Chapter 16: The Calm Before the Storm

Lily woke up and rubbed her eyes. She noticed that there was a blanket on her and she snuggled in closer to it. The light was slowly coming in through the windows around her and she was still in the living room. Hmm, must have fallen asleep, she thought to herself. She looked up at the big clock on the wall and saw that it was just past 10 in the morning. Lily hardly believed that she slept so long and she still felt slightly drowsy. She got up and walked into the kitchen.

She made herself a quick breakfast and walked upstairs to take a shower. The hot water released the tightness of her muscles from sleeping on the couch and she just stood there enjoying it. Finally, when she had wasted most of the hot water in the house, she finished her shower and got changed quickly.

After not finding anything to do, she decided that she would go wake up her parents. She was quite surprised that she was awake before they were, but she assumed they were out late last night. Lily remembered how she would wake up her parents when she was a little kid. Lily would watch cartoons while her mum would make breakfast and her dad would read the paper. She was smiling at the memory as she walked into her parents' bedroom.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next.

…………………………

James yawned as he opened his eyes. He winced as he moved his body under the covers. Last night had been the full moon where he and his animagi friends would accompany Remus the werewolf into the Forbidden Forest and the Hogwarts grounds. The full moons were always tough on James, Sirius and Peter, but it was nothing compared to what Remus went through once a month. James really couldn't complain; he would never know the immense pain that came with being a werewolf or the amount of energy it took out of you. Sirius, James and Peter were doing this willingly, unlike Remus who had lycanthropy forced upon him. James, Sirius and Peter knew exactly what they were doing and had no right to complain when their best mate was in the Hospital Wing to pained to move.

James decided to get up now because it was past noon. He winced again, this time rubbing his aching shoulders and neck. Being a stag holding heavy antlers on your head was an awkward feeling for a human to go through and was hell on your neck. Also, using these antlers to restrain a very strong, irritated werewolf wasn't too good on your shoulders either.

He yawned and stretched his arms out above him. He showered and dressed quickly. There was an urgent knock on his door and he hurried to answer it.

"Yes?" he asked confusedly.

"Professor McGonagall wants to talk to you," said a small boy from his door.

James stared at him oddly before telling him that he would be right down. The boy nodded and left quickly. James closed the door and scratched his head. What did he do this time? Could McGonagall know about last night? James froze and gulped. Could it be that their secret was discovered? He looked around frantically at his friends and wondered if he should wake them. No, if she does know, then I will be the one that gets the punishment, he thought nobly.

James nodded to himself and walked out of his dormitory, expecting to be on the receiving end of McGonagall's wrath.

He walked downstairs and spotted Professor McGonagall standing at the entrance of the Common Room. James gulped but noticed the expression on her face. She looked distressed and terribly worried. She was fidgeting; James had never seen her like this. This made him even more anxious.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" he asked nervously as he approached her.

She turned to his direction and nodded urgently. "Yes, Potter. Come quickly, something has happened."

James almost fainted. Could it be his parents? He blanched and nodded numbly. He mimicked McGonagall's brisk pace towards the Headmaster's office. She said the password even before they reached the gargoyle and they both walked up the moving staircase to the office.

"Professor Dumbledore?" said McGonagall's voice once they entered the office.

The Headmaster stopped writing and looked up at James and McGonagall. He looked solemn and weary; his eyes were dull and blank.

Now James was scared. He had never seen the two professors this distressed. He gulped down the vomit that was rising and sat down hastily. He never took his eyes from the Headmaster.

"Is it my parents, sir?" said James. His voice was squeaky and high, it sounded nothing like him.

Dumbledore shook his head, but still looked gloomy. "It is Lily's parents," he replied.

If it was possible for James' face to go any whiter, it did. His stomach dropped like a stone and his heart ached. It wasn't his parents (for which he was grateful), but it was Lily's (which took away all the relief that had come over him).

He gulped. "Is she okay, sir?" It was hard to get those four words out of his mouth. Dumbledore said that it was just her parents and not her, so that meant she was okay, right?

"I don't know if losing your parents would make a person feel okay, but she is alive," he said solemnly.

James let out a breath he was holding in. He was beyond grateful that Lily was still alive; he didn't know what he would do without her. But he was pained beyond words that she had to endure the death of her parents.

"What about her sister?" he asked.

"Her sister was at her husband's house so she was unharmed as well."

"Was it Voldemort?" James asked. He saw McGonagall flinch from the corner of his eye. He didn't know she was still there.

Dumbledore nodded. "Not Voldemort himself, but his Death Eaters," he replied.

James winced. "What happened?" he dared to ask. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"I'm still not sure of the whole story yet, Lily didn't quite know herself. But I do know that her parents were attacked while Lily was sleeping," Dumbledore replied.

"Wait, was Lily here, sir?" asked James.

"Yes, she came here this morning through Floo. She alerted me right after she found them," said Dumbledore.

"Where is she now?" he asked.

"She is at her house, preparing funeral arrangements with her sister," Dumbledore replied.

"And sir, when will she be coming back?" James asked anxiously. He felt like he was interviewing Dumbledore, he was asking question after question after question.

"She will be back Wednesday, but will be excused from classes for the rest of the week," said Dumbledore. "But the reason I asked you here is because all Head responsibilities will be put on you for the rest of the week due to the circumstances. I trust that you will be able to handle the responsibility?" asked Dumbledore, peering at him through his glasses.

James nodded.

"Very well then, you are dismissed," said Dumbledore.

"Er, excuse me, Professor?" he asked. Dumbledore looked up. "Er, would it be possible for me to go to Mr. and Mrs. Evans' funeral?" he asked timidly. He saw McGonagall make an impatient gesture from his side, but he ignored her.

Dumbledore didn't answer for a moment. "You are aware, James, that we do not allow friends to go to funerals in families, only the child affected?" said Dumbledore.

James nodded. "But, after losing her parents, sir, I just thought that she could use a friend," he said.

Dumbledore didn't answer. He sat there peering at James, and James just looked back. There was a flicker in Dumbledore's eyes and finally, Dumbledore answered.

"Very well, James. I will provide transportation to the funeral for you; you will be excused of classes for Wednesday only," said Dumbledore.

James nodded, grateful that he would be able to go and see Lily. He didn't want to think about the kind of state Lily would be in.

"You and Ms. Evans will come back together, I will send someone to collect you at the Evans' household," he finished.

James nodded once again. "Thank you, Professor," he said.

This time Dumbledore nodded. "You are a good person, James. Now go get some rest, you look very tired," he said. This time, there was a distinct twinkling in his eyes. James momentarily wondered what Dumbledore knew before he left the office behind Professor McGonagall.

McGonagall left him at the gargoyle and headed in the opposite direction of James. He slowly made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, contemplating what he had just heard. He wondered how Lily was coping; he wanted so desperately to be there holding her, but it had to wait until Wednesday.

Caught up in his thoughts, he didn't hear the footsteps from behind him. Only when they called out to him did he turn around.

"Hey Potter!" said the voice. James recognized the voice even before he turned around. It was Bellatrix.

"What do you want?" he asked impatiently.

"Tisk, tisk, Potty. I thought the Head Boy would have a bit more manners," she said, mocking him. She was alone, but still had the superiority act going on.

"Just answer the question," he said, starting to get really irritated.

"No need for the attitude, Potty, just wanted to chat," she said mock-innocently.

James gritted his teeth and took all of his self-control to not grab for his wand and hex Bellatrix. His hand was twitching and in his mind, he was going through hexes and jinxes he could use on her.

"Get on with it, Bellatrix," he said.

"Fine, since you asked so nicely," she said. There was a long pause to which James took deep breaths to control himself. "I was just wondering if your in-laws have six feet for digging underground?"

James made a noise of frustration and stalked off. He could hear Bellatrix's mocking laughter resound behind him. At that moment, he was so frustrated with Bellatrix and everything going on that he didn't stop to consider what Bellatrix said. It didn't make sense in the literal meaning or course, but that one phrase held a deeper meaning that James was too annoyed to be bothered with. Thinking that Bellatrix was playing games with him, he put it to the back of his mind where it stayed for a while.

…………………………

Lily numbly walked around her house. She only felt a dull thump thump in her chest that told her she was still alive and a cramp in her heart that would grow whenever she saw something that reminded her of her parents. It was almost like her heart was rubbing it in; she was alive while her parents were dead.

Dumbledore had arranged for people to take her parents to a funeral home. Usually when someone died, the dead bodies were brought to some kind of building or hospital to determine the cause of death, but Dumbledore somehow found a way to skip over all of that as they would not be able to find it.

She wasn't sure how she managed to get to Dumbledore's office so quickly. The whole thing was a blurred memory now. All she remembered was that she walked into her parents' bedroom, and then she was sobbing on the floor in Dumbledore's office.

Petunia had just left the house after arranging funeral arrangements. She was cold to Lily, but didn't seem as sad as Lily did. Maybe it was a delayed shock? She shook her head and continued walking around the house. She wiped her eyes of the tears she didn't notice before and sniffled. Lily found that she couldn't even sob anymore after leaving Dumbledore's office. The pain she was feeling was beyond crying. Tears would come, but not sobs. She didn't feel anything besides pain and emptiness.

Lily wondered what why she hadn't been killed along with her parents. She was obviously in the house when her parents were attacked and they probably saw her lying there. Or maybe they didn't? These thoughts tormented Lily as they swirled around her head. The only thing that she was a bit comforted by was that she had spent the weekend with them and that she had told them about Voldemort. They went knowing what was going on in Lily's life.

Lily promised her mum that she wouldn't blame herself for what happened, but how could she not? Her parents were not wizards and could not do magic. Wasn't it Lily's responsibility to protect them from situations where they couldn't defend themselves? Didn't they protect Lily from the dangers in the world that she couldn't face?

Dumbledore didn't think it would be a good idea for Lily to stay in her house, but she told him that she had no where else to stay for the funeral. Petunia would hardly talk to her; she would never let Lily stay with her and Vernon for a couple of days. Dumbledore eventually agreed that it was the best option and put enchantments around her house so that the killers couldn't come back to finish the job. But staying in her house was a very reminder of her parents and she would find tears coming out of her eyes at the sight of everything.

After walking around the whole house besides her parents' bedroom, Lily finally went into her own. It was where she would have the least reminders in because of the lack of things in her room.

She hadn't truly lived in her bedroom since she was eleven and it showed. There were old picture frames of her old childhood friends and her family when they were much younger. She looked at her parents' youthful faces and smiled. Hot tears were spilling down her face and she wiped them quickly. They all looked so peaceful and happy, even Petunia, who now looked like she would vomit at the sight of Lily. Her heart clenched painfully and she looked away from the picture.

She turned her attention to her old dresser with her mirror sitting on top. She saw herself through the mirror and no longer saw the little girl sitting in her photographs. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed red. There was a small fleck of green seen amongst the red that were her eyes. Her hair was messy and was going in many directions. Aside from looking horrible, her face showed an immense pain. It brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes and Lily looked away hastily.

She again turned her attention elsewhere. On her bookshelves were her favourite stories that she would read over and over again into the night when she was younger. She looked at them and realized that she hadn't read them in such a long time. Since being accepted into Hogwarts, she lost most interest in Muggle things and turned to magical things. She read her textbooks simply because they were enough to hold her interest. She got up and took one of the books from the shelves. She dusted off the dust that had been gathering around it and flipped through the book. She remembered all the stories well even though it had been seven years since she had read them. Taking the book with her, she sat down on her bed and started to read, trying to forget about the hollowness inside her heart.

…………………………

Wednesday came and Lily wore the same black dress that she wore to Petunia's wedding. She knew she would end up wearing it again one day but she didn't think that it would be this soon. She tied her hair up in a ponytail because she didn't feel like doing anything special with it. She caught her reflection in the mirror again and it didn't look any better than what it did Sunday.

Lily walked downstairs and waited for Petunia to come and pick her up. She no longer had an appetite but when she did eat, she would get sick of it very easily.

Monday, Lily continued walking around her house and sometimes went on walks. Tuesday, she cleaned her house and packed up some of her parents things. That was the hardest part. Packing up her parents things hit her hard that they weren't going to come back. That it was over. It was done. Lily couldn't keep that amount of pain inside her heart for that long, so she let it out. She sobbed in her parents' room for half the day until she was too exhausted to move.

As she waited for Petunia and Vernon and looked around the room, thoughts of her parents would pop up continuously in Lily's mind and bring more and more tears. She would think of how her father called her his "Little Head Girl" in the summer and it would annoy Lily to no end. Now, she would give anything just to hear his voice again. She thought of her beautiful mother and how her face was marked with wrinkles. The image of her tired mother brought immense sadness into Lily's heart and she grabbed at her chest and heaved. It was so painful to breathe easily without a sharp pang in her chest.

A car beeped from outside and Lily jumped up. She grabbed a jacket and opened the door. Petunia had a disgusted expression on her face as she waited in the car for her sister. Lily walked out of the door and locked it behind her. She quickly walked to her brother-in-law's car and climbed into the back seat.

"Mum and Dad left a will, everything is to be split between the two of us. I get to determine what's mine and what's yours. The house is mine, but I'm selling it. I'm going to clean it out and send you everything that will be yours. After the funeral, I want nothing to do with you. Don't contact me. It will be as if you never existed."

As Petunia finished talking, they were already halfway to the funeral home. Lily was too depressed to even care what Petunia said; she could have left her a fleck of dust in the house, Lily would be indifferent. Really, none of that mattered now.

…………………………

Lily could hear no words at the funeral. Her eyes were glued to the caskets in the front of the funeral home. She paid no attention to the minister as he talked about such great people the Evanses were. Her parents were much too young to have passed away and had probably only lived for half of their lives.

It was open casket so Lily could see the pale faces of her mother and father. Her mother's once plump and rosy cheeks were sallow and pale; her blond hair looked dull. Lily wished so greatly to see her vibrant green eyes once again, but she knew they would be dead and empty. Her father's lively blue eyes were probably long gone and his face was now an unnatural shade of white.

Lily couldn't explain the amount of pain she was feeling. She was being emotionally separated from her parents, they left her. When she left for Hogwarts, she would at least know that they were still somewhere, living and she could contact them if she needed too; they were just in a geographical location. Now, her parents were in a whole different world, a different life and she was alone.

Somehow, Lily found the strength to go outside to the burial. So far, she managed to keep it together, to look put together. She numbly followed Petunia to the cemetery behind the church not really knowing what was going on. Only when the caskets were being lowered did Lily realize what was really happening. Her parents were being buried. They were being put away. They were going away forever. They were NEVER coming back.

Lily gasped and collapsed onto the floor. She heaved great breaths of air but it was still hard to breath. She did not accept the hands of people around her that were trying to comfort her. She did not listen to anyone. Lily just stared wide-eyed at the soil that was slowly covering the beautiful wooden caskets. She almost reached out to stop the soil from covering her parents when a warm hand grabbed her arm and held her back. Lily didn't look over to the stranger but continued heaving and gasping for breath. The warm hands moved to her back and started rubbing circles onto it. Lily closed her eyes as the pain in her chest became unbearable. Death's sharp dagger was jabbing over and over again into Lily's heart. The warm arms were now pulling her up from the ground. She felt them wrap around her.

Lily couldn't hold it in any longer. Huge, wracking sobs took over her body. The only things keeping her up were the strong arms of the stranger that seemed so familiar. But she couldn't think. The only thing she could do was let out the pain in the only way she could, through her tears. When she felt like she was drained of all energy, the arms would hold her tighter again and Lily would erupt in more tears.

When Lily's sobbing calmed down into a steady flow of tears, she felt soft lips kiss her forehead. She closed her eyes and accepted the stranger's comfort.

Finally, when she had enough strength to hold herself up, Lily looked around her. Everyone seemed to have left and it was just her and the stranger. She looked up at the stranger's face. If he wasn't still holding her in his arms, Lily would have fallen on the floor again. And of course, who else could it have been besides James? She gasped in shock and studied his face to make sure it was really him. His eyes were filled with concern and pain for Lily and there were worry lines in his face. She could see that his eyes were glistening, like he had been crying as well. This was too much for Lily to take in and did the only thing she could. She started crying into James' chest once again as he whispered in her ear and kissed her head.

Lily cried for her parents. They had left her and she would never see her mother's beautiful face or hear her father's hearty laugh. She would never be able to tell them that she loved them and that she was so thankful for everything they did for her. She wanted to be their little Lily again.

Lily cried for Petunia. Their parents just died after her wedding and she can't even cry? She just looked disgusted and bored. It wasn't fair that such great parents had such a cold hearted daughter like Petunia. And how does she respect their lives? By shunning her only family left and extinguishing all strands of hope of reconciliation of the two sisters. Lily was going to make an effort to rekindle their relationship, but if Petunia wasn't willing, than there was simply no hope.

Lily cried for James. He was such a great friend, coming all the way over here to comfort Lily. He came all the way over here to be with Lily when she had no one else. She cried because he was the boy she loved and she was too afraid to tell him. She cried because her parents never got to meet the boy that made her so happy.

"Just let it all out, Lily," said James' soothing voice in her ear.

She shuddered and let out one more sob. She wrapped her arms tightly around James, never wanting to let go and never wanting to leave this spot.

…………………………

Lily's sobbing filled his ears and went like an icicle straight into his gut. It made him wince inwardly but he couldn't show weakness when Lily was so fragile. He had to be Lily's pillar of strength when she could barely stand up on her own.

When he had first seen Lily from the back of the room, he could see that there was no expression on her face. It was neutral; not sad, angry, happy, nothing. But, her eyes were red, so James assumed she had been crying before. He worried that she would just keep in inside her for a long time and finally, one day, it would be too much for her to handle and it would tear her to pieces.

When they made their way outside, James tried to get to Lily. He wanted to be there for her like he told Dumbledore he would be. When he finally managed to move to the front of the group, Lily was sitting on the floor, gasping. She reached out in front of her and James took his chance to appear to her. He tried to comfort her in the best way he could, but it didn't seem to be working. Her face contorted in pain as the bystanders started to walk away. When most of them were turning away, James carefully lifted Lily from the ground and held her in his arms. James was so shocked by Lily's response that he almost let her go. The moment his arms were around her, she started shaking violently and unbearable shouts of pain and agony were coming from her small figure. Tears poured down her pale face and were absorbing into James' shirt.

He just held her tightly as she clung to him and his eyes filled with tears at the immense loss Lily was feeling. James' heart was clenching so painfully in his chest that the girl he loved so deeply was in so much agony; he would have done anything so that she wouldn't be able to feel this anymore.

When she it seemed that the worst was over, James kissed her forehead and loosened his grip a bit. He didn't know if Lily realized it was him, but he didn't care as long as she was safe. When she finally looked up at him, she didn't seem to believe her eyes. Her face horribly red and puffy and tears were still slowly coming down. James' heart wretched at the look of pain on her face, but thumped at how beautiful she was, even at a time like this. He just looked her over until she started to cry again. He held her tighter against his chest until she stopped crying. She then hugged him back and they remained in that position for a while.

James closed his eyes and knew he would regret what came out of his mouth next. "We should go, Lily," he said quietly.

Lily didn't move for a bit and she nodded into his chest as a reply. He smiled and took her hand. He kept her close to him because she was so fragile. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest and his mind was racing, but he kept his cool. Lily breathed in deeply and closed her eyes as James guided them.

"Where's your house, Lily?" he asked softly. He hated that he to bother her with something like this while she was suffering.

Lily looked up at him, the pain was still echoing in her eyes. She gently pulled his hand towards the left and told him the directions quickly. She said this all quietly and rushed like if she was caught talking, she would be punished.

James nodded and guided them down the street, following Lily's directions. He kept giving her words of encouragement as she slowly dozed off while walking. He wrapped his arm around her as they walked to keep her steady and she leaned against him. When they were about 5 minutes from the house, Lily fell asleep completely. She almost fell on the ground if it hadn't been for James' reflexes. He didn't want to wake her, so he picked her up in his arms just like in the tunnel leading out of Hogsmeade and into Hogwarts.

When they arrived at the house, James saw that Professor McGonagall was waiting for them at the door. He was quite shocked to see her, but Dumbledore did say he'd send someone to pick them up. McGonagall saw Lily in James' arms and ran towards the two teenagers.

"Potter! What is going on?!" she asked, outraged and probably a bit surprised.

"She fell asleep on the way here, Professor," he said, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, well, that's understandable. Come quick, let us go inside," she said, rushing back over to the house.

James followed her and waited patiently with Lily in his arms as McGonagall undid the enchantments that Dumbledore had put on the house for Lily's safety. When she was finished doing what needed to be done, she opened the door and James quickly followed her inside.

Just as he was putting Lily on the couch, a thought popped into his head.

"Wait, how do I know you are the REAL Professor McGonagall?" he asked suspiciously.

McGonagall gave James a stern look that only she could pull off. "Potter, don't you think that should have been the first question you asked me? But, if you really do need your proof, I shall give you some," she said, annoyed.

Where Professor McGonagall stood was now occupied by a tabby cat with square markings around the eyes. James knew that McGonagall was an animagus; one out of seven registered in the whole magical world. Of course, there were three unregistered animagi running around Hogwarts.

The tabby cat transformed back into McGonagall and James looked partially embarrassed.

"Well, since you know that it really is me, shall we get back?" she asked sternly, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

James nodded. "But what about Lily's things, Professor?" he asked.

McGonagall wordlessly lifted her wand and Lily's trunk came floating down the stairs and straight to McGonagall's feet. She levitated it to the fireplace. Then, she quickly lit a fire and tossed some powder into it. The flames leaped green and McGonagall motioned for James to go first.

"Take Ms. Evans with you. I will follow with her things," she said.

James nodded and picked Lily up again. He stepped into the green fire and said, "Dumbledore's office!" in a clear voice.

Soon enough, James was stumbling out of the fire and into the familiar office of the Headmaster. Lily stirred in his arms but did not wake. James looked around the room and his eyes landed on the Headmaster, sitting at his desk, looking at James.

"Welcome back, James," said Dumbledore smiling gently. "Ah, and I see you have Ms. Evans with you," he said with his twinkling eyes.

James blushed and put Lily down in the closest seat. The absence of the Lily's body was strange to him since he had kept some sort of physical contact with her for a while now and he missed it.

When Lily was sleeping comfortably on the couch, McGonagall came through the fire with Lily's things. She placed them on the floor next to Lily's sleeping figure and dusted herself off.

McGonagall and Dumbledore talked but James heard no word of it. He was looking at Lily's face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she was fidgeting in her sleep. She looked very distressed and a bit scared. He started to move towards her when she gave a piercing scream and opened her eyes.

…………………………

Lily was standing in her parents' bedroom. Her mother was getting ready for bed and her father was reading a book in bed. Her heart ached for the sight of her parents living again and she rejoiced. She went to walk towards them, but she couldn't move. She tried opening her mouth but she couldn't speak. She tried everything, but to no avail.

"Hun, are you coming to bed?" asked her father, looking up from his book.

"Yes, I'm almost done," came her mother's voice from the bathroom.

There was a crash and Lily's father looked up once again. He furrowed his eyebrows and got up.

"What was—," her father started. The bedroom door burst open and two black figures came into the room. A flash of green erupted from what looked like a wand and hit Lily's father in the chest. His shocked face was frozen and he dropped to the ground.

Her mother came running out of the bathroom to see what was going on. The other black figure turned to her and the same flash of green hit Lily's mother. Lily heard an ear-splitting scream and opened her eyes.

…………………………

Lily looked around and realized that the scream was coming from her. Her eyes were wet and she was no longer in her parents' bedroom. She was not at her house. She was not at their funeral. Where was she?

Her vision was somewhat blurred, but she could make out the familiar shapes of the Headmaster's office. She looked around and saw a figure standing close to her. It was dressed all in black and it was approaching her.

"Get away from me!" she screamed, holding her hands out in front of her. The figure stopped moving. She closed her eyes and started bawling. She missed her parents so much and now she knew how they died. They didn't even get a chance to fight back at all. They were unprepared; but even if they were, they wouldn't have been able to defend themselves anyways because they were not fairly matched.

Lily heard a voice shout something and a flash of light come towards her. Everything went black.

…………………………

"NO!" shouted James. McGonagall had stunned Lily when she had yelled at James to stay away. He quickly walked towards her and wiped her face.

"Lily? Lily, can you hear me?" he asked her.

"James, she will be quite alright. Professor McGonagall has just stunned her, she was in no condition to go anywhere like that," said Dumbledore's solemn voice from behind him.

James ignored him and continued to call her name to see if she was responsive. It wasn't until a firm grip on his arm pulled him back that he stopped.

"James, stop," said Dumbledore's voice.

James gave up and stepped away from Lily. He collapsed into the chair behind him and closed his eyes. Lily's scream froze his insides and crushed his heart. He wanted to take away whatever was causing her so much grief and pain, but he knew he couldn't. It had shocked him that Lily yelled for him to get away from her; he was only trying to help.

When he opened his eyes, he saw McGonagall leaving with Lily levitating in front of her. He was about to shout out, when Dumbledore silenced him.

"She's going to the Hospital Wing, James. I assure you that she will be quite fine," he said. The twinkle that was present in his eyes was now extinguished and he looked anguished.

"Professor, do you know what happened?" James asked.

"I'm not sure, but I assume that Lily had a dream about the incidents of Saturday night," he said sadly.

"But, wasn't Lily sleeping? How could she had known what happened?" asked James, confused.

"It is possible that she, herself, imagined what could have happened. Also, it is rare, but possible that she saw the actual incident in her mind from the perspective of a bystander. It is impossible to figure out which one she experienced without interrogating the killers and finding out what really happened," said Dumbledore.

James was still shocked at Lily's outburst that he didn't fully understand what Lily had just seen. When he left Dumbledore's office and went back up to the Gryffindor Common Room, did he realize that Lily had just witnessed her parents being murdered. She had seen what children get nightmares about, seen what adults fear. The amount of torment she was feeling must have been unexplainable.

He walked into the Gryffindor Common Room in his all black attire, acknowledged no one, answered no questions, stopped no where, and made straight his way straight up to his dormitory.

He lay down in his bed and stared at the ceiling, something he was doing more and more often. For some reason, the comment that Bellatrix had made was repeating over and over in his mind. In-laws have six feet for digging underground.

A/N: So what do you think? I know some of you were expecting something big, so was this BIG enough? Tell me what you think...even if you don't like it, I don't care, just review. (please leave more than one sentence...;)

Sorry it took so long, but the system was down and not letting me update, but in that time I got all of chap 17 done and started 18. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed...made me very happy :)

XD