Two days snailed by and Lily woke, at twelve midnight of the second night. She looked around curiously, wondering where she was. She had, obviously, never been in an Infirmary before. Next to her bed was James Potter looking at her with relief.
'Phew! I was almost thinking that you'd never ever wake!' James said.
'… Where am I?'
'In the Infirmary. You fainted for two whole days! Thank goodness it's Easter Break or you'll be missing lessons,' James said.
'…'
'Are you okay?'
'Yes. What are you doing here?' Lily asked.
'Wondering if you'd ever wake. I'm in charge of you, remember? And I'm your friend, too,' James said.
'…'
'Okay, maybe I'm not your friend, but you're mine. Friends don't leave each other,' James said. Lily eyed him carefully.
'What does that mean?' She asked at last.
'You'll understand some time later. What happened?' James asked.
'…'
'What happened?' he repeated. 'Before you went unconcious? Heck, even Sirius got freaked out for a moment!' James said, chuckling as he remembered how Sirius's face looked like on that fateful day.
'…'
'How about some chocolate?' James asked, offering her a piece of the candy.
'Chocolate?' Lily echoed. 'Is it nice?'
'You never eat a chocolate before?' James asked, surprised.
'No. Petunia always takes things from me,' Lily said dully.
'Try it, then,' James said, giving her a generous piece. Lily looked at it before taking it from James. She nibbled a little.
'It's sweet,' she said matter-of-factly.
'Yep! Nice?'
'Very. I tried to buy them at school, but Petunia and her friends snatched it from me,' Lily said. 'Also, I'm not allowed to eat any chocolate because dad and mom say that it'll raise my temperature.'
'Ack!!!' James yelped. 'I shouldn't have given you!'
'I'm alright now. bec cured me of it last year.'
'Oh. So can you explain to me why is Ouija different from the one you were using?' James asked hopefully. Lily thought for a little while, as if trying to find some words.
'Ouija is fake practice,' Lily said bluntly, after a while.
'Fake practice?'
'Any commoner could do it. Even muggles. They thought it was black magic but it isn't,' Lily said, nibbling her chocolate like a rabbit nibbling its precious carrot.
'But the book…?' Lily hesitated for a moment.
'That's why I said only known knowledge lies in a book. As far as I'd known, black magic believers are rare. Most wizards and witches daren't believe in that. As many of us are superstitious, we kept as far as we can from that. I'm a muggle-born and can be a little superstitious as times, though not always. But this spirit talking turned into a habit. A habbit that can never stop,' Lily said.
'What is it called, then, the one you were using?' James asked.
'It's called the fivepoint-star board, or more commonly known as the Unogua Board,' Lily said quietly. She continued, 'There are others, too. A sixpoint-star and an eightpoint-star, both known respectively as Dosta and Tresna board. The more points the stars have, the more dangerous the board is. Mine is only a low one.'
'But it goes—'
'Yes. The names Unogua, Dosta and Tresna bear the meaning one, two and three. Generally. Unogua means lower-classed board. It can be played by a maximum of two people. Dosta meaning middle-rating board and can be played only by a skilled medium with a maximum of four players. Lastly, the Tresna Board bears the meaning of First. This one is highly dangerous, suffice to say, and can only be used by very advanced mediums, which are rare. Any number of people can play this board, but their life's on a thin line. A very thin line,' Lily explained.
'This is spooky,' James said, shuddering a little.
'…'
'Cerberus's potions just got destroyed. Sirius brought me the news just this morning. All of them are mixed and destroyed by a simple M14 bomb. Can you imagine that?' James said, deciding to change the dreaded subject of the Unogua Board.
'Yes. They did it.'
'Who's this "They"?'
'Them.'
'The spirits?'
'No. I can't say their names.'
'How about writing?'
'No. Maybe Bec can tell you.'
'Well why can't you?'
'…'
'Answer, please!'
'I just… can't.'
'Voldemort?'
'No.'
'Grindelweld? Oh no, he's gone. A clue, please?'
'… okay. He lieves beneath the world, beneath Atlas,' Lily said.
'Huh?'
'Pluto.'
'What?'
'Do you know Greek and Roman legends?'
'A little,' James admitted.
'Pluto is the God of Death in the Roman legends. Him, who in the Greek legends, is the brother of Zeus, master of Cerberus, God of the Underworld,' Lily said dramatically.
'Hades?' James guessed suggestingly. Lily nodded numbly. 'You're not kidding, are you? He doesn't exists!'
'… He does,' Lily shivered.
'I thought it was only some stupid legend! C'mon Lily, you know that!'
'No… he exists. And I can't say his name,' Lily said timidly.
'Why can't you?'
'There are things that shouldn't be known at times,' Lily said.
'Lily? Don't be offended if I ask you this, okay?' James said.
'… I'll try.'
'What did you go through as a child?'
'That I'm never offended. I can't answer, either.'
'Why not?'
'It's better to not know things than to know them. To let them be is the best way, if not the best solution,' Lily said quietly.
'So do you or do you not?' James demanded rather impatiently.
'… No. I don't think it's a lot,' Lily said. 'Just a handful, I would say.'
~**~
'Hey Bec,' James greeted.
'Hello James! Where's Lily?' Hart asked. Lily walked out and sat on the couch quiestly, her fingers clutching the small bag tightly.
'She wants to say something,' James said.
'Bec, Aunt Mie wants to speak to you,' Lily said solemnly. Hart's face was drained of its colour.
'What?'
'Aunt Mie wants to talk to you,' Lily repeated to her cousin.
'I- I can't. I don't want to,' Hart shuddered. 'I don't… dare.'
'She wants to! Why won't you let her? One will do! She misses you a lot!' Lily persisted.
'Lily, I-'
'Please, Bec? For me?' Lily begged. Both James and Hart blinked.
'Why you?' Hart asked blankly.
'Please?'
'Lily, I'm busy,' Hart said curtly.
'Aunt Mie won't take long. Five minutes is all she wants. Please, Bec!' Lily pleaded.
'… F- fine. I- I will,' Hart stuttered finally. James looked up with interest.
'Can I see?' he asked.
'Your wish,' Lily said, taking out her Unogua board and the little gold coin. She placed it in the middle and Hart shuddered a little before placing her finger on it. She looked at Lily.
'What do I do now?' Hart asked. Lily said nothing but placed her finger on the coin, next to Hart's.
'Aunt Mie,' Lily said softly. She then said to Hart: 'Bec, whatever happens, never take off your finger unless I ask you to.'
'O- okay,' Hart gulped. Suddenly, the coin started to move. It shook a little, at first, before pushing and nudging at its side. Hart nearly went right through the roof when Lily slowly lifted her finger from the coin. The coin, still with Bec's index finger on it, slided to the letters B, E and C. James stared in amazement as it flew around the parchment swiftly. The coin – no, more accurately, the Spirit – was forming the letters to spell out what it wanted to say.
'I miss you, too,' Hart whispered. James concentrated on reading the coin's next sentence.
YOUR FATHER MISSED U VERY MUCH
'I'm… sorry. But I really am afraid of this,' Hart said, punctuating it with a gulp.
Y
'I'd end up getting in trouble! Lily's here now, though.'
I AM NEXT 2 LILY N JAMES.
James had an urge to ask how Hart's mother knew his name but wisely shut his mouth up. He stared at the empty space between him and Lily. Is the spirit really there?
'Work's fine. The students are nice, and so are the other teachers,' Hart said.
I THINK NOT YOUR AUNT JIE WENT TO HIM BECAUSE SOME 1 CALL LILY A MUDBLOOD
'No wonder,' Hart said, smiling a little. 'I thought Lily got you guys to take revenge for her.'
WE DIDNT DO N E THING
'You shared informations with her,' Harts said bluntly.
REPAY
'Oh.'
I THINK IT IS TIME TO GO NOW BYE BEC
'Um, bye,' Hart mumbled.
Lily, who was reading a book all the time, looked up suddenly. The coin siddled back to its place at the HOME and rested snugly in the lines.
'You can take off now,' Lily said. hart shakily removed her index finger and started sobbing. James stared in both amusement and wonder.
'I told you,' Hart sobbed quietly. 'I told you I wasn't strong enough.'
'Thank you,' Lily said quietly, helping her cousin up. 'Don't worry, she may be lost in the eyes and in life, but she'll always remain faithfully in your heart. Memories live on forever without fade. It's okay to cry, to think and to miss. But it's not good to dread and resent.'
Hart sniffed sadly as her puffy eyes looked at Lily.
'Thank you,' Hart whispered. Lily just stared at the stone ground. James wondered if he was really bothering at that moment.
'Come on, Lily, let's go,' James said. Lily said nothing but packed the Unogua into her bag and left with James, her usual stony face glancing blankly at everything around her.
'Mudblood,' Snape sneered at Lily when they walked past the corridor.
'She has a name, Snape,' James replied coldly.
'Really? I didn't notice. What is it? Mud-blood? Or is it Mud Blood?' Snape said sarcastically. His hooked nose turned to the bag Lily was holding. 'What's that the mudblood's holding?'
'Nothing,' James snapped.
'Hey mudblood! What's this?' Snape said as he tried to snatch it from Lily. Lily tightened her grip on the black bag.
'Answer me, Mudblood!' Snape demanded.
'…'
'So, you're really mute, eh?' Snape sneered.
'…'
'Speak!'
'She has her right to use her voice, Snakeblood,' James hissed.
'What's in that bag????' Snape yelled.
'…'
'I command you to speak!'
'Yeah. And we're the super-powered humans,' James said, rolling his eyes at this pathetic looking scene where a Slytherin couldn't get his way from a Gryffindor. It looked pathetic to James, anyway.
'No, I'm Wonder Woman,' Lily said.
'Huh?'
'…'
'Give that to me!' Snape ordered.
'…'
'…' James echoed. Snape frowned and made the move to pull it off Lily's hands. Lily pulled out her wand.
'Wingardium leviosa!' she said, pointing at Snape. And to the Slytherin's surprise, he was levitated up to the air. Lily swung her wand downwards and Snape fell down flat on his face.
'Ouch! That must be a broken nose already,' James said, wincing. 'How about we finish our Transfiguration essay now, Lily?'
'Okay,' Lily said, as the two purposely stepped on Snape to go on their way.
'I'll get you for this, Potter, Mudblood!!!' Snape yelled to no one in particular when he woke up.
'Shut up, Snape! Five points off Slytherin!' McGonagall barked. 'Yelling at the corridors like that!!! Another five points for excessive use of language!'
~**~
AN: I thought maybe I'd have Snape here to be trampled over for a short while :P Azara told me that it was probably the funniest part of all, goodness knows why. I had totally forgotten how many chapters this fic will take, but I had a L/J romance idea just squirming to run out of my mind soon!! And no, this isn't L/J because it's only their second year *smiles sweetly* I know I might get myself killed if I DO complete it right to the second or third last chapter because I was strangled over that time… oops! Pointless rambles ^^ anywayz, Ginny :) and I just posted Even Angels Make Mistakes! so please please please!!!!!! Review for us and this story, too! Thankies ^_^
