A/N: This chapter contains Character Death, Violence and Disturbing Imagery.
Please be warned that the events in this chapter are quite horrifying, and in my opinion justify the M rating I have given this story. Please bare with me, I know what I'm doing. Just remember while reading this that this is a Time Travel story.
Chapter 10: Save... Her...
The lunch room at St. Mungo's: it is usually quite a big room. Today however it feels very small. That may be because my whole family is gathered in it. The news that mum is seriously ill has travelled fast within our family. The fact that dad is actually alive travelled even faster, by our standards.
While I'm pacing around the room, I pick up several snippets of conversation.
"I don't see why I'm not allowed inside. I'm her mother after all!" Grandma Molly is saying.
"Calm down, Molly, it should just be her own family now," Grandpa Arthur says soothingly.
"Well, it seems they are not allowed in either," Grandma Molly says, huffing.
I don't hang around to hear more. As I pace further, I pick up even more conversations.
"I can't believe Harry did that!" Uncle Ron is saying.
"This is Harry we are talking about. If he believed he was keeping us all safe, you know he would do it, and he has," Aunt Hermione answers consolingly.
"He could at least have told me what he was up to!" Ron says heatedly.
"From what I understood he tried, but you threw him out Ron!" Hermione retorts.
"Don't go saying this is all my fault, now!" Ron says harshly.
I don't hang around to hear Hermione's answer but instead pace back the way I came, just to see that there is still no news from any Healer. Dad disappeared into mum's room about ten minutes ago, but there is no sign of him yet.
"I can't find my locket anywhere! Have you seen it, Scorp?" I hear Lily asking.
"No, I thought you had it," Scorpius is saying, looking around confused.
Before I can consider what that means, Teddy approaches me with a blue bundle in his arms.
"James!" he says as soon as he is in front of me. "I wanted you to meet your godson," Teddy says proudly.
"So this is little Remus?" I ask, taking the baby from Teddy carefully.
"Yes, this is little Remus. Careful, support the head," Teddy says as he adjusts my grip on little Remus, so that I hold him correctly. I already see that the little hair he has is turquoise, the colour Teddy likes best for his hair.
"He takes after you, I see," I say smiling.
"Yeah, but he has Vic's face." Teddy says proudly.
"Have you shown dad yet?" I ask while I give little Remus my finger for inspection. Remus grabs my pinkie in his small hands. I already feel as though the little guy has me wrapped around his little fingers.
"I haven't spoken to Harry yet, didn't have the chance" Teddy says sadly.
"It is okay for you to call him dad, you know," I say, just now noticing that Teddy has been avoiding saying that.
"You mean that?" Teddy asks carefully.
"Yeah, he is as much your father as he is mine," I say with conviction.
"Thanks, that means a lot to me, coming from you," Teddy says, smiling widely.
Just then little Remus starts fussing.
"It seems the little guy wants his mother," I say, giving Remus back to Teddy.
I turn towards the main door and notice that dad is talking quietly to Albus, who is nodding solemnly to whatever he is saying. Dad notices that I'm looking, places one hand on Albus's shoulder and then approaches me.
"James, I'm sorry," dad says as he approaches me. When he is this close I can see that he seems to have aged a lot in the last couple of minutes.
"Dad?" I ask worriedly.
"Ginny, she is dying," dad says sadly.
"What?" I ask, unable to believe what I'm hearing.
"You know what that means," dad says softly.
"The soul bond," I say nodding. Mum and dad had explained about that when I turned seventeen.
"Yes, the soul bond," dad says nodding. He doesn't have to say anything more, the implications are clear to me.
"It is unfair," I whisper harshly.
"Yes it is," dad agrees. We fall into an companionable silence for a couple of seconds.
"James, take these memories, the family Pensieve is in the attic. Maybe when you watch them you will be able to one day forgive me," dad says softly.
"You don't need my forgiveness, dad, you need Lily's," I say, pointing towards a sullen-looking Lily.
Dad looks from Lily to me and raises an eyebrow.
"Save her," I say urgently to dad.
Dad nods and moves towards Lily.
I look around the room to see where Albus went off to and see him standing in the door, looking sullen. I decide that Albus might need my comfort.
"Hey," I say as soon as I am next to him.
"Hey," Albus says back non-committally.
"How are you holding up?" I ask.
"Is it true? Is mum really dying? Is dad...?" Albus asks in a small voice.
"I'm afraid so," I say sadly.
"It is unfair," Albus says harshly.
"Yes, it is, but we will get through this. We Potters are strong," I say, putting my hand on Albus's shoulders.
I look at dad just to see him standing there, stricken.
"GINNY!" he yells in an inhuman voice, and then collapses, and he doesn't move any more.
Before anyone can react an even more inhuman scream echoes across the lunch room. Looking around I see that the scream is coming from Lily. She has her wand out and fiery animals seem to be coming out of it. Soon more screams are joining that of Lily.
It is only pure survival instinct that makes me move away from the fiery animals who are consuming everything in their path. Albus seems to be of the same mind set, and we both run down the stairs to the lobby of St. Mungo's.
Before I even realise what I'm doing, I'm throwing floo powder into the fire grate at the lobby and Albus and I arrive in a heap at the Potter Home in Godric's Hollow.
Untangling ourselves, Albus and I are greeted by a tearful looking Maddy.
"Master Albus and Master James have returned," Maddy says, throwing herself at our feet.
"You know what happened then?' I ask perplexed.
"A House Elf always knows when its master or mistress dies," Maddy says, wailing.
I look at Maddy with new wonder. I remember now that she refused to believe that dad was dead after the duel, and now I realise that was because she knew he wasn't dead.
"Will the young masters be staying?" Maddy asks a little shakily.
"Most likely yes, we will call on you when we need you," I say quickly.
Maddy nods and disappears with a small pop.
"Why are we here?" Albus asks suddenly. It is the first time he speaks since the events of St. Mungo's.
"I need to get something from the attic, and it is the first place I could think of," I say as explanation.
Albus nods, then his eyes become big.
"The attic! Brilliant!" Albus says and without any further ado, he disappears up the stairs towards the attic. Wondering what Albus is up to now, I shake my head and follow him to the attic.
When I arrive in the attic, I notice that Albus is rummaging through some old boxes containing old diaries and journals of our parents and grandparents from dad's side.
The Pensieve is easily found. It is sitting in a box on one of the shelves, the word 'Pensieve' written on it. Opening the box confirms for me that the Pensieve is indeed inside.
Picking up the box and putting it near the door, I decide to explore the rest of the attic. It is full of items mum and dad picked up throughout their lives. Dad has always been a bit of what mum calls a 'pack rat,' never throwing anything away, but instead stocking it away in the attic.
The first item I notice is a very worn jumper. Studying it closer, I realise it is a very old Weasley Jumper.
"Huh, dad's first Weasley Jumper," I say, holding the jumper in my hands - realising now that dad will never wear another Weasley Jumper. Nor will there ever be another Weasley Jumper.
I put the jumper back where I found it and quickly find an old and tired snitch.
"Ah, the stories dad used to tell about this snitch. It is the first one he ever caught; he caught it in his mouth, you know," I say, laughing a bit at the story. But it is forced, since I will never hear that story again, or any of his other stories.
The next item I see is another old snitch; it has a bit more life in it then the last one.
"This is the snitch mum caught the time that mum and dad first kissed," I say, studying the snitch closely. But it doesn't give me any comfort, knowing that they never will kiss each other again, no matter how much it grosses me out to find my own parents kissing.
Then I notice an old dog toy I used to have when I was small.
"I never knew they kept Snuffles. It would have been perfect for little Remus," I say, choking back a sob thinking about the fate of my godson.
"James, shut up!" Albus shouts suddenly.
"Why?" I ask, turning around to Albus.
"I'm trying not to think about what happened! You are not helping!" Albus says heatedly, standing up, several journals clenched in his hands.
"Well, it happened, Al. There is no use denying it! They are all dead now! Mum, dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione," I say harshly.
Albus recoils visibly, but I continue.
"Hugo, our whole family! You once said to me that saying it makes it real, well it is real! At least I'm not denying it!" I shout. Albus flinches, but I'm still not done.
"Now that Scorpius is dead, he isn't that guilty eh? And Lily..." This is where I falter. Lily! I failed in everything!
"Lily isn't dead, and neither is Scorpius," Albus says in a small voice. He isn't looking at me, but past me.
"How can you be so sure?" I ask dumbfounded.
"Well, Lily is standing on that hill over there, sending a rampaging herd of unicorns through the village, and Scorpius is standing next to her," Albus says pointing past me.
I turn around to see what Albus is looking at through the attic window.
Indeed, on the hill overlooking the village, Lily is standing with her arms outstretched and her hair flapping in the wind. Scorpius is standing next to her, acting like he wants to be anywhere but where he is now.
I look down into the village and see unicorns rampaging through it all, killing anyone and anything in their path. I'm unable to look away from the grizzly sight, my brain unable to process what it is seeing.
"James? Can the wards hold against Lily and the unicorns?" Albus asks tentatively.
With a lot of effort I pull my eyes away from the scene outside. Harder to block out are the screams of the villagers now coming to us from the village. I consider Albus's question and can come to only one frightening conclusion.
"No on both counts," I say, drawing my wand. If I die today, I will go down fighting.
"Right," Albus says, putting the journals back in the box and pulling a large keyring from his pockets.
"It is lucky I always carry this around then," Albus says.
"What?" I ask dumbly.
"Hold this!" Albus says, picking up the box and holding out the keyring to me.
Seeing what Albus is up to, I quickly pick up the box with the Pensieve and take hold of the keyring.
"Wand Core," Albus says loudly and clearly, and before I know it I feel a tug behind my navel telling me a Portkey has been activated.
Mere seconds later we arrive in a small sitting room. I recognize it as what I had seen from Albus's flat.
"Al, what?" I ask confused.
"You can ask your questions tomorrow, now I just want to go to bed and hope to find out tomorrow that this is all just a nightmare. I'm afraid you will have to crash on the couch," Albus says tiredly, putting the box he has taken from the Potter Home on the small table, and retreating to a room off the hall.
Trying to process what just happened, I decide that some sleep sounds like a good idea. After setting the Pensieve on the small table next to Albus's box, I lay down on the couch, not even bothering to get undressed. Before I know it, I fall in a restless sleep.
~O~
Once again I'm sitting in a clearing. Lily is leaning over me threateningly.
"You decided to wake up, James?' Lily asks scathingly.
Slowly I look around the clearing. A few paces to my left I see the dead body of a blonde man.
"You killed Scorpius?" I ask bewildered.
"Yes, he was getting boring," Lily says dismissively.
"Are you going to kill me too, then?" I ask warily.
"That is up to you," Lily says smugly, holding a small vial in her left hand just out of my reach.
"This snake is quite poisonous, you know. One bite and every muscle will slowly become paralysed. Did you know that your heart is also a muscle? Once it is paralysed, it will stop beating; and you die," Lily explains calmly, pointing to a snake she has around her right arm. Before I can react the snake strikes me in the legs.
"The venom will first paralyse your legs, then your arms. It is quite a slow progress," Lily says conversationally, moving closer to me.
"I have the antidote right here," Lily says, holding the little vial in my face.
"You tell me how to work the Resurrection Stone, or tell me were my locket is, and I will give you the antidote. Don't tell me, well, then you will die. I win either way," Lily says, her face mere inches from mine.
"Wrong, you lose!" I rasp. While I still can, I pick up a small stone and throw it at the vial in Lily's hand. The result is a satisfying crash of the vial breaking.
"Fool! That was the only vial I had!" Lily shrieks, getting up.
"I'm not the fool here, Lily," I say confidently.
"Yes, you are. Now you will just die," Lily says.
"And you will not get what you want from me," I point out.
"Is your life worth throwing away for this?" Lily asks threateningly.
"I have nothing left, and everything to gain. You are the one who has something to lose, me," I say.
"What do you have to gain by dying?" Lily asks haughtily.
"I get to see mum and dad and Albus again. I get to meet Grandpa James and Grandma Lily, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. I might have to do some grovelling, but they will accept me," I say. Now I can't feel my legs any more, and I feel my arms getting heavy.
Lily looks at me. For the first time, I see the old Lily coming through.
"I can beat you there," she says, raising her wand to her temple.
"You could, but will they forgive you? I abandoned the family, true, but I did not destroy it," I say.
Lily looks long and hard at me, then she drops her wand and rushes to my side.
"James, please, you can't die on me now! You have to help me! You have to save me!" she pleads in a small voice. It reminds me of when Lily used to come running into my room when she was afraid of the lightning. It gives me hope that maybe she can be saved.
"I'm... sorry..." I rasp, and then I know no more.
~O~
I wake with a start, at first wondering where I am. The first thing I notice is that a hard object is pressing itself into my thigh. Grabbing around I come up with Lily's locket. I have completely forgotten I had put it in my pocket.
Staring at it I remember the nightmare I just had. The one thing that stays with me is that she can be saved. The rest is all a blur containing fire and rampaging unicorns.
Looking around the room I'm in, now I recognize Albus's flat. Maybe everything has been one big nightmare. Maybe when I floo home I will find my family waiting for me.
However, that hope is dashed when I see the two boxes sitting on the small coffee table. One contains the Pensieve, the other contains some documents Albus picked up in the Potter Home.
"It was not a nightmare then," Albus says as he enters the room. By the looks of it, he hasn't gotten a good night's sleep either.
I shake my head, unable to say anything. The only thing that gives me some hope is the thought that somehow Lily can be saved. However, I have no idea how.