゜ﾟ*❀*ﾟ ゜Backdated to a week before

[bespell]

Phone. [Locked to Neville, early in the morning]

Longbottom? I think I need to talk to you. There is something I have to know.


Action. [Outside 1449 Mitchell Rd, Lily is casting lumos against the second floor bedroom window over and over again, until it's too obnoxious for the person inside to ignore it]



Action. [At 1485 Kramden Rd, Lily had successfully removed the drone parents for the afternoon, keeping them firmly outside the house with a shield charm as she rummages noisily in their bedroom and the livingroom.]


Action. [Outside Mayfield Elementary, Lily passes the time by kicking random pebbles into the wall, waiting for the eventual stream of school children to exit.]

Comments

[werewolfoflondon]

I'm aware.

[Remus is awkwardly silent for a few moments, staring up at the ceiling. He never really has been aces at handling these things, and it seems he's floundering for a moment, unsure of what to say or do.]

Say what you will about the place, it hasn't been all bad.

[bespell]

[Lily kneels before an armchair, peeking underneath.] Right, except for the brainwashing thing.

They don't need us here, but back home... It's crucial that I return.

Potter is already back there.

[werewolfoflondon]

[Remus is on the verge of arguing, momentarily. If it weren't for this place, Remus very much doubted he would ever be as close to Lily as he'd become. If it weren't for this place, he and Sirius might never have--

But that's what gives him pause. James is gone. If Sirius disappeared, Remus can't say he'd be any less desperate to get back home. James, he trusts to take care of himself; perhaps Lily doesn't have the same faith in him.

Remus rises from his chair and kneels beside Lily, wrapping the girl up in his arms and pulling her close.]

I'm sorry. I-- I know.

[bespell]

[The brave front crumples as Lily's shoulders slump in Remus's arms. She's been angry; angry at Sirius and at James and at this place, but it's easier to be angry at what she can't control, rather than be angry at her friends. It's not their fault.]

We're safe as long as we're here. [She starts in a soft voice, staring at nothing in particular, but not pulling away.] I know what will happen if I ever make it back. At least here I'll be alive for a little while longer...

[werewolfoflondon]

[Remus can't help the little shock of panic that grips him at that, and he gently takes Lily's shoulders in hand, maneuvering the girl away to stare her directly in the eye.]

What do you mean, you'll still be alive? Why wouldn't you be...?

[bespell]

[She'd kept the discovery from her friends for the past month. It's easier to think of it as something happening to someone else, but the longer she talks to Harry, the more of a terrifying reality it becomes.]

I'm going to die in... [she closes her eyes, doing the math] four years or so. James and I are going to get killed in the war, and there's nothing we can do about it.

[werewolfoflondon]

[Perhaps for the first time since Lily's known him, Remus goes pale. He sways, before his grip tightens on Lily's shoulders and he quickly shakes his head. No, they're not going to die. They can't die. If Lily and James die...

Merlin, Sirius would never get past it, let alone Remus. Peter would be lost. How would any of them ever recover from losing their dearest friends like that?]

Lily, no. [Remus states, very calmly and firmly.] We're not going to let that happen. Neither of you are going to die.

[bespell]

[The prefect voice. Lily recognizes it even if it's never been used on her before. Something that Yuki's told her before comes back to her; the Lily in the present and the Lily in someone else's future are not the same person, but it's just a wild notion she clings to.]

Longbottom told me James and I will be the last to die in the war. T-That's good, right? I mean, then it's all over. But if we stay here then perhaps... [She's rambling, and her chest heaves despite her best effort not to panic. She's been trying not to panic for a month, and now it's all rushing out.]