a/n- Okay, here is my holiday present. This is the final chapter of THIS story. Now to those of you who have read the story and know about some of the things that follow, fear not. This story will be followed by a second, and possibly third part. I just felt that the story needed to have some breaking points and this seemed like a good spot.
Chapter Ten: Light in the Distance
Two days after the funeral the Weasley family, along with Harry, were sitting down to a very quiet meal. Ginny had gone to Hogwarts for some last minute things that needed to be taken care of before it would open in mid-September. Harry didn't realize how much he had been depending on her until she was gone. He knew he shouldn't need her so much. But he did. There was no stopping his feelings, and quite frankly, he didn't have the strength to stop them even if he wanted to.
No one really said much at mealtime these days. The only people who really ate anything were the Weasley's younger children Brandon, Kyle, and Joe. Everyone else simply sat there looking at their plates, and pushing their food around. Andrew, who was worried about his older brother, didn't eat much either.
This meal was no exception. Jack never came down for meals anymore. Hermione would bring him up food on a tray, but when she would bring in the next meal's tray later in the day she would find the first tray untouched. Jack sat in his bedroom window looking out the window, or he spent the day sleeping or pretending to sleep whenever anyone came into his room. The Weasley brothers missed him and often tried to get him to come out of his room, but they had no luck. He seemed to have lost his will to do much of anything. He reminded Harry of himself after Melissa had been killed.
The house around them was just as quiet as the dinner table that evening until they heard a loud CRASH in the living room. Hermione stood up from the table as did Ron and Harry.
"Hermione, you stay in here with the kids," Ron said as he and Harry pulled out their wands and slowly walked into the living room. What they saw was something they had not expected. There sitting on the floor, leaning heavily against the couch and moaning in pain, was the same tall man Harry recognized from Lily's auror unit. He was supposed to be dead…wasn't he?
"Oh my God…Jeff what happened…You're alive…HERMIONE COME QUICK!" Ron said as he ran over to the wounded auror as Hermione came into the room. She gasped at the sighed of him and then mumbled something about going to get Jack. She told the other children to go upstairs and asked them to stay in their rooms no matter what happened or what they heard downstairs.
Jack came into the room before she had the chance to go get him. He saw Jeff on the floor and ran to him, "Jeff…they told us your whole unit was killed…what the hell happened?"
Jeff took several deep painful breaths before he was able to answer properly, "Lies…all of it…they took us captive…Jordan's dead," Harry had no idea who Jordan was so he just assumed he was the other man from their unit remembering that there had been three of them including Lily. Jeff continued talking, "…Luis is in on this…and Jack…Lily's alive," he said grabbing Jack's shoulder but let it go once he felt the pain it caused him.
"She's WHAT!" Ron yelled in surprise.
Jack looked over at Harry with very wide eyes, "Where is she…who held you captive?"
"Draco Malfoy…he still has her…they're at his manor in London…You'd better go quick Jack…she was pretty bad off the last time I saw her," Jeff said holding his side and again groaning in pain.
Jack placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Mum, will you take care of him? Dad, Harry, and I have some business to take care of," he looked at Harry whose eyes were electric with anger.
"Just be careful," Hermione advised in vain as her husband, son, and best friend set off in search.
Several minutes later Harry, Ron, and Jack found themselves inside a wing of the Malfoy's London residence. They were surprised at how easy it was to apparate into the house undetected.
"That was too easy," Harry said warily as he looked around.
"Well, who would come looking for her? Everyone thinks she's dead," Ron reminded them.
"Let's go this way," Jack said his wand pulled out and started down a set of very old looking stairs. The stairway didn't match the rest of the hallway it was in, so that's what made them choose that particular path. The came to the end of the stairs and found themselves in a long hallway with a bunch of prisons cells on both sides.
"This must be it," Ron said in a whisper.
They heard voices from the other end of the hallway and they darted into an open cell. They then heard clearly the voice they all recognized to be Malfoy's, "I'M GOING TO ASK YOU ONE FINAL TIME, POTTER! WHERE IS YOUR FAHTER? WE HAVE EXTENSIVE EVIDENCE THAT PROVES HE DID NOT DIE NEARLY SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO AND THAT HE IS ALIVE TODAY. TELL ME WHERE HE IS NOW!"
Jack held his breath as he heard Lily's voice speak up forcefully, "I'D RATHER DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS THAN TELL YOU ANYTHING!" He glanced over at Harry and found him looking completely stunned. Lily was willing to die in order to keep her father safe. Harry just shook his head and waited for Malfoy's reply. They all held the breath hoping that he would not kill her right then.
"YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND POTTER! I THINK WE'LL LET YOU SUFFER DOWN HERE FOR A FEW MORE DAYS BEFORE RIDDING THE WORLD OF YOU PRESENSE. THOUGH IT HAS BEEN FUN HAVING YOU IN MY COMPANY ONCE MORE," Malfoy's voice was as cruel and heartless as always. They heard the sounds of footsteps, and then the rattling of a gate, followed by more footsteps, and then silence. Thankfully they had left the tunnel out the other exit which did not take them past Jack, Harry, and Ron's hiding space.
Once they were certain Malfoy was gone they left their cell and sprinted down the hallway looking for Lily. They found her in the last cell on the left hand side, before the other staircase leading to the floors above. The walls of the cell seemed to be made of shape edged rocks that protruded out in all directions. There were puddles of water and blood all over. They stood outside the cell looking at her for a moment. If Jack had thought she looked beaten badly after her last dream, it was nothing compared to how she looked now. She was tied up with her hand above her head and her feet were bound together at the ankles. She leaned against a wall with her legs drawn up to her chest. Her breathing was staggered and very uneven. Her hands and feet looked like they were bleeding from where the ropes had rubbed her skin. Her hair was matted with blood, and her whole body looked black and blue. There also appeared to be blood coming from injuries to her stomach and shoulder.
He felt Harry stiffen beside him and looked over to fine him pale as a ghost. "Oh dear God," Harry muttered under his breath as he looked at his daughter's helpless form.
Jack turned to his father. "Will you keep watch in case they come back?"
Ron nodded as Harry and Jack used their magic to open the cell gate. Once inside Jack ran over to her frail body. He noticed that her eyes were closed, and he said in a calm voice, "Lily…open your eyes."
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at Jack like she wasn't quite sure who he was, "a…am I dreaming?"
"No love, you're not dreaming. We've come to take you home," Jack said looking up at Harry who began taking off the ropes, using magic to disintegrate them. He had tears falling freely from his eyes. Once her hands were free, she slumped over sideways unable to support her own weight, even sitting down. Jack took her in his arms easily and stood up, "Should we apparate straight to the hospital?" he asked Harry.
She moaned in pain with nearly every movement, "No…Luis will…find out…he can't know...I just want to…to go home…Please Jack…just take me home" she didn't even have the strength to hold on to him properly. She clinched some fabric from the front of his robes in her fists and winced every few seconds and closed her eyes, leaning her face in Jack's shirt.
"Shhh…rest now hun…we'll do whatever you want," Jack said soothingly.
Harry looked down at his lifeless daughter and his felt heart break. He tenderly touched her forehead, finding it feverishly warm. "She's right. We'll have to take her to Hermione. She'll know how to heal some of the really bad injuries and she can give her something for the pain."
"We can't apparate out of here," Ron stated from the entrance.
"Let's go back to where we appareted in from then," Jack said as he turned and walked quickly out of the cell, back down the hallway, and up the stairs with Ron and Harry close behind him. With every movement he could hear Lily groan in pain.
"Just hold on, babe. It's only a little further," Jack said trying to sooth at least her emotional pain. He felt her nodded her head in response against his chest, but she said nothing else.
Once they got back up the stairs they were able to apparate again. The Weasley living room came back into focus in seconds, and the first thing they noticed was Jeff slumped over on the floor, not breathing. Jack looked at him horrified and turned so that Lily wouldn't see the body.
"There was nothing I could do," Hermione said as she came into the room with a sheet and placed it over the young man. She then saw who Jack had in his arms, "Oh my God! Jack, take her upstairs. I'll be up in a minute with some potions and bandages." Harry and Ron went to help her, leaving Jack to take Lily upstairs alone.
Jack did as he was told, taking her upstairs and into the nearest room, which just so happened to he his room. Just after he entered the room his heard the sounds of shuffling feet at the door. Looking up and found his brothers Andrew and Kyle standing in the doorway. He tried to place Lily on the bed gently, but it was rather difficult because she was bruised and/or bleeding everywhere. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and walked over to Andrew and Kyle trying to block their view of her beaten body.
"Is that who I think it is?" Kyle asked looking at Lily who was now crunched up in a ball due to the pain she was in.
He placed a hand on each of their shoulders, "I think you guy's better leave now. She wouldn't want you to see her like this."
"She's not going to die is she…I mean for real this time," Andrew asked as Jack gently pushed them out into the hallway.
"No, I won't let her die. She's going to be fine, she's just a little beaten up, that's all. Andy, take Kyle and go find Brandon and Joe take them to your room and keep them there. I don't want them to see her like this either," Jack stated before he closed his bedroom door quietly.
Ron and Harry came into the room carrying a few moments later supplies, "Your mother's coming with more," Ron explained as he set the items in his arms down on the table. Lily was lying on her back now with her legs stretched out and her eyes closed.
"I'll go help her," Jack said as he made to leave the room. But he was called back by a faint moan from Lily as she reached her hand out to him, begging him to stay.
"I'll help your mother. You two stay with her," Ron said as he left the room in a hurry. Jack and Harry both sat on the bed next to her, one on each side. Jack took her hand in his and for the first time began to fully assess the damage. He looked over at Harry and found him doing the same thing while holding her other hand.
Looking down at the small hand in his, Jack saw the ring of blood around her wrist where the ropes had been. She had a deep cut on her forehead just below her hairline. There were also bruises on her neck as if someone had been choking her, and when Jack saw these he almost lost it. "Harry…" he started to say.
But Harry had already seen the bruises and replied tensely through grinding teeth, "I see them, Jack."
Jack noticed her breathing was very labored. He placed a hand on her forehead and lovingly brushed hair out of her face. "Are you having a hard time breathing, Lil?"
"No," she said bearing making a sound. Both Jack and Harry knew she was lying. She would never let on to them how bad she really was. Hermione came in the room moments later with more supplies and sat down next to Lily on the bed. Harry stood up from the bed to allow Hermione room to work. He backed up and stood with Ron at the foot of the bed. Both of them were fighting back tears.
Hermione began to examine her injuries to see if there was anything life threatening. She unbuttoned her bruise enough to see that she had long thin scratches over her chest, similar in appearance to the scars on her back. She had a deep gash on the side of her stomach, though it had stopped bleeding. From the looks of them, those injuries had taken place several days ago.
Hermione touched her forehead to cheek her temperature. She shook her head at Harry to indicate that she had a high fever. "Lily dear, can you roll over for me?" She asked in a soothing voice.
Lily opened her eyes fully for the first time since they left the cell and nodded her head. She grabbed Jack's hand in an attempt to pull herself onto her side, but it was obvious that she lacked the strength to perform even this simple task. Jack helped her gently and distracted her while his mother examined her back for other injuries.
"Hey there," he said threw his own tears brushing away the hair that had again fallen in her face.
"Hey yourself," she said in a hushed voice trying to smile but the second she did her face dropped and she closed her eyes in pain. "I'm alright Jack," she said when she opened her eyes and saw how worried he was, "Just give me a minute." She took several shallow breaths visibly trying to keep herself from screaming in pain.
"You don't need to be brave for me. I know it hurts," Jack said smiling a sad smile. She looked at him and for a second he thought she was going to break down.
"I missed you so much," she said in a raspy voice.
"You have no idea how much I missed you," Jack said cupping the side of her face lovingly.
Hermione gasped at the number of cuts, scratches, and bruises on her back. Most of them looked like they were caused by her being thrown against a wall of sharp rocks. She rolled Lily back over and turned to her husband, Jack, and Harry. "I think you guys better step outside for a few moments. I'll try and clean up some of these cuts and see if there is anything I can do about the other injuries. I want you to go contact Madam Jefter at Hogwarts and ask her if we should bring Lily there. I can only help her so much. She needs a professional."
The men stepped out of the room without a backward glance, and turned to each other in the hallway after Hermione closed the bedroom door behind them. Jack slide down the wall into a sitting position and was taking deep breaths to regain his composure.
Ron turned and spoke to Harry. "I'll send a letter to Hogwarts. You stay here and wait for Hermione to get finished."
"Okay," Harry answered not even bothering to look Ron in the eye. He turned to Jack and took a seat next to him. "She's alive. That's all that matters."
"I can't believe I trusted him," Jack said with an unbelievable amount of anger in his voice.
Harry looked over at him. "Hey we don't know how long he was working with Malfoy. He could have used magic to hide his alliances. We don't know anything yet so there's no need to beat yourself up about it. Besides, Lily needs you now more than ever."
"I told her I was never going to let this happen again," Jack said looking Harry in the eye.
Harry had a feeling this issue was going to be brought up. He knew this because it was how he would have felt in Jack's position. Harry put a hand on his godson's shoulder and spoke softly. "This is in no way your fault Jack. She knows it and so does everyone else. I know you would have protected her with your life if you had been given that opportunity. I think the important thing to remember here is that Lily is still alive. From the looks of it she was very close to death in that cell, but she hung on. She wanted to live, and she fought like hell to come back to you."
Jack clinched his fists tightly. "When I think about all the things that man did to her…it makes me what to…"
"I know…I feel the same way. And believe me, if I have my way…we'll have a good long chat with Malfoy and give him a piece of our minds. Right now we just need to concentrate on Lily and getting her healthy again," Harry said as Ron came into the room.
"I owled Hogwarts. We should receive a reply shortly," Ron said walking toward Harry and Jack who were now standing, "How is she?"
"She's alive," said Hermione as she unexpectedly came out of the room. She was wiping her hands on a towel and looking grim. "She has a fever from some infected cuts, and she's malnourished. It seems that while she was in their custody a curse was placed upon her which is going to make her recovery very difficult. I don't know what kind of curse it is, but I'll try and do some research to learn more about it. Whatever curse it was, it's preventing me from helping to speed her recovery with magic."
Harry allowed this information to sink in before asking any questions. "So what does that mean then? Nothing we can do is going to help her through this?"
Hermione took a deep breath and answered calmly, "Yes, that is exactly what I mean. I can't heal any of her injuries or take away any of her pain. It's all up to her and her own body to heal itself. But she wants to see you both."
Jack finally found his voice after a long silence, "Mum, just tell me one thing…did he do anything else to her besides slap her around?"
Hermione looked at her son and then at Harry. She knew what she was about to tell them could possibly kill them both. "Yes Jack, Lily has been sexually assaulted."
After staring at his mother in shock for a few seconds Jack slowly closed his eyes and tried to remain coolheaded. Harry took a few steps back from Hermione and ran into the wall behind him. After several minutes Hermione spoke up again. "I think you both should go in and see her now. She shouldn't be alone for too long, she is still very frightened."
They both nodded and walked towards the bedroom door. But just before they got there Jack stopped Harry from turning the door knob, "Harry…I think you should go in and talk to her first. You really haven't gotten the chance to talk to her alone since you came back. I'll give you guys ten minutes or so and then all come in and join you. I need to take care of Jeff's body anyway. Someone is going to have to notify his family. I'll send the department and owl so they can take care of it."
She was still lying down on the bed with her eyes closed, looking just as pale and in pain as the last time he saw her. He took a seat next to her in a chair Hermione had pulled up and took her hand gently in his. She was cleaned up and wearing flannel pajama pants and a hooded sweatshirt. She seemed to be in some kind of light sleep and every few seconds or so she would shake her head or mutter under her breath. Harry sat there, squeezing her hand, and trying to give her the comfort she needed.
Her eyes floated open after a short time and she look up at him through bloodshot eyes. "Daddy…" she said breathlessly, blinking several times.
"I'm here, honey. How are you doing," he asked trying to stop his voice from cracking.
"I'm better now that I'm home. How are you doing?" she asked also trying to sound bright.
Harry laughed openly at her question. Here she was lying in unspeakable pain and was asking him own he was. "I'm fine now that you're here and safe. When I thought we'd lost you-"
She held up her hand to preventing him from going on, "Dad I know how you must have felt. When I woke up in that cell and saw Malfoy for the first time I thought I was dead for sure. Then Luis came in and told me what he'd told all of you and I knew you all would never know I was alive meaning no one would come looking for me. I was so scared that I'd never see you again, that after so many years of wanting to get to know you, I would die without getting the chance. But most of all I was angry with myself for never tell you how much I love you. I never told you how proud I am of you, and how proud I am to be your daughter. I never want you to feel that any of this is your fault, if it's anyone's fault than it's mine because I should have known better," she gripped his hand a little tighter, "I love you Dad."
Harry tightened his gripe on her hand in return as tears of mixed joy and sorrow fell from his eyes. "Oh sweetheart, it's not your fault at all! I love you too, very much! You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that."
"You mean I wasn't talking the last time you saw me at three months old," she said sarcastically trying to get him to smile.
"No you most certainly weren't. It was worth it though. You were a beautiful baby," he said laughing at her joke.
"Tell me more about when I was a baby," she asked brightly, wanting to change the subject.
Harry sat back in his chair a little more still holding her hand, "Well, you were born with this head full of black hair and sparkling green eyes. Your mother said that if people looked at you that they would never know you were her child, because you looked nothing like her. But soon we realized that your hair was curly like hers was so she felt a little better. I was in the waiting room when you were born, because they wouldn't let me go back with your mother while she was in labor. They brought you out to me and you were just this tiny little thing in a sea of pink blankets. The healer handed you to me and I can remember being scared to death I was going to drop you. That moment was without a doubt the happiest of my life. When we brought you home we discovered just how great of a baby you were. You almost always slept through the night and hardly ever fussed. You were perfect to us in every way."
"You just say that because you didn't have any other children to compare me to," Lily lightly accused.
Harry completely ignored her comment, he was lost in his own sea of memories. "I used to go into your nursery late at night and watch your little chest rise and fall as you slept. I never thought I would ever have children of my own, and all of a sudden…there you were. You were the first thing that was ever truly mine."
"I was always yours, Dad. I still am," Lily said lovingly as she squeezed his hand.
Lily continued to ask him question after question for almost an hour before Jack finally came into the room. He looked relieved that Harry had managed to get Lily laughing again and smiled at the sight of them.
He walked over to Lily and kissed her lightly on the forehead before taking a seat in the chair on the other side of her bed from Harry. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm better," she answered confidently.
Jack raised an eyebrow and looked at her skeptically, "Nope Potter, you're lying. You're doing that thing with your face," he said smiling.
"What thing with her face," Harry asked confused. He looked over at Lily and found she was blushing underneath her facial bruises.
"It's hard to explain really. She does this thing with her face whenever she's not telling the truth," Jack answered as Lily laughed and blushed some more.
Harry suddenly remembered why that was so familiar to him, "Your mother used to do that too! That's how I could always tell if she was telling me the truth!"
"Well it looks like that's where you get it from," Jack concluded.
Lily threw her hands up, "Well I guess that does it. I'm totally done for. I can never tell a lie to either one of you ever again! What will I do?"
Watching them laugh together only made Harry notice other similarities between Melissa and Lily. Clearing his throat Harry interrupted the blissful moment. "I guess you'll just have to live with it. Your mother never grew out of it and I don't think you will either. But anyway, I think its time for me to leave you two alone for a little while. I'm gonna go check on Ron and Hermione, they always used to fight so much when they were left alone for too long. Do they still do that?" Harry asked Jack as he stood up and walked towards the door.
"Yeah, sometimes I think it's their only form of communication," Jack answered chuckling. Harry left the room without another word leaving Lily and Jack alone. The mood in the large perfect room suddenly became very tense once Harry closed the door softly behind him. There was silence for a few moments as Jack and Lily both stared at the closed door as if in a trance.
Jack turned slowly to face Lily and noticed that she was looking at him sadly. He moved from the chair he was sitting in the edge of the bed facing her. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked cautiously.
"Sure… I guess sooner is better than later," she said in a shaky voice.
"You don't have to tell me know if you don't want to…I just thought I may help to talk to someone about it, and I understand if you would rather talk to someone else about this…"
"Jack, there isn't a person in this world I would rather talk to than you. Your right…it's probably best to talk about it," she said looking down at her lap and playing with the fringe of the blanket nervously with her free hand.
"Why don't you start from the beginning?" he suggested.
She took a deep breath and began her story, "We had just made camp for the night. Jordan and Jeff were outside our tent trying to cook something for dinner. I was inside trying to write a letter to Luis to let him know where we were. It was a few moments before I noticed that Jeff and Jordan had stopped talking by the fire. I walked outside the tent to see what the problem was and then everything went black. I don't remember anything until I woke up in the cell. Jeff was still passed out on the floor and Jordan was laying in the corner. He was already dead. A little while later two guards came in and took Jordan's body away and announced Draco Malfoy would be in to see me shortly. They took Jeff and told me they he was going to a place where they could question him separately. That's where he must have escaped from because they never brought him back to my cell. Your mother told me that's how you guys found out I was still alive. But anyway, Malfoy came in about three hours later looking particularly pleased with himself and started asking me all sorts of questions."
"What did he ask you?" Jack said after allowing her some time to compose herself.
"He wanted to know who was spying on them and how the auror department had acquired all the knowledge we used to arrest all those death eaters at the end of last summer. He also found out about my father and wanted to know where he was," she added looking down once more.
"Why didn't they just come here and look," Jack thought out loud.
"He said he knew Harry Potter would never come to the one place that was so predictable. But that's just the thing, he assumed that Dad had been keeping track of what has been going on in the wizarding world, which clearly he hasn't," she concluded.
"Did he try and use a truth potion or anything," Jack asked moving a little closer to her while still only holding her hand.
"No, he somehow knows that you and I have been training as aurors. Luis must have told him because that's supposed to be top secret information, but nevertheless he knows now. I don't know how long they've been working together but he seemed to know a lot. He also knows that aurors build up a resistance to truth potions early on in their training which we did months ago," she said as Jack nodded his head, "Besides he seemed to have more fun trying to beat and curse it out of me," she added bitterly.
She looked at him in the eye and saw tears streaming down his face. He was in no way trying to hide them. He brought his hand up to her face and allowed his thumb to graze over a deep purple bruise on her cheek. "I thought I'd lost you there for a while," he said trying to sound upbeat while he voice gave away his true emotions.
She pulled his hand away from her face and gently pulled his body to hers. "For a while there…you almost did," she whispered in his ear.
"Malfoy's going to pay for what he's done. You have my word on that," he said as he held her gently not wanting to cause her more pain. He pulled away from her but kept his hands on her shoulders. He took a deep breath of his own before asking bringing up the topic they both knew was coming. "Did he hurt you when he…when he…" he looked into her eyes showing her he was unable to continue.
Her eyes filled with tears as she asked, "Do you really want to know?" He answered only by shaking his head no, but she continued in spite of his answer. "I told him he was too late. That I wasn't a virgin and his plan would not work. He said he didn't care about that anymore."
"Did he…more than once," Jack asked, again finding it impossible to say the words.
"Yes," she answered meekly looking away as well.
He took a deep breath and tried to suppress his need to take her in his arms, crush her against his body, and never let go. Instead he turned away from her, let go of her hands, and faced the wall.
"By the time he started doing it I was so weak and tired from all the other things they had done to me that I didn't have the strength to put up much of a fight," she whispered to him as he continued to stare at the wall, "I'm so sorry, Jack. I should have tried to fight him off harder, but I just couldn't."
In the blink of an eye he turned around to face her and took her hand once more. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You didn't ask for this. If anyone should be sorry it should be me. I should never have believed Luis when he came and told us you were dead. I knew in the back of my head that something wasn't right…I just didn't know what to do about it. And then at the funeral…"
"No, Jack I should have done anything to keep him from doing what he did," she said shaking her head at the memories.
He placed a hand behind her head and forced her to look at him, "You listen to me, there was nothing you could have done to stop him from doing what he did. You and I both know that whatever Draco Malfoy wants, he gets. You have nothing to be ashamed about."
"I'm still sorry," Lily said stubbornly, fighting back tears. "I'll always be sorry."
"I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I wasn't there when I should have been. I'm sorry this had to happen."
"You guys had a funeral for me?" she asked looking shocked and trying to change the subject.
"Of course we had a funeral for you. We even got you a grave which coincidentally was placed right next to the one they gave your father, kind of ironic isn't it? Your dad was able to attend the funeral, but we had to disguise him even more than he already is so that no one would know who he was. Luis must have gotten someone else's body and bewitched it to look like you. I was the one that identified the body, and I should have known that it wasn't you," Jack again let go of her hand and turned to face the wall, this time with his elbows on his knees.
She leaned forward and, despite the pain in her ribs, wrapped her arms around him and held him close. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that Jack, and there was no way you could have known it wasn't me. You are stronger than me, because I know if something ever happens to you I would crawl right down in the grave beside you."
He turned around to properly return her embrace and held her to him with all his strength, and surprisingly she returned his embrace nearly as tight. "You don't know how much I wanted to. I just kept thinking how surreal it all was. Everything happened so fast. I didn't really know what to do or how to act. I should have tried to comfort my parents and your father more, but I just couldn't. They all grieved so badly for you Lil. They love you so much. You should have heard the all wonderful things people said about you at the funeral. Everyone loves you so much."
He felt her tremble in his arms and realized she was sobbing. This was the first time he had seen her cry since they brought her home. She spoke in a hushed voice against his chest. "The only thing that kept me going was you. I wanted to see you again so bad, that it didn't matter what they did to me. As long as I had you to think of and dream about I still had a will to live, and that was something they couldn't take away from me. You are the reason I'm alive Jack. I can never thank you enough for giving me that."
He pulled her away and took her face in his hands. "I'm never letting anyone take you from me again."
"Promise?" Lily asked, half playing and half serious.
"On my life," Jack replied kissing her forehead again and holding her tighter.
She smiled and he noticed the brightness once again return to her green eyes. "Well, I guess that you'll have to sleep here tonight. I seem to have taken over your bed."
"That's fine with me," he said brushing the hair out of her face, "Are you in a lot of pain. Mum told me about the curse preventing her from healing you."
"No, actually I'm not in as much pain now that you're here. It may sound silly, but I feel better when you're close by. I felt it first in the cell and I thought it was just because I was so relieved to see you. But then when you left earlier when your mother asked you to wait out in the hall, I felt the pain return as it had before you came and got me. I don't know how to explain it…it just is."
Jack moved forward to lie down on the bed and gently pulled her down with him. She rested her head on his chest and put an arm around him. He softly ran his hand over her back. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do to keep you safe you know that, right? If I had been with you on that mission I would have never let them take you without forcing them to kill me first,"
She turned slightly to look up at him, "I know what you would have done and I'm so glad you weren't there because they would have killed you too, and that is something I could never live with or accept. I love you so much." She placed her head on his chest again and gripped the front of his robs with one of her fists.
"I love you too. It's all over now and your safe here with me. Now go to sleep before my mother comes in and finds out you're not resting properly," he teased as he pulled her closer.
In no time at all he felt her breathing steady as she drifted off to sleep. After a few moments he too closed his eyes and was on the edge of sleep when he saw the door open and light from the hallway flood the room. He placed a hand over Lily's eyes so she wouldn't be disturbed by the light. Harry and Ron came into the room quietly and tiptoed over to the bed.
"How is she?" Ron asked looking down at her sleeping form.
"She's finally asleep," Jack answered still rubbing her back gently.
"You stay with her tonight," Harry said looking with red eyes at his daughter wrapped in the loving arms of his godson. Jack assumed he and Ron had been talking outside in the hallway. They both looked like they had been crying.
"I wouldn't think of leaving her," Jack replied.
"I know you wouldn't. She loves you very much Jack. You take good care of her. I'm so grateful she has you to help her through this," Harry said as he patted him on the shoulder affectionately. "But do you mind if I sit with you two for a while?"
"Not at all, Harry."
Harry pulled up a chair and sat watching a very tense Jack scan around the room with his eyes as he gently ran his fingertips over Lily's back. "Jack," he said suddenly causing Jack to snap his head towards him.
"What?"
"Get some sleep."
"I know, I just…"
"I understand, but you need some sleep. I mean it. She's not going anywhere. Sleep…"
Jack nodded and reluctantly closed his eyes and drifted off to the best sleep he'd had in a month.
Harry sat there for what felt like hours. He couldn't bring himself to leave the room, no matter how much his body told him he needed sleep. Jack had been out for a long time, and Lily hadn't made a sound. She looked peaceful in his arms. Protected. Safe.
"Harry," said an excited hushed whisper.
The voice startled Harry so much that he almost jumped out of his seat. He looked to his right, towards the door, and saw Ginny's head poking through the small opening. He couldn't help but smile. He walked over to the door and met her embrace full heartedly. Ginny pulled away to look over at the sleeping couple.
"She's alright," she said, almost asked when she looked back up at him.
Harry considered her question before shaking his head. "No, she's far from being alright. But she will be. In time."
"Looks like she'll have some help," Ginny said nodding her head at Jack.
"He's good to her," Harry replied.
Ginny gazed up at him, gently moving some of the hair off his forehead. "Why don't I get you off to bed. You look like you're about to fall over."
Harry nodded and allowed her to pull him from the room and down the hall into his own bedroom. She went to his dresser, got out something for him to sleep in, and waited while he changed in the attached bathroom. When he came out she walked over to him and pulled him into her arms once more. They stood there for a few lingering seconds before he finally spoke up.
"Gin, I have no right to ask you to stay here with me tonight. After all the things I've done," he pulled away from her slightly and looked down at her. Her facial expression stopped him from continuing.
"How many times do I have to tell you? The past is in the past. We've both done stupid things. Now, do you want me to stay with you tonight?" She asked, her eyes seeming to come alive in the moonlight.
"More than anything," he answered unable to stop himself.
"Then I will."
As they climbed into bed that night, Harry felt more at peace than he had in his entire life. Ginny was here with him, and it didn't matter if it was only for tonight. Because tonight, his life was as close to perfect as it had ever been. And that was good enough.
a/n- There it is. The end of this story, and the beginning of another. Happy Holidays everyone! Please tell me what you think. I'm interested to see what you guys think should happen. Even though I have most of the story that follows this already written, nothing is set in stone. Someone wise once said, a good piece of literature is never finished. Anyway, thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Keep them coming and you may just have the next installment of the story before New Years!