"Do you remember Lily's favorite
story, Remus?" York asked, sipping tea whilst leaning back in a ragged
recliner.
"If your story was true, that
you are Lily, then your favorite story was always, Altantis." Remus said,
kinda of holding back information. He wasn't sure yet if it could
trust this fifteen year old, red haired, rather familiar-looking person.
"Yes, Altantis," she said,
pointing at him. She cleared her throat and began to sing lightly, "With
light white wings, so high I soar, one day my love, I'll be there. With
dancing swans and golden bees, there I will stay."
Remus remember the song and
started singing with her, "....Fate links thee to me for ever and a day,"
they both stopped and smiled at each other.
"You are Lily," he said standing
up. He stepped closer to her and then took the chair next to her. She smiled
and took another sip of tea. Sirius was sleeping on the couch with was
(like the rest of the furniture) moth eaten and shaggy.
York nodded, and touched the
back of her neck. She aged quickly and turned into Lily as she would be
if she were alive. Her eyes were just as bright, but wrinkles were engraved
in the corners. Several strands of gray hair were flecked among the the
dark red. She let out a dramatic sigh and stood up. Remus followed, and
they gave each other a friendly hug.
"Do you remember that letter
I got in my sixth year from my mother?" Lily asked, letting go of Remus
slowly.
"It was on blue parchment;
your favorite colour. You read it in the morning, and it was around April,"
it was strange that he suddenly remembered, remarkably in detail, everything
that happened that day.
It had been a normal April
day, the sun was low on the great hall ceiling, the owls came in, and one
particular black owl had dropped a letter next to Lily's plate. It was
their sixth year in Hogwarts. She smiled and nudged her head against James'
shoulder. Tearing open the envelope she unfolded a piece of blue parchment,
and briefly read it still smiling and beaming with enthusiasm. Her eyes
gave the sadness away first, she dropped and letter and started crying.
She ran from the table. Her sobs were quiet, but since Remus had stronger
ears since he was bitten by the werewolf, he heard every aching gasp for
breath as she ran from the great hall with incredible speed.
James watched her as she left,
and grabbed the letter forcefully off her plate. He read it quickly. His
jaw dropped and his chair crashed onto the floor as he stood up. His friends
looked up at him, shocked, as he darted off the way Lily left.
"He ran after you, taking the
letter with him, so we didn't even know until almost a week later..." Remus
finished telling his story. Lily was again sitting in a chair. She sipped
some more tea and a tear slipped down her cheek like a frozen crack in
an icicle.
"Sirius found you two first,
then woke up Peter and me and brought us to the Owlery. At first we never
would have guessed it, but there you two were," Remus said taking his seat
again also, "He told you about his Animagus ability and walked around the
lake with you every night didn't he?"
Lily nodded her head, "It was
my only comfort those nightly rides... just like the little girl Altantis'
worries washed away when Pegasus let her ride on his back. And, just like
Altantis, my father was far to important to me too. And he was killed.
I slide into my shell for a long time. I didn't cry a lot, but my thoughts
consumed all of my life and I hide in darkness. It took James two hours
to find me that day. I was hidden too well, up in the dormitory under the
floor boards." she explained, wiping a tear from her eye. Then her eyes
flared an angry red, being an Maelstrom, it was much easier to change thoughts
at rapid speeds, "You guys left me out of everything."
"What are you talking about?"
Remus asked, concerned. Then she turned away, sadder then ever.
"You did, you know. I could
have helped you," she said with a sob (also being a Maelstrom tends to
make you act the way you wouldn't have when you died, despite the age you
would have been), "With Animagi, with the Marauder's Map. Why did you never
include me?"
Remus didn't answer. He tucked
some sandy hair behind his ear, and got to his feet. Lily followed and
glared at him like he was guilty of some crime. He paused for a moment,
before walking over to Sirius and shaking him awake.
"What!?" Sirius snapped, weakly
blinking several times.
"Lily wants to know why we
didn't ask for her help, in making the Marauder's Map, and turning into
Animagi." Remus explained, squeezing Sirius' shoulders. His jaw dropped,
and he gulped weakly. Lily turned to him like a snake waiting to swallow
a mouse.
"I'm waiting," she said sternly
crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Well..." Sirius began weakly,
trying to think of a good excuse, "James said that he didn't want to include
you in the Animagi in case something went wrong and you'd be stuck like
an animal for ever," Sirius spat out quickly, Lily caught every word but
still continued glaring down at him.
"Really? Is that what happened
Sirius? What about the Marauder's Map?" She asked, leering down at him,
while she walked back and forth.
"You were a prefect at the
time. We couldn't ask you... You would have turned us in," Remus answered
for Sirius. He sat down next to his rather sleepy friend, and prayed inside
his head that Lily would believe him.
"Do you think I would turn
in my best friends?" Lily asked, walking over to the couch. Sirius winced,
thinking that he was going to be hit in the head, but when Lily sat down
next to him, he relaxed. Remus' ears perked up. A quiet sob. He turned
to look at Lily, and she held her face in her hands.
"I have to go and talk to James,"
she sniffed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. She took a vial out of her
pocket covered with golden thread and jewels, "Sirius, drink this, and
bring Harry's," - sniff- "stuff to the train tomorrow." Before they could
ask any questions, Lily disappeared right in front of them.
@---@@@---@
"Name?" a stern male voice
asked, high above the sky.
"Potter, Lily," she responded
quickly.
"Mission status?" he asked
firmly.
"Incomplete," it was like someone
turned her into a robot.
"Reason of return?" the man
asked.
"Must contact Potter, James,"
she responded.
"Proceed." It was like an invisible
barrier was lifted from her head. She forced seven foot long silver and
white wings out of her back, and flew across towards the RJ cloud.
"James!" she shouted, "James!
I have to talk to you."
A shaded figure stepped forward.
Lily stepped back, seeing that he was obviously angry with her. His brown
eyes were now flared red and she didn't know how to approach him.
But his mood instantly changed,
"Lily! You're back!" he trotted forward and kissed her quickly. She returned
his kiss and smiled.
"I'm glad you see you're in
a better mood," she said happily, "But we still haven't decided about Harry."
James' eyes flashed red quickly
as he turned and sat down on a cloud.
"What is there to discuss?"
he asked, stretching wearily.
"Well, there aren't a lot of
options," Lily said slowly. She hated making James angry, and she knew
that the next thing out of her lips was liable to make him do something
rash. Lily took a deep breath and spoke faster then she had ever in a long
time, "wereallyhavetothinkabouthissafetyweshouldletSiriusadopthim."
"What?" James asked, he hadn't
caught any of the words, and Lily slumped down onto the soft ground.
"James..." she paused, "We
really should let Sirius adopt Harry."
That just about caused a massive
thunderstorm over England. James would never hit Lily, but at that moment,
he really wanted to.
"No!" he shouted at her. She
got up quickly and looked down at him.
"Why?!" she shouted back. She
was given the ability of powerful voice, but James didn't back down like
most would have.
"I don't want to see our little
boy on the run from the Ministry!" he shouted back, "Sirius can't give
him a good home!"
"It never was Sirius' fault!"
Lily shouted, "Peter is the one that turned us in!"
"Sirius convinced us to switch
to Peter, because he was to much of a giveaway! Sirius should have seen
something coming, he was smart, and so was I! Why didn't I see that coming?"
James yelled, hitting himself in the head.
"You aren't to blame," Lily
said gently, trying to change the subject, "It's all my fault too. If we
have anyone to blame, we should blame each other."
Their argument stopped. They
both looked at each other for a moment, and then hugged, "It's even more
my fault," Lily said into James' ear, "It's my fault we were even attacked
and had to go into hiding... I'm so sorry. I'd kill myself if we weren't
already dead. Then you and Harry would be happy, and I could watch over
you, like we watch over him now. I'm sorry." She started sobbing and refused
to let James go.
"Don't talk like that," James
said, patting her back, "You couldn't have known, you couldn't have known
what would happen, no one blames you. No one ever will blame you."
Lily looked at him with tear-stained
eyes, then she raised her hand and looked at her ring, so that a good memory
could fill her head. Her ring sparkled back at her, and she smiled when
she saw it. Then, as if a light bulb had turned on, Lily got an idea. James
sensed something happen when Lily's bright green eyes flashed with happiness.
She pulled the rather large
ring off her finger and lifted it to her eyes level. It was her wedding
ring, and a very beautiful one at that. Her eyes turned light blue and
the ring split in half. James looked, nearly horrified at this, and was
about to speak when Lily lifted his hand and pulled off his wedding ring.
"I have an idea," she whispered,
holding the three objects in her hand. Again her eyes turned bright blue
and before James could stop her, his ring broke. No words could ever escape
someone's lips after the one they cherished did that to such a powerful
bond.
Lily closed her hand, and opened
it again to reveal two new rings, each half of the other, different in
size but still wearable. Lily slipped the ring on James' finger and then
handed him the other one to do the same to her.
"We will now both return, our
son needs both of us," she whispered, kissing him again. What appeared
to be a spirit of a police officer began walking towards them with hurried
steps. They broke from their kiss and looked at him strangely.
"Yes sir?" James asked, tucking
his hand in his pocket to hide the ring. They knew what they'd just done
had been illegal. It takes a long time for even one Maelstrom to racting
with another, and this would surely cause havoc in the skies!
"Mrs. Potter," he began, "You
have to come with me."
Lily stood shocked, and then
stepped towards him, "By what means, sir?"
"If you don't come with me
now, then you won't be allowed back on the earth, with or without your
mission being completed," he explained, gesturing for her to follow as
he turned to leave.
Lily pretended to follow but
then turned to James, "Come now, we don't have any more time," she hissed,
she held up her hand to reveal the ring, James mimicked the motion and,
with a little bit on concentration, Lily transported him into her ring.
The little gem held James protectively. She looked down to see that he
was instantly put into sleep. Kissing the ring, she ran after the officer
and passed through the gates undetected.