FOREVER
Year Four
Part one
Subtitled: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
Dedicated to: Toli (the basis for Anna), I hope New Mexico was a blast and Gina (the basis for Tina) I'm soooo sorry, but it was necessary for the plot!
A/N- Thanks SOOSOOSSOOO much to EVERYONE who reviewed and the reason it took so long is that I really dreaded writing it. It's tough to kill off your favorite character/ real life best friend! I really didn't want to but it was necessary! Okay this is short (the story) Depressing, and to the point! The next one will be longer. You know the deal 15 reviews = next part (and this time I'll have the part out A LOT sooner)
The day had started like almost any other. Lily got dressed and went down to breakfast and James and Sirius were already there; which wasn't at all unusual. Mr. Black was asking the main house elf for the Daily Prophet and Mrs. Black was attempting to make Sirius slow down his food consumption while James laughed at his friend. Lily smiled at the familiarity of the scene and settled down for some porridge. The week before Tina had promised to send her a letter containing some important information about James, but it had so far not come. Lily searched out the window for some sign of Tina's large friendly owl. Suddenly Mr. Black gasped. Lily jerked her head away from the sky and turned to her uncle.
"Dear, come take a look at this!" Her uncle gestured to Mrs. Black. Lily gazed at them curiously across the table. Mrs. Black's eyes grew wide.
"OH!" She gasped. "Oh, how terrible. Their poor mothers!"
"Let me see!" Sirius raced behind his father's chair as he read over the article quickly. His wide grin slowly fell as he read it and he shook his head in stunned disbelief.
"James, maybe you should read this." His voice was strangely unlike his own, detached, and unreal. James' brow creased in confusion but he nodded and gently shoved Sirius aside to read the article. Sirius didn't even push back but stared into oblivion, his face ashen and empty. At this Lily became alarmed. It was one thing for her aunt and uncle to be upset about something in the newspaper, but Sirius rarely got upset about anything, let alone some article probably about wand negotiations or something. James' response was no better. Lily got up.
"Let me see that." She said, reaching for the newspaper. James snatched it away.
"I really don't think that's a good idea, Lil." He said. Lily's eyes grew in surprise.
"Oh really?" She asked coldly. "Just give it to me James, it's too early to be playing games." She reached out tiredly.
"I'm not playing Lily. You really don't want to see this!" Said James. Lily rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded a lot like "immature." She pulled it impatiently from his grasp and unrolled it somewhat haughtily. With a confident voice that quickly faded into disbelief she read the article aloud.
Last night Ministry officials rushed to the site of yet another innocent murder. This time, in the UK, and students of our own Hogwarts no less.
Lily gasped; she didn't like where this was headed. Alarmed, she looked up at her Uncle who was staring at her grimly.
"Read on Lily, read on." He said. Her voice shaking, she began again.
We were shocked to learn that Eric Stevens, 13, and Tina Crewe, 14, were brutally murdered by You-Know-Who last night.
Lily gave a strangled cry, before continuing her voice shaking violently.
The children had been visiting a friend, Peter Pettigrew, 13, on summer break from Hogwarts. Pettigrew and his mother had gone out to bring dinner home from a local restaurant, and his father was working late. The aurors arrived too late to stop the catastrophe. "We are doing everything in our power to resolve this terrible occurrence. Rest assured that it will not be repeated." Says Carla Ryans, Head of the Magical Crime Department. The children's families have been notified.
Lily sat heavily in her chair. She stared out the window and began to scan the sky for an owl she knew would never come.
*****
" You okay, Lil?" James asked as they walked quietly up the front stoop of Peter's home. She nodded. Lily hadn't spoken a word in a week, since she had found out in fact. Sirius rang the door bell with such solemnity that if Lily hadn't known the situation she might have found it funny. Anna answered the door. Her face was tearstained, and her eyes swollen and red. Lily followed her through the hall. It was very pretty, decorated with pictures and things. Unfortunately the whole scene was ruined by the tape that Ministry officials had put up to mark the murder scene. Lily choked back a sob at the sight.
"What's wrong?" James asked gripping her arm.
"That's…that's where she di…di..died." She pointed to the room.
"Shh, it's OK. Come on we should sit down." He pulled her into the room where everyone was gathered.
"What's that you got there, Anna?" Mrs. Black said cheerfully, trying to brighten things up and change the subject. Tears began to stream down Anna's face. She handed one of the packages to Lily. Lily fingered the string tying it together.
"It is…was," She corrected herself. "It was Tina's." Lily's finger's trembled as she untied the string. With tears gathering in her eyes she pulled away the rough brown paper. At first it was just homework, essays and such, but at the bottom was something else, and it was addressed to her.
I'm finally getting around to writing this! Sorry it took so long. First of all, I hope Sirius liked his present and I had loads of fun at the party!
Lily was crying harder than she ever had before.
"It… it just stops there. That's it." Lily turned it over to see if she had missed anything. She hadn't.
"You guys, I am so sorry. I feel responsible." Said Peter, looking like he too, had cried. "The funeral is tomorrow. You're…you're all coming, though, right?" he looked up, barely able to meet their gazes.
"Some of your classmates will be there too." Mrs. Pettigrew said quietly trying to brighten up the atmosphere. This too, failed at cheering everyone up. Some how the idea of facing everyone and their pity didn't appeal to anyone in the room, except for maybe peter, who had become accustomed to pity. They all nodded feebly.
"Of course." Said Mrs. Black speaking for all of them. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Mrs. Black commented on how tired everyone must be and they left, silently filing out of the door. The ride home was one of the worst any of the kids had ever experienced. It was excruciatingly slow. Lily sat next to the window without moving and hardly breathing. Anna, not quite sure what to make of everything, stared listlessly in front of her, trying to sort things out. At one point Sirius made a pathetic attempt at a joke, but after realizing that no one was listening, he shut up. All and all, everyone was glad to escape into the house and they went their separate ways.
*****
Lily stared at her reflection. Her eyes were puffy, her face tearstained, her hair messy and her shirt was stained. There was a knock at the door, Lily turned to find Anna looking a little better, but only because her clothes were clean.
"Hey." She said quietly, without even attempting her usual smile.
"Hey." Said Lily without emotion, turning back to her mirror.
"What did I tell you about eating mustard when your hands are shaking?" Anna asked in an attempt at humor. A shadow of a smile crossed her face.
"What time is it?" Lily gestured to Anna's wristwatch.
"Twenty till. You'd better get ready. Do you have any black?" Lily nodded.
"I'm going to were my new school robes. How about you?" She asked Anna, noting that she too, had not changed.
"Yeah. I'll see you in a few minutes, then." She said and was gone.
*****
The churchyard was beautiful. Flowers were everywhere, which Lily found, though pleasant, ironic too. She was glad to see that they had placed violets over Tina's coffin since they were, had been, she corrected herself, had been her favorite. Lily vaguely wondered if they would cover her grave with lilies when she died, causing her to shiver despite the warm August air. Sighing, Lily slid in-between James and Annabelle. Annabelle gave Lily a sympathetic smile, which, no matter how much she wished to, Lily couldn't find it in her heart to return. The ceremony started, then ended, and Lily barely noted the difference. Her eyes were glued to the two coffins being slowly lowered into the ground. In addition, though her facial expressions didn't change, she was starting to feel as the world was closing in around her, too. A terrible thought struck her. What if Tina really wasn't dead? What if she woke up from a coma, buried alive? Lily had seen her friend at the wake. She looked exactly like she was sleeping. What if it had been some horrible mistake? Suddenly, and without warning Lily started sobbing violently. James put his arms around her, rocking her back and forth.
"Ashes to ashes." Said the Priest. "Dust to dust."
