A/N: Lately I have been pretty out of it due to the summertime, so more mistakes have been made. I try to fix them as soon as I'm aware, but it doesn't always get fixed immediately. Bare with me right now. I usually write in the morning or very late at night. Not always the best times for thinking. To those of you who reviewed, thanks so much. On with the story then. Please review.

Catch My Fall

Chapter 22-Reflection

A dark room with only the light of the sparking fire was the meeting place. Two men were speaking in hushed tones, three snakes circling at their feet. The home once belonged to the Riddle family. The old legend of the Riddles was well known throughout the town of Little Hangleton. Voldemort was sure to keep all lights off and the noise level to a minimum as an elderly gardener still lived on the property. So far, it had been an ideal location for a hideout.

Peter Pettigrew paced the room, his watery eyes scared from the presence of his master. The news he had to share was unpleasant and there could quite possibly be consequences.

"My Lord," Peter began, catching the attention of his master. Manipulative scarlet eyes bore into his skull with curiosity. The longing for information was captivating and the only reason Lord Voldemort kept Peter Pettigrew around.

"Have you acquired the information I asked of you?" Voldemort asked, his lips curling into a sly grin as Pettigrew nodded.

"The genders" Peter commented. "They were indisposed to all reporters and civilians as requested by the parents. However, I managed to retrieve the information."

"And..?" Voldemort asked, nearly on edge. "Which brat will I be awarded the pleasure of killing?"

"That's just it," Peter said nervously. "Both were boys."

Instead of overreacting as Peter had expected, his master sat back and laughed quietly. His menacing eyes were particularly dangerous by the firelight.

"This is good news?" Peter inquired, almost flinching at the sight of his master.

"Indeed, Wormtail," Voldemort assured his loyal servant. "Indeed it is. Do you know what this means? This means that the obvious choice is whomever I feel will pose as my biggest threat."

"Which child would that be?" Peter asked, his voice growing unsteady by the second.

Voldemort didn't reply to this, he simply sat back in his chair and welcomed the snake that had slithered up his leg. Things were working in his benefit after all.

.X.

The news of her friend's death had not been taken lightly. Lily couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep, she barely found the inspiration to leave her bed. The only time she did manage to make herself useful was to feed Harry. Otherwise, she wept. The shock of it all, losing both of her best friends, seemed to take it's toll on her. When Halle had died, Lily had stiffened her upper lip and attempted to lead her normal life, the way Halle would have seen fit. Now, without even Katy to console in, she was lost.

James was worried about his wife. Harry was only three weeks old, but James felt as if his wife was missing a significant part of their son's life. He was sad as well, but someone needed to be there to watch over Harry. He couldn't let himself fall apart, he needed to stay strong. Sirius managed to come over and help, trying to distract his thoughts away from Katy and Halle. According to him, Remus was almost always in the same position as Lily.

Alice had even brought Neville over, in hopes to occupy Harry and get a chance to cheer Lily up. After a whole month, Alice spoke up.

"James," Alice sighed. "You need to do something about her. She's a mess. I mean, she's always been on the frail side, but losing every ounce of your baby weight in less than a month is unhealthy. Not only for her, but for the baby as well."

James looked down at baby Harry, who was lying content in his arms. His black hair wasn't to the point where it was unmanageable yet, but soft and tamed. His emerald eyes glistened merrily, looking up at his father.

"I know," James replied. "I'm more worried than anyone. I hate seeing her like this. I just wish there was something I could do."

"Maybe you should see a doctor," Alice suggested, cradling Neville a bit more towards her. "There's this thing I read about inside one of my books on maternity. It's an after effect of pregnancy. A condition called postpartum depression. It's very common among women who have just given birth."

"You really think she's depressed?" James asked.

Alice shrugged, not knowing what to think. "I'm a Healer, but even I can't tell you what's going on with Lily. Have you tried talking to her?"

"A couple of times," James told her. "It's near useless."

"I don't think she's depressed," Alice said, sharing her opinion. "I just suggested that it could be part of the problem. Personally, I think she's just sad. Everyone is, but you need to tell her that Katy wouldn't have wanted us to all waste our lives away. She has a baby now. Just talk to her."

"I'll try," James assured Alice, smiling at her. "Thank you."

"It's the least I can do," Alice told him before Disapparating.

James looked over at his bedroom door. It was closed, blocking all view of his wife. He almost preferred it that way. He didn't want Harry to see his mum looking so down, although James was pretty sure that he couldn't understand it anyways.

He looked over towards the fridge and saw a bottle of formula and a piece of pizza.

"So, what do you think? Pizza or this yummy formula?" James asked, offering both to Harry. "Oh, I see, chicks dig formula. I'll have to remember that when I talk to your mum."

He took the bottle out and placed it gently into Harry's mouth. He heard someone Apparate in and turned to see Sirius.

"Harry, my man," Sirius greeted his best friend's son. "Oh, formula again? You're going to get addicted if you keep this up."

James went to take a bite of his pizza, but not before his best friend took it out of his hands. Sirius managed to eat the entire piece in a remarkable record of two bites.

"What'd you do that for?" James protested. "That's all we have to eat."

"Hm," Sirius contemplated. "Could it be because I want you to go and talk to Lily? Yes, I think so. Face it, Prongs, you need her."

"Here," James said, handing over the baby to his best friend. "I'll go talk to her."

"It's about time," Sirius mumbled to Harry. "You have got to have the most stubborn parents in the world. Let's hope you take after Uncle Sirius in the temperament department."

James knocked on his bedroom door and entered the room. He closed the door behind him. He saw that Lily was awake, although she was lying lethargically on their bed. He sat down beside her and she looked over at him, her eyes very red and puffy.

"Lily," he said softly. "Can you hear me?"

After a couple of minutes, she made a sort of muffled sound that he took as a yes.

"Honey," he tried again, figuring out just how he was going to come about saying it. "Do you reckon it's time you get out of bed?"

"No," she answered in a near whisper.

"Don't you have to use the bathroom?" he asked her. "I mean, it's incredible you've held on this long. A whole month, that must be a record."

He heard a sort of laugh from her end and smiled.

"Come on, baby," he coaxed. "We need you. Harry needs you, I need you. We miss you."

She rolled over so he could see her. Her red hair was a tangled mess.

"I can't, James," she told him. "It hurts. It hurts too much. It feels like anyone I become remotely attached to is snatched away. I'm lucky to even have you and Harry."

"Then why don't you appreciate that good fortune?" he asked her. "Come live. Stop sitting around in bed. She wouldn't have wanted things to be like this. She loved life, she would be sad if you spent the rest of your days mourning."

"I miss her, James," Lily cried. James took her in his arms and rubbed the back of her head.

"We all do," he insisted. "We do. The best thing we can do right now is live and hopefully someday take down that Voldemort bastard. He's taken away so much from us. You need to go back to work, honey. You need to come back to me and Harry. We love you."

"I love you both so much," Lily wept. She heard a soft knock at the door and looked over to see Sirius holding her baby. He walked inside and handed Harry over. Lily kissed him softly on the head.

"I've been a bad mum, haven't I?" Lily asked. "He's so beautiful."

"He is," James said adoringly, kissing his wife's forehead.

"Sirius," Lily said, just as their friend was going to walk out the door.

"Yes, Lily?" he asked her.

"Will you be his godfather?" she proposed, looking over at him. Sirius' gray eyes were wide in shock. James looked over at his wife happily. She had known precisely what he had wanted to do.

"I would be honored," Sirius told them, laughing and going over to hug them both.

Even if tough times had come and were most likely going to keep coming, they always had each other. Family.

.X.

Remus walked into the cemetery, retracing steps Sirius had taken so many times before him. He had left his house for something other than work and he felt he should share his time with his love.

He almost cried as he saw Halle's gravestone, as well as Cherish's smaller one. His blue eyes watered as he saw Katy's. Katy Jane Jones, the only love of his life. The only woman who would truly understand him for the person he was. She had been there for him in ways others had not. She had been by his side, through good and bad.

In the end, he hadn't gotten around to apologizing to her. He hadn't made up with her. They had parted on bad terms, the only terms that would seem meaningful and race through his mind with years to come. He would hardly remember the good, but only the bad that seemed to lay a fresh blanket of guilt upon his conscience.

He could never imagine being so frustrated, but when he and Katy had broken it off, he had known that everything would be downhill from there. He had wanted to mend their broken relationship, but had easily been misled that she was already off dating other men.

He had been wrong. She had not been dating, she had not been gallivanting. She had been dead. For that, he was regretful. He would have preferred her to be seeing a thousand different men than to be lying in the gravestone that was now her own.

He hadn't been able to imagine how Sirius had felt when Halle and Cherish had died; two important things in his life. Now, Remus understood. He had lost his reason for living, but not his hope. There was hope for him. He still had his friends. They would not be enough, but they would be the only things preventing him from completely giving up.

His reason for living was right in front of him. Katy enjoyed life. She was generous, open, warm, all the characteristics of a loving person. He would miss her.

He set a single white rose down on her grave and wiped tears from his eyes. He sat before that grave all night, hoping for some sort of miracle to bring her back to him.

A/N: Well, it wasn't essential, but I wrote this chapter hoping to capture the emotions of the other characters more in depth. This will be the turning point for everyone to try and move on with their lives. So, tell me what you think, hopefully I didn't make too many mistakes, and please review.