A/N: Sorry it took so long. Writers block filled my month. Hope you like it! R/R!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Chapter 7
"And that's where I fell off of the swings when I was nine," I said, pointing to the small swing set in the park. I was showing James around the town of my childhood, where I had spent the most of my time. We were walking through the park, just talking about nonsense things. I grabbed his hand, and pulled him over to the large marry-go-round. We both sat down and started spinning ourselves around with our feet. I lay back onto the hard steel, and sighed. James and I had been out walking around all day, and now the stars were starting to come out. I smiled at their twinkling glow. They always made me feel better. The spinning had come to a stop, and James lay down on his side next to me.
"You're beautiful," he muttered quietly, and I could feel my face flush. I looked into his eyes, and almost gasped at the emotion they seemed to hold. He smiled at me, and leaned in closer. I knew he was going to kiss me, and my stomach plummeted. In seconds his lips were on mine, and he was kissing me softly. I slightly panicked, as I didn't know what to do, but slowly instincts came to me, and I was kissing him back. He pulled away from my pink lips, and smiled. He reached over, and took my hand. "Come on, your mum is probably waiting."
I sighed and nodded knowing he was right.
***
I climbed into my pink twin size bed, and curled up into a ball. Tomorrow was my father's funeral. I would give anything to have that over with. When I even thought about him, I felt as though my heart was being ripped to pieces by a paper shredder. I closed my eyes, and tried to sleep, but it seemed as though it would never come. I got out of my bed, and walked to my closet. Inside was a small box hidden in the corner. I pulled it out, and sat on the floor. Inside were all of the things that had ever meant something to me. My Hogwarts letter was sitting near the top, the emerald ink still shining. Lying under that was my art project from fifth grade, when we had to make something that reminded us of home. Mine was a badly shaped cat that was supposed to look like the kitten I used to have. Finally I found what I was looking for. It was a letter with the name Lily Evans scrawled untidily across. It was a letter my dad had sent me on my sixteenth birthday. My mum didn't know he sent it; it was meant for me.
My precious Lily today is your sixteenth birthday. I am writing this letter to you because I think every girl needs to know these things. You are the most beautiful flower in a garden of roses my dear Lily. You are my angel, my precious baby and now you're all grown up. Soon you will be out of school, and I won't even have the summers to look forward to. I'm so sad that I'm loosing my baby, but I know it must happen. I want you to know that you are the best daughter a father could ask for, and that no matter what happens, no matter where you go, I will always love you, and always be there for you.
Your Loving Father
I could feel the tears running down my face again. That was the last letter he had written me. He had been really busy with work until…
I wiped my eyes, and placed the letter back into the box. After I had placed it back in my closet, and shut the door, I walked over to my bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.
***
It was almost over. As much as I loved my father, I wanted nothing more than to leave, and get out of the scratchy black dress I was wearing. Finally the funeral was declared over, and I practically ran from the graveyard. James was right behind me, and we both walked to the park we were in the night before. It was about four in the afternoon, so the place was bustling with children who had already gotten home from school. We looked to each other, and decided that hanging around with a bunch of children wasn't our ideal plan for the day. We just started walking around different streets and talking.
"So, what do you plan to do after Hogwarts?" James asked me. I turned my face towards him, and replied, "Auror."
He nodded, and said, "I would have figured, I might, but I don't know yet really."
We had been walking for quite some time by then, and it was starting to get dark. I said to James, "We better get back to my place soon; my mum probably isn't doing to well." He nodded and looked to me.
"Where to captain?"
I looked around and pulled him down a nearby alleyway, which I knew would get us home faster. It was hard to see down the alley but I had traveled down it many times in my youth. But when I couldn't see anything anymore, I got scared. I could feel James tense up beside me, and heard him pull out his wand. Suddenly a feeling of dread and coldness washed over me. Running through my head like a horror movie, I could see vividly the day I almost died. There was a hooded figure standing over me with their wand outstretched to my neck. They were laughing manically, and seemed to be getting pleasure from the torture they were giving out freely. I was lying on the ground tied up and gagged, and was shivering with cold and twitching with pain. Just when the figure was about to kill me, someone appeared, and the wizard ran off. Then there was darkness.
***
I awoke lying on the couch in my living room. James was sitting in the chair next to me, starring at the wall.
"James," I managed to squeak out. His head snapped over to my shivering form. He got up, and crouched down next to my face. His eyes still had a faint taste of fear residing in them. "What happened?" I asked softly.
"There was a dementor. He came down the alley, and I got rid of it."
I made a face. "What's a dementor?" I asked. He looked at me quizzically, and replied, "Dementors are dark creatures that bring fear. They suck the happiness out of you, and leave you with your worst fears and memories. They guard the wizard prison Azkaban, so I don't know what one was doing out here, around muggles no less!"
I swallowed. If they aren't meant to be in the muggle world, what are the chances that the only two wizards in the town would run into one? Someone had to of sent it. "Voldemort," I whispered softly. His head snapped up and a look of realization crossed his face.
"How did you get rid of it James?" I asked.
"The Patronus charm. It makes a sort of dementor shield of happiness. I don't know how to describe it really. Listen, it has been a long night, and we have to leave tomorrow. You had better get to bed." I nodded, and slowly pulled myself off of the couch. I heard someone run op the stairs and a door shut, but I was too tired to think anything of it. James walked me up the stairs, and we stopped at my door. I kissed him quickly, and went to turn into my room, but James stopped me.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked quietly. I nodded. "What did you see when the dementor came?" I swallowed hard.
"When I was 14, I was kidnapped, tortured, and almost killed by Bellatrix Black. I would have died if Professor Dumbledore hadn't shown up. Nobody at the school knows about it." James' eyes had gotten big as he listened to me.
"Oh. Well that was unexpected," he said. I kissed him again, and told him not to worry about it, and to go to sleep. He walked into his room, and I walked into mine. I crawled under the covers, and hoped to get rid of the feeling of cold that was still lingering in me. I closed my eyes and instantly fell into a deep sleep. That night I dreamt of Bellatrix with her wand to my throat.
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