Chapter 11
THE BOY WHO LIVED FALLS
Harry Potter and his wife Hermione Potter were
killed by an unidentified Death Eater early this
morning at twelve thirty. Their daughter, Lilus
Potter, has been registered into St. Mungo's
Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Ms.
Potter and Justin Cale Weasley were the only
known witnesses to the crime, and unfortunately,
Mr. Weasley is recovering from shock while Ms.
Potter has yet to awaken. Lilus Potter's guardian
has yet to be decided, and it is possible that she
will become a resident of the hospital.
The article had been stretched across the front of the the Prophet and every other known daily literature work in the world. The famous Harry Potter was dead. Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, The Thomas's, the Weasleys, as well as Jason Alus had stationed themselves at St. Mungo's. Jason had attached himself to Lilus' limp hand, while the Weasley gang lined the walls in sad silence. Ron and Ginny took their friends' deaths extremely hard. They were holding onto each other and crying loudly. Albus Dumbledore, old and retired, had shown up to see that the welfare of Lilus was made certain.
"My friends," he said, his voice tight with pain, "we have suffered a loss, a great loss. This certainly will leave large holes in all of our lives, but we know that time can only heal these voids. Ms. Potter will need to be properly cared for, assuming that she is released from the hospital. She has multiple guardians available, as this moment was probably foreseen by her Mr. Potter himself very early in her life. She shall be taken back to Hogwarts if she is released, and I, too, will return to Hogwarts to ensure her safety and the safety of her fellow students. Before the term ends, she shall be given the choice to live with any one of her godparents, and she will be kept under strict watch."
Jason whispered something that no one heard, but Professor McGonagall heard him mutter something. She stopped Albus with a wave of her hand.
"What did you say, Mr. Alus?" she asked, moving closer to him and putting her hands on his shoulders.
The room was quiet. Jason looked up at her with red swollen eyes. "I...saw it...happen. I dreamt about it last night, but I didn't know it was real..."
He broke down and began to sob again. Minerva gently opened her arms and embraced him, and he bawled into her shoulder. Dumbledore resumed speaking.
"No doubt that she will be very troubled when she wakes. Seeing her parents die must have been quite a shock. Ms. Potter will need the staff's support. Her classes could suffer. Her Quidditch could suffer. She might even physically suffer as well as psychologically. We need to encourage her as much as we can," he said.
Remus stood up, his eyes directed towards the bed. "Lilus, Lilus?"
Everyone looked at the head of the bed, where the young girl's eyes were bloodshot, with blood traveling down the same path as her tears. She was breathing very softly, and her eyes were staring into nowhere. The blood slid down her cheek and landed on the pillow. Her fingers twitched. Slowly, her hand gripped the sheets, and she tried to sit herself up but succeeded in doing nothing but causing her arms to shake.
Something very animalistic squeaked from her mouth, and Jason left Minerva and carefully touched Lilus' arm. He helped her sit up, and she clutched his arm very tightly as she rose. He hugged her tightly, and she stared wide-eyed at the teachers when he released her.
"Wh...y...are you here?" she said, glancing at each of the teachers before finally returning to Remus. "Remy...?"
Her voice broke at the end of his name. A tear fell down Remus' cheek, and he rushed to her side, sitting on the bed and trying to swallow the knot in his throat.
"Lil...lus, last night, do you remember what happened?"
Lilus felt the funny feeling behind her nose and knew she was about to cry again. She didn't remember a lot. Just coming home...
And hearing the breaking.
Seeing her parents...
The china case...
The Death Eater...
"Ree...eeemy...," she cried weakly. "Daddy...Mommy..."
Her bottom lip quivered, and she wrapped her arms around Remus' neck, more blood coming from her eyes. Remus sobbed softly, holding her tight against him. Minerva drew a handkerchief out of her robes and handed it to Remus, who proceeded to wipe the blood from her face.
"They're gone. Oh, Lilus, I'm so sorry," Remus whispered, and everyone in the room felt their hearts break as the once proud and strong sixteen-year-old Seeker was reduced to nothing more than a one-year-old baby.
*******************************
Justin and the gang had gone back to school when Severus Snape and Remus Lupin came to St. Mungo's to collect Lilus. Her trunk had been collected from her house, and it was charmed to disappear to all eyes except a certain few. She had not said much during the four days that she had been awake, nor had she eaten a lot. For some reason that the professors only discussed when she was out of earshot, every time she cried, she cried blood, not tears. Lilus had cried often, and she seemed to be deep in thought whenever someone tried to talk to her. Albus Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts as a temporary resident. Lilus was oblivious to everything around her, and she talked to herself a lot.
Lilus poked at her breakfast with her fork, staring at her plate.
The hunch had returned. That strange feeling that had made her so paranoid had proved correct. Her parents were dead. Hedwig was later found in a mound of burnt feathers upstairs, but Crookshanks had been stalking outside at the time and was now living in her dormitory. Even that old cat knew the mourning that she had with her. Needless to say, her Christmas was spent alone, walking out in the snow by herself. Lilus was afraid, and she knew that the professors were afraid that she would try to kill herself. She had considered it, but it escaped her mind quickly. There was too much to fight for.
That Death Eater. Those eyes were definitely one of a kind. She would find them again, and she would kill that Death Eater. She would kill him.
As for the situation at hand, it was only causing sadness around her. The female teachers would sometimes break down, and Remy would cry every time she would come around. Jason tried to be with her as much as he could, touching her on any available limb just so she would know that he was there. He would come up next to her and hug her, covering her with as much of his body as he could. She could only stare at him with blank eyes and hold onto his arm as he escorted her to wherever they were going.
When school started, Lilus promised herself that she would not let it ruin her year, but she knew that it already had. She could never replace her parents. Their funerals she had not gone to, but she cried so much that she nearly killed herself from the loss. She felt a large chunk of her heart ripped from her body, and there was only one thing burning in its place. Revenge.
She sat in Transfiguration, writing down all the notes that Professor Aegis made to appear on his blackboard. She wrote just like she usually did, glancing over at Shawn and Jason's handwriting. Jason wrote like a normal human being, which was quite a shock considering. When Shawn had found out what had happened, he was horrified. Everyone that she came across was muttering something about her parents, and to be truthful, it was pissing her off. The Slytherins tore as much as they could at the emotional wound like expected, but whenever a teacher was in earshot, they quickly changed the subject to friendly conversation. As if.
"Blackwing, that was a really lousy lesson, huh?" Jason said, trying his very best to kill the dead feelings that surrounded her.
'It's not right to suffer like this. Look what you're doing to them. You're dragging them down. If you are to mourn, mourn in secrecy. They do not deserve this. They do not need to suffer your pain as well.'
'I know they don't. It...just hurts so much.'
'You have to conquer this.'
'I will conquer this.'
She smiled for the first time in two weeks. "Stupid lesson. Didn't he teach that before we left?"
The boys were silent, but then they laughed and surrounded her with hugs, glad to have their friend back.
Lilus and her friends went into Divination with happy faces. She wore a smile on her face, no matter how fake she knew it was. It made everything okay around her. After Professor Trelawney's class, it was lunchtime.
"Hey, Diego!" Nick called from one side of their party. "When are you going to pull off that prank?"
The fifteen-year-old grinned. "Tomorrow or the next day," he said.
Lilus laughed. She found herself doing that a lot, laughing spontaneously. It helped with the pain. It helped a lot. Jason smiled and cuddled her shoulder. She smiled and picked up a roll before hurling it at Charlie. It hit him in the cheek, and he picked up a grape and threw it at her. She smiled and grabbed a potato before slicing it open and eating it. It tasted so good.
"Thank God. Diego, you're beginning to make me too uptight about it."
He nodded. "Of course. It's what I'm good at, Nicky."
Her other classes were over quickly, and they were to be out on the Quidditch field for some practice. Their game against Slytherin was in a few weeks, and she wanted to be prepared. She sat on her bed, pulling on the Quidditch gear that wasn't in the storage shed. They weren't expected to be down there for another hour, but she wanted to go down early for some odd reason. She stretched and started down to the Quidditch field, ignoring the pity glances given to her by the other students.
"Pot...Lilus?" a voice whispered.
Lilus whirled around but she didn't see anyone that appeared to have spoken to her. There were other students in the hall, but there weren't any that called her name twice. She shrugged it off. That's when it started again.
"Astronomy Tower. Eleven tomorrow night. Meet me there."
She stopped and listened as hard as she could, but there was nothing else to listen to. Astronomy Tower. Eleven. Meet who there? Who was talking to her? She had never heard that voice before. It was a boy, but it sounded like a harsh hiss.
By time she arrived down at the Quidditch field, she had already noticed that it was being occupied. Practices were not usually scheduled on the same day for opposing teams, but today it was. She'd just finish putting her gear on and find something to do until her practice started. If they picked on her, well, she'd have to get out of there fast. Good thing though, because the Captain of the Slytherin team knew Justin. Not as a friend or enemy, but as an acquaintance. Surely, he'd stand up for her even in the slightest. She slid on her robes and armor from their dressing room and grabbed her broom. She walked around the Quidditch field and sat next to the tall poles of the Gryffindor stand. No doubt, some of the Slytherins had caught sight of her by now. She wasn't trying to hide her presence.
Frenchy was on the Quidditch team. She had forgotten that he had taken Raphael's place as the Seeker. That meant that he was up there, probably staring daggers at her. He knew about her parents' deaths, and he'd hurt her if he got the chance. She sat on the ground, staring up at all the small, green and silver robes buzzing through the air. And pretty soon, Frenchy decided to join her.
"Why, why, hello there?" he asked mockingly. "How's the family? Oh, I forgot. YOU DON'T HAVE ONE!"
He hovered a few feet away from her on his broom, giving her a look that she wanted to claw from his face. She pushed herself away from him, grabbing a handful of grass and dirt and hurling it at him.
"I have one, alright. It's the Gryffindor Quidditch team, who will be out here in thirty minutes and will be all too eager to beat your ass into the ground," she spat.
He landed on the ground, and she saw the shining, golden Snitch in his right hand. He held his broom neck to him and stared at her.
"You had a weak family anyways," he said.
Lilus wanted to rip him apart, but she contained herself, although she felt the fury boiling inside her. She may get her chance if he kept it up.
"You would have made a good Slytherin, though. Tough, demonic, striking fear into all who look at you."
That wasn't so bad.
"But you had to be the spawn of Harry Potter and that Mudblood."
"If you do not shut up now, I will not be responsible for my actions," she growled, standing up and cracking her knuckles.
He smirked at her and ran his hand over his slick hair. "What are you going to do? Fight me Muggle style? Did you learn that from that Mudblood mother of yours?"
Lilus couldn't believe him. She should just knock him out and leave. Of course, the entire Slytherin Quidditch team would be after her. Most of them were pretty tall, but not as well coordinated as they were. Raphael would never dream of taunting her like this. Not about her family. Not after what happened. He was mean, arrogant, and the biggest bastard you'd ever met, but he had his pride and dignity. Unlike Frenchy, he made his own wounds. He didn't open others. She wished Jason was there. Someone to hold onto. Someone to help beat this ungrateful wretch into a pile of nothing.
"I'm warning you, Frenchy. You're walking the edge of a dagger," she hissed.
He walked up to her, letting his broom fall to the side next to hers. They were not very far apart, and he stood a good four inches taller than she did. His eyes showed nothing but hatred and frustration.
"What's wrong, Frenchy? Sad that you can't make a little girl cry?" she said, grinning.
"Mudblood Spawn."
He wanted a fight. It was the only reason that he was doing this. He wanted to fight her. She drew her hand up and flipped him off, before sitting down again.
"Leave me alone."
"Why should I?"
"Because you're about to piss off one of the most frightening people in Europe," another voice said. "And I'm not talking about Lilus."
It was Diego. He stood there, broom in hand, teeth clenched tightly, glaring at Frenchy. Behind him was Kimmy, and she had her wand drawn out, ready to fire. Lilus smiled inwardly. She knew it wouldn't be too long before someone would come down. Frenchy lost his interest in Lilus and went to pick on the smaller boy.
"Who are you to threaten me?" he said, his voice deep.
Diego got right up in his face. "I am a Gryffindor, and I'll be happy to fight you."
Frenchy seemed to be amused by the small boy's threat. "Oh. Who is this charming lady? Friend of yours?"
"Fuck off," Diego said.
Frenchy winked at Kimmy. "Meet me in the dungeon sometime, sweetheart."
Kimmy made a gagging sound. Lilus stood up, ready to pounce on the Slytherin should anything happen.
"I said fuck off!" Diego screamed in his face.
Frenchy drew his arms back and shoved Diego off his feet. Diego stood back up and shoved back.
"You stupid Mudblood lover!"
Lilus jumped on his back, totally catching him off balance. He crashed to the ground, and she rolled him over and sat on his chest, holding his arms tightly. She bent down really close to his face, her eyes narrowing sharply.
"You listen to me, Alex. This is the only warning you're going to get. I better not hear you talk about my family or hear that you've been talking about my family, because if I do, I'll put you in St. Mungo's for the rest of your shortened life. If you pick on my friends, I'll come after you and show you just how much of a bitch I can be. Understand?"
She got off of his chest, and he stood up, staring hard at her. He rolled his shoulders back and glanced at Kimmy again.
"Dungeon, you and me."
"FUCK OFF, DAMN SLYTHERIN!" Diego roared.
He waved his wand around his head, making a small halo over his head. The halo sunk to his forehead, and the ring turned black. It began to funnel around his head, and the shadow began to form body parts, a head, arms, and a chest. The phantom flew out of the ring and chased Frenchy to the Slytherin dressing house. Diego and Kimmy rushed to her, but she just glared at the closed door.
"Lilus, you okay?" Diego asked.
"Fine," she said softly. "I will make one promise though. If he talks about anything I warned him about, I'll hurt him." Kimmy hugged Lilus around her neck, and Lilus hugged her back. "I...can't believe that they're gone."
Lilus sank to the ground, and the blood began to come down her face again. She didn't sound like she was crying. Lilus made no noise whatsoever, but she did talk. Kimmy crouched next to her, as did Diego.
"I know, Lilus. I know. They're in a better place now. They've gone to Heaven."
"And I've gone to Hell," Lilus said quietly.
Diego patted her knee. "Lil, if he bothers you, tell me or one of the guys. We'll take care of it. Tell Jason. He'd love to come beat him up."
She leaned against the pole and hid her face in her knees. No, she couldn't do this. This was a burden that they shouldn't have to carry. This was her problem, not theirs.
"No. I'm okay. It's...," she wiped the blood from her eyes. "I'm just...I dunno...but I'm okay."
Kimmy leaned forward and hugged her again. "We're here for you. We'll always be here for you. You're our big sister, Lilus. It hurts us too. When you need to talk about it, we're here."
In a way, Kimmy's words made Lilus want to growl and say something defensive back, but she didn't. She just nodded slightly and tried her best to fake a smile. It didn't work because the smile died quickly. She sat between Kimmy and Diego and waited for the Quidditch team and Jason to arrive. She really wanted Jason to be around right now, just as much as Justin. She needed them right now.
******************************
Clutching the Marauder's Map in her right hand, she ran down the hallway as fast as she could, her Invisibility Cloak draped clumsily over her. She wiped the blood away from her eyes with a small towel in her left hand. Her feet stung as they hit the cold stone floor, and her heart stung from the loss that she could never heal from. She didn't even think to put socks on or house slippers on before she left the house. She was just in her long pants and long shirt and sprinting towards Remy's office.
When she arrived there, she tried her best to mop up the blood from her face before she entered. The door was cracked just slightly, but Remy had left it like that every night since she came back, knowing that she would need relief from the great tragedy that happened. She walked in and plopped down in the armchair that was next to the fireplace, scooping the picture off the shelf. That picture of her grandfather looked so much like her dad it was scary. She shed her cloak and dabbed the blood away from her eyes before clutching the picture tightly to her chest and sobbing quietly.
She'd have to go back to her house and get pictures and stuff later. She wanted them so bad. It felt like her heart had been ripped out, like there was a large hold in her chest. That hole stung her, and it was more painful than getting her shoulder broken by a Bludger. She trembled in front of the fire but not from fear or cold. She was just alone. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was the fear of being alone in a time that she didn't need to be.
Lilus stared into the fire, letting her blood tears drop on the towel. At first, the tears had been quiet a shock to her, but she had slammed into a glass cabinet. It was just an injury. A piece of glass was lodged in her tear gland. It fell out, and now whenever she cried, the wound would reopen. It was explainable, but it was still strange.
She didn't need new eyes.
She didn't need a boyfriend.
She needed her mother and father.
She needed her friends.
She needed something to hug. She was wondering whether she should have brought Crookshanks with her. He wouldn't like her getting blood all in his fur, but he wouldn't be too sore at her for it. He understood death. He knew that his owner was not coming back. He knew Hedwig was gone. He knew Harry was gone. And he knew that Lilus needed him. She needed some connection to her past.
Lilus held tight to the picture and stared into the fire. Those eyes. Grayish blue. She would find that Death Eater one day. He would pay for her loss. He would pay. The fire glowed, and before long, she had to look away from her because it was hurting her eyes. She curled up on the chair and closed her eyes, still holding the picture.
Remus came in a few minutes after she had fallen asleep. He stopped at the doorway, holding a bag in his arms. He blinked a few times, not sure that there was someone there. He frowned sadly when he realized that it was his goddaughter. Poor Lilus. He quietly stalked over to his desk and dropped the bag on it carefully. He walked into his bedroom next to the back room and opened his closet. Wool blanket and a pillow. He wasn't about to wake her to tell her that she needed to go to sleep in her dorm. Not now.
He carried the items into his office and slid them around and under her. She stirred slightly, but she didn't awaken. Remus gently kissed her on her forehead and gripped her hand softly. Then he noticed the picture. He picked it out of her weakened grip and sighed before returning it to where it had been in her hand. The Marauder's Map fell out of her pocket onto the floor. Remus scooped it up and opened it. He smiled slightly and sighed again.
"I miss you guys. Good night, Lilus. Sleep well."
Remus walked over to his desk and sat down behind it, almost silently removing things from the sack and sliding them in their proper place on his desk. There was nothing good about their meetings anymore. He just prayed that one day that would change, and all would be right again, although Harry and Hermione would never return.
THE BOY WHO LIVED FALLS
Harry Potter and his wife Hermione Potter were
killed by an unidentified Death Eater early this
morning at twelve thirty. Their daughter, Lilus
Potter, has been registered into St. Mungo's
Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Ms.
Potter and Justin Cale Weasley were the only
known witnesses to the crime, and unfortunately,
Mr. Weasley is recovering from shock while Ms.
Potter has yet to awaken. Lilus Potter's guardian
has yet to be decided, and it is possible that she
will become a resident of the hospital.
The article had been stretched across the front of the the Prophet and every other known daily literature work in the world. The famous Harry Potter was dead. Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, The Thomas's, the Weasleys, as well as Jason Alus had stationed themselves at St. Mungo's. Jason had attached himself to Lilus' limp hand, while the Weasley gang lined the walls in sad silence. Ron and Ginny took their friends' deaths extremely hard. They were holding onto each other and crying loudly. Albus Dumbledore, old and retired, had shown up to see that the welfare of Lilus was made certain.
"My friends," he said, his voice tight with pain, "we have suffered a loss, a great loss. This certainly will leave large holes in all of our lives, but we know that time can only heal these voids. Ms. Potter will need to be properly cared for, assuming that she is released from the hospital. She has multiple guardians available, as this moment was probably foreseen by her Mr. Potter himself very early in her life. She shall be taken back to Hogwarts if she is released, and I, too, will return to Hogwarts to ensure her safety and the safety of her fellow students. Before the term ends, she shall be given the choice to live with any one of her godparents, and she will be kept under strict watch."
Jason whispered something that no one heard, but Professor McGonagall heard him mutter something. She stopped Albus with a wave of her hand.
"What did you say, Mr. Alus?" she asked, moving closer to him and putting her hands on his shoulders.
The room was quiet. Jason looked up at her with red swollen eyes. "I...saw it...happen. I dreamt about it last night, but I didn't know it was real..."
He broke down and began to sob again. Minerva gently opened her arms and embraced him, and he bawled into her shoulder. Dumbledore resumed speaking.
"No doubt that she will be very troubled when she wakes. Seeing her parents die must have been quite a shock. Ms. Potter will need the staff's support. Her classes could suffer. Her Quidditch could suffer. She might even physically suffer as well as psychologically. We need to encourage her as much as we can," he said.
Remus stood up, his eyes directed towards the bed. "Lilus, Lilus?"
Everyone looked at the head of the bed, where the young girl's eyes were bloodshot, with blood traveling down the same path as her tears. She was breathing very softly, and her eyes were staring into nowhere. The blood slid down her cheek and landed on the pillow. Her fingers twitched. Slowly, her hand gripped the sheets, and she tried to sit herself up but succeeded in doing nothing but causing her arms to shake.
Something very animalistic squeaked from her mouth, and Jason left Minerva and carefully touched Lilus' arm. He helped her sit up, and she clutched his arm very tightly as she rose. He hugged her tightly, and she stared wide-eyed at the teachers when he released her.
"Wh...y...are you here?" she said, glancing at each of the teachers before finally returning to Remus. "Remy...?"
Her voice broke at the end of his name. A tear fell down Remus' cheek, and he rushed to her side, sitting on the bed and trying to swallow the knot in his throat.
"Lil...lus, last night, do you remember what happened?"
Lilus felt the funny feeling behind her nose and knew she was about to cry again. She didn't remember a lot. Just coming home...
And hearing the breaking.
Seeing her parents...
The china case...
The Death Eater...
"Ree...eeemy...," she cried weakly. "Daddy...Mommy..."
Her bottom lip quivered, and she wrapped her arms around Remus' neck, more blood coming from her eyes. Remus sobbed softly, holding her tight against him. Minerva drew a handkerchief out of her robes and handed it to Remus, who proceeded to wipe the blood from her face.
"They're gone. Oh, Lilus, I'm so sorry," Remus whispered, and everyone in the room felt their hearts break as the once proud and strong sixteen-year-old Seeker was reduced to nothing more than a one-year-old baby.
*******************************
Justin and the gang had gone back to school when Severus Snape and Remus Lupin came to St. Mungo's to collect Lilus. Her trunk had been collected from her house, and it was charmed to disappear to all eyes except a certain few. She had not said much during the four days that she had been awake, nor had she eaten a lot. For some reason that the professors only discussed when she was out of earshot, every time she cried, she cried blood, not tears. Lilus had cried often, and she seemed to be deep in thought whenever someone tried to talk to her. Albus Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts as a temporary resident. Lilus was oblivious to everything around her, and she talked to herself a lot.
Lilus poked at her breakfast with her fork, staring at her plate.
The hunch had returned. That strange feeling that had made her so paranoid had proved correct. Her parents were dead. Hedwig was later found in a mound of burnt feathers upstairs, but Crookshanks had been stalking outside at the time and was now living in her dormitory. Even that old cat knew the mourning that she had with her. Needless to say, her Christmas was spent alone, walking out in the snow by herself. Lilus was afraid, and she knew that the professors were afraid that she would try to kill herself. She had considered it, but it escaped her mind quickly. There was too much to fight for.
That Death Eater. Those eyes were definitely one of a kind. She would find them again, and she would kill that Death Eater. She would kill him.
As for the situation at hand, it was only causing sadness around her. The female teachers would sometimes break down, and Remy would cry every time she would come around. Jason tried to be with her as much as he could, touching her on any available limb just so she would know that he was there. He would come up next to her and hug her, covering her with as much of his body as he could. She could only stare at him with blank eyes and hold onto his arm as he escorted her to wherever they were going.
When school started, Lilus promised herself that she would not let it ruin her year, but she knew that it already had. She could never replace her parents. Their funerals she had not gone to, but she cried so much that she nearly killed herself from the loss. She felt a large chunk of her heart ripped from her body, and there was only one thing burning in its place. Revenge.
She sat in Transfiguration, writing down all the notes that Professor Aegis made to appear on his blackboard. She wrote just like she usually did, glancing over at Shawn and Jason's handwriting. Jason wrote like a normal human being, which was quite a shock considering. When Shawn had found out what had happened, he was horrified. Everyone that she came across was muttering something about her parents, and to be truthful, it was pissing her off. The Slytherins tore as much as they could at the emotional wound like expected, but whenever a teacher was in earshot, they quickly changed the subject to friendly conversation. As if.
"Blackwing, that was a really lousy lesson, huh?" Jason said, trying his very best to kill the dead feelings that surrounded her.
'It's not right to suffer like this. Look what you're doing to them. You're dragging them down. If you are to mourn, mourn in secrecy. They do not deserve this. They do not need to suffer your pain as well.'
'I know they don't. It...just hurts so much.'
'You have to conquer this.'
'I will conquer this.'
She smiled for the first time in two weeks. "Stupid lesson. Didn't he teach that before we left?"
The boys were silent, but then they laughed and surrounded her with hugs, glad to have their friend back.
Lilus and her friends went into Divination with happy faces. She wore a smile on her face, no matter how fake she knew it was. It made everything okay around her. After Professor Trelawney's class, it was lunchtime.
"Hey, Diego!" Nick called from one side of their party. "When are you going to pull off that prank?"
The fifteen-year-old grinned. "Tomorrow or the next day," he said.
Lilus laughed. She found herself doing that a lot, laughing spontaneously. It helped with the pain. It helped a lot. Jason smiled and cuddled her shoulder. She smiled and picked up a roll before hurling it at Charlie. It hit him in the cheek, and he picked up a grape and threw it at her. She smiled and grabbed a potato before slicing it open and eating it. It tasted so good.
"Thank God. Diego, you're beginning to make me too uptight about it."
He nodded. "Of course. It's what I'm good at, Nicky."
Her other classes were over quickly, and they were to be out on the Quidditch field for some practice. Their game against Slytherin was in a few weeks, and she wanted to be prepared. She sat on her bed, pulling on the Quidditch gear that wasn't in the storage shed. They weren't expected to be down there for another hour, but she wanted to go down early for some odd reason. She stretched and started down to the Quidditch field, ignoring the pity glances given to her by the other students.
"Pot...Lilus?" a voice whispered.
Lilus whirled around but she didn't see anyone that appeared to have spoken to her. There were other students in the hall, but there weren't any that called her name twice. She shrugged it off. That's when it started again.
"Astronomy Tower. Eleven tomorrow night. Meet me there."
She stopped and listened as hard as she could, but there was nothing else to listen to. Astronomy Tower. Eleven. Meet who there? Who was talking to her? She had never heard that voice before. It was a boy, but it sounded like a harsh hiss.
By time she arrived down at the Quidditch field, she had already noticed that it was being occupied. Practices were not usually scheduled on the same day for opposing teams, but today it was. She'd just finish putting her gear on and find something to do until her practice started. If they picked on her, well, she'd have to get out of there fast. Good thing though, because the Captain of the Slytherin team knew Justin. Not as a friend or enemy, but as an acquaintance. Surely, he'd stand up for her even in the slightest. She slid on her robes and armor from their dressing room and grabbed her broom. She walked around the Quidditch field and sat next to the tall poles of the Gryffindor stand. No doubt, some of the Slytherins had caught sight of her by now. She wasn't trying to hide her presence.
Frenchy was on the Quidditch team. She had forgotten that he had taken Raphael's place as the Seeker. That meant that he was up there, probably staring daggers at her. He knew about her parents' deaths, and he'd hurt her if he got the chance. She sat on the ground, staring up at all the small, green and silver robes buzzing through the air. And pretty soon, Frenchy decided to join her.
"Why, why, hello there?" he asked mockingly. "How's the family? Oh, I forgot. YOU DON'T HAVE ONE!"
He hovered a few feet away from her on his broom, giving her a look that she wanted to claw from his face. She pushed herself away from him, grabbing a handful of grass and dirt and hurling it at him.
"I have one, alright. It's the Gryffindor Quidditch team, who will be out here in thirty minutes and will be all too eager to beat your ass into the ground," she spat.
He landed on the ground, and she saw the shining, golden Snitch in his right hand. He held his broom neck to him and stared at her.
"You had a weak family anyways," he said.
Lilus wanted to rip him apart, but she contained herself, although she felt the fury boiling inside her. She may get her chance if he kept it up.
"You would have made a good Slytherin, though. Tough, demonic, striking fear into all who look at you."
That wasn't so bad.
"But you had to be the spawn of Harry Potter and that Mudblood."
"If you do not shut up now, I will not be responsible for my actions," she growled, standing up and cracking her knuckles.
He smirked at her and ran his hand over his slick hair. "What are you going to do? Fight me Muggle style? Did you learn that from that Mudblood mother of yours?"
Lilus couldn't believe him. She should just knock him out and leave. Of course, the entire Slytherin Quidditch team would be after her. Most of them were pretty tall, but not as well coordinated as they were. Raphael would never dream of taunting her like this. Not about her family. Not after what happened. He was mean, arrogant, and the biggest bastard you'd ever met, but he had his pride and dignity. Unlike Frenchy, he made his own wounds. He didn't open others. She wished Jason was there. Someone to hold onto. Someone to help beat this ungrateful wretch into a pile of nothing.
"I'm warning you, Frenchy. You're walking the edge of a dagger," she hissed.
He walked up to her, letting his broom fall to the side next to hers. They were not very far apart, and he stood a good four inches taller than she did. His eyes showed nothing but hatred and frustration.
"What's wrong, Frenchy? Sad that you can't make a little girl cry?" she said, grinning.
"Mudblood Spawn."
He wanted a fight. It was the only reason that he was doing this. He wanted to fight her. She drew her hand up and flipped him off, before sitting down again.
"Leave me alone."
"Why should I?"
"Because you're about to piss off one of the most frightening people in Europe," another voice said. "And I'm not talking about Lilus."
It was Diego. He stood there, broom in hand, teeth clenched tightly, glaring at Frenchy. Behind him was Kimmy, and she had her wand drawn out, ready to fire. Lilus smiled inwardly. She knew it wouldn't be too long before someone would come down. Frenchy lost his interest in Lilus and went to pick on the smaller boy.
"Who are you to threaten me?" he said, his voice deep.
Diego got right up in his face. "I am a Gryffindor, and I'll be happy to fight you."
Frenchy seemed to be amused by the small boy's threat. "Oh. Who is this charming lady? Friend of yours?"
"Fuck off," Diego said.
Frenchy winked at Kimmy. "Meet me in the dungeon sometime, sweetheart."
Kimmy made a gagging sound. Lilus stood up, ready to pounce on the Slytherin should anything happen.
"I said fuck off!" Diego screamed in his face.
Frenchy drew his arms back and shoved Diego off his feet. Diego stood back up and shoved back.
"You stupid Mudblood lover!"
Lilus jumped on his back, totally catching him off balance. He crashed to the ground, and she rolled him over and sat on his chest, holding his arms tightly. She bent down really close to his face, her eyes narrowing sharply.
"You listen to me, Alex. This is the only warning you're going to get. I better not hear you talk about my family or hear that you've been talking about my family, because if I do, I'll put you in St. Mungo's for the rest of your shortened life. If you pick on my friends, I'll come after you and show you just how much of a bitch I can be. Understand?"
She got off of his chest, and he stood up, staring hard at her. He rolled his shoulders back and glanced at Kimmy again.
"Dungeon, you and me."
"FUCK OFF, DAMN SLYTHERIN!" Diego roared.
He waved his wand around his head, making a small halo over his head. The halo sunk to his forehead, and the ring turned black. It began to funnel around his head, and the shadow began to form body parts, a head, arms, and a chest. The phantom flew out of the ring and chased Frenchy to the Slytherin dressing house. Diego and Kimmy rushed to her, but she just glared at the closed door.
"Lilus, you okay?" Diego asked.
"Fine," she said softly. "I will make one promise though. If he talks about anything I warned him about, I'll hurt him." Kimmy hugged Lilus around her neck, and Lilus hugged her back. "I...can't believe that they're gone."
Lilus sank to the ground, and the blood began to come down her face again. She didn't sound like she was crying. Lilus made no noise whatsoever, but she did talk. Kimmy crouched next to her, as did Diego.
"I know, Lilus. I know. They're in a better place now. They've gone to Heaven."
"And I've gone to Hell," Lilus said quietly.
Diego patted her knee. "Lil, if he bothers you, tell me or one of the guys. We'll take care of it. Tell Jason. He'd love to come beat him up."
She leaned against the pole and hid her face in her knees. No, she couldn't do this. This was a burden that they shouldn't have to carry. This was her problem, not theirs.
"No. I'm okay. It's...," she wiped the blood from her eyes. "I'm just...I dunno...but I'm okay."
Kimmy leaned forward and hugged her again. "We're here for you. We'll always be here for you. You're our big sister, Lilus. It hurts us too. When you need to talk about it, we're here."
In a way, Kimmy's words made Lilus want to growl and say something defensive back, but she didn't. She just nodded slightly and tried her best to fake a smile. It didn't work because the smile died quickly. She sat between Kimmy and Diego and waited for the Quidditch team and Jason to arrive. She really wanted Jason to be around right now, just as much as Justin. She needed them right now.
******************************
Clutching the Marauder's Map in her right hand, she ran down the hallway as fast as she could, her Invisibility Cloak draped clumsily over her. She wiped the blood away from her eyes with a small towel in her left hand. Her feet stung as they hit the cold stone floor, and her heart stung from the loss that she could never heal from. She didn't even think to put socks on or house slippers on before she left the house. She was just in her long pants and long shirt and sprinting towards Remy's office.
When she arrived there, she tried her best to mop up the blood from her face before she entered. The door was cracked just slightly, but Remy had left it like that every night since she came back, knowing that she would need relief from the great tragedy that happened. She walked in and plopped down in the armchair that was next to the fireplace, scooping the picture off the shelf. That picture of her grandfather looked so much like her dad it was scary. She shed her cloak and dabbed the blood away from her eyes before clutching the picture tightly to her chest and sobbing quietly.
She'd have to go back to her house and get pictures and stuff later. She wanted them so bad. It felt like her heart had been ripped out, like there was a large hold in her chest. That hole stung her, and it was more painful than getting her shoulder broken by a Bludger. She trembled in front of the fire but not from fear or cold. She was just alone. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was the fear of being alone in a time that she didn't need to be.
Lilus stared into the fire, letting her blood tears drop on the towel. At first, the tears had been quiet a shock to her, but she had slammed into a glass cabinet. It was just an injury. A piece of glass was lodged in her tear gland. It fell out, and now whenever she cried, the wound would reopen. It was explainable, but it was still strange.
She didn't need new eyes.
She didn't need a boyfriend.
She needed her mother and father.
She needed her friends.
She needed something to hug. She was wondering whether she should have brought Crookshanks with her. He wouldn't like her getting blood all in his fur, but he wouldn't be too sore at her for it. He understood death. He knew that his owner was not coming back. He knew Hedwig was gone. He knew Harry was gone. And he knew that Lilus needed him. She needed some connection to her past.
Lilus held tight to the picture and stared into the fire. Those eyes. Grayish blue. She would find that Death Eater one day. He would pay for her loss. He would pay. The fire glowed, and before long, she had to look away from her because it was hurting her eyes. She curled up on the chair and closed her eyes, still holding the picture.
Remus came in a few minutes after she had fallen asleep. He stopped at the doorway, holding a bag in his arms. He blinked a few times, not sure that there was someone there. He frowned sadly when he realized that it was his goddaughter. Poor Lilus. He quietly stalked over to his desk and dropped the bag on it carefully. He walked into his bedroom next to the back room and opened his closet. Wool blanket and a pillow. He wasn't about to wake her to tell her that she needed to go to sleep in her dorm. Not now.
He carried the items into his office and slid them around and under her. She stirred slightly, but she didn't awaken. Remus gently kissed her on her forehead and gripped her hand softly. Then he noticed the picture. He picked it out of her weakened grip and sighed before returning it to where it had been in her hand. The Marauder's Map fell out of her pocket onto the floor. Remus scooped it up and opened it. He smiled slightly and sighed again.
"I miss you guys. Good night, Lilus. Sleep well."
Remus walked over to his desk and sat down behind it, almost silently removing things from the sack and sliding them in their proper place on his desk. There was nothing good about their meetings anymore. He just prayed that one day that would change, and all would be right again, although Harry and Hermione would never return.