A/N: You won't be hearing about the Death Eaters for quite some time. They're in the later chapters. A lot of people disregard the whole thing, while still remaining worried in the back of their minds. Just so you know though, it will be quite some time.
Chapter 5- The Feast
When Lily and James had ushered all the students into the horseless carriages, they themselves took the last carriage and headed onward to their journey to Hogwarts.
It wasn't much farther until they reached the school. The two of them sat in silence, James occasionally glancing up at Lily.
"You were great back there," he finally said, making eye contact with her. When she lifted her head he could see bright tears cascading down her cheeks and shimmering in her eyes.
"So were you," she said quietly.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she said. Though deep inside, she knew she wasn't. That was her first encounter with Death Eaters and no one was fine after meeting a huge pack of them.
"I hope no one was injured badly," James said, glancing sadly up at the school.
"You're one to talk. You almost died back there," Lily said.
"But you saved my life and I am fine. I have dealt with pain before and this is nothing. I saw people far worst off than I was leaving on those carriages," he said.
"Are you saying that those people can't deal with pain?" Lily asked.
"No, I am just saying that I have dealt with it too many times to count," James said.
"Does that make you better than them?" Lily asked, her voice rising.
"No, it makes me far less intelligent. Getting hurt isn't something to boast about," he said.
"Then why the hell are you boasting?" Lily asked.
"I'm not. You're twisting my words into something conceited and superficial. Trust me, I feel the least bit of those at this moment," James said. "You always do this Lily. Always."
"Well, I can't help it if most of the time the words come out naturally that way on their own!" she argued back.
"You're impossible, Lily Evans," James muttered.
The odd thing was that usually Lily was the one saying those precise words to James.
.X.
The school congregated in the Great Hall and sat in silence and hushed muttering. Lily sat beside Addison and Maimee while James across from them with his fellow Marauders.
No one had anything to say about the Death Eaters, not even the Slytherins. Lily saw the worried faces of the second years and felt horrible for them. So young and yet they already had so much to deal with.
Professor Dumbledore rose and Lily noticed that he looked particularly grim as he spoke. His sharp, blue eyes looked suddenly weary and attentive. Lily could already tell that the Death Eaters had gotten away.
"Well, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I am going to say my speech before the Sorting as I can tell there is no point in holding the matter off. I am assuming that I am right in assuming that you all want to hear about the Death Eaters on the train.
"Never before has such misconduct occurred on the Hogwarts Express. This is important to note as our students have never been challenged with such great responsibility. I can say that our Heads and Prefects rose to the occasion and acted as they saw fit. Their actions were very admirable and I want to take the time to thank them for their cooperation.
"As to why or how the Death Eaters got on the train, I have only assumptions. Trust me, each is as unlikely as the next. One thing is for sure, Voldemort sent them for a reason."
Almost everyone shuddered as they heard the name. Yet, Lily noticed how calm James, Remus, and Sirius were. They remained listening and focusing their attention on the Headmaster.
"I want to run this school as normally as possible. I don't want you to remain in fear. You are safe while you're in Hogwarts. Always remember that. I feel that we must carry on and not give Voldemort his satisfaction. Fear is what brings him power. I have spoken beforehand so that I can reassure our first years that there is nothing to worry about. Professor McGonagall, the Sorting?" he asked.
Professor McGonagall had entered with the first years before his speech. Lily could see the look of fear on their faces.
Professor McGonagall rose and set the dusty, old hat on the four-legged stool and pulled out a long piece of parchment. She began the Sorting after the hat's song.
Lily clapped when Gryffindors number increased yet she could not help but wonder why exactly the Death Eaters were on the train. She knew that Dumbledore had speculations and she wished he would have shared them. But, at the same time he probably felt it far too personal to disclose that kind of information to the student body.
Dumbledore rose once more to make a final announcement.
"Would the new Head Boy and Girl please see fit to report to my office after the feast?" he asked. Lily and James nodded their heads and within seconds food appeared magically on the plates.
Lily just sighed and looked to her plate. She wasn't even hungry. She turned to her friends to see if they felt the same way but obviously, they did not. Addison was arguing with Sirius over something petty while Maimee was chatting with Alice Bones about the heating in the Girls dorm.
Was she the only one taking in Dumbledore's words? No, she wasn't. She noticed that James was too. Lily was Muggleborn. Could Voldemort trace back to her family? Were they in danger. She did not need to worry about that along with the rest of the wizarding world. How did no one else realize this? They were in danger by association.
James was watching Lily. She wasn't eating or talking with her friends. She was blankly staring down at her empty plate. He knew how she felt. He was worrying about his family too. She didn't seem to be taking it lightly, nor was he. Dumbledore couldn't just tell them not to be afraid and think that they wouldn't be. His parents were out fighting every day. Sirius, Remus, and Peter had no cares in the world. They just carried on eating and chatting with the girls as if nothing had happened. James had family out in the real world risking their necks every day to try and defeat Voldemort. It wasn't pleasant to know that your parents, your lifeline, your providers could be gone within a flick of a wand. James knew Lily felt the same way.
"So James, I didn't see you this summer. What did you do?" Arielle Prewett asked. She and her friend Mackenzie McKinnon, Addison's twin, were obviously trying to open up a conversation with him.
"Well, I played Quidditch with Sirius-," James started to say.
"Oh, Sirius! Did he mention me?" Mackenzie asked.
"Um, no. Was he supposed to?" James asked. He looked at Padfoot, fighting shamelessly with Addison, and then looked back.
"Oh, um, well no. I guess not. I just thought maybe he'd mentioned me," Mac said sadly.
"Oh, don't let him get to you. One night of snogging is nothing to Sirius Black," Arielle said, comforting her friend by patting her back.
"I know, but I thought I was different," Mac sobbed.
"Hey , can you stop with the water works? You'll get the potatoes soppy," Sirius called down the table, addressing Mac in no specific way.
This just caused her to go into another round of hysterics. Although, this time, James noticed that she tried not to cry on the table.
How could everyone be so relaxed and so mellow when something so ridiculously uncommon had just occurred? Maybe he was overreacting. But then again, so was Lily. James sighed. Back to his oh so favorite topic. He knew that they were perfect for each other, why couldn't she feel it?
A/N: Please review.