THE WORLD AS BEST AS I CAN REMEMBER IT
And her sky is just a bandit
Swinging at the end of a hangman's noose
For he stole the moon and must be made to pay for it
And her friends say, "My, that's tragic,"
And she says, "Especially for the moon,"
And this is the world as best as I can remember it
Rich Mullins
I'm not sure why I put this here, but this song kept running through my head as I worked on this story. I have no idea what this song really means; the author was something of an inspired poet, and this song is rather beautiful yet impenetrable… still, for some reason it makes me think of this story. So I figured I'd stick it in… and I had to call the story something!
Jenny hurried toward the Potters' house, carrying her broom. She hadn't had a chance to practice Quidditch in a week, and since her parents were out this afternoon, she thought she'd see if the boys were able to play. Besides, she hadn't seen Sirius in a week either.
Sirius was out in the yard, tinkering with something. As Jenny approached, he threw a tarpaulin over it.
"What's that?" Jenny asked, stopping and leaning on the gate. Sirius looked a bit embarrassed, which, Jenny thought, only made him look more attractive.
"Er," he began, "Well, it's kind of a secret…"
"Oh, come on," Jenny said, smiling. "I keep your secrets better than you do!"
"Well," he said, "I suppose – you are right, of course…" he beckoned her in. Curious, she came right up to the object. Whatever it was, it was large. He twitched back the tarp.
"A motorbike?" she asked, staring at it. "Why – that's a Muggle thing… why are you bothering with it?" Jenny knew very little about Muggle motorbikes, but even so she could tell that this one was bigger than most. It was also rather beaten up.
"James and I found it earlier this summer," he said, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. "We fixed it up…"
"Where is James?" Jenny asked, glancing around.
"He, er, went up to see Lily." Sirius grinned. "Those two lovebirds would never make it through the whole summer apart."
Jenny laughed, glad that she was no longer jealous of Lily, even in the slightest. She did wish, though, that Sirius might pay the kind of attention to her that James did to Lily… But it was nice to be around Sirius without James being there too, for a change.
"So, does it work?" she asked.
"It does." He stood it up and patted it proudly. "Works like new. It – it flies, too… Uncle Richard kind of put a charm on it for us…"
"James' dad is almost as bad as the two of you," Jenny said, laughing again. "What would happen if the Ministry found out?"
"They won't. I only fly it when it's cloudy, like today." Sirius glanced up at the overcast sky. "You want a ride?"
Jenny stared at the bike a little nervously.
"Is it safe?" she wondered.
"Probably not," Sirius admitted, grinning. "But that's half the fun, right?"
"I suppose…" Jenny said doubtfully. "Oh, well – all right." She looked at the controls, and decided that Muggles were crazy. So many different things you had to do to make it run. Broomsticks were much easier to use. Jenny noted that Sirius had mounted a compass to the bike, to help him find where he was going, she supposed.
"Great!" Sirius got on the monstrous machine, then reached down and helped Jenny up behind him. "Hold on to me," he instructed. Then he kicked the bike to life. It gave a tremendous roar and leapt toward the sky. Jenny gave a little gasp as they rose into the air. She had expected a ride much like a broom, but this was totally different. She knew broomsticks, how very quiet and smooth they were, but the motorbike roared and jerked its way through the air. It was fast, though. It didn't turn as well as a broom, but Jenny had never flown so fast. She clutched Sirius very tightly.
Then they popped through the cloud layers. Jenny was soaked, but they got above the gray vapor and the sun shone down, warm and bright. Nothing was all around them; open space above and to all sides, gray cloud like a carpet below. The bike's roar was loud in Jenny's ears. Her long hair whipped about behind her in the wind they were making as they rushed forward. Sirius' hair flew about as well; Jenny wondered idly why he didn't wear it shorter. If it were any longer, it'd have been in her face.
Jenny found herself truly enjoying the flight. It was a novel experience for her, and, once she got used to the feel of it, quite fun. She thought of saying something to Sirius but the motor was too loud.
And she enjoyed being this close to Sirius, sharing in his world. I can't believe how long it took me to see that I loved him, not James, she thought idly.
Time passed quickly in the place between earth and heaven. Soon the sun was sinking into the clouds, coloring them red and gold. In the other direction, the sky was going from blue to navy to purple to black. Stars began to appear, one by one. Then the sun's last rays vanished and Jenny could see dozens and hundreds of bright diamonds hanging low in the sky. Six years of Astronomy had taught her the stars well; she saw the summer triangle, bright in the sky, Vega, Deneb and Altair shining in their familiar places. The Milky Way was clear as well. She felt as if she could stretch out her hand and pick them the way she picked flowers in her garden. It was a truly amazing sight.
Finally, they came down from above the clouds. Sirius flew the bike toward Jenny's house, because it was dark and he didn't want her to have to walk. He landed in the lane about two hundred feet from the house. It was very dark; neither could see much. Jenny just sat on the bike for a moment, then realised where she was and hopped off. Sirius climbed down as well; they stood for a moment, looking at each other. Jenny thought for a moment he was going to say something, but he didn't, and she didn't have any idea what to say herself.
"That was very nice, Sirius," Jenny said finally. "I think I'd best go in," she said. "Oh, I left my broom at your house."
"I'll get it and bring it over," he said.
"I'll come by tomorrow," she offered.
"Don't worry about it," he said, and hopped back on the motorcycle. For an instant, he looked at her, the darkness hiding his face, and she again thought he was about to speak. But he didn't, kicking the bike to life instead. With a roar, it took off.
Jenny stood a moment later, then turned and walked up to the house. It was very dark. She turned the knob and was surprised to find the door locked. That's odd. Mum and Dad never lock the door until they go to bed. It can't be that late. She knocked at the door, then stood waiting for a long moment. When the door did open, it did so slowly. She saw both of her parents peering out, her mother's face white, her father's grim and determined. Both had shocked expressions as they saw her.
"Jenny!" her mother shrieked. "Didn't you get the message?"
"What message?" she asked.
"Too late," her father said, desperation in his voice. "Quick!" He pulled her inside. Her mother looked around frantically.
"The stairs!" she hissed, pulling open a door that Jenny had never seen, and showing a dark cupboard barely large enough for Jenny. "Get in!" Jenny wanted to argue, but the fear in her mother's voice made her obey. Her father shut the door and she heard something heavy being shoved across the room and in front of the door. Jenny found a small hole at eye level and peered out. What is going on? I've never seen them so frightened. Something is very wrong here. She heard her breaths, loud in the silence that had fallen, and fast, and she realised just how scared she was.
For a long moment, the hall was quiet. Then came another knock on the door; slow and deliberate. Jenny's parents glanced at each other. Then her father opened the door.
Three dark figures stood in the doorway. The first was considerably shorter than the other two. They all seemed to be wearing robes with hoods. As they entered the room, Jenny felt a dreadful fear. The short figure halted in front of her parents. Who are they? Why are they here? What are they? Jenny's mind spun and she had to fight not to cry out. Something about the figures made her heart beat even more rapidly.
"Have you decided yet?" he asked in a horrible, bone chilling voice. Jenny's mother shivered, but her father stood straight.
"We will never serve you, Voldemort," he said proudly. "Do what you like!" Who is Voldemort? What does he want? Serve him? Why haven't my parents told me anything about this!
"Very well," the figure hissed. "As you wish." Suddenly, the little light left in the room went out. Jenny heard a scream from her mother, cut off halfway, two dull thuds, and the sounds of people leaving.
For a time she couldn't move, couldn't make a sound, couldn't even think. Then, galvanized by an unreasoning terror, she tried to get out of her hiding place. But whatever her father had placed in front of it was heavy, and it took her a long time to shift it.
Suddenly, she smelled smoke. A bright flame leapt up at the corner of her vision. The house was on fire! She redoubled her efforts and managed to make a gap large enough to squeeze through. Rushing out, she knelt at her mother's side. Her mother's eye were open and staring, her heart beating, her lungs working, but there was – nothing in her eyes. Simply nothing. Jenny looked at her father and saw the same thing, and knew, without knowing how she knew, that nothing could be done about this. Her parents were as dead as if Voldemort had blasted them into a million pieces.
The smoke was much worse now; she could hardly breathe. She tried to stand but couldn't, so she crept toward the door on her knees. Then, in the doorway, she saw a tall, dark figure, and knew that one of her parents' murderers had returned to finish her off. Everything went dark.
Sirius stared at the burning house in horror. It had been fine twenty minutes ago when he had left Jenny; now it was an inferno. Could anyone still be alive in there? The house had flames coming out of every window and door; smoke billowed out in black clouds. He dropped the broom that had been his reason for returning and rushed up the steps. Throwing the door open, he saw two motionless bodies, and a third crawling slightly toward the door. As he watched, the figure collapsed. He rushed into the heat and smoke and seized her in his arms. As he had thought, it was Jenny. He pulled her from the burning house as fast as he could.
He laid her gently on the ground, extinguishing the flames that still burnt her tresses with his hands. She lay still, barely breathing. He picked up her hand, felt for a pulse. It was there, but so weak that he could barely feel it. I've got to get her to a healer, he thought frantically. But there was no time, she was dying here.
"No, Jenny, stay here, hang on," he muttered, desperately trying to think of something that would save her life. And then it came to him, as answers always come when you need them. He knew what he could do to give her a chance, knew that it would be dangerous to him and that it might not work… but he didn't hesitate. Thankfully this doesn't need a wand, he thought, taking both of her hands and concentrating. The spell was hard, even though it took no words or wands or potions. He felt drained as he completed it, but he looked at Jenny and saw that she was breathing more regularly now. Some of her burns looked a bit better, too.
He pulled himself to his feet, slowly. He was more tired than he had thought… but he managed to pick up Jenny and stumble to his motorbike. Somehow, he got on, even with Jenny in his arms.
He would never know, later, just how he managed to fly home, or get off the bike. He pushed the door open and staggered in. James had returned.
"What happened?" he gasped, taking a step backwards at the sight of the half-dead girl in Sirius' arms. Sirius brushed him aside and laid Jenny gently on a couch.
"Get a healer," he said. "Your dad isn't back yet?"
"No," James said. "What happened?" He was still staring at Jenny, rooted to the spot in horror and shock.
"No time for that, she's dying," Sirius said bluntly. "You've got to get a healer here. I'd go myself but I don't think I'd make it." He knelt by Jenny's side, trying to see if her pulse and breathing had improved or worsened. They hadn't.
"All right." James looked at both of his friends. "I'll be back," he said, and ran to the cupboard where their school things were kept. He threw it open, pulled out his wand, and turned back to Sirius.
"If this isn't an emergency, I don't know what it," Sirius said grimly.
"Yes, I know, and I'm going now. I'll be back in - I'll be back soon." He Apparated away. Sirius turned all his attention to Jenny. There wasn't much he could do; he had never had a gift for healing, but he tried to make her as comfortable as possible. She was moaning and shaking now, but was still unconscious. Sirius didn't know what to do, but felt he had to do something. Would she recover? He thought of trying another spell, but knew that he'd probably do no good.
True to his word, James didn't take long. With a pop, he and a woman wearing Healer's robes and carrying a bag appeared in the middle of the room.
"Oh, my," the Healer said as she took a look at Jenny, crossing the room quickly. "What happened?"
"I don't know," James said. "Will she live?" The Healer was examining Jenny thoroughly.
"I don't know," she said. "It'll be touch and go here. I think she'll pull through, though." A wave of relief crashed over Sirius. " Whatever you did saved her, I think. Go, I need to work alone." The boys obeyed her order and went into the next room. James sat uneasily and Sirius collapsed into a chair, exhausted.
"Sirius, what happened?" James asked, glancing back at the closed door.
"I'm not sure," Sirius said tiredly. "We went out for a ride on my bike, I left her at her house, came back a few minutes later with her broom, and it was burning up."
"Her parents?" James asked slowly.
"They're dead," Sirius said in a dull tone, running a hand through his hair. "I saw their bodies…. I couldn't do anything for them."
"But you saved Jenny," James reminded him. Sirius nodded. "How did you do that?"
"The life bond," Sirius said quietly.
"The life bond!" James sat bolt upright and stared at him. "But – if she dies, so will you!"
"If I hadn't, she'd be dead now. You'd have done the same thing in my place." Sirius closed his eyes.
"I don't know if I would have been able to do that," James said quietly.
"Of course you would, and so would Remus or Lily…" Sirius sighed. "It was just that I was the one who was there and you weren't."
"That's powerful magic," James said wonderingly. "Very advanced."
"Oh, come on. Next to the Animagus transformation, it was nothing. But I am tired." He yawned.
"There ought to be something we could do," James said, standing and pacing up and down. Sirius would have joined him had he the energy. "Even if we can't help heal her, there must be something we could do."
"Get Lily," Sirius suggested. "Jenny will need her, I'm sure. After all, they're best friends…"
"All right, that sounds good… at least it's something to do," James said. "If Dad gets back, let him know where I went."
"I will," Sirius said. "Going to Apparate?"
"No, this isn't an emergency. I'll go the Muggle way." James attempted a smile, which fell flat, and left the room.
Not long afterwards, Richard Potter returned. He was covered in ash and looked exhausted.
"Where's James?" he asked.
"He had to go get Lily," Sirius said. He was still seated in a chair. He'd spent the time worrying about Jenny, hoping she'd be all right, and trying to ignore his own fears. If she died, so did he. A rather sobering thought.
"I've got bad news," Richard said, his face grim. "The Andersons have been killed."
"I know," Sirius said softly. "I saw their house."
"I know that you boys were friends with Jenny," Richard said sorrowfully. "I'm sorry, but we think it was Voldemort."
"Jenny's here," Sirius informed him. "She's alive, barely."
"She's alive?" Richard looked confused. "But the house –no one could have survived that."
"I had to return her broom, she left it here, and I saw the fire. I managed to get her out," Sirius explained. He ran a hand through his hair. "There's a Healer treating her."
"She'll live," came a tired voice. Sirius turned to see the Healer standing just inside the door. "You saved her life. She needs rest, weeks of rest, and comforting. She'll have some scars, but not too bad –I think her face and most of her body will heal completely. Her hair's gone, nothing I can do about that, but it will grow back. She can't engage in any athletic activity for at least a month, her lungs need to heal. Don't let her out of bed for more than five minutes at a time for two weeks."
"Is she awake?" Sirius asked, getting to his feet.
"Not yet, but soon," the woman said. "You can go in." Sirius rushed past her.
Jenny looked much better, but she still was unconscious. Her right shoulder had a horrible burn on it still, but most of them had gone. Her eyes began to open, slowly.
"Sirius?" she asked slowly. "How did I get here? I remember fire, and a dark shape… like what killed my parents." She blinked her eyes, slowly.
"What happened to your parents?" Richard Potter asked as gently as he could. He'd followed Sirius in.
"There were three of them. Two didn't speak, but they were horrible, tall and dark, just awful things. The other one was shorter, and he spoke, but somehow he was the worst. They called him Voldemort. They said they wouldn't help him. And then I couldn't see, and mother screamed. And then there was the fire, and I couldn't get out, and they were alive but they were gone," she mumbled. "I mean, their bodies were alive but they weren't there. I don't know how that could be, but it is." Her voice trailed away.
"So Voldemort has Dementors working for him," Richard mused darkly. "The Ministry must learn of this." He turned to leave.
"They're dead," she said slowly when he had gone. "Really dead. Am I going to die?"
"No," Sirius said, trying hard to reassure her, and himself. "You'll be all right, in a while."
"Oh," she said. He had to strain to hear her. "I look horrible, don't I?" She turned her face away.
"No," Sirius lied. "You don't." He came closer, and she turned back.
"I know I do," she said. "I can feel enough. And my hair is gone. Mother used to braid it, when I was younger. It was so long. And Dad pulled on it and I'd laugh." Tears began to form in her eyes. "Who is Voldemort?"
"He's a dark wizard," Sirius spat. "Not many people know about him. Uncle Richard works with people working against him, though, so James and I know some. And Dementors –you remember learning about them?"
"So that's what happened to them," Jenny said slowly. "I remember. The Dementor's Kiss. It's horrible. It's worse than just killing them, I know it, that's why he did it. I don't know why he burnt the house, though. I am glad those things didn't get me. I'd rather die like this than from them." Her voice trailed off.
"You aren't going to die," Sirius promised.
"Don't say that," she said. "I don't want to live. Why should I?"
"Jenny!" Lily was in the door, tears in her eyes as she looked at her friend. "Oh, Jenny!" She ran over and knelt at the bedside.
"Lily? How did you get here?"
"James got me," she said. "Oh, Jenny, I'm so sorry."
"Lily," Jenny began, and started crying. Sirius left the room.
"Why did Voldemort go after the Andersons, anyway, Dad?" James asked as the men sat slumped in chairs. Richard looked up, his face tired and gray.
"It's hard to say," he said slowly. "Thomas was very active in anti-Dark Arts circles, you know. Probably Voldemort wanted them out of his way."
"It seems a little excessive to kill them like that and then burn down their house," Sirius commented. His eyes kept straying toward the door of the room where Jenny lay.
"Voldemort uses fear as a weapon," Richard explained, sighing. "Some people are already so frightened of him they refuse to use his name. They seem to think that if they do, he'll notice them, I suppose. It doesn't make much sense, but people who are afraid rarely worry about logic."
"Voldemort could attack anyone, couldn't he?" Sirius muttered. "Nowhere really safe…"
"Hogwarts will be safe," Richard declared firmly. "Not even Voldemort would take on Dumbledore."
"Next year, when we've graduated, I'm going to help stop Voldemort," Sirius declared. "To do such a thing…"
"I'll help you, Padfoot," James agreed. "Poor Jenny."
"I need to go to London," Richard said wearily. "There are people at the Ministry I need to talk to. Do you boys want me to get someone to come here?"
"And watch out for us? No, we'll be fine," James said wryly. "But if you don't mind, I'll be keeping my wand around."
"That's very wise," Richard commented. "If anything qualifies as an emergency, this does." He stood up and walked over to the fireplace, taking some Floo Powder and throwing it into the fire.
"Ministry of Magic!" he called, and stepped into the green flame.
"He must be very tired," James remarked as the boys stood together watching the flames die down. "He always Apparates."
"Jenny's asleep," Lily's voice said from the other side of the room. The boys turned. Lily had tearstreaks on her face, but her voice was calm and level. "It's the best thing for her, I think. I don't know if it's really sunk in yet." Lily yawned.
"It's three in the morning," James realised, glancing at the clock. "We should go to bed too."
"Someone needs to stay near Jenny in case she wakes up." Lily yawned again.
"Not you," Sirius said, looking at her as she blinked rapidly. "I'll do it, I'm not tired." Of course that was a lie, but he knew Lily would fall asleep on her feet if she stood there much longer.
"All right," the girl replied. "I am tired."
"Sure you'll be all right, Padfoot?" James asked as he got up too.
"Fine, Prongs," Sirius assured him. But will Jenny? he wondered.
After James and Lily had gone upstairs, he crossed the room and opened the door quietly. Jenny lay on her side, asleep. Sirius could barely reconcile the girl in the bed to his friend who, a few hours ago, had been one of the most beautiful girls he knew. At least she's alive. He sat down in a chair near the bed. Most of the burns were covered in newly grown skin, and they were all much fainter now. Her once long chestnut brown hair was all completely gone. Sirius looked closer at her and saw tears stains down her face, too. Poor, poor Jenny. How I wish I could do something for you. He wondered how she'd manage to survive the loss of her parents. I'll do anything I can to help you, he promised her silently. And just when I was sure that I loved you, this had to happen. How could I even think of telling you that I love you when you're suffering this kind of tragedy?
He'd been so envious of James, in love with the beautiful Lily, that he hadn't even noticed growing closer to her pretty friend. Jenny had always been someone who he played Quidditch with, someone to play chess with. And then, slowly, he'd seen that she was someone that he wanted to kiss, to spend hours with, to - to love.
"Curse you, Voldemort," he muttered under his breath. "Why do you have to come after my friends? Well, you wait and see. You'll be afraid of my name one day, I swear it."
Sirius looked out the window. The clouds had vanished and he could see the stars, shining brightly still. He heard a sighing noise and turned back to see Jenny's eyes flicker open.
"Sirius?" she asked so slowly and quietly that he could barely hear what she said.
"I'm here, Jenny," he said gently, reaching over and taking her left hand in his. It was not burned; one of the few parts of her body that this was true of. Her fingers curled around his, weakly. It hurt Sirius dreadfully to see how little strength she had left.
"Oh, Sirius," she whispered, "why me? Why my family?"
"I don't know," he said. "But I promise you you'll live. The healer said so, you just need rest and time."
"I don't know if I want to live," she said softly. "My parents are all the family I have in the world." Her eyes filled with tears. "I don't want to be here! I wish I were dead, too."
"No, Jenny, don't," Sirius pleaded. "All of us love you, Jenny. Me and James and Lily, and Elsie and Remus and all the rest of your friends. We'll be here for you. No matter how bad things seem, if you give up they'll never get any better. Hold on, Jenny, hold on to whatever you've got."
"It hurts," she whispered. "My whole body hurts, but my soul hurts more. That's worse than any of the burns."
"I know," Sirius said heavily. "And I won't say that it gets better, either. Because it doesn't really, you just learn to live with it." He stared off into space for a moment. "My parents both died before I was six. Uncle Richard took me in – of course we aren't really related, but he was my guardian – and treats me just like he does James, but it still hurt me to think about my parents." He looked at Jenny. "So I know something of what you feel, Jenny. It's terrible, to lose someone you love. But giving up doesn't make anything better."
"I -I don't really want to try," Jenny said softly, "but I will. For a while, anyway."
"That's enough for now," Sirius said in just as soft a voice. "Later –well, we'll see."
When Jenny opened her eyes the net morning, Lily was seated by her side. Lily tried to smile.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
"No," Jenny said.
"The Healer said you should eat something, though."
"I don't want to eat."
"You need to if you're going to get better."
"I don't want to." Jenny stared at the ceiling. "I wish I'd died back there."
"No, you don't," Lily said firmly. "That would have been the end. Now, you still have a chance."
"No, I don't." Jenny started to cry. "I have nothing. No family, no home, I'm ugly, I'll be scarred for the rest of my life, and I don't even want that to be very long." Lily took her hand.
"You are not ugly," she said firmly. "And the scars will heal, and your hair grow back. For the other – yes, your parents are dead. But would they have wanted you to give up like that? And you have us, your friends."
"You sound like Sirius," Jenny said weakly. "He said the same sort of thing last night."
'Well, he's right." Lily hesitated. "And – I don't know if I should tell you – but – you can't give up and die, Jenny. You can't be that selfish."
"How would it be selfish?" Jenny felt a wave of self-pity flow through her.
"Sirius saved your live, Jenny. Do you know how?" Jenny shook her head gently. "The life-bond. You remember studying that?"
"The life bond?" Jenny stared at Lily. "He did that for me?"
"Yes, he did. So you have to get better, because if you die, so will he."
"Why did he do that for me?" Jenny looked puzzled.
"Because he loves you," Lily said gently. "It was obvious last night. He was so worried about you, Jenny. And I've seen him looking at you, once or twice, when you were looking the other way. Sirius loves you."
Jenny's eyes filled with tears. "If you had told me that a few days ago," she said softly, "I'd have been the happiest girl in the universe. Now…"
"I know. It's hard on you, isn't it?"
"It just isn't fair."
"No, it isn't. I won't tell you any of the false things that people tell each other, about how it'll all get better soon, how you'll get over it. But I will tell you that I am here for you, that James and Remus and Elsie and especially Sirius are here for you. That we are not going to let you give up. If need be, I'll stay by your side every moment until you can get out of that bed. If we need to, we'll carry you everywhere for the next year. It won't be necessary, though; the Healer said you should be healed in a month or two." She looked Jenny in the eyes and smiled gently. "We'll help you all we can."
"If you do, I'll try," Jenny whispered. "I told Sirius I would last night… and I guess I have to try, for Sirius."
"We're here for you, Jenny," Lily said again.
It took three weeks for Jenny to be able to get out of bed. Lily stayed by her side the whole time, just as she had promised, and Sirius was never far off. Richard Potter handled all of Jenny's parents' affairs; apparently they had asked him some time ago to care for Jenny if something happened to them.
"Were they expecting this, then, Dad?" James asked one evening as he and Sirius tinkered with the motorcycle. Richard sighed.
"From what Jenny has said, they obviously knew that Voldemort was after them that night. But I don't think they'd have had much more than a few hours' warning. That's not how Voldemort works."
"But they thought something might happen, right? Why else would they have asked you to look after Jenny?" Sirius wiped his hands absent-mindedly on his pants, staring at the house.
"What I do, what they did, is a highly dangerous occupation. Everyone in our group knows that he might be killed at any time, and has taken precautions… most of the men in the group are not married, though; they have a lot less to risk." He sighed and looked at the boys. "But when Dumbledore asked me to help, I didn't hesitate. That's what your mother would have wanted, James. I do feel much better now, knowing that you two are almost old enough to look out for yourselves if – if necessary."
"Almost? I'd say we are old enough," Sirius declared, tightening a screw. Richard smiled crookedly.
"Perhaps you are… but I hope you don't have to find out." He turned and glanced inside the house. "I'm going in now, boys, unless you need any help."
"No, we're fine," Sirius assured him.
"I'm not so sure we're fine," James said after his father had left. "You've got that wrong."
"Oh." Sirius stared at the problem, then angrily began to fix it. He'd put a piece in upside-down, and there was no excuse for that kind of mistake. "I can't concentrate right."
"Why not?" James glanced at him. "You really haven't been concentrating well on anything recently."
"No, I'm worried." Sirius stuck out a hand. "Screwdriver."
"Worried about Jenny?" James handed him the tool.
"Yeah. Lily says that she's much better, but she really isn't herself at all."
"Really, could you expect her to be the same?" James squatted next to Sirius. "She lost her home, her parents, she almost died…"
"I know." Sirius glanced at the window. "Thing is, I really don't know what to do. I want to make her feel better, but I haven't got a clue what to say or do. I don't want to make her feel worse."
"That's wise of you," James said. "It is very hard to know what to do… I'm glad Lily seems to know."
"Yeah." Sirius stared off. "It's hard to realize that something like that could happen to one of us," he said slowly. "Voldemort really is powerful, and I think he's going to make a lot more trouble for us all before he's through."
James grimaced and rubbed mud off a wheel with a cloth. "It's scary to think about."
"And what if this attack is only the first thing that happens to us?" Sirius looked thoughtful. "Remember that centaur?"
"How could I forget? She did kind of indicate that we'd have to help face Voldemort." James shivered. "I don't really like the idea."
"Neither do I."
"But it's better than letting Voldemort get away with killing people." James looked at the house again. "It's a nice evening. We could see if Jenny would like to come outside for a while…"
"That sounds like a good idea." Sirius jumped to his feet and headed for the door. James followed more slowly.
They helped Jenny outside and into a chair behind the house. She still wasn't able to walk unassisted. The sun was going down behind the woods back of the Potters' house, painting the sky pink and gold. Jenny sighed quietly and closed her eyes for a moment. James glanced at Lily, who shrugged her shoulders. After a moment Lily walked around the side of the house. James followed her.
Jenny looked about when she opened her eyes. She was a bit surprised to see no one but Sirius there…but I suppose James and Lily wanted some time alone. She smiled a little. Sirius grinned at her.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asked softly.
"Well, my body doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did," she said quietly. "And I think I'm finally coming to grips with my parents' deaths." She was surprised that she could speak of it so calmly. The thought of what had happened was like a raw wound still, though. "And I'm feeling well enough to thank you for what you did."
"You are glad to be alive then?" Sirius looked at her.
"Well," she hesitated. "Yes. I am. It wouldn't have helped to be dead, after all. And on a beautiful night like this, I can think that just maybe there might be something left to live for." She looked up at the sky where the first stars were beginning to shine. "Yes, I'm glad to be alive."
"And I'm glad you are alive," Sirius said, still in a quiet tone.
"Sirius –what you did for me, I don't know how to thank you for that. I mean, we both know that that spell was dangerous to you… and I'm still not out of danger. Neither are you." She looked at him and was unable to read what was in his eyes.
"Jenny," he said quietly, "if you weren't going to live, I didn't want to either." Jenny didn't answer him; she just lay there. Sirius continued. "Jenny, you mean more to me than anyone else in the world."
For some reason, his words had caused Jenny's eyes to start watering. A tear trickled slowly down her cheeks.
"But – but," she sobbed, "but I'm so ugly! I'm scarred, I look horrible, all my hair is gone, I may never walk again properly…" and she began to cry. Sirius cupped his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him.
"Jenny," he said firmly. "I do not care how you look. Your hair will grow back; the scars will heal. Even if they wouldn't, though, I wouldn't care. I love you." And he kissed her, gently. When he drew back, her face was wet with tears but her eyes were shut. Sirius didn't know what to say or whether he'd do the wrong thing. When she opened her eyes, though, she smiled weakly.
"You really love me?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," Sirius said quickly. "I do." Jenny sighed.
"I had hoped so," she admitted. "I do love you, Sirius. I've know it for a long time, it seems."
"I guess I have been a bit of an idiot." He grinned sheepishly. "Taking out every other girl in the school, when it's obvious to me now the only one I ever really wanted is you."
"Don't worry," she said. Her voice was getting a little weaker, and it was hard to hear her. "I won't yell at you this time." She managed a very weak smile.
"Do you want to go inside?" he asked, concerned.
"No, I want to see the stars." She took his hand. "Stay with me?"
"For as long as you like." He smiled, but he didn't think she could see him in the gathering dusk. "For always, if I can."
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was busy as ever, of course, as the friends made their way to the train and an empty compartment. Sirius helped Jenny onto the train, and then he and James pulled on their trunks and the girls'. Five minutes later, the door slid open and Remus and Elsie came in.
"There you are," Elsie said. "We looked everywhere." She looked at Jenny and tried to smile. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you, Jenny."
"I know, I got your letter." Jenny smiled, not her once-broad smile, but a real smile nonetheless.
"I'm glad to see you are well," Remus said. "I was worried when I heard about what happened."
"I'm much better now." The door opened again and Peter came in. He sat down on a seat.
"Well, we're off," James said as the train started. "Headed for our very last year at Hogwarts."
"And what may lie ahead?" Sirius wondered. "Excitement, danger, adventure…."
"Laughter, explosions, a few pranks on Slytherins…" James grinned.
"Detention…" Jenny suggested, and everyone laughed. Even Peter grinned as they reminisced about the fun they'd had over the past few years.
Settling back into the Hogwarts routine was easy by now. Nothing really had changed, except that they were now the oldest students in the school. James and Lily were Head Boy and Girl, to no one's surprise. Jenny couldn't play Quidditch anymore; she hadn't recovered enough for the grueling requirements of the game, but she came to every practice and cheered louder than anyone else when Gryffindor took the Quidditch Cup for the second year in a row. James, Remus, Sirius and Peter seemed to be in detention every other night; it was as if they wanted to pull three times as many tricks as in any other year, as a sort of finale on their career. The nights when they weren't scrubbing floors or stairs, they were usually pouring over books of complicated spells. When the girls asked what they were doing, they became close-lipped and wouldn't say anything except that they were trying to help future mischief-makers.
"Not that any of them will be as successful as we are," Sirius added one night. "I'm sure that the school will give us some sort of memorial."
"It'll be on Filch's tomb; 'died of having to deal with Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs,'" James suggested. "We've only got a few months left to kill him, though."
"You know, you should really be studying for the NEWTs," Lily reminded them. "If you want to get any kind of decent job after school, you'll need to do well on them."
"Of course we'll do well, Lily," James said. "You worry too much. Come on, we got thirteen OWLs each."
"Well, you should still study," Jenny put in. "Otherwise you'll end up as a Knight Bus driver."
"Actually, that might be fun," Sirius remarked. "They do make neat bangs. It might be cool to drive the Knight Bus."
"I agree," James said, grinning.
"You two are so juvenile," Lily laughed. "At least you should make Peter study."
"We'll tell him to," James promised. "He can stay in tonight when we go and –what's tonight, Sirius?"
"Something for Snape," Sirius said, his grin widening. "We need to decide what."
"Sabotage his cauldron?" James suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Sirius started flipping through books. "A simple spell to melt it as soon as he tries to use it, or a more complicated charm?"
"You are really incorrigible," Elsie said. "I've got to go study, though. I just can't concentrate here with all this noise."
The friends all did well on the NEWTs; Sirius and James, as they had said, got very high scores, as did Lily and Jenny, who had spent about every waking moment preparing. Elsie had done almost as well as Remus, and even Peter had somehow managed to scrape up respectable scores.
Then suddenly it was June and the end of school was only weeks away. Even Sirius became half-serious in thinking about the future. For a time, at least, Jenny was to be staying with James and Sirius, but she and Lily had discussed getting jobs and sharing a flat in London in a few months. Lily was not looking forward to going home and staying with Petunia, but she didn't really have a choice.
The day before school ended, an owl came with terrible news. Richard Potter had been killed by Voldemort.
None of them went to the banquet. They sat in the common room. Lily tried to comfort James as best she could, but the blow had devastated him. Sirius might have been able to help him, but Sirius, too, had lost the closest person to a father he'd had. None of them spoke much; they just stayed together and tried to comfort one another.
It was very late when James finally spoke. Most of the students had returned and gone to bed. He lifted his head and stared out the dark window.
"Dad always used to joke about us being the last of the Potters," he said. "He said we were once a great wizarding family, but now we were the only ones left. But now he's gone, too, and I'm the last Potter." Lily looked at Jenny, wondering helplessly what to say. Sirius didn't answer James. James' face hardened.
"Voldemort, you better get ready," he said, making a fist and shaking it. "For what you have done, I will hunt you down and destroy you. I will stop you, no matter what."
"And so will I," Sirius growled.
"And I," Remus added.
"And I," Lily and Jenny said together.
"Me too," Elsie said, and "Me too," Peter squeaked finally. James looked at his friends.
"A pact, then? That as long as any of us are alive, and Voldemort is too, we'll fight him?"
"A pact," Sirius agreed. And the others nodded.
That is the end of the Mischief Makers! Congratulations are in order to you all for reading it. Double Trouble is also nearing an end, and I can finally post more because now I've explain some very important things. Almost done with this series!
J. K. Rowling owns and created and must write about Harry Potter and all his friends, enemies, relations, teachers, and other assorted creatures which appear in her books. Everyone who isn't there, belongs to me.
Many many thanks to Blaise, the best beta-reader in the world, for all the work she put in on this story, especially the last part. Thank you for making me see what could be here, and what should not.
Now is the time for all good lurkers to come and review my story…. I really appreciate it when you do, guys, your feedback really helps me.