Disclaimer: once again I own nothing
Authors note: Hello I hope you like the story so far, thanks for reading! If you have time please review.
" write often darling" sniffed Mrs Evans brushing imaginary lint of Lily's jacket
" I will mum" said Lily smiling and putting her arms round her mother
" and be careful!"
" always am mum "
" goodbye sweetheart have a lovely time at school" said Mrs Evans releasing her daughter from her grasp and wiping her eyes
" bye mum" said Lily and with a final wave she turned her trolley round to face the barrier, with one last look at the muggle world she casually slipped through the barrier into the magical world. As always Lily's heart kept in excitement as she looked around platform nine and three quarters she looked around at all the teenagers and parents gathered on the platform her view was suddenly disrupted by a face full of blond curls as one Aria Eversham leapt on her
" Lily Lily Lily! I've missed you!" squealed Aria excitedly squeezing her best friend
" yeah missed you too Aria but I can't breathe here" mumbled Lily
" oh right sorry" said Aria sheepishly getting off off Lily
" Aria you loony stop smothering Lily and come get your blasted cat before it claws my eyes out" shouted Aria's brother Jude striding across the platform towards the two girls
" he's a lovely cat you just hate him cause he chewed your love letter to Charlotte" smirked Aria
" that's not true!" protested Jude hotly
" speak of the devil and he shall appear" said Aria pointing towards an approaching Charlotte
" hello Charlie" smiled Lily hugging another one of her closest friends
" hey Lily how was your summer?" asked Charlotte
" it was alright but your boyfriend is right there why are you not all over each other like normal?" said Lily sarcastically
" I stayed with the Evershams all summer remember" reminded Charlotte
" not fair I get stuck with stupid Petunia and all the foster kids and you get to hang around with Aria and Jude all summer" grumbled Lily
" just one of the many benefits of dating Jude" smiled Charlotte kissing him
" ugh four years you two have been going out and you still sicken me" moaned Aria shooting a disgusted look at the snogging pair
" they'll be a while let's go get a compartment" said Lily rolling her eyes and pushing her trolley towards the Hogwarts express however before she got there a pair of rough calloused hands covered her eyes
" guess who?" asked a deep voice
" Sirius?" guessed Lily
" nope it's James!" exclaimed James removing his hands
" you smell like Sirius" said Lily thoughtfully
" I'm offended by that!" shouted both boys making Lily and Aria laugh
" James stinks like dirty socks! I smell delectable I'll have you know" objected Sirius pouting
" I'm surprised you know what delectable means padfoot" laughed James running a hand through his messy black hair
" would you stop doing that " snapped Lily
" doing what?" asked James confused
" messing with your hair its stupid and annoying" said Lily as if it was obvious
" let's change the subject" interjected Aria before Lily and James got in to a full blown argument
" good idea , I like your socks shortie" laughed Sirius looking at Aria's multicoloured stripy over the knee high socks
" very funny" said Aria sarcastically
" no really I like them your weirdness brightens my life" said Sirius sincerely
" are you lot ever going to get on the train it's going to leave" said Peter sticking his head out of a compartment window
" we are on our way wormy" said Sirius with a mock salute as he boarded the train.
The four of them wandered down the train until they found Remus and Peter who had apparently got his head stuck in the window while Remus was laughing hysterically at him.
" Aria Lily help me!" mumbled Peter as Sirius and James collapsed onto the floor with laughter
" you three are cruel " chastised Lily as she helped Peter free of the window
" thanks" mumbled Peter rubbing his neck gingerly
" no problem, any of you seen Sapphire,Ruby or Alice?" asked Lily sitting down next to the window
" no idea about the twins but Alice went to see William" Remus informed Lily having recovered from his laughing fit, Lily and Aria grimaced at the mention of Alice's boyfriend
" prick" muttered Aria under her breath
" I'll drink to that" agreed Sirius
" well you would if you had anything to drink " pointed out Remus always the logical one
" never fear moony I have refreshments courtesy of our house elf " said James opening his backpack
" it better not be alcohol" warned Lily
" keep your knickers on miss prefect it's pumpkin juice" said Sirius as James handed him a bottle
" or take them off" joked James but he quickly stopped laughing after seeing the look on Lily's face
" oh look here's Ruby and Sapphy" said Aria as the compartment door slid open revealing the twins after everyone greeted them they noticed the twins posh outfits
" why are you all dressed up?" asked Lily, Sapphire was wearing a tight blue pencil dress and black stilettos while Ruby was wearing a
black shirt with a fuschia pencil skirt and black wedges
" ' daughters of house Adriani must always be well dressed whatever the occasion'" parroted Sapphire in a posh Italian voice
" let me guess your grandmother was over from Italy?" laughed Lily
" all bloody summer" grumbled Sapphire
" now now Sapphire daughters of house Adriani must always be polite in company" mocked Sirius causing Sapphire to hit him over the head with her expensive looking handbag
" the hair watch the hair!" cried Sirius smoothing his ebony locks
" merlin your such a girl!" laughed James
" your just jealous of it's greatness" retorted Sirius
" anyway we brought normal clothes to change into so we shall be right back" said Ruby heading out of the compartment bag in hand
" Lily come with me I need you to em unzip my dress" said Sapphire
" couldn't Ruby do it?" asked Lily comfy in her seat and looking forward to reading her book
" no I want you" said Sapphire grabbing Lily's arm and practically dragging her from the compartment,
" what was that about?" asked Lily confused as the pair stood in the corridor
" I need to talk to you" explained Sapphire pulling her into an empty compartment and shutting the blinds
" go ahead" said Lily worriedly
" well you know how you are always rejecting and arguing with James and it upsets him?" said Sapphire pulling her hair out of it's tight bun and letting it fall down her back
" well he provokes me" defended Lily unzipping the back of Sapphire's dress for her
" I know but that's not the point, this summer I was in my room and you know how you can see the Potter's quidditch pitch from the window? Well I could see James and he was sobbing Lily I mean properly devastated sobbing I asked him about it at one of those stupid ministry parties and he just denied it happened said I was imagining things but I know what I say Lily he was heartbroken" explained Sapphire stepping out of her dress
"oh" was all Lily could say
" now I don't know what happened to him but it must've been bad so I have a huge favour to ask" pleaded Sapphire giving Lily her best puppy dog eyes
" what is it?" asked Lily warily
" I want you to be nice to James this year I'm not saying you have to go out with him or anything just lay off him more you can still argue a bit" said Sapphire then cowered away as if expecting Lily to shout at her , Lily's James rage was well known
" okay" said Lily simply
" okay?" said Sapphire surprised
" okay I'll be nice to him" explained Lily
" that easily?" said Sapphire
" I'm not nasty Sapphy he's clearly going through a tough time so I'll be nice" said Lily nicely
" I owe you one Lil" said Sapphire gratefully
" course you don't although you do owe me about a hundred for all the homework answers last year"laughed Lily
" more like two hundred" laughed Sapphire as they headed back along the corridor
" oh yay do you know what this means?" asked Sapphire excitedly
" what?" Asked Lily curiously
" with no you and James arguing its wont be as awkward for the rest of us now!" said Sapphire happily
" how so?"
" well when you had big arguments with him it was harder for the rest of us to hang out normally especially the snape thing last year" explained Sapphire
" I never really thought about you lot sorry"apologised Lily genuinely regretful
" don't worry about it the arguments were rather entertaining" laughed Sapphire
" Alice!" exclaimed Lily suddenly spotting their fifth roommate as they entered the compartment
"hola me amigos" joked Alice hugging both girls
" wow your so tanned" admired Sapphire looking at Alice's bronzed skin
" everyones tanned but me" grumbled Lily jokingly
" it's cause your ginger"pointed out James looking up from his game of exploding snap, Lily was about to snap at him when she remembered her promise to Sapphire
" yes your probably right" she replied forcing a smile
" why aren't you with William?" Lily asked Alice as they sat down
" he wanted to see his friends" explained Alice cheerfully
" yeah lady friends" muttered Sapphire under her breath thankfully Alice was too busy watching James and Peter's game of snap to hear Sapphire's comment
" where's Sirius?" asked Sapphire looking around for the missing marauder
" he went to see Daisy" said Peter momentarily distracted from his game by Sapphire's question, this distraction proved to be his downfall as the cards blew up singing his eyebrows
" he was dating Daisy last week wormtail he's dating Sophie now" Remus informed them from behind a copy of the Daily Prophet
" it's hard to keep up!" squeaked Peter in an admiring tone causing everyone to roll their eyes. The group spent the journey playing exploding snap and chess with the exception of Lily and Remus who read their books, the two prefects were just returning from patrolling the corridors
" we are only twenty minutes away now" Remus informed them entering the compartment with Lily behind him
" that means you should change" elaborated Lily as nobody except Peter had even looked up from a particularly violent game of wizards chess
" yeah we will" assured Sapphire from behind her copy of witch weekly
" now" reiterated Remus sternly
" prefect mode moony is back" declared Sirius
" please just someone go and get changed" sighed Remus, Alice and Aria got up to go but Lily stopped them
" there's only one girls and one boy toilet in this carriage" she explained
" right I'll go,Peter come on" said Aria gesturing for Peter to go with her, Peter obediently followed her out of the carriage. When Peter and Aria returned the two prefects forced Alice and James to go change.
" where are those two ? They've been ages" speculated Sirius
" missing your boyfriend Sirius" quipped Sapphire
" I'll have you know I've just had a very interesting time in an empty compartment with Sophie" protested Sirius wiggling her eyebrows suggestively
" ugh too much information Black!" moaned Sapphire
" seriously though where are Alice and Potter you lot still need to get changed" said Lily
" I don't mind getting changed in here" joked Sirius peeling off his t-shirt to illustrate his point
" nobody is getting changed in here, I'll go and look for them" said Lily standing up
" she wants to catch prongs undressed!" stage whispered Sirius, Lily gave him the finger as she left the wandered along the corridor until she found Alice and James standing chatting with Charlotte, Jude and Frank Longbottom
" I've been looking for you two "said Lily
" oh sorry we just ran into ..." Started Alice but she was interrupted as the train suddenly swayed dangerously to the right sending them all crashing to the ground
" what the hell is going on ?!" Exclaimed Jude loudly
"Potter is this is some prank of yours I swear to merlin I will kill you" threatened Lily getting up from the ground
" I swear this wasn't me Lily" said James just as the lights flickered off
" it's dark!" Exclaimed Charlotte
" thank you captain obvious" muttered someone to Lily's left
" ow who stepped on my foot" moaned someone else
" Frank! Your touching my face" exclaimed someone else
" can we focus here!" Shouted James taking lead and lighting the tip of his wand, this was unnecessary however as at that moment the lights flickered back on revealing seven masked figures
" death eaters!" Shouted Frank as jets of green light shot towards them, Lily leapt forward without thinking managing to hit one of the death eaters with a jelly legs jinx before putting him in a full body bind. To her left Frank and James were battling their own death eaters , Lily was about to help them when she felt a wave of pain in her abdomen looking down she had a large gash which was bleeding profusely. She stumbled and fell to the ground trying to stem the bleeding with her hands, James managed to stun his opponent and knelt down next to her he muttered a charm which seemed to temporarily seal Lily's wound he started to help her to her feet but a sudden rush of water knocked them down. It appeared an idiotic death eater had somehow filled the whole compartment with water, Lily tried to vanish the water but she couldn't and instead started to swim towards the carriage door. Lily fought the insane urge to laugh as a pink thong floated past her face having escaped from someones trunk .Reaching the door she tried to pull it open but it seemed to be stuck Frank appeared next to her and managed to tug open the door sending them tumbling out in a wave of water and belongings.
Lily crawled along the floor trying very hard to to collapse from the pain of her wound and entered an empty compartment followed by Frank and James.
" Alice!" Cried Frank once he had caught his breath
" frank no!" shouted James restraining Frank as he tried to go back
" James get off I need to save Alice she's still in there!" Exclaimed Frank retuning to escape James's hold
" Frank mate calm down she's fine she got out the other door with Charlotte and Jude" reassured James
" are you sure" pressed Frank
" yes" said James letting go of the frantic seventh year
" what are we going to do?!" Asked Lily
" we need to get the kids out" said James completely calm as if this was an everyday occurrence
" I could side apparate them I passed my test this summer" suggested Frank sort of panicky
" they'll have sealed it off" pointed out Lily
" we can check that" said James he pointed his wand at the air and blue gas came out which quickly turned pink
" yep anti apparition spells" confirmed James
" do I even want to know why you know that spell" muttered Lily forgetting for a moment that they were on a train full of death eaters
" good news with most anti apparition spells there are blindspots we just have to find one" said James
" how would we do that?" Asked Frank doubtfully
" with a spell of course " said James waving his wand again
" nearest blindspot is in the next carriage" announced James
" do we have a plan?" Asked Frank
" assumedly you get to the blind spot and Potter and I will round up as many kids as possible for you to apparate out of here" explained Lily looking to James for confirmation who then nodded.
The three students left the carriage cautiously but there was only one death eater present whom Lily promptly stunned, Frank hurried on while Lily and James split to look in each compartment. Lily found two young girls clearly first year hiding under the seat of the first compartment and led them out into the corridor where James was waiting with a curly haired boy. They managed to collect thirteen more youngsters from the carriage and took them to Frank in the next carriage.
They then ran through the debris into the fourth carriage which was unfortunately not clear of death eaters, Lily started to duel but it was three on one and she was soon thrown backwards landing in a mess of shattered glass which cut up her palms. The tallest of the three death eaters who Lily thought could possibly be called Dolohov approached her and raised his wand
" crucio!" He exclaimed, Lily felt as if her body was on fire she screamed as wave upon wave of agony rocked her body until James appeared from nowhere and wand forgotten punched the attacker in the face. Released from the curse Lily slumped to the ground fighting not to pass out she felt around the floor for her wand but it appeared one of the death eaters had taken it. Meanwhile Dolohov had recovered from the surprise of James's punch and the pair were duelling fiercely
" Potter watch out!" warned Lily as one of the other death eaters sent a curse at his back, James managed to dodge it but he didn't duck in time getting hit by Dolohov's disarming spell, James's wand soared out of his hand as Lily looke on helplessly.
" James blood traitor Potter, hanging around with mudbloods now are we? And I thought you could sink no lower" sneered Dolohov twirling James's wand in his fingers
" Lily is a much better witch than you'll ever be Dolohov and a much better person" spat James venomously
" didn't realise you were shagging a muggle Potter" sneered Dolohov
" Lily is a witch and last I heard your darling sister was shagging a muggle" retorted James with a smirk, Lily wanted to tell him not to antagonise the death eaters but someone had placed a silencing charm on her.
" that filth is no sister of mine" spat Dolohov
" she's the only Dolohov I'd want to associate with" replied James proudly
" enough small talk Potter let's have some real fun" Dolohov smirked evilly
" crucio!" He shouted pointing his wand at James.
Suddenly James was in the floor writhing in pain trying his hardest not to give the death eaters the satisfaction of screaming. Lily struggled helplessly against the invisible bonds that held her but it was fruitless and only seemed to make her wound bleed more. She was beginning to feel faint from the blood loss but she was trying to stay awake for both her and James sake.
All of a sudden the three death eaters were thrown backwards into the air, black ropes bound them and their wands flew out of their hands. A tall man stepped into the carriage his wand held aloft, his face was grizzled and covered in scars but his most defining characteristic was definitely his eyes one was small and dark brown but the other was a bright electric blue whizzing in its socket. If Lily hadn't been so close to passing out she would've recognised him as Alastor Moody the head of the auror department, James apparently did not have this problem
" mad eye!" He cried in delight giving the man an admiring look
" James Potter should've know it'd be you in the centre of all this" growled Mad eye
" what can I say I'm a man of action" smirked James seemingly ignorant of his injuries and the situation
" just like your father lad" said Moony patting James on the back
" have you heard from him lately?" Asked James hopefully
"I'm sorry lad that's classified information" said moony
" I don't mean to interrupt but could someone help me?" Whimpered Lily and then she passed out.
The next thing Lily knew she was waking up in the hospital wing. She blinked rapidly and looked around trying to get he bearings, in the bed to her left lay a small blond haired girl covered in bruises and to her right was James Potter. Lily had only been awake for all of a minute when Madam Pomfrey bustled over to her bedside looking very flustered.
" ahh miss Evans good to see your awake how are you feeling?" Madam Pomfrey asked while pouring green liquid into a cup
" I'm feeling alright, what about my side?" Asked Lily
" that did give us quite a bit of trouble to close up but we got there in the end you'll be done dear" said Madam Pomfrey
" when can I leave?" asked Lily looking down at her previously cut hands which were almost healed
" as soon as you drink this, under normal circumstances i would keep you in longer for observation but we simply do not have the capacity " replied Madam Pomfrey handing Lily the cup of blood replenishing potion
" come back tomorrow morning for a check up, now if you'll excuse me I really have to go" said Madam Pomfrey hurrying over to a curtained bed whose occupant was emitting screams of pain.
Lily swallowed the potion in one go shuddering at its horrid taste. She looked down at herself she was currently wearing a white hospital gown and her clothes were nowhere to be seen. Through the hustle of the hospital wing Lily spotted a familiar face moving towards her.
" Alice what are you doing here? Your not hurt are you?" Asked Lily concernedly
" nah don't worry I only got minor injuries I brought you clothes" assured Alice producing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt
" thanks where's everyone else?" Asked Lily getting out of the hospital bed
" the twins are outside" replied Alice
" where's Charlotte and Aria?" Inquired Lily
" Lily haven't you heard what happened?" Asked Alice comprehension dawning on her
" no I've only been awake for five minutes! What happened are they alright?!" Demanded Lily worriedly
" it's not them Lily it's Jude he ... He died" murmured Alice sadly
" no! Jude can't be dead he's Jude he just can't be dead" whimpered Lily sinking onto the bed
" I'll just leave you to get changed" said Alice awkwardly closing the curtains around Lily's bed, Alice had never been good at comforting people.
Lily couldn't believe it Jude was so young he'd seemed so strong almost indestructible, he had been the one to show them the ropes at Hogwarts and Lily worked with him as a prefect and now he was gone just like that because one man was prejudiced. Lily's grief was replaced by anger as she thought about Jude he had so much ahead of him he would've got a good job in the ministry and was planning on marrying Charlotte and the death eaters had taken that away from him. Lily quickly changed wanting to get away from her mixed feelings, as she left the hospital wing she felt waves of pity for Aria and Charlotte who had lost one of the most important people in their lives along with Aria's younger sister Coryn. Hugs enveloped Lily as she met the three girls, Sapphire and Ruby had obviously been worried about Lily's condition.
" how's Aria?" Lily asked as soon as the girls let go of her
" like you'd expect she sobbed uncontrollably until Professor Dumbledore sent her home" said Sapphire her voice full of sympathy
" oh poor Aria nobody deserves this especially not her" Lily said her eyes widening with pity
" it makes me so angry! I can't wait to we are old enough to do something about it" exclaimed Sapphire angrily
" we shouldn't talk about this here the announcement hasn't been made yet" pointed out Alice as they turned into a busy corridor
" oh okay where are we going?" Wondered Lily as they headed away from the direction of the great hall
" do you want to be stared at all through breakfast ? We are the closest thing to Charlotte and Aria" replied Sapphire
" oh yeah I didn't think of that" said Lily , she was glad Aria Coryn and Charlotte had already went home as she didn't want them to endure the inevitable stares
" hence why we are going to the kitchens" explained Alice as they reached a portrait of a fruit bowl, Ruby tickled the pear gently and the four stepped info the kitchen.
They were glad that the kitchen wasn't occupied by any other students which was surprising as the marauders treated the place like a second home. They kitchen was bustling with house elves as breakfast was being served in the great hall, a small house elf hurried over as soon as they entered the kitchens
" good morning misses what can Dinky get for you?" Squeaked Dinky sinking into a deep curtesy
" umm I don't know" said Lily looking around at the others
" shall Dinky bring a selection of breakfast foods miss?" Asked the little elf
" ooh that's great thank you Dinky" said Sapphire picturing all the food
" Dinky will be right back misses"squeaked Dinky curtsying before hurrying away to get their food. The girls chose a round table next to the fireplace
" so what happened to Jude?" Asked Lily sadly
" it's not clear but apparently he was trying to protect a first year" explained Sapphire her eyes filled with tears
" that just sums Jude up he was so brave and selfless" murmured Lily biting her lip in an attempt to not cry
" I feel so sorry for Aria she's already lost her dad and now this" sighed Sapphire half heartedly putting some scrambled egg onto her plate
" Coryn too" pointed out Lily referring to Aria's thirteen year old sister
" and Charlotte lost her whole family she's practically part of the Eversham's , Jude was the most important person in the world to her" interjected Alice mournfully
" it's all so unfair they're good people" said Lily softly pushing her bacon around the plate
" none of this is fair" agreed Alice
" so when are they coming back?" Asked Lily
" Wednesday" replied Sapphire
" three days isn't that long" muttered Lily
" the memorial service is going to be on Thursday or Friday" informed Alice
" so I'm guessing its a private funeral for family then?" Lily wondered
" they didn't recover the body Lily" murmured Sapphire sadly
" oh" muttered Lily surprised, the group fell into silence each thinking about Jude
" it's clear nobody's eating here we should head back to the dorm before people start coming back for breakfast" said Ruby speaking out for the first time since they entered the kitchen
" yeah that's a good idea" said Sapphire standing up
" plus we have to pack a bag for Aria" pointed out Alice
" shouldn't we send stuff for Charlotte and Coryn too?" Asked Lily as they headed out of the kitchen
" Charlotte's roommate Emmeline is packing for her and Hestia is packing for Coryn" said Sapphire
" ahh okay then" replied Lily.
They wandered back to the dorm in contemplative silence, nobody wanted to talk about Jude's death anymore but it didn't seem appropriate to talk about anything else. Once they successfully reached their dorm without running into any curios students they started to pack for Aria.
" so what happened to you lot on the train then?" Asked Lily realising she didn't yet know
"Well we got split up, do you think we should pack pyjamas ?" questioned Sapphire
" yes pack the spotty ones she likes them, so you got split up?" replied Lily
" yeah we split up to see what was going on , I ended up with Peter and Aria we ran into a pair of death eaters and Peter tried to stun them but the bloody idiot has terrible aim he got me instead. I woke up on the way back to the castle having missed the whole thing" pouted Sapphire she wasn't one to sit by the sidelines whilst things happened around her
" unlucky dear, has someone put in her toothbrush?" said Lily peering into Aria's trunk
" I did " replied Alice from beside the wardrobe
" what happened to you then?" Lily asked looking up at Alice
" naturally Sirius and Remus dashed off straight away so Ruby and I followed them ended up duelling a few death eaters but they got away and then the aurora came" recounted Alice while Ruby nodded in agreement
" why am I the only one injured" moaned Lily lifting her shirt to look at the healing wound on her abdomen
" it could be because we are better duellers than you" joked Sapphire pretending to think about it
" or the fact you go stuck with Mr hero himself James Potter" laughed Alice, the others joined in but they suddenly stopped laughing remembering what had happened to Jude. There was a knock on the door and Ruby opened it, the marauders stood in the doorway looking more grave than they ever had before
" we just wanted to offer our condolences to Aria, we considered owling her but I bet loads of people will people who didn't even care about Jude she will be sick of it so we thought we could get you lot to pass it along once she's back" said Remus his eyes looking sadly at Aria's empty bed
" I'm sure she will it appreciate it " said Lily meaningfully
" oh and they handed these put at breakfast it's a list of announcements that would've been made at the start of term feast" informed James passing Sapphire some pieces of parchment
" thanks James" smiled Sapphire, they stood in awkward silence for a minute nobody knowing what to say
" I don't mean to be rude but we really have to pack for Aria so if they're isn't anything else..." said Alice looking at the four boys
" sorry just that the list of people ho the ministry want statements from is up on the notice board in the common room they want to see all of us" James replied
" when?" Asked Lily
" there is an allotted time next to each person " explained Remus
" okay thanks for letting us know bye" mumbled Sapphire practically shutting the door in the boys faces
" well that totally wasnt awkward " muttered Lily sarcastically
" people don't know what to say about it , this is what it was like when my mum died" said Alice quietly tears welling up in her eyes
" are you okay?" asked Lily concernedly
" yeah it's just this happening is bringing back memories that's all" murmured Alice sadly glancing at the picture of her mum she kept on her bedside table
" you know we didn't even ask how they got up here" pointed out Ruby referring to the marauders visit
" when it comes to the marauders I've found it's better not to ask" smirked Sapphire
" amen to that" agreed Lily. There was another knock on the door making them all jump, Alice got up from her bed and went to answer it. Three seventh year Gryffindors stood in the doorway Frank Longbottom, Nathaniel Gable and Mark Williams- Jude Eversham's best friends. All three had bloodshot eyes from crying and looked like they hasn't got a minute of sleep the previous night. Upon seeing the look on Frank's face Alice rushed forward and flung her arms round him , she didn't like seeing her lifelong friend in such pain.
" we are so sorry for your loss" said Sapphire meaningfully
" thanks " replied Nathaniel a strange look coming over his face
" people have been laying flowers in the entrance hall for Jude we just wanted to see if Aria had any photographs of him as a child we could leave" explained Mark Williams
" Aria has photo albums galore I'm sure she wouldn't mind" said Lily getting to her feet and heading towards Aria's bed. The house legs had already unpacked Aria's things so Lily opened the drawer in the bedside table whet she knew Aria kept her photo albums. She found a red leather bound album with the heading ' Family' and opened it, it was filled with pictures of Aria and her family especially Aria's late father. Lily chose three photos of Jude- one where he looked to be around six and was excitedly opening Christmas presents, one of him and Aria at the beach near their home and one where Jude moved in and out of the picture on his new toy broomstick aged four. She slipped them out of the album and duplicated them before putting them back in the album and replacing it in its place in the bedside cabinet. Lily handed the duplicates to Mark who looked like he was about to start crying again when he laid eyes on the pictures.
" are you going down to the hall now?" asked Alice having finally let go of Frank
" yes we have more recent photos to leave too , he deserves a tribute he was so good" choked out Frank
" would you mind if we came with you? You were right he does deserve a tribute we want to leave flowers too" asked Sapphire
" of course not" said Mark.
The group made its way towards the entrance hall ignoring the stares, pointing and whispered conversations of other students as they passed. When they reached the entrance hall they saw a small knot of students gathered in the far corner, when the students recognised them they parted to let the group of Gryffindors through. A small mound of items lay on the ground- bunches of flowers, little cards, some photographs and even a quidditch top of Jude's favourite team the Chudley Cannons.
The three boys seemed unable to do anything but stare at the pile so Lily stepped forward first, she conjured a bunch of white carnations from her wand and laid them down as years streamed down her pale face. Sapphire and Ruby stepped forward next each adding their own bunch of flowers to the collection. After a few minutes Frank found the strength to step forward, his large hand tucked in Alice's small one. He used his wand to stick the photo of Jude and Aria at the beach to the wall along with a more recent picture of himself and Jude. In turn Mark and Nathaniel stepped forward to leave their own photos and flowers.
Afterwards the group separated the seventh years went out to the grounds to reminisce over their lost friend while the girls ,minus Ruby who had went to hand in Aria's stuff , headed back towards gryffindor tower.
As they headed along the fourth floor corridor they ran into Alice's Ravenclaw boyfriend William McDonald.
" Alice where have you been?!" Demanded William angrily seizing Alice's wrist and pulling her towards him
" weren't you at breakfast?" Asked Alice confusedly her eyebrows knitting together
" I was you weren't" spat out William squeezing Alice's wrist harder
" well then you know Jude died" said Alice
" never really liked the bloke anyway he was a right show off in Charms but I don't see how that has anything to do with you!" Scowled William
" he's Aria's brother! She needed me she's my best friend!" Said Aria annoyed that William didn't understand
" and I'm your boyfriend ! I come first " shouted William angrily his grip becoming ever tighter
" her brother died! He died William! What the hell was more important than that?!" Demanded Alice wrenching her arm free of William's grasp and making to storm off but William caught her upper arm and pulled her back round to face him
" I could have been in the hospital wing for all you know! But you didn't care did you it's always about your stupid friends" spat out William, Lily stepped forward to intervene but Sapphire shook her head
" Aria's brother died! Lily and James were in the hospital wing! I know you would never have been injured because your too fucking cowardly to do anything ! I'm going to go help my friends now !" Shouted Alice pulling her arm out of William's grip and storming off down the corridor.
William turned and punched the wall angrily before storming off in the other direction, Lily and Sapphire glared at his retreating back and had half a mind to curse him but they released Alice needed them more right now.
They caught up to Alice back in the dorm, the curtains around her bed were pulled shut but they could hear her half angry half upset sobs.
" Alice he's a prick! You shouldn't let him treat you like that you could do so much better" insisted Sapphire
" you never liked him! He's lovely really he just has his moments " replied Alice angrily
" hey don't take it out on me because your angry at him" defended Sapphire
" guys now is not really the time to fight amongst ourselves , Aria and Charlotte and going to need us when they get back they don't need us acting like petulant children on top of everything they're going through" chastised Lily looking between Sapphire and Alice's closed bed hangings
" both of you are right I'm sorry Sapphire" said Alice meekly pulling back the hangings to look at her friend
" it's alright your angry and upset I get that" said Sapphire understandingly
" what'd I miss?" asked Ruby heading back into the room
" you don't want to know" mumbled Alice slumping back onto her bed.
Yet another knock on the door came
" merlin it's like Sauchiehall street in here today" groaned Sapphire
" what?" Asked Ruby confused
" I keep picking up Aria's Scottish expressions" laughed Sapphire
" would someone get the door" grumbled Alice as another knock rang out.
Lily was closest to the door so she stood and answered it. Standing in the doorway was a tiny girl with messy black curls and sparkling blue eyes.
" hello, can we help you?" Asked Lily kindly as the little girl was shaking with nerves
" are you Sapphire Phoenix, Ruby Phoenix, Lily Evans and Alice Carroll?" Squeaked the girl reading the names off a little piece of parchment
" yes I'm Lily Evans who are you?" replied Lily
" I'm Maddie Ross, your friend Aria's brother saved me on the train" said the girl very quietly
" oh, do you want to come in?" Asked Lily feeling sorry for the young girl who was clearly scared of them
" yes please" said Maddie very politely , Lily stood back and let the girl shuffle past her
" I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jude Eversham, I would like them to know that he died very bravely and heroically in the process of saving me. I take full blame for his death. If there is anything I could do to help at this difficult time please do not hesitate to get in touch with me" rushed out Maddie
" you practiced that didn't you?" said Sapphire amused at the girls speech
" I wanted it to be nice" admitted Maddie
" sweetheart don't blame yourself Jude was a brave person if he hasn't saved you he would've been saving someone else" comforted Lily hugging the girl
" I should've hidden from the death eaters but no I was stupid, I went into the corridor to see what was going on" protested Maddie
" there is nothing you could've done please don't blame yourself" insisted Lily
" can you tell the Evershams' how sorry I am?" Pleaded Maddie
"Of course we will" assured Lily
" I have to go now, we haven't been sorted yet we aren't suppose to go into houses, goodbye" said Maddie waving as she headed out the door
" bye" chorused the girls
" aww how cute was she?" smiled Alice
" you are obsessed with children Alice" joked Sapphire
" Sapphire your supposed to make your statement in ten minutes" Ruby reminded her twin
" anyone know what auror is interviewing?" Asked Alice curiously , her mother had been an auror and her older brother Neville was an auror
" James told me its Eden Selwyn" informed Sapphire
" aww she's so lovely, in fact my mum was her mentor" smiled Alice
" we'll let's hope she's nice to me, bye guys " said Sapphire heading out of the door.
Soon after Alice left to comfort Frank and Ruby decided to go to lunch, left alone Lily decided to catch up on her sleep. Really it was exhausting being unconscious and she had a busy few days ahead.