Chapter 5: Falling Rain

This could not be more perfect, James thought, the atmosphere, the company, Lily…

Lily, James, Sirius, and Artemys were all seated at their table, sipping their drinks and waiting for Molly to bring back their dishes. They were engaged in a deep discussion about Quidditch.

"I know that Tom Collins is one of the greatest seekers around, but I still say that Hector Krum is the best Quidditch player there is." said Sirius stubbornly.

"Krum is a pretty awful Beater, and you know it as well as I do that Tom Collins helped the Irish to victory at last year's World Cup." said James.

"I don't care what either of you say. Ludo Bagman is the best Quidditch player around, and I'll hear no different." said Artemys. Lily looked from Sirius to James to Artemys, shook her head, and said to herself, "Quidditch nerds."

"Hey! We are NOT nerds!" said Sirius, James, and Artemys in unison. Just then, Molly brought their dishes and placed them on the table. Everyone looked up.

"Julienne salad?" said Molly. Lily took her dish and began to place the dressing on it.

"Two t-bone steaks with double mashed potatoes and gravy?" said Molly. Sirius eyed the plate greedily and said, "My precious!" and took it.

"Stuffed chicken marsala?" said Molly. James took his plate quietly and placed it in front of him.

"And last but not least, lemon rice soup." She handed the bowl to Artemys and placed a bread basket onto the table.

"I will bring your dessert shortly." said Molly. "Enjoy your dinner." Molly walked off towards the kitchens, leaving everyone to talk.

Sirius was already halfway through his plate. He had mashed potatoes all over his face. James was slowly slicing his marsala, and Artemys was eating her soup. Lily slowly ate her salad and savored every bite.

"So, what's been going on?" said Sirius. The entire table stopped and looked at him funny.

"Come on people! Work with me here! I am sooooo bored. So bored. Oh so bored. Bored bored bored bored bored. BORED!"

"Sirius, you're my best mate, but SHUT UP!" roared James.

"Psycho! All yelling at me and stuff! Just watch how you talk to me, little Jamesie..." said Sirius evilly.

"What do you mean by that?" said James in harsh tones.

"I mean, well, you don't want people knowing your little secret..."

"What secret? That I like Lily? Everyone knows that, goofball."

"No Jamesie, puppet on my fingers, I meant what you did last summer when we were walking through Surrey and then-"

"OK! OK! I WON'T SAY ANYTHING!" said James quickly. Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh and turned towards his plate. He proceeded to lick it clean. Lily looked from Artemys to James to Sirius and spoke.

"Enlighten me, Sirius. What did James do in Surrey last summer?" said Lily.

Sirius stopped licking his plate and said, "Well, while we were taking a stroll through the village where his crush lived, he saw her taking off her clothes in the window and-" Sirius was cut off once more by James elbowing him in the ribs. Sirius punched James in the shoulder and finished in a hurried sentence, "And he painted a picture of it when he got home and he hung it up in his room!"

Lily looked at James and he blushed.

"It's just that, well, you are the inspiration for all my art. The scene was just so breathtaking, so inspiring, so..."

"James, stop. You're going all fruity on me and it's weird." said Sirius. He slipped James something under the table and James hurriedly stuffed it into his pocket. Lily noticed but paid no mind to it, and continued to eat her salad.

They were finished by the time Molly came back with the dessert. She brought them a small ice cream cake that was divided into 4 equal pieces. Each piece had chocolate icing on it. It looked delicious. She put a small slice on four separate plates and served them.

"Here you are. Enjoy." and with that, she left them again.

They each began to indulge (of course Sirius was done with his before anyone else had started to eat theirs) and talk lightly. Artemys took one bite and placed her fork back onto the table.

"Wow, I am so full." said Artemys.

"Really, love? All you ate was that soup! Personally, I'd have been dying if I only ate that much!" said Sirius.

"We all don't have to eat like pigs, Sirius. Besides, you have some icing on your face." said Artemys.

"So?"

"Here's a napkin, use it." said Artemys, and she handed him a napkin.

"No! I'm saving it for later!" said Sirius loudly. He slapped the napkin out of her hand.

"What a baby…"

"Yes I am. And I'd like my ba-ba in a few minutes." Sirius and Artemys argued for a few minutes and then settled down. Just then, Artemys spoke.

"Sirius?" said Artemys quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Bathroom. Now?"

"Oh yeah!" and Sirius and Artemys headed off towards the bathroom, leaving Lily and James alone.

"So, what is the deal with those two? Little kids or what?" said James laughingly.

"I know. But they can't help it. They are still stuck in fourth year."

"Yeah, and so were we for a while. But look at us now..."

Lily merely smiled and looked out the window.

While she was looking out, she noticed that there was a group of people gathered around a man in the street. All of them had looks of concern and worry on their faces. One woman was crying, bent over the person on the ground. Lily then spoke to the table.

"James, look outside." said Lily urgently. He looked out the window and spotted the large crowd.

"We'd better go and see what it's all about." said James. They left the table and grabbed their cloaks. They stepped outside, into the cruel, cold wind. They were rushing to get to the crowd to see what was going on.

The night air was stained with blood and death. It was on the ground. It was in the rivers. It was in the air.

Just as Lily and James approached the crowd, Sirius and Artemys rushed after them.

James made it there first. He was the first to hear the woman's cries.

"We were just here getting gifts for our son's birthday and as we were walking, he just fell to the ground…just fell to the ground…" the woman started sobbing loudly.

James parted the crowd with his arms, bent down above the body, and looked in the face of his dead father.

Hot tears rolled down his cheeks, his throat constricted. He had a horrified look on his face. He looked once more into his father's blank, gaping eyes and looked to the sky. Then came the rain. It poured over all of them and washed most of the blood away. The crowd slowly dissolved and parted. He stood to face his mother. She stood still.

"Oh, James. I am so sorry that you had to see that. I.. I just can't believe he's gone..." James fell into his mother's arms and he cried. She held him close and hugged him. He stopped crying and stood up tall. James walked back over to his father's body and looked into his eyes. His mother went into the Three Broomsticks and got Madam Rosmerta to call the ministry.

James took off his cloak and placed it on the ground. He then picked up his father's body and placed it on the cloak and wrapped him up in it.

Whoever did this is going to pay, he thought, they will pay dearly...

A/N It's been a while since I last updated b/c of my hw issues and b/c I had major writers' block. Plz review.