Chapter 21 Something Dangerous
(What We're Fighting for)
" You're a Vance," Emmeline muttered under her breath. She turned and threw a spell towards a death eater before ducking and pressing her body up against a tree.
" Vances don't run from danger- we run towards it."
Emmeline heard loud shouts and ducked right before a spell hit the tree she was hiding behind
" Bugger."
Splinters found their way into her cloak making her look something akin to a porcupine. Shaking them off, Emmeline turned over and could see the dark mark over the sky to the south.
" Em," Gideon grunted as he stumbled out of the woods towards her. Emmeline eyed his cast before sitting up on her own. That particular item had been strapped to Gideon's right arm for weeks on end. He was trying to make something he lost real again. No cast and no spell could fix his hand.
" Moody is going to be pissed," Emmeline replied.
Gideon's lips pulled down at this and he walked after her through the snowing night.
" Not much to be pissed at- we haven't won one of these raids since the Death Eaters retreated from Hogwarts," Gideon mused.
She wasn't on good terms with any of the Gryffindors. All of them wanted her back with Adam, even Gideon. But he was better at hiding it than Marlene and Frank.
Then again, she was closer with Gideon than any of the other Gryffindors. Over time it seemed to occur to the pair that someone was always going to outshine them. Fabian was so much more dynamic and Alice was golden in everyone's eyes. Emmeline was just a looked over happily ever after and Gideon was just one of a pair.
" Did you see Vanity and Jones back there? The States know how to train their aurors," Gideon asked in a conversational tone.
" Well Bishop's there. He must have trained Emma and Hestia," Emmeline answered stiffly. Gideon frowned at her and wrapped his left hand around her wrist. Emmeline stopped and turned to him with an expecting expression.
" You shouldn't push us away for worrying about you- it only means we care," Gideon accused softly.
" I'm not pushing you lot away, we're growing apart. It's natural Gid."
" No you're pushing us away. If we were growing apart then I wouldn't care that Alice is hurting and Adam's hurting," Gideon protested.
" Adam deserves this," Emmeline choked. " He's been doing exactly what he promised not to for years! Adam's allowed to have his secrets but I'm not," Emmeline spat.
" Come on Em, you're Emmeline and Adam- you two are supposed to live happily ever after," Gideon exclaimed. Emmeline's eyes filled with tears and she violently brushed them away before facing him.
Her nostrils flared slightly and she wanted nothing more than to cry. But Vances were brave and she didn't need Adam to be brave.
" There's no such thing as happily ever after; they're just there so kids don't go off and become suicidal maniacs," Emmeline responded with a dark tone. Before Gideon could speak, she grabbed his hand and apparated them to the headquarters of the week for the Order.
Septimus Weasley, although coming along in his age, had enough sense to know right from wrong. Even though most of the Order thought of him as similar to Dumbledore, Emmeline knew his secret. He agreed to join and aid the Order on the condition that none of his sons be involved in its workings.
So when Emmeline was seated next to him when she and Gideon arrived back at the temporary headquarters, Emmeline avoided speaking to him and instead held Edgar Bones's new baby and talked to Amelia, who had been inducted over Christmas Break.
" Sammie Bones is her name, I'm the godmother," Amelia explained as Emmeline cradled the wide-eyed baby. Emmeline brushed one of Sammie's curls back and smiled at the sleeping baby.
" Ed named her after Sam Dearborn you know. They were terribly close," Amelia explained.
" Rick was friends with him- they ran the dueling club back in their day," Emmeline answered with a smile.
" Nasty business isn't it? Henry and Pandora are planning on joining but I think Damian, Louis, and myself are going to sit this one out. It's hard enough to prepare for the NEWTs and manage Order work," Amelia sighed.
At the mentioning of the Dueling Club, Emmeline looked up to where Adam and her friends sat. He was watching her and she frowned at him. He gestured to the door and when Sammie woke and began crying, Emmeline passed the baby to Amelia and ducked out of the room on the pretense of needing a smoke.
It was still snowing and she wrapped her cloak tightly around her form as she stood on the porch of the old Victorian built house. Adam stood near the edge and gripped the railing.
" I didn't know you liked babies," he declared as he stepped into the light with a smirk on his face. Emmeline tightened her grip on her cloak and brushed one of her tight curls from her eyes.
" Well you practically brainwashed me for two years... Not much time to have opinions that weren't yours," she answered sharply. Adam frowned and leaned towards her.
" Don't twist what happened. I only helped you calm down a few times," Adam argued.
" You shouldn't have."
" You shouldn't have told Michael what I told you."
There was silence after this and Emmeline sighed. She reached up and rubbed her forehead before speaking.
" I'm sorry Adam; I'm sorry for breaking your trust like that. But I can't take it back," Emmeline answered lowly.
" I know that but my family is none of society's business," Adam answered.
"Don't you want to know who your dad is?" Emmeline demanded. Adam's mouth fell and closed before he answered.
"I'm not an absolute idiot Emma- I know who he is," Adam answered with a leer. Emmeline pursed her lips and looked out across the hills towards the small town in the distance.
" I know it's not Rick writing to you. He died Emmeline and you may have everybody fooled but I've got a head start on them," Adam said as he tapped his head. Emmeline flushed and walked over to him and forced him to meet her eyes.
" How dare you." Her eyes were filled with hate and Adam leaned towards her.
" Just tell me who you're writing to and I'll drop everything, even the Michael thing," Adam bargained. Emmeline bit her tongue and looked away from him.
" It's not my secret to share," she justified. " Besides I don't want to forgive you." Adam shook his head and turned away from her.
" I was helping you," he countered spitefully. Emmeline shook her head and ran her fingers along the edge of her cloak.
" No you were- you were trapping me. Adam you promised to never use the compulsion charms," Emmeline said breathlessly.
" It's a lot easier said than done," Adam retorted.
" It was my freedom!" Emmeline hissed. Adam's eyes flashed and he turned and grabbed her hand before she could retreat.
" You were free and you still are. I'm not a trap Emmeline- how could you ever think I was?" Adam asked in a hurt tone.
Swallowing, Emmeline answered him. " Because you tricked me into thinking we were gold when we were nothing but lies and secrets," she whispered before breaking out of his grip and walking back into the house.
" Professor Flitwick may I steal Ms. Vance from your class," Headmaster Black asked from the doorway. Emmeline turned and met Adam's electric blue eyes as she paled; the last time she was pulled out of class her parents died.
" Of course, Ms. Vance you're excused," Professor Flitwick answered back. Emmeline swallowed and shoved her belongings into her bag. She could feel Henry and Amelia Bones watching her with concerned expressions as she stood and walked towards the door. She hoped to Merlin that Adam couldn't see her legs shaking when she exited the classroom.
" You're not in trouble Ms. Vance," Headmaster Black noted as he caught her expression. " If anything it's the complete opposite."
Emmeline hadn't been expected to be pulled out of class and taken to the Black Lake of all places. She stood next to Professor Black with a scowl on her face.
" Ah here he is. Mr. Scamander simply wanted to visit the merpeople settlement in the Black Lake," he explained.
Before Emmeline could speak, the ice coating the Black Lake shattered and her cloak blew off as a man stepped out of the middle of the water. She was too stunned to even notice his very lovely bare chest.
" I trust the Merpeople weren't too pleased with your visit," Headmaster Black shouted over the water. Emmeline gaped at the man who broke through the ice and was currently swimming through the frigid water towards them.
" They seemed rather pleased to accept the news I brought of their relations in the Lochs," the man answered as he ploughed through ice and water. Emmeline finally reached her senses to notice that the ice explosion had broken her hairband and her hair fell around her in thick curls.
" Always the type to prove me wrong Mr. Scamander," Black shouted with a jovial tone. The man finally reached the banks of the Lake and stood. He was tall enough to tower over even her. Emmeline Vance, whose height often brought jokes of bumping into ceilings, was currently being towered over.
A large tattoo was on the man's collarbones and Emmeline could make out a pair of bright amber eyes- eyes the color of the full moon, she concluded. A head of ash-blonde locks and a chiseled facial structure was wiped clean of water as the man walked towards them.
His lips pulled up into a perfect wide smile and his eyes flew to her figure. He stopped in front of her and Emmeline's face was directly in front of his collarbones. She could make out another smaller tattoo near his heart but tilted her head up to meet his eyes.
" You're mad," she managed to breath. His smile widened and Emmeline noticed that his teeth were boldly white.
" In what sense? Insane or brilliant, I'd like to think you find me positively brilliant," he answered in an amused tone. Emmeline scoffed and brushed a curl behind her ear. His eyes followed her finger and she raised an eyebrow.
" Insane, it's in the negatives in the Black Lake, besides there's a bloody Giant Squid in there," Emmeline replied.
" Ms. Vance! I do apologize for her Mr. Scamander," Headmaster Black hastily noted. The man raised his hand towards Emmeline and his smile did not falter.
" Don't, do you mind if I steal Emmeline here for the afternoon. I have a proposition for her that she'll need some privacy to hear," the man said in a crisp accent. Emmeline struggled to identify it. It sounded like a mix of different tones but she did pick up a strong Australian undertone to it.
" Not at all. Be sure to bring her back before curfew though," Headmaster Black replied before leaving. Emmeline heard his footsteps fade as the man's hand extended further to her.
" You're Emmeline Vance," he said as though it was something he'd carefully studied. Emmeline glanced at his golden hand and crossed hers over her chest.
" And you're the mad man who decided to go for a swim in the middle of winter," Emmeline responded.
" I think I like you Vance," he started with a loud laugh. " I'm Beckett, Beckett Scamander and I do suppose you've heard of my father Newt?"
" Well I do take Care of Magical Creatures," Emmeline answered. Newt Scamander was an esteemed Magizoologist who travelled the world in search of new creatures to find for his book. Professor Grubbly-Plank worshipped his writings.
" Well I'm crossing my fingers that you find me charming enough to join me for a drink in the Three Broomsticks and a conversation concerning your future," he asked asked. Emmeline weighed her options. Lily hadn't written a letter yet and she had a pile of homework to do. Adam had taken to watching her in the Library from a table with Frank and Alice.
" I suppose so," Emmeline replied nonchalantly.
" That I'm charming?" he asked in a delighted tone. Emmeline shook her head and let out the first honest laugh she had in a very long time.
" That I'm desperate enough for some firewhiskey to join you."
Emmeline swallowed the entire glass of firewhiskey in one gulp. She placed her glass down and sighed from the buzz.
" Like to drink?" Beckett asked as he swirled his own. He'd changed into a set of clothing he left near the shore and hardly looked ready to die. Emmeline shook her head and pulled her tie off and stuffed it into the pocket of her cloak.
" It's been a while since my last. My boyfriend and his mates provide the drinks for parties and we're in a bit of a fight," Emmeline explained.
" Cheat on you?" Beckett asked. Emmeline smirked at this and scoffed.
" He's an arse and it took me too long to realize it, " Emmeline corrected.
" I myself have never had a school sweetheart. My parents thought that joining them on their travels was enough of an education," Beckett revealed.
" Sounds horrid," Emmeline answered. He raised an eyebrow at this and leaned forward.
" How so?"
" I think it's an injustice not to be able to go to Hogwarts. You missed out on many scrolls wasted on essays that would be thrown away weeks after being written," Emmeline explained in a sarcastic tone.
" Ha ha, I went for two years before Dad wanted to go to Brazil and study some of their avian life."
" House?" Emmeline asked. Beckett smiled and glanced at her Gryffindor tie.
" Hufflepuff."
Emmeline's forehead wrinkled and she stared at him in puzzlement. "Badgers aren't terribly keen on the dangerous lifestyle," she muttered.
" Of course I think swimming in a frozen lake filled with merpeople and a Giant Squid is the picture-perfect definition of Gryffindor, but I do like the perks of being a Hufflepuff well enough. We're a friendly bunch you know," Beckett declared with a roguish smile. Emmeline could make out a faded scar along his arm and he watched her.
" What?" she queried with a slight smile.
" You're not what I expected," Beckett answered. Emmeline frowned and tilted her head slightly.
" What did you expect?" she asked.
"Well there's the matter of the stick up your arse. I thought you were a Vance," he explained.
Emmeline gaped at him before narrowing her eyes and glaring at him.
" How is there a stick up my arse?" she insisted.
" You're a Vance- doesn't your lot ride dragons?" he asked.
" That's what we're know for," Emmeline answered tersely.
" I could see you facing a dragon, but you wouldn't ride it. No you'd probably scold it or something," Beckett revealed. Emmeline stared at him in utter shock and he leaned towards her.
" Want to prove me wrong?" he asked with a wild glint in his eyes. Her homework could be ignored. Emmeline grabbed his hand and dragged him up. She could feel her heart racing- she hadn't felt this alive since Adam and her were fighting.
" So where are we going?" he asked as she walked dead straight for the Forbidden Forest. Emmeline turned with a rough smile and twirled her wand between her index finger and ring finger.
" Somewhere dangerous," she answered before plunging towards the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.
" You've got enough ink stains on your hands to write a book and your skin resembles someone who hasn't left the library in ages. I doubt we've got the same idea of dangerous," Beckett mused.
" I'm about to show you why the Forbidden Forest is forbidden," Emmeline promised as they walked further into the forest. Stray sunlight hit the ground and she looked to her side to see Beckett's expression.
His yellow eyes shown with adrenaline and his finger shoved his long hair back. Adam's hair was short enough that it barely brushed his forehead. This man's hair seemed to resemble something of a wild tornado.
" Bloody hell you aren't going to kill me or something," he muttered as Emmeline pulled him down and met his gaze.
" There's an Acromantula nest up ahead. Hagrid, the groundkeeper, took some of my classmates and me to meet one last year. You and I, well we're going to get one of those lovely fangs," Emmeline explained.
Anyone else would have left then and there; Adam would have stunned her and dragged her off too. But Beckett simply smiled even more and reached for his boot.
" I'm in if you'll get my back," he replied as he shoved a dagger in Emmeline's direction and wielded his wand and a small knife.
" For the fang," he offered in explanation. Emmeline nodded and looked over the rock they were crouched in front of. She could make out the outskirts of the Acromantula colony and heard the clicking sound they made when excited.
" Just to be sure, these are the eight foot spiders that have a certain thirst for human flesh right?" Beckett asked.
" Scared?" Emmeline asked.
" Of spiders no. I'm sure you can take care of yourself well enough. But my dad would murder me if he found out what we're about to do," Beckett mused.
" Why? They're not endangered," Emmeline pointed out.
"He'd be upset that I didn't take him along and let him get the killing blow. Mum and him ran into a colony in Brazil a few decades back. Let's just say that the buggers hadn't been terribly kind enough to offer much for his book."
" I'd rather not face all of them so we're simply going to set up a trap and wait for one to come out here," Emmeline instructed.
" They don't stray far from their colonies," Beckett pointed out. Emmeline picked up a small rock from the ground before pushing it against her palm. Blood beaded and she bit her lip to keeping from yelping.
" They will if they smell human blood, I hope you've got some rope in those boots," Emmeline said as she smeared her hand over the giant rock.
About an hour later, dusk had arrived and Beckett was securing their net trap. Emmeline rubbed her hand over nearby surfaces before finally healing it.
" You're awful at healing charms," he stated behind her. Emmeline turned and huffed.
" My roommate wants to be in Mungos so there was no point in me getting terribly good at them," Emmeline explained.
" Nonsense, if you're going to join me in the summer then you'll need to know enough healing tricks," Beckett retorted.
" Join you?" Emmeline asked as he examined her hand and redid her spell.
" I'll explain later, I do believe we've got one of those bastards," he voiced. Emmeline could hear the sound of clicking and Beckett dragged her towards the rock.
" Not a word," he ordered before rubbing fallen leaves and dirt on both of them. Emmeline gaped at him and he held his finger over her mouth.
" They've got fantastic noses," he explained. Wind brushed Emmeline's caramel and chestnut locks over her face and Beckett brushed a few back before looking over the rock. Emmeline ignored the buzzing sensation on her face and joined him.
It was quite the beast, she decided. A large spider with a slight limp approached the rock. Its mouth released several clicking sounds and venom dripped from its maw. Emmeline shuddered as its six pairs of eyes buzzed around the area in search of prey.
" Humans where are you?" it said in a deep voice. Emmeline held her breath as it locked eyes with her and took a step into their trap. Ropes formed under it and pulled it high into the tree. Emmeline watched it thrash about and let out loud sounds of surprise- loud enough to attract the attention of the colony.
" Hurry, more will come," Emmeline quickly instructed as she lowered the net from one tree. The beast was tangled thoroughly and met her gaze and Beckett's.
" Two humans what a delight! I'll have more than enough for a good meal," it hissed. Emmeline ducked as its venom sprayed out and hit a nearby tree. She swallowed as a hole appeared and met Beckett's gaze.
" Now," he ordered as he dived for the beast. Emmeline's fingers were covered in sweat as she reached for her dagger and sprinted to the beast.
" Arania Exumai!" Beckett shouted. Emmeline watched as his spell hit the beast and stunned it. Its body was frozen as she grabbed one of its fangs and pulled it out. Venom and a mix of black blood sprayed out and covered Emmeline's robes.
" Buggering hell," she exclaimed before throwing them off. Black blood dripped down her face and arms but none of the venom got on her body.
She made eye contact with Beckett and he grinned at her and she smiled at him. Then they both heard loud clicking sounds that engulfed the forest.
" Fuck! Let's go before one of his friend's find us," Beckett ordered as he grabbed Emmeline and pulled her after him. And this time she was okay with him pulling them away because they'd faced the dangerous thing that Adam wouldn't let her near.
Emmeline followed him in a sprint as her fingers held the fang tightly.
" I can't believe we just did that," she shouted as they tore through the forest. Beckett let out a bark of laughter and looked over their shoulders.
" Well you certainly are a Vance. Emmeline Vance the Acromantula Slayer," Beckett declared.
" We didn't actually kill it," Emmeline protested. Beckett's eyes glimmered and he grinned.
" I know but everybody's got to get their epithet somehow."
They reached the edge of Hogwarts' grounds and Emmeline let out a delirious cry of joy. Beckett fell onto the ground and stared at the sky with a victorious grin.
" I can't believe we just did that," Emmeline spoke.
" I can, I could see us doing a lot more things like that," Beckett said as he rolled off the ground and stood. His clothing was chaotic and his shirt was ripped and small scrapes covered his skin. Emmeline knew she wasn't fairing any better.
" What do you mean?" she asked as he started walking towards the school.
" I'm leading a team to study dragons across the globe. We're starting this summer and I'd be the luckiest man ever if you would take my offer to agree to a position on this team," Beckett explained.
Emmeline's head spun as she trudged after him. Her fingers were still tightly around the fang and she realized that just like taking his offer she couldn't keep the fang if he wanted the venom.
Adam wouldn't let her study dragons. He'd never sleep a night while she could be possibly scorched alive.
But she wanted to take it. Emmeline liked this adrenaline. It was different than being on a battlefield. On a battlefield the adventure was weighed down by the war. But on adventures like this one, they got to choose their own thrills- nothing pulled them down.
Beckett stopped on the side of the school near the Quidditch Pitch and turned to her. " Look you don't need to give me an answer now. I did my research and I know you've applied to the Daily Prophet and you've got a life here. Taking my offer means leaving your life behind for a year. You're young enough to have options, I'm just giving you another one," Beckett clarified.
" It's not that I wouldn't consider your offer, it's just that there's a war here and someone has to fight it," Emmeline explained.
" By working for the Daily Prophet?" Beckett asked with a raised eyebrow. Emmeline bit her lip and glared at him.
" Someone's got to write the obituaries," she muttered. His face was blank before he let out a roar of laughter.
" You're pulling my leg!" he said between laughs. " There's no way someone like you would sit behind a bloody desk and write up deaths."
" Why not? It's a perfectly respectably position," Emmeline argued.
" For a normal witch maybe, but you're not normal Vance. You'll get bored. You got bored of your boyfriend and you're bored with Hogwarts. We're the same- we're meant to be bigger than just getting a job and living a mundane life," Beckett protested.
" Look I had fun today but I can't take your offer. I have a life here," Emmeline exclaimed.
Beckett scoffed and crossed his arms. " Yeah a girl with a dead family has something to live for."
" How do you know about my family?" Emmeline demanded.
" The fight at their funeral is pretty legendary. Look my offer stands until the summer. Just know you've got another option besides writing how someone's great aunt died," Beckett sighed.
" Here," Emmeline said handing him the fang. " I can't exactly walk into the castle carrying this," she offered with a rueful expression.
" I've got no use for that- I'm not the one who slayed it," Beckett protested.
" Neither am I," Emmeline called. Beckett grinned and his teeth could blind her. The moonlight hit his eyes and made them seem positively hellish.
" Give the venom to your potions teacher and ask him to stuff the fang for you. You'll want that as a reminder of adventure when you're writing obituaries," Beckett answered.
Before Emmeline could speak, his lips were on hers. The kiss only lasted a minute before he pulled away and grinned at her.
" Sorry I just had to do that. I made a bet with myself," he explained.
" Did you win?" Emmeline asked in a breathless tone.
Instead of answering her, he began walking towards the gate to the castle. " That's a story for another day Acromantula Slayer," he said as he disappeared into the distance.
Emmeline clutched the fang to her body and felt her head settle. She felt happy- happier than she'd been in so long. Because this time it wasn't Adam forcing her to be happy. And this time she'd managed to do something dangerous without being pulled away.
Emmeline decided that she liked dangerous.
James didn't understand how Lily's bloody cat adored Remus and Sirius when they were both dogs. He glared at Remus who was stroking Bambi's stomach as he read from their Charms homework.
" He's not that bad," Remus offered. James growled and ran a hand through his hair.
" That cat is evil- it tried to suffocate me in my sleep," James protested. Remus snorted and let Bambi go. The kitten scurried over to James and scratched at his bedpost.
" Bambi fell asleep on you. He's actually rather fond of you," Remus answered as he shut his textbook. James stopped playing with his snitch and flung it towards the cat. He waited for it to let out a sharp wail but it never came. James frowned and looked over his bed to see it playing with the snitch.
" See he's perfect for you," Sirius drawled from his bed. James's lips twitched and he sighed.
" Fine but the cat's getting a new name. There's no way I'll have a cat that's named for a bloody fawn," James declared. He took the snitch from the cat and twirled it in his hands.
" Snitch seems fitting," he noted with a soft smile. The cat walked between his legs and James leaned down to scratch its ear. He could feel it purr against his hand.
" Let's go to Charms before James replaces us with that cat," Sirius said as he stood. James stepped out of the cat's way and followed Sirius and Remus to their charms classroom. As they were working on a set of notes, James spent the period studying the Marauder's Map.
He frowned and looked around the room spotting two missing people, Gastor and Marlene. James idly ran his finger along the map and frowned when he saw that the pair was together in a classroom on the sixth floor with Emmeline Vance.
" Padfoot," he hissed. Sirius looked up from his notes with Remus regarding a prank they were going to play on the fifth year Gryffindors.
" Prongsie my boy," Sirius answered as he leaned back in his chair. James cleared his throat before shoving the map in his direction.
" I thought you should see this," he said. And that was all that was needed.
Jason and Sirius arrived at Quidditch practice, both bloodied and Dolohov told James about the fight the pair got into.
" McKinnon showed up and nearly hexed both of them right then and there," Dolohov said with a simper. " Grabbed Vance and his sister, both hexed him and their spells gave him awful boils you know. Then both Blacks showed up and it was as if the world had ended. Slytherin's lost about fifty points because Sirius accidently hit Vance with a throwback jinx but McKinnon started muggle dueling. Really missed out Potter."
" Take a lap," he ordered the pair before continuing his own around the pitch. His pitch, James wanted to inform them. The pitch that he reserved for two hours just for his team, and two players were late; James narrowed his eyes as he finished his run.
He could see Gryffindors in the stand and turned to start running through exercises with the other members of the team. But Sirius wasn't paying attention and managed to miss a bludger, which hit James right in the gut. Right where Remus had ripped open his skin a few weeks ago.
" Bloody Agrippa," he shouted as he lost control and fell a good seven feet from the air. James groaned into the snow that covered the pitch and looked up to glare at his team.
" Pathetic work today. Next time we practice show up ready to actual play some Quidditch. Flint take over while I go to the hospital wing," James managed to bark.
He didn't make it to the hospital wing before Lily appeared. He was walking up to the castle when her fingers stopped him.
" Let me take a look," she ordered. James froze and felt his blood chill as her fingers lifted his robes and danced across his bare abdomen. Her nose wrinkled and she looked up to his eyes with a sad look.
" That must have hurt," she offered solemnly before letting go and running away. James raised his arm feebly and closed his eyes. He managed to stumble to the hospital wing and get enough pain relief potions to fall into the past.
He didn't mean to wake Lily but there was the matter of her already being awake. James groaned as he entered his bedroom and bumped into Lily's form. Her emerald eyes were red with exhaustion as she looked up through heavy lashes and James's hands reached for her waist.
" I thought you were going to be out all night," Lily muttered stiffly. His jaw locked and James looked down his nose at her tired expression.
" Plans change."
His blood fell onto Lily's wrist and she looked at it before reaching for his shirt. A hiss broke out of James's mouth when her finger scraped the wound bleeding under his shirt.
" What happened?" Lily asked in a breathless tone. Her face lost color as she pulled the shirt up and stared at his wound. Her index finger trailed along its edge and James pulled back in pain.
" Nothing you need to know," James answered in a strained tone. Lily scoffed and for once she was the one that seemed threatening.
" I'm going to heal it and you're going to sit still," Lily declared with an upturn to her chin. James's lips twitched as she pulled him with her into his restroom. She seemed completely unaware of the dirt his cloak smudged onto her nose.
Lily stopped near the bath and pushed James onto the rim before pealing his cloak off and carefully unbuttoning his shirt.
" Always knew you'd take advantage of me Christmas," James said with a smirk. Lily looked up from her crouching position on the floor with a dry expression. Her eyes were streaked with red storms and James wanted to know what made her cry.
When his shirt was off, Lily's face turned slightly green and she turned away quickly to walk over to his bedroom. James watched her and wondered why she was helping him; after all she did think that he had just been on a Death Eater raid.
She returned carrying a box and a white towel drenched in water. Pale fingers reached into the box and handed James a small vial.
" Pepper up potion," Lily said before he could speak. Her wand was at his abdomen while James drained the potion. He could feel the buzz leave his ears. Changing into a stag always made him feel rather rough.
" Terego." Lily murmured. She seemed satisfied enough to look at the wound. James jumped back as her wand probed his gut.
" Trying to kill me?" he muffled darkly. Lily looked up with an exasperated expression and pulled him back. Her eyes froze at his skin and she cursed before falling back. There was something close to terror in her emerald green lenses as she stared at him.
" A spell didn't make that- James that's a werewolf scratch."
His mouth fell slightly and Lily stood in hurried movements. James cursed mentally; of course she'd know what a werewolf wound looked like.
" Let me explain," he finally implored. Lily looked at his arm and he knew she was looking at the dark mark this time.
" You're not a werewolf but we both know someone else who is one," Lily stated firmly. " Why were you with Lupin on a buggering full moon?"
" How do you know about Remus?"
" It's how Jason knew too- we've got built in werewolf radar. Which one of you lot found out first?" Lily demanded. This made James's mind pause; Jason was the one who figured it out first. He only pointed it out to James that Remus seemed to attend his grandmum's funeral five times.
" Jason did," James admitted. Lily's eyes fell to his abdomen and she sighed before meeting his eyes.
" Let me finish that but we're going to finish this conversation," she ordered. James was surprised to see her healing. If he was meant to be on a battlefield then Lily was born to heal. There was something to her spells that felt different from when Sirius and himself did them to themselves and Jason. Her spells seemed to scream perfection.
" How do you know these spells?" he asked as she performed a perfect internal damage checking charm. Lily reached up and brushed a lock of her hair back.
" Selena was obsessed with healing. I flipped through her books sometimes."
James scoffed at this. " You're good."
" Well if I wasn't I would've dragged you to Mungos."
" So you think I don't know how to heal my own wounds?"
Lily stood and looked down at him with a frown. " I'm presuming that this must happen often then."
" Every full moon."
" If this happens every full moon then why aren't you a werewolf?" she asked. James looked in the mirror opposite to them- his gaping gut was left with a quickly fading pink line.
" Secrets are more fun when they're secrets," James answered. Lily frowned and crossed her arms.
" Well I think I'm entitled to this one, especially if Black and Jason are also following Lupin into the bloody great beyond," Lily answered with a snarky tone.
James ran a hand through his hair and wrung his bloodied cloak and shirt into a tight ball before throwing them into the hamper.
" Maybe it's just me," James argued. Lily snorted before blocking his way and twirled her wand with a menacing expression.
" If there's one thing I know, it's that the Marauders do things together. So you can either tell me now or I'll figure it out on my own. But I think both of us know what my way of figuring things out is," Lily threatened.
James felt bile in his throat at the thought of Lily anywhere near Remus in his wolf form. Her thin arms and large eyes would be nothing but a snack for Remus. " Fine but I'm doing this because it's inevitable that you'll find out," James answered.
Lily's eyes twinkled as he pulled her forward and down the hall. " I said not to get me lost in your house."
" It's more of a thing that should be shown than said."
Alice Prewitt liked to think that people were simple enough. They wanted to be stable- but a war did not make people stable. A war made her friends die and break apart. A war made Frank forget Valentine's day.
She woke on Valentine's Day expecting presents to line her bed or roses to fall from her ceiling of her dorm. But none did. Instead when Alice woke, she met the sight of her unusually clean bedroom and a snow-coated world.
The door opened and Frank stepped in. " Why are you still in bed? We're supposed to meet Professor Black today," he explained before shutting her door. Alice could hear him walking down the stairs.
She sat up and huffed before pouting and looking at her ringless finger. Frank has all day to propose, she thought to herself. After dressing quickly and carefully, Alice went downstairs to see Frank and Adam speaking in low voices.
" Are you sure?" Adam asked in a dark voice. Frank nodded and crossed his arms.
" Diggory saw them when he was leaving Quidditch Practice. Said he could only tell it was Em because of her hair," Frank answered.
" What are you two talking about?" Alice asked in a curious tone. Frank looked panicked that she caught them but Adam quickly recovered.
" Emmeline was kissing someone else," he explained. Alice gasped and nearly dropped her bag. Emmeline Vance, although guarded and moody, would never cheat on her boyfriend. Sure she and Adam were in a fight but Emmeline had class.
" I think you need to talk to her," Alice said as she glanced at Frank. He stood and clasped Adam's shoulder.
" She's just going through some stuff- I think Lily's death hit her pretty hard. Marlene told me that Emmeline was in Diagon Alley the day Lily died," Frank offered. Adam nodded but his eyes were still filled with pain.
" It's Emmeline we're talking about; don't worry. I'm sure she's just getting some pre-wedding jitters early," Alice said with a bright smile. Adam nodded and they went their separate ways.
Alice walked alongside Frank to the Headmaster's Office. It had rejected Abraxas Malfoy but accepted Alphard Black strangely enough.
" It's a shame that Emmeline's getting doubts," Alice sighed. Frank looked her way and scoffed.
" It's not like she has much of a choice in this matter," he said evenly.
" If she didn't want to be with Adam then Adam would never force her," Alice protested.
" But it's not up to him is it?" Frank asked. Alice looked down and wondered if he was going to remember the date anytime soon. Maybe a romantic surprise in the Great Hall, she thought.
" Slytherin," Frank said as the griffin statue in front of the Headmaster's office opened. Alice followed him up the stairs and fought the urge to yawn. Her Order missions were taking more and more time.
" Ah my two Head Students thank you for coming," Alphard Black said from behind his desk. Alice smiled lightly and took one of the seats in front of the desk. She hadn't been terribly keen on the idea of another Black in the castle but Alphard Black had been disowned and disgraced, as he did not take the same views as his family.
"Sorry but I have to meet with the Board of governors in an hour so I will be quick. Around this time of year, each professor is allowed to nominate candidates for the position of Head Girl and Boy. Ultimately the decision is up to the Headmaster. Professor McGonagall informed me that Professor Dumbledore took the counsel of previous Head Students in choosing the next pair. I was wondering if you two had any recommendations?" Professor Black asked.
Eliza Rosier had informed Alice of this. Up until December, Alice had thought that the only suitable girl for Head Girl could be Lily. But Lily was dead, she thought glumly. The other options weren't great in her mind.
" We haven't had much time to think about this," Frank started. He glanced at Alice before speaking. " Could we get back to you within a month?" he asked. Professor Black nodded and glanced at the clock.
" Of course, but I will inform you that the current candidates lack a certain amount of diversity. I'm hoping you offer me some better options," he said.
Alice mulled over the idea of a sixth year being Head Girl. She couldn't see Marlene filling in the position- Marlene wasn't the type to be willing to patrol for an hour every night.
" Any thoughts on what Black said?" she asked Frank. He shoved his hands into his pocket as he walked with her to the Great Hall.
" Diggory maybe for Head Boy. Maybe Michelson for Head Girl."
" Diggory always gets a fifth year to do his patrols and Michelson will probably start an orgy in the Heads dorms," Alice argued.
" Michael then," Frank proposed.
" Yeah and I'm sure all of the Prefects would listen to him. Mulciber's being held back a year. If he's got any influence he'll make sure no one listens to Michael."
" One of them has to be pureblood- otherwise the Slytherins will run rampant," Frank started.
" Honestly, I always thought it would be Dorcas and Jason for Heads. But it's strange that one's dead and the other refuses to be prefect," Alice said with a soft laugh.
" Davies?" Frank asked completely ignoring her statement.
" Can barely handle Quidditch Captaincy- I doubt he could balance it with Head Boy too," Alice retorted.
" Christopher Chang," Frank offered.
" More of a follower if anything. Pandora Stronach?" Alice asked.
" She'll probably see one of those bloody nargles she's always ranting about and send the prefects hunting for them," Frank scoffed.
As they entered the Great Hall, Alice could see Emmeline doing homework with Amelia Bones and pursed her lips. Emmeline was supposed to be her friend. Her eyes drew to the crowd at the Slytherin table.
" Remus Lupin," she proposed. Frank shook his head but stopped next to her. His eyes were on a figure near Remus's.
" Sirius Black," He declared with a smile. Alice stared at him ready to pull out a protest but couldn't find one. Sirius was a leader and he did seem able to handle balancing his work and pranks. Alice didn't want to think about his personal life. She watched as Marlene's fingers entwined with Sirius's as they stood.
" Marlene's okay right?" she asked. Frank shrugged and began walking towards Gryffindor.
" She looks fine enough," he answered. But Alice had her doubts. After all Marlene did tell her that Black would take full advantage of the compulsion charms. Alice just wanted to have a little more faith in people.
When she was leaving Charms with Fabian and Frank, the sixth years were entering. Alice had a bad feeling and stopped walking right as a punch sounded through the hallway.
" You're sick," Michael spat as he glared at Sirius Black. Alice moved to break up the fight but Frank held her back.
" Ah are you upset that mommy and daddy are dead?" Sirius asked with a vicious grin.
" Don't bring them up Black! You're treating Marlene like trash- if you actually loved her then you wouldn't do this," Michael exclaimed.
" Do what?" Sirius asked as he pulled his wand out.
" Abuse her mind. She's not your toy Black- she's my friend," Michael shouted. Alice could see his face turning red while Sirius was able to keep his composition.
" You're just bitter because you've got nothing. It's not my fault that you're useless," Sirius taunted. Michael stopped moving and took his wand out. Alice moved out of Frank's grip to stop the first spell but someone else beat her to the punch.
" Stop, both of you stop," a voice ordered. The crowd parted slightly as James Potter stepped through the group. He stood between Sirius and Michael. For as long as Alice had been breaking up fights, Potter would have chosen to get one of the Marauders' backs instead of doing what was right. He chose to fight and Alice had no idea he could excel in diplomacy.
" We've got class and I'd really like to go one bloody day without a duel in the corridor. Padfoot stop bringing McKinnon to every single meal- she's got a life you know," James advised.
He looked sick, Alice concluded. There were terrible shadows under his eyes and she remembered with her gut clenching that Lily wasn't a muggleborn. She was once a pureblood who James Potter was in love with. Lily was why the Marauders were broken- her death could have been right on James's face from the dark look he held.
" Go to class," he ordered the crowd. " Wood stay a minute."
" I'm going to stay and make sure there's not a duel. Go to class," she told Frank and Fabian. They nodded but Frank exchanged a look with her- maybe they had found a candidate for Head Boy after all.
Alice stood near the end of the hall and Michael stood across from Potter with a clenched jaw.
" It sucks doesn't it," James started.
" She's dead Potter and she chose you so of course it hurts," Michael answered.
" You weren't in love with her... You fell in love with the idea of Lily," James said with a dark look.
Michael looked towards the window and Alice watched his fists whiten. He was hiding how broken he was under those parties with the Ravenclaws. He was hiding his heartache under flings with every girl above fourth year.
" I get that you and Sirius don't get along- but he cannot afford to be sent to the Headmaster's office for fighting. His uncle and him don't get along," James continued.
" He's using Marlene," Michel exclaimed.
" Have you ever considered that maybe Marlene wanted this? Lily was her best friend Wood. She lost a lot of people in Gryffindor," James justified.
" She wouldn't leave me," Michael argued.
" I don't like McKinnon but she is a good person. I think she kept other people in front of herself for too long. She loved you lot because you needed somebody to love and accept you. But I don't think any of you bothered to ever put her first. For every single one of you there was someone more important."
" Sirius wouldn't put her in front of the Marauders," Michael retorted. James nodded and a light smirk graced his features.
" But she knows that. She knows that Sirius won't put her in front of us. And that gives her stability. She's learning how to live without having to trust people who keep letting her down," James explained.
" I bet you'd know a lot about that," Michael scoffed.
" My best friend betrayed me Wood- Jason did something unforgivable so I know what it's like to have someone let you down," James said with a dark note.
" What did he do?" Michael asked.
" We've got class Wood," James answered averting Michael's questioning eyes. Alice waited until both of them were inside of their classroom before sighing and leaning against the frame of the wall.
Something was off. James wasn't acting like Michael. Michael was mourning but James wasn't. He was acting betrayed and Alice knew he was. But she had seen him and Lily together. There was no other word for what they had except for love.
They had the type of love that made her heart ache to know that Frank loved her like that, even if he could be slightly forgetful.
Alice trudged into the Heads Dorm ready for a long bath. She spent the afternoon doing homework, studying for NEWTS, and settling a fight between the third year Hufflepuffs.
She hadn't expected roses to fall on her when she entered the common room to her and Frank's dorm. She hadn't expected Frank to be standing in the middle of the room wearing a set of new robes and with a small box in his hands.
He looked into her eyes and Alice's legs felt like they were going to collapse under her as he walked to her.
" Frank what is all of this?" she asked in a breathless tone.
" It's me keeping you on your toes Allie. Come on did you really think I'd forget the day you agreed to go out with me?" Frank asked with a smile. Alice hadn't seen him smile in a very long time. He took one of her hands and knelt to the ground.
" Alice Gwendolyn Prewitt will please you do me the honor of being my wife?" Frank asked in a deep tone. There was a moment of silence and Alice admired how the shadows of the flames seemed to dance around Frank's strong features.
"Well because you said please," she declared with a smile as Frank stood and met her gaze with a goofy grin. Alice pulled him down by his tie and met his lips before smiling against them. Frank slipped the ring front the box on her ring finger and Alice laughed as they broke their kiss.
" Practiced that?" she inquired.
" I paid Adam five galleons to rehearse it with me," Frank answered with a glow to his rich eyes. Alice's heart ached because the first person she wanted to share this with wouldn't be willing to hear her out. If she knew that people wanted nothing more than to be stable then Alice should have been the happiest girl in the world. But without her best friend there to tell, Alice decided that she wasn't actually happy.
It had been much too long since she'd seen Emmeline's eyes pull up into a sincere smile.
Michael stood at the Quidditch Pitch in a snowstorm on midnight. He never noticed how if one stood in the middle of the pitch, the world seemed terrifyingly huge.
" I thought you weren't going to come," Jason said as he came out of the Slytherin side of the pitch carrying two brooms. He threw one towards Michael who caught it with nimble fingers.
" It's this or shagging Melissa Stevies," Michael answered with a smirk. Jason grinned and placed a hand on his heart.
" I didn't know you cared about me that much," he answered in a drawl.
" I don't- Stevies wanted to shag me to get Davenport jealous. I'm not terribly interested in being used," Michael revealed.
" So are you up for this? I must admit that greater wizards haven't been able to do it," Jason said after they both strapped their gear on.
" Broomsurfing? I doubt anyone's ever been able to do this," Michael responded.
Jason grinned and stood with one leg on either side of his broom before flying up to the middle of the pitch. Michael followed him up and sat up as snow flurries clung to both of them. Jason's hair was filled with snowflakes as he swung one leg over the broom and crouched on it.
" If you die I'll be sure to say you did it for the good of the Wizarding World," Michael said with a laugh. Jason bit his lip as he got both feet on the broom. It began to sink and Michael sat forward on his own broom.
" Give it second," Jason insisted as he slowly stood. Against all odds, the broom started to right itself and he stood on a broom. Michael gaped at him and Jason swallowed as he looked down.
" This is the greatest thing I've ever done," he shouted as he leaned it forward and it moved beneath it. Michael watched as he was able to fly around the Pitch standing on the broom.
" Going to join me Wood? Or are you too chicken?" Jason asked with a laugh. Michael grunted and copied his movements. This should have been impossible. But then again he'd never seen anybody try to surf on his or her broomstick.
" I'm riding the snow!" Jason shouted as he flew and leaned his broom down. Michael was finally standing on his own broom and it clicked under him into a straight line.
" All you've got to do is push it," Jason said as he flew to Michael. Crossing his fingers, Michael tilted the broom with his shoes and let out a sound of surprise as it began to fly under him.
" Woo!" he shouted as it picked up speed and he was able to control it with a simple movement of his leg. Snow pelted into his eyes and tears came form the icy flakes.
Jason raised his hand into the air and dove low to the bottom of the pitch, Michael followed after him and Jason moved his broom to the left.
" Are you mad?" Michael asked as they flew through the stands. Jason grinned and let out a peal of victorious laughter. It was the kind of laughter that Michael had no idea would haunt him. But it was the type of laughter that was contagious.
" We're all a little mad."
Michael let out a noise of surprise when Jason's hand tugged on his sleeve and Jason pointed towards the hoops.
" I bet I can make it through the middle one," he said with a dauntless tone.
" You're absolutely insane," Michael answered as he followed Jason to the hoops.
He stopped as Jason sped up and led his broom on a low dive into the middle one. Jason could see his hair skim the top of the hoop.
" I told you I could do it," Jason said as he looped around back to Michael.
" I never said you couldn't," Michael answered with a wide grin. Jason sighed and leaned down to sit on his broom. Michael remained standing on it and Jason brushed his hair out of his eyes.
" James and Sirius thought I was bloody insane for wanting to do this- they refused to do it with me," Jason explained.
" Well we're lucky this actually does work. I think my team would kill me if I broke my neck Broomsurfing," Michael replied as he followed Jason's steps to sitting again.
His head spun as he caught his breath and he looked up to the sky. The stars seemed to blind and Jason pointed to one.
" That's Ursa Minor and right on its end is," Jason started.
" The North Star," Michael breathed. Jason shot him a surprised look and he shrugged.
" I only dropped out of Astronomy because I lost sleeping time," Michael revealed.
" I'm still in it," Jason said with a laugh.
" That sounds like actual torture," Michael insisted.
" Professor Sinistra doesn't actually teach anything- it's an independent study," Jason explained. " One that anyone who's applying to the Department of Mysteries needs."
Michael stared at him in surprise; he always considered Jason Gastor to go into the Quidditch League after Hogwarts. Jason caught his look and buttoned his cloak up further.
" They've got a space room in there with a model of the Solar System. Why else would I suffer through another year of Transfiguration? I hate the class," Jason said with a laugh.
" But you're mates are brilliant at it," Michael pointed out.
" Sirius and James are. I'm barely scraping by; actually I'm failing now that they're not there to help me," Jason revealed.
Michael frowned and looked up to the star-streaked sky. Lily was up there now with his parents and hers and Benjy Fenwick and Dorcas Meadows . She'd want him to do some good. She'd probably be ashamed of him for not doing anything good in a very long time.
Michael supposed that Lily's death made him want to hold onto whatever innocence he had left. But maybe he was just holding onto dust.
" I'll help you," he said in a low tone. Michael was still looking at the sky when he finished. " I'll make sure you pass Transfiguration this year," he vowed. But Michael wasn't making that promise to himself or to Jason. He was making it to Lily. Because Michael was more than sure that Lily was up there- she was his North Star and she was going to guide him into adulthood.
Lily emptied a bottle of ashes out into the sea with a tired expression on her face. That night she would have to do the second part of her mission and Lily knew she couldn't do it on her own.
It took her a month to trek through the Alps and across Greece to get to Athens. She did make a visit to Selena but had to leave as Selena had classes. There was a ring on her sister's finger but sorrow in her eyes. Lily didn't think it was fair for her to ask for an explanation. Going through all of this, she felt like hell had eaten her alive.
Galen wasn't here and she just wanted to be home. Her clothing was dirty and people were staring at her. She wanted her long hair back. But she was stuck with this short mess of curls and tanning skin. She wanted James but Lily was alone.
" Selena said you'd be here," a voice declared from behind her. Turning, Lily had her wand at someone's throat and it fell to the ground when she saw who it was.
" You look like hell," Cassius muttered as he surveyed her. Lily let out a bark of laughter and raised her eyebrow at her brother's gaunt frame and the bandages around his limbs.
" Touché. Aren't you on the run from the Death Eaters?" Lily asked. Cassius sat on the dock and tapped the spot next to him. Lily begrudgingly took the seat and fought the urge not to place her head on his shoulder and never wake up again.
" I'm here to help you- you can't do this alone," Cassius explained.
" How do you know what I'm doing?" Lily demanded. Cassius looked to his left and smiled.
" Julius."
That was enough for Lily to trust him. But she made a promise to figure out why he was on the run in the first place.
" We're doing this tonight," Lily said as she stood.
" After that?" Cassius asked. Lily smiled darkly and looked out over the expanse of the sea.
" Well if I'm still alive then we're going to find a club and drink. If I'm dead you can take what's left of me to James."
On the last day of February, Jason stood across from Emmeline Vance in an abandoned room in the dungeons. He could see that she'd changed. Something was different about how she walked. Before she used to gravitate to Adam McKinnon now she was walking on her own; and the world seemed to gravitate towards her.
" She's got 27 days to come back," Vance declared as she looked at the paper in her hands.
" Lily promised," Jason answered. Emmeline looked up and her ice grey eyes seemed to gleam as she met his. They called her a queen for a reason; Emmeline Vance was regal.
" She's in Greece," Jason started. Emmeline held her hand up and glanced towards the door. There was something different in her eyes when she met his.
" Before we talk about Lily, I need to know something," Emmeline started. She looked almost in pain when she tugged one of her dark caramel curls and met Jason's eyes.
" Did Pericles kill Rick?"
Jason met her gaze evenly and let his fingers land on one of the dusty desks behind him.
" Yes," he answered in a weary tone. He thought that he and Emmeline were getting somewhere. Not friendly- but at least on neutral ground.
" Okay," Emmeline said quietly. Jason watched her and she met his gaze with wide eyes.
" Your brothers' actions aren't yours you know," Emmeline started. " I'm not going to blame you for what Pericles did."
She started to walk to the southern wall where the surface was covered in thick dusted books.
" Did you ever think that Lily chose to not be a Gastor because she didn't want people to blame her for what you lot did? When I first found out who she really was, the only logical reason seemed to be that. Imagine if Regulus or Sirius Black were to be in Gryffindor? No one would trust them- they'd be completely alone."
Mulling this over, Jason struggled to press down his guilt and nodded. " I always thought she was ashamed of what we became," he revealed.
Emmeline turned from the dusty books and shrugged. " I think she doesn't even know why she did what she did. But I'm hoping she'll come back to explain this," she said in a thoughtful tone.
" I'm sorry that Rick's dead," Jason said suddenly. And he really was; for once in his life he could understand why Emmeline Vance was so cold and uptight. She lost a lot and did her best to not let other people get to her. But she was broken under all of the ice and snow that was covering her heart. She was so broken that Jason was strangely reminded of Lily in that moment.
" You don't need to be sorry that he's dead. I don't think I'm sorry that my brother died. I'm proud that he died fighting for what he believed in," Emmeline corrected.
Jason froze and felt his heart let out a painful ache- he didn't know what he was fighting for anymore. He used to fight for his family but they were gone. He used to fight for the Marauders but they weren't going to forgive him anytime soon.
" Do you know what you're fighting for?" he asked Emmeline. Her fingers clenched around a spine of a book and she met his gaze with a thoughtful expression.
" I used to but I think I'm really just figuring it all out now."
There was a sickening twist of truth to Emmeline's words and Jason felt regret for the first time in his life. He felt regret for that very first kill and he felt regret for letting the Dark Lord put the Dark Mark on his arm. But there was no way he could take any of it back without ending up like Cassius- on the run.
" You're young," Emmeline lightly stated with a soft smile. " You've got all the time in the world to figure out what you're fighting for."
" But it's too late for me isn't it?" Jason asked as he pulled his sleeve up and showed Emmeline the tattoo on his arm. Her expression didn't even falter and Jason was surprised to find her arms suddenly around his shoulders.
" That's not you're fault- you didn't choose it," she protested. Jason shook his head and felt tears in his eyes as he let Emmeline Vance hold him. There was something motherly to her embrace- something that reminded him of his mum holding him when he got a cut or fell from his broom when he was a boy.
" But I can't take back the killing; I can't take back what I am."
" There's always time to change Jason," Emmeline declared. It was the first time she'd ever addressed him by his first name. Jason knew in that moment that Emmeline Vance was going to change his life.
" Lily didn't know about Julius did she?" Emmeline asked.
" How do you know about him?" Jason demanded.
" Your mum told me- she told me a lot more than she should have," Emmeline responded.
" Julius knew it wasn't too late to change- he didn't die in vain. He died fighting for the right thing," Emmeline protested.
" Cassius is on the run for abandoning the Death Eaters. I can't just up and join Dumbledore's bloody army," Jason scoffed. Emmeline's lips pulled up and she let go of him with a victorious expression on her face.
"We prefer the Order," Emmeline said. This was the first time she tried to recruit someone and she knew the entire Order would hate her for it. But history would not.
" And we're going to save the world," Emmeline said with a complete tone of utter devotion. Jason could see that she meant it- she was going to fight until she died or until they won. Her side of the war was filled with a spark. His side was filled with sadistic people who were burning the world with no care for who was hurt.
Lily was right; she usually was right. He fought a war his entire life fighting for the wrong side. But now Jason could have the chance to find out what was worth fighting for. He could finally find out who was good and who was bad.
" Help me," he said. "Guide me Emmeline- show me what's left to fight for," Jason asked in a low tone.
" I'd be honored Jason," Emmeline answered with a soft smile. They smiled at each other for a moment and Jason painted a picture in his head. He could save the world with Emmeline Vance and Michael Wood- they knew what they were fighting for and he did realize that a lot of people did not know what they were fighting for.
I'm on a bit of a writing spree and managed to get this out rather quickly with the help of my beta and the reviews the past chapter received. Plot mapping stretches far enough for me to know just enough to say that James and Lily will have an encounter in the following Chapter, which I'm hoping to get out soon.
My offer still stands from the previous chapter; anyone who reviews will be sent a sneak peak of the next chapter.
Other than that, I'm crossing my fingers for this one.
R&R
-Rin