I'm here for you; always.
Summary: Being seventeen is never as easy as it appears. Somehow, through trauma and horror, love seems to sprout between the most unlikely of pairs. But it had always been undeniable; the passion between both Lily and James had always been there.
Genre and Rating: Romance and Angst. Rating M, just to be safe.
Disclaimer: For Dumbledore's sake, people. If I had invented Harry Potter, would I still be writing fan-fictions?
A/Ramble: I'm really sorry for the slow update. I was grounded for like…so long, it was unbelievable. Promise that the next few will be a bit quicker, if I don't totally get swamped by homework and ITT exams. Thanks for still reading, doll-faces.
Chapter 6: I want to save you.
She didn't really know how long she had been lying there. The once smooth and shiny glass of her silver wristwatch had shattered; she had lost track of all time. The hovering groups of cloaked figures – Death Eaters they called themselves had left for the time being. Where they had gone – she hadn't the slightest clue.
Her mess of dark red hair hung over her shoulders, the blood nearly unrecognizable against the colour of her hair. But it was there, nevertheless. She felt cold, ice-like drop sliding down the back of her neck, she assumed, from the wound in her skull. Everything was black. She had yet to open her eyes, just praying that this whole thing wasn't real. But the stinging on her skin told her that it was just a prayer.
Slowly, weakly, her eyes flickered open, even the many shades of green looking dark and heavy. There were light scratches over her eyelids, but they didn't seem to bother her. A moan gently echoed through the empty lands and she lifted her heavy head. Blinking, she could distantly see the peaks of the mountains surrounding the school. She figured they couldn't be more than a few kilometres away from the vast grounds of Hogwarts and if she could only find her way back…
'Will you stop pacing? Your making the rest of us bloody nervous…' Tyler scolded, following James' path up and down the rug. His footprints had worn traces in the soft velvet, but he didn't care.
'Sorry.' He muttered, looking thoroughly distracted as he through himself into the seat next to Sirius.
'That's better. Look, we've got to stop worrying. Lily's a big girl. She can take care of herself.' Caitlin pointed out. Remus nodded in agreement. He would rather see his friends up and pranking innocent passer-bys than lying around worrying.
'Still can't help but worry.' James said, looking down at his feet and chewing on the low nail of his thumb.
'Things'll get better mate. Lily will be back by tonight and it will all go back to normal.' Sirius said, trying, despite how he actually felt, to be optimistic. It seemed to work, for James tried to give them all a light smile.
'Yeah, you're probably right.'
'I always am.' Sirius grinned.
Walking back to Hogwarts wasn't as easy as it seemed. Lily's poor and utterly destroyed legs wobbled beneath her weight and she desperately clung to the low tree branches to keep from falling over. But she had to get back.
She stopped her wand, lying astray not too far away. With a flicker of hope, she edged towards it, falling to her knees as she scrambled to pick it up, her hands shaking. But her face fell and the wand fell into two parts between her fingers. Her eyes burned with tears as the salt seeped through the cuts and stung. She hardly noticed. Lily hoisted herself to her feet again and took a few staggered steps forward, her feet dragging along the ground. Slowly but surely, she would find her way back to safety – hopefully, before it got so dark she couldn't see.
By nightfall, James had lost faith that Lily would in fact be back by dinner and everyone would be normal again. He stared hopelessly out the window, recalling Dumbledore's warning words in his head.
'You must stay here. I will have my own ways of finding our Head Girl. You cannot go and look for her when you are emotionally involved.'
And he still wondered what Dumbledore was doing to find her. But he chose to listen to him, this one time being his first. James seemed to think that Lily was far more important that upholding the reputation that he had. And she was.
He hadn't realized it then, but all those times when he wondered why it hurt so badly when she yelled at him, they meant something. She hadn't been like all those other girls that collapsed at his feet, willing to do whatever he said. She was enigmatic and special to him and he tried so hard to get her to see the way everyone else did.
It was then that he realized that he didn't want her to see him like everyone else did. All the other students in Hogwarts thought of him as some good-looking guy in the school, with all the right friends and all the right moves. He wanted Lily to see the real person that he had been since he was born. The person that his friends saw.
But he never had the stones to tell her. Every time he tried, he got tongue-tied and his words were twisted. The only thing he could think about was impressing her and not once had he seen that it wasn't working.
And now, now that she was gone and hadn't come back, it dawned on him that he cared more about Lily than anyone else. Would he have the chance to tell her that…?
Ending his long train of confusing and hurtful thoughts, he turned away from the window and looked around at his friends.
'I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later.' He announced, his voice monotone and quiet.
They all nodded and nervously watched him walk through the portrait hole.
'He will come back right?' Tyler asked.
She could see the gates now. Whether she was simply hallucinating or seeing the actual entrance to the grounds, she didn't know. She was so tempted to just collapse where she was and just hope that some one would find her sooner or later, but the images of James and all her friends swam before her eyes and she found her feet still moving along the rocky path. As she stood there, the gates swung open and she stumbled into courtyard, looking around slowly. The vision of the lake and the border of the forbidden forest came into view and she continued moving towards it. Just as she stood by the edge of the lake, a familiar outline was seen, walking out of the castle with his hands in his pockets, his eyes to the ground. She collapsed with a light splash, falling into the shallow edge of the water.
James started and looked over towards the water where a small and shapely person was passed-out into the water. Even from so far away, he recognized the head of matted red hair and blinked, daring to believe it. He sprinted, unable to think of a moment when he had run so fast in his life, falling to his knees at Lily's side.
'Lily!' he gasped loudly, gently shaking her shoulders and clutching onto her cold and trembling hand.
She moaned lightly, opening her eyes and looking up as the waves of the lake slowly swam around her still body.
'J-James?' she said uncertainly, moving her head to the side and feeling the cold water rush against her cheek.
He tried hard to suppress the thankfulness and happiness that had erupted in an enormous bubble at the bottom of his stomach.
'Thank God.' He muttered 'It's okay. We'll get you to the hospital wing, okay?'
Lily groaned again, moving her head again so she could stare up at him, her eyes still half closed.
'They're after you…' she murmured, her voice low and raspy. 'They want you. Tell Dumbledore…'
'What…? Lily, shh. I'll get you inside, okay. Can you put your arms around my neck?' he said, sliding his arms around her middle and slipping her out of the water. She lifted her arms slowly, feeling as though the blood pulsing through her had turned to the heaviest kind of lead, and wrapped them tightly around his neck. Her head rested against the warmth of her shoulder, she soon closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
James glanced down at her and smiled to himself, ever so thankful that she was okay. He gently kissed the top of her hair and carried her off to the hospital wing.
Maybe Sirius was right…Maybe things would go back to the way they had been. Anything was better than a missing Lily and a petrified James. Maybe…
A/N: Gah! I know it's short. My brain is like…gone…somewhere. And I have to study for ITT and Geography. And I have to write up my English paper and practice the flute. I'll have the next chapter up by Sunday at the very latest. Promise. As always, please read and review! They really make my day…