Hard to Find, Difficult to Leave, Impossible to Forget by Chris_04
Chapter Notes: Me, again :) Yay, so I finally got this up. :) Well, I don't really have a lot to say. I'm stuck at home, sick. I've read this ovre so many times I don't know if I will ever again. My little betta fish, Rusty-James died... but that's kind of a long story. Thanks to my beta, Emily :) She rocks :) Oh, and please, please, please review :) I've had this up for a couple days and nobody reviewed, it's sad :(
Ok, and to the mod... So far, Lily and her best friend Joanna are at school. Lily had a prefects' meeting. James asked Lily out, she said no. Then we met Lily and Joanna's roomates, Joice, Ellie and Missy and their families. They all sat through the Sorting and went to bed. Lily got the paper over breakfast. It said that there was an attack by Death Eaters the last night, Lily asks Joanna if they know any of the people listed. Joanna says that one of them is her cousin. And that's basically where we are. :)
“Shawn was murdered last night,” I said softly.
“No, this can’t be right,” Joanna said shakily, taking the paper. I suddenly remembered Shawn. He was Joanna’s twenty-eight-year-old cousin who was a new father to an almost two-week-old baby girl named Jillian.
Shawn had married his wife, Leah, two years previously. Joanna had excitedly squealed over breakfast when Jill was born, and about a year before that when Shawn had married Leah. Shawn was such a nice guy, which I could tell from just meeting him once at Joanna’s one summer. I gave Joanna a hug, and let her try to breathe steadily again.
Remus walked over. “Joanna, are you okay?” he asked. Joanna gave him a weak, watery smile.
“I don’t know yet,” she said, her voice still very shaky, “My cousin died last night.”
Remus looked at her sympathetically. “That’s really awful,” he said.
“Well, thanks for the sympathy, anyway,” Joanna said. Remus squeezed her shoulder.
“It’ll be okay, Jo,” he responded gently, and when she didn’t say anything, he left quietly. Neither Joanna nor I could eat so we headed back to the common room. I took the paper with me and read the article more carefully.
Apparently Shawn, Richard, Mary, Jack, and Carrie had been attacked by “Death Eaters” the last night at about ten o’ clock by Saint Mungo’s Hospital for Maladies and Injuries where they all worked. It seemed that the supporters of this “Lord Voldemort” had begun calling themselves that. My first thought was about what a tasteless name “Death Eaters” was, but then I could have almost laughed because the name was the most tasteful thing that they had done.
Shawn wasn’t the only one attacked with family, either. Richard had two children currently in Hogwarts, but it didn’t say who they were. I did notice later that Gail Robenaugh, a fifth year prefect, was absent for a few weeks. Then when she got back, she wasn’t quite her cheerful self and her friends were very careful and sensitive with her. I decided not to ask about it because I didn’t know her very well, and all that could do was hurt her. I thought it was sad that there were so many deaths lately that I didn’t even know when one of my prefects lost a father.
Another of the men, Jack, was the same age as Shawn. They had been friends and Jack’s wife, Alisa was pregnant. Mary was a grandmother, and was to retire the next month. Carrie Walters had been friends with Shawn and Jack, and her brother, Mark was eighteen. He had played Quidditch against us last year for Hufflepuff. I couldn’t imagine how much he must be missing Carrie.
I felt so horrible for all of them. I knew that it would be really hard for all of us until Voldemort was gone. Joanna was very quiet for a few days, and wouldn’t allow Owen to jump in her lap. I was usually the one who fed Owen in the morning since I get up first and he gets squirrelly if I don’t, but Owen didn’t get anything out of Joanna being so down.
I worried about Joanna all day, especially in the classes that she wasn’t in with me. But she insisted to go to class. I’m usually very good in charms and potions, but that day I blew everything. Fortunately we didn’t have any tests.
I was often paired with Severus Snape in potions, but not that day. Professor Slughorn liked to pick our groups and he thought we worked well together. Well, we did for a while. But I’m not friends with him now. He got back into his pureblood obsession. We were friends in sixth year, but like I said, he just got into his pureblood kick again. But I was really okay with it. I didn’t need Snape. I just thought it was a shame we couldn’t be friends anymore. I didn’t want anymore silly rivalries.
After Defense Against the Dark Arts, my last class, I collapsed into a large armchair in the common room. Joanna sat in one beside me a few minutes later. She looked exhausted. Owen jumped into her lap, but she didn’t even seem to notice. “Are you okay?” I asked concerned.
“I’ll be fine,” Joanna said wearily. “And you don’t look so great yourself, Lily. Are you alright?”
“I think I’ll be okay,” I answered truthfully. “I could really use a nap, though.”
“But don’t you have to patrol?” she reminded me. (Gosh, even when she was a mess she was better at keeping track of my schedule than I was.)
“Oh, shoot!” I sighed. I paused for a moment. “Are you sure you’re alright? Because I can be ‘sick’ if you’re not…”
“No Lily, I’m fine, go,” she insisted.
I supposed that Joanna was right. (Why did she always have to be right?) Actually, in truth, part of the reason I didn’t want to go was because I didn’t feel like dealing with Potter. But still, I’d have to deal with him for a whole hour every night the entire rest of my school career. Okay, sure there was less than a year left in “my entire school career”, but still, how unfair was that?
I met Potter out in the hall like we had agreed on the day before. I jumped when he walked up behind me. “Tense, Evans?” Potter teased.
“I don’t see that it should matter to you,” I replied frostily, turning away from him.
“So… er… where do we go, anyway?” he asked.
I sighed. “Follow me,” I said impatiently, stepping over a trick stair that the Marauders had put all over the school. Of course, nobody could prove that it was them, and they wouldn’t fix them because that was as good as admitting that they had put them there. So we all just learned to step over several of the stairs. Nobody really thinks about them too much anymore, until an unsuspecting first year gets his foot stuck in one.
“You walk fast when you’re stressed out,” Potter observed after a minute or two.
“So?” I snapped. Potter shrugged. He studied me for a moment.
“Joanna’s cousin died, didn’t he?” he asked. I cleared my throat and nodded. “That’s why you’re all tense, isn’t it?” he persisted. I nodded again, not trusting myself to speak. I refused to cry. I had decided a long time ago that I was too strong to cry. So I didn’t. I also slowed the pace that I was walking. “No, keep walking fast,” Potter said, apparently also eager to get done patrolling. I didn’t mind in the slightest.
We walked by a large window a few minutes later when I was slightly calmer. “Full moon tonight,” I commented. Potter nodded and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Can we hurry?” he asked, sounding anxious. I thought I heard Hagrid’s puppy howl. He was very sweet, but howled all of the time (the puppy, not Hagrid).
“Hey, I haven’t seen Remus since noon,” I remembered. “Do you know where he is?”
“His mother is sick,” Potter said absently.
“Isn’t she ill often?” I asked. He shrugged. “Of course, Remus is sick a lot, too...” I continued. “I wonder if it runs in the family.”
“Maybe,” Potter said, still clearly distracted. He walked very briskly. We saw Severus Snape walking down the corridor.
“What are you doing out of bed, Severus?” I asked curtly. Snape pulled out his wand.
“What are you going to do? Give me detention?” he mocked.
“I cou-” I began, but Potter silenced me. He grabbed his own wand. “Don’t you two-” I started, but they both cursed each other. Snape dodged Potter’s hex, as Potter ducked out of the way of his. Moderately long story made short, Snape hit Potter. Potter fell on the ground. “You guys are such idiots!” I muttered, rolling my eyes. It was about all I had not to turn around and slap both of them across the face.
“Severus, go to bed,” I commanded. He obeyed, thankfully. “Potter, are you alright?” I practically barked. It scared me a little as I realized that I didn’t really care at the moment how well he was as long as he was breathing.
“Yeah, I think so,” he said very matter-of-factly, “but there doesn’t seem to be any bone in my left leg.” I reluctantly offered him my hand to help him up.
“Thanks,” he said, pulling himself up. “Okay, we’re done; can we go back to the common room now?” I sighed.
“No, Potter. You’re going to the hospital wing,” I said firmly, like I was talking to a five-year-old.
“But I’m fine!” He argued, hobbling after me rather pathetically. He looked ridiculous, hopping on one foot with the other leg dangling uselessly.
“No, you’re really not,” I said annoyed, “Don’t argue.” Potter hopped over and had to lean on my arm so he wouldn’t fall over. I closed my eyes for a moment, having to remind myself that he wasn’t just hanging on me to be cute.
When we got to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was thankfully still awake. “What is it this time, Mr. Potter?” she sighed.
“Well see, Severus Snape-” Potter began.
“You hexed him, too!” I said irritated, jerking my arm automatically. Potter fell down again. I had forgotten that he had been using my arm for support. I helped him up again. Madam Pomfrey looked like she was barely managing to not laugh. “May I go?” I asked impatiently.
“Sure,” she said, smiling slightly.
“Thank you,” I said coolly, and left.
Joanna was waiting up for me in the common room when I got back. “Hey, Lily. Are you alright? Where’s James?” At the same time, Sirius walked over.
“Where’s Prongs? What did you do to him?” he demanded.
“He’s in the hospital wing,” I said tiredly.
“How bad did you hex him?” they asked in perfect unison.
“It wasn’t me this time, Snape did,” I said.
“I’ll kill him,” Sirius growled.
“You’ll do none of that,” Joanna said, rolling her eyes. “Just go to bed.” Joanna and Sirius argued, but eventually Sirius presumably got bored and did as Joanna ordered. I noticed that he was limping.
“He’s an idiot,” Joanna said. I nodded. “So, are you alright?” she asked in a low voice.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
“I’m going to just take this day by day,” she said.
“Good choice,” I nodded. “We’ll manage. And if we’re lucky, we’ll pass History of Magic.”
“Good luck with that,” Joanna smiled.
“It’s not my fault I’m terrible at it!” I whined.
“Whose is it then, Lily?” Joanna asked, cocking one eyebrow. I threw a pillow at her and then we went up to our dormitory. Ellie, Missy and Joice were asleep. I crawled into bed and didn’t have to worry about anything until the next morning.