A heavy mist fell from the low clouds over as the amorphous mass of black moved over the meadow as it made tentative progress toward its destination across the grassy expanse. For a few minutes, the blob disappeared into a dip between the meadow's wet and rolling hills, before suddenly emerging on the distant slope. This time it climbed slowly, watchful wizards testing the earth with their toes before gallantly leading their witches forward. Finally they crested the large mound, gathering in a circle of black umbrellas around a smaller, fresher mound of earth. Only one stood apart.
Father Earl Drayton waited quietly behind the small gray headstone. Aside from the sound of the light rain splattering the nearby umbrellas, he could hear the familiar symphony of sobs and sniffles contrasted with the barely perceptible sound of skin rubbing against skin as others tried to maintain their silent, tearless stoicism. As a priest he was no stranger to death and certainly not to funerals, both magical and Muggle. Still, it was undeniable that there had been an alarming increase in the former. Before him stood a bizarre gathering of members from the two societies. It was always a delicate dance with first generation half-bloods. Though the ceremonies themselves were largely similar, the schism was always clear. Another example was before him now, watching three pall bearers grasping the handles of the shiny mahogany coffin whilst the others held wands, levitating it. Fr. Drayton nodded as they arrived, settling their burden on the apparatus above the empty hole.
"Friends and loved ones," he solemnly began, "we are gathered today to honor the life of Martin Lankford, a humble man who spent his time on Earth shining the light of his love into the darkest corners of our world. To all who knew him, Martin was a gentle spirit, compassionate and caring, but his quiet nature did nothing to weaken the ferocity of his friendship. Indeed, Martin's departure to the embrace of his Heavenly Father came in defense of a friend and fellow Hufflepuff. Though his passing strikes a blow to us all, we must remember in life the lessons Martin taught us in death. In the face of darkness and evil there is no more valiant calling than the one to lay down one's life in defense of the rights and lives of those less protected." The priest closed his eyes and bowed his head, unable to carry on with more platitudes as the rain picked up. "Pray with me for the commitment of Martin's soul to our Creator and an eternal future filled with unending joy in His presence."
The Muggles gathered came forward to touch or place a rose on the coffin's wet lid before turning away. When the last were safely clear of the area, Fr. Drayton joined the witches and wizards that remained in raising his wand toward the sky. Channeling their energies, light illuminated the outstretched tips in a salute to the dead man's sacrifice. Briefly, the clouds broke in just the right place, sunlight gleaming down through the wetness and onto the fallen wizard's coffin. Allowing it to be bathed in light for several silent minutes, the group finally lowered their arms and left the mass of mahogany and metal to the approaching wizards responsible for interring it. Amidst the suddenly restored dimness, they set about their work with a hurried dignity. Fr. Drayton shook his head grimly. There were already two more scheduled for later that day.
Several hundred miles away, staring into the same gloomy sky was Lily Evans. Her auburn hair stood out strikingly against the gray of the cloud cover behind her and the dark stones of the Astronomy Tower. Though it meant an early start to her morning, Lily was patiently waiting.
Several minutes later, her attention was drawn back within the castle's walls as she heard heavy footfalls on the steps. He was coming.
"Lily?" Lionel called out as he ascended the last portion of the staircase to where his girlfriend was standing. The strapping Gryffindor smiled as he saw her. It seemed a rather odd and unnecessary bit of trouble for a naturally-late riser like himself to meet her here now, but who was he to complain.
"Hi, Lionel," Lily started politely, her eyes downcast and shoulders slumped.
"The Astronomy Tower in daylight?" he asked playfully. "A bit risky don't you think?"
Lily frowned.
"What's wrong?" he asked tenderly, moving swiftly toward the redhead and reaching to gently caress her face.
Lily shut her eyes tightly at his touch, turning her cheek away slightly.
"Hey," he continued. "Talk to me."
The young witch took a few steps away before sighing and lifting her eyes to meet his for the first time. This is exactly what she had been afraid of. Despite the fact that the few weeks since their encounter by the lake had slipped quickly into the same overly-chaste doldrums she had complained of that day, the boy had no idea what was coming. Lily nervously paced a short path from the top of the stairs back to the area where Lionel now stood. "That's why I asked you to come here. To talk."
"Okay," he replied, mildly encouraged despite her flat tone. "What about?"
Lily sighed. "The last weeks of term. Summer–"
"Great!" he interrupted. "I've got some ideas actually…" he started, oblivious to the sad expression that had briefly flashed across his girlfriend's face.
"Yes, well…it's about more than that. We need to talk about us."
"Oh. Err…right. I've never got to this part before," Lionel admitted.
Lily shook her head. "Oh Lionel…"
"What?"
"I just can't do this anymore."
"You can't…what do you mean?"
"This," Lily emphasized, gesturing between the two of them. "I've really tried these last few weeks…but I just…I can't justify it to myself. Summer's coming soon and–"
"Wait," Lionel said, concern enveloping his face for the first time. "You're…breaking up with me? But…why?"
Lily looked upward and sighed again. "You've been a perfect gentleman. You've treated me wonderfully, Lionel. You're incredibly easy to talk to, but–"
"But what?"
"But it's just not enough. I tried to get you to see it at the lake and I thought you had, but then right after it was like we never even talked about it."
"Is this about snogging again?" he asked angrily.
"No!" Lily exclaimed in exasperation. "This is what I'm talking about. It was never just about snogging. It's about spice! Passion! Some bloody initiative!"
"You seemed to think I had plenty of passion that day…"
"Because I bullied you into it! Like everything else! I always have to prompt you to take the next step. To do anything out of our ordinary routine."
"All couples have routines," he fought back. "And you like routine. Merlin, you get your knickers in a twist in Potions every time I try to vary in the slightest!"
"Because the two times I let you vary in Potions, you've always mucked it up. Potter and Black are hot on our heels because of it. Besides, our relationship is not a class," Lily barked, crossing her arms and scowling.
"Still!" he protested. "I can be plenty passionate. Like at the lake."
"I can't wait months for an hour long burst of it. It would drive me mad."
Lionel spun away from her, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. "I can't believe you're doing this! It's completely unreasonable."
Lily paused, trying to let her irritation cool. She needed to take a different approach to this. "Look Lionel. Everything we've had. You've been a great friend. That's why I never pressed it for so long. But I need more from a boyfriend. There's not anything to be reasonable about. We're just not a fit."
"We're a perfect fit," Lionel grumbled.
"In some ways," Lily acknowledged. "But not in ways that I need. I don't want to be the girl who completely controls the relationship. Who calls all the shots and drags her boyfriend along behind her. And you deserve more than that."
"But I want you. I can ch–"
"No," Lily said firmly. "You can't. And even if you could, you shouldn't. You're not some prat who's full of flaws that need fixing. You're a good person. One day you're going to make some other witch very happy. Just not me."
Lionel put his face in his hands briefly, looking terribly defeated.
For a moment, Lily considered giving him a reassuring pat, but thought better of it. "I've got to go…" she said, backing away toward the stairs to leave the young wizard to his thoughts.
"Yeah…" he nodded, turning his back on her to stare at the sky. "Lily?" he called out once more. This time, Lionel's only answer was silence. She was already gone.
Samuel Robbins breathing was ragged as his heart pounded in his chest. As he passed tree after tree in the darkness, he wondered how it had come to this. It was a simple editorial… The pain of his effort bit into his ribs as he sprinted through the woods near his cottage. The smooth soles of his dress shoes struggled desperately to grip tightly to the soft ground beneath him. He brushed a thick trail of sweat from his brow with a sleeve of his expensive silk shirt. Behind him the whooping and cackling continued. Derisory. Insulting. A recklessly fired spell cracked into the tree next to him, hissing as the bark burnt on impact. He had been wise to follow his instincts, fleeing when he had noticed the masked group, clad in all black approaching after they had breached his property's protective wards.
The other side of that coin was that he had no time to change. He had tried to disapparate of course, but they had thought of that. Samuel had been a fit enough man in his youth, but now, after years behind a desk and too many hours each day spent monitoring the political maneuverings within the Ministry instead of training, he was in no state for this. He certainly didn't need the handicap of long pants and ill-suited shoes. Now multiple spells were flashing past or cracking around him. The group was closing.
"Where are you running?" growled a deep voice from behind him.
"Not so brave without a quill!" yelled another gaily.
Suddenly he heard rushing water. How had he not thought of it? This edge of his property had been a terrible mistake to flee toward. He was minutes from a river he could never cross in the middle of this kind of fight. Still, he kept running. A spell grazed his arm, opening a gash that quickly began to leak blood freely. Another blasted the ground nearby, almost throwing him off his stride. Though the spell did not trip him, the distraction was just enough. Forgetting to slow, he bolted too quickly over the lip of a steep downward slope, his momentum forcing him to tumble onto his cut shoulder, rolling almost end over end until his body wrapped itself around a thick tree. He could scarcely breathe after the impact, a sharp pain accompanying each breath as he grabbed his ribs.
Samuel tried to drag himself up, but was immediately struck in the chest by a red light, sending him flying backward. His hand dove into his pocket in search of his wand as the shadowy figures closed on him.
"Looking for this?" one with long blonde hair asked, triumphantly holding Samuel's wand up into the moonlight. "You won't be needing it," the figure spat, mercilessly snapping it in two.
Laughter rang out from all around him.
Panicked, he quickly scanned the area. The masked menaces fenced him in from every direction. He scuttled back on his bottom, pushing away as the blonde and another, thinner figure with jet black curls came ever nearer.
"It's your turn," the blonde said ominously as the black-haired figure raised a wand. While the arm was steady and the distinctive wand cut an intimidating silhouette, the hand shook slightly.
"Do it," the blonde man hissed.
The voices around him began chanting. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" he heard.
The figure took a step forward.
"Kill! Kill!" they chanted.
The shaking stopped.
"Kill!" they urged.
The figure's wand was inches from his chest as he sat dirty, bloodied, and terrified in the soft brown earth of his own forest.
"Avada Kedavra!" the figure yelled.
Green enveloped his vision for an instant until suddenly, Samuel Robbins was no more.
As the light left his eyes, the figure's spirit surged as cheers rang out around her. She had completed the mission. She had finally fully served the Dark Lord. It felt good to be useful.
A/N: A bit later than planned, but the next chapter is here. Obviously the outside world is getting darker, a theme I wanted to re-address here as it will be important and feature with increasing prominence in the next half, and certainly the final portions of the story. What did you think of the final scene here? How about the literal funeral at the beginning?
The other big development is naturally the end of Lily/Lionel. Of course it's been coming for awhile now and as you may have already suspected, the lake was merely a false dawn. I am interested to know your thoughts on that end. Was the dialogue realistic/believable? Were Lily's reasons satisfactory to you? Did I avoid making Lionel too much of a wimp in the break-up scene?
As always thank you for reading and a special thanks to those who have left reviews! I love to hear from you about anything and everything and I love the opportunity to engage with you about the story and hear your thoughts! I will try to get the next chapter up closer to the 3 in the 3-7 day timeframe.