Courtney P.O.V.
In short, this was the best Christmas James and Lily ever had. They were engaged. They were to be married almost immediately after school got out. I admired James' courage and how much he obviously loved Lily. I don't think Lily could really see how much he truly loved her. It was the little things that showed. How he always glanced at her after saying something to see if it made her laugh. How he would constantly throw an arm around her shoulder and hug her even though it wasn't necessary. Or how he would glance every so often at Lily just because he could look at her now without getting screamed at.
I thought the whole thing was absolutely adorable, and I looked forward to telling stories about the two of them to their future kids. I knew they were going to have kids, Lily had always wanted one, as had James. I however, wasn't sure about having kids. After my horrible childhood, I wasn't sure of my mothering capabilities. I knew Sirius wasn't to keen on the idea of children in his future either.
The doorbell rang suddenly, interrupting me from my thoughts and the celebrating going on around me. I got up to answer the door and was shocked when I saw my father. "Dad! What are you doing here?" I asked nervously, peering outside the door hoping there weren't any Deatheaters there to get me.
"I have to speak to Lily, and you," he said, hurriedly stepping inside and spelling the door shut.
"Okay," I said cautiously before going to retrieve Lily. She followed me back into the hallway with James and Sirius' complaints about us leaving them sounding behind us. Lily rolled her eyes, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw my father.
"What is he doing here?" she spat, glaring at him. I could understand this. After all, my father hadn't done anything to prevent what had happened to me and my sisters. Lily was reasonably angry about this.
My father looked sadly at both of us before asking if there was a place we could talk more privately. I had quietly conveyed to Mr. and Mrs. Potter that my father was here, so they said we could go in the study to talk if we didn't want James or Sirius to hear.
My father sank into a chair, rubbing his eyes with one hand. He looked so exhausted and worn down, I couldn't help but hug him slightly before settling into my own chair.
"I have some bad news," he began. Lily and I exchanged fearful looks. I crossed my fingers between my knees and prayed that it wasn't about Beth and Amy. "Lily...your parents...they're dead." My heart seemed to leap into my throat and get stuck there. But one look at my father's eyes revealled he was telling the truth.
I heard Lily's breath catch in her throat as she stared uncomprehendingly at my father. "W-what?"
"Deatheaters were sent to your house," he said gently. One stray tear escaped from Lily's eyes. "And I'm sorry to say it's because the Dark Lord thought Courtney might have been there." I felt my stomach tie itself in knots at those words. It was my fault. My fault Lily's parents were dead. Lily began to cry silently into her hands while my father turned to me after casting a sad look at Lily.
"Courtney, I have to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago." My grief and pain for Lily was momentarily forgotten at these words. "You're not a triplet. You never were...Beth and Amy are twins, but you're not their sister. Well...actually, you're their half sister." My brain shut down right then and there. Half sister? What?
"What do you mean?" I managed to choke out after several moments of silence passed.
My father, if he was my real father spoke again, "A while ago, your mother and I were in a pretty big fight. We decided to take a break for awhile and I met someone. She was absolutely gorgeous and I fell in love with her in an instant. We...spent the night together...I imagine you can guess what happened afterwards."
This was too much. My father had cheated on my "mother" and in the process, I had been born. So who was my real mother? Was she a witch? Or a Muggle? Did she look like me? Was she a metamorphmagus? A million questions swirled around in my head as I took in this staggering new information.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked quietly.
My father looked desparingly at me. "If I had, Cheris would have kicked you out. I only convinced her to let you stay because I said you could be useful in the future. Josh found out the day he left. He was so angry at Cheris for suggesting that you be sent away."
I shook my head and allowed the tears to escape from my eyes. What was I crying for? Shouldn't I be happy that I wasn't really related to the despicable creature that had called herself my mother? Shouldn't I be jumping with joy because there was a possibility of me having a real mother?
"Courtney, listen to me. No matter what happens, I will always love you. All right?" he said, enveloping me in a hug. I cried quietly into my father's arms, but now I was starting to think they were actually tears of happiness. Maybe I just couldn't tell through the bewilderment and how mind blowing this whole thing was.
"Thank you for telling me," I whispered, wiping the tears away and giving my dad a watery smile. This actually explained a whole lot about my life. Why I was placed in Gryffindor, why I didn't look like beth or Amy. Why Cheris always seemed to hate me and wish I weren't there. It all made sense now.
"Dad...why did you tell me now, instead of earlier?"
A scared look came over his face, which in turn caused me to become a little frightened. "He's after me. I left Cheris and now the Dark Lord wants to hunt me down and kill me. I came because there isn't much time left for me, and you had to know."
"No," I yelled before lowering my voice. I didn't want anyone to barge in here while I was talking to my father about this. "You can't die. He can't kill you!"
"I'm afraid, it is inevitable. I must be going before I put you in anymore danger. Farewell daughter." He gave me a kiss on my forehead before pressing a crumpled up piece of paper into my hand. And that was the last time I ever saw my dad.
Lily was still sobbing into her arms, so I pushed aside my fears for my father and went to comfort her. I couldn't help but get a little teary myself. After all, I had met the Evans and they were very kind people. Lily's mother had been like my own, and all the while my 'mother' hadn't really been mine at all.
"C-can you get J-james for me?" Lily said quietly, wiping away a few more tears that leaked out of her eyes. I nodded sadly and left to get him.
I entered the living room to find the two boys rolling on the floor laughing and cracking some really lame jokes. Too bad that happiness wouldn't be there for long. "James...Lily needs you," I said, slumping onto the sofa.
James looked up curiously and said, "Well, where is she?"
"Study."
He nodded and left the room cheerful. Sirius sat up and looked at me. "What's wrong?" I was surprised. I had been trying to keep my face passive and emotionless.
"How did you know?"
Sirius grinned at me and tapped his nose. Git, he wasn't going to tell me. "So...what's wrong?" he asked again.
I sighed and rested my head in my hands, closing my eyes for a moment. "Lily's parents are dead," I said quietly. I heard his breathing stop for a moment before resuming slowly. A long sigh escaped my lips before a few more tears squeezed their way out of my closed lids.
Sirius placed a hand on my knee before gathering me into a hug. We stayed silent, grieving in the quiet that had settled over the house. "Should we go see Lily?" Sirius asked me quietly. She and James still hadn't returned, so we both stood and walked to the study.
I could hear quiet sobbing coming from behind the door, as well as James' low, comforting voice. Sirius pushed the door open slowly and peeked his head in. "Hey Lily," he said, pushing the door open more and allowed both of us in.
She looked up and I smiled sadly at her. Her eyes were all puffy and red from crying and a look of despair was written across her face that cut me to the core. She looked so lost and vulnerable, I couldn't help but choke down a few sobs of my own.
James' face was just as red as hers. He had obviously been crying with her. Sirius strode quickly across the room and embraced James, who returned the hug fiercely. I walked over to Lily and put an arm around her shoulders. None of us said anything, just comforted Lily silently. So...I guess this wasn't the best Christmas Lily had ever had.
Sirius P.O.V.
This day started out so well. But I guess all good things must come to an end. Lily was currently asleep in James' room, as she had cried herself to sleep. James was up there with her because he didn't want her to be alone when she woke up.
So, it was just me and Cory downstairs. I was fiddling with the keys to the motorbike James had got me while Cory was twirling her wand in her hand. "I'm bored," she said suddenly, sitting up from her position on the floor.
I grinned down at her and said, "Well, what do you want to do?"
"Take me on your bike!" she said excitedly, leaping up and basically quivering with anticipation.
"Really? I though you wouldn't want to ride it." I was surprised. Most of the girls I was aquainted with wouldn't even dare to sit on the seat for fear it would take off with them on it. Cory was full of surprises.
She gave me an exasperated look and said, "Fine, if you don't want to take me, then don't. I'll just go sit up in my room and cry." I chuckled at her attempts to get me to take her for a ride, which were working.
"All right, all right, I'll take you. Do you want to go now?"
"Yes! Come on!" Cory raced towards the door, but turned back and grabbed a jacket while smiling sheepishly at me. This girl never ceased to amaze me. She was being completely cheerful and excited when Lily had just gotten some horrible news even though I knew she was upset about it too.
So, we headed out to my brand new motorbike. Did I mention it could FLY?!?! James is an awesome friend. No denying it.
I hopped on a kickstarted it while Cory held tightly to my waist. And away we went, off into the sky. Soaring over the English countryside like we didn't have a care in the world. And at the moment, the only thing I cared about was Cory.
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So, there's that. I know it was short, but I'm really anxious to get to the juicy stuff. I'm already planning out the sequel to this :) I hoped you liked it and that it was emotional enough. Seeya next time and hopefully I'll write a longer chapter!
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