Waking Up

"Merlin, how have they been asleep this long without waking up?"

A violent wave of dizziness swept through Lily as she slowly opened her eyes, a dull ache throbbing in her temples.

A clean, white ceiling came into view. It looked like a hospital. Had she transmigrated back to the modern world? Tears welled up before Lily could speak. What was going on?

She turned her gaze and saw Petunia hurrying over. Oh, she hadn't gone back. She must still be in the Marauders' era.

"Lily, you scared us half to death." Petunia seized her hand, her voice anxious and full of concern. "Watch where you're going next time. You can't be so reckless again, all right?"

Petunia had evidently heard from Madam Pomfrey that she and James had lost their footing and fallen down a spiral staircase together, leaving them unconscious for an entire night. Lily gently held her throbbing forehead and managed a nod.

Madam Pomfrey came to the bedside carrying her medical kit. She raised a hand and cast a gentle diagnostic spell that swept over Lily. "Nothing serious, just a mild concussion. A night's rest will be enough for you to recover. You woke up before Mr. Potter. He took a harder fall and is still fast asleep." After explaining the situation, Madam Pomfrey turned and left the sisters alone.

Petunia chatted with Lily for a while. The conversation kept coming back to the accidental fall the previous night, and she urged Lily to get plenty of rest. With Potions Class about to start, Petunia had no choice but to hurry off.

The ward fell quiet. Lily turned her head and only then saw James Potter lying still in a bed not far away. For once, the ever-flamboyant, noisy boy was silent, his eyes peacefully closed. Without his usual antics, he looked a little less irritating.

Lily sighed inwardly. It had only been an accident involving a displacement in time and space. Now that it was over, there was no need to dwell on it. She only had to keep her distance from now on.

Before long, the ward door was gently pushed open, and Snape's slender figure slipped quietly inside, a small vial of dark green potion in his hands.

"Lily, I brewed you a restorative potion."

He handed Lily the potion he had brewed. "Thank you, Severus, for going to the trouble of brewing a potion for me."

As soon as she finished speaking, a muffled mumble came from the bed beside hers, as if someone were talking in his sleep.

"What kind of rubbish potion did Snivellus brew..."

James must have been pretending to sleep on purpose, deliberately trying to provoke Snape.

Sure enough, Snape's hands clenched, his knuckles turning white as anger surged in his eyes. If Madam Pomfrey hadn't been in the next room, he probably would have lunged at James and beaten him black and blue on the spot.

Afraid James would say something else careless and thoroughly enrage Snape, Lily hurriedly threw back her covers and got out of bed. Half pulling and half coaxing Snape, she led him toward the Hospital Wing's doors.

"I'm so sorry, Severus. He must have damaged his brain in the fall. Thank you for the potion. Once I've recovered, we can go to an empty classroom and study potion recipes together as usual."

Snape was deeply unwilling, but he still let her guide him out. Lily noticed with her sharp eyes that Snape had actually washed his hair. Had the sun risen in the west? She casually patted his head. "Good boy. Go on back."

Snape, who had yet to master Occlumency, didn't have that much self-control. His cheeks instantly turned scarlet, and his entire body went rigid as he let Lily push him out through the Hospital Wing's doors.

Lily returned to the ward and looked up to see James sitting bolt upright, staring at her without blinking, his hazel eyes wide and innocent. He had obviously been pretending the whole time.

"Why did you say that about Severus on purpose just now?" Lily sat back down on her bed.

James clutched his forehead, feigning weakness as he groaned, "My head hurts."

Lily saw through his act at once, but she still reached out and turned his head toward her. Her fingertips brushed his messy black hair, and when she met his eyes, unable to hide their slyness, she instantly realized he had tricked her.

"Potter!"

She pushed his head away, lay back down, and turned her back on him under the covers.

"Oh, right, last night..." James began hesitantly.

"Don't mention last night, and don't tell anyone else about it either. Just treat it as an accident. It ends here." Lily hurriedly cut him off.

James looked utterly incredulous. "You mean you want me to forget that, in the future, we..."

"Stop. Whether those things will even happen in the future is still uncertain." Lily hurriedly stopped him from saying more.

James's eyes widened. He had thought that after their reunion across twenty years, Lily would set aside her prejudice against him and be willing to grow closer to him. But now she only wanted to wipe away everything from last night, as though it had never happened.

"But Lily, we saw it with our own eyes..."

"It's too early to talk about that!" Lily had no wish to argue further. She pulled the covers over her head.

James finally fell silent, feeling secretly aggrieved.

Madam Pomfrey checked Lily again, confirmed she was all right, and allowed her to leave the Hospital Wing.

Before leaving, Lily took the initiative to thank James. If he hadn't immediately reached out and grabbed her last night, the two of them wouldn't have fallen and been injured together. She couldn't ignore that kindness.

But Lily's deliberately distant attitude just now weighed heavily on James's heart, and he couldn't summon a smile. Once Lily had disappeared completely through the doors, James sprang upright in bed, clenched his fist, and cheered himself on. "Come on, James, you can win her over!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter sneaked into the Hospital Wing after secretly skipping class. The moment they entered, they saw James standing on his bed with his fist raised high.

"James, what are you doing?" Sirius walked around the bed, looking him up and down. "Don't tell me you really did damage your brain in the fall?"

Lupin and Peter exchanged a glance and silently placed the snacks they had smuggled in on the bedside cabinet.

"Merlin, you have no idea how thrilling last night was..." Halfway through, James suddenly remembered that it was a secret between him and Lily and immediately changed his tune. "If I'd had a broom in my hand, I definitely could've pulled off a stylish emergency stop and landing while I was falling."

Sirius rolled his eyes dramatically and sat down on the empty bed beside him. Lupin and Peter followed suit.

"James, are you really all right?" Lupin looked deeply concerned. "You didn't come back to the dormitory last night. We thought you'd gone wandering at night on your own."

James flopped down on the bedding, then perked right back up. "I'll be out of here soon. Once I'm out, how about we go exploring in the Forbidden Forest together?"

The mention of an adventure instantly swept away his low spirits, leaving him full of energy. Seeing that James could still bring up exploring the Forbidden Forest, Sirius knew there was nothing wrong with him and casually reminded him, "Then you'd better recover quickly. The Quidditch season is about to start, and this is Evans's debut."

That instantly fired James up, his eyes shining. "Next year, I'm definitely going to make the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!"

Quidditch practice at Hogwarts was scheduled for Wednesday and Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons every week, with the season lasting from November through May of the following year. Only now did Lily realize that joining the Quidditch team was no easy job.

Intense circling in the air, sharp turns, and high-altitude dives went on for hours. After a few rounds of practice, she was dizzy and aching all over, nearly fainting in midair.

A Seeker might seem to need only to catch the Golden Snitch, but the training was no less intense than a Chaser's or Beater's.

When practice ended, Lily collapsed limply onto the grass of the pitch, completely drained. Mary and Marlene came up on either side of her and helped her to her feet together.

"If I'd known Quidditch practice was this grueling, I really should have turned it down." Lily's arms hung limply at her sides.

Mary supported her as they walked slowly toward the Gryffindor Common Room, teasing her with a smile. "Marlene, now that you've seen how intense the training is for yourself, are you still planning to try out for Quidditch next year?"

Marlene hesitated, then nodded gently. "I still want to give it a try. I'll think it over some more."

Lily barely had an appetite for dinner. She picked at a few bites of food at the Great Hall's evening feast, then said goodbye to her roommates and returned to the dormitory alone. Her whole body ached as if she were falling apart. She sat down at her desk, took several packets of Tiger Balm pain-relief patches out of Pindaodao, and applied them one by one to the sore spots on her shoulders, neck, waist, and back.

Well, she had already joined the team, so she might as well do her best. With that thought, she climbed into bed. She would go to sleep early today.