LILY POTTER AND THE FINAL PROPHECY
Warning – This is the sequel to Harry Potter, Time Traveler and Lily Potter and the Change of Time. If you have not read either of these stories I would highly recommend it as this story will get very confusing. You may not recognize many of the characters and may have no idea what is going on if you do not read it.
Summary – It is Lily Potter's final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and it will be her most memorable. In her final year, with the help of her friends, Lily must face many obstacles; boys, relationships, rivalries, new teachers, her NEWTS, the threat of Voldemort and the newly written prophecy, and not to mention being on the edge of finding out the identity of her true, biological mother. Now, Lily must overcome these obstacles to fight the final battle against Voldemort. It is the final battle between good and evil and only one can prevail…
Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter, the characters, or the Harry Potter world. They all belong to the fabulous J.K. Rowling. However, while I do not own their names, the characters and the personality traits of Lily Potter, Eddie Weasley, Daris Malfoy, Christof Nott, as well as Asher Lazard and Robyn Andrews all belong to me.
Chapter 10 – Breach of Faith:
Lily felt as though a large and heavy rock had settled itself on her head. She groaned in pain and tried sitting up, but a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and settled her back down against the pillows.
"Shhh, Flower, you need your rest," came a gentle male voice from above her. Lily felt his hand soothe her and brush the hair on the top of her head. Lily groaned again and her eyes fluttered open slightly. Above her, she saw an extremely blurry vision (as she did not have her glasses on) of a man, looking down at her. But, Lily did not even need her glasses to know who it was. She would know that face and that voice anywhere.
"Sirius?"
"Shhh…" he soothed gently, "ease up. No talking. You need your rest. You don't want to pass out again do you?"
"What happened?" groaned Lily, ignoring his comment. Sirius sighed and continued patting Lily's head.
"You passed out. You're in the Hogwarts hospital wing now."
"How long have I been asleep?" asked Lily as she reached up to gently and lightly massage her head.
"Not long. Eddie carried you up here about an hour ago and he said you had only passed out an hour in the tunnel behind the one-eyed witch," explained Sirius. "You've been through quite enough and you need to rest up."
"You know what? I'm sick and tired of everyone treating me like a baby- WHOA!" Lily nearly shouted, sitting up abruptly, but a sudden dizzy spell settled into her head and her head began to pound. She slowly settled herself back in the pillows, holding her palm against the forehead. Sirius chuckled.
"I told you. Must you always be so stubborn?" Sirius asked shaking his head amusedly. "Potters...it's in the blood, I suppose..."
After a long silence, Lily cautiously bit her lip and sighed.
"Sirius?"
"Yes Flower?"
"Did...did anyone…die?"
It was a long time before Sirius answered her. Lily hated the hesitation in his voice because then she knew that it was true. "Yes, quite a few students were murdered," Sirius muttered quickly, but truthfully. Lily frowned and turned over, her back facing Sirius and she wrapped the sheets up to her chin, clutching them so hard her knuckles were turning white. She just stared at the wall, her face impassive. She felt Sirius's hand on her shoulder.
"You can't blame yourself, Lily," whispered Sirius. "You didn't do anything."
"Exactly Sirius!" Lily spat angrily, still not looking at him. "I didn't do anything! I sat there like a coward and hid! I hid Sirius! I'm such a coward. How could I have back down and hid when people needed me most?"
Sirius sighed and looked away. It really did not surprise him on how much like Harry she really was. They both felt that they had to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Sirius had always hoped that Lily would not take this prophecy nonsense to heart, but she was a Potter, and she did take it very seriously. Now, like her father, she felt that she had to protect the entire world from Voldemort. Sirius shook his head. 'That is a burden no seventeen year old girl should have to carry,' he thought to himself.
"Lily, you had to run. You had to hide," said Sirius seriously. Lily mumbled something incoherent under her breath. But, Sirius knew it was something along blaming herself for being a so-called coward. "Lily Julia Potter, you listen to me. You had to hide. Do you understand? Do you remember how those two Death Eaters were throwing Unforgivable Curses at innocent children, without even caring? Imagine what they would do to you."
Lily slowly sat up and looked at Sirius, her green eyes blazing angrily.
"What makes my life any different from the other students that were murdered? They didn't have a chance to hide! What makes me anymore special?" shouted Lily furiously, her voice echoing throughout the hospital wing. "Every other student had every right to hide as much as I did! Why did they have to die? Why not me?" When she finished her rant, her breathing had become heavy and her face was bright red. Sirius knew that it was not a result of her being weak or tired; it was a result of her being angry. He leaned over her and grasped her hand tightly in his hand.
"What makes you special? First of all Lily, I love you and I'd never want anything bad happen to you. The same goes for Remus, Ron, Hermione, and even Ed. That Dominique Delinor also seems very keen on keeping you safe and alive as well! We wanted to keep you away from Voldemort. Surely you didn't want to face him unarmed." Sirius said softly, trying to comfort Lily. She had matured over the last couple of years and learned how to keep her temper in check, but when she was on the edge, like she was now, her temper would rise quite easily. There was no controlling it then. And right now, she looked like she was on the edge.
"But, Sirius, I did face him!" Lily cried out desperately, anger still coming from her tone of voice.
Sirius looked at her bewildered, her eyes blinking repeatedly. "What do you mean, you faced him?" Lily shook her head and brought her knees up, resting her elbows on them as she gripped her hair tightly.
"I should have died, Sirius! But, I didn't! Why is it that every time I face Voldemort or his bloody Death Eaters, someone dies? It's me that he is after, yet someone else always ends up dead; not me. Why are all these people dying and I'm not? How many more people have to be murdered before he gets me? How many Sirius?" Lily was now screaming and Sirius did not have to look at her eyes to know that tears were welling up in them.
"Lily, you can't blame yourself for the deaths of these people. It wasn't you who killed them. It was Voldemort and his Death Eaters." Sirius told her softly.
"How come he hasn't killed me?" Lily was now whispering as well. "Why?"
For this, Sirius had no answer. But in order to comfort the weeping teenage girl before him, he tried the best that he could. "Lily, you haven't died because fate won't let you die" he tried to explain reasonably. Lily looked at him fiercely with an eyebrow raised.
"Fate?"
"Yes, Lily, fate," started Sirius, suddenly feeling more comfortable with his answer. "You were sent on this earth for a reason. And I believe that reason is to give people hope that good can always prevail over evil. Fate won't let you die because you are not done with your mission here on earth." He was displeased to see that his words did not improve the fierce and furious look on Lily's face. In fact, her frowned deepened and her words sounded like pure venom.
"Are you saying that I'm only alive because of a stupid prophecy?" she hissed, barely above a whisper. But, there was no need to bellow because the anger behind her words sent cold and fearful shivers down Sirius's spine. "Is that why you are all trying to keep me alive? Just because I'm the only one that can supposedly destroy Voldemort?"
Now, Lily was bellowing and staring directly into Sirius's eye. "IS THAT WHY YOU'RE ALL PROTECTING ME AND LETTING EVERYONE ELSE DIE? I ONLY MATTER BECAUSE OF SOME BLOODY PROPHECY? NO ONE ELSE MATTERS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE POWER TO DESTROY VOLDEMORT? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME SIRIUS?"
"No, Lily, that's not what I'm saying," said Sirius, a little more sternly. "We're protecting you because we love you. You know that."
"What about all those other students?" shouted Lily, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. "Some of them were only thirteen years old, Sirius. What was their mission?"
"They obviously already finished their mission." Sirius was now patting her hair and pulled her into an embrace. "You haven't yet, Flower. You're going to do great things, Lily, I know it."
"I should have died," whispered Lily, burying her face into his shoulder, leaning into his embrace. "I faced Voldemort unarmed and didn't die. He tried to kill me again, and at the expense of someone else's life, he failed." At these words, Sirius pulled out of the embrace and looked at her curiously.
"At the expense of someone else's life?" he asked slowly. Lily nodded mutely.
"It was Peter Pettigrew. He saved me. He gave his life for me."
"Pettigrew?" choked out Sirius, coughing on his saliva due to obvious shock. His eyes were so wide, Lily was sure that they were going to pop out of his head. "Why…?" Lily shook her head, feeling just as confused as he look.
"I'm not sure. After he saved me, flashes came into my head. An old man was talking to a boy, but I think the boy was my dad. They were talking about how Harry had saved Pettigrew's life and that when another wizard saves another wizard's life it makes a bond of some type."
Sirius nodded, urging her to continue. "After the flashes were done, a woman's voice came into my head and said that the bond had been broken because the debt had been repaid," explained Lily. Sirius finally took his gaze off of the teenage girl and looked out of the window, clearly deep in thought. "What does it mean, Sirius?
Sirius sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "In your father's third year, Remus and I tried to kill Pettigrew, but Harry wouldn't let us. And when one wizard saves another, there is a certain bond that will always remain, until the wizard that was saved repays the debt. The wizard who was saved will never be fully free unless the debt is repaid."
"So, by saving me, Pettigrew's debt was repaid?" Lily guessed smartly. Sirius nodded. "But...why?"
"Because, I think Pettigrew knew that your life and happiness meant more than anything to your father..." said Sirius thoughtfully. With that, he reached out and pulled Lily into another tight hug.
Lily did not know what to think, so she just leaned into Sirius's embrace.
It was a few days before Lily was released from the hospital wing and walked into the Great Hall with Robyn by her side. They entered the hall, which was usually bright and glittering with candles and cheerful chatter, but today, surrounding the walls were black banners and the weather was fitting the mood perfectly. Lily looked at the ceiling to see that it was stormy and rainy out. Up at the staff table stood a long table, holding fourteen pictures. All of those pictures contained smiling and moving images of all the students who were murdered that dreadful day in Hogsmeade.
The list of the fourteen students upset Lily to no end. She had been good friends with one of those images; Orion Kellberg. He was one of the Gryffindor Chasers who had played with Lily for the past three years and he was only a fifth year.
The list of murdered students also included Garrett Benit and Deserae Nart. Lily remembered how they had just left the table at the Three Broomsticks moments before Hogsmeade was attacked. Lily knew that she may have been one of the last people to see the two of them alive. The thought made her shiver as she realized how fast life can be ripped away from you. What was even worse, Garrett had been a good friend of Hart's.
Lily stopped dead in her tracks when she entered the morbid Hall. Robyn noticed and grabbed her friend's hand tightly. "C'mon, Lily," she whispered reassuringly. "Let's sit down." Lily nodded and followed Robyn towards the Gryffindor table. There were two seats left opened, one beside Asher and one beside Eddie. Robyn automatically took the one beside Asher and Lily placed herself in the seat beside her best friend, who immediately grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, but at the same time, it comforted her.
Hermione, who had tears in her eyes, got to her feet and called for the students body's attention as she stood behind the podium, which was located directly behind the staff table that held the fourteen pictures.
"Yesterday, a terrible tragedy struck us. Yesterday, the village of Hogsmeade was attacked by Voldemort and the Death Eaters. They had the cold-heartedness and cowardice to attack unarmed and unprotected children. Many were injured and several unjustly lost their lives.
"Out of respect for them and their loved ones, I ask that we remember the courageous individuals who lost their lives yesterday. Please, remember Garrett Benit, seventh year Ravenclaw. Nancie Bones, fourth year Hufflepuff. Jasper Cistin, third year Hufflepuff. Issac Davison, third year Ravenclaw. Ivan Davison, third year Gryffindor. Orion Kellberg, fifth year Gryffindor. Xavier Lenstubble, fifth year Ravenclaw. Savannah Nandet, sixth year Gryffindor. Deserae Nart, sixth year Ravenclaw. Marice Neltler, fourth year Gryffindor. Olyimpia Morris, seventh year Hufflepuff. Maria Silletti, sixth year Hufflepuff. Brandon Smith, third year Hufflepuff. Candice Walterz, sixth year Gryffindor."
Lily took a shaking breath and felt her face heat up, knowing that she was going red. But she was not blushing; she was angry because Lily could not help but notice how no Slytherins were murdered. The thought made her blood boil.
"I ask you to raise your goblets and to honor these fourteen students, all through ages between thirteen and seventeen, all so young. Please, drink to these fourteen students and remember the goodness and light that each of them brought into our lives." The Hall, with the exception of some of the Slytherins, drank to the fourteen deceased students.
After the memorial service, Lily, Eddie, Asher, and Robyn were all walking together towards the Gryffindor Common Room, barely standing an inch apart. It looked as though the four friends had to stay within a foot of each other, otherwise they might lose one another forever. It really was quite a scene. Asher had a comforting arm around Robyn as she leaned on him and cried silently. Eddie just held Lily's hand and kept squeezing it reassuringly to silently let her know that he was there for her.
"Lily?"
The four friends whipped around to seew Hart Rosenbell standing behind them. Lily gave him a bright smile.
"Hart," she said, letting go of Eddie's hand and walking over to him and hugging him tightly. Hart squirmed and pushed her away, and in Eddie's opinion, a little too roughly. Lily gave him a suspicious look but decided not to think much about it. Instead she started rambling. "Are you alright, Hart? I'm so sorry about Garrett. I mean, I didn't see you after that whole...Hogsmeade...incident…and I…"
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Hart abruptly, interrupting her and looking everywhere except at her face. "Eustrice and I ran from the pub when Professor Delinor opened it. Listen, Lily, can I talk to you in private?"
"Um...yeah sure," she said, shrugging. She turned to her friends. "I'll meet you lot in the Common Room."
Asher and Robyn nodded and smiled at her, while Eddie was glaring dangerously at Hart, his fists clenched. Both of his friends grabbed each of his arms and dragged him towards the Common Room. Eddie left, reluctant to leave Lily's side, especially with the events that had just occurred.
When they were out of earshot, Lily turned to Hart, trying to sound and look cheerful. "So, what's up Hart?" she asked.
"Lily, I don't...think...we should see each other anymore," said Hart firmly, stuttering over his words. Lily raised an eyebrow.
"Well, we were never officially boyfriend and girlfriend, Hart," she said slowly.
"Yeah, I know...but I...I think this…Hogsmeade situation…has made it...too awkward for us to continue as friends," Hart mumbled quickly. Lily stared blankly at him.
"Wait, what are you trying to say?"
"Please," whispered Hart, shaking his head and running a hand through his dark hair. "Don't make me say it. You must know how hard this is for me."
"I…I don't understand…"
"I just think we should stay away from each other," said Hart hurriedly, not meeting her eyes. Lily observed the look on his face and recognized it immediately. It was the same look that complete strangers would give Harry after some major attack or article that would come up in the newspaper. It was the look of horror and disbelief; terror and disdain. It was the look Harry used to get when people wanted him to stay away from them. Lily never had that look directed at her and never understood why it always upset her father so much. But now, she understood; both what Harry had felt and what Hart was trying to say to her. Lily took a deep, shaking breath and looked at the boy standing in front of her straight in the eyes.
"Listen, I can understand if you'd rather not date me. I get that. But are you trying to tell me that you don't even want to be friends anymore? I mean…not even to say 'hi' in passing through the corridors?" Lily asked slowly, privately wishing and hoping that this was not what Hart was referring to.
"Erm...yeah…I suppose," he said, now looking away.
Now, Lily was heartbroken.
"Why?" whispered Lily. "Why don't you want my friendship? Did I do something wrong?"
"Listen, Li-Potter," started Hart slowly. Lily physically flinched when he called her by her surname. "I like you as a person, you're a good person. But, let's be honest here, you do tend to attract a lot of...erm...trouble…"
Then, as though it smacked her right in the face, she understood why Hart was doing this. It was what she had suspected all along. Hart wanted nothing to do with Voldemort so therefore; he wanted nothing to do with Lily Potter.
"I see..." Lily's fists were now clenched and her breathing had become irregular; very similar to the way she had back in the hospital wing when Sirius came to visit her. It was a sign that she was trying to keep her temper in check. "So, let me get this straight. You don't want to be seen with me ever again, right? You don't want to be a target of Voldemort, is that right?" Hart shuddered when she said You-Know-Who's name.
"Lily-I mean, Potter, look, I'm sorry, but-" Lily shook her head and held up her hand to stop him from continuing.
"No, I understand Rosenbell, I wouldn't want to be friends with me either," she said coldly, her temper rising dangerously. "In fact, it would have been better if Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters just finished me off right in Hogsmeade, correct? Therefore I wouldn't be a danger on to anybody, right?" Lily was now shouting.
"Lily, that's not what I meant-"
"That's exactly what you meant!" shouted Lily, taking a step towards him. Hart automatically took a step back, his eyes widened in fear. "Thanks Rosenbell, I appreciate the support!" Lily let out a yell of frustration before turning on her heel and running as fast as she could towards the Gryffindor Common Room. And Hart did not call or come after her.
Lily shouted the password and stormed through the Portrait Hole, her face lined with fury and dejection. Eddie and Asher were playing Exploding Snap as Robyn sat in armchair reading a magazine. Lily stormed passed them and towards the girls' dormitories without a word or so much as a look.
"Lily Billy?" Asher called out, confused by her sudden outburst. Lily rounded on him looking furious.
"What?" she snapped. The three were a taken back.
"Are you okay, Lily?" Robyn asked timidly.
"Just fine!" she snapped again before turning on heel again. Eddie got to his feet and ran as fast he could towards her before she started stomping up the stairs. He grabbed her arm and turned her around.
"Lily, what's wrong?" he asked softly, looking her square in the eye.
"NOTHING IS WRONG!" she bellowed furiously.
"Something is wrong, otherwise you wouldn't be yelling and snapping at us like this!" he retorted firmly, narrowing his eyes.
"Why do you care?" Lily growled coldly, glaring right back at him. Eddie raised his eyebrows.
"Are…are you seriously asking me…? How could you…? Of course I care about you, Lily!" Eddie said desperately and sincerely. He tried reaching for her hands but she took a step back before he could even touch her.
"Are you sure you should care? Are you sure you guys want to be my friend?" snapped Lily bitterly. Eddie looked astonished and hurt at this question. He suddenly became furious with him, not understanding where he gave Lily the impression that he did not care about her or did not want to be her friend. He never wanted Lily to think that. After all, standing in front of him was the person he cared about most in the world and he would never want to give her that impression, or give her up.
"Of course I want to be your friend!" he nearly shouted, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "What would ever give you the idea that I wouldn't?"
"Lily, we love you," gasped Robyn, coming to stand closely behind Eddie. "Why would we stop being your friends?"
"Because you might become one of Voldemort's targets and we wouldn't want that now, would we?" Lily angrily shook off Eddie's grip on her and she turned on heel again, storming up the stairs, and slamming the door behind her.
"What the bloody hell was that about?" asked Asher in disbelief, also getting to his feet and raising his eyebrows. Eddie shrugged, not having a clue. But Robyn was shaking her head, looking distressed and both boys noticed.
"Robby? You know something don't you?"
She nodded. "Rosenbell," she said simply. "He must have said something to her. I have no idea what, but I can bet it was along the lines of not wanting to date her because it would make him some kind of target of You-Know-Who." Eddie and Asher both stared at her wide-eyed, in utter disbelief.
"That...bloody...COWARD!" Eddie yelled, clenching his fists at the fact that Hart had hurt his Lily.
"Well, now we know he was never sorted into Gryffindor," said Asher dryly, glaring into oblivion.
"I'm going to talk to Lily," said Robyn, giving Eddie a sympathetic look before going up the stairs after her friend.
"And I'm going to have a little talk with Rosenbell," snarled Eddie through gritted teeth, his fists clenched.
"You do that," said Asher, as equally as mad as Eddie at Hart for hurting Lily. Over the days he had developed more brotherly feelings for Lily and hovered over her like a little sister and was terribly angry at Hart right now.
"Wait one second," said Robyn as she stopped dead in her tracks halfway up the stairs. She turned around and walked back down, straight up to Eddie. She put her hand in robe pocket and took out his wand. "I'm not sending you to go talk to Rosenbell with your wand. You hexed Asher for supposedly hurting Lily. Merlin knows what you'll do to Rosenbell, who isn't a friend and it's known for sure that he hurt her."
"Fine!" Eddie snapped in annoyance before turning around and storming through the Portrait Hole. Once he was gone, Asher shot Robyn an amused grin.
"Just because you took his wand, that doesn't mean he isn't going to use his fists, Robby," he said amusedly, still smirking.
"Well, I can't do everything! I'm only a prefect!" she said rolling her eyes. "Now, come on. You need to help me cheer up Lily. Merlin knows that you can make her laugh with those corny jokes of yours."
"What can I say?" Asher said shrugging. "I'm just a little stand up comedian." Robyn rolled her eyes before grabbing Asher by his arm and dragging him towards the girls' dormitories.
"Geeze, Robyn, I didn't know you wanted me that badly," Asher said loudly, waggling his eyebrow suggestively. Robyn threw her head back and laughed but she smacked him over the head and dragged him inside to help comfort Lily.
Eddie stormed down the corridors towards the Ravenclaw Common Room. Thanks to Lily's Marauder's Map, he knew where it was and what portrait guarded it. He stopped in front of the Portrait of the Land of the Fairies.
"Yes young man?" one of the little blue fairies giggled. "How can we help you?"
"I need to speak with Hart Rosenbell," he said firmly. "There's no room for argument. You tell him to get out here."
"Sure thing, ginger," giggled another larger, yellow fairy, and she disappeared into the portrait, but came back moments later. "He's coming out now."
"Thank you," said Eddie shortly, but politely. The fairies giggled, but at that moment, the portrait opened and Hart Rosenbell stepped through it. He saw it was Eddie waiting for him and he gave a weak grin.
"Hey Weasley," he said nodding. "Is there anything wrong?"
"Actually, yes, Rosenbell there is something wrong!" Eddie snapped bitterly and he took a threatening step towards the Ravenclaw. Hart looked rather startled at Eddie's tone., but held his ground.
"Is there a problem, Weasley?" he asked coldly. Eddie growled.
"Yes, you are the problem, Rosenbell!" he nearly shouted. With that, the Weasley temper took control and he shoved Hart roughly. "What in the hell did you do to Lily?"
Hart glared at Eddie angrily. "I did nothing!" he answered defensively.
"Then do you care to tell me why she came into the Gryffindor Common Room looking thoroughly bloody ticked off and rejected after having a private conversation with you, Rosenbell?" Eddie asked coolly.
"All I said was I didn't want to see her anymore," Hart said defensively again.
"Well, there had to be more than that because Lily never gets that upset over a guy and a break-up. Especially since you two weren't even official. You had to have said something else, and I want to know what you said!" Eddie snarled quietly. Hart rolled his eyes.
"It's none of your business, Weasley!"
"Obviously you don't know me well do you, Rosenbell?" Eddie said coolly. Hart just raised a nervous eyebrow. "Well, I'll have you know that I'm extremely protective of my friend and the fact that you hurt her is making my blood boil. So you had better give me a damn good explanation before I start pounding you into another dimension and don't you think I won't. If it concerns Lily, I will Rosenbell. Don't mess with me when it concerns Lily."
It was obvious that Hart clearly did not want to fight Eddie, especially when he looked so angry and fired up, and his famous Weasley temper was already surfacing.
"I explained that I didn't want her friendship anymore," explained Hart, trying to keep his voice from shaking and in check.
"And may I ask why you wouldn't want a friendship with the most amazing girl in the world?" asked Eddie. Hart rolled his eyes. "You made it clear enough that you liked her more than a friend."
"Oh c'mon, Weasley, you and I both know that Potter is a magnet for trouble. I should have realized that before I got involved with her. But I didn't notice it until that Hogsmeade trip," said Hart impatiently, trying to sound indifferent. He folded his arms across his chest, as though protecting himself. "Being associated with that girl is like signing your death warrant. Im mean, don't get me wrong, Lily is a great girl. I like…well…I liked her a lot, but she isn't worth throwing my life away."
Eddie did not say anything at first. He just stared at Hart as though he were something disgusting that got stuck at the bottom of his shoe.
"So, you refuse to befriend Lily just because you're afraid of being a target of Voldemort?" asked Eddie in disbelief. Hart shuddered as he heard the name. "Is that what you're telling me, Rosenbell?"
Hart sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Trust me, Weasley, I'm not the only one who feels that way. Many of the seventh year Ravenclaws have had a discussion about it and we feel that we better not associate with Lily anymore, if we want to stay alive." Hart suddenly looked serious and distressed. "The only one who seemed hesitant to do so was Jem Marvelson, but even she agreed that it was best to end all ties with Lily."
"Jem did that? You're all doing that?" Eddie choked out. "You're all going to destroy Lily's spirit just because you're scared of being a so-called target of Voldemort? FOR MERLIN'S SAKE SHE'S A HUMAN BEING!" He was now shouting; his voice echoing throughout the corridor. Hart forced himself to take a step back out of fear as Eddie continued his loud speech in a disbelieving voice. "This is going to be the time when she needs her friends and support the most! Her father just died and she needs her friends and to my disgust, that includes you, Jem, and many other of the Ravenclaws!"
Hart took a deep, defeated sigh before talking to Eddie in a sympathetic voice. "Take my advice, Weasley, cut all ties with Potter. You of all people are in the most danger, being her best friend and all." Eddie coughed because he was so shocked at Hart's suggestion that he started choking on his own saliva.
"NO!" he shouted defiantly. "I would never abandon Lily like that just because of Voldemort! Are you bloody crazy? I love Lily! She's my best friend and I would do anything for her! And now that all of you are abandoning her, just because of what her name is; just because she is a Potter and Voldemort is after her, then this is going to be when I truly need to step up. This is the time when she needs me most and I'm not going to back out on her like that! Lily deserves more than that…"
"It's your life," Hart said shrugging. Eddie was on the verge of punching the Ravenclaw boy square in the face.
"Yes, it is my life, and I want Lily to be in it!" Eddie retorted without hesitation.
"That's up to you," snapped Hart. "But don't expect me to make the same foolish choices as you."
"I'm not the one making the foolish choice," snapped Eddie angrily. "I don't understand you; any of you. You're all going to kill her spirit and you're going to kill her over something she can't control. You act like Lily wants this. She doesn't. You don't know how incredibly selfish you're being!"
"Weasley, it's my choice; our choice," Hart said simply as he turned around and walked through Portrait Hole. Eddie stared hard after him.
"You're all making the biggest mistake of your lives!" said Eddie sharply. Hart turned to him curiously. "You're all letting an amazing girl walk out of your lives. She's going to be something one day, and you're all going to wish you never made the mistake of letting her walk out. You will regret it, Rosenbell. Trust me, you will."
"What makes you say that?" For the first time since the conversation between them started, Hart sounded regretful over his decision to cut Lily out of his life and Eddie knew that he had his attention.
"Because I know Lily better than anyone, and I see what she has to go through every day. I must say, what you're doing isn't helping her any, but she'll pull through. Lily is strong at heart and that's how I know she's going to be something one day. You'll regret, Rosenbell. But that's not a regret that I'm willing to live with." With that, Eddie turned and stormed down the corridor towards the Gryffindor Tower.
Eddie knew that Lily was in for some difficult times and he knew that no matter what, he was going to be there for her.
The next morning, Eddie sat down in the Common Room with Asher, waiting for Lily and Robyn to come down and join them for breakfast. Asher could not help but notice how distressed Eddie looked.
"Are you okay, Ed?"
"Fine," he said shortly, leaning his head against the back of the couch.
"What happened to you last night? I waited up to see what you did to Rosenbell, but you took so ruddy long that I fell asleep," said Asher, looking at Eddie anxiously. Eddie's eyes went from blank to downright furious. "So, what happened?"
"Well, I found out an interesting little situation the Ravenclaws had decided to place on Lily's hands," said Eddie bitterly, rubbing the bridge of his nose, looking stressed.
"What do you mean?"
Eddie explained everything about what Hart had told him and suggested; about abandoning Lily because they did not want to be targets of Voldemort. When Asher heard this, his mouth opened, than closed absentmindedly, disbelief and disgust clearly written in his stormy gray eyes.
"He said that?" yelped Asher. Eddie nodded grimly and could feel a headache coming on. "That...coward!"
"I know."
"And not just him...all of the Ravenclaws are agreeing to this bullocks? Cowards! Even Jem said that? Jem is one of Lily's best friends!" Asher was now on his feet and had begun pacing the Common Room nervously.
"I know," Eddie repeated with a sigh. "It's downright...wrong. Lily doesn't deserve that. She can't help that Voldemort is after her."
"You know, I bet the Hufflepuffs are also going along with this. If the Ravenclaws are chicken enough to avoid Lily, imagine what the Hufflepuffs will do," said Asher, in a frustrated tone. He flopped into the seat beside Eddie and began rubbing his temples.
"Aren't the Hufflepuffs supposed to be loyal?" asked Eddie bemused. Asher shrugged helplessly as he stared into the fire.
"Sometimes fear can even damage some of our greatest qualities; even loyalty," he said wisely. Eddie raised an eyebrow.
"Harry used to say that," he said in a whisper. Asher looked confused.
"Really? Well, Lily told me that," he said shrugging. "Oh well, Harry must have told her and she passed the information to me." Eddie gave a weak chuckle as Lily and Robyn walked down the stairs. Eddie immediately jumped to his feet and walked straight to Lily.
"Are you okay Lils?" asked Eddie, standing in front of her and his eyes glistening in concern. Lily shrugged.
"A little grim, but I'll be fine," she said honestly. "But being sad sure makes you hungry. Let's go down to breakfast. I'm starved."
"Well said Lils," said Eddie grinning down at his friend. He held out his arm for her. "Care to walk with me?" Lily rolled her eyes but that did not stop the smile from forming on her lips. She linked her arm with Eddie's. He beamed and led her towards the Great Hall. Robyn and Asher watched them with smiles on their faces.
"I need a boyfriend…" Robyn sighed longingly. Asher gave her an innocent look and nudged her playfully on the shoulder.
"You mean you don't have one for this week?" he asked innocently. Robyn slapped him over the head before laughing and the two of them ran to catch up with Lily and Eddie.
Lily walked into the Great Hall arm-in-arm with Eddie. As she walked in, she could not help but noticed that all of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and even a few of the younger Gryffindors were giving her strange looks. Others were avoiding her gaze. The Slytherins on the other hand looked extremely pleased.
"Why is everyone staring?" Lily murmured slowly. Eddie took a deep breath and his grip on Lily tightened protectively. He did not want to be the one to tell Lily on what was happening. It would kill her and he did not want to be the one to do that.
"I...er...I have no idea..." he muttered, lying. Lily raised a suspicious eyebrow at the Hufflepuffs as she and Eddie walked past their table.
"What don't you take a bloody picture?" she snapped at them. Being stared at had always made her feel uncomfortable and it made her temper close to the surface. She took her usual seat at the Gryffindor table, as Eddie took the seat next to her. Robyn and Asher joined them moments later. As Lily piled pancakes on to her plate, Hermione got to her feet and stood at the podium.
"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Hermione's voice called out through the Great Hall. Everyone gave her their full attention. "Despite the recent events of what has happened, we will still be holding our annual Halloween Ball, as we do every year. It is for fourth years and up, and dress robes will be required. Thank you and enjoy your breakfast."
Lily's eyes lit up.
"Hey Robby, I have an idea!" Lily whispered happily, leaning towards her friend. "How about I ask Hermione about playing for the ball again? You know, like we played back in fifth year?"
"Do you think she'll let us?"
"Sure, why not?" Eddie interrupted, smiling at glowing blonde girl beside him. "You guys are really good. Bloody fabulous I daresay." Lily and Robby both grinned at him with gratitude.
"HEY MANDY!" Lily called out. Mandy, who was eating with Danny and Jairus, looked up and she saw Lily calling her name. She excused herself before coming over to see what Lily wanted.
"What's up Lily?" she asked smiling.
"What do you say about getting another gig?" asked Lily, grinning pleasantly. Eddie sighed when he saw that grin; he loved that grin. It made his stomach pleasantly jump up and down.
Mandy's eyes also lit up to Lily's suggestion. "Definitely! Where?"
"The Halloween Ball," said Lily, "I mean, we did it in fifth year and it turned out great. Why not this year? We can truly leave our mark, after all, this is our final year at Hogwarts. What'd you say?"
"I say yes!" Mandy cried out, giggling shyly. "I'm all for it. Robby?"
"Count me in!"
"Now, all we need to do is talk to Jem," said Lily smiling. "I'll go talk to her. I'll be right back."
"Okay!" Mandy and Robyn said in unison. At Lily's comment, Eddie nearly spit out his orange juice, knowing exactly what Jem was going to do and say.
"Lily! Wait!" Eddie called out, getting to his feet to try and stop her. But it was no use. She had already reached the Ravenclaw table and was speaking to an uncomfortable looking Jem. Eddie immediately turned to Robyn and Mandy and urgently and quickly explained everything about what Jem, Hart, and the rest of the Ravenclaws had said the previous night. Both Robyn and Mandy looked disgusted and wished that they had known before Lily had gone over to the Ravenclaw table. But, it was too late for such regrets.
They heard Lily's scream from the Ravenclaw table. "COWARDS!"
They all looked up to see a disgruntled, bright red Lily storm out of the Great Hall and slam the large doors behind her.
Lily stormed through the corridors, hurt and pain undoubtedly written all over her emerald green eyes and facial features. She continued to race through the stone walls of her school; the castle while she kept gaze right at her shoes, Jem's words still ringing in her head and ears.
"Hey, Jem!" Lily shouted excitedly as she ran over to the Ravenclaw table. She saw Hart sitting across from Jem, and he immediately turned so he did not have to look at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes at him, but decided to ignore his cowardice and immaturity. Jem looked up and saw Lily running towards her. She paled.
"Oh, hi Potter," she said in a strangled sort of voice, nodding her head as though she and Lily were nothing more than mere acquaintances. Lily raised a curious eyebrow, but overlooked Jem's tone.
"Hey, Jem, listen, I was talking to Mandy and Rob-"
"Why are you calling me Jem?" whispered Jem, as though she was angry with Lily. Lily's eyes widened and she quickly opened, then closed her mouth. She looked at Jem with a confused look fixed on her face.
"That's what we always call you..." she said, her voice trailing off. "I mean, unless you want to be called by your full name from now on?"
"Potter, why are you even talking to me?" hissed Jem worriedly. Lily's voice got caught in her throat as she stared at her friend blankly.
"Because...because your my friend?" Lily also said in a scared whisper. Jem gave a long sigh.
"Listen, Potter, we were friends. But I think I agree with Hart and the rest of the Ravenclaws in saying that it's dangerous to be associated with you." said Jem in a false, dignified voice. "So, I decided to quit the band and…I don't think we should spend time together as friends anymore…" Lily let this all sink in and this, combined with Hart's accusation last night, there was not controlling her temper.
"It doesn't matter," Lily snapped coolly. "We would have thrown you out anyway seeing as you have minimal talen! And I wouldn't want to be friends with someone I wouldn't ever be able to count on in difficult times. Guess you really know how to stick by friends huh?"
"Don't snap at her!" a Ravenclaw shouted in defense. Lily narrowed her eyes at the Ravenclaws.
"COWARDS!" she screamed before turning on heel and slamming her feet down against the floor as she stormed out of the Great Hall, slamming the doors behind her.
Lily stopped to take a deep breath as she clenched her fists and stared determinedly at the wall. She was not going to cry; she refused to cry. Lily did not let the tears fall but that did not stop her from backing against the wall and slowly sliding down it with her back against it. When she was sitting on the ground, her cloak not protecting her from the cold stones of the wall, Lily pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her chin atop of them before taking deep breaths and closing her eyes. She buried her face against her knees and just sat there, trembling, in need of a friend.
Fortunately;
"Lily?" a soft gentle voice came from down the corridor. Lily looked up and saw Eddie standing above her. Written in his warm chestnut eyes was concern and affection. Lily just shook her head and continued to tremble as she buried her face into her knees again. Eddie's heart went out to her. "Oh, Lily!"
Without another word, Eddie sat down next to her and put his arms around her and pulled her close to him; as close as she could physically get. He held her in a warm, comforting embrace. Lily did not try to put on a tough front and instead leaned into Eddie's attempt of comfort and buried her face in his chest. No tears fell though. Eddie just continued to cradle Lily and pat her soft golden hair gently.
"Eddie?"
"Yeah Lils?"
"You...you still want to be my friend...right?" she asked, almost fearfully. Eddie closed his eyes and just held on to her tighter.
"Lily, listen to me when I say that nothing could break my friendship with you," he said reassuringly. "Those Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and anyone else who is tossing you out of their lives are cowards."
"I don't want this anymore, Ed," Lily whispered into his chest. "I want to be free. Why can't I have a normal life? Why can't I be somebody, anybody else?"
"But, Lils, I want you to be you," whispered Eddie. "If you were anybody else, I wouldn't love you the way I do now."
"Eddie, I just can't take this anymore," Lily continued to whisper into his chest. She was so distressed that she did not exactly understand the full content of Eddie's last comment. But for some reason, today, that did not bother him. All that mattered was taking care of Lily. "Even my friends are turning their backs on me now. It's like they think I want this but I don't! First my mum abandons me, now everyone else is leaving me behind in the dark. Eddie, is there something wrong with me?"
"Trust me, as your closest friend, I can tell you that there's nothing wrong with you," said Eddie, his voice strong and firm. He was still holding her as tight as he could. "And as for your mum, she was a bloody moron who is missing out on a lot. And the students, well, their cowards. But, Lily, I want you to know something."
"What?" she asked, finally taking her face out of his chest and looking into those warm, chestnut eyes.
"No matter what, Voldemort or no Voldemort, through thick or thin, through good times and bad times, I'll be standing by your side no matter what happens. You can always come to me; you can always count on me, Lily. I promise you that." Eddie's voice was filled with such sincerity that Lily almost gasped.
"Thank you, Eddie," Lily whispered in gratitude, looking into his intense brown eyes. "That means a lot to me."
"And you mean everything to me Little Lily," whispered Eddie as he pressed his forehead against her own, looking into her emerald depths.
Lily smiled at him and gave him a warm kiss on the cheek. Then, she slowly rested her head against his shoulder, cuddling up next him, wrapping her arms around Eddie's waist. Eddie, if it was possible, tightened his hold on her and rested his head against the wall. Grinning lazily, he felt like the luckiest guy in the world, knowing that he was the one that was taking care of Lily and holding her.
And the two just sat there in the middle of the corridor, resting in each other's arms.
A note from the Jitterbelle. This is where Lily is so much like her father. Let's hope she doesn't take the brooding quality from him and try to push everyone away. We shall what she does and how she handles the situation…and how it affects her fight with Voldemort. Please keep reading and enjoy! Don't forget to review and thank you to those who have and do!
Coming in Chapter 11 - Lily, Eddie, Asher, and Robby have an encounter with Daris Malfoy...which leads to a very strange encounter between Fleur and Dominique...