James slowed down and glided into a smooth landing on the grassy Quidditch pitch, Lily still clinging tightly to him. Both were breathless from the all the whooping and yelling they had been doing in the privacy of the heavens above, and their breathes came out in misty puffs from their mouths. Their cheeks burned red with excitement and adrenaline despite the chilly night air.
James dismounted the broom, hopped gracefully onto the ground, and held out his hand to help Lily dismount. She took it without any hesitation. As Lily dismounted, she looked into James’s eyes and knew that she hadn’t made a mistake in trusting and following him. Side-by-side, they strolled silently to the broom closet and put the Silver Arrow away. Although they didn’t speak to each other, they could feel other’s happiness and satisfaction.
As Lily and James stepped out of the broom closet, the two of them instinctively looked up to gaze at the magnificent view of Hogwarts boldly outlined in the inky sky. Its stony walls remained untouched by time and seemed impenetrable. Some of the windows of the many turrets and towers were still alight and sparkling merrily, giving off a warm and welcoming feeling. As Lily viewed the peaceful scenery, some lone bats fluttered past the tall pine trees bordering the outskirts of the castle.
Lily took a deep breath, refreshing herself with the cold air, and smiled contentedly. She was happy to be alive at that moment. The stars were blinking cheerfully down at the pair and an owl gave a low-toned hoot from the depths of the trees. The world was in perfect and absolute bliss.
Lily stared at James through the corner of her eye. He was gazing up at the castle, a relaxed smile spread across his handsome face. As Lily stood in the darkness next to the very James Potter she had claimed to have hated the very soul of for the last six years, she couldn’t help but feel glad that he was there with her. His presence gave her an unexplainable kind of satisfaction. She felt at peace when they were alone together.
Lily! What are you thinking? What, what’s going on? What on earth are you feeling?
Lily flashed another glance at James.
This feeling…it’s the same thing I feel every time I look at him, yell at him, touch him…
Am I really in love with him?
Lily’s heart skipped a beat. She gulped and spun around to face James, a somewhat anxious expression on her face.
“Potter.”
“Hm?” James answered, still staring up at the peaceful sight of the splendid castle.
“Can I ask you something?” she inquired tentatively.
“Sure. Fire away, Water Lily.”
“Do you really…” Lily’s heart felt like it was doing a rapid tap-dance in her chest.
“Really what?”
“Did you mean it when you told me…when you told me that night… that you loved me?” Lily blushed crimson but continued to look straight at James.
James’s eyes widened. He quickly turned around and looked straight into Lily’s eyes.
“Lily, I can’t believe you can’t take me seriously!”
For the first time that day, Lily saw sorrow in James‘s face.
“I mean, I know that I pull off pranks and jokes, er, once and in a while. But when I tell someone that I have actual feelings for them, I mean it,” he exclaimed forcefully. “I’ve been telling you ever since I first met you. Lily Evans, I love you. I always have. I always will. You can run away, but I’ll never stop running after you. I don’t care. I don’t care because I love you, Lily. I love you.” He gripped both her arms gently as he spoke and there was earnestness in his eyes. Lily didn’t bother to tell him not to. Her head was too busy buzzing with a blur of mixed thoughts.
So he really had loved me? All those times…it wasn’t just a lie, a prank? Was the reason I was running away him all those times because…because…
I was afraid.
“James,” Lily blurted out suddenly. “I need to tell you now. I think-wait, no- I know now, that I…that I lo-”
Lily stopped mid-sentence, for she had just heard a peculiar noise coming from the brink of the shadows of the forest’s trees. It sounded strangely like a giggle, but who would be out near the Forbidden Forest at this hour?
“Potter, did you hear that?” Lily asked in a hushed tone, her eyes glued to the shadowed spot where the voice had sounded.
James nodded silently.
“You think it’s a student out of bed?” Lily whispered.
“Yeah, but why would anyone be by the forest right now. I mean, I know things can get boring sometimes, but nobody’s thick enough to think that it’s safe to go wandering into the Forbidden Forest this late.”
The shadow unexpectedly giggled once more, making the two of them jump. It was a human voice, a girl’s voice. James and Lily exchanged uneasy looks. The voice was as thin as a reed and seemed like it would break at a single slight touch. It sent shivers up Lily’s spine.
“Wands out?” Lily suggested.
“Good idea.”
As the two of them quickly whipped out their wands from their robes, they heard a new sound. Another voice had joined the giggling female one. This time it was a male’s voice, and it was as equally cold and hollow as its counterpart. Both voices began snickering loudly.
“Oy! In there! Come out! It’s damn near twelve at night!” James shouted suddenly, startling Lily.
The snickering only increased in volume and grew into an eerie crescendo of laughter. The wind began to blow like a soft whisper, wafting some dried leaves into the air and across the dirt path into the forest.
“Must be out on a midnight date or something,” James grumbled. “Hey, come out now, and we won’t give you detentions!”
The voices suddenly burst into a mirthless explosion of laughter, but seemed strangely hollow and distant, like only the memory of a laughter long ago diminished by time.
“Potter, I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.” An unnamable fear was slowly creeping into Lily’s heart.
“Don’t worry. I bet they’re just trying to scare us off or something. Come on, let’s go get them,” James said in an annoyed tone, as he started marching towards the black rim of the trees.
“Wait! Potter-” Lily stumbled and ran up to catch up with him.
“Hey! Hey-wait! Come out! I’m Head Boy!” James shouted stubbornly, as the voices suddenly started to move deeper into the forest, now laughing fit to burst. Lily could feel the vibrations of their laughter. It hit her body like cold water, chilling her to the bone.
“Potter! Don’t! It’s dangerous!” Lily whispered furiously, panting as she stumbled after James. For some reason, it felt dangerous to past the level of a small voice.
James didn’t hear her and continued to stomp after the voices which were continually moving deeper and deeper into the shadows of the trees.
The wind began to whistle a hollow song.
The S.M.S.O.B. were stealthily making their way up the stone steps to the entrance, which were a bit wet from the night dew.
“This was a great night! We should do it again sometime!” Alice said as if they had just simply gone for a bit of weekend shopping, stopping to catch her breath at the top of the stairs.
“Don’t worry. We’ll have to even if we don’t want to. We agreed that we’d put Lily and James together this year whether Fate, Destiny, or anything agrees with us or not!” Anne exclaimed triumphantly.
“You said it Master! I’m sick of seeing Prongsie depressed from Flower Fever,” Sirius huffed.
“Yeah, I- hold on. What’s wrong with this picture?” Remus inquired, pointing towards the borders of the Forbidden Forest.
“I don’t know,” Anne said, more to herself than to Remus as she stepped up next to him. “Why in Merlin’s name are they going in there? Are they insane?” she whispered. Her eyes widened suddenly, and she snapped around to face Alice and Sirius. “Did you leave something out? Did you screw something up, because if you did, I swear I’ll tear your wands apart!” she snarled as she stepped towards them, her fingers curling and reaching out threateningly towards their throats.
“We didn’t do anything!” Alice and Sirius chimed together.
“Wait…I hear something…,” Remus murmured, a dead serious expression on his face.
“What is it Moony?” Anne asked nervously, moving once more next to him, much to the relief of Alice and Sirius.
“Voices. It sounds like laughter. There’s someone outdoors? At this hour?”
“Well no big surprise there! I mean, nothing’s stopping them. Look at us!” Sirius said in an exasperated tone.
“Whatever. I don’t care who the hell it is, and why they’re stupid enough to be lurking around the Forbidden Forest in the dead of night, but they’re ruining our plans! Come on, let’s go!” Anne said in an infuriated voice.
“Go? Go where?” the three asked in a nervous tone.
“Go and follow Lily and James and those voices! We need to get to the bottom of this!” Anne replied angrily. She began to slink towards the forest. The others exchanged uncomfortable glances and followed grudgingly.
A/N: Short chapter ending in a bit of a cliffy! Fluff was included so I hope you thought it was okay! Tell me who/what you think the voices are!
REVIEW PLEASE!!!