Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this storyline
Previously:
Lily and James FINALLY got together
Sirius and Hestia get together
Avery expressed interest in Lily
Lily gets a wedding invitation from her sister
On Monday morning, Lily woke up and dressed hurriedly. She ran downstairs to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, then checked her hair. It was her first day at Hogwarts as James Potters' girlfriend. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she walked up James' staircase to wake him up. He had been at Quidditch tryouts the whole of Sunday, so she hadn't seen him until dinner the previous night. When she walked in, she found him lying on his stomach, talking to a mirror.
"Pads it's so early!" James whined, looking into the mirror. Lily raised her eyebrows, thinking he was practicing for something, but then jumped as she heard Sirius' voice from the mirror.
"But Prongs I need advice! What do you think her favorite colour is? I don't know what to wear to Hogsmeade next weekend!"
"Her favourite colour is orange, but she likes you in blue," Lily said, sitting down on the bed next to James.
"THANK YOU LILY-FLOWER!" Sirius yelled happily, looking over at Lily, "I have a surprise for you at breakfast," he winked.
"What surprise?" James asked curiously.
"It's for both of you now shut up and get ready," Sirius said, blowing a kiss to Lily before the mirror turned dark.
"He's so irritating," James muttered to himself, sitting up, and then turning to smile at Lily, "Morning." Lily laughed.
"Morning," she smiled, and James kissed her on the cheek before getting up.
"Let's go before he does anything too stupid for our surprise," James said miserably, and Lily smiled. She sat on James' bed as he got ready and brushed his teeth. When he was done, he held his hand out to her and Lily grabbed it happily.
"We didn't get to talk yesterday, but do you want to come to Tuney's wedding with me?" Lily asked, looking at James, who grinned.
"That means I get to meet your parents?" he said, turning to Lily, whose expression fell.
"I didn't think of that. On second thought, I'm not allowing you to come," she said resolutely and James guffawed.
"No no I'm coming," he said, shaking his head. Lily rolled her eyes and shoved James, who shoved her back, causing her to laugh, "When is the wedding?" he asked.
"Christmas break," Lily said. She had asked Petunia the night before using a telephone that worked in Dumbledore's office.
"Great! So we can go for your sisters wedding, and then you come to my house," James said, winking at Lily who rolled her eyes. They entered the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table, still chatting. Hestia, Sirius and Remus were already at the table, Sirius eating as he usually did, Hestia next to him, and Remus sitting across from them looking disgusted.
"Are you disgusted by Blacks eating habits or Hestia's ignorance of Blacks eating habits?" Lily asked, sitting next to Remus, who laughed.
"Both," he said, turning to smile at Lily, "And thank you for accepting me with, you know, my furry little problem," Remus said quietly, and Lily smiled at him.
"No worries. Did James cave and tell you?" Remus laughed.
"Only after Hestia asked why I wasn't in the hospital wing," he shrugged and Lily nodded.
"Thanks for believing in me," James muttered sarcastically, and Lily laughed, grabbing James' hand in hers and squeezing. James squeezed back harder and Lily's eyes narrowed. She squeezed back as hard as she could and James laughed, "Is that the best you can do Evans?" Lily shoved James and he laughed. Remus was watching them with a smile and James raised his eyebrows at him, "What?"
"Nothing! I'm just glad you guys are finally together," Remus smiled and turned to look at Sirius and Hestia, who were watching James and Lily with smiles on their faces, "and as you can see I'm not the only one."
When everyone had filed into the hall, Sirius took his arm away from around Hestia, "Pads…" Remus said, smirking. Sirius winked at him and stood up on top of the table. He pointed his wand to his throat and muttered 'Sonorous'.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, Teachers and Slytherins," Sirius' voice boomed, catching the attention of everyone, and earning chuckles from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, "I have an announcement to make," he said. Lily saw the teachers and Dumbledore concentrate on Sirius, "I would like to say that Lily Evans, your respected Head Girl, has finally agreed to go out with my best mate, Marauder, and Head Boy James Potter!"
Lily blushed as the Great Hall erupted in applause, cheers and laughter. Lily looked up at the high table to see Dumbledore giving them a standing ovation and laughed. McGonagall was wiping at her eyes happily. Across the Great Hall, Severus had frozen and had tears forming in his eyes.
"My best mate, James Potter!" Sirius yelled, gesturing to James who laughed and climbed up on the table, and took a bow, much to everyone's amusement, "Lily Evans everyone!" Sirius yelled, gesturing to Lily, who blushed hard and shook her head, feeling everyone's eyes on her, "Go get her up on the table Prongs," Sirius said, turning to James, who laughed and bent over, offering Lily his hand. Lily shook her head resolutely, and James, rolled his eyes, and climbed off the table, scooping her up in his arms. Lily screamed, and everyone in the Great Hall erupted into even more laughter. James carried her and climbed on top of the table. Lily saw Dumbledore wolf-whistle and burst into laughter. James put her down on the table and the entire Gryffindor table gave them a standing ovation.
"Give her a kiss!" Frank yelled, and Lily saw Alice laugh and lean onto his shoulder. Lily blushed deep red and Sirius laughed.
"Professor?" Sirius yelled, turning to Dumbledore who beamed and nodded. Lily saw McGonagall smile and clap and Lily blushed even harder. James turned to Lily and spread his arms, and Lily shook her head.
"Oh no," she said, shaking her head, and everyone laughed. Sirius walked around them and pushed Lily into James' arms. James kissed Lily and then looked down at her, grinning. Lily blushed and laughed, trying to ignore the wolf whistling that was filling the Great Hall. James twirled Lily and took a bow, and Lily, laughing, joined James in his bow. When they stood up, Dumbledore and McGonagall were standing in front of them. Lily jumped off the table and James laughed, following slowly.
"All I can say is, finally," McGonagall said, looking down at Lily sternly, and Lily grinned up at her. Dumbledore smiled.
"Now remember that conversation we almost had?" Dumbledore said sternly, and Lily and James turned red.
"It's fine Professor! We got the basic idea of the conversation," James laughed, and put his arm around Lily, who rolled her eyes.
Dumbledore grinned, winked at Sirius, and headed up to the high table. Lily turned around and glared at Sirius, "I am going to kill you Black," she growled, sitting down. Remus reached across the table and hi-fived Sirius, "I'm going to kill you all," Lily said, glaring at Remus who laughed.
"Be careful or she'll put you in detention," Alice said seriously, sitting down next to them, Frank on her other side.
"Nice one Frank," Gwenog said, sitting down next to Hestia, grinning at him. Frank took a mock bow, and James clapped him on the back, laughing.
"I'm going to go," Lily said, standing up, and Sirius laughed.
"Aw Lily-flower. I told you there was going to be a surprise," he said, smiling sweetly at her, and Lily grinned.
"I feel like I should pay you back," Lily said sweetly, and Sirius looked afraid. Lily got up onto the table.
"That's out of character," Remus said, watching Lily. Everyone in the Great Hall turned to look at Lily, who grinned down at Sirius. She pointed her wand at the ceiling, and a ribbon flew out of her wand. It floated high into the air, everyone's eyes following it, and twisted, forming words.
'Sirius Black & Hestia Jones'
The ribbon floated all the way to the top of the Hall, and floated into the ceiling. The ribbon exploded, and pieces of the ribbon flew all over the hall, landing on everyone's plates and forming the words. People clapped and gasped in awe, and Lily sat back down on her seat, to applause. Sirius was looking down at his plate, which was now pink and read 'Sirius Black & Hestia Jones'. He looked up at Lily, and grinned.
"Well played Evans," he laughed, reaching across to shake her hand, and Lily laughed, shaking his hand. James laughed and put his arm around Lily. Lily turned as Remus gasped, staring down at his plate, where little hearts had formed.
"This is incredible Lily," Remus said dumbly, shaking his head down at the plate. Lily shrugged and smiled.
"I have to go back to the dorm," she said suddenly, standing up, "I forgot the Charms essay," she said in answer to James' expression, "See you guys in Charms," she said, and turned to walk from the Hall.
"Ms. Evans!" Lily turned to see McGonagall swiftly walking over to her, "This is amazing," McGonagall breathed, holding out her plate. Lily grinned.
"Thank you."
"I am not joking, I have never seen this kind of magic," McGonagall said, "Have you considered working at the Prophet? You could do their design and layout. You would be incredible at it," she finished, looking up at Lily, who grinned.
"I hadn't thought of that," she said honestly, and McGonagall smiled.
"Consider it," she said, and with a warm smile, she walked back over to the high table, where even Flitwick was admiring his plate. Lily turned and headed to her dormitory, smiling and nodding at people as they yelled their 'congratulation' and their awe at her.
She walked up the marble staircase, and froze as she saw Severus standing at the top of the staircase. She groaned, and raised her wand.
"Accio Charms Essay," she said, and started to turn around.
"Lily wait," he said, running down to her.
"What do you want?" she asked, irritated. She saw her roll of parchment flying towards her, and reached her hand up to catch it.
"I wanted to say, um, congrats," Severus said quietly, looking down at the floor.
"Oh," Lily said, slightly shocked, "thank you," she muttered, and turned around.
"What are you doing Snivellus?" Sirius asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs.
"It's fine Black," Lily said, smiling down at Sirius, who looked at her expression, and calmed down. Sirius held out his elbow, and Lily laughed, linking elbows with him.
"Bye Lily," she heard Severus say quietly, and turned to give him a small smile, before walking onwards with Sirius.
"You do know Charms is up the stairs," Lily said, looking at Sirius, who laughed.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do know that Lily-flower. I just didn't want to pass by Snivellus in fear of having the grease from his hair fly over and try to attack my gorgeous locks," he said, and Lily laughed.
"I don't see any gorgeous locks," Lily said, looking around Sirius' head.
"You must be blinded by my devilishly handsome face combined with my sexy body," he shrugged, and Lily laughed.
"Wow Black I think you're head is a bit inflated, it's a wonder your broom can ever lift off the floor," she said, and Sirius grinned at her.
"I think, since you haven't said that to James this year, you're using it on me, not wanting the melodic insult to die out," Sirius smirked, and Lily rolled her eyes, "And may I ask why you can't call me by my first name?"
"Are you serious?" Lily asked, looking at him.
"Yes I am, good girl," he said, and Lily laughed again.
"Sorry Sirius," she said, "habit." Sirius nodded in understanding, "now where are we going?" she asked, looking around at a corridor she didn't recognize.
"We're going my secret way to Charms," he said, and Lily rolled her eyes, "it's a great secret way by the way. It gets us there faster. This is why you never see the Marauders on the way to Charms. See you learn something new every day," Sirius said. Lily laughed again.
"We learn something new every day anyway," she corrected him, "We're at school remember?"
"Let me correct myself. You learn something useful everyday," he said, and Lily smacked him.
"School is useful!" she said, and Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Yes okay Evans. School is useful. Happy?" he grinned and Lily grinned back, "Now I have an important matter to discuss with you," Sirius said seriously, "James has been in love with you for a long time, and now that you have said yes, he's flipped over the edge where I cannot save him," Sirius said turning to Lily, "Can I trust you not to hurt him?" he asked, looking at her seriously. Lily turned to Sirius, astonished.
"Of course! I, well, I really like him," she said quietly, "I think I've liked him since second year," she shrugged and Sirius raised his eyebrows.
"Then why didn't you say yes?"
"I don't know. Denial?" she said, and Sirius laughed, "Now I have a similar matter to discuss with you," she said, and Sirius looked at her, "If you hurt Hestia I will shatter that gorgeous face of yours," she said, turning to Sirius who grinned cheekily.
"I knew you thought I was gorgeous," he said, and Lily laughed, "And I promise not to hurt her. I like her," he shrugged, and Lily smiled.
"That's odd coming from you," she said, "Oh no! My bag is in the Great Hall!" she said, turning around, but Sirius rolled his eyes, pulling her bag out of his. She raised her eyebrows at his bag.
"Undetectable Extending Charm," he shrugged, and grinned at Lily, who rolled her eyes.
"I don't want to know," she said, covering her ears. Sirius grinned.
"You're not so bad Lily," he said happily.
"You're not so bad yourself Sirius," she grinned, and Sirius laughed.
"What's going on? Are you trying to steal my girlfriend?" James asked, grinning at Sirius, who rolled his eyes.
"Your girlfriend is gorgeous and all, but I'd rather have mine," he said, winking at Hestia who was not on Sirius' other side. Hestia rolled her eyes at him and turned to Lily with a grin.
"We need to talk" she said seriously, pushing her boyfriend out of the way and linking her elbow through Lily's.
"No, that's not fair!" James yelled, grabbing Lily's other arm. Lily laughed and untwined her elbow from Hestia's as Sirius made his way over to Hestia, wrapping his arms around her from the back. James wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulders, and turned to grin at him.
"Well that was an eventful morning," she said, and James laughed, "first I find out how you and Sirius talk during detention, my relationship with you is announced to the whole school and I kiss you on top of the table, I charm everyone's plates to embarrass Sirius, I run into Severus, and I walk here with Sirius having a civilized conversation," she said, ticking everything off on her fingers, "I think you're having a bad influence on me," she concluded and grinned up at James who smiled back.
"What happened with Snape?" he asked, looking down at her.
"Nothing. He was on the staircase when I was going to get my charms essay, and then he said congrats, and then Sirius showed up," she shrugged and James smiled to himself.
"Since when is he Sirius?" James asked.
"He's never serious what are you talking about?" Lily asked, and James guffawed, "Since our conversation on the way here," she said, and James nodded.
"What did you guys talk about?" he asked.
"None of your business," she said, "It was between your boyfriend and your girlfriend. We had gossiping to do," she winked, and James grinned down at her.
"Lily!" Flitwick yelled as they entered the room, "This is spectacular!" he said, gesturing to the plate he had lying on his desk. Lily grinned and thanked Flitwick, sitting down next to Gwenog, who rolled her eyes.
"We're going to hear about how good you are at magic all day aren't we?" she whispered, as Flitwick started to talk to the class about how beautiful Lily's magic was.
Gwenogs' prediction turned out to be true. In every class they had that day, the teacher discussed Lily's amazing charms on the plates. Even Lily was getting sick of it. When their classes for the day were over, Lily and James headed off to their dorm together.
"Ah that was such a long day!" she whined, "Why was everyone gushing over the plates? It really wasn't so hard to do," she groaned, and James laughed.
"It really was amazing though Lils," he said, "My parents are Aurors, they bring home a lot of cool stuff, but I have never seen anything like that." Lily groaned.
"Not you too!" James laughed.
"I don't want to inflate your head my dear. You wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning," he said, winking at her, and Lily laughed, recognizing the insult as the one she had given him the last time he had asked her out in their sixth year. She shook her head in incredulity at how much things had changed since then.
The next few weeks went by uneventfully, and before they knew it, it was the weekend before Christmas holidays, the second Hogsmeade weekend. Lily and James were going to be leaving for Petunia's wedding in two days. The first Hogsmeade weekend, Lily, James, Hestia and Sirius had gone on a double date, as it was the first date for both of them. Remus and Gwenog were invited too, but Remus had stayed in the castle to visit the library, and Gwenog wanted to practice her Quidditch.
This second weekend however, Lily and James weren't going to double date with Sirius and Hestia. It was just going to be the two of them, as decided at the end of their first date. When Lily woke up on the morning of their Hogsmeade visit, she walked over to her cupboard, trying to decide on what to wear. She pulled out a pair of tight jeans, a white spaghetti top, to wear under an emerald long sleeved top, and a giant winter jacket and a scarf to go over it. It was already snowing outside, and Lily didn't want to get sick a week before Petunia's wedding. She tied her hair up in a knot and walked down the stairs to their common room, to see James wearing about as many layers as her. When he saw her, James grinned and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug.
"Morning!" he said cheerfully, pulling away from Lily, who frowned at him.
"Why so happy?" she asked, following James back to the sofa where he had been sitting.
"I got an invite," he said, gesturing to the letter in his hands. Lily grabbed the letter.
James Potter,
Hello, my name is Petunia Evans. I am Lily's older sister. I understand you two are an item now (Lily told mum who told me when I asked) and I would like to say that I would be delighted if you would be able to come to my wedding in a weeks time with Lily. Say hello to Lily for me,
Petunia
"She asked?" Lily said, frowning down at the letter. She had been convinced Petunia wanted nothing to do with her, and here she was sending a letter to a wizard. Had Petunia changed?
"See, she still cares about you," James said, smiling up at Lily. Lily grinned down at James.
"Lets go?" she asked, and James smiled, nodding, "I'm a bit nervous," Lily said truthfully, as they made their way down to the Great Hall.
"Why?" James asked incredulously, turning to look down at Lily.
"It's our first date with just the two of us!" she said breathlessly, and James grinned, "I mean, its something worth being nervous about you know!" James nodded, smiling, "Oh shut up," she said, shoving him, and he laughed. They reached the Entrance Hall and James saw Sirius and Hestia holding hands, walking in front of them. Hestia turned around and grinned.
"Lily!" she squealed, running over to her, "I cant believe you're going to be leaving in two days! Who am I going to talk to?" she whined, and stomped her foot. Alice was going to Franks house for the holidays, and Gwenog was going to Germany for a Quidditch tryout. Hestia was going to be staying at Hogwarts, as were Sirius and Remus. Peter was going to go home to visit his mum.
"I'm insulted!" Sirius gasped, walking over to clap James on the back, "Don't I count as someone?" he pouted and Hestia rolled her eyes.
"Not the same," she said, and turned back to Lily, "What am I going to do?"
"We can write?" Lily said hopefully, and Hestia brightened a little.
"Of course we can! Okay I'm better now. Let's go Sirius," she said, turning to Sirius, "good luck guys!" she said over her shoulder as she and Sirius started to make their way out of the castle.
"You too!" James yelled back, and reached his hand out for Lily to hold it. Lily took his hand and started to leave the castle. Lily saw Avery watching them from a corner of the Entrance Hall, and inched closer to James, who, also noticing Avery, held Lily closer to him, "I hate him," he muttered and Lily sighed.
"Me too."
"Where do you want to go?" James asked, as they reached Hogsmeade. It was really cold outside, so they went into the Three Broomsticks, where they found most of the Hogwarts students who had come down to Hogsmeade. James and Lily found their own booth, and sat down close to each other, trying to keep warm.
They talked for a long time, and before they knew it, it had started to get late, and them, and Sirius and Hestia were the only Hogwarts students left in Hogsmeade. Sirius and Hestia came over to sit with them. After a few minutes, Lily, who had been staring into space, noticed the Butterbeer in her cup move.
"What was that?" she asked, jumping up. James, Sirius and Hestia looked at her as if she was going crazy, "I think we should go," she said earnestly down to James, who nodded and stood up. Sirius and Hestia, noticing how panicky Lily was, stood up and made to leave as well. Lily had a feeling something bad was going to happen. She moved quickly to the door of the pub, and pushed it open to see people fighting in the street. There were people in masks and Lily, realizing who they were, shut the door.
"Death Eaters," James managed to choke out, grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her close to him. The four of them drew their wands and looked around.
"This way," Lily turned to see the barkeeper, Madame Rosmarta, gesturing at them from the other side of the bar where they could see a door. The four of them hurried over, Sirius and James going backwards to make sure no one got them from behind.
They ran out of the door and found themselves on the road that led straight up to Hogwarts. They started to run up the path, when Hestia screamed. Lily and James turned to see Sirius dueling a masked wizard, who had jinxed Hestia. Lily rushed over, and picked Hestia up, pushing her in the direction of the castle. Hestia, however, pulled out her wand and blasted the Death Eater who was dueling Sirius backwards.
Sirius grabbed Hestia's hand and ran up to the castle, "Prongs, Lily let's go!" he yelled over his shoulder. James grabbed Lily's hand and followed after Sirius and Hestia.
"Crucio!" James turned as Lily was on the floor, writhing in agony. James pointed his wand at the Death Eater, and blasted him away. He fell to the floor next to Lily, as Sirius and Hestia ran back at the screams.
"Lils?" he asked, his voice hoarse. Lily was shaking and whimpering, "Lils?" he whispered, and Lily looked up at him. He felt relieved; he had heard of cases where after someone had been cruciated they couldn't function right for a few weeks, "Lils do you know who I am?" he asked, and Lily, understanding, nodded. James picked her up, and carefully put her back down on her feet, "can you walk?" Lily nodded, still shaking, and reached down to pick up her wand, her face pale.
"Let's get back," she said. They turned around to head back to the castle when James heard a pop, as someone apparated behind them. He turned quickly, and froze as he realized there were 5 Death Eaters behind him. The one who had cruciated Lily removed their mask, and James recognized Bellatrix Black, who had graduated from Hogwarts a couple years ago.
"Bella," Sirius said dangerously, holding Hestia behind him.
"Ah, look its my blood traitor cousin," she sneered, before turning to look at Lily. She pointed her wand at Lily, and Lily fell to the floor screaming again. The Death Eaters laughed and James made to curse them, but Sirius, Hestia and James had been put into Body-Bind curses. James felt helpless as he watched Lily scream in the snow, and saw a tear escape Hestia's frozen form.
"What have we here?" she sneered, walking over to Lily, "I remember you," she whispered, looking down at Lily, "mudblood." The Death Eaters snickered as Bellatrix lifted her spell, crouching down next to Lily, "I've always hated mudbloods," she said, as Lily whimpered in the snow, tears streaming down her face. James felt tears of anger and fear streak down his face, and saw Sirius pale next to him. Bellatrix walked over to the other Death Eaters, and James saw Lily clutch her wand firmly.
"Shall we finish her off?" she asked the Death Eater closest to her, who nodded eagerly. His hood fell off and James recognized the Death Eater as Lestrange, who, rumor had it, was getting married to Bellatrix. Bellatrix turned slowly and pointed her wand at Lily.
"Avada-" James felt a scream build up in his chest as he realized what was about to happen, and watched as Hestia fainted, and Sirius began to cry.
"Reducto!" he heard Lily scream, and watched as the five Death Eaters were blasted into a building, which collapsed on top of them. Lily pointed her wand at them weakly, and they were freed of their body bind curses. James fell to the floor beside Lily, and pulled her into his arms, feeling his tears seep into her jacket. Lily, shaking and crying, clutched on James's shoulders. Hestia fell down next to James, and hugged Lily from behind, crying. Sirius, who was still pale and crying, walked over to the bodies of the Death Eaters.
"Petrificus Totalus" he whispered, pointing to each of them individually, making sure they were frozen. He turned around and sank down next to Lily, staring at her with wide eyes. He pointed his wand at the castle, and a large dog burst out of the end of his wand, running up to the castle with a message for Dumbledore, "We should get her inside," he whispered, looking at Lily, and James nodded. He stood up, carrying Lily in his arms, and walked up to the castle. Sirius put his arms around Hestia, who was sobbing, and followed James.
When they reached the gates of Hogwarts, it was to see the teachers rushing out, following Sirius' patronus, which vanished as they reached Sirius. McGonagall, who was pale, rushed to Lily, who was still shaking and whimpering in James's arms. Dumbledore walked past James, clapping him on the shoulder, before walking up to Sirius and Hestia.
"Where?" Dumbledore asked. Sirius told them where the frozen Death Eaters were, and the other teachers rushed off out of the gates, wands drawn. Dumbledore patted Sirius on the shoulder and nodded at Hestia, "Take her to the hospital wing, she needs a calming draught," Sirius nodded, then looked worriedly at Lily, "Don't worry, I'll take care of her and James," Dumbledore said quietly. Sirius nodded and led Hestia towards James. Sirius stopped to put his hand on James's shoulder, and stroke Lily's hair, before leading Hestia up to the hospital wing.
The teachers returned, and Dumbledore sealed the gates and enchanted them, before walking over to James and Lily. James was still standing, holding Lily in his arms, tears leaking out of his eyes as he murmured soothing words to her. James looked up as Dumbledore approached, as did McGonagall, who was holding Lily's hand, "Bring her to my office please," Dumbledore whispered, and James followed after him obediently.
As they entered the castle, James saw Remus run down the stairs towards them, "I just saw Sirius," he said, pale, and looked down at Lily, "Lily are you alright?" he asked, looking down at Lily.
"Fantastic," she choked out, and Remus, James, Dumbledore and McGonagall chuckled in relief.
"Mr. Lupin, we must go now," McGonagall said soothingly, and Remus nodded.
"I have to go tell the others," he said, nodding at James, before running back up the stairs. They walked up to Dumbledore's office, and when they entered, James sat down in one of the chairs, Lily on his lap, refusing to let her go.
"What happened?" Dumbledore asked gently, looking at James and Lily. McGonagall conjured up a sofa for them out of the other chair, and James moved onto it, laying Lily down so that her head was resting in his lap. McGonagall sat down in their recently vacated chair.
"We were in the Three Broomsticks," James started, rubbing Lily's arm because she was still shaking, "And Lily stood up suddenly saying we had to get out," Dumbledore held up a finger and looked down at Lily.
"Why did you think you had to get out?" he asked gently, and Lily looked up at him.
"I was staring into space, not really listening to what Hestia was talking about, and then I saw my Butterbeer shake inside the cup, and then I had a bad feeling, so I said we had to get out," she said quietly, and James rubbed her arm soothingly. Dumbledore nodded and turned back to James.
"Then what happened?"
"Well when Lily stood up we all did, and then we walked to the door of the Three Broomsticks and pulled it open to see people fighting in the street. Lily shut the door quickly and Madam Rosmarta, who was behind us, showed us the back exit. How specific do you want me to be?" James asked, snapping back to reality, looking up at Dumbledore.
"As specific as you can be," Dumbledore said, looking at James, who nodded.
"Anyway, so we ran out of the back exit, and outside, we started to run up to the castle, but Hestia screamed, so Lily and I turned around, to see Hestia in the snow, and Sirius dueling a Death Eater. Then Hestia stood up and blasted the Death Eater away, and we started run back to the castle, Lily and I were behind Sirius and Hestia. Then," James said, looking down, "I heard someone scream 'Crucio' and I heard Lily scream," James' voice was strangled, and he reached for Lily's hand, and continued, "I turned around and blasted the Death Eater away, and then made sure Lily was okay, I asked her a few questions, and realized she was okay, you know, mentally, and then I helped her up. She said she could walk so we started to go back to the castle, but then I heard someone apparate behind us, and turned to see five of them," James took a breath, and felt Lily squeeze his hand, "Then one of them took off their mask, Bellatrix, and called Sirius her blood traitor cousin, then pointed her wand at Lily and cruciated her again," James said, crying now, but continued on, "I tried to do something, but they had put body binding curses on Sirius, Hestia and I, so we could do nothing while Lily screamed on the floor," James said, his voice breaking, feeling Lily squeeze his hand again, "So then Bellatrix walked over to Lily and said she recognized her, and called her a mudblood. Then she walked back to Lestrange and asked if they should finish Lily off," James whispered. McGonagall was pale and Dumbledore looked as if he was going to be sick.
"How did you get out of that?" Dumbledore asked, looking from James to Lily. James looked down at Lily and smiled a little.
"Lily did it. I don't know how, but she did," he whispered, "Bellatrix had her wand pointed at Lily. She had said 'Avada' but then Lily screamed 'Reducto' and the five Death Eaters were blasted into the closest building, which collapsed on top of us, and then Lily released us from the body binding curses," James looked down at Lily, who looked up at him, tears in her eyes from reliving it.
"Then I collapsed next to Lily, as did Hestia. Sirius was the only one who was smart enough to go and freeze the Death Eaters, and then he sent the patronus, and told us we had to take Lily up to the castle, so I picked her up," James said, and wiped at a tear that had rolled down his cheek. James heard a sob, and turned to see McGonagall wiping her eyes on a handkerchief. Dumbledore stood up and walked around his desk, to crouch down next to Lily.
"Ms. Evans, I have never been prouder of a student," Dumbledore said quietly, "What you did required a lot of strength, and probably saved James, Sirius and Hestia's lives. I cannot possibly imagine what kind of pain you were in, but today I truly believe I made the right choice in Head Girl." Lily gave Dumbledore a small smile and Dumbledore smiled down at her, "Minerva, would you please escort Lily to the hospital wing?" Dumbledore said to McGonagall.
"I can take her," James said defiantly; he didn't want to be separated from Lily after her escaping a narrow death.
"I need to talk to you," Dumbledore said quietly, looking down at James, who nodded. He stood up and helped Lily up, pulling her into a hug.
"I'll see you in a bit, okay?" he said quietly to Lily, and Lily nodded. He kissed Lily on the forehead and handed her over to McGonagall, "She's really shaky," he said, and McGonagall smiled at him, supporting Lily as they walked out of Dumbledores office. James sunk back down onto the sofa and put his head in his hands, forgetting Dumbledore was there.
"James," Dumbledore said, sinking down on his chair behind the desk again, looking at James, "I am immensely proud of you," Dumbledore said, and James' head snapped up to look at him, "I know how much of pain you must've been in today. Especially after losing Alissa," Dumbledore said quietly, "I lost my sister, so I understand the misery that that throws a person into. And then to watch as the person you're in love with narrowly escapes death and gets tortured, I don't know how you managed it." James felt a sob escape his chest and covered his face with his hands, not wanting Dumbledore to see him cry.
Dumbledore walked over to sit next to James, and put his hand on his shoulder, "James, I know you've been questioning my decision in making you Head Boy since you received your letter. This is why. You think fast, and you can accept everything and move on," Dumbledore said quietly. James turned to look at Dumbledore, tears in his hazel eyes. Dumbledore conjured up a handkerchief and handed it to James, who took it gratefully and wiped his face.
"Do you think it's okay if Lily and I go to her sister's wedding with Lily in this state?" James asked Dumbledore, who nodded.
"I think what Lily needs right now is to get away from Hogwarts and away from the magical world for a few days. I think going to her sisters wedding will get her mind of this situation, and being surrounded by love can cause miracles," Dumbledore said, "You can love, James, and you love deeply. That's what differs you from Sirius and Remus, and why this effects you more than it effects them." James nodded and wiped his eyes and blew his nose on the handkerchief. He pointed his wand at it, cleaned it, and handed it back to Dumbledore who took it.
"I think you should leave tomorrow for Petunia's wedding," Dumbledore said, "I'll inform your teachers. Enjoy the wedding, and say Hi to your parents for me," Dumbledore smiled, and helped James up, "Now go to the hospital wing, where I'm sure you'll find all your friends." James nodded, shook Dumbledores hand, and walked out of the office. Once he was out of Dumbledores office, he started to run.
"James!" Sirius exclaimed, striding over to James to pull him into a manly hug, which James returned, "I'm so glad you're okay," Sirius whispered, and pulled away from James, nodding his head to a bed that had the curtains drawn, "Lily's in there. Madam Pomfrey said you'd be allowed to go in there." James nodded.
"How's Hestia?" he asked, and Sirius nodded to the bed opposite Lily's, where Hestia was sleeping.
"She was given a calming draught so she would stop hyperventilating, and then a sleeping draught because apparently sleep 'heals the mind'" Sirius rolled his eyes and James chuckled. He walked around Sirius and bumped into Gwenog and Alice.
"What happened!" they screamed simultaneously. James looked at Sirius who shook his head, looking at Hestia. James took a breath and re-explained what happened in Hogsmeade, and noticed as everyone, including the matron who stuck her head out from the curtain, turned to listen.
"I can't believe she was able to do that," Remus said, shaking his head, looking in the direction of Lily's bed. Alice was sobbing, and Frank wrapped his arms around her. Gwenog paled and turned to look at Lily's bed, and then at Hestia's. Peter, who was sitting at the foot of Hestia's bed, looked at the curtains of Lily's bed, his face pale.
"You can go in," James turned to see the matron looking at him. He smiled gratefully and moved past everyone to go near Lily's bed. The curtains were drawn behind him and he looked at Lily, who was sleeping. He grabbed her hand and held it.
"Dumbledore said we should go to Petunia's tomorrow," James whispered to the sleeping Lily. Lily nodded and James jumped, "You're awake!" he said, and he saw a smile split across Lily's face, and her eyes opened.
"Yes I'm awake. I was resting my eyes. So what time are we leaving tomorrow?" she said, turning to look at James. James shrugged.
"I guess whenever you're better," he said, and looked down at his watch, "It's late, you should go to sleep," he said, letting go of her hand.
"Don't leave me!" she whispered, grabbing his hand. James nodded, and squeezed her hand.
"I'm not going anywhere." Lily nodded, reassured, and closed her eyes. James sat there until Lily felt asleep, and the matron walked in.
"You should go now," she whispered to James, opening the curtain around Lily's bed. James looked around to see everyone still sitting there, "Visiting hours are over!" she announced, and everyone stood up, and shuffled out. James and Sirius were the last people left in the dorm.
"Send for me when she wakes up," James and Sirius said at the same time, and the matron nodded, "Lily and I are leaving in the morning," James said, and the matron nodded again, and shut the door to the hospital wing.
"Can I stay with you tonight?" Sirius asked quietly. James nodded, he didn't want to be alone either. Remus turned around and walked back to them, standing in between them, putting his arms around both of their shoulders. Peter was already gone, and Alice, Gwenog and Frank had returned to Gryffindor Tower.
"I'll leave you two then," Remus said quietly, and started to walk away, but James grabbed his robes.
"Don't go. You can stay here too," James said quietly, and Remus nodded. The three boys entered the Heads dorm and James looked down at his invitation to Petunia's wedding. It was lying exactly where Lily had left it after reading it that morning. They walked up to James' room, and Remus conjured up two more beds so they could all sleep in the same room.
When they were drifting off, James heard a loud knocking. He sat up and walked down the spiral staircases in his boxers, Remus and Sirius dressed likewise following. He pulled open the door to the Heads Dormitory to see Severus Snape standing outside.
"What are you doing here Snivellus?" Sirius asked nastily, but Snape ignored him, and looked at James. James nodded.
"I'll be right back," James said, and ran up his staircase. He came back down dressed in sweat pants and a shirt. James slipped on his shoes, grabbed his wand, "I'll be back soon," he told Sirius and Remus, who nodded and shut the door.
"What happened?" Severus hissed. James looked around and pulled on his invisibility cloak which he had in his pocket, "What are you doing Potter?" Snape asked.
"I don't think it'd be smart if someone saw us walking together," James said, and Snape nodded, agreeing. James told Severus the whole story, and saw tears roll down his face.
"Thanks," Severus said simply, and turned around to walk away to his dorm. James walked back into the Heads dorm, slipped off his clothes, and jumped back into his bed, putting the cloak and his wand on his nightstand.
"What did he want?" Sirius yawned.
"He wanted to know what happened," James said quietly.
"Why?"
"Because he loves Lily," Remus said quietly, "It's obvious." James shook his head, not knowing how Remus knew everything, and drifted off to sleep.
James woke up and saw a silver beaver in his room. When the beaver saw that he was awake, it spoke in the matrons' voice, "They're both awake. You can leave from there, so pack," and it vanished. James rubbed his eyes.
"Padfoot! Moony!" he said, and the two of them sat up quickly, "They're both awake." Sirius jumped out of bed faster than Remus and James, and the three of them got dressed in silence, James in muggle clothes, as he would be going to Lily's parents house. He packed his stuff, and then walked into Lily's room, packing her stuff as well. He magicked both of their trunks to float in the air in front of him, and made his way out of the dorm with Sirius and Remus.
"We'll write and tell you what the holiday homework is," Remus said, and James nodded his thanks.
"Lily will appreciate that," he said and Remus chuckled. They reached the hospital wing and James dropped the trunks onto the floor. He had carried some clothes for Lily and he handed them to her. Lily and Hestia were sitting on Lily's bed, talking.
"Thanks," Lily said, and grinned at him. James was relieved to see she was back to her normal self. Lily got out of the bed and walked drew the curtains around her bed. Hestia walked over to Sirius and threw herself into his arms. Sirius hugged Hestia back and felt the knot that had been in his stomach since yesterday, loosen. Lily opened the curtains, dressed jeans and a black top, and wrapped her Gryffindor scarf around her neck. She walked over to James, and hugged him. James hugged her back and felt his eyes sting.
Lily walked over to Remus and hugged him, "See you later, take care," she said, and smiled at him. Remus squeezed Lily before releasing her. Sirius, letting go of Hestia, walked over to Lily and pulled her into a bear hug. Lily was shocked to feel tears on her shoulder. She pushed Sirius up and grinned up at him, "Seriously?" she smiled, and Sirius chuckled out a sob. He pulled her into a bone crushing hug and let her go, walking over to hug James, before walking over to Hestia. Hestia hugged Lily and James goodbye before walking over to Sirius to hold his hand.
Dumbledore, who had been in the matrons office, walked towards them and handed them a Portkey, "It will take you to Lily's backyard," Dumbledore said, and Lily smiled up at him, "Have a safe trip," Dumbledore said, walking around to put his hands on both of their shoulders. The Portkey started to glow and Dumbledore counted it down, "3…2…1."