A/N: Okay, so we weren't successful in meeting our Christmas deadline. We apologize. Despite the fact that the Holidays are past, Debbie and I hope that the James and Lily fluff will still give you that warm Christmas morning feeling, anyway. We're not going to make any promises as to when the next Chapters will be updated as they are still in the tweaking process. Please understand that we want you to have the best story possible.
Chapter 11:
All of Tomorrow's Parties
"Woah," Spencer exclaimed watching intently as Electra finished her work. She adjusted the gently shimmering white poinsettia in Lily's vibrant hair, stepping back with a satisfied smile.
"My work here is done," Electra proclaimed proudly, curtsying dramatically as Spencer burst into enthusiastic applause from where she sat cross-legged on her bed. It had been her job to provide emotional support for the incredibly nervous Lily, who had been forced to endure over an hour under Electra's meticulously artistic hand.
"Finally," Lily said, rolling her softly lined eyes. "Do I look alright?" she queried uncertainly. She had been forcefully restrained from facing the mirror on the vanity which the girls had levitated from their bathroom to provide Electra with a 'workspace.'
"As if I would let you face all of the important people in the wizarding world looking only alright," Electra scoffed. "Turn around."
Reticently, Lily shifted herself around to view her reflection.
Her long red hair hung in artfully loose curls down her back. The sides were pulled away from her face and looked as if they were held in place by the delicate flowers that Electra had knicked from the third Christmas tree in the Great Hall. Her emerald eyes were accented by a shade of pale gold. It matched the color of the dress robes Spencer had loaned her for the occasion perfectly.
"Are you sure I look okay?" Lily asked once more, seeking reassurance. "I mean, I really don't want to embarrass James or anything."
"He won't be able to take his eyes off of you," Spencer practically squealed, moving off of the bed. Her eyes were misted with romantic dreams and a pang of sadness that Lily couldn't help but notice.
"Thank you," Lily cried, throwing her arms around both of her friends in a giddy hug. Spencer let out a girlish shriek, causing the three to burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"We should stop or else we'll mess up Lily's hair," Spencer chided, breaking out of their embrace.
"Yeah, that's James' job for later," Electra remarked jubilantly, as she spun Spencer around like a primary student. "At least make sure everyone sees how wonderful you look before you let Potter drag you into a broom closet and do unspeakable things to you."
"It's not like that," Lily protested, her face matching her hair. "We're just going as friends."
"If you're just friends, I'm the Minister of Magic," Electra drawled as she made her way toward the door.
"Then I'll be sure to tell her that you'll be taking over her position if I see her tonight," Lily called after her friends retreating back. Mumbling to herself she started to search through the mess on her bed for her wand.
"Honestly, Lily," Spencer said, her voice muffled as she had her head bent in her trunk. "You and your denial, you're worse than…" she trailed off abruptly.
"Worse than who?" Lily paused interestedly in the process of searching for the pocket hidden in the folds of her skirt.
"Nothing," Spencer amended hastily, handing Lily an elegant black velvet traveling cloak. "So you don't get the robes dirty on the way," she explained, avoiding Lily's gaze.
"Come on Lily!" Electra called up the staircase. "Your date is waiting and if you don't get down here now, I might just go with him instead."
Lily giggled as she heard Sirius somewhat muffled indignant cry. She took a deep breath, still wondering why she was so nervous. It was only James, she told herself bracingly.
But she knew that the fact that it was only James that was worrying her. The absence of their friends would mean that the stubborn feelings she had developed for him might not be so easily ignored.
Glancing around, Lily was startled to find that she was alone; Spencer's voice had joined the loud chorus below.
Draping the cloak over her arm, she exited the dormitory, her heart racing. She wondered fleetingly if James could hear it echoing in the stone staircase.
- - -
"Do you know what's taking her so long?" James asked, his hands stuck dejectedly in his pockets. "I mean, is she okay?"
"I'm sure she's fine, James," Remus said soothingly to his friend, lifting his head from his book.
"She probably changed her mind," Sirius supplied unhelpfully from his perch on the back of the sofa in between Spencer and Electra. "I mean, honestly, what girl would want to get dressed up and go spend a night dancing and meeting important people when they could stay here and play a nice game of exploding snap by the fire. Isn't that right ladies?" he asked, swinging his arms around the girls at his side.
"Those were my thoughts exactly," Lily smiled as she stepped into the common room accompanied by Sirius' wolf-whistle.
James whipped around to stare at her.
"Merlin fucking Grindlewald," he breathed as he took in her appearance. The look in his eyes made Lily want to suppress a shiver.
"Is it that bad?" she said playfully, arching an eyebrow.
"No," James said, his voice cracking slightly. "You look amazing."
Lily could not help but notice the way his voice had dropped on the last words. She was beginning to think that maybe Electra wouldn't get to be Minister of Magic after all.
"Thanks," she responded quietly. "You look great too."
'Great' was an understatement in her opinion. James looked dashing in his crisp white dress shirt and black pants. The red satin tie contrasted nicely with the black fabric of the formal vest he was wearing under his sweeping onyx dress robes trimmed subtly in gold. It brought out the auriferous flecks in his eyes, Lily noted.
"Oh," Sirius cried melodramatically, throwing himself fully into Spencer's arms, "look Spen Ben, our little ones are all grown up and going out on a date! I'm so proud!" He gave a huge wracking sob that was interrupted by Remus clearing his throat.
"I'm sorry to interrupt Sirius' display, but I believe that you should be going soon if you want to make it there before they give Mr. Potter the award."
"Right," James said briskly, tearing his gaze away from Lily. "Let me help you with that," he offered, taking the cloak out of Lily's arms and holding it up. Lily lifted up her hair to prevent it from getting squashed by the fabric. She blushed as she felt the firmness of his body against her back as he fastened the catch for her. She might have imagined it, but she could have sworn that his hands lingered just a little longer than necessary.
"Well, see you guys later," James said, grinning widely and offering his arm to Lily.
"Don't wait up," she added cheekily, sliding her hand into the crook of his elbow, allowing him to lead her to the portrait hole.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Electra called through the closing portrait hole.
"And exactly what would that be?" Sirius perked up from where he had previously been laying across Spencer's lap.
"You won't be finding out anytime soon," Electra said shoving him roughly over the back of the sofa and onto the cushions. He caught her hand, pulling her down with him in an ungainly fashion.
"That hurts, Stephen," Sirius drawled, not noticing Spencer get up quickly.
"Where are you going, Spencer?" Remus asked, concern evident in his voice. Sirius could be so oblivious sometimes.
"To the library, I thought I'd get a head start on that essay for McGongall," the brunette returned, her gaze meeting Remus' understanding eyes.
"But it's Friday night, Spencer!" Electra protested from where she was struggling to get out of Sirius' grip and failing miserably.
"I'll be back later," the Spencer said twisting a strand of her long hair around her finger in an accustomed gesture that caught Sirius' eye. It meant she was troubled about something and was usually followed by a cuddle round with Mr. Pufflesnuffs and at least half a chocolate cake.
Electra pushed playfully against his chest and Sirius was too consumed by the pleasant feeling at having her weight on his chest that he forgot all about Spencer until she had gone.
- - -
"James and Lily Potter," James declared winningly as he peered over the clipboard of the burly security wizard at the door, completely oblivious to Lily's strange look at his slip in words.
"Here you are, James Potter and guest," the wizard said, giving the pair an odd look. "You have to submit your wands for identity verification inside the front hall."
"Thank you, my fine fellow," James smiled, leading Lily into the enormous marbled foyer of the mansion where the Ministry held all of its state affairs.
"Did you notice that guy kept looking at us like we were starkers or something?" James asked Lily as they handed their wands over for inspection.
"That's probably because he's thinking we're a little young to be married," Lily informed him after thanking the witch and storing her wand back in her robes.
"What are you talking about?" James said perplexed as they handed their coats over to the pimply teens running the cloak check.
"Well you did say 'James and Lily Potter' at the door," she grinned, sliding her hand into his proffered one. They continued to bicker playfully as he lead her through a maze of smaller libraries and parlors before emerging into a magnificent ballroom which was currently playing host to at least a hundred circular tables draped in pools of burgundy fabric.
"No, I didn't," James said once more, pausing near the entrance to the ballroom.
"Yes, you did," Lily informed him, enjoying the way his face was currently matching the scarlet of his tie.
"I seriously told the guy at the door we were James and Lily Potter?" he smacked his forehead with his free hand.
"Aren't you a little young to be married?" an interested voice interrupted from behind the pair. Lily turned around to face a tall, elegant woman with kind eyes.
"Mum!" James said, unabashedly throwing his arms around her.
"I saw you come in," Mrs. Potter said, beaming as she looked over her only son. "Couldn't you have done anything with your hair?" she asked, trying to flatten it.
"I tried," he responded crossly. "Blame it on Dad; it's his hair I inherited."
"I suppose you're right," Mrs. Potter sighed, her eyes landing on Lily, her face positively lighting up in delight. "And you have to be the Lily. It's so nice to meet you," she said, wrapping her arms around a surprised Lily.
"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Potter," Lily responded, immediately taking a liking to the woman.
"Oh please, dear," Mrs. Potter responded squeezing her hand. "I've heard so much about you over the last seven years, I think that you've earned the right to call me Catherine."
"Mum," James said warningly.
"And what exactly have you heard?" Lily queried.
"Absolutely nothing," James cut off his mother's reply.
"Well, absolutely nothing that tops the fact that you ran out and got married without even inviting me," Mrs. Potter teased with a smile.
"They got married?" a deep male voice announced the arrival of a man of James' height with graying jet black hair that refused to be controlled. "About time."
Lily and James faces turned a daring shade of Gryffindor red. "It was a mistake, okay?" James said defensively. "I accidentally told the door guard we were James and Lily Potter. We're not married; Mum's just enjoying taking the Mickey out of me."
"James and Lily Potter?" Mr. Potter said slowly, as if rolling it around on his tongue. "It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it Catherine?"
Mrs. Potter whacked him playfully on the chest. "Oh, Phillip. That's enough, you're embarrassing poor Lily here."
"My apologies," Mr. Potter said, shaking Lily's hand, though his twinkling hazel eyes revealed he wasn't sorry at all. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"That's better," Mrs. Potter said with a smile, sliding her hand into her husband's arm with an air of familiarity that Lily suddenly felt envious of. "Shall we go sit down and eat some dinner so they can puff up that ego of yours a little more by handing you a nice shiny award?"
"I love shiny things, they're fun to put up on the mantle and they keep Sirius occupied for hours," Mr. Potter replied jovially. Laughing easily, Lily smiled at James as they followed his parents to their assigned table.
- - -
"James," Mrs. Potter said, eyeing James over the rim of her drink. "Why don't you ask Lily to dance?"
"Of course," James returned with a relieved smile on his face. He was growing worried that Lily wasn't having such a good time. She had been sitting next to him with a pleasant smile on her face since the end of dinner being introduced to the long line of well wishers and Ministry acquaintances that continually swept by their table to congratulate his father on his award. She had laughed while the men from his father's auror squad teased him mercilessly, but the fact of the matter was that he had long ago grown bored of sitting politely and greeting people he had never met before.
"May I have this dance," James said, offering his hand to Lily while the small orchestra struck up another sweeping waltz.
"I guess," Lily replied hesitantly, the contact of his hand on hers setting her nerves tingling for the umpteenth time that evening. They moved to the center of the dance floor, where the younger ministry members were twirling around the floor in a practiced motion that Lily had no idea how to emulate. James slid his hand around her side, bringing it to rest just below her shoulder blade.
"James," Lily said, her nerves which were already suffering under the pressure of insecurity, fraying swiftly as her body reacted to his touch. "I can't dance," she whispered softly, her eyes scanning the room.
"Don't worry about it," James returned assuredly. "Just let me lead you."
Lily gulped as their eyes met. He tugged her into him so that there was barely an inch of space between them. "I can't lead you as easily if you're all the way over there," he explained. Lily could only nod as his warmth sunk into the thin fabric of her dress robes.
"James," Lily practically squealed when he took a slow step backwards. "I can't do this."
James merely chuckled and took a step, forcing her to follow him. He turned, and Lily stumbled.
"Relax," he breathed, his lips coincidentally right by her ear. She couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through her. James' thumb softly stroked her tense back muscles and she found herself wondering where the nearest broom closet in the mansion would be located. She forced herself to nod in acknowledgement of his advice. He slowly began to move again and Lily, her eyes glued to their barely visible feet followed obediently.
A few minutes later, Lily was able to complete a basic waltz step without too many mishaps. "How did you learn how to do this?" Lily asked with no little hint of envy at the easy way James practically glided over the parquet floor. And damn her if he didn't look sexy as hell while doing it.
"I've had to attend functions like this since I was little," he explained. "So my mother taught me how to dance. Spin," he instructed as he twirled her gracefully under one arm. "See, you have potential," he teased, desperately trying to ignore the small voice in his head that said Lily seriously had the potential to get jumped unexpectedly if she continued to look so enticingly uncertain, adorable, and indescribably beautiful all at the same time.
- - -
"He so has her," Phillip Potter remarked, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulders where they sat observing their son and a now slightly smiling Lily circle around the dance floor.
"More like she has him wrapped around her finger," his wife responded as she watched her son's face light up when Lily laughed at something he said.
"Either way," he sighed, "I should tell Sirius that he should put at least five points on James' tally for the dancing. Come to think of it, I should add another five galleons to our bet."
"What? That they'll kiss by Christmas?" Catherine said. "I think that would be wise," she nodded in approval.
- - -
Lily laughed euphorically as James dipped her dramatically. "See," he pointed out delightedly, "you're good at this. And you thought that you had two left feet!"
He pulled her up and twirled her away from him before tugging her back. Not expecting the move, Lily had not known to twirl and ended up tripping on the hem of her dress. She gasped as she tumbled ungracefully into James' torso. Her hands gripped the fabric of his robes and his arms wrapped around her back to steady her.
"I think you may have spoken too soon," she said, lifting her eyes to his in sheepish embarrassment. Whatever she had been about to say died in her throat as she saw the look that was burning in his darkened hazel eyes.
Their faces were so close; he had bent down to catch her. Every sense she possessed suddenly seemed hyperactive. She was too aware of the way their bodies were aligned, the feel of him pressing her body against his, the way her toes barely remained on the floor as he held her. And beneath her hand, she could feel his heart skipping erratically, a beat that was sure to match her own thrumming pulse.
"You're heart's pounding," she said stupidly, unable to tear her eyes away from his.
"Lily," he whispered, the deep tone in his voice sending a thrill of heat straight through her. "I…" he said, his lips almost grazing hers with the word. Her eyelids drifted close…
Her mind was reeling. She was going to kiss James Potter and in a public ballroom no less. And she really, really wanted to.
"James," she breathed, turning her head away as her yearning body screamed in protest. "Not in front of the Ministry."
He resisted the urge to groan in complete and utter frustration as he rested his chin on top of her head. His mind was executing a frantic happy dance as it processed her words. She had said 'not in front of the Ministry', which meant that he had a good chance of being able to kiss her later when they left. In the meantime, he decided, it would be best if he let her go before the effect that she had on him became incredibly noticeable.
"Right then," he said in a strangled voice. "How about I go get us some drinks?"
"Alright," she concurred quietly, already missing the feel of him as he strode away from her, running his hand through his hair.
Realizing that she looked incredibly stupid gazing misty-eyed at her date's back in the middle of the crowded dance floor, Lily made her way over toward the wall on the side of the ballroom opposite of where Mr. and Mrs. Potter stood talking with Bartemius Crouch, the Head of Magical Law enforcement, and his rather fragile-looking wife. She didn't know if the Potters had seen their almost-kiss, but she wasn't in the mood to ask them.
Lily leant her head against the wall, closing her eyes for a brief moment and attempting to get her spinning emotions to slow down long enough that she could get a grip on herself.
"You might not want to lean on that wall, you could leave your filthy imprint all over it, Mudblood," a voice drawled lazily.
Lily's eyes shot open to find a tall, sneering man with sharp pointed features and hair such a light shade of blonde that it appeared almost silver.
"It's so nice to see you too, Lucius," Lily said icily, taking a step away from the wall. She hadn't seen Lucius Malfoy in the two years since he graduated from Hogwarts and she was currently wishing that it had remained that way.
"I see you've managed to worm your way into the good graces of one of the oldest and most influential pureblood families," Lucius sneered, taking a step towards her. "It would be even more impressive if they weren't a bunch of sniveling blood traitors."
"Surely you have better things to do than come over here to insult me," Lily said, her hand slowly creeping toward her wand.
"I wouldn't draw your wand if I were you," Lucius drawled, looking practically thrilled at her expression of fearful surprise. "You see, my family has a lot of power here," he said, taking another step toward the wall and placing one arm to the side of Lily's head, his own hand falling to his pocket where Lily guessed his wand was concealed. "I'm sure that I can do almost anything to you without you being able to do anything about it. I doubt people would be too happy with you if you attacked the son of one of the wealthiest families in the country."
"I also doubt that the entire Auror office would be too happy if they discovered that you harmed the guest of one of the most decorated and well-liked wizards to ever pass through their ranks," a familiar voice interrupted as James roughly shoved Lucius' hand away from Lily, sliding both of his arms around Lily's waist in a gesture that was fiercely protective and nearly possessive.
"Not that they would have time to reach you," James continued, "seeing that if you so much as touched Lily, I'd kill you."
Lucius's hand flicked dangerously toward his pocket for a moment before he stepped back, the unwavering sneer still firmly in place.
"I'd be careful who you threaten these days, Potter," he warned silkily. "People keep disappearing at an alarming rate. I'd hate for you to lose someone so dear to you." And with that he turned on his heel and swept back through the crowd.
"Are you alright?" James asked bending down to peer into Lily's face.
"I'm fine," she replied truthfully. She had to admit that any fear she had felt disappeared the moment she had heard his voice.
"Lily," James began, his hands guiding her closer to him.
"What did you do with the drinks?" Lily cut him off.
"I got waylaid at the door by some old woman who thought I was her grandson. I caught sight of Lucius out of the corner of my eye and got over here as fast as possible," he explained. "Lily," he said more firmly but Lily, unwilling to fight over whether or not she could defend herself at the moment, interrupted him once more.
"Come on," she said with what she hoped was a somewhat alluring and distracting smile. "Dance with me."
She could not help but think, as James grudging led her out onto the floor once more, that they had been dancing for years. This was however, the first time that they had actually danced together and not around each other.
- - -
"Thanks again for coming with me," James said as they wended their way back up to the Gryffindor common room several hours later.
"Thank you for inviting me, it was a lot of fun," Lily returned with a smile. "I think my feet may regret it a little."
"That's because I don't think you sat down for a second after we started dancing again," James laughed as he held open the Fat Lady's portrait for Lily.
"What?" she demanded with an air of mock crossness. "Who knew dancing could be so much fun, especially when they moved into that swing set and all the Ministry officials were positively smashed."
There was a sudden silence as they reached the foot of the stairs leading up to their respective dormitories.
"Well," Lily said, taking a step closer and placing her hands on his shoulders. Standing on tiptoes she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight."
She turned to head up the staircase, but James caught her wrist in his hand. "James, what―" she fell silent as his lips brushed tantalizingly over her racing pulse point. He brought her arm over his shoulder, his free hand guiding her hips toward his. For the second time that night she could feel his breath, warm and inviting on her face as he bent down to finally, finally kiss her.
The sound of the portrait hole opening broke them apart. Turning, Lily was surprised to see a slightly disheveled looking Spencer enter the room.
"Spencer?" she asked, cursing her friends timing. "What were you doing out this late at night?"
"I…fell asleep in the library," she explained hurriedly. "Barely avoided getting caught by Filch on my way here. Well, night you two," the petite brunette waved, dashing by Lily and up the girls staircase.
"What's up with her?" James said, perplexed.
"I have no idea," Lily responded. "Well, 'night," she said, gathering her skirts in her hands and walking up the staircase feeling inexplicably empty and utterly disappointed.
- - -
Lily pulled her scarf tighter around her neck to ward off the chill of the winter breeze that was rushing through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. She had to fight against the crowd of students jostling each other in order find their families.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" James asked over the shouts of holiday cheer between parting friends. Concern was etched into every feature of his face as he stared down at the diminutive redhead before him.
"I'll be fine," Lily said exasperatedly, stuffing her fingers into her pockets. "It's only an hour in muggle London. My parents are going to meet me at our favorite restaurant in the city. Besides," she added as if the reason justified doing something not exactly safe, "I still have to buy Petunia a Christmas present."
"I still don't like it," James said darkly, running his hand through his hair, grimacing when Lily stopped the motion.
"I'm not too sure I like it either," Sirius said, bringing his trunk to a stop beside James.
Lily rolled her emerald eyes in response. "Whatever would I do if I didn't have two big strong men looking after me?" she drawled sarcastically.
"Well, technically it's three," Remus said, his gentle smile not reaching his eyes. "Lily, please reconsider this. At least allow us to wait with you."
"I won't hear it," she responded firmly. "Anyway, both of your parents are here," she said, glancing over her shoulder to where she could see the Potters greeting the Lupins politely. "I should get going or I won't have time to buy Petunia's gift."
She stood up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Remus and then Sirius. "You should come and visit us sometime over the hols," he told her. "We can bring the other girls too, and ring in the New Year with my new best friend, Ogden."
"I don't think I've ever met Ogden," Lily laughed.
"All the more reason to come over then," Sirius supplied eagerly.
"I'll think about it," Lily said, turning to James. She remained quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say. As if sensing her unease in an incredibly astute and unusual manner both Remus and Sirius chose that moment to begin wheeling their trunks over towards their respective guardians.
"Have a happy Christmas, James," Lily said, wrapping her arms around him like she had the other two, though the feeling was completely different.
"You too," he responded, his cheek lying against the crown of her head. "Owl me as soon as you get home," he told her, his hand grasping her chin and tilting her face up to meet his eyes. "I'll send Al to you once we get to the manor."
She nodded, enjoying the feel of his touch lingering on her cheek. "Stay safe," he told her bending down to kiss the skin previously warmed by his hand.
"Always," she said with a smile and watched him walk away, brow furrowed, to join his parents.
- - -
Lily adjusted the wand tucked inside the waistband of her jeans beneath her coat as she hurried out of the bookstore, clutching Petunia's newly purchased present to her chest. She was ten minutes late to meet her parents as it had taken her quite a while to find a suitable gift for her sister. She was just about to cross through the bustle of the holiday shoppers when a sudden series of pops and some loud screams silenced the crowd.
Her hand fell instantly to her wand as five black cloaked and masked figures were framed against the muddy backdrop of the smog-filled city like demons just summoned from hell.
"Run!" Lily urged the people nearest to her. Petunia's present fell forgotten to the slush strewn gutter as she held her wand firmly in front of her. "Get out of here!" Whether it was because they had heard Lily's warning, or because the Death Eaters now had a man writhing on the ground in the middle of the road clutching a face that was covered with painful blisters, the muggle shoppers started to scream and run frantically into traffic, attempting to escape.
A car honked indignantly at the sudden jam in traffic. A nearby Death Eater rolled it over, the driver still inside, with a careless flick of his wand.
Lily rushed to the hissing vehicle, blasting the door off its hinges and cutting the man free from the seatbelt with a quick severing charm. She gasped as his weight fell on top of her and stumbling, dragged him from the car.
Without warning a searing pain filled every fiber of her being and Lily fell to the street, over the prostrate driver as she cried out at the sudden agony.
"And who is this brave little heroin?" a gravelly voice rasped as it stared down at Lily. The death eater released the spell and Lily was left gasping, her palms torn by the wet asphalt.
A rough hand grabbed her hair and yanked her head backwards to get a look at her face. "She looks familiar," a higher feminine voice remarked with a hint of interest.
"Of course she does, you idiot, it's the mudblood bitch that was accompanying the youngest Potter to the Ministry gala the other night," a third voice, male and silky entered the conversation.
"Should we cleanse the world of a little fifth?" the woman asked, as the first man released her hair, throwing her down on the pavement once more. Lily's eyes scanned the ground for her wand and realized with dismay that it had flown out of her hand when she had fallen over the scarcely breathing driver.
She tried to crawl to her wand inconspicuously but a booted foot slammed her down once more and she heard a horrifying crack as her wrist, caught at a strange angle underneath her broke as her weight fell onto it. Her harsh cry echoed in the clamor of the street.
"No," the first man responded, shaking her masked head. "She has very melodic screams. Let us bring her to the Dark Lord. If he is in a generous mood, he may allow us to have fun with our feisty one here."
"No," Lily gasped struggling as two sets of rough hands held her steady while ropes shot out of the woman's wand to snake around her feet and hands, cutting into her flesh.
"Shut up, girl," the second man snapped. "Don't make me lose my patience."
"Let go of me," Lily snarled as she strained against her bonds.
"He said silence," the first man roared, his fist colliding with Lily's skull.
The last thing she saw before the world shimmered into darkness was a pair of intent hazel eyes whose emotion could not be hidden behind the layer of glass that always covered them.
"Stay safe, Lily."
Her eyes slid closed against her will.
I'm so sorry James.
A/N: Give BlackVelvetBand an eighteenth birthday present and review!
