A/N: I'm SORRY! SORRY! SOOO SORRY! That I haven't posted in FOREVER. Really, I am. I feel guilty. I've just been preoccupied with college and stuff. I really AM. I promise the next chapter will be way sooner. Like in the next month. PROMISE. Okay. So now that we have that clear. On to the poll. If you could be all-knowing in one thing, what would you want to know? My beta would like to know all the languages. I'm not sure what I'd want to know. There's so much to chose from. So read and review, please. And answer the poll!

Chapter Twenty-Six: Nightmares Aren't Reality

The darkness enveloped the room. It was quiet…an unnatural calm in the middle of the night. There weren't even any old-house noises to give it a haunting feel. No creaking floor boards or rusty pipes giving hollow sounds. James let out a breath. He was alone. It was cold, and all around him he could feel the impending disaster that was bound to find him. James turned about the room as he heard the quick swishing of a cloak. Someone was in the room. Ever alert, his right hand tightened around his wand as he glanced around in the blackness. It was impossible to make anything and he began to sweat with nervousness. He hated being like this---stranded and waiting like a mouse in a trap…this couldn't end nicely.

All of a sudden the room illuminated and James' eyes were shocked into adjusting to the brightness. Three hooded figures in black robes were staring at him. Death Eaters. Where had they come from? How did he not at least feel their presence? The man standing in the middle smiled menacingly as he pulled off his hood. There was no mistaking the black greasy hair.

"Snape!" James shouted, holding his wand up.

Severus Snape sneered at James with his cold black eyes. "Potter, Potter, Potter…I thought Dumbledore would have told you never to attempt missions alone. It just takes one mistake and something bad could happen…something tragic…"

"What have you done with Lily?" James demanded, his voice sharp and quavering at the same time. The panic had really hit him now…Lily was missing and there was no one to help him.

Snape let out a hollow laugh and his two hooded companions joined him with their own cruel snickers.

"Where is she?" James shouted, his whole body trembling with intense emotion. It was taking all his inner strength to keep from foolishly attacking them. It was three on one, after all.

"She's right here." Snape said lightly, stepping back and to the side to reveal a body, limp and still on the ground.

James made to rush to her, but the two unidentified wizards pulled out their wands. Snape laughed again.

"Not too fast Potter…wouldn't want to do anything rash would you? Because now you know whose life is on the line."

James glared at Severus Snape with the utmost loathing. He pulled out his wand and made to curse Snape and his friends with the most horrifying curse he could muster.

"Avada Kevadra!" he shouted, clutching his wand and sending the spell, his arm tingling with the sensation of the green death-light.

Snape merely smiled and with almost inhuman speed ducked, and to James' horror, his curse hit the lifeless Lily on the cold floor.

James' blood ran cold and the color visibly drained from his face. He had done it. He had killed Lily. His Lily. The one person that he was supposed to protect…

"James? James?"

James jerked upright. His naked body was cold and drenched with sweat.

"James, are you quite all right? You look so clammy…you're trembling."

"Lily?" James replied, his voice faint and disbelieving.

"Well who else would be here with you in bed?" Lily asked, looking at James with concern.

James' hazel eyes looked at her as though he had never seen before. He studied her for a moment before wrapping his arms around her, bringing her red hair to his face and taking in the smell as he held her.

Lily wasn't quite sure what was wrong but returned the embrace whole-heartedly.

"I thought you were dead. I thought I had killed you…" James whispered in a low tone that sounded akin to the soft hum of a swarm of bees.

"What? No, James, I'm right here. With you, alive. One-hundred percent alive. You can even take my pulse if you'd like." She grinned and she could feel the heat returning to James body.

"I'm sorry. I never want to hurt you, ever." James kept repeating, holding his Lily tightly.

"James, let me fix us some tea and you can tell me all about your dream. It'll help you go to sleep. You've got to work first thing in the morning…you need your rest."

He nodded and released her carefully before grabbing his pants and following her to the kitchen.

An hour later and James was finally sleeping restfully in Lily's bed. She watched him with her loving green eyes as he slept, his chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm. She was really starting to worry about her fiancé. The strain of training and joining the Aurors was eating away at him. He was becoming more and more stressed, and she was wondering when he was finally going to crack from the pressure. She had started hinting at him to take things slower, but he hadn't listened very well, like she expected. James had never been one to back down from his responsibilities, especially with a war waging on and civilization at the brink of destruction. The most she could hope for was that he would find a nice balance. She didn't know that she was what kept him going, what kept him from breaking down when things got too hard—although she had her suspicions.

"Pass me that cloth, Sirius." Lily asked the young man standing in the room with her who was currently turning about and inspecting his surroundings.

"What?"

"Pass the cloth." She said pointing to the corner where a cloth lay.

Sirius looked at her dumbly.

"Oh never mind." Lily resigned, going for the cloth herself.

"That rag?" Sirius asked. "Why didn't you just summon it?"

"I don't have my wand on me at the second."

"You should always carry your wand with you, it's not safe not to."

Lily sighed exasperatedly. "I know Sirius…it's just not the most comfortable thing to have it in my back pocket, jabbing my arse."

"I didn't think you minded a little jab in the arse." Sirius retorted, winking at her.

"I didn't think you did either."

Sirius laughed and patted Lily on the back.

"Well I think that does it for this room…"

"The furniture hasn't even been arranged yet, Sirius." Lily stated reaching for her wand and motioning for the sofa to get into alignment. "Now that's it for the sitting room…shall we hit the dining room next? We can polish the oak."

"I suppose." Sirius replied, starting to wonder why he had promised Lily that he would help her arrange the new house as a surprise for James.

"Don't want to overexert yourself with excitement or anything. I know how delicate you are." Lily retorted, her words laced with her usual sarcasm.

Sirius sighed. "Don't worry about me, love, I do believe I'll make it…"

Lily let out a light laugh as she checked her watch. "Damn. I've got to go meet Ellie and Allison for an early dinner…Ellie has a Hogsmeade day today. I really wanted to get this done today…James is getting so impatient." She sighed. "It'll be nice to see Ellie, though."

"You know." Sirius started, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wouldn't mind finishing up the sitting room for you---and don't worry, I won't make a mess of it, I remember exactly how you wanted it set up."

"Oh Sirius, you'd do that?" Lily asked happily. "I'd really appreciate it—are you sure? I know it's had to have been pure torture working with me on this house—I know how anal I can be."

Sirius shrugged. "It's fine. I love helping you and James out. It's no problem—I don't have anything else to do until later tonight anyways. I'm going to meet Moony and Wormtail for mead."

"Well thank-you!" Lily exclaimed, giving Sirius an appreciate embrace. "James is going to love it."

"I know." Sirius replied, grinning his usual handsome smile. (revise- you can't grin a smile) "Now go. I'll take care of everything."

"And don't forget the charms!" Lily called out before she left. "You remember them?"

"Oh charms? What are you talking about? You couldn't possibly be speaking of those million spells you cast compulsively every five seconds, could you? Are those what you're talking about…I'm—"

"I get it, Sirius. Just do them, please."

"All right, keep your robe on. I will. Now have a good time and don't worry about anything."

"Thank-you." Lily finished before finally leaving him to his own devices.

"Lily!" a shrill, excited voice exclaimed loudly, directing previously engaged witches and wizards to the bombarded red-head that walked into The Three Broomsticks.

"Ellie!" she replied, smiling as she embraced her old friend before taking a seat across from her at the old oak table. "Allison's not here yet?"

"No, she'll be a few minutes late, she sent an owl this morning." Ellie answered, taking a sip of her butterbeer.

Lily nodded. "Oh. Well, how have you been then? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

"That's because you haven't, you busy prude." Ellie retorted sharply, a brilliant smile still plastered on her pretty face.

"I am sorry about that." Lily apologized. "Everything is happening and changing so fast. I just get carried away."

"Well I'm sure if I was engaged to a handsome, brilliant, and wealthy man I wouldn't pay attention much to my friends either." Ellie grinned in her wicked fashion.

"Slag." Lily teased.

Ellie stuck out her tongue. "Don't pretend he isn't the thing that keeps you so occupied."

Lily thought for a moment. "Well he is a big part of it, but there's work you know. And the war going on and what not… lots of stuff happening and things to keep up with."

"Yeah, I know all about that---the Prophet won't let anyone forget." Ellie said sourly as Madam Rosmerta approached the table.

"Just a butterbeer for me, Rosmerta." Lily ordered, giving the barmaid a small smile before they both went back to their previous activity.

"Well it has gotten quite terrible. People are disappearing left and right, and you don't know who to trust anymore." Lily continued as Allison approached them, waving and smiling brilliantly.

"Hello my dears!" she exclaimed, her awkward angle and outstretched arms demanding hugs from both Lily and Ellie.

"I have missed you so much, Ellie! You'll have to tell me all about your year---I know I know, I get your letters and Jake talks about you all the time, but letters don't allow for much girly detail."

"Not much has changed." Ellie responded, pulling a dark lock of hair out from behind her ear and twirling it around her index finger.

"No boyfriend?" Allison prodded, raising her blonde eyebrows.

"No, I'm single and unattached---it feels nice, actually." Ellie said as Madam Rosmerta sent a round of butterbeers for the girls. "I've been so on and off with guys for the past year or so…and it's just relieving really to be independent. No one latching on to me…sucking the life out from me…"

"You talk about boyfriends like they're leeches." Lily commented, laughing.

"They can be. I know what you're talking about, Ellie. Always wanting and needing more---needing to know what you're doing…" Allison agreed.

Ellie nodded with a chuckle. "Jake wearing you out much?"

Allison sighed. "Oh you know how it is…relationships just take so much time. It's nice to have the companionship, though."

Lily stared down into her fresh mug of butterbeer. She considered herself really lucky to have James---he never felt like some sort of parasite. She always enjoyed his company and never got tired of him the way Allison and Ellie were describing. Lily smiled to herself and zoned back into Allison and Ellie's conversation. They had changed topics and Lily was trying desperately to figure out exactly what they were talking about before they asked for her oblivious opinion.

"Anything interesting going on at old Hogwarts?" Lily heard Allison change the subject.

Ellie shifted slightly. "Well yes, but I thought you two would have already known about it."

"What's happened?" Lily asked, her interest peaked by Ellie's information.

"Yes, what? You can't expect us to keep up with all that school gossip now that we're out in the real world…" Allison commented said in her shrewish voice.

"Well…I can't believe you haven't heard, really." Ellie hesitated. "Regulus Black has left school. He's been missing since Halloween night…the rumor is that he's finally joined You-Know-Who." She finished in a whisper.

Lily's green eyes bulged. "What? Wait! Does Sirius know?"

Ellie shrugged. "I would assume so, although Dumbledore is trying to keep it as hush-hush as possible. He doesn't want it to seem glamorized…running off in the middle of the night to join a conquest with the Dark Lord…"

"Oh, don't act so surprised Lily…we all knew Sirius was the only good seed in a basket of bad apples. It was only a matter of time before Regulus joined up with You-Know-Who. That whole family is so deep into Dark Magic…" Allison stated airily, dismissing the news like it was only a topic of a early snowstorm. "So, shopping?" she suggested, smiling excitedly. "I haven't had time to shop for ages…"

"Allison, you were saying that you just bought that pink cloak just this past week." Lily commented, laughing as she took another drink from her half-full glass, contemplating the news. Did Sirius know? Did James know? They would both be furious if they knew…

"A week without shopping!" Ellie exclaimed, laughing. "Let's go!"

Lily got up reluctantly and followed her friends out, Sirius and Regulus at the back of her mind.

Lily returned to her flat later that night after a day full of girlish gossip and shopping. It had been a fun outing with her old friends. The good company made it easy to pretend the bad times were only illusions…that the world was still a happy place to be.

She smiled to herself as she took off her shoes and cloak and went to the kitchen to fix a cup of tea. She had the house to herself tonight…it was going to be nice to relax…

Someone had other plans.

A banging came to Lily's door that startled her from her daze. She felt her stomach leap into her throat at her excitement. Who would be calling? She wasn't expecting anyone.

Lily grabbed her wand and opened the door cautiously.

Standing in front of her was a ruffled and anxious looking James.

"James, is everything okay?" she asked, relieved that it wasn't anyone dangerous, but a new nervousness settled into her heart.

He shook his head frantically. "Sirius is gone."

Don't forget to answer the poll: If you could be all knowing in one area, what would it be?

AND REVIEW! Thank you! And Happy early Holidays!

And thank you to all my reviewers. I'd thank you all individually, but that takes time and I really want to post this. Just know I love you. All of you. :)