James, Sirius, and Remus were sitting in the Potter’s front parlor, awaiting the arrival of Alex. Actually, Sirius was awaiting the arrival of Alex. James and Remus were sitting opposite each other on plump blue velvet chairs, and were finishing up lesson fifteen of ‘Lily Training’.
“Okay, so Lily falls down in the middle of the hallway. What do you do, point and laugh, like you did last year, or help her up and make sure that she’s okay?” Remus asked.
James grinned. “I know this one; it’s simple. I help her up and make sure she’s okay.” Remus was about to congratulate him, but James held up his hand. “Wait a minute! I’m not finished. You see, she just might have fallen into a pile of dust. And I just might have seen that spot on her robe. And I just might feel obliged to rub it off.”
Remus groaned, and let his head fall into his hands. “Not again! I thought you were done with the I-must-touch-her syndrome! Remember Lesson Five! Voiceless Actions: The Wrong and the Right!”
James just stared at the wall, lost in visions of the scene he had just created.
Lily was walking down the corridor, when some Slytherin jerk pushed her roughly to the ground.
James was by her side the moment she fell. “Are you all right, Lily?”
She smiled that brilliant smile of hers to him. “Oh James! I was hurt, but just seeing you, the most popular boy at Hogwarts standing above me makes everything else go away! I see now that I was wrong in hating you, and you really are perfect! Will you be my boyfriend forever! If you say yes, I shall be the happiest girl on Earth! If you say no, I shall have to throw myself out of the Astronomy Tower in despair!”
“Of course I will, Lily! And I forgive you for all these past years!”
Lily threw her arms around him. “Oh, James, James, my dear sweet James. James. James. James! JAMES!
“JAMES!” Sirius was shouting at him, and shaking his shoulders, and snapped James out of his dream. “Prongs, you okay?”
James smiled. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.”
Sirius let him go. “Good, because I was seriously afraid for your sanity, mate. You were staring at nothing and kept muttering Evans’s name.”
James turned bright red. “I- I was? Oh. I- that’s strange.”
Remus looked at him strangely, and looked like he was about to say something, when the flames in the fireplace turned green.
Sirius started jumping up and down, and shouted, “She’s here! She’s here!”
James walked up to the bouncing Sirius and stopped him. “Don’t you remember? This is the front parlor.”
Sirius looked at him blankly. “Er, your point is?
“The front parlor’s fireplace is slightly tilted forwards, so whoever comes here through it falls down.”
Sirius still looked at him, blinking his eyes. “So?”
James sighed. “Well, don’t you think SOMEONE better be there to catch her?”
Sirius’s eyes grew wide and excited as the meaning hit him. “You’re right! I’d better go catch her!”
James rolled his eyes as Sirius hurried up to the front of the fireplace. The flames suddenly shot up, and a blonde girl fell out of the fire, arms wind-milling. Sirius caught her halfway to the ground, and then promptly dropped her. “OWWWW! MY NOSE! YOU HIT MY NOSE!” He yelled, hopping around the room.
Alex stood up, brushed herself off, and guided Sirius to the couch and sat next to him. “There, there,” she crooned. “Let me see it.”
She bent over him, and as her fingers ran over his face, Sirius winked at James.
James rolled his eyes once more, and was about to make a comment, when the flames turned green again. “What the- who’s coming?”
Alex sat up straight (much to Sirius’s disappointment) and clapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh no! I forgot to tell you that-”
A red haired girl fell out of the fireplace backwards, and with his Quidditch training, James caught her before she hit the ground.
“Lily’s coming.” Alex finished.
Lily coughed and rubbed her eyes. “That was a painful trip.”
James’s eyes widened. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, thanks, but- POTTER!” She roared. “GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!”
James set her on the ground, and stood back up. Lily pushed herself off of the floor and glared at him. Sensing a fight coming on, Remus cleared his throat. “James? Perhaps we should show the girls their rooms?”
“Er… right.” James said. “Follow me.” He led them up a set of sweeping staircases and down a wide corridor full of paintings and statues. Lily looked around in awe. She knew that the Potter’s were rich, but not THAT rich. She almost crashed into Alex as the group came to an abrupt halt.
James cleared his throat nervously, as if he was afraid of something. “The six rooms on this floor used to be only three, but we divided them in half a couple years ago. The one adjoining Remus’s room is being used as a second library. This one is attached to Sirius’s room, so I think Alex would want it.” Alex nodded, and dumped her bags on the wide bed.
Lily swallowed, almost knowing what was to come next. “The one down the hall is mine, and, well, I guess the one connected to it is yours, Evans.” The way he said it almost made it seem like a question.
Alex smiled to herself. This was going to work out perfectly. Before Lily could say anything to ruin it, she said, “Great! She’ll take it!”
Lily just glared at her friend, but knew better than to argue.
~
Lily sat in her room, fuming. Not only was she spending three weeks with the Potter’s, but she was doing it while in a room connecting to Potter’s. Things couldn’t get any worse. Sighing, she picked at her shirt. It was filthy with ashes and soot. She started rummaging in her bag for a change of clothes.
~
James sat on his bed, gloomy. ‘Great.’ He thought. ‘Lily’s going to hate me for this arrangement.’
He rubbed his eyes. “Well, maybe she’ll appreciate it if I tell her how to work the lock- it’s pretty old.”
He went to the door in the back of his room and pushed it open. Looking at the floor, he said quickly, “Look, Lily, I know you’re probably ma-”
He looked up, and felt his eyes go wide and his mouth drop open. Lily was standing before him in shock, with her shirt off. He found himself staring at her barely covered torso. “A- bad- abad- badabada- badab- adba-” He heard himself uttering total nonsense.
Lily finally regained her composure. “POTTER! You PERVERT! Get out! OUT!”
James turned and fled into his room. Closing the door behind him, he started to apologize. “Lily! I’m sorry! I didn’t know! I just wanted to show you how the lock worked, so something like this wouldn’t happen! I didn’t mean to-” His words were cut off by the door being flung open by (a fully clothed) Lily.
Her eyes narrowed, Lily said, “Fine. Show me how it works, then.”
Not wanting to meet Lily’s eyes, he kept his staring at the floor and quickly said, “Turn the handle to the left and push the bolt in sideways.”
Lily spun on her heel and reached for the door. Seeming to think better of it, she turned back around and slapped James across the face. He just stood still until the door slammed shut. ‘Lily’s never going to like me,’ he thought sadly.
~
August 10
Dear Mum and Daddy,
How is Uncle Eddie doing? And Aunt Sally? Do you know how much longer he has left? I am sorry to bother you with these grim questions, but I feel I must know.
I hope this letter finds you well. I am doing fine here, considering where I am. Alex and I got here with little trouble.
Please give Aunt Sally and Uncle Eddie a kiss for me.
Love,
Lily
~
Two days later, Lily awoke to a sharp pecking on her window. She pulled herself out of bed and dragged herself to the window. She let her owl, Ayeres, in and untied the letter. Gazing at the familiar writing, Lily smiled.
August 11
Dear Lily,
It is so good to hear from you. We spend most of our time at the Phillip Hospital, visiting your Uncle Eddie. He is still holding on, but I fear not for long. Aunt Sally is despairing, but that is only to be expected. When Uncle Eddie wakes up, he asks for you. I think you always were his favorite niece. Of course, you are also his only niece, besides Petunia. However, he seems to think that you are in a danger of some sort, and keeps muttering about ‘those awful red eyes’. I fear my brother is starting to lose a bit of his mind each day.
The whole family has now arrived. Your grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, all of them. I think seeing all of my family together is a little depressing for your father, since his parents died soon after you were born, and he has no siblings.
It is a good thing you did not come, for you would be terribly bored. They don’t let anyone over 18 in to see your Uncle.
Do not dwell on these grim tidings, however, and have a good time with your friends. It is what your Uncle would have wanted.
Love,
Mum
Lily smiled sadly and folded the letter up. After getting dressed, she went down the stairs and into the dining hall. “Morning, Everyone,” she said cheerfully. Looking around the table she felt her smile drop into a worried frown. Alex was silently crying with her head buried in Sirius’s shoulder. James was poking at his food, as was Remus. The elder Potters were talking to each other in fast whispers. As Lily entered the dining hall, all eyes turned her way. “What happened?” She asked nervously.
James was the first one to answer. “There’s been an attack.” He said sullenly, gazing at the paper in front of him.
Lily nervously took a step forward, then another, until she was standing right next to James. Forcing herself to look at the headline, Lily reeled back in shock.
Yet Another Attack By The One Who Calls Himself Lord Voldemort
Lord Voldemort strikes Phillip Hospital, leaving no survivors
Yesterday around six o’clock in the evening, Lord Voldemort struck his hardest blow yet. He destroyed a local muggle hospital in Wales, Phillip Hospital. Once again, a floating green mark was found floating above the attack site. There were no survivors. A complete list of the dead is yet to be released to the public. We have the prestigious Auror O’Hailey here today to give us a few safety pointers. “The first thing you must do if you see this green mark in the sky is to STAY OUT OF THE BUILDING! One of the killing wackos may still be in there. Apparate immediately to the Ministry and notify the Aurors, and if you do not yet have your license, find someone who does. No civilian is to EVER take on the responsibility of the Aurors and try to fight one of these crazed madmen for any reason.” Says O’Hailey. We are sure to take his advice to protect our community and our own selves.
Lily took a few steps and stumbled, not noticing the tears running down her face. She rocked to and fro on unsteady feet, and then finally fell backwards. For the second time in three days, James caught her right before she hit the floor.
Lily’s eyes remained unfocused as she tried to take in everything going on around her. She could barely make out the fuzzy voices.
“Mum! Mum!” Someone was shouting. Why does everyone have to yell? “She’s… there’s something wrong with her.”
A voice answered, “Quick! Take her up to her room! I’ll get a potion and…” The voices faded altogether. The last thing Lily remembered before she passed out was a pair of warm, strong arms enveloping her.