The Flower Grows chp2
Sequel to the Flower's story
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
-Adams, Douglas
"And he took them? Just like that? On your bloody birthday?" Molly Turnipe asked, trying on her wedding gown. Since her wedding was in exactly four days, and she was four months pregnant and starting to show, she decided it just might be a good time to get a dress for said wedding.
Lily nodded grimly, also standing next to her with a brides maid dress on. "Just like that."
"I can only imagine what that scene must have been like." Lily noticed Molly shudder out of the corner of her eye
"What exactly, is that suppose to mean?" Molly glanced nervously at lily and put a forced smile on
"Well you know that your temper isn't exactly the most controlled of all England, am I wrong? So I just assumed that-"
"That I flipped, went completely bonkers, and trashed the entire house using my brute strength?" She raised her eyebrow at molly's guilty face, already able to read the answer. So she shrugged the comment off and took a deep breath to quell her called 'uncontrollable temper'.
"Well anyway, you must hate the bugger!"
"No! No, not at all actually. While Sirius and James were fighting over something or other, I snuck out of the sitting room to go and just take a glance at him, but I don't know what it was about him that made me actually sit next to him. And talk to him. I just felt that this man knew what he was doing, he had seen so much of the evil world."
"How do you know that?" Molly asked oblivious to Lily's now pensive state
"I saw it in his eyes."
And it was true, she had seen pain and suffering and wisdom all in his eyes. Or felt it rather. Lily's powers were developing quite nicely after she left Hogwarts. Before that the only thing she could have accomplished was to lift something under fifteen lb. off the floor without a wand or actual physical contact. Unfortunately she couldn't hold it up for more than a minute without become extremely exhausted and blacking out. Maybe it was the independence that she felt once excepting the job for St. Mungo's. Or actually earning a salary of her own, and not have to depend on james for everything. The fact was, was that her powers were developing at a rapid speed.
She could now hold up an object or multiple objects of any weight, her mental connection with James had gone to the point where they probably wouldn't even need to vocalize to hold a conversation. And somewhere along the way, Lily started to feel powerful surges of emotion emitting from other living beings. One look into a humans eyes and she could feel their entire history through pain, anguish, love, and happiness! Or regretably sometimes, the lack of those emotions.
"Lil. Earth to Lily! Wake up bridesmaid, we have to go now!" Lily heard Molly beckoning her out of her reverie and back into the real world.
"Yea…yea…I know…"
Molly eyed Lily carefully as she hobbled down from the pedestal and took her pregnant self over to the changing stalls. Out of all of her friends from Hogwarts, Lily was definitely the most secretive…save Remus. She was the only one seemed not to change or develop over the years of hogwarts. She had always been smart, and witty. Kind and loving towards her friends. Yet on a different level, she had changed the most. It was something you couldn't put your finger on. One of those 'on the tip of my tongue' instances . Except Molly couldn't even place her thought on it. It was such a different level development, like some high power, or underlying emotions that flowed through her, waiting to explode and let the world know their true value. Whatever it was, it made Lily seem impossible to figure out.
"So when is their first break?" molly called from behind the changing curtain over into Lily's changing stall
"Your wedding, apparently, their trainer is also going to a wedding-"
"Most likely ours. My mum has invited the whole of England I think."
"Probably. Anyway he didn't seen any reason for the trainees to stay and do nothing for a weekend, so he's going to sent them home for three whole days! I can't wait…it's been too hard without James."
"How long have they been gone, again?"
"About a month." Lily waited while Molly finished filling out forms and paying for the dresses.
"And when did you start at St. Mungo's?"
"A fortnight ago. I love the job there, and the staff are all truly encouraging. But I'm in the special units area, and am still going for classes on special cases."
"Special units?" Molly asked never having heard of special units area of that hospital.
"Injuries from Death Eater attacks. Anything having to do with the war…I deal with that…"
"But what if Tasha, and James….And Sirius even!" Lily smiled at Molly's wince at mentioning Sirius' name. He wasn't exactly her favorite person.
"That's why I took it. So if something happened I wouldn't have to wait around for months to be told they've gone missing, then wait around a few more months just to learn they died how many days, weeks, months, ago. I want to know as soon as possible. So it was either this or the ministry."
"And you hate the ministry."
"Precisely."
"I never understood that reasoning."
"The ministry is full of pompous Jerk-offs who only do what is right for the 'community' or their reputation rather. And they spit out bollucks at every chance they get to look good."
"That's politics" molly smiled as they left the bridal store and entered the semi-crowded streets of Diagon Alley.
"Well if that's politics I'm going into the theater and becoming an anarchist."
"You never know, maybe one of these days we'll finally get someone who has the balls to change things in the ministry."
"Right, and one of these days I'm going to jump out of my wheelchair, and profess my love to Snape!"
*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"We're going home in two days, can you believe it?" Tasha muttered as they trudged back up the long hill to their campus rooms.
"I can't wait…do you think Lily will cook us a meal?" Sirius asked smiling grimly at the memory of Lily's wonderful cooking.
"If James asks, yes." Tasha nudged James, who was trudging up the steep hill right beside her. He grinned and winked at Sirius and Tasha, causing them to have a sudden burst of energy, just enough to get them up the rest of the hill, while helping James.
"I owled all our measurements for the gowns for Molly's wedding, yesterday all right? So they'll have everything ready when we get there."
"Gowns?" Sirius exclaimed flopping onto a chair in the dirty room. Another name for a room where the trainees can go to relax right after training, and not worry about getting anything…dirty.
"Tuxes for us, obviously…right?" James turned to Tahsa pleadingly. She affirmed his hopes with a nod and watched him drift into space as he had been doing quite often lately.
Tasha eyed James carefully. She had always taken a keen interest in James and Lily's relationship, since she knew them since before they were together. Those few years were very interesting around the two. And ever since lily's parents died, this was probably the longest stretch of time they had ever been apart. Not counting the fight they had in 6th year, which she just couldn't understand what it was about. But after this small vacation, who knew when they were going to be aloud back home. It could be at least six months.
"Don't worry Prongs." Tasha nudged him using his nickname playfully "The moment you see her again, everything will be back to normal."
"And then after three days I'm going to have to leave her again." James replied grimly. Tasha's encouraging smiled faded and sunk back against Sirius' chest, who was now stroking Tasha's hair gently and giving James an exasperated look.
"Listen James, I know you this is very hard for the two inseparable to actually be separated. But you're going to have three days with her this weekend-"
"Five." A gruff voice behind them croaked out. Sirius and Tasha saw James jump to his feat and stand at attention. This could only mean their trainer had given them an unexpected surprise, so they too followed suit. Staring straight ahead and not daring to move. Alastor Moody believed in two things for his trainees to become successful aurors. Besides the brains and common sense that is. Constant vigilance and of course, discipline. Which had been very hard for Sirius at first.
"You have five days with that little red-head." Moody smirked waving the three of them to sit down. They did so immediately.
"Five days sir?" James couldn't keep from smiling. Two extra days to be with Lily would be pure bliss.
"That's right Potter. We leave a day earlier and come back a day later, but you better enjoy it because I don't plan on giving any time off for a long time after that! What's that red-head's name anyway…some kind of flower…Evans was it?"
"Yes sir, Lily Evans, sir."
"Dumbledore told me about her…and you for that matter. And your certain special…capabilities." James' eyes flickered to Sirius who was giving him a knowing look. Sirius had found out about Lily and James circumstances during 7th year. When a prick named Malfoy decided to show Lily just how manly he could be with her. Lily used her 'circumstances' for not even five minutes and left an imprint of green glow on her hands, which Sirius spotted afterwards.
"I wonder why she didn't join the aurors? Her NEWT grades were quite exceptional."
"Lily had gotten job offers from many different places, mostly in the ministry, sir." Tasha chimed in "the day we left she decided to work in the special cases department of ST. Mungo's."
"Ah, then she truly must have been exceptionally bright to work in that wing of the hospital. Only aurors, officials or muggles who have been wounded by death eaters are taken there. And trust me, there are more everyday." Moody ran his age worn hands through his shoulder-length gray hair. The way a person would as if just woken up from a bad dream, coming back to the world and realizing that everything was as it should be. Or that it was as close as it could get. "I was in that place right after an attack. Do you remember a few years back when about ten neighborhood all over England and France were each attacked? It was mayhem. So many men and women I knew died in that battle. That was the battle that signified that Lord Voldemort…was a true threat to humanity. But after the fighting was done…and we had regrettably retreated…the battle still wasn't over. All the injured were sent to St. Mungo's, and I had promised a friend of mine that I would stay with her while she was getting checked up on. She should never had been fighting in the first place." Moody rose his hand to his forehead and started rubbing it, attempting to get this memory out from his head and heart and verbalize for these young people.
Tasha, Sirius, and James were quite in shock that moody has set aside his time to tell this story. Tasha could see that he was having trouble articulating, so she decided to help him along, gently.
"If it's not too bold sir, but why shouldn't she have been fighting?"
Moody snapped out of his trance and smiled grimly at Harris. "Because she was pregnant." James felt Sirius tense up beside him. "Anyway, we got there…and it was as if we never left the battle. People were screaming for help, screaming for the medi-wizards to kill them because they hurt so much. Their families were dead, they had nothing to live for. I remember one man…had his tongue and eyes cut out. Later one the medi-wizards, found them in a bag…in the mans pocket with a note inside the bag." His fists clenched the arms of the chair he was sitting in with fury "It read, if you don't silence the mudbloods, we will. And with pleasure. I'll never forget that day." He looked at the three trainees faces, all jaws hung open, and Harris with tears in her eyes.
"Oh well, that's when they decided to close that ward off entirely only if the cause of injury, were Death Eaters. Or Voldemort, which was very rare."
"Why was it rare sir?" James asked
"Because there were few who ever came back from an encounter with Voldemort alive."
"Sir, if I may, what happened to that friend of yours? Was she all right?" Tasha asked sadly
"She lost the baby, and died in the next month. She had hung herself."
"Sir." Sirius started carefully, attempting to break the uncomfortable silence "Why do we get these extra days off?"
"Why? Do you object to them Sirius Black?"
"No, sir!"
"Do you wish to stay here and run more drills Sirius Black?"
"No, sir!"
"Then stop whining like a little school girl and start packing. Go on! Now!" Sirius jumped up and took off towards the dorm rooms for a shower and packing. James and Tasha stifled their laughter as Sirius sprinted out the door. Moody eyed them amusedly.
"That goes for you two, also you know!" they stared at him for a few moments and then took off like madmen being chased with pitchforks.
*********
Lily walked into her patient's room for the third time that day to check on his now stable condition, since the day had been slow she was able to keep him company. It was a muggle boy who had been tortured by the Death Eaters. But not entirely physically, mostly mentally. Filling his head with horrid images of his loved ones dying and being masacred. The only part of this pain that was physical, was when the death Eaters brought out a werewolf and had it bite the boy. Right after that the Aurors had been able to sneak in and take him to safety.
"Hello ms." He mumbled form his position on the bed.
"Hello John." Lily smiled sitting in the chair next to his bed. He adjusted himself so that he could sit upright and talk to her. But Lily was alarmed when she saw him wince in pain.
"It's all right, I'm all right."
"You must be careful, John. Your still very week and your leg has yet to fully heel."
"I'm fine. But I want to hear more about this wizarding world. Why am I not a wizard?" the little boy asked curiously
"Probably because you have no magical blood in your family background." Lily shrugged pulling her hair back into a ponytail.
"Oh." He staid silent for a few moments as Lily checked over his chart and how his leg was healing. "Does it hurt?"
"Does what hurt?"
"Turning into a…a…you know?" he stuttered
"John, there is no reason to be ashamed of-"
"I am not shamed!" he yelled defiantly "I just want to know a simple fact."
"Yes it hurts." Lily mumbled
"How would you know?" his anger rose through his body. All he wanted to do was make someone hurt as much as he did
"Because my best friend is a werewolf and I watch him being tortured every month by it."
"And this is what I'm to expect for the rest of my life? Pain and torture? Anxiety that in the middle of the night I could trot up on my four legs and bite someone?"
"Don't let that happen, john."
"Lily, your shifts been over for a half hour. You can go home." A CO-worker named Josephine had stuck her head in through the door.
"All right" Lily called back. But when she turned back to John's bed his back was turned on her, and she knew conversation was something he wouldn't exactly want to engage in for much longer.
"I'll be back next week John. But if I get a chance I'll be in here sooner to check up on you, all right?" no answer "Well, bye then." Lily took one last look at the steady rise and fall of his of his chest, as he laid there in the silence, then left to go to the clock-out room.
"Oy, Lil." She turned around just as she was locking up her supply locker. Josephine was standing at the door looking impatient.
"What is it Jo?" Lily asked pulling her bag over shoulder and taking the hair tie out of her long-again hair.
"I forgot to tell you that, your friend…remmy…romulus-"
"Remus?"
"Oy, that's it! Remus owled and he said that he wouldn't be home till late tonight. He had a few things to do. Sorry I forgot about it till now, sweets."
"Oh. No it's all right. I'll see you next week then, right?"
"Right, bye mate." Josephine headed out the door as lily took a hand full of floo powder and threw it into the fire.
"Goodbye, Lion's residence." She sighed into the fireplace, and felt that familiar, dizzying sensation.
Lily jumped out of the fireplace and stood staring at her reflection in the mirror for a few moments. She ran her hands over a few scratches on the side of neck a patient that had been out of control, felt like presenting her with as a welcome present. Her face looked so tired. Her shifts were through the night and to the afternoon, she usually would only get about 3.5 hours sleep. And when her shift allowed her for more, they would floo her in for a fifth opinoun, or that there had been an onslaught of victims and they couldn't find anyone else. The last time she remembered her face looking this worn, and old was when her parents had died, and she receded into a world of her own.
After a few moments of these thoughts, also the fact that she would be alone for yet another night, with no Remus or James, or Tasha, or even Sirius to comfort her. She felt the anger well up inside her, she concentrated on trying to lessen the anger, but the more she stared at the lonely face in the mirror the more tired and angry she became, until a loud smashing sound came from behind her.
Lily flung herself around to see what she had done, this time. Her anger had found an object to be placed upon. And it was the old flower vase that sat on the mantle over the fireplace. Lily didn't have the energy to clean it up, she just resigned to the fact that she was alone and the only two things she had to look forward to, was seeing James in two days, and that she would be able to sleep through the day tomorrow if she wanted to. But for some reason, after she took her shower, and after she changed into her pjs, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Something was nagging in the back of her mind. So she got up and went down to the sitting room to sit in front of the blazing fire for a little while. Attempting to get her brain to think if there was anything she forgot to do.
James watched from the shadows with a grin, as lily sat down with a sigh and a grimace. Her worn out face reminded him of all the trainees after a hard work out moody just subjected them to. But hers was given every night. He saw loneliness and aggravation, in her tense body. Her long again hair draped over her bare shoulders, and her face in her hands. At that moment he couldn't believe ha had actually left her. Why didn't she say anything? He could tell now that she didn't want him to go, but why hadn't she told him? Slowly walking up behind her, James placed a gentle hand on her cheek. Lily smiled for the first time in days and melted into the hand, kissing it, familiarizing herself with it.
She sighed to herself and muttered "This is a nice dream."
James' grin expanded "I happy to know that I, in your dreams, give you such pleasure. But I wonder what I do in real life."
Lily's eyes popped open as she heard the voice. At first she could have sworn that she finally was able to drift to sleep. But once she heard his voice and felt his breath upon her neck, she knew this was no dream. It was heaven.
"James!" Lily threw herself onto him bringing him over the back of the couch and down on top of her. She couldn't stop kissing him. Once he pulled his face down to hers and their lips melt, melding the passion and loneliness they both had felt the past month, nothing could stop them from holding each other.
"James." Lily gasped crying for happiness "You're here! You're here with me." James sat up and brought Lily with him, grinning like a madman, and wiping away her tears.
"Shh, don't cry. Yes, I'm here and I get to stay for five days. Five." Lily laughed and pulled him in for another hug crying even harder. James took her hands and went to kiss them, but stopped noticing the violent green light emmitting from them. He looked at her questionable.
"My powers have been, somewhat spiraling out of control lately. Whenever I get angry or have any large surge of emotion, something happens." She admitted to him.
"Why haven't you told someone?" James asked, wondering why she hadn't used her common sense
Lily saw the glow rise along with her anger "Who, you?" she asked breathing deeply and holding back a scream
"Well Remus knows, doesn't he? You could have told him, right?" James yelled, completely missing the contempt that she held for him at that moment.
"He only knows what he overheard, and that wasn't much."
"What about Dumbledore? He knows, obviously-"
"James I'm not going to floo into Hogwarts, interupt the whole school year for him just to say, Hows your day Albus, Good? Good. Mine's peachy, oh and by the way, you know that ancestor of mine? Salazaar Slytherin? Yea well, he's got a temper and it's coming out in me by making my bloody hands glow. Well that's all that's new with me, how about you?" Lily pulled away from James with anger rushing through her veins. She had never felt it this powerful before, such a resurgence of old anger and pettiness. She was angry just because she knew James was right. It wasn't fair, something had to be done. She had to be right. Something must be done.
James saw the change come over Lily. The black in her eyes told him something was horribly wrong. What had she done to herself all this time. Why hadn't somebody been with her through all of this. But that's the stubbornness of Lily that James loved, except this time it was hurting her.
"James, welcome back mate!" James heard Remus coming up behind them to greet him. But James put up his hand to cease his moving. He had stood up by now, concentrating his power, walking through Lily's mind. It was a complete daze. Like Lily's favorable type of living, her mind was usually completely organized, and clean for that matter. But right now the only things circling within her sub-conscience was anger, and hate. Lily started to slowly turn around, her fists clenched and glowing a dark emerald green, that no longer matched her eyes, for they were fully black.
"Who do you think you are?" she started in a voice that wasn't her own "Coming back to my house, and telling me how stupid I was? I'm sorry but weren't you the one who decided to leave? For a better life? Well guess what? You not welcome anymore." Lily raised her hands as a green strip of light shot out of them and lifted James off the ground.
'Remus' Remus spun around in horror as he tore his eyes form the horrible scene 'Remus it's James. Remember those powers Lily and I had a fight over? These are them. You have to stop Lily, you have to stun her. I can't get to my wand. Hurry Remus.'
Remus didn't hesitate, he grabbed his wand out of his robes pocket and shot the most powerful stunning spell towards Lily. Except it didn't stun her, it only injured her enough to give James enough time to get his wand out. He shot a stunning spell at her, except this one wasn't the usual thin streak of red. It was so powerful and so strong that it through her back against the wall, rendering her UN-conscience.
"How did you two do those things?" Remus asked, running over to Lily to make sure she wasn't dead
"Long story…that I thought you knew." Remus shook his head "Well we have to get her to ST Mungo's, special care unit. I'm going to owl Dumbledore, I'll meet you there all right? Owl the rest of the mates once your settled in. thanks, Remus."
"James." Remus called before James left for Hogwarts. "Welcome home, mate." James gave him a nod and with a flash of green flame was gone.
******
James came out through the Head boy and Girl dormitories. There were two students sitting at tables and studying for what looked like to be their NEWT. Their heads shot up in shock at the man.
"Is Professor Dumbledore in the school?" he asked them hurredly, when the girl gave him a nod he shot out of the room and towards the headmaster's office. The moment he was at the gargoyle and ready to blast it down it opened, and there stood Dumbledore as of he was expecting James.
"I heard you, I have a portkey to the special care unit in St. Mungo's, we shall use that. You must tell me everything that has been happening James."
Before james could answer he felt Dumbledore putting an object in their hands and and being pulled to St. Mungo's. the unit he was in was in chaos. There were people everywhere begging to be taken home or cured or sent to see their god. Muggles he thought, they were all muggles.
"Ah, Potter, good to see you enjoying your days off."
"Mr. Moody, what are you doing here?" James asked not really paying attention to the answer, he was too worried about Lily to care about anything else.
"She's in that room at the end of the hall, Potter." Moody sighed knowing the boy's attention would be forever on the red-head.
James ran all the way down the halls ignoring the complaints he received from medi-wizard and patients he bumped into. All that mettered was behind the door.
***
Lily lay on the bed, all forms of life stable in her body, except the splitting headache she would feel if she ever woke up, that is.
It had been a whole two days since the incident, and James had not gone home or seen actual sunlight since then. He stayed with her, every moment of the day. He only left to go to the bathroom, or get a medi-wizard if he thought something bad was happening. And the closest thing he came to having a shower, was sirius dunking his head under the sink when James seemed to start going crazy with his pent up emotion.
"James…" James lifted his head up off the bed to see if it was Lily who had said his name. But to no avail, for her eyes were still closed tightly.
"James." Tasha nudged him. "We're off to Molly and Arthur's wedding, are you sure you won't come? It would be good for to-"
"She might wake up, and I have to be here for it." Molly looked to Sirius sadly and nodded for them to leave. Remus kissed lily on the forehead and then left for the wedding. They had begged and begged him to go, but he refused. The only thing he saw or heard was Lily's voice, or her sweet smile. He had left the camp in the hopes of spending a wonderful, romantic weekend with lily. Not holding her hand and praying for her to wake up every hour. She looked so pale, so sickly. Dumbledore had said that her power had been so untrained these past few months, that her stress had just completely taken over and consumed her, bringing about the more negative affects of the powers.
James took her hand and squeezed a little harder than usual, hoping that it would wake her up this time…no response.
"Lily?" he whispered out loud "Lil, can you here me, love? I just…I wanted to say…please…wake up. Bloody hell, lil I love you so much that I am in physical pain right now. You are my life if you died I couldn't go on living knowing that I'm never going to look at your beautiful face again. Never knowing if I would have had the guts to take the ring that I have out of my pocket and actually, officially, propose. Well we'll know now, just keep holding my hands that all I need."
With one hand in lily's and the other opening a small velvet box, James got down on one knee.
"Lily Evans, will you marry me? Will you put up with me, and make Sirius dinner…because you know that's the package, I'm sorry. But, oh god lil please wake up, please. Just squeeze my hand, just one squeeze saying that you'll be mine forever. You can't leave me, please, please. I love you." James waited, gasping for breath as his emotional status wouldn't let his body function correctly. He held her hand so tightly, just waiting for any sign of life for ten minutes straight. In complete silence.
Until he was about to give up, he loosed his grip on her and put the ring away, with one last glance at her, he squeezed her hand once more, but this time receiving a squeeze back.
A/N: Finally I'm done I know hate me hate me hate me. Please R&R I'm too tired to write any other comments, thanks for the reviews I really appreciate them!
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is the genius of JKR!