Disclaimer: Never have and never will own JKR's stuff. Oh well.
A/N: Muchas gracias to tenniStar514 and POTC Freak for their AWESOME reviews! Wow. Only two reviews for this chapter. That's pretty sad. And 8 out of 9 total reviews are from my friends. That's really sad. It's too sad. Well, I guess if no one really likes this fic, I might as well drop it and go back to the drawing board. Ok well, I hope you enjoy this chapter and review!
Escape From Hogwarts-Chapter 4: Birth of Elves and the Death of an ElfSeveral elves rushed to James and Lily as they came into view from the dark corner they were standing in just seconds ago. James helped Blueberry to her feet and she was rushed away by some of the elves. The ones left over inquired if James and Lily wanted anything else.
"Sir? Strawberry wishes sir to know that sir's room is ready," James heard a tiny voice. He looked down and saw Blueberry's sister looking up at him with her big green eyes.
"Oh, right. Let's go, Lily," he said simply and followed the small elf. They walked over to a refrigerator that was standing next to a counter. The elf stood there, as if she were thinking. James looked confusedly at Lily, but she just shrugged her shoulders. All of a sudden, Strawberry snapped her long elfish fingers, said something in a different language, and the refrigerator started moving. It shifted over to the right, and a door appeared in its place. Strawberry stepped forward to open the door, and beckoned Lily and James to follow her.
They traveled down a long, winding tunnel that was wide enough, but not tall enough for the two teenagers to walk through without ducking every few feet. They walked for about five minutes, and came to a halt in front of a door with a lock the size of James' head. Strawberry took her finger and stuck it inside the lock while James raised an eyebrow at Lily, as if to say is she okay? After a few seconds, the lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal a cozy little room, all set with two beds, a water basin, and a bookshelf full of magical games, educational books, feather quills, and many pieces of parchment.
"Here is master and miss's room. Blueberry request that learning is important so Strawberry is teach tomorrow. Push button if need Strawberry," the elf said politely. She bowed and scurried out.
"Oh good. At least we'll still be caught up with our work," Lily said happily. James groaned at her joy of doing homework.
"Is that all you can think about?" he asked irritably. "What about the fact that we're accused Death Eaters? Is homework more important than that?"
Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "It might not be more important, but it's still important. I mean, what if we come face to face with You-Know-Who?" she said testily.
"Right. Out of all the people we could meet, we would meet Voldemort himself," James laughed as Lily cringed at the name. "In the flesh. What a joke!"
"Don't say his name!" Lily shouted angrily.
"Voldemort. Voldemort. VOLDEMORT!" James bellowed into Lily's ear, smiling at the dismal expression on her face.
Lily just looked at him like he was crazy and backed away. She collapsed on her bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long time. "What if they find us here? What if they send us to Azkaban?" she asked softly.
"Don't worry Lily. They won't," James tried to reassure her, but with a hint of hesitance in his voice. "And if they do, we'll figure something out."
"I hope so," Lily replied, still uncertain.
"Lily? Wake up. It's time to eat," James whispered in a sleeping Lily's ear.
"Mmm. I love you too," Lily muttered, obviously still dreaming. James grinned, thinking that she was talking to him.
"Why, the lovely Lily actually likes me. Let's see what you can do," he purred, getting onto the bed. He placed his body down next to Lily's and leaned in close to her face. Lily's eyes flew open, and she jumped out of her bed, knocking James off with her. They crashed to the floor, tangled up in each other. Lily finally untangled herself and leapt up towards the wall opposite of where James was.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Potter?" she shrieked at the top of her lungs, eyes glaring forebodingly at a cowering James. "There I was, having a wonderful dream, and I wake up to find you a centimeter away from me! How can you take advantage of me like that!"
"I-I thought y-you were awake!" James stuttered, regretting the decision he had made, and cursing silently at his horrible hearing senses. "You said that you loved me."
"I was saying that in my dream, you idiot!" she shouted at him, now advancing slowly, more menacing than ever. "Even so, how could you just assume that I wanted to do something with you just by those three words?"
"Well, it's usually how I express my love," James smirked, trying to restore peace and joke around with her at the same time.
"Don't you DARE try to be funny, James Potter. Just leave me alone," Lily barked at James, whose expression slowly faltered.
"Listen Lily. I'm sorry. I wasn't going to actually go that far. I just wanted to have a bit of fun. You know, get rid of some of the stress that we've been dealing with these past few days," said James, completely sincere. "I respect your privacy, and I'm so sorry that I invaded it."
Lily stopped and unclenched her fists. She could feel indents of where her nails had dug into her skin. James held her gaze for a second, and she was almost completely convinced that he was truly sorry. It would still, however, take awhile before she could trust him again. "Apology accepted, for the time being," she said stiffly.
James relaxed, glad that he had said that right thing, but even gladder that she was giving him another chance to prove himself worthy of her. The two of them stood there without another word for a moment. Then they both jumped as a loud knock shattered the invisible silence. Lily quickly regained her senses, and rushed to answer the knock, hoping that it was Strawberry. She put her ear to the wooden door and waited.
"Master? Mistress? 'Tis Strawberry here with dinner of mashed potatoes, beets, steaks, and a magnificent strawberry cheesecake that Strawberry made herself," a squeaky voice rang through. Lily opened the door and accepted the two trays of food.
"Thank you, Strawberry. Your service is much appreciated," Lily said kindly to the small elf whose face was shining with pleasure.
"Anything for mistress and master," she said delightedly and left before Lily could pay her or give her a hug.
"Did you order all this food?" Lily asked James, a little coldly. She set his tray down without waiting for an answer and proceeded to eat her own food on the floor farthest away from James.
James knew that she wasn't expecting an answer, but he replied anyway. "Yeah. I knew those were your favorite foods, so I ordered because I didn't want to wake you up. Then Strawberry said that she was going to come down to bring dinner, so I woke you up. I didn't want your food to get cold," he explained, trying not to bring up the way he had chosen to wake her up.
Lily remained silent. It sounded true enough, and entirely unlike the James Potter she knew. Maybe she underestimated him. Maybe behind all the pompousness and prankster was a thoughtful gentleman. Maybe he was someone who thought about others before himself. But then again, those two personalities clashed, and it was highly unlikely that James was like that. Then she thought of their almost kiss, and how it seemed so long ago that James was gazing into her eyes, and how they could feel each other's heavy breaths. But she had pulled back, terrified of falling in love with him just to get her heart broken again.
Lily had been eating her food without actually realizing that she was eating it, and soon enough, her plate was empty. James finished his last bite at about the same time, and offered to bring the plates back up. He waved his hands in front of Lily's face, and when she looked up, he held out his hand. Lily, realizing what he was doing, shoved a plate in his face and looked away. James walked towards the door, head down and plates in hand. Fortunately for him, Lily noticed and started to feel bad. She could at least try talking normally to him.
"Wait, I'm coming too," Lily finally said, to James' delight. Then he frowned again when she added, "Only because I want to help the elves with the dishes."
James nodded to show that he understood. He was pretty sure that she was trying really hard to give him another chance, even though he didn't deserve one. "You know, it's ten o'clock at night," he said with a small smile that quickly vanished as Lily glared at him. The thought exited out of his head.
They walked along the narrow and dimly lit passageway back to the refrigerator/door. James pushed on it a little, and it budged just enough for their fit frames to scuttle through. After appearing out from behind the refrigerator, they looked around in confusion. Where were all the elves? Surely they didn't all sleep at the same time. There must be some elves on night duty. James walked a little bit further, and heard some whispering from behind a counter. He beckoned for Lily to follow, and they both crept around the counter to find five or six elves crowded around another elf lying on a blanket on the floor.
"Blueberry?" Lily whispered loudly enough so that the elves would hear.
"Yes miss. Blueberry is gone into labor. Elf labor," one of the elves turned around and told Lily. "Baby is coming out. Two babies is coming out. Miss must be quiet or else they will take away baby."
Lily crawled over to Jaggle and Strawberry, who were right by Blueberry's side. She looked down into Blueberry's wide, fearful eyes. "Wow, twins. Are you feeling okay, Blueberry?" she asked.
Blueberry nodded as a reply, but didn't have enough strength to speak. Her eyes cast down and her breathing quickened. Jaggle gripped her small hand even harder, and closed his eyes, as if he were praying. Big, fat tears rolled out of Strawberry's eyes as she held Blueberry's other hand.
"Don't cry, Strawberry. She's just going into labor. She'll live, I promise," Lily said soothingly, patting Strawberry's back.
"Miss does not understand. I have never knew an elf who is to have two babies. Doctor and midwife have never born two babies from one elf mother. We elves do not know if Blueberry survive or die. Head doctor and midwife say she die," Strawberry said in a quivering voice.
"Oh. I'm so sorry. I didn't know," Lily murmured sincerely, now understanding why the elves were all crying or near tears. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Miss, no human can help. Humans do not know about elves," the elf standing by Blueberry's legs, presumably the head doctor, protested gruffly. He was standing by another elf, who was apparently the midwife. She was muttering in a different language, looking down to check on the birth every couple seconds.
"Just hold her hand, miss. Blueberry need comfort."
Lily grasped the small elf's scrawny fingers while soothing her. Soon, James came over and held his hands over Lily's and Blueberry's.
"Elves, the first baby is coming out. I need a basin full of clean water and soft blankets," the head doctor ordered suddenly. "Midwife says to push!"
Lily could hear Blueberry's breaths quicken and become more intense. Blueberry closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. Lily felt her squeeze her hand even harder, but was too worried to even feel the pain. "Keep pushing Blueberry, just keep pushing. You'll be okay," Lily assured her in a calming voice. After several heaves from the pregnant elf, Lily glanced over at the midwife, who was holding something between Blueberry's legs. She soon saw a pair of pointy ears come into view.
James also saw the small, rumpled ears and said to Lily, "Go help with the baby. I'll be here to comfort Blueberry."
Lily went without a word and held her arms out as the baby came out of the mother's body. The doctor cut the umbilical cord, and several elves rushed forward to take the sticky baby in their arms. They made sure it was breathing and healthy before handing it to Lily to clean. She gently placed it into the basin, and took the washcloth to wipe the blood from the soft and wrinkly brown skin. After it was completely free of dried blood, Lily wrapped it in a towel, dried the elf, and wrapped it in a bundle of blankets. By that time, the other baby elf had gotten its umbilical cord cut and checked. Lily went through the same process of cleaning and handed the two bundles of blankets to Blueberry, who looked very weak and exhausted.
"What are you going to name them?" Lily asked gently, smiling at the new mother. "They're a boy and a girl."
Blueberry managed to return a smile at Lily and James. "Miss and Master name babies."
"Oh! Well, I think the girl should be called Winky," Lily suggested happily.
James stopped to think for a second. "Dobby," he finally said. "I like the name Dobby." Lily giggled silently at the thought of James Potter spending so much time thinking about a name for a baby. Most boys weren't usually like that.
"Blueberry like Winky and Dobby too," Blueberry said weakly. She turned to Strawberry, who was watching. "Strawberry be godmother."
Strawberry squealed and gave her sister a hug. Blueberry's eyes widened for a second, then returned to normal size. After Strawberry had let go, she smiled one last time. Her eyelids drooped, and her heavy breathing suddenly quieted down. Lily watched in horror as her chest rose once, fell once, and became still, with Winky and Dobby still cradled in her arms.
"What…just happened?" James whispered, afraid of the answer. Tears pooled up in his eyes as the elves all turned to look at him.
"I…th-think she's…dead," Lily replied in her own small voice. "She died…from childbirth…"
"Blueberry…" Jaggle said tearfully, still holding her hand. Strawberry went over to put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "No…"
"Yes. She is gone. Proper bury tomorrow. All elves meet by sink three at midnight," the doctor said in an unemotional tone. He glanced disdainfully at James, who now had tears streaming in rivulets down his face. Lily noticed, and went to his side.
"Come on James. Let's get you to bed," Lily whispered into his ear while lifting him off the ground. She put his arm over her shoulder so that she could help him walk back to their hidden bedroom. When they got there, she gently put him down on his bed. Then she laid down on her own bed without changing into pajamas. The lights went off automatically. She laid there, facing the ceiling. After a few minutes, sniffles were heard from the other side of the room, where James' bed was.
"Are you ok, James?" Lily called out. There was no answer. She slowly got up, and went over to his bed. The lights didn't turn on. She crept into his bed, tenderly pushing him over to the side a little. Lily cradled James' head and murmured in his ear, "She's in heaven now, James. It's ok."
Deep in the forests of Albania, a tall mansion stood invisible to the Muggle eye and the magic eye. Inside one of the large rooms on the first floor, a group of people-magic people-assembled together.
"Black," a cold, high-pitched voice called out. "Bellatrix."
A tall, thin figure stepped out from a group of cloaked wizards who gathered around a mysterious man who seemed to be their leader. The figure took off the hood to reveal a young woman's face. She could have been beautiful if her eyes did not glint with evil and her mouth did not possess a wicked smile.
"Yes, master?" she purred, slinking up to the leader. When she was just two inches away from him, he signaled for her to move back, and she did, not the least bit embarrassed. The witch gave him a small, evil smirk, never taking her eyes off of him. She licked her lips slowly, hoping to attract his attention so that she could spend the night with him (A/N Torturing innocent people, of course. What were you thinking!).
"Stop this nonsense, Black. I have an important assignment for you," her master said, slightly amused. He turned to two Death Eaters stationed at the doorway and said, "Bring her in."
The Death Eaters left, and came back shortly with a young girl, about the age of 17. She had curly blonde hair held up into a ponytail. She looked to be around the height of 5'6", and seemed quite strong. Her bright gray eyes had the same evil glint as Bellatrix's, except with a hint of eagerness as well. She also shared the smile.
"Bagley, Becki. You have proven to be a worthy Death Eater," the high voice stated, looking down on Becki. She looked back at him defiantly. "Bellatrix Black here is one of my favorites. She will be your guide. After a series of assignments and a certain number of tortures or killings, you will be branded with the sign of a Death Eater and honored among us."
Bellatrix looked very pleased by her master's comment about being one of his favorites. She glanced sideways at Becki Bagley and frowned. This girl could easily be one of his favorites as well, she thought selfishly.
"Well, Bagley, why don't we start your training by some practice on Muggles?" she offered with a false smile.
"Of course," Becki replied, her smile widening even more as she flexed her muscles. The two of them disapparated at the same time with a loud crack.
"My Lord, do you think it's wise to let another woman join?" a rather smart Death Eater asked the leader. "We already have three."
"Of course it's wise. That girl helped trick Dumbledore into thinking mere seventh years were Death Eaters," the Dark Lord snapped at his servant.
"So now what?" another Death Eater asked.
The Dark Lord gave a cold, frenzied laugh. "Now we see if she can kill her only childhood playmate."
A/N: There you go. Fourth chapter done, thanks to much pestering by POTC Freak. So I guess I'll be taking reviews for a month or two, and if at least five reviews are from new reviewers to the story, then I guess I'll have to continue. Sorry to disappoint those of you who actually read it. Thanks!