The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part Two

The Other Cave

Sirius sat on the couch in the Potter's living room, waiting, staring transfixed at the clock on the mantel as it spun one way... then back the other.... all the way.... and back the other.... like a heart beat. He thought he was seeing things when it paused, skipping a full tick and a full tock, before settling back into its regular revolutions.

Remus showed up after uni, when the light outside was growing dark, and was surprised to find only Sirius at the Potter's, sitting on the couch with Roger on his lap, staring vacantly at the hearth.

"Where are James and Lily?" Remus asked.

The things going through his head were not the kinds of things that he would speak out loud. They were the kinds of things that you think when you're worried and you're scared and you don't have answers to too many questions and when the dementor in your chest is asking you if you're sorry yet for the things you've done, when she starts to whisper - you might not be sorry now, but you will be.

So Sirius just shook his head, "Dunno."

"Lumos maxima!"

James skid across the stones as he lunged into the cave, his wet Gryffindor trainers slipping on the stone so that he fell more than he climbed down into the mouth of the cave.

"James, be careful!" Lily yelled after him, her voice echoing off the hexagonal pillars.

James barely heard her, so blinded by desperation to find Regulus, he splashed through the low-standing water, pulling himself back up onto the rocky ledge. He tripped and stumbled his way along the narrow pathway that hugged the inside of the cavern, squeezing between a narrow crevice...

"Regulus!" he yelled, and he heard the stones reverberate his voice. "REGULUS!"

James was pushing through, his feet sliding on slippery rocks, going deeper-deeper-deeper.... when suddenly he heard Lily scream.

He stopped cold in his tracks, turning back as quickly as he could.

She was on her knees in the mouth of the cave, framed by the jagged rocks and the moonlight, her mouth open in a continuous cry, spittle flying out of her and her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Her hair, lavendered by the moon, flew about her, caught up in the wind that whipped off the sea in a vortex just inside the cave mouth. Beside her, Severus Snape had her arm, keeping her from falling forward, pitching herself over the edge of the ledge.

"POTTER!" Severus called, and he stumbled as she threw herself, bucking and rocking in pain.

James did not hesitate. It did not matter how many inferi could be in the water, he plunged himself through the middle of it, rather than keeping to the narrow wall, and he waded through waist-deep slimy water, throwing himself onto the rock face on the opposite side, scrambling to climb up beside them. He knelt before her and she plunged into his chest, knocking his glasses off in the process, screaming... screaming... screaming...

Severus let go of her and the full weight of her pressed on James and he held her, wrapping his arms tightly around her and firmly pressing her to his chest. "Evans, Evans... Evans, I'm here, Evans..."

Severus picked James's glasses up from the stone and held them gingerly, watching with wide-eyed fear as Lily continued screaming... "I'm here, Lily, I'm here," James repeated over and over... and Severus closed his eyes, allowing himself to see what she was seeing...

It was a blur of pain that he could not make sense of, though, nothing that strung together quite right...

James held her all the tighter as the screaming dulled... quieted... and dissolved slowly into pleading, begging... whimpering... and finally... silence. Horrible, horrible silence that hung there in between the three of them.