Chapter Five
"All of them. My mum, dad and Cassy too. They're just gone.
" James, Sirius go search the place. I want towels and blankets. She's soaked through and frozen. Now!" Lily ordered the two Marauders, whilst pulling Ava along to the living room.
"Come a long Prongs, the General has spoken!" Sirius said as he slapped James on his back, seemingly un-fazed by his current surroundings and the situation he found himself to be in. The two boys then proceeded to noisily climb the stairs to complete the task Lily had just handed out.
Meanwhile, in the living room Lily, with a wave of her wand and the use of a charm, had straightened out the room to all its former glory. Not one object seemed to be broken or out of place. Lily really was a powerful and clever witch. The sofa's had straightened themselves out, all glass had found its way home to the right photo frame, light fitting or screen. The wallpaper that had been torn off had be fixed and the walls were clean of all burn marks. The room looked clean and unmarked of the catastrophic events that had just past but to Ava, whom Lily had sat down on the sofa, the room still felt dirty and violated. Lily waved her wand again and muttered a spell under her breath and Ava was warm and dry. She was thankful for Lily's kindness and her ability to take control. Ava needed that right now, she needed for someone else to take control whilst she had a breakdown. It was unlike Ava, she knew that too, she normally found herself to be in control of her emotions. Ordering people around or comforting them when they broke down was what she found herself doing most days. It was a new experience for her to be on the receiving end of this kind of help and she really did appreciate their-Lily, James and Sirius'- efforts.
The pressure of Lily's hand on Ava's right shoulder brought the traumatised girl out of her head as Lily knelt down in front of her.
"Ava I'm sorry this has happened to you. I truly am. It's completely unfair, inhumane and wrong. But if you want my help you have to tell me what happened." Lily urged. Ava opened her mouth to talk but she found that no words would come out.
"I can only help if you tell me Ava" Lily insisted whilst looking into Ava's hazel eyes. Lily noted how lost she looked.
"Lils you may want to check this out" James interrupted the two girls as he stood in the doorway of the living room with a bundle of blankets and towels in his hands. The look on his face told the two young witches that the matter he was talking about was serious. Lily let out an annoyed sigh and straightened herself back up again. She took the bundle off him and draped a couple of blankets around Ava.
"I'll be back down in a moment, Av. You keep working on what happened, all right?" Lily told Ava. Her tone told Ava that there was no room for discussion. Ava nodded and the two left together. Ava listened to each step of theirs on the staircase and followed them up already knowing what James was going to show her.
Her three friends stood in her bedroom staring at the words that were burnt into her wall. Sirius looked outraged. He stood with his hands pulled into fists at his sides and was taking very slow and thought out deep breaths. James was stood behind Lily with his arms around her, holding onto her tightly looking disgusted at the words. Lily looked to be holding back tears. The words had hit her the hardest out of the three of them.
"I wasn't here to protect them. This my fault, they're gone. I was out with friends. They were alone and unprotected. This is my fault." Ava confessed.