A/n; I promise I'll make an effort to make the stories a) longer and b) less time in between uh – installments but I can't be POSITIVE! So don't kill me =)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
A man stood cloaked in the middle of the room, the lights from a fire lit setting orange, eerie glows on the walls and casting a shadow of the pensive-looking man. There was another man – a tall, slim and also cloaked figure sitting in a velvety green high-backed chair. A snake lay patiently curled, almost like a dog at its master's feet, eyeing the man with careful, lazy eyes. The look of hunger was never extinguished.
"Good work, Lethesine," the man said in a soft, hissing voice.
"Thank you, my Lord," the other man said, obviously a servant hired to carry out the previous speaker's jobs.
"You have done very well – where is the girl?"
"T – the girl, my Lord?" the man asked, the smarmy tone in his voice gone.
"The girl, you fool! Where is she?" the wiry figure asked angrily, getting up from his perched position on the chair. Lethesine trembled before the larger, thinner man.
"M – my Lord, you said to only g – get the artifact!" Lethesine said choking on his own saliva in fear.
"You blundering fool – I should kill you right here," the man said, revealing his face by removing the hood. Lethesine gasped out loud in horror and recoiled as though he'd been struck: the man was as pale as death, had lips as red as blood and horrible red, scaly-like skin. A pointed chin and two thin slits for a nose only added to this creepy, evil man standing before Lethesine.
"P – please my Lord, have mercy! I did not know," Lethesine cried, quavering and moving towards the door when he stopped. The snake had raised its languid head and was bobbing it slowly from side to side like a drunken head jiggle.
"You see what you have done, Lethesine? You have awakened the snake – and I shall leave your fate in her hands," the man hissed with a sickeningly pleased look on his face.
"Lord, no my Lord, please do not!" Lethesine said with his voice raising an octave in his desperation as he quickly moved toward the door. The monstrous snake hissed dangerously and lurching forward, met up with Lethesine eye to eye in a matter of seconds.
The man smiled and pulled his wand out of his pocket. "You've failed me, Lethesine, and you know I don't like failures. I don't reward stupidity and you will pay – with your life."
And the snake slowly advanced, as though to prolong the horror, on Lethesine and a piercing, horrified shriek filled the heavy night air –
Lily Evans jerked up from her nightmare, breathing hard and drenched in cold sweat.
"Lily – Lily! What is it?" Sierra asked sleepily, though there was full concern in her voice.
"Oh, nothing," Lily said wiping little wisps of hair that
had stuck to her forehead with a shaky hand, "just a bad dream."
Sierra eyed her skeptically but turned over on her bed back to sleep. Lily breathed in and out a few times; trying to convince herself it was only a bad dream – now if she could only shake the feeling that the person who had burglarized the Black Manor and nearly killed Mr. Black was Sierra's brother, Jaden Lethesine.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday snuck up on them quickly and Mr. Black, who had been at St. Mungo's for a few days longer, returned back to Wizard's Cove in peak condition again. They never fully understood what happened to him but he recovered well and little more was thought of the accident. The gang was now residing at the Diggory's residence until they could find people to rebuild the Black's house.
"The dinner and dancing starts at six and ends around midnight," Mr. Black said nonchalantly flipping through the Daily Prophet while the rest of them played on the beach on the semi-sunny day.
"Ugh – I think I've got sand in places I don't even know I had," Sirius complained, his cheeks red from the exertion of playing an aggressive game of Frisbee, a game Lily had taught Sirius, James and Amos – plus a few boys Amos knew from previous vacations at Wizard's Cove. They all (Amos, Sirius and James – the other boys had gone back to the ocean) plopped down in the sand. James almost obediently went to sit next to Fiona.
"I'm going to go get us some ice cream, are you all interested?" Mr. Black asked, getting up and folding his newspaper. They all nodded; the sun was so bright and they were hungry.
"I can't wait for the Ministry luau tonight!" Sabrina said happily, watching Amos with interest as Mr. Black walked away. She seemed to gravitate towards Amos more and more and it slightly disturbed Lily.
"Oh trust me, we've been to plenty – they're nothing to write home about," Amos said shrugging, raking a hand through his wavy strawberry-blond hair.
Lily's eyes shifted back to Amos and then to James, Amos then James… so alike, yet so different. They had practically the same builds – room to be muscular but lean and broad-shouldered at the same time. They were both mild mannered and although James had an explosive temper when he got mad, he was also as competitive as Amos. Both played Quidditch rather well and had slews of girls already chasing after them. Lily felt she was torn between the two – she was falling hard for Amos, and James… well, she'd been off and on with him.
"So James, going to be Quidditch captain next year?" Amos asked casually.
"Yeah," James said also acting like it was no big deal, "if Jonathan resigns and just wants to be Keeper next year."
"Fat chance – Quigley's the best thing the Gryffindor team's ever seen," Amos said.
"Oh really?" James asked, irritated with Amos' tone.
"Yeah, I mean – you're a great asset to the team but Quigley's just the," Amos said in an even voice.
"Thanks – he's ok," James said awkwardly.
"I mean really, if I wasn't in Hufflepuff I'd want him on my team," Amos said examining his nails and going on with the conversation like he was talking about weather.
"Jesus, we get it," James said heatedly, "he's not that good."
"Well Potter – I hate to admit it, but neither are you," Amos said bluntly, not a trace of remorse on his handsome features.
Sirius' jaw dropped and the rest of the teenagers knew that Amos had made a mistake: get James on the topic of Quidditch, you'll never hear the end of it; get him insulted about his Quidditch skills, he'll rip you apart limb for limb.
James merely raised his eyebrows in shock. "What'd you say to me?"
"I simply said you're not that good… sorry, Potter," Amos said shrugging.
James felt his face flush with anger and balled his fists in tightly. "Say it again and I'll rip that pretty smirk off your face, you swot!"
"James – I think you'd just better let it go," Sirius warned; he knew a fight would break out if he didn't put an end to the verbal battle.
"No Black, let the man fight his own battles," Amos said with a taunting smirk on his face. "Yyou think you can take me, Potter?"
"I know I can take you," James said confidently, pushing Amos back slightly. Amos was startled but pushed back and James knocked into Fiona, causing her to fall over.
"James! Stop this right now," Lily cried, but her plea fell on deaf ears as James gave Amos another rough shove and Amos fell backwards into the sand, with James on top pummeling the living daylights out of Amos.
Amos punched James on the side of the face and temporarily winded him when he kicked him in the stomach, rolling them over. Mr. Black, who was coming back with the ice creams floating along behind him, dropped his wand (the ice creams fell to the ground) and ran to where a small crowd of people had gathered chanting 'fight, fight' and Lily, Sabrina, Sierra and Arabella yelling for them to stop.
"James – get off him!" Lily screamed. Finally having enough, she grabbed his shoulder but he forcefully pushed her off him, ignoring her as she fell roughly to the ground. Sierra helped her up; Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"ENOUGH!" Mr. Black bellowed and the small crowd scattered, leaving the panting and bruised boys to deal with their punishments.
"What happened here?" Mr. Black continued with anger clouding in his eyes. Amos stood up, wiping his bleeding lip with the back of his hand.
"We were um – just – " James started but Mr. Black held up his hand, disgusted.
"I know what's happened and I understand the rivalry that's going on here," Mr. Black's gaze shifted indistinctly on a bewildered Lily and then slowly back to James and Amos, "and I want you to get over it."
James bowed his head in shame, nodding mutely.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Black, we've acted like children – but James, he – "
"Mr. Diggory, I'm ashamed that you've picked on someone who's at least a year younger than you," Mr. Black said sternly with a note of steel in his voice.
"Yes sir," Amos said, also abashed.
"I don't think I'll be telling your parents but consider it a fair warning," Mr. Black said in a finality-toned voice.
"Thank you sir," they both mumbled. Lily shook her head disgustedly. She never could predict James, but picking a fight with Amos? Despicable!
"I think we should be getting back to the Diggory's," Mr. Black said in an almost regular voice.
"Are you all right Lily?" Amos asked as they started packing up their stuff.
"I'm fine," she replied timidly.
"I'm sorry Potter's such a jerk," Amos said venomously. James pretended not to hear him and curved his arm around Fiona's waist as they walked back to the Diggory's house; Lily noticed his hand occasionally traveled lower to rest on her derriere. Snorting in revulsion and wanting to get a bit of revenge, she grabbed Amos' hand and ran ahead of them and then made a huge show of kissing Amos right in front of them.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"All right Lily, your turn."
"I told you, I'm utterly disgusted with this day and this damned vacation and I refuse to go anywhere else except in the living room to read a book!" Lily said through her bedroom door to the three girls standing outside it.
"Lily, can I please do your makeup and everything?" Arabella wheedled.
"Good Lord no!" Lily shouted and then reconsidered in a softer voice. "I don't want to go."
"Oh, Lily, you're being stupid!" Sierra burst out frustrated.
"Fine! I'll go and then I'll show you all how horrid of a night this is going to be," Lily said, opening the door and stepping out with a sour look on her face.
"Ooh good, she's emerged!" Arabella yelped gleefully, throwing her bulging cosmetics bag onto the bed and sitting Lily down on a chair.
"I am officially at your mercy, Miss Figg," Lily said in a surrendering voice and recoiled as Arabella fished out black liquid eyeliner.
"Now close your eyes while I tell you all a story," Arabella said; Sabrina and Sierra settled themselves at Lily's feet. "Actually, it's just my findings: Muggle makeup products work much better than magical products because – well – Sierra, do you like chasing around your lipsticks when they're chanting in their high-pitched voices? Or when your facial cleanser calls you a pimply wench and squirts you in the face?"
Lily laughed in spite of her surly demeanor. "A pimply wench?"
Arabella shot her a doleful look. "It's not funny!"
"Oh, of course not," Lily said trying her best to conceal her laughter.
"Now close your eyes so I can do this quickly," Arabella instructed and slowly Lily did as she was told.
"And I don't have that problem – although my mirror likes to insult me a lot," Sierra said puzzled.
"Hmm…" Arabella mused, expertly brushing a miniscule line of eyeliner onto Lily's eyes.
"You're not going to make me look positively – skanky, are you?" Lily asked in a fearful voice.
"Oh, gracious no, unless you want me to –"
"NO!" Lily yelled.
"All right, close your eyes again so I can put on the eyeshadow," Arabella said.
This continued for a few minutes and finally, with cautious eyes, Lily looked at herself in the mirror. The results were – most pleasing.
"Oh – wow! Bella, I – whoa…" Lily said examining herself in the mirror.
Arabella smiled self-assuredly. "I know I'm good."
"Thank you so much! I mean, I never doubted you for a second anyway," Lily said with a grin. "Er… not much anyway…"
"Lily, you look really wonderful – Amos will have a hard time keeping his eyes, or anything else, off you for that matter," Sierra said with a roguish wink.
"Ooh… Lily and Amos, sitting in a tree, k – i – s – s –"
"Sabrina, I'm warning you – all of you!" Lily said in an angry voice, but grinning all the same.
"All right, we'll be good… now Amos will never get to actually see you if we don't get our butts moving!" Sierra said and they grabbed their purses and their other nightly accessories.
"Does my hair look right?" Arabella asked, touching the red hibiscus flower in her hair.
"It looks fine," Lily replied, "oh – gracious."
"What?" They asked as they descended down the stairs and entered the Diggory's foyer.
"Potter," Lily said shortly.
"What about – ooh," Sierra said with a sly smile spreading slowly on her face.
"Hey Lily," Amos said brightly, crossing the room and kissing her tenderly on the cheek.
Lily blushed bright crimson. "Evening, Amos."
"Would you like to be my date tonight?" He asked putting his arm around her shoulders.
She looked at her friends with a look of helplessness on her face. They all nodded eagerly.
"Sure…" Lily said.
"Too much love in the room," James said pretending to be sick, wearing nothing but a white wife beater and long khaki trousers with a simple pullover navy blue polo shirt.
"Aw what Potter? No insult?" Lily asked mockingly, although not actually wanting to be insulted.
"No, I think your makeup and how you look is insulting enough," James said coolly.
"What's wrong with my outfit?" Lily demanded angrily, her eyes flashing.
"Nothing," James said. She had kept on her bathing suit and donned a green grass skirt (all of the girls had done it, except Fiona obviously) because it was a luau, wasn't it?
"Well I think you look like a preppy boy – like something from Beauxbatoms," Lily replied coolly.
"I do not!" James said in protest.
Lily smirked. "Do too – Prep Boy."
"God! Well I think you look like something that would dance around in Professor Hughes' erotic dreams!" James retorted, trying to hide a smile at that disturbing thought.
"EW!" They all exclaimed, not just Lily.
"Ok, losing appetite and all I heard was 'erotic dreams'," Sierra said with a look of utter disgust on her face.
"Leave it to Potter to make you lose your appetite – all I have to do is look at him and I lose it," Lily said scornfully.
"Yeah and I have visions of you when I'm vomiting because I have to get it all up!" James said making a face.
"All right!" Sirius said looking totally grossed out. "Can we not talk about vomiting?"
"Sorry," Lily said crossly.
"Well – I'm hungry and I've heard word they're roasting a real pig!" Sirius said, his stomach talking as he whisked Sierra out the door, her grass skirt swishing behind her.
"I suppose we should go as well – come on, Lily," Amos said grabbing her by the elbow and dragging her like a puppy on a leash. James had already reached the door and she ran into his back, as he was waiting for Fiona to lift up her complicated layered, yet light enough to be summery, skirt.
"Come on Potter," Lily said grumpily as he refused to move even after she'd crossed the threshold. He braced his arms against the doorframe and Lily tried to push him out of the way but it was to no avail.
"Potter! You stupid ass, MOVE!" Lily yelled getting frustrated. She got too close and could smell that cologne he wore – memories drifting up to her brain she'd rather block out.
He stepped lightly and Lily, who had all her weight forward, pitched forward. Luckily, Amos was there to catch her before she could land.
"Thanks," Lily said breathlessly, looking up at his blue eyes. They were just blue – no flecks of gold, or even a haze-blue – just blue. Not like James' beautiful brown ones – oh bugger, she wasn't comparing them again was she?
I hope to God you're making the right choice, Evans, she thought.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"See, you guys? Big pig! Big pig!" Sirius yelled happily, pointing to the large golden-brown pig slowly cooking on an open spit.
"I'll go get us some punch…?" Amos asked tentatively.
Lily nodded, her eyes focusing hypnotically on the world. "That'd be great."
It was the perfect night for a luau: stars brightly dotting the sky and the moon in a crescent, the perfect shape for romance. The air smelled of salt and flowers and perfumed with that summer breeze that doesn't smell like anything – you just know it smells like summer. The fire cast merry shadows along the canvas walls of the massive tent pitched for the luau and people from all ages dancing around, most in authentic luau dress. A band was at the center of the makeshift stage they had set up but there was also someone playing music when the band wasn't performing. Lily couldn't glance between the sea of people to see what band it was.
"Fruit punch for my girl," Amos said jovially, handing her a cup shaped like the half of a carved out coconut.
"Thank you," Lily said shyly, clinking her drink with his as an impromptu toast.
"So –" Amos said with the breeze slightly ruffling his hair, "how's your vacation been so far?"
Lily stared out at Fiona and James – God, how happy did she look? How unhappy did he look? She'd thought about the first day of vacation – way back when she'd left her house and saw him sitting in the car, his legs stretched out in front of him and wearing nothing but shorts and a wife beater. He looked happy then; he looked like he enjoyed his life status so far. Her thoughts drifted farther into vacation when they'd gone surfing that day and Lily stayed out of the water – now whenever Fiona cuddled up to James, he'd almost recoil. But… recoil from what? So bringing a girlfriend when he couldn't maintain a girlfriend wasn't the best idea he's ever had but – he was James. He could handle it.
"Lils?" Amos pressed gently.
"Oh! Sorry –" Lily said smiling apologetically, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear, "uh – it's been great! Well, you know – minus that whole break-in thing."
Amos nodded in agreement. "Have you guys figured out who it was?"
Lily bit her lip. Jaden had come to visit her in her dreams every night since the break-in, almost like an ominous cloud hanging over her. She hadn't quite figured out if she was going to tell anyone – Sierra wouldn't believe her and neither would anyone else, for that matter. "Nope. Nowhere near finding out – this person was stealthy and didn't leave a trace."
"Bummer."
"Yeah… but I try to think positively – at least nobody died," Lily said and her brain instantly added 'this time.'
Silence blanketed over them and she sipped her drink slowly and pensively. She watched James and Fiona dance some more and then watched Sierra and Sirius do some crazy swing dancing. She laughed softly. Sierra and Sirius were – perfect. Not like Fiona and James where James was almost dreading spending any time with her, Sirius was for the first time in his life acting serious and not doing what Lily liked to refer to as 'serial dating.' They were so alike, yet so different – nothing seemed to annoy Sierra about Sirius and vice versa. It was the perfect relationship – and more than one time, Lily had felt jealous about that.
The fast tempo of the last song faded into a slow ballad. She shifted her weight and placed her cup on the fake tiki bar they were leaning against.
"What do you think of Potter?" Amos asked randomly.
Lily dropped her cup. "W – what?"
Amos chuckled and picked up her cup for her. "What do you
think of him, honestly?"
"Whoa – you are definitely asking the wrong person; I'd give you the most biased report of him," Lily said laughing.
Amos shrugged. "He seems like an O.K. chap."
Lily twirled the cup around in her hands, admiring its craftsmanship. "Er – well, he's done some good things –"
"But more bad things," Amos said finishing the sentence for her.
"Right."
"You've – dated?"
"Sort of. It didn't work out," Lily said quietly.
"Why not?" Amos asked.
"Oh – just… because. Because he's bloody impossible to live with!" Lily burst out, "and I hate the fact that he thinks he can walk all over me because he thinks I have some weakness for him!"
"Is that the case?"
"N – not exactly – he's just… ugh. I don't want to talk about it," Lily said, feeling a bad mood coming on.
"Do you want to dance?" Amos asked changing gears.
Lily looked bewildered and choked out stupidly, "Why?"
"Because I want to dance with you," Amos said smiling. "What? Do you have two left feet?"
"Oh," Lily said temporarily tongue tied, "no – well, a little."
"Don't worry, a few hard stomps on the toes do a body good – I think," he cajoled.
She smiled and walked to the near center of the dancing couples and awkwardly wrapped her arms around his neck. This was quite a difficult feat considering she was so short and he was so tall but they managed to work it out. He circled his arms around her waist so she was right up against him – too close almost. She could smell his cologne – it smelled like cheap cologne. The smell didn't bring Lily any feelings of familiarity or security – and certainly not those butterflies and increased heart rates that even the whiff of James' scent could do to her.
"See, you're not that bad," Amos whispered with a smile after a few moments of silence.
"That's because we're barely moving," Lily pointed out.
"Well you're still better," Amos reasoned.
"Thank you," she said shyly.
Lily looked over Amos' broad shoulder and saw Fiona and James dancing. A sharp pang of sadness and jealousy struck her like lightning. Why was she doomed to play this stupid game of love? Why was she doomed to spend the rest of her life denying what was right in front of her? And why was she denying it if she wanted it so badly?
Tell me just what you want me to be
One kiss and boom you're the only one for me
So please tell me why don't you come around no more
Cause right now I'm crying outside the door of your candy store
It just takes a little bit of this
A little bit of that
It started with a kiss
Now we're up to bat
A little bit of laughs
A little bit of pain
I'm telling you, my babe
It's all in the game of love
That was it: a stupid game of love. He probably wasn't even giving her a second thought about it and was just putting on an act for the rest of them to fool them all. He was probably in love with Fiona – her perfect hair, perfect attitude, and perfect body. And Lily was just his pawn, another one of his objects to toy with. She couldn't believe she'd almost fallen for him – again!
This, whatever you make it to be
Sunshine set on this cold lonely sea
So please baby try and use me for what I'm good for
It ain't sayin' goodbye that's knocking down the door of your candy store
It just takes a little bit of this
A little bit of that
It started with a kiss
Now we're up to bat
A little bit of laughs
A little bit of pain
I'm telling you, my babe
It's all in the game of love
She smirked to herself – it Potter wanted to play that game, he'd have another thing coming to him. She wasn't going to be easily hoodwinked just because he put on an act and she felt sorry for him.
It's all in this game of love
You roll me
Control me
Console me
Please hold me
You guide me
Divide me
Into what...
Make me feel good, yeah
So please tell me why don't you come around no more
Cause right now I'm dying outside the door of your loving store
Looking past Fiona's cloud of blonde hair and hazy perfume, James looked over at Lily. Her head was resting on Amos' shoulder and her arms draped casually over his shoulders. He rolled his eyes at her when she caught his gaze. She immaturely stuck her tongue out at him. He looked away and looked over at the ocean and the couples walking along the beach, but he could still feel the redhead's glare burning him up inside. Stupid girl, he thought bitterly. He was stupid to think he could forget her by bringing someone he thought was better – the thought was ridiculous: no one was better than her. He'd realized this way back when vacation had started and she'd nearly drowned him in the ocean. He'd said no one could compare to her and he was right, but even he could not outwit fate and avoid love when it was coming to him. And Lord knows he'd tried to forget her but – she kept popping up everywhere! Now that this Amos guy was in the picture, maybe his ridiculous maladies of love would be cured by his loss of interest. With a sinking heart, James realized that half the fun of love was the chase and getting Lily seemed to be the best prize he could receive. He inwardly sighed as the song ended and Fiona unwound herself from him and went to go get a drink.
It's all in this game of love
It's all in the game of love
Yeah, in the game of love
Roll me
Control me
Please hold me
(make me feel good, yeah)
He sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands, messy strands of hair slipping through his fingers.
Whatever was going to happen, he needed to get Amos out of the picture.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The pig had been eaten, Sierra and Sirius had slipped off somewhere and the guests were chatting happily and contentedly at their tables. The breeze stopped blowing and it got unusually cold as the hour struck midnight. The sea was in full fury – giant waves crashing to the shore in high tide. Lily and Amos sat off in their own little world, talking animatedly. He'd watched them closely for the past hour just talking (and sometimes kissing) and couldn't push down that little green monster growing bigger inside him.
"Something bothering you, Jamesie?" Fiona asked running her finger up and down his arm.
"Er – what?" James asked distractedly.
"You look depressed," Fiona said, lifting his hand up and kissing his palm.
"Just tired," James reasoned.
"Oh…"
He watched Lily and Amos stand up hand-in-hand and head for the beach, waves still swelling over the sand.
"Come on, we're going for a walk," James said gruffly, grabbing the confused blonde's hand and ran off behind Lily and Amos.
"Jamesie, this is ridiculous – stop chasing them! They're going to think you're stalking them," Fiona hissed. For a moment, in all the haze of his brain, he realized Fiona was right for once and wasn't acting like a complete airhead.
"I'm not stalking them, Fiona; I felt like a walk on the beach," he said, hoping his little white lie wouldn't give him away in case Lily and Amos were nearby.
"Yeah right," she said sarcastically, "you're not the greatest boyfriend ever, despite what girls say."
"And you're not the best girlfriend ever," James replied.
"Well, ok, you can kiss pretty awesomely –"
"Shh – I hear someone coming!" James said and shoved her into some bushes nearby.
She let out a delighted squeal, totally oblivious to the cold feeling that suddenly seized him. He clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her sound as footsteps drew closer. His heartbeat increased in a second, thudding loudly in his ears. Through the crevices of the leaves, he could make out a dark cloak and heavy black boots. Fiona's eyes widened and remained stiff in his arms, both of them too afraid to make a move. James watched in agonizing silence as the figure moved more towards the bush. Fiona squirmed slightly as the figure got closer – panic rose inside him, his heartbeat pounding so loudly he thought the mysterious person could hear it.
They backed up as far as they could go as the cloaked person lit a Muggle cigarette. He heard the match grate the strike plate and heard the hissing of the flame as the cigarette end was ignited. The person then threw the match carelessly into the bushes. James and Fiona both yelled out loud as the bush burst into flames; they scrambled clumsily out away from the fire.
"RUN!" James said as the figure spotted them.
They ran towards the party where the people were happily still chatting. Fiona and James tore through the large crowd on the dance floor, yelling to get down or to look out. The black figure was quick to catch up with them. People panicked and some men grabbed their wands, yelling curses to try and stop the shadowy figure still chasing after the two teenagers.
It seemed like what happened was in slow motion, like you knew what was going to happen but you felt like you were moving through molasses. Flashes of light accompanied spells unknown to James and Fiona and it was pandemonium everywhere. To their horror, more cloaked figures emerged from nowhere (or so it looked) to aid the lone one among the panicked wizards.
"Where are Lily and Amos?" James asked breathless with panic.
"How should I know? I can barely find my pulse!" Fiona snapped.
"What's going on in there?" James asked with a sinking heart as suspicious looking green light flashed across the whole sky.
"Oh my God," Fiona said looking paler than death, "James – what is that thing?"
"Holy fuck."
A giant skull, shaped out of foggy green haze, hung in the sky with a giant serpent slithering grotesquely out of its mouth.
"We've got to get out of here," Fiona said whimpering, trying to drag James by his sleeve.
"I've got to get in there –" James said drawing out his wand but a piercing shriek blasted the night silent.
"Shit – what just happened?" Fiona asked, swearing she was so nervous.
"I have no idea," James said and without another thought, ran to the tent.
"JAMES!" Fiona screamed shrilly.
The black figures vanished out of sight as soon as he got down there. People were crying, screaming, running all over the place as MediWizards and other important looking Ministry figures rushed up to the scene.
"James!" Mr. Black called weakly. James ran over to him, tripping over a fallen body.
"Are you all right?" He asked, helping James up.
"Holy – is he dead?" James asked shakily, feeling his dinner starting to come up.
"I'm afraid so – where's everyone else?" Mr. Black asked worriedly.
"F – Fiona's up there, Sierra and Sirius went off a few hours ago and Lily and Amos are on the beach," James said as the world began to spin slightly.
"You didn't see any of them, did you?" Mr. Black asked, gripping James' arm harder. James sank against a fallen table to steady himself.
"Me and Fiona were going out to the beach ourselves before the attack and we saw one of them so we hid in the bushes – and then he lit a Muggle cigarette and threw the match in the bushes and it caught on fire so we ran out of it and he chased us," James said all in one breath, closing his eyes to fight the nausea.
"You look sick," Mr. Black said.
"I'll be fine, just find the rest of them," James said wearily and sunk down to the floor practically next to the once-living Ministry member.
"Stay there James," Mr. Black said and sprinted off.
He waited there for about five minutes before a MediWizard came up to him and bent down to look at him. She was about thirty, with blonde hair and brown eyes. "Are you all right?"
"Er – not really."
She smiled. "Of course not; do you think you could tell me about what happened here tonight?"
"N – not really," James said repeating his last sentence. He tried to close his eyes but the nausea seemed to get worse.
She brushed a bit of hair off his clammy forehead. "Hmm…
you'd better come with me."
"Wha – no, I swear I'm fine," James said thickly as she helped him up. He leant heavily against her and it would've been funny to see James Potter clinging to a thirty-year-old woman had the situation not been so grave.
"I'm sure you are," the woman said with a note of teasing in her voice.
"What's the story, Kathy?" An older man asked in a gruff voice. James looked over at the other people being helped onto MediWizard trucks, similarly modeled to look like Muggle ambulances.
"This young man has your story but he's ill, I'll take him to the hospital with the rest of them," she said firmly and helped him on the truck.
"What about my friends?" James asked as the world became increasingly darker. His eyelids drooped and he was unconscious before she could utter two words.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"Oh good Lord, he's alive!" Arabella said happily, waking James up from sleep that felt like he'd been sleeping for five years. His eyes remained closed but he could hear his friend's footsteps coming into the room.
"James Potter, I swear to God, I'm going to –" Lily said in a tearful voice, " – kiss you for being O.K.!"
They all laughed. James groggily opened one eye and saw Lily, Arabella and Amos standing near his bed.
"Can you speak?" Amos asked dumbly, also looking astonishingly glad to see him.
"Er –" James said and coughed, "yeah."
"Holy hell, Potter, you scared the shit out of us!" Lily said throwing her arms around his neck.
"Ouch!" James said and Lily quickly regained her composure before she totally broke down.
"I'm sorry – we were just all afraid you were… you know, dead," Lily said quietly, tears brimming in her eyes.
"It's O.K. Lils," Amos said putting his arms around her.
"I'm really fine – where's Sirius and Sierra and Mr. Black?" James asked trying to sit up.
"Sit down Mr. Potter," a doctor said coming into the room, "you're supposed to be resting."
"I'm sorry sir – have you seen or heard from Mr. Black or Arabella Figg or Sierra Lethesine or my girlfriend?" James asked.
"They're all fine, I assure you. If you feel rested enough, there's a news reporter who wants to talk to you about the night's – events," he said nonchalantly.
"All right," James said apprehensively and Kathy, the supposed MediWizard, came in dressed sharply for an interview with a teenager.
"James Potter, I'm Kathy Sanger," she said and extended her hand out for a curt handshake.
"How did you know my name?" James asked.
"This young man gave it to me," she said indicating Amos, who gave James a dirty smirk, "now, I'd like to ask you a few questions."
"Well, I'm prepared to answer a few questions," James said evenly, casting an icy glare at Amos.
"What happened earlier tonight, could you give me almost exact details?" She asked, getting out a quill and paper.
"I can try," James said honestly, "all right – me and my girlfriend, Fiona –"
"Last name?"
"Blossom," he replied.
"Continue."
"We decided to go for a walk on the beach," James said,
lying, "and then suddenly this black figure walked up towards us so I pushed
the both of us into a nearby bush."
"Ah… interesting," Kathy said scribbling that down.
"Yeah – so we were both pretty freaked because we didn't know who this person was and then this person lights a Muggle cigarette, I haven't a clue why –"
"Maybe he's addicted," Kathy said helpfully.
"It's a he?" Lily asked puzzled.
"Well, we're assuming," Kathy said.
"Or maybe he didn't light it – did you see him take a puff?" Arabella asked, shedding light on a new possibility.
"Er… no," James admitted.
"But why wouldn't he have lit it if he wasn't intending on smoking it?" Amos asked even more perplexed than Lily.
"Maybe he saw you two dive into the bushes and he pretended to light a cigarette so he could light the bush on fire and not get blamed for it because he claimed he was lighting a cigarette… he'd probably get away with it," Lily said.
"Are you saying that this was a plot to kill them?" Arabella asked with wide eyes.
"That's preposterous! Nobody would just light a bush on fire and kill two people for no reason," Amos said reasonably.
"You're right – but still, we don't know if any of this is true anyway," James said, shaken up by the prospect of almost being murdered.
"It's all right James, no further questions," Kathy said patting him sympathetically on the shoulder and walked out of the room.
"You don't think someone was trying to kill you, do you James?" Lily asked in a tiny, doubtful voice.
"I don't think we can rule that out until we see some solid evidence, Lils," Amos said.
"Did anyone see that big green skull thing in the sky?" Arabella asked in a shaky voice.
"I did," James said shuddering.
"I did too!" Lily said, "I know I've seen that relic somewhere before."
"It wasn't a relic Lily, it's a sign from those weird people," Amos said.
"Well whatever it is, it really gave me the creeps," Arabella said.
"Er – it's been fun Potter, but I'm going back to my room," Lily said. "I need to sleep off some of this excitement."
"Same here," Amos and Arabella chorused, giving James a small wave and then too heading out the door.
Kathy came whizzing back through the door, holding onto
Lily's arm and dragging a confused Lily back into the room. "Mr. Potter –
you've got to follow us."
"Why?" James asked.
"Because Professor Dumbledore has come all the way from Hogwarts to see the prisoner from the attacks tonight and he wants to speak to you as well," Kathy said breathlessly and helped a protesting James out of bed.
"Follow me," Kathy continued, leading Lily and James down the hallway and into a doctor's office where a gagged man dressed all in black with greasy black hair. Two wizards, serving as guards, stood on either side of him.
"Ah, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans. I trust you're having a good summer," Dumbledore said.
"Er – you could say that," James said sitting down in a chair next to Lily.
"This is Macnair, one of the hooded men who attacked the Ministry party," Dumbledore said severely.
"I – uh – very pleased to meet you," Lily said dryly.
"Why don't you tell us exactly what happened, Macnair, and maybe your punishment won't be as severe," Dumbledore said sternly.
"Uh – quick question: Professor, why are you here?" Lily asked, "n – not to undermine your authority or anything –"
"An excellent question to ask, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said with a slight smile, "you see: I have been tracking these people since last year, when activity of this group built up after Misty's death."
"After Misty's death? Did she have something to do with them?" James asked, nothing making sense so far.
"An extraordinary amount to do with them," Dumbledore said, "and you and Miss Evans as well."
"I didn't have anything to do with that girl!" Macnair said gruffly.
"Shut up," one wizard/guard said, kicking him in the shin.
"Tell me, what do you call yourselves?" Dumbledore asked coolly, his light blue eyes filled with coldness.
"Death Eaters," Macnair said coolly.
Harsh realization hit Lily like a sack of flour. Of course, the Death Eaters! The one's who'd burned Sierra's house and… might have killed Misty.
"YOU'RE A DEATH EATER!" she screeched and jumped up, "WHAT'D YOU DO TO MISTY? WHAT'D YOU DO TO HER, YOU SORRY BASTARD?"
James' eyes widened and watched as she jumped on Macnair and punched him square in the face, yelling and swearing at him. "Lily! Get off him, you're going to kill him!"
"Well, that'd be an interesting table-turner, wouldn't it James? He already killed my best friend!" Lily shrieked, getting hysterical. Dumbledore watched the situation with calm regard and the wizards tried to pry Lily off Macnair.
"Lily, hush, it's fine," James said putting his hands around her waist and prying her off Macnair, who had a bloody nose and lip and was smiling in a rather disturbing manner.
"It's not fine, dammit! He killed my friend!" Lily said tearfully. "He killed her, James."
"Shh," James said, feeling a tad ridiculous rocking her in his lap while she cried like an infant and he was the mother.
"They're all bastards, they all deserve to die," Lily said quietly, tears soaking his shirt.
"Miss Evans, please do contain yourself," Dumbledore said finally. "He's the only prisoner we've got."
"I told you, I didn't have anything to do with the murder of that girl," Macnair said sourly.
"You're in enough trouble as it is and we haven't proved that you aren't involved somehow," Dumbledore said. "Now tell us what you have to do with them."
"With who?"
"The Death Eaters."
Silence fell over the room, only broken by Lily's quiet sobs. Macnair stared off into the distance, like he was recalling some fond memory.
"I met my leader, Lord Voldemort –"
"Oh, he has a name?" Dumbledore said with mild interest.
"Lord Voldemort has the greatest name of all," Macnair said with his twisted smile again.
"Continue," Dumbledore said, not wanting to get off topic discussing Voldemort's 'great name.'
"I met him when I was merely twenty years old, barely out of Hogwarts," Macnair said.
"Ah yes, I remember you quite well, Macnair," Dumbledore
said with a wry smile, "too weak to survive on your own."
"Quite true, Dumbledore, now I've got my Master to provide for me."
"Your Master is a sick bastard who enjoys killing people!" Lily said from her curled up position on James' lap.
"Now that Miss Evans has gotten that out, I'm quite curious
to know myself: what possessed you to join this group of people?"
"You said it yourself, Dumbledore: I was weak. But then I found my Master and he has said he will provide for me – if I do something for him in return," Macnair said with the same eerie smile that was beginning to become a little obnoxious.
"Which would be what?" James asked.
"That I bring him those who have refused him," Macnair said with a cackling laugh.
Everyone in that room, minus the maniacally laughing Macnair, felt a twinge of fear go down their spine. Was this real? Was it true – could Voldemort really kill people who refused him or was this some hoax?
"Y – you're crazy!" Lily choked out.
"Take him away, there are no further questions," Dumbledore said, wearily waving his hand at the guards.
"Professor, I'm sorry but that man is crazy! Why didn't you just kill him right there?" James asked incredulously.
"Mr. Potter, I would appreciate it if you and Miss Evans left," Dumbledore said tiredly and pinching the bridge of his nose.
"But –"
"Leave now," Dumbledore said more sternly.
"Come on, Lily," James said gruffly. She sniffled and got up and followed him out of the room.
"What was up with him?" James said angrily when they had left the earshot of the old man. "He won't even tell us why he didn't blast that bastard to smithereens!"
"He gave us valuable information," Lily said shrugging.
"Lily, he didn't tell us anything!" James exclaimed.
"He told us how Voldemort rewards his followers," Lily said in the same sad, uncaring tone.
"Yeah but he didn't tell us who killed those Ministry people," James said and felt like his brain was going to start smoking from all the confusing new facts surfacing.
"James, have you ever thought about the fact that it's more important to know how he works so we can prevent deaths rather than focusing on things in the past?" Lily asked hotly.
"Then why did you go psycho when you found out he was a Death Eater?" James asked with a very faint smirk.
Lily looked at him with tears in her eyes, again. "I don't expect you'd understand, James. You've never had to deal with the death of your best friend."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Err… I think I'll stop there. I was going to make it longer but then I realized – hey! Chapter 35 is at 23 pages! I'm so good =) R/R!