When we finally trudge through the doors of my parents' house, the morning sun has just begun its peek over the horizon. I support Remus' weight on my shoulder as Sirius does the same. Peter pushes ahead in front of us checking for any signs of house elves or my parents. He leads us up the stairs and into Sirius' room.
We carefully lay Remus on the bed before drifting to our own prospective parts of the room and collapsing into an immediate slumber. It seems my eyes have only been shut a moment when sudden red light illuminates the inside of my eyelids, and a loud bang sends a chill through my spine.
In my moment of surprise, I have landed myself on the floor, my glasses knocked aside. A groan escapes my lips as I place my spectacles back on my head. Sirius rubs his eyes next to me as he lets a loud animal-like sound leave his lips.
I turn my head slightly to see a fiery red head in the frame of the door. Her arms cross against her chest, an unpleasant look upon her face. Her wand sits loosely between her fingers, and I now no longer have to wonder what the source of the noise was.
I get to my feet and make my way towards Lily. "Morning, Love," I smile. I lower my face towards her, going in for a kiss, stopping in my tracks when I see her sparkling green eyes, glaring into my soul.
I take a step back, beginning to recall our goodbye last night. "Come on, Red." Sirius' voice sounds from behind me. "Don't be made at Prongsie."
She arches an eyebrow. "I'm mad at all of you!" She shouts throwing her arms to her side, a flush beginning to redden her face.
A lurch in my gut and the stillness in the air causes a eerie feeling to settle in my bones. Lily turns her attention to Remus, whom looks back at her sadly with those signature brown, puppy dog eyes.
"Are you really that disgusted, Lily?" He whispers.
Lily jumps back as if he physically struck her. "What are you talking about, Remus?" She demands.
"I get it," he mutters darkly. "Not everyone wants to be friends with a werewolf."
A laugh escapes Lily's lips; her eyes grow large as if she wasn't expecting that sound to leave her. The blood slowly drains from my face. If Lily really is disgusted with Remus, the way so many people are, that would be it for us. I can't be with someone who is so prejudice...even if that person is Lily Evans.
"You have been hanging out with Sirius much to long, Remus," she says shaking her head with a slight amused expression. "You're turning into a bleeding drama queen. I don't care that you're a werewolf. Hell, you think everyone wants to be friend with a mudblood? At least you can lie about yours. Everyone knows what I am. I'm mad because you gits didn't tell me!"
Sirius lets out a laugh; I deflate. Of course, Lily Evans would never care what someone else was.
"We knew you'd be cool about it. Moony here thinks he's some sort of monster or something," Sirius says.
I step forward to press my lips to Lily's cheek before saying, "Yeah, it's just a furry little problem. Right, Moony?" I throw my gaze back at Remus.
He rolls his eyes but doesn't hide his grin. "Can we go back to sleep, now?" Pete speaks up for the first time leaning against the wall, already half asleep.
Later that night, Lily twirls in my grip underneath the twinkling, Christmas lights. I admire the way her dress slightly spins with her; a look of enjoyment adorns her face as she laughs. I hug her closer to me.
"Have I mentioned that you look absolutely gorgeous, Lils?"
"Only about a hundred times," she laughs with playful roll of her eyes. I allow my eyes to run over the length of her black dress for the thousandth time. The soft, black material clings to her waist, exaggerating her curves. The dress flows easily down her legs not quite touching the floor.
"Just checkin'," I wink, feeling rather flirty with the fire whiskey coursing through my system.
"This place looks amazing," she says raising her face to the ceiling. Her eyes twinkle with child like amusement, and I can't help but lift my eyes to the ceiling as well. Everything is white as snow. Icicles hang from the ceiling, and cascades of snowflakes fall from the enchanted ceiling, disappearing into thin air before they can land on the people below.
"Yeah," I agree, lowering my gaze. "Mum and dad go all out." As the song ends, I spot Remus and Pete standing awkwardly by the snack table; I tug on Lily's hand. They smile at the both of us as we approach them.
"Where's Sirius?" Lily asks, taking a sip of butterbeer.
"Disappeared with a very pretty girl about a half hour ago," Remus says, throwing a pretzel into his mouth.
Lily wrinkles her nose, and I hide an amused smirk in my mug. My eye slide over the guests dancing through our ballroom. There isn't a single person here that I don't recognize. My dad catches my eye suddenly, and he throws me a look, gesturing with his hands. I nod, understanding his odd signals. Go be social with my many family members.
"I'm going to go see some of my family," I say looking back to my friends. "You want to come, Lily?" I look to her, silently begging her to not make me go alone.
"Um," her eyes grow slightly in size, as she grips her mug tightly. "I think I'm going to talk to Remus for a little bit. Catch up in a bit?"
"Sure," I kiss the top of her head. "Come on, Wormtail. You know these people. Time to impress!" I pull Wormtail by his elbow, refusing to go talk to this old bats alone.
Peter and I straighten our robes and clear our throats as we approach my aunt and uncle. My Aunt Sylvia- a tall, skinny lady, the kind of old person whom looks as if a strong wind will blow them away-takes my face in her hands squeezing tightly. I shove my discomfort down, practically hearing my mother's voice in my head. "Don't you be rude, James Potter. When you get old you're allowed to do whatever you want; You've earned it."
"Oh, James!" Aunt Sylvia croons. "You have grown into such a handsome young man. Your father and mother must be so proud."
I rub my jaw as she finally released me. "Yes, yes, they are so proud of my looks rather than my brain or athletic ability."
The snarky comment leaves my lips before I can clamp them shut, but I can only hope she took it as a joking matter. Uncle Clive lets out a bark of a laugh, and I sigh with relief. Peter throws me a look of discomfort, and I let out a shaky laugh.
"So, James, my boy," Uncle Clive says. "Where is this girl of yours?"
I feel the smile on my face before I can help it. I turn quickly and point at Lily across the room. She seems to be having a rather deep conversation with Remus. Her brow is buried, and she has a faraway look in her eyes. A twinge of worry starts within me, and I make a mental note to ask her about it when I see her next.
"She's very pretty, James," my uncle's voice pulls me from my thoughts.
I turn to face him. "Yes, sir."
"Family name?" Aunt Sylvia asks. And there it is.
"Evans," I say proudly.
Aunt Sylvia makes a sound in the back of her throat. "Muggleborn."
She says the word as if it is the nastiest insult in the world. She says this word as if it automatically makes Lily the scum of the earth, as if Lily is now beneath her. And it pisses me off. A roaring starts in my ears, and I clench my fist. I take a deep breath to calm myself down, but it only kind of works.
"Yes," I spit in the nicest tone I can muster. "She's a whiz at potions, and one of the smartest in our class at Hogwarts. But, even if she wasn't a great witch, she's a great person. She's loving and compassionate and all around amazing. But you wouldn't care because god forbid she isn't of magical birth."
I take another deep breath, as all of my words spilled out at once. Both my aunt and uncle stare back in exasperation. I clear my throat and straighten my robes. "If you'll excuse us. Pete?"
"You okay?" Peter asks hesitantly as we make our way back to the rest of our group.
The rage is still boiling within me, and my muscles are still taunt as if ready to punch something. But, then I see Sirius practically tackle Remus, as he shouts something that doesn't quite reach my ears, and Lily laughs. She laughs that deep belly, throw your head back, no sound leaves your lips laugh. And just like that my anger evaporates.
"Yeah," I throw him a wink.
I wrap my arms around Lily's waist, placing my chin on her shoulder, observing my two idiot mates. "What's so funny?" I demand.
Lily opens her mouth to answer me, laughs still shuddering her body, but before she can answer me, a loud crash echoes throughout the room. The music stops, and everything goes silent. I let my arms fall from Lily's waist; The five of us turn to face the center of the room, searching for the source of this interruption.
Ten hooded figures stand in the middle of the room, wands drawn. My blood runs cold, as I throw an arm in front of Lily. These are death eaters. I've never seen them in person, but my dad has told me about them. Wherever they show up, nothing good can follow.
"What a lovely party!" Cackles a high-pitched voice from the center of the hooded figures. "Would be a shame if someone crashed it!" The voice seems to be coming from a woman with wild, dark hair that peeks from under her hood.
I shift my eyes to Sirius as he looks upon the death eaters. He shifts his eyes over each person carefully studying them. Through all the terror and the tension, I can't help but wonder in the back of my mind how many of those characters are his relatives. A shudder runs through my body wondering if any of those people are Regulus.
My attention is pulled from my own mind as a man with a snakelike face strolls through the doors as if he owns the place. His red eyes glance at people as he walks through the room, looking at them as if they are nothing more than animals. People back away and clutch their loved ones, pushing small children out of the way. His pale face sneers at the people, and he seems to be enjoying the fear he thrusts upon them.
I've never seen him in person. I've never even seen him in a picture. But nobody has to tell me who this is. This is Lord Voldemort.
Author A/N*
I AM SO SORRY! I KNOW YOU ALL HATE ME!
When school got going, it got going. I was absolutely swamped, and I am so sorry. But, it is summer now, so my updates should be more regular. Fingers crossed y'all, I plan to update weekly.
Anyways, I'm sorry this chapter isn't the best. It's kind of a filler chapter, and I just wanted y'all to have something new to read. So, forgive me.
Okay, I promise to update soon!!! LOVE YOU ALL! THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME!