What was that pounding?

The pounding felt persistent, and she was sure was was going insane when Lily found herself on the ground with debris strewn around her. However, sooner rather than later, she found that the pounding was just a headache that started at her temples.

Sitting up from the ground, a wave of dizziness washed over her. The world spun for a moment until she blinked the feeling away. She could wait to assess herself, but for now, she needed to find Sirius and the other two.

If she had just walked down the corridor, then Lily would've seen Craig slowly sitting up. However, she had walked—and very slowly at that, she didn't want to throw up—into a nearby trophy room that looked to be in decent condition.

"Lily?" Annie's voice made her head snap to the corner of the room.

This movement made her sway on her feet. Annie and Julia got up from their hiding place to help steady the older woman.

"Thank Merlin you two are okay," Lily said after stabilizing herself and before noticing the weird look they were giving her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"There's blood dripping down your face," Annie spoke bluntly, "let's go to the hospital wing."

"What about Sirius, Reg-"

"I'm sure they'll be okay, but right now, we've got to get you cleaned up," Julia smiled softly at Lily.

"Alright then, are you two okay?" Lily asked as they took an alternate route to the hospital wing.

"I'm a little banged up, but it's nothing I can't handle," Annie replied casually and Julia nodded in agreement.

...

Never being the best at healing, when Sirius woke up he found himself in the middle of a pickle. His leg was injured, his head was throbbing, and he didn't know where anyone else was except his brother—although if he just looked around a little longer, he probably could find Craig.

He was transfixed on his leg until, finally, he gave up on healing it himself. He would have to wait until someone came to find him, or-

"Craig! Are you alright?" Sirius spotted the man shaking out his limbs around fifteen feet away.

"Just peachy, what does it look like, Sirius?" Craig gestured to the blown up stone around him.

"For the record, I didn't ask how the castle was doing," Sirius scoffed, "come here and help me with my leg."

Craig walked over, pushing his hair from his forehead while doing so. His forehead had become quite sweaty, which was making his hair stick to it.

"Where do you think Lily ran off to?" Craig asked casually as he bandaged Sirius's leg quite quickly.

"Knowing her I'd say she found some kids that needed help and ran off to the hospital wing," Sirius shrugged and took Craig's offered hand to stand up.

"We should head there now," Craig tilted his head in Regulus's direction, "he probably needs some attention from Poppy."

...

Apparating straight into Hogsmeade was the easy part. He now needed to use the quidditch broom that he brought from a shed in Potter Manor to fly to Hogwarts. Although, this proved to be pretty easy as well because he hadn't ever stopped flying after Hogwarts.

Getting off his broom, he started to run straight into Hogwarts before running into someone coming from inside the building. It was his favorite professor.

"Where's Lily?" James spit out at her, catching Minnie off guard.

"The hospital wing is on the other side of the castle, so it went unscathed. I would check there first," Minnie suggested before giving James a final pat on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Minnie," James said sincerely.

"Be careful, Potter," Minnie wished him luck before running out of the castle.

His mind was set from there on our. He had a dire need to get to the hospital wing, no matter what happened. James found himself running the last stretch—instead of the fast-paced walking he was doing beforehand—until he ran into someone else.

"James! Funny seeing you here," Sirius laughed and pulled James into a hug.

Relief washed over him, if Sirius was able to laugh, then that was a good sign. Yet, he wouldn't be able to shake this awful feeling until he saw Lily alive.

"Where's-"

"Lily's in there," Sirius pointed to the hospital wing door, "with Annie and Julia."

"Thanks mate," James said, knowing that Sirius would pick up the double meaning.

"No problem."

Pushing open the door, James swore he nearly died when he saw Annie and Lily conversing while the latter applied an ointment to her arm. He rushed forward and drew the attention to him, not for the first time that day. James quite literally crumpled onto the ground in front of them both.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm alright," Lily reassured him as Annie got up from her hospital bed to walk over to where Craig was standing.

"What are we going to do?" James asked, anxieties slipping from him in the form of tears.

Wiping away a tear from underneath James's glasses, Lily pulled him closer to her and kissed him on the forehead.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to make it through the night, love, whatever it takes," Lily responded without promising the future they so desperately wanted.

War didn't care about what you wanted though, and it would never stop until the two sides clashed for the final time.

...

Author's Note:

That was my first ever double update! How did I do?

Which quote did you like the best?

All the Stars: "The stars kind of remind me of you. They're all bright and shiny just like your personality." -James

That one isn't exactly the quote that says all the stars in it because then I would've had to put multiple sentences.

Ladder of Life: "Everyone is climbing the same ladder of life, my friend." -Sirius

Make It Through the Night: "We're going to do whatever it takes to make it through the night, love, whatever it takes." -Lily

Lmao anyways thanks for reading
-teddy😶‍🌫️