A/N: Hello all. This chapter was supposed to be part of chapter four, but somehow I goofed. I just realized I'd not copied it into the right document. I thought about going back and fixing it, but then how would you all know there'd been a change? So I decided that I might as well post it as the next chapter. Here it is.
Chapter Five: Reassurance
"Don't you dare let go, Padfoot! Don't you let go!" James could feel his grip slipping but he wouldn't let it happen. He couldn't let it happen.
A spark of realization flitted into Sirius's eyes. "'Padfoot'? Prongs?" His eyes were starting to mist, the veil pulling harder, but James wouldn't let him go so easily.
"Stay with me! Fight it!" he shouted.
"James!" Sirius cried, then he succumbed to the power of the veil and James felt the ice of death creep up his best friend's body.
"No! Help me, Padfoot, I can't do it alone!" James tugged again, the ice coming closer and closer, his grip slipping.
"NOOOOOO!" James screamed, sitting straight up in bed.
"Quiet!" Lily commanded forcefully, pulling her husband back into the bed. He let her, still half-trapped in the memory. "Which was it?" she whispered.
James swallowed, trying to shake the cold and memory away. "Sirius."
"Hush," Lily whispered, rubbing smooth circles over his chest, feeling the heavy thumping of his heart. "It wasn't your fault. You did all you could."
James shrugged her hand away, but Lily just put it back on his chest and laid her head next to it. "I could have tried harder," he mumbled into the darkness.
"No, you know you couldn't have. The veil was too strong and even with your wand, there was no way you could have beaten it. Not with him already wounded. He was gone, James. He was gone the moment Bellatrix cast the spell." Lily spoke softly and slowly, hoping that this time the words would sink in.
"I never should have left his side."
Lily lifted her head from his chest. "So you would have done what? What could you have done that you weren't already doing?"
James was silent for a long moment. "I should have been closer to him. We could have fought together."
"You were, James. You, Sirius, and Remus. You fought together to save Harry's life. The Order saved our son. No, the Marauders saved their son." Lily's eyes, still that startling emerald no matter how many times she tried to cover them, stared determinately into James's disguised hazel ones. "Sirius died the way he'd always said he would. It's time you accepted that."
James was still for a very long time, so long, in fact, that Lily thought he'd fallen asleep. She was about to do the same when he spoke. "Thank you, Lily."
She pushed herself up to his face again and kissed him on the lips gently. "I love you, James Potter."
James smiled and pulled her back into the kiss, the nightmare temporarily forgotten.
"What do you think of the new professors, Harry?" Hermione had asked earlier that night.
At the time, Harry had just shrugged and said they seemed okay, but in the darkness and solitude of his four-poster bed, he found himself pondering the question more.
He kept trying to place that feeling he'd gotten in the pit of his stomach when he looked at Professor Pansy Deere. It had been familiar, he was almost sure of it, but he couldn't place it, just like he couldn't place those eyes or Paxton Deere's voice. Every time he thought he was getting closer, the memory would slip again. He was getting to the point where it didn't matter anymore.
Finally he got to sleep.
"Are you hurt?" a strong, rushed baritone asked, falling beside Harry. "Did they catch you?"
"No, but Ron, he was attacked by these things. I think they were brains, and Hermione was hit. I don't know about Ginny or Luna. Neville was right beside me," Harry rambled.
The man put a rough hand over his mouth to stop the flood of words. "We found them, they're on their way out."
"Are they --?"
"They are alive." A streak of muddy-purple light whizzed by and smashed into the stone above them. "Get down!" the man cried, yanking Harry into the hard ground. "Stay here until someone gets you! Don't move!"
In a flash, he was gone.
Harry woke up panting, like he'd actually been in the Department of Mysteries again. After a minute or two of staring into the blurry darkness, Harry relaxed. It was just a memory. And at least now Harry knew why Deere had seemed so familiar. Hermione had been right; he was in the Order.
Harry thought about Professor Paxton Deere again. He remembered glancing over his shoulder at the man. He'd been fighting alongside Sirius and Remus, if Harry recalled correctly. The three seemed to know each other so well.
He had a sudden flash of Sirius being stunned into the veil, but this time he remembered something other than Sirius's shocked expression. Someone had been there, had tried to save him while Harry had been held back by Remus. Paxton Deere.
The longer he thought about it, the clearer it became. Deere had held on for so long, screaming something Harry couldn't make out over the spells and curses, but that didn't matter. What did matter was Deere had tried to save his godfather. And in Harry's book, that meant Deere was going to be a very good teacher.
A/N: I recently received a couple of comments requesting longer chapters. They said that they were too short and not substantial enough. I can accept that, but I just wanted you all to know that this story is Harry's sixth year. It has a plot, I promise, but it might be a while. Trust me that everything I've mentioned will play a role in the near or not-so-near future. As for the length, I am trying to make them longer. Unfortunately, unless I really push, they all finish around one thousand words, about three pages. I handwrite everything and so I tend to under or overestimate the amount of pages. I have been able to write a couple of longer ones, however. They will probably be scattered throughout the story. Sorry, but it's the best I can promise.
Thank you again to those who've reviewed/alerted/favorited. More is always welcome. I'll try to post again soon, but AP exams are upon us. Where did the school year go?