I awoke the next morning smiling. I was smiling the entire time I got dressed. I felt as though I were floating on a cloud. A cloud made of messy black hair. I put on my robes and walked out to Head's common room smiling like an idiot.
I was surprised in a sense, yet not at all surprised that James was already waiting for me. "Ready?" he asked me.
"Yup," I said, fully aware I was still smiling like an idiot.
He laughed, probably at the look on my face, and walked toward the door with me by his side. I hadn't noticed before, but his cologne was quite strong. I normally wasn't a person for cologne, but somehow James' cologne was intoxicating…
He must've noticed something because his imploring voice broke through my thoughts. "What are you thinking about?" It was a simple question.
"Your cologne," I answered simply.
He seemed startled by this. "What about it?" he took his robe and lifted it to his nose. "I think it smells fine; is there a problem with it?" he asked me.
"No, I only just noticed it though. It's quite intoxicating," I told him. He laughed.
"I'm glad to know that I intoxicate you." We shared a laugh and soon we were at the great hall.
It was hard for me to believe that it was already nearing October. This year seemed to be flying by; and this was the one year I wish would last forever…
We quickly spotted Shay, Alice, Sonya, Sirius, Peter, and Remus sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor house table. We made our way to sit by them and Alice looked at me curiously.
"So… Are you two good now?" She asked me quietly.
I nodded my head smiling. "We talked last night," I told her, regaining that goofy grin from earlier.
She laughed at the look on my face. "So are you going to Hogsmead together then?" She asked with her eyebrows raised in a stealthy manner.
"Yes," I told her. "And what's that look for?" I asked her.
"Well, Ms. Evans! It looks as if your boyfriend is the one boy you swore to hate for, how many years now? Six… Seven?" Alice teased. To my surprise, I could feel my ears growing hot with embarrassment at the term boyfriend. "What's up, Lils?" Alice asked me after seeing my ears, which must be glowing a florescent red.
"Well, I didn't think… Well, not yet at least… James Potter my…" I stuttered to get the sentence out. "There's a difference between going out somewhere with someone, and going out with someone," I said quietly.
Alice laughed and I glared at her. "Lily, it's okay if you don't think of James as a boyfriend yet. I'm sorry I startled you with the term," Alice said smiling comfortingly at me.
"Yeah, I guess I may have over reacted," I admitted. Yet, the statement of 'boyfriend' raced through my mind. Does James think of me as a girlfriend? Should I think of him as a boyfriend? Does he expect me to think of him as a girlfriend?
Alice must have spotted this in me and told me comfortingly, "Don't worry, Lily. James would never push you into something that you don't think you're ready for." Alice's comforting words soothed me, but the questions still lingered in the back of my mind. Little did I know that within minutes my previous thoughts would be eliminated from my mind…
"So Shay, did you get a good night's sleep?" James asked Shay while he ate a piece of toast.
Sirius choked on a sausage link he was shoving into his mouth along with the rest of the food on the Gryffindor table. It was almost as if he were holding back laughter…
James' eyebrows rose to Sirius. "Is there something funny I'm missing?" James asked with a smirk.
Sirius swallowed his food forcefully, a task in itself. "No, James. There's nothing funny. I was choking on my food," Sirius told him forcefully, as if he were trying to get James to shut up.
"Is Sirius trying to hide something? Something from last night perhaps?" James teased his friend as Sirius glared at James over the maple syrup.
Alice began to catch on. "You know what, James? I don't think I saw Shay last night." Alice said with mock suspicion. Shay grew red in the face and seemed to shrink into the bench.
"Well, did you two have fun?" James asked. "You seem in a much better mood today, Shay. It isn't a wonder why, really," James said, still smirking at Sirius' glare.
Just then, a lone owl entered the great hall. I thought it early for the owls to be arriving, but maybe this owl was simply faster than the others. Everyone glanced up at the owl and seemed to guess the same as me because barely any of them bothered to follow the owl to the select student.
I was in shock when the owl landed in front of me. I took the letter from its leg and let it nibble on a sausage link while I opened the letter. It was from my father.
Dear Lily,
Sorry to be writing so urgently, but your mother has become very ill and is headed to the hospital as I write this to you. Your mother is asking for you. Please get here as soon as you can. I will explain fully when you get here.
Love,
Dad
I sat in shock as my face grew pale. There was a change in the mood of my friends. All their eyes were all upon me. I stood up urgently and walked to Dumbledore briskly. I handed him the letter quickly, not being able to say anything. His face grew wary as he read the short passage. He nodded for me to follow him as he rose from his seat and began to walk towards the doors of the great hall. I stopped momentarily to duplicate the letter and handed it to Alice who scanned over it as I left the room behind Dumbledore.
The hundreds of gazes seemed to fade away when the doors shut closed behind me. "Your father seems very worried, so I'm going to ask you only a few questions before I let you leave," Dumbledore told me quickly. "Firstly, do you know what hospital your family would be at right now?" he asked me.
I thought for a moment. "Yes, it's a small hospital just outside of our community," I began. I told him the information on the hospital and he nodded.
"We'll need to get you down to Hogsmead so that you can apparate near the hospital," he told me. "Now, Lily, this is sure to be a stressful time for you. Would you like to take one other student with you? A friend? I normally wouldn't allow this, but because of your father being in the state he is sure to be in, and your sister not being the most loving of you, do you feel you need somebody for support?" he asked me. I was slightly shocked by this.
I thought about it. Alice was great, but she didn't really understand my parents and family. Sonya is good with comforting, but Shay was always the closest to my mum and dad because she always took refuge from her father in our house.
I nodded my head yes and said, "Could Shay come? She was always close to my family," I told Dumbledore.
He nodded and said, "I will get Shay and ask her to accompany you. Please go get your things and be at the front doors in fifteen minutes." I nodded and dashed off to get my things from my room.
What's happening with mum? Is she okay? What exactly is wrong with her? Is she sick?
I got the few things I felt I needed packed and left the room in a rush, only to run straight into James. "Oh, sorry," I said in a trance as I walked in the direction of the door.
"Lily," he said. I turned around. It must be something in his voice. It forces my body to respond to it.
"James, I really have to go meet Dumbledore…" I started.
He moved closer, "I'm sorry about your mum. I hope she's fine. Please write to tell me anything that happens," James said. I looked into his eyes.
"I will. I promise," I told him. He pulled me into an embrace and held me for a minute. I would've been quite content just standing there with him, letting all my troubles fade away into the wind, but I knew that I couldn't do that. My mother wanted to see me now, and I needed to be there with her as soon as I possible could.
"I'm sorry, James, but I really have to go now," I told him, pulling away gently.
He half smiled at me and nodded. "Everything will be fine," he said lovingly. I smiled at him before turning to the portrait and walking down to the front doors of the school. Dumbledore and Shay were standing there waiting for me when I got there.
"Sorry, I got sidetracked," I admitted.
Dumbledore smiled. "Young love can do that at times," he said. Wait, how did he know about James and me? "But now, we must be off."
We walked out the oak front doors. A slight drizzle fell from the sky. The shy looked ominous, almost as if saying that the day wasn't going to go well. We walked briskly to the front gates of the school in silence except for a few words towards the beginning: "Thanks for coming with me, Shay," I told her quietly.
She smiled; a little worried, but still a smile. "You know that I wouldn't leave you if you wanted me to come with you. Besides, your parents are as good as mine," she said softly. It felt good to be in this close a proximity to my friend when life for me was looking so ill omened.
The drizzle didn't get any stronger, it didn't pour like it always seems to in the movies. It just left the depressing feeling lingering over you. The walk to the front gates of the school seemed to take hours. The walk was filled with worry and confusion filling my mind. It was hard to even imagine that just this morning I felt on top of the world.
When we passed the school gates, Dumbledore insisted on apparating with us near the muggle hospital. We all apparated, the feeling of the air pushing down on me from all sides overtook me, then it stopped. I opened my eyes and saw Dumbledore and Shay standing there in the alley beside the hospital with me.
"If you don't mind, could I have a word with your father?" Dumbledore asked me.
"Er, I guess so. That's his decision to make though," I replied. And Dumbledore led the way into the hospital. I nearly ran to the front desk to ask for my mother. "Mrs. Evans?" I asked.
The nurse looked up at me strangely. It was then that I realized we were still in our robes. "What's your relationship with her?" the nurse as wearily.
"I'm her daughter," I answered.
"Ah, Lily. Yeah, she's been asking for you all morning…"
"What room is she in?" I shouted, cutting off the nurse in mid sentence.
"Room 313. She's not doing too well, mind you," the nurse warned. But I was already taking off down the corridor with Shay at my heels.
The numbers passed slowly. I finally reached the 300s. 301…303…307…310…131! I stopped abruptly and Shay slammed into the back of me. I quickly turned into the room. Petunia was in the corner, pale as ever. My father was sitting next to the hospital bed my mother was in. It reminded me briefly of how James was always at my bedside all those times I went into the hospital. But that thought was erased completely when I saw my mothers petite form lying in that threatening bed.
She was as still as can be. Her chest was moving lightly, with difficulty, as she breathed. Her breath was ragged and irregular. This was the only sign that she was living at all. Her heavy lidded eyes were barely open. I ran to the bedside and knelt by her side.
"Mum? Mum?" I repeated. Her head titled in the slightest. Her eyes lit up slightly when she saw me.
"Lily," she croaked. A small smile took its place on her face, but it was so brief. I looked at her. She didn't say anything else. It was then that I realized that the ragged breathing had stopped. My mother was dead…
Wow. That shocked me! It almost wrote itself… Well, 6 reviews is not even close to 18, so I'm a bit disappointed there, but I'm grateful for all my reviews! Thank you: EmpressesPenguinOfTheUniverse, LILYandJAMESareCUTE, Your yellow flower, sc12321, prongsies.lady, and Holy Cross Baby. Ice cream? Where are you? You're always there! Tempe!
Has anyone seen Sweeny Todd? What did you think of it? I know, random, I just wanted to know what others thought of it. I loved it, but did anyone else?
Review, lolli