Trials and Tribulations
Summary: Harry Potter knew he was going to get shocked when he visited his parents graves. He knew that'd he'd see family he never met; like grandparents, uncles, and aunts. But one thing he didn't know was that he was going to meet his sister.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am not making any profit off of this fanfic.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Moving, Falling, and Detentions

Lily wrapped her cloak around her tighter. She was on her way to Hagrid's hut where she was supposed to serve her detention. She wasn't actually going to do any strenuous work, but she was going to help pick plants from the edge of the Forbidden Forest with Remus, who had to serve his rabbit detention.

As Lily was nearing the Entrance Hall doors, she was stopped by Remus, who must've been chasing her because he was out of breath. "We're supposed to go to Dumbledore's office," he said, leaning on his knees to catch his breath.

"Why?" Lily asked, confused. "I thought we were supposed to have our detentions with Hagrid?"

"I guess that was too much work for you, what with bending over and getting on your knees. We're probably going to eat lemon drops and grade papers in front of the fire," Remus said jokingly. He stood up straight and looked at Lily. "Come on, let's go."

Lily fell into step beside Remus as they walked to Dumbledore's office. They spoke quietly about what they could do for their detentions, and Remus even suggested that she cry to get the out of it, but he was joking. Dumbledore would surely see through that and make them do something much worse.

As they neared the gargoyle that protected Dumbledore's office, Remus said the password. It jumped to the side and Lily gave Remus a look. "I'm here nearly once or twice a week Lily. I always have the passwords."

Lily laughed and they stood on the staircase as they revolved up. Lily was glad that the spinning wasn't fast, but surely it could have gone a bit slower. When they stopped in front of the door, Lily heaved a sigh of relief. Just as Remus was about to knock on the door, Dumbledore called for him to open it.

Remus opened the door and allowed Lily to step in first. She walked in and Dumbledore indicated for her to sit down in the chair that was in front of him. Remus shut the door behind him and sat down in the chair next to Lily.

"Miss Evans, if you would please tell me why you have this detention in the first place," Dumbledore leaned back, fingers steepled, looking at Lily.

"Er…sure, I have a detention because Professor McNeil, the substitute for Professor Slughorn, wouldn't let me use the lavatory. I was refusing to have an accident, so I left the classroom without permission."

"Did you disrespect your Professor at all?" Dumbledore asked.

Lily shook her head. "If I did, I didn't know it. I was just upset that he didn't let me go, and honestly Professor, I really had to go."

"I understand…somewhat, slightly. Sometimes I need to use the lavatory too. You're excused from this detention." He turned to Remus. "Mr. Lupin, there seemed to be a misunderstanding with your detention. Is it true that sometimes the other Marauders say you have a furry little problem, and it has nothing to do with a rabbit?"

Remus nodded his head. "They try to make light of my lycanthropy."

Dumbledore nodded his head and then he stood up. "Would you two like some tea and biscuits? I'm afraid I've been having a lot of visitors, but no one will try my biscuits. It's my own recipe," he said, walking towards one of the many tables in his office. Lily watched as he put a pot of tea and three cups on a tray beside a heaping plate of biscuits that looked kind of lumpy. "I must say I am not the best at cooking, but I think these are better than Hagrid's, personally."

Lily compared these biscuits to Hagrid's, and they looked just as dangerous. But to be polite she took a biscuit as Dumbledore poured her a cup of tea. Hoping that this wasn't going to cause a gag reflex, she took a bite.

At first Lily was shocked that she didn't break her teeth. Then she was surprised that the biscuit tasted good. She turned to Remus and he looked just as surprised. "These are good Professor," Remus said, popping the rest of the biscuit into his mouth.

"They do look a bit lethal," Dumbledore said, handing Lily a cup of tea. "But they are scrumptious. Better than lemon drops, but don't tell anyone. Those are my secret candy."

"The Muggle kind?" Lily asked.

"The best of the best," Dumbledore said, sitting back down.

Lily grinned and leaned forward, taking another biscuit. She glanced at Remus and he grinned at her. He seemed quite pleased that they didn't have detentions, and she knew she was definitely glad that they didn't. She nibbled on her biscuit as she watched Dumbledore pour another cup of tea. Tonight was going to be a good night.

xoXoXoXox

Remus pulled open the door, careful to not drop the neatly wrapped napkin of biscuits. Dumbledore had sent them off with the biscuits and a smile. Remus stepped onto the revolving staircase and flattened himself against the wall to allow Lily to walk out. She shut the door behind her and smiled at Remus. She braced herself for the turning and put one hand against the wall for support and one on her back for her own support.

After spinning for a moment, they stepped out of the secret passageway that lead to Dumbledore's office. Lily and Remus walked quietly, a comfortable silence between them. Remus was wary of every move Lily made. She still had one hand resting on her back and occasionally she'd bring her hand up and stroke her stomach. She'd been doing that a lot lately and Remus remembered James saying that they were small labor pains.

"LILLLEEE!"

Lily looked up as Sirius ran towards her. It looked like he had been running straight from the shower because his hair was plastered to his forehead and his shirt had water spots on it. He skidded to a halt in front of Lily, barely out of breath. "James is in the Hospital Wing." He watched as Lily's eyes widened and she looked scared.

"Why?" she asked, alarmed. She turned slightly in the direction of the Hospital Wing, taking a step back.

"A fifth year fell off his broom during quidditch practice. James walked him down." Sirius slung an arm around Lily's shoulders and steered her in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room. Lily glared at Sirius for giving her such a fright, but he didn't seem to notice. "What're those?" he asked, pointing at the napkin in Remus' hands.

"Biscuits from Dumbledore. They're Lily's, so don't eat them."

Sirius pouted but didn't pester any more. Lily pushed his arm from around her shoulder and walked between him and Remus. When they were nearing the moving staircases, Sirius grinned. "I'll race you," he said, looking at Remus. Remus grinned.

"You're on," Remus replied. Lily rolled her eyes and carefully made her way up the steps, gripping the railing tightly in her hands as Remus and Sirius sped passed her, taking the stairs two at a time. She had no idea where they were racing to, either the top of the stairs or the Gryffindor Common Room. She paused halfway up the steps, taking a breath. She never got winded on the stairs before she was pregnant. She heard Remus and Sirius coming back down the stairs, probably concerned about why she stopped. She let go of the railing and covered her mouth while moving forward.

Then the one thing she was dreading happened. As she was standing on one foot, her other one in the air to get on the other step, the staircase moved, breaking her balance. She tried reaching out to grab the railing but didn't grab it before she began. For a brief second her eyes locked with Sirius's as he flew down the stairs after her, but before he could reach her, the staircase was already gone from the landing. Then Lily closed her eyes and screamed as she fell down the stairs. She wasn't sure if it was the magic in her body or by shear luck, but she did not touch the stairs as she fell. She just flew backwards, as if she were free falling.

'Am I free falling? Did I fall over the railing?' Lily couldn't open her eyes. She kept them closed, afraid to see how fast she was going. She knew she had been falling for a few seconds, even though it seemed like an eternity.

And then suddenly she was snatched into someone's arms. She opened her eyes and stared into James's chest. They were still in the air, but it seemed like James had flown into the air and caught her. Both his arms were securely around her waist and he was holding her tightly. 'I want on the ground. I want on the ground.' Lily thought, repeating her mantra over and over again. Her body was shaking and she was sure her heart was going to burst from her chest.

"Oh Merlin Lily, are you okay? Please tell me your okay," James whispered, slowly floating down to the floor. He was glad he still had his broom, or he would have witnessed the most terrible accident in Hogwarts history. He didn't even want to know how she had fallen, even though he assumed the staircases moved. But how'd she fall over the railing? Lily hadn't replied to any of James's questions. "Lily. Lily, can you hear me?"

Lily mumbled something and leaned closer to James. He breathed a sigh of relief and then they landed on the ground. He allowed his broom to fall beneath him once he was safely on his feet. Lily tried standing on her feet, but she had been shaken up so bad that she couldn't support her weight. James hoisted her into his arms, not struggling a bit. He looked up when he saw Sirius and Remus running down the staircase. It had moved back into place. "James! Is she okay?!?" Sirius shouted, Remus right behind him.

"I think so," James said, looking at Lily. "I think she's just a bit shaken up." He smoothed back her hair and checked her face and head for any injuries. She mumbled into his shoulder that she didn't hurt herself as she fell. "Do you need to see Madame Pomfrey?" he whispered, tilting her chin up so he could see her and hear her.

"No," Lily closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder. They were still just standing, but Lily was beginning to regain her breathing. She was about to suggest that he let her down to walk, when he moved forward, shifting her in his arms so he could properly carry her. "James, you don't need to carry me," she whispered.

"You can't even walk on your own Love," he said, taking the stairs slowly. Sirius and Remus walked behind him, Sirius carrying James's broom. The two teenagers felt guilty. If they hadn't run off to race each other, they could have kept Lily safe between them. Remus rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had never been so scared in his life, watching Lily fall. He didn't even see James coming, so he was sure she was going to hit the stone cold floor and probably hurt herself and more than likely lose the baby.

They walked silently to the Gryffindor Common Room. Sirius mumbled the password and the Fat Lady swung open the portrait. They climbed through the portrait hole and it seemed like there was a half decent party going on in the Common Room. It was definitely a school night. James exchanged glances with Remus and Sirius and they knew what to do.

"Let's get this wrapped up. No parties on school nights," Sirius rushed over, immediately noticing three third years handling Fire Whisky. "Aren't you the ones who caught your dorm on fire?"

Remus began cleaning up the mess. James continued walking on, going up the stairs to his dormitory. When he entered he heard snoring and it was Peter. Frank wasn't in there. James slowly walked over to his bed and laid Lily down. For a moment she was reluctant to let go of his neck, but she did anyway. "Do you hurt anywhere?" James asked quietly, slowly scooting to the foot of the bed. He began untying her shoes.

"No," Lily whispered. "I was just…I was really scared James."

"I know," he whispered. "I'm so glad I had my broom." He looked at her. She was resting on her elbows, looking at him. "How'd you fall over the railing?"

"So I did?" Lily asked. "I did fall over the railing?" she asked, when James gave her a confused look. James nodded his head. "I was walking behind Remus and Sirius, and I guess the staircase moved and I didn't have my balance. All I knew was that I was falling." She sucked in a breath when she felt a lump forming in her throat. James slowly continued to take off Lily's shoes. He tossed them to the floor without a care and slowly began to take off her socks. Then he looked around a moment.

"Where are your pyjamas?"

"My nightdress is in the bathroom," Lily said, slowly sitting up. She winced and quickly hid the look of pain from James. He stood and walked to the bathroom, returning a moment later. It was relatively dark in the room, and Lily was surprised that James could move without tripping over anything. Lily took off her cloak and pulled her shirt over her head. James helped her put the nightdress on. When she had it on Lily stood unsteadily on her feet to remove her trousers. When they pooled at her ankles she stepped out of them and sat back down on the bed. James quickly undressed and put on his pyjamas before climbing into bed and pulling Lily beside him.

"You're okay?" James asked. He could still feel a slight tremble in her body.

Lily closed her eyes and nestled her head in the crook of his neck. "I'm fine." She felt James reach out and stroke her stomach. She smiled and sighed quietly. Sometimes she wondered why she didn't fall in love with him sooner.

xoXoXoXox

BB/N: If my sister would read this chapters faster, I'd update more!! Grr…Naomi…

Anyway, We had three snow days this week! Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday! Then, next week we don't have school on Friday and on Presidents Day! Wee!

I hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Have a GREAT Day!

Love,
Bob Bennit