A/N: Yes! I've started my own account. Aren't you so proud of me? (The other is Ariana, which is co-written with my best friend Clara Maplewood. Speaking of Clara, I'd like to thank her for beta-reading this. It meant a lot to me.

So, please no flaming.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Falling Lilies

Dried tear drops stained the small piece of parchment Lily clutched in her hand.

She didn't know how long she had been staring at it, but even the words didn't register. She squinted and brought the paper closer to her watery eyes and tried again. No, they didn't make sense at all. Her parents? Dead? The same parents she had visited over Christmas break a few weeks ago? The same parents she had written a letter to only a few days ago, telling them how much she missed and loved them? Oh, dear God, she couldn't understand it!

Lily swiped at her eyes and straightened her black robes. She pocketed the letter in with her wand and gathered what luggage she had. She was to visit her sister - to get the funeral underway. Then, she would be on her way back to Hogwarts.

The next few days passed in a black blur that seemed to cloud across Lily's mind. She vaguely remembered the fights she had with her sister and the lonely nights of crying herself to sleep.

One fight in particular played itself over and over in her mind - like a dreadful horror movie. Did her sister actually say it was her fault for their deaths? That if it weren't for Lily, they'd still be alive? For once, Petunia had seemed right. It was her fault that her parents died...because, after all, they were killed by a wizard who wouldn't have known about them if she wasn't a witch.

"It's all your fault, Lily!"

"No, it isn't! You can't blame me for the fact that my parents are dead!" Lily screamed from the other side of the room.

"Your parents? Your parents?! What about my parents, Lily, hm? Aren't they my parents also?? Wasn't it me who actually saw them die, Lily? Wasn't it me who saw them drop onto the floor with that dead glaze in their eyes? Wasn't it me who ran and hid in a cupboard under the stairs while your kind tore the house apart looking for me? Don't you ever tell me they aren't my parents, Lily. I had to watch them die because of you! How do you think that feels?" Tears streamed down Petunia's angry face. "Do you know how that feels??"

Lily dropped her gaze to the floor, tear droplets splashing against the wooden panels. "No," she muttered. "I don't."

"That's what I thought." She jumped to her feet and glared at Lily. "This is not a stupid little grudge that we're going to forget about in two days. If it weren't for you, mum and dad would be alive! I am never going to forgive you!" Petunia stormed out of the room, only to turn back and yell a tearful 'I hate you!' over her shoulder.

Four days later, Lily was seated hovering over a book in the Library. She was skimming through the pages, though she didn't seem to comprehend any of it. Many people had showed up at the funeral and the same sentences could be heard over and over and over again.

"We're sorry to hear about your parents."

"Our prayers are with you and your sister."

"Is there anything we could do? Is there anything you need?"

Argh! Lily gripped her red hair in frustration. She was having enough trouble as it was. She didn't need pity.

She shut the book with a snap and dust flew up in the air. "Achooo!" Lily rubbed her nose roughly as she placed it on the old shelf and went in search for another.

As she reached for an ancient blue covered book, images flashed through her head.

The little red-haired girl sat on the lowest swing on the playground, gazing enviously at her older sister, who looked like she was about to swing over the top of the swing set. Mrs. Evans watched from the bench, book in hand, as her youngest daughter swung her legs back and forth, attempting to move the swing. "Mommy!" The little girl called.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Mrs. Evans closed the book she was reading and walked up to Lily.

"Can you push me?"

"Sure, honey." Mrs. Evans pushed slightly and Lily seemed to soar in the air.

"More mommy! Push me higher!!" Lily giggled as she went a little higher. "More! More!"

"Lily, dear, this is the highest you can go." Mrs. Evans said.

"But why? Why can't I go higher?"

"Because I love you and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

It was a few more swings until Lily spoke again. "Why do people say 'I love you'?"

"Well, whenever daddy says 'I love you' to me, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Like a teddy bear?"

Mrs. Evans chuckled. "Yes, warm and fuzzy like a teddy bear."

Lily looked up at her mother with a smile. "Mommy, I love you."

"I love you too, darling." Mrs. Evans kissed the top of Lily's hair, tears glistening in her eyes. "I love you too."

"I love you..." Lily muttered and let the blue book fall from her hand, a faint but sad smile spread across her face while remembering that day.

But suddenly, an amused cough reverberated through the cold Library air. "Excuse me?"