A/N: yet another contest fic. It had to be AU, that was all the requirements. I like it though. It's pretty shweet.
The War
How could this happen? How could this have happened? This isn't happening.
James pressed harder on the soaked cloth, trying to hold back the tears that were dying to get out. There was no way this was happening.
"Just give up James, there's nothing more you can do," Sirius croaked, his voice nothing above a whisper.
"I'm not giving up on you Sirius. You're going to be fine," James said, forcing a smile on his face.
"Yeah right, and you're going to dump Lily."
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James wrapped his arms around Lily, pulling her onto his lap.
"James, stop it. Not in front of other people," Lily complained, but smiling.
It was the Marauders and Lily at Remus' house and it was a week before Sirius and James had to leave to go to war. Everyone was thinking about it but no one dared disturb the happy mood by mentioning it.
"Please Lily, you know you like it," Sirius said, smirking.
"Please Sirius, why don't you just shut up?" Lily mocked in the same tone.
"Oi, when did Lily get so confident?" Sirius asked.
"I've taught her well," James said proudly.
"Yeah James, sure you have. It's been all of us. Our behavior is contagious," Sirius argued.
"Believe whatever you want boys, I'll never reveal how I've changed," Lily butted in.
"Which means it was us," Sirius said, fiddling with the necklace that was constantly on his neck.
"Which means I won't tell you."
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"Sirius stop moving, dammit," James said, taking the bloody cloth off of Sirius' chest, refolding it, and pressing it back on.
"Give it up James," Sirius whispered, wincing.
"Stop moving," James said, blinking back the tears.
"James," Sirius whispered, looking up at James.
One mission was all it took. One fatal mistake and someone could end up hurt or, worst, killed. Well tonight that one mission took place and a fatal mistake happened.
It was a secret mission given to James and Sirius. They were told by the General that they had the best abilities to complete this mission. It was suppose to be a simple infiltrate the hiding place of the radical leader mission. Somehow it ended all wrong.
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"Why do you have to leave Sirius? There are plenty of good men out there. Let them fight this stupid war. You have nothing to with it," Lily begged.
"Lily, this isn't about whose fault it is or what I did to deserve it. I'm part of this country and I'm going to fight for this country for what I think is right. Do you even have any idea who this guy is?" Sirius asked.
"Some guy who wants to take over the world," Lily said sheepishly, showing that she didn't know who exactly the guy the army was fighting against.
"He calls himself Lord Voldemort. He's trying to take over the government and turn this place into a communist country. He's already halfway there. He's killed several men to get the kind of power he has in the government. He's obviously going to kill more to get the top seat. This man is dangerous. Our country is at stake and I'm proud to serve my country," Sirius explained.
"Don't they have enough men though?" Lily said quietly.
"You're being selfish Lily."
"I know I am," Lily cried. "I can't help it. I bet every other woman is like this too, though. I don't want you to leave, I love you too much! I couldn't stand it if something happened it you."
"Don't say that Lily," Sirius said sternly.
"Don't say what?"
"You can't say you love me," Sirius said quietly.
"Why? Because you know it's true? Because you know you love me too?" Lily cried.
"I can't do that to James, Lily, not now," Sirius said.
"I don't want to hurt him either but I'm not going to hurt myself too."
"Then why'd you say yes?" Sirius practically shouted. Silence filled the room and Lily looked up at Sirius with tear-filled eyes.
"I don't know," Lily said quietly.
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The plan was that James and Sirius would track Lord Voldemort's closest followers. The logic was that they would bring them right to their leader. It worked, for the most part, without a glitch. They followed the group without being spotted and they found the exact hiding place of Lord Voldemort.
That's when the mistake happened. Just as James was going to call in back-up to raid the hiding place, they realized that the men they had been following had slipped out of the building and were right behind them. They had been so concentrated on their small victory that they hadn't kept watch.
Though James was able to call in support before the enemy got to them; that didn't stop the foe from attacking the duo. It was a minor squeamish and by time reinforcements came for the opponents, the reinforcements had come for James and Sirius.
Unable to find their allies in the minor battle, James and Sirius moved as far as way as possible from the battle to treat their minor wounds. Well, James' wounds were minor. On the other hand, Sirius was a bit worse off.
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Lily hung on and squeezed tighter. She didn't want them to leave; she wasn't going to let them.
"We have to go, Lily," James whispered in her ear.
"I won't let you," Lily whispered back but reluctantly unhooked her arms from around his neck. He had a smile on his face but she knew he didn't want to leave anymore than she wanted him to.
"Just think Lils, in a year we'll be together forever," James smiled, taking her left hand and fingering the gold ring on her finger. "That's all; it's nothing compared to the rest of our lives." James kissed her hand and wiped away the tears that had escaped from her eyes.
James pulled away and in his place stood Sirius. Lily couldn't help but laugh when she saw his goofy face.
"Are you going to miss me too Lily?" Sirius joked, putting his arm around James' soldier.
"Of course," Lily laughed, wrapping her arms around him.
"When we leave, look in your purse," Sirius whispered in her ear as they hugged. He felt her nod and pulled away.
"Don't worry Lily; we'll be back in a year and then I'll be able to wreck havoc on your married life," Sirius joked.
"I'll ban you from my house," Lily retaliated.
"You wouldn't dare; James wouldn't let you," Sirius argued.
"James won't be the boss of the house, I will."
"Well, by time this war is over, James will be able to stand up to you, so we'll see how long this lasts," Sirius said.
"He wishes."
"Ok, so before a world war starts right here, how about we go Sirius?" James said, stepping between the two. "I'm going to miss you," James said, pulling Lily into a last hug. He kissed her on her forehead and then pulled away. "I love you."
"I love you too," Lily replied, wiping the tears away as the duo walked away.
The moment the friends were out of sight, Lily dug into her purse and pulled out the silver chain with a cross charm that Sirius constantly wore. Wrapped around it was a note:
I'll always love you.
Oh, and you might not want James to see this when he gets back
-Sirius
That's all he wrote. It was a simple note but filled Lily with warmth.
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Sirius took a shuddering breath and coughed from deep in his chest. A tiny trail of blood started to trickle down his cheek. James wiped it away.
"Just hold on, the fighting will be done any second and the medics will come and find us and they'll fix you up," James said, pressing the cloth tighter on Sirius's chest.
"You're making it worse James," Sirius said in his raspy voice.
"What?!" James said, immediately taking the cloth off of Sirius' chest. Sirius only laughed, implying that he was joking. It hurt Sirius to laugh, though, and James could tell.
"Stop moving," James ordered.
"Stop acting like I'm not going to die," Sirius retaliated.
"Stop saying that."
"I'm dying James. I got hit in the fucking chest," Sirius argued, but then winced. He took a deep breath and relaxed. As he exhaled, another trickle of blood came out of his mouth.
"I won't let you die Sirius. I'm not losing my best friend like this," James said, a tear finally finding its way out of his eye. James ignored it and the others as they fell down his cheeks.
"Just tell Lily that you're the boss and that she's lucky to have you. No one could love her as much as you," Sirius whispered, his voice failing him.
"Don't do this Sirius," James cried. "Look, here they come. The medics are coming to get us. Don't you hear them?" True to his words, Sirius faintly heard voices call their names in the distant.
Sirius coughed again and the trickle of blood from his mouth increased. "I'm sorry for failing you."
"You haven't failed me Sirius. You never could," James cried.
"I'm so sorry," Sirius whispered, closing his eyes and taking a small shuddering breath.
"Sirius hold on, just hold on buddy," James said, shaking his friend who just lay there, slowly opening and closing his mouth; no words were coming out though. "Sirius! Sirius, wake up buddy!"
"Here! I think I heard something!"
James turned toward the direction where the voices were heard. "Here! We're over here!" he yelled. "Hold on Sirius, help is on the way."
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They were home, they were finally home. After a long year, her boys were finally home.
Lily twisted the chain around her neck again and again as the plane landed in front of her.
Any second now, any second now her boys would be walking out of that plane and into her arms. Lily could barely contain the tears of joy.
She was marrying James, the man whom loved her with all of his heart, and she got to see Sirius, the man whom she loved with almost all of her heart.
As the stairs were lowered from the plane, Lily took a quick look around the wives, girlfriends, mothers, and friends around her. Everyone was crying, waiting for their loved one, just like she was.
A mass of men piled out of the plane and ran to their loved ones. Lily desperately searched for James or Sirius but couldn't find either. A deep pit started to form in the bottom of her stomach.
Finally the last pair of boots slowly descended upon the plane stairs. Lily held her breath and finally the face appeared. She almost screamed with delight. Lily was about to rush up to her future-husband when he turned around and grabbed something. James descended the stairs, his eyes on Lily, carrying the simple wooden coffin behind him.
Slowly, Lily walked up to the coffin and rested her hand on it.
"James," she whispered, taking her hand off of the coffin and wrapping them around James' neck.
James set down the coffin and wrapped his arms around Lily's small body. He buried his face in her shoulder, sobbing. "It's going to be ok," he said, not sure if he was talking to himself or to Lily. "We're going to be ok Lily, we're going to get through this," he whispered.
"Oh god, James, I'm so sorry," Lily said, looking up at him with her tear filled eyes.
"Me too," James whispered, pulling her into his arms again.
The couple stood there mourning the loss of someone they both loved dearly. For one, he lost a best friend whom he shared infinite secrets with, for another, she lost a friend and lover; someone whom she had given her whole heart to. Someone whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.