Ch 1: The Crash
Lily
Lily Evans snapped her suitcase closed, tied a green ribbon to it for identification, and looked about herself. Just one week ago she had gotten a letter in the mail from an American muggle art society. They had somehow heard of her artwork and invited her to a seminar. Included in her letter had been a plane ticket. As surprised as she had been to have been recognized in such a strange way, she had accepted the invitation.
A car horn beeped outside her window. She levitated her suitcases and they floated down the staircase behind her. They landed softly on the ground, and she pulled them outside. Locking the door behind her, she got into the waiting taxi.
Lily had taken a week off of work to go to the seminar. She worked as a secretary to the Minister of Magic. He hadn't really minded when she'd told him she was taking off; he'd actually seemed quite excited. He had always liked the petite blonde that filled in for Lily.
Her absence in the Order was much more fought over. Dedalus Diggle had said repeatedly that he had a bad feeling about this. Despite everyone's protests, she had decided that a small vacation was just what she needed.
James
James Potter walked out the door of his small townhouse and was immediately heralded by journalists and fans. James was what you would call every girls dream. Not only was he extremely attractive, but he was the star seeker for the Appleby Arrows. The team was currently on a winning streak, which only made James even more popular.
The taxi driver, who was a muggle, seemed astounded as to why James was so popular. He made it a point to remember to ask his wife that night who this man could be.
With a final wave, James stepped into the taxi and was driven away. When he had gotten the letter in the mail a week before, he had almost been suspicious. A sports convention wasn't that hard to imagine, but one with plane tickets enclosed was a bit distrustful. All the same, he figured a nice relaxing plane flight was just a part of the package, and decided to go. He was never that good at apparating long distances anyways…
His best friend, Sirius Black, had thought it was quite a good idea for him to go. He thought that a nice vacation was exactly what James needed. As for his two other close friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, they're opinions were not necessary. Peter was rather hard to come by these days, and Remus honeymooning in Morocco. Leave it to the responsible one of the bunch to get married a mere three years after leaving school.
The taxi soon pulled up at Heathrow Airport, and the taxi driver helped James put his bags on a luggage cart. Once James' many suitcases had been removed from the car, James handed the driver a large gold coin and walked through the shining glass doors.
Lily
Lily breezed through the airport as though she had never heard of house elves or time turners, and was soon seated in the waiting area of Gate 7B. Picking up her copy of Witch Weekly (cleverly disguised as Vogue), she awaited the call for her flight, which was at least an hour away.
James
James somehow managed to get through check-in by giving the receptionist his most charming smile, but the guard at the medical detectors was a different story. It took nearly a half an hour for James to convince him that his wand was not dangerous, but then his Rememberall managed to set off the medical detector. After another fifteen minutes of arguing with the guard, James finally abandoned his Rememberall and rushed through the airport.
Once he reached Gate 7B, the few last stragglers were boarding the plane, and the flight attendants were just about to leave the check-in desk. He quickly gave them his ticket and boarded the plane.
Lily
Lily had just settled into her seat, quite happy that she had an empty chair beside her, when a shadow loomed over her. She looked up to see a very familiar face.
James
James walked past numerous muggles and found his seat, which happened to be beside the only wizard or witch within a thirty mile radius.
Together
"What are you doing her?" Lily asked, disgust dripping from her voice.
"Nice to see you too. Do you think I could possibly get to my seat?" James said, pointing to the empty chair beside Lily.
Lily carefully folded her magazine, slipped it into the pocket in front of here, and stood up. James squeezed between her and the seat in front, and sat down.
Lily immediately sat back down and picked up her magazine. James stared at her, causing Lily to look up.
"What?" she snapped.
"I was just wondering why you were here. It is a bit coincidental, isn't it?"
Lily rolled her eyes and continued reading her magazine.
"Look, Lily, I know I'm a huge star now and all, but that hasn't changed anything between us. You can still call and talk to me any time you want."
Lily looked up from her magazine and glared at him. "If you are assuming that I planned this simply so that I could be in you humble presence, then you are sorely mistaken."
"Ok, then why are you here?"
Lily sighed in exasperation and said "I was invited to a muggle art seminar, and they provided a plane ticket."
"Oh, I see. I was invited to something, too. A sports convention, actually. I think that the plane ticket was just a bonus. Plus, I don't think I'd be very good at apparating across oceans."
Lily looked thoughtfully at James.
"Well, that's a long way, isn't it? How easy do you think it would be to apparate 3,000 miles? And I really wouldn't want something bad to happen. You remember those stories they told us when we were just learning-"
"That's not what I was thinking about," Lily interrupted. "Don't you think it's a bit strange that we're both on the same flight, on the same day, directly beside each other, on the way to seminars that were invitation only?"
"Well I did say it was coincidental."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Lily agreed, lost deep in thought.
"Look, Lily, don't worry too much about it. It's just a big coincidence. Nothing to worry about," And with that, James pulled out a copy of a Quidditch magazine and began reading.
-x-
Lily could just make out the dark night sky behind James' head. The plane was silent, most of its occupants asleep. A lone stewardess walked down the aisle on her way to the bathroom. Lily could feel her head becoming muggy as she stared at the book in front of her. She was just about to turn of her tiny light and go to sleep when she noticed that something was wrong.
The gigantic plane was no longer vibrating softly, but shaking. A few passengers began to wake up, and the stewardess retraced her footsteps towards the pilot's cabin.
Lily held tightly to the arm of her chair as James groggily awoke.
"What's going on?" he asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"I'm not sure," Lily said, craning her neck to try and see further down the aisle.
A bell dinged, and the 'fasten seatbelts' light came on above Lily's head. She reached for her seatbelt and told James to do the same.
As James buckled his seatbelt, his eyes got wide. "You don't think we'll crash, do you?" he whispered frantically to Lily.
"Of course not. The chances of that are one in ten thousand. This sort of turbulence is completely normal." Even to Lily her voice did not sound so sure.
A small click resounded through the cabin, and the pilot's voice came over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're sorry for the turbulence. We seem to have lost an engine, but it's not a serious problem. We should still be able to land safely. In flight movies will continue shortly."
The speaker clicked again, and the pilot's voice stopped. Lily sat frozen to the spot. The pilot said they should be able to land safely. Meaning that he wasn't sure about it. And if they were no longer in danger, why did the shaking seem to be increasing rather than decreasing?
A slight mumur arose as the passengers began to talk among themselves. Lily caught bits of conversations, most featuring words like "Only an engine!" and "I can't believe this."
The plane began shaking so hard that James could feel his teeth chattering together. He squeezed onto the arm of his chair so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
The speaker overhead clicked again, and this time the pilot's voice did not sound quite so calm. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to inform you that the plane has lost another engine, and we will now been forced to evacuate the plane. If you will reach under your seats, you will find that your cushion automatically blows up into a flotation device. " As he said this, a stewardess came into a clear view and began explaining the flotation device as though this was completely normal.
"I'm afraid that the transmitter has gone out and I am unable to contact any base," the pilot continued. "We will probably not be discovered for a number of days. I wish you all luck. And thank you again for flying British Airways."
By this time the plan was bucking like a wild bull, quickly losing control. Lilly was on the verge of hysterics when she remembered a very important fact: she was a witch.
She turned to James and said, "Why are we worrying? We can just apparate off of the plane!"
James' face instantly turned from horror to joy. "Where do you suppose we'll apparate to?"
"I don't know; anywhere sounds good right about now. How about our front doorsteps?"
"That sounds good to me. That way we can check and make sure we each got back safely."
"Ok. Good luck."
James closed his eyes and concentrated on his front door. He could see the red shining paint, the bright golden knocker, even the small nicks right above the handle left from his keys. But he was not consumed by the usual claustrophobic feeling he got when apparating. He could see his front door, but he could feel his rear end resting against the airplane's seat.
Lily opened her eyes to see James still sitting right beside her. He opened his eyes a moment later, and she could see the desperation gleaming in them.
"Why isn't it working?" he asked frantically.
"I think it's because we're moving too quickly. What else could it be?"
"I have no idea. Lily, if anything happens, I just want you to know that I'll always love you."
Screams echoed around them as the plane tilted forward and began hurtling towards the dark ocean below.
Lily could feel a cry building up in her throat. Her mind was completely blank except for the memories of her life that seemed to be flashing before her very eyes. She could remember the day she got her letter to Hogwarts; the first time she kissed James; falling out of the tree in her back yard and breaking her arm.
Suddenly a firm hand grabbed onto her own. She was faintly aware of an increase in the screaming as the roof was ripped from the back of the plane. She looked up and saw James' face silhouetted against the flashing lights inside the cabin. Seconds later and the airplane had finally met the sea. As she felt the icy waves crash over her body, she knew that she would get out of this alive.
-x-
My goodness that was suspenseful! I could barely type fast enough to keep up with my brain. It's cool though because the words just sort of flowed out with this first chapter. If you liked it, and if you want me to update quickly, it would definitely help if you would leave me a review. Thank you so much!
-Emily
