Thanks again to my reviewers, cerdinalz, whiskeygurl007, baybe-of-da-beach and tennisjock. I just figured out how to enable anonymous reviews so anyone who doesn't want to leave a signed review can leave an anonymous one (hint hint) :) ! Thanks also to whiskeygurl007, whitelight72 and AuthoressMegz who have listed this story as one of their favourites:)

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Ch 5: Tragedy

Lily was in shock. For a moment she just sat there staring at the wall behind Professor Dumbledore as her eyes clouded over with tears. She couldn't breathe and she felt as if she was drowning. Her ears were ringing and she couldn't grasp what the Headmaster had just told her.

Then it hit.

The force was unbearable, seeming to break every bone in her fragile body as she screamed in pain. She couldn't think. Before she knew what she was doing she leapt up from the chair, threw the door open and did the only thing she could do, she ran. No, not ran, sprinted. She had to keep going. She had to keep running. Her chest was on fire and each breath was pure agony. She couldn't feel her legs beneath her, carrying her to a deserted corridor a few floors below Professor Dumbledore's office. She couldn't see where she was going through her tears and the haze across her eyes. Her head felt like it was about to explode. And then she fell.

Into a dark hole, down and down, never ending. Darkness was everywhere, she couldn't escape it. She screamed again. A scream full of every emotion she felt. Pain, grief, sorrow, loneliness, anger, guilt, helplessness, injustice. But nothing could compare to the hollowness she felt. The gaping hole that was left within her that was filled with such intense pain that it was worse than death. The darkness swirled around her pressing in on all sides that she couldn't breathe.

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Outside Professor Dumbledore's office James was almost knocked over when the door was flung open with such force and a dark red cannonball shot from the room. If he hadn't used the little bit of common sense he possessed he wouldn't have realised that the red blur was in fact Lily Evans. She sprinted so fast that his head spun. Just not quite fast enough for him not to notice her deathly pale face, tears streaming from blood shot eyes.

"What happened? What did you do to her?" In his urgency, James forgot all manners (not that he had many).

"Calm down Mr Potter. Miss Evans has suffered a serious shock, that is all. You may go after her and accompany her to the hospital wing for a calming drought and a dreamless sleep potion. However, I must forbid you to ask her questions. She will talk when she is ready." The Professor said calmly although he still looked unusually solemn.

Without any further words, James left the room in search of Lily. He drew out the Marauders' Map and after muttering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." headed towards the dot labelled 'Lily Evans.'

James eventually found her in a deserted corridor somewhere on the 5th floor. All he saw was a black figure with flaming red hair lying on the cold, hard floor. He rushed to Lily's side to see that she had passed out and a tender bump was forming on her head. Gently James turned her over. Her face was no longer ghostly white, but flushed and red. When touching her forehead gently, her face was so boiling hot he could have just about fried an egg on it. Tear stains covered her face and her eyes were swollen and puffy. Conjuring a cool wet towel, James softly placed it on her burning forehead. Sitting down next to her, James lifted Lily's head and rested it gently on a soft pillow.

A few minutes passed and James legs ached from the uncomfortable position of sitting on a stone floor. He jumped when he felt Lily stir beside him. Leaning over her he could see that her eyes were out of focus and she looked disoriented. Lily's face drained of all colour when she noticed James beside her.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered almost too softly for James to hear. But to her own ears it sounded as if she had shouted.

"I saw you tear out of Dumbledore's office and I came after you. You were in quite a state." James whispered back and for the first time Lily could remember, his eyes seemed to be filled with something resembling concern.

Tears still trickled down Lily's face and she sniffed loudly. Reaching up to touch her head, Lily winced as her fingers made contact with the swollen lump.

"Did you want to talk about it?" James asked cautiously. Professor Dumbledore had specifically forbidden him from asking her about it and this was about as close to the line as one could get.

Lily could see that he was concerned for her but the last thing she wanted was James Potter's pity. It was bad enough that he had seen her is such a state, after all she still had some pride.

Lily shook her head but stopped quickly when her head thumped painfully. She now seemed to have a constant stream of tears flowing down her face which was getting heavier every minute. Any second now and she would lose all self control and be bawling like a baby again.

"Can I take you to the hospital wing?"

Lily nodded slightly so as not to aggravate her blinding headache. Unsteadily she rose to her feet as James held her hand. He squeezed it lightly and was about to lead the way when Lily suffered a fresh wave of crying. Her legs shook and gave out underneath her just as James caught her. Lily crumpled in his arms and he held her tenderly. James sank to the floor as he held her and pulled Lily's body down with him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he pulled her close, stroking her soft hair. She looked tiny compared to his strong frame.

If Lily had been in her right mind she never, in a million years would she have clung to James Potter as she did now. But at that point in time he was the only one there and the only person she could seek comfort from. Right now all Lily needed was a place to feel safe and loved and James' arms were the only ones available. Her parents were gone and Marly was far away, probably unaware of the tragedy Lily had suffered and fast asleep in her four-poster bed. And as for Petunia, she probably didn't care about anyone but herself.

James had never been this close to Lily before and he savoured every minute, anxiously waiting for her to remember that it was his arms she was in and leap away with a shriek. But she didn't. Instead, she curled up and drifted off to sleep right there in his arms.

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James' whole body ached from staying in the same uncomfortable position for too long. His eyes drooped with tiredness but still he sat there, Lily asleep in his arms, her face buried in his neck. With a sudden thought, James stood up, heaving Lily with him and he walked back up to the seventh floor.

Standing opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, James watched as a highly polished door appeared in the blank wall. Struggling to turn the brass handle with Lily asleep in his arms, James eventually pushed open the door to reveal a spacious room with a large bed in the middle. Gently laying Lily on the bed and pulling the covers over her to keep her warm, James turned to examine the rest of the room.

His eyelids heavy with exhaustion, James could fight sleep no longer. Lying down on top of the covers, James fell asleep next to Lily.

It seemed as if he had only just fallen asleep when James was woken by a piercing scream. Lily was thrashing in the bed next to him, screaming and saying something incoherent. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she was sobbing again, clutching the front of James' robes.

"Sshhh, Lily. It's only a dream. Nothing can hurt you, I promise." James said soothingly as she shook uncontrollably against him.

"Please. Please." Lily begged between sobs. "Please make it go away. Please."

"It's ok. Tell me what happened and I'll make it go away." James was desperately trying to reassure her but she was worked up into a state. Her breaths came in short gasps and tears were still pouring down her cheeks.

"Mum…dad…car…crash…blood…everywhere…fire…sirens…" She mumbled disjointed sentences but enough for James to understand.

This is what Professor Dumbledore had told her. James felt his blood turn cold and his heartbeat stop for a fraction of a second. A foreign feeling arose in him, one that he couldn't put a name to. No wonder Lily was in the state she was. She had just lost both her parents and a whole lot more. Her security, her home, her family, the unconditional love that parents give. All she had left now were memories, pieces of the past.

"Oh my god, Lily. I am so sorry. It'll be okay." James mumbled the first words that came into his head, trying hard to soothe her but somehow it managed to have the opposite effect.

"It'll be okay? How do you know that? You have no idea!" Suddenly Lily was screaming at him. "You have absolutely no idea if it will be okay or what I'm going through. You're just rich little James Potter, living in his manor with mummy and daddy to do everything for their precious little son. Precious little James who has had everything handed to him on a silver platter. Don't even try to pretend you know what I'm going through!" Lily looked like a very angry lion. And she had absolutely no idea how hard her words hit him.

Lily was absolutely right about everything she had said. James had never realised how superficial his life had looked to others. He was the precious only child of hugely rich parents. His parents had always given him everything he had wanted, spoiled him rotten, never dared refuse James something he asked for. Never had James had to fend for himself. He was just a spoilt little rich kid with not a worry in the world. Even subconsciously, James had always known that no matter how much he stuffed up, his parents would always fix everything.

Almost as soon as her anger had appeared, it was gone and Lily was back in hysterics. James had never known that someone had so many tears to cry, or that they could change emotions from one extreme to the other so quickly.

After a few minutes, Lily stopped shaking and her breathing evened. Abruptly, she became aware of her surroundings and looked like a lost child in a busy supermarket. She seemed to have forgotten her earlier outburst.

"Where am I? What is this place? Why are you here?" Her eyes were wide with confusion and she seemed particularly disturbed that she was so close to James.

"I brought you here after you fell asleep in the corridor. It is known as the Room of Requirement and like the name says, it can turn into any room at any time. I wanted to stay with you and make sure you were alright." James couldn't even bring himself to look at her so instead he spoke to his hands. His mind was still turning over what she had said to him.

To give himself something to do, James conjured up a glass of water and handed it to Lily. She gulped it down quickly and thanked him quietly. Minutes passed in silence and James was beginning to think that Lily had fallen asleep again when she broke the stillness.

"What to you want from me, James?" Startled, James looked at her face and saw how exhausted she looked. He barely even noticed that she had called him James.

"W-what?"

"What do you want from me?" Lily repeated slowly. "Why are you still here? Is this some kind of prank or something? Are you just here so you can tell the whole school and have a good laugh at my expense? Or are you here to try and take advantage of me?"

James was genuinely shocked. How could she think that after all of this? That he was just here to hurt her? Did she honestly think he was that cruel and uncaring, that he was some kind of evil rapist?

"I don't want anything from you Lily." James stated frankly. "I am genuinely concerned for you and I want to take care of you and make sure you're alright. I just want to be your friend. Is that too much to ask?"

"While I appreciate your concern, it is not necessary. I am not alright and I won't be for a long time. Right now, all I want is peace and quiet and to be alone." Pain shot across Lily's face as she said that. It was far too literal.

She was alone in the world now, with no one to guide her, no one to fall back on, no one she could trust completely. Here eyes filled with tears for what seemed like the millionth time in a matter of hours. Burying her head in the pillow, Lily cried heavily and her shoulders shook.

As cruel as her words were, James couldn't bring himself to be angry. After all, she had just lost her family, she needed someone to lash out at, someone to hurt back to take away some of her own pain. It was unbearable to watch her in so much anguish.

Reaching across to a shelf in the room, James found a small bottle of purple liquid.

"Drink this. It's a potion for dreamless sleep." James whispered as he handed it to Lily who was still slumped on the bed.

"Thanks." She whispered and she drank from the bottle. Instantly, James saw her grow drowsy and she fell back onto the bed, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

James lay down beside her again and watched Lily as she slept. And then he fell asleep himself.

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I know this chapter was a bit gloomy, what with Lily's parents dying but something big did need to happen to bring Lily and James together and what is bigger than loosing your parents and being comforted by your mortal enemy? I hope it's not too predictable so far, there will be a few twists later on in the story after Lily and James become closer. This story was originally only going to be about 5 or 6 chapters long but now it will probably be about 15 or so. I'm planning to write about the whole year up until they leave school. Just thought I'd let you guys know and hopefully you'll keep reading (& reviewing!) ;-).