James:
Pads and I are just joking around with each other as we walk. "Here, have you ever thought about connotations? 'Cuz I literally just thought of something and it's really confusing me!" he says, and I shake my head, laughing. "Pads, everything confuses that tiny little brain of yours!" I reply, and he just glares at me and rolls his eyes like the sarcastic little bitch that he is.
"Really though. Like, for example, if I said 'I'm sorry Mother. Please forgive me.' then it's a genuine apology, you know? But if I say, "Sorry mama. I've been very naughty!' that's just totally different!" he says, and I am in a state of momentary shock. What. The. Fuck.
That's when I burst into a bout of hysterical laughter. I literally almost begin crying as I stumble through the hallways, and I just keep replaying that sentence in my head. "How...the...actual...fuck did you come up with that?" I say through my very manly giggles, and he just looks at me. "Well, I guess that it means that I don't have such a small brain after all then, do I?" he says, and I just laugh even harder at this. "No, Pads! It means that you were DEFINITELY dropped on the head as a baby!".
He sticks his tongue out at me (very mature, I know) in response to this, and then gets a competitive look in his eye. "What?" I ask slowly, rather nervous (I HATE to lose these sort of competitions!). "Race ya!" he shouts, taking off down the hallway. "Fuck!" I mutter, beginning to sprint after him.
Due to the fact that my legs are (thank Merlin!) longer than his, I caught up to him quite quickly and we raced to the next corner. "Yes!" I scream as I reach it first, and Paddy looks EXTREMELY pissed off. I begin to laugh at his expression, and then we begin to walk normally again. Honestly, I'm just relieved that nobody was around there now! Simply because I'm not sure if the seventeen year old Head Boy should be racing around school corridors!
I look up the hallway, and to my immense displeasure and disgust I see Snivellous walking down the hallway towards us. I know that Padfoot wants to kill him almost as much as I do, but knows that he needs to distract me somehow. You know, so that I don't rip Snivelly's face off!
He gently grabs my arm, steering me down the hallway. We don't say anything as we pass, just glare at each other icily. I breathe a sigh of relief as he passes, and begin to walk down the rest of the hallway.
"Here, Pads. I was thinking, should we-" I begin to say, but can't finish my sentence as I'm suddenly flying through the air at a thousand miles an hour. My body crashes against the hallway wall, non-existent wind flashing around my ears, and I hit my head hard. I can hear the blood pumping in my veins, my heart trying to maintain a steady beat. The world starts spinning, and splotches of black mar my vision.
I lay on the floor in a crumpled heap, and I can't focus on anything. It's just...blank. I hear a roar of anger, and the sound of a couple of spells flying around. And then...silence.
I feel something hot and sticky trail down my neck, sending more needless shivers through my spine. Who...? What? What is happening? I...I can't think of anyone who would do this! Unless...
Snivellous.
Of course! This gives me the burst of vengeful energy that I need, and I try to force my body from the floor. But I'm stuck. Completely stuck. That's when I hear another spell fired, followed by another one. I find myself able to move again, my binds cut. Dazed and confused, I slowly get to my feet and look wildly around me. But is he alone? Or are some of his death eater pals hear to help him?
As I go to reach for my wand, a flash of blinding light shocks my vision, and I fall to the ground once again. I am barely aware of the sharp pain in my chest - almost like someone has jabbed a knife into it and is now twisting it around. I try to move again, but it's no use, and the pain is growing now...
Where is Padfoot? Is he safe? Oh, I hope that he got out of here! I...I think that I might die here. Now. With this in my head, I try to conjure up one last image, one last happy thought. The only thing that my mind can see is...a picture. It's a picture of me, and Lily, and the Marauders, and the girls at Halloween, decked to the nines in our fabulous Halloween costumes and smiling like we don't have a care in the world. One solitary tear comes to my eyes as I realise that I'll never get to see her again. I'll never get to breathe in her amazing flowery smell, admire her gorgeous beauty from afar, wonder at her never-ending knowledge about everything. I'll never get to tell her that I love her. That I always have, and always will.
A new type of pain burns in my chest at this horrific realisation.
The torturous physical pain is still here, slowly becoming more and more agonising. I can feel more blood coming out of my body, which now feels lifeless. Heavy. Like I have the weight of the world on me. Suddenly, another curse is fired...
It's like the world stops for just a moment as it hits me, and I beg for it to come. I beg for the world to start moving again, to get this over with. This darker light hits me, and an ear-splitting scream sounds from the depths of my aching chest.
The very second that curse hit my body, it felt like...like somebody took the sharpest blade they could find, and started relentlessly chopping up my body like a piece of meat with it. I feel deep, deep gashes appearing all over my throbbing body, and I hear my wrangled breathing oounding in my ears.
My scream is abruptly cut off by the blood that comes gargling and frothing up through my slitted lips, spilling all over me, choking me. Drenching me in my own blood. It comes spurting out of everywhere; my head, my chest, my stomach, my legs. Hell, even my fucking baby toe!
I writhe on the floor in agony, living in a world of red. It's everywhere. This is a pain like nothing I have ever experienced. This is what I always imagined the Cruciatus Curse felt like, but I thought that it was always supposed to be mental - no physical side effects. This isn't the same curse - no, this is different. New. Dark.
The relentless knives continue to slice up my aching body, blood coming out of everywhere. I can feel it coming. Any minute now. Death.
I'm going to lose.
I scrounge up anything I have left, and put one thing in my head. I know that nobody will ever know it, or hear it, or probably even care, but I do it anyways.
Lily, I love you.
I...I just had to say it before I die. And, now that I have, I will be able to greet death gladly. Anything to get rid of that never-ending torment. This torturous pain. There is so much that I've never done, that I've never got to do. And I know that I'm being cowardly - just giving up. I know that. I just...
Black. Everything is Black.
Lily:
Marly and I are just walking down the hallway after Charms class, a little confused about where James and Sirius are but thinking that they probably just bunked off. We drop off our bags on the Head's common room floor, before plonking down on the sofa, joining our other friends who are already here.
"Here, where is Prongs and Pads?" Remus asks, using their secret code names for each other. "No clue! Probably just bunked though!" Marly says, and we all laugh at their antics. Suddenly, the portrait door swings open and a frantic and dishevelled Sirius Black enters.
"It...it's Prongs! Come!" he shouts from the door, and judging by his tone there is something really wrong here. I quickly stand up and race out of the room, following Sirius. The others follow me, and we are all running at the speed of light.
We arrive in one of the hallways that leads down to the Dungeons, and Sirius stops running. I'm a little bit confused until I look past him and see...
James. Lifeless on the floor. Drowning in dark red blood.
No! This...no! I rush towards him, and pull out my wand, trying to remember as many healing spells as I possibly can. But...it doesn't work. Not at all. In fact, I think that it makes the bleeding even worse. Deciding to act first and ask questions later, I shout up to my friends, "We have to take him to the hospital wing. Use a levitating spell to carry him there! Quickly!".
I'm frantic, and thankfully they oblige, his body being carried on an invisible stretcher. We go as fast as we can to the hospital wing, and I'm internally stressing the whole way. What if...now, I can't even bear to think it! But, what is he...he doesn't make it? What if he dies? I...I really don't know what I would do! Over the course of these last few months, and especially days, he has become my rock. The most solid thing in my life. I...I can't lose him.
We enter the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey looks up, disapproving of the way we just rushed in. "Now really! I-" she begins to say, but then get cuts off at the sight of James. "Oh my!" she cries, immediately jumping in to action. She tries to perform some of the same healing spells that I did, so I decide to jump in and say, "Please Madam Pomfrey! I tried those, and they...they didn't work! I think they made it worse!". She looks up at me, and nods in agreement.
It seems like only now she has realised that we shouldn't be in here, and immediately makes an attempt to shoo us out. "Out! Now! All of you! Get the headmaster, Mr Black!" Sirius jumps into action at her words, but the rest of us won't leave. Eventually, many of the professors come and practically have to carry us out as they pull a curtain around James' bed. They shut the doors to the hospital wing after Sirius returns with Dumbledore.
We stand in silence for just a minute, completely shocked at the events that just unfolded. Shock.