Turning Tables

Chapter 5 - Explosions

(J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L) (J&L)

Lily had made it back to the main hallway and was stood at the foot of the stairs trying to fathom where the kitchen would be – had James mentioned it? She didn't think so – when a loud and unexpected sound made her jump violently. She lost her grip on the tray and the entire contents crashed onto the floor, spattering the nearby walls – and her - with green tea and honey. She winced at the thought of the damage done to the expensive décor, but stood frozen to the spot, trying to decide between frantically cleaning up the mess or going to discover the source of the noise, which she had recognised as the unmistakable sound of apparition.

Her decision was made when Sirius Black fell unceremoniously through the front door and collapsed onto the tiled floor. His left arm was dangling at a sickeningly wrong angle at just below the elbow, his robes were torn and smoke-stained and a large cut on his forehead was oozing blood that was dripping into his right eye. She ran to him and knelt next to his battered body, sliding her hands under him and trying to roll him onto his back for a better look.

'Sodding hell, what is going on?' James' voice came from behind her, and she glanced up at him quickly. He was halfway down the stairs, his eyes taking in what must have been an incredibly odd sight; Sirius sprawled on the floor, battered and bruised, while Lily manhandled him ineffectively, the floor covered in green tea and shards of broken pottery. He shook off his confusion quickly, and took the rest of the stairs two at a time until he arrived alongside Lily. 'What happened?' he demanded again.

'I've no idea.' She replied, still trying to shake Sirius into moving. 'I was looking for the kitchen to put the tea things away when I heard him apparate, then he just crashed through the door and collapsed.' She flicked a sideways look at James, who was peeling back Sirius' eyelids to examine his pupils in a professional looking manner, before adding 'I dropped the tray. Everything broke and made a horrendous mess. Sorry.'

James looked over to the mess on the walls and floor then looked back at her, taking in the state of her jeans and t-shirt. 'Least of my problems. I think we can move him; can you levitate him and follow me?' He got to his feet and looked down at her, waiting for a response.

She glanced at him then quickly looked away, but obviously didn't quite manage to hide the question in her eyes. He gave her a small smile 'You've always been better at charms than I have. With the duly noted exception of healing ones.'

Keeping her face carefully expressionless, she got to her feet, pulled her wand from her pocket and aimed it at Sirius' still motionless body. 'Wingardium Leviosa.' Her hand made the intricate movement for the spell effortlessly, and Sirius' frame rose to waist height and hovered there steadily. She turned back to James, and her wand hand wavered for a second as she caught sight of the worry that was etched on his face. Realising that she was looking at him he quickly composed his face and turned to walk along the hallway in the opposite direction to the staircase; she followed, trying to keep Sirius' movements as small as possible to prevent a worsening of his injuries.

James eventually stopped at a set of imposing double doors. He pushed them open, then stepped aside and gestured for Lily to enter the room with Sirius. 'Just lower him onto the sofa by the window. Gently.'

'Really? To think, I was going to bounce him off walls a bit first.' She couldn't seem to help herself as she snapped back at him, but she did as he asked and deposited Sirius as neatly as possible onto the green leather sofa.