Part Two: Dawn Rediscovered
Rise, tardy Sun! and let the Songster prove
(The balance trembling between night and morn 1
No longer) with what ecstasy upborne
He can pour forth his spirit. In heaven above,
And earth below, they best can serve true gladness
Who meet most feelingly the calls of sadness.
-William Wordsworth
Lily turned toward the voice, her smile at seeing Celeste fading a bit. "It's okay, James says I would have had immunization against Dragon Pox during my time with captivity, don't worry about me."
"Your safety is not our concern; our primary affairs are with Celeste Black, child ID 680798620-B. Only those with legal authority are allowed in here, and with the filling out of those medical papers, you have confessed the parentage of 680798620-B. In the absence of both legal parents, 680798620-B is now in the custody of The Magical Entity of Great Britain. Would you please step outside now?" The question was asked by a utilitarian-looking woman in her later years, but she didn't seem to mean any ill will at all.
I…but why?" Lily asked, her mind only dimly grasping the situation.
"It's the law, Mrs. Potter, the law."
"I've taken care of her since the very moment she was born. I am her mother."
"I'm sorry, but according to this, Alaina Wilkes would be the mother of 680798620-B."
"Stop referring to her as if she were a television set!" here the woman looked puzzled, but Lily continued, "She is a little girl who is sick, and I am the only person in the world she knows and isn't scared of!"
"Mrs. Potter, would you please leave the room quietly? If not, I'll have to request that hospital security escort you off the premises."
Lily's mouth moved without words, and her chest felt like it was drawing in upon itself. Celeste seemed to realize her mother was going to leave, and reached out her hands and started crying. Lily glanced up to the woman to see if she dared give the child a final hug, and she received a brief nod which she took for a go-ahead. She tenderly drew her daughter into her arms, hugging her close. "Celeste, Mummy has to leave for a little bit, but I'll see you again as soon as I can. Don't be scared, though, you're safe forever. I love you."
"Love you too." Lily felt a hand on her elbow, and she took it as a signal to leave. She did so, being in a rather trance-like stake. Nothing seemed entirely real or tangible at the moment. The furniture in the corridor appeared to float three feet from the ground. By the time she made it to the main waiting hall, Lily was breathing in deep gasps. James was waiting for her at the connecting doorway, but he wasn't a source of comfort that she was particularly craving, but she at least knew she was safe with him. "She's gone," she breathed. "I can't see her. They're taking her. My God. I'm losing her. I can't lose her."
"Lily, I-."
"James, don't let them do this! Please, please stop them! If anyone can, you can. I'll do anything," she pleaded, gripping his shoulders as tears fell down her face.
James could not remain unmoved. He knew she was beyond distraught, but things were in a terrible way if she was actually asking him to use the clout of the age-old name of the Potters, one that was synonymous with black-mail. It irked him, though, that she seemed to feel that he had to be bribed to do it. Then again, he was already irritated from their previous engagement involving Amos Diggory. There was no love lost between the two men, and the younger never failed to raise James's hackles, even now. "I assure you, nothing that grim will be necessary. Stay here and I'll see if I can do anything."
James found himself back at Celeste's room, and he quickly pulled her medical chart and gave it a quick one-over, his mind forming a plan of action. For someone born of two plotting souls, raised by the hand of cruelness, nursed with lies, and fed with the spoon of hatred, the formulation was very simple. Playing dirty was a game he had retired from for the most part by his late teens, but old habits die hard. Maybe his hadn't really at all, more likely they had been in hibernation, waiting to be woken.
It was easy for him to assume the aura of power and confidence, but it was mingled with threat and sarcasm. James refused to feel the slightest remorse as he stalked into the room, chart in hand, and glared down at the gray-haired lady. "I didn't realize visitors were being admitted."
"I'm from MCO," she said, expecting that to explain it all.
"How wonderful for you. What bait has lured you here this time?"
"I assume you're her Healer."
James nodded; personally, he never assumed anything.
"She has been living in the guardianship of a non-parent, and without legal consent."
"Call in the Aurors. It's against hospital policy to deny visitation against the reigning guardian when in dire physical health. I believe Dragon Pox would qualify, especially since the patient in question is three years old. Her mother is the best thing for her right now."
"Her mother is dead. This woman could be a psychopath."
"She has provided impeccable care for the past three years. That would be making a false assumption."
"We cannot just let any person off the street begin caring for a child! It's illogical. The court mandate stands."
"Oh really? What would it take to change your mind?"
*~*~*
"You're in," James said as he walked out, hands in his pockets. It had taken a very brief period of time to persuade the worker to allow Lily in, but even he wasn't able to work miracles. "I could only get her to give in to until Celeste falls asleep"
"Oh, God, that's perfect, James," Lily sighed. She surprised him immeasurably by wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing close. Lily whispered a barely audible, "Thank you," in his ear. His earlier fowl mood was forgotten to her, conveniently enough. The new and much worse crisis had overridden her quarrel with James.
It had been his grim and tempered humor that kept making comments about any sort of physical relationship with her, but there was no way for him to deny the sheer joy he felt to have her touch him again. Being with Lily had been the best part of his life, yet it wasn't long enough. The three years and ten months exactly hadn't been enough, not when they should've had so much more. Their child should have been nearing their fourth year. They should have another child. Lily and James should have had that cute two-floor cottage they had been admiring for the longest time. They should come home to each other every night after work and shared kisses as they somehow pieced together dinner. They should sleep in on Sunday mornings as late as their son or daughter would allow before raising the house. They shouldn't be almost strangers living in different flats between which a hug was an amazing and unusual event.
But that was how things were.
"Lily?" James asked quietly, scared to end the moment that he knew didn't mean as much to her as it did to him. "You can hug me anytime you want. You could even kiss me if the notion struck you, but your time with Celeste is sliding away. I know she's more important than I am, so go."
"Call me deranged, but that notion is striking me, consequently cueing me to leave hastily."
*~*~*
The next two days Lily could only remember as a dim haze. Later, she would regret that she couldn't remember some of her last time with Celeste, but she was glad she didn't have to relive the pain she was going through at the time. Lily could never be certain of what she would face next. Every time she left Celeste's bedside, she expected it to be the last. Somehow, though, James managed to get her clearance for the remainder of her stay, and she didn't ask any questions about it. She really didn't have the energy to.
Her entire day was taken up with Celeste or related activities. Lily only left her daughter's room when forced out by the hospital staff or the MCO, and when she stepped out the door, James was waiting for her. He would guide her to her flat, see that she managed to shower and change, and then he would either take her to the hospital cafeteria to eat, or run out to a small restaurant and pick something up while she was bathing.
One thing that she could pick out clearly was that James was there. For the entire time, he was waiting for her, helping her along, and watching out for her. At the time, she didn't really recognize it, so she couldn't protest, which she assured herself she would have.
Other people did notice, however.
Penelope Potter had kept up an admirable facade for the past two and a half months, but honestly, it was falling down. Her life had flipped upside down and inside out in the space of a few hours-the time it ftook for the rescue operation of Lily Evans-Potter to be activated. She had gone to work that day, and already, the curious and sympathetic looks had begun. Except some of them weren't exactly what she could describe as sympathetic. It appears that her husband's assumed-dead wife was rather well liked in several circles.
Most of the Healers and Medis had met her in the time James had worked at Lord Hubert's, and apparently they thought Lily was a more deserving wife.
Penelope could handle the occasional look of scorn, but the sympathy was entirely unbearable; she usually ended up feeling an incompetent child whose parents had died. What really hurt about it was that nobody seemed to think she had a chance with James anymore. Frankly, that was a near-fatal blow to her ego. She was a Veela for the love of magic; men did not snub her. Nobody believed in her for a minute. The entire staff found out Lily was home and alive and apparently well, she was even in this very hospital. All her co-workers saw James there to visit her. The sympathy level had exponential growth.
So, here she was now. What a place it was, too. Now her professional peers and superiors seemed to think they knew their entire situation. It had leaked from St. Mungo's that James was there day and night with Lily, so of course, everyone raced to tell Penelope of this.
As if she couldn't have deduced that on her own. She had come home one night with a note on the table from James saying he had found other accommodations, and when she had checked his closet, it was bear. It didn't feel good, though, to have the change rubbed in her face. She had hoped to lick her wounds in private and bear it with dignity in public.
Very possibly the worst part was actually seeing them together. If she wasn't a consultant at St. Mungo's for pediatrics, she wouldn't have been subjected to it. As it was, though, it was part of her job to go to St. Mungo's to inspect some of their practices and offer suggestions on more difficult cases. Unfortunately, she had to go there during this time to make sure their facilities were going to meet the new international guidelines established by the Universal Wizarding Medical Council.
That's when she saw them.
The raw feelings were more than she had expected; the helpless jealously nearly overran her. James and Lily were walking down a hallway, Lily holding a paper cup of coffee while James had his arms loaded with a duffel bag, three teddy bears, a doll, a bouquet of sunflowers, and approximately eight balloons. Even though he was constantly shifting his load around, he still appeared to be guiding Lily down the corridor as she stared sightlessly ahead.
The physical toll that this had wrought on Lily was visible even to Penelope. She looked as if she had been crying a lot lately, and there were great bruises under her eyes. Her simple clothes looked as if they had been slept and paced in, and her hair looked as if she had only given it offhand attention recently. What Penelope had to look twice to see, though, won her admiration.
Lily looked strong and resolute. She looked like her physical self could break with a small push, but emotionally, she could do this for as long as necessary. So many parents gave up after a short period of time, but it was obvious Lily wouldn't do that.
As they crossed paths, James didn't see her until they were directly even with each other due to a shiny purple balloon hovering in his line of vision. Penelope suspected Lily didn't see much of anything other than the thought of Celeste. James stopped, though, and turned around to catch up with Penny.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi, James." Penelope stopped hesitantly, not really sure whether she was up to talking with him just yet.
"You got my note, right? Is, uh, is everything okay?"
"You're asking if I need money, and the answer is no," Penelope laughed. She couldn't help it; the question was so James-like. He wanted to make sure she had everything she needed without actually asking the question. It was kind of embarrassing.
"I'll give you my address in case anything comes up, but I think everything is taken care of. I'm sort of at sixes and sevens, though, so I'm not sure." James began awkwardly rummaging through his pockets, but Penelope stopped him.
"I think I can find my way next door."
"Next door?" he asked in momentary confusion. "Oh, right. You misunderstand; I'm not staying with Lily. I'm living with Sirius until I can find someplace by myself. Hopefully, that will be soon, because quite frankly, Sirius's bedmates terrify my delicate sensibilities."
"I don't know why. I need to be going. Uh, let me know about…things, will you?"
Before James could do more than nod, Penelope walked away. She was pleased, she had done a good job of not embarrassing herself around them, and after all, that was the first step.
*~*~*
A/N-I just have to laugh. I started this chapter a week ago exactly, and last night was the first time I had time to work on it again. I feel like I'm running around in circles trying to get everything done, so my fanfiction is taking the blunt of my neglect. I'll try to pick up the pace, but things aren't looking so swell.
For WDBTN readers, that fic is on temporary hold while I sort out some things. I have a moral issue with a possible plot quirk that I need to either resolve with myself or redo the entire second half of the fic. I am definitely not abandoning it, it's just in a good hiding spot that I will recover at a later date.
I have a special thanks to NattyNatterz for previewing this chapter for me and, as always, offering her excellent opinion.