A/N- Thank you so much to all the amazing people who reviewed and/or favorited Breath. It really meant a lot to me. This is yet another story I have thought about for a while, and it is really a companion to Flowers, Deer, and Snitches- A Lily and James Love Story, which I promise will be updated soon. It's about Dorcas Meadowes' death and the events that followed it. I had fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it. Please read, enjoy, and review!- Sam
Death and All His Friends
Here comes goodbye. Here comes the last time. Here comes the start of every sleepless night, the first of every tear I'm gonna cry. Here comes the pain. Here comes me wishing things had never changed. She was right here in my arms tonight. But here comes goodbye.- Rascal Flatts
Dorcas Meadowes never thought about death. It didn't really cross her mind- not her death, at least. She worried for Lily and James and Remus and Peter and Sirius. She had feared for her little godson so much, worried that he might have to grow up alone-with the Death Eaters running around killing people like cats chased and devoured mice, it seemed more likely every day. But she had never thought that September 23, 1981, a perfectly ordinary day, would be her last.
She was only 21, for Merlin's sake. She was a bloody Auror, and a damn good one too, even Mad- Eye said so. She was in the Order of the Pheonix and lived in a safe house with every enchantment on it imaginable. She was almost always with someone else, either Lily and James, or Remus, Peter, and Evil Spawn, as she liked to call Sirius, or even McGonagall or Dumbledore. But on that particular evening, she was at home, drinking a small glass of mead and looking over Death Eater reports. She didn't know that in less than two hours, she would be dead.
She was just finishing a report on Richard Yaxley when she heard the familiar sound of someone Flooing into her house. She got up from her seat at the kitchen table and called out, "Hello?"
"Dorcas!" Sirius Black's wary voice called to her. The handsome young man ran into Dorcas' kitchen, his dark curls flying behind him.
"Oh, hey Evil Spawn, what's up?"
She asked, turning around. Her wide blue eyes met his anxious gray ones. "What happened, Sirius?"
"Muggle town was invaded by Death Eaters. Tinsworth." He replied. "We have to get out there. James, Peter, and Remus went ahead. Lily's at home with Harry."
"Alright," she said, grabbing her black cloak, but then she paused.
"Isn't Tinsworth where the Prewett twins live?"
"Yeah," he sighed, "They're dead."
"Oh," Dorcas replied. She felt a few tears come to her eyes for the funny, intelligent twins. She had known them since Hogwarts, and even though weren't very close, she felt like she had lost yet two other familiar faces, two more friends.
"Well, may they rest in peace," she whispered, taking Sirius' hand, "Come on, Evil Spawn. Let's go give those Death Eaters a piece of our minds."
"Remind again why I'm Evil Spawn?"
"Because I used to hate you."
"Used to? Does that mean you love me now?"
"I have to love you, considering we are going to have to share a godchild for the rest of our lives. And we're both part of our twisted family of seven, so..."
"So you do love me?"
"Oh, shut up, Black."
"Love you too, Meadowes."
Sirius Black knew the moment they arrived on the scene that it was bad.
There were a number of Death Eaters, many of them he knew, a few he didn't. He saw almost all the members of the Order, even Alice Longbottom, who had a baby at home like Lily. He saw James fighting Rabastan Lestrange, his insane cousin's brother-in-law, and spotted Remus dueling Avery. Peter was nowhere in sight, which made Sirius extremely nervous. He saw a few dead bodies on the ground, but he couldn't bear to look and see who they were.
He looked over at Dorcas, and she nodded at him, and then ran straight into battle with a tall cloaked Death Eater. Sirius noticed his wicked cousin Bellatrix cackling madly, and he made his way towards her.
"Oh, well, what do you know? It's my little cousin! Ready to die, brave, brave Gryffindor?"
"Not quite, crazy!" He called back, sending a Disarming spell her way. She dodged it.
"Crazy? You're the mad one, baby cousin. You should have been a Slytherin, you should have honored the Dark Lord like the rest of us. That's what a Black is supposed to do! Crucio!"
Sirius dodged it. "Maybe I don't want to be a Black then."
Bellatrix shrieked. "How dare you!" She sent a Killing Curse his way, but he blocked it. "Your mummy always liked me more than you!"
"I really don't give a damn. And Mother was a mad-woman. No wonder you look up to her. Stupefy!"
Bellatrix, who had been distracted by the conversation, was hit, and she lay unmoving on the ground.
Sirius was just about to bind her up when he caught James out of the corner of his eye. James was battling still, but suddenly, a spell hit him hard in the chest. He fell to the ground.
"No!" screamed Sirius. No, not James, not James. There was no possible way James could be dead. Not the man who had a wife and a baby waiting for him at home, not the fourth member of the Marauders, not his best friend, not his brother. He could not be dead now. Sirius tried to remember what color the curse had been, but he couldn't. He couldn't remember. He started to run towards the place where James had fallen, but he heard screams of freight and turned towards where they were coming from.
It was towards where Dorcas and the dark cloaked Death Eater fought. But the Death Eater wasn't just any Death Eater.
It was Mr. Head Death Eater. The Dark Lord, You-Know-Who, whatever the hell they're calling him these days. Voldemort.
"Damn it!" Sirius hissed.
"Meadowes," Voldemort's creepy cold voice called to her, "You know you are no match for me." He dodged every spell Dorcas sent his way. "You know I'll kill you. Why don't you join me? You are a very powerful witch, young, strong, smart. Lords like me need warriors like that."
"Join you?" Dorcas laughed, no smile on her face, "In your dreams. What made you think I'd join you? Do I not scream Auror, blood traitor, Order member to you? I will never join you."
He dodged the new set of spells she called out.
"Very well," he yelled.
Sirius saw green light after green light erupt from Voldemort's wand, saw Dorcas dodge every one of them. Sirius had to admit, Dorcas was a pretty impressive 21 year old witch. She was smart, maybe not smart like him or James, or even like Lily, but she was intelligent. She was a bloody powerful, sometimes scary, witch and one of the best Aurors in the department. She could kill someone easily, if she wanted to.
But sometimes, even that isn't enough. Especially when you're up against one of the darkest wizards of all time.
She had been trying to finish saying her next spell, but Voldemort was too fast for her. The spell hit her square in the chest, her dark blue eyes wide, never to see again. Her tall body fell, her dark curls falling all over the place. The Order Members screamed. The Death Eaters laughed.
Dorcas Meadowes lay dead on the ground.
Lily Potter was really starting to get worried.
Not that she wasn't worried in the first place. Merlin, she had been terrified when they got word of the battle, when James decided to go. She still felt the goodbye kiss he had placed to her forehead as he ran out the door, promising to be home soon.
He had been gone all night. She couldn't help but think about him, think about what he was doing right then. She couldn't bear to think that he may be-
No, Lily, she told herself. No thinking like that. He'll be fine. They would all be fine. Them and Sirius and Dorcas and Remus and Peter. They were always alright.
Lily looked down at the small head that lay asleep on her chest. She smiled a little, and brushed the dark hair away from her son's face. He was such an adorable little boy. Lily knew that he was going to look just like James someday, just with her emerald eyes.
"Oh, Harry, sweetheart," she whispered to the sleeping baby, stroking his hair, "You're so lucky that you don't have to worry like this. I hope you never have to worry like I am right now. It's really not fun, baby."
She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I really hope your father is alright." She murmured, more to herself than Harry. "I really do."
Just then, the fireplace erupted with green flames and out of them jumped Sirius. Lily leapt to her feet, careful to not wake Harry. She took one look at Sirius, his wary, dirty face that was slightly stained with tears, and knew it.
"Sirius, what happened?" She asked quietly, her voice shaking.
"Lily," he replied, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Something-"
"It's James, isn't it? Oh, Merlin, please, no..." her eyes filled with tears, a sob coming up her throat.
"No!" He replied quickly. "No, James is fine. Well, no, he's injured-"
"What?" Lily said, almost hysterical, "What the hell happened?"
"Calm down, Lily," he said, patting her back, "He got hit with some odd spell. It made him bleed pretty hard for a while but Hestia and the other Healers said he'll be fine. He's still unconscious at the moment, but he should wake up soon."
"Okay," she sighed, "Thank goodness. And everyone else? They alright, too?"
Sirius looked solemn at this. His gray eyes looked into her emerald ones, and he slowly shook his head.
"Sirius," she said slowly, "Tell me what happened."
He sighed, looking older than his 21 years, and ran his fingers through his hair. He sat down next to her, and took Harry from her arms. He looked up at the white ceiling, thinking.
"We were all fighting. I had seen James and Remus on my way in. I didn't see Peter anywhere. I was dueling Bellatrix. I had Stunned her, but then I saw James go down. And then, suddenly, we all realized that the Death Eater that Dorcas was fighting was Voldemort." He sighed again, ignoring Lily sudden intake of breath. He rubbed his godson's small back softly, counting the breaths the little boy took in. He marveled at how innocent something could be in times like this.
"She fought really hard, Lily. She did. But Voldemort, he was faster by a second."
"No..." Lily whispered, shaking her head as tears welled up in her eyes, "No, she can't be..."
"I'm so sorry, Lily," he replied, his voice cracking, "I'm so sorry."
"She's dead."
The first thing James Potter realized when he started to come out of the darkness was that he was in pain. Not the worse pain he'd ever felt, considering the playful fights he had experienced with his friends on full moons, but it was pretty bad. He could feel that there were large, deep cuts all across his body, and a stabbing pain in the stomach hit him every time he tried to breathe. It hurt like hell, but James tried to ignore it.
The next thing he was conscious of was that a familiar hand was stroking his hair. He felt another warm body next to him, smelled her familiar scent of spring. Of course she was here. She was always there, even when he asked and pleaded with her to stay with Harry at home, where he knew she was safe, she always ended up wherever he went. However, James couldn't tell exactly where he was.
He knew he wasn't at the battle site anymore. There was no way he was still laying on the ground he had fallen onto. The place where he laid now was much too warm, much too soft of a place to be the cold ground of Tinsworth. He also knew he wasn't at home in Godric's Hallow. The bed, or whatever he had was on top of, was smaller than the bed he and Lily shared at home. As he came more into consciousness, he could hear many voices, too many voices for the small home he lived in to have in it at this time of night. Unless it wasn't night anymore. James stopped thinking, wondering if it was making his head hurt more than it already did.
With as much will as he had, James opened his eyes. Lily stopped stroking his hair.
"James?" She asked quietly, her voice thick.
"Hi." He said, blinking slowly again. "Oh, damn. What happened?"
"You, um, you got hit with something. We really don't know what, but it knocked you out and cut you up pretty badly." She murmured, running her hand across his head again as he tried to sit up. "No, lay back down! I don't want you to hurt yourself even more."
"I'm fine, Lily." He said, just as another pain erupted in his ribcage. "Oh, Merlin…"
"No, you're not. Lay back down. What hurts?"
"Nothing. It's just my ribcage. I'll be fine," He replied, taking her hand, and really looking at her. Her pretty green eyes were filled with concern and pain. He noticed her cheeks were paler than usual, and that her shiny red hair was disheveled. There was something wrong with her, he could tell.
"Are you alright? Harry?" He asked, his mind instantly worrying for his wife and young son.
"Harry and I are fine, James." She replied sadly, looking down. He sat up again, wincing, and this time she didn't push him back down. He laid his hand on her cheek, her eyes closing as she leaned into it.
"Lily," he murmured, knowing at that moment that something had happened to Sirius or Remus or Peter or-
"Dorcas," she whispered, shaking as tears spilled out of her eyes, "She's de-dead. Vol-Voldemort killed her."
He rubbed her back as she started to sob, a few tears reaching his eyes as the name sunk into his head. Dorcas. Dorcas, of all people. He could not believe that the youngest, and yet one of the most powerful, Auror of the day was dead. For some reason, he had just expected her to live.
He suddenly remembered the first day he had met the girl, feeling sorrow rise up in his chest. She had been sitting next to his future wife, her messy black hair in a bun, her bright blue eyes cocky. To James, it felt like the girl had just been part of his life ever since. First just another Gryffindor girl in his year, then a close friend, then the woman who had felt like a sister to him and Lily, and later, his son's godmother, the godmother he would now never remember. She had been one of the strongest, funniest girls he ever knew and certainly one of the bravest. James felt as though a huge piece of himself was gone.
He looked down at Lily, who had laid her head on his shoulder as she sobbed. He could imagine how this was for her. It was horrible for him, but he knew it was much, much worse for her. Dorcas had been Lily's best friend since she was eleven and starting Hogwarts all by herself. Now, a grown witch at 21, she and Dorcas were as close as sisters. She was much closer to Dorcas than Petunia. Dorcas and Lily had been together through good times and bad, had held each other's hands through everything. Dorcas had been there for Lily when he wasn't, had helped James bring the two together, had been her maid of honor, had helped deliver their son, had been part of Lily. Dorcas was to Lily as Remus and Sirius and Peter were to James. James had lost a piece of himself, but he knew that Lily must feel like she lost a limb, a whole part of her life, gone.
James stroked her scarlet hair, his own tears falling onto her head.
"She was my best friend, James," he heard her muffled voice say; "She was my best friend. And now…and now she's de-dead."
"I know, Lily," he murmured softly, "I'm so sorry, darling." She raised her head off his chest, and looked him square in the eye, tears staining her cheeks.
"Siri-Sirius told me. I was so worried it was you. I thought you were de-dead. And then, when he told me it was he-her, just for a moment, I was so relieved it wasn't you. What kind of person am I? My best friend is dead!" She fell back onto James shoulder, sobbing hard. James sat shocked. He couldn't believe she was that worried about him. He knew she was scared-everyone was scared-but he didn't realize she was that terrified for him. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to give her some comfort.
"Oh, Lily…"he whispered into her hair, "You're not a terrible person. You're a beautiful, wonderful person. Lily, why didn't you tell me you were so worried?"
"How are you not?" She asked, looking into his eyes, "I'm so scared, so worried every time you leave that you're not going to come home. I lay on the couch, waiting for you to jump out of the fireplace and tell me everything is alright. And when you don't, when it's someone else, I just always know that something's happened to you. I can't stand sitting at home, waiting for you, wondering if you're alive or not, petrified that you're not. It's so awful, and now I can see the outcome. I've lost Dorcas. I can't lose you, too. I just can't, James, I can't do this without you…" She closed her eyes, a dozen tears falling onto her cheeks.
"Lily," He murmured, pressing his forehead to hers, "Listen to me. Look at me."
Her green eyes opened at this, staring into his deep hazel ones. He stroked her cheek, catching the falling tears with his fingertips.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you and Harry safe." He paused, running his hand down his cheek, "But, I promise, I'm also going to do everything to stay with you. If that means no more full moons, or no more Order business, or no more leaving the house, then fine. You and Harry are much more important than that. I am never, ever going to leave you alone. I promise." She nodded, and threw her arms around him. He stroked her head and pressed his face into her hair. "I won't leave you again," he murmured, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
And James Potter kept to his word. He kept that promise. He just didn't keep it in the way he planned to.