Chapter 6- After The War
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story, they all belong to J.K Rowling.
A/N: Sorry for the wait for this chapter! Thanks to everyone who has read the story! Also, I realised that I never wrote about when the trio was at Malfoy Manor, so there will be a flashback at the beginning of this chapter. Also, there will be scenes in italics, which are the scenes that Lily, James, Sirius, Fred, Remus and Tonks see, but not from their perspective. On with the story!
Lily sat silently, her eyes unfocused as she thought about her son's adventures. All of them had shaken her, but none as much as their adventure at Malfoy Manor, although the thing that had unsettled her had nothing to do with her son at all. What had scared her was the torturing of Hermione, just because she was a muggleborn. Her thoughts drifted back to what had happened that fateful night.
*Start flashback*
As the snatchers took her son and his friends to Malfoy Manor, Lily felt an overwhelming sense of dread. The Malfoys were notorious Muggleborn haters, and Harry and Ron wouldn't be much better off, one being a blood traitor and Harry being well… Harry Potter. She shuffled closer to her husband and saw that he looked worried, but Lily could tell that he hadn't thought of the horrors the trio were going to face just because of their blood status. James saw the pale and drawn look his wife so often assumed these days and saw worry swirling behind her eyes as well as horrifying realisation. It was clear that she needed his support tonight, perhaps even more than she ever had needed before. "Lily, what's wrong?' He asked gently and grew more concerned as she shook her head, not meeting his eyes. The snatchers hauled Harry, Hermione and Ron through the gates, and James gave a weak smile as he saw Lucius' peacocks strutting importantly. As they entered the manor, Lily gripped James' hand tight when she saw that Bellatrix was there as well as Narcissa, Lucius and Draco, and closed her eyes for a second. A wave of thankfulness washed over Lily as Draco didn't identify Harry, but she knew that they wouldn't be able to escape so soon. She was appalled, but not overly surprised, at the Death Eaters' treatment of Hermione and the dread returned tenfold when Harry and Ron were separated from their best friend.
"Oh no.' Lily hissed, quietly enough that James didn't hear her. He wouldn't be able to understand fully what this meant for Hermione, and she didn't feel like explaining it either. All she could do was sit tight and hope for the best. James let out a sigh, and looked at his wife, wishing she would tell him what was wrong.
"Lily, please. What's wrong?" He asked gently but sternly, running a hand through his hair distractedly.
"Just watch." She muttered softly, her eyes determinedly fixed on the scene unfolding in Malfoy Manor. James put his arm around her and tried to catch her eyes. And then the screaming started. A terrible, drawn-out bloodcurdling scream that muffled Ron and Harry's horrified yells. James' mouth opened to form a perfect 'O' as he realised what was happening to Hermione.
"Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry." He apologised profusely to his wife, who had started to shake. She curled up into a ball and buried her head in James' chest, sobbing in horror and sadness as the screams kept on coming. James grew steadily more pale as he thought about what this meant. That could have just as easily been his wife who was being tortured. His fierce, loving, daring, courageous, compassionate wife, who so often reminded him of his son's best female friend. She could be the teenage girl in Malfoy Manor, and he could be the scared and angry lover, drowning in the screams of his girl being tortured by a ruthless Death Eater. James shivered slightly and pulled Lily closer, trying to rid his head of the gory images that kept revealing themselves. They watched the teenagers, Ollivander and Griphook escape with Dobby's help, and Lily gasped when she saw Hermione. She was pale and shaking, and Lily saw a wonky word written on her forearm.
"Mudblood." She whispered and felt James shake his head in horror. Lily was willing her son to get out, as Bellatrix was getting more and more enraged, and she shrieked when the glinting silver knife spiralled its way toward her son and the brave house-elf.
*End flashback*
"Lily?" A deep, calming voice jolted her out of her reverie. She looked down sharply and was met by the chocolate-brown eyes of Remus Lupin. "Are you ok?" He asked, seeing that her cheeks were stained with tears. Lily nodded and realised that she had been crying whilst thinking about the events at Malfoy Manor. She hurriedly wiped away the tears and nodded at Remus.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just… thinking." She said, and Remus looked at her inquisitive.
"About what?" He asked slowly, not sure whether he should be asking considering her current fragile state. However, she looked at him calculatingly, before deciding to tell him.
"I was thinking about the night at Malfoy Manor. More specifically how Hermione was tortured." She said softly, and Remus put his arm around her comfortingly. Whilst he wasn't there when the ordeal at Malfoy Manor had happened, the Order had been informed, and Remus had convinced Harry to tell him some of what had happened just before the Batlle Of Hogwarts started.
"I don't want to sound insensitive, but why?" Remus asked, sitting down next to the young woman.
"I'm not sure. I guess it's because in the aftermath of the Battle when everyone down on Earth is celebrating, all the horrors are coming back to me. Like, everyone at the Ministry thinks that it was an easy journey, and the Order only knows half of what truly happened. Harry, Ron and Hermione faced horrors that nobody else has ever experienced, and they haven't told anyone with complete honesty about what they overcame, and I want to be down there with them. I want to envelop Harry in a tight, big, warm comforting hug, and reassure him that everything will work out. I want to help him through the mental struggles he is going to face, instead of being stuck here, watching helplessly." Lily finished with a slight tremor in her voice. Remus pulled her into a hug, but there was nothing romantic about it. He and Lily had always had an interesting relationship. They were both bookworms and sometimes felt slightly outcast from the antics of Sirius and James. They often talked to each other about things that James and Sirius wouldn't understand in the way they needed to be understood, and they were both considered different by some people in the Wizarding World, Remus being a werewolf and Lily being a muggleborn. She smiled up at him, and he grinned back, his golden-brown hair flopping in front of his eyes. "Where are the others?" She asked, noting that Remus had come alone.
"Oh, fooling around somewhere, y'know." He said lightly, waving his hand in the direction he had come from. Lily smiled slightly before facing her friend, a serious expression on her face.
"Remus, how are you?" She asked, and upon seeing him open his mouth, continued quickly."And I don't want the usual response of I'm good, because you have been married for less than a year, and you just left your 1 month-old child." She looked imploringly at him and felt her heart break when she saw tears in his eyes.
"Dora and I haven't had a chance to talk, but I know she thinks about Teddy a lot. We both miss him with all our heart and then more, and if I had one wish, it would be to be able to talk to Teddy just one more time and tell him everything, and that his mother and I left the world so that he could live happily on it." Remus' voice cracked, and the tears spilled from his eyes. Lily felt so sorry for the man, who had been deprived of normal life and love for so long. But in the darkest year the Wizarding World had ever seen, he got married and had a child, whom he lost only a month later. His, Teddy and Tonks' story was so similar to hers, James and Harry's, but she had had her child for a precious eleven months more than Tonks and Remus had. The only other change was that Teddy was going to grow up in the care of a loving, kind and cheerful godfather, who would be able to tell him stories of his parents. Lily privately thought that her deepest wish was that her son had grown up with stories of his parents, instead of being denied any knowledge that his parents were magical.
"Hey, Remus," She said, placing a comforting hand on the man's back. He didn't look up, but Lily knew he was listening."I'm going to go get Tonks, and you two can have some time together." She stood up and hurried off.
Remus opened his eyes slowly and stretched his legs. He looked up and saw the mischievous eyes of his wife looking at him. Slowly, he remembered what had happened the day before, and realised that he must have fallen asleep after his talk with Dora.
"Hey," she said softly, her eyes puffy. He smiled at her, before sitting up and pulling her close.
"Are you ok?" He asked, and she nodded.
"Much better now that you're awake." She said, a look of sadness flashing across her face before it was replaced by a cheeky grin. She stood up, pulling Remus with her."I think something's happening, I've been waiting for you to wake up!" She exclaimed, and the pair hurried over to where Fred, Sirius, Lily and James sat.
Harry awoke early the next morning in his familiar Gryffindor four-poster bed, the events of the previous night hitting him like a tidal wave. He sat bolt-upright and got out of bed. He needed to escape the suddenly stuffy dormitory, he needed to escape the constant, harsh reminders that Fred, Remus and Tonks were dead, along with so many others. Harry reached for his Invisibility Cloak and hurried out of his room, down the spiral staircase, through the common room and out the Fat Lady. He wandered the corridors, before reaching the heavy oak doors that lead outside. He pushed them open, and instead of following the familiar path to Hagrid's Hut, he walked slowly over to the beech tree that sat on the side of the lake.
"The beech tree," James said in an undertone, and only Lily, Sirius and Remus realised the full meaning behind the statement.
He walked up to it and placed his hand on the trunk subconsciously. He felt the rough bark, splintering beneath his fingers, and something else. It felt like an engraving in the tree, and he removed his hand to get a better look. He saw a pair of initials, written inside a heart.
JP + LE
Lily looked at her husband and was none too surprised to see the tears in his eyes.
"I-I can't believe he found it now, of all times," James said, so quietly that only his wife heard him.
"Oh," Harry said, feeling a lump begin to form at the back of his throat.
"Harry?" A soft voice appeared at his shoulder, and he spun around to see Ginny Weasley holding two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. She pressed one into his hands and then saw what Harry had been looking at. "Oh, Harry." She said, and sat down under the tree, beckoning for him to do the same. They sat together in companionable silence, before Harry, slightly cautiously, put an arm gently around Ginny's waist. She stiffened slightly and looked at Harry, but relaxed when she saw the love in his eyes. She shuffled closer to him, and put an arm around his shoulder.
"I love you, Ginny." He whispered, and moved his head forward slightly.
"I love you too." She said and captured his lips in hers. They broke apart, and Ginny reached for her wand. Harry looked at her inquisitively, but she didn't say anything. She reached her wand up to under the initials carved in the tree. Harry's eyes widened in understanding and placed his hand on top of hers on the wand. Together, they carved a new set of initials into the beech tree.
HP +GW
*20 years ago*
James Potter wandered slowly toward the beech tree. His family was dead. His mother and father were gone forever. The early morning mist covered the ground, and it suited his mood perfectly.
"James?" A soft voice appeared at his shoulder, and he spun around to see Lily Evans holding two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. She pressed one into his hands and then saw that James had been crying. "Oh, James." She said and sat down under the tree, beckoning for him to do the same. They sat together in companionable silence, before James, slightly cautiously, put an arm gently around Lily's waist. She stiffened slightly and looked at James, but relaxed when she saw the love in his eyes. She shuffled closer to him, and put an arm around his shoulder.
"I love you, Lily." He whispered, and moved his head forward slightly.
"I love you too." She said and captured his lips in hers. They broke apart, and Lily reached for her wand. James looked at her inquisitively, but she didn't say anything. She reached her wand and put it up to the tree. James' eyes widened in understanding and placed his hand on top of hers on the wand. Together, they carved a set of initials into the beech tree.
JP + LE
A/N: Yay! Chapter 6 is done! It took me a while to get started, because I've been so busy and haven't felt like writing much, but I've finished it! This chapter was a very spontaneous one, and I definitely didn't plan for it to end as it did, but I'm still happy with it! The next chapter should be up in a week :) Also, the 20 years before paragraph wasn't seen by anyone, I just thought it would be nice to put it in after Harry and Ginny get back together.
