A/N: When I wrote the last chapter, I was barely awake. To those of you who caught the mistake, congrats. A lot of people did. I corrected it, but it took forever for fan fiction to post the correction. Oops, I did make a mistake. For the most part, you knew what I meant. To those of you who didn't, that's ok. I changed the mistake after the first review telling me what it was. So, sorry about the cliffhanger last chapter. Leave me a review. Thanks!

Catch My Fall

Chapter 21-The Death Flower

Lily sat in bed, holding her newborn baby, when Alice Longbottom slowly walked into the hospital room with a bundle of her own. She smiled at Lily, the two women knowing that they would forever hold a bond because of the journey they went through.

"I heard it's a boy," Alice said as she peered down on a sleeping Harry. "He's beautiful."

"Let me see," Lily whispered as Alice lowered the bundle so Lily could see. A baby boy sat nestled in blankets, sleeping peacefully.

"Alice," Lily said. "He's adorable. What's his name?"

"Neville," Alice answered. "It took me about two hours to pick it out, but Neville is the one Frank and I agreed on."

Her eyes looked bloodshot, as if she'd been crying, and Lily gazed up at her friend.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked. "Is something the matter?"

"It's just that Neville's going to be the one," she whispered. "I'm just so worried. I don't want anyone to hurt my baby."

"Alice," Lily said. "Harry was born at 11:59 on July 31st."

Alice's blue eyes became round and surprised. Both she and Frank had already felt that they were the couple who would have to protect their child. Yet, no one knew which child would be the one to conquer Lord Voldemort.

"James and Sirius are trying to find an owl," Lily said, explaining her husband's absence. "They want to owl Remus."

"Frank probably met up with them," Alice sighed. "His mother came by and he said she wanted to stop by the gift shop. Lord only knows what she'll come out of there with."

Lily laughed, her baby slightly stirring, but remaining asleep. She didn't know how or why, but Harry was all she could think about lately. He was her baby, her and James' child that they had made together. They were parents now. Seeing him reassured her immensely.

"I wonder where Katy is," Lily said. "She always said she wanted to be in the delivery room with me when I had the baby."

"Maybe she was on a case," Alice suggested. "Aurors are hard to get in contact with after deaths."

"A death?" Lily asked, her eyebrows raising.

Alice nodded. "It's all very mysterious. I read about it in the paper this morning. According to the Prophet, You-Know-Who struck again at his secret headquarters. He killed and then fled. Moody's being very hush-hush about it right now. Frank doesn't even know what it's about."

"I wonder if James knows anything," Lily pondered, kissing the top of baby Harry's head.

.X.

"We should get flowers for Lily," James propositioned as he and Sirius passed by the gift shop.

"That's a good idea," Sirius agreed. "Roses or lilies?"

James thought of Katy and almost broke down crying. Lilies were the death flower.

"R-r-roses," he stammered, his mind remembering what he had seen the night before. He had almost forgotten, what with the birth of his son. He had almost forgotten about Remus. Of course he wouldn't get the owl Sirius and he had sent, he was probably mourning.

"Roses it is," Sirius said cheerfully.

Sirius doesn't know, James thought to himself. Frank doesn't know. Lily doesn't know.

Frank Longbottom bumped into Sirius and James as they exited the gift shop. His mum was beside him, holding a very ugly afghan.

"James," Frank greeted, shaking James' hand. "Congratulations. I heard it was a boy."

"I heard the same about your child," James said, trying to force a smile. It was hard to do this when something as tragic as death had occurred.

Frank waved his mum off and James and Sirius continued walking up to the maternity ward of the hospital.

"So, read the Prophet lately?" Frank asked as they walked down the hall. They paused before the door. Both Lily and Alice were inside with the babies.

"No," James answered. "Why?"

"Small article about how You-Know-Who struck again last night," Frank informed him. "Have you heard from Moody?"

"No," James lied. "I haven't."

"Hey Prongs," Sirius intervened. "Didn't you go to a site last night?"

James heaved a breath in. The questions were coming fast. He didn't know if he could talk about it.

He turned his head to avoid eye contact when he saw Remus Lupin walking towards them. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked like a mess. He immediately hugged James when he saw him.

"I'm so sorry, Moony," James said to his friend. "So sorry."

He let go of his friend and looked him in the eye. Remus was staring at the ground.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," he mumbled.

"You rarely do," James confessed. "It's horrible what happened to her."

"What happened?" Frank and Sirius asked at once.

"Prongs, they're saying it wasn't Voldemort," Remus told his friend. "Moody thinks it wasn't him. That means someone out there killed her. She's gone and they killed her. We're in a world lacking mercy."

"Katy," Sirius whispered, putting the pieces together.

"Jones?" Frank asked, his eyes wide with fear.

"What about Katy?" Lily asked, standing in the doorway. "Does anyone know where she is?"

At the sight of Lily, Remus broke down. He walked over to a bench and let his angry tears flow as his head rested in his hands.

"Lily," James said quietly. "She's dead."

.X.

James and Lily sat in the hospital bed, baby Harry lying on both of them, their eyes red and puffy. Harry was sleeping soundly, an innocent youngling with no worries yet.

Lily was in a state of shock. This was the second time she had lost a best friend. After a couple of hours, she was past the point of tears and frustration. She was almost completely over the shock, but she wasn't even close to being over the pain.

Realization was settling in. Lily didn't even want to know how Remus was feeling. He had gone home, Sirius as supervision. Slow, small tears came down Lily's cheeks, the last she had left in her.

"James," she said in barely a whisper. He looked over at her. "We're not allowed to be happy, are we?"

"I know. It's as if all the people we love are slowly being taken away from us. Your mum, my parents, Halle, Katy," James said in a low voice.

"Not only that," Lily said. "Every time we try to be happy, try to move on, something like this happens. First Hogsmeade weekend together, Voldemort attacks us. Our wedding, Voldemort attacks, Halle and Cherish both die. We have Harry, Katy is killed. At this point, I am ready to give up hope of ever being happy."

James rubbed his wife's shoulders and kissed her temple. He knew how she felt. His friends were constantly being hurt because of their association with them. He hated the world he lived in. The entire atmosphere was broken and corrupt. He wished so hard that he could move on with his life, live past Voldemort, but in the end, it always came down to him.

"I miss her, James," Lily cried. "I miss her. I wanted her to be godmother of our child."

"I did too," James agreed, ruffling his son's hair gently.

"We just had a baby and now we're going to go to a funeral. Our lives are so screwed up," Lily proclaimed softly.

.X.

Next to the gravestone marked Halle Elizabeth Douglas Black, a large hole was dug and a tombstone read Katy Jane Jones.

Nearly one hundred people stood surrounding the hole, a pure white coffin cascading into the Earth. The crowd was dressed in black, each person holding a perfect white lily.

Remus was the first to drop his in. He prayed that the flower would never die. He cried, cried more than he ever had in his life. He looked over quickly at Halle and Cherish's grave and now knew how Sirius felt. His family was gone as well. Katy was basically all he had. His parents were Healers, caught up in the medical world. Katy was his constant, the love of his life. Then, he had screwed things up. He hadn't paid enough attention to her. He should have known she would have gone out looking for Voldemort. She hated to stand by and watch the world crumble.

She was so generous. She contributed all she had to everyone around her. She was one of the only people who actually loved him for who he was; a werewolf. She saw past it and looked within. She allowed herself to love him. He owed her more than he could ever pay back.

Once the service was over, Remus walked out of the park alone. His friends were left crying by the stone, no words for what had happened. Sirius' eyes filled with tears as he saw his wife and daughter's grave once more. Lily saw her best friends' graves lying side by side, haunting her. She would never see them again. She felt someone tap her shoulder. Alice was behind her, crying. She had liked Katy. Katy was there for her and Lily through their pregnancy, willing to give all she had to offer.

Lily snuggled her son close to her. All she had left now was Harry and James. She knew that times were dark. She loved Remus, Sirius, Alice, Frank, and Peter. They were her only friends at the moment. Yet, Harry and James were the ones she needed. She needed her family. It was the only thing she was able to look after.

Peter walked out of the cemetery, his eyes not even stained with any tears. He had done his best to look grieved at the ceremony. He knew that Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus were like a family. Yet, he had a new family now. A family that promised great things in reward for information.

He couldn't sacrifice that for anything. He hadn't dropped his flower into the grave. He had kept it, torn it apart in his hands. His friends hadn't even noticed. Now, as he walked out, he threw it onto the ground and watched it rustle in the breeze.

A/N: I didn't want to write overreactions as those tend to get old. I prefer writing the emotions this way. Trust me, they're all hurt by it (except for Peter maybe). I just feel that they all chose to grieve privately. So please, review. I hope you liked that chapter.