Every day she'd wake up, and just for one blissful moment she'd forget. Then, inevitably, she turned to face him, and he wasn't there. That was when she'd remember. He wasn't lying beside her. He was in a cell, in prison, for making that stupid mistake. One stupid flick of his wand and she was facing losing him forever. Today was the day. The day she'd hoped would never come, but it had.
He was going to die; she would have to watch. Rose picked her up, along with Scorpius. They'd left their little girl with Vic, but thinking of children just made Lily miserable. They would never have any now. Rose and Scorp were lovely, really. They had been really understanding and helpful, but they didn't understand and seeing them together was like seeing how they could have been and never would. Still, she got in the car with them and tried to make small talk as they drove the short distance to the "Secure Wizarding Unit" where Lysander was being held.
The foreboding metal gates and the countless wards of the SWU did nothing to ease Lily's nerves and Rose seemed to notice her trembling, as she slipped an arm round her shoulders. When they got to the room they found Luna, Rolf and Lorcan waiting with Lily's family and her school friends, Jenny, Hugo, Julian and Arabella. Hugo had his arm round Jenny, who was sobbing into his chest and Julian hugged Lily tightly as she arrived. Even the usually up-beat Arrie looked devastated and exhausted by her grief. Then Andy arrived. He looked oddly peaceful, Lily thought as he sat down, ready for the curse that would send him into eternal sleep. It was Lily he came to first, kissing her softly as the tears threatened to spill down her soft cheeks, and it was to Lily that he last returned. 'I love you.' were his last words as they strapped him into the chair, and the executor arrived.
Harry held his daughter's hand as she watched. It was all over very fast in the end. They whispered the spell, there was a flash of light, and he suddenly drooped. Those perfect blue eyes closed for the last time. She closed her eyes as her only tear slipped out silently. Her father pulled her tightly into an embrace, and then she heard Luna's sobs, deep guttural cries of anguish. Her whole body shook as Rolf hugged her, tears pouring down his own cheeks. It was Lorcan who was worst. He just shook silently, his face pale, his eyes squeezed closed in what appeared to be agony. But their grief seemed so much healthier than her own, because Lily's was so contained. Her chest was tight, her breaths shallow, her throat constricting.
All she wanted was to get up and run away from the tight walls and the high fences, back to their little house where they used to hole up for days, never talking to anyone else. She wanted this to be a stupid dream. She wanted to wake up beside him, his bare skin against her own, his breaths in her ears, his warmth engulfing her. She wanted to hear his silly laugh again, have just one more chance to tell him she loved him, to hear him say the same. She wanted to sit beside him in that comfortable silence again, the way they always had. But she couldn't. He was dead, and he was never coming back to her.
A/N: I wrote this for the Something ...Wrong... Competition on HPFC. It was probably the hardest thing I've written. When I was given the death penalty as my issue to write about for Lily and Lysander, I had to thin about what I wanted to say with it. In the UK we don't have a death penalty. Eventually I wrote this. I cried when I finished writing it and I'm quite proud with the result. Please review! X