"All you did was get me through, I owe every breath to you.
Heart and soul unparalyzed, all you did was save my life.
All you did was save my life..."
- All You Did Was Save My Life, Our Lady Peace
Lily, hearing shouts from across the common room, groaned in annoyance.
Oh no, not again…
She was sitting in her favorite armchair by the fireplace, attempting (and failing) to finish up an essay on werewolves for her DADA class. This was, seemingly, the millionth time she had heard shouts, laughter, giggles and whoops from across the room. The Marauders, it seemed, were entertaining a very large group of people. Again.
Lily, hoping that the rowdy crowd would quieten down on its own, tried to concentrate on her essay which was becoming more difficult by the second.
It wasn't until someone shouted "Lily!" and she glanced up only to receive a giant crocodile liver right in the face that, dripping with slime and seething with anger, she'd decided that enough was enough.
"WHAT," she screamed, looking quite demented, "IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?"
By now the whole common room had gone quiet. James stood there statue-like, his mouth open in a perfect 'O' shape and his arms extended towards the sky comically.
"I'VE BEEN SITTING IN THIS SAME DAMN ARMCHAIR FOR THE PAST TWO BLOODY HOURS AND YOU LOT," here she glared at the Marauders who suddenly became very interested in the ceiling, "JUST WON'T TAKE A HINT!" Lily paused for breath and then continued in a fierce, low voice. "And I swear, whoever tossed that crocodile liver is going to pay for it in blood."
Everyone turned to gaze pitifully at Sirius, who gulped visibly. However, luck seemed to be on his side as Lily took no notice. Instead, she stood up suddenly, causing everyone to take a step back (or in the first years' case, causing them to run out the portrait door) and picked up her books, quill and ink bottle.
Glaring at each and every one of them in turn, she made her way up the staircase and into the girls' dormitory, shutting the door behind herself with a loud BANG!
Immediately, James rounded on Sirius. "I told you not to toss that stupid liver!"
"Sorry Prongs," he apologized, not really meaning it, "but she was just too good of a target to let go, sitting there with her book, pretending to be disinterested in all the festivities – and failing too, mind you." He grinned lopsidedly, causing many girls nearby to chorus "Aww…" together.
Remus just shook his head at his foolishness and said, "Well, you better wish that Lily doesn't find out it was you behind that whole crocodile incident because if she does," he moved his index finger from one side of his throat to the other, "you're dead, mate."
Sirius snorted. "Oh yeah, I'm really scared now. What's the most Evans can do to a talented – and quite gorgeous, if I do say myself – piece of hunk like me? Scratch me with her manicured nails?"
"Trust me," James said sadly, "she's capable of a lot more than that. I think I would know, having endured her hatred for five years now."
The conversation seemed to have hit a somber point, until Sirius decided to hex a third-year, causing her hair to light up in flames.
"Ohh," groaned Remus, "come on!"
"What?" Sirius retaliated, grinning sheepishly and thoroughly enjoying the mayhem he'd caused.
"You just don't understand what it's like to be serious, do you?"
Sirius grinned. "Sirius, did you say? Now would you really like me to answer that?"
James hit Remus upside the head. "You fell into that one, mate."
***7***
James was lying on his back, mindlessly tracing the path of a rather large, fleecy cloud across the pale blue sky.
The deepest wants and aspirations of his soul were threatening to overtake his mind, particularly one that consisted of a certain fiery redhead who, at the time being, was attempting to feed the resident of the Black Lake a piece of bread.
Great; she pays more attention to the giant squid than she does to me. Lovely.
James staggered to his feet and shook his head in an attempt to clear his pessimistic thoughts. He'd been down the road of Lily-related depression before and it wasn't too great of a prospect. It was only when Sirius had, quite literally, slapped him to his senses that he'd snapped out of it; he was in no mood to go through that again, as Sirius had a rather hard backhand that, thanks to his many rings, had drawn blood when it had come in contact with his cheek.
"Hey James!" one of the other girls by the lake's side shouted. On closer inspection, James recognized her as Evanna Soleil who, along with Alice Fortescue, was one of Lily's closest friends. "Wanna join us?"
He froze, torn between wanting to be closer to Lily and facing her wrath upon joining them.
He decided, after a long, internally painful moment during which his brain seemingly performed taekwondo on his heart, that he'd rather keep his limbs intact, thanks, and head into the castle.
Just as he was about to voice his thoughts, Lily spoke up.
"With Potter and his gigantic ego dominating so much space, I doubt there'll be any room for me," she sneered, not bothering to keep her voice level at a minimum. "Therefore, I think it'd be best if I head up to the castle. Bye girls."
James opened his mouth to protest, but the words never left his mouth.
Lily had no sooner picked herself up off the ground then fallen back down again - except this time, into the water.
"LILY!" Alice screamed. She turned towards James, frantically scrambling to her feet. "James, she can't swim! None of us can!"
No sooner had she finished her sentence than James tore off towards the Black Lake. He disposed of his sweater and jacket in one fluid motion and, after pausing briefly at the lake's edge to kick off his shoes, dove into the icy water after Lily.
As soon as his warm body made contact with the freezing water, his mind started to berate his heart.
James pushed all thoughts related to water and its dangers aside and began to move through the water.
No sooner had he gone two metres that he saw a mess of red hair out of the peripheral of his right eye. He moved towards it, arms and legs flailing wildly, trying to ignore the desperate burning in his throat and lungs.
As he slowly gained distance he realized, with a shock, that Lily was immobile, her body slowly sinking lower into the lake.
And, with another shock, he registered that although he was moving, it wasn't in his desired direction - rather, it was downwards.
Think! he forced himself. What was that spell...?
He tried to cling to the memory of a sunny, May afternoon when the Marauders had been lounging by the lake's edge. Sirius had pushed Remus into the water and Remus had yelled out a certain spell to propel himself out...
As the memory flooded through his mind, James pulled out his wand.
"Accio Lily Evans!"
Water attempted to seep into his mouth but somehow, he managed to keep most of it at bay.
Lily suddenly shot through the water towards him, and he caught hold of her as she crashed into his body.
His mind was threatening to fade into blackness but he forced his brain to focus.
I hope I've got the right spell, 'cause it's now or never.
"Aquavolare!"
They remained where they were and James' mind reeled into forlorn desparation.
We're going to die.
He turned to look at Lily's face one final time, because it was the first thing he wanted to look at at the moment and wanted it to be the last thing he saw before he died when, suddenly, he felt his body moving towards the surface.
They slowly gained speed until they propelled out of the water towards safe, dry land.
Though they flew through the air at breakneck-speed, their landing was fairly light. Well, for Lily.
James, however, who had willingly let himself hit the ground first, heard an audible crack and a sharp, shooting pain course through his arm.
Ignoring it, he gently laid Lily on the grass and checked for a heartbeat.
He couldn't feel anything.
"Lily," he said hoarsely, the oxygen burning his throat. "Wake up..."
A pair of hands grasped his shoulders and suddenly, he was kneeling in the midst of a crowd.
He was gently coaxed into a standing position, but his wide, fearful eyes never left her face.
"Lily," he repeated, his eyes filling with tears threatening to spill over. "Don't leave… me..."
"Mr. Potter," a gentle voice spoke into his right ear, "she's going to be fine."
He ignored it.
It wasn't until a finger was hooked under his chin and his face was forcefully - yet gently - turned towards the speaking figure that he realized that Lily was now being carried off towards the castle on a stretcher.
"Mr. Potter," the now recognizable speaker repeated, "I'm sorry for doing this."
The last thing James saw before blacking out were the eyes of Albus Dumbledore, which were no longer twinkling.
A/N: As promised, I've re-posted All That I'm Living For in the hopes of making it a better read for you all! Despite the story being labelled as James-and-Lily-centered, it will also concern the lives of others. I'm not sure whether I want to include everyone else's individual lives more than those of Lily and James (probably not), but we'll see.
Please do review and let me know what you think of it!
Lots of love,
-Sidra