Chapter 6: Lily's Pensieve
A/N: Thought I'd give y'all two chapters since it's been so long since I updated. I apologize, my Internet's been down for God knows how long, and I haven't been able to update. Our boys' basketball team is playing tomorrow for the State Championship, the first time we've been to State in fifteen years, wish 'em luck!
Lily motioned with her finger for Isabelle to follow her to the kitchen. It was dark in the room, and Lily didn't turn on any lights. She felt her way around to the kitchen table, her seventeen-year-old self following behind her, trying not to run into counter corners and stools. They both sat down at the table and waited till everyone had gone upstairs. Once they heard doors shut, Lily waved her wand and the lights came on. She put her wand away and folded her hands in front of her on the table.
"What are you three doing here? Didn't you learn from the last time you messed with time that it's a bad idea?"
"I know. But they talked me into it."
"Who?"
"Blake and Julia." Lily sighed.
"Be your own woman, Lily. Don't always give in. If you do, you'll end up like I am in the future."
"What do you mean?" Lily shook her head.
"Never mind. Forget I mentioned it. But so this would explain why Adriana comes running to Evan every time she sees him and calls him daddy."
"When she first did that, I swear my heart stopped. I swear to God I thought Dad was going to recognize us."
"Well, you had us all fooled. I only found out about your identity because I overheard Blake and Julia talking."
"Door wide open and everything, right?" Lily nodded, Isabelle sighed.
"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Lily shook her head.
"No, I won't, but you'd better get that potion made and get back home as soon as possible before someone does find out who you are."
"I know."
"Don't let Mum know, you know she'll blow your cover." Isabelle nodded, and was about to say something, but was cut off by the front door opening and closing, and the sounds of someone stumbling around the hallway. Lily got up and went to take care of the person, for she knew exactly who it was. She said to Isabelle,
"Stay here." Lily turned on the hallway light to find her husband sitting on the floor. He grinned and said, slurring words slightly,
"Hey there, Lils! How's it goin'?"
"You've been gone for two days and the only thing you can say is 'how's it goin'?"
"Yeah. About that…"
"You know, Will…I don't wanna hear it this time. You should just stay with your whore that you spend so much time with."
"What whore? Not whoring nobody." He hiccupped.
"The woman you're sleeping with, who's pregnant with your child. What is it, I can't have any more kids so you have to find someone who can?" Will sat back and almost fell over but caught himself before he did.
"I never…hic…said that."
"No crap, Will." Will sobered up enough to stand up. He stood a few feet from his wife and said,
"I never said anything of the sort, Lils. And I'm sorry, but living in a house full of women can drive a man crazy every once in a while."
"That's a lame excuse. So then you're solution is to go meet some whore at a bar and get an affair going?"
"Where the hell are you getting this crap about me having an affair?"
"Caleb told me!" Will muttered under his breath,
"That bastard." Lily took a deep breath and Will said,
"But see, if I had a son or something, then I wouldn't have to leave every night."
"Well, I'm sorry. You didn't have to push me down the stairs when I was pregnant!"
"Well, if you wouldn't provoke me like you do, then it wouldn't have happened!"
"Don't give me that. It's your own damn fault you don't have sons! Good God, is that what all this is about? You left me because we have daughters and not sons?"
"Not so much that we have daughters, that we have daughters who are bitches just like their mother." Lily slapped Will across the face. He stumbled and took a step back. Lily's bright green eyes flashed dangerously when she pointed to the door and said,
"Get out."
"Lils…"
"GET OUT! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!"
"It's not your house, I paid for it!"
"But you only use it for a check-in place. You check in and leave again. We live here, so it is my house! Now GET OUT!" Will glared at Lily and turned and walked out the door. Lily sat down on the bottom stair and put her head in her hands. Isabelle came from the kitchen; eyes slightly red from tears, and her ears were red from pressing her hands to them. She sat next to her future self and said,
"Can I ask you something? Something I've been wondering ever since I got here. Actually two things."
"What?"
"What's up with you and Will? What happened? And what happened with Blake? Why aren't he and Julia still together?" Lily stood up and went to the library. She beckoned for Isabelle to follow her and Lily opened a cabinet door and pulled out a silver bowl with a silvery liquid substance in it. She said,
"They're all in here."
"Can I look?"
"Go ahead. They'll be your memories soon." Both women stuck their hands in the liquid and where sucked into the bowl and into Lily's memories. Lily said,
"Want to know what your wedding'll look like?"
"Yeah." The first memory was the day Lily got married. The only thing Lily could really remember about that day was the ceremony. Her bridesmaids walked down the aisle with the groomsmen, and Isabelle spotted her brother as a groomsman, walking one of her friends from school up the aisle. Next Julia started walking down the aisle, in a light green dress, grinning at her boyfriend once he was facing the congregation. When she had reached the front, the bride, escorted by her father, started walking up the aisle. Lily had a huge smile plastered to her face, and she wouldn't have been able to frown to save her life. Will beamed with pride as he watched his bride come closer to him. When they had reached the front, Harry gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek and joined his wife, who had tears rolling down her cheeks. Harry handed her a tissue, and Hermione wiped her eyes. The pastor said,
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join William Lee Finnigan and Lily Anne Potter in holy matrimony. If anyone has any reason why these two should not be joined today, speak now or forever hold your peace." No one spoke.
"Alright, do you, Lily, take William to be your lawful wedded husband to love, honor and cherish, in sickness and health, for better or worse till death do you part?"
"I do."
"And do you, William, take Lily to be your lawful wedded wife to love, honor, and cherish in sickness and health, for better or worse, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
"The rings please." The rings were placed on the fingers and the pastor said,
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. William Lee Finnigan." Everyone stood and applauded. The memory was changing to another wedding, Julia and Blake's. The ceremony had already started and the pastor said,
"…We are gathered her to join Blake James Potter and Julia Hope Weasley in holy matrimony. If there is any reason why these two should not be married today, please speak now or forever hold you peace." No one spoke.
"Do you, Julia, take Blake to be your lawful wedded husband to love, honor and cherish, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or worse, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
"Blake, do you take Julia to be your lawful wedded wife, to love, honor and cherish for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or worse, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." The rings were exchanged and the pastor said,
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Blake James Potter." The newly married couple kissed and the memory started to change. Isabelle asked Lily,
"Does Julia still have Blake's name?" Lily nodded.
"Yeah, she says she's proud to be called a Potter and to be called a Weasley. She debated about being Julia Weasley-Potter, but then decided on just Potter." The next memory was of the night Julia and Blake's first son, James, was born. Lily was sitting with her parents, brother and his in-laws at the hospital, waiting for the first news of the baby. Blake was pacing back and forth, occasionally running a hand through his hair nervously. The fourth time he did that, Harry laughed. Blake stopped pacing and looked at his dad. Harry said,
"Blake, calm down, it'll be alright. She'll be fine."
"Why did I let you all talk me out of being in there with her?"
"Because we know you, Blake. We've been there, it's not the best thing for a guy to go through," Ron said. Lily leaned her head back against the wall and said drowsily,
"The birth is easy compared to the seventeen years of stress you get to put up with."
"You aren't worried when you have your baby? Or babies." Lily shook her head.
"No. It's all worth it in the end." Blake started pacing again, and Ron said,
"Believe me, Blake, we've been there, you can't help her by making it easier, and you can't help but think it's all your fault that she's in this pain." Lavender said,
"It takes two people to get pregnant, Ron. It's not just the guy's fault." Ron snorted and laughed.
"That's not what I heard when you had the kids. I remember a lot of, 'I hate you's' and 'it's all your fault' while you were pregnant or giving birth." Hermione said, in the same sleepy tone of voice as her daughter,
"It's a whole caught up in the moment thing. You try pushing a seven pound child out of your body and the only person you can see is the one that if it weren't for him you wouldn't be in this pain. So you just naturally blame your husband." A nurse came down the hallway, and said,
"Mr. Potter?" Blake stopped pacing and looked at the nurse. She smiled warmly and said,
"You're wife wants to see you." Blake grinned and followed the nurse. Ten minutes later, everyone else came to see the new baby. When Julia held the baby, all you could see was black hair. Lily laughed and said,
"Well, you can tell that's the child of a Potter." Julia smiled and said,
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet, James Arthur Potter." Ron grinned and said,
"Your Grandpa'll love it that you used his name." Hermione said,
"And if Harry's Dad was still alive I'm sure he'd love it too." James was handed around to everyone to be held, and when Hermione held him, she said to her husband and two friends,
"Is it just me or are we getting old? We're grandparents now."
"It's not just you, 'Mione, we're getting old."
"You know, I remember a day like this, nineteen years ago. We were nineteen ourselves. The day Lily and Blake were born. God, it doesn't seem like that long ago, and now they're having children." Harry put an arm around his wife and kissed her temple. Hermione passed her grandson onto her daughter, who held him out so she could see him. She smiled and said,
"Hey there, James. I'm your Aunt Lily. Remember this, I'll be you're coolest aunt."
"You're his only aunt."
"Not necessarily, unless your brothers get married. But anyways, I'll always be there when you need to run away or do whatever."
"Don't encourage running away, Lils."
"Every kid wants to run away some time in his or her life." Lily looked down at her nephew again and smiled. She said,
"God, Blake, he looks just like you." Julia said,
"He'll be a handsome one, that's for sure." The memory changed and memories of Lily's daughters being born, and when her other nephews and niece were born were shown. The next memory was the start of the bad ones, the first one being the fight between Blake and his father, the day he quit being an Auror. Lily was standing outside a large house, waiting for the residents to open the door for her. The door finally opened and a little black haired boy was on the other side. When he saw his aunt, James grinned and ran to Lily and hugged her.
"Aunt Lily!"
"Hey there, James, is your mum home?"
"Yep." He took Lily's hand and led her through the house to the living room where Julia was helping her youngest son read. She looked up when she saw her sister-in-law and Michael ran to his aunt. Lily scooped him up into her arms and he planted a kiss on her cheek. Lily came and sat next to her brother's wife and said,
"Hey."
"Hey yourself, what's up?"
"Nothing much, just came for a visit."
"How come you didn't bring the girls?"
"They're at their great-grandmother's house. And Will is there with them, so they'll back in a week. He hasn't seen his grandmother in so long, and Bree and Beth wanted to go along." Lily was about to say something, but she heard the 'pop' of someone apparating and saw her brother standing in the hallway. He called for his wife, and Julia answered back,
"I'm in here!" Blake came into the living room and said the hellos and everything to his two sons, and seeing his sister, said,
"Oh, hey, Lils. What are you doing here?"
"Decided to come visit my brother and his family, as mine is in Ireland right now."
"Ah, I see." Julia said,
"So how was your day?"
"Best day of my life in a long time."
"Why's that?"
"I quit." Julia and Lily's jaws dropped at the same time. Julia said,
"You what?"
"I quit."
"Why?"
"Because I'm sick of the job. I'm sick of spells being constantly shot at me, I'm tired of leaving my family to go on long missions, I'm sick of it all."
"Have you told Dad this yet?" Blake paused before he said shortly,
"No." Lily got up and said,
"Well, I'll be sure to come to your funeral." She stepped into the hallway and all of a sudden there were two 'pop's of two people apparating and Lily saw her parents standing in front of her. Lily stopped and turned back to the living room. She sat next to her sister-in-law again and said to her brother,
"Well, now's your big chance to tell Mum and Dad about it."
"Why?"
"Because they're standing right behind you." Blake turned around and faced his parents. Harry said,
"Heard some interesting news today, Blake." Blake nodded.
"Can you guess what it was about?"
"Me quitting?"
"Exactly. Why'd you quit the Auror business?"
"I'm tired of it."
"You're tired of helping protect your family?"
"There haven't been any reports of Death Eaters in years, Dad."
"So?"
"Dad, I'm not like you, I'm not Auror material."
"What are you going to do then?"
"I don't know yet, but I'll figure something out." Hermione said,
"Your family can't survive on you just saying you're going to figure something out. You should've thought of this before you quit." Blake sighed.
"It doesn't make that much difference whether I'm part of the Aurors or not. And I'm tired of people assuming that I'm supposed to be this great wizard just because I'm the only son of the great Harry Potter."
"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but whether you like it or not, you are my son, and nothing is ever going to change that."
"I know that, but I wish people wouldn't assume that I'll be this great man just because of who my father is."
"So that's why you're quitting? Because you're my son?"
"Part of it." Lily said,
"That's a lame excuse, Blake." Blake turned and pointed to his sister,
"You stay the hell out of this, it's none of your concern." Hermione said,
"Blake, there's no need to snap at Lily." Blake turned to his mother,
"Well she's nosy as hell. She's just like you." Lily and Julia's jaws dropped slightly. Hermione didn't say anything, but Julia said, suddenly realizing her children were still in the room said,
"Boys, will you go upstairs please?"
"Why?"
"Just do it, James, don't ask questions now. Go on." The boys reluctantly left the room and the adults heard them go up the stairs and doors slam shut. Blake said,
"You know Dad, even if there were Death Eater attacks still, they would go for you first before they go for me and my family. You were the one that defeated Voldemort, not me."
"Still though. They'll try and kill every Potter so that the bloodline is broken and the name ceases to exist. That's why Voldemort tried to kill my father and me all those years ago." Blake sighed and glared at his father.
"No matter what you say, Dad, I'm not going back."
"You're a shitty father then." Blake's glare intensified and he said,
"You know what? I hope the Death Eaters come for you. And when they do, I hope they kill you." All the women in the room gasped. Harry was trying to keep calm, he was taking deep breaths, and it was the only thing that was heard in the silent room. Before anyone else could say anything, Blake left the room. Lily got up and followed him. He went outside onto the deck and leaned against the garden wall. Lily came outside and slammed the door. Blake turned slightly to see who it was, then turned his back to his sister. Lily said,
"You dumb shit." She smacked him upside the head and Blake backed away and Lily kept hitting him saying,
"What the hell is the matter with you?"
"Will you stop frickin' hitting me!"
"No, because you're an idiot, and you just told our Dad that you hope he dies!" She hit him again and Blake slapped her. Lily stopped hitting her brother and slapped him back instead. Blake said,
"Stop being Daddy's little girl for a minute and think about what you're doing, and why I said what I said."
"Because you're a cruel person!"
"Because he called me a shitty father!"
"So you said you hope he dies? It's not the same thing Blake! And you are a shitty father!"
"And why's that? What makes me so different fromyou or anybody elsein parenting?"
"At least I have a job still, I didn't quit mine just because I'm offspring of Harry Potter!"
"That's not the whole reason why I quit my job."
"Oh yes, it's because you're a selfish coward who cares more about himself rather than his sons and wife!"
"You bitch."
"It's the truth. Call me whatever you want, but I'm not the bad person here. It's you. You know I'm right about you being a coward, you're just too frickin' stubborn to admit it." Blake raised a hand to backhand her, but Lily pulled out her wand and pointed it at her brother.
"You do it, I swear to God I'll curse you into next week." Blake pulled his wand out and pointed it at Lily.
"You do and it'll be the last mistake you ever make." Lily lowered her wand and went inside. Harry and Hermione had left, and Julia was in the kitchen, head in her hands, sniffling every once in a while. Lily sat next to her and said,
"My brother's an asshole. Dad was right, he is a shitty father."
"He's better than most."
"Yeah, well at least most fathers have jobs, and don't quit them because of who their father is."
"Lily, he's your brother, you don't need to rip into him."
"Yeah, so? He's my father's son, and you heard what he said to him."
"It'll all blow over. In a few days everything will be back to the way it was." The memory started to change, and Lily said in a deadpan,
"It was never the same after that."
A/N: Here you go, y'all, here's chapter 6, a nice long one for ya! That should make up for the past few short ones. Please review!
Husker-fan-2006