ANNOUNCEMENT: I'M LOOKING FOR A BETA READER IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED! PLEASE EMAIL ME AT thank you lol. I'll save the author's notes for the end of this chapter. I really liked how it turned out. Thanks to:
Kirsty-I got this chapter up as fast as i could. I'm so glad you like it! Yeah, I sort of abandoned Lily and Emma for a second. :( but you see more of them in this chapter and in the next! As for Emma and Sirius and Remus..i've finally figured out what to do with the three of them. laughs madly
Nikky-here's your update! Yeah..poor Sirius..he's not going to have fun:( Remus, yeah, after this chapter he could be a bit scarred..i mean wouldn't you be if your found your friend face-down in a lake? (SHOOT! I SPOILED IT!) James, yes, very, very poor James. Well, who knows, maybe he'll find them again. Only i know 4 for sure. :) (you gotta love being the author of your own little fic!) And, well, JK Rowling said he was a chaser, so I'm just going with what she said. :) It is true that in the movie they said he was a seeker, but she explained that in an interiew once.
cest moii-Ah, you thought the suspense was kill you before? Then your going to DIe in the next two chapters. :)
Dragon -Got it.
Siriuslyobsessed-Haha I love the name! And, as you requested, there is a bit of POV changes in this chapter and there's going to be ALOT next chapter. But I can't give away too much! shuts mouth
Leela74- I updated right before you exams? Ha I'm so good:) Well hopefully your on summer break now. I hope this chapter will be worth the wait. As for Sirius getting in trouble and Remus saving him...AH i wish I could tell you! But you'll have to wait and see. :)
IggytheElf -Thank you for your compliments and suggestions. I did take your advice on the beta reader though. Thanks! Hope to hear frmo you again!
Enjoy!
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide
-Howy Day 'Collide'
Chapter 29 The Horrors we face Part 1
James slowly opened his eyes and was met with a fuzzy vision of white. Groaning slightly, he turned on his side. He looked at the white sheets and white curtains that were draped around his bed. It was very different than the ones in his dormitory. James groaned again. He was in the hospital wing. He pulled the curtains open and was met with an empty and somewhat dark-looking hospital. Jamse slipped on his glasses and glanced at the clock. It was around eight. Most students were probably finishing dinner or heading up to their dormitories before they missed the curfew. He sat up and saw his robes neatly folded on a chair next to the bed. He slipped it on and walked quickly toward the door. He was getting out of here.
As he slipped out of the hospital wing, he purposely kept his mind blank, not wanting to think of anything. He didn't want to have to face reality just yet. When he reached the Fat Lady, he muttered the password. He stepped into the common room ignoring all the stares and giggles from girls. As he reached the boys dormitory, he and Remus, who was reading by the fire, made eye contact for a moment. Remus looked concerned at the way James expression looked so blank, but James didn't care. Remus was asking with his eyes what was wrong. James just shrugged and walked up the spiral staircase leading to his dormitory. When he reached it, he noticed at how organized the room looked. Sirius's stuff was neatly packed in a corner of the room. The papers and clothes that were usually scattered on the floor seemed less, and Sirius's bed, for once, was made. Except there was no Sirius. James was glad about this. Fully clothed, he fell face down on his bed, and for the first time since he had woken up, allowed his mind to wander on the events that had just happened.
'What am I suppoed to do? I can't leave my mum...' James thought. 'How could this happen? Why would this happen? She was supposed to be safe. Dumbledore said no one would be able to find her at our house...'
Something clicked in James mind. 'John ..I know he wouldn't have told them where we were unless whatever they were doing to him was just unbearable..' He didn't evevn want to think about the kind of methods they had used to get John to talk. James closed his eyes. 'What am I supposed to do?'
A vision of his mum lieing on the ground, hurt and afraid, suddenly came to mind. He sat up quickly, his heart suddenly beating a lot faster than it should have been. How did they know his mum was gone? She could be hiding in a closet somewhere. He had to know. He had to see for himself. He was going home. James threw his pendant on his bed, not wanting to take it with him. He quickly jumped off of the bed and made his way out of his dormitory and out of the common room. On his way out, he bumped into Emma. He was in such a rush he didn't even notice the panicked look on her face. If he had only waited a little longer, he would have seen her run to Remus, almost in hysterics.
"Remus? Remus, have you seen Lily?" Emma shrieked.
Remus glancedup her from his book. "No."
"Oh, Remus, I've looked everywhere! I haven't seen her since she had a fight with James. She was really upset!" Emma seemed to be near tears.
"Have you looked out on the grounds?" Remus asked, not sounding very worried or interested.
"Yes! Remus, I can't find her anywhere! I just have this feeling that something horrible happened to her!"
Remus sighed and put down his book. He stood up and looked down at Emma calmly. "Alright, if it'll make you feel better, I'll help you find her," He offered her his hand.
Emma gave a small smile and took it. He helped her up from the couch. "Thanks."
Remus could only grin.
James rushed down the corridor, anxious to get to his destination. His heart was pounding, determination was evident in his eyes-
"Potter!"
He instantly stopped walking. Lily Evans stepped out from a corner and was looking at him with concerned eyes.
"Where are you going?" Lily asked.
James clenched his teeth. It wasn't that he didn't fancy her still, but he was ready to snap at anyone that got in the way of his destination. "Talking to me again now, are you Evans?" James snapped.
Lily looked taken aback. "Of course. Why shouldn't I be talking to you?"
James looked at her, genuinely confused. If she didn't remember their fight, he sure wasn't about to remind her. He sighed. "I have to go, Evans."
He moved past her, but she grabbed his arm. "James, wait." Lily said, concerned. "What's going on?"
"Evans, just let go," James said, exasperated.
"Where are you going?" She was getting persistent now.
"Evans," James raised his voice slightly.
"Potter," Lily looked up and him haughtily.
He sighed. "Evans, not now."
"Just tell me where your going!"
Jamse gave out a frusterated sigh. "Fine, Evans! I just found out my mother was kidnapped! Okay? Are you happy now?"
"So...your going to try and find her?" Lily asked slowly.
James nodded.
"But, Potter, how? Do you have any idea where they are?"
He shook his head. "Not really. But I know where to start looking for ideas. I'm going back to my house."
Lily sighed. "Well, Potter, good luck then." She reached up and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. For a moment, James just stared at amazement at the girl in front of him. She smiled and walked away, turning to give him one last look before she turned the corner. James was so distraced by what had just happened and how he was going to get back home, that he only had one thought, and even then he didn't dwell on it too much.
'When had Lily's eyes turned grey?'
Emma and Remus rushed out to the grounds.
"Emma, it's almost curfew," Remus called, looking at his watch.
"I know, Remus, but we haven't found Lily yet!" Emma cried, glancing at every direction. She was getting slightly hysterical and walking so fast Remus began to jog to keep up with her.
"Emma, I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she's already up in the tower by now," Remus said reassuringly.
When Emma didn't answer, Remus sighed. He reached out and grabbed her arm, causing her to stop. He turned her around to face him.
"Emma," Remus said quietly, looking straight into her brown eyes. "I know Lily's fine. Let's go back in the tower and check if she's there."
For a moment, Emma appeared to be studying Remus's eyes. In one moment, she was hugging him. She gave a little nervous laugh. "I'm sorry for acting so hysterical, Remus. But I guess I've just been a little overprotective lately."
Remus embraced her lightly. "It's okay," he mumbled into her hair. "We've all been like that."
They stayed in one another's embrace, enjoying the few moments of peace. Remus looked out into the lake, thinking on how beautiful it looked at night. Just then, something caught his eye. Something...or someone...was in the lake. Just laying there. Something red flickered in the moonlight. Realzation suddenly dawned on Remus.
"Oh...Merlin," Remus whispered, shocked.
"What?" Emma took a step back from his embrace, letting her hands fall to her sides. But Remus was looking at something past her. He had the most shocked expression on his face. Furrowing her eyesbrows, she turned around, following Remus's gaze. In an instant, she understood. She mouth dropped in horror.
"LILY!" Emma screamed.
James stood in front of the gargoyles.
One of the gargoyles looked at him and sneered. "Back again, are you, Potter?"
James chose to ignore this. "Fizzing Whizbees," he said curtly.
The other gargoyle scowled. They jumped out of the way, allowing James to enter. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door a little. No one was in the office.
'Perfect,' James thought. He slowly opened it wider. He stepped into the office and quietly shut the door behind him. Walking over to the fireplace, he quickly spotted the jar of Floo Powder. When James picked up the jar and nearly dropped it, it was then he noticed how sweaty his hands were and how much his heart was pouding.
'I have to do this,' James thought. 'Mum could be trapped under something.'
That thought was all he needed. He took another deep breath, wiped his sweaty hands on his Hogwarts robes, and took a pinch of Floo Powder. He stepped into the fireplace. Something inside of him was telling him to stop, to get out of the fireplace and find Sirius, Lily, Remus, Peter, anyone...
Something told him they were in trouble, too. Pushing that feeling aside, he dropped the Floo Power. Now he couldn't turn back. He was the only one that could save his mum.
"Potter Manor!" he shouted.
Dumbledore's office was gone before his very eyes. He was spinning very, very fast. Only one thought crossed his mind, 'Please, please don't let that be the last time I see that office.'
Remus and Emma sprinted to the lake. When they reached it, Emma fell to her knees, crying Lily's name hysterically. Remus, shocked, stood there, suddenly feeling very sick. Lily lay in the lake, face down. Her hair was wet and a mess. He couldn't see her face. How long had she been unscious and face-down in the water?
"Remus!" Emma gasped, out of breath from screaming Lily's name so much, grabbed Remus's arm and began to shake it. "Remus! Help her!"
Remus did his best not to show his fear. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Okay," he spoke quietly, too afraid and shocked to speak any louder, "Emma, go find the first professor you see. Hurry!"
Emma stood up, legs shaking so uncontrollably at the sight of her best friend. "What will you do?" she asked, voice hardly louder than a whisper.
"Get her out of there." he replied shortly. He took off his school robes, sweater, tie, and shoes. Emma nodded, turned on her heel, and sprinted toward the castle. Bracing himself, Remus dove head first into the lake.
James came tumbling out of the fireplace, hitting his head on the floor. He cursed, sat up, and rubbed it gingerely. The place was so dark he could hardly see. What had happened to the lights? James stood up, muttering, "Lumos," and took a step forward, instantly regretting it. He had stepped on something that rolled, causing him to fall backwards, hitting his head again.
"Bloody hell!" James yelled out. His lit wand allowed him to see what he had tripped on. It was a chair leg. James instantly got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Slowly, he pulled his wand on top of his head, allowing himself to see the whole entire living room. His stomach churned painfully.
Everything--literally everything--was destroyed. Dishes lay broken on the floor, chair pieces were in various areas of the living room and kitchen, sofas were ripped and turned over. Debris and glass was everywhere. All James could do was stare wide-eyes at his once beloved home. He took a look at the floor under him, not wanting to break anything more. A picture frame lay in front of him. It held a photo of James himself when he was a boy, his mother, and father. They were so happy. So carefree. That was the life James knew. He got everything he wanted. His biggest problem was trying to get Lily to give him a chance, but even that seemed within his grasp almost a year ago.
The only emotion Jamse knew now was anger. Pure rage. Pure hate for those that shattered his life, his friendships, his family. Gripping his wand tightly, James went to take alook around the mansion. No room looked better than the living room or kitchen had. James couldn't find one single thing that wasn't broken. Graffiting had also been done around his home. As he passed through the halls and walked up the stairs, messages like, 'We'll find it,' and 'You're never safe,' were written in green and red.
'Christmas colors,' James thought grimly. 'The day this whole mess began.'
When he reached Sirius's room, he was shocked to find messages like, 'Bloody moron', 'Blood traitor', 'You're just as bad as the mudbloods', 'Mudblood lover' and 'We'll kill you' written all over the cloest door and walls. It made James sick just looking at it. Not one single thing in Sirius's room was still usable. Everything from his extra toothbrush he kept here for holidays was braoken in half or in bits of pieces. In his parents room, nothing was stil standing either. Messages like, 'We got you' were written in red.
Finally, James reached his room. By this moment, he had already vomited once in his parents bathroom, which looked more like a hurrican had blown through it. With his hand shaking slightly, James turned the doorknob and pushed, revealing his room. He stood there, not able to move. His bed was in two pieces. One side of it was upside down. Feathers from his pillow lay everywhere. His mirror and been broken completely. His desk was over turned. Only, in here, it seemed as if they were looking for something. Old school papers were thrown over the floor as if whoever had been here was looking for something. James hand instantly flew to the pendant that should have been hiding underneath his shirt. For a moment, he panicked. It wasn't there.
James pulled his shirt up, as if hoping the pendant would be there. He stood there, wondering where the hell it was. Then he remembered. He had taken it off in his dormitory, too afraid to bring it. James sighed in relief. It was safe at Hogwarts. Sighing, James wandered back to the kitchen lookg for some sort of comfort. He had searched the whole house thoroughly and there was no trace of his mom still being in the house. Unnerved, he had seen some blood stains on his parents bed, as if there was a struggle. True, he had seen various clothings owned by his mum it the most unusual places, but there was no sign of her. James reached the kitchen and spotted the photo he had seen before. He saw himself and his parents waving up at him, looking happy.
James fell to his knees. He felt so lost and so foolish. He was wrong. His mum wasn't here and there was no sign of where she could be. James lowered his head into his hands.
"Mum..." he whispered shakily, "where are you?"
CRASH
"Watch where your going!"
James head snapped up. He heard voices coming from the hall and heading into the kitchen. A sudden fear came over him, causing him to stay rooted to his spot. There was no one to save him this this time. No John, no Sirius, no Remus, no Lily, Peter, or Emma...he was all alone.
And this time he couldn't save himself.
The water was freezing cold, causing Remus's mind to go blank for a moment. All he could think about was the ice cold water all around him...
'Focus,' Remus told himself over and over. 'Find Lily.'
He swam up to the surface, breathing in the air gratefully. He was shivering already and was quite sure his lips were turning blue. He looked around and saw Lily face-down in the water. He had no idea if she would even be alive...
"Lily!" Remus tried to shout, but it came out as an odd croak. Doing his best not to think about how cold it was, he swam toward her. He put both hands around her waist and turned her over, looking into her face for the first time. Remus groaned at the sight that met him. Lily's face was deathly pale and her lips were completely blue. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not, but if she had been unconscious and out here for more than a few minutes...she couldn't possibly still be alive.
"Oh Merlin," Remus moaned, closing his eyes for a moment. He tried to stop the sudden nausea that had hit him. "Please, please, don't be dead, Lily."
James quickly spotted a cabinet on its side. It was the same one he and Sirius kept their brooms in over the summer. It was tall enough for him to fot it. Quickly and quietly, James walked over toward the cabinet. He opened and and slipped in, leaving the cabinet door open wide enough for him to see what was going on. He was shaking quite badly by this point.
'Stop,' he thought, 'You've faced Death Eaters before.'
'Then again,' he contradicted himself, 'I had the pendant and my friends and John by my side. I', completely alone. Bloody hell! My mum isn't even here! I can't do this. I can't fight Death Eaters on my own. I'm only sixteen. Hogwarts didn't teach me enough-'
His thoughts were interupted by voices entering the kitchen. James held his breath and tried to stop the mind boggling fear that had suddenly come over him.
"What are we still going here?" one of the voices asked angrily.
James risked a look at them. Two men in cloaks stood in the middle of the kitche, mere feet from where James was hiding.
"We're leaving! We did what we had to! The foolish Potter woman is gone," the second figure said impatiently. James thought his voice sounded stangely familiar. The two men were talking loud. Far too loud, far too obviously.
"Well?" the first figure demanded. "What now?"
"What do you think?" the second figure asked, annoyed. "We apparate to the Milgate mansion and find out what happens to the Potters and the Auror. Chances are they won't be alive long if they don't tell us where the pendant is." He laughed.
James remembered his dream. Milgate mansion? It was an actual place! Had his dream been a vision? One of the men took out a strange looking crystal ball.
"Put a hand on it," the man with the familiar voice ordered.
The other man grunted, obviously not liking being told what to do. Nonetheless, he stuck his hand out. This was his last shot to find his mum. With all the courage he could muster, James jumped out of his hiding place, giving out a yell of rage as he did so. As if expecting him, the man holding the ball turned around with shocking speed, reaching his hand out and grabbed the front of James robes.
"Gotcha, Potter!"
Pushing all his horrible thoughts aside, Remus grabbed a hold of Lily's waist and began to slowly swim back to shore. He was panting and shivering. Whatever he was feeling though, he was sure Lily was feeling it ten times worse. He finally reached land. He pushed himself up. Next, he grabbed Lily and carefully laid her on the grass. Remus looked her over, but couldn't see her chest rising or falling. He should've done CPR, but she looked so horrible, he was scared of doing anymore damage. Shivering, Remus took off his robe and laid it on top of Lily. He knew it wouldn't do much. She was much more wet and colder than he was. Her wet hair stuck to face. Her mouth was open a little.
Remus felt his heart sink. She must have drank if some of the water, then. Remus sat there, a hand on Lily's arm, while his other was around himself, desperately trying to keep warm. It didn't help that it was already night and a slight breeze through the air. It made Remus feel as if he was in the snow in his boxers.
"Remus! Lily!" Emma cried.
Remus closed his eyes, thanking her for coming back so quickly. He looked up and saw Madame Pomfrey behind her. One look at Lily, Emma's mouth dropped open in horror while Pomfrey gave out a little cry of surprise.
"Ms. Evans! Mr. Lupin, what happened?" Pomfrey demanded.
"Not now," Remus stammered, his teeth chattering too much for him to get out any words. "W-we have to m-make sure she's o-okay."
Pomfrey knelt down next to Lily. "It doesn't look like she's breathing," Pomfrey muttered more to herself. She stood up, quickly conjured a stretcher, and placed Lily on it. She rushed back toward the castle.
Remus sat there, shivering, while Emma came up behind him and put her arms around him in a tight embrace. She tried offering him as much body warmth as she could.
"Thank you," she whispered in his ear.
Remus nodded and leaned his head back against her, glady accepting the warmth.
"Lily looked so...so..scary," Emma whispered, "Do you think she was even...alive?"
Remus pondered on that question. "I hope so."
"Let go!" James yelled, struggling to get away from the man's grip.
"Potter," the man laughed, "why are you struggling? The dark lord is waiting...do not make him wait any longer."
"Let me go!" James repeated, starting to panic.
"Ah, but Potter, you were planning on following us anyways, were you not? This just makes it so much easier on all of us," the man smiled coldly. He put James in a headlock and roughly grabbed James arm, forcing him to put it on the ball.
"Don't-!" James tried to shout in alarm, but instantly stopped. He felt his feet leave the ground. He was on his way to Milgate mansion.
Peter stood hiding behind a desk in the Defense against the dark arts room, trying to comprehend what he had just seen. He had to confront him about it. He was no James or Sirius, but he knew danger when he saw it. Slowly, he crept out of his hiding place and quietly walked toward the door. He reached for the handle when a hand grabbed his shoulder roughly, cauing Peter to yell out.
"Mr. Pettigrew. I trust you're not leaving? Please, stay a bit," the man said, cold and calm. His smirk caused Peter to stutter.
"N-no, sir, i-it's fine. I'll just...go," Peter replied weakly. Courage was definitely something he had to work on. He opened the door but the man shut it quickly. He slammed Peter against the door.
"No, stay." the man said dangerouly.
Peter, apparently, had no choice.
James feet finally touched the ground. He would have fallen if the cloaked man didn't have his arm around James neck. The place looked just like it had in his dream. It was foggy, making the run-down mansion seem quite dangerous. Slowly, James began to inch his hand toward his wand pocket.
"Alright, we've got him," the man holding James said gruffly.
"Right," the other replied, "the dark lord will be pleased. Oh, Potter," he turned toward James, who instantly froze, hoping the man hadn't seen him, "Some old friends of yours are inside waiting. I must say, it will be quite a family reuinion." The man laughed.
This only made James angry. He kicked the man that was holding him in the knee. The man cursed loudly. James quickly pointed his at the man who had spoken to him.
"Stupefy!"
James shouted his curse a moment too late. With a loud 'pop' the man had already apparated.
"See you inside, Potter," the man James had kicked said bitterly, his voice tight with obvious pain.
James didn't even turn to look at him. When he heard a 'pop' though, he quickly turned around, shouting, "What makes you think I'll go in there!"
Just then, James stood there, rooted to the spot. Realization dawned on him. The gut-wrenching, mind-turning, sweat-palming fear had returned. James wasn't able to move. He mentally cursed himself for being so stupid and scared.
The man laughed harshly. "It will be your son, Mrs. Potter, that will come to me. And when he does, I will be sure to give him your regards.
James mouth suddenly felt very dry. 'They knew,' he thought, 'They knew I was going to come and find my mum..they planned this. They're probably all inside right now, waiting for me to go in and kill me...Bloody hell, how could I have been so stupid!'
The signs were there. All he had to do was look at them. James just stared in horror at the house in front of him, not quite sure what to do. He closed his eyes. He wasn't being brave and he knew that. he was only sixteen and was quite unprotected out here. How could he possibly have a chance at fighting who knows how many Death Eaters?
James suddenly had a thought. It wasn't brilliant, but it gave him hope. 'They want the pendant. They won't kill me unless they have it. All I have to do is pretend I have it long enough to figure out what to do.'
James was now shaking slightly out of fear. The Death Eaters already knew he was here. It would be pointless to stand out in the open. Plus, his parents were in there. He could just feel it. Trying his best to put all of his fear aside, James slowly began to walk toward the mansion. When he came to the door, he slowly turned the knob and pished the door open. It looked just the way it did in his dream, extremely dark and dreary. He took a couple of steps in, being as quiet as possible. When he got to the middle of the room, the door slammed shut behind him. He couldn't see a thing. He fumbled in his robes for a wand.
"Lumos."
James froze. That definitely wasn't him that muttered the spell. He stayed frozen to the spot, afraid to move. Just then, a rough voice boomed, "James Potter. So glad to have finally met you. Why do you look so scared? You came here for your parents, didn't you?"
James couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. It sounded like it was coming from every direction.
"Where are my parents!" James shouted, sounding a lot more brave than he felt.
"Ah," the voice chuckled, "if it's your parents you came for, we can glady arrange a visit."
All the same, James didn't move. Then, something happened that caused him to jump a foot in the air and he yelled out, "ARGH! What the bloody hell-!"
James still couldn't see. Whatever wand had been lit had also been put out. Two pairs of hands shot out of nowhere and grabbed him. One pair wrapped around his arms and waist, pinning him to whoever was behind him. James was pressed up against another body. The other pair of hands reached out and wrapped themselves around his neck. The hands reached his mouth, forcing him to open in.
"Wait-no-stop-" James shouted, wriggling fiercely again the pair of arms.
Just then, he heard something oen and something liquid forced itself into James mouth. He began to panic.
'They poisened me,' he thought in horror.
He felt a pair of hands force him to shut his mouth. Even if he could, James didn't fight back. He began to feel dizzy. Everything in his vision began to swarm. He began to feel light-headed.
'Don't go to sleep...don't go to sleep..' he told himself over and over. Too late. The last thing he heard was someone mutter in his hear, "You'll be with your parents soon, Potter," before James felt himself go limp in the pair of arms that held him.
'Some Heir of Gryffindor.'
A/N And so the plot thickens. . This is one of my favorite chapters, I think. It's not the most action-packed, but it's getting there. This was one of my shortest also. I do have some imformation on my next chapter that you should read. It's on my bio page, so look at that when you have time. Again, I am looking for a beta reader. If anyone's interested, just email me. Also, I tried not to make James so mocho-manish in this chapter. I mean, he is sixteen, right? He isn't going to be completely brave. All the other times he had support from either John and his friends, and now, he's completely alone. That would scare you just a bit, wouldn't it? As always, read and review! Look at my bio page, too. That has some imformation on the next chapter that you might want to read, especially if your interested in being a beta reader!
Til next time,
Amour-Lily