Hey! I'm sorry I took so long updating, I've been kind of busy. Anyways, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 10 Merry Christmas
James stood there not knowing what to do. He glanced at the clock. It was around nine-thirty. They had been sitting here for half an hour, waiting. Sirius still had a firm grip on his arm. Remus had to Floo back to his house to let his mum know what had happened and that he would be spending the night at James house.
James heard a sob. He looked up and saw Lily sitting there, face in her hands. It caught him a bit off guard. Here was the girl who had a fiery spirit, always ready to fight, and yet had the kindest heart of any girl he knew, the girl who hated him, who had pranked him and he pranked back – it was weird to realize that that same girl was also the one sobbing her heart on in front of him. Emma was holding Lily, trying to calm her down.
Emma glanced up and met James eyes. This also caught James off guard- the look in her eyes. He had known Emma ever since they had began playing Quidditch together. She was kind, yet had some spunk in her. She always knew what to do in a tough situation, yet there she was, looking totally helpless. This wasn't the girl James knew.
But then again, he knew they were thinking the same thing. James Potter, most popular boy in Hogwarts, just had an emotional outburst and had nearly cried in front of the two people he wished hadn't been there at the time. James looked around at Sirius, Emma, and Lily. All of them looked a bit worst for wear. All four of their robes were torn, there was dust in Sirius's hair that made it look like it was graying.
There was also a huge gash on his best friend's arm. Finally, James mind drifted back to his parents. He couldn't stand not knowing what was happening to them right now. He wanted to be there to fight with them, not here, simply waiting. James Potter wasn't patient, something his parents and friends had learned long ago. He couldn't just sit still while others were in danger—
Suddenly, the fireplace behind James and Sirius erupted in green flames. The four witches and wizards instantly looked up.
'Please, let it be you, Mom. You too, Dad. Come and tell me your okay, everything's okay.' James thought. But he knew his wishes were in vain. The figure stepped out of the fireplace and it was no other than—Remus Lupin.
Remus sighed and looked around. His robed were also torn, and his sandy brown hair was covered in dust. He had a few scratched on his cheek and looked a bit weak.
"I just told my mum everything that happened," Remus said, breaking the silence, "she was a bit worried, but I told her everyone's okay now."
"Almost everyone. I still have no idea where my parents are." James muttered. Remus gave him a look of sympathy. He sighed.
"We should go back to Lily's house." Remus said, startling everyone.
"What?" Emma cried, "Your kidding? The Death Eaters nearly got us that time!"
"I know," Remus said calmly, "But the fight's probably over. We should go back. We might find some Aurors, then we could also meet up with James and Lily's parents."
"I'm in." Lily said suddenly, standing up. This was the first time she talked since she got here, yet her voice sounded so strong.
"Me too." Sirius said.
"About time we did something." James replied, reaching for his wand.
Emma sighed. "Your not leaving me here!" she said happily, walking over to the fireplace.
"Right. Me, Sirius, and James will go first, just to make sure that the coast is clear." Remus told the girls, while grabbing some Floo Power. The three boys stepped in, then yelled at the same time, "Twenty-three Cherry Drive!"
James and his two friends stumbled out of the fireplace. A few seconds later, Lily and Emma came out, making themselves along with Sirius and James topple to the floor. After untangling themselves, James took out his wand.
"Get your wands ready." He whispered.
Behind him, four people held up their wands. James looked around the house in shock. The fire had gone out, but it definitely did some damage. The wall paper was peeling, while some parts of the walls were black. Furniture was tipped over, a chair's leg lay broken in half, while the sofa looked like it had been ripped open, because some of it's cotton lay all over the living room floor. Dust and glass also littered the floor. The place looked a mess, to say the least.
"We should go upstairs, see if we can find anyone." Lily said quietly. James nodded. The five of them walked quietly into the hallway and made their way upstairs. The rooms looked just as bad. Desks were tipped over, the walls were black, glass littered the floor just like the room downstairs. James and his friends were just about to open a door, when they heard someone yell.
"IS ANYONE IN HERE?!" the voice bellowed. The five kids jumped about a foot in the air, then froze. It took James about a minute to make his heart stop pounding. They all stood there, frozen to the spots.
"HELLO? I KNOW YOUR IN HERE! COME OUT RIGHT NOW!" the voice bellowed again. But this time, it sounded familiar to James. That was when it hit him.
"I know who that is!" James said excitedly. He ran down the stairs so fast that when he jumped down the last stair, he bumped into the person. The man quickly turned around, wand raised.
"Don't shoot! It's just me, John!" James said, holding up his hands in defense.
"Keep your wand out," John muttered, but looked thoroughly shocked, "and tell me what the bloody hell your doing here!"
"I should ask you the same thing." James replied.
"Well, whereas I am an Auror, I thought it would be pretty obvious I came here after the attack." John said, thoroughly exasperated.
The other four had come downstairs behind James, everyone but James and Sirius looked apprehensive.
"You're an Auror?" Lily asked quietly.
John nodded. "James, Sirius! Tell me what's going on!"
James sighed. "Everyone, this is John. He's a well-known Auror and is a great friend of my family." He explained. After making all the introductions, he explained to John how he and his friends heard about the attack, went to save Lily and Emma, got into a major fight with the Death Eaters, how his parents showed up, how they went home and decided to come back to see where they were. Basically, the whole nine yards.
But there was something in John's blue eyes that James didn't like—concern.
"You wouldn't know where my parents are, would you?" Lily asked out of nowhere. She had been quite silent this whole time.
John let out a huge sigh. "Their in St. Mungo's. Don't worry. They are a bit hurt, but nothing that the Healers can't fix."
Lily let out a great sigh of relief.
"What about my parents?" James asked excitedly. He was so anxious to see them. Especially after the last he had seen of his mum was when the ceiling on top of her collapsed. John put a hand through his hair and looked down sadly at James.
"Are they okay?" Sirius asked, apprehensively.
"James, your mum is in St. Mungo's. She's quite hurt, but you and your friends will be able to go see her tomorrow. You five are going to have to Floo over tomorrow. No visitors tonight." John said, although rather quickly.
"And my dad?" James asked, not really wanting to know the answer. John looked away.
"Captured by the Death Eaters." John replied, his voice shaking.
James felt like he had stopped breathing. He blood felt like it was turning to ice. Was it just him or did the house suddenly drop a few degrees? James couldn't breath, his head was spinning. 'No!' his mind screamed. 'Not my dad! No! This can't be real!'
"James.." Sirius said quietly and put a hand on his friends shoulder. But he was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say?
James head snapped up. "No, your lying." James said firmly.
"I wish I was, James. I really wish I was." John said shaking his head, while his voice shook.
"NO! This can't be real! It isn't happening!! My dad's a great Auror, he couldn't have been caught! Please, tell me your lying!" James shouted pleadingly. He punched the wall which such force that he left a dent in it. "I'll kill them! I swear, I'll kill every single one of those damn Death Eaters!"
James wasn't thinking straight, his blood was boiling.His knuckles were bleeding, but he didn't care. He took out his wand and actually made to run out of the house. But Sirius and Remus held him back.
"James! What're you doing?!" Sirius asked.
"Finding my dad! What else?!" James yelled.
"James! Let the Auror's handle it! Your not going to be able to find them!" Rmus shouted, pleading for his friend to come to his senses.
"James, calm down-"John started. But James wasn't going to stop that easily.
"Calm down?! NO! I won't leave my dad like last time! I thought all of you bloody Aurors could handle it! But no! What, did you all just stand there and watch him get captured?! Why didn't you do anything! You could've stopped it! You could've saved him! But you didn't! And now look, he's gone and who knows if he'll ever come back!" James screamed at the top of his lungs while struggling against Remus and Sirius.
"They couldn't do anymore than you could, James!" Sirius shouted back.
"James," Remus said quietly, not wanting his friends to start yelling, "your in shock. There's nothing you can do. The Aurors will find him."
"Then what?! They couldn't save him the first time! What makes you think they won't be too late? He could be being tortured right now!" James yelled so loud he thought his voice might tear open at any moment.
James felt so angry, he wasn't even fully away of what he was saying. All he knew was that standing here while his dad was possibly being tortured was more than he could stand.
"What about your mum? Your going to just leave her when at the moment your all she has left?!" Sirius shouted. These words seemed to have a certain impact on James. He looked up at his friend, totally helpless.
"James, you and your friends get back to your house. Tomorrow you girls-" he pointed to Lily and Emma, "-should come back here and see if there's anything you can salvage. You'll also be able to see your parents. Now, I have to go. I need to go report you dad's disappearance. James, we'll do the best we can." John said.
James looked up, his hazel eyes staring straight into John's eyes.
"Find him or I swear I'll do it myself." James said in a deadly whisper. John appeared to be a bit shocked, but turned around and walked straight out the door, leaving the five friends standing there all alone.
"Now what?" Emma asked, timidly.
"We go back to James house." Remus said at once. The five teenagers made their way over to the fireplace and before James knew what was going out, someone yelled, "Potter Manor!" and the five of them disappeared.
They stumbled out of the fireplace once again, and after untangling themselves, everyone was quiet. Not for long though.
"Well, not what?" Lily asked.
James finally seemed to come to his sense and realized he wasn't going to have his little emotional outburst in front of these girls anymore. After gaining his composure, he said, "We should probably call it a night. We should all probably just take a shower and go to bed, try to forget about tonight." 'Yeah right.' James thought to himself.
"Lily, Emma, I have some clothes you can sleep in, since your robes are pretty much ruined." James said.
"One of you can come have a look at my clothes, James doesn't have all that great of taste when it comes to fashion." Sirius said, grinning. James picked up a pillow from his bed and threw it at him.
"How many showers to you have in here?" Emma asked.
"Just enough. We have exactly five. Come on, I'll give you something to wear." James said, walking over to his closet.
It took about ten minutes to get everyone settles. Since he had a huge house he had to show the girls where the showers were. Lily and taken some of James clothes while Emma went with Sirius to see what he had. Remus set off to take a shower.
James had just gotten everyone settled when he walked into his parents bedroom. He walked into their bedroom and decided to use their bathroom. He quickly looked around. He didn't know why, but he remembered when his Mum and Dad first had a mission, his Dad promised him he would come back, always.
'What happened to that promise?' James thought angrily.
Flashback
Five year old James Potter was sitting on his Dad's lap. His father had just explained that they had to go away for Auror business and James would be staying at his Aunt's house.
"But, Daddy, that's hard work! How do I know you'll come back?" James asked, his small hazel eyes starting to fill with tears. James may have been young, but he knew the dangers of becoming an Auror.
His dad smiled. "James, I promise you, right here, right now. Every mission I take, every fight I fight in, I will always come back to you. Me and your mother both. We'll never leave you. I promise."
James smiled. He knew his father always kept his promises. James hugged his Dad.
"Okay. I know you'll keep your promise, Daddy!" James said, hugging his father tightly.
Flashback ends
James stood there. 'Did your forget about your promise, Dad? Your said you'd always be there! You've barely been gone two hours and I miss you. I want you back. What will I do without you?' James thought. He still held some hope that his father was alright and would come home.But for the first time in a long time, James Potter sat down and cried.
Lily stepped out of the shower. She had taken a pretty long one. While drying herself off, she couldn't help but get lost in her thoughts.
'Why? Why did this have to happen tonight? And on Christmas? One minute were all siting there happily. Next, Death Eaters are attacking us. I've never been so scared. But seeing my Mum and Dad attacked just got me so angry. I didn't have a choice but to fight! And now James parents are gone..I feel like it's all my fault. I ruined his Christmas! I hate those Death Eaters!!'
Flashback
Earlier that day, Lily and Emma were sitting in the living room with their new presents. Petunia had gone out, so it was just Lily, her parents, and Emma.
"Thanks Mum, I love this necklace!" Lily said happily, looking at it. It was beautiful. It was gold with an angel on it, it also had her birthstone in the middle. She hugged her Mum and Dad.
"I love you guys." She whispered.
"Oooh! Lily, thanks! These Chocolate Frogs will last me a month! And this cute little breacelet is cute, Lily!" Emma shrieked in delight, holding up her new presents.
Lily laughed. "No problem."
There was a pounding on the door.
"Probably Petunia." Lily muttered to Emma, who giggled.
Lily's Dad was about to answer it, when he let out a yell of surprise. The door had been knocked down, and instantly people in black cloaks were came in casting spells left and right.
Lily was momentarily shocked. The situation caught her totally off guard- yes, she was Muggle-born and she had always feared her family would be attacked, but now that it was happening it seemed unreal. The sound of her mother screaming brought Lily back to reality. Lily whipped out her wand while Emma did the same.
"Come on, Emma! We have to stop them!" Lily cried, while dodging a streak of red light.
"Obviously!" Emma cried, her voice higher than usual.
Flashback Ends
"Lily? Almost done?" Emma called through the door,
"Yeah." Lily called back.
"Good. Were all camping out downstairs. Were all a bit scared after what happened tonight." Emma said. After that, Lily could hear Emma's footsteps getting fainter and fainter.
Lily snoted. 'James Potter, scared?' she thought to herself. Then she stopped. 'I saw a completely different side of James tonight. Not the arrogant, conceited side. When he broke down like that, it made me want to cry. James really isn't the guy I thought he was. It's like he has two different sides to himself. Maybe there's more to James Potter than meets the eye.'
Forcing herself to snap out of her thoughts, she quickly out on the clothes James let her borrow. She had on a big black t-shirt and some of James old pajama pants. She stepped out of the bathroom gradping the necklace her parents had given her and saw Emma standing there, looking slightly impatient.
"Finally!" she said, though she had a grin on her face. She also had on a big red t-shirt with some of Sirius old black pajama pants.
"The guys are waiting downstairs." Emma replied, grabbing Lily's hand. The two of them dashed down what seemed like a lot of stairs, and finally made in to the living room. It was huge. On the floor, five sleeping bags had been laid out, three of which were occupied by James, Sirius, and Remus. Lily too the blue one next to James while Emma to the purple one next to Remus.
They were quiet for along time. Lily was exhausted, but her mind just didn't seem to want to sleep.
"Hey, James, Sirius, Remus, I wanted to say thank you. For tonight. Me and Emma were really in a tight spot until you three showed up. Who knows what would've happened." Lily said, shuddering at the thought.
"Yeah, your three were really brave." Emma said quietly.
"It's no problem." Remus replied.
"Yeah! The Marauders would never leave two beautiful ladies like yourselsves fighting alone!" Sirius said cheerfully. Emma and Lily giggled.
James, however, was silent.
"James?" Lily asked, uncertainly, looking over at James. He looked over at her and smiled.
"No problem, Lily. No problem at all." James replied, smiling. Though there was a small hint of sadness in his eyes. Something that she hadn't seen there before.
Lily looked at the looked. It was 11:59 p.m. She looked up at the ceiling.
"Merry Christmas." She whispered, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.
There were little mutterings of 'Merry Christmas'. One by one, each drifting into sleep. Each one were having nightmares worst than the next.
A/N. So sorry I haven't updated for awhile! Wow, I think this was the longest chapter I've written! Well, don't forget to review please! I hoped you liked this story, and I want to thank everyone that has reviewed so far! This took me such a long time to write! Hope you all like it and don't forget to review!,Oh yeah, the mood will be a bit lighter next chapter!
Sweetmimi