Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction without original characters.
A/N: Hey guys, I know you must all want to murder me for taking so long, I didn't realize I hadn't updated since May! Anyways, I'm home sick with the flu so I thought now is a good time as any to finish, hope its up to your standards! Enjoy.
Chapter 15: Underneath The Willow Tree
James tore down numerous staircases, how many, he couldn't say. The past fifteen minutes had been a total blur as he ran down random corridors and empty classrooms as he searched desperately for Lily inside the castle first, before resigning to the fact that she could be lying on the ground outside, her skin with little burn marks like cigarette burns from the acid rain, her body limp, her skin, oh so cold...
He wiped that image from his mind, shaking his head profusely and getting his shaggy brown hair in his face where it stuck to the sweat on his forehead. He had ran straight back to Gryffindor Tower after escaping the kitchen before also checking Ravenclaw Tower. Both were deserted of any human presence.
From there, he resorted to stalking all the corridors, but he had been searching for moments on end but without any sign of Lily on any of the seven floors of Hogwarts or its many towers James tried to make himself see sense, but his inner Marauder wouldn't let him, forcing to fight for her, to fight the weather, to fight for his own life.
He stopped short in the middle of the doorway, causing a shiver to run down his spine, however this was caused to the Fat Friar who unexpectedly glided through a wall and through him. James ran head first through the painting that was in front of him, causing the occupants to flee into the neighbouring portraits as James smashed through, and into the concealed staircase behind.
He came out of the end, opening this portrait instead of smashing through it and sprinted to the top of the marble staircase, where, he descended, skipping every second stair and in one case every third as he leapt over the trick stair.
He slid across the Entrance Hall, his sneakers squeaking on the surface as he made his way towards the doors, which he found to be slightly open and with five teachers around the bottom, pointing their wands at it and performing spells James had never heard of before.
Still sliding, he quickened his speed and aimed for the space between Professors McGonagall and Victor and crouched down and zoomed past them and through the tiny crack in the door. For a split second, he thought he felt a hand pulling on the back of his pullover but as he landed in the middle of the storm, he only had time to conduct a quick body shield charm before the professors slammed the door and he was left out there by himself.
For the next few minutes, James just stood out there, strengthening his shield charm, which proved to be quite a challenge as the storm kept trying to penetrate the shield. After a few quick and impressive wand movements, James set off into the storm, his head down looking at his feet as he could still feel the coldness and feel the strong winds trying to push him back.
He walked around the greenhouses, peering in through each of the windows to see if Lily was there, as if seeking shelter from the storm. He continued walking around them, and walked across the grounds and towards the vegetable patch owned by a man called Hagrid, who had built a hut next to it and moved in a few years earlier. His exact age was hard to tell as he looked like half a giant.
It was in the vegetable patch, that James's shield charm began to waver, flickering. He yelped in pain as some acid landed on his ear and he flicked it off before it could burn a hole. He ran up the stairs to Hagrid's hut and banged on it several times, each one louder than the last to try and make himself heard over the storm.
The door opened so suddenly, that James nearly lost his balance and fell backwards but before he could, a pair of strong hands reached out, grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him inside, slamming the door behind him.
"Wha' you doin 'ere?" he thundered as James fell into one of his large armchairs "I know you Marauders like getting inta trouble but I didn think you were insane!"
"Lily- In the storm- couldn't leave-" James gasped, exhausted from the shield charm.
"Ah, bein a hero, I geddit , but don't you reckon you're a bit over yeh head?" . James shook his head vigorously.
"Ah well, you'd betta wait here till the storm calms down a bit eh?"
"Lily could be dead by then!" James exclaimed, jumping from the chair "I'm going to go back out in a minute, I just needed to rest, plan my next moves," James sank back down in the chair to think.
"Well, were have you checked?" Hagrid asked, sitting down on the armchair opposite, trying to help him.
He'd always liked James, reminded him a bit of himself at school, with the rule breaking and everything. He was also the one who James came to in his third year when he's parents had a trial separation. James liked how Hagrid listened to his problems, sort of like a parent but without all the lectures. He also made sure that Hagrid was one of the first to know when his parents got back together.
"All through the castle" James said into his hands which were covering his face so his voice came out muffled "and the greenhouses and the vegetable patch"
"What about the lake?" James raised his head.
"Why would she be at the lake? It's like the most exposed area of the school grounds, there's no shelter!"
"Yeh, yeh there is" James raised an eyebrow. "Common James, think. If she's told me her favourite part of the school grounds, she would've told you!"
"No she wouldn't have. I've ignored her for the whole year,"
"And the year before?"
"I never knew she existed."
"Okay" said Hagrid confused, and he lent back in his seat. "Then tell me this, if you didn't know her last year, and ignored her this year, how do you know her, why are you ignoring her and why are you willing to risk your life to save her?"
James suddenly felt quite full, like he would explode if he didn't let something out, so he cracked. He explained everything, about France, about school, everything until he had fully deflated, until he felt empty again, which was the same feeling he had when he left Lily, all those months ago in France.
Hagrid sat back and thought for a moment, while James looked up at him intently, waiting for an answer.
"Save her, and win her love back, you have to find out from that other person if you really want her," he said wisely, as if imitating Dumbledore.
"Are you serious? Lily's life is at risk! What part of that do you not understand?" James yelled.
Hagrid explained calmly as to not test the teenager, "If she is where I think she is, she will be safe and she will go there, I guarantee you if she comes out in this storm, she will go there. She's not stupid, she's helped me with my vegetable patch more then once, she needed ingredients for potions. Lily is bright; she will find the shelter in her place."
"I know she's not stupid. What I don't know, is who that other person is!" James snapped, pacing the small circle mat in the middle of the hut.
"Yeh not the smartest of the bunch are you?" James raised an eyebrow, "Right, well you told me about everything in Lily's life since you've met her. Who would she have told apart from me?"
James just stared.
"It's a he."
James continued to stare.
"He's name starts with a J."
"OOOOH! She told me! Wait...no she didn't!"
"James, his initials are J H."
James stared again. Hagrid nodded. Then suddenly James had a look on realization on his face.
"Why she would tell that creep and not me I don't get! I mean-" Hagrid didn't hear the rest as James had recast his shield charm and had taken off, back into the storm.
Hagrid leapt from the chair and shut the door, but before he could, a mini tornado blew through the door, setting off the stack of papers in the corner. He grabbed James's broomstick, the one he kept at Hagrid's so Sirius couldn't borrow it without permission and flicked the tornado outside, before slamming the door shut so nothing else could get in. He moved over to the window, and pulled back the curtains and saw James in his shield walking back up to the castle talking to himself.
-:-
When James arrived back at the castle doors, he found that the teachers had used most of their magical knowledge to charm the doors shut and restrain the storm.
"Damn it!" James said, kicking the front door with his foot before instantly regretting it. 'Great' he thought, trying to think of a way to get in, but the storm wasn't helping. Suddenly, an idea hit him. He looked back at Hagrid's hut, then up at the Divination tower.
"Accio broom!" he yelled, pointing his wand at the small hut. He heard a small smashing sound and saw his broom break through the hut's door and fly over to him. He looked at Hagrid's door to make sure nothing got in and sure enough, a few seconds later, he saw a pumpkin being pushed into the hole the door made.
James laughed and mounted his broom, casting his protective spell around the broom as well and kicked up from the ground. He flew up, over the hut and the greenhouses and up higher and higher until he reached the windows looking out from the Divination tower.
The windows were, of course, closed due to the storm. James took out his wand and yelled
"Scontro!" The windows smashed, the glass blowing away into the night. He flew in through the window, and with one hand still on the broom, he hopped off and with the other hand, flung open the trap door and scaled down the silver rope ladder, slamming the trap door shut as he reached the ground.
He hopped back onto his broom and flew down the spiraling staircase and down through the corridor. He paused for a moment and hovered in mid air, thinking of where he could be. McGonagall had said something how the Ravenclaws had to go to the Hufflepuff's common room, yet, it seems to James that Jesse wouldn't have done that, as the professors would have sent Lily back to the Gryffindors.
No, Jesse would of probably taken Lily's protection into his own hands, god damn him. James shook his head, thinking of a place Jesse could have taken her, where he hadn't already checked. He had checked all the seven floors...but not the floors underground.
He zoomed off, and dived straight down, in the small square with the staircases on either side, and dived until he reached the bottom and pulled up sharply and zoomed off down the marble staircase. He turned sharply, and then flew back and down the stairs leading to the Slytherin's common room.
When he reached the bottom, he dismounted and with his broom in one hand, and his wand in his other, he set off down the corridor until he reached the beginning of the dungeons. At every door, he raised his right foot and kicked, making them all swing open and give him enough time to check the room for the doorway before the door rebounded and shut again.
When he reached the last door, he crossed his fingers briefly before kicking that door open as well. However, the contents of this room were different to the others, mainly because there was a seventeen year old boy sitting on the floor in the fetal position.
James recognized the boy at once. He charged into the room before the door could rebound, he threw his broom into the corner of the room and with that spare hand, he reached for the boy's neck, held on to it and lifted him up off the floor.
"Where's Lily?" James growled, the boy's eyes suddenly opening and his mouth forming an O when he saw who his attacker was.
"I thought- I thought she was with you!" he gasped, holding on to James's hand in hopes to loosen his grip but without such luck.
"What do you mean?" he growled again, shaking him by the neck.
"She went out into the storm, to go out and find you!" he whimpered, the pain finally getting to him. However, James heard Hagrid's words circling his head and knew what he needed and Jesse was going to tell him, or so help him Merlin he was going to do something bad.
"Harvey, where is her special spot?" Jesse raised his head, a little confused at what he was being asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Where was Lily's favourite spot outside? Was it near the vegetable patch or the greenhouses or what?" James asked a little less aggressively.
"Um, well she liked hiding inside those Weeping Willows on the side of lake," Jesse said, his voice all shaky as he became very confused.
"Of course! Hagrid said she would be protected and those willows were supposed to be the tree that Rowena Ravenclaw practiced her protection spells on!"
"Huh?" Jesse asked, but James just let him go, letting him drop to the floor. He heard a soft whimper as he left the dungeon.
-:-
Lily was cold. She sat huddled in a ball, rocking herself backwards and forwards to help warm herself up. At least she wasn't wet, she told herself, Rowena's protection spells had taken care of that but it didn't keep warm air in and cool air out.
She stood up, and spent five minutes searching for dry branches and leaves to make a small fire, though it was a difficult task during a storm. However a few minutes later, as light was just breaking over the horizon, she had a merry little fire alight and it began warming her up.
As she stared into the flames, she recounted the events that had happened that night. It had seemed like hours ago she had left Jesse to find James, yet it had only been an hour or so.
After she had left the kitchens, she had come straight out into the storm, first applying a shield charm but after minutes of searching the grounds, she broke down.
She soon found herself outside Hagrid's little hut, a tear trickling down her face as she knocked on the door. Gently at first, then as the minutes went by she beat faster and faster until she was pounding on the door, tears streaming down her face.
The door opened, making her fall forward onto the hard, wooden floor but she couldn't have cared less. Hagrid picked her up and placed her onto one of his armchairs.
"What are you doin out in this storm?" he yelled to make himself heard over the storm.
"James…he's out here…I need to find him…to tell him I'm sorry!" Lily explained through strained sobs.
Hagrid walked over to his kettle, opened a cupboard and pulled out two large barrel like glasses and filled them with hot water and dunked two tea bags in them. He carried them back over to Lily where Lily took one and took a long swig.
"Slow up a bit, I don't want yeh choking on me!" he grunted, before taking a sip of his own.
"Lily, I think you'd better go back up to the castle," she chocked and tried hard not to spit out the tea.
"No! I couldn't! I can't let James die without telling him first how sorry I am. Then he can go to hell," she said, satisfied with her choice of words.
"Okay, I'm not gonna ask what this is all 'bout but I think you should stay here till it lets up a bit more," he said gently, not wanting tea over himself.
"I told you, I'm going. I'm sorry I intruded," Lily said shortly, putting her mug on the ground and stood up.
"No, I can't let you go out there," Hagrid said, standing up as well and towering over Lily, intimidating her slightly.
"I'm going out there to look for James and you can't do anything about it," she said slowly but surely.
"If you don't get back inside now, you'll be locked out and won't be able to get back in," he warned her but Lily stood her ground.
"I will keep searching until I find him."
"And if you don't?"
"I will keep searching until I find him," Lily repeated, her teeth clenched and her fingers hovering over her wand in her pocket.
"Lily, what if you get caught in the storm and you aren't strong enough to keep your shield charm up, where are you going to go? If you won't stay with me, at least tell me this so I'll be able to find you after the storm"
"I'll be at the willows," Lily whispered, before pushing past him to reach the door and found herself back outside in the storm.
She had braved the weather as long as she could to search for James, but the storm became stronger and stronger and finally she forced herself to flee to the willows for protection. That is where she laid now, huddled next to her small fire.
She must have dozed off after a while, as she dreamed of James and remembered how happy she was, how charming James was. She smiled, remembering the night on the beach, together forever.
Lily smiled, the memories alone were keeping her warm and protecting her from the storm. She snuggled closer to herself and wiggled closer towards the fire. She dissolved herself in her memories and dreams and those that were in between, losing herself in them. Soon she could no longer hear the storm and the cold, the memory of the old James lingered.
A snap made her jump out of her skin a while later. She looked around her surroundings, at the branches hanging down, and the fire that was nearly out.
She searched for the source of the noise, and as she looked up a sight startled her. A tall, towering figure moved towards her in the shadows. Lily sat there, quietly, waiting for the thing to come into the light. Once she saw its face, she gasped.
"Lily," the man whispered, looking longingly at her. She leapt to her feet and ran straight up and knocked him into the ground in a tight embrace. After what seemed like forever they sat up but Lily still hung on.
Leaning down he whispered in her ear, "I will always love you."
Lily brushed his check and lent up until her mouth was millimetres from his ear and whispered, "I will always love you James"
A/N: Well, there's another one, murder writing it I tell you, hope its satisfactory. As some of you know, I've started my third fanfic 'Football, Quidditch, Hairspray?' and hope you will read and enjoy that one also. Thanks to Ember Riddle, blueholly, Artemis-Bell, Isolde Eris, '.-.'sweetdemon32'.-.', Sunny Sammy, SingingBird812, crazylily, BrazilianPrincess, Penelope Richmond, Mrs. Claire Potter, headoverheels4HP, Muse Dae, Mad Over Mooney, camillebananapeel, Lexy Granger, clovr, Baby Seal and Grey Mustang for reviewing!!!!!!!