Until the very end ~ Jily

Chapter 8 ~ There for one another

It had been 5 hours since "The Lake Incident" as the school was calling it, and everyone knew all about it by now.

James sat miserably in his dormitory with absolutely no idea what he should do. Of course, he wanted to talk to Lily, but he didn't have a death wish. Also she had been locked in her own dormitory since she had disappeared from the lake, and even though Alice said she was "studying for Transfiguration" James highly doubted it.

He sighed and took out his Snitch, letting the old rhythm calm him down. Release, catch, release, catch, release, catch. Over and over and over.

His sulking was interrupted by his fellow marauders returning from their adventures to the kitchens.

"Cheer up Prongs," Sirius said, "the bird will get over it eventually."

Remus gave Sirius a disapproving frown but James could see Sirius felt guilty as well.

"Have you talked to her?" Remus asked softly.

James shook his head gloomily.

"Well, how about we have a game of exploding snap to take your mind off it?" Peter suggested.

The others all exchanged a glance, and although James felt grateful to Peter for trying to lighten the mood and take his mind off everything, he didn't really feel up to it.

Still the other two marauders agreed so James obediently slid off his bed and took his place on the floor with his brothers, and soon Lily was pushed from everyone's minds.

Everyone that is, but the messy haired boys with the wire frame glasses, who's thoughts hadn't shifted from the fiery red head since he had seen her disappear only hours earlier.

--------------------------------------

Lily sat on her four-poster in the 5th year girls dormitories, with Alice and Marlene sitting on either side of her.

Alice had told her that James had been asking for her but he was the last person Lily felt like talking to at that moment... well second last actually, after Severus,.... and maybe Voldemort.

Her two best friend's were whisperings sweet condolences in her ears, saying things like "He didn't deserve you" and "It will get better Lils we promise".

These little words of comfort, although not wholey reassuring, made Lily feel quite a bit better.

Although Marlene's words of comfort helped too; "There's no point wasting time thinking about that bloody git when he deserves his head to be stuffed so far up his-"
Alice had cut Marlene off before she could finish what Lily only assumed would be an extremely graffic description, and Lily was grateful for this because Marlene could be very imaginative.

Although Lily wasn't crying anymore the days events still played over and over in her mind.

She was grateful for Alice and Marlene, they had always warned her against her friendship with Severus and she wouldn't have blamed them if they had said "I told you so" and left her to wallow in her misery. They didn't though. Instead they held her as she cried and brushed her hair from her face and promised her everything would be fine.

The tears had gone but she still felt hollow. Lily remembered the days she had spent at home, in Cokeworth, him telling her all about Hogwarts, waving around twigs and making up spells, climbing trees and whispering trivial little secrets.

She knew that those days had long gone, and although she no longer felt any lingering friendship towards him, she missed the days when everything was simple.