Authors Note: Okay, I did the best I could with this chapter. Sorry if it doesn't come fully up to snuff...it's hard trying to live up to JK. Haha, kidding, I have no aspirations to be her, I'm not that delusional. Anyway, it this seems unrealistic or rushed, I apologize. it was the best I could do. Ps. Anyone else notice how long the chapters have been getting? Who's proud of me?
CHANGE IN STORY-Okay, and just a brief note about a change in the story, and not a very important one at that. I recently came to my senses with regard to a previous chapter, and decided that having two separate sixth year dorms for girls and boys was just lame and stupid. So here's what I did. I put Fabian and Gideon in the seventh year with Emmeline Vance and Marlene McKinnon. They were still in the same potions class as the sixth years because its the NEWT prep class. And Edgar is in the same dorm as the rest of the Marauders, he's just not friends with them- tear of sadness for him. He sort of reminds me of Neville in some ways...Anyway, remember last year when Lily went with the invisibility cloak to apologize to James? Well, I said that she looked in one of the beds and saw a blond boy, that would be Edgar. So anyway, go back and read it if you feel the desire, but that's the way the characters are now, it's not really worth re reading. its basically the same stuff. You know all the changes from reading this authors note.
Also, I am reposting this chapter because the last three pages were cut off. It wasn't supposed to be a cliffy! I'm so sorry for leaving you all hanging! I didn't even realize that I had until someone mentioned it in as review…anyway I'll mark where the cut off was so that those of you who already read this bit but not the new stuff at the end don't have to waste time.
Chapter 15
A Dream
A few weeks passed and Lily's friends were worried. She walked around as if in a daze. She did all her homework, went to her lessons, her tutoring sessions, her classes with Dumbledore, and fulfilled all her prefect obligations. On the outside she was the same Lily she had always been, but she now seemed rather oblivious to everything going on around her. She no longer smiled happily and blushed when James said 'Morning Moonshine', nor did she act as enthralled when Alice read her Frank's latest love letter. Her smile always seemed half hearted now.
James noticed the change most, and it hurt him. He blamed himself for the change, but never said to anyone else why. Lily had not said a word about her father to anyone, not even Alice. Lily had established that Alice did not know about her father when she never said a word.
Hazel seemed to be the only one who could reach Lily. Hazel even made her smile the old smile, the smile that reached her eyes and was infectious to everyone around her. The two grew closer in the weeks following Lily's dad's death, although Lily had not told Hazel about it. Hazel did not mention the change in Lily; she had not known Lily as long as the others and did not notice it. Lily started to see Hazel not just in tutoring, but also outside the library. Lily even table hopped occasionally at meals, even though it was against the rules. She liked Hazel better than all her other friends. They went to the quiddich games together, the season had finally started.
Gryffindor played Ravenclaw in the first match of the season, and Lily and Hazel say together with Sirius. Hazel, laughingly, supported Gryffindor. When Lily asked her why, she told her that it was because she had no friends in her own house, and recently felt as if she liked people in Gryffindor better, as they were kinder to her.
Hazel was growing closer with Sirius too. He never missed a tutoring session at the library. She did not talk to him about his past girlfriends, and she did not talk to him about his pranks and trouble making. They talked about everything else, though. They talked about his family, her dad, the Dark Lord, as he had taken to calling himself. The newspapers all called him that too, or He Who Must Not Be Named. Every time Hazel referred to him by anything other than Voldemort, Sirius would get angry. He would tell her that by calling him by other names she was letting him win. Hazel just laughed at this and changed the subject.
He was growing fonder of her by the day, and she was warming up to him too. He was not the stupid, arrogant, prat she had first guessed him to be.
"Hey Hazel." Sirius said to her, plopping down in his usual seat in the library.
"Hey." She said, looking up at him through those big eyes he loved so much.
"What are you up to?" He asked.
"Nothing really, I was just finishing up this potions essay." She said, putting aside her quill and closing the inkpot.
"Well, I have something more interesting you can do." He told her.
"What's that?" She asked him.
"Come with me and you'll see." He said, pulling her to her feet and walking quickly out of the library.
"Sirius!" she squealed, grabbing her cloak off the back of her chair as she ran to keep up with his pace.
"Shh, quiet." He told her, stopping abruptly in a corridor. She crashed into his back; she had not been expecting his sudden halt.
"Where are we?" She said. They were on the fifth floor, standing in front of a mirror.
"Come on." He said, pushing the mirror to the side and revealing a large, spacious passageway.
"Where is this?" Hazel asked him, looking around in amazement as they walked.
"Just follow me and be quiet, we don't want Filtch on our tails." Sirius said, pulling her after him.
"This is Hogsmede." Hazel said as they exited the passage into the brightly lit street of Hogsmede.
"Good call." Sirius said, smiling at her.
"We shouldn't be here. This isn't a Hogsmede weekend." Hazel told him.
"You're beginning to sound like Lily." Sirius observed.
"Well Lily's right." Hazel said, stopping in her tracks and pulling back on her hand as he continued walking forward.
"I should have known better than to take a non Gryffindor into Hogsmede on a non Hogsmede weekend." Sirius said, shaking his head, but smiling all the same.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Hazel demanded, smiling back at him, but looking slightly skeptical of where this was going.
"It means you're not brave enough." Sirius said.
"I am so!" Hazel laughed.
"You're not."
"I am!" Hazel told him, stomping her foot.
"Prove it." Sirius said.
"I will." She said, running ahead of him up the street and into the center of town.
They spent an enjoyable afternoon wandering the streets of Hogsmede. It was cold and Hazel was glad she had thought to grab her cloak. She did not have any money with her, though, and Sirius bought her butterbeer.
They sat at a secluded table in the Three Broomsticks, talking about that first tutoring session that Sirius came to. They discussed what that chance meeting had led to, a friendship that neither one expected.
The rest of the afternoon passed too quickly, and before they knew it, it was time to return to the castle. Sirius led her back to the passage back to Hogwarts, and they reluctantly made their way back through the tunnel. When they reached the end of the passageway, Hazel was about to step out from behind the mirror when she felt the gentle pressure of Sirius's hand on her arm.
"Wait Hazel." Sirius said slowly.
"What is it?" Hazel asked, curious as to what he might say to her. Sirius didn't respond. He simply cradled his hand around the back of her head and kissed her timidly. Hazel was surprised at his hesitance. He did not seem to be the type who would be afraid of kissing someone.
She emitted a gasp of surprise, but then kissed him back passionately. The simple act of returning his kiss escalated into a full-fledged make-out session. Hazel was surprised at herself; she had never kissed anyone before. She didn't know what had made her brave enough to kiss him back, but she was glad she did.
Obviously experience didn't matter, as she was now pinned against the wall of the passageway, her hands playing with his hair. Sirius just had that power over her. She felt his warm touch moving up the newly exposed skin of her back, but pulled away from him. Although she liked him, she wasn't ready to go that far. She didn't want to be another one of his conquests and she didn't feel comfortable doing that with him just yet.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked her.
"No, not yet. I need time," she whispered breathlessly.
"Ok, anything," Sirius told her, stroking the side of her face gently. They left the passageway holding hands and smiling, Sirius escorted her back to the Ravenclaw tower, giddy with his success. She was about to say the password when Sirius pulled her back to him again.
Their fingers intertwined as he gave her one final kiss on the lips. As she turned to go, he called her back, saying, "Will you be my girlfriend, Hazel?"
"Of course" she replied, her face flushed. And with that, Sirius left, elated.
The next day Hazel was in potions when she realized that she had left her partially completed potions assignment in the library.
"I'm so sorry, professor" Hazel explained, "I left it in the library. I could run get it and bring it here. Or I could give it to you later." Hazel offered.
"The assignment was due during this class, Ms. Brooks. I will be marking that as a fail." Professor Inkbeat told her, turning back to the front of the class. Hazel was stunned. She had never missed an assignment before. The lowest mark she had ever received was an E. This was unacceptable. Hazel could not help but blame Sirius. It was his fault for distracting her, and luring her away from her homework.
The next night was a Tuesday, and she saw Sirius then. He arrived in the library as usual, and found Hazel at the table she always occupied. He bent forward to kiss her, but she pulled back.
"Not here, Sirius We can't do this in the library." Hazel told him.
"So let's go somewhere else." Sirius suggested.
"Sirius, tell me honestly, does being your girlfriend mean that all we'll do is make out?" Hazel asked.
"Only if that's what you want." Sirius said, winking. He personally hoped that that was what she wanted, although he did have to admit that he enjoyed her conversation as well.
"It's not. So why don't you sit and we can talk or do homework. So you have homework you need help with?" She asked.
"No, but I hear that you do." He said.
"What?" She asked, confused.
"Rumor has it that Hazel got a failing grade in potions." Sirius said. She blushed hotly, so everyone knew.
"That was your fault." She told him.
"Why?" He asked.
"Because you distracted me. I was doing my potions when you came and took me to Hogsmede, and then I never brought it back from the library. So it's your fault that I didn't have it to hand in." Hazel told him. He smiled, and then noticed that she was not smiling.
"I'm sorry." Sirius told her.
"You should be sorry. You know, I've never gotten a grade beneath Exceeds Expectations in my entire time at Hogwarts? And now I have a fail to my name. It takes three Outstandings to combat one fail, you know that right?" She asked.
"Yes, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you fail." Sirius said sheepishly. "But it was a fun distraction, wasn't it?" He asked, smiling.
"Yes." Hazel admitted, also smiling.
"Are you going to the quiddich game next weekend?" asked Sirius.
"Yes, I think so." Hazel told him.
"With whom?" he asked her.
"I'm not sure." Hazel said, looking up at him from under her fringe.
"Well, would you like to go with me?" Sirius asked.
"Sure. I'd love to." Hazel told him, smiling.
"Very good," Sirius said, excited. To be sure, they had gone to the last quiddich game together, but now they were going as boyfriend and girlfriend, which was totally different.
"Will Lily come with us?" Hazel asked. Sirius frowned, that was a good question.
"You can ask." He said, half heartedly. It would be awkward if she were to come, she would be a third wheel on their date.
"Lily!" Hazel called across the library, earning an irritated look from Madam Pince. As Hazel turned away from him, Sirius made frantic hand motions, indicating that Lily should decline.
"Yes?" Lily asked, looking up. She was tutoring a third year Hufflepuff boy.
"Want to come to the quiddich with me and Sirius?" Hazel asked.
"No thanks, thanks anyway though." she said. Hazel thought that she saw her look at Sirius. Hazel turned suspiciously to look at Sirius, but he was looking just the same as before she had turned. She narrowed her eyes, but then returned to the task at hand.
"So, you don't have any homework you need to do?" Hazel asked.
"Not really, but I have some I can do, and you can help me with it if you like." Sirius offered. Hazel smiled.
"Sirius, that is what we're supposed to be doing." Hazel told him. "What did you think I meant when I said do you have homework you want to do?"
"I don't know. When you said want I was a little thrown off." He told her. She laughed. They spent the evening talking, laughing, and doing homework, much to Sirius's chagrin.
Lily was exhausted from tutoring. Harvey, the third year Hufflepuff she had been helping, was not the brightest of pupils. He was nice, but not very academic.
Lily went through the rest of her week in the same tiredness and fatigue that she was experiencing now. It was because of her fatigue that she did not exercise the same caution she normally did before going to sleep on Friday night. She was so exhausted from her long week, that she did not heed Dumbledore's continual warnings. Dumbledore had told her that she should be building defenses every night before sleep, so that no one would be able to infiltrate her thoughts in the night. He had warned her of this when she had enthusiastically told him that she was beginning to see things again. She had had a dream about what breakfast would be, and had actually predicted an entire conversation between herself and Janette while asleep.
But tonight she was too tired to think of it, so she went to sleep defenseless.
Lily woke up and ran down the stairs to the common room. She did not know why but something was looming over her. She felt scared that something had gone terribly wrong. She looked for James, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Sirius, where's James?" She demanded.
"Quiddich I suppose." He told her. "That's where he should be at least." Lily did not take the time to respond, she just ran out of the portrait hole and down to the quiddich pitch. James was not there. She counted the brooms above her, but there were only six.
"James!" She cried out.
"He's not here, Lily. He never turned up." Fabian Prewett called to her from the air. Lily turned and ran back up to the castle, not knowing where to go next. She ran to the dinging hall, but it was deserted.
"James!" She called out, running into the library.
"He's not here, Lily." Hazel told her.
"Have you seen him?" She asked quickly.
"No, I haven't. I don't know where he is." Hazel told her. Lily ran out of the library and back outside.
Everything had suddenly turned dark; she could not differentiate between ground and sky. She spun around, looking for James, but could not find him.
Then she saw him, tied and bleeding. She cried out, falling to her knees. She heard a cackle of laughter and saw herself surrounded by tall, dark, cloaked and hooded figures in masks.
"Where am I? Who are you?" Lily demanded of the nearest hooded figure.
"Welcome to muggle London, Lily. You're in the strip mall, and we have your little friend here." There was another cackle of laughter at that.
"Let him go." Lily ordered, tears trickling out of her eyes and onto her cheeks.
"Oh, that won't be possible I'm afraid. Not unless you agree to work for us, that is." said the cloaked figure.
"Never!" she declared.
"Then you can watch him die the slow way." Said the man, raising his wand and pointing it at James's tied figure.
"Wait, what do you want? I'll do anything you want. Don't hurt James. Please." Lily implored of the cloaked figures, turning to look at the different people now circling around her. There was laughter, growing louder by the second.
Lily woke up in a cold sweat, her pillow wet with her tears.
"James." Was the first thing she said as her eyes fluttered open. "I have to find James" she told herself, getting out of bed quickly. She did not even take the time to change out of her pajamas, but instead ran down to the common room. "Sirius, where's James?" Lily asked breathlessly of Sirius, who was sitting in front of the fire talking to Remus and Peter.
"Quiddich I suppose. That's where he should be at least." Sirius told her, looking surprised to see her looking for James so desperately, still clad in night clothes. "Why?" He called after her, but she was gone, sprinting down to the quiddich pitch. This was the same thing that had happened in her dream. He couldn't be gone, he just couldn't be.
"James!" She called, looking up at the figures in the air as she arrived at the pitch, trying to count them quickly, but they were all flying too fast and she could not keep track of who she had counted already.
"Yes?" came James's familiar voice.
"You're here!" Lily called out, so happy to see him and to hear his voice that she did not bother to check the tears that were falling down her face.
"Where else would I be, silly?" James asked, flying down to the ground to meet her. "What's wrong Lily?" He asked, holding out his arms for her to come to him. She ran across the pitch and wrapped her arms around his back. He staggered under her weight, but then regained his balance, holding her in his arms for a long moment as she attempted to regain her composure. "What happened Lily?" asked James, stroking her hair gently, trying to sooth her.
"I had a dream; it was only a dream though." Lily told him, happy that it only had been a dream and nothing more.
"What was the dream?" he asked, curious.
"You were gone; I needed to make sure you were here." She told him, incoherently.
"Of course I'm here, where else would I be?" James asked, surprised.
"Kidnapped"
"Who would kidnap me?" he asked reasonably.
"Voldemort" Lily mumbled. When she said it out loud, it sounded ridiculous.
"Why would I be kidnapped by Voldemort?" James asked, not laughing at her as she had thought he would.
"Because I had a dream that you were gone, and then they had you tied up, and they were hurting you. They told me that if I didn't do what they said they would kill you slowly and painfully." Lily told him, her tears renewing their course down her face.
"And what did you say?" James asked, tilting her head back and wiping the tears away with his thumb. He sounded curious rather than concerned for her sanity.
"I told them that I would, of course." Lily told him, confused. She felt him tighten his grip around her waist, and somehow knew that he was smiling.
"Lily, you don't need to worry about that. I'm here, and I'm always going to be here. You have nothing to worry about." James told her, releasing her from his hug and directing her up to the castle. "Just...practice," he told the team over his shoulder as he walked away.
"You don't have to come, I'm sorry. I was being stupid. It was just a nightmare. Don't interrupt your practice just for me." She said, walking ahead of him a little bit.
"I want to" he said simply, following just behind her.
James left her in the common room and returned to quiddich practice. Lily went back up to her room, feeling foolish, and took a shower, putting on fresh clothes afterwards. There was a quiddich game that afternoon, and Lily was going with Alice. Sirius and Hazel were going together, much to Lily's amusement.
She was wearing jeans and a red Gryffindor sweater to show her support for the team. This was one of the biggest matches this year as Gryffindor was playing Slytherin.
The match was that afternoon, so Lily still had a morning to kill. Lily went down to the quiddich pitch with Alice after lunch, looking forward to the match. She watched as the two teams came onto the pitch, but did not see James. She was surprised to see Alan Blackwood as the seeker instead of James. Others also noticed his absence with much displeasure, but no one knew where he was. There were many who voiced the opinion that Gryffindor would not be able to win without James Potter. Lily was just surprised that he wasn't there.
She excused herself to Alice, claiming that she felt ill, and went up to the castle. Maybe he was tired? Or perhaps he had had an accident and was in the hospital wing. She first went to Gryffindor tower, but could not find him. The entire tower was empty, everyone was at the match. Maybe James was watching the match. She had not thought of that.
She went to check in the hospital wing next, but he was not there either. She looked in the library, but it was deserted. The only other thing she could think of was Dumbledore.
She went to the gargoyles and said the password.
"Sugar Quill" she said and then took the moving steps two at a time. "Professor." She gasped as she reached his office.
"Lily? I'm surprised to see you here and not at the quiddich match. What's wrong?" He asked her, looking up from his desk.
"It's James, he's not playing and I can't find him anywhere." Lily said, pacing back and forth across the room.
ÒI see. Where have you looked?" He inquired.
"The tower, the hospital wing, the library, everywhere I could think of." She told him, still trying to catch her breath.
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"This morning" Lily told him, and then gasped in sudden realization. She knew where he was. "Professor, I think I know where he might be." She then proceeded to tell him about her dream, telling him about everything that the death eaters had told her, and about James's cuts and bruises.
"If that is the case then you cannot go." He said at last.
"What do you mean I cannot go?" Lily demanded. "Of course I'm going." She told him.
"You can't, not if it's a trap." Dumbledore told her.
"But James could be hurt." Lily said.
"And we will deal with that in the appropriate ways." Dumbledore told her. "I assure you everything will be fine, why don't you return to the game?" He suggested, looking away from her.
Lily, fuming, marched out of the office. How could he tell her just to forget it? Just to let him handle it? Look where letting him handling it had gotten her last time! She was now down one father. And she was not about to lose James. Lily made up her mind in a second, she would do it herself.
She would go to muggle London by herself if she had to. She knew where they were, in some deserted strip mall. It shouldn't be too hard to find...She swallowed with fear. Where are you now James? She asked her head. You said you'd always be there if I needed you, well, I need you now.
Lily did not know how she would get to London. She did not know either how James had gotten there. Then only thing she could think of was a broomstick, but London was far, and she would have to fly high to avoid being seen. That would be scary. She did not know if she could handle flying all that way that high up.
She returned to Gryffindor tower to get her cloak and leave a note for Alice and Holly in case she was to die. Then she remembered the cloak that she had given James. The invisibility cloak, of course. Why had it taken her so long to think of it? She ran up to James's room and rummaged through his trunk in search of the cloak. She was ready now; all she needed was the broom.
She put the cloak on and snuck down the stairs and out into the corridor. She went down to the quiddich pitch, noting with pleasure that Gryffindor was up 20 points to zero. She went into the locker room and looked around for the brooms. She had no idea where they would be kept. She saw a closet in the corner and went over to it, thinking it looked promising. She pulled on the handle of the door, but it was locked.
"Alohamora!" she said, pointing at the lock with her wand. Perfect, she thought as the door swung open revealing James's broom. She recognized it from that summer.
She went back outside, holding the broom under the invisibility cloak. She did not need to worry about people seeing her though, even if she had been visible, because Slytherin had just scored and everyone's attention was on the game. She mounted the broom, her hands shaking with fear.
She kicked off into the air, speeding up and up. From her high vantage point she could see pretty far in the distance. She flew in the direction of Hogsmede and saw the Hogwarts express. It was not now moving, but she could follow the tracks to London. She congratulated herself on the thought, and took off.
It took a while to get there, and Lily was cold after the first few hours.
Muggle villages began to pop up here and there, and pretty soon the buildings grew larger. She was over the outskirts of London now, and was still flying fast. Now she would have to find the strip mall from her dream. She started by Kings Cross and worked her way out. She passed a few, but none looked too promising as they were all in crowded places. She would need to find somewhere deserted and dark. At last she found one that looked promising not too far from Kings Cross to the north. She landed the broom and hid it behind a bag of garbage. She crept, hidden by the invisibility cloak, into the nearest building. It was quiet and dark, but she thought she heard voices in the distance. She picked her way around empty shelves and upturned garbage cans until she reached the very back of the room. She was now upon the source of the noise.
"She'll come, never fear. The dream should have reached her last night. It's surprising that she hasn't arrived before now." Said a harsh, gruff voice that she saw was coming from a large beefy man. "Unless Dumbledore got involved." Snarled a second man.
"Shut it, don't say that name. You know He doesn't approve of that, and unless you want to upset him you'll watch your tongue." Said the first voice.
"Don't tell me what to do." The second man replied angrily. "Watch what you say then. Just keep a watch for the girl. He won't be pleased if she gets in without him being alerted." The first man said, casting a contemptuous look at the first. Lily crept around the two arguing man and walked down the corridor they were watching. She felt that she must be getting close. Those men were dressed the same way as the men in her dream, with black cloaks, hoods, and masks. She walked only a short way down the corridor before she reached the room from her dreams. It was large, and round, and containing several cloaked men.
"Quiet Knot, you don't know what you're talking about." Said one man. His chin, which was all that Lily could see of his face, was full of pot marks.
Lily almost let out a gasp of surprise when she saw James tied in a corner. His eyes were open, and his gaze was darting around the room. ÒI just wanted to have a little bit of fun with him, Augustus.
"What's the point in just tying him here? Why can't we just have a little bit of fun?" Complained the man addressed as Knot, gesturing towards James.
"You know the plan, now stick with it. We wait here, we don't do anything to the boy, and when the girl shows up we alert the dark lord, why is that so hard for you?" Augustus said, his lip curling as he approached Knot, his fist raised.
"I just wanted to have a little bit of fun." The smaller man whined, backing away from Augustus.
"You'll have plenty of fun before long, don't you trust the dark lord? Remember all those muggles? You'll have much more like that, and better. Just wait until we come out in the open in the wizarding community! Then we can use our powers on mudbloods too!" Augustus cried out, obviously excited with the prospect of having 'fun' with muggles and half blood wizards.
Lily had heard enough, she needed to get out of here with James, and soon. She waited until the men had drifted away from James before going up to him. She went very close to him and whispered in his ear for him to be quiet.
"Hush James, it's me. I'm here to save you. Don't say a word. I'm going to untie your hands." Lily whispered hurriedly, fumbling with the rope.
"Where are you?" He whispered out of the corner of his mouth. He was barely even speaking, Lily only heard him because her ear was mere centimeters from his mouth.
"I borrowed your cloak." She told him, still trying to free his hands. She thought she heard him emit something like a chuckle, but she could not tell for sure. She finally freed him from the knot, and watched as he wiggled his fingers, bringing the blood back into them. "Come under the cloak, then we'll have to run and put as much distance between us and them as we can before they notice." Lily whispered. James stretched out his hands behind him, trying to find her.
He did, and he put the cloak over him too, now he could see her. He smiled, although she could tell that he was in pain.
"Come quickly so we can get you to the hospital wing." Lily said, walking away hurriedly. James did not argue. He followed her on tiptoes so that he would not make any noise.
They exited the room and were in the short hallway. They had just passed the two big men Lily had seen earlier when they heard shouts behind them. Lily tensed her muscles and sped up, knowing that they could not see her.
James, thinking quickly, pulled her flat against the wall. "We have to run!" She hissed.
"No, we'll never out run them. They can't see us, be quiet now." James said, putting a hand over her mouth. She did not even breath for as long as she could, and when she did it was as quietly as possible. She pushed herself as far into the wall as she could, trying to make herself small. After a few moments the death eaters, for that was what they were, started running down the hall. There were ten of them at least, including the two big ones who had been at he door.
"How did you let him escape? You idiot!" The man called Augustus screamed, sprinting ahead of the others. "You two, go that way, you two, down that hallway, you two, search the lot outside, you two, north, you, come with me." He barked, running outside. Lily and James stood still for several minutes after the death eaters had left. "Let's go." James whispered in her ear. They walked the rest of the way down the hall until they were outside where Lily had come in. "How did you get here?" James asked her, looking around and taking in his surroundings.
"I borrowed your broom too." Lily told him, leading him to where she had hid it.
"I see." He said, smiling at her. He mounted the broom, and she got on behind him, gripping his waist tightly. "What happened to being afraid of heights?" He asked as they became airborne.
"Some things are more important that my fears." Lily told him simply. He sped up.
"How did you find me?" he asked.
"I followed the train tracks to London and then just looked for dark, deserted strip malls. This was the first one I found" Lily explained.
"Did Gryffindor win?" James asked.
"I'm not sure. They were winning when I left." Lily told him. "When did you leave?" he asked her.
"When you didn't come onto the field." She told him.
"Does Dumbledore know that you're here?" James demanded suddenly, turning his head so that he could see her face.
(Author's Note: Here's where the cutoff was last time)
"No. He told me not to come, he said it was too dangerous." Lily said.
"Does anyone know that you're here?" James asked.
"Well, I left a note for Alice and Holly." Lily told him.
"Lily, you could have been killed." James told her.
"Well, you could have too." She said irritably. He did not respond to that.
"My turn to ask questions." Lily told him.
"Okay," James said hesitantly.
"How did they get you?" Lily asked first.
"I had to go into Hogsmede and the two big ones grabbed me. They jumped on me and held me down. They had this port key and it took us there." James told her.
"Why were you in Hogsmede?" Lily demanded.
"I was getting some sweets." James confessed.
"James! How many times have I told you not to go into Hogsmede? Talk about fool hardy! And there you sit telling me I could have been hurt when you're running off to Hogsmede on non Hogsmede weekends when you don't have parental consent to ever be there." Lily said loudly. James shushed her.
"I'm sorry. The candies were for you, you know." James told her. She stopped talking. She just sat there, not knowing what to say.
"What did they do to you?" She asked at last.
"They tied me up, they one of them shot the curciatis curse at me, you know, the unforgivable one that Tonks was telling us about the other day? Well it hurts more than he said." James told her.
"Oh James." Was all she said. She could feel him shaking a little from the memory and squeezed him tighter. This was all her fault. He shouldn't have to be in this position. "James, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Lily told him.
"Don't ever say that, Lily. This isn't your battle, it's all our battles." James told her, placing one of his hands over hers. They were flying high and fast, and it was cold. It was also growing dark. Lily was uncomfortable and sore, she did not know how James enjoyed playing quiddich, because sitting on a broom for long periods of time was awful.
The towns had long since disappeared and they were now flying over mountains and hills. They flew over some large empty fields and a few lakes. There was a large forest that it took almost half an hour to fly over at one point. Lily placed her head on James's back, and felt his muscles tense. She sighed with tiredness and allowed her eyes to close. She knew that James would not let her fall. Lily fell into the steady rhythm of flight and was asleep in no time.
"Lily, wake up." James said, tapping her gently.
"What? What time is it?" She asked.
"Late, we're almost back at school. I can see the castle from here. I thought you would want to wake up." James told her. "It's beautiful," he told her. She blinked a few times, acclimating herself to the darkness. There were stars out and the moon was almost full. In a few days it would be. The moon was right above the castle, partially blocked by the tallest tower. Most of the windows were dark, although there were a few that were dimly lit. The lake was shimmering in the darkness, and the forest looked particularly dark and mysterious. It was magical.
Lily inhaled deeply, smelling the familiar Hogwarts scent. The fall was coming to an end, it was November now. She had been at Hogwarts for two months. The winter was approaching, and the weather was getting colder. She sighed, looking up at the stars. It was a beautiful night.
They touched down gracefully on the quiddich pitch. Lily was grateful to finally be able to cast off the invisibility cloak, she felt as if she had been wearing it for hours, which she had.
"Thank you for coming to rescue me." James said as they walked into the locker room to put his broom away.
"It's no problem." Lily said, embarrassed.
"No, I'm serious. Thank you. You could have died. And you even went on a broom." James said, turning and smiling at her. She smiled back.
"It wasn't so bad." She told him. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not going out for the quiddich team or anything, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." She said.
"You were really brave." He told her, admiration in his voice as he turned the lock.
"I wasn't that brave." She denied bashfully.
"But you were." He insisted.
"Enough of this. Just promise me you won't go into Hogsmede and then we'll take you up to the hospital wing." She said, looking at him expectantly.
"Okay" he agreed. Lily took that to mean that he promised, although he had not actually said the words. She was too tired to realize that he had eluded her purpose.
They went up to the hospital wing, fortunately not meeting any unfriendly teachers on the way. Madam Pomfrey was asleep when they arrived, but a moment of pounding on the door and she was there, wearing her nightgown and a hairnet.
"What's happened to you?" She demanded, looking at James's cuts and taking in his bruises.
"Just a few scrapes." He insisted as she took him into the hospital wing and sat him on a bed. She then began bustling around, asking questions and pouring potions into glasses.
"Lily, go tell Dumbledore what's happened." James directed. "He has to know." James told her when he saw her rebellious look.
"Why don't you go?" She asked.
"Because I have to stay here." He explained patiently.
"Can't we go tomorrow?" She asked, unwilling to go and tell Dumbledore that she had disobeyed him.
"No, he needs to know now." James said firmly.
"But he'll be angry. I don't want to go alone. And he'll have questions for you too." Lily told him, trying to think of any excuse not to go.
"Lily, you need to tell him eventually, and better sooner than later. If you like you can come back here after you told him and tell me all about it." James offered.
"You're sure you can't come?" Lily asked.
"I'm sure." James told her. "Besides, it'll be more dramatic if you go alone. Maybe he'll think I've died. Then won't he be worried!" James said, elated. "maybe I should go alone, have him think that you're dead. Wouldn't he just have a heart attack?" James asked, laughing, but then clutching his stomach in pain. Apparently laughing hurt him.
"James Potter, you sit right there and get fixed. They obviously damaged your mind when they tortured you." Lily told him, leaving him alone.
She made her way to Dumbledore's office unwillingly. She really did not want to tell him what she had done. He would be very angry with her, she was sure. To her surprise, he did not yell. His only reaction to her story was to stroke his beard.
"Well?" Lily asked after a moment of his silence.
"Well, I expected it" he said. "You would not be a Gryffindor if you had not gone." He said simply. "I expected you to go." He told her. He had expected her to go? What was he saying? How could he possibly have expected it? But then again, Dumbledore had made her think in the past that he had a good idea of everything that was going on at Hogwarts. And he did have the gift of reading minds, he had probably sensed her plan before she had even realized it herself.
"So...you're not mad?" She asked, confused.
"No. It was foolish of you to go alone, but you're both safe, so why would I be mad?" Dumbledore asked, appearing amused. "What did the Mistress of Magic say when you told her?" Lily asked after a pause.
"She said that it was just a dream, and nothing to worry about. She insisted that it was nothing to go around fretting over, and that she had no doubt that James Potter would turn up eventually. She suggested that perhaps we had not searched thoroughly enough. I honestly do not know what goes on in her head." Dumbledore said, putting his head in his hands and running his fingers through his whitening hair. Lily looked at him sympathetically. It must be difficult for him, she realized. "You should be getting off to bed." He told her. "It sounds as if you've had quite the long day."
Lily did not, however, go straight to bed. She stopped at the hospital wing. James was gone, and Madam Pomfrey had gone back to sleep. Lily, not wanting to wake her up again for the second time in one night, went back to Gryffindor tower.
James was sitting in the common room, waiting for her to return. "Madam Promfrey healed all my scratches." James commented.
"I see that." Lily said. "You told me to come back to the hospital wing after meeting with Dumbledore. Way to leave" she said.
"Sorry, I-" James stopped when he saw that she was smiling. He grinned back. "She fixed me, and I didn't see a point in staying and keeping her awake." James concluded.
"Well, that was very thoughtful of you." Lily said. "I'm going up to bed." She said. James did not stop her, much as he wanted to. He wanted to kiss her so badly, to thank her over and over again, to hold her in his arms, mostly just to kiss her senseless. But he didn't. He thought she would be mad if her were to do so. Instead he let her walk up to the dormitory to sleep. He would have to be contented to be her friend. But if that was all she would let him be, he would be the best friend she had ever had.
Author's Note: Okay, so I hope you liked that. I am sooo sorry for leaving you all hanging like that! It cut off the chapter midway through. There were like three pages left…I thought I had posted them but apparently not. I have no idea what happened, but I am so sorry! And I apologize if some of you had to re-read stuff…Anyway RR and I have the next few chappies ready for posting, so expect them soon. I'll post again at 100 reviews, how's that?