Elizabeth Lily Potter-Petrified

Chapter 12~~ Nightmares and Memories

"MUM! Dad! Harry?!" I shout. "Where are you?" I turn another corner and spot a figure walking towards me. I cautiously take a few steps forward. 

"Elizabeth?" Mum calls out, but something's wrong, Mum never calls me by my full name, always Ellie or Lily.... Unless I'm in trouble or there's trouble nearby. I run her and collapse into her arms.

"Mum, where were you? Where's Dad? Where's Harry?" I spurt out questions like a parrot.

"We.... We were looking for you, Dad and Harry are still searching around the castle. Where've you been? Where's Ginny?" Mum holds me tightly, only this isn't Mum. The real Mum would know where I am at all times and would know not to look on her own, she'd've looked with my brother and father. She wouldn't just ask for Ginny either unless we're the only ones missing which is a one in a billion chance. I jump back. "Sweetie, what're you doing?"

"You're... You're not my mum. My mum wouldn't call me 'sweetie' or my full name. Who are you?" I voice out my thoughts. "If you are Mum, then tell me, " I try to think of something only our family knows. Not her maiden name, everyone knows that. They also know her first name and I don't know her second name or Dad's middle name either. Many people know mine and Harry's middle names so that only leaves us with the age I found out I was a witch. "How long have I known I'm a witch?" I counter.

"Why, dear Lily, that's easy! You're whole life!" The lady replies.

"WRONG! You're not my mum! Where's my mum?!" I scream, close to tears.

"Now, now, little girl. You don't want to upset me." She growls. I feel like scratching that fake face off of her.

"UPSET YOU? UPSET YOU?! I THINK I'M MORE THAN UPSET AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO ANGER ME, LADY!" I screech, pulling out my wand. I yell a spell and her body crumples to the floor in a heap of smouldering flesh. I look around, shocked. Hot tears threaten to spill, and I let them make burning rivers down my cheeks.

What have I done? What kind of spell was that? Who was she? Am I a murderer now? Where's my fammily? My real family? All these thoughts swirl around my brain as I run to find them. I hear a hiss behind me. Turning around, I see a basilisk slithering down the corridor, chasing me. More tears tip over the edge of my eyelids and I run down the hallway. I begin sobbing and wipe the salty water from my cheeks furiously, fruitlessly. I stop dead in my tracks as my path becomes blocked. Coming closer, I notice that the obstacle is hanging from the ceiling, and I almost choke when I see what it is.

My family, Mum, Dad and Harry, have been dropped from the roof, with ropes around their necks. The skin beneath the noose is bloody and their faces are purple and barely recognisable. Mum's red hair has lost its shine, and Dad's hair is finally tidy. Harrys' eyes are bloodshot and the green pops in a disgusting way. His tongue rolls out of his mouth and I fight back more tears.

A hiss brings me back to reality. I slowly turn and the snake is towering over me. Something clicks inside me, and I knows that this creature killed my family. And I know it was all organised by that person who was pretending to be my mother.

"Don't look it in the eyes, Ellie. Just look at your feet." I tell myself over and over as I face my dead family and run through their limp legs, trying to find the woman. The one I killed. Because I know she's not really dead. I turn corner after corner, whimpering and crying. I climb a flight of stair and see her. Lying. On the floor. Dead. Again. I choke out sobs and break down on the floor.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. It's going to be alright." A familiar and soothing voice cradles me in their arms and whispers in my ear. I wipe mucus and tears from my face and look into a pair of eyes framed by round glasses. My eyesight is blurry due to the tears, but I can just make out the scruffy, unkempt hair of my father and brother.

"D-d-dad?" I stutter, I have now stopped crying altogether. "B-but you're dead. Y-you're all d-dead. Y-you can't b-be here! Who a-are you?"

He softly shakes his head, and my vision clears. Instead of enticing hazel eyes, I'm gazing into the brilliant emerald eyes shared between me, Mum and Harry.

"H-harry? How are you h-here?" I ask. Again, he just shakes his head, and goes up in whisps of smoke.

I'm in the garden with Dad and Harry. We've built a fire in the back garden with loads of scrap cardboard boxes and paper catalogues. I'm around nine, I found out I'm a witch last year. Mum only told us stories of her and my father's times at Hogwarts, she made it so fascinating that I thought it was all made up. It was only when I made my hair dry really quickly because I didn't want it towel-dried that Mum knew I was a witch.

Mum is holding a cup of steaming hot chocolate in both hands and the autumn leaves are falling all around us. Oranges, browns, golds cloud my vision as I turn to my father, who's using a stick to prod the flames.

"James, don't you think this is a bad idea? Considering what going on?" Mum asks. Dad looks up and his smile drops off his face.

"Yes, you're probably right." He replies. I look behind me. A tyre is swinging from its rope. I frown, there's no breeze. I face my mum but Harry got there first.

"Mummy? Why is the swing moving?" He points and Mum looks at it, intrigued. She mutters something and Dad turns to see, too. He nods.

"Lily! They've done it!" He says.

'Who's done what?' I think. I look back and notice a hooded black person walking towards me. I yelp and jump backwards.

"James! You left the kids out there alone?!" Mum screeches after hearing my scream.

"No, I'm here with them." He whispers. He grabs Harry and the hooded figure walks further forwards, reaching out a long arm that ends in fingers with hooked, yellowing nails. With the other, he pulls back his hood, revealing grey hair and a set of sharp, yellowish teeth which smile in a menacing way at me. I shiver with fear and hear Dad whisper in Harry's ear to "Go find Mum. Tell her that Fenrir Greyback is here. Tell her to stay inside." Harry quietly shuffles off, but the man towering over me is too busy licking his lips to notice. I shiver at the look he gives me.

"Juicy girl, tasty girl, sweet girl. I'm sure the Dark Lord will leave some of you for me, what do you think?" He gently strokes my face and looks up at my dad. I'm still shivering, but I've closed my eyes.

"Leave her alone!" Dad screams and I snap my eyes open again. Dad has pulled his wand out from his jumper and a flash of green and red light billows around me and leaves fly in the air as I'm thrown backwards and onto the ground under the tyre. Leaves cloud my vision once more and tears streak down my face as I lay there, admiring the beauty of them. I reach out a hand and float away from my body, watching from above as I glide upwards getting farther and farther away, the battle between the werewolf and mourning father raging below me. A mother with dark red hair exits the house and cradles her dead daughter in her arms, blood spilling from the child's head and onto her mother's deep blue top, staining it. A little boy with hair like his fathers' run outside, weeping and sobbing as he goes. I look up and into the bright white light, shielding my eyes to slowly adjust them until I can see properly. I take one lasting look at the war-zone beneath me and drift upwards. Freedom at last.

Freedom.