Title: Glass Hearts
Rating: PG-13
Summary (of chapter): The aftermath of the attack on Liverpool. Lily, Sirius, and James help out at St. Mungo's and visit Liverpool.
--
Lily got right to work. A small boy with a burn, second floor. A delirious witch, to the gray-haired witches. A gruesome werewolf bite, over to Louise. As Louise had predicted, there was a variety of injuries. More people than Lily had expected had blood involved in their injuries.
Cries, yells and voices drilled into Lily's head. Eventually, the mind-related symptoms moved to the basement. Lily's heart was pounding, but she carried through – one wizard was missing half an arm, his shirt covered with blood and his bone visible. Kathy was throwing up behind her. The Ministry officials were trying to keep the injured in line under control.
"Go up to the fifth floor, honey," Lily told a girl with a few broken fingers. The girl looked familiar, and looked old enough to go to Hogwarts.
Another girl followed, green in the face from a snake bite. "Can you hear me?" Lily asked, bending down.
The girl nodded, her eyes focusing and defocusing. "Look me in the eyes," Lily said gently.
The girl swayed. Lily reached out to steady her. There was a man standing nearby. "Hey, please, take her to the first floor, please," she said.
"Hey, girl, I'm doing my job," he said.
"Please," Lily said. "She's not well, she needs to get treated."
"I was told to stay here and make sure the line moved along," the man said.
"I –"
"Evans! Hey, Evans!"
Lily looked up, her brows furrowing. Was that Potter? He didn't live in Liverpool, did he? She felt fear stab her heart, but James and Sirius were trying to get through the line of people and looked perfectly all right.
"We're just here to help," James said defensively to a Ministry official. "She asked us to come help!" He pointed at Lily.
"I did!" Lily exclaimed.
James and Sirius reached the end of the line, and she had never felt happier to see them. "You need help?" Sirius asked.
"Yes," Lily said in a relieved tone. "Can you make sure this girl gets to the first floor? I think she might pass out."
"All right," Sirius said. He put his hand on the girl's shoulder.
"What should I do?" James asked.
"Make sure Kathy's all right," Lily said, motioning to behind her. Two men held a stretcher with a girl who was still. "Is she petrified?" The men nodded. Lily motioned to other petrified people.
"Kathy's gone," James said.
Lily looked over her shoulder, then shook her head. The next people in line were in their year – a Hufflepuff, Nancy Appleby was being carried by her friend, Ryan Chilton. "Ryan," James said in a surprised voice.
Nancy's shirt was dark crimson. "Over there," Lily said, motioning to Louise.
"This floor is urgent injuries," Lily explained. "Like if they're not treated within the next forty minutes, they'll be past saving. The basement is mind-related, like delirious, memory charmed, you know. First is urgent, but not as urgent – up to fifth – hi, hi, honey, why are you here?" She bent down to talk to a small girl who was crying.
"I'm looking for my mum," the girl said, sobbing. Lily heard James begin to direct people to their correct floors. Sirius returned and started helping.
"Who did you come here with?" Lily asked.
The girl paused, glancing around. "I . . . I'm not sure . . . a man who my mum said to stay with," she said.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" Lily asked.
The girl shook her head.
"What's your name?"
"Elizabeth Jones."
"Come on, sit behind me, against the wall," Lily said. "We're going to find your mum."
"Lily! Lily, I need you right now!" Louise yelled over the loud noises.
"I'll be back," Lily told the girl. "I'll be back, James. Don't leave that girl alone." She fought through the people to Louise.
"Lily," Louise said. "I need you to stop any excessive bleeding – do you think you can do that?"
Lily nodded, taking out her wand. "I'll clean them out, and dress some of them, and you'll dress some of them," Louise said. "Okay? Okay, Lily? Say something."
"Okay," Lily said, staring at the injuries around her.
"Here," Louise said, walking to a witch with a head injury.
An hour later, Lily was sent to the first floor. She worked alongside mediwizards and witches and Healers, cleaning out bites, holding people down, running errands, comforting victims, keeping mediwizards in their senses. She ran around, all morning, and occasionally saw James and Sirius. They were outnumbered; it seemed like they only had one mediwitch or wizard or Healer to every six injuries. Finally, people came by with food, and Louise demanded Lily to take a break. Lily got a plate with a sandwich, her stomach grumbling.
"All right, Evans?"
Lily started, nearly dropping her plate. James, Sirius and the little girl stood there with their own sandwiches. "Careful, there," Sirius said. "You don't want to lose your lunch."
"You're still here?" Lily asked, sitting down on a bench.
"We've been helping out," James said.
"And looking for her mum," Sirius said, motioning to Elizabeth. The girl sat down next to Lily, half-smiling up at her.
"Ven vas the laff time you faw her?" Lily asked through a mouthful of food.
"I'm my house, before the fire," Elizabeth said.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find her," Sirius told her. "Eat up."
"They say that there are at least a hundred here," James said. "And thirty that have already left."
"The Aurors have found thirty-four bodies," Sirius said.
"Eight have died here," James said.
"Stop," Lily said. "Elizabeth is right here."
"She can't just ignore it," Sirius said. He gave Elizabeth a soft smile. Lily knew it was true, but she was too young to be faced with death and murder, although the war had been going strong for six years now.
"Nancy died," James said quietly.
"What?" Lily gasped. She looked away, covering her mouth. This shouldn't have been happening. Nancy had been as old as them. It wasn't right. A few tears trickled down her cheeks. "Oh, my gosh. Who would do something like this?"
"You-Know-Who, of course," James said, his voice bitter.
"Well, yeah. . ." Lily trailed off. She couldn't put her horror into words.
Sirius tossed the paper at her. She bent down to pick it up. The Dark Mark was plastered on the front page, and there was a large article about the attack that had started at four in the morning. Lily read quietly, more thoughts flying through her head. She tried not to start crying, but tears streamed down her face. The three of them were mentioned. "Seventh years, Lily Evans, James Potter and Sirius Black were at the hospital, helping to keep the situation under control, sending the injured to appropriate floors. Evans did further work – she has been working at the hospital for a few weeks, and helped alongside mediwizards and Healers, using her magical talent." The article went on, and soon Lily had to excuse herself to the lavatory. She walked in, crying. She looked in the mirror – her hair held back with a scrunchie, her favorite jumper stained with blood.
The lavatory door opened, and James walked in. She gasped. "What are you doing in here?" she asked. "This is the girl's lavatory."
"I was making sure you were all right," James said.
Lily wiped her face, annoyed. "I don't need you to always check up on me," she said.
He went into one of the stalls and gave her a bundle of toilet paper. She blew her nose; then wiped her cheeks. "We really are too young," she said with a sniffle. "And think of all the kids – oh, my gosh." The two of them stood there for a moment. "Potter, could you please stop looking at me?"
"Why?" James asked, and his voice was hardly above a whisper.
"Because, it makes me feel uncomfortable," Lily said, covering one side of her face with her hand.
"You're pretty when you cry," James said. "And you're really crying. I mean, really. Do you know how – shit, Evans – you're so . . ."
"So what?" Lily asked. She felt his eyes on her, but wouldn't look at him.
"So. . .so you," James said. "So –"
"This war has to end," Lily said hysterically. She felt like an idiot for losing it in front of him, but she couldn't hold it back. Things were wrong, extremely wrong, and she didn't know how they would get better. "You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters aren't going to stop. Things are just getting worse!"
"I know," James replied. "It's ridiculous."
They stood there for a moment. Lily wiped her face. "What are you doing in here, Potter?" she asked.
"I just wanted to make sure you were all right," James said. "It's my job."
Lily shook her head. "No, it's not," she said. "Aren't I older than you?"
"Guys are supposed to be the heroes," James said in an amused voice.
Lily wiped her face, almost amused by this – here they were. It seemed like a stupid conversation, but they knew it was loaded, that they were talking about the two of them, about all of them, about the past, the present, the future.
"I can leave if you want me to," James said.
"I think I'm going to leave, too," Lily said. She tossed her toilet paper after one last blow of her nose. The two of them left the bathroom, and a lady raised her eyebrows at them as James left the girl's lavatory.
--
That night, the three of them were still helping at St. Mungo's. "Remus should be here," Sirius said. He and Lily were healing a small boy's broken leg. He had been found in a house, hiding in the basement. His Muggle parents had been killed. The boy was a wizard, and he told them he had been accepted into Hogwarts this summer. He was sleeping at the moment, and Lily was studying his bruised, swollen knee. "He's brilliant at this stuff."
"Yeah?" Lily asked, sounding distracted.
"Yeah," Sirius said. Remus would be a great Healer. Despite the whole werewolf thing, he knew the human body with genius and preciseness. But, he was in Greece, doing vacation time. "He's just got this thing with the human body."
Lily didn't reply at first. She looked thoughtful, then performed a spell to heal the boy's knee. It was a bad bruise, slightly green at certain parts. Sirius had has a few bruises like it, but never form Death Eaters. "Where is he?" she asked as the spell began to take effect.
"Greece," Sirius said. "He's got an uncle there."
Louise walked in, James behind her. "Lily, Sirius," she said. "They can't relocate people here, we're running out of room. You three have been great, but can I ask you to go to Liverpool?"
"Whatever you need, Louise," Lily said, nodding.
Soon, they had Apparated to Liverpool. Sirius still got a thrill from going from one place to another so quickly.
"This way," James said, waving his hand. He led the two of them through the city. Some houses were half-gone, there were crowds of people here and there, and the air smelled like smoke. Besides that, it looked like a normal evening. Sirius was sure they had spent the entire day trying to hide the remains from Muggles. There was only so much they could hide, though; what would they tell the papers? The families?
James approached a group of Aurors. "Mr. Moody," he said to the Head Auror. "I have a letter for you from Louise Montgomery." He held out an envelope.
"Ah," the gruff Auror said. He took the letter, his magical blue eye rolling over the three of them. Last summer, Mr. Potter introduced the two of them to the Head Auror. "James Potter and Sirius Black, right?"
"Right," James said, nodding.
Mad-Eye Moody opened the letter and started reading it. He finished it and turned to another Auror. Before he could speak, however, Lily stepped next to James and said, "I'm Lily Evans, sir, it's nice to meet you."
Moody looked at Lily, looking amused. Lily stuck out her hand – Moody grinned, shaking her small hand with his large, scarred one. "Nice to meet you, too," he said. He turned and started talking to the other Aurors. Sirius rolled his eyes, not at Lily's boldness, which he partly admired, but at the stupid grin on James's face.
"All right," an Auror said to the three of them as the others left. "I'm Caleb Dearborn. I'm supposed to take you to the mediwizard tent." He started to lead them toward the tent. "We've been finding people all day. It's great that you could come. How old are you guys?"
"Seventeen," James said.
Caleb Dearborn looked in his twenties, with rosy cheeks and perfect blonde hair. He reminded Sirius of Paul Brendell, despite the hair color. Same pretty boy character.
"Is your brother Caradoc?" Lily asked.
Caleb smiled. "Yeah!" he exclaimed. "You guys know him?"
"He was only a few years above us," Lily said with a nod.
At the tent, there were cots, mediwizards and witches, people being healed. "Caleb!" a stately-looking witch approached him. "Who's that with you?"
"This is –" Caleb began. He paused, seeing red wand sparks in the distance. "Emmeline, I've got to go." He started running away, then looked back over his shoulder. "If you see any Aurors, tell them there's an attack!"
James and Sirius only glanced at each other for a moment, then started running after him.
--
"Boys!" Emmeline yelled. "Where are you going?"
"As if she doesn't know," Sirius said to James.
"James! Sirius!" Lily shouted.
James and Sirius followed Caleb Dearborn. James heard Lily behind them, and wanted them to turn and tell her to go back. Dearborn turned into an alley, and they heard a blood-curdling scream. The boys ran in after him. A werewolf had two men on the ground; one of them Caleb Dearborn; the other an Auror that Moody had just been talking with. The wolf lost no time in attacking the boys.
"Oh, shit!" Sirius yelled, morphing into his Animagus form. He rolled into the attack and fought the wolf. James ran to the two Aurors. The unidentified one had been bit. Dearborn was scratched, as far at James could tell. His chest was cut open gruesomely; the other had been bit in the side. Lily ran into sight. She fell back from the large black dog and the wolf fighting, letting out a shriek.
"Lily, go away!" James yelled, waving his hands.
Lily looked at James, her eyes bright. "Are they – are they bit?" she asked.
"Get out of here!" James yelled. "Go get help!"
Padfoot let out a yelp as the wolf scratched him across the chest. Lily sucked in a gasp, backing up to the wall. She watched the two massive creatures fight viciously. The dog barked at James, leading the wolf out of the alley and most likely out of the town. Lily ran to James's side, falling to her knees.
"Evans, go – get – help –" James said.
"Potter, don't be stupid," Lily said angrily. "I have every right to be here –"
Mad-Eye Moody ran into the alley with a few Aurors behind him. He walked over to the two of them and the two motionless bodies. "Ah, hell," he said.
"This one's bit, but I don't think Dearborn is," James said, standing. "I'll go get help."
"Where's your friend?" Moody asked. Lily's eyes were on him.
"I don't know," James lied. He ran towards the tent, having a feeling that Moody's blue eye was following him. He sent a mediwizard towards the alley. He morphed into Animagus form, ignoring the risk of Moody's eye and how strange it would be to see a stag on the streets of Liverpool. He was determined to find Padfoot. He picked up the familiar scent and followed it to a dim forest. There was a strong scent of blood and a faint moaning sound.
Prongs saw a still form on the ground and morphed back into human form. "Oh, fuck," he said breathlessly, running to Sirius' side. "Padfoot – Padfoot, can you here me?"
Sirius moaned. He was covered in gashes and blood. "Prongs?" he said faintly.
"Where's the wolf?" James asked, searching Sirius's body for any teeth marks, any sign of a bite at all with frantic hands. Sirius groaned, hissing and fussing. "Where'd the wolf go, Sirius?"
"It's – forest – gone," Sirius struggled out. "James . . ."
"I'm right here," James said. His heart was racing, his hands were covered in Sirius's blood, he couldn't find any teeth marks, Sirius's arm was bent a funny way. He picked Sirius up into his arms, standing up. He walked with staggering legs back to the city, refusing to look down at Sirius's now unconscious form. He started yelling for help once he entered the streets. His body was going to give out.
"James!" Lily was running to him, her dark red hair flying behind her. She reached him, panting, and gasped at the sight of Sirius. She sent wand sparks into the air, yelling, her hand on James's arm.
After what seemed like an eternity, they were in the tent and two mediwitches were bending over Sirius, moving their wand quickly. Lily led him to a seat, putting a glass of water into his numb hands, all the while with her warm hand touching him, the only thing that felt real.
--
"James, it's getting really late," Lily said. She glanced at her watch. It was almost eleven. Liverpool was finally settling down. Sirius lay unconscious on a mat, James's eyes on him. The mediwitches were talking of closing the tent to visitors. James had been quiet since he brought Sirius in. He had helped Lily with what he could, but didn't leave the tent.
"I'm not leaving Sirius here," James said, looking at Lily with a hard look on his face.
"You should contact his parents," Lily offered. "Tell them what happened, and that he won't be coming home."
"He lives with me," James said.
Lily blinked. Gods, of course she knew that. She remembered that, but had never really thought about it. She looked away from James, her cheeks growing hot. "I knew that," she said. "Well, you should tell your parents, then." A silence fell between them. She looked at James again. "You can't stay here all night."
"Why not?" James asked sharply. "Who else is going to watch over him?"
"The mediwitches," Lily said.
One of the mediwitches walked over to the two of them. Lily couldn't recall her name, but she was pretty sure that the mediwitch knew James or his parents or both. "James," she said. "I owled your parents. They'll be coming soon to get you."
"I don't need them to come get me," James said indignantly. "I could Apparate home if I wanted –"
"They want to see Sirius," the mediwitch explained. "We're going to send him to St. Mungo's after they've seen him."
"And I'm going to stay there with him," James stated.
The mediwitch shook her head, a smile of pity creeping unto her face. "There are no visitors allowed," she said. "Your mother said –"
Before she could continue or James could argue with her, someone called James. A woman who looked in her fifties ran over to James, tears streaming down her face. She bent down, throwing her arms around James. A man came behind her, looking tired. Lily stood and stepped aside. It was evident these were his parents. His father had messy, thinning dark gray hair and knobbly knees. Her mother had glasses perched on her thin nose. Lily glanced away from them.
"Mum, please," she heard James saying.
Mrs. Potter was at Sirius's side as fast as lightning. "Oh, Sirius," she said, crying harder. "James, what happened?"
"I don't know," James said. "I went to find him – he was in the forest like that."
Mrs. Potter stroked back Sirius's hair, her fingertips skirting over his bandages, bloody clothes and pale skin. If Lily didn't know either of them, she would say Mrs. Potter was Sirius's own mother.
The mediwitch walked over to stand behind Mrs. Potter. "There are scratches that resemble . . ." she trailed off. "Well, they resemble that of a canine – a large dog, or . . . or a wolf."
"A wolf?" Mrs. Potter said, her eyes widening. "Like a werewolf?"
The mediwitch nodded. "But we haven't found any evidence of teeth marks quor bites," she said quickly. "We're going to send him to St. Mungo's tonight, as I told you in the letter. He should be all right – nothing some potions and tender loving care can't fix."
"It's not the full moon, either," James said quietly. He was staring at the ground. "But a werewolf attacked those Aurors. . ."
"Well, if it's not a full moon. . ." Mr. Potter trailed off. The mediwitch suddenly began to look very busy. Lily bit her lip, remembering the wolf that had chased off the big black dog, the Auror that had been bit, the half moon that hung in the sky.
Mrs. Potter sniffled a few times. She stood up, looking away from Sirius to her husband and son. "James, are you all right?" she asked. She walked over to her son, who wore blood-stained clothes. "Oh, James, dear." She put her hands on his shoulders.
"Mum, stop it," James said, stepping away from her.
"Are you all right?" she asked, crossing her arms. She seemed to finally have stopped crying.
"Yeah, I'm fine," James said. "I want to go to St. Mungo's with Sirius."
"James," Mr. Potter said, as though he had been expecting this.
"Dad, come on!" James exclaimed.
"You know there aren't visitors allowed," Mrs. Potter stated.
As the three of them argued, Lily noticed a mark of blood on the side of James's face. She stared at it for a moment while he got angry at his parents. She wondered if her parents were worrying, even though she knew the answer. She looked away from the blood on his face, crossing her arms and shivering.
"Mum, dad, I'm seventeen years old now –" James said.
"Adults can't visit St. Mungo's past hours, either!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed.
"James, even if we would let you, St. Mungo's won't," Mr. Potter said.
"I could go there to help, like I did today," James began.
"They have enough people there," Mr. Potter replied. "We've been there for a few hours; we went after you left."
James turned to look at Lily. "Lily, are you going back there?" he asked.
"Oh," Lily said, "I don't think so. I really need to get home. My parents will be worrying."
James just looked at her for a moment. "That's not what you were supposed to say," he said.
Lily could barely laugh. "My mum didn't want me to leave this morning at seven," she said. "I need to go home."
"Lily, you said?" Mrs. Potter asked. She put out her hand, walking towards Lily. "I'm Martha Potter."
"Nice to meet you," Lily said, shaking her hand. "I'm Lily Evans."
"That's my husband, Herbert Potter," Mrs. Potter said, motioning with her hand.
"Nice to meet you," Lily repeated, nodding at him.
"Is there anything we can do before we leave?" Mrs. Potter asked in a friendly tone.
"Oh, no," Lily said. "Thank you. I'll be fine, though. I'm just going to Apparate home once I'm sure they don't need anymore help here."
"Oh, no, dear, you really should get home," the mediwitch said kindly. "It's nearly eleven thirty. I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you."
"Who are your parents?" Mrs. Potter asked.
"Oh, they're Muggles," Lily said. "I live in Surrey – their names are Edward and Rose Evans."
"Well, maybe I'll get to meet them someday," Mrs. Potter said. Lily half-smiled, half-grimaced, sure that James was thinking about a future wedding.
"Martha, we should get going," Mr. Potter said. "James, why don't you say goodbye to Lily?"
"Bye," James said, looking grumpy.
"Bye, James," Lily said.
"Herbert!" a voice said behind them.
Mr. Potter turned and smiled at Mad-Eye Moody. He and Mrs. Potter left to talk to him for a moment. Lily and James awkwardly stood there.
"I'm sure he'll be fine in St, Mungo's," Lily said after she realized James was looking at Sirius.
James didn't reply. He nodded, crossing his arms.
"Why do you want to watch over him?" Lily asked. "I mean, you're not – not his guardian. It's not your responsibility. You're only seventeen, James – Sirius is older than you, anyway."
"It's just always been like this," James said in an odd voice.
"Like what?" Lily asked.
"I'm always watching over him," James said. "I am his guardian. I'm always fixing his mistakes or sticking up for him or watching him when he gets attacked by werewolves." He smirked. "It's my job."
"It doesn't have to be tonight," Lily said slowly.
James didn't reply again, and she heard his mother start crying again.
"You did great today," Lily said. She made a frustrated noise, wanting to hide in a hole. "I mean – I never thought you had it in you, Potter."
"Thanks – I think," James said, smirking.
Lily nodded. She was exhausted, and it showed – could she sound more ridiculous? James's parents came back over. "We'll see you later, Lily," Mr. Potter said.
"Yeah," Lily said.
The three of them started to walk away, following the mediwitches out with Sirius. James glanced over his shoulder to give Lily a smile. She waved goodbye. Once they fell out of sight, Lily finally Apparated home.
--
A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews! You rock!!
Here are three lines from the next chapter:
1) "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix," he said.
2) Remus paused, considering what was worse: the letter never getting to Dumbledore or being read by Sirius or James.
3) James decided he loved being an adult.
I'll try to update in the next few weeks!