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hedgi: Thanks, I try really hard to make them believable.

sweet_bubble3: Thanks.

Idizzle22: Thank you.

fire_it_up: Okay, I guess it wasn't a quick update, but hopefully you'll be satisfied now. Thanks for reviewing.

Day 3:

18: 52

With every step Lily took, she knew that she was moving closer and closer to death. She shivered vigorously from head to toe, trying with extreme desperation just to retain what little body heat she had left.

Lily looked around. All she could see was snow for miles on end. Snow. Snow. Snow. No houses. No roads. No people. Unable to hold back any longer, Lily started to cry, but the tears soon froze on her face.

She looked at her hand once again, for perhaps the five hundredth time since she had left the cave. The appendage was no longer recognizable as her own. Her fingers had changed from a dark purple to a sickening night black. The lower part of her hand was a little better, appearing red and blistery for the most part, with bits of purple flesh here and there. She shuddered and supressed the overwhelming urge to vomit, although at this point, she wasn't sure if there was actually anything left for her to throw up.

A haunting thought in the back of her consciousness reminded her that a rescue team might come and rescue her brother and she would be nowhere to be found. Still, the thought was unlikely. Lily had seen the sign, or rather, what was left of it. As she had left, Lily had snuck a glance at what looked like a small blood stain in the snow. No rescue team would notice it. She knew in her heart that she was their only hope. A depressing thought, really.

So far she had seen nothing that even resembled life - human, or animal. Lily knew that if she was to make any sort of progress, she was going to have to go twice as fast as her current pace. But she could hardly make herself move. How could she - - Lily stopped and looked down at the skis and poles she was carrying. Of course! Why didn't she thinking of it before?

Lily grinned for the first time in days as she tightened her goggles and stepped into the thin, metal boards. It was time to go to the rescue, cross country style.

"I wonder what Mum and Dad are doing," James wondered aloud. Maybe they weren't really in court. Perhaps thats just what they told him so that he would not be tempted to follow them. That meant that his parents thought whatever they were doing would truly upset him. "How could I possibly get anymore miserable?" James mumbled bitterly.

"The ceiling could collapse right on top of us, killing me and sparing you without so much as a scratch," Hugo said helpfully. "You'll begin to think that you're a bad luck magnet and try to avoid human interaction. Eventually you will die as a sad and lonely hermit, having given up family life from a fear of accidentally getting them all killed."

James jumped. "I thought you have fallen asleep! Never mind, what was that all about?"

The little boy blinked in confusion. "I was answering your question," he replied as if it were obvious. "You asked how you could possibly get anymore miserable."

"Oh. The question was rhetorical. You don't have to take everything literally, you know."

"I know. It's just easier that way," he returned to his book, deciding that the conversation was apparently over. In actuality, James would have liked to talk for a little longer, but he did not push his cousin. Hugo was bright, but hard to talk to.

His mind returned to fantasizing about his parents' predicament. Maybe they were organizing more search parties. But why wouldn't they bring him along? He supposed it was possible that they wanted him to keep Hugo company. James couldn't help but suppress a giggle. Company was the last thing Hugo Weasley needed. He had seen seen his cousin eat through book after book after book for hours on end, not so much as looking up to acknowledge anyone in the room unless spoken directly to.

It was more likely that his parents were actually doing something extremely depressing, like planning his siblings' funerals.

Of course, there was the off chance that they were actually in court. But what were the odds of that?

"Where were you on January 4, 2019?"

Harry rolled his eyes. In a muggle court this would never stand. "I was in Switzerland with my wife, children, two of my brother and sisters-in-laws, and their kids on a skiing trip. My son Albus also brought along his friend Scorpius Malfoy."

Tracey Davis straightened her glasses. On most days she preferred contact lenses (she was a half-blood by heritage, the idea of contacts was unheard of in the wizard world) but generally wore her shades on court days. They made her look more professional.

Personally, she didn't think this case stood a chance. But, like Malfoy had said, if anyone could pull it off, she could.

Tracey fixed her icy blue eyes upon Potter. He really looked terrible. His green eyes were sunken and bloodshot from a lack of sleep and his untidy hair was even messier than usual. But Davis was not known for being a sympathetic individual. "Where are the children now?"

Harry paused. For a moment, it seemed that he would cry. Quickly, he regained his composure. "Angelina and George's children, Roxanne and Fred are at their home. Ron and Hermione's son Hugo is also at home, with my son James. As for the others, as you very well know, they are missing."

"Missing and presumed dead," she added. Several of the jurors shot Harry glances of sympathy. She paid them no attention.

Harry, unable to conjure up speech, nodded feebly.

there was a pause. All eyes were on Potter. "That is what I thought. Now, if I understand correctly, shortly before you left, you told Mr. Malfoy's parents that you guaranteed the boy would be safe?"

". . . Yes, I did."

"You said, and I quote 'I swear that no matter what, I will not harm a hair on your son's head. I will bring him back on time and he will have had the time of his life.'" Tracey smirked. She knew this would not mean much in a muggle court of law. But in the wizard world, a promise held great gravity, and was always taken seriously.

Maybe, just maybe, they stood a chance after all.

Day 3:

20: 48

"She's dead. I know she is. Oh, Merlin help me, I've killed my sister!"

"Do you mind?" Rose said irritably. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

Albus jumped slightly. He had thought his cousin was still out cold. "How could you possibly sleep at a time like this? Lily could be in trouble, or worse. Scorpius is as good as dead, and you freaking just about got your hands burned off!"

Rose looked at her blistered skin in fascination and began to pick away at it.

"Rose, stop it!"

His cousin shrugged. "It doesn't hurt. The nerve endings are cut off. And I'm only getting rid of the parts that are already falling off. See?" She tugged at one of her fingers. The skin was unnaturally white. Albus felt about ready to vomit, but he could not bring himself to look away as Rose held the piece of detached skin to her face and sniffed it.

"Rose - Don't! Stop! Oh my lord, that is disgusting!" Al, now coming to his senses, covered his eyes and gagged.

"I'm starving! Besides, like I said, it doesn't hurt."

While still mad, it seemed that Rose had become aware once again. Now, instead of a raving sociopath who thought everyone else was mad, she seemed to have simply accepted the fact that she had gone crazy. Albus wasn't sure which was more upsetting.

When told about her previous state, Rose had seemed genuinely shocked and disgusted with herself, claiming that she did not remember a thing before the flames. Albus couldn't tell if she was being truthful, or simply trying to fool herself in order to hang on to the last shred of sanity within her reach.

Al began to feel abnormally hot, which confused him. Shouldn't he have been feeling the other way? He began to unbutton his coat, when Rose turned around.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"I'm just taking off my coat. It's hot in here, don't you think?"

"No!" she slapped Albus across the face. "Undo one more button and I will personally see that you are skinned alive and your pelt is hanged on the wall. Do you understand? What you're doing is called paradoxical undressing in hypothermia victims. It's when you're body fools itself into thinking its hot and then the person gets naked an dies. And you are NOT dying on me, Mister!"

How did on earth she know all this stuff? "I wasn't going to get naked," he mumbled. "I just wanted to take off my coat."

Rose paid him no attention, instead she returned her concentration to her hands. After Rose tore off her third piece of skin, Albus, unable to watch it any longer, said, "Please don't do anymore, Rose. I couldn't bear it."

Rose shrugged, seeming mildly annoyed by her cousin's squeamishness. "For your sake, I'll stop. Or at least not do it in front of you." Her eyes shifted to Scorpius. "How's our friend fairing?"

"Not good. He's ice cold and not responding to anything. I can't wake him up." Albus heard his voice cracking as he spoke.

"That's bad," Rose agreed. She turned away from her cousin and stared at the ground. She made her way over to Scorpius and stroked his face. He heard quiet suppressed sniffling sounds. Even though she was facing away from Albus, he knew exactly what was happening.

Rose quickly regained herself and the sniffling sounds stopped. For several long moments there was a deafening silence. Albus, determined to break it, asked meekly, "Does he have a pulse?"

Rose nodded, still refusing to face her cousin. "But not for long. Lily better get help soon."

"You honestly think she'll be able to find somebody?"

She shrugged. "You never know. There's the off chance she may get lucky, but I'd say the odds are very much against us." It annoyed Albus how calm she sounded. Didn't she care that she was about to die? Or at the very least if she wasn't going to think of herself, didn't she care about her friends and family who were also going to die? What about her parents, at home sick with worry? Or him, lying on the floor of an ice cave with a twisted ankle? Or Lily. Poor Lily. She must have been terrified, out there all alone.

Albus looked to his cousin. He needed reassurance. "Do you think I did the right thing in sending her out?"

To his surprise, Rose threw back her head and laughed. Steadily it grew louder into a mad guffaw. For a moment, Albus feared that she had once again slipped into insanity. "You claim that I just tried to eat you all and you're asking me about morals?"

Day 3:

21: 07

"Help! Help!" Lily cried until her voice was hoarse. At this point she had lost all feeling in her legs and was dragging herself forward through sheer willpower, and even that was slowly fading. More than once, Lily had to stop and rest. And every time she stopped, Lily feared that she would not have the energy to get back up again. Many a times she burst down into tears. She was scared. Scared for herself. Scared for her brother. Scared for her friends. They were as good as dead if she didn't get them help.

Lily continued to trudge the hazardous terrain even after it grew dark. Unable to see where she was going, Lily tried to guide herself via the stars. Her Aunt Hermione had told her stories of muggles lost at sea who were able to guide themselves to shore by looking at the North Star. Lily didn't know which one was the North Star, but she was able to recognize certain patterns in the sky.

As the night wore on, Lily began to feel oddly warm. No, not warm. Boiling hot. Why was she hot? That didn't even make sense! And yet she felt as though she were inside one of Rose's fireballs. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant feeling. So Lily did the thing that seemed most logical: she began to undress herself.

Lily began by taking off her scarf and gloves. Then, she removed her coat. Afterwards, still feeling surprisingly warm, she took off her shirt and lower her pants so that she only wore a tank top an underwear.

Lily breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much better. The snow looked awfully soft. It was almost like it was inviting her for a nap. Surely a few minutes of rest wouldn't do anything. She could continue her search afterwards.

That settled, Potter laid down in the snow and closed her eyes. She sank into it like a fluffy mattress and before Lily knew it, she was fast asleep. Still wearing nothing but her underwear.

As our tale draws to a closure, the author would like to thank everybody who has supported me through this story through reviews. Wait, why is the author speaking about herself in third person?

Either way, please review.