I probably should have waited before I posted this, as I have a terrible habit of giving up on a story half-way, but as I've never done more than one chapter of a serious Harry Potter fic, Ive decided to give it a lash.
I know some people will tell me that Lily and James are dead, as is Sirius, but this is fan fiction and I can do whatever I want! So ha! sticks out tongue But I did try to make it believable.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of his friends, enemies or acquaintances. Please do not sue me- I couldn’t think of an original disclaimer!
Prologue
It was quite disconcerting to wake up in a strange bed, alone, in a room that smelt like disinfectant and every bone in your body feeling like you had fallen off a fifty-foot building and been trampled on by a raging hippogriff. And that is exactly how Lily Potter did wake up. Her secondary senses kicked in before her brain did and a single breath told her she was in the hospital wing. Or perhaps St. Mungo’s, which she hoped she wasn’t in because then she could be seriously ill. Some tiny part of her would have screamed “Potter!” If she had been able to, as that was how she had become strangely accustomed to waking up in a hospital bed. So while her brain struggled to wake up and function, she tried desperately to digest this new information and surroundings. She could hear voices around her, and strange sounds, which were becoming more and more clear, until she could make out actual words.
“...Amazing!”
“A Miracle!”
“The Prophet’ll have a field day!”
“How will the Ministry answer for this?”
And then a loud voice boomed “Make way, make way for the Minister for Magic himself, Mr. Cornelius Fudge!”
Lily groaned and rolled over.
Not that plonker!
Wait, Minister for what? She knew for a fact that Fudge was Junior Minister for Magical Catastrophes. How long had she been asleep for? Not long enough for everyone to lose their minds and elect Fudge, surely!
“Quick, quick, Mrs .Potter’s waking up!”
A loud murmuring followed and Lily groaned. She blinked but quickly closed her eyes again- it was just too bright! Where the hell was James? Suddenly, without warning, a whirlpool of thoughts and memories shot through her.
James...Sirius...Peter...Voldemort...James...Dead...Harry...Protect...Wand... Sirius...Stone floor...Veil...Ow...
She sat up suddenly, gasping for air, body trembling violently. Gasps and clicks echoed through the room as she dissolved into anguished sobs.
They were dead.
Dead.
James...
Dead.
Harry...
Dead.
Sirius...
Dead.
Dead. Gone. Left. She felt a strong pair of arms wrap themselves around her weak frame and a familiar voice whispered softly into her ear. “It’s alright Lily. They’re alright.”
“Oh Remus,” she sobbed. “Oh God.”
“Sssh, don’t worry Lils, they’re alive.”
Alive.
Alive.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“But how?”
Remus was quiet for a minute but a sharp voice broke in. “Alright, everybody out! My patient needs rest, do you here? REST! Yes, you too Mulbern. Minister, are you questioning my nursing skills? I don’t care who you are, this is my hospital wing. Out! OUT!” A mad commotion followed and less than two seconds later the room was quiet except for a string of quiet curses erupting from the screaming woman’s mouth.
Remus, who was still embracing her whispered, “Open your eyes.”
He spoke as if he were expecting the worst.
She opened her eyes slowly, desperately trying to blink away the harsh light that stung her eyes. But when she saw Remus, she was sure she was hallucinating. His hair was still it’s original sandy brown, but now it was speckled with grey; his face held some wrinkles and worry lines and his eyes were old and wise, and full of tears. He was old! Not as old as Dumbledore or anything but still old, at least not 28. In fact, he looked twice his age. She was well aware that her mouth was hanging open but made no effort to close it, although when she tried to talk she didn’t seem to be able to form decipherable words either.
“Rem...you look...I...hair...grey...what?”
He grimaced.
“What’s happening? Where am I? How long have I been asleep for?” she burst out.
“Er, well, you see Lils; you’ve been gone an awful long time.”
“I know that!” she snapped. “It didn’t affect my brain though! And. I. Want. To. Know. What. Happened!”
“You’ve been gone a very long time.”
“Re-mus.” She drew out every syllable of his name, and he realised that as a warning sign.
“You won’t believe me,” he said with a sigh.
“Of course I will.”
He looked doubtful.
“I promised to believe every word you say! Scout’s Honour, well, Girl Guide’s Honour.”
“A what Honour?”
“Never mind,” she said quickly. “Just go on. You were about to tell me...”
“Oh, well, I, er.”
“Spit it out Remus. The last thing I remember is Lord Voldemort standing over me with his wand, and James gone...but you said they were all right, right?”
“Right. Before I tell you this Lils, you have to promise me not to interrupt me. At the end I’ll answer any questions. Okay?”
“You should have been a teacher,” she grumbled. He smiled and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, alright. I promise.”
“You died fifteen years ago.”
“What-”
“Voldemort. He killed you. Destroyed the house, and then he...” he trailed off and she knew he was thinking of her Baby Harry. “Possibly, no, the greatest tragedy to ever hit our world in the last twenty years! There’s not a witch or wizard who doesn’t know your names. And Sirius was sent to Azkaban for the betrayal and murder of the Potters, the murder of 12 muggles... And Peter.”
“But...but...”
He raised his hand to silence her. “I told you not to interrupt me. And yes, I know about Sirius, and Wormtail. If you must know he’s still alive. Working for Voldemort. Sirius escaped three years ago and found Peter living as a pet of one of Arthur Weasleys’ lads. I was teaching here at the time and found out the truth but Peter escaped, and the Sirius, but only by the skin of his teeth, might I add. Anyway, the next year Voldemort returned-”
“Returned?”
“And there was a bit of a battle between the Death Eaters and the Order in the Department of Mysteries-”
“I don’t see how-”
“Lily, please try and listen! So Sirius was fighting Bellatrix- you know her, his cousin- and she blasted him and he fell through the veil in the Death Chamber. But you see, bodies aren’t supposed to go through the veil, only spirits, so Dumbledore and I think that he grabbed onto you and James as he was going.”
“And Harry,” she prompted
“Er, no, not Harry.”
“But you said they were all alive. You lied to me!” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“No, no, no. I didn’t lie! I can’t lie, you know that!”
“But then how-”
He hurried to explain. “Harry didn’t come back through the veil because he never went through there in the first place.”
“What?”
“He never died, Lils.”
She stared at him, flabbergasted for a few minutes. Remus looked up from the creamy bed linen he had been staring at. His eyes showed a new kind of admiration for Lily, one that had never been seen before.
“You saved him Lily. You died for him, and so gave him life. And now he gets to share it with you,” he said quietly
She wanted to say something, but couldn’t express in words what she was feeling. The mad nurse bustled back in, carrying a steaming goblet of Sleeping Potion.
“Here you go, dear,” she said gently. “Drink it all. Would you like me to get a bed ready for you, Professor?”
“No thanks, Madam Pomfrey. I’ll go check on James and Sirius. Drink all that Lily, you’ll feel better. It’s a lot to take in I know. Don’t worry; everything’s going to be okay. I’ll wake you up when James or Sirius comes to.”
She smiled weakly and gulped down the potion, grimacing at it’s taste. It was only a few seconds before she felt a comforting darkness surround her and she fell into a blissful sleep.