Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 27: Startling Revelations
James felt the familiar sensation of exhilaration as he soared around the Quidditch pitch. He had just won a race between himself and several other first years. Sirius was nursing his bruised ego as James gradually made his way back to the ground.
"Oy! Sirius!" he called up to his friend, who joined him a minute later. "I think I'm going to go back inside."
Sirius grabbed James' arm before he could walk away. "Oh, no you don't! You lucked out in that race and I want a rematch."
James smirked and replied, "It seems like I always 'luck out' then, eh? After all the races we've had this year you still don't realize that you can't beat me?"
Sirius scowled at James and said, "I let you win…"
"If that's what you want to believe…Look, I'm going inside." James started to walk back to the castle, his thoughts turning toward Lily. He hadn't liked her appearance that morning- she was pale and shaky, though it seemed like he was the only one to notice. She wasn't like this often, however when she did look ill she looked miserable.
He tried over and over in vain to get her to see Madame Pomfrey. She always claimed that she felt fine or that she would be fine shortly. For a few moments he had wondered if she was a werewolf like Remus because it seemed like she was shouldering something similar to his friend. Then he realized that she was present during the full moons so the werewolf theory had to be false.
When he walked inside and made it to the top of the first set of stairs he almost ran straight into Lily. She was standing few feet away. She hadn't seen him. She seemed like she was lost in a daydream.
"Lily?" he asked, approaching her.
Her eyes snapped to where he was and after a moment she smiled. "Hi James! I was just coming to find you."
"What about the studying?" he asked.
She shrugged and said, "I kept looking out the window and seeing what a beautiful day it is. I thought I would skive off my studies."
James stepped back dramatically, his hand on his chest. "Can it be true? Can Lily Evans be putting off her homework….for fun?!"
Lily playfully punched him on the shoulder and then grabbed his hand. "So do you want to go back outside?"
A gradual grin came about James' face as he thought about it. "Yeah, I think I would. I have another race to win!"
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That evening after dinner Sirius was gloating in the common room. Apparently, James was about to win their last race when he looked down toward Lily and saw Gilderoy Lockhart talking to her. She laughed at something he said and that diverted James' attention long enough for Sirius to pull ahead and win. James' annoyance at Sirius was nothing compared to what he wanted to do to Lockhart. He wanted to pound those perfect teeth back into his throat.
As James started to approach Lily and Gilderoy, Remus grabbed James' shoulder to stop him. "Don't worry about him, James."
James was turning a few shades of deep red as he glared at Lockhart. "What do you mean?" he said through clenched teeth. "This isn't the first time I've seen him flirting with her!"
Remus squeezed James' shoulder to keep him there. "I asked her about him. She laughed and said they were just friends. There's no way she likes him like she likes you."
That seemed to calm James down a little. He glanced at Remus before glancing back at Lily and Lockhart. He seemed to be deep into some sort of story and he was using melodramatic gestures to tell the tale. Lily was looking at him with a smile on her face, but when James studied her further it looked like she was trying to humor him.
James gave Remus a look that said he wouldn't make a scene, then approached Lily and Lockhart. As he walked up to them he heard Lockhart saying, "After I saved that third-year girl Professor Riddle said that I should think about starting a dueling club, so I could pass on my vast knowledge to less fortunate students."
Lily looked at James as he grabbed her hand and she raised her eyebrows, trying not to laugh. James smirked and squeezed her hand saying, "I'm hungry, ready to go back inside?"
Lily nodded and quickly pulled James toward the castle while shouting goodbye to Gilderoy over her shoulder. When they were halfway to the castle Lily couldn't contain her laughter anymore. She had to lean on James to keep from falling over.
He chuckled along with her, loving the sound of her laughter, and then commented, "It looks like you're feeling better." She paused in between laughs and gave him a funny look. "You know," he added, "since this morning. You looked like you weren't feeling well again."
Lily finally caught her breath and said, "I'm feeling great, actually." She paused as she saw Gilderoy making his way toward the castle from behind them, then she pulled on James' hand and squealed, "Come on, before he catches up with us!" They ran inside and hid in an empty classroom giggling until they were sure he wouldn't be there anymore.
Now, as James sat on the couch beside Lily in the common room after dinner, he couldn't help but feel how lucky he was. He kept thinking about how Lily's eyes had turned a brighter shade of green when she laughed. He thought about how tight she had squeezed his hand and how that had caused his stomach to do flip-flops. He still couldn't believe that she liked him back, but every time she would catch him staring at her she would give him a sweet smile that would melt his heart.
As the evening progressed the others all decided to either go upstairs or in Sirius' case, try to figure out the new password to the Slytherin dungeons. James and Lily were left in the common room. As they sat there, Lily suddenly grabbed James' hand and pulled him toward the portrait hole.
"C'mon," she said.
"Where?" asked James, a confused smile on his face.
"Let's go outside for a walk," she said.
"Lily!" exclaimed James, surprised. "It getting dark outside, and we're not supposed to be outside after dark. Besides it'll be curfew soon."
Lily grinned at James and said, "Since when has that stopped you from breaking the rules?"
James shook his head and smiled back. "It hasn't, but I never knew you could be such a trouble-maker."
She winked at him and they silently made their way through the castle and had to hide as Mrs. Norris sauntered through the entryway. When she was gone, they crept to the door and stealthily made their way through to the outside.
"Where are we going?" James asked as she led him by the lake. The sky was clear and there was just enough moon to cast light across the grounds as the night became darker.
Lily picked up the pace and pulled James toward the Forbidden Forest. James hesitated, looking at the darkness that awaited them. He had never gone far into the forest. He and the other Marauders had ventured in a little bit but it was during the daytime.
"Lily, I don't know if we should go in there," he said.
She kept pulling him along and said, "Hurry! Before someone looks down from the castle and sees us!"
She led him into the forest and about five minutes later he saw a light coming from a clearing up ahead. When they reached the clearing he saw that there were torches hovering in the air throughout the clearing, casting eerie shadows across the ground. James looked to Lily and noticed that she had an odd look on her face.
"Lily?" he asked. She turned to him with a blank stare.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, how nice of you to join me," came a cold voice from behind them. James recognized the voice but couldn't place it until he turned around. It belonged to their DADA professor, but his voice was much colder than in class. In class, he was charming and popular with the students.
"Professor Riddle?" James asked incredulously. "W-What are you doing here?"
Riddle's face formed a slow smile that chilled James to the bone. "I could ask you the same question, it being after dark and you being a student in the forest."
James realized what it was that he had found familiar about Riddle's voice. It had reminded him of when he had barged into Professor Riddle's office when he was meeting with Lily. 'Lily!' he thought. He turned to her and saw the same blank stare, the one she had had in Riddle's office.
"Lily?" he asked. "What's going on here?" She didn't reply, but he noticed her chin tremor. "Lily?" he asked again, his heart starting to pound.
Riddle spoke up instead. "You have something I need Potter."
James gave the DADA professor a confused look. What did Riddle mean he had something? He didn't remember stealing anything from him. Was it an assignment? It seemed odd to meet him here like this for an assignment. But then why was he so cold about it? Usually Riddle was easygoing about assignments. James shook his head and said, "I don't know what you mean."
"I will tell you, but first things first," replied Riddle. "Expelliarmus!" he shouted as James' and Lily's wands flew across the clearing behind some bushes.
Now James was really starting to worry. What did Riddle want with him? "W-Why did you do that?"
"You have something I need, Potter," Riddle repeated.
"W-What?!" James asked.
"The ring!" ordered Riddle.
"What ring?" asked James.
"Your father's ring," replied the professor.
James shook his head and again looked at Lily, who by this time was shaking all over and had tears in her eyes. "Lily?" he asked.
"I don't have time for you to chat with your girlfriend!" Riddle spat. "Rictusempra!"
he shouted and a second later James found himself thrown backwards into a tree. He knocked his head pretty hard and
slumped to the ground. Riddle approached him. "Now give me the ring, Potter!"
James felt steel creep into his spine as he slowly pushed his way up to a standing position. He felt a trickle of blood making its way down his cheek to his neck. The last thing he remembered was hearing Lily shout "No!" as Riddle aimed his wand at him and said, "Stupefy."
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Lily felt herself fighting an internal battle. It felt like she was trying to wake herself up from a dream, but when she started to wake up it looked more like she was entering a nightmare. She heard an angry voice and a confused voice - was that James' voice? She shook her head to clear her thoughts just as she heard a thud.
She turned to see James slumped on the ground with Professor Riddle approaching him. A cry caught in her throat as she saw James stand up, with blood trickling down his face. 'O God!' she thought. 'Where am I? What is happening?' She saw Professor Riddle raise his wand and she screamed, "No!" as he cast the stunning spell and sent her boyfriend to the ground unconscious.
Lily saw Riddle lean over James and pull on the chain around his neck that carried the ring his father had given him. "What is happening?" she cried, her heart clenching at the sight of her boyfriend injured and unmoving. "Why did you do that?"
Riddle turned to her with a smile that chilled her more than any of her headaches had. "Don't you know, Lily? Can't you remember?"
Lily shook her head. She didn't know what he meant. "I don't understand," she cried.
Riddle walked toward her and gazed into her eyes. "Let me help you remember."
Lily tried to tear her gaze away from his but found their eyes locked. All of a sudden images started to bombard her. First an image of her in his office. Instead of his friendly demeanor he had a similar expression to the one he wore now. 'Why hadn't she remembered that?' she wondered. Then she remembered walking up to the first year boys' dormitory and tearing it apart, shattering butterbeer bottles. She suddenly remembered cutting her arm as she crept along the floor, searching under the beds for something. She remembered the feel and sound of the glass fragments as she walked over them on her way out of the room. Lily whimpered, remembering but not knowing why she had done that.
Next she found herself at her parents house late at night, standing in front of the fireplace. She opened a can of floo powder ('How did she get that,' she wondered) and dipped her hand inside the tin to scoop some out. She threw it inside the fireplace and said, "Professor Riddle's office." Green flames shot up as she kneeled down and leaned her head into the flames. She heard herself telling Professor Riddle that what he was looking for was with James' dad. Then as she pulled herself out of the fire she looked down to her hands, covered in soot from leaning into the fire.
Lily tried to shake the memories out of her head but still found herself locked in a gaze with Professor Riddle. She suddenly found herself in the library, staring up at some books high on a shelf. She saw her arm raise her willow wand at the shelf and heard her voice mutter a charm she had just learned - the one that can move objects from one place to another. She saw the bookshelf start to rock and heard a scream as books started falling away from her and the tall bookshelf slammed into the one behind it as it crashed to the floor.
'Emm!' she thought. That must have been the time when Emm was attacked in the library. Her blood ran cold as she wondered if she was the one to attack her friend. "No!" she cried out loud. "I didn't do that! She's my friend. I didn't do that!"
"Oh but you did, Lily," said Riddle in an amused voice.
"But I'm not like that! I don't see how I could have done something so horrible and not remembered," she said in a pleading voice, hoping it wasn't true.
"You did my bidding," replied Riddle.
Lily shook her head and looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean? Why would you want me to hurt people? What do you mean, I did your bidding?"
"It was the bidding of the Dark Lord, of Lord Voldemort," he said. "He is the most powerful wizard of our time."
"You work for that dark wizard? The one that has been attacking so many people?" Lily felt light-headed. She couldn't believe what was happening.
Riddle slowly smiled and said, "You could say that." She saw him putting on James' ring and suddenly remembered James was in the clearing, unconscious.
"James! Why did you hurt him?" she cried.
"He had something I needed. I have you to thank for bringing him here," he said.
Lily felt tears running down her face. "Why? I still don't understand!"
Riddle held up the hand with the ring. "This is what I have been after all year, why I agreed to teach here at Hogwarts. Thanks to you, I was able to find out that Potter's father had the ring. By the time I searched their house, he must have already given it to his son. Then you saw it hanging on a chain around his son's neck. How clever of his father, to pass it on to his son. He thought it would protect him, but I will soon dispose of James Potter like I disposed of his father!"
Lily felt light-headed. She heard her heart pounding in her ears. It took her a moment to find her voice. "Disposed? His father?"
Riddle smiled and said, "Joseph Potter is no longer a problem, and I have you to thank for that Lily."
Lily's body started to shake with sobs as she looked at James and back to Riddle. "Me?" she asked weakly. "What did I do?"
"You still don't remember?" Riddle grabbed her shoulders and stared again into her eyes.
Lily saw more images - her sitting with James at the breakfast table as he read a letter from his father. Then she was in Riddle's office and she heard herself telling him that James' father was in Paisley, Scotland with Mad-Eye Moody. She screamed and grabbed her head, trying to block out the images.
"You were the one who led me to Joseph Potter. You are the reason he is no longer a problem," said Riddle, triumphantly.
"What did you do to me?!" shouted Lily.
"You were an easy project. It wasn't much trouble at all convincing you to do my bidding. Such an open mind to direct!" he proclaimed.
Lily felt like the Earth was going to swallow her whole. Her head throbbed worse than anything she'd ever felt and she could feel her stomach starting to rebel. Suddenly she heard a moan coming from across the clearing and turned to see James stirring. Riddle noticed too, and stepped toward him.
"Now I think it is time to have some fun with Mr. Potter," taunted Riddle. He raised his wand and started to mutter a spell.
Lily panicked as she saw James starting to push himself up. She couldn't be responsible for his being hurt. She couldn't watch as Riddle killed him. Before Riddle could finish the incantation Lily found herself running directly at him and slamming into him just as she saw a bright yellow light. That was the last thing she saw before darkness overcame her.
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A/N: I loved writing this chapter, even if bad things happened. I spent 26 chapters building up to this point so it means a lot to me. Please let me know what you think in a review - good or bad, just be constructive! Pretty please?
Thanks to my latest reviewers: sweetie513, Watermelon!, and urSweetiemSmia.
A few points addressed by readers that I can now answer (in case you didn't figure it out from this chapter): 1) Lily is (surprise surprise) being 'affected' by Professor Riddle - the 'how' behind it is something I cannot / will not answer yet. 2) Lily was the one who trashed the boys' dorm room. 3) Lily was not the one who trashed the Potters' home, but she was the one who told Riddle that James' dad had the ring - then Riddle searched / trashed the house. 4) There have been some comments on what is going to happen to James' dad and what Sirius had commented about James' parents in OotP. I won't say how, but I will say keep reading and (eventually) you will see how I will make the pieces fit together.
Next chapter: Do you honestly think I'm gonna give it away??? Hahahaha! Nope! Not without some reviews. I know, I'm evil and greedy, but hey! How often do I get a cliffy like this to hang over my readers?