03.
Spreading Darkness continued...
Lily stared at the wall, rereading the message that James had just spoken aloud: "Mudbloods are no better than Muggles, and deserve the same punishment: a nice dose of Avada Kedavra." The message was definitely written in blood, and looked quite fresh. Lily's knees felt weak, but before she could crumble to the ground, James grabbed her and held her up. They both stared at the message as footsteps approached them. They turned around, James leading Lily since she was unable to really get anything through her head.
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood there, a calm expression on his face as he took in the scene. Class had started by then, and the corridor was completely empty except for the three of them. Even as Dumbledore read the message, his expression didn't change, although his eyes did narrow slightly and gain a hard edge to them. His stare moved down to Lily and James, silently taking them in. "What is going on here, may I ask?"
There wasn't any anger in his voice, or disappointment - there was only a question in it.
When Lily was unable to answer, James cleared his voice before replying. "Well, Professor, you see, we were heading to Charms class - we were a little late because we were still eating before realizing how late it had gotten - and we were walking when we saw the message and we stopped because it was a huge shock and then Lily seemed to be in a really big shock and I was trying to comfort her and we were staring at the message when we heard you come up behind us and we turned around and then... well, that's all."
Dumbledore let a little chuckle slip out at James' nervousness. "Thank for that detailed explanation, but take a breath next time."
James laughed nervously, and then glanced back at the message and seemed to sober up completely. He glanced down at Lily, who was starting to shiver now, and he clamped his arm around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze. Lily didn't glare at him or even react.
Dumbledore's face melted into concern. "Mr. Potter, maybe you should take Ms. Evans to the hospital wing before I speak to you."
James nodded, but Lily finally spoke. "No, I'm fine, Professor. If you want us to come to your office to talk, I'm happy to."
Dumbledore smiled and nodded, but the concern remained on his face as his gaze focused on her face. "Well, if that's the case, then let's go to my office and I'll send Mr. Filch to try and clean this up."
James nodded again and began following Dumbledore, leading Lily along with him. The three walked silently down the corridor, heading in the direction of the headmaster's office. They reached a huge golden statue of a bird which guarded the door to the office.
"Pumpkin Juice!" Dumbledore shouted, and the bird jumped aside and revealed a rotating staircase that led up into the ceiling. Dumbledore stepped on a step and James quickly pulled Lily along with him. Lily began to come out of the shock and stepped in front of him onto her own step, straightening her uniform and robe.
At the top of the stairs, they stepped into the office; James and Lily took in the sight of the office, which had remained unchanged since the last time they had been in there, which was recently in James' case. Dozens of interesting and unique instruments were scattered around the room, and the walls were covered with portraits of old professors who were staring intently at the arrivals. Lily felt blushing come to her face as she looked down at her simple shoes, wishing she were in Charms right now instead. She felt James grab her hand and give it a comforting squeeze. Lily gave him a small and quick smile before pulling her hand away and walking over to the chair that Dumbledore was indicating in front of his desk. James sat down next to her, glancing quickly at her before turning to their headmaster.
Dumbledore sat down before them, folding his fingers into a steep temple. His small glasses, newly acquired three years ago, were perched halfway up his previously-broken nose. His bright blue eyes seemed to hold more intelligence and humor than anyone else ever had, but right now they were full of seriousness. Lily wanted to slump down in her chair and go back to sleep - the day had been so much simpler when she was hiding underneath her pillow while Ivy tried to get her out of her bed.
"So, perhaps you could repeat your rushed tale from earlier, Mr. Potter?"
James nodded before repeating it, this time slower and with punctuation. Dumbledore nodded and murmured underneath his breath as he listened intently to the story, a wrinkle appearing on his forehead. When James finished, Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Thank you, Mr. Potter."
"Professor?"
Dumbledore and James looked at Lily, who was staring at Dumbledore.
"Yes, Ms. Evans?"
"Do you know who did this?"
Dumbledore smiled sadly. "No, Ms. Evans, I'm sorry, but I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
Lily couldn't help but notice that Dumbledore seemed to be hiding something, but she had a feeling that Dumbledore would have explained if it were really important.
"Professor, is there anything you can tell us? Not to be rude or anything, but as you can see, we're shaken up." James glanced at Lily out of the corner of his eye quickly before returning his gaze to their headmaster.
Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I suppose an explanation would help, but alas I know little more than you do." He paused before continuing. "As you probably already know, the wizarding world is undergoing a growing threat from a man many refer to as 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.' While I disagree that this man is too dangerous to refer to by name, I do admit that he is very dangerous and is a growing threat. He targets those of un-pure blood, such as you, Ms. Evans. He is out to get rid of all Muggleborns who have gone to Hogwarts and have honed their magical abilities and gone on to become great witches and wizards. He's rounding up followers, known as 'Death Eaters,' and he's likely behind the string of Muggle and Muggleborn disappearances, including the mother of one of our own students, which you've probably already heard about. There are many brave, amazing witches and wizards trying to stop Lord Voldemort and his followers, but it's a continuing battle. Until now, our school has remained completely safe and we haven't had any problems with him, but it seems that we have lost that safety. I wish I could reassure you that we will stop this new threat, but the truth is that we have no way of knowing until we are completely safe again. But I can reassure you two that we will try everything we can, and you shouldn't worry too much. Some of the greatest witches and wizards are employed in this castle and protect it with all their might. I can't give you any guarantees, except this one: we will do our very best to protect all the students in this school, and as long as we are alive, we will not leave our students unprotected and vulnerable."
James nodded and Lily attempted a small smile. She knew that this was the absolute truth, and probably the only adult who would even dare to tell them such a scary truth. It might not be exactly what she wanted to hear, but it certainly was what she needed to hear.
* * *
Lily walked down an empty corridor of Hogwarts, her wand outstretched in front of her with a little ball of light illuminating the foot of space in front of her. Her footsteps were quiet, but in the silence surrounding her it sounded like a bomb going off. It was cold, almost like she was walking through a refrigerator, and a translucent puff of air escaped from her open lips. Lily's eyes darted around as she looked from wall to wall, glancing at empty picture frames which normally contained chattering people and creatures. No one seemed to be anywhere near her, almost like the castle was completely empty. Lily rubbed her arms, which were covered in goosebumps and looked even paler next to the darkness of her surroundings.
A small whisper came from behind her, and as she spun around her wand went out and she was plunged into complete darkness. It was darker than anything she had ever experienced and her panic level immediately went up. Her breathing quickened and she began walking faster, away from the noise behind her. But then she heard another whisper of a noise, almost like cloth brushing against the stone floor beneath her own feet. She could swear she heard ragged breathing, but her own breathing drowned out the sound too much to know for sure. Every time she glanced back over her shoulder, she would see a glimpse of a shape but it would immediately disappear, almost like her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"Lily Evans..."
Lily gasped and stumbled at the sound of her name, which seemed to reverberate from wall to wall, all around her and yet nowhere. The voice was unknown, neither male nor female, without emotion or direction. She couldn't tell where it was coming from, but she knew that it was close, and was getting closer, as the end of her name reached her much faster. She tried to walk normally, but she kept breaking out into a running pace and would stumble over small things on the floor that she couldn't see.
"Lily Evans, are you ready...?"
This time Lily really did fall, scraping her knee against the rough stone. She cried out as she saw the sight of a small cut, a message from the nerve endings in her knee telling her that she was injured and it hurt. She glanced back, looking for the voice while she tried to get up. As soon as she was up she took off running, stumbling but staying upright. She ran faster than she ever had, her lungs burning and her stomach cramping up. She wanted to fall to the ground and sleep for years, but she knew that she had to keep going, she had to get away from whatever was following her.
"Are you ready, ready to die?"
Lily caught sight of a cloaked figure coming towards her, like the pictures she had seen of Dementors. She fell for again, this time hitting her head against the floor. She was slower getting up and when she glanced upward she was faced with the figure, who was slowly lowering itself to the ground, beginning to pull its cloak off of its head. "It's time, Lily Evans..."
As the figure came closer, Lily tried to look away but she felt like her head was being pulled back, back towards the face. She screamed, trying to stop it but the pull was too strong...
"Lily!"
Lily felt someone grabbing her shoulders and she screamed again, her eyes opening widely as she took in the sight of James, who was standing in front of her, a scared expression on his face. She tried to understand what was happening - hadn't she just been in a dark hallway, inches away from a cloaked figure. What was happening?
"Lily, are you okay?" James asked, concern mixing with the fear. He shook her slightly, looking into her eyes.
Lily glanced around; she was in her dormitory, the five beds spread out in a fan, her own bed next to one of the windows overlooking the school grounds. She was still in bed, her legs twisted in the sheets and comforter, her pillow on the floor. She was sitting upright, close to the edge, almost falling off. James was standing next to the bed, leaning down slightly to reach her shoulders and look her directly in the face. The room was, luckily, empty, but by the darkening of the sky, it looked like the school day was almost over and her fellow seventh year Gryffindors would be arriving sometime soon.
"Lily?" James asked again, this time with less fear and mostly concern. "Are you okay? Were you having a nightmare?"
Lily nodded slowly - that must have been it, she was having a nightmare. But it had seemed so real, a fact that scared her more than the actual nightmare itself. "Yes, it must have been a nightmare... A really strange, realistic nightmare..."
James slowly let go of her shoulders, lowering himself onto the bed next to her, picking up her pillow and placing it in her lap. "Are you sure that you're okay? You looked pretty freaked out there - I was worried you were having some sort of fit or something. When you started screaming I shook you to wake you up."
Lily nodded and looked down at her hands, which were folded across her pillow and shaking slightly. The dream had seemed so realistic, way too much to be a meaningless night vision.
"What was your dream about, anyway?" James asked, reaching for her shoulder gently and placing his arm reassuringly around it.
Lily sighed before speaking. "Well, I was in a deserted corridor, and it seemed like the entire school was empty. Someone or something was following me, and someone was asking if I was ready to die. Then I fell over and the thing caught up with me. I tried to turn away as it lowered itself down, but some sort of pull was forcing me to look at its face. I was about to see its face when you woke me up." She blushed slightly as she looked back at her hands. "Thanks for that, by the way. That dream really freaked me out - I'm glad to be awake now."
James nodded. "You seemed freaked out, that was for certain. Like I said, I was really worried."
Lily smiled at the show of concern. "How'd you even know I was up here?"
"Well, after we left Dumbledore's office, you just sort of disappeared. You didn't show up to any classes and Ivy didn't know where you were. I figured you just needed some space, time to think and be away from everyone. No one else would be in your room right now, so I guessed and got lucky."
"Wait a minute, how did you get up here?" She suddenly realized that he was here, in the girls' dormitory, which was completely off-limits to guys. There was a magical spell that kept all males from even climbing up the stairs, which would transform into a slide whenever a boy stepped on it. It wasn't possible that James could get up the stairs unless he knew a spell to reverse it or could somehow fly up it.
For one of the first times ever, James looked nervous and he bit his bottom lip. "Well, um, I... I have my ways."
Lily rolled her eyes, her mood improving as she returned to normal, minor irritation from James' vagueness mixing in with the happiness from seeing James squirm.
"And what ways are those?" Lily's left eyebrow rose, a slight smirk creeping onto her face.
"Nothing an innocent mind like yours needs to know," James replied, the cockiness returning to his attitude and a fellow smirk growing on his own face.
"Oh really? And why can't I know?" Lily stood up, crossing her arms across her chest as she looked down at James, for once having the advantage of being taller than him.
"You can't know because your naïve little mind shouldn't be clouded with such things like that. Besides, if you know all my tricks, then how can I continue to sneak up on you and make your life so damn interesting?"
"You think you make my life interesting? So using your little tricks are what keep my life from being a huge long string of mundane days that repeat the same boringness over and over again? I'm sorry that I haven't thanked you for that..."
"Well, now is the perfect time to thank me. I'm all yours," James said, stretching his arms out wide as the grin on his face grew. All he got in return was a pillow in his face. "Hey! What kind of thank you is that? I'm shocked that little Ms. Evans would treat someone who helped her like that!"
Lily scoffed. "Oh, shut up, Potter. If you'd rather I thanked you someway else, tell me and we'll see..."
"How about a kiss right here?" James tapped his lips, which were curled in a huge smile.
"And you really think I'm going to kiss you?"
"Fine, how about here?" James tapped his cheek instead.
Lily smirked and edged to his cheek, enjoying the look on his face, an expression of shock and joy. As her lips neared his cheek, she slowly grabbed another pillow and shoved it into his head, surprising him and knocking him to the side. "Hey! That's not very nice, Evans!"
Lily laughed and jumped away from him. "Well, you aren't a very nice person, Potter."
James grabbed his chest, as if in pain. "Low blow, Evans - you hit me in the heart! My heart is breaking from this horrible insult!"
"Maybe you'll be a pleasanter person with a broken heart."
Lily and James looked towards the door, where Ivy stood with a smirk on her face. "And what are you two little children doing, all alone up here?"
James jumped up and threw his arm around Lily's shoulder. "I was just cheering up Evans here."
Lily rolled her eyes and ducked out of his arm, moving over to her friend. "Thank you for saving me from Super Potter."
Ivy smirked at her friend. "I saved you, huh?" Then she turned to James. "And what are you doing up here in the girls' dormitory? Did you forget that you aren't allowed up here? And how did you get up here anyway?"
"Don't bother, Ive, he's not going to tell you - it's one of his little 'tricks.'"
Ivy nodded, "Ah, secretive little James Potter, too worldly to allow the rest of us in on life's secrets."
"Sorry, I really should be more a giver - I'm trying to work on it," James said, walking over to the door to stand by them.
Lily and Ivy nodded while rolling their eyes at each other, turning towards the door.
"Come on, Lily, let's leave this jerk and head downstairs," Ivy said as she walked through the door.
Lily followed her, heading down the stairs to the common room. James followed behind them, trying to annoy Lily some more.
As they entered the common room, Lily noticed that it was quieter than normal - people were in small clusters, talking amongst themselves and glancing around the room. The fire glowed just as brightly as ever, but this time no one sat in front of it. They seemed to be avoiding it and sticking to the wall closest to the dormitories, far away from the exit behind the portrait of the Fat Lady. There was an aura of fear throughout the room, and Lily immediately knew what they were talking about.
"When did everyone find out?" Lily didn't bother looking at Ivy while she asked, and Ivy didn't bother asking what she was talking about.
"Dumbledore told us at dinner, and that corridor is roped off - no one can get through. Our whole house had to go an alternate way to get back to the common room. No one knows what the message said, but we all know it has the professors worried, and the Slytherins seem to be ecstatic about it, which really screams 'bad' to the rest of us."
The Slytherins know? Lily thought, the statement sticking in her head but getting no answers.
Did that mean that a Slytherin was behind it, or one of them found out about it and spread it to the rest of the house?
James glanced at Lily with concern on his face, but Lily merely stared out the window, her mind spinning. She knew this had to mean something, but she just couldn't figure out what. Her mind was too sluggish, screwed up with that day's events and the quick change in mood from easy-going to worry.
The remaining Marauders came up to them, Sirius leading the trio, with Peter lagging behind him and Remus. "Was little James being a naughty boy and sneaking up to the girls' dormitory?"
Remus elbowed him, indicating James' expression of worry and Lily's contemplative expression.
Sirius shut up, but Peter, oblivious as always, laughed at Sirius's expression. "Can you sneak us up next time, James? I'd love to see what the girls' rooms look like!"
Sirius glanced back at Peter, who was wearing an expression of complete glee. "Wormtail, you are a complete idiot."
Peter looked completely confused, glancing from Sirius to James and back. "Wait, why are we being quiet?"
"Seriously, Wormtail, how are you going to operate in normal life when you don't have us around?"
Peter thought about the question before shrugging. Sirius rolled his eyes and turned back to his best friend, a questioning look on his handsome face. James shook his head and turned back to Lily.
The message was obviously anti-Muggleborns, which means, if it's from a student, then chances are it's a Slytherin, so it shouldn't be so surprising that they would know about it or one of them even did it. But it seems too evil, too dangerous to be written by a student. Of course, no one else could have done it, other than a teacher - no one else could get into the school unless Dumbledore let them in, and there was no way he would let someone in who would do something like that. This meant that it had to be someone from the inside, but that was too scary to think about. There has to be something else, something I'm missing, Lily thought to herself, continuing to stare out the window and ignoring her friends by her side.
"Is something wrong with Lily?" Peter asked, looking around at the guys and Ivy.
"Seriously, Wormtail. Shut. Up." Sirius didn't even bother looking at Wormtail when he said it.
"What did I say?" Peter asked Remus, who just sighed and turned to Lily.
"Are you alright, Lily? We heard about what happened," he asked, concern also in his voice.
Lily seemed to snap out of a trance as she looked Remus. "Oh, yeah, I'm alright, Remus. I was just... thinking."
"What were you thinking about, Lils?" Ivy asked.
"Oh, nothing." Lily said, trying to get the thoughts out of her head. "It was nothing."
Sirius and Peter nodded and headed to the fireplace, but Remus and Ivy gave her a long look before following them and James continued to stare at her. "What were you thinking about, Evans?"
Lily returned the stare, tilting her head slightly to the side. "It was nothing. Nothing at all."
James didn't turn away. "I don't believe you."
Lily nodded. "I know you don't." And she walked around James, heading back up to her room, not even glancing back at James as she walked away.
Lily stared at the wall, rereading the message that James had just spoken aloud: "Mudbloods are no better than Muggles, and deserve the same punishment: a nice dose of Avada Kedavra." The message was definitely written in blood, and looked quite fresh. Lily's knees felt weak, but before she could crumble to the ground, James grabbed her and held her up. They both stared at the message as footsteps approached them. They turned around, James leading Lily since she was unable to really get anything through her head.
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood there, a calm expression on his face as he took in the scene. Class had started by then, and the corridor was completely empty except for the three of them. Even as Dumbledore read the message, his expression didn't change, although his eyes did narrow slightly and gain a hard edge to them. His stare moved down to Lily and James, silently taking them in. "What is going on here, may I ask?"
There wasn't any anger in his voice, or disappointment - there was only a question in it.
When Lily was unable to answer, James cleared his voice before replying. "Well, Professor, you see, we were heading to Charms class - we were a little late because we were still eating before realizing how late it had gotten - and we were walking when we saw the message and we stopped because it was a huge shock and then Lily seemed to be in a really big shock and I was trying to comfort her and we were staring at the message when we heard you come up behind us and we turned around and then... well, that's all."
Dumbledore let a little chuckle slip out at James' nervousness. "Thank for that detailed explanation, but take a breath next time."
James laughed nervously, and then glanced back at the message and seemed to sober up completely. He glanced down at Lily, who was starting to shiver now, and he clamped his arm around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze. Lily didn't glare at him or even react.
Dumbledore's face melted into concern. "Mr. Potter, maybe you should take Ms. Evans to the hospital wing before I speak to you."
James nodded, but Lily finally spoke. "No, I'm fine, Professor. If you want us to come to your office to talk, I'm happy to."
Dumbledore smiled and nodded, but the concern remained on his face as his gaze focused on her face. "Well, if that's the case, then let's go to my office and I'll send Mr. Filch to try and clean this up."
James nodded again and began following Dumbledore, leading Lily along with him. The three walked silently down the corridor, heading in the direction of the headmaster's office. They reached a huge golden statue of a bird which guarded the door to the office.
"Pumpkin Juice!" Dumbledore shouted, and the bird jumped aside and revealed a rotating staircase that led up into the ceiling. Dumbledore stepped on a step and James quickly pulled Lily along with him. Lily began to come out of the shock and stepped in front of him onto her own step, straightening her uniform and robe.
At the top of the stairs, they stepped into the office; James and Lily took in the sight of the office, which had remained unchanged since the last time they had been in there, which was recently in James' case. Dozens of interesting and unique instruments were scattered around the room, and the walls were covered with portraits of old professors who were staring intently at the arrivals. Lily felt blushing come to her face as she looked down at her simple shoes, wishing she were in Charms right now instead. She felt James grab her hand and give it a comforting squeeze. Lily gave him a small and quick smile before pulling her hand away and walking over to the chair that Dumbledore was indicating in front of his desk. James sat down next to her, glancing quickly at her before turning to their headmaster.
Dumbledore sat down before them, folding his fingers into a steep temple. His small glasses, newly acquired three years ago, were perched halfway up his previously-broken nose. His bright blue eyes seemed to hold more intelligence and humor than anyone else ever had, but right now they were full of seriousness. Lily wanted to slump down in her chair and go back to sleep - the day had been so much simpler when she was hiding underneath her pillow while Ivy tried to get her out of her bed.
"So, perhaps you could repeat your rushed tale from earlier, Mr. Potter?"
James nodded before repeating it, this time slower and with punctuation. Dumbledore nodded and murmured underneath his breath as he listened intently to the story, a wrinkle appearing on his forehead. When James finished, Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Thank you, Mr. Potter."
"Professor?"
Dumbledore and James looked at Lily, who was staring at Dumbledore.
"Yes, Ms. Evans?"
"Do you know who did this?"
Dumbledore smiled sadly. "No, Ms. Evans, I'm sorry, but I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
Lily couldn't help but notice that Dumbledore seemed to be hiding something, but she had a feeling that Dumbledore would have explained if it were really important.
"Professor, is there anything you can tell us? Not to be rude or anything, but as you can see, we're shaken up." James glanced at Lily out of the corner of his eye quickly before returning his gaze to their headmaster.
Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I suppose an explanation would help, but alas I know little more than you do." He paused before continuing. "As you probably already know, the wizarding world is undergoing a growing threat from a man many refer to as 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.' While I disagree that this man is too dangerous to refer to by name, I do admit that he is very dangerous and is a growing threat. He targets those of un-pure blood, such as you, Ms. Evans. He is out to get rid of all Muggleborns who have gone to Hogwarts and have honed their magical abilities and gone on to become great witches and wizards. He's rounding up followers, known as 'Death Eaters,' and he's likely behind the string of Muggle and Muggleborn disappearances, including the mother of one of our own students, which you've probably already heard about. There are many brave, amazing witches and wizards trying to stop Lord Voldemort and his followers, but it's a continuing battle. Until now, our school has remained completely safe and we haven't had any problems with him, but it seems that we have lost that safety. I wish I could reassure you that we will stop this new threat, but the truth is that we have no way of knowing until we are completely safe again. But I can reassure you two that we will try everything we can, and you shouldn't worry too much. Some of the greatest witches and wizards are employed in this castle and protect it with all their might. I can't give you any guarantees, except this one: we will do our very best to protect all the students in this school, and as long as we are alive, we will not leave our students unprotected and vulnerable."
James nodded and Lily attempted a small smile. She knew that this was the absolute truth, and probably the only adult who would even dare to tell them such a scary truth. It might not be exactly what she wanted to hear, but it certainly was what she needed to hear.
* * *
Lily walked down an empty corridor of Hogwarts, her wand outstretched in front of her with a little ball of light illuminating the foot of space in front of her. Her footsteps were quiet, but in the silence surrounding her it sounded like a bomb going off. It was cold, almost like she was walking through a refrigerator, and a translucent puff of air escaped from her open lips. Lily's eyes darted around as she looked from wall to wall, glancing at empty picture frames which normally contained chattering people and creatures. No one seemed to be anywhere near her, almost like the castle was completely empty. Lily rubbed her arms, which were covered in goosebumps and looked even paler next to the darkness of her surroundings.
A small whisper came from behind her, and as she spun around her wand went out and she was plunged into complete darkness. It was darker than anything she had ever experienced and her panic level immediately went up. Her breathing quickened and she began walking faster, away from the noise behind her. But then she heard another whisper of a noise, almost like cloth brushing against the stone floor beneath her own feet. She could swear she heard ragged breathing, but her own breathing drowned out the sound too much to know for sure. Every time she glanced back over her shoulder, she would see a glimpse of a shape but it would immediately disappear, almost like her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"Lily Evans..."
Lily gasped and stumbled at the sound of her name, which seemed to reverberate from wall to wall, all around her and yet nowhere. The voice was unknown, neither male nor female, without emotion or direction. She couldn't tell where it was coming from, but she knew that it was close, and was getting closer, as the end of her name reached her much faster. She tried to walk normally, but she kept breaking out into a running pace and would stumble over small things on the floor that she couldn't see.
"Lily Evans, are you ready...?"
This time Lily really did fall, scraping her knee against the rough stone. She cried out as she saw the sight of a small cut, a message from the nerve endings in her knee telling her that she was injured and it hurt. She glanced back, looking for the voice while she tried to get up. As soon as she was up she took off running, stumbling but staying upright. She ran faster than she ever had, her lungs burning and her stomach cramping up. She wanted to fall to the ground and sleep for years, but she knew that she had to keep going, she had to get away from whatever was following her.
"Are you ready, ready to die?"
Lily caught sight of a cloaked figure coming towards her, like the pictures she had seen of Dementors. She fell for again, this time hitting her head against the floor. She was slower getting up and when she glanced upward she was faced with the figure, who was slowly lowering itself to the ground, beginning to pull its cloak off of its head. "It's time, Lily Evans..."
As the figure came closer, Lily tried to look away but she felt like her head was being pulled back, back towards the face. She screamed, trying to stop it but the pull was too strong...
"Lily!"
Lily felt someone grabbing her shoulders and she screamed again, her eyes opening widely as she took in the sight of James, who was standing in front of her, a scared expression on his face. She tried to understand what was happening - hadn't she just been in a dark hallway, inches away from a cloaked figure. What was happening?
"Lily, are you okay?" James asked, concern mixing with the fear. He shook her slightly, looking into her eyes.
Lily glanced around; she was in her dormitory, the five beds spread out in a fan, her own bed next to one of the windows overlooking the school grounds. She was still in bed, her legs twisted in the sheets and comforter, her pillow on the floor. She was sitting upright, close to the edge, almost falling off. James was standing next to the bed, leaning down slightly to reach her shoulders and look her directly in the face. The room was, luckily, empty, but by the darkening of the sky, it looked like the school day was almost over and her fellow seventh year Gryffindors would be arriving sometime soon.
"Lily?" James asked again, this time with less fear and mostly concern. "Are you okay? Were you having a nightmare?"
Lily nodded slowly - that must have been it, she was having a nightmare. But it had seemed so real, a fact that scared her more than the actual nightmare itself. "Yes, it must have been a nightmare... A really strange, realistic nightmare..."
James slowly let go of her shoulders, lowering himself onto the bed next to her, picking up her pillow and placing it in her lap. "Are you sure that you're okay? You looked pretty freaked out there - I was worried you were having some sort of fit or something. When you started screaming I shook you to wake you up."
Lily nodded and looked down at her hands, which were folded across her pillow and shaking slightly. The dream had seemed so realistic, way too much to be a meaningless night vision.
"What was your dream about, anyway?" James asked, reaching for her shoulder gently and placing his arm reassuringly around it.
Lily sighed before speaking. "Well, I was in a deserted corridor, and it seemed like the entire school was empty. Someone or something was following me, and someone was asking if I was ready to die. Then I fell over and the thing caught up with me. I tried to turn away as it lowered itself down, but some sort of pull was forcing me to look at its face. I was about to see its face when you woke me up." She blushed slightly as she looked back at her hands. "Thanks for that, by the way. That dream really freaked me out - I'm glad to be awake now."
James nodded. "You seemed freaked out, that was for certain. Like I said, I was really worried."
Lily smiled at the show of concern. "How'd you even know I was up here?"
"Well, after we left Dumbledore's office, you just sort of disappeared. You didn't show up to any classes and Ivy didn't know where you were. I figured you just needed some space, time to think and be away from everyone. No one else would be in your room right now, so I guessed and got lucky."
"Wait a minute, how did you get up here?" She suddenly realized that he was here, in the girls' dormitory, which was completely off-limits to guys. There was a magical spell that kept all males from even climbing up the stairs, which would transform into a slide whenever a boy stepped on it. It wasn't possible that James could get up the stairs unless he knew a spell to reverse it or could somehow fly up it.
For one of the first times ever, James looked nervous and he bit his bottom lip. "Well, um, I... I have my ways."
Lily rolled her eyes, her mood improving as she returned to normal, minor irritation from James' vagueness mixing in with the happiness from seeing James squirm.
"And what ways are those?" Lily's left eyebrow rose, a slight smirk creeping onto her face.
"Nothing an innocent mind like yours needs to know," James replied, the cockiness returning to his attitude and a fellow smirk growing on his own face.
"Oh really? And why can't I know?" Lily stood up, crossing her arms across her chest as she looked down at James, for once having the advantage of being taller than him.
"You can't know because your naïve little mind shouldn't be clouded with such things like that. Besides, if you know all my tricks, then how can I continue to sneak up on you and make your life so damn interesting?"
"You think you make my life interesting? So using your little tricks are what keep my life from being a huge long string of mundane days that repeat the same boringness over and over again? I'm sorry that I haven't thanked you for that..."
"Well, now is the perfect time to thank me. I'm all yours," James said, stretching his arms out wide as the grin on his face grew. All he got in return was a pillow in his face. "Hey! What kind of thank you is that? I'm shocked that little Ms. Evans would treat someone who helped her like that!"
Lily scoffed. "Oh, shut up, Potter. If you'd rather I thanked you someway else, tell me and we'll see..."
"How about a kiss right here?" James tapped his lips, which were curled in a huge smile.
"And you really think I'm going to kiss you?"
"Fine, how about here?" James tapped his cheek instead.
Lily smirked and edged to his cheek, enjoying the look on his face, an expression of shock and joy. As her lips neared his cheek, she slowly grabbed another pillow and shoved it into his head, surprising him and knocking him to the side. "Hey! That's not very nice, Evans!"
Lily laughed and jumped away from him. "Well, you aren't a very nice person, Potter."
James grabbed his chest, as if in pain. "Low blow, Evans - you hit me in the heart! My heart is breaking from this horrible insult!"
"Maybe you'll be a pleasanter person with a broken heart."
Lily and James looked towards the door, where Ivy stood with a smirk on her face. "And what are you two little children doing, all alone up here?"
James jumped up and threw his arm around Lily's shoulder. "I was just cheering up Evans here."
Lily rolled her eyes and ducked out of his arm, moving over to her friend. "Thank you for saving me from Super Potter."
Ivy smirked at her friend. "I saved you, huh?" Then she turned to James. "And what are you doing up here in the girls' dormitory? Did you forget that you aren't allowed up here? And how did you get up here anyway?"
"Don't bother, Ive, he's not going to tell you - it's one of his little 'tricks.'"
Ivy nodded, "Ah, secretive little James Potter, too worldly to allow the rest of us in on life's secrets."
"Sorry, I really should be more a giver - I'm trying to work on it," James said, walking over to the door to stand by them.
Lily and Ivy nodded while rolling their eyes at each other, turning towards the door.
"Come on, Lily, let's leave this jerk and head downstairs," Ivy said as she walked through the door.
Lily followed her, heading down the stairs to the common room. James followed behind them, trying to annoy Lily some more.
As they entered the common room, Lily noticed that it was quieter than normal - people were in small clusters, talking amongst themselves and glancing around the room. The fire glowed just as brightly as ever, but this time no one sat in front of it. They seemed to be avoiding it and sticking to the wall closest to the dormitories, far away from the exit behind the portrait of the Fat Lady. There was an aura of fear throughout the room, and Lily immediately knew what they were talking about.
"When did everyone find out?" Lily didn't bother looking at Ivy while she asked, and Ivy didn't bother asking what she was talking about.
"Dumbledore told us at dinner, and that corridor is roped off - no one can get through. Our whole house had to go an alternate way to get back to the common room. No one knows what the message said, but we all know it has the professors worried, and the Slytherins seem to be ecstatic about it, which really screams 'bad' to the rest of us."
The Slytherins know? Lily thought, the statement sticking in her head but getting no answers.
Did that mean that a Slytherin was behind it, or one of them found out about it and spread it to the rest of the house?
James glanced at Lily with concern on his face, but Lily merely stared out the window, her mind spinning. She knew this had to mean something, but she just couldn't figure out what. Her mind was too sluggish, screwed up with that day's events and the quick change in mood from easy-going to worry.
The remaining Marauders came up to them, Sirius leading the trio, with Peter lagging behind him and Remus. "Was little James being a naughty boy and sneaking up to the girls' dormitory?"
Remus elbowed him, indicating James' expression of worry and Lily's contemplative expression.
Sirius shut up, but Peter, oblivious as always, laughed at Sirius's expression. "Can you sneak us up next time, James? I'd love to see what the girls' rooms look like!"
Sirius glanced back at Peter, who was wearing an expression of complete glee. "Wormtail, you are a complete idiot."
Peter looked completely confused, glancing from Sirius to James and back. "Wait, why are we being quiet?"
"Seriously, Wormtail, how are you going to operate in normal life when you don't have us around?"
Peter thought about the question before shrugging. Sirius rolled his eyes and turned back to his best friend, a questioning look on his handsome face. James shook his head and turned back to Lily.
The message was obviously anti-Muggleborns, which means, if it's from a student, then chances are it's a Slytherin, so it shouldn't be so surprising that they would know about it or one of them even did it. But it seems too evil, too dangerous to be written by a student. Of course, no one else could have done it, other than a teacher - no one else could get into the school unless Dumbledore let them in, and there was no way he would let someone in who would do something like that. This meant that it had to be someone from the inside, but that was too scary to think about. There has to be something else, something I'm missing, Lily thought to herself, continuing to stare out the window and ignoring her friends by her side.
"Is something wrong with Lily?" Peter asked, looking around at the guys and Ivy.
"Seriously, Wormtail. Shut. Up." Sirius didn't even bother looking at Wormtail when he said it.
"What did I say?" Peter asked Remus, who just sighed and turned to Lily.
"Are you alright, Lily? We heard about what happened," he asked, concern also in his voice.
Lily seemed to snap out of a trance as she looked Remus. "Oh, yeah, I'm alright, Remus. I was just... thinking."
"What were you thinking about, Lils?" Ivy asked.
"Oh, nothing." Lily said, trying to get the thoughts out of her head. "It was nothing."
Sirius and Peter nodded and headed to the fireplace, but Remus and Ivy gave her a long look before following them and James continued to stare at her. "What were you thinking about, Evans?"
Lily returned the stare, tilting her head slightly to the side. "It was nothing. Nothing at all."
James didn't turn away. "I don't believe you."
Lily nodded. "I know you don't." And she walked around James, heading back up to her room, not even glancing back at James as she walked away.