A/N: Trouble with being a student, its hard to keep things up. But that would not be my reason for why this part took so long. Fine, I'm a procrastinator but this one wasn't a product of my own laziness. I lacked the melancholy to write this stuff. But, now, I'm back! Yey! >.<
Pardon for the lateness but I wanted this to be perfect for once. The song below is "Might as Well" by Keane (Weeee!!!!). It would be best if you listened to it.
Chapter 6
With just a quick flick of his moistened tongue across the surface of his teeth, the taste and of blood-his blood-assailed the cavities of his mouth and nose. Remus had the urge to bite himself more to get another taste of blood, but he steeled himself as much as he could with his weary strength and lost a beat in his steps.
Sirius quickly nudged him up and resumed their normal pace so as not to look odd although no one was looking at them in the almost deserted streets. A thin film of a fog obscured definite outlines but, just to be sure, he did so.
The two were successful in leaving Nessie's Nest undetected, or so they hoped. A quick glance at one of the clocks they had passed told them it was a bit after four in the morning.
Remus halted, clutching his sides and sat down on the sidewalk. 'I feel it…I'm changing…'
His dark-haired companion scanned the sky for the moon but saw that it was obscured by the clouds. It was then that he became deeply bothered. 'No you're not, mate. You're just sick.'
Remus wanted to smile at the other's tone but only winced by the pain in his ribcage. He inserted his hand beneath his clothing and beneath his hands, the very bones shifted shape and squeezed his innards, sending him sprawling on the street, spewing blood from his mouth.
'Bloody Hell!' Was the only thing Sirius could say as he approached to help Remus sit up again. 'You can't do this to me, Remus. You still have six days to go'
But he violently swiped at Sirius. 'Back off!' He hissed and vomited again. Frantically, he felt his pockets for his wand. Using this, he reached into his shirt and forcefully yanked something in it from himself. Then he crumpled again on the street, exhausted from his own struggle.
Sirius rushed to pick up his friend's wand and saw something silvery wrapped around it and a black pendant swinging at its end. 'Wait a minute,' he stared at it, trying to speak. 'This is Lily's! How did you-?'
Remus picked himself up and trudged where Sirius was squatting. 'It's the other piece. One is a ward; the other, a charm. I gave Lily the ward so I could track down where she is and what is happening to her. The charm receives the whatever percentage of the spell crawls into the circle of the ward and inflicts those upon the wearer.' He winced at every step and still held to his morphed ribcage. 'Someone has been trying to weaken her. It seems that James had warded her securely enough that the full blow is now transferring on me instead.'
'So that's why you've been transforming prematurely.' Sirius gave him an appraising look. 'I had the gist that you were into those things all along.' He commented and handed the wand to its owner.
'What things?' He muttered irately at Sirius' weird look. He gave himself the time to breath before wearing the necklace again.
'Sadomasochism.' Sirius gave an all-knowing grin before the other snarled at him, apparently not having the mood to fool around.
'Shut up, Padfoot and help me walk.' He muttered, leaning heavily on the other's more well-built frame. 'At least I'm trying to help.'
'Precisely. So why are you acting so defensive about your secret side?' Sirius snickered and began half-dragging the other.
'If you won't shut up about that ridiculous theory of me, I'll bite you.' Remus warned menacingly.
'Oh, the sadistic side is showing again.'
'Shut up.'
Remus wanted to laugh just for the sake of lightening the heavy atmosphere that hung upon their heads as the two of them awkwardly attempted to walk as fast as they could. Sirius, despite the irritating gibes, was only trying to do what he could. But in his eyes was the fear of the many things that could go wrong and end up with sending someone to an untimely grave.
Then, for the second time in ten minutes, Remus stopped cold in his tracks once more. Only that he wasn't showing any signs of pain…
…but that of dread.
'What?' Sirius asked again to his companion but Remus could only fumble inside his shirt and feel the charm on his neck.
'Lily…I…I can't feel her anymore.'
……
It was a fairytale like any fairytale that has been told before.
Once upon a time there was a boy named James who went to school with other children his age.
Here, he met a girl, Lily, who he thought was the one meant for him.
She seemed to hate him, but the boy persevered and she learned to love him.
Winning her heart, both of them were happy. Though they were young, the boy was planning already to be with the girl for the rest of is life.
And then, something both of them didn't expect happened.
The fairytale ended.
…
It was weird, almost terrifying to find yourself waking up in a place you don't know, with the people around you complete strangers, and every one of them staring at you with piercing gazes.
So was Lily's shock when her brain finally registered, as she awoke form a dreamless slumber, that she was somewhere she didn't know , in the center of a circle of people that she did not recognize.
'She's awake. Finally.' One muttered from behind her.
Lily wanted to move but found her whole body immobilized on the uncomfortable wooden chair she was sitting on. Her feet were seemingly tied down by invisible weights. Same thing with her hands. With her eyes blinded by a fierce spotlight above her, she could only faintly make out the faces of the strangers. Beyond the borders of the circle was a murky darkness.
'Would you please help me?' She tried to ask, but her plea only elicited snickers from the nearly invisible people.
'We would help you, yes, if you answer our questions. Truthfully. No secrets are allowed within this room.' Someone answered.
'We'll know if you're lying.' Another voice said.
'And if you do, the consequences will be painful. Very painful.' Yet another threatened.
By now, Lily was panicking, doing the best as she could to go against the unseen bonds that were pulling her down.
'There is no use trying to do that, Lily. No use at all.' A woman's voice smoothly interrupted her panicked mind.
'What is the meaning of this!' the girl demanded to know, settling on her chair once more, defeated.
One made a clicking sound. 'Tsk, tsk. She appears not to know.' The statement was pitying but the voice implied otherwise, followed by sardonic laughter that filled Lily's ears.
She felt humiliated, stripped of her dignity inside of the circle. Much to her chagrin, tears were slipping on her cheeks.
'Oooh. What a sight! The girl is crying! Look what you've all done. You made her cry.' Someone spoke again.
'IdontknowidontknowidontknowIDONTKNOW!!!' Lily screamed at them and a hush fell like a soft mist. She was sobbing now.
What has she gotten herself into?
She found herself able to move her hands and feet. Her hands flew to her face and she went on murmuring that she didn't know anything. Maybe this was a nightmare and she'd wake up, find herself once more in James' bedroom with him by the bed side still and everything would be fine.
But everything was all too real to be a nightmare.
'Leave us.'
It wasn't a request but a command. The voice was icy and no one uttered a loud protest, only murmurs and the shuffling of feet. Lily's knees shook as she heard the words and lifted her face up.
Heels thudded heavily towards her and then he was there before her.
'James!' she could only cry out in immense relief. 'I'm so glad you're here,' she whispered and reached out for a hand to find some comfort.
But there was none.
"I don't know your face no more…"
Instead, the young man opened his free hand and hit her cheek, the sharp slapping sound reverberated in the dark empty space around them.
James hit her. Hard and unrelenting.
"Or feel the touch that I adore…"
Her body and thinking reeled from the impact, almost lifting her physically from where she sat. But that was nothing to what was that she felt within her own soul, filling slowly with ambivalence and pure anguish.
"I don't know your face no more…"
She couldn't cry though her eyes were seared by the force of the tears that threatened them, nor speak a word, as the bitter bile from her stomach attempted to claw their way up. She felt sicker than the moment before in the midst of humiliation. It was James before her now, or was it?
"It's just a place I'm looking for…"
Green orbs locked into his own, framed by glasses that shone coldly against the light above them: asking, pleading for any answer that filled her mind. Every feature that the man before her possessed was so alike to James, she felt that it was some other person. He wasn't the James that she knew.
It wasn't the James that she loved.
"We might as well be strangers in another town…"
Lily opened her mouth to speak, but only one word came through the constricted pathway.
'Why?'
An empty, frozen, humorless laugh.
"We might as well be living in a different world…"
'Why?' He returned. 'You're asking me why, Lily?
He took a stride nearer to her and kneeled on one knee. A gesture that reminded her of one scene some time ago-a seemingly separate reality than what she was in now. A scene where he was asking her if she was all right, trying to comfort her, telling her that she had drunk too much champagne, teasing her with a smile on that face, making her smile and sharing an intimate dance a moment later in the Longbottom's wedding reception.
"We might as well…we might as well…we might as well…"
But now, his eyes were narrowed, bereft of any emotion but a scathing disgust. His fingers dug into her cheeks and made her stare at him forcefully that it made her grimace in the sudden pain.
Her weak frame writhed helplessly beneath his leaden grip and dark gaze. She gave a small cry but it was muffled by his hold. Her eyes shone not with fear now; instead, with an unrelenting question for his unmerciful actions.
"I don't know your thoughts these days…"
'You lied to me, Lily. Tricked me and kept from me the things that I should have known. If it weren't for you, my business would've gone one smoothly.' He accusingly shot at her and removed his hand from her face, revolted at her.
'I didn't do anything, Ja-' she tried to protest but he spat out at her, as if she was the most despicable creature.
'DON'T say my name as if I was one of your lovers that you think you can pull by the neck. I am not your "James".' he drawled bitterly on his name. 'I am not one of those that you think that you can twist around your little finger.'
"We're strangers in an empty space…"
'It's not like that…' she lifted her face at him, her anguish pronounced yet not a single tear left her.
Lily's mind was numbed all throughout not because of the physical pain but the ravaging of his words; everything that he said was like murder, swimming freely in her veins, leaving fire and ice in its wake.
Yet, she was innocent. She knew she never did anything.
Or did she?
With a hand too weak and trembling, she reached up to him. Yet touching him felt not unlike that of caressing a statue of stone.
"I don't understand your heart…"
The image of her lost and drowning in her own tears was already too much for James, much more so when her hand found him and asked in the once singing voice but now quivering and choking.
"It's easier to be apart…"
'I-I trusted you, didn't I?'
'Stop it.' He commanded with an unrecognizable malice, but she only increased her voice.
'I…loved you James…'
'Stop it!' He took hold of her shoulders and started to shake her, an empty, weeping rag doll in his hands.
'You did too… '
'YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME, DO YOU HEAR! NOTHING!!!' His voice sounded so raw as he spitted the words out, so far and foreign from him-at the brink of breaking. His lips edged closer to her ear, leaving an invisible burn on her cheek; with words crawling out of him like venom, whispered,
"We might as well be strangers in another town…"
'Everything had just been a game of play-pretend, Lily. I never did love you.'
James allowed himself to look at her eyes directly and saw his own murder that killed the light in her eyes which always shone with…
…with trust… and love…shining for him and only for him…
"We might as well be living in another time…"
STOP THIS!!! His own voice was screaming and beating down on him, pleading him …
Why now did she have to say those words, that he had so long wanted to hear? Why now when he was hurting her?
There was a clatter that echoed in the frozen space that surrounded them both. Lily was sprawling on the floor, chair upturned. Her shoulders showed a rapidly deepening mark where his fingers had dug into the alabaster flesh.
"We might as well…we might as well…we might as well be strangers…"
He had thrown her in a violent reflex. She hadn't bothered moving to cushion the fall with her arm. From her forehead, a rivulet of blood had snaked its way on her shut lids and dropped below her head onto the ground. There wasn't any motion from her.
"For all I know of you now…"
He made a small movement, as if to approach her, then took a step back, and another, until he had fled, chased by his own demons, towards the barrier that contained the darkness and stumbled blindly out in a hallway.
"For all I know."
A small patter of feet except for the one in front of him entered the interrogation room and returned just as quickly.
Someone spoke in clipped tones above him, giving out instructions. Not long after they were the only two people in the corridor and the feet shuffled to face his bent and broken figure.
'It was your duty-your responsibility to all wizardkind. Stand up, auror.'
When James made no movement, the voice commanded again, 'I said stand up, auror!'.
A hand hoisted him by the collar to the wall, and then he saw Marlene's face contorted in the way as to contain her own tears. She moved her mouth so as to say something to him but apparently changed her mind and let him go.
'You will be sufficiently compensated, of course.' She tattled as if everything that had happened was nothing, but her eyes, she hid from James burning glare. 'I myself will ask my superiors to give you a promotion, at the very least-'
'Shut up.' His words were quietly said but Marlene whirled around at him and asked him to repeat them.
'I SAID SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU!' he raged at her and hurled the thing that he grabbed first towards her.
She proved agile enough to avoid the porcelain vase and it broke into a thousand brittle slivers as it met the wall. The echoes of the cracks dissolved once more into silence, and then Marlene said to him.
'You're pathetic, James.'
Her tones seethed with her sudden hatred for him. 'How easy regret comes to you. You and Lily are not the only people that have been wrecked because of this whole business. If you were not prepared for such sacrifices, you should not have been an auror in the first place. Or placed yourself within the order.'
Her heels ground the wooden floors as she turn to leave him. 'We have been given a new assignment. Our dealings with this business are already finished. The others are already taking care of everything. Briefing for the reassignment will be the first thing in the morning. I will be expecting you there.'
Her footsteps faded. Somehow, James had walked himself to his own office. Upon entering, he leaned heavily against the door and slid down to the carpeted floor, the leaden weight inside him bearing him down.
'Lily…' he murmured to the emptiness before him and he let his own oblivion shut him down.
……
Never had Sirius felt the pain of hunger this intense before. Neither had he passed a whole span of twelve hours without a morsel of food or a drop of water pass passing in his mouth.
For the nth time, he looked at his weary companion-weakening with each passing moment.
Remus felt Sirius stare at him and threw a smile. The pain returned not long after its disappearance, perhaps half an hour or so. Yet it wasn't the same choking pain but a dull, heavy throb inside him that had impossibly sapped him of any energy to restrain his won transformation. Now, even a shard of moonlight can trigger a full transformation-and that bothered him a lot, since he could not risk transforming with Sirius around and the present circumstances. He knew how much damage he can cause, and how much attention it would get from the others. And no one knows if it could neutralize the charm on his neck.
'I need food, Padfoot…' he began weakly.
'Ditto,' Sirius beamed that at least Remus was responding now. 'But you are not taking a chunk out of me. Go eat a Deatheater for a change, Moony, and be of use to me. I've been hauling you from one alley to another and, believe me, you are not light.'
The teasing banter was heartening but not enough to relieve the gravity of the situation. 'Can you go somewhere to get food for us?' Remus asked.
'And leave you here to transform? Ha! I wasn't born yesterday, Moony.'
Remus realized Sirius' true worries and forced himself to stand. He could hear the hunger from the other's stomach.
'Oi! Where do you think you're going?' Sirius shot at him, as the other trudged towards the main street.
'Where else? A pub, an inn , a tavern, could be anywhere as long as there is food.' He remained adamant in his pursuit to walk alone.
Sirius rushed to his side and resumed his supporting position, again dragging the other. 'Have you gone daft, Moony? The reason why we are here in this bloody cold is because we don't want to be bludgeoned up by any goddamned Deatheater!'
'Well, I'm taking my chances and eat at that pub.' Remus jabbed his index finger at the nearest edifice. 'Let them come. I'm just too bloody hungry. Starving ourselves to death won't help us accomplish anything, either.'
Sirius shook his head in a suppressed laughter.
'What!' Lupin's voice rose uncharacteristically.
Sirius erupted into loud guffaws that grated into the other man's nerves. 'I never thought,' he sniffled in his mirth before continuing, 'that I'd live to see the day that I would see you bend your unprecedented feats of logic for something so irrational and primal such as hunger. Or curse.'
Remus gave him a look that would've turned milk rancid. 'Humor me, Padfoot.' He retorted.
'Ah! Me! It must be the end of the world.' Sirius' hand flew up to his forehead and made a theatrical gesture of panic and dismay.
'Ha. Ha. Ha.' The werewolf dryly replied and persisted on walking to the pub but stopped at the sound of someone speaking behind them, though it may not have been a voice for it was like the sound of the grinding of gravel.
'The shadow is defied at the night forever, three grievances yet sharpens the fangs the former, the stone is the snake that strikes before the winter.'
Remus was first to see the speaker as it approached them. What appeared to be a bundle of scarves of a multitude of colors was actually a person; owlish eyes peering hazily at them behind windshield glasses. The length of the hair that escaped the clothing made it clear to him that the person was a she.
'I'm sorry, ma'am but can you please repeat whatever you said?' Remus politely inquired of the unusual stranger but his voice could not disguise the dread that had swamped him-the words neither making any sense to him yet his guts inside him told otherwise.
The woman hiccuped in reply and emitted a high-pitched giggling that was so unlike the voice that they heard before.
'I said what?' she answered with yet another question, more to herself than to him. 'Oh, dear, oh, dear. I did it again, I suppose.' She hiccuped again and giggled more.
The frosty air carried the rancid traces of cheap booze from her. Despite that, Remus wanted to demand her to repeat whatever she said to them.
Sirius felt Lupin stir but he restrained him before regarding the woman for one more minute then announced to the werewolf, tugging him in an urgent manner. 'Merlin's beard…'
'What?' Remus whispered back, seeing the light of recognition in his eyes.
'She's so bloody drunk.'
Remus threw him a glare and took pains to approach the woman. At a close proximity, there was no doubt that what Sirius said was true, no matter how inappropriate of him to say so.
'Um, ma'am? What was that you said about a shadow defied?' He ventured to ask her again.
'I did it again!' she whooped in her inner delight, much to the consternation of Remus. 'I am a seer! Tra la la…' she pranced in the middle of the street.
Sirius made a sound half amused, half disgusted. 'You're wasting your time, Moony. She might be just pulling you leg. Come on. There are a lot of people like that.' He tried to drag the werewolf once more but the woman caught up with them and shook the latter's free hand.
'Sybil Trelawney at your service, young masters. Prophetess, seer and-' another hiccup, 'tea maker in one package!' She pumped Remus' hand so hard that he almost thought it would come off, especially in his present condition.
Now, it was Sirius who stared at the other with sudden recognition. 'Trelawney, you say?'
The woman began to gesture trances at them but then breaking into a fit of drunken laughter.
'I thought you didn't believe in what she said.'
Sirius stared intently at the woman now. 'I'm not so sure anymore. I remember the name. One of those pureblood lines, seers the lot of them. My mum had one of them once in our house when Regalus was about to be born and asked for a prophecy.' His voice showed a hint of bitterness for a second then disappeared.
Remus shifted once more and faced her. 'If you would be so kind, we would like to avail of your services, madame.' Seeing the skeptic look on her intoxicated face, he added, 'We would pay whatever you would demand.'
At this, she clapped her hands and wobbled in front of them. 'To the pub, then!'
Sirius rolled his eyes heavenward and muttered something about the insanity had pushed Remus to do a deal with a drunken woman. He pushed him aside again.
'What?'
Sirius muttered curses under his breath and said, 'This is madness. We don't even know if we could trust her. And we have very little money to spend. And how do you think can a frigging drunken seer help us!'
Remus caught wind of his words and said, 'If we could make her repeat what she said before or make a new one, it's better than groping blindly in the dark for any answers which questions we do not even know.'
The other only scowled and reluctantly followed the newcomer that had already let herself in the tavern.
……
While she was asleep, she was able to dream. While she was asleep, she could tell to herself that she didn't hurt anymore. The sleep that enfolded her had also anaesthetized the pain. While she was asleep, she could lie to herself that everything was all right.
But then she awoke.
Lily's first impulse was to retch. The bile filled her mouth, scorching its way outside her. She fell down from where she was lying and jarred her weakened frame. Insides clenching, she emptied every content of her innards at a metal bedpan on the floor, throwing up as if she could tear her soul from her body and let it out to free herself.
A second, a minute, an eternity passed by and Lily could only crouch, defeated, on the floor, unable to support the stone weight of her chest. The once vivid green orbs of her eyes were murky pools that stared at nothingness; of the light that resided in them before, none was to be seen.
There was no pain, no grief, no tears but only the gaping vacuum-the opium-numb absence of everything and herself.
Her eye spied a glass of water on the table near the bed-yes, it was a bed that she had been lying on before-and something shifted inside her; the voice once inside her dreams had persisted upon her consciousness.
Whatever happened to her was just a nightmare. It was nothing but another lie, yet she would lie herself to death until the farce becomes a reality for her. The gravity of the numbness continuously pulled at her bones to crush her lungs inside.
If she lived in a lie, then, might as well lie to herself too.
She let the water wash cleanse the wormwood taste from her mouth. That done, she climbed once more on the bed and curled herself into a fetal ball, as if that gesture itself was enough to repel whatever that will come to her, both on the outside and from her inner mind.
The cell grew darker and colder as the grey light from the solitary window dimmed with the passing of dusk. No sound came from the huddled Lily other than her nigh inaudible breath. A few more moments, she was immersed in total darkness.
Somewhere a lock moved its iron teeth.
"Lily Evans…"
Something whispered in the darkness. Blindly, Lily unfolded herself and slowly stretched her hand to the utter nothingness.
For a moment, only air met her fingertips. Suddenly, velvet digits clasped the open hand. As heavy pressure prodded at her chest, a word shattered the darkness.
"Imperio!"
……
Lily was there, right in front of him, laughing, teasing, running. Try as he might he couldn't catch up with her. Exhausted, he sat down on the foot of the tree, the Whomping Willow. Above him, its branches swayed wildly and made a pounding sound that grew louder and louder with each whipping movement in the air.
She approached him, smiling, and crawled on all fours until she was on him, her lips brushing across his cheek; all the time, she called his name.
Then she whispered at him.
'I'll kill you…'
A resounding thud jarred him to wakefulness. Someone was yelling behind his office door, where he had fallen asleep.
'James! James! For god's sake, James! Open this fucking door!'
Panic registered in him, and he opened the lock from his door.
Without further ado, the auror from the other side grabbed a fistful of his robes and bolted, half-dragging James in his wake.
Enraged at this abrupt rudeness, James matched the other's pace and demanded what the bloody hell was wrong.
'They knew where we hid her. They broke the seal and McKinnon was hurt.' He tried to explain.
'What?'
'It's Lily. She broke from her cell and she-'
The other had no time to explain as James ran full speed towards the passage leading toward the holding cells topmost of the Ministry of Magic's office.
Upon reaching there, he was nearly hit by a beam of red light. Another auror held him back to the wall before cursing at an unseen enemy.
Blood and rage flew to his head, overriding all caution. James stepped from the corner and saw a figure in a coarse shirt pointing a wand directly at him.
'Lily?'
James was frozen as recognition swept him.
'Crucio.' The girl muttered lifelessly and another beam of light shot at James, hitting him squarely at the shoulder that drowned him in a pain that defied any words. In the throes of his agony, he screamed for her but with only one thought running through his mind: he must not fail to protect Lily.
Hearing his cry, something in Lily snapped. The haze that she was walking in was lifted for a split second and saw James writhing helplessly before her.
She dropped the wand and held her head between her hands, muttering denials and shouting at an unseen force in her.
The rest of the aurors moved in towards her. Seeing this, she broke into a run for the end of the hall with a frightened cry echoing on the walls.
In James' eyes, it was as if everything was moving underwater. Inexplicably, he found the will to stand up and follow her retreating figure in a painful mockery of an earlier dream.
He called faintly out to her and she turned around, her face ashen in shock and awakening from a waking sleep.
A sable-vested giant shadow shot from a corner and with alarming ease swiped the first aurors to reach the two of them, their bodies slamming against the wall hard enough to break the wooden barriers to the adjacent rooms.
In the action, the attacker's hood slipped and revealed a monster in half-metamorphosis.
All of the aurors stone-froze at the sight of this.
'Werewolf.' someone muttered breathlessly, distinct with shock, awe and fear.
Dread made James look at the feral monster, now baring seemingly endless fangs with hungry, guttural growls causing a dense atmosphere of fear.
A faint moonlit memory far back into his school days somehow reassured James that this was not Remus, he realized with unexpected comfort.
'Stupefy him!'
The command rang loud and clear from somewhere behind the first aurors, and a barrage of angry, red beams begun to rain on the hunted.
Heedless of the spells, the creature carried the girl by the waist, tossing her like one would with a sack over his shoulders and bolted to another corridor and to a passage leading to a dead-end.
With a resounding smash, the wall shattered into slivers, and a blast of frozen air rushed in the space, carrying with it a flurry of snow that blinded them.
As James recovered from the snow, he went to the wall and saw that the distance between him and Lily was a good three floors. Thankfully, the street below was utterly deserted. He threw himself to the branch of the nearest tree. It gave away to his weight and he unceremoniously dropped to the snow-laden ground, gaining a cut in the cheek, losing his glasses through the process. He stood up and s sharp pain from his left ankle left him with a damning, sinking realization that he had broken it.
Ignoring this, he ran the best that he could for the now blurred outline of the hunted. He lost his speed quickly and was now staggering. With every step, his feet became heavier, his breathing more shallow and the pain more evident.
One man looked back at him and threw a smile so full of malice and contempt.
Within a second, James doubled over and lay on the ground unmoving, looking at the Death Eaters shoot for the other aurors and disapparate into thin air, the girl with them.
'Lily…' he cried for one last time, tears escaping him, as sound and light left him.
He swore to protect her, no matter what he needed to do.
And he failed.
……
A/N: Now is not the time to be so apathetic. Make a little author happy (or at least make her less depressed) and REVIEW!!!
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