Disclaimer: HP belongs completely to J.K. Rowling. Not me.
The Special Two
Chapter 14
"Anna?" Lily whispered, tiptoeing into her old dormitory. She pulled back the curtains of Anna's four-poster, and saw her napping. Lily shook her head. The only time she'd ever seen Anna in such a poor state was when her and Sirius broke up before. She turned around to leave, planning to return later to talk to her, and when Anna heard the door shut, she rolled over, thinking, thank God. I'm not quite ready to discuss things yet.
---
"Prongs?" Sirius called, vigorously shaking his best friend's bed frame. Normally, this would have elicited a response such as James chucking a hard, metal object at Sirius' head, but today, he just groaned.
Sirius had never seen him act so mopey. Except the months following his mother's passing. But that was different. That was a bad time. So bad the Marauders actually thought they were on the verge of losing him. Nobody wanted that to happen again. He shook the thought from his head.
"Come on, mate! Get up! Do something fun. Tonight's a full moon, you know. . ."
"I'm not in the mood."
"Well then talk to me. I'll get you in the mood," Sirius wiggled his eyebrows seductively.
"Get out of here, Padfoot. I'm not ready yet."
"Whatever you say, Jamesie, but you're missing out. Lily and the girls have begun putting on exotic shows in the common room just for our viewing pleasure."
Sirius ducked out of the room as a silver goblet flew toward him.
All was right in the world.
---
Emily awoke in the middle of the night from a restless sleep, with a terrible unsettled feeling. She heard Anna roll over next to her and whispered, "Anna? You awake?"
She grumbled. "Why are you up?"
"I feel weird. You?"
"Me too. D'you--D'you think everything's all right?"
"Lily?" Anna called out. Ever since her row with James, Lily had been staying in the regular seventh year dorm. And whenever Emily and Anna felt uncertain, Lily was always there to put them at ease with her wonderful ability to control hectic situations.
"Wake her up," Emily said impatiently.
Anna stumbled to Lily's bedside and opened her curtains to find--"Nothing!"
"What?" Emily asked groggily.
"She's not here!"
Emily jumped to her feet, rubbing her eyes. "What do you mean--"
"What do I mean? I mean she's gone, you idiot! But there's a letter," she grabbed an old, dirty piece of parchment and turned a pale white while she read,
"' Dearest Lilian,
'I realize how talented of a young girl you are, and as the daughter of two old muggles, this comes as quite a surprise to many. From the lack of correspondence since your last encounter with my employees, I am obliged to assume that you do not desire joining ranks with the most awe-inspiring witches and wizards in the world. I therefore must take drastic measures in hopes that you will reconsider. I have your family captive here in the farthest reaches of the Forbidden Forest, and if you wish for me to spare any lives tonight, please rethink my offer.
Yours truly,
Lord Voldemort'"
"You--you think she went after them?" Emily stuttered, weak in the knees.
"Of course she did! You wouldn't just let that happen, would you?"
"I--I don't--don't know. . ."
"You really are useless in the face of danger, aren't you?" Anna snapped.
"He's really p--powerful. She c--can't face him alone!"
"That's why we're going down there!" shouted Anna, pulling on her robes.
Emily sat back, still as a brick.
Anna rolled her eyes. "If you want to do any good for our best friend, you'll be dressed and waiting for me by the time I come down from getting the boys." She stormed out.
James, who hadn't moved an inch since Sirius' visit earlier in the day, woke with a start at the sound of Anna's "Alohamora!" at his door.
She burst in, expecting all of the Marauders, and looked even more distressed than before when she found only James.
His unshaven, tired face shocked Anna as it curled into an expression of fear, one she rarely saw on him.
"What is it?" he demanded.
"Lily." She explained the situation hurriedly.
He immediately shot out of bed, rushing to gather his clothes, wand, glasses, and invisibility cloak.
His voice took on an intimidating tone that Anna instantly respected.
"You and Emily go find Dumbledore or McGonagall, whoever you reach first. I'll head down there and try to stall."
Anna nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly and thankfully, and turned to leave.
James slipped on his cloak, and sprinted down corridors and staircases, over the grounds to their darkest corner, then slowed to a cautious, yet brisk walk through the forest, toward a high, cackling laugh.
---
"So, beautiful Lilian," Voldemort stroked her cheek, sneering as she jerked away, repulsed, "what do you say to my offer? I can provide you with much more glory and satisfaction than you will ever receive by being buddies with Dumbledore."
She glanced up at her frightened parents who were floating above her head, suspended by hooded Death Eaters. They seemed to be enjoying the cruelty.
"I will never join someone who uses magic to torture innocent people, no matter how powerful you are!" she said calmly, despite her raised, disgusted voice, yanking her arm out of his grasp.
He shook his head amusedly, "Lilian, Lilian, I thought you would have learned by now," he pointed his wand at her mother and began to yell "Crucio!", but was halted by her unusually high-pitched "Don't!".
He grinned, turning toward her and laughed.
"You expect mercy from me, giving nothing in return? I play fair, Lilian. And I expect nothing more from myself than to repay you for your sheer cheek."
He wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her into him, pointing his wand straight at her. Her heart raced, and her palms were sweating, but she knew she had to remain collected if she wanted to gave any chance of getting out of this mess.
He cackled once more, "This is only the beginning! Cruc--!"
"WAIT!"
Lily jumped, alarmed to hear a new voice.
"Expelliarmus!" James yelled, disarming Voldemort.
He smirked, turning to the source of the spell. "You think that will stop me , you silly little boy? James Potter, I take it. You look just like your father. And you think you're just as much of a valiant hero. . ."
All of James' rage and uncertainty from the past few days was burning, threatening to burst.
"Stupefy!" he shouted, shocking Voldemort, allowing Lily to take advantage of his momentary lapse in control, and broke free of his hold, running to James' side.
Voldemort regained his composure and laughed at James. "What in the world could possess you to attempt stunning the greatest wizard alive?"
"I would do anything for her. . ." he felt slightly embarrassed, so he added, "and anything to stop you!"
"Well that's quite profound. But also quite naïve of you. You, boy, still have much to learn." He spun James into his grasp, and pointed a fellow Death Eater's wand at his throat. "James!" Lily yelped. She heard a faint rustling sound quickly growing louder behind her.
He made eye contact with her that warned her to stay where she was.
"You know, I have heard good things about your skills as well. We could use some talented youngsters such as yourself."
"Never," James growled, struggling slightly, "Even if you were the greatest wizard alive. Which you aren't. That would be Albus Dumbledore."
"I am gratified, James, but that's Professor Dumbledore to you," came a wise, deep, voice.
Lily turned, ecstatic to see her headmaster.
"Release the Evans's or I will be forced to curse you into oblivion," Dumbledore commanded the Death Eaters. Voldemort nodded ever so slightly, and they followed orders. "And the boy, Tom."
He reluctantly allowed James to return to Lily's side where she was tearfully hugging her terrified parents.
"You think you intimidate me?" Voldemort asked, not moving from his spot.
"I do not wish to flatter myself," Dumbledore said with a smile, "however, you and your friend would be unwise to stay here much longer, for it will soon be swarming with trained military wizards."
"This is not the last of us by any means," Voldemort said, all of them suddenly disappearing with cracks.
Dumbledore turned around.
"Mr. and Mrs. Evans. We will be arranging a safe living environment for you for the time being, as the threat to you is clearly great at the moment. You will be transported there immediately after we have that situated. In the meantime, you will be sent to a facility so our healers can repair any damage done to you tonight."
Lily and her parents exchanged a tearful goodbye, and Dumbledore sent them off.
"Follow me back to the castle," he instructed.
They walked a while before he spoke again. "I don't know how to react to my Head Boy and Head Girl out of bed in the middle of the night, presenting themselves to a potentially fatal situation."
Lily, still silently sobbing, pleaded, "Professor, you must understand. He had my family. I couldn't let anything happen to them because of me!"
"It would have been wiser to at least inform an elder before rushing off like that. And that does not explain your position, Mr. Potter."
"He had my. . .Lily," he said, for lack of a better term, "I couldn't let anything happen to her." He glanced over, saw her blushing, blushed himself, and looked down.
Dumbledore smiled knowingly, and nodded.
"I will let it go tonight, in full hopes that you both gained a lot from this experience. I do not expect this to happen again. Ah!" he exclaimed pleasantly, "your portrait hole, I believe," he winked at the Fat Lady, who had one eye cracked open.
"Quaffle," James said quietly, allowing Lily to enter first. She was ambushed by Emily and Anna, and he slipped unnoticed into the Head Commons.
"Lily!"
"I'm so glad you're all right!"
"We were so worried!"
They hugged and she whispered, "I'll tell you all about it in the morning."
They nodded concernedly.
She turned, her mind racing, to the spot on the wall that James had just vanished through. She pressed her hand to the stone and found herself face-to-face with James Potter.
She fell, exhausted from resisting Voldemort, grief-stricken from knowing her parents could be in grave danger, and touched by James' unfaltering dedication to her, into a heap on the couch, weeping steadily.
James perched on the edge of the couch next to her and rubbed her back gently.
She felt comforted deeply by the warmth of his touch, and thought back to James saying, "I would do anything for her." This is what she had needed to know all along. What she wanted more than anything was someone to care for her unconditionally like James had shown he did tonight. She trusted Dumbledore to keep her family safe, and he had promised her they could keep in touch, so she tried to put it out of her mind, settling down a bit. She raised her head slightly and began to say, "Jam--" but was cut off by James' "shhh."
He pulled her into his lap and stroked her hair as her sobs slowly died down and she fell asleep.
He understood. He hadn't meant to prove anything at all tonight. And what he had done, in fact, was incredibly daft. But when he heard Lily was in trouble, his brain didn't even pause to think. And in turn, he expressed his unspeakable feelings. He knew this was what she--and he--had needed all along. He stayed awake most of the night, elated, looking into Lily's delicately beautiful face. Even without her piercing eyes open, he still was drawn in by the enticing charm he had fallen for.
---
Lily woke up in the morning feeling confused and as though she had not slept one minute. She tried to move, but was restricted, and began to panic, remembering the previous night, until she realized it was just James.
James, she sighed. The answer to her prayers. The one person she now knew she could count on for anything. It had taken so much time and heartbreak to reach that point, but now everything was fine. More than fine, really. Perfect. They were perfect. He was perfect.
She looked at his handsome face, smiling, before laying her head back down on his chest.
He slowly opened one eye. "Good morning beautiful."
She was blissful. Sunday morning, her parents were safe (or as safe as they could be considering the current circumstances), and she and James had finally figured it out.
"Good morning. When did you fall asleep?" she asked, scrutinizing the bags under his eyes and his exhausted appearance.
He glanced at the clock, and replied, "about an hour ago."
"James! Go lay down! Get some sleep! You've been pretty deprived of it in the last few days, from the looks of you."
He laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She smiled and patted his arm, standing up and stretching. "I'm sorry for everything. For being so difficult. And causing you so much trouble," she apologized.
"No! It's not your fault. I was a wallowing idiot!" he stood, facing her.
"If I had never doubted you. . .you had every right."
"If I hadn't been such a prat in the past few years, you wouldn't have had to doubt me."
"If I had just seen through your act in the first place. . ."
"If you just hadn't been so irresistibly beautiful. . ."
"If you hadn't been so damn charming. . ."
"If you hadn't been so. . ."
Lily cut him off with a finger on his lips, her face close to his. She placed her small, warm hand on his cheek and leaned closer. Her eyelids fluttered shut and his flew shut in response.
The moment I've been waiting for my whole life! James thought excitedly.
"Oh!"
The two jumped apart at the sound of a third party.
"Oh good heavens!" she muttered, "I didn't expect. . .Well, I just didn't know. . ." Minerva McGonagall paced back and forth, flustered.
Lily, blushing, looked down, hands fidgeting.
James, hardly phased (he was used to awkward moments, seeing as he was a part of the Marauders), said, "Minnie? Is something wrong?"
"Oh no!" she said quickly, avoiding his eyes, while still trying to look composed, "nothing like that, Dumbledore just wanted me to pass on the message that he will be holding a meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m. in his office. The password is 'licorice wands.' I'll just. . .leave you two alone now." she turned and quickly left.
James looked at Lily, smirking at the situation, placed his hands around her waist, and said, "so. . .where were we?"
She looked deep in thought and ignored his question. He let go of her grudgingly.
"I wonder what the meeting is about?" she asked, sitting on the couch.
"I don't know, probably just to set some new security or something like that. Nothing to worry about, I'm sure."
"Yeah. . .well I should get to Emily and Anna. You know, fill them in before they lose their minds."
He chuckled slightly, "Okay, I'll see you around for breakfast."
She kissed him on the cheek before leaving.
---
"And so. . .we're sort of. . .together now!" Lily squeaked out.
"Oh, Lily!" Emily and Anna gushed, hugging her. She'd taken them on an emotional rollercoaster through her story, but it all ended on a good note.
Lily glanced cautiously at tear-stained Anna, who looked terrible, and noticed her looking.
She knew she'd been a downer recently, but she couldn't help it. She got a pained look on her face as she decided to come clean.
"I just don't know what to do!"
She flopped her face into a pillow.
Lily pulled her hair back and played with it while Anna continued.
She was fresh out of tears, but her voice quavered nevertheless as she said, "I just got scared. I had no clue what to say. I didn't see it coming."
Emily spoke up.
"You didn't see it coming? The whole world saw it coming. Are you blind?"
Anna and Lily glared at her. "Well, I just thought that, you know, after the last time, that that was it," she flipped over, to look at her two friends.
"Oh honey! You can't deny how you feel for someone. You can't just ignore your heart. I should know," Lily said.
"He said he wanted to be with me. He said he loved me."
"Of course he loves you, Anna. Don't you feel the same?"
She screwed up her face, and then a look of realization washed over it. Her eyes widened.
"Lily! I do want to be with him! Oh God no. . .What am I going to do?"
"It's simple. Go talk to him," she stated obviously.
"It's not. And I can't."
"And why not?"
"I'm scared."
Lily snorted. "Of Sirius? Come on, Anna. I know he's intimidating and all, but it's just Sirius."
She smiled. "You're right."
"Well then," Lily urged, grabbing her hairbrush from the small table by the bed, and ran it through Anna's hair.
"Okay. . ." Anna sighed reluctantly. She got up and looked at Lily before her knees buckled and she fell back on to the bed. "Bloody hell. I'm in love with Sirius Black."
All right guys. Here's the deal. I'm soooooooooo soooooooo soooooooooo sorry! It's been so long!
But I hope this chapter is long enough and satisfying enough to make up for all of that.
If I don't have any readers left, I'll understand.
But here's the good news. I wrote this, and some more instead of studying for my two exams that I have next week! Well. . .Good news for you, anyway.
Please tell me what you think. If I've lost touch with the story, or even writing, feel free to let me know.
I really hope you enjoy it. And again. I'm sorry! The next chapter will be even better (hopefully)!