Chapter 15: The Deserted Hallway
James took a step out of Dumbledore's office and continued walking, not waiting for Lily.
"James, wait," pleaded Lily as she ran after James. James continued walking, doing his best to ignore his fiancé. She caught up to James as he was rounding the corner of a deserted hallway with no doors.
"I need to meet someone Lily, what do you want?" asked James furiously as he looked at the women he had had a crush on for so many years. Lily stopped and the two of them looked at each other angrily.
"Why can't you just act normal?" screamed Lily angrily.
"How do you want me to act?" asked James sarcastically.
"Like before," replied Lily.
"Before what?"
"Before... before we were engaged!" replied Lily.
"Ha," said James as he continued heading down the deserted hallway. "That's impossible."
James took a few angry steps down the hallway. It seemed to slant downward and became colder and darker with every step. The torches that lit the hallway with light became fewer and fewer as James hurried down the hallway with Lily following him.
"Stop following me," shouted James as he snapped his head around and began to run down the hallway.
"James," said Lily and she followed him down the hall that seemed to be getting smaller and darker the farther she walked down it.
"Lily," said James as he turned around suddenly once more and stopped. "Turn around and go back in the other direction."
"Why?" asked Lily in a snotty tone.
"Because," said James as he looked down the dark hallway with a scared look in his eyes. "I am telling you to."
"And I am not listening to you," said Lily uneasily as she started walking down the hallway before James grabbed her around the waist with both of his arms from behind her and pushed her against the wall. "Wh-" said Lily as she stopped and looked down into the large black pit she had almost stepped into.
Lily stared at James with fear crawling in her eyes. The fear that had been in James' eyes had disappeared and taken over by a worried look of the questions he would have to answer to Lily.
"Tell me," said Lily slowly in a whisper, "What that is."
"I can't Lily," said James honestly. Lily looked in the pit and couldn't see the bottom. She tried to look across the pit to see how far it stretched, but all she saw in the distance was darkness.
James was still holding Lily against the wall with his arms and she could hear his heart beating. He was so close to her. His arms were around her waist and she was pushed against the wall.
"Why not?" asked Lily, even though she knew she sounded like a little four-year-old girl.
"If I told you," said James. "I would have to kill you." Lily's heart fluttered as James rearranged his grip on Lily's waist and pulled her a little farther away from the pit.
"What are you doing down there?" asked Lily as she pointed at the pit with the one hand that James had just released from his grip.
"Lily," said James as he now sounded like a pleading four year old. "I can't tell you!"
"Yes you can!"
"No, I can't!"
"Just say it Potter!"
"No, Evans!" said James in a way of putting down Lily for her last name. Lily seemed to get the message... or so James thought.
"In less than a year, my last name will be the same as yours," said Lily as she glared at him. "And we know who I can thank for that."
"Dumbledore," replied James. "Now get the bloody hell out of here."
"You are still the stupid prick I have always known!" screeched Lily as she pushed James off her, looked into the pit one last time and ran back in the direction she had come from.
James watched her small body run quickly up the hallway and James took a deep breath. That had been a close one. James pulled out his wand a muttered a few words before he flicked his wand and the hallway became bright and the dark pit disappeared.
Lily had stopped when she had thought she was far enough away. She slowly began creeping back towards James when all of a sudden the hallway became light. She laid down on her stomach and watched as the dark pit had disappeared and James had begun to continue walking down the hall. Lily silently put the Evanesco charm on herself, turning her invisible.
James thought he heard a noise and turned around quickly but saw no one behind him. He started jog down the hallway... he would be late to the meeting again...
"What is Potter up to?" thought Lily as she ran to catch up to him. He stopped suddenly and looked behind him for a second before he continued to jog down the hall.
James jogged down the bright deserted hallway and suddenly stopped. He took out his wand and started tapping the side of the hallway with his wand as he muttered more words under his breath.
Lily almost ran into James as he suddenly stopped and began tapping the wall in front of him with his wand.
James glanced to his left and thought he felt something almost brush up against him. He must have been dreaming. James continued tapping the wall when suddenly a painting popped up on the other side of the hallway.
Lily watched James intently as he glanced at her as if he could see her and then continued to work. "He can't see me," thought Lily as she reassured herself. But she suddenly jumped when a painting appeared on the other side of the hallway.
James turned and looked at the painting before him. He had seen this painting millions of times, it was one of the few in Hogwarts that did not move. The painting showed a lovely bushy haired brunette who was holding a baby in her arms. She was sitting on a couch and there was a man next to her with green eyes that reminded James so much of Lily's eyes. The man's hair though, reminded James of himself. In the painting, the man had a hand on the women's leg and she looked tired, as if the baby was wearing her out.
James reached his right hand out and touched the women's head in the picture with bushy brown hair. The painting held still and suddenly a voice echoed through the hallway, "Who do you follow?"
"The one that has the love of the father, the son, and the spirit of the mentor," replied James bravely. The painting held still another moment and then suddenly opened up. James jumped into the opening and closed the door quickly before Lily could follow.
Lily stared at the painting and noticed the background of the painting, she had seen it before. She just couldn't remember where. Here goes nothing thought Lily as she slowly touched the women in the painting. A second later the voice again echoed out into the hallway "Who do you follow?"
Lily squinted her eyes and silently prayed this would work. "The one that has the love of the err... father, the son, and err.. the...err...spirit of the...err.. mentor," said Lily hoping she had said the phrase correctly.
The painting held still for a second and Lily worried she had said the phrase incorrectly. Her heart began to speed up nervously. She had to see what James was up to... she had to...
The painting swung open and Lily stepped into the hole in the wall, swinging the painting shut behind her.
AN: OK so I know this Chapter is short but the next one is very long and maybe I'll be able to post it Friday morning... i probably won't be able to POST again till Tuesday... As i'll be busy reading HBP and editing this story... I have a sad feeling this story will go AU after HBP comes out because I have some stuff happening in here that would not necessarily be going along with information JK may give us...
So Just a warning that this story might be a little different from what JK Rowlings writes in her books.. I'll do my best thought to edit the story so it goes along basically with what she says!!
2 days 12 hours 45 minutes and 38 seconds until HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
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Kaci