him anything. He was a prick.

Well, she did owe him a Christmas present. She twirled her quill in her hands while she thought. If she did this for him, she wouldn't have to spend money on him. And then she wouldn't have to worry about his not being in class with her and everything would be back to normal.

Wait, when did she start caring whether or not James was in class with her?!

But, it did cover the Christmas present dilemma. She could just pop in there, give it to him, remind him ‘politely' not to use it all, and then return in the morning, he would be fresh and ready to get back to class with her.

But she didn't care whether or not he was in class with her at all. Not at all.

So after dinner, Lily grabbed her little blue bottle and trotted down to the hospital wing. She was mildly surprised to see a new sign that read:

"Come off it, Madame Pomfrey!" James was still apparently horse. "You can't do that and you know it!"

"I'm quarantining you until you are healthy enough to be exposed to the student population. If I let you out and an outbreak of E. Boli erupts, we'll know who is to blame-"

"I thought you said it was the Epstein-Barr virus." James sounded very upset.

"Have you been to healer school, Jimsie?"

"No ma'am."

"Then shut up."

Lily turned with a little laugh and walked towards the Great Hall where dinner was currently being served. She sat near Sirius and Remus and could hear them talking about the new ‘visiting hours.'

"Completely daft bird, if you ask me." Sirius' mouth was full of food.

"She's a fairly pleasant person otherwise-"

"Oh you're just in love with her Moony because-" Peter winced and rubbed his shin. Sirius motioned to where Lily was sitting.

"Something on your mind, Lily?" Remus asked.

"Well, I was wondering whether or not you were going to sneak in to see James tonight."

"Of course we are," Sirius said, as if she had asked whether or not papayas were orange. "Why? You wanna sneak in, too?" His eyes gleamed mischievously. "Have an ickle crushy-wushy on Prongsy-wongsy?"

"No," Lily's cheeks were bright red to match her hair. "I just have his Christmas present to give him."

"I see," Sirius said. "Well, you can use James's Invisibility Cloak."

Lily's jaw dropped. "So that's how you do it all! I've heard those things are very expensive. How did James get a hold of one?"

Sirius shrugged, "It's supposed to be a family heirloom, but I figure that James is just spoiled rotten."

"Figures," Lily nodded. "So you don't think he'll be mad if I borrow it?"

"No, Lily, I don't think he'll be mad at all if you come and visit him," Sirius grinned.

"Are you positive that you're not coming?" Lily pleaded. Sirius had shown up with the cloak after dinner, but he had told her that neither he nor Remus were going to go.

"Yeah, I've got some stuff to do, and I don't want to intrude on your private time."

"There will be no private time." Lily rolled her eyes and put the cloak over her head. She disappeared instantly. It was odd, because the room was now veiled in the pattern on the cloak, and she walked right by people without them seeing her. Sirius walked her to the door and opened it for her, so it wouldn't look like the portrait door was swinging open on it's own.

"Hello Sirius darling," The Pink Lady crooned. Once they were out of earshot, Lily hissed at him, "Does everyone think that you're Heaven on Earth?"

Sirius sighed and turned towards the library. "Everyone except for you, Lily darling."

Lily didn't reply, but continued onto the hospital wing. The door was locked, but Lily used a hand unlocking charm and slipped inside unnoticed.

"Padfoot?" James croaked. "Padfoot, is that you?"

"No," Lily whispered and crept into the curtains, looking around for Madame Pomfrey.

"Peter? Mate, you need to grow some balls. You sound like a girl."

"I am a girl," Lily growled.

"Crimity, Wormtail! I never knew-"

"Don't be so daft, Potter." Lily took the cloak off of her and threw it on the bed. James, still blind, squinted in the growing dark.

"Only one person has such dulcet tones," James smiled. "What are you doing here Lily? Come to perform a daring rescue? Sweep me off my feet-"

"Where's Madame Pomfrey?" Lily was still whispering and she sat down quietly. James laughed.

"She's out at the moment. You're ok." James was still looking at her (or more accurately to three feet to the left of her) with astonishment. "You took my invisibility cloak from my room-"

"Borrowed from Sirius."

"-snuck down here-"

"The halls weren't that crowded."

"-just to see me?" James finished.

"No." Lily pulled out her tub of vapor rub. "I'm here to give you your Christmas present."

James eyes lit up because he, of course, couldn't see what she had taken out. For all he knew it could have been condoms.

"Merry Christmas indeed." A wide smile spread across his face, but then he let out a hacking cough that reverberated in his chest painfully.

"That's what you get for thinking so perverted," Lily chided. She was about to say more, but Madame Pomfrey came back in whistling. James motioned for Lily to cover up with the cloak and she barely made it before the happy nurse came back in with a big flask of sleeping potion.

"Now, Jimsie. You need your sleep or else you'll never get better."

"Now, how do I know that doesn't have some kind of reactant that will put me to sleep, but just make me sicker so that you can keep me here."

Madame Pomfrey made a little twittering laugh and sat down on the bed. James scooted back and she reached a hand out to flatten his hair.

"James, James. You've got such an imagination on you." She tapped his nose and then grabbed it, lifting the top of his head up and draining the potion inside his mouth. James was completely out of energy so he didn't fight as much as he had been doing, also, he didn't want to seem weak when Lily was standing right there. He knew she was there because he could feel the warmth coming off of her leg by his hand on the edge of the bed.

"Now, sleep tight, Jimsies!" She fluttered out of the room and shut off the lights. Lily waited a few minutes and then took off his cloak. She had a satisfied sort of grin on her face, or so James thought.

"Ok, now you've completely convinced me that she's mad. So I'm going to go ahead and give you your birthday present."

James sat back and let out a loud yawn.

"Stuff works fast," he stretched. "So, what's this present?"

"It's called vapor rub. You spread it on your chest-"

"Really!!!!" James sat up so fast it made his head spin. Lily smacked him hard.

"My mum used to spread it on my chest-"

"Kinky-"

"When I was a little girl." James now had no question on where to look now because Lily's face was shining so red that it was a beacon in the night.

"Oh," James winked. "What for?"

"When I was sick like you are now. You know, congested. Hoarse."

"I see." He thought for a moment. "But I thought that your family were muggles."

"They are, this is a muggle remedy."

"Whoa, whoa," he put his hands up. "Time out. I've heard stories about muggle remedies. Stitches and things like that." He shivered.

"James, would you rather be stuck here with Poppy?"

"Er....all right." He sat back and let out a deep breath. "What do I need to do?"

"Take off your shirt," Lily said before thinking. Why couldn't she just tell him to put it on himself?

"Oooh, Lily. You know I said anytime, but I don't want to get you sick," James laughed while unbuttoning his pajamas. Lily chose to ignore that comment, except her cheeks kept flaming red and wouldn't stop. She busied herself with unscrewing the top and took a moment to take a whiff of the stuff for herself. It reminded her of home and her mother.

"Are you sure about this?" Lily's blush returned full force. James was topless and he had some nice muscles. Lily dipped her fingers in the stuff and rubbed it on her hands. James was eyeing her oddly and she reached her hand out and placed her hand on his chest. He flinched and grabbed her hand.

"What?" Lily asked softly.

"Your hands are cold," he smiled, giving her hands a light squeeze. Lily continued to rub in the salve, completely aware that James' eyes were glue on her. Her hands ran along his deep neck lines and his prominent Adam's Apple and onto the grooves of his chest.

"Lily?"

"Hm?"

"It's not working," James grinned. Lily sighed and put a little bit more on his chest.

"It's not supposed to work immediately. Muggle medicine doesn't work that way. But your nose should be clearing up soon."

"Hm..." James yawned. All of this massaging felt nice and he was starting to loose the fight against the sleeping potion. He opened his eyes again to see Lily right above him. She was so close that he could see her face, but it was a bit fuzzy.

"James?"

"Hm?" Everything was starting to be a bit dreamy now.

"Are you nearsighted or farsighted?"

"Near," he murmured.

"How badly?"

"Pretty badly." He blinked slowly and then she was very close to him. He could count the freckles on her face. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5-

"What are you doing?" Lily asked.

"Counting the freckles on your face." But it sounded more like ‘coning the fregles yur mm' to Lily and she left it at that. Placing the now closed bottle on the table, then thinking better of it and placing it under his pillow, Lily too his discarded shirt and wrapped it around his neck to keep in the aromas.

And there she left him, snuggling his pillow and dreaming about freckles.