Chapter ten: Casual-tea
Author: Personally, I think this chapter sucks and I may have to rewrite it. (Although I already did rewrite it. Sigh.) Just to let you know, you might want to grab the tissues now, and please don't flame me at the end. (A flame, for those of you who don't know, is an angry hate review.) ^_^
Petunia was over for tea, again. She had been married and moved out to live with Vernon for over a month, but every few days she insisted on coming home to have tea and visit her mother. Mrs. Evans was overjoyed, but Lily was not so happy about this arrangement. It meant she had to see more of her sister, and hear about her boring life with her boring husband. She also missed her friends. James hadn't been around lately, he said he was helping Sirius move into his own apartment, and Frank and Alice were on their honeymoon.
So, when James apparated suddenly into the kitchen, she was actually a little happy. Until she saw his face, that is. He was pale and scared looking, hazel eyes strained, and his hand clutched his wand until his knuckles were white.
"James what happened?" Lily asked, sprinting across the kitchen to him.
"Lily," he said, surprised looking. "Lily, its Sara, they got her."
"Who got her?" Lily asked quickly. Her heart was pounding in her chest with worry for her friend.
"I've just been to see Remus…he's a wreck. Lily, this is going to be hard for you…" James turned and began pacing the kitchen.
"Who got her James?" Lily asked loudly. He paused in his pacing.
"The dementors of Azkaban. They guard it, it's the wizard's prison."
"They…attacked her? Is she ok?" Lily's green eyes searched him, pleading.
"No…she's at St.Mungo's…" he said quietly. "The dementors did the kiss…it sucked her soul out through her mouth… Lily, I'm so sorry."
Mrs. Evans gave a frightened squeak, but Lily collapsed into a heap on the floor.
"No…no, not Saraline. You-you don't know…We can get her soul back…right?"
James shook his head sadly. Petunia was shaking in fear, face white.
"I'm going to St.Mungo's." Lily said quickly.
"Lily…it isn't pretty…I know she was your best friend…"
With a loud crack, Lily disapparated.
She had been to St.Mungo's before, but on a much less urgent trip. She had been accompanying Alice to get some antidotes that they needed for auror training. The pair had curiously peered down the white hallways and winked at a cute male healer. The bright white sanitary of the walls suddenly seemed less friendly and much more foreboding today. She headed to the reception desk where a young witch in lime green robes was talking into what looked like a small clamshell.
"Excuse me, I need to see Saraline Stokes, where's her room." The witch looked down at her paperwork, annoyed at being interrupted with her shell, and stated blandly,
"First floor, room thirty-seven." Lily didn't thank her, but hurried over to the elevator. James caught up to her before she stepped inside, however.
"Lily," he said worriedly. "Are you
going to be alright?"
"No," she snapped, pulling away and stepping onto the elevator. James sidled inside, quickly evading the doors as they shut behind him. "Sara is my best friend. I can't believe you don't want me to see her. How can you be so calm at a time like this?" Lily was slightly hysteric at this point. She stepped out as soon as the doors opened again, James following her.
"Lily, its not that. You've never seen someone in this sort of state, its not…" He wasn't deterred, even when he stopped her from going down the wrong hallway, steering her in the right direction by her elbow. "I thought you had the right to know, but I wouldn't even let Remus see…"
They had arrived at room thirty-seven. A few people stood outside the door crying, and Lily recognized them to be Mr. and Mrs. Stokes and their other children. Mrs. Stokes was crying heavily on her husband's shoulder, who was white faced and looked like he didn't know what to do. Her other siblings didn't seem to understand what was happening.
"Mum, she'll be ok right? Mum?" one girl asked. She was about ten years old.
When they saw Lily and James, Mrs. Stokes made and effort to stop sobbing.
"You must be Sara's friends." She sniffled. "Remus is in there right now." Her blue eyes, so like her daughter's, were bloodshot. Lily nodded and put her hand on the doorknob. James looked to stop her, but then sighed and leaned up against the wall.
"Would you go take the girls up to have tea?" Mrs. Stokes said to him as Lily entered the room.
The lights were darkened, and she faintly saw Remus sitting on a chair with his head in his hands. He was crying like something she hadn't seen since he failed potions in the second year. He didn't look up as Lily approached, and she was almost glad. When she saw her friend she couldn't help but stuff her fist in her mouth not to scream.
Saraline's bright blue eyes were blank and staring, her cheerful smile a grimace of pain. Her skin was gray and withered looking too, giving the impression of old age come very quickly.
"Oh…oh my god." Lily felt her eyes fill with tears. Remus looked up finally, "They kill her in an hour. She's as good as dead now though."
"Oh Remus! Oh…" Her best friend since her first year at Hogwarts, whom she had come to know and love, was this…corpse of a person. Lily sunk into a chair next to Remus and He reached over gripping her hand tightly. She gave a small sob when she felt him. His hand was cold and shaking traumatically.
But the eyes…Lily couldn't take her gaze from the fixed staring eyes on the thing that was no longer Sara. In her mind, she knew they were supposed to be bright and lively, baby blue behind intelligent glasses, but these were scary, creepy, dead looking.
"Remus…" Lily said quietly. "I can't believe it. It isn't possible."
"It's my fault." He whispered. "It's all my fault." Lily stood up and left the room. She couldn't stand to be near the soulless body of someone so full of life and love. She remembered that Remus and Sara were very close friends, (maybe more than friends) and the thought of James in that bed, with his smirk faded and hazel eyes staring deadly…A fresh wave of tears hit as she closed the heavy hospital door. Mr. and Mrs. Stokes were gone, along with James and Sara's sisters.
"Why is everyone so sad?" a little voice asked. "They said that Sara is ok." Lily looked down and noticed a small girl looking up at her. She forced a smile.
"Are you Saraline's little sister? Samantha, right?" The little girl wrinkled her nose and shook her head, blond curls trembling.
"Yes, but I like it better when you call me Sammie." She said.
"Alright Sammie." Sammie was a very cute girl, about four or five years old. She looked, unlike her other two sisters Anastasia and Katherine, exactly like Saraline. She wore a bright pink dress with happy yellow flowers on it.
"Everyone is sad." She pondered, watching Lily cry some more. "But Sara is ok. I think if Sara dies then Remus" (she pronounced this carefully and with great difficulty "Rhee-mus") won't be my brother at all. And I don't want that. I like Remus." (Rhee-mus). Then she brightened. "Maybe then, Remus can marry me!" Lily actually laughed a little. Sammie was so bright and innocent. It was no wonder no one had told her that Sara was, in fact, worse than dead.
"Remus is nice." She said matter-of-factly. "He told Saraline to stop picking on me. And guess what?"
"What?" Lily played along.
"She did! She does whatever he says, even if Mummy and Daddy tell her and she doesn't want to."
"How old are you Sammie?" Lily asked.
"Six." She said proudly.
"Oh, wow. And you're going to Hogwarts when you're bigger?"
"Yes I am. Our house elf Twiddle says I'll be a better witch than anybody else." She glowed with delight at this statement.
Lily smiled.
"Can I go in and see Sara?" she asked, trying to stand on tiptoe to see inside the window at the top of the door.
"No," Lily said quickly. "She isn't feeling well enough for visitors."
"But Remus" (Rhee-mus) "has been in there for a long time."
"Why don't you come with me, we can get some tea and see your mum and dad." Sammie reluctantly agreed, taking Lily's hand as if it was the most natural thing, and leading the way up to the tearoom.
In the tearoom, Mrs. Stokes took her youngest daughter into a great hug and proceeded to tell her that Sara would never be coming home again. Katherine, the ten year old, was crying in one corner all alone, while Anastasia sat dazed and tearful on the couch with James. Lily sat next to him.
"I don't care." Anastasia said to him suddenly. "So please, stop talking. It doesn't matter. I'll hate you all until the end of time. You should have saved her. Remus should have saved her." She glared over at Lily accusingly. "Where were you?" she asked.
"I didn't know about it until today…James told me…"
"Some friend you are."
Lily gasped, then nodded. "I know. I should have—"
"Shut up!" James yelled. Shocked, Lily and Anastasia were silent.
"It was her own damn fault. I'm sick of everyone blaming everyone else. If you're going to pin it on anyone, hate Voldemort!" Mr. and Mrs. Evans flinched at the name, but James wasn't done.
"She was on a mission for Dumbledore! It was her choice!"
"Why the hell didn't Dumbledore go himself?!" Anastasia screamed shrilly. "Why the hell did he send someone with a family, a life, a future?! I hate him! I hope he gets his soul sucked out of him!"
James looked like he was about to hit the girl, but he didn't.
"Don't you ever insult Dumbledore. And what you just said, it was an insult to your sister." He spat on the spotless floor. "You have no idea about anything."
"James!" Lily yelled, tugging on his robes. "She's just a kid!"
"Regulus Black was just a kid too! He was her age when he joined Voldemort! Now he's dead! I don't want this girl to meet the same fate!"
"Snap out of it!" Lily said, slapping him. She was sobbing. "Stop it James."
He calmed down and sighed shakily.
"I'm sorry. Annie." He tried to hug her, but the girl pulled away. "I'm going to talk to Remus."
James turned and walked out of the room, leaving an empty and grieving silence behind him.
Lily watched him go. He knew Saraline well enough, but they weren't close friends like Alice and Frank to him. She knew that he was upset because she and Remus were upset, and James was just like that. This outburst was not like his usual self…Lily had never seen him yell at a little kid before, especially not a girl. She glanced over at Anastasia, who was staring at the door. Her dark blue eyes, tinged with hazel, turned over to look at Lily.
"I won't become a death eater." She said monotonously. "If that's what you think."
Lily shook her head.
"And I don't really hate you, or that guy, or Dumbledore. I understand that my emotions are wild because of this sudden loss, but that in time I'll get over it."
Lily was stunned to hear someone so young talk about this so rationally. It was like she was a psychiatrist diagnosing herself…
"I loved Sara." Was all Lily could muster.
"So did I." Anastasia said. "And so did Remus."
Katherine piped up from her corner. "Me too."
"Me too!" Sammie yelled happily, "And mummy and daddy too!" She smiled at everyone, confused by their lack of enthusiasm about this consensus. She didn't even seem fazed by what her parents had just explained.
Needless to say, the rest of the day was not fun. Within the hour and in the company of the adults and a very stubborn Anastasia, Saraline Stokes was freed from life. Her body would be cremated and a funeral would be held next week. The healers at St. Mungo's said that it was best, because if the body were still there, dementors may come and take it to try and make it into one of their own.
Remus and Lily didn't recover quickly. Remus avoided the Stokes family. He said it was because he didn't want to intrude and remind them of their loss, but Lily wondered if it wasn't the other way around. Even Lily was stunned every time she saw Sammie. It was like the little girl would grow up and be Saraline someday, their likeness was so striking. James was, of course, very supportive and stayed protectively close to Lily. Sirius came by to help comfort, but was busy with a job and his apartment.
And Petunia, well, Petunia was a bit worried about her sister, but nothing that she couldn't brush aside. Lily probably deserved the tragedy, meddling in dangerous things like she did. But for one moment, when she overheard part of the conversation that Lily was having with her boyfriend, she almost sympathized.
"Lily, I have to be near you. Seeing Remus like this kills me…it makes me think…What if it was you on that mission? What if it was your funeral? God, Lily, I'd just kill myself."
"Don't dwell on what might have happened." Lily said firmly, but her eyes were wet. "Sara was a good person. She'll be avenged."
Petunia, for a brief second, imagined Vernon gone from her life. But then the image was gone, and her sister was just a crazy no good witch.
Author: get it? Casual-tea? Casualty? Death. Sorry, that was dorky. Tell me how awful it was, but try not to flame. (Guess it's just a matter of time before someone does though.)
-_-
Oh, and to answer a question, J.K. Rowling said James was a seeker in an interview, but it isn't actually in the books. (And the interview was before Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix—she might have changed her mind) Plus she had some input in the movie, so it must not be that big of a deal if she didn't bother to correct the director.
See ya'll tomorrow! (probably in the afternoon…)
