Disclaimer: Everything you recognize is not mine, everything you don't recognize is all mine.

Rating: Rather mature subject, do be supervised while reading this, if not, don't say I didn't warn you!

A/N: Mwuahahaha…well I hope you liked last chapter. A lot of things are going to happen…so pay attention!

Chapter 21-Of Catching and Crying

Lily was falling quickly; she felt the air rise up her legs. She kept her eyes closed tightly, hoping not to see herself splat on the ground. But luckily James's reflexes were perfect, he caught her arm with both his hands, and slammed against the railing because of the force her weight was creating. He kept himself from falling off as well.

Slowly James pulled her up, and over the railing. Lily held onto his shirt to keep from falling again or from pulling him over as well. When James looked her over he noticed that she was pale and very clammy. Lily was shaking horribly; she looked like she was getting sick. She began to sob and cry into his shirt; James just stroked her hair to calm her, which wasn't having any effect. They could hear teachers running up and down the stairs and through the silent hallways to reach them. The first one James saw was Professor Dumbledore.

"James, Lily?!" He said in a hurry while running down the stairs. "Are you both alright?" James nodded, still stroking Lily's hair while she grasped tighter onto his shirt.

"Someone was out of bed and so we followed them, but whoever they were tried to push her off the side of the stairs…" James glanced at her and noticed that she grabbed hold of his shirt tighter.

"Well they must have gotten away now, so there is nothing that we can do about it. You two should go to bed." Dumbledore shooed them off and Lily let go of James.

Lily walked quietly beside James; she stopped shaking and looked as if the color returned back to her face. James couldn't help but keep looking at her and wondering what she was thinking about. She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged, knowing what she was asking and looked away. Lily looked at her feet while walking.

"James…who do you think was out of bed? Why?" Lily questioned softly, her voice deep with thought.

"I'm not entirely sure, but whoever they were obviously doesn't like you much…" James shrugged.

Together they walked closely; Lily's hair lay in her face, hiding her expression. James slowly pulled her hair back behind her ear, she smiled warmly at him and took his hand in hers, and he slowly lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. The simple touch sent shivers through out her body and she blushed a bit. James laughed a bit and quietly they walked the rest of the way back to their dorm.

The next morning James didn't come down to breakfast. Continually Lily looked for him through out the entire school and the Great Hall, but no sign of him could be found. She stopped one of the Gryffindor Quidditch players if they had seen him and they said no, she sighed and continued on. She saw Professor McGonagall walking quickly towards her.

"Oh Miss Evans, thank goodness that I found you. Mr. Potter is in Professor Dumbledore's office at the moment, you have to go there right away." Her voice was sort of frantic, she pushed Lily off and continued walking, and she looked as if she was near to tears. Lily didn't have time to ask any questions.

Lily quickly walked to Dumbledore's office and entered silently. Her attention was first drawn to James who was sitting in a chair; he was bent over, his elbows resting on his knees, hiding his face with his hands. Lily could have sworn she heard him sniffle as if he was crying. Dumbledore sighed and signaled for her to sit in a chair near him. Quietly she walked over and sat down in the chair, wondering what was going on.

"Lily…we have just received terrible news from the ministry that your father and his wife and children have been murdered last night." He sighed.

Lily's eyes widened, tears filling them, threatening to drown her within their pools. Slowly she blinked back her tears and took a deep breath, she wanted to scream. James looked up at her, his eyes were blood shot and his face was very pale.

"What exactly happened?" She asked, shrieking a bit.

"Well, we don't know who did it exactly, but we have reason to suspect that Lord Voldermort had his followers do it." He glanced at James who was staring at Lily. "Now, I'm sorry for both your losses, you both may take the day off from school if you wish." Dumbledore said sadly.

Lily left the room silently, James followed after her, and she glanced at him and had concluded the same thing had happened to him, she sighed and hugged him tightly, tears from him hitting her shoulder. Quietly they stood there holding onto each other tightly, tears streaming down their faces. James took a fistful of her hair in his hands and crushed the softness between his fingers; lightly he put his hand to her neck and gently massaged in to comfort her. She sighed a bit and relaxed into him.

Lily didn't want to move from that spot, she just wanted everything else to go away forever. Slowly James pulled away and smiled comfortingly at her, he took her hand in his and together they walked to their common room, she walked to her room and changed into a pair of pajama pants and a dark tanktop. She ran her hands through her hair and walked back into the common room and sat down on the couch. Next to her sat James, he was staring at the fire, transfixed, his eyes were glassy and his hair looked rugged. She didn't want to say anything to disturb him he looked peaceful and handsome.

James sat quietly, his mind running through a million different thoughts at one time. He was filled with so much information and questions that he was about to explode. He sighed slightly, the fire made him relax, it reminded him of Lily's hair and how it waved in the wind or when she walked. James could feel Lily staring at him, but he ignored it, he didn't want to look at her, he felt ashamed for her seeing him cry. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and could see her staring still. She glanced away and went to the other couch on the other side of the fire; she picked up one of her books and began to read it.

This time James was staring at her, she looked so beautiful with her hair over her shoulder, shadowing half of her face from the fire that reflected off of her perfect skin. He blinked and found himself sweating a bit, trying to keep under control. She glanced up at him, her green eyes met with his. Lily smiled at him slightly; James blinked a second then looked away.

"So…um, James, do you have a date for the Christmas ball?" She asked quietly. He shook his head.

"I didn't think you were going…" James looked back at her.

"I wasn't…but…now I have no choice." Her chin quivered a bit but she stopped herself from crying.

James got up and sat beside her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her close to his chest. He lightly kissed the top of her head; she leaned against him and blinked. A tear slowly slid down Lily's cheek and she sniffled, James glanced at her and held her a bit tighter, she gripped onto his shirt and began crying. He didn't know what to do; she was making him want to cry with her.

"Lily…Lily…it's ok. Death is just a part of life…I'll help you get through this." James was feeling horrible inside.

Every bit of him was crying out to help her; he mentally closed off his own wanting to be hugged and to cry into someone's shoulder for his loss. She needed him more. He was just happy to be in her arms at least, holding her close, even if he were to die; he'd die a happy guy. He looked down at her and noticed she had stopped crying, but was still holding onto him tightly. James closed his eyes lightly and leaned his head on top of hers; he ran his hand lightly up and down her arm.

Lily relaxed and leaned comfortably against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. She didn't want to move, he seemed like the only person now who understood her. She blinked and looked at the floor, she began to feel horrible. He was treating her with such kindness, while before she had treated him like he was nothing. Mentally she slapped herself to keep from going into another fantasy. This was not the time, nor the place. Lightly she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. James hadn't moved in a while, and his breathing was slow, he was also asleep. They sat together, sleeping in each other's arms, the light of the fire licking softly across their skin, keeping them warm.

A/N: Well…. there you have it…kinda sad yet very sweet…so sorry it took me a long time to put a new chapter up, I didn't realize how long. Eh, well, as soon as I finish typing up a chapter on Siriusly James it will be updated too. Anyways…please review…ttyl.