Alright, chapter two. Forgive me, Dumbledore is in this chapter. Not that I think anyone hates Dumbledore, I'm just not very good at writing his parts. He's too wise and sophisticated for me. And I can never seem to convey his quirkiness just right. So forgive me as I butcher him for you. I'll do my best.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from any of J.K. Rowling's work.

Dumbledore's Arrival

"Lily?"

Sirius's voice suddenly sounded so far away.

"Lily, are you okay?"

The edges of her mind were closing in around her, engulfing her in the sheer absurdity of what she'd just heard.

"Is this…is this some k-kind of cruel joke?" she stuttered, staring at the ground, her fists clenched around the cushions underneath her.

"Lily, no," Sirius said, sounding horrified. "No, how could you even think—?"

"James Potter…is dead," Lily said shakily.

"Please, you have to understand," Sirius said, moving around the table in between them and coming to sit next to her. Lily looked away from him. "No one saw what happened to James—"

"I saw!" Lily interjected angrily, tears once again stinging her eyes. "I was there, I saw it all!"

Sirius seemed to hesitate.

"Maybe…maybe you didn't see what you thought you—"

"Stop it!" Lily suddenly yelled, springing to her feet once again. "Stop trying to tell me what I saw! I was there! I watched as that roof c-caved in! James was t-trapped inside, Sirius! There's no way he could have—"

"Well, I'm sorry, Lily, but he must have because he's—"

"James Potter is NOT ALIVE!" Lily shouted.

Ding dong.

Lily froze, her eyes wide open. Sirius sighed and slowly stood up.

"That's Dumbledore," he said quietly and Lily stared up at him, her watery eyes terrified. "If you don't believe me, I hope you believe him. 'Cause James is waiting outside."

He turned from her and made for the door. Dumbledore was indeed revealed to be waiting patiently behind it. They shook hands and Sirius led Dumbledore into the living room, where a shaking Lily Evans still stood rooted to the spot.

"Lily, how wonderful to see you," said Dumbledore, bowing. "Even if it is a bit ahead of schedule," he added with a smile that Lily did not return.

"I only just told her," Sirius said apologetically. "I was a bit late in getting here; I've been very behind on my work lately."

"Yes, forgive me for that," Dumbledore said as he removed his cloak and hat. "After all, it is my fault you've been shifting through every piece of news anyone has recovered. Please, Lily, do have a seat. You look absolutely petrified."

Lily didn't move. Sirius walked forward and took her gently by the arm, guiding her back to her seat on the couch. She sank down onto it, her flowing eyes resting now on Dumbledore who had taken a seat across from her. Sirius turned to join him but Lily tugged at his hand.

"Sirius, I can't d-do this alone," she whispered. Sirius gave her a small smile and sat down next to her, still holding her shaking hand. Dumbledore sent her another warm smile from across the table.

"Now, Lily, I'm going to leave tonight's proceedings entirely up to you," he said briskly. "Sirius has undoubtedly informed you that James is, in fact, waiting just outside this house. It is your call whether he comes in or not." Lily nodded. Dumbledore turned to Sirius. "Have you told her everything?"

Sirius shifted uneasily in his seat.

"No, sir, I hadn't quite finished with the first part when you arrived," he said guiltily.

"What more c-could there be?" Lily cried, looking from one to the other. It was Dumbledore who answered.

"James doesn't remember…anything," he said gently.

"What do you m-mean 'anything'?" Lily asked, looking once again from Dumbledore to Sirius and back again, her clutch on Sirius's hand tightening.

"It means, Lily, that the only thing James knows for sure is his name," Dumbledore explained. "And not even his full name at that, just that his first name is James."

"Well, why—why can't he remember anything? Where's he b-been all this time? How could have been alive for s-so long without—without anyone finding out?"

Dumbledore shook his head gravely.

"We don't know that yet," he said tenderly. "We don't know anything yet."

Lily looked away from him, her grip suddenly slackening on Sirius's hand.

"So James, he doesn't—he doesn't r-r-remember me?" she asked quietly.

"He doesn't remember me either, Lily," Sirius said softly beside her. Lily looked up at him, tears spilling from her eyes. "He doesn't remember anyone…."

There was silence as Lily searched for something in Sirius's eyes that would wake her from this dream, that would shatter this horrifying revelation into a thousand tiny pieces. But she found nothing. She looked down at her hands.

"I want to see him," she whispered. When no one moved she looked up once more, her eyes boring into Dumbledore's. "Bring him in; I want to s-see him."

"Very well," said Dumbledore, nodding.

He stood up and made for the door. Lily and Sirius looked at each other for a moment before standing up and following him slowly, Lily once again holding onto her friend's hand so tightly her knuckles were white.

"I'll be just one moment," Dumbledore said and he disappeared behind the door. As the minutes went slowly by neither Sirius nor Lily spoke. Lily could feel his eyes burning a hole in the side of her head but she didn't meet them.

The door opened. Lily jumped and moved closer to Sirius as Dumbledore reentered. For a moment there was no movement, no sound, no sign of life beyond the door. And then suddenly he was there; as if he had escaped from a dream, he was there, standing anxiously in her doorway, looking just the same as he always had.

Lily stared at him, tears pouring from her eyes. His own gaze swept slowly from Dumbledore to Sirius and finally onto her Lily herself. Lily expected him to look away, but he didn't. His expression was unreadable; he simply watched her, his dark eyes sweeping her face.

"You…you must be Lily," he said after a moment's unbearable silence. Lily seemed to come out of her trance. The words sounded so odd coming from his lips; to imagine James Potter greeting Lily Evans with anything less than a huge bear hug or a good long kiss would have been considered ridiculous five years ago.

"Y-yes, I…yes," she stuttered, unable to tear her gaze away. She leaned into Sirius for support as she took in James's messy jet-black hair and his darkened hazel eyes. There was a sadness about him that had not been there before and the sparkle that used to reside permanently in his bright eyes had disappeared, leaving them blank and devoid of emotion. How could this be the same person she'd known five years ago?

"I…I'm s-sorry," she stammered suddenly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I just—excuse me—"

And she turned out of Sirius's comforting grip to shut herself inside her bedroom, not sure whether or not she wanted to wake up from this dream. She heard her three guests wandering around in her living room for a few minutes; then the door in the entrance hall opened once and closed softly, leaving a silence behind that seemed to engulf her. She thought they were all gone, but a moment later she heard the soft trod of footsteps padding across the carpet toward her room; they were followed by a quiet knock.

"Lily? It's me," Sirius said from behind the door.

Lily sat on her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest and crying silently into it. After a moment Sirius opened the door; he paused in the doorway for a moment, his expression pained as he watched her. Slowly, he walked forward and Lily felt the bed shift slightly as he sat next to her, watching her silently. The next thing Lily knew, she was sobbing in his arms as he tried without hope to comfort her.

No, there is not and was never anything romantic going on between Sirius and Lily. They're just extremely close so don't ask. Okay, so I know this was a short chapter, too, but don't worry, I think the next one will be longer. The last two were kind of prologue chapters, I guess you could say. I dunno, I don't make sense. Oh well, hope you enjoyed!

REVIEW!

Lillian James