I don't know why you people think there's anything here
Teal Deer is a WiP 'cause is breaktiems. done
Perched on a fallen rock at the base of a higher pile to block the wind, Lily gazed out over the water. It was cold, and she was well bundled up - jeans, boots, gloves, a turtleneck under a sweater under an unzipped parka. Her eyes squinted against the muted glare of the sun, and she thought she should head in pretty soon. It was a bit of a walk back to the cabin she'd rented for the weekend.
Soon, though not just yet.
Her eyes drifted closed as her thoughts roamed again, drifting back through her past.
Sirius, stretched out across James' bed in his parents house. James, his head resting on Sirius' stomach as she wandered in, neither making any move to draw away from the other but instead, pulling her down with them. For a long while, it had been the three of them, like this. Close to a year, before things changed.
Before their world shattered.
______
It had been raining when James had come back in. "We've got to go," he'd said. Hazel eyes had been wild, haunted. "They're getting a place for us, Lils, he's after us."
She'd nearly asked he who, but the answer was clear enough. Who else could send James into this kind of a panic? She lifted her head from Sirius' chest, one arm curling protectively under her belly. "What?"
"Go, just go, get your things together, we've got to go."
Sirius had helped them pack.
It was one of the last time she'd seen him in person before she'd died.
______
"Because it's too obvious, mate," Sirius had protested. "They'll come right for me. Hell, I've been living with you for the past year. Of course they'll be after me."
He'd jerked his thumb then toward Peter, grey eyes gleaming confidently. "Now Wormtail? There's your best bet."
"Sirius, I really don't think --" but he'd cut her off. Stating that she'd never liked Peter to begin with. It was true, and she didn't argue, but she'd never been comfortable with Peter holding their lives in his hands. Never.
As it turned out, she'd had good reason ...
______
"James? James!"
"Lily, go, take him and --"
She didn't hear him cry out. She didn't hear him fall. Her world had simply become a flare of green light. She'd cried out and turned, and raced up the stairs toward Harry's crib. She had to protect him, had to save him.
"Stand aside ..."
The rest of the memory was lost in a blur. Had she begged? Had it hurt? Lily wiped her fingertips over her damp cheeks, flicking the tears onto the sand at the base of the rock.
Why didn't you...
I couldn't...
Had she had time to get away? To apparate somewhere else? To do anything besides stand there and die? She didn't think so. She must not have been able to.
A shout startled her, and her hand moved toward the pocket holding her wand ... but it was just a pair of teenage boys on the beach, closer to the water.
Well, no. Maybe they were closer to her own age. Harry's age. She studied them for a moment before deciding she really should head in. She rose, a gust of wind pushing her hood back to send her red hair dancing around her face and shoulders. The boys paused, and one of them whistled. Lily flushed slightly before she turned away to head back toward the sidewalk.
Kids these days ... she shook her head as she walked along. The sidewalk led to a dirt path, slightly muddy in the middle so she ventured toward the edge of it. She paused as she heard voices - someone unpacking a car at the cabin next to hers, apparently.
Fixing a smile in place, Lily stepped around the bend in the path.
"Vernon, really that's too much!"
Something about the voice was familiar to Lily. Incredibly familiar to her. Her heart thumped a little harder and she stopped walking to watch the woman and her husband.
"I've got it, Petunia. Don't you worry about it," the man continued.
Lily felt her knees quivering slightly and she reached out one hand to brace it against a tree. She swallowed hard a few times as she studied the woman. She hadn't aged well, though Lily supposed that to be fair it had been over twenty years since she'd seen her sister.
Her sister, who thought she was dead. Her sister, who didn't deserve the burden of learning otherwise. But they were between her and her cabin, and Lily knew she was sort of ... unmistakable as far as appearances went.
Maybe they wouldn't notice?
Doubting, but inclined to try all the same, Lily started to walk along the path toward the cabin.
"Oi, you there!"
Lily turned despite herself, certain the call was meant for her - but no, it was one of the boys from the beach. They must have taken a shorter route back up, and Lily's lips twitched into a faint smile.
"His name's Thomas, dad. Thomas. You know that."
"Right, right. Take that bag then, Thomas," Vernon directed.
Dad. So the porky boy then, that was Dudley. Her nephew. She couldn't help but watch on, curious - though Vernon caught her at it. "What're you looking at?" he said before he made a 'shoo' gesture with one hand.
Petunia turned to see who Vernon was talking to, and she froze. Her expression shifted in nearly slow motion to one of surprise, then shock, then confusion before settling back into shock.
Lily wondered what her own expression looked like. She knew her eyes were too-wide, and she knew she was staring. "Sorry," she said to Vernon. "Just admiring your family," she offered with a little smile before she started on toward her own cabin.
Petunia watched her go, staring after her. Had that been...?
It simply wasn't possible though. Was it?
_____________
The knock startled Lily, and for one heart-stopping moment, she thought - hoped - it might be Severus. She flushed at her thoughts, shaking them off as she pulled on a dressing gown over her nighty. Feet slipped into slippers as she moved to answer the door only after ensuring her wand was in her pocket.
She was startled into speechlessness when she saw who was on the other side of her door. "Petunia," she murmured before she stepped back and gestured her inside.
"So it is you then," the older woman murmured, her tone clipped. Her eyes flicked over Lily before she sniffed disapprovingly. "So you pretended to be dead all this time just to get out of raising your son? Must have been your lazy husband's idea."
"Yes, Petunia. That's exactly it. I faked my death - and James' - and managed not to age at all just so I wouldn't have to raise Harry."
"Well," Petunia snipped. "What other explanation is there?"
Lily shook her head, dropping her eyes briefly before she lifted them to search her sister's face. "I ... I was dead. And I came back. Just a couple of months ago. They don't know why it's happening, but ..."
"Came back," Petunia repeated. "Are you a zombie?"
Lily sort of stared, then nodded. "Yes. I think I'd like to eat your brains now, Tuney."
Petunia narrowed her eyes, then rolled them. "Well, how else do you--"
"I don't know," Lily cut her off. "They don't know why it's happening. I'm not the only one though. James is back, and Sirius. Remus, too. A lot of our friends from ... from the first war."
Sniffing again, the older woman crossed her arms over her chest as she regarded her sister. "So, did your fool of a son manage to survive the war? I won't even get into the hassle he put us through, that last year."
Lily did try not to smile, but it was tough. "He survived. He's working at the Ministry now, training as a Auror."
"Well, good." Petunia murmured before she uncrossed her arms, gazing at Lily. Her lips parted as if to say something else before she closed her mouth.
Lily waited patiently.
"Well, it's ... good to see you," Petunia said. "Does this mean I should put you back on the Christmas list?"
"Think it would raise a few too many questions, don't you?" Lily smiled softly before she shook her head. "Only if you want to, Tuney." Reaching out, she hugged her sister gently.
Tuney was startled, though after a moment, she returned the embrace fiercely. After a few moments, the women managed to part from one another. "I would've come by, but ... I wasn't sure. I ... you thought I was dead. It didn't seem right to ..." Lily shrugged.
"It's ... understandable. I'm sorry," she said quietly. "For everything. For all the times --"
"Shh." Lily shook her head. "It's past. It's all in the past. I'm not interested in holding old grudges. I'm here, and I'm alive, and it's a new start for me."
Petunia nodded. "I'll write you," she said. "Do you ... is there an address?"
Lily crossed to the parchment on her nightstand, tearing off a piece and penning down the Grimmauld address. She knew there were people in the post office that handled mail to magical residences, so she was sure any letter would find them.
Tuney took the paper, then gestured. "I should go, before Vernon wonders. If it's all the same, I'd rather not ... it'd be complicated ... they don't really ..."
"It's all right," Lily assured her.
Petunia offered her a stiff smile that twitched almost reluctantly into a softer, more genuine one. "I'll write you," she promised before she turned toward the door. "Goodnight, Lily."
"Goodnight, Petunia." Lily watched her go, then locked and warded the door behind her. A soft smile tugged lightly at her lips before she climbed into the bed. That had been ... interesting. Something to tell the boys, anyway. She'd have to let Harry know that Tuney had asked after him. He'd certainly get a giggle out of that.
Perched on a fallen rock at the base of a higher pile to block the wind, Lily gazed out over the water. It was cold, and she was well bundled up - jeans, boots, gloves, a turtleneck under a sweater under an unzipped parka. Her eyes squinted against the muted glare of the sun, and she thought she should head in pretty soon. It was a bit of a walk back to the cabin she'd rented for the weekend.
Soon, though not just yet.
Her eyes drifted closed as her thoughts roamed again, drifting back through her past.
Sirius, stretched out across James' bed in his parents house. James, his head resting on Sirius' stomach as she wandered in, neither making any move to draw away from the other but instead, pulling her down with them. For a long while, it had been the three of them, like this. Close to a year, before things changed.
Before their world shattered.
______
It had been raining when James had come back in. "We've got to go," he'd said. Hazel eyes had been wild, haunted. "They're getting a place for us, Lils, he's after us."
She'd nearly asked he who, but the answer was clear enough. Who else could send James into this kind of a panic? She lifted her head from Sirius' chest, one arm curling protectively under her belly. "What?"
"Go, just go, get your things together, we've got to go."
Sirius had helped them pack.
It was one of the last time she'd seen him in person before she'd died.
______
"Because it's too obvious, mate," Sirius had protested. "They'll come right for me. Hell, I've been living with you for the past year. Of course they'll be after me."
He'd jerked his thumb then toward Peter, grey eyes gleaming confidently. "Now Wormtail? There's your best bet."
"Sirius, I really don't think --" but he'd cut her off. Stating that she'd never liked Peter to begin with. It was true, and she didn't argue, but she'd never been comfortable with Peter holding their lives in his hands. Never.
As it turned out, she'd had good reason ...
______
"James? James!"
"Lily, go, take him and --"
She didn't hear him cry out. She didn't hear him fall. Her world had simply become a flare of green light. She'd cried out and turned, and raced up the stairs toward Harry's crib. She had to protect him, had to save him.
"Stand aside ..."
The rest of the memory was lost in a blur. Had she begged? Had it hurt? Lily wiped her fingertips over her damp cheeks, flicking the tears onto the sand at the base of the rock.
Why didn't you...
I couldn't...
Had she had time to get away? To apparate somewhere else? To do anything besides stand there and die? She didn't think so. She must not have been able to.
A shout startled her, and her hand moved toward the pocket holding her wand ... but it was just a pair of teenage boys on the beach, closer to the water.
Well, no. Maybe they were closer to her own age. Harry's age. She studied them for a moment before deciding she really should head in. She rose, a gust of wind pushing her hood back to send her red hair dancing around her face and shoulders. The boys paused, and one of them whistled. Lily flushed slightly before she turned away to head back toward the sidewalk.
Kids these days ... she shook her head as she walked along. The sidewalk led to a dirt path, slightly muddy in the middle so she ventured toward the edge of it. She paused as she heard voices - someone unpacking a car at the cabin next to hers, apparently.
Fixing a smile in place, Lily stepped around the bend in the path.
"Vernon, really that's too much!"
Something about the voice was familiar to Lily. Incredibly familiar to her. Her heart thumped a little harder and she stopped walking to watch the woman and her husband.
"I've got it, Petunia. Don't you worry about it," the man continued.
Lily felt her knees quivering slightly and she reached out one hand to brace it against a tree. She swallowed hard a few times as she studied the woman. She hadn't aged well, though Lily supposed that to be fair it had been over twenty years since she'd seen her sister.
Her sister, who thought she was dead. Her sister, who didn't deserve the burden of learning otherwise. But they were between her and her cabin, and Lily knew she was sort of ... unmistakable as far as appearances went.
Maybe they wouldn't notice?
Doubting, but inclined to try all the same, Lily started to walk along the path toward the cabin.
"Oi, you there!"
Lily turned despite herself, certain the call was meant for her - but no, it was one of the boys from the beach. They must have taken a shorter route back up, and Lily's lips twitched into a faint smile.
"His name's Thomas, dad. Thomas. You know that."
"Right, right. Take that bag then, Thomas," Vernon directed.
Dad. So the porky boy then, that was Dudley. Her nephew. She couldn't help but watch on, curious - though Vernon caught her at it. "What're you looking at?" he said before he made a 'shoo' gesture with one hand.
Petunia turned to see who Vernon was talking to, and she froze. Her expression shifted in nearly slow motion to one of surprise, then shock, then confusion before settling back into shock.
Lily wondered what her own expression looked like. She knew her eyes were too-wide, and she knew she was staring. "Sorry," she said to Vernon. "Just admiring your family," she offered with a little smile before she started on toward her own cabin.
Petunia watched her go, staring after her. Had that been...?
It simply wasn't possible though. Was it?
_____________
The knock startled Lily, and for one heart-stopping moment, she thought - hoped - it might be Severus. She flushed at her thoughts, shaking them off as she pulled on a dressing gown over her nighty. Feet slipped into slippers as she moved to answer the door only after ensuring her wand was in her pocket.
She was startled into speechlessness when she saw who was on the other side of her door. "Petunia," she murmured before she stepped back and gestured her inside.
"So it is you then," the older woman murmured, her tone clipped. Her eyes flicked over Lily before she sniffed disapprovingly. "So you pretended to be dead all this time just to get out of raising your son? Must have been your lazy husband's idea."
"Yes, Petunia. That's exactly it. I faked my death - and James' - and managed not to age at all just so I wouldn't have to raise Harry."
"Well," Petunia snipped. "What other explanation is there?"
Lily shook her head, dropping her eyes briefly before she lifted them to search her sister's face. "I ... I was dead. And I came back. Just a couple of months ago. They don't know why it's happening, but ..."
"Came back," Petunia repeated. "Are you a zombie?"
Lily sort of stared, then nodded. "Yes. I think I'd like to eat your brains now, Tuney."
Petunia narrowed her eyes, then rolled them. "Well, how else do you--"
"I don't know," Lily cut her off. "They don't know why it's happening. I'm not the only one though. James is back, and Sirius. Remus, too. A lot of our friends from ... from the first war."
Sniffing again, the older woman crossed her arms over her chest as she regarded her sister. "So, did your fool of a son manage to survive the war? I won't even get into the hassle he put us through, that last year."
Lily did try not to smile, but it was tough. "He survived. He's working at the Ministry now, training as a Auror."
"Well, good." Petunia murmured before she uncrossed her arms, gazing at Lily. Her lips parted as if to say something else before she closed her mouth.
Lily waited patiently.
"Well, it's ... good to see you," Petunia said. "Does this mean I should put you back on the Christmas list?"
"Think it would raise a few too many questions, don't you?" Lily smiled softly before she shook her head. "Only if you want to, Tuney." Reaching out, she hugged her sister gently.
Tuney was startled, though after a moment, she returned the embrace fiercely. After a few moments, the women managed to part from one another. "I would've come by, but ... I wasn't sure. I ... you thought I was dead. It didn't seem right to ..." Lily shrugged.
"It's ... understandable. I'm sorry," she said quietly. "For everything. For all the times --"
"Shh." Lily shook her head. "It's past. It's all in the past. I'm not interested in holding old grudges. I'm here, and I'm alive, and it's a new start for me."
Petunia nodded. "I'll write you," she said. "Do you ... is there an address?"
Lily crossed to the parchment on her nightstand, tearing off a piece and penning down the Grimmauld address. She knew there were people in the post office that handled mail to magical residences, so she was sure any letter would find them.
Tuney took the paper, then gestured. "I should go, before Vernon wonders. If it's all the same, I'd rather not ... it'd be complicated ... they don't really ..."
"It's all right," Lily assured her.
Petunia offered her a stiff smile that twitched almost reluctantly into a softer, more genuine one. "I'll write you," she promised before she turned toward the door. "Goodnight, Lily."
"Goodnight, Petunia." Lily watched her go, then locked and warded the door behind her. A soft smile tugged lightly at her lips before she climbed into the bed. That had been ... interesting. Something to tell the boys, anyway. She'd have to let Harry know that Tuney had asked after him. He'd certainly get a giggle out of that.