In the Tower
Chapter Twenty: Because I hurt
Summary: Sirius, Remus and Peter lock James and Lily in a tower over Christmas Break. They don't have anything, except a little bit of food, lots of French Almond Coffee, and the passion within themselves. And right now, they're just letting it out.
Disclaimer: I have never, and will never, own anything related to Harry Potter. Are you satisfied?
Author's Note: I know, it's been getting longer and longer between updates, and I really have no excuse. I just seem to shy away from the computer whenever I get home. There's nothing I really do in the week, homework, homework, homework riding, homework Latin tutoring, homework. And that's my week, so you know I'm really not that busy. But, still, I have not been a good author to you all, and I want to smack myself hard in the head for that. I'm so sorry, really. Mêlée means skirmish in some language.
Previously: Lily struggled to grasp consciousness as she woke up. She looked around at her surroundings. And laughed out loud. She was back in that bloody tower.
She looked around at the place and made a sound that should be classified as `this-is-pleasant' both sarcastic and for real. Well, it was a very special tower.
Okay, it's a bloody tower, and Lily was going to just… leave it.
Except for the one tiny fact that when she pushed on the wall, it didn't open.
Oh…
Fuck.
Be open to your dreams people. Embrace that distant shore. Because our mortal journey is over all to soon. David Assael, Northern Exposure, It Happened in Juneau, 1992
She shook her head and grinned down, watching the world through a large cirrus cloud while swinging her legs idly over her head. She grinned again and put her head in her hands, looking at everything going on below her. A cloud drifted by and she frowned and stretched down to move it away, parting it like the Red Sea.
Then she heard laughter from down below, and leaned forward, a bit too far forward, because just as the laughing person came into her vision, she fell off the cloud, and tumbled out of the sky. This would be her death. Except for the one fact.
She was already dead.
The first words that came out of his mouth as they gathered back into the common room the Heads' room were, of course, "Where's Lily?"
Remus shifted uncomfortably on the couch adjacent from James. "I thought you found her."
"I did," James said with an ostensible tone, "really. She was in the tower, staring out at the flipping horizon, then she fell asleep and I put her in the bed and then I shut the door and then we all went to the Hospital wing and… oh."
"Oh?" Somailia said opening the portrait and hearing the last words, plopped unceremoniously onto the loveseat away from both the boys. She flung herself out randomly, a hand hanging off the couch, one leg sprawled out as another was pulled up so it was almost sticking up in the air, and her other hand supporting her head, her hair gathered up around her hand so it looked up. Remus swallowed hard but looked at James, not letting his eyes glance over at his girlfriend.
James on the other hand… was being a hormone driven boy seeing a girl that looked like she was ready. She looked over at Remus and nodded slightly at him, and he got up, picked up a pillow casually, fluffed it, and then chucked it hard at James.
"Um, yeah, oh." James said, finally tearing his eyes away from Somailia, who was shaking her head at him, annoyed. "I think I might of-?" He said, not finishing his sentence.
"Don't tell me," Somailia started out sarcastically, and Remus smirked at James and joined Somailia in finishing the phrase, "you accidentally locked Lily back in the tower?"
"Um… that sums it up, yeah."
"How much of an idiot are you?" Somailia shouted at him, throwing herself from her pose on the couch, to sit with her feet pressed on the floor and her hands pushing hard down on the seat of the love seat, her posture slumped and glaring at James heatedly.
She breathed deeply and stared at James, then shook her head and looked at Remus. "What's the password to get into the tower?" She said her teeth clenched.
He managed to give her a lopsided smile. "I don't…remember?" He said weakly.
She made an impatient and hysterical noise, and pulled hard at her hair, making her look as to be sparkling with electricity. She finally gave her last tug of madness and looked over at James again, cool and calm. "Where's your broom?"
"Why?"
"Because mine is down in my dorm room and that's too far for me to get it." She stated lazily.
"In my room…" he told her, and she got up and stretched, before going up to his room. "In the back of my closet!" He called behind her, and she stuck her middle finger up behind her back in confirmation.
"Shit!" they heard her shout, and Remus guffawed, and James just raised an eyebrow.
"She's never been graceful on her feet, you know." Remus said, and James pulled the smile and nod routine. They saw her flying past the window and James turned to look at Remus.
"Why do you think she hates me?" He asked, meekly.
Remus thought it over for a long while, staring out the window. "I think," he started haltingly, trying to grasp the appropriate words for it, "that she somehow knows that Katie loved you more than she loved her."
"He really doesn't seem to be fairing well." Was the first thing that rolled into Sirius' mind as he drifted between consciousness and being unconscious. "I wonder why he came…?" A sweet voice said, and he heard another lady click her tongue.
"Probably to get out of school, the dear," he recognized Mrs. Potter's voice, and he tried to say something but his throat wouldn't allow it. "He's never done this before though…"
James had been writing a letter, Sirius remembered, before he left. Had he sent it yet?
There was a moment's pause, and then that annoying tapping on the windowpane. Speak of the devil.
"James has written…" Mrs. Ah Bleu said uncertainly. He could almost see Mrs. Potter reaching out for it while still staring hard at his face, but Mrs. Ah Bleu continued, "it's addressed to me…" she said, unsettled.
"Oh!" Mrs. Potter said surprised. "Well, go ahead and read it then. I won't disturb you." Sirius heard the letter being slit open, and heard the gentle flutter of the envelope falling to the rich mahogany floor. He heard next Mrs. Ah Bleu gasp and sit heavily on the bed next to Sirius, trying, and failing to stifle her hoarse breathing and stifling tears. "What is it?" Mrs. Potter said quickly, getting up and looking over Mrs. Ah Bleu hurriedly.
The letter dropped out of her hands and fell slowly to the floor and Sirius' eyes flicked open and quickly shut, seeing what was happening. So now they know, Sirius said mentally, and he shook the image of her body being tossed away from the Death Eaters, and realizing, suddenly, how could she had been in his arms as he was carrying her away. And he questioned himself how he didn't notice as James held her that her chest was not moving up and down. How much of an idiot is he, really?
"What day is it?" He croaked, finally, and both the mothers jumped, and Mrs. Ah Bleu shivered so violently as he moved that she fell off the bed and landed hard on the landing.
"Sirius!" Mrs. Potter said loudly, rushing over to him and putting her hand on his forehead and watching his face and eyes intently. She quirked a smile and said, "You have a rather nasty bump on your forehead, darling, but that's an easy fix."
He narrowed his eyes at her, but only to keep the tears at bay. "Good," he said softly, and his throat got thick and he couldn't keep the tears from slowly leaking out of his eyes. "What's the day?" He asked again.
"Monday." She said, and then looked at him carefully. "Sirius?" She said questionably.
"Read the letter, Mrs. Potter." He said, wiping his face slowly, smearing the tears so his whole face was wet with them.
"But it's Russus' letter," she said appalled. "That would be very rude, Sirius, I thought Jerome and I taught you better."
"Just read it, Mrs. Potter, I don't think Russus' would mind you reading over her shoulder just this once." She gave him a searching look and he stared at the ceiling defiantly, before he felt her gaze leave him and she heard her help Russus into her chair and then picked up the letter. She read the first line and sat heavily down in her chair, blinking rapidly.
"Oh Merlin," he heard Mrs. Potter say, and Russus excused herself to go get Mêlée, Katie's younger sister by seven years, and to inform Mr. Ah Bleu at the Ministry.
Sirius and Mrs. Potter were left in silence within the Ah Bleu estate for a long while before Mrs. Potter finally looked up at Sirius, and said, simply, "come here,"
Sirius got up slowly, but wobbled out of the bed and across the room, and then threw himself into Mrs. Potter's arms. They sobbed together in the gathering dark.
Lily silently fumed as she leaned against the wall and indulged herself to have a staring contest with daddy long legs next to her. It won, but only because her eyes started to water after two minutes. She heard something thud on the roof, and she jumped, knocking her head painfully against the wall. She groaned and moved her head, making her hand massage it.
The door to the tower opened and Lily moved so she could make herself as inconspicuous as possible. A long shadow appeared on the wall, and she shoved herself closer up to the wall, making her head thunk on it again. The shadow stumbled over one of the stairs and fell all the way down the stairs, the thing in its hand flying up in the air. Whoever it was landed at the base of the stairs, and the thing in its hand, a broom, Lily saw in the meager light, fell and hit the person, square on the head.
The person then fell forward and the broom hit the stair innocently. "OW…"
Lily recognized the voice and immediately jumped up and jogged over to her. "Somailia, are you okay?"
"Do you think I'm okay?" Somailia snapped at her, cradling her head in her hands.
"Uh… no?" Lily said meekly, never really realizing that Somailia had a temper at all.
"Good, because I'm not." Lily sat down next to Somailia and picked up the broom behind them.
"Why do you have James' broom?"
"Because he let me lend it," Somailia said her lip curling. "Bloody boy," she muttered.
"Why'd you come in the first place?" Lily asked, and Somailia wanted to sharply tap Lily on the head with her broom.
"Are you normally this stupid or is this a once in a lifetime event?"
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Are we leaving or not?" She said promptly.
"I don't know," Somailia said, and her vision swam out of focus, but then reappeared in odd colors so Lily's skin was blue and her hair green.
"You don't know." Lily said, repeating her slowly.
"Yes I don't know!" Somailia snapped at her again, and Lily shifted away from her. "I can't see," she said slowly.
"How can you not see?"
"All the colors are blending together…" she squinted. "I won't be able to fly us to the Heads' room, because now not only am I a clumsy flyer but I can't see the right colors."
"That's just dandy," Lily huffed sarcastically. Somailia smiled slightly and bumped shoulders with Lily.
"When's the next full moon." Somailia asked stiffly.
"Two or so days," Lily said mournfully. Somailia sighed and put her head in her hands.
"I hate it for him." Somailia got up and wobbled up the stairs so that she burst out on top of the tower, spread her arms open wide and flung her head back to look at the sky. "I love the stars."
"You hate the moon but love the stars," Lily said, shutting the door behind her and leaning on the broomstick. "How? It's the same thing."
"No, it's not."
"Yes it is. The moon is a big block of cheese and whenever it gets full it hounds the hounds from hell and changes them and puts them inside humans where they change into the hounds of hell."
Somailia threw her a look. "That's not right." Before Lily got to retort, Somailia sped on, "Do you not remember the space race?"
Lily made a distinct noise that Somailia could easily identify as, "yeah right."
"But you're a muggle born! How could you not know?"
"I was nine, I didn't care. And I still don't care." Then she paused. "Can you see now?"
"Hazy, but yeah."
"How shitty is this going to be?"
"What the flying part or the you have to sit behind me part?"
"Both."
"Ahaha." Somailia laughed at her mockingly, and Lily picked the broom up and waved it threatening in front of Somailia's head. "If you do that," Somailia started smugly, "we'll still be in this bloody tower until I get my vision back!"
Lily looked at her for a moment before setting the broom down and sitting next to it. She muttered, "You suck."
"Thank you!" Somailia said sarcastically, "up!" she said to the broom loudly and it instantly got up to her height. She grabbed the handle and swung over, and looked at Lily impatiently. "Are you coming or what?"
Lily raised her hand lazily, and Somailia, grinned mischievously, grabbed her hand tightly and flew off the tower roof, Lily screaming all the way. "YOU SUNVA…. PUT ME DOWN!" Somailia, having her fun, landed on the roof, letting Lily clamber on the broom behind her, and then she flew down sharply, laughing as Lily screamed, jumping pitches.
"You know," Somailia said thoughtfully as they landed on the terrace outside James' bedroom, "I have never heard anyone jump that many pitches. Never!"
"Shut up," Lily said grumpily, rubbing her throat. "I've never jumped that many pitches before,"
"I bet you have," Somailia said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Lily made an offended noise and reached to punch Somailia in the nose. She ducked easily, sent Lily a cheeky grin, and then ran through James' room and down into the Common Room below.
Tuesday evening Sirius, forced, flooed into Hogsmeade, and then traveled up the passage from Honeydukes. He grumbled all the way, cursed as he hit his toe repeatedly on the walls, and when he finally exited the tunnel, cursed loudly, for as soon as he turned the corner he hit Snape head on. They both fell back, and Sirius jumped to his feet, and oddly enraged, started kicking Snape ferociously in the ribs.
Somailia walked down the halls of Hogwarts at six in the morning, whistling "Over the Rainbow," sadly, with her hands shoved deep into her robe pockets and fiddling with her wand nervously.
She stopped whistling and walked lighter, thinking she heard something. She did.
Snape screaming.
Sirius crying.
And bones breaking with the unbelievably gross sound of blood hitting the floor.
Pleasant, no?
"Sirius, you hit him one more time and I'll hit you so hard you'll meet your godson!" She snapped at him.
He looked at her with hollow eyes. "Good to see you, too."
"What are you doing?" She seethed, her teeth clenched, as she looked hard at the blood splattered on the wall and floor.
He looked nonchalantly at Snape, and then looked back at her and told her with a sad little smile, "Beating Snivellus to death. Why?"
"Because, Sirius, you might kill him, and that will land you in Azkaban. You don't want to go there, do you?"
"If I can see her when I dream, I will."
"You… I can't even say what I wish I could say to you right now." She said coldly, but walked up to Snape and bent down to look at him.
"I don't need you're help, mudblood."
She gave him a twisted, ruthless smile. "I'm not a mudblood," she said coldly, pulled back, and gave him a solid kick in the head.
"Nice," Sirius shouted, in the midst of Snape's screaming in pain.
"Oh, shut up," Somailia said looking at Snape with a withering look. But he kept on screaming, and she warned him, "Snape, if you keep screaming I'm really going to shove your head up your arse, so you actually know how it feels. How's that sound?" Snape stopped screaming, and grimaced as he looked himself over.
Somailia grinned and looked at Sirius. He swayed on his feet, and Snape moved himself away from Sirius, cursing and going delirious seeing his blood smeared on the stone floor.
"Why does everyone faint in this stupid castle?" She snapped again, came forward and reached an arm around Sirius' middle and got a good grip on him before half carrying half dragging Sirius to the Gryffindor Common Room, muttering, "you need to sleep, you nutter dog."
How right she was.
The nutter dog part, anyway.
Remus yawned as he woke up on the couch of the Heads' Common Room, listening to Lily and James bickering upstairs. There was a moment of silence, and then a groan that filled up all the rooms combined. He shuddered and blocked his ears.
"That's really gross," he muttered to himself, and he got up and ran out of the Common Room to Gryffindor Tower, and just as he reached the corridor for it, Sirius and Somailia appeared coming from a separate corridor. He galloped over to them.
"Sirius!" He said, coming up to them breathlessly, "Where were you? Potter house, right?" Sirius nodded wearily, and Somailia tugged on his arm and pulled him along. "What happened?" He said, looking at Sirius closely and noticing the rather large bump on his head.
"I knocked into a brick wall," Sirius replied in a stale voice, and Somailia just trudged along, occasionally giving Sirius a sharper tug on the arm to make him keep up.
And not sleep on his feet.
Somailia threw Remus a pleading look, one that she didn't give often. He came up quicker and wrapped an arm around Sirius' waist, and pulled him along faster so it ended up that his feet was dragging and Remus and Somailia were tugging him along.
"Snugduff," Remus said to the Fat Lady, and she, as always, gave Somailia the look that clearly said she didn't belong there, but Somailia ignored it and lugged Sirius in behind her. They then lugged Sirius up to the seventh year boys' dormitory, and tucked him in his bed, and he fell asleep just as Somailia shut the curtains to his bed. They looked at each other tiredly, Somailia squatting down near Sirius' bed to get his teddy bear that fell under his bed, and Remus standing near his bed, squirming and shifting uneasily.
She put the bear in Sirius' arms and he instantly grabbed it and pulled it against his chest with a gentle but close hold. She stood up slowly, and looked at Remus. He gave a small smile that looked like it tried to be better than it was, and she gave him the same smile back. He held out his arms to her invitingly, and she instantly ran into them, making him over balance and fall into his bed the curtains crashing behind them.
She whimpered into the curve of his neck, and he smoothed down her hair in a soothing manner. She cried loudly, and his shirt shoulder was soon smothered in her tears. "I don't- I want- it's just-," she muttered starts of sentences that she would never finish, and he just pet her hair and tried to calm her.
Her crying turned slowly to soft sniffles, and she wiped her eyes on his shirt. "Well," she said, moving so she and Remus were side by side on the small bed, "that feels better."
Remus knew that Somailia would never do something like that. But hey, her best friend just died.
Even if you were a tough girl, wouldn't you cry too?
And as she fell asleep, he started to cry.
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