A WALK TO REMEMBER

Summary – The summer before his fifth year, Harry Potter stumbles across his father's old journal from his seventh year at Hogwarts and he reads about the continuous adventures of him, the Marauders, and his mother, Lily Evans; how they met, how they fell in love, and what brought them to their horrendous deaths. This story is based on the movie and book called A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks.

Disclaimer – Unfortunately, I own absolutely nothing. All of the characters and their names belong to author JK Rowling and the plot and character traits belong to Warner Brother's and author Nicholas Sparks.

Chapter 9 – Tough Times:

"What?" James asked quietly, hardly daring to believe Dumbledore's words. He started shaking and trembling severely and he was not sure if it was because of nervousness, fear, or excitement. Sirius noticed and shook James's shoulder roughly, but gently.

"James, she's alive," whispered Sirius excitedly.

"The found Lily, James" Dumbledore repeated. "She's alive." James gave a disbelieving, but an extremely happy laugh and shouted with joy. He fell out of his seat, causing Sirius, Remus, and Peter to laugh.

"Where is she?" asked James anxiously and urgently.

"She's being taken to St. Mungo's but-" Dumbledore could not finish his sentence because James had jumped out of his seat and sprinted out of the Great Hall, still laughing disbelievingly. Sirius, Remus, and Peter's eyes widened as they all stared at one another completely astonished. James was always a very fast runner, but no one knew he could ever run that fast. Dumbledore smiled, with the usual twinkle in his eyes again.

"Who wants to bet that he's on his broomstick right now heading to St Mungo's illegally?" asked Dumbledore smiling. The three Marauders could not help but laugh because they knew that was exactly what was happening.

James did not know or care how fast he was flying through the sky in broad daylight. He did not even care that he was completely breaking wizarding law and the Muggles could probably see him right now. The only thing that mattered to him was getting to Lily; his Lily. He wanted to cry with joy as he flew. Truthfully, he had never been so happy or so relieved in all of his life.

As James approached the waiting room of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries he saw a group of Aurors, doctors, and nurses carrying a stretcher towards the door of Intensive Care Unit. James's eyes widened and he pushed through the men without a word; his eyes set on the stretcher.

"Hey, boy," one of the Aurors shouted as he grabbed James's arm, "you can't go in there." James turned around at the man, kicked him below the belt and ran towards the stretcher. And what he saw, half of him wished he had never looked in the first place.

Lily looked almost dead. She had black and blue all over her face, arms, and legs. Blood was coming from a large cut that had formed on her upper lip, and arm was in a sickening position; it was definitely broken. Her breathing was shallow and slow. In short, she looked like she was actually dying.

Lily had been brutally tortured.

All of the relief that had entered James when Dumbledore told him that Lily was alive had been replaced with concern, fear, worry, and anger. Oh, the anger was spreading through James like poison, a dangerous poison. No one had the right to hurt Lily like that, no one! James swore to himself that he would never let anyone lay a hand on her again. He pushed past the doctors and nurses as he looked down a Lily's injured and bloodied form. Everyone was just staring at him. He was so concerned over Lily's health that he did not notice that Parker Starkson had arrived and had told the Aurors to leave James alone and let him see Lily.

James kneeled beside the stretcher and gently stroked Lily's hand, careful not to hurt it in case it was broken or anything. He did not need to cause any more pain than she was already in. Once again, tears formed in James's eyes as he stared at his Lily in such pain. As he gently patted Lily's hand, her eyes slowly fluttered open and he finally got a glance at this beautiful emerald depths. He almost sighed at the sight of them as she looked around urgently for a second. Her gaze slowly turned on James and she gave him the best smile she could.

"James," she whispered. James put his finger to her lips, though careful not to touch the cut. No matter how desperate he was to touch her again, he did not want to hurt Lily no matter what.

"Shhh…don't talk, Lily," he whispered gently. "You need your strength."

"James, please thank your father for me," she whispered before completely passing out again. The nurse and doctors pushed James and Starkson away as the Aurors picked up the stretcher and carried it into the Intensive Care Unit before closing the door, leaving both James and Starkson outside. James dwelled on what Lily had said before turning to her uncle

"What did she mean by that?" James snapped. "Why does she want me to thank my father?" He did not mean to sound so rude, but thinking about his father always made James extremely bitter and angry. Starkson looked at him startled over his attitude, but then smiled knowingly.

"Your father was looking for you. He was the one who personally went to Voldemort's hide-out and got Lily out. He said she nearly died there," explained Starkson, thankful tears dwelling in his own eyes. "He's a good man Jame, despite the mistake he had made."

James looked at the ground for a minute before running out of the hospital and hopping back on to his broomstick. But, he was not going back to Hogwarts.

James looked at the large, mansion like manor in Godric's Hollow. He stared at it before getting off of his broomstick and slowly walking towards the large, oak doors. James hesitated for a second, and then knocked gently.

Reginald Potter slowly ate his dinner as he watched his wife, Nicolette slowly fill her bowl with thick, steaming, hot soup. Reginald was politely chewing on his chicken and reading the Daily Prophet when he heard a stern, but gentle knock at the door.

"Reg, could you get that please?"

"Sure Nicolette," he said as he stood up and answered the door, silently wishing that they had a house elf for this kind of thing.

When he answered the door, he expected to see some Daily Prophet reporter wanting to question him about his latest mission or someone from the Department of Law Enforcement wanting his finished paperwork right away. But, whom he saw standing there completely startled him, nearly knocking the breath out of him. It was a tall, skinny boy with extremely messy jet-black hair. He had his back turned from the door and his hands stuffed deep in his pockets.

"James?" Reginald called out timidly. The boy turned around and Reginald was disturbed to see that his son's eyes were red and puffy, with tears streaming down his cheeks. James let out a quiet sob and looked at his father square in the eyes.

"Th-thank you," James managed to stutter and whisper through his sons. Reginald did not have to ask for what; he knew what he was talking about and why his son was thanking him. He was thanking him for saving Lily Evans.

Reginald would be the first to admit that he was never there for James; never. Even when he and James's mother were still together, he was always working and breaking promises to his son. He hardly ever spent time with him. Reginald was ashamed to acknowledge this, but his son grew up without a father. He had a biological father who would send him money and gifts but James did not know what it was like to have a man around to look up to, go to Quidditch matches with, and or to just have a conversation with. And the worst part was that even when Reginald did have the time, James had become so angry and bitter towards him, that he wanted nothing to do with him.

But when James came to him about his girlfriend being kidnapped by Voldemort, Reginald knew that he had to do something. Normally, he would have ignored it and left it in the hands of the Ministry. But, he saw that look in James's eyes. He saw that his son was lost and alone without this girl and Reginald knew that this girl made him happy and if she died, James would never be the same again. He knew that this was his chance to try and be the father he never was for James before; to make it up to him; to make his son happy. And if the survival if and the love from this girl was what James needed to be happy, then Reginald was going to make sure that he gave it to him. If he could not make his son happy, at least this girl could.

"You're welcome son," said Reginald, taking a step towards his son. James looked at the ground, tears still streaming down his face. Finally, he put his face into his hands and began to sob hysterically. His shoulders were shaking almost violently.

Reginald did not know what to do. He just stared at his son for a minute before taking a step forward and patting James on the shoulder. But James needed more than that; more from his father. Without realizing or thinking about what he was doing, James pulled his father into a tight embrace and began to sob again, except into his shoulder. Reginald was startled at first, but gladly returned the hug. It was the first time since he was a little boy that James hugged him and he was determined to savor it.

"I can't lose her, dad," James sobbed hysterically into his father's shoulder. Reginald patted and rubbed the boy's back soothingly. "She would have been dead if it weren't for you!"

"It was no problem, son," said Reginald, even though that was a lie. He had to go through many hardships and obstacles to get that girl back safely.

"I'm sorry, dad, I'm so sorry," James continued to cry. Reginald thought for a moment before responding:

"I'm sorry too…"

Three days later, James was finally allowed to see Lily. He timidly opened the door to her private room in the hospital and entered with the rest of the Marauders behind him.

James smiled as he walked in and saw Lily, who was sleeping in her bed peacefully. She looked a lot better than she had three days ago. Her bruises were all gone, though her arm was still in a sling and the cut on her upper lip was gone. Despite all of this, she looked very weak and not very healthy. James walked in and, without hesitation, pulled up a seat right next to her bed. The rest of the Marauders stood awkwardly at the door, though James did not seem to notice or care.

James was gently stroking Lily's hair and smiling tenderly. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly, causing her to stir and for her eyes to flutter open. She beamed when she saw James smiling down at her.

"James!"

"Hey there Lily," he said as he kissed her forehead. He turned around, looked at his friends, and ushered for them to come inside. But, only Sirius fully entered. Lily finally took notice of them and shifted very uncomfortably in her bed. James caught her eye and gently took a hold of her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Erm, Lily?" Sirius started awkwardly. "We wanted you to know that we're sorry for everything we've ever done to you. We were…we were complete gits."

"And immature morons," added Remus, finally coming inside to stand beside Sirius.

"And, we're sorry," quipped up Peter, as he also took a step into the hospital room.

Lily stared at them for a minute, squeezing James's hand.

"You really hurt me," she whispered to the three Marauders. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked down at the ground in shame. "But, two wrongs don't make a right, I suppose" she continued smiling. The three boys looked up at her and smiled.

"You forgive us?" Sirius and Remus asked in unison. Lily chuckled and smiled brightly and sweetly at them.

"Of course I forgive you," she said. "I know how important you three are to James. Therefore, that makes you important to me too." The three boys smiled proudly as James beamed back at them. He knew that they would come around eventually and see what a special and wonderful girl Lily was. And now they had.

"Well, I think James and Lily want to be alone," said Remus, nudging both Sirius and Peter playfully. James and Lily smiled gratefully at him. Remus waved to them and dragged Peter out of the hospital wing. But Sirius ignored Remus and continued to just stare at Lily. James raised a curious eyebrow at his friend.

"Lily?" Sirius said as he walked over to stand beside her bed. He bent down so he was eye level with her. Lily just looked at him wide-eyed, as though fearful about what he might do. "James was right. You really are a special person. He is one lucky guy to have you." With that Sirius kissed Lily on the cheek, winked at James, and walked out of the hospital wing. Lily smiled and James just shrugged.

For several minutes, the two sat in silence, just holding each other's hand, waiting for the other to speak first.

"I'm sorry," Lily whispered, finally breaking the silence. James looked at her startled.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"I should have told you sooner," she admitted. James shook his head.

"No, don't blame yourself for this. It's my fault, Lily," he said, feeling ashamed with himself. "I put you in jeopardy so many times. We left the grounds, we went into the Forbidden Forest, we-"

"

"James, please stop this," said Lily, interrupting him. "If anything, you kept me alive." She took his face into her hands and turned his head so he looked straight at her. She smiled. "You loved me, and that's what made me fight Voldemort's wrath. Just knowing that you were out there somewhere and that you loved me kept me going, helped me keep my strength. Loving you let me live." James nodded and tried to keep the tears from falling.

"Are you scared?" he finally asked after several more moments of silence. He expected Lily to be the brave Gryffindor that she was and say 'no,' but she did no such thing.

"…to death…" she said quietly, smiling as she tried to lighten up the mood. James could not take it anymore. He left her gaze and turned to look at the wall as the tears welled up in his eyes and fell down his cheeks. "Oh, James, lighten up. It's not like I'm dying here."

"It's not funny," he snarled as he turned to look at her. Lily's own eyes welled up with tears as she saw the intensity in those hazel depths.

"You know what truly scares me, James?" Lily asked quietly, now looking down at their entwined hands. James nodded, showing her that he was listening. "I'm scared of having to leave you because all of this brings you into danger. I'm scared that you won't want to be with me anymore…"

"Lily," said James very sternly, though his voice was cracking. "That will never happen." With that, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to him. Lily rested her head against James's chest and cried. James placed his chin on the top of her head and gently patted her hair.

"I'll be here," he whispered, "I'll always be here."

Lily nodded and sighed, her head still pressed against his chest.

A note from the Jitterbelle. I know that this may have been a boring chapter for most but I hope that it was at least a little fluffy and that the revisions made it better. Thanks to those who have reviewed and please keep reading and enjoying! The reviews are greatly appreciated!