Stars Hold Our Fate (SCOROSE) ~ Editing ~

Almost Dead

Charles's POV

Almost there.

I struggled, using all my might not to gasp in more water as I saw Lily's face loom up before me. She looked so peaceful, so calmed by the fact that she was —

     NO! I couldn't tell if it was tears or the salty water but my eyes stung. She IS alive!  She will not die here!

     She will not die today.

She was so close now, only five feet away. Her hair was sprawled out around her and her arms tossed carelessly to the side.

My ears popped loudly and I resisted the urge to swim back up as I moved even closer. My lungs ached.

She's not dead, I thought again as I stared at her. Not ... dead ... she can't be.

Her face seemed abnormally pale in the black waters. More tears seeped into the lake around me as I slowly reached out to grab her hand ...

... and hit glass instead.

Glass.

     Glass? It took me a moment to realize that a flat layer of glass was attached to all four corners of the lake, separating the bodies from the rest of the pool.

It also meant something else.

     She's alive. They all are. The death eaters didn't drown them.

The joy soon faded as a chug of water entered my nose. I gasped, letting in more as I tried to breathe it out but there was no more air in my lungs.

Looking up towards the sky, I saw Scorpius and Karl were both swimming at the surface, black blobs of shadow.

     My lungs burned like fire. I struggled, a colossal of bubbles escaping my mouth as I let myself float onto the glass beneath me.

So this is it, I thought, staring sadly up at them. The actual end.  This is where it ends.

I thought of everything we had gone through to try and save Hogwarts. It had all happened to fast. I hadn't even gotten a chance to save anyone yet.  Not even Lily.

Lily.

Turning around, I pressed a hand against the glass and gasped again. She was still so calm, so peaceful.

But she was bruised. Marks expanded over her arms and wrists. Little damage was done to her face. Thank Merlin.

I could feel my heart start to slow and struggled to fight back. I didn't want to remember her this way, lying almost dead from the torture and whatever else they managed to do to her.

I shut my eyes. I also didn't want to think about it.

Lily, I thought, banging my fist weakly. Lily, wake up! I came. I was here!

My heartbeat was thumping in my ears, slower and slower now. I closed my eyes, feeling my whole body go numb ...

$$$

"Charles, wake up!"

A familiar voice echoed through my brain, merged with sobs and quiet curses.

"Wake up!" The voice yelled louder.

God? Is that you? Am I in heaven?

"Goddammit, he's not breathing," the voice exclaimed exasperatedly.