Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. The characters and the Harry Potter world belong to JK Rowling. The song is Ever the Same by Rob Thomas.
Ever the Same
A/N: This is my first songfic. This was done in answer to a challenge posted by Yiva Potter.
We
were drawn from the weeds
We were brave like soldiers
Falling
down under the pale moonlight
James watched Lily walk into the kitchen to prepare dinner for both of them when Dumbledore's patronus, a phoenix, arrived with a message. The message was that he would be arriving at their house in an hour.
The next hour went by quickly, and soon Dumbledore was at the door. James went to open it, with Lily right behind him. Dumbledore had a grave expression on his face, the familiar twinkle now gone from his eyes. James offered him a seat on the couch, and he and Lily sat right in front of him in their living room.
Dumbledore got straight to the point and told them, "I was at the Hog's Head today meeting with Sybill Trelawney about the Divinations job. I was just about to let her leave when she made a true prophecy. I will now share the prophecy with you."
Dumbledore then shared the prophecy with them, word for word, "The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
James, and he was sure, Lily's too, world came falling down then, but they knew they had to be brave. They had understood what that prophecy meant.
You were holding to me
Like a someone
broken
And I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now
Lily went to bed very late that night. Even then she couldn't sleep. She remembered how James had instantly put an arm around her and pulled her close to him, and how she had held on to him, but even the warmth of James's body couldn't warm her insides this time.
Her heart had truly broken, just to know what her son could and probably would go through. It was just too much to bear for her.
James had needed time to think about this, as Lily could see, so she had left him downstairs and given him the time he needed to think it through. It seemed like he was done thinking for the night because he was now at the door to their bedroom.
James came and lay beside Lily on the bed. He again put his arm around Lily and pulled her close. He then told her, "It was always you." Lily knew what he meant. He meant that he had always liked her, and there was never anyone else for him. He had never told her this before; he probably wanted to save it for a special time, and now that time had come.
Just let me hold you while you're falling
apart
Just let me hold you so we both fall down
Fall on
me
James and Lily both woke up the next morning, neither wanting to get up and accept their fate, or rather, what would soon become their son's fate.
James looked at Lily with such a longing look in his eyes. It seemed like a lot had been taken from them by just mere words.
James told Lily, "I'll be there for you Lily, just come to me, I will hold you while you cry."
Lily looked at James, and then she started breaking down then and there. James walked over there, but Lily was slightly embarrassed for crying in front of him, and she took a few hesitant steps backwards.
James told Lily, "Just let me hold you while you cry, we are both going to face this together with our son." He then walked closer to Lily and held her. Lily put her hand on James's shoulder and started crying all over again. James got his hand and put it around Lily, and he used his other hand to stroke her hair. He knew that, as long as he was alive, he would never let any harm come to Lily or their child.
Lily knew that James would always be there for her. She knew that she could fall on him any time she wanted to, and he would let her.
Tell me everything
you want me to be
Forever with you forever in me
Ever the
same
It was a month later that Harry was born. Unfortunately for the three of them (James, Lily, and Harry), he was born on July 31.
Lily was sitting on the couch, cuddling Harry, while James was still asleep. She looked Harry in the eyes and then told him, even though she knew that he couldn't understand her, "I will be everything you will ever need. I will be everything you want, just tell me what you want, and I will give it to you. I promise I won't let any harm come to you as long as I am alive. If it comes down to it, I will die protecting you." Lily paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "I will always be with you, no matter what, and you will always be with me in my heart. Always."
That was too much for Lily to say, so after she finished she started crying quietly.
After she finished crying, she told Harry one more thing, "I will make sure your life is normal. It will be the same as ours was when we were in Hogwarts. I promise, Harry, it will always be the same as anyone else's."
We would
stand in the wind
We were free like water
Later that day, when Harry was asleep, Lily started thinking back to her last year at Hogwarts.
She remembered how she and James would just stand outside, enjoying life on weekends. She remembered how the wind blew her hair back, how it sent chills down her back in the winter, and how James warmed her up when she got cold.
Lily remembered how James chased her around, and he'd start snogging her whenever he caught her. She remembered how free she had felt then, with no worries or cares except about the upcoming N.E.W.T.s. Lily would have given anything to go back to that time again.
Flowing
down
Under the warmth of the sun
Now it's cold and we're
scared
And we've both been shaken
She remembered how she had sat outside, studying, or just lying around, thinking, in the sun, and how warm the sun felt on her skin. Lily had loved this feeling.
However, since she had heard the prophecy, there had been nothing strong enough to warm her. She had been scared, but so had James. They had both been scared together, so there was no one that could really help them much, no one to warm there now permanently cold bodies.
They had been shaken so terribly by the prophecy, it had felt as if an earthquake had just struck.
Look at us
Man, this doesn't need to be the
end
Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me
hold you so we both fall down
One day, James and Lily were sitting on the couch while Harry was asleep, then suddenly, Lily let out a hollow laugh. James then looked at her, and he seemed to want to ask if something was wrong with her, but Lily explained, "Look at us, sitting here, waiting for something to happen. James, I think we should have fun and live life to its fullest while we can. What will come is going to come and we can do nothing to stop it."
Lily then laughed and laughed, and she couldn't stop. James grabbed her hand and said, "Lily, have you been drinking?"
Lily stopped laughing and said, "No, James, you know that I haven't. It's just that this is driving me crazy. Look, we even have a secret-keeper now."
James sighed and knew Lily was right. He then grabbed Lily's waist and held on to her tightly. Half of the things she said made sense, and half didn't. Her laugh had just come out of nowhere. He held her tighter, and told her to hold him anytime she needed to, also. After all, they were in this together with Harry.
Fall on me tell me
everything you want me to be
Forever with you
The days were going by, some slowly and some quickly. Now it was the beginning of October, and one day Lily could be found playing with Harry. She had a bad feeling about this month. She knew something bad was going to happen and soon.
She told Harry again what she had told him before, "I will be everything you want me to be, just tell me. Okay, Harry? If something ever happens to me, then just remember that I will always be with you in here." Lily took Harry's hand and put it on his heart. She then repeated, "I will be with you, Harry, always and forever, I will be with you."
Forever
in me
Ever the same
Call on me
The next day, Lily was watching Harry play with some toys in his crib. She still had that bad feeling in her about this month.
She told Harry again, "Harry, I told you that I would be with you always, but today I am going to tell you that you will be with me in my heart forever," Lily paused for a few minutes, then continued, "Harry, if I die, you can call on me, and just know that I will listen to you."
Lily was about to cry at these words, but stopped herself. She didn't even know why she was telling this to Harry, if she did die soon, he would never remember these words, never remember what his mother had told him. "Oh well," she thought, "at least, if I die, I will know that I did tell Harry these things, even if he can't understand me."
I'll be there for you
and you'll be there for me
Forever it's you
Forever in me
Ever
the same
When James got home, Lily finally told him about the bad feeling she had had this month. James was worried because Lily had had these feelings only a few times before, and something bad always happened soon after she had them.
James pecked Lily softly on the cheek and said, "We won't let Voldemort near Harry. We will protect each other and Harry. We'll be there for each other."
Lily nodded. She moved closer to James, and James got his arm and put it on her shoulder. Lily then turned and hugged James. James looked Lily in the eyes and spoke, "Remember Lily, no matter what happens, I will love you forever. In fact, I have loved you forever. It has been you forever." Lily looked James in the eyes. She knew he spoke the truth. James then said, "You will always be in me, in my heart."
Lily nodded and just held on to James. She had a feeling she wouldn't be doing this much longer.
You may need me there
To carry all your
weight
But you're no burden I assure
Two weeks passed, and Lily's bad feeling just increased, but nothing had happened so far. It was a day before Halloween, and James was spending all his time with Harry. Lily was too, but at the moment she was in the bathroom.
James looked Harry in the eyes. His eyes… they were the only thing that Harry had acquired of Lily's looks. The rest of Harry was a complete replica of James.
James told Harry, "I will be there for you anytime you need me. I will take all your troubles away from you, I promise that to you as long as I am alive, Harry."
Harry shook his head, as if he understood. James laughed, "No, Harry, you aren't any trouble to me or your mum. You are the joy of our lives. It may not seem that way right now, Harry, but, after all, these are dark times."
You
tide me over
With a warmth I'll not forget
But I can only give
you love
Lily then came and joined James. She took Harry from James and told Harry, one last time, "You are my son, Harry, and I will love you forever. I know you can't understand me, but I will protect you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, besides James, of course." She took a glance at James, and then continued, "I haven't felt any warmth in these dark times, but you bring a different kind of warmth in me, one which I have longed for so much, and I will never forget that, Harry. I can't give you much in these times Harry, but I can always give you love, and I promise that you will always get that from us." Lily kissed Harry on his forehead, and then put him to sleep, but she didn't know that it was the last time she would ever do that again. It was the last time she would ever tell Harry she loved him.