CHAPTER SEVEN: UNEXPECTED NEWS
Everyone was in high spirits with the coming of Christmas vacation. The Great Hall was decorated with the usual decorations. Several large Christmas trees were covered in twinkling lights that were actually hundreds of faeries. The ghosts floated around singing Christmas carols, adding to the festive mood.
As usual, the teachers could hardly get the students to sit still let alone work with Christmas break so soon. Some like Flitwick let them relax and play games, while others like McGonogal compromised and taught them how to turn lettuce into mistletoe, and yet others still like Burle forced them to work up until they were dismissed.
All in all everyone was in a good mood as they sat down for their final meal before the much anticipated winter break. Once everyone was seated Dumbledore rose to his feet and called for everyone's attention.
"Before we begin this fabulous meal, I would just like to wish you a Merry Christmas as you will be leaving for break tomorrow morn-" Dumbledore began but his words were cut short by a resounding crash. A moment later a frantic, disheveled wizard stumbled into the Great Hall.
He limped between the tables towards Dumbledore with blood dripping from a gash across his arm.
"Dumbledore...urgent...message." he growled, panting, and offered a bit of parchment to the head master with his good arm. The entire hall watched silently, as Dumbledore read the parchment, then read it again, his eyes without a twinkle. When he glanced up his face was troubled and he looked old, and gray, and haggard.
"I must return quickly," the wounded wizard said.
Dumbledore nodded. "Of course." Everyone watched the wizard limp out of the hall before their eyes flicked back to Dumbledore. The piece of parchment slipped from his fingers and floated gently down to rest on the table.
All the students watched anxiously as he cleared his voice.
"You are all undoubtedly wondering what has happened. This letter," he said, delicately picking up the parchment. " Is quite blunt. Not at all how I would prefer to deliver such news to you . . .to anyone. However, I think that in a case such as this...bluntness is needed in order to not deceive." He took a deep breath peering out at the students sadly before beginning the letter.
"Today at approximately 4:30 PM, during the Christmas tree ceremony in Diagon Alley a group of unidentified masked witches and wizards arrived and began what can only be described as a mass slaughter. After denouncing all muggles and muggle-borns and declaring their support for a mysterious wizard known only as Voldemort, they proceeded by launching an attack of the unforgivable curses to everyone in sight."
'Voldemort!' Lily suddenly remembered the name that had flashed on her slip of paper during the unexpected prefect meeting their first evening back.
"They held their ground for a while after Ministry authorities arrived but after a short battle the 'murdering cowards' disapparated to an unknown location. There is no count of the number of civilian victims though the result will be staggering. A death toll of the Ministry officials currently resides at six."
Every face in the hall was pale; they were all shocked and horrified. Some whispering broke out in isolated patches, some sat silently dumbstruck. Dumbledore stared at the parchment debating with himself whether to read the final lines. Should he give them an even greater burden than they already had? With much reservation he cleared his throat. The scattered whisperings went silent.
"Those killed in the line of duty are . . . Mikaela Prewitt, Robert Robertson, Will Potter-"
Lily gasped. James sat frozen, breathing heavily. Remus bowed his head, and Sirius looked as shocked as James. Will Potter had been his real father, not Black. In fact, for the past year, he had been living under the Potter's roof-now what would he do? He couldn't go back to James' grieving mother, give her that burden . . .he had just lost his home.
"George Longbottom, Franklin Bones, and Waldo Loste. Other deaths have been reported . . ."
Two girls walked out crying, flanked by McGonogal. In the silence, James got up and stormed out of the hall. Lily followed Frank and Alice. In fact, many of the students, rallying around their friends, had left. Dumbledore sat down heavily and closed his eyes.
"And so it begins, Riddle."
LJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJH
Lily sat in a corner by herself, gazing at the scene before her as if she was in a trance. She watched as owls flew in and out of the common room in flocks, sent from worried family members, and the occasional ministry owl. The windows were left open for their easy access, leaving those in the room chattering with cold. Alice sat next to a silent Frank, trying to offer consoling words whilst tears streamed down her cheeks. Sirius sat in a chair by the fire, fists clenched and staring off into space, with Remus and Peter surrounding him. James was nowhere to be seen.
Lily watched as one by one each person opened their letters and either let out shaky sighs of relief or burst into tears. The tension in the common room was unbearable. Finally Lily could take it no more and slipped away unnoticed. Tears began to well up in her eyes, memories of her own father's death invading her mind, and she found that she wasn't controlling her movement at all. Her feet simply led her to her favorite spot at the top of the North Tower. The cold night air stung her face as she stepped outside, and after a moment she realized she was not alone.
Leaning against the railing was James. When he turned to look at her he seemed almost dazed, his eyes rather red.
"I...I didn't think anyone would...would..." Lily stuttered through her tears. "-be here. I'll go...sorry...I didn't-"
James stared at her a moment as though he was finally seeing something he had been looking for. His eyes grew slightly wider in their brown-red puffiness and he stared at her hard.
"So that is why you're so bitter," he said at last.
"Wh . . .What?"
"That's why you hate the world, hate me. I didn't understand. I didn't know what had happened. That's why you hate the world, hate me . . ." he repeated dismally.
"I . . . don't . . .I" she walked back a step, stumbling. She turned to go, but after a moment, turned back with her face wet and tear-streaked. "I don't-I don't hate you James, or, or the world. And . . . I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. " She ran, leaving James staring hopelessly and dimly after her.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
THANK YOUS!!!!
krw313- We normally post once a week....well I hope you liked this chapter.
GNK- hehe Thanks for the review. See ya at school!
Child of scorpio- Hey you know I read your fic *wonders whether you write more than one and if I should be more specific.* Hmm....ah well I'm going to go review it later. But it was good! I liked it!
morph- Woo! Gryffindor Tower is starting to look good!
Everyone was in high spirits with the coming of Christmas vacation. The Great Hall was decorated with the usual decorations. Several large Christmas trees were covered in twinkling lights that were actually hundreds of faeries. The ghosts floated around singing Christmas carols, adding to the festive mood.
As usual, the teachers could hardly get the students to sit still let alone work with Christmas break so soon. Some like Flitwick let them relax and play games, while others like McGonogal compromised and taught them how to turn lettuce into mistletoe, and yet others still like Burle forced them to work up until they were dismissed.
All in all everyone was in a good mood as they sat down for their final meal before the much anticipated winter break. Once everyone was seated Dumbledore rose to his feet and called for everyone's attention.
"Before we begin this fabulous meal, I would just like to wish you a Merry Christmas as you will be leaving for break tomorrow morn-" Dumbledore began but his words were cut short by a resounding crash. A moment later a frantic, disheveled wizard stumbled into the Great Hall.
He limped between the tables towards Dumbledore with blood dripping from a gash across his arm.
"Dumbledore...urgent...message." he growled, panting, and offered a bit of parchment to the head master with his good arm. The entire hall watched silently, as Dumbledore read the parchment, then read it again, his eyes without a twinkle. When he glanced up his face was troubled and he looked old, and gray, and haggard.
"I must return quickly," the wounded wizard said.
Dumbledore nodded. "Of course." Everyone watched the wizard limp out of the hall before their eyes flicked back to Dumbledore. The piece of parchment slipped from his fingers and floated gently down to rest on the table.
All the students watched anxiously as he cleared his voice.
"You are all undoubtedly wondering what has happened. This letter," he said, delicately picking up the parchment. " Is quite blunt. Not at all how I would prefer to deliver such news to you . . .to anyone. However, I think that in a case such as this...bluntness is needed in order to not deceive." He took a deep breath peering out at the students sadly before beginning the letter.
"Today at approximately 4:30 PM, during the Christmas tree ceremony in Diagon Alley a group of unidentified masked witches and wizards arrived and began what can only be described as a mass slaughter. After denouncing all muggles and muggle-borns and declaring their support for a mysterious wizard known only as Voldemort, they proceeded by launching an attack of the unforgivable curses to everyone in sight."
'Voldemort!' Lily suddenly remembered the name that had flashed on her slip of paper during the unexpected prefect meeting their first evening back.
"They held their ground for a while after Ministry authorities arrived but after a short battle the 'murdering cowards' disapparated to an unknown location. There is no count of the number of civilian victims though the result will be staggering. A death toll of the Ministry officials currently resides at six."
Every face in the hall was pale; they were all shocked and horrified. Some whispering broke out in isolated patches, some sat silently dumbstruck. Dumbledore stared at the parchment debating with himself whether to read the final lines. Should he give them an even greater burden than they already had? With much reservation he cleared his throat. The scattered whisperings went silent.
"Those killed in the line of duty are . . . Mikaela Prewitt, Robert Robertson, Will Potter-"
Lily gasped. James sat frozen, breathing heavily. Remus bowed his head, and Sirius looked as shocked as James. Will Potter had been his real father, not Black. In fact, for the past year, he had been living under the Potter's roof-now what would he do? He couldn't go back to James' grieving mother, give her that burden . . .he had just lost his home.
"George Longbottom, Franklin Bones, and Waldo Loste. Other deaths have been reported . . ."
Two girls walked out crying, flanked by McGonogal. In the silence, James got up and stormed out of the hall. Lily followed Frank and Alice. In fact, many of the students, rallying around their friends, had left. Dumbledore sat down heavily and closed his eyes.
"And so it begins, Riddle."
LJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJH
Lily sat in a corner by herself, gazing at the scene before her as if she was in a trance. She watched as owls flew in and out of the common room in flocks, sent from worried family members, and the occasional ministry owl. The windows were left open for their easy access, leaving those in the room chattering with cold. Alice sat next to a silent Frank, trying to offer consoling words whilst tears streamed down her cheeks. Sirius sat in a chair by the fire, fists clenched and staring off into space, with Remus and Peter surrounding him. James was nowhere to be seen.
Lily watched as one by one each person opened their letters and either let out shaky sighs of relief or burst into tears. The tension in the common room was unbearable. Finally Lily could take it no more and slipped away unnoticed. Tears began to well up in her eyes, memories of her own father's death invading her mind, and she found that she wasn't controlling her movement at all. Her feet simply led her to her favorite spot at the top of the North Tower. The cold night air stung her face as she stepped outside, and after a moment she realized she was not alone.
Leaning against the railing was James. When he turned to look at her he seemed almost dazed, his eyes rather red.
"I...I didn't think anyone would...would..." Lily stuttered through her tears. "-be here. I'll go...sorry...I didn't-"
James stared at her a moment as though he was finally seeing something he had been looking for. His eyes grew slightly wider in their brown-red puffiness and he stared at her hard.
"So that is why you're so bitter," he said at last.
"Wh . . .What?"
"That's why you hate the world, hate me. I didn't understand. I didn't know what had happened. That's why you hate the world, hate me . . ." he repeated dismally.
"I . . . don't . . .I" she walked back a step, stumbling. She turned to go, but after a moment, turned back with her face wet and tear-streaked. "I don't-I don't hate you James, or, or the world. And . . . I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. " She ran, leaving James staring hopelessly and dimly after her.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
THANK YOUS!!!!
krw313- We normally post once a week....well I hope you liked this chapter.
GNK- hehe Thanks for the review. See ya at school!
Child of scorpio- Hey you know I read your fic *wonders whether you write more than one and if I should be more specific.* Hmm....ah well I'm going to go review it later. But it was good! I liked it!
morph- Woo! Gryffindor Tower is starting to look good!