The Pranking War
Author's Note: I thank all of you who have reviewed me! It is starting to pick up the pace. Last chapter was a tad light-hearted, and it is now something I don't regret. This chapter is going to be darker than I had planned---but I find it necessary to introduce the evil that is going on in the world at this moment, namely Voldemort. I hope you enjoy, and please READ and REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I have any affiliation with the Harry Potter enterprise.
Chapter Seven
Lily looked into the forest, suppressing the shiver that ran down her spine. "It looks...dark." she muttered, keeping her eyes on the ground.
"Yeah, that tends to happen at night." James quipped. Lily looked up quickly, preparing for battle, but paused when she saw his smile---not one of smugness, like she had expected, but one of kindness. And by all means, he looked just as nervous as she did.
"But I agree with Lily...you can't see anything in that forest." Sirius shook his head as everybody turned to look at him.
"Well, that's why yer wizards and witches, ain't yeh?" Hagrid chuckled. "Wisht I still 'ad my wand, but I guess...well, none of tha' now, let me 'splain ter yeh what yer doin' here." He motioned towards a small path that dove into the center of the forest. "Dumbledore's been 'avin problems with the centaurs lately...they've been worried summat's goin' to attack them...werewolves, most likely. There's a few in the forest."
"Werewolves?" Lily paled. "You mean...there's werewolves in there?"
"Don't worry, Blossom." James said quickly. "It isn't the full moon...they can't do anything, right?"
"Wouldn' be to sure, James." Hagrid ran a hand through his bushy hair. "There's all types o' werewolves...only a few wait till the full moon till they transform. There's some that are human and become wolfish. And others are a mixture of human and wolf all month round, and don' fully turn to wolf till the full moon."
"But why should the centaurs worry? I mean...there isn't a moon out now, anyway."
"Well, you have to understan' it...centaurs have a little bit of the moon...and the stars, and all the starry stuff, it's all in em." Hagrid grunted. "No time fer this...we have to check Dumbledore's guards." He motioned for them to follow as he stepped into the forest. They did so reluctantly.
They moved quickly through the forest. Lily found herself unusually close to James and Sirius, though she had vowed never to come within five feet of the boys. Nobody seemed to mind. Before long they came to a large clearing. Several small wooded paths extended in different directions. Lily and the boys started out into the clearing but Hagrid held up his hand to stop them. "First defense charm." He muttered.
He held up the pink umbrella none of them had noticed he had and pointed it to the center of the meadow. A moment later a large purple column shot up out of the dirt, extending over their heads and filling the woods with a strange glow. In seconds it lowered back down to the ground and spread out over the land, stopping a few inches from their feet.
"See, look." Hagrid motioned to the center of the purple field. "Those are Vampire Gnats...Dumbledore didn' include them as allowed creatures, and you see they've been caught."
Lily squeamishly nodded as she glanced at the things suspended in the light...each was about three inches tall and around, and had a giant sucker in it's middle, filled with jagged little teeth. "What do you do with them?" she said reluctantly.
"They'll be sent back to the DADA teacher, for use in his research."
'As long as it's not for class.' Lily thought sternly.
Hagrid waved the umbrella and the light vanished. The Vampire Gnats were sucked through the air with a loud squelch. Lily grimaced.
"So...come on, then. The centaurs are righ' through here." He led them down the center path, every once in a while revealing yet another trap. A few of the smaller traps had to be emptied and reset by hand. Lily did not find it as much as a challenge when dealing with the smaller, fuzzier creatures, but had a mild panic attack with something unrecognizable and slimy attached itself to her forearm.
"Oh, oh, oh! Get it off! Get if off!" She cried out. Sirius and James looked over.
"Ugh...that looks nasty. What is it, Hagrid?"
He leaned down for a moment and poked it. It swelled slightly larger. "Incredible...bit like a Flobberworm, but then it's like a Leechtoad, too..."
"Well?" Lily said eagerly, turning quite pale.
"Not sure what it is."
"Aahh!!!" She shrieked and began shaking her arm madly. "It's pinching me!" Hagrid got a worried look on his face as she began thrashing her arm.
"Don' hurt it!" Hagrid said nervously.
"HURT IT? IT'S EATING MY ARM!" She gave herself a final shake and the thing sailed several feet through the air, landing in a bush. To Hagrid's relief it appeared unharmed...that was until it exploded.
"Wow! Did you see that Sirius?" James said excitedly.
"Yeah, that thing must have gone into about a hundred pieces."
"It's...it's dead." Hagrid said with disappointment.
Sirius glanced down at a piece. It was twitching and beginning to move about. "No...not really. I think it's just the way it reproduces."
"EEEWWW!!!" Lily stood and began backing away. "Can...we...please...go?"
"Yeh...right, Lily." They all began back down the path, Hagrid looking back at the...thing...until it disappeared from view. "We're here." He said finally, as they approached a moss-covered grove of trees all planted only inches apart.
He reached out to touch the center tree. It quivered a moment before bending aside. They followed Hagrid into the grove. They found to their dismay that they hadn't yet reached to Centaurs...there was another path for them to follow.
Sirius moaned. "It is much farther?"
"Just a bit." Hagrid said. "There's only one trap, at the very end. But it's a beauty."
"I'm beginning to seriously worry when Hagrid thinks something is beautiful." Lily murmured to the boys. They chuckled in agreement.
"All righ', here...let's go!" They entered. This path was unlike the rest of the forest. It was obviously much older, and filled with thick trees that were gnarled and twisted into nightmarish shapes. Lily shivered as a scraggly owl fluttered onto a tree near and hooted feebly.
They paced quickly, huddling closer...not so much in fear, though all were distinctly nervous, but because the path had become exceedingly narrow, and only stretched across by a few feet. Hagrid himself barely seemed to fit through the narrowest of the openings. 'He'd better not get caught.' She thought wearily.
It was only after a long moment that they reached the end. A small opening, only large enough for the smallest of people, hung before them. "Righ', there's a small knob on the other side that opens the trees wider. Would one of yer get it?"
James and Sirius looked at each other reluctantly. Taking a deep breath, Lily stepped forward. "I will."
Hagrid nodded. "Okay. Go on in, and be quick...I don' want yer alone in there." Lily smiled faintly and turned to the hole. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed through. Despite her small size, she still needed to hold her breath tightly as she pulled herself out.
She fell onto the ground and lay in the dirt for a moment, moaning in disgust. Shakily she got to her feet and stood, searching for the knob. As she looked intently at the wall of trees, she heard a muffled noise from behind her. She turned and looked at the source...and paled.
It was the most horrific thing she had ever seen.
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James leaned over Lily, watching her. Her face was dreadfully pale, a stark contrast to the vibrant dark red of her hair. Her breath came shallowly and softly.
"Is she doing better?" Sirius said quietly. James turned. His friend sat on the bed opposite Lily, his own face just as pale.
"I think so. She's breathing better." He turned back, feeling a deep sense of pain in his chest.
He had never been so somber as he was at this moment. He had always been James, the jokester, James the Wizard of Pranks...now, he wanted nothing more than to be James, a good friend. Sirius appeared to be feeling the same way.
"When she screamed...it was like nothing I've ever heard." Sirius nodded in agreement.
"I know. I thought somebody was killing her. She...do you reckon she did almost get killed?"
"You saw what happened to that centaur." James shuddered, remembering the sight. "Whatever killed it...do you think Lily saw? Or was it just the centaur that made her faint."
Sirius shook his head. "I can't tell. But...Hagrid said it had just happened. This isn't right James. Something isn't right."
They stopped talking when the heard the voices from around the door. Sirius jumped back under the covers of his own bed, and James did the same.
After a moment, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey strode into the room. The nurse tutted when she saw that James and Sirius were still awake.
"I told you boys to sleep." she said anxiously.
"We don't need to be here." James said sullenly. "We weren't hurt."
"You call falling from thirty feet in the air not being hurt?"
James winced. "Don't remind me." He rubbed his back from the place where he had landed...right in Hagrid's pumpkin patch. He had always suspected that Hagrid had a little more power than he reckoned. Now he knew for sure.
"At least you didn't land on your head." Sirius said grimly. A large white patch was plastered over his forehead. The wound had been quickly patched of course, but the nurse had wanted to keep both James and Sirius...for observation.
"Has Miss Evans awoken yet?" She said as she made her way to Lily's bedside.
"No."
"I understand that she was the one who discovered the...scene." Everybody turned to Dumbledore.
James nodded. "Yes. Hagrid couldn't get in, so Lily went to get the latch and make the opening wider. She was gone for a moment and we heard her scream...really loud. I went in after her, and saw it. I got the opening. When Hagrid saw it, we all were blasted back through the trees and out of the forest. And here we are."
Dumbledore shook his head. "This isn't good. I have a strong suspicion that something has happened that is more than we can recognize."
"What is that?" The nurse said as she held James' wrist, taking his pulse.
"I won't say...not here, in front of them. I am still not sure of my suspicions...but every day they grow stronger."
James shivered. After a long moment the nurse and Dumbledore left the room. James leaned back into his pillows and stared at the ceiling. In a while soft snores began coming from Sirius' side of the room. Alone with his thoughts, James remembered what he had seen back in the forest.
Blood. It had been everywhere...covering the trees and the grass. The centaur hadn't been there, but James knew...he knew that this had been the source of the blood. Something had killed a centaur...and a centaur was half-human. It wasn't just the slaying of any animal...it was murder.
He was still reflecting on his thoughts when he heard the door of the infirmary creep open. He glanced over. Remus and Cassy were peering into the room, squinting through the shadows. James leaned up and motioned to them.
"She's over here!" he hissed. Cassy and Remus slid into the room and walked quietly in between James' and Lily's beds.
"What happened?" Cassy said, her eyes wide with fright.
"I dunno. There was an attack...a centaur. We think it might have been a werewolf."
"A...werewolf?" Remus turned to James. "You think it was a werewolf? And...Dumbledore too?"
James shrugged. "He didn't say so. All I know is something killed a centaur, and werewolves are the centaur's known enemy. Well, that is besides gypsies."
Remus narrowed his eyes. "I...I don't know. Lily wasn't hurt, was she?"
James shook his head. "No. Just stunned, is all. Scared the devil out of her. She screamed really loud...I wouldn't be surprised if you could have heard it from the castle."
Cassy sighed. "I knew that something bad was going to come of this. I just thought it would be your fault."
"No." He sighed as he ran a hand through his tousled black hair. "I would never hurt her. I like her, really. She isn't too bad. I'm not like Snape."
"Snape?" Cassy said suspiciously. "What's he done?"
"Called her a mudblood." Remus answered.
She narrowed her eyes threateningly. "That stupid bloody...I ought to..."
"Don't worry. We're getting him back." James said absently.
"You are? Lily should. She's the one he insulted."
"We're better at pranking...leave the war to us." Cassy sneered and opened her mouth to speak.
"Now is not the time, Cassy." Remus warned. She looked at him and after a long moment snapped her mouth shut.
They talked quietly for ten minutes, keeping an ever present eye on Lily as she slept soundly. The nurse walked in precisely at the time that Cassy and Remus stood to go. Madam Pomfrey sighed.
"You're worse than my granddaughter Poppy. Always getting into mischief, that girl is." She motioned them to leave. "Go now, both of you. Leave my patients to rest."
"Bye." The two muttered in unison as they prepared to leave. James waved reluctantly. The nurse walked over and glanced at Lily.
"Still out?" She shook her head. "Call if she wakes, Mister Potter." She looked around the room once more before exiting...this time closing the door and clicking it locked.
James looked at Lily---her lips were trembling in her sleep, and a tear was trickling down the side of her face. He slid out of bed and walked to her side.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
"No...no..." James looked up, startled, until he realized she was speaking to whatever demons haunted her sleep.
He looked at her face. She still wore an expression of fright, even in her sleep.
"Lily, come on, you need to wake up." He murmured. She restless threw her arm over her chest and involuntarily shuddered.
He watched her, feeling deep shards of worry in his stomach. When she cried out, he leaned over, shaking her lightly. 'Come, on...' he thought anxiously. 'Don't do this...'
"I'm afraid...afraid..." her voice shook. James, without thinking, leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"It's going to be all right, Lily." He murmured.
His heart jumped when her eyes flashed open. Intense green gazed into dark brown. "James..."
"Lily? Are you..."
"James!" Without thought she leaned up and hugged James around the middle. In shock he stayed still, until Lily pulled away.
"What...what is it?" he finally said. Lily pulled away, tears in her face.
"Oh, James...I was so scared. I saw him killing the centaur, the man with the red eyes..."
"Red...red eyes?"
"Yes...and he said that he was going the be the most poweful wizard ever. He scared me, and then..." she froze, trembling.
"And...then what?"
"He told me he was going to murder you. He told me you would die...and Cassy, and Dumbledore, and all of them...oh James, I think he means to kill us all!"
"Who?" he said nervously, looking at her intently.
"Voldemort!"
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Thank you for reading this chapter. A bit dark, as I said. But I couldn't resist a Hagrid loves creepy creatures joke, could I?
Please review! I love to hear your opinions!
Special thanks to Jasmine Black, as always. It's always nice to have a fan! And believe me, you've helped me a lot. No pig jokes, this chapter. I am trying to keep them to a minimum...but as always, the pigs are an everlasting tribute to you!
Author's Note: I thank all of you who have reviewed me! It is starting to pick up the pace. Last chapter was a tad light-hearted, and it is now something I don't regret. This chapter is going to be darker than I had planned---but I find it necessary to introduce the evil that is going on in the world at this moment, namely Voldemort. I hope you enjoy, and please READ and REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I have any affiliation with the Harry Potter enterprise.
Chapter Seven
Lily looked into the forest, suppressing the shiver that ran down her spine. "It looks...dark." she muttered, keeping her eyes on the ground.
"Yeah, that tends to happen at night." James quipped. Lily looked up quickly, preparing for battle, but paused when she saw his smile---not one of smugness, like she had expected, but one of kindness. And by all means, he looked just as nervous as she did.
"But I agree with Lily...you can't see anything in that forest." Sirius shook his head as everybody turned to look at him.
"Well, that's why yer wizards and witches, ain't yeh?" Hagrid chuckled. "Wisht I still 'ad my wand, but I guess...well, none of tha' now, let me 'splain ter yeh what yer doin' here." He motioned towards a small path that dove into the center of the forest. "Dumbledore's been 'avin problems with the centaurs lately...they've been worried summat's goin' to attack them...werewolves, most likely. There's a few in the forest."
"Werewolves?" Lily paled. "You mean...there's werewolves in there?"
"Don't worry, Blossom." James said quickly. "It isn't the full moon...they can't do anything, right?"
"Wouldn' be to sure, James." Hagrid ran a hand through his bushy hair. "There's all types o' werewolves...only a few wait till the full moon till they transform. There's some that are human and become wolfish. And others are a mixture of human and wolf all month round, and don' fully turn to wolf till the full moon."
"But why should the centaurs worry? I mean...there isn't a moon out now, anyway."
"Well, you have to understan' it...centaurs have a little bit of the moon...and the stars, and all the starry stuff, it's all in em." Hagrid grunted. "No time fer this...we have to check Dumbledore's guards." He motioned for them to follow as he stepped into the forest. They did so reluctantly.
They moved quickly through the forest. Lily found herself unusually close to James and Sirius, though she had vowed never to come within five feet of the boys. Nobody seemed to mind. Before long they came to a large clearing. Several small wooded paths extended in different directions. Lily and the boys started out into the clearing but Hagrid held up his hand to stop them. "First defense charm." He muttered.
He held up the pink umbrella none of them had noticed he had and pointed it to the center of the meadow. A moment later a large purple column shot up out of the dirt, extending over their heads and filling the woods with a strange glow. In seconds it lowered back down to the ground and spread out over the land, stopping a few inches from their feet.
"See, look." Hagrid motioned to the center of the purple field. "Those are Vampire Gnats...Dumbledore didn' include them as allowed creatures, and you see they've been caught."
Lily squeamishly nodded as she glanced at the things suspended in the light...each was about three inches tall and around, and had a giant sucker in it's middle, filled with jagged little teeth. "What do you do with them?" she said reluctantly.
"They'll be sent back to the DADA teacher, for use in his research."
'As long as it's not for class.' Lily thought sternly.
Hagrid waved the umbrella and the light vanished. The Vampire Gnats were sucked through the air with a loud squelch. Lily grimaced.
"So...come on, then. The centaurs are righ' through here." He led them down the center path, every once in a while revealing yet another trap. A few of the smaller traps had to be emptied and reset by hand. Lily did not find it as much as a challenge when dealing with the smaller, fuzzier creatures, but had a mild panic attack with something unrecognizable and slimy attached itself to her forearm.
"Oh, oh, oh! Get it off! Get if off!" She cried out. Sirius and James looked over.
"Ugh...that looks nasty. What is it, Hagrid?"
He leaned down for a moment and poked it. It swelled slightly larger. "Incredible...bit like a Flobberworm, but then it's like a Leechtoad, too..."
"Well?" Lily said eagerly, turning quite pale.
"Not sure what it is."
"Aahh!!!" She shrieked and began shaking her arm madly. "It's pinching me!" Hagrid got a worried look on his face as she began thrashing her arm.
"Don' hurt it!" Hagrid said nervously.
"HURT IT? IT'S EATING MY ARM!" She gave herself a final shake and the thing sailed several feet through the air, landing in a bush. To Hagrid's relief it appeared unharmed...that was until it exploded.
"Wow! Did you see that Sirius?" James said excitedly.
"Yeah, that thing must have gone into about a hundred pieces."
"It's...it's dead." Hagrid said with disappointment.
Sirius glanced down at a piece. It was twitching and beginning to move about. "No...not really. I think it's just the way it reproduces."
"EEEWWW!!!" Lily stood and began backing away. "Can...we...please...go?"
"Yeh...right, Lily." They all began back down the path, Hagrid looking back at the...thing...until it disappeared from view. "We're here." He said finally, as they approached a moss-covered grove of trees all planted only inches apart.
He reached out to touch the center tree. It quivered a moment before bending aside. They followed Hagrid into the grove. They found to their dismay that they hadn't yet reached to Centaurs...there was another path for them to follow.
Sirius moaned. "It is much farther?"
"Just a bit." Hagrid said. "There's only one trap, at the very end. But it's a beauty."
"I'm beginning to seriously worry when Hagrid thinks something is beautiful." Lily murmured to the boys. They chuckled in agreement.
"All righ', here...let's go!" They entered. This path was unlike the rest of the forest. It was obviously much older, and filled with thick trees that were gnarled and twisted into nightmarish shapes. Lily shivered as a scraggly owl fluttered onto a tree near and hooted feebly.
They paced quickly, huddling closer...not so much in fear, though all were distinctly nervous, but because the path had become exceedingly narrow, and only stretched across by a few feet. Hagrid himself barely seemed to fit through the narrowest of the openings. 'He'd better not get caught.' She thought wearily.
It was only after a long moment that they reached the end. A small opening, only large enough for the smallest of people, hung before them. "Righ', there's a small knob on the other side that opens the trees wider. Would one of yer get it?"
James and Sirius looked at each other reluctantly. Taking a deep breath, Lily stepped forward. "I will."
Hagrid nodded. "Okay. Go on in, and be quick...I don' want yer alone in there." Lily smiled faintly and turned to the hole. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed through. Despite her small size, she still needed to hold her breath tightly as she pulled herself out.
She fell onto the ground and lay in the dirt for a moment, moaning in disgust. Shakily she got to her feet and stood, searching for the knob. As she looked intently at the wall of trees, she heard a muffled noise from behind her. She turned and looked at the source...and paled.
It was the most horrific thing she had ever seen.
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James leaned over Lily, watching her. Her face was dreadfully pale, a stark contrast to the vibrant dark red of her hair. Her breath came shallowly and softly.
"Is she doing better?" Sirius said quietly. James turned. His friend sat on the bed opposite Lily, his own face just as pale.
"I think so. She's breathing better." He turned back, feeling a deep sense of pain in his chest.
He had never been so somber as he was at this moment. He had always been James, the jokester, James the Wizard of Pranks...now, he wanted nothing more than to be James, a good friend. Sirius appeared to be feeling the same way.
"When she screamed...it was like nothing I've ever heard." Sirius nodded in agreement.
"I know. I thought somebody was killing her. She...do you reckon she did almost get killed?"
"You saw what happened to that centaur." James shuddered, remembering the sight. "Whatever killed it...do you think Lily saw? Or was it just the centaur that made her faint."
Sirius shook his head. "I can't tell. But...Hagrid said it had just happened. This isn't right James. Something isn't right."
They stopped talking when the heard the voices from around the door. Sirius jumped back under the covers of his own bed, and James did the same.
After a moment, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey strode into the room. The nurse tutted when she saw that James and Sirius were still awake.
"I told you boys to sleep." she said anxiously.
"We don't need to be here." James said sullenly. "We weren't hurt."
"You call falling from thirty feet in the air not being hurt?"
James winced. "Don't remind me." He rubbed his back from the place where he had landed...right in Hagrid's pumpkin patch. He had always suspected that Hagrid had a little more power than he reckoned. Now he knew for sure.
"At least you didn't land on your head." Sirius said grimly. A large white patch was plastered over his forehead. The wound had been quickly patched of course, but the nurse had wanted to keep both James and Sirius...for observation.
"Has Miss Evans awoken yet?" She said as she made her way to Lily's bedside.
"No."
"I understand that she was the one who discovered the...scene." Everybody turned to Dumbledore.
James nodded. "Yes. Hagrid couldn't get in, so Lily went to get the latch and make the opening wider. She was gone for a moment and we heard her scream...really loud. I went in after her, and saw it. I got the opening. When Hagrid saw it, we all were blasted back through the trees and out of the forest. And here we are."
Dumbledore shook his head. "This isn't good. I have a strong suspicion that something has happened that is more than we can recognize."
"What is that?" The nurse said as she held James' wrist, taking his pulse.
"I won't say...not here, in front of them. I am still not sure of my suspicions...but every day they grow stronger."
James shivered. After a long moment the nurse and Dumbledore left the room. James leaned back into his pillows and stared at the ceiling. In a while soft snores began coming from Sirius' side of the room. Alone with his thoughts, James remembered what he had seen back in the forest.
Blood. It had been everywhere...covering the trees and the grass. The centaur hadn't been there, but James knew...he knew that this had been the source of the blood. Something had killed a centaur...and a centaur was half-human. It wasn't just the slaying of any animal...it was murder.
He was still reflecting on his thoughts when he heard the door of the infirmary creep open. He glanced over. Remus and Cassy were peering into the room, squinting through the shadows. James leaned up and motioned to them.
"She's over here!" he hissed. Cassy and Remus slid into the room and walked quietly in between James' and Lily's beds.
"What happened?" Cassy said, her eyes wide with fright.
"I dunno. There was an attack...a centaur. We think it might have been a werewolf."
"A...werewolf?" Remus turned to James. "You think it was a werewolf? And...Dumbledore too?"
James shrugged. "He didn't say so. All I know is something killed a centaur, and werewolves are the centaur's known enemy. Well, that is besides gypsies."
Remus narrowed his eyes. "I...I don't know. Lily wasn't hurt, was she?"
James shook his head. "No. Just stunned, is all. Scared the devil out of her. She screamed really loud...I wouldn't be surprised if you could have heard it from the castle."
Cassy sighed. "I knew that something bad was going to come of this. I just thought it would be your fault."
"No." He sighed as he ran a hand through his tousled black hair. "I would never hurt her. I like her, really. She isn't too bad. I'm not like Snape."
"Snape?" Cassy said suspiciously. "What's he done?"
"Called her a mudblood." Remus answered.
She narrowed her eyes threateningly. "That stupid bloody...I ought to..."
"Don't worry. We're getting him back." James said absently.
"You are? Lily should. She's the one he insulted."
"We're better at pranking...leave the war to us." Cassy sneered and opened her mouth to speak.
"Now is not the time, Cassy." Remus warned. She looked at him and after a long moment snapped her mouth shut.
They talked quietly for ten minutes, keeping an ever present eye on Lily as she slept soundly. The nurse walked in precisely at the time that Cassy and Remus stood to go. Madam Pomfrey sighed.
"You're worse than my granddaughter Poppy. Always getting into mischief, that girl is." She motioned them to leave. "Go now, both of you. Leave my patients to rest."
"Bye." The two muttered in unison as they prepared to leave. James waved reluctantly. The nurse walked over and glanced at Lily.
"Still out?" She shook her head. "Call if she wakes, Mister Potter." She looked around the room once more before exiting...this time closing the door and clicking it locked.
James looked at Lily---her lips were trembling in her sleep, and a tear was trickling down the side of her face. He slid out of bed and walked to her side.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
"No...no..." James looked up, startled, until he realized she was speaking to whatever demons haunted her sleep.
He looked at her face. She still wore an expression of fright, even in her sleep.
"Lily, come on, you need to wake up." He murmured. She restless threw her arm over her chest and involuntarily shuddered.
He watched her, feeling deep shards of worry in his stomach. When she cried out, he leaned over, shaking her lightly. 'Come, on...' he thought anxiously. 'Don't do this...'
"I'm afraid...afraid..." her voice shook. James, without thinking, leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"It's going to be all right, Lily." He murmured.
His heart jumped when her eyes flashed open. Intense green gazed into dark brown. "James..."
"Lily? Are you..."
"James!" Without thought she leaned up and hugged James around the middle. In shock he stayed still, until Lily pulled away.
"What...what is it?" he finally said. Lily pulled away, tears in her face.
"Oh, James...I was so scared. I saw him killing the centaur, the man with the red eyes..."
"Red...red eyes?"
"Yes...and he said that he was going the be the most poweful wizard ever. He scared me, and then..." she froze, trembling.
"And...then what?"
"He told me he was going to murder you. He told me you would die...and Cassy, and Dumbledore, and all of them...oh James, I think he means to kill us all!"
"Who?" he said nervously, looking at her intently.
"Voldemort!"
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Thank you for reading this chapter. A bit dark, as I said. But I couldn't resist a Hagrid loves creepy creatures joke, could I?
Please review! I love to hear your opinions!
Special thanks to Jasmine Black, as always. It's always nice to have a fan! And believe me, you've helped me a lot. No pig jokes, this chapter. I am trying to keep them to a minimum...but as always, the pigs are an everlasting tribute to you!