Unofficial Portkey Archive

I'll Fight For You

By Hazelmist/Summerskies

Disclaimer: I think my grammar explains everything, obviously I am not JK Rowling and therefore own nothing.

WARNING: This is a long chapter, so beware of someone addressed the fact that I opened my story with Lily dreaming of her death. It is cliche. The beginning of this chapter contains another seeming cliche as well so be warned. But I promise you that I have an original, perhaps insane but still unique, way to tie this all together.

Chapter Nine: Saving Grace

"Harry?"

The name falls from my lips, fear lacing every syllable. It sounds nothing like my own voice. Instead it seems smaller, childish, higher and foreign. I'm clinging to a blanket, Gryffindor red with tiny glittering snitches on it and I can't stop shaking.

"Harry?"

My heart speeds up, tears building up behind my eyes. I slide off the armchair, the same armchair that Gracie had been sitting in the day of the funeral. Climbing the stairs, I notice a pair of fluffy orange Chudley Cannon slippers that are entirely too big for my suddenly small feet.

"Harry?"

I start running when I reach the third floor. The slippers are too big and after tripping twice I leave them behind. Tears blind my vision and a mane of dark curling hair keeps falling in my eyes. But I don't stop, not until I reach the door to Harry's room.

"Harry!"

I grab the handle, and open the door.

But I'm not in Harry's room, I'm in the Adam's household now. I recognize the entrance immediately. There's Chris's sneakers and the quaffle that he was told to put away a thousand times. And there's Mark's muggle umbrella which he bought as a joke and the welcome mat that used to talk until everyone thought they were going to go mad, and someone finally disenchanted it.

"Hello?" My voice is now more mature and lower, but still sounding nothing like my own.

Where is everyone? Why is it so quiet? The hair's on the back of my neck prickle as I slide out of a pair of high heels and start to slowly make my way into the house. I pull my wand from my pocket, suddenly getting a very bad feeling about this.

"Mark? Chris? Gracie?"

Someone calls my name in reply, but it's distant and faint, barely audible. I grasp the wand tightly, my knuckles turning white. Breaking into a cold sweat, I tiptoe toward the kitchen door.

Merlin, tell me this isn't happening. Tell me the kitchen's empty, tell me I won't find-"

"STUPEFY!"

I duck, and cast up a powerful shield that I never knew I could do. Something grabs me from behind, lifting me to my feet. I watch my wand fall to the floor as if in slow motion. Someone leans close to me, their horrid breath on my cheek.

"Hello, Hope Adams."

Then they throw me against the glass cabinet. I hear it shatter and then I feel the pain.

"OW!" My eyes snap open as pain courses through my body. The light floods my eyes and I instantly close them. The only thing I remember was glass everywhere, the cabinet having shattered and the pain, oh the pain was unbearable!

"Evans, what are you doing on the ground?"

"Huh?"

I open my eyes and look up at Potter. Only then do I notice that I'm lying on my back, on the hardwood floor of the Potter's guest bedroom that I've been sleeping in for the past week. The pain fades away as I realize that it was only a nightmare. Shakily, I sit up half expecting to see shards of glass and fresh wounds.

Dazed and slightly confused, I allow James to help me back up onto the bed.

"Are you okay?" he asks softly, sitting down on the end of the bed beside me.

"I think so." I glance down at my body, running a hand over my arms and chest feeling for the invisible wounds that were so lifelike in my nightmare.

"What were you doing on the floor then?" he wonders, frowning.

"Um, I don't really know." I scratch my head, wondering how I got from my bed to the floor. "I had a nightmare and I must've fell out of bed or something," I guess.

I look at him. He's fully dressed and he has his wand and a …

"Is that a baseball bat?" I ask, my eyes widening at the muggle object in his left hand.

"Oh, is that what the muggles call it?" James asks, looking at the baseball bat with renewed curiosity.

"Yes, but what are you doing with one?"

"When I heard you scream and the bang, I grabbed the bat and came running. They're really useful you know. Mum's ex-boyfriend gave her one when they were dating, years and years ago, told her that all muggles have them and every wizard should have one on hand too. I don't know what's so great about them though," James says, holding it from the wrong end.

"That's because you're holding it wrong." I patiently correct his hands so that they're holding it properly, fully aware of how warm they are. "And to be honest with you James, a baseball bat, though it can be used as a weapon, is primarily used to hit base balls in a game called baseball."

"What's baseball?"

I'm not in the mood to play Muggle Studies teacher right now.

"It's a muggle sport but it's not really popular over here. It's more of an American thing."

"Oh." James notices that I'm not going to elaborate on this and gets up. "Didn't mean to intrude but Mom reckoned that she heard someone walking around the house last night."

"Did you explain to her who it was?" I ask, exasperatingly.

"I tried to, but she was a little distracted. She said that she'd been in Gracie's room loads of time to check on her and not once did she come across a six year old girl with cuts all over her," James replies, going for the door.

"Oh, and by the way Lily." He grins with a suggestive nod. "Nice pajamas."

I blush looking down at my green pajamas covered with prancing stags. But I sit up straighter with a confident smile and toss my hair that must look as if a bird made its nest in it.

"You're fan of stags too?" I tease.

"A huge fan," James responds with a laugh and a wink as if there's something more to this simple statement. He leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

You know it's funny, if something like this had happened last year or even last week I probably would've reacted in two ways. A. I would've killed him or B. I would've died of embarrassment then came back to life to haunt him for the rest of his life and eventually killed him. But things change. Maybe we're just getting older, or maybe we're just temporarily insane due to the traumatizing tragedy that struck this family.

But maybe, just maybe this is the beginning of something more.

*

"Well, well, well, Ms. Evans finally decided to grace us with her lovely presence." James looks up from the breakfast table with a grin as I enter the kitchen.

"I had to pack!" I explain, sitting down across from him.

"Sure you did," James says, sarcastically.

I stick my tongue out at him, and James's grin widens. I look around and realize that today we're not alone in the kitchen. In fact, everyone but Sirius and the mysterious six year old guest have joined us at the table. James' mom fills my plate with a smile and I thank her. At the end of the table, a man who bears an unmistakable resemblance to James sits, peering at me over the top of the Daily Prophet through messy brown hair and a pair of glasses. His father's been in and out of the house all week. James said that he works at the Ministry of Magic and they've needed everyone on board following the Adam's murder.

Finally, my gaze travels to the other end of the table where Grace sits, her elbow on the table, her face resting in her hand, and her fork idly moving back and forth across a full plate, but never going to her mouth.

Mrs. Potter takes her seat again, eyeing Grace with concern. She tries to hide it by striking up a conversation with James.

"Are you packed James?" she inquires of her son.

"Of course," James answers quickly, too quickly. Obviously he hasn't even started packing.

"Where's Sirius? Is he packed yet?"

James shrugs.

"He's probably still sleeping."

"Well then, go wake him up," Mrs. Potter orders. James rolls his eyes but gets up from his seat and takes his plate to the sink.

"We're leaving this house in twenty minutes and the train's not going to wait for you!" she calls after him.

"Yes, it will," James mutters under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear as he passes by.

Privately, I agree. The train left for Hogwarts the morning following the funeral, which was three days ago. Sirius, Gracie, James and I are taking a second train back today, so chances are we're going to be the only occupants. I don't say this to his mom of course, who's watching Gracie again with worry filled eyes.

The kitchen door opens, and in walks a fully dressed and extremely tired, Sirius Black.

"Oh, I just sent James up." Mrs. Potter gets up and goes toward the stove.

"He's packing," Sirius answers, confirming my suspicions about James.

"Funny, I thought he told me that he was done … Never mind. I'll get a plate for you Sirius, are you finished-"

"Yea, I'm finished packing," Sirius cuts Mrs. Potter off, taking James' former seat, beside Gracie.

At the sound of his voice, and the scraping of the chair beside her, Gracie suddenly looks up. Sirius turns his head and their eyes meet. I hold my breath. The memory of Gracie trying to mercilessly murder Sirius on my front lawn is still very fresh in my mind. But after a long agonizing moment of silence, Gracie lets her eyes drop back to her full plate a moment later. Sirius stares at her, but Gracie keeps her head down. Mrs. Potter returns with a plate, and puts it in front of Sirius, who reluctantly tears his eyes away from the girl and starts eating.

James' mom then sits back down, fussing over her silent niece.

"Gracie, why don't you just try to eat a little-"

"No, I'm full." Gracie glances at Sirius and then drops her fork.

"But you haven't touched your plate-"

"I said I'm full," Gracie repeats patiently and politely, standing up. She takes her dish to the sink, and leaves the room without another word.

I watch her exit the room, and listen as her footsteps fade. Turning back I notice that Sirius is still staring at the door that she disappeared through, an unexplainable expression on his face.

"Are you alright Sirius?" Mrs. Potter asks.

"I'm fine," Sirius replies. He blinks and then returns to stuffing his face as if nothing happened.

*

Exactly eighteen minutes later, the four of us stand on Platform nine and three quarters with James' dad, waiting for the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. Mr. Potter glances at his watch, a frown on his face.

"It should be here, Dumbledore said to board at eleven."

No sooner had he said this when the train suddenly materializes out of thin air. I'm not lying, one second it wasn't and the next, it was suddenly, well, there. James, Sirius and Gracie are completely unfazed, having lived in the wizarding world all their life. (Then again Gracie has been unfazed by just about everything.)

"James, Sirius, why don't you be gentlemen and help the ladies with their trunks?" Mr. Potter suggests with a wink in our direction.

My trunk of course, is safely stored in my pocket. James offers a hand, confusion clouding his face.

"Did you forget something?" he asks, looking behind me.

"Nope." I smile, and pat my pocket smugly.

James' face falls when he realizes that I just ruined the opportunity his father handed to him.

"Son, I'd like to talk to you for a minute." Mr. Potter takes his son by the arm and leads him to a spot further down the platform, out of hearing distance.

"I can carry it myself, thank you," Gracie hisses, when Sirius attempts to take her trunk. She drags it toward the train, obviously forgetting that she is a witch and her wand's probably in her pocket. Sirius and I look on warily as she struggles to lift it up the steps.

"Let me help you with that." Sirius tries again to help her, and this time Gracie drops it unexpectedly. She gives him a look that clearly says fine-have-it-your-way and climbs on board. He staggers under the weight, and I rush to help him with my wand in hand.

"Merlin, what does this girl pack, rocks? Dead bodies?" he grumbles as I relieve him of the trunk with a flick of my wand.

"Sirius!" I hit him upside the head. Glancing nervously toward the train I pray that Gracie didn't hear this ill comment.

Sirius holds his head, looking injured.

"I didn't mean that," he apologizes quietly, looking up helplessly.

Both of us turn toward the train and then finding no sign of Gracie, search for James. Surprisingly, James is looking right back at us. I raise my hand and give a tiny wave (to remind him to hurry up). James doesn't wave back, but continues to stare until his father suddenly turns him around, talking to him urgently. James frowns, looks at me over his father's shoulder and then as his father grabs his attention again, he shakes his head angrily and starts walking away.

"I better go find her." Sirius stands in the doorway, looking down at me.

"You go on, I'll wait for James," I find myself saying as I watch the silent father-son argument continue.

Sirius hesitates, glancing toward James and his Dad and then shrugs.

"Suit yourself." He slips inside the train, leaving me alone.

I wait by the train, secretly keeping an eye on James and his Dad. Again he looks at me, and this time I'm sure he's looking at me because I'm the only one here now that Sirius left. But why would he be looking at me during an argument? A few minutes later, James and his Dad part amicably, and Mr. Potter disappears in the blink of an eye. James comes walking back to me, breathing hard and still looking a bit mad.

I open my mouth, but James cuts me off with a small smile and a shake of his head.

"You wouldn't understand," he says as if reading my thoughts.

He climbs up the steps, and I place a hand on his shoulder (only to steady myself of course, those stairs are murder). James holds the door open for me, well not really, since it was already open, but it's the thought that counts, right?

"Thanks," I say, sarcastically.

"No problem." James grins.

Halfway down the train, a compartment door slams and someone shoots out. Sirius Black comes running to us, looking more excited than he has in weeks.

"Prongs! You'll never guess who I just found."

"Who?" James asks, puzzled.

As if in reply, the compartment door opens a second time and someone pokes their head out.

"Remus!" I gasp, recognizing the tall sandy haired Gryffindor.

"Moony!" James rushes forward to meet Remus, grabbing his outstretched hand and slapping him on the back heartily.

Sirius and James start talking excitedly at the same time, and Remus looks from one to the other, obviously used to this and easily following both conversations as they boil down to one. He looks happy, but tired. Oddly enough Remus always looks worn out. Perhaps it's because he actually pays attention in his classes and keeps his grades up (unlike the other two knuckleheads who stay up all night wreaking havoc and then sleep through their classes). It's really not that strange though, when you think about it. Poor Remus, as the only sane Marauder, has to keep Hogwarts biggest troublemakers in line, acting as a full time babysitter, making sure that they don't get expelled or blow themselves up. It's a miracle that he's not dead yet.

"Oh, hello Lily," Remus smiles, noticing that I've been standing here for the last ten minutes.

"Hello, how was your summer?" I inquire, politely. What I really want to ask him though is what are you doing here?

"It was alright. How was yours?"

"Okay." I glance involuntarily at James who immediately clears his throat.

"Er, so why don't we go find Gracie?" James suggests.

"Gracie's here too?" Remus asks, nervously.

"Of course, you didn't expect her to walk to Hogwarts, did you?" James scoffs, a touch of bitterness in his voice. Remus draws himself up, immediately on the defense.

"Look, Prongs, you know it was out of my control, I would've come-"

"I know Remus but she doesn't," James interrupts, softly.

"Oh." A strange look passes over Remus' face and if possible, he seems to have gone a paler shade.

"Know what?" I ask, curiously.

The boys pretend as if they don't hear me, but I know for a fact that James glanced in my direction. Whatever, it's not like they've kept secrets from me before, and besides I thought I promised to be less meddlesome this year. I can throw that resolution out, I haven't even gotten to Hogwarts and already I'm poking my nose where it shouldn't be. Then again, I think it was my best friend they were discussing and I have a right to that kind of information, right?

I start down the hall with the Three Musketeers whispering about something a good ways behind me. I open up the next compartment, empty again. I keep my eyes open half expecting a compartment door to fly open and the rest of the school to suddenly come racing out to greet me. But the train's only other occupant appears to be Remus. Why? I haven't the faintest clue. Maybe he decided to wait and join his friends or he couldn't trust them unchaperoned, fearing they might blow up the train. I suppose I should thank him for joining us.

I reach the end of the train and open up the last compartment. Gracie's back is to me, and her tall form is curled over her open trunk. I close the door, and she immediately slams the lid shut and whips around to face me.

"LILY!" she yells, clutching her chest.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I should've knocked," I apologize. Gracie looks as if she's on the verge of a heart attack.

"Knocking would be nice." Gracie sinks down on the trunk, catching her breath. A little color returns to her face, but the scared look remains. I cautiously step into the compartment. Slowly, I take a seat on the seat near her trunk.

"Sirius and James are coming…" I warn her so she won't die of heart failure when those two bumbling idiots arrive. An awkward silence fills the compartment, and I try desperately to make small talk. "Guess who's here?"

"Who?" Gracie's only half listening, she's not even looking at me. She keeps stealing glances at the door and at the trunk she's sitting on.

"Remus!" I wait for her reply. Surely she must know why he's here. Sirius and James certainly weren't questioning it.

"That's nice," Gracie says with a thin smile, but she's not listening. Something's distracting her, though I'm not quite sure what. Her fingers curl around the trunk, her eyes dart back and forth, and she's fidgeting.

"Gracie, why don't you sit down next to me? We can levitate your trunk-"

"NO!" Gracie screams as I reach for the trunk. I freeze when I see the look in her blue eyes. It's the same determination, that same vengeful look that I saw in her eyes the day that she threatened to kill Sirius Black. I pull my hand away, back up and sit down. Gracie's face flushes, and the light in her eyes dies.

"I mean no, I think it'll be fine here. I'm comfortable just sitting here, on my trunk, with my back to the window, facing the door. Yea, this is the best seat on the train." Gracie stops rambling, and sighs. The fidgeting stops as her eyes meet mine. "Lily, look, there's something I need to tell-"

The compartment door immediately slides open. Just my luck as usual. Gracie falls silent, as the three boys enter, all three laughing about some stupid joke. Noticing me and then Gracie, the laughter abruptly stops. I steal a frantic look at Gracie, but she's already closed herself off again.

Just when she was opening up, Potter and his two equally troublesome sidekicks come in and ruin everything.

Thanks a lot, Potter. I hope you're happy. I glare at him as he sits down beside me.

His brow wrinkles and he mouths, "What did I do?"

I shake my head, frustrated, and scoot as far away from him as the seat will allow. Unfortunately, Gracie doesn't take this too well. My elbow bumps into her shoulder and she jumps about a foot in the air with a startled yelp.

"I'm sorry!" I gasp, hoping she won't die on me or fly off the handle like she did with Sirius last week.

"It's okay, you only startled me," Gracie says, taking in the three other sets of eyes upon her. She hides the scared look, letting a blank, emotionless mask replace it as she sits back down again. She grabs the book that I was going to read out of my lap and opens it up. I know she's not reading because she just opened to the end, and Gracie Adams, though very bright, never, ever, reads for pleasure.

Five, ten, fifteen minutes pass in silence. This is going to be the longest train ride ever. First I get stuck next to Potter and now I can't even read since Gracie decided that my book was a perfect, not to mention completely obvious, shield. Not that I could get any reading done to begin with, it's so quiet in here that my ears are ringing. Finally, Gracie looks up again with a slight frown of annoyance.

"Stop staring at me!" she snaps at Remus and Sirius when she catches them both openly staring at her. James and I are being a little more discreet about it. Remus looks away blushing and ashamed of himself, but Sirius rolls his eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself," he mutters just loud enough for the blue eyed girl to hear. Slowly, the book lowers, and Gracie's face appears again.

"What did you just say?" she asks.

"You heard me." Sirius turns bravely toward Gracie, a slight smirk on his face.

"Then why haven't you stopped looking at me." There's an edge to Gracie's voice, a warning that the frown her mouth has twisted into is no longer a mere mask, but the real thing.

"I'm not looking at you. I'm looking out the window which you happen to be blocking," Sirius replies, smartly.

"Deal with it!" Gracie growls and returns to the book.

This would have been the end of it, if Sirius had just turned and stared at something else. But no, he sat there smirking with his eyes locked on Gracie. I give Gracie credit. She held her tongue and her temper back for at least five minutes, pretending that she couldn't see him behind my book.

"You're still staring." Gracie clears her throat, a warning, leveling look in her frosty blue eyes.

"Deal with it!" he mimics her.

I exchange a panicky look with James, wondering if Sirius has completely lost his marbles. Remus's jaw is hanging open, and he wasn't even there to witness the life and death wrestling match on my front yard.

"Stop it." Gracie is trying to keep her cool, I can see her struggling, fighting it down. The look is smoldering in her blue eyes, and again I try to shoot Sirius some sort of warning. Stop now, if you wish to see tomorrow.

"If I'm bothering you then why don't you move? There's plenty of space." Sirius moves over, practically shoving Remus off the seat. He pats the cleared seat beside him, and I watch Gracie stiffen.

"I don't want to move," she argues, her whole body tensing.

"Well, I want to look out the window," Sirius says, folding his arms over his chest, a sign that he's not going to back down or let her win. I start to get up with every intention of saving Sirius's life by physically dragging him out of the compartment and locking him in another one down the hall.

Unfortunately, James places a restraining hand on my shoulder, a rather strong one, and I can't move. I look up at him, wondering if he's lost his mind as well. He was there that day! But James has a strange look on his face as his eyes watch his cousin and his best friend carefully.

"Stop …being …so …childish!" Gracie stammers, her words barely formed as a result of the suppressed emotion.

"Me? I'm the one who's being childish?" Sirius laughs loudly, tossing his head back. "That's rich, you accuse me of being childish when you're the one who's hiding a little -" His eyes move to the trunk, and Gracie lunges at him before he can finish the sentence.

She tackles him, and the two roll off the seat and onto the floor with a loud thud. James, Remus and I scramble to our feet, our wands out. Gracie quickly rolls him off of her and sits up on his stomach. She pulls out her wand but the spell goes awry as Sirius grabs the wand. The two pull on it from opposite ends, engaging in a fierce tug of war. Gracie wins. She hits him over the head with it, and I have to admit I was half expecting it to snap in two.

Remus and I recover from the initial shock, and raise our wands.

"No!" James shouts, flinging out an arm to stop us.

"Are you insane?" I ask.

"Trust me," James pleads, looking at me. Naturally I melt beneath those gorgeous hazel eyes because even I'm not entirely immune to that look. Um, where did that come from? Moving on, Sirius and Gracie have entered round two of the boxing match.

Sirius blocks the offending arm, skillfully and the wand flies out of her hand, skittering across the floor. Remus picks it up, and James doesn't protest when he tucks it into his pocket. Now wandless, Gracie decides that her fist will serve as a sufficient weapon. She punches him in the face, but Sirius grabs her fist when she comes in for the second shot. Her other fist flies out, but Sirius squirms, and her fist connects with the floor of the compartment. Gracie swears, and Sirius takes advantage of this opportunity. He rolls, and uses his extra weight and strength to pin the struggling, flailing, angry girl to the floor. Gracie wriggles and curses, threatening Sirius with worse things than death.

"Ow, ow! Let go of me you imbecile! You're squishing me with your gigantic arse!"

James touches Sirius's shoulder and Sirius immediately lets go, unleashing the lioness. She sits up immediately, her hand moving to her hair. Then without warning she dives toward Sirius. This time Sirius is a little more prepared than he was the last time. He catches her, and she flails in his arms, hitting and punching his chest repeatedly.

"I hate you!" she yells.

But her strength wanes, and she's overcome with tears. She slumps against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Sirius (yea, Mr. Lady's Man) looks alarmed and uncomfortable by this sudden change of events (though we all knew that this was inevitably where it would end up). It's funny actually, because Sirius looks a bit…well…scared. James takes her gently from Sirius, and guides her out of the compartment, leaving Remus and I with an injured Sirius.

Remus is the first to speak. He lets his breath out in a rush with a low whistle.

"Wow! For a girl, Gracie can fight really well."

"Excuse me?" I ask, extremely offended by this attack on my gender.

"Oh well, you know, she's so skinny that you'd never expect her to have so much energy." Remus quickly covers himself. Good boy, now I won't have to give you my Elizabeth Stanton speech or hurt you.

"Yea, she gave me a bloody black eye!" Sirius moans.

"No, you gave yourself that black eye. Taunting her like that, what were you expecting? A snogging fest?" I snort.

"Smooth padfoot, that's real smooth. Excellent way to come onto a girl…" Remus snickers.

"Instead of a hickey, she left you with a shiner!" I giggle.

"True love," Remus sighs like a love sap.

"How romantic!" I swoon, and the two of us dissolve into a fit of laughter.

"You're just jealous of me," Sirius says smugly, running a hand through his now ruffled black hair. His fingertips brush over his injury, and he frowns and winces. "I mean how many good looking studs like me do you meet that had a wildly passionate, beautiful girl slug them in the face. Not many, am I right?"

"I guess so…"

"She was all over me!" Sirius continues, regaining his smirk.

"Okay Sirius, you go right ahead and think that…" I lean toward Remus and whisper. "I think she gave him a concussion."

Remus grins, silently agreeing with me.

"How hard did she hit you?" he teases his friend.

"Hard enough to leave a mark, that's going to last for at least a week." Sirius bites down on his lip, touching the spot gently.

"What were you thinking?" I ask, shaking my head.

"I wasn't. I just knew that…" He lapses into silence, his eyes hardening and growing distant. "You can't forget to feel. Sometimes pain is the only way to break the ice, to remember that we are human and we have emotions." His forehead creases, his eyes far away as if in his mind he's returned to another time.

"She'll be okay," he says slowly, his eyes gradually coming back into focus. "She's going to be okay," he repeats to himself, nodding.

And suddenly it some twisted, warped way Sirius's handling of Grace makes sense. At least now I know where he's coming from and that he hasn't lost his mind entirely. Though I still question his sanity on a regular basis I'm beginning to realize that Sirius might actually care for Grace a lot more than I ever suspected.

Remus reaches into his pocket and removes a handkerchief. I take it from him, and with a well placed charm, turn it into a make-shift ice pack. I give it to Sirius.

"Ow! That's cold!" he complains, immediately reverting back to his old self.

"Usually ice is…" Remus says dryly, and I roll my eyes.

Sirius sits nursing his injury until our "ice pack" abruptly transforms back into Remus's handkerchief a couple of minutes later.

"Thanks, so much," Sirius says sarcastically tossing the useless handkerchief back to Remus.

"Anytime." Remus replies, tucking it back into his pocket.

"I'm on the verge of death and all you give me is a defective handkerchief?" Sirius laments.

"Sorry to disappoint you Sirius, but you're not going to die anytime soon." I break the news to him.

"Darn!" he grumbles.

"I know believe me, you're not the only one who's disappointed."

The three of us turn around and find Gracie and James reentering the compartment, already in their robes. Gracie's hair is already back into place (I envy her) and there's hardly a scratch on her. Only the slight puffiness around her eyes indicates that anything happened.

"Come on Adams, I know you really want me!" Sirius grins.

"Yea, Sirius, I'm secretly in love with you." Gracie rolls her eyes, and takes a seat beside me as if nothing has happened.

"So, you couldn't resist? You just had to come back and have another go at me." Sirius leaps to his feet and puts up his fists.

"Er, no actually, I'm starving and we just saw the food cart."

"FOOD!" Sirius forgets Grace entirely and bolts out of the compartment in hot pursuit of the beloved cart.

"Come on, Gracie. I'll pay," James offers. Gracie hesitates, glancing at the trunk and then at Remus and I.

"Can you watch the stuff?" she asks nervously.

"Of course!"

"Sure!"

"We'll guard it with our life!" I grin and Remus nods over enthusiastically.

"Okay…thanks." Gracie follows James out, and the compartment door slides shut behind them.

Remus waits until the footsteps fade away and then gets up and checks the doorway.

"What's up, a potential robber already?" I ask, curiously.

He shakes his head and sits back down across from me.

"I've, well I, has -" he stammers to a halt reminding me that though he is a Marauder Remus Lupin, believe it or not, can be overly polite at times.

"Remus, spit it out." I interrupt.

"Is it just me or is Gracie acting strange?" he asks in a low voice.

"Remus, her family was murdered, I'd be worried if she wasn't acting strangely." I frown.

"I know, but it just seems like she's…" he trails off, unable to put into words what he wants to say.

"It's going to take some time for her to get over this," I say, softly.

Remus nods again, but frustration is still evident in his eyes as if there's something more that he wants to say but he can't quite put a finger on it.

"It sounds silly but after what Sirius said I think that she's hiding something - there it is again!" He stops in the middle of his sentence, frozen in place.

"What?" I ask, looking around but seeing nothing.

"You didn't hear it?" Remus asks, only mildly surprised.

"No." I frown, wondering how he can go around accusing Grace of being strange when he's the one that's hearing things.

"I've been hearing it ever since we got in here, but I can't place it." He closes his eyes, deep in concentration.

Did he just fall asleep? I know I'm not the most exciting person but I didn't realize I was that boring. I consider retrieving the book that Gracie was reading but suddenly Remus jerks awake and speaks.

"Listen, it's coming from - there!" Remus stands up, pointing at the trunk.

"What?" I ask. Alarmed by his expression I jump to my feet.

"That noise, it sounds like something's…breathing."

"Remus, what are you talking about? That's Gracie's trunk!" I break off because the trunk, is now moving. It's shaking, trembling, rocking back and forth as if it's…

"Oh my god it's alive!" I gasp.

"Get back Lily!" James orders, coming into the compartment.

Perfect timing, Potter. As always. He grabs my arm, and pulls me toward him. Remus scrambles to join us, and we huddle in the corner with our wands out.

"Should we attack it?" I ask. Spells, curses and hexes running through my head as I wonder what Gracie could possibly be keeping in her trunk that might attack us.

Wait, this is ridiculous. I'm about to do battle with my best friend's trunk!

"Why don't we just run?" Remus suggests, wisely.

"We're Gryffindors, mate, and besides it's can't be…that big…" James trails off as suddenly the trunk tips over and all of the contents spill out. Clothes, books, quidditch stuff, dung bombs (hey we're in the same house as the Marauders, even I keep a couple in my trunk) and everything else tumbles out onto the compartment floor. Nothing out of the ordinary; just a trunk that randomly exploded for no particular reason.

"That's it?" James asks, obviously anticipating something more exciting.

"I don't see anything breathing," I observe.

Remus gasps, and we fall silent. The pile trembles, and the clothes go flying. Something, or rather someone, that is very much alive and definitely breathing, sits in the midst of the chaotic mess, looking up at us through a scared pair of brown eyes.

James groans. Remus drops his wand, completely overwhelmed and beyond confused.

"Oh, no. Tell me Gracie didn't do what I think she did," I whisper, holding a hand over my eyes.

But she did.

"GRACEEEE!" The little girl suddenly untangles herself from the debris, and runs toward the sixteen year old that just entered. Gracie's jaw drops as the girl attaches herself to her legs. Quickly she scoops her up in a motherly hug. The terrified child wraps her frail, bony arms around Gracie's neck and immediately bursts into tears.

"It's alright, I'm here now," Gracie whispers, soothingly.

Remus coughs, clearing his throat meaningfully. Slowly, she turns to looks at the three of us, her mouth opening but no words coming out.

"I knew it." Sirius leans against the door post and shoots Grace a wide smirk that screams "I told you so". Gracie's eyes widen, shock flitting across her face as she holds the child protectively to her chest.

"How did you know?" she asks Sirius, fearfully.

"Know what? Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Remus asks, folding his arms over his chest with a frown.

"I think we'd all like an explanation," James says, softly.

Gracie tears her eyes from Sirius, and eyes us helplessly. She kisses the child's curling black hair, smoothing it with one hand. At last she sighs and sits down. She nods to Sirius.

"Shut the door."

*

"I had to do it, you see? I couldn't just leave her there. She lost everything, just like me." As Gracie finishes her tale, I look down at the mysterious girl now fast asleep in Gracie's lap.

"Grace, how do you know all this? From what you just told us, you have no idea who she is. You don't even know her name, do you?" James asks, running a hand through his hair.

Gracie doesn't say anything. Instead she fusses over the little girl in her lap, playing with her hair, and moving her gingerly into a more comfortable position.

"Gracie, she's a perfect stranger! I've never seen the kid in my life and she was found in my house," James continues, but Gracie meets his eyes fiercely.

"I know. Okay? I know! You don't have to tell me. Trust me on this one, she's lost, she needs someone to take care of her. I'm not sure how she ended up there, I just know that she needs me and I…I think I need her too." She whispers, bowing her head.

My heart breaks for both of them. Gracie's right of course. The little girl that I met in the hall was bleeding and screaming, begging for someone to comfort her. With Gracie mourning the loss of her family, it seemed inevitable that these two lost souls would meet up and find solace in each other.

"She can't stay here," Sirius says, gently.

"Why not?" Gracie asks, glaring at him. "Why can't she stay with me at Hogwarts? I'll take care of her. I will! There's plenty of food. And she can sleep in our dorm, right Lily?"

"Erm." I want to say yes, but of course I know that Sirius is right. I can't look Gracie in the eye. I turn my head painfully away.

"I can take care of her!" Gracie continues, her voice rising steadily. "I will take care of her! Nothing you can do can stop me. There's no rule against it!"

I can't look at her and neither can Remus. But James and Sirius stare her down. Gracie's rising voice falters weakly and finally fades under their unwavering glare.

"She has to go home, Gracie," Sirius whispers.

Gracie looks up at him, then down at the child in her lap.

"I know," she says, tearfully, "But where's home?"

Sirius closes his mouth, unable to answer her question. James on the other hand, looks up with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I think we might be able to arrange something…"

*

Wearily, we enter the castle. Gracie carries Angel, as we've taken to calling her, and the rest of us drag and levitate the trunks and owl cages.

"They're here! Peter, they're here!" My roommate's loud excited voice carries down the staircase long before her quick footsteps and familiar face follow. Tiffany Crowley grabs me, James, and Remus up in one huge bear hug (Ugh, my cheek touched Potter's, even if it was for a split second, that's just nasty, or nice, depending on how you look at it.) and then turns to do the same for Gracie and Sirius, but stops when she sees Gracie's precious package.

"Aww, Gracie who's this?" But before Gracie can even think of answering this question, she notices the resemblance and comes to the same conclusion I did, except I thought she was James's sister, not Gracie's. "Your little sister's so cute. How come I never knew you had a sister?"

"Because she doesn't have one." Sirius laughs ruffling the smaller girl's hair.

Tiffany scowls and hits him, making him pay dearly for this relapse. (Sirius and Tiffany used to date last year. Sirius apparently still finds it hilarious to ruffle Tiffany's hair, since she's a lot shorter than him.)

"Peter!" Tiffany bellows up the staircase, but Peter must have vanished. "Must've gone to get more food, he's worse than you Sirius! Sirius? Gracie? James? Lily? Hey! Where are you all going? You just got here!"

"We need to see Dumbledore, erm, because - because he told us to when we got here," I lie through my teeth, doing a horrible job of it judging by the way James is smirking at me and Sirius is snickering, not to mention the obviously unconvinced expression on Tiffany's face.

"Can you take our stuff up? Thanks that'd be great sweet heart!" Sirius grins, practically begging for another slap in the face. Which he would've gotten, if Remus hadn't moved behind Sirius at that very moment.

"Fine. Wait, you can't expect me to take up all of this stuff! PETER! Lazy, unreliable kid, never around when you actually need him. Where do you think you're going Lupin? Thanks for volunteering to help!" Tiffany grabs the back of Remus's robes, dragging him away. Remus shrugs helplessly, and obediently follows Tiffany over to the mess of trunks and cages.

"So…" I start once we're out of ear shot.

"So?" Sirius raises an eyebrow.

"Did you send them the letter?" I ask James.

James nods, and steals a look at Gracie.

"They're waiting for us inside Dumbledore's office."

Gracie nods, resting her chin on the top of Angel's hair.

An ancient statue of a gargoyle looms before us, growing larger with every step. Gracie starts dragging her feet, constantly glancing over her shoulder as if she's considering making a run for it. When we finally reach the statue it immediately springs aside, revealing a winding staircase and a strict looking woman dressed in emerald robes and a tall black witches's hat.

"Hello Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Ms. Evans, and Ms. Adams. Go on up, they've been waiting for over an hour." Professor McGonagall, our Transfiguration professor, steps aside letting Gracie go through first and then the rest of us.

The door to Dumbledore's office opens immediately, and an old man with long white hair, and an equally long beard greets us.

"Come in." He opens the door, exposing his office and the tired, anxious faces of Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"James!"

"Gracie!"

James's worried parents leap to their feet and run to embrace their son and niece. Both of them stop abruptly when they see what Gracie's holding.

"Is that -?"

"Who? What?"

The four of us exchange a glance, and I swear I would've been laughing right now at the look on his parent's face, but of course this isn't a laughing matter.

"I'll explain everything," Gracie says, sitting down in one of the chairs. Mr. and Mrs. Potter sit down in two chairs facing her and the three of us gather around behind her. McGonagall closes the door and Dumbledore takes a seat behind the desk.

Gracie takes a deep breath, and starts to tell the story all over again, from the very beginning right up until the train ride.

When she finally finishes, Heather and her husband are stunned.

"Who is she?" Heather asks at last.

"That's the thing, we don't really know," James replies, sharing a look with me. I bite back a smile remembering the guessing game that we played on the roof and the ridiculous theories that I enjoyed coming up with.

"But she - I mean you found her in our home?" James's Dad runs a hand through his hair, looking exactly like his son when he's confused or frustrated or god forbid, thinking!

Gracie nods.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter hold a whispered conversation, and Heather nods to her husband.

"Can we see her? Maybe one of the Aunts left her behind. Your Aunt Cecilia has what six kids now?"

"Eight, she just had twins." A shadow of a smile crosses Gracie's face as she says this.

"Oh, that's right. I don't want to wake her, but I might be able to place a name with the face since she certainly looks like she belongs in the family. Do you mind if I take a look?" Heather asks, hesitantly holding out her arms.

Gracie's reluctant to relinquish the child, but when their eyes meet those of Heather, she must have seen something that made her suddenly change her mind.

"You won't have to worry about waking her. We put her in an enchanted sleep," Gracie explains softly, as she gingerly transfers the child into Heather's waiting arms.

Heather's face softens, as she gently takes the child into her lap. She instantly switches into maternal mode, cradling the young girl, and cooing comforting, soothing words under her breath. Gracie lets her hands fall to her lap, and I place a hand on her shoulder.

I think that we made the right decision…

That is until, Heather suddenly gasps, stifling a scream. Gracie throws herself forward, but Heather pulls the child out of Gracie's reach and to her bosom. The child merely starts to snore softly, still wrapped up in an enchanted slumber, as Heather buries her face into the child's hair.

"Mom!" James and his Dad, both kneel down in front of Heather, alarmed and frightened. Heather lifts her head and I can see that there are tears in her eyes. She ignores James, grasping her husband's hand in her own.

"Look at her! Tell me, doesn't she look exactly like her?" she cries.

Gracie, Sirius and I crane our heads, attempting to move closer and see what they're talking about, but James stands up, blocking our view with his tall frame.

After another hushed conversation, Mr. Potter stands up and hugs his son and then turns to Gracie. Gracie peers around him, looking at her Aunt suspiciously.

"We'll take care of her Gracie, she's just… Well, you know she hasn't gotten over your mother's…"

"And neither have I," Gracie whispers.

Mr. Potter smiles sadly taking his niece's hands in his own. "Your mother was a wonderful woman, one of the kindest, strongest people I've ever met, and your father he was more of a brother than my own and your brother was like a son to me. I don't think any of us will fully get over their deaths. We were so lucky that we didn't lose you as well." He wraps his arms around Gracie, who weakly returns the hug.

"Don't worry about her, we'll find her parents and we'll bring her home." Her uncle releases her and gently guides her over to where the rest of us are standing.

"Take good care of them," he whispers to his son, handing Gracie to him. (I notice he said them not her.) James rests a hand on Gracie's shoulder, nodding. He leads her from the room, and I turn to look for Sirius, only to realize that he's already left.

"Hope!" Heather wails. "My god, I look into her face, and I see yours! What kind of games are you playing! Why are you torturing me? Why'd you leave me sister?" Her words trail off into incoherent mumblings between sobs. Professor McGonagall shoos me from the room, slamming the door shut behind me.

I dash down the staircase, my head spinning. The gargoyle jumps out of the way and I run to catch up with the others. But one look at Gracie's tear stained face, and James and Sirius's solemn warning glares and I close my mouth, deciding that now would not be the best time to bring up Gracie's mother and her alleged resemblance to the mysterious Angel girl.

*

I can't sleep.

Tonight, I made a shocking discovery. Tiffany Crowley actually sleeps. Unfortunately, I now know why Tiffany Crowley never goes to sleep until long after all of us have closed our eyes. Her snores are nothing worse than a chainsaw.

I throw off the covers and slip out of bed, immediately tripping over the trunk that I dropped beside my bed.

Ow!

How could I forget that the shrinking charm would've worn off by now? I'm so glad that no one's around to realize that one of the top students in their year is actually the biggest idiot.

"Lily?"

Never mind. I look up and find my best friend curled up on the windowsill.

"Sorry, I tripped over my trunk," I whisper apologetically, though it's not necessary with Tiffany over there making more noise than a freight train. I should be screaming to be heard over that racket.

"Oh," Gracie laughs weakly.

"I hope I didn't wake Alice up," I say, sarcastically.

A bomb could go off and our roommate Alice would probably sleep through it and we both know it. Gracie gives another weak laugh, this one feebler than the first.

"Couldn't sleep?" I ask, cautiously joining her on the windowsill.

"That's a dumb question, Lily," Gracie says, amusement flickering across her face for a fleeting moment.

"There are no dumb questions," I quote our corny Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Again Gracie smiles. Her smile fades though as she looks out the window, and once again she seems lost in her own little world.

I stare out the window, taking in the view of the Hogwarts grounds bathed in a waning moon. Oh, how I missed this place. As much as I enjoyed my parent's company over the past two months, and sleeping in my own bed, and not having Potter around, and not having to worry about something/someone blowing up at any second (courtesy of the Marauders), Hogwarts is without a doubt my first home. And Gracie, Alice, Tiffany, Frank, Remus, Sirius, and yes, I suppose Potter, are my family.

"Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you hadn't received that letter?" Gracie asks, softly.

At first I think she's referring to the letter I received a week ago, the letter James was supposed to receive, informing me of her parent's deaths. Then I realize that she's talking about the letter from Hogwarts that I got six years ago, revealing that I was not an ordinary muggle, but a witch.

"I think my life would have been extremely boring if I hadn't been invited here." I smile recalling several of the more genuinely funny and interesting pranks of the Marauders, and all the fun times that Gracie and I shared over the years here at Hogwarts.

"So, if you had the option to go back and do it all over again, you would still come here?"

"Yes! Getting away from my sister for three quarters of the year alone was tempting," I answer, immediately.

"Oh, Petunia, completely forgot about her. I guess you do have a point there," Gracie chuckles.

"See, you've only met her once and you agree with me entirely!"

The laugh quickly dies on Gracie's lips, and she turns away to look out the window. I look closely and notice that even in the light of a waning moon it's obvious that she's been crying.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't a witch," she whispers, picking up her wand and examining it closely.

"Why?"

How can she possibly say that? I look into her teary blue eyes and suddenly, it clicks. Chris and her parents.

"They'd be alive right now if we were muggles." She twirls her wand between her fingertips, watching it as if in a trance.

"Gracie, you know that's not true," I say, softly.

Gracie drops the wand, looking up at me.

"But it is, Lily! There would be none of these murders, none of this dark magic, none of the evil that's slowly consuming our world," she protests.

I shake my head.

"The muggle world isn't any different," I patiently explain to her. "Evil exists in all forms, in both worlds. You can go to the ends of the earth, fly out of this galaxy and it will probably still be there to greet you with a seductive smile." I smile sadly.

"It makes you wonder why we even bother living if there's no escape," Gracie laughs, bitterly.

"Someone has to create the good in the world, someone has to counteract and fight against that evil." I struggle to make sense of this, such a basic concept, but so difficult to explain.

"Daddy and Mommy were good people, they were fighting evil! And look what happened to them!" Gracie's voice cracks turning into a sob.

She presses her hand to her mouth, leaning back against the window with her eyes shut tightly. I start toward her, but Gracie pushes me away. She pulls herself together, and in a trembling voice continues to speak.

"She lost everything too, Lily. I just know it. I know it sounds silly, but I couldn't leave her. I didn't want to - I couldn't let her go."

"Oh, Gracie." Again I move toward her, and this time she lets me in. I draw her into my arms, and she cries on my shoulder.

"She'll be alright," I promise. "You know your Aunt and Uncle will take good care of her," I reassure her, rubbing her back.

"I know, but will I?" she asks me, sitting up and swiping at her streaming eyes.

I look at her closely, my best friend, the strong one, the pillar of strength that always held me up, brought to her knees, weak, helpless and defenseless with tears in her eyes again. She sniffs, giving me a watery smile. I've never seen her like this before, but I know, just by looking in my best friend's eyes, the girl that was more of a sister than the one that shares my blood, that she's going to be alright.

"You will be Gracie. You're strong," I tell her, honestly.

"I'm not so sure anymore," Gracie whispers.

"That's where I come in." I grin.

And finally, she smiles.

"I'll help you get back on your feet. I'm your best friend, it's like my job."

Gracie laughs.

"Thanks, Lily."

We hug in a sisterly fashion, and it feels almost like old times, almost. Gracie's laughing, the tears are drying and the color is receding from her blotchy tear stained face. She will be okay. She's always been strong, and even if she wasn't, I'm right behind her every step of the way.

"What are you two laughing about?" a voice asks, groggily.

Gracie and I jump. A half asleep, Tiffany, with bed head, stands yawning and rubbing her eyes. We'd been so caught up in talking and laughing that I didn't even notice that the snoring had stopped. Wow. How could I miss that? Guess we were having too much fun.

"Sorry Tiff, we didn't mean to interrupt your precious beauty sleep," I apologize with a grin.

"I don't need beauty sleep. I was born beautiful but you on the other hand…" She looks me up and down and I hit her and pretend to be offended. Tiffany laughs and shoves me, making room for herself on the windowsill beside me.

"Excuse me but who gave you permission to have a party without me! I think I'm going to have to have a very long chat with the two of you. This might require some food, preferably chocolate?" Tiffany grins.

"Too bad we don't have any," Gracie points out with a roll of her eyes.

"You jump to conclusions far too quickly my friend."

The three of us whirl around to find Alice standing there in her dressing robe, holding a Honeydukes bag. She sits down and tips it over, dumping the sugary amphibians onto the windowsill which is by now extremely crowded. Good thing none of us are claustrophobic.

"Mother of Merlin, Alice is actually awake! Call in the Aurors, something is terribly wrong!" Gracie mock faints, and Alice hits her looking only a little embarrassed.

"What is the cause of this phenomenon?" I gasp.

"Tiffany actually," Alice replies, glaring at the girl who innocently stares at the ceiling, whistling. "It's hard not to wake up when someone falls out of bed and then tries to get into your bed."

Gracie and I crack up laughing.

"I said I was sorry, I was half asleep!" Tiffany protests.

"I realize that, but you still woke me up!" Alice huffs.

"If I hadn't you would've missed out on the party of the century!"

"I am the party!" Alice snorts and takes a chocolate frog.

She used to be shy believe it or not. I swear! Then we, or rather loud, talkative Tiffany, corrupted her. Seriously, it was all Tiffany's fault! Gracie and I had nothing to do with it!

"What are we celebrating?" Alice asks me.

I exchange a quick look with Gracie, knowing full well that celebration wasn't exactly what we had in mind when we first started our little chat. Tiffany, probably suspecting it, and always the dramatic one in the group, immediately comes up with something fancy that sounds good, most of the time.

"A new beginning!"

"That's the sorriest excuse for a party that you've ever come up with," Alice laughs.

"You're right but at this hour the creative juices aren't exactly flowing, besides, since when do we need an excuse to party?" Tiffany asks.

"You have a point," I admit.

"I always do darling," Tiffany says in a conceited manner, imitating our final room mate, who's well, probably off in some guys bed.

But that's another story… It can wait.

Right now I'd like to thank the fates for giving me the greatest friends I could ask for. Tiffany and Alice haven't changed at all in the last three months and are cracking jokes and talking to Gracie and I as if the world hadn't crashed down around us last week. I missed the sound of Gracie's laugh, I missed Alice and Tiffany's friendly bantering, and I missed this, just the four of us girls, sitting around, eating chocolate and chatting about everything and nothing.

Bit by bit, the bricks are replaced, the world is slowly rebuilt. We can't bring Gracie's parents back or Chris, no matter how deep our friendship runs. They're beyond saving.

Gracie is not.

And so we spent hours, Alice, Tiffany and I, building up that illusion of the old world. And by the end of the night, I had pushed everything to the back of my mind and was aching all over from excessive dosages of laughter and smiles.

Gracie slept at last, soundly, without tears, without nightmares, and without Angel. Hogwarts provided a shelter from the evils of the past, present, and future.

For now…

A/N: I know the beginning was weird. I don't know why I wrote that dream thing, maybe I just wanted to write an action scene and it didn't fit in, or maybe I was trying to kind of foreshadow, or maybe I just wanted to throw in a cliche since I've been acting so uncharacteristically unique lately but it does pop up later and its not going to make sense but don't worry I dont expect you to understand until later, much later, when you will have probably forgotten. The girl's party was kind of cliche too but I wanted you to meet Alice and Tiffany again.

Anyway the next chapter takes place about 2 months in the future, in December, at Hogwarts with all of our favorite characters and the plot for the next 5 chapters or so will be making an appearance. Yay! I'll try to update within the week. Sorry for the wait!

-->