Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. All characters belong to a woman with a great imagination and determination, capable of creating this world that is the center of so many stories.
Chapter 3 – The Thestral Curse"You do not say that something's dragging in the back if it's bigger than the whole train! You say something big is behind us!" Lily fumed as she examined the scene. "I can't believe you're transporting a herd of hippogriffs! Are those things even allowed in Hogwarts? What if the students see them?"
"I think that's why they added a train car. It's just for the personnel. Calm down, Evans, it's okay. All that happened was that the cage rocked."
"Don't they have other means of transport? You're wizards, for Merlin's sake!"
James laughed at her. She turned to him and frowned. "You said Merlin. That's a very wizardly thing to say, you know."
"Well, seeing as I happen to be a witch, I guess I have a right to say that. Now, are you sure you've got everything under control?" Lily asked, directing to the magical creature managers, who nodded enthusiastically in the hope she'd go away. Lily rolled her eyes and left, closing and locking the door between them and the rest of the train. With a sudden jolt the train started again and Lily was pushed against the wall.
"You okay?" James said with a smile on his face.
"Yes, Potter, I'm fine," Lily said, getting herself off the wall. "I just lost my balance a bit, that's all."
"A bit? My dear, you nearly fell on the floor."
"Well, I didn't, now did I? And I am not, in anyway, dear to you."
"Ah, Lily Evans, that's where you are mistaken. You are, in fact, very dear to me."
"Right, Potter. Pull the other one, it's got bells on it."
"No, I mean it."
"Look, I will never go out with you, so you can stop this insane charade."
"Evans, will you go out with me?"
Lily looked at him, trying to fathom his meaning. "No, Potter. The answer, as always, is no. And yet you keep persisting. Why?"
"The way I figure it, Evans, every time I ask you out you have two choices. One is to say yes and go out with me. The other is to say no and miss out. Therefore, every time I ask you out I have a fifty-fifty chance of you saying yes, and those are not bad odds."
"Potter, you're hopeless. Sure, I have two answer choices, but what is the likelihood I'll say yes?"
James stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her with his head cocked to one side. His mouth opened and closed like that of a fish and his face became a picture of puzzlement. Lily, who had kept going, stopped and turned to look at him. She laughed and went up to him.
"Let's go, shall we? We're right in front of the door."
Sirius opened up the compartment. It seems like he had just lost the chess game. "James, mate, I'm so glad to see you. Remus beat me again. Would you like to play?"
James gave Lily one final look of puzzlement and then turned to his friend. "What? Oh, yeah, sure."
James walked in, Lily trailing behind. She sat down and fell asleep, letting the world pass her by as she grew ever so closer to her second home, Hogwarts.
"Lily, you have to get dressed," James said, shaking her to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked out the window at the clear night sky. James smiled at her confusion. "Come on! I've taken all the guys out of here so you can change. Now get up, Evans! We're practically there!"
James left and Lily got up, hurriedly changing so she could get to her assigned door on time. As the train stopped completely, she stepped out and smoothly opened the door, exposing herself to the cries of McGonnagall calling the first years. She turned, wondering briefly where Hagrid was, but then remembered the herd of hippogriffs at the back of the train. Relieved that the situation was in the hands of Hagrid, she smiled to herself. She hadn't even noticed no one else was coming out of her door until James gave a polite cough behind her.
"Shall we?" he asked, offering his hand and bowing slightly. Lily gave him a puzzled and suspicious look. "I was under the impression that we had our own carriage."
"I hope your friends don't come in this time," Lily said, scowling as she ignored his hand and headed to their carriage. James rebounded quickly and trotted along after her. "I only kept my mouth shut in the train because that way I could keep an eye on them. However, I am in no mood to be in a confined space with Sirius Black."
"You definitely kept them in check while you were sleeping," James said, feebly trying to defend his friend without totally upsetting her. "And, no, it'll just be the two of us."
Lily turned towards the door, but stopped. She looked at the harnesses. They have been empty since her first year, but now in their place stood an eerily beautiful animal she had seen described as a Thestral in one of her library books. She turned and came to the front of the carriage and gently stroked the animal. James cocked his head to one side and faintly smiled at her fascination. "They're beautiful," Lily said. Hagrid must have just trained them this year."
"No, they've always been there," James said, shaking his head.
"But I've never seen them before," Lily said, turning her attention to James, who shifted uncomfortably.
"They're…special."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…there's a price to pay to see them. It's not as simple as just noticing them out of the blue."
"Well, what's different this year? I read about thestrals, but I don't remember there being a condition of any kind."
James opened the coach door. "You have to have seen someone die," he said, looking straight in the coach and walking in as soon as he finished. Lily darted her eyes from the coach to the thestral and pulled her hand away quickly. She ran into the carriage after James and sat across from him. He hurriedly put away a small square mirror as she walked in.
"Wait…who–who did you see die? And how long ago?" Lily asked, sitting across from him. James turned to look out the window. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Look, I've been seeing them since my first year. It's–it's not uncommon to see someone die when your dad works at the ministry and you visit, what with Voldemort and all."
Lily looked at him, well aware he was lying about something. She sighed and looked out the window at the struggling boats with McGonnagall heading them. Another carriage came into view and a thestral looked at her. Suddenly memories came flooding back to her from that night. In the creature's eyes she saw the corner, the bush tall enough for her to hide behind. Her house, just a little down the street. The ice cream she had gone to buy was in the store bag, hanging limply from her hand. The other hand covered her mouth as she saw the killing curse, which shed just enough light to illuminate her father's body. Her little brother was outside, in the lawn, a dementor closing in on him. The bag dropped from her hand and the ice cream rolled under the bush as her eyes shed tears. Three figures came to the front of her lawn as the dementor flew off with her brother's soul. One of the three cast the spell for the dark mark, which appeared above her house and encircled her roof. With a faint "pop" the three killers were gone, devastation left in their wake.
Tears streamed down her face as she quickly tried to cover them up. James sighed heavily. "It was my brother. Voldemort killed my brother when I was eleven, two weeks before I came to Hogwarts. He had told me to run and save myself, and by the time I got help, he was dead."
Lily stared at him, barely controlling her tears. "My father was killed in front of me," she said and turned to the thestral outside her coach. "Somehow they don't seem so beautiful anymore."
"Yes, they do lose their appeal when you learn why they're…special."
The coach stopped at the main entrance. Lily turned to look at James, who immediately averted his eyes, but was not fast enough. She saw the trace of tears down his face, even if they were few. He got up and she sprang up as well, pulling him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."