Chapter 38: Another Set Gone

I quickly buttoned up my shirt with one hand and combed my hair with the other. Yes, I taught myself how to do that. I'm not sure how I did it, but I did.

I was getting late for breakfast, since I'd taken longer in the shower than normal. I put the comb down and went down my stairs, where James was also coming down his. We met in our usual spot behind the couches.

"Good morning." We said at the same time. Slowly, his smile turned into a smirk.

"What?" I asked slowly, suddenly kind of worried. It was way too early for smirking.

"You forgot a few buttons…" He said happily, his eyes trailing towards the area where a black, lacy bra was clearly visible. I blushed furiously.

"Right." I muttered, trying to button the last few buttons, but ended up fumbling with them. After a few seconds, my shirt was decently buttoned.

"Black and lacy, huh?" James was still smirking.

"Shut up!" I shrieked, hitting him on the arm.

"Ow!" He whined, unnecessarily holding the place where I hit him. "Is this any way to thank me?" He demanded. "I mean, I could've kept quiet, and you could've gone out there, showing the world what your bra looks like! That information is only for me!" He said dramatically. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. Thank you, James." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Tap Tap Tap

"Do you hear that?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed and looking around.

"Yeah, what is it?" I said, trying to find the source of the noise. I spotted it near the window between our staircases. It was a grey owl, holding a letter. I crossed the room, going over to it, with James right behind me. I pushed open the window. The owl dropped the letter in my hand, and then flew away. I turned it over, and in a neat script, it said 'James Potter' on it. "It's for you." I told him, handing over the letter. He opened it and brought out a single piece of parchment. I watched as his eyes slowly skimmed over the letter, getting wider and wider with each line. He started blinking rapidly, and I started to get a little worried. He just handed over the letter to me without saying a word. I took it in my already clammy hands and started reading fearfully.

Dear James,
How are you? Hopefully, school's still going well, and you're keeping up with your Head business! So, we're not really supposed to tell you this, but I know that if you came to know that we knew, and didn't tell you, you wouldn't be too happy with us. Not really, I kind of begged her to tell you. Sorry, that was your father. Basically, Dumbledore was telling us before that he was thinking of making an organization called the Order of the Phoenix. He wanted us to join. It's an organization that fights against Voldemort. Please call him by his real name, by the way, none of this "You-Know-Who" business. That too. Basically, he wanted us to join, but due to our condition, we couldn't. We're not asking you to join. We don't even want you to. Well, your mother doesn't want you to. I know you'll want to join when you see this, and I'm not going to tell you that you can't. I wouldn't have wanted my father to tell me that. Anyway, just please, know that they're there. There are people trying to fight against him. Keep the hope, James.

But, that's not all we wanted to say. If you're reading this right now, it means we've passed away. We instructed Misty to send this to you as soon as we're gone, so hopefully you see this. We've also sent a letter to Dumbledore, too, so no explanation to him is necessary. I'm so sorry we had to leave you at such a young age, and especially at this time. On the other hand, you get our entire inheritance! Anyway, we really didn't want to go, but we couldn't do anything. We wish you the best of luck for the rest of your life. Keep the boys and Lily around, James. They're all such great people, and they'll stick with you for life. They won't let you down, and especially in these times, you need to have people you trust. Especially Lily, we couldn't have found a better person for you. He's right. She's exactly who you need, and who you've wanted for a while, James. We know how you get when you're sad. But, please, don't push her away, remember, she knows how you feel. Same with Sirius. Both of them, they know how you feel. Don't push them away, and don't feel sad. Well, not for TOO long anyway. We love you so much, James, and we're SO proud of you.

Love,

Mom and Dad

P.S. Disregard what your father said. Okay, well, most of it anyway.

This could not be happening! I mean, we've prepared for this, for the last year, actually. But it just wasn't fair! Both of our sets of parents…gone! My throat started to go dry as I look over the paper, passing my fingers over the spots where it looked like water once was, probably from their own tears.

"WHY HAVEN'T YOU TWO LEFT YET?" Sirius yelled, entering the room, with Remus and Peter in tow. I quickly crossed the room and handed him the letter, biting my lip, trying not to breakdown. Sirius took a look at James' face, then mine, and then the three of them started reading the letter. Remus finished first. He came over, hugged me really quickly before going over to James and standing next to him. They started speaking quietly. Sirius finished next, and dropped the letter, showing his shocked, frozen face. Peter picked it up, and finished reading it, and finally looked at me with watery eyes. He looked away, and put the letter on the nearest table. Both walked over to James, and they all sat down in front of the fire in a circle.

I actually wasn't sure what to do now. What do I do? Go comfort him? But he has the other three! I cautiously walked towards them, and sat behind James and Sirius. Almost as soon as I did, tears started running down both of their cheeks. I looked at Remus and Peter, who were looking away from me, most likely already crying. I bit my lip, still trying not to cry, and moved closer to Sirius and James, pulling them closer so both of their heads were on my shoulders. Finally, I gave in, and tears started steadily falling down my face, too.

They shouldn't have left just yet! James still needs them…he wasn't as ready as he thought he was, and what happened to my parents showed that. I sighed, and tried to put thatfrom my mind.

It was a good thing Dumbledore already knew. It would be really difficult to explain this to him. Hopefully, he already told the other teachers, and they all know where we are.

"Lily, can we please go to our dorm…?" Remus asked, not meeting my eyes, and I could feel my heart break that much more.

"Yeah, we probably should." I agreed. James and Sirius must've heard, because they both got up along with us. I held James' hand in one hand, and Sirius' in the other. I motioned for Remus to get the letter, and he did. We walked outside, and I was grateful that classes already started. No one was in the corridor. We got on to the staircase to go to the Gryffindor's common room, and I was too focused on consoling Sirius and James to hear Remus or Peter say the password. We entered the Common Room, and I was glad to see no one was there. We made our way to their dormitory, and I was looking cautiously from James to Sirius and back to James again. I pushed open the door and walked in. Sirius went to his bed, James to his old one, Remus to his, and Peter to his. And I was torn. I should go over to James' bed, right? As his girlfriend, that would be the right thing to do, to comfort him first? Sirius closed the curtains around his bed. Okay, James it is. I walked over to James and sat down next to him. I put my arms around his waist and pulled him closer to me.

He didn't say anything, and only a few tears escaped his eyes. He saw the letter at the foot of his bed, and he read it a few times over, and then pocketed it. Then, he abruptly got off from the bed. Why's he leaving? Is he starting to close up?

"Wait," I started. He turned to me with cold eyes.

"What?" He asked harshly. I bit my lip.

"Where are you going?" I said, much softer this time.

"To the Quidditch Pitch." He said, anger apparent in his voice. I tried to ignore it, and just nodded, trying to remind myself that he was just sad. Sirius still had his curtains pulled closed, so I decided not to bother him. I walked over to where Remus and Peter were, talking to each other quietly.

"Lily, they're going to be crushed." Peter whispered, with wide, watery eyes. I looked away.

"They already are." Remus added hoarsely, playing with the loose strings on his sheets.

"What do we do?" I asked quietly, looking down at my hands. Why did this have to be so confusing?

"I don't know… Prongs is already closing up. You heard how he was talking to you. If he's talking to you like that, imagine how he's going to talk to the rest of us!" Remus said with a small sigh.

"And who knows what Padfoot's doing behind those curtains!" Peter added, giving a glance towards Sirius' bed.

"Why did this have to happen to him? Twice? And James, everything was fine…and then suddenly this came along! He doesn't deserve this!" Remus said. I nodded.

"I've been worried about him for a while…ever since we came back from his house, he's been so…off of things…" I muttered, shaking my head. Remus and Peter exchanged a glance.

"What?" I asked, looking between them. Did they know something that I didn't?

"Nothing." They said together. I narrowed my eyes. They definitely knew something…

"What is it?" I pressed. Remus looked towards Sirius' bed, and his eyes widened.

"Wait," Remus started. He crossed the room and pulled out the map, and brought it back to us. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He said, pointing his wand at the map. "Oh no…" he muttered.

"What?" Peter and I asked at the same time. We stood up behind him and watched. I felt my stomach drop. James was in the Transfiguration classroom, not on the Quidditch Pitch! And Sirius…was in a deserted classroom…with MARY!

"How did he get out of here?" Remus let out a frustrated noise. Peter swiftly walked over to Sirius' bed and opened the curtains. Sure enough, Sirius wasn't there!

"It smells like Firewhiskey." Peter told us fearfully. Sirius was drunk!

"Oh…my…" I started. "I don't even know where to go first!" I yelled out in exasperation. Peter and Remus exchanged a nervous look. "No, we're not splitting up either!" I told them before they could even suggest it.

"Okay, how about we just calm down for a second?" Remus muttered. I took a few breaths. Suddenly, everything became a little clearer.

"Okay, I have an idea!" I announced. They looked towards me hopefully. "We'll go to Sirius first, since he's actually drunk. He doesn't know what he's doing. James probably went down to the Transfiguration Room to escape…but why wouldn't he go down to the Quidditch Pitch?" I muttered. Peter shrugged.

"Yeah, I don't know." Remus said, scrunching up his face in thought. "But, I think we need to put that aside for now, and get to Padfoot first."

"Who knows what they'll be doing down there?" Peter muttered, glancing at the map apprehensively.

"Come on, let's just go!" I shook my head and briskly crossed the room to go downstairs, with Peter and Remus behind me. We left the common room and started walking quickly towards the classroom on the map.

"Miss Evans?" A voice said from behind us, just as we were getting down the stairs. It was Dumbledore. I turned around.

"Hello, Professor." I said politely. His face was somber, and instantly, I knew that he knew about James' parents.

"I received the news about Mr. Potter's parents, and also informed the staff. However, I was told that he showed up to Transfiguration today." He said, looking between the three of us.

"We were just going to him." Remus told him quickly. Dumbledore nodded.

"Well, I'll let you go on, then. But please, do try to keep them under control. I know how they can get." Dumbledore replied vaguely, but I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Yes, sir." I said. He left without another word. Remus, Peter, and I continued down the stairs.

"He should be just around this corner...in the classroom." Peter said, looking at the map again. I was a little fearful of going in there, but I'd have to do it. Hopefully, what they were doing wouldn't be toomentally scarring.

"Alright, which one of you two is coming with me?" I asked, looking between the both of them.

"MOONY!" Peter called out before Remus could even open his mouth. Remus sighed.

"Fine…" He whined.

"No whining. Come on. For Sirius, just remember that!" I said encouragingly, partially trying to convince myself. He nodded grudgingly. I grew more fearful…who knows how far they've gone? I wasn't in the mood to see anything graphic! I paused for a second before pushing the door open, and Remus gave me a look. I took another breath. I could do this…what could the worst be? I pushed open the door and gagged.

Mary was shirtless, but thankfully still had pants on, and Sirius was the same. Sirius' hands, were quite disgustingly, roaming everywhereon her. I found Sirius' shirt right in front of me, and picked it up. I looked at Remus. He nodded at me encouragingly.

"SIRIUS!" I yelled. The two broke apart.

"Lily-flower, I didn't think you'd want to join us…" Sirius started in his slurred voice, a far away look in his eyes. Then he looked around. "W-Wait, where's Prongsie?" He laughed a little. His eyes landed on Remus. "Moony's a good replacement I suppose…" He muttered, looking thoughtful, or as thoughtful as he could look while being drunk.

"Sirius, I don't want to join. Get up." I told him sharply.

"You can't tell him what to do!" Mary said defiantly. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. I walked to where they were, picking up Mary's shirt on the way. I threw it at her, and she caught it, rather reluctantly putting it on.

"Sirius, come on, we need to go." I said, almost begging him.

"She's right, mate, get up." Remus said, appearing next to me. Sirius looked between us.

"Okay." He said, standing up, and almost falling down again. I had to grab is arm to keep him from falling. Once he was stable, I handed him his shirt. He tried putting it on, but ended up missing the hole for the head. Remus had to help him put it on. I took Sirius' arm and dragged him out of the room, completely disregarding that Mary was still there. Peter was outside waiting for us.

"Oh, good, you've got him!" Peter said, with a small sigh of relief. "Now to Prongs?"

"Yeah." Remus said tiredly, running a hand through his hair.

"Hey guys…where's Sirius…?" I asked slowly, looking around. I spotted him almost running down the hall, and how he managed that in his drunken state, I'm not sure. He couldn't even put on his shirt! I started speed-walking after him.

"Why are you walking?" Remus asked irately, coming up next to me.

"I'm Head Girl, I can't be runningin the corridors!" I told him dismissively. We started the wild-goose chase after Sirius, and each time we thought we'd come close, he'd go off even faster!

"Oh, look guys, it's Minnie's classroom!" Sirius giggled. He stopped, almost falling in the process, and entered the classroom.

"Oh no!" I groaned. I decided to forget about school rules for a few moments, and sprinted after him. I threw open the door, and went inside, hoping McGonagall wouldn't be too mad.

"But Professor…" Sirius whined. Before she could say anything back, I started talking.

"I'm so sorry, Professor, I don't know how he got in here." I told her apologetically. Her eyes were already pretty wide, so I assumed she figured out he was drunk.

"Silencio." Peter whispered from next to me, his wand pointed at Sirius.

"Take him back, we'll handle Prongs." Remus told Peter quietly, and Peter dragged Sirius out of the room.

"Class, please practice the spell we just learned with the person next to you." McGonagall instructed, and everyone started to disperse, and spells started flying everywhere. I walked towards her, trying to look around in the process, to see if I could find James. "Yes, Miss Evans?" McGonagall asked, sympathy and sadness clear in her blue-green eyes.

"Where's James, Professor?" I asked her quietly, to be sure no eavesdroppers could hear. She pointed to a corner where he was working with some other Gryffindor.

"Thank you, Professor." I said gratefully. I took a deep breath. I had a feeling he wouldn't come easily. Remus and I exchanged a look, and started walking cautiously towards him. I knew he noticed us coming, because he suddenly got a little stiffer, and his face hardened. Was this even a good idea? What if he yelled some more? Maybe he just wanted to be in class…maybe?

"Lily…you knowhe really doesn't want to be here." Remus said, glancing at me, as though reading my mind.

"You're right, you're right." I muttered. "I'm just having second thoughts."

"What?" James asked harshly, once we got close enough to him. I flinched.

"Please, just come back to the dorms with us." Remus begged. James gave us both a cold, hard look, before turning back to his partner. "Alright then, I'm really sorry about this, mate." Remus said somberly. "Immobulus." Remus said, with his wand pointed at James. James froze in his stiff position, and his irritated eyes turned to us. I gave Remus an apprehensive look. He started pushing James towards the door, even though James seemed to be using all his weight to hold him back. If we kept it up like this, how were we supposed to get James back to our dorms? Remus couldn't push him up the stairs! Remus seemed to be having the same thoughts, because once we left the room, he stopped pushing James.

"I think we should lift the spell, Remus…" I said quietly. He considered for a moment, and then nodded, so I lifted the spell, but immediately regretted it.

"What is wrong with you two?" James yelled, almost as soon as I did. I stepped back in fear.

"J-James…" I started, but I seemed to have lost my voice.

"Prongs, calm down…" Remus told him, putting his hands up in front of him defensively, also moving back a little.

"Don't tell me what to do!" James yelled at him, slowly going redder.

"James, please…you're not quite in your right min-" I blurted out, before I could stop myself.

"Shut up! I don't care right now! You two are just being so damn annoying! Leave me alone!" James yelled even louder this time, before walking angrily down the corridor.

I slid back against the cold, stone wall, and sat down as salty tears slowly rolled down my cheek, watching James walk away from me.

A/N: This was definitely the hardest chapter to write. I spent a few days debating if I should kill them yet or not...and I nearly cried a few times while I was writing it :(

And I've also just realized I didn't reply to your review from last chapter, so I apologize for that.

I've also gotten many questions about how long I'll continue this story. It'll be until the end of their seventh year.

There have also been questions about a sequel. I was debating whether or not I should, but I'd like you to tell me,
What do you think about a sequel?

Review please:)

Until next Friday,

Love,

SAM :)