Chapter 1: The Last Train Home (Part 4)
As per the annual tradition, as soon as the train rolled to a standstill, chaos ensued as the younger students raced to be the first on the platform and the older students lolled about in the corridors, trying to drag out the moment before they returned to their families. Lily, James, and the other Prefects attempted to hurry the process along and eventually, she was fairly certain there was no longer a child left on the steam engine yet Lily could not say the same about forgotten jackets or trunks. So, she made her way to the back of the train and slowly moved forward, checking each and every compartment for a wayward item.
Though in the back of her mind, even as she shooed James ahead, she knew that she was just as guilty as the rest of the older students. She too was stalling the inevitable. Though for her, it wasn't necessarily stalling the moment when she left her friends in favor of her family. Those two were one and the same now–in all regards that mattered, anyways. But no, it was stalling before that very fact was thrown in her face once more. She just needed one more moment on this last tie to Hogwarts, her last tie to her home where she knew who she was and her place in the world felt steady. Once she left this train, she would live with the Potters while her and James searched for their own place so even her home was uncertain. Her new occupation would turn from scheduled classes to uncertain missions that they had yet to be assigned.
Everything would change.
But the compartments on the train felt so blissfully nostalgic, so safe and comfortable, that she assigned herself the mission of finding every loose trinket, every loose end, to give to the lost and found. This quest did not take her quite as long as she had hoped so the platform was just as full as it was ten minutes ago when she emerged. Parents were talking with their excited kids and their friends, the students spewing stories left and right. Plans were being made between friends and parents. Trunks were being checked for lost things.
And everywhere she turned, Lily saw nothing but parents. Parents and siblings and families.
She sniffed and surreptitiously swiped at her eyes, hurrying to give a quick nod at a passing student. Safe in the sea of students, Lily scanned the platform, quickly finding her group of friends at a pillar a short distance away. James was wrapped in the loving embrace of his Mom while Sirius was bashfully pulled in by Mr. Potter. Meanwhile, Mr. Pettigrew was straightening Peter's coat, his mother dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. Remus's head was bent towards his parents as they talked together quietly, completely the opposite of Marlene squealing loudly as she hugged each of parents, siblings, and cousins in turn. Dorcas was similarly enraptured in conversation and Lily could practically feel the pride emanating off of their families, all eager to celebrate their recent graduates.
She watched as the elder Potters switched boys and offered their Congratulations anew, their well-wishes mingling with another large family celebrating a Ravenclaw in their year. 'Congratulations' were being thrown about like confetti from the mouths of every cousin, aunt, uncle, grandparent, third cousin twice removed, and friend that was able to come. And she, well, she had her friends. James' parents would certainly welcome her as one of their own, but she still knew that she was not their own. No matter what they could do, she would still long for her parents. For her favorite aunt who could never know about who she truly is. Her cousins who she lost touch with as soon as she went off to some 'strange boarding school.' For her sister who could not manage to look at her without a scowl gracing her face.
No, she would not dwell on Petunia on a celebratory day like this. And while that betrayal was a long-time coming, the wound of her parents' recent deaths still tugged inexorably at her heart, especially today. She could picture her mother's smile of wonder that never dissipated whenever she came to the platform. She could feel her warm hug and her auburn hair that always smelled of summer. Her Dad would instantly wrap her in an embrace, tucking her under his chin and kissing the top of her head like he would always do. They would both exclaim with joy and pride, just like they had done when she was made Prefect and then Head Girl. But the slightly lost expression would still mingle in their eyes, as it always did when she tried to explain something in her world, and even that disconnect was something she had come to love.
Something she had come to miss.
She shook her head, trying to shake herself out of her dismal fantasies. Wiping once more underneath her eyes, careful to not disturb the makeup that Dorcas had so expertly and fastidiously applied that morning, she plastered on a smile and with a deep breath, began to move away from the stationary train behind her.
The air shattered.
A series of explosions shook the platform, raining debris from the rafters.
Lily was flung back into the train behind her. Her back slammed into the metal and her head smacked into the glass window, her feet at least two feet from the ground. Her wand fell from her limp fingers and she crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll.
Lily forced herself to breathe, but filling her lungs with air was much harder than she ever remembered. Her ears were ringing loudly, her joints protested any movement, her back ached like a hippogriff had stamped on her spine, yet she was alive. Now that air had made its way through her constricted chest once, twice, now three times, it was easier to breathe as if the debris in her throat had been cleared away. She was breathing and she was alive.
If she thought the platform was chaotic before, it was nothing compared to the madness that reigned now. It played out like a silent movie, all noise drowned out by the incessant ringing. Mouths opened wide in muted screams of terror, people were running this way and that, searching for one of the only fireplaces still functioning as an exit, their trunks forgotten. Others were huddled by catatonic figures, crying out silently for help. And still, her heart continued to beat frantically, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she squinted, trying to make sense of the shaky scene before her.
Her friends were lost in the blur of colors, but she knew they would be here. They would be searching for what had happened, how to help, how to fight. Her hand stumbled upon her wand laying on the floor as she pushed herself unsteadily to her feet. She stumbled into the train and placed one hand on its side to catch her bearings as the world swam before her.
Blinking rapidly, she pointed her wand at her feet and slowly raised it up to her head, murmuring a spell that would remove her dizziness, even if it was only temporarily. The colors in front of her sharpened to a focus, but she didn't stop to appreciate it. She kept her wand pointed at her own face and cleared the buzzing in her ears, allowing the screams to penetrate through her consciousness as the dull ringing faded away.
She looked around as a mother sprinted past her, carrying her young son in her arms and following the crowd streaming towards the fireplaces since all of the exit pillars were now blown to pieces. Lily dove forwards toward an older man struggling to his feet, quickly grabbed his elbow and lifted him up, half-pulling and half-shoving him towards the exit. She quickly moved onto a younger student who was attempting to carry his entire trunk through the hectic crowd, but Lily ushered him onwards, all the while searching for a familiar face.
The crowd surrounding one of the last two exits let out a collective scream as more people shoved their way onto the platform, all dressed in stygian robes with silver masks.
Lily's breath caught in her throat. They were supposed to be trained before being thrown into things like this. They were supposed to be more prepared. Yet there was no question about which way she would run.
People swarmed past her, towards the final exit remaining and she pushed her way through, trying to find a clear view of what was going on. The Death Eaters began to spread out, though oddly enough, they weren't cursing every person within their sight like Lily had expected. In fact, she had only seen a few spells flying through the crowd so far. Instead, they were each surveying the people in front of them, as if they were searching for something.
One of the taller figures seemed to have found what he was looking for and marched forward, quite literally shoving his way ahead. Lily followed his train of vision and saw him heading directly towards a small cluster–two students, one definitely a first-year, the other a few years older. Lily furrowed her brow and shoved her own way through, desperate to cut him off.
"Finite!" she shouted at the same time as he raised his wand.
The two students finally seemed to realize they were being targeted and the older one began to tug on their younger sibling's hand who was frozen in place, tears streaming down his cheeks. Lily could worry about them later. For now, the Death Eater turned his attention to Lily as they stood a few feet apart, the pair of students practically between them.
She took a shaky breath, sparing a moment of pride in the fact that her arm was not visibly trembling. The masked man did not seem to care; he barely gave a moment's notice before attacking, his wand swiping through the air in vicious arcs.
Suddenly, she was dueling for her life.
All of their practices in empty classrooms or the Common Room seemed like child's play–nothing more than a naive game. Lily was blocking the spells she could and dodging the ones she couldn't, forcing her to dance side to side and her shots were hardly aimed at the Death Eater at all.
He rained spells down on her, endlessly and indefatigably, and Lily was forced to step backwards. Just once, then a few more times until she was having to glance backwards to make sure she didn't trip, meaning she had time for even less offensive spells. Yet still, she hung on and managed to fight back until she got her chance to break through his guard.
The moment came when the entrance that the Death Eaters had entered through and were guarding erupted in new flashes of color. Purple robed witches and wizards flooded onto the scene, wands already whizzing through the air. Too caught up in his own victory, the man glanced towards the commotion, allowing Lily to shoot rapid-fire spells at his shield charm, aiming one at his feet just below his edges of safety. The stone floor momentarily turned to quicksand, sucking the man into the Earth until his legs were fully submerged in hardening concrete. Lily disarmed him, catching his wand and tucking it in her pocket, and sprinted towards the swarm of purple that could only mean one thing–aurors.
