I'll Fight For You
By Hazelmist/Summerskies
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the world. Yadda yadda, you know the deal. All the crazy characters are probably mine.
A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed!!!! I appreciate it, I hope you like this one too!
Chapter 4: It's Probably Nothing
I sigh, leaning my chin on my hand. Gracie and Sirius are sitting on either side of me. Sirius looks terrified and a little confused, and Grace looks like she's ready to explode. I can see that she's itching to tear Sirius to pieces. If it wasn't for the separation spell, that James and I cast on them, they'd probably still be running around the yard. Or Gracie might be blasting him to smithereens, beating him up, or torturing him slowly. I guess it depends on what kind of mood she's in. Remember what I said about Gracie being merciful? Well, just scratch that from the record. Grace Adams is not entirely herself today. You can't blame her though, after all her parents and her little brother just died.
I just wish she wouldn't take it out on poor Sirius. Yes, I'll admit that I'm actually feeling bad for the bloke that's so much like Potter that it's scary. You would be too if you saw the blazing anger in Gracie's eyes. She's eyeing Sirius as if he's some sort of prey. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she can't get her hands on the murderer so instead she's substituting Sirius.
Suddenly, Gracie makes a dive for Sirius. She cries out as her fist collides with the invisible wall. The wall's still vibrating from the impact of the force, five minutes later. Sirius trembles, looking pleadingly up at me.
"Uh, Lily? I don't mean to be a pain, but could you and James speed it up a bit?" he stammers, as Gracie studies the wall, no doubt looking for a way around it.
"I know Sirius we're trying," I assure him, nodding. Believe me, I understand. I've forgotten how mad Gracie can get sometimes. The last time she got like this we were Third Years. She went into a rage because a Slytherin nearly killed one of her team mates in one of the most dangerous, dirtiest Quidditch matches I've ever seen. I don't remember what happened to that Slytherin, that's what scares me.
"LILY!" Sirius yells.
Gracie has her wand out and is pointing it at the wall, but her wand flies into my hands before you can say Quidditch. That was a close one. I tuck the wand into my pocket and reach for the front door.
"I'm going to go tell James to hurry up. I'll be back in two seconds," I tell Sirius.
Sirius nods, never taking his eyes off maniac Gracie who's eyeing the wall again like a tiger ready to break free from a cage. Note to self: be extra nice to Sirius Black if he lives through this.
"James!" I walk inside and the screen door slams shut behind me.
"Are you ready yet?" I call. My voice echoes through the house.
"Almost!" James replies.
Almost isn't good enough. Gracie's ready to kill Sirius, and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to hold her off. It shouldn't take him this long to light a fire for us to floo out with. I've watched Gracie do it once, and it only took her less than a millisecond. Then again this is Potter we're talking about. The same person that thought it would be brilliant to become an Animagi. I'm glad he got rid of that idea.
I tip toe down the dark hallway, finally coming to a stop outside of the living room. The living room's pitch black except for a small sliver of moonlight, sliding in through the half open window. I hear something move and the back of James's head appears, as he moves closer to the fireplace and steps into the light.
Silently, I watch him, as he fiddles with his wand, muttering under his breath. The wand comes into view, as he points it at my fireplace. And now I know why it's taking James so long.
"James, you can't - STOP!"
BANG!
I couldn't reach him in time. The fireplace blows up again, the flames blazing for an instant and then disappearing as quickly as they appeared.
"Cool," James says.
James raises his wand, but I grab his arm before he can even think of doing that again.
"Are you trying to burn my parent's house down?" I hiss.
He actually has to think this over for a moment.
"Um, no?"
"Then cut it out Potter!" I let go of his arm, and flick the light on.
"Whoa!" James's jaw drops. "How did you do that?"
"Magic," I say, sarcastically.
"I've got to try that!" James pushes me out of the way in his haste to get to the light switch. He turns it on and gasps. Then he turns it off and gasps again. And then it goes on again. And off. And then on again. And then off. Faster and faster, the light's start to flicker, and all this time James looks as if classes have been canceled and instead have been replaced with a Quidditch match.
I hate to spoil the fun, but if we want to save Sirius, then we better hurry it up.
"Ahem," I clear my throat but James is having too much fun. It's sad how a wizard can be amused by something as simple as turning a light on an off in a muggle household. I cough loudly.
"AHEM!"
James stops.
"The fireplace," I remind him, pointing my wand at the fireplace.
"One floo fire coming right up!" James bounces over to the fireplace but I hold him back.
"You're not going to get anything done, if you're doing it that way."
James frowns and looks up at me, puzzled.
"Why not?" he asks.
"This is a muggle fireplace, it doesn't work the same way as a magical fireplace," I explain, slowly.
James accepts my answer and thankfully doesn't ask questions. I have the fire going before you can say "Quidditch". Gracie would've been proud.
"Go get Gracie and Sirius. I'll watch the fire," James says, eyeing the light switch when he thinks I'm not looking. I roll my eyes, hoping that he's not going to start an electrical fire. Just for future reference I am never leaving James alone with fire or a muggle device ever again.
I walk back to the front door. As I step outside I notice that there's something missing. I glance down at the front steps. Gracie and Sirius! They're gone…AGAIN.
"Not again!" I groan, slapping my forehead. How did I get stuck with the babysitting job? Why couldn't Potter do this?
Distant shouts travel to my ears. I turn my head, searching for them in the darkness. I see something move in my next door neighbor's yard, and I start running in the direction of their house. I arrive just in time to watch Gracie tackle Sirius to the ground. Stunned, I watch as she steals Sirius's wand from his hand and then sits up on his chest.
"That's it Black!" She points his own wand at him, ready to curse him into oblivion.
"Expelliarmus!" I shout.
Sirius's wand soars out of her hand, and I catch it in my own. Grace looks up at me, slightly surprised. The element of surprise works to my advantage and I pull her off of Sirius and to her feet. Sirius wastes no time getting up and running away in the opposite direction.
"Wait, Sirius! You have to come back!" I call, using his wand to point back at the house where James is waiting for us. Sirius reluctantly comes walking back, extra careful to give Grace a wide berth. I throw his wand to him, but unfortunately I do not play Quidditch and I am not gifted athletically. The wand falls short, and both Gracie and Sirius make a dive for it.
There's a brief scuffle, and I have to intervene with a little magic. In the end Sirius winds up with the wand and a black eye while Gracie winds up with James who appears out of nowhere.
"Where'd you come from?" I ask, surprised to see him.
"Where were you five minutes ago when your evil, conniving cousin decided to -"
Gracie flies out of James's arms and brings back her arm to punch Sirius before he can finish the sentence. Luckily James stops her by twisting the offending arm behind her back. Her free arm shoots out, and her hand grabs Sirius's ear in a death grip.
"What did I do to deserve this? You cruel - OOOOWWWW! I mean no - I only meant OOOOWWWWWWWW!" Sirius moans in pain, trying to push her away. Gracie refuses to let go, even after James and I try to intervene.
"Say it one more time Black and I'll rip this ear right off!" she snarls, her eyes flashing with raging anger. I've never seen her like this. Never. Not even when that Slytherin almost killed one of the Gryffindor chasers. I have to put a stop to this before she does something she'll regret.
"Gracie, let go of his ear," I say softly, trying and failing to remain calm. Gracie ignores me and Sirius yelps as her nails dig into the flesh and a small trickle of blood appears.
"Please," I beg, touching her arm gently and continuing in a soothing voice. "Please Gracie, just let go. Sirius isn't responsible for their deaths." I bite down on my lip, praying that she'll listen.
Gracie trembles and then slowly, she lets her hand fall.
For a moment she just stands there, unsure of what to do. Then she turns and runs to James. He receives her with open arms, pulling her to his chest, and letting her weep on his shoulder. I watch as he leans down and whispers some comforting words in her ear. Gracie shudders with a loud sob and buries her face into the front of his shirt.
I turn my back to them, giving them some privacy. Sirius's confused dark eyes meet mine, and then travel back to Gracie and James. He doesn't know, I realize.
"Come on," I say softly, grabbing his arm and gently pulling him toward the house.
Sirius keeps glancing over his shoulder as we walk back to the house. When at last we're out of hearing distance and seated on the front steps he tears his eyes away from them and looks at me.
"What the hell's wrong with her?" he asks, his eyes narrowing as if I'm in some way responsible for this.
"Don't look at me like that Black, I'd like to know what it was that you said or did to her that caused her to snap," I snap, glaring back at him.
Sirius and I glare at each other and then realize how ridiculous we're being and look away.
"I didn't do anything," Sirius explains. "All I did was floo to your house after I found out that was where James was. And then I saw Grace sleeping. So, I kind of - well, I sort of-"
I bury my face into my hands.
"Please tell me you didn't," I groan.
"Didn't what?" Sirius asks, innocently.
"Sneak up on her and wake her."
Sirius doesn't answer. When I look up at him, he's grinning guiltily.
"I might have," he admits as if suddenly recalling the memory.
"Sirius!" I hit him. That was probably one of the worst possible things he could have done. No wonder why Grace was acting like he was the murderer.
"How could you!"
I hit him a second time, effectively wiping the grin right off his face. He frowns and dodges out of the way before I can make it three.
"How was I supposed to know that she was on the verge of a nervous break down and had suddenly decided to kill everything that moves!" he snaps back at me.
"HER PARENTS DIED!" I shout.
Sirius's eyes widen. For a moment he seems to be in a state of shock and prepared to deny it. But then he turns around and looks at Grace and James clinging to each other in my next door neighbor's yard and his face crumbles. He stands up to go to Grace, but I pull him back down beside me.
"I think you've already done enough damage, don't you think?" I regret the harsh words almost instantly. It wasn't Sirius's fault. He didn't know. Now, he looks genuinely sorry sitting on the step beside me with his head in his hands.
Slowly, he lifts his head from his hands and looks in the direction of Grace and James.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asks, softly.
"It happened this morning just after Gracie and James arrived at my house. I didn't find out until the second letter came," I explain.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he apologizes with a shake of his head.
"Tell Gracie that," I reply, realizing that we're both in the same boat.
He's guilt ridden now. I can tell just by the way he continues to stare at Gracie and James that he's really feeling bad about what he did. Abruptly, he turns to me.
"Where's Chris?" he asks, referring to Gracie's little brother.
I open my mouth to tell him, but my tongue gets stuck. We had all known Chris. He'd been a first year last year. He was like a little brother to me. But Chris was always close to the Marauders. They had been training him to be a Marauder. I remember how much fun James, Remus, and particularly Sirius had teaching him everything they knew and allowing him to occasionally accompany them on their midnight strolls around the castle and their latest prank. I almost smile, recalling how furious Gracie had been when she learned of the Marauder's intentions for her brother. She tried to talk him out of it but Chris was so excited. When she realized that she couldn't persuade him to change his mind she blew up at the Marauders for corrupting her innocent little brother.
But now he'll never get to be a Marauder.
"Lily, where's Chris?" Sirius asks again, desperately.
I look at him sadly, trying to communicate the message silently with my eyes. Sirius though is one of those people that need to hear a confirmation. I struggle and do my best to keep my composure. Bravely, I manage to form the words and spit them out.
"He died too," I whisper.
Sirius swears loudly, ducking his head and covering it with his hands. I can hear him softly cursing under his breath, as he uselessly yanks at his black hair. I slump against the steps, dealing with my own pain and unsure of how to comfort Sirius.
Suddenly, he freezes.
"How'd it happen?" he asks in a muffled voice, from somewhere behind his black hair and hands.
"House attack… Murder." I'm having trouble stringing words together to form sentences, my head's still reeling hours after it happened.
"They were murdered?" His head pops up into view again and suddenly I'm looking into his sad dark eyes, shining with unshed tears.
I nod, afraid that I'll start crying again if I try to speak.
Sirius turns his head, a weird expression crossing his face. I study his profile and realize with a shock that Sirius Black is actually thinking. Odd, I've never seen Sirius think before. It scares me.
The reflective Sirius moment is short lived. Shortly afterward, his eyes dull and his head drops.
"I should've known." Sirius's head disappears again, his fingers once again ripping and tearing at his hair feverishly. I'm afraid he's going to pull it out. I watch him warily, wishing I could help him, but knowing that there's nothing I can do.
"I'm so stupid, so incredibly stupid,"
Never thought I'd hear Sirius Black admit the truth, but lo and behold there's a first time for everything. It's a shame, a real shame that Gracie's family had to die, I would have had so much blackmail the next time they try to prank us.
That is if things ever return to the way they used to be.
I turn and look for Grace and James and find them walking back to the house side by side. James has his arm flung around Gracie's shoulders, and Gracie's leaning into him, looking worn out. The tiger's escaped but it left an empty shell behind.
I nudge Sirius and we both look up.
No smiles, no greetings, not a word or a flicker of emotion passes between us. Sirius stares at Gracie, and Gracie refuses to look at anything except her sneakers. Sometime during this silent encounter James meets my eyes. His face doesn't move a muscle but I know exactly what's on his mind.
"Let's go," I say softly, touching Sirius's arm.
We get to our feet, and I open the door for them. Sirius goes in first, constantly glancing over his shoulder at Gracie. His face is impassive and pale, his mouth drawn into a tightlipped line, but his eyes betray him as they continue to wander back to Gracie. James and Gracie follow Sirius. James is supporting her, holding up her fragile body. Gracie looks like she's just been run over a train, twice and then fallen off her broomstick from 200 feet up. But of course there's never any blood or bruises. All of the pain is in her face and the look in her eyes. It's in the slow, sluggish, weary movements, the fatigue, and the way she's leaning on James for support. They're all symptoms of an internal injury, hidden from the naked eye, but that everyone is still aware of. In Gracie's case it's a bleeding heart, a fatal wound that will never completely heal.
James is the last of the three. He's the only thing that's holding Gracie up. Without him, I know she would collapse. But James hangs on, tenderly helping her through the door and into the living room, moving slowly and taking great care with each step. Our eyes meet once more and again I'm aware of our silent connection.
He turns and takes Gracie to the fireplace. I close the screen door behind me and then join them. After a brief search I locate the pouch of floo powder that James removed from his pocket earlier this morning when we originally thought we were going to Gracie's house. That's no longer an option.
I hand the pouch off to first Sirius and then to James, who takes enough for both him and Gracie. Sirius steps into the flickering emerald green flames first, and says something that I don't quite catch. He's gone before I can blink twice. James helps Gracie over, and starts to step into the fire.
"Wait!" I yell.
But James and Gracie disappear in a flash and a billow of smoke.
And suddenly I'm alone in my living room with my things for school, a blazing green fire, a nearly empty pouch of floo powder, and one horrible realization.
They left me.
I want to cry, this day just keeps getting better and better and it all began with me dreaming that I was dying. I wish I had kept my eyes closed and rolled over to watch my tragic end. I want to turn back time, wipe the slate clean, and get to Gracie's house to warn her parents before anything can happen to them. But even in the magical world it's impossible.
I drop onto the couch, clutching the pillow to my chest. You see I'm muggleborn, meaning I lived in a world where people do not travel by fireplace, or pop out of thin air for the first eleven years of my life. I've never traveled by floo powder in all my life, but I know from watching people, how it's done. But how do you get to their house? What stops you from landing in someone else's fireplace? Do I just go in there and shout James Potter's House? I recall vaguely a memory of Gracie flooing to her house, calling out a word or a name, "Glenwood". What word brings me to Potter's house? If I just say Glenwood would that do the trick? I'm so confused! What do I do now?
Pop.
I whip around at the sound of a noise behind me, but there's nothing there. I get up and go to the window, thinking that maybe one of my parents might be back. But when I pull back the curtain, the driveway's empty.
It must have been my imagination. I lay back down on the couch, curling up, and resting my head on the pillow. Why would they leave me? They must know I don't know how to get to their house, they must. Maybe they want some time with the family to grieve. Sirius is like family to them. Apparently, I'm not. I'm hurt by this, but Gracie's not exactly in a position to vouch for me, so perhaps it's better this way. I'll just meet them at Hogwarts on the 4th. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Wait! What about the funeral? Do wizards even have funerals?
Creak.
There it is again! The noise! I stop and hold my breath. I hear a second creak, and I wait for another. My heart's beating so loudly in my ears that I doubt I would be able to hear anything. So one minute, then two, then three, passes and I hear only my breathing. It's nothing to worry about because it was probably just the fridge, or um, I really don't have a clue. Maybe Shakespeare crashed into the window again! James might be trying to contact me! I almost jump up, to go check, but something makes me stay where I am.
Creak.
Did I just hear another creak? No, must be just me, hearing things. Funny, but I thought it sounded like someone was walking around upstairs making the floor boards creak. Obviously it was just my imagination. I swear I am getting so paranoid and jumpy after everything's that happened today. It's all Potter's fault. He left me here without saying a word, stranded me really. What a jerk.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
What is that? It's really starting to annoy me. Maybe I should go and investigate. Shakespeare might be lying unconscious in my room, seriously injured and desperately trying to get my attention. It's probably nothing.
That's when I hear it, the low murmur as if someone is speaking. Then there's a higher murmur as if it's a second voice answering the first. There's the creaking again, heading for the direction of the steps. It's probably nothing. I slowly get to my feet. But it's probably nothing. I tiptoe toward the doorway. It's probably nothing. My mind flashes back to what James said earlier.
"Lily your parents might be in danger if we stay here."
My hand goes to my pocket, and I take out my wand.
It's nothing. I'm just being paranoid, hearing sounds that only exist in my head. I creep out of the living room and into the hall. The hall's bathed in the faint light coming from the fireplace in the next room over. I use the eerie emerald light to guide me silently down the hall. Suddenly it goes out, and I'm stranded blindly in the darkness. Great, now I can't see anything.
I pause, and swallow hard, trying to rid myself of the fear that's taken possession of me. Just calm down. It's just your imagination so, just calm down.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart jumps into my mouth and I start to sweat. Someone's coming down the steps. No, two people are coming down my staircase. Oh, my god. I think about turning around and running in the opposite direction, flying back to the fireplace and flooing to "Glenwood", "Diagon Alley", anywhere but here. But then I think of my parents and what a coward I am. I force myself to move and take a tiny step. There's another pause and then I take another brave step. Baby steps. I'm a Gryffindor, I can do this. I stay with my back pressed against the wall, moving quietly toward the stairs.
"Did you check all the rooms?"
I freeze, that wasn't some voice in my head. There really is someone here.
"Yes, I did a double check of all the rooms after you went through them."
Two people! There are two men in my house!
"And?"
"They have to be downstairs."
They're searching for something, but for what…? Wait a second.
"Even if they didn't come here, the girl might be able to tell us where they are."
Me. They're looking for James, Gracie and me.
"Check all the rooms. We don't leave until this house has been searched from top to bottom."
They know I'm here. They're going to search the whole house. They're going to find me.
Damn it!
I wheel around, my first instinct to run back to the living room and leap into the fireplace. But a black cloaked, hooded figure blocks the living room doorway. I clasp a hand over my mouth, silencing a scream. My head grows faint and a shiver runs the length of my spine as a masked face glances in my direction. Then he disappears into the living room.
He didn't see me. I lower my hand and exhale. But they're going too. I'm shaking uncontrollably, sweating and getting dizzy. I close my eyes, take a breath, and then open them. They're going to find me if I stay here and even though I've never met these people in my entire life, I doubt that they're going to ask me to join them for tea when they find me. Not with that mask, not after what James said about the deaths and the Ministry break in.
I see a black shape flit through the doorway. Serial Killer #1 is still in the living room. Maybe I can make it to the back door. I start to tiptoe down the hall, Serial Killer #2 sweeps past me, and blocks my only hope at escaping.
Thanks a lot buddy! Now, I'm trapped.
I look left and Serial Killer #1 is there in the living room. I look right and there's Serial Killer #2 putting up a barrier, the same kind of barrier I used to separate Gracie and Sirius on the front stoop earlier. There's no way I can get to the backdoor, and besides I think my friend here has ESP because I hear him muttering the same spell, closing down another departure gate.
If I ever live through this I am going to personally make sure that my parents install at least three more exits in my house for my convenience, put hundreds of windows in the hall way, and force the Ministry to lower the Apparation age to 16 instead of 17. If I was just one year older, I could pop right out of here, but nooooo, I need to wait until I'm 17. I hate them.
"There was someone here!" Serial Killer #1 cackles in the living room. No kidding! Wow, I'm telling you, these guys are bright.
Serial Killer #2, just to show off and make my life a heck of a lot shorter, pops into the living room doorway, right smack dab in front of me. I almost have a heart attack, but his back is too me, and his big black hood blocks his friend from seeing me.
"Ah, yes, I see. There was someone here not too long ago." Geniuses, these guys must have been at the top of their class.
He glides into the living room, neither of them paying any heed to the hallway, and the girl they're looking for, only a few feet behind them. If they had just glanced in my direction they would have saw me raise my wand and mouth the spell that would bring them to their grave.
Yea, I wish. But unfortunately this is real life, not some muggle movie reel.
"Stupefy!"
Down Serial Killer #2 falls, face down on the carpeted floor of the hallway. SCORE! Gleefully, I raise my wand and prepare to stun my next victim.
"Stupefy!"
Serial Killer #1 ducks and dives under the coffee table. My victory dance will have to be postponed. I run to the living room, stopping in the doorway. I point my wand in the direction that he disappeared and fire as many stunning, disarming, hexes and curses that I know, but when I stop and turn on the lights. I realize that I've been damaging everything in the room except for Serial Killer #1.
Crap! Serial Killers or not, Mom's going to murder me when she sees this mess I've made of her parlor. Now, I really want to kill him. Where'd he go?
I move cautiously into the room, listening and watching the room for any sudden movement. It's a lot easier now that I can actually see where I am and what I'm doing, but Serial Killer #1 is still M.I.A. I think he got away. Coward! Go ahead and run like a baby to your mommy. Wait until she finds out you were beaten by a girl.
Well, at least he won't be coming ba-
Pop.
I whip around, and Serial Killer #1 grins and grabs me by the throat. Stupid Apparation! Why can't they change the age to 16? With his free hand he removes my wand, letting it fall to the floor with a clatter. Then he watches with pleasure as I gasp for breath, and claw at the strong hand cutting off my air supply.
"This is always the fun part," he cackles, his eyes gleaming from behind his mask with an insane light.
Um, I disagree.
I fight and struggle against him, but he just tightens his fingers around my fragile throat, squeezing the life out of me. No! My vision's blurring, tiny stars and silver bubbles popping before my fading eyes. NO! NO!
I can't die now, I'm still a virgin, I haven't even been kissed yet! You can't die before you have your first kiss. It's just not right! I think about telling him this, because I'm sure that once he hears this he'll let me live. Haha, what world do you live in Evans? Besides I can't say anything when I can't breathe.
Everything's hazy and grey, my body's gone numb.
Looks like I'm going to die without my kiss. I just wish that he wasn't the last thing I had to look at before I die. I mean, he's not attractive, at all. Merlin, couldn't you have spared me? I'd rather look at Petunia than this psychopath.
I see a weird flash of light and hear a voice shout something as my world goes silent and black. But now I hear an echo, a clamoring of voices from all directions. Green. Everything's green. Why?
A baby wails, and someone laughs sending chills down my spine. And everything's silent and still as if time has been frozen in a single photograph that I'm stuck inside of, tinted with a greenish hue, so unlike the color of my eyes.
I don't understand, it's as if I'm looking through two different set of eyes, responding to two different mind sets. Was this how James felt when the aliens inhabited his body? But why does it seem so familiar and yet so strange? Somewhere in the confusion of our thoughts I separate two similar ideas, the crying baby and…James?
A/N: Thank you for reviewing!!! Please review, I'd love to hear what you think and if you could help me improve my writing that would be great!
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