Chapter three
She was able to send off a message to Lily that was simple. "Help me."
After sending the message off to Lily, Ava picked herself up off the ground and began making her way downstairs to wait for her red headed friend there. She only paused for a moment to fix a broken window on the landing that was letting in excesses of rain water and the howling wind was causing her head to hurt even more than it already did from her sobbing session. Ava was not pleased with herself that she broke down in such a way as she did because she always believed that crying showed weakness. And weak was something she did not want to be.
Once down stairs, she picked her way through the maze of glass, wood and clothing till she reached the kitchen. All of her movements felt robotic to her. She pulled up a chair from the floor, sat and waited for Lily to hopefully show up. She sat there and waited for half an hour with her mind numbly blank. She felt lost and that she could do nothing. She could not pull her self out of this state to make a start on repairing her home and fixing the damage the Death Eaters had caused. Fixing up the damage would just bring up waves of pain, loss and longing. It all felt small in comparison to her missing loved ones. Her family had just disappeared and all that was left was her destroyed home. These ruins were proof of a struggle and proof that they had not just abandoned her here. Three loud, sudden cracks caused her mind to come to some kind of attention.
These cracks led Ava to jump out of her chair and her to pull out her wand out again and to hold defensively out in front of her. Ava was under the impression that these cracks were the sign that the Death Eaters had come back to finish the job that they had started earlier. She was now determined not to go down with out a fight. Unlike her powerless, muggle, family who fought against trained witches and wizards Ava had some defensive training, which she prayed would allow her to cause some damage. She was posed by the kitchen door and was just about to throw a jinx at the intruders when Lily Evans' voice called her name and stopped her.
"Lily?" Ava called out.
"Ava are you all right? What's going on?" Person-posing-as-Lily asked. Ava was cautious she needed some proof that this was actually Lily.
"Prove it!" Ava shouted back at the voice. She knew she sounded insane but she could not risk any chances.
"Prove what, Ava? Are you all right? Come out, let me talk to you. You're worrying me."
"Prove that you're you! Prove that you're Lily!"
"That's absurd! Why would-" As 'Lily' were talking Ava could hear the mumbling voices of two males.
"I don't care! Do it!"
"Fine, fine!..." 'Lily' Sighed "Expecto Patronum!"
A bright silver doe came padding down into the kitchen reassuring Ava that it was indeed Lily Evans talking to her. She left her hiding place from behind the door and stepped out to meet Lily. She received a collective gasp of shock from her three visitors, who all stood in her hallway with their wands lit up and raised. Coming out into the hallway Ava was able to learn that the two mumbling males voices belonged to the two very tanned looking James Potter -who looked to be pushing Lily behind him unconsciously- and Sirius Black, who gave a drawn out whistle at the sight of Ava. Through all that had happened that afternoon Ava forgot that she was wearing clothes that were rain soaked and she didn't even want to imagine what her hair and sunken face looked like right now, there were more pressing matters.