Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The wonderful JK Rowling does! I wish I did, then I'd be rich! Just kidding! Please don't sue me for writing a fan fic that I really hope you enjoy!
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Lily's spirits sank slowly over the summer. She missed her friends and James so much. This summer was better than the rest though, because Petunia was out of the house. Also, Lily could do magic, she passed her Apparition test, and she got a driver's license.
One particular day, Lily was very bored so she decided to call Claudia. She tried about ten times in a row and no one answered. She always answers the phone! Lily thought angrily as she hung up the phone again, feeling easily forgotten by her friends.
She finally decided to just go work on her summer homework when a barn owl flew into her room and dropped off a letter. Lily froze. It was the Ministry owl. Her first thought was her parents, but she knew they were fine, she could see them outside from her window.
Timidly, she opened the letter.
Dear Ms. Lillian Evans,
We regret to inform you that You-Know-Who's followers, called Death Eaters, murdered your friend Claudia Krueger and her family at precisely 1:17 PM. There will be a funeral at the cemetery to the right of Fourth Avenue and a reception at the nearby church. There is no will to be read so you will be invited to take anything you think she would've liked you to have. The rest of it will be sold at a muggle auction the next day. My deepest sympathy's are with you.
Sincerely, Millicent Bagnold
Minister of Magic
Lily screamed and fainted.
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"Lily? Lily? I think she's waking up! Lily?" A voice kept saying. Lily opened her eyes slowly. She saw her mother and father standing over her, along with Marissa, James, Sirius, and Remus. Marissa looked like she had been crying. James looked immensely worried, along with her parents, and Remus and Sirius.
All of sudden, it came rushing back to Lily. She cried out in shock and started crying, burying her face in her father's shoulder. "She's dead, she's dead. Oh my God, she's really dead," Lily said over and over again.
Jen started patting her back and in a soothing voice said, "Lily, the funeral is in a week. Do you think you can make it? For Claudia?"
Lily hiccupped on her tears. "I don't know. I can't really think of her dead."
Jen nodded in understanding. "You can think about it this week. Your friends are welcome to stay here if they wish," Jen looked over to the teenagers, all of them nodded their heads at the same time.
"Alright, that's fine, okay," Lily rambled as she lay her head back down on the pillow, drifting off to sleep. James grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Lily smiled in her sleep. "I love you James," she whispered.
James smiled. "I love you back, so much."
Everyone looked at each other, and silently left the room, leaving Lily and James alone.
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The rest of the week was very sad. Lily would suddenly break down and cry in the middle of doing something. During this time, everyone had a turn comforting her.
For example, on Thursday, Lily put her charm bracelet on and saw her and Claudia standing in one of the ovals. Claudia was laughing and pointing to something out of the picture. That was the worst breakdown yet. Marissa rushed in and found Lily on the floor, holding her wrist. Mara looked at the picture and while trying to comfort Lily, cried also. Eventually Sirius and James had to help the girls.
On Saturday everyone pilled into Lily's new car to go to the funeral, magically expanded by Remus. Lily got in and stared at the wheel, fingering her charm bracelet lovingly.
When they arrived, they picked chairs in the back, so just in case Lily broke down again, Remus would be able to rush her to the bathroom. The past week they found Remus was the best at calming down Lily.
After a pastor and a few family members said a speech honoring the family, others were allowed to go see the Krueger's for one last time. Lily and Marissa walked up there alone, holding hands for support.
They got there and saw Claudia's beautiful face, once so full of life and energy, now pale, and full of death. Her eyes, which used to sparkle in the sunlight and rang with laughter, were now a pale dead blue. They were looking skywards, staring without seeing.
Marissa had silent tears running down her face. "Bye Claudia. I'll miss you so much. I'll never forget you," Mara said, touching her hand momentarily, and then she walked back towards Sirius. He met her halfway and gave her a loving hug, feeling her grief. "I miss her," Marissa whispered through her tears, her voice muffled against his shirt.
Sirius smoothed her hair away from her face and kissed her temple, all the while pulling her closer. "I'm always here for you, you know that, right?" Marissa nodded into his chest and hiccupped.
Meanwhile, Lily was still with Claudia, stroking her hand. Tears began to flow down her face. "He did this. He did this to James, he did this to you, he did this to so many other families. I'm so sorry Claudia. I'll miss you every single day and I promise I'll never forget you. I love you so much." Lily turned away, walking towards James.
"That bastard will pay. Even if it's the last thing I do, he'll pay," Lily said, angry tears rushing down her face.
As she drew closer, she saw James wiping his eyes. Lily rushed over to him. "What's wrong?" she asked, concern in her voice. James opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He just shook his head, looking like a lost boy. Lily wiped his tears away and ran a hand through his hair. She knew what was bothering him. "Your parents love you, very much."
James lifted his head and looked into her emerald eyes. Before he knew it, more tears came leaking out. He pulled Lily into his arms and buried his head into her shoulder. No words were needed; all they needed to know was in that embrace. They were always there for each other, no matter what.
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The five friends arrived at Claudia's house an hour later. A ministry official was there, and he quickly told them to take what they saw fit and that the rest would be sold at a muggle auction. As soon as his sentence was finished, he Apparated.
James took a hold of Lily's hand and squeezed. Lily smiled warmly at him, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.
The house itself was small, but it looked very warm and welcoming. There were many pictures of the Krueger family on the walls. A few of them were moving. Tears sprang to Lily's eyes as she saw one of Claudia standing by her parents, waving.
They made their way upstairs and quickly found Claudia's room. It was painted a powder blue. There was a large CD collection and a stereo. There was also stuffed animals lining the walls. A bookcase, full of wizard and muggle books, took up a lot of the room. All of Claudia's school things were on her desk.
"I wish Claudia was here to show us the room," Marissa said quietly, "She was an amazing storyteller. She probably had a story to everything."
Lily nodded, tears flowing down her face. One wall was dedicated to pictures of Hogwarts. Lily recognized the photos of classrooms, the Great Hall, the grounds, the Gryffindor Common room, and various hallways. There were also a lot of pictures of people. One of them was of Lily, Marissa, and Claudia. Another was with Claudia's best friend, Lauren Hallerud. Another one was of the Marauders. Yet another was of Lily and James. There were a few of Lily's birthday party, which included Sirius and Marissa kissing, then falling in the pool. More unknown faces were smiling and waving in the picture.
"I don't know if this is a good time, but Aurors came to the scene as soon as word got around that Death Eaters were coming to this house. I talked to Moody; he said that Claudia went down fighting. She Stunned three Death Eaters," Remus said, looking at Lily carefully.
Lily grinned. "That's so like Claudia. If you got her mad, then you better watch out. I'm so glad she did that damage before she-she-" Lily trailed off. She couldn't force the word "died" out of her mouth.
"I don't want to be here, let's leave." Lily, said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Don't you want to get some of her personal things before we leave?" Sirius asked.
Marissa smiled softly. "I think we should take everything involved with the Wizarding world. I don't think the muggles could handle it."
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Author Notes: Never ever liked this chapter, but I don't know how to re-write! Like once I write something it's hard for me to completely change it. Thank you to everyone who has given me advice, I am defiantly putting it to use.
Okay, my schedule is clear for a new later chapter! The history project and test are over with and I've already re-tried out for color guard and don't have a practice for two weeks so I'm good to go. I have started it and have about eight pages so far.
Demi: As soon as I finish this new chapter, I'm going to re-write the train scene. Thanks so much for you input!
CASOCCERCHIC02: Yeah I remember you! Well I do love chocolate but I hate country with a burning passion…
xx-Heartbroken: omg you're period comment made me burst out laughing! We all go through it, chica, no worries! (I can't believe I'm typing this, but mine is going to be on my birthday) Thank you so much for your advice, I'll try to add more stuff in it. Once I get past this chapter I like my writing more. This one was below average in my opinion, but thank you for your input, you have no idea how much it helps!
Oh yeah, my birthday is next Friday! (AKA May 12th) so you know what I want? REVIEWS!