House: Slytherin
Category: short
Prompt: [Action] Sleeping
Word Count: 805
A/N: So that I do not lose points, there are various dark themes such as canonical character death, slight AU, and sleep deprivation in this fic. If such themes bother you, do not read on.
A/N #2: Thank you Kristina, Lorax and Sofia for beta-ing :)
oO0Oo
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light.
-EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY
oO0Oo
"Look, I've been busy, okay?" Lily said rather defensively. Pointing the kitchen knife at Sirius, she gestured with it as she continued, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is trying to kill Harry, to kill us, and I'm not going to let him."
Sirius sighed, raking his hand through his hair. "I know, Lils, it's just… I'm worried about you." When he had walked into the Potter Cottage, he had immediately noted how sunken her eyes were, how pallid a hue her skin held, how her slender hands had trembled as she held the door. "Please take care of yourself."
"Don't worry about me," she replied, a tired smile on her lips. "I'll take care of myself once Harry and James are safe, Sirius."
"Lily, you can't keep staying up all night trying to invent protective charms or potions. Harry and James need you. I'm serious."
"Aren't you always Sirius?" she said with a soft chuckle.
"That's not the point!" Godric, she was stubborn. "Lily, I need you to take care of yourself. Get more sleep!"
She sighed. "Fine, Sirius, I'll sleep tonight."
"Thank you," Sirius huffed. Then he leaned on the countertop, lowering his voice confidentially. "James has been worried about you, too. Says you hardly sleep. Says you hardly eat. He's worried that you're going to burn yourself out."
"I know, I know." She returned to chopping, refusing to meet Sirius's eyes. "But I know I won't survive this war. But I have to make sure Harry and James do. Even if it means working incredibly long hours."
"Lily…"
"I don't have long, Sirius. I'm going to die, so I have to do as much as I can. I might be exhausted now — but I'll have my eternal rest soon enough." She laughed, a sharp, bitter, tired sound.
Sirius stared at her, unable to believe this was Lily Evans Potter standing before him. "Have— have you told James yet?" was all he managed to say.
"Not yet," she answered. "But I will soon. I just have to accomplish something first.
If I told him, he'd insist I spend every waking moment with Harry, but this war… defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named… it goes beyond us." She paused, putting down her knife. "I'm researching how he is still alive. Dumbledore suspects he is partially immortal… and to stop this war, we need to find out how to kill him."
Sirius blinked. "Really?"
"Yes," she replied, picking back up the knife and cutting open a tomato, sending its bright red innards all over her cutting board. "What I'm doing — it goes beyond Harry, beyond James, even beyond the Order. Everyone will be better off when that monster is dead. Even the Death Eaters. And I'm close — I'm so close."
Sirius swallowed hard. "Wow," was all he managed to say. "You're—- you're amazing, Lils." He walked around the counter and enveloped her in a hug, holding her fragile frame close to his own. "But I still want you to take care of yourself," he murmured into her hair. "Please."
She was silent, standing there in his hug… then she murmured, "Fine."
That night, Sirius didn't leave the Potter Cottage until he was certain Lily was asleep. But it hadn't taken much; a muttered incantation had been enough to send her to the couch, where she lay sprawled out and snoring, drool puddling beneath her cheek.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
A week later, he would return to the Cottage only to find it in ruins. Icy cold dread pooled in his stomach as he sprinted inside, his wand drawn. He passed James' crumpled frame, fixated on only one thing: finding Harry. He could grieve later — his first duty was to his godson. If said godson was still alive.
He burst into Harry's room. Bizarrely, the first thing he noted was the intact crib. Then he saw the toddler lying in the crib, motionless… "Harry!" he shouted, his grief threatening to overwhelm him. "No— not you too—" He tenderly laid one hand on Harry's little arm… and realized that the child was warm.
"Pafoo?" Harry's emerald green eyes — Lily's eyes — were looking up at Sirius, alert and curious. "Up!" he demanded, stretching his arms up at Sirius.
"Okay pup," Sirius answered with a groan, lifting Harry from the crib. "I— I think I'm going to be taking care of you now…"
"Momma! Momma!" Harry cried, leaning precariously in Sirius's hold.
"I don't know where—" Then Sirius's eyes fell onto where Harry was pointing. "Oh— Lily."
She lay on the floor like a rag doll, her limbs bent at unnatural angles, her green eyes open and unseeing.
Harry blinked. "Momma?" he said, his voice quavering.
"Your— your momma is sleeping," Sirius answered, his own voice trembling as he knelt down to gently shut Lily's eyes. "She— she's going to be sleeping for a long time."