Disclaimer : "Harry Potter" is the property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. This is a translation of the fanfiction " Le courage des Gryffondors", written by Kenziegirl, who was kind enough to let me translate it.
Gryffindors' Courage
If Lily had been a Walt Disney character, she probably would have been Wendy. As for the Maraudeurs, they would have been a part of the Lost Boys. Sirius would have been the hooligan, James the athlete, Remus would have been the quiet one of the group and Peter would have been the food-loving-cuddly friend.
They observe her sometimes, like little boys curiously observe their mothers put on lipstick, they are like hypnotized by her. She had been more than a friend but not quite a sister. She had been the mother that they all needed. She had been the one who nursed their scratches, the one who gave hugs, the one who let them cry on her shoulder, without saying a thing, crying with them.
Lily, as she puts on her graduation robe, thinks about all the moments that she had spent at Hogwarts. She thinks about her four guys and how much they have grown older and more mature. Today, James will ask her to marry him, but she doesn't know that yet. Nor does she know that in two years she will welcome an adorable baby boy, and that for the second time, she will fall in love with a Potter. She doesn't know either that she will die a year later. She will never understand how much James loves her, nor how much he will sacrifice himself for her.
They are beautiful, they are young. Too young- at least for what's ahead of them. Nevertheless, they will be brave, each in their own way. Even Peter who, when he will betray them, will lay the bravest gesture of his life. As Gryffindors, they will live. As Gryffindors, they will succumb.
Sirius is attractive as always, but even more at the moment. The white shirt against his taned complexion reminds everyone of the fact that he is a Black and that he will always be. His aristocratic features are predominant, he is more handsome, cooler, without doing anything else. It's natural. Sirius who will live a life full of torment. He, who is already so tormented. Sirius who will never have the opportunity to know love, but who will live it through his friend. Sirius who will see Harry. But for so little time. Sirius who will survive despite everything, and who will leave in peace. In peace.
Remus will not be so lucky. Remus, who will see his friends torn, Remus who had always been too nice, too good, too unconfident. Remus who will live in the past for a long time. Before Tonks. Remus who, when he was teaching at Hogwarts, saw his friends everytime he walked through a corridor. Remus who had only one wish, see his friend hope that a pretty red-head would agree to go out with him. Remus, who was laughing, laughing so hard at the moment that he was crying. Soon, he will be screaming.
James. Ah, James of whom we never speak in the present tense even if at the moment he laughs. Because James is legendary. James is the one that we would have wanted to know, the one that seemed so good. James. You know, that dear James Potter.
As for Lily, she holds a very big role in our story, Lily is the Snow White with the four dwarfs. Lily is the one that we would have wanted to see live. Lily was the loving, the beautiful, the spectacular, the perfect Lily Evans.
We will often accuse the Sorting Hat, we will accuse him of having placed Sirius in Gryffindor, while he should have been a Slytherin. We will accuse him of having misplaced the brilliant Evans, who should have been a Ravenclaw. We will accuse him of having misplaced Peter, who had everything of a Hufflepuff. We knew that James had been well placed because, a Potter he was.
The Sorting Hat only had one argument to give. He had given them all the courage to accomplish what they had needed to accomplish. It had helped Sirius face his family, it had showed Peter that life was made of choices, and it had made sure that Lily and James were. Courage, that's what they needed. So, that's what he gave them.
Courage. They will need it.
Fin