Chapter Two-
Stacy sat in a room decorated horribly in scarlet and gold. It reminded her of James' office at home. Sirius, Remus, and Albus were already in the room. The only two that were missing were Lily and James. Stacy was beginning to get upset that this was taking so long. What could be so important that she had to go hundreds of miles from home? What was so important that it involved the people closest to James and yet she knew nothing after three years together? What was James hiding?
"They should be here by now. He apparated at 6:30 and it's almost 8. What could possibly be taking this long?"
Sirius piped up from the couch in front of the fireplace. He was enjoying being back in the Gryffindor Common Room even if it was for a painful reason and he didn't want her voice ruining his peace.
"Lily eats at 6:30. Today is Sunday, so she made chicken parmesan. James probably ate with her, then had to wait whilst she cleaned. They'll be here in a bit. So keep your trap shut and stop worrying."
Stacy looked offended by just about everything that he said. She never did like Sirius and could not see why James did. They were so different. She and James often fought about James spending time with his friend. Sirius was a auror. He kept secrets and went on suicide missions. He was dark and cynical. James was none of those things. Her James was bubbly, popular, and ignorant of the dark things in life. He was always so happy with his work and his fame. Their friendship did not make any sense. Stacy heard Remus reprimand Sirius.
"Sirius, be nice to her. She's James' fiance."
Stacy spoke condescendingly to Remus.
"I don't need you to defend me."
Remus looked at her and just rolled his eyes. Stacy didn't know about his furry little secrect, but she did know that Remus couldn't keep a job if he could even find one. He had horrible scars and the weirdest mood swings about the dumbest things. Like how he freaked out at James when she told him that she wanted to get married under a full moon. What was wrong with a full moon?
Albus spoke to Stacy and broke the silence.
"Would you like to play a game of chess?"
Sirius laughed almost bark-like at Albus' suggestion.
"What makes you think that she knows how to play? Nothing but air and gossip in that head of hers."
Stacy was silent because she really didn't know how to play chess, but in desperate need to defend herself. Before she could, Sirius spoke again to Albus.
"C'mon old man, I'll give you game for your money."
"Not a betting man, Sirius."
"Figure of speech, old man. I'm not stupid enough to think that I can win, but I can hope to give you a good run."
Sirius and Albus played their game of chess. Remus sat in a chair off to the side of the fire place, reading his book. Stacy just sat there out of place and out of patience. Finally twenty minutes later, Lily and James walk in. Sirius and Albus stop playing and make their way to the fireplace to talk about the past that none in the room would ever forget. Remus sat up in the chair as Sirius took to sitting on the arm of the chair Rem was in. Sirius put his arm around him and used his free hand to play with his hair. Albus sat in the chair on the other side of the couch as James and Lily sat down on the couch where Stacy was already sitting. The only problem with that was that James had to sit next to the armrest, so Lily was stuck in the middle between the two. Great... Albus started.
"We gather here tonight to relive a grave injustice that took a soul from us too soon and almost took two others. Where should we begin?"
Albus directed the question to everyone. They sat there trying to find the easiest way to describe the worst time of their lives. Lily seemed to be the only one who could find the words, so she began.
"James and I were engaged during our seventh year here at Hogwarts. He proposed to me at Christmas. I accepted, and we began making plans. Only, things didn't go quite as planned. I found out that I was pregnant two months before we were to graduate."
Lily let Stacy absorb this bit of information and gave her the chance to ask questions before Lily moved on.
"The next bit I won't describe to you. It's too painful for both James and I to relive again."
James shifted and pulled something out of his cloak pocket. He enlarged it to reveal a pensieve. He sat it on the table in front of her.
He spoke to her for the first time since his entrance.
"It's all there. Just know that what you see in there is the darkest place any human can ever find within himself."
Stacy looked scared and confused.
" I don't want to go in there alone. Jai, come with me."
James looked at Lily. For one, he hated that stupid nickname. Secondly, Lily knew that he couldn't relive the past. It would kill him to see it like it almost did when he actually went throught it. Lily grabbed his hand and squeezed in reassurance.
"I'll go. "
Stacy looked at Lily in digust.
"I don't want you. I want James. James will come with me."
"No, James won't. I'm going with you."
"James goes or I don't go."
Lily was starting to get angry.
"Look, Nastassia, I really don't want you to know about my life with James, but if he's going to marry you, then he can't keep this secrect any longer. It does not matter one lick to me if you don't experience our past, so don't tempt me and take the offer."
Stacy looked at James because she expected him to give her whatever she wanted like he always did. Then, she noticed that he hadn't let do of Lily's hand. He never held hands with her and she was his fiance! Lily noticed Stacy's averted attention and tried to remove her hand from James', but he clasp it tightly. When James looked at her, she understood.
"All three of us will go."
Stacy looked at Lily.
"I don't want you to go."
Lily stared into James' eyes as she answered.
"James does. He's more important than you are."
Stacy huffed, but all three entered the past with a thud.
Lily and James sat on his bed, waiting. Neither of them said a word, but both were thinking rapidly. Once the timer sounded, the potion would be ready. Lily finally found a test that she wanted to fail. The timer went off and neither moved from fear. A moment later, Lily braved getting off of the bed. She stood next to it and extended her hand to James. He took it, kiss it, then followed her into the study where the potion was. Lily grabbed a cup and looked at it for a moment. She drank the entire cup and waited. Both of them stopped breathing when Lily began to glow. A halo of pure gold seemed to encase her. Lily began to cry as James reached out to hold her close to him. They moved to a plush chair and just stayed there for what felt like forever.
Stacy looked at Lily and James. Lily answered.
"That was when we found out that I was pregnant. We weren't ready then for a baby. With time, we began celebrating our miracle."
Stacy looked at James who couldn't take his eyes off of the younger Lily crying in his arms. Stacy saw the look in his eyes. Now and in the younger James, she saw so much love that it almost burned through his eyes. Older James spoke to assumedly older Lily.
"I was so scared to bring a baby into this world."
Stacy looked at him strangely. Younger James didn't looked scared.
"There is so much hate and violence in this world. How could I bring someone into this much turmoil?"
Stacy asked to James.
"What happened? I mean, why isn't the baby here?"
As Stacy asked, the scene changed. She was in a house. It looked familiar. It was James' house in Birminghamshire. Lily was showing slightly. She sat in the nursery in the ugliest clothes Stacy had ever seen. How could James love someone so unkempt? Stacy saw James enter with the post. He looked up at Lily. He tried to act angry, but didn't do a very good job of it.
"Sexy, I told you not to paint. Especially with that muggle stuff. It's bad for the baby."
"I can't use magic, and you weren't home."
James walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her not caring that he was getting paint all over his work robes. He kissed her in small, frequent kisses all over her paint-covered face and neck. Lily giggled. James felt the baby kick.
"Okay, Princess, I'll stop."
Lily smiled. She loved it when James would talk to the baby.
"Now, my queen, I will paint the room magically tomorrow if the office doesn't call me in on my day off."
They kissed again before James began reading the mail. One was addressed to Lily, so he handed it to her.
Stacy felt herself being ripped from the memory and back into the poorly decorated room. She looked around wondering why she was taken from the pensieve. She looked over at James who has stood and was now walking around. Stacy started to get up, but Sirius motioned for her stay seated while Lily got up and went to her fiance! Stacy heard bits and pieces of their conversation.
"Jamie, not...fault..."
"How can you...I gave it..."
" Didn't know...poison..."
Stacy had heard enough. She stood which caused Sirius to stand. The expression on Sirius' face scared Stacy. She spoke.
"What's wrong James? Why are you so upset about a letter?"
James seemed to be ignoring her, but Stacy couldn't look away from her fiance and the red head. James seemed angry, but he was crying. Stacy had never seen him cry. She had seen him deal with broken bones and various other Quidditch related injuries, but not once had he cried. James was holding Lily tightly to him. Lily was so small that close to James, but she looked to be the one supporting him. Stacy couldn't see them talking, but after a few moments, James pulled Lily far enough back to look at her face. Lily felt his hand over one of her eyes and down her face as he carressed her. She felt his thumb on her lips and caught his eyes. She nodded and touched the hand that was on her face gently. James nodded back then went out the portrait hole to walk around to help him calm down. Lily watched him leave. Stacy tried to follow him, but Lily stopped her.
"Leave him alone. He needs peace now, not questions."
Stacy was so angry after watching her future husband with his hands on this...miscreant that she pulled her hand back to slap Lily. Before she could even get it all the way back, Albus grabbed her as Remus and Sirius jumped between them. Albus' eyes flashed dangerously. Sirius almost snarled at her whilst Remus looked at Stacy condescendingly. Albus spoke calmly though forcefully.
"You might refrain, Miss. Kilham. Striking Lily wouldn't be a good idea."
"Oh please. She's no match for me."
Sirius' words were sharp like knives.
"You are so unworthy of her presense. She is more..."
"Sirius, be nice. She can't be faulted for her ignorance."
Sirius accepted the answer and everyone backed down. Everyone settled in. Lily began again.
"The letter that you saw James give to me was from Voldemort."
Stacy shuddered at the name.
"I don't understand why You-Know-Who would send you a letter, but I do understand why that would upset Jai."
"You're not supposed to understand. That's why you're not telling the story. If you'd shut up and let me tell you, then you would understand."
Stacy just huffed, so Lily continued.
"The letter had poison on it. A poison that would cause the baby to slowly die. That caused the baby to take more nutrients and energy from me, so it also almost killed me. I was staying with Remus because James and Sirius were gone on a mission. Remus noticed, but he just figured that I was getting a cold. By the time James came back to us, I could barely move from weakness and I was having horrible stomach pains."
Lily had started off strong, but her strength dwindled the more she retold the most awful time in her life. Remus came and sat next to Lily, so that he was now between the two women. He embraced Lily and tried to give her some of his strength. He began where Lily left off.
"By the time James got her to Mungos, she was unconscious. The healers figured out what poison was used and they found the cure. The crisis was that the cure would kill the baby. So James had to choose between killing his baby or watching them both die slowly. He made the hardest decision of his life. He gave Lily the cure. He wouldn't even let the healers do it. He wanted to do it himself. He saved Lily, but he couldn't save their daughter. That's why James freaked out about the letter. He still blames himself."