Oh. Mi. God. I am so tired. But here it is, chapter 11. After months and weeks, it is finally here. You have no idea how happy I am.
I apologize for the delay in updating this story, but it will be finished (not yet, don't worry) eventually. Read on, loves.
Lily Evans and James Potter were released from the hospital wing on Friday much to their content. They had spent a good week doing absolutely nothing which had caused Lily to go completely frantic over the amount of classes and homework she missed, and James antsy and impatient for a nice breezy broom ride over the castle.
Both of their friends had graciously stopped by to visit them each day. Emmeline and Hestia would sit at the edge of Lily's bed and reencounter their day (Emmeline would summarize her classes for Lily's sake while Hestia summarized the rumors of Lily's and James' traumatic out burst).
"Then I heard that one shrimpy little Rosier kid..."
"Who?"
"That little runt from Slytherin," Hestia explained quickly, "He was telling anyone who could listen that you used your disgusting Muggleborn powers (he didn't actually say Muggleborn as politely as I did) to corrupt James (the strong Pureblood) into falling in love with you so you could steal his Pureblood-ness or something like that. And then at the ball, since it was a full moon, you were able to perform the ritual or something."
"It wasn't a full moon on the night of the ball," said Remus absentmindedly, he had wandered over from James' bed and was standing behind Emmeline playing with her long brown hair.
Hestia nodded and jabbed a finger at Remus' chest, "See? Not only does it not make any sense whatsoever, it's also not even factually accurate!"
Emmeline nodded, "Those mini-Death Eaters are just looking for a reason to hate Muggleborns, that's all." She smiled at Lily and then handed her the notes from Potions class.
The rest of the Marauders were having a real kick from James being in the hospital wing.
Sirius had skipped class multiple times by declaring he could hear the screams of his almost brother echoing in the wind, calling for him to rush valiantly to his side. Then he would go hang out with James for hours. They would poke fun at Lily, sometimes if she was sleeping they would rearrange the furniture to look like the hospital wing had been completely switched around. One time they magicked everything in the room -including themselves- to the ceiling except for Lily's bed so when she woke up she would see their irritating grinning faces staring down at her. (She ended up taking out her wand and casting, "Rictusempra" under her breath so that they fell back onto the ground in a fit of uncontrollable giggles.)
"Prongs," Sirius would said on Thursday, "Please promise me that'll you'll never get out of the hospital wing ever. This has been one of the best weeks of classes I've had."
"Sirius!" said Lily.
"Yeah! Sirius!" James exclaimed, "I am a poor sickly boy and you do not wish me to get better? How dare you?" He threw his pillow at Sirius who avoided it by jumping backwards.
"Madam Pomfrey!" hollered Sirius, "Madam Pomfrey! He's delirious! The patients are going insane! We need sedations! Immediately!"
Madam Pomfrey poked her head out of her office and rolled her eyes when she saw that none of her patients needed sedatives.
Sirius paid no heed to her and wrapped a bed sheet around his head like a cloak and then hobbled over to James' bed, "No worries, little boy," he said in a raspy voice, "The druids are here to save you."
"Sirius, I'm older than you."
"No worries, no worries. We'll just have to make a small incision..."
"Sirius!"
Whack!
James hit Sirius the Druid across the face with a pillow causing them both to fall apart in laughter and Lily to just sit in wonder about what had just occurred.
The next morning, Madam Pomfrey let them out of their over-sanitized prison and they walked together to breakfast. When they reached the doors of the Great Hall they took a small pause. Lily looked over at James and he looked back. Nothing was said. Then they pushed open the big doors and went their separate ways on the separate ends of the Gryffindor table.
Lily shuffled over to where Hestia and Emmeline were sitting. They both looked up in surprise.
"Lily! You're out!" Emmeline gave her a big hug from across the table as Lily sat down next to Hestia.
Hestia also gave her a hug, but didn't say anything due to the large amount of cinnamon bun in her mouth.
Lily piled some food onto her plate as Emmeline began to speak, "So what did-"
"Miss Evans," said a stern voice.
Lily swallowed her juice and turned to see McGonagall walking over from the professors' table.
"Yes, Professor?" she said.
"Miss Evans," repeated McGonagall, "I am very pleased to see you are well."
"Thank you, Professor," said Lily, "But I think I was well on Tuesday I don't see why I had to wait until today-"
"Professor Dumbledore thought it was necessary to take extra precaution," interrupted the professor, "We didn't know if this attack would repeat or spread to any of the other students. There is a great deal of evil behind this, Lily," she lowered her chin and looked at Lily over the tops of her spectacles. When Lily didn't respond she continued, "Furthermore, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office after classes. Do not be late, it is of the uttermost importance." She gave Lily a curt nod then went further down the Gryffindor table to talk to James.
Emmeline leaned in towards Lily and whispered, "So you still don't know what happened?"
Lily shook her head, "No it was weird. Like a memory but obviously it couldn't have been. Madam Pomfrey said it could've been a hallucination but that doesn't make sense because James saw it too. Unless she thought we both had shrooms or something..."
"James."
"What?"
"You called James 'James'," clarified Hestia who had finally finished chewing her cinnamon roll.
Lily rolled her eyes, "So what? That's not the point here at all," Hestia and Emmeline shared a look that Lily chose to ignore, "The problem is that there is some weird evil out there that, for some reason, has targeted James and I."
"James." said Emmeline.
"I told you-"
"No, really, behind you."
Lily turned around and saw James hovering slightly behind her. He wasn't smiling or goofing off like he usually would, instead a stern, worried glance took over his features, "Hey Lily, can we talk?" His glassed eyes flickered towards Emmeline and Hestia as if to say, "alone".
"Yeah... yeah, sure." Lily said softly. She'd never seen him like this, so serious. She gave a short glance towards her friends then stood up and picked up her bags, "I'll see you guys in class, okay?"
They both nodded and Hestia gave Lily a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
James gave a week smile toward the girls then led Lily out of the Great Hall and down through the same corridors they walked through earlier. He stopped at a vacant staircase and sat down. Lily floated for a bit then sat next to him.
"What's going on?" she asked.
He didn't say anything, just stared off down the corridor like there was a puppy being murdered at the other end of it.
"James? Why did you bring me here, what's wrong?"
He looked at her with big, tear-rimmed eyes and mumbled, "Iymskured."
"What? I have no idea what yo-"
"I'm scared," he said louder.
"Oh," Lily felt a pang of sorrow in her chest, "Oh James." She reached over and took his hand into her own two palms. His fingers tensed but after a few seconds relaxed and intertwined with hers. "It's okay you know," she whispered, "It's okay to be scared, I'm scared too."
"Never like this though," he said, "I've never, ever been scared like this. I keep thinking about that voice and yours and..."
"Mine?"
"You were screaming. And, Merlin, you sounded terrified. And I wanted to kill the thing that was scaring you but I couldn't and I didn't know who else to talk to about this, I'm sorry."
"No, no it's fine," Lily assured him, "Really you can talk to me all you want."
"Thanks."
It was quiet for a long time.
James played with Lily's hands as she kept staring at him and wondering how it was possible that she'd never seen this side of him before. All of this time she only knew him as the bigoted, arrogant, happy-go-lucky, pranking prick that pranced around with a group of equally idiot Marauders. She knew him as bothersome, irritating, and obnoxiously flirtatious. But never quiet, nor timid. Never helpless and vulnerable. Never scared.
Lily lay her head on James' shoulder and let it rise and fall along with his deep breathing. She decided that she much more preferred that annoying who still never failed to make her laugh.
~L&J~
When Lily reached Dumbledore's office later that day (after a monstrous afternoon of catching up with professor and classwork), she saw James already leaning against the gargoyle twiddling his wand. He hadn't seen her coming so Lily quickly flicked out her own wand and whispered, "Expelliarmus."
James' wand flew out of his fingers through the air and straight towards Lily who caught it with a gleeful grin. James jerked his head up in surprise, but then smiled when he saw Lily swaggering towards him teasingly holding his wand up in the air.
"Well, well Miss Lily, looks like you're a little prankster after all."
"Not as good as you though," she reached him so that they were standing a foot away from each other, "But I'm learning."
She handed him back his wand without breaking his gaze. She had missed his crooked, gorgeous smile and felt particularly satisfied that it was she who brought it to his face.
"But Lily..." James suddenly turned very serious, "Lily there's something you need to know..."
"Yes James?" Lily's heart was beating a little louder than she remembered it to, her hands were slightly shaking.
James took one of Lily's hands into his own, "I will always, always..."
Always, always, what?!
But then James disappeared in a puff of red smoke.
"James?!" Lily blinked a few times to make sure that she hadn't just imagined that. Sure, Hogwarts had it's tricks and secret passageways but it couldn't just make people disappear like that or...?
But then she heard him laugh.
Lily spun around and saw James standing behind her laughing like never before. In his left hand he held up Lily's wand and between breaths he managed to say, "...always... I will always be better at pranking than you."
Lily tried to punch him in the shoulder, but it didn't seem to have any affect on him. She settled for snatching her wand back in a huff and marching away back to the gargoyle. James kept laughing his merry little laugh and leaned on the wall next to her, "You're too much, Evans."
Lily chuckled and punched him in the arm, "I'm still good though."
"Sure," the happiness was watering his eyes, "Sure, Evans, you're good."
"What happened to me calling you James and you calling me Lily?"
"Ah," he stuck his wand back in his pocket and ruffled his hair (prick...), "My mistake, Lilykins."
Lily scowled, "No, no, just Lily."
"Lilyflower?"
"No."
"Lils?"
"No."
He leaned in close and whispered so quietly that she almost didn't hear it, "Lily."
Goosebumps chilled Lily's arms, she managed to gasp out, "Yes?"
But he wasn't quite done yet, he turned to face her chest to chest and said again, "Lily, Lily, Lily."
The way her name fluttered through his lips was too much for Lily. She closed her eyes and let him say it over and over, "Lily, Lily, Lily." Why did it sound so different now? She'd heard him say it millions of times before, "Lily, Lily, Lily, Lily," and then he stopped and slipped a finger under her chin and pushed it up so that it was facing his own. His eyes locked with hers. Hazel clicked with Green.
"Lily," he said once more.
"James," she whispered.
Her toes lifted her up, up, up so that her mouth was hovering right in front of his. He closed his hazel eyes and her own fluttered shut and she leaned in and...
And then the gargoyle started to turn.
James and Lily jumped apart from each other. The stone steps spiralled into view, welcoming the couple to the Headmaster's office.
Lily looked at James and blushed, he grinned and winked, then hopped onto the stairs. He held out his hand and Lily took it and stepped up as well. The gargoyle turned again to take them up to Dumbledore's office.
You almost kissed James Potter. You wanted to kiss James Potter! You, Lily Evans, were going to kiss James Potter... if it hadn't been for that bloody gargoyle.
They reached Dumbledore's office and the door opened immediately.
In they entered the Headmaster's humble domain with the whizzing colorful gizmos and gadgets and spells. The old portraits with the old Headmasters slung randomly about the wall.
Albus Dumbledore himself sat behind his wood desk humming quietly to himself. When James and Lily stepped into the room, his blue eyes lit up and he gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk.
"Goodevening, Lily, James."
"Goodevening, Professor Dumbledore," said Lily.
"Goodevening," said James.
"Goodevening," repeated Dumbledore.
They sat down and Dumbledore smiled like he knew something that they didn't... or maybe they did know. Lily blushed again.
"So," began the Headmaster, "As you must be aware, you have been released from the hospital wing," he tilted his head, "I send my most sincere apologies for keeping you there for so long, you understand that I was entitled to do this in order to ensure that nothing was possessing you that could be a possible threat to the other students."
Lily and James both nodded.
"But now you've released us, so you must know something about what happened," said James.
Dumbledore closed and opened his eyes very slowly and proceeded to speak with caution, "I have reason to believe that there is a great work of evil pressed upon the both of you, which is why you both were sent into such a state of trauma last week." He paused and looked at James, who looked about ready to object to something but decided against it, "As James was about to point out, nothing has actually been done to you... yet."
"What do you mean 'yet'?" asked Lily.
"Magic," said Dumbledore, "Tends to leave an imprint. Powerful magic, can leave an even greater imprint. So great in fact, that it could even affect the past." He glanced at Lily to see if she understood.
"So you mean... that whatever happened to James and I..." her face worked different emotions as she tried to spell it out, "It came from our future?"
"Woah," whispered James.
Dumbledore nodded, "Woah indeed. Something is going to happen, not yet, not soon, but it will. And that something will be so strong that it will rapture something inside of you, like a warning bell. So you know that it's coming."
"When will it come?" asked James.
"It's impossible to say how many years from now, but I can give you a month and a day," replied Dumbledore, "On Hallow's Eve, October 31st. And," he held up a finger and flicked his eyes between the both of them, "I now have a strong feeling that something very important is going to emerge from your future, Lily and James. Something that might be able to put an end to this war and this evil."
Our future?
"Bloody hell," James shook his head, "That's..."
"A lot to take in I imagine," Dumbledore nodded, "I'm telling you now so that you know for the future. An attack similar to last week's will occur every year until the actual event. I advise you to take precautions during that time, should anything dangerous fall into your midst. And remember, I am always here. And Hogwarts is always here to help you when you are most in need of it."
~L&J~
James and Lily left Dumbledore's office in a bit of a trance.
James was the one who broke it by asking, "How the bloody hell do you think he knows all that shit?"
But all Lily could do was shrug, she was busy in her mind. Busy trying to imagine her inevitable future with James Potter.
It wasn't that bad.
