This is a drabble I wrote while prompting with eltaninrose. May expand upon this later. May even write a different version one day.


wilting flowers

by frwllfrnknstn


"And all the winds go sighing,
For sweet things dying"
― Christina Rossetti


The warmth of him is comforting. Lean muscles and soft cashmere lay beneath her. She rubs her face against his chest, holds him tight. Fear has grown inside her like a vine, curled itself around the cavities of her chest, clutches at her heart.

There's an electricity in the air, a spark that keeps jolting her awake at night. Tonight the fear is so strong she cannot sleep. Neither, it seems, can James.

There is no sound but the rain that's pelting the windows like pebbles and the heart that pounds in his chest, a steady rhythm. The view from the window is dark and empty. An endless abyss. If they step outside, they'll be lost.

It has been so long since they have felt the sun on their faces. They're curled together now, wilting flowers.

Lightning flashes. The sky flickers and the night lights up.

Hooded and cloaked, a figure approaches. A fleeting thought – it looks like Death.

"Lily, it's him! Take Harry and go!"

James is already up, pulling her, pushing her towards the stairs. She clutches his arms tightly, sobs out that she won't leave him. When had she started to cry?

"I'll hold him off. Please, go. I'll be right there."

His tone is different this time. So sure of himself. The sound comforts her.

They do not kiss. There's no need. He'll hold him off, and then he'll come for her.

She takes the stairs two at a time, hits the upstairs landing. Harry is watching when she slams the door. She realizes too late that James' wand is next to Harry's crib.

Green light bursts through the cracks in the door and a thudding sound echoes upstairs. And Lily drops to her knees then, feels her heart break.

The door flies off its hinges. Harry wails. She pleads. Not for her. For Harry.

A flash of green. Dark, then light.

And there he is, waiting for her.

The warmth of him is comforting.