Disclaimer: I own everything! *does evil laugh* Mwa-ha-ha-ha!
Just kidding. ;p
Enjoy xx
I wake with a jerk the next morning as I hear a yell. Sitting up, I rub my eyes and throw my hair up into a ponytail, listening hard. There it was again.
Is that...James?
As I hear the second sound, I'm suddenly wide awake, grabbing my wand and sprinting down the stairs, raising my chest to waist-level. As I reach the doorway, panting, James is kneeling next to something on the floor, shoulders shaking, and I run over to him, lowering my wand.
I gasp.
Lying on the floor is me.
And I'm quite obviously dead.
My eyes are wide open, staring, oddly blank, and there's a trickle of blood running down my face, the same shade as my hair. Tears rise to my eyes, and I wipe them away, sniffling. Then it hits me, and I shake my head. feeling foolish.
I'm not dead!
So that must be...
"A Boggart..." I whisper under my breath.
Stepping forward, I raise my wand to dispel it, when a noise reaches my ears, and I look down. James is crying.
"No...Lily...I didn't, please...Lily...wake up, Lily..."
"Riddikulus."
Before it can transform, I say the incantation quietly, and it shrinks into a ball of black smoke that flies back into the cupboard next to the mantelpiece, which starts rattling immediately. Kneeling down next to James, I warp my arms around him, and rock him, back and forth, back and forth.
"It's okay James. I'm here. I'm not-" My voice cracks, so I take my deep breath and try again.
"It wasn't real. James, it was a Boggart. It was a Boggart. It's not real. I'm here, okay?"
He looks up at me, looking embarrassed, hazel eyes bloodshot. "I... I came down and you...you were just l-lying on the floor..."
My heart aches. "It wasn't real. I'm fine, see? I'm okay. You're okay. We'll be fine as long as we're together. We're okay."
He takes a deep breath and pulls me into another hug, shaking slightly. I rub his back, and rest my chin on my shoulder.
"Lily...promise you won't...you know."
"I won't, not if I can help it. Promise."
We sit like that for a minute, listening to each other breathing, and then he pulls back.
"We really should get rid of it."
"I know. Don't worry, I'll do it."
"You don't have to, it's just-"
"You don't want it see it again. It's okay James."
"But I don't want you to have to do it."
"It's fine. I'll do it."
Before he can protest, I stand up and point my wand at the handle on the rattling cupboard, and flick it upwards. Out flies the wisp of black smoke; it flies around the room once and then falls to the floor, changing into the form of Alice.
She's dead.
A sob racks my body, and I shudder, holding my wand shakily, and try to concentrate on James' hand on my shoulder, as he squeezes it reassuringly.
"Riddikulus."
There's a loud crack, and then it's my parents and Petunia.
Lying dead upon the floor.
Taking shallow breaths, I start up a mantra in my head.
It's not real.
Crack.
Dead Remus.
It's not real.
Crack.
Dead Peter.
It's not real.
Crack.
Dead Sirius.
It's not real.
There's another loud crack, and I look down at the person on the floor.
All of the wind is knocked out of my body and I seem to have forgotten how to breathe.
James.
It's not real.
I try to tell myself that it's not real, that it's fake, that it's just a Boggart, but it just looks so horribly dead, so unearthly, so wrong.
James Potter isn't dead. James Potter is bright and overenthusiastic and caring and protective. James Potter is annoying yet endearing, and sometimes overbearing but adorable, and arrogant but generous. James Potter is alive.
This isn't James Potter. James Potter isn't lying dead on the carpet, his eyes blank and misted over, his hair flat and lifeless, the usual grin missing, glasses askew on his face, spread-eagled on the ground.
"No..." I don't realise I'm talking out loud until I hear my voice, desperate and pleading. "No...James, you're not...you can't...don't leave me. Please..."
He steps in front of me, wand raised, and I crumple to my knees, head in my hands, tears slipping down my cheeks. A horrible minute late, he gives a lifeless, feeble laugh, and then he's there, next to me, his forehead against mine, his arms around me, the roles reversed as he rocks me backwards and forwards, stroking my hair.
"S'ok Lily. I'm here."
"You have to promise." My voice comes out quiet and croaky, so I try again, still crying. "You have to promise that you won't go. You won't leave me."
"Lily-"
"Please, James."
"I promise."
I pull away slightly, and kneel up, kissing him softly on the lips. It tastes salty, like the tears on both of our faces, and even as I kiss him, I can't help but think how lifeless he looked a minute ago, how I thought that I would never kiss him again.
We break apart slowly, and he brings his thumbs up, wiping the tears from under my eyes.
"Well I got rid of it." He smiles sadly.
"Your greatest fear is...me d-dying."
James nods, looking more embarrassed.
"I won't." I say firmly, ignoring what I'm saying is impossible. "And you won't either."
I cross my arms over my chest, and shiver.
"I should probably go and get changed."
We both look down at what I'm wearing as my pyjamas; a skimpy vest top, and a small pair of shorts, and a faint blush rises to my cheeks.
"Yeah." He nods in agreement, averting his eyes discreetly, and we stand up, him helping me like a gentleman.
I blow him a shaky kiss then hurry up the stairs, rubbing my bare arms. Walking into the bathroom, I shudder as my bare feet hit the cold, tiled floor and turn on the tap, wiping my tear-stained face with the cool, refreshing water. After brushing my teeth quickly, I skip back into the bedroom and smile faintly, still feeling a lump in my throat, still unable to get the image of James lying, dead, on the floor out of my mind.
I care about James. More than I'd like to admit.
So now I know that he cares about me too. Probably more than he'd like to admit.
It's reassuring.
They'll be a shout-out in the next chapter for the person who gets this right:
In their fifth year at Hogwarts, who did Sirius Black and James Potter hex until their head was 'twice the normal size'?
(Hint: This is revealed by Snape in the sixth Harry Potter book.)
Buena suerte,
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx
