Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Chapter 9
~*~
Lily was in shock - she could either talk now or face certain death. After spending the last four years in a hospital bed her muscles weren't what they should have been, and were definitely not made for hanging off the window at the top of the Astronomy Tower. It was sheer desperation that kept her holding on. She had decided she really didn't want to die anymore. Not yet anyway. But it was a bit late to decide that now.
Lily could hear the Marauders talking in loud voices.
"YOU KNOW WHAT? I DON'T THINK SHE'S HERE!"
"OKAY THEN, LET'S GO!"
"ALRIGHT!"
(A/N: Did you all get that? The Marauders were making it really obvious they were leaving, but their real intentions were that they would not leave the Tower and see if Lily came out of a hiding place. Obviously, she's not going to.)
I'M SHUTTING THE DOOR NOW!" one yelled as the door slammed loudly. Lily tried to call out, but nothing came out of her mouth. You know how when you're dreaming or something someone in a balaclava comes to kidnap you and you're so shocked you can't even scream? This was how Lily was feeling.
Now, after four years of staying silent, now is NOT the time to be speechless!
It had been about ten seconds since Lily had almost fallen and her fingers were beginning to get slippery with sweat. She strained her ears for some sound; surely they wouldn't have left so soon. Sure enough, she heard one of them say in a squeaky voice.
"Guys, I really don't think she's here. She hasn't come out yet, in case you haven't noticed. Let's go eat,"
"No way!" one of them retorted in a bolder, much more confident voice. "I didn't climb up all those stairs for nothing! She has to be here!"
"I know! Let's check the Marauder's Map!"
"Moony, you're a genius! It's in my pocket!"
The "genius" was Remus, obviously, he was the only one with a tiny bit of sense. Yes, they really were that stupid. They had the Map with them the whole time they were looking for her, but didn't notice.
Lily whimpered; her fingers were slipping and she was convinced she was going to die.
"Okay, … Lily Evans … Lily Evans…" Lily wished they would hurry up and find her - but wait! What if they just left her here, or even worse, pried her sweaty fingers off the ledge? That would be just what anyone else would do … except for maybe James. Fear overtook her sense of logic and she could feel intense pin in her arms, but she tried her hardest to keep hanging on. When she did die, she would at least have the staisfaction on knowing that for once in her life, she had put up a fight.
"Found her!" one of the Marauders cried out jubilantly, startling Lily so much that she almost let go in surprise.
"She's .. on the outside of the Astronomy Tower?"
"But that must mean she's…"
There was a clatter of shoes on stone as Sirius, Remus and Peter rushed over to the biggest window. Suddenly, tey noticed small, pale fingers just holding on. Just before they got there, though, the fingers disappeared.
Acting on pure reflex, Sirius and Remus drew out their wands and pointing it down, shouting
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!"
After a few seconds Peter did the same. When the looked down they saw Lily's unmistakable red hair floating halfway down the side of the castle. She looked unconscious, probably knocked out from falling so fast. The force of Sirius and Remus' spells had cast a glittering aura that surrounded her, protecting her from the wind. They may have had no common sense, but they were good at magic. Peter, on the other hand, had "Wingardium Leviosa'd" a tree, which had uprooted and was now hovering in midair.
Meanwhile, as James read more of Lily's diary. Unaware of the very same girl that was at that time floating outside the window on his left …
~*~
Much of Lily's diary was the same, describing the place in the hospital, about Sirius, Remus and James, who in the short time she had spent with them, had learnt a lot about. She included things about her classes, all of which she had with James, little notes about the topic that even James didn't know. And James knew everything. Just by reading these parts of the diary he learnt so much more about her than watching her unreadable expression. Like the way she described people. It was really funny to read about Lily's views on people in the school; everyone from Snape to Miss Norris to Dumbledore. But there was one problem. A rather big one for James, actually.
There was nothing about him in it. Nothing at all. It didn't mention him once. He was the one that got her to come back to Hogwarts! He was the one that kept standing up for her, even when it seemed like she had given up! So why wasn't he even mentioned once?
Denial said a voice in his head.
But what would she be in denial about?
The bell rang for class, and James suddenly remembered that he was meant to be taking Lily to class. But where was she? He reached into the pocket of his robes for the Map, but it wasn't there. Sirius had it.
James set off in a run to search for the fur people that meant the world to him. Unfortunately, three of them were about to wreak havoc on the other …
~*~
Meanwhile, in the Astronomy tower…
The other three members of the Marauder gang had just managed to get Lily back inside the Tower. She was shaking and silently crying. The Marauders, having no idea what to do, jus stood there, watching her cry like there was no tomorrow. They gathered together in a huddle to try and decide what to do.
"I don't know, guys," whispered Remus. "I feel bad about going through with the plan now," he took a piece of parchment out of his pocket and unfolded it. It read:
"Operation Lily".
In order to rescue our dear James from a love spell/potion/whatever, we must immediately separate Lily from James so that he can recover and go and do normal things again. We, the other members of the Marauders, Marauder Swear to go to any lengths to separate her from James to save him from a life devoted to someone who doesn't even speak.
Sirius R. Black
Remus J. Lupin
Peter M. Pettigrew.
"This seems really mean now. Look at her," continued Remus. Lily was still shaking and crying.
"But she's got him bewitched," Sirius argued, conveniently ignoring the fact that she's never actually done anything with a wand in her life, let along a love spell.
Lily didn't know what to do. They were blocking the doorway so she couldn't run, and the only other way out was the windows, and hell would freeze over before she went back over that edge. She knew they were discussing what to do with her, and she didn't trust her fate in their hands. But there was nothing she could do.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to all, Sirius, Remus and Peter broke away from their huddle.
~*~
A/N: Another cliffy, right? Oops … couldn't resist!
I was so happy when I went from 79 to 102 reviews in three days! So a big thank you to all of my reviewers who waited patiently for me to update!
Vamperfly – Yes, I am insane!! Yeah, I know I left a really big cliffy, but I simply couldn't resist! The urge was too great. Thanks for reviewing and I hope this chappie satisfied your craving ;)
Clavel – Yeah, it is kind of angsty, isn't it? I might change the genre, then. I'm glad you like it!
ZombieGurl98 – Hey! Like the new name … it has a nice ring to it … I'm happy I updated too – I get a high whenever I get reviews! Thanks for reviewing!
Demeter, Goddess of Protection - Here it is, continued for you! Thanks for putting it on your fave stories list!
Ruth3 – Leaving a mean cliffy is kind of fun until you have to think of what to write next! I really enjoy writing a story that means something to others, not one that people forget, so thanks for showing your appreciation! I didn't really understand what you asked about which program I uploaded my fics on though … I write it on word and then post them … does that answer your question?
ArtC-Fox – Wow! I really liked your shining review I don't really think I write that well, I just try to write to fit the situation and hope that I'm doing it justice! :D Thanks for reviewing! I liked your story very much, by the way.
jade eyes1 – Yes, they may be able to fix Lily's face with magic … but think of the cost to repair the damage … thanks for reviewing!
elvencherry07 – Yes! I finally updated! I think a lot of people gave up on me. Oops … thanks for reviewing!
Heather – Wow! Thanks for such a good review! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!
Slytherinangel922 – Yes, eventually Lily will talk, but this story is all about how, with a little romance along the way … ;) Thanks for reviewing!
Shh2010 – Dying from suspense … yeah, I know the feeling! Thanks for reviewing and hope you like the chapter!
LilyPrincess – Here's a much much faster update for you! Thanks for reviewing!
Moon*wolf2 – Mystic is right! I did just leave it there! But here's the next update and I hope you enjoyed it!
butterflyangel3 – It takes all of my self-control not to murder Peter in my fics!! I think I'll make Lily fit in pretty well with the guys, otherwise it won't work well when she marries him, will it? Lolz! Die, rat boy, die! Thanks or reviewing!
silv3rang3l – I took your advice and only added the A/N at the end this time … Thanks for reviewing and telling me!
Cestrel – It's funny, I like doing cliffys, but I hate reading them! But the cliffy was resolved in this chapter so I wasn't being THAT evil, was I? Lolz. Thanks for reviewing!
w/e - Wow … I'm in awe now … are you sure that I'm the first person ever to be reviewed by you? I'm truly honored! Thanks SO much for reviewing … wow!
Angel Street – Yeah, I didn't need you to tell me that I was evil! J/k! Thanks for reviewing!
kat6528 – I make really bad things happen to Lily, don't I? Ah, well … hope you liked reading this chapter.
mmn673 – Well, here's some of the rest!
By the way, guys, I think that not all of the reviews I got showed up, because I'm sure I got notified of more than this by email … so thanks to anyone I didn't thank! Lolz.
Thank you also to those who put me on their fave authors list – with the new 1 person per screen name policy I can't tell who you are anymore so I'll just thank you all:
QoNFC
ArtC-Fox
FuNnY-rEaDeR-101
Hyper Fairy Queen
Larka
ZombieGurl98
crazychick1
Blackthorn1989
Ruth3
Clavel
Starborn
That's all folks! Expect another chapter within the week!
Luv
snowflakey
