Just gonna apologize for the long wait! Red Mirror kinda took over my brain. I'll just say that this chapter has pretty much been planned since way before The Dark Lords' Pawn ended. I just lost the paper I'd written it out on...I found it though, so here's this chapter!
James picked her up instantly, his long legs carrying them out of the hall, leaving the commotion behind. He carried her to the nearest boy's bathroom snapping, "Beat it," to the poor boy using the urinal. The boy shrieked like a girl and ran from the bathroom, almost forgetting to fasten his trousers. James propped her against the wall in one of the stalls just in case she got sick again.
Making sure she was at least moderately comfortable, he stripped off his vomit stained jacket. "You alright, Rem?"
Several minutes of silence passed, and James stared at his twin who was staring into space. She finally looked up at him, seeming far more fragile than he'd ever seen her, "I saw them. Grace and her family. I saw them on the train."
James winced, "Oh, Rem..."
"I was mean to her!" Remy snapped, "She tried to talk to me and I shoved her off like I'm something special. And now she's dead!" She clutched at her hair, pulling so tightly he thought she might pull chunks of it out.
"Remy, stop that. You couldn't have known what would happen to her. I'm sure it was just a freak thing. You're not to blame for it." He said, trying to calm her.
She groaned, giving another tug to her hair. "I could have helped them! I could have done something!"
"You didn't know!" He snapped, grasping her forearms.
She stilled, looking into his face, her eyes wide and maniacal, "You're right. I didn't know. How could we not have known? Our parent's didn't tell us. Everyone else knew. Why didn't they tell us?"
James was at a loss, but was saved from having to supply an answer when the door burst open. "Has this whole bloody family gone nutters?" Lily was standing in the door way, holding onto a struggling Albus. James' mouth went dry. Fighting Lily's hold and screaming nonsense, Albus was covered in blood.
Upon seeing her little brother, Remy was snapped out of her state, "What happened?" She demanded, untangling her hands from her hair. She stood, and swayed, relying on James to catch her before she lost her balance completely.
James gripped her arm to keep her steady as they walked towards their younger siblings. People were grouping behind Lily and she turned to glare at them, "Sod off! We aren't a freak show!" No one moved. "I said sod off!" Her tone was cutting, almost terrifying even to James, and it worked wonders on the accumulated crowd. They scattered like ants.
As soon as they were in reach, Albus lunged at Remy and James. Although a thin, wiry boy, he proved his strength, his fingers digging into the material of their sweaters as he wailed inches from their faces, "We have to go!"
"Where, Al?" James asked, trying to pry off his death grip.
For the first time in his life, Albus made eye contact with his sibling, "The Ministry." His voice was soft, reverent. He let them go. In an instant, the clarity was gone from Albus face, and he started clawing at his own arms, drawing rivulets of blood, mumbling the same phrase over and over again. "Got to go!"
Lily threw her hands up, "After Remy rediscovered her breakfast, he started screaming bloody murder. By the time I got to him, he'd already clawed up his arms."
Albus suddenly stopped screaming. The other three Potter children watched him closely, but James was too far away to catch him when he started out the door, "Albus!" James yelled, sprinting after him.
The girls followed, Lily kicking off her high heeled shoes in order to keep up. Albus didn't stop until he reached the Fat Lady's portrait. "Oh, my!" She exclaimed, "What in the heavens is the matter?"
Albus held his head, but seemed more lucid, "We need our brooms. We have to go."
Remy approached Albus carefully, nodding at James to go get their brooms from their rooms. "Albus, are you alright."
"No." He sobbed, hanging his head, "The voices won't stop screaming."
Lily took a step back, a look of horror cemented on her face, "Voices? He's weird, but he's not that crazy. What's going on?"
Albus sagged against the stone wall, "My head is pounding. It hurts. We have to get to them."
"Who's them?" Remy asked.
"I don't know." He admitted quietly, his hands shaking into the familiar rhythm of potion making. "I just know they're at the Ministry."
"I was already going to go there, you know." Remy said tenderly, taking his right arm gently in her hands. He'd made a mess of it, bloody gouges displaying more blood than skin. She took her wand out of her robe, only to be stopped by Lily.
"You'd be likely to blow his arms off. Let me." Even though she was the youngest, Lily had a knack for healing charms, and had Albus' flesh knitting back together in seconds.
James came down the stairs, four brooms in his hands, "Let me just say how hard it was to get up to you girls' room. Not bloody likely I'll try that again." He handed each of his sister's a broom but paused before giving one to Albus, "Uh, think he can handle this?"
Remy rolled her eyes, snatching the broom from James and thrusting it into Albus' hands, "James, we all know he's just as good at flying as the rest of us."
James shrugged, "True!" Standing tall, he led the way to one of the courtyards where they could kick off from.
"Just where do you bunch think you are going?" A shiver went down three of the four young Potter spines.
Albus however, turned around and gave an awkward wave, looking at the hem of a pitch black robe, "Hello, Professor Snape. We're just going on a short ride."
Snape sneered at them, "You all missed lunch. Remy, I trust you're feeling better? You upset quite a few of your House mates."
"I'm feeling loads better, thanks." Remy muttered.
"I thought a quick ride would make us all feel better." Albus offered, smiling vaguely in the direction of his favorite professor.
Severus eyed his star student cautiously, but knew the boy couldn't tell a lie. "Be back before curfew, or I see a very nasty bunch of detentions in your futures."
"We'll be there." Albus chirped, allowing his long legs to carry him toward the courtyard.
James looked at his sisters as the followed Albus, "Did we know he could lie?"
Lily smirked, "Aww, what a pity, James. You might not be the wiliest Potter after all!" Remy nodded in agreement as she mounted her broom.
Albus glared in their direction, "We need to go."
"Chill, mate." James drawled, trying to keep things light.
With James in the lead, they flew through the thick clouds towards London. Of the four, Lily was slowest, too cautious in her handling of the broom. James, on the other hand, behaved as if he'd been born riding a broom. There was no trick too dangerous or daring for him to execute. Remy was just focused on ignoring the headache blossoming in between her eyes. They landed just outside London, and the other three relied on Remy to guide them through the muggle city.
Blue eyes watched as they maneuvered through the town, following their every move.
They took the guest entrance, and James charmed the young receptionist into letting them 'surprise' their parents. They were familiar faces around the Ministry, so when Albus started off in a direction on his own, they had to brush off quite a few people wanting to chat.
The deeper they went into the Ministry, the more Remy's head hurt. When the elevator chimed, "Department of Mysteries", she stilled.
"We shouldn't be here." Remy said, stating the obvious.
Lily sneered, "Really, Remy, what was your first clue?"
As soon as the doors opened, Albus busted forward, running down the hall ways. James snagged his arm, "Shh, Al. Listen."
All four Potter children stilled, and they heard the voice of their mother, "Thank you, Kingsley. You have no idea how good it feels to finally have my wand back."
"You've proved yourself, Miranda. I would have given it back years ago if it had been my choice alone." The booming voice of the Minister of Magic made Lily cringe.
"We should leave." She said, edging backwards.
Albus jerked free of his brother's hold, running towards a door at the end of one of the long hallways. "Damn it, Albus!" James cursed, running after, his sisters close behind.
The instant they were all in the hallway front of the door, something happened. It was obvious that a very strong locking charm had been placed on the door, but when Albus pressed his palm against the center of the door, a shower of sparks bursted from it, the charm literally self destructing. Not shocked still like his siblings, Albus tried the knob, smiling at himself when it opened without an issue. He stepped inside without fear, the voices finally calming, their shrill pleas no longer echoing through his brain.
James and Remy felt their jaws go slack, and James looked at his twin, "Do you remember it too?"
Remy nodded, staring into the room, past her younger brother. "I always thought it was a dream. I can hear them."
"Me too." James said, taking his twin's hand. He stepped inside, drawing her with him.
Lily stood at the mouth of the hallway, wondering if all of her siblings had gone completely crazy when she heard her mother's voice again, "Lily? Is that you?" Panicking, Lily rushed down the hall towards her siblings, not sparing a look back. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, the heavy door slammed shut behind her, leaving only a flash of her red hair visible to her stunned parents. "Lily!" Miranda screamed, running to the closed door. Harry tugged on the knob, now firmly relocked.
"What just happened?" Miranda said softly, her mind trying to comprehend what she had just seen.
"I'd have to take a guess and say our dear children aren't at Hogwarts anymore." Harry joked, blasting the door with a spell a second later that sent him flying back several feet.
Inside the door, time seemed still. Remy and James made a wide circle around the central object, "They're in pain." James said, still clutching his twin's hand.
"We need to help them." Remy said, feeling far too calm for the situation.
"How?" Lily asked, having stepped farther into the chamber to stand a few feet to Albus' right. He held his hand out to James, not looking at him, his eyes fixed on the object in front of him. James and Remy joined them, filling the space between the two younger Potter's, Remy sliding her hand into her little sister's, the four making a rigid line in front of the Veil.
There was a loud noise behind them, their father attempting to break down the door again, but they didn't respond. In that moment, only five things existed in the world, the four of them, and the massive Veil. Tempted by the swirling smoke, Lily reached her free hand out towards it. A fissure went through the room when her hand entered the smoke. "I feel something." She said in amazement, not noticing the magic that was being drawn from her. Further extending her hand, she felt her fingers find purchase on some sort of fabric. She grasped the fabric into her invisible fist. "Help me." She whispered. Albus brought his free hand to where Remy and Lily's were clasped together, completing the circle. With a cumulative tug, they brought the fabric from beyond the Veil.
The fabric was attached to a rather tall figure that came stumbling out of the Veil, crashing into the group of teenagers. The four flew back several feet, knocked unconscious by the sudden output of magic, creating a morbid star of bodies at the foot of the Veil of Death. In the same instant, the door finally gave, admitting into the Death Chamber Harry and Miranda Potter.
Miranda screamed, and they ran to their children. Reaching them first, Miranda fell to her knees next to her girls before her eyes found the fifth body. "Harry." She whispered.
Harry looked up from the unconscious boys, and saw the body Miranda's eyes were focused on. He held his wand in front of him as he approached the fifth body. Using his foot, he rolled the figure over, his heart jumping into his throat when he saw the face of the man who had come forth from the Veil.
Anyone want to guess who the man is? Please leave a review!
-Jenn