The Marauders Era

Left Alone in the World

  Another week passed just as it had always done, Order meetings every few days, getting drunk with Sirius, Remus and Peter and staying up till dawn, lying on the couch with Muggle movies on and eating snacks.

One particular day James went out shopping and as he arrived back at the house the telephone Lily had insisted upon rang. James dropped the bags of food he was carrying and nervously picked up the receiver, as though scared it would hurt him. "Hello, this is James Potter." he said.

The room was silent except for Lily's sniffs. James sat beside her, staring at the ground, his arm around her shoulder as she cried into his chest. Sirius and Remus sat at the kitchen table, they'd been there when James had got the phone call. They glanced at the other, then at Lily. Remus pointed at the door with his thumb and Sirius nodded. They got up and Remus sat beside Lily, Sirius stared at the floor. "Um, we're gonna go, we'll tell Wormtail." Remus said. Lily turned around and hugged Remus, sniffing again. Sirius clapped James on the shoulder and James pulled Lily back towards him. Remus followed Sirius to the door, they pulled on their cloaks and Disapperated.

"Tuney, you know James." Lily said. James stood beside her in a brand new jet black Muggle suit. James raised a hand in greeting. Beside Petunia stood her new husband Vernon Dursley, who seemed to have gotten bigger and even fatter during the year since James had last seen him. Lily seemed to recognise the coldness in the way her sister greeted James and she took his hand and led him away.

A month had passed and the news that her parents had died was starting to sink in with Lily. Peter entered the living room where James was plucking the strings of Lily's father's guitar. "How are you guys going?" he asked. "Holding up. Are you okay? We haven't seen you much recently." Lily replied. "I'm fine, just, you know the pressure of the war and I've never been very strong." Peter replied. "Pete, you're a Gryffindor, remember that." James said, grinning.

A few more weeks passed then James received the news that his parents had gotten sick with dragon pox. They were highly contagious so James wasn't allowed to visit them. He sat in the living room day and night, side by side with Sirius, running his fingers through his hair so much it spiked up more than usual and drummed his feet nervously on the carpet. Sirius was doing the exact same thing. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were his parents as well.

Lily, Remus and Peter watched their friends, bringing them food and coffee and making sure they ate and drank. Lily sat beside James, ruffling up his hair and kissing him gently. Sirius sat with his face in his hands, Remus was beside him, his hand on Sirius' shoulder. Peter hovered in the middle of the room, watching nervously. They had got news a few hours ago that the Potters were very fatally ill.

An owl tapped on the window and James leapt up. He dashed across the room, Sirius beside him and ripped open the letter. His eyes travelled down the page and then he dropped it. He sank to his knees, his face in his hands, Sirius sat down beside him, his eyes shut tight. Remus picked up the letter and read it, he looked at Lily and Peter, confirming their suspicions. Lily massaged James' shaking shoulders, a tear rolling down her face. Remus clenched his jaw, staring out of the window. Peter collapsed on the couch and started sobbing.