Safe Measures

"James!" She shouted. "Lily, come quickly."

Lily Evans came running up the stairs and helped him up.

"Hey, Lils." He smiled weakly.

"Hi." She smiled back, helping him back on the bed.

"My glasses?" He said, "I can't see without my glasses."

"Yes." She said, "I have them."

She brought the glasses to him from his cupboard.

"Here." She handed them to him and sat down next to him.

"I'll get you something to eat." Mrs. Evans said, hurrying downstairs.

"Am I in your room?" He asked, looking around. "Did you send a message to Padfoot? And, Lupin?"

"I did…" She started to say.,

"Rainie!" He remembered Adriana Black. "She was…"

"She came by." He told him. "To see you."

"She did? And Padfoot?" He asked, "He is okay? And Moony….The full moon is…"

"Can you calm down, James?" Lily stopped him. "Please. You need to rest."

"I am resting." He said, quickly. "My wand? Did you find my wand?"

"I didn't." She shook her head, "But, you can a new one when you take Rainie to get school supplies."

"Yeah." He said, "Where is Padfoot?"

"Dumbledore sent him somewhere." She said, "I don't know where. But, he came to see you yesterday and he said he'll be back tomorrow."

"Is someone with him?" He asked.

"He said Remus would go with him." She said, "Leaving Peter at your house with Rainie."

"NO!" He sat up so fast that his head hurt.

"What happened, James?"

"Take me to her." He begged. "Please, make some tonic. Something….I have to go, I can't…."

Lily didn't understand what came over him. He got out of the bed and this time held the dresser to stabilize himself.

"James!" She almost shouted. "Sit down."

"I have to go, Lily." He tried to walk towards the door. "I have to go."

"You can't go like this!"

"But, I have to….." He grabbed the chair.

"James?" Mrs. Evans stopped him. "You can't go. You are sick."

"But, Mrs. Evans." He objected. "Rainie is in danger!"

"What danger?" Lily asked.

"I can't tell you." He whispered, tears welled up in his eyes. "Not before I talk to Sirius."

Lily was shocked. She had seen James happy, ecstatic even. She had seen James upset. She had seen James tired. She had seen James angry. But, she had never seen James Potter in tears.

"I will go." She came near him. "I will go to Rainie and stay at the house till you get better or Sirius comes."

"No, I can't let you do that…"

"I will go." She repeated, firmly. "My mom is here….She will take care of you. I will take care of Rainie."

"Okay." He sat down on the chair as he could no longer stand. "Okay…okay."

"You will be okay, James." Mrs. Evans said, "She will be okay."

James nodded.

"Lock the door from the inside. Do not let anyone inside." He said, "No one!"

"Not even Padfoot?" She asked, "Moony?"

"Them, of course." James told her.

"Okay, mom….I'll pack a bag and you take care of James." She turned to Mrs. Evans, "Professor McGonagall will come by after a few days in the afternoon and she'll heal James."

"A cat." James said, "It will be a tabby,"

"What?" Both Lily and Mrs. Evans thought he was talking nonsense.

"Professor McGonagall travels through the muggle world in her animagus form."

"Oh…." Lily nodded, "Really? I didn't know."

"A cat. If a cat is at your doorstep." He told Mrs. Evans. "Let it…..Let her in."

Mrs. Evans nodded as Lily disappeared in Petunia's room where she had been living as James had been unconscious in hers. She often didn't understand magic but she trusted this boy. She hadn't known him for a long time but she liked him. He was a nice boy for her daughter. The way he was caring for the little girl who was thrown out of her house (The little she knew about Adriana Black from Lily), she felt that she trusted him.

"Lie down, James." She said, softly. "I'll bring up some soup for you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans." James smiled at her, weakly.

He drank little of the soup Mrs. Evans brought him and soon fell asleep. He didn't realize when Lily left. She left a scribbled note for him. "James…"

He shook his head softly, deep in his sleep.

"Don't do this!" He screamed, "Let RAINIE go! GO! DON'T TOUCH HER!"

"James! James!" Mrs. Evans came running up. "What happened?"

Professor McGonagall was with her. She stopped her.

"You can't wake him." She said, "He has to live through it."

"But, he is in so much pain." Mrs. Evans said.

"I know."

"CAROLINE! DON'T HURT LILY." He screamed. "DON'T HURT THEM….Take me.."

McGonagall sat on the chair and took his hand in hers.

"James, it's me, Professor McGonagall." She whispered. "Listen to me, James. No harm will come to Lily. No harm will come to Sirius."

"Don't hurt my family." He murmured. "Don't hurt them."

"It's okay, James." She said, "Everything will be okay. Your family will be okay. Adriana will be okay."

"She will be okay." James held the blanket in his hands. "She will be okay."

He talked in his sleep. She took out her wand and waved it. The wounds on his body healed. She waved it a second time and the troubled look on his face relaxed. Mrs. Evans looked at the magic fascinately. James's mind eased. He fell into a deep slumber.

"When he wakes up." She told Mrs. Evans, "Tell him, I came by…..and give him this."

She put a tonic on the table.

"Tell him….Tell him." She said, quietly. "Padfoot is safe and he will come soon."

"Ok….Kay." She didn't understand a lot of it.

She closed the door after McGonagall left. He looked so peaceful in his sleep that she didn't want to disturb him. She left him sleeping throughout the day and the night.

When she woke up, he was in her kitchen.

"Good Morning, Mr. Evans." He smiled, "Mrs. Evans."

"What are you doing, James?" She asked.

"Well, you took care of me all those days, I thought I'd cook you breakfast." He smiled widely. "How do you like your eggs, Mr. Evans? Fried with bacon?"

Mr. Evans nodded.

"You didn't have to do this." Mrs. Evans said, fondly.

"I know." He said, "But, I wanted to."

He put down a plate of crepes at the breakfast table.

"Crepes? Those are my favorite." Mrs. Evans said, sitting down.

"I know." He said, "Lily mentioned."

After a few minutes, James joined them at the table.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Mr. Evans asked, "This is amazing, James."

"Yes. This is very good." Mrs. Evans nodded.

"My mom used to cook…." He trailed off. "But, when she died. I ate out a lot."

Mr. Evans wished he hadn't said anything. Lily had said how upset James became when something or someone reminded him of the painful way of his parents death.

"But, after that summer." James's tone remained cheerful. "Rainie came to my house for the first summer."

Mrs. Evans smiled,

"And, Sirius permanently moved in and Remus too." He continued. "It was like we were a little family. And, we sat down to dinner together every night."

Mrs. Evans felt really bad about James. How Lily misunderstood him before. This boy was like the son she would have wanted. Kind, passionate, loving and caring.

"We cooked together." James shrugged, "And, ate together. It was great. That's why I want to get back home. I want my sister."

She wanted to ask him why he was screaming in his sleep. She wanted to comfort him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans." James stood up, "For letting me stay here."