“What happened?” James whispered tremulously.
“I, I don’t know,” Lily replied. She looked bewilderedly around once more. As she did so, her eyes locked with two dark lumps on the ground.
Immediately gripping her wand more firmly, she peered more closely through the darkness to discover that the lumps were none other than Sirius and Alice lying peacefully on their backs, sleeping soundly.
Lily jumped as Sirius gave a sudden violent snort.
“He tends to do that,” James muttered, scrambling onto his feet and walking quickly over to his slumbering friends.
“Sirius,” James said tentatively, slightly shaking Sirius’s shoulder. Sirius didn’t budge and continued snoring.
“Sirius,” Lily said, a bit more insistently after crawling up next to James. She prodded his nose with her wand.
She jumped once more, as Sirius suddenly shouted, “Butterflies!” And bolted up into a sitting position.
He stared wildly about him before his wandering eyes landed on Lily and James. He stared at them, then stared at his side where Alice lay, still peacefully slumbering, before snapping his head around to face them once more. Before Lily could utter another word, Sirius’s hand shot out and gripped her own.
“HEY!” James shouted, immediately trying to pry off Sirius’s hands from Lily’s.
But Sirius clung on. He held Lily’s hand before his eyes and examined them closely before letting go.
“There’s no scratches, no blood, no…anything,” he said quietly, slowly turning his gaze from Lily to James.
Lily’s eyes grew wide as she suddenly realized Sirius was right. Her hands scrambled over her arms, body, and legs in search of the deadly wounds, only to find all her body parts whole and well.
She paused, breathing rapidly, before hastily fumbling at the hem of her robes where she clearly remembered the jagged branches and Harpies tearing through, only to discover that her robes were still in one piece, as whole as they were before her memory of entering the forest.
She snapped her head up to find Sirius and James staring fearfully at her. She made a sudden swipe at Sirius‘s hand.
“HEY!” James yelled once more, this time lunging out and trying to tear Lily’s hand from Sirius’s. Lily merely shoved him aside and peered intently at Sirius’s hand as he had done with hers.
There was no trace of a wound. The oozing glowing pus from before had completely vanished. His skin was as smooth as it ever was. Lily’s dumb-founded eyes looked up and saw an equally confused and shocked look upon Sirius’s face.
They stared at each other for a moment before simultaneously turning their heads to face James. They glanced at each other once more before lunging out at a James and pinning him to the ground. Their hands immediately began patting down his entire body, frantically searching for the deep wounds the Manticore had inflicted. He flailed about and yelled with all his might to let go, but to no avail.
His continual shouts soon aroused Alice, who muttered something about being tired and not wanting to do the stupid jig anymore, before rubbing her eyes and sitting up. She looked about her, just as the others, had done and spotted Lily and Sirius still wrestling down and searching the floundering James.
“OH MY GOD!” she screamed, causing the others to jump off of James, who quickly scooted a couple feet away. She rushed over to them and began checking them for wounds just as Lily and Sirius had done.
Once she realized there were no wounds to be found, Alice stared at the three, a stunned and shaken expression on her face, before bursting into tears and throwing herself upon Lily. Lily felt her throat grow tight as she returned the warm embrace, remembering with a shudder how cold the one she had shared with Alice’s morbid replica had been.
James and Sirius likewise embraced each other briefly, thumping hard on each other’s back.
All the commotion seemed to have awakened another unnoticed being however, for there was a sudden rustling of grass a few feet behind the group.
At the new sound, the relief that had swept over the four vanished instantly, and all of them immediately whipped out their wands. They spun around in unison, wands held aloft and aimed directly in front of them, to face the being lurking in the darkness.
They found themselves not aiming at some horrific creature, however, as they had surmised they would be.
There was a stunned silence as everyone found themselves staring at none other than the one and only Anne.
She too had her wand out and poised to attack, but as she squinted through the darkness, she suddenly realized who stood before her. Her whole body froze with the shock of seeing such a welcoming sight.
“Anne!” Lily and Alice screeched, throwing aside their wands and running up to her.
Anne’s arms seemed to have forgotten to move, and she was still paralyzed in her stance with her wand up, as Lily and Alice hurled themselves onto her and buried her in a tearful embrace.
Anne blinked. Her shaking hands reached out and began to touch Lily and Alice’s faces, as though to make sure that they were real. She began to laugh tremulously as she realized that they were not a mirage and wrapped her arms around their necks.
The three of them were soon crying heavily onto each another‘s shoulders. James and Sirius watched with watery eyes, both staring up at the cloudy sky in an attempt to hold back their tears of relief and happiness.
Another sound of rustling caught their attention.
They all immediately twisted around to find none other than Remus, awakening from what looked like a very bad nightmare. He got up awkwardly on to his feet, as if he had not stood on solid ground for a while, before slowing pivoting on the spot to discover all his friends gawking at him.
He looked at each of them as though he had just emerged from a dizzying and terrible trance, before his eyes came to rest on Anne.
The two exchanged a silent, profound gaze. As Lily gazed intently upon them, she could almost see the hundred unspoken thoughts being passed between them. A look of such deep sorrow, relief, and love lighted upon their countenances, and Lily felt more tears well up unexpectedly in her eyes. She suddenly realized how much those two loved each other.
James, Sirius, Alice, and Lily gazed silently at the two.
“Anne,” Remus said in a trembling voice, searing the silence.
Anne stood rooted to the ground, as if she had unexpectedly been stunned. She gave a quiet sob before suddenly bolting towards Remus and wrapping her arms securely around his neck.
Remus hesitated.
Then suddenly, his frozen expression fell, and he broke down completely. He threw his arms around Anne and drew her tightly into him. Tears streamed down his face onto her shaking shoulders.
“I love you. I can’t stop, Moony, no matter how hard I try. I love you,” Anne said into his ear ever so quietly, so that her whisper was only audible to him. “I tried not to. I know we shouldn’t, but I just can’t. It’ll be hard, I know. But if we love each other, what does it matter? I love you. I’m…” Anne hesitated.
“I’m brave enough now.”
Remus shut his eyes tightly. How he wished he could return those precious words! Everything inside him was squirming and writhing like enflamed snakes, all trying to burst from his mouth and end both his and Anne’s suffering. He wanted her. He wanted her more than anything in the world.
For a moment, his lips seemed to be on the verge of capturing Anne’s in a sorrowful and longed for kiss.
But even after the events of the night, even though his passion was roaring insanely inside his chest, he knew he couldn’t do it. He just couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. It would just harm Anne. It would make her life so much harder than it had already been…
He suddenly tore away from her.
More silent tears ran down his face, as he thought he heard Anne’s heart being ripped in half.
“Come on. We have to get back to the castle. It’s not safe out here,” he said.
Anne stood fixed to the ground as he stepped past her and the others.
Hot tears were dripping down her cheeks.
“Let’s go. It’s not safe out here,” he repeated to the others. His voice seemed on the verge of snapping in two.
They all stared at him as he walked past them and towards the castle steps.
Lily’s expression looked as if she were debating whether to cry or to save it until after she had slapped Remus. Why on earth was he always turning Anne away when it was so clear that they were meant for each other? Was he crazy? Did he have to loose Anne forever to finally see what a big mistake he was making?
She glanced at Alice next to her. With both hands clasped over her mouth, she looked like she was stuck half-way between a silent grieving scream and a frustrated groan.
Sirius and James were staring fixedly at the ground. They exchanged significant looks before following Remus.
Lily and Alice looked at each other and then at Anne, who was still standing in the same position Remus had left her in. Lily could see her shoulders trembling despite her effort not to cry.
The two girls walked cautiously toward their friend, rather as if they were approaching a frightened or injured doe. Both of them gently placed a hand on either one of her shaking shoulders.
“Anne, honey, it’s not safe here,” Alice said in her familiar soothing tone, trying with all her might to keep the sorrow she felt flooding her heart out of her voice.
“Anne, you’re cold. Let’s go inside. We’ll warm up,” Lily said kindly, likewise trying to keep her voice steady and even.
Anne didn’t budge.
Lily and Alice exchanged looks once more, before firmly planting their free hand on Anne’s arms. They forcefully steered her towards the castle. Lily could see James and Sirius waiting for them at the top of the steps. Remus had already disappeared into the castle.
They were halfway across the lawn before Anne suddenly pulled herself sharply out of her friends’ grips.
“I can walk for myself.” Her tone sounded mutinous, and there was a note of harshness that Lily recognized. It was the sound Anne’s voice took on when she was bottling down some unfathomable sorrow.
Anne drew in a deep sigh and closed her eyes. When she re-opened them, they were no longer tearful, and there was a stoic and blank look upon her face. She began walking towards the castle, her robes swishing silently behind her.
The three of them walked individually and silently into the castle.
As she finally stepped within the warm and secure walls, Lily felt as if she were walking into the arms of a long-lost guardian angel.
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while! This chapter's been sitting in my word processor for quite some time now but I've been too busy to go and edit it! I hope you liked it! There's some big clues in this chapter that foreshadows future events!
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