Echoes

By Princess Kate

Lily sat alone in the Gryffindor common room, dark and deserted and cold, long after she should of been in bed. But a kind of odd foreboding filled her mind, and no matter how she tried she could not shake it off. And there was nothing she hated more than lying awake in bed, completely aware that sleep, if it came at all, would be long in coming- except for maybe the sound of four others peacefully indulging in what, for tonight, she could not have.

She allowed herself a small sigh and leaned furthur back into her favourite chair, hoping despertly she didn't get caught up.

Why couldn't she allow herself to go to sleep? Physically, she was exhausted. But just as she would feel her eyelids begin to droop, suddenly she would feel that strange, irrational, feeling. The hint of an echo in the back of her mind, faint but persistent, so familiar and yet so terrifying...

She jerked up in her chair. There it was again. She strained to understand the fleeting words but they faded out as quickly as they came, leaving her with that strange sense of emptiness, that horrible sense of fear...

James. The suddenness of the thought left her breathless. The fear was for James. In some strange way he was intertwined in this, in everything... She had a sudden chill, the type you were supposed to have when someone walked over the spot that was to someday be your grave...

Before she half realized what she was doing, she stood up and headed towards his room. She didn't know what good it would do, but she had to warn him...

She paused outside his door, hand on the door-knob, suddenly beginning to feel very silly. Warn him of what? How could she when she didn't even know what she was afraid of in the first place? She rubbed her temples wearily and prepared to turn back to her own rooms. Or at least the common room.

But before she could she turn away, to her horror, she saw the door-knob begin to turn, and the door begin to open.

"Who's there?" whispered a gruff voice.

"Oh, it's you, Sirius," she breathed in relief.

He opened the door wider and raised an eyebrow, "I'm a light sleeper. What are you doing here, Lily? Couldn't wait until daylight to see James? If you want I could wake him..."

"No!" she whispered just a little too quickly.

Sirius grinned and started to shut the door. But Lily still stood awkwardly by the door, the echoes stirring again in the back of her mind, ringing louder and clearer until she could almost make out the words...

He opened the door wider and surveyed her critically, "What's the matter, Lily?"

She started, as if surprised at his presence, "Um... yeah. I guess. Oh, Sirius, everything is the matter and nothing is the matter and yet... are you sure James is okay?"

"Sleeping like a baby. Why shouldn't he be?"

"I... I don't know... I just have this awful... premonition of a sort... just... promise me you'll look after him, okay?"

Sirius sighed, "Lily, trust me. You know I'd do anything for him if I thought he was in danger. Same as I'd do for Remus or Peter or you. I won't let anything bad happen to any of us. That's a promise. You do believe me?"

"Yes, I do," she said, surprising herself with the conviction in her voice, "Thank-you."

"Hey, no problem. Can we go back to bed now?"

She grinned ruefully, "If you must."

"Good-night."

"Good-night."

He shut the door firmly and she turned to head back to the common room. She sat back down on her chair and wrapped herself up tightly into the afghan she had left there. Her eyes began to droop pleasantly and in a few moments she felt herself drifting to sleep, the haunting echo growing fainter into the night, almost forgotten...

No! No! Not Harry!...

Almost...