Story Title: Love of Two Generations: First Love
Chapter Title: Lacking Condolences
Disclaimer: All people and recognizable places belong to and were taken out of J.K. Rowling's amazing mind. Plot and some characters belong to me.
Author: Chewy
Summary: In a world of Witches, Wizards, Trolls, and magnificent Beasts, the tale of four different people unravels to engulf the world in luminosity. Can true love blossom from true hate? Can two opposites come together to form a bond so powerful it could save the world? Only TIME can tell…
Publishing Date: May 23, 2005
Author's Note: Okay, so I haven't updated in a really long time, but I do hope this chapter will make up for it. I really like this chapter, and I really hope you will too. Again, I apologize for the lack of updates lately, I've had too finish an original novel for my Writer's Craft class and I'm taking a break from that to finish this. Anyways, thanks will be in the next chapter's Author's Note so I can get this out faster. I will start working on the next chapter as soon as possible. But for now, please enjoy this chapter.
"Oh God…" James gasped out, staring out the glass-covered window in the sixth floor corridor. James pulled Lily towards it, helping her to stand better and allowing her to see outside. Lily lifted her red, puffy eyes to the red, green and fluorescent yellow blasts of light outside the school. Her eyes widened at the view; the unconscious and never to be conscious again bodies strewn across the Hogwarts Grounds. At the sight of this, her predicament seemed futile…
"AVADA…" the blur of a dark figure scurried in front of James and Lily at the last second, omitting the green blast into his body. "…KEDAVRA!"
Lily's eyes opened quickly. She had felt no blast, no pain, nothing. She wasn't dead, but what had happened. She looked forward past James's frozen form, and to his feet. "No…" She pushed quickly past him, landing roughly on her knees beside the lifeless form. "NO! You bastard!"
Lily swallowed hard, turning away from the window, and taking up her own weight. She looked to James's sympathetic expression, "You need to save your own energy. Let's go." She stepped away from him and continued to walk down the corridor with her wand held out in front of her, a small limp to her left leg, "C'mon then."
She felt but the stinging of tears in her eyes. She heard nothing but the beating of her own heart and the lack of breath from his lips. She closed her eyes, leaning over his lifeless body, begging him to wake-up. She ignored the conversation occurring above her, pushing away the comforting arms James offered.
She stood suddenly, slowly, and menacingly. Her eyes darted towards the lifeless body at her feet, then to the conversing man in front of her. She lifted her discarded wand from the floor beside her in a swift swoop towards the floor. James stood behind her, holding her arm tightly. A single tear dropped from her left eye, the world reflecting within it.
Lily took a firm step, releasing herself from James's grasp. Then another. Another until she was face to face with Voldemort. His gaze travelled from the man standing a few steps to Lily's left, to her viciously calm face. His dark eyebrow rose slightly as he lifted his wand to her chest.
"No," she spoke smoothly.
Marie sat; her head nestled in the crook of Remus's shoulder, and his arm wrapped securely around hers. Her heart raced, waiting for any sign of Lily or James. Nothing was happening. The students had been settled and sat in groups, quietly whispering and listening for any news of missing comrades.
Sirius sat to Marie's right, bent over with his head in his hands. He listened also. Listening to their whispered voices. He recalled a ministry official walking past minutes before, counting and mumbling to himself about a number of missing students. He closed his eyes, watching the inside of his eyelids almost calmly. He sat; waiting for the word that his best friend's body was found.
"Lily! Oh my goodness Lily! I was so worried," Marie spoke quickly, breaking from Remus's embrace.
Sirius' head shot up. '…Please…' He let out a great sigh of relief as he saw James tumble roughly through the open fireplace. Sirius stood, holding a hand out to the tired Remus and hoisting him up. He gave him a light smile before walking to where James now stood shakily behind a shaken Lily.
"Sirius Black! Get to the dungeons!" Screamed a flustered Professor McGonnagal. Her hair fell from her once tidy bun, and dirt caked the bottom of her once clean skirt. She ran shakily towards him, gripping her wand.
She turned to peer down each corridor, "Do you think your funny? Standing out here? Are you even aware of what is happening? Now go!" Sirius backed away slowly. He could deal with Lily's older brother, but when Minerva McGonnagal appeared close to tears, he began to worry. He obediently nodded un-Sirius-like and turned, heading straight towards the dungeons.
The middle-aged Professor seemed stressed beyond belief, nearly about to burst. He had been so used to seeing her calm and relaxed, the only problem that could bother her was he. But when it wasn't him causing her the slightest bit of turmoil, he felt lost.
Marie held Lily at arms length, looking into her dark green eyes. "Lily… what's happened?" Lily looked down at her feet, pulling away from Marie. She took a step back, bumping into James before walking passed Marie's right, taking a seat beside a second year.
Lily's eyes set into his, her hand slowly moving upwards to grip his pointed wand and pull it from his grip. "You are a bad man," she spoke. Her left hand began to shake slightly and curled into a small fist. She took a step towards the tall, thin man, causing him to step back as well. She felt a hand grip her forearm strongly.
"Go…" Dumbledore spoke softly, lifting his wand slowly to Voldemort's chest. Lily blinked, continuing to stare into the evil man's thin eyes.
She stepped back, and turned from him. "You will pay Tom Marvolo Riddle. I swear on my own future child's life, that you will pay," Lily whispered under her breath, just loud enough for Voldemort to hear. She waited just long enough for James to take her arm and lead her away from the corridor, and away from the lifeless body of Jake Evans. Lily sent a last glance towards him before turning the first corner.
Three hours. They sat in silence now, some students asleep. Darkness had loomed through the windows at the ministry, covering the students in moonlight. Lily stood staring out the clear glass window at Diagon Alley. It seemed so simple until the last year. And now her brother was gone. She brought her arms up to wrap around herself, trying to shield out the cold shiver that ran down her spine.
She stared into the half moon before glancing at the large group of students. Over half had fallen asleep, dreaming of the day returning to normal, and the other's wishing for slumber. Lily closed her eyes tightly, she wished for slumber.
She felt her body fall from beneath her. She landed roughly on the stone cold floor, her leg folded awkwardly underneath her. She looked down at her hand, blood beginning to trickle out of the cut she had received when she had fallen moments before. She set her head down on her arm for a moment, allowing another tear to fall from her eye. She felt James's presence at her side but continued to lie in her bent, and awkward position.
Lily stared at the floor. The stone was cold on her arms and she began to inhale pieces of sand sitting in the cracks. She felt something rock within her, tilting, and the fight within her stopped. She once again felt the tears stinging her eyes. Soon enough the stone beneath her head became damp.
"Evans?" a voice whispered in the darkness. Lily disregarded the voice and refused to acknowledge the boy that now stood to her left. The moon left lines of blue light streaming across the room, and lazily over Lily's face and hair. The overhead lamps had been turned off hours ago, leaving the moon as the only light in the vast and crowded room.
"…Lily?" Lily's eyes travelled upwards to meet the grey, and concerned eyes of Remus Lupin. They stared at each other for a long moment. Lily was fully aware of what Remus was trying to do, but she had no strength to fight it. She stared into his wispy eyes, allowing him to see the pain in hers before engulfing her in an embrace.
"Evans…?" she heard James speak from over her shoulder. Lily lifted her head slightly, wiping away the spilled tears from her cheeks. She felt hollow. She looked up at Potter, helpless and scum on the floor. Within a second James was down beside her, holding her hand tightly in his, kissing her palm. His thumb rubbed softly against her knuckles and he stood again, tugging lightly on her arm.
"We have to get going Lily. If one of Voldemort's Death Eater's find us… I'm not sure what will happen," James explained quietly. He tugged again at her arm, looking sympathetically down at her.
"Let them come…" Lily whispered out, looking back down at her crimson covered left hand. She felt a smear of her own blood across her forehead, and the cold stone beneath her against the fabric of her pleated skirt. Soon, and without notice she was being carried like a baby, held close to James's chest, holding onto his neck loosely. James slipped behind a tapestry and stopped, setting her back down against the wall and taking a seat himself.
James looked at Lily, bringing her chin up with his slender index finger, "don't." He spoke calmly, hiding anger beneath his words, looking into Lily's eyes with slight vengeance. "Letting yourself be killed will not help the fact that Jake is gone," he spoke, dropping his hand to hers. "It'll only worsen the situation for others."
Lily watched as he sat back against the wall, breathing deeply, his eyes closed shut and his head leaning awkwardly back. She observed how his adam's bobbed slightly as he swallowed, and his chest rose and fell with every breath. The life within him she'd never noticed before. Lily pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, setting her head on top. It took another life just to realize his.
"He didn't tell me what happened. Thought it would be best if we all found out from you… want to talk about it?" Remus asked, pulling away slightly to look Lily in the face. Lily shook her head, pushing his comfort away. She took her spot at the window once again, watching a single wizard stroll slowly down the dark and eerie Alley.
Lily sighed deeply and bit her lip before turning towards Remus, "I don't get it." Her voice was small and almost meek, and shook slightly as she spoke, but her eyes were solid and strong. She tried to hide her hand as it shook slightly at her side, balling it into a tight fist. She turned back to the window, watching the now empty Alley.
"How can the world be so oblivious…? Why do things happen to the people who have already gone through so much?" Lily let her questions fall through the silence, dripping in the darkness. She closed her eyes, hardly expecting a response. She stared at the inside of her eyelids, the only thing comforting enough at that moment. She squeezed her fist harder, her knuckles turning a pale white.
"It just makes way for good things…".
Lily turned rapidly to face Remus, her shoulders squared, "Good things? My brother is dead, I was nearly crippled, I've lost my mother, and almost my life. I don't know the definition of 'good' anymore." Lily looked away from him, biting her lip slightly and once again holding back the spill of tears that threatened.
Her head snapped up suddenly and all she could hear was footsteps. She turned slowly to James, finding his expression to be quite similar to her own. Her eyes wandered across the floor, and along the small beam of light that filtered through the passage from the crack between the tapestry and stone. Lily swallowed roughly, bringing her eyes back onto James, questioning him.
The beam of light travelled right across his face, allowing Lily to see every line of worry. He turned to her, looking past her, down the darkened passage. He stood quietly, making as little noise as possible before offering her his hand. She took it without question, and allowed him to pulled her up. He continued to hold onto her hand tightly, as he peered out from behind the tapestry, pulling back in quickly. He nodded towards the passage and began to walk slowly and silently beside her.
After five minutes of an awkward silence, and hopping over fallen stone, James spoke. "Why did you do it?" James whispered.
Lily looked over at him, shrugging. "I wanted it to end…".
"Your life? Or Voldemort?"
"Voldemort…. Why did you follow me?"
James paused, thinking about Lily's question. He fixed his glasses on his nose after stumbling slightly before speaking, "So you wouldn't get killed."
Lily watched him out of the corner of her eye, and shook her head, "Lot of good that did…."
"Well you aren't dead, are you?"
"Physically? No…."
"We're here today to celebrate the lives of those lost in the attack on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now as we stand here, please take a moment to remember what has happened."
Lily sat in silence. She looked straight ahead of her, watching the people around her shed their tears, crying on their comrade and spouses' shoulders. Her face felt numb, her fingers beginning to stiffen. Her father sat beside her, a handkerchief in his left hand and her own hand in his right. It was all her fault, and yet she found no strength to cry.
"C'mon then. We need to move faster or else we'll never make it in time," James spoke calmly, taking faster steps and longer strides. Lily stumbled behind him, holding her wand tightly in her palm. She looked back behind her, before turning back. Stumbling again she found herself falling forward, her wand flying from her hand. She landed with a thud, sprawled across the corridor, a small rock in her side, and an ache in her head.
"Lily?" James's voice rang through the corridor, hushed slightly. Lily's head shot up her hand gripping it in pain, she moved to stand before letting out a small squeal of pain.
"What's happened?" James was by her side, his hand on her shoulder, staring through the darkness into her emerald eyes.
Lily paused, staring into his hazel orbs before turning towards her ankle, "I wasn't watching where I was going…." She looked up at him again, meeting his smug expression, "What?"
James shook his head, moving towards her strangely shaped ankle. He lifted it slightly, and was rewarded with a small painful groan from Lily. He set it down again and looked up at Lily, "You've twisted it, and it appears you've also conked your head off the stones." His hand shot out and wiped back a few strands of hair before tracing the small gash in her forehead.
"What next? I'll break an arm?"
James chuckled, "You'll just have to be bit more careful. We've got to get you back in one piece. C'mon now." Lily planted her hands onto the corridor stones beneath her and began hauling herself up. She gasped as she felt James's arms scoot underneath her and the ground leave her. Lily looked questioningly at him, holding his shoulders.
"It's faster."
Lily nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck for the second time that night and resting her head on his shoulder. She sniffed slightly, letting herself go back into her thoughts. They walked like this for a long time, in silence, both thinking. Lily sniffed again, gripping James's neck tighter and burying her head deeper into his chest.
"As soon as we reach the other side we're going to have to rest again."
Lily nodded.
James stood silently, watching the people around him. Watching the families ahead of him cry. He stood at the back of the room, listening to the priest speak. He watched the redhead near the front row sit straight, and still, wondering if she was crying. He hadn't seen her shed a tear since the day in the corridor; he'd hardly heard her say a word other than "thank-you" when someone would give his or her condolences.
He glanced up to the front where many people had begun to stand, heading towards the exit and where the refreshments were laid out on the grounds. He watched Lily help her father to his feet and hug him quickly before turning away and leading him with the rest, following Mark out. James looked down at his hands before glancing back at Mark. How could he look in the mirror without seeing his brother?
James followed the flow of people towards the Hogwarts grounds, keeping an eye out for Lily's small form. Sirius and Remus walked beside him in silence, a reoccurring thing that they were still not used to. Taking a step out to the grounds James paused at the top of the steps, and moved to the right side, letting others pass him. He looked out over the grounds, searching for Lily. His eyes found her outside of the crowd heading towards the oak tree near the lake. He nodded towards his two best friends before hurrying down the steps again.
Lily broke from the crowd around her, telling her father she needed 'a bit of space'. She walked towards the Oak Tree on the grounds, sitting herself on the roots at her feet. She leaned against the trunk of the tree and stared over the lake. She heard a twig brake nearby and rolled her eyes.
"Let me guess, I'm sorry for your loss," Lily spoke lazily and slightly perturbed. She sat up, leaning her arms on her knees and closing her eyes.
"Would I ever say anything so plain?" a deep voice responded. James Potter came closer towards her, standing to her right. She nodded her allowance for him to sit and waited to speak until he was comfortably seated beside her. Lily opened her eyes and looked to right and at James.
"So, if you're not here to apologize for something that you didn't do, why are you here?"
"Can't a bloke sit in silence with a girl who needs it?"
Lily looked at James for a moment before turning back towards the lake. She paused for a moment, before scooting a little closer to James and resting her head on his cloak clad shoulder. She took a deep breath, feeling James's arm slide around her shoulders.
"I never thanked you for saving my life the multiple times you did," Lily breathed out, closing her eyes. She bit her lip, waiting for a reply she worried would never come.
"I never thanked you for saving mine."