DISCLAIMER: I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (I wasted it all on my trip to Atlantic City) so don't bother suing me!
A/N: Well this is a one-shot. My first, so don't be brutal. Just a little change from my main story, The Subject of Inkbottles. So check that out too, if you like Lily/James fics. I sure do!
ON WITH THE STORY!
Learning to Hold On
What do you do when your world is falling apart? You hold on tighter to what's left.
This is what James Potter seemed to be living by in these increasingly dark times. Voldemort was on the rise. Muggles, muggle-borns, and even rebellious purebloods such as himself, were being killed left and right. It seemed as if this was no longer a war against the impurity of wizarding bloodlines, that it was no longer a political war, and no longer a war at all. It seemed that this "war" was merely a slaughtering of human life. Guerrilla warfare, you could say. No one was safe, and nothing was certain. People were dying, close to home. Too close for comfort.
So, What do you do when your world is falling apart? You hold on tighter to what's left.
What was left for James? His family, his old, wizarding bloodline, was now destroyed. Every last aunt, every baby cousin; his mother and father. Slaughtered by Voldemort and his Death Eater cronies. Even the children. Even the infants. Every last one of the Potters was dead. Except for him.
What was an orphan to do when his world was falling apart? Hold on tighter to what's left.
For James, all that he had left was his friends. His brothers. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. They had pledged a sacred oath. Sirius was to be the godfather of his first child, and successively for each of his other children. It would be in a rotation; Sirius, Remus, and finally, Peter. But in these dark times, with Voldemort out to murder each and every one of the Potter bloodline, James wasn't even sure that he would live long enough to have three children, or even one for that matter. Especially since the love of his life loathed every breath he took.
James' world was falling apart. He didn't have much left to hold onto.
Surprisingly, neither did the object of his thwarted affections. Lily Evans was now alone in the world, much like James was. Her muggle parents had been murdered in a Death Eater attack on her neighborhood in Surrey. And though she did in fact, have a living sister, and brother-in-law; she was not considered the kin of either of these two people. They loathed her, and everything she stood for. Merely because of the fact that she was a witch.
What do you do when your kin disowns you? You search for something to hold onto.
Sirius Black, the future godparent of the Potter child, was one of the most aware people of this fact. The year before, during the winter holiday of his fifth year, he had run away from home. His name had been blasted off the family tree. And although it was his choice to leave; it still hurt that he had been disowned. He had always had an inkling of hope that they would change their minds, that they would learn to love him, despite their clashing opinions. But he realized that these were people that he did not want to be loved by; they had been a part of the murder of James' family. His true family.
What do you do when you can't trust anyone to know who you are? You learn to hold on to what you have.
Remus Lupin had a secret. A secret that only a handful of people would ever know. His brothers, the Marauders, they knew. Snape knew, through the misjudgment of Sirius. His family knew; although that was a small number. His father had left his mother when he was little, just after he had been bitten. Just after the horrible and horrifying transformations had begun. His father had decided that little Remus was too much of a burden. One that he couldn't be bothered with. So now, his mother was alone at home. Sickly, and pale she was; and Remus worried about her daily. He knew that she couldn't live much longer. Soon, he would be an orphan like James. And Lily. She was the last person whom he had told. He trusted her as he trusted his brothers.
What do you do if you made the biggest mistake of your life? Only hope that if won't hurt those whom you care for.
Peter Pettigrew had done something bad. Evil even. Cruel, and idiotic. He had chosen the wrong side. He was what his brothers, his protectors; had always despised. He was a Death Eater. He had killed James' baby cousin. The childish screams still haunted his dreams.
Sometimes, you make a mistake that can't be forgiven. Sometimes you inadvertently destroy the only good thing in your life. Sometimes you spite your lifeline, and ruin the one thing you had to hold on to.
Sometimes, you find the one person you could hold onto for the rest of your life. And when you do; hold on tight.
What do you do when your world is falling apart? You learn to hold on.