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Lily Evans ([info]emerald_eyes) wrote in [info]beyondthepages,
@ 2010-03-20 12:21:00

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Entry tags:!complete, 2023 08, harry potter, lily evans, lily luna potter

RP: What is this?
Characters: Lily E, Lily L, Harry
Time/Date: late afternoon, August 20, 2023
Location: Potter's home in Godric's Hollow
Warnings/Rating: None
Summary: Lily is among the living once more
Status: Complete



She was aware of her heart beating, of memories swirling around her mind. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him..."

She kept her eyes closed, denying it. Whatever had happened, this must be death. The afterlife. But oh god why did it hurt so much? "James," she moaned softly, blinking back the tears. She needed to open her eyes, to see Harry.

Harry.

She could recall begging. Begging, her. Offering her own life if he'd only spare her son. Stupid. What had she been thinking? Only that she needed to save him, to do anything in her power to ensure he lived, that he had a fair chance at life, and then ...

Lily opened her eyes.

She was on the floor, but it wasn't her child's room. There was no crib. The colors were different. Red and gold predominantly, and she thought for one crazy bizarre moment that she was back in her room at Hogwarts when she'd been head girl. Ridiculous. She'd just ... Voldemort had been here. Had killed her? Surely that must have been what happened.

He'd killed James and ...

"James," she whispered. "Oh, James," she breathed before she slowly pushed herself up to her feet. She looked around the room more carefully. An unmade bed, a half-packed trunk. A desk with papers and books scattered over it. Quill, parchment, ink. A student's room, she guessed.

Footsteps on the stairs caught her attention, and emerald eyes swept to the door as another red-head entered. For a moment, the two witches stared at one another before Lily Luna opened her mouth and screamed. It was mingled fear and surprise because the last thing she'd been expecting in her room was another red-headed witch who she did not recognize.

"Daddy!" she called out, reaching toward her back pocket ... but her wand was in her trunk, and the witch was between her and her trunk. "Daddy come quick!" she shrilled.

Lily Evans Potter blinked and shook her head but she couldn't even begin to figure out how to go about fixing this. She had no idea who this girl was, nor where she was. It ... was like her house but clearly wasn't. "No, shh. I'm not ... I'm not going to hurt you," she said to the girl, glancing to the door anxiously. What if the girl's father didn't bother with questions but simply threw some spells at her. "Please," Lily whispered.

Lily Luna remained silent, staring at the stranger who ... reminded her ... strangely, of pictures her dad had shown her. Shown all of them. The witch looked strangely, impossibly, like her father's mother. Like her grandmother. She pressed a hand to her mouth and took a step back to the door before calling once more for her father.


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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-20 08:00 pm UTC (link)
As his children grew up, he had been exposed to a range of noises that he had never imagined could exist. Over time, he had learned the differences between 'I've skinned my knee' cries and 'James is tormenting me' shrieks, even an occasional feigned 'I'm trying to trick you into thinking James is tormenting me' noise, but none of them had ever filled him with adrenaline and terror the way his daughter's scream did this afternoon.

He didn't even remember pulling out his wand and he took the stairs two at a time. He was there in time to hear his daughter call for him again and with a strong, sure hand he swept the girl behind him, putting himself between her and the threat.

Even as he did, though, he was assessing the situation with an Auror's awareness and immediately knew there were many, many things that made no sense. His wand was pointed squarely at his mother, but that was impossible. Someone who looked exactly like his mother? He studied her intensely and while logically he knew it couldn't possibly be her, her eyes were saying otherwise.

He furrowed his brow, his own eyes darting briefly around the room to ensure there was only one extra person present before landing again on the woman who couldn't possibly be his mother. Keeping his free hand on his daughter, he licked his lips, "How'd you get in here?" He settled on, not sure he was ready to ask what her name was.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-20 08:07 pm UTC (link)
"I'm sorry," Lily apologized, which was absurd since she was defenseless, had just lost her entire family, and was so far out of her mind with grief and confusion that she couldn't possibly be expected to make sense. "I ... I don't know. I ..."

Lily flicked her eyes away from him, though not for long. There was something unsettlingly familiar about him, though her grief-clouded mind couldn't process it just then. He looked a bit like James, but there'd been something about his face, too.

"I ... Voldemort was ... I don't know. I was trying to save. Save my son. He'd already..." she looked away again, longer this time as tears flooded her eyes. James. Oh, Merlin, her James. "He'd already killed my husband," she whispered. "I thought I'd died ... surely, I had, but ..."

But if she'd died, how was she standing here having this conversation?

"I just ... woke up on the floor," she offered for lack of anything better to say.

"Oh, holy sh--cow," Lily Luna gasped as she peered around her father's arm. For a moment she wondered if James had snuck home early from his travels and was playing a joke, but even he had better taste than this, didn't he? Besides, where would he even get a bit of their grandmother?

"Daddy, is that really ... really her?" she inquired as she clung to his arm.

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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-20 08:21 pm UTC (link)
He immediately felt guilty for the gruffness of his question and he felt a mix of emotions that he wasn't even sure he had names for. If this was a trick, he thought he might arrest whoever was behind it.

Absurdly, he wanted to reprimand his daughter for almost swearing, but at the same time, he wanted to drop a few choice words of his own. He also felt a surge of protectiveness over his possible mother, as if he was the parent and not the other way around. Which, he realized, he was old enough to be her father.

Holy shit.

Glancing down at the younger girl, he shook his head, unsure, and while he didn't want to have a whole conversation with this new Lily in front of his daughter, he was still feeling wary and not in a huge rush to send her out of his sight.

"Your name is Lily Potter?" He asked as he returned his gaze to his mother. He was watching for reactions -- surprise that he somehow knew who he was, anything that would help confirm this wasn't some impossible joke. It didn't feel like a joke to him though, and in a softer voice he added, "Your safe here. It's a long story, but Voldemort's gone."

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-20 08:29 pm UTC (link)
Her lips parted and she wondered how he'd known that. If she'd had it in her to feel anything other than grief and confusion, she would have been highly suspicious. "I ... I am, yes," she said as she turned her eyes back to him, studying him. Her eyes played over his features, lingering on his eyes.

Her eyes. Her eyes, in a different face. Her son had had her eyes, and that sent a fresh wave of grief coursing through her. Her son was ... surely dead. As dead as she'd been. Because she must have died.

Her family was gone, and she was lost. She felt her knees start to give, and she rested one hand on the bed as she took a few slow, deep breaths. She couldn't well impose on this family, but nor did she have anywhere to go.

No, that wasn't true. She could go to Sirius, or Remus. Surely they were around. She'd have to tell Sirius, anyway, about James. "Sorry ... but do you know where Sirius lives? Sirius Black. Or Remus Lupin. Are they still ..." she trailed off as she caught the expression on the younger red-head's face.

"Oh daddy," she whispered before she buried her face against his arm. How on earth could this even be happening? Her ... possibly her grandmother, asking about people who'd died ages before Lily Luna herself had been born.

Oh, this was horrible.

And none of her cousins were going to believe this.

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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-20 09:02 pm UTC (link)
Harry thought he probably should have kept being suspicious, but her questions broke his heart. He thought he would of course still be careful about the situation, but...

He gave his daughter's shoulder a soft squeeze as he gazed down at her, "Go make some tea, please." His words were soft, but at the same time it wasn't really a request and he hoped Lily wouldn't choose now to try to finagle her way into staying.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he didn't even know where to begin. "Why don't you sit down," he suggested as he stepped further into the room, motioning to the bed that she was already leaning against. He wanted to reach out to steady her, but didn't want to scare her. "There's something very strange going on and it's going to be a lot for you to take in." Especially if she was coming straight from her death and the loss of James.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-20 09:13 pm UTC (link)
For a moment, Lily thought the girl was going to mutiny. She had a look in her eyes that almost made Lily smile. But the girl did turn away, heading down the stairs with a few backward glances.

"Really, I don't want to impose," Lily insisted. "I ... I'll need to tell Sirius, anyway. He ... they were best mates. He'll want to know ..." Even as she spoke, Lily had the feeling she wouldn't be seeing Sirius any time soon.

Truthfully, she wasn't in a rush to tell Sirius anything at all about what had happened. He'd likely be pleased she was alive (was she alive though? was this some strange afterlife?) but the loss of James would crush him. Much like it was crushing her.

When she blinked, a pair of tears tumbled down her cheeks and she lifted a hand to wipe them away. She did sit on the bed, only because she didn't trust her legs to keep her standing. Glancing over her shoulder, she looked to where her son's crib had been. The place was now occupied by a chest of drawers, one of the drawers open, a green sleeve hanging out of it.

Looking back to the wizard, she gazed once again at his eyes. Into his eyes. His dark hair. His features ... were like she imagined James' would be, if James was his age, and she smiled faintly.

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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-20 09:58 pm UTC (link)
Harry pulled up Lily's desk chair, sitting in front of the other witch ... close, but not too close. All his silly, youthful fantasies about somehow having his mum and dad alive again had never included the realities of how such a situation would go. Because, really, there were no realities involved in thoughts like this, and yet, here they were.

How were you really supposed to tell someone that it was 40 odd years into her future and many people she knew and loved was dead? Gazing into her eyes, he had no idea.

"The thing is," he began softly, compassionately, managing to keep his doubt and confusion out of his voice, "you're not in your time anymore. You think it's 1981, yeah? It's 2023. I've no idea how or why." The words I'm your son were on his lips, but he held them back, deciding to give her little bits of information at a time and let her work through it at her own speed.

In the back of his mind, he was concerned about the hows and the whys. Were others coming back? Selfishly, some of the possibilities excited him, but realistically, he knew this was Not Good.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-20 10:03 pm UTC (link)
Lily shook her head. "That's ..." Impossible. She pressed a hand to her mouth before she shook her head again. She glanced wildly around the room until her eyes lit on a calendar. Two kittens tangled in a ball of yarn above writing that declared it to be August of 2023. Given the crossed-out days on the calendar, she assumed it was late August.

"No ..." she whispered. "How ... how would that even be possible?"

If it was ... just under forty-two years since that night then ... then Sirius and Remus would be grown. Into their sixties. And if her son had lived, he'd be ...

... he'd be about the age of the man in front of her.

The man with her eyes. The man who hadn't given her his name. But it was impossible, and she scolded herself for letting even the tiniest spark of hope flare. Voldemort had killed James, had killed her. What chance had her infant son stood?

But he looked ... he could have been. Couldn't he? If any of this was possible ... if she was here, alive, then maybe ... maybe something had happened. Maybe the Order had known, had come in time to save her son. "Harry?" she whispered as she lifted a hand hesitantly before letting it fall back to her lap. "Are you ... are you my son?"

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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-20 11:56 pm UTC (link)
Harry was quiet, giving her time to absorb the information, and he felt sort of rude watching her the whole time, but it was difficult for him to look away. He wasn't sure why -- and he wondered if he was crazy for believing it -- but he found it very hard to continue to doubt that this was Lily Evans Potter, somehow back from the dead.

When she put together for herself that he was her son, he felt something relax inside himself that he hadn't even realized was tense.

"Yes. I'm Harry," he answered, his voice hoarse with emotion. He cleared it and smiled somewhat shakily, "That was my daughter," he gestured vaguely back towards the door, "Lily Luna, who may or may not actually be getting us tea." Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if she was just standing in the hallway listening the whole time.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-21 12:07 am UTC (link)
That raised a thousand and one more questions. How had he survived? Had Sirius been a good godfather? She'd had some serious misgivings about that, when James had suggested it, but she knew that was a fight she wouldn't win. There were more, all tumbling over each other, but none of them seemed important enough to voice first.

Instead, she reached out one hand, stroking her fingertips barely against his cheek. "My baby," she breathed before she laughed shakily. "Not ... really a baby anymore, are you? Oh love, I'm so sorry ..." she whispered, as if it had somehow been her fault she'd been killed.

She did nod to acknowledge the mention of his daughter, and she did note that they shared a name. So it was a bit ironic to her that she'd shown up in the girl's room.

Then everything caught up with her. "Your daughter," she echoed. "Which would make her ... my ... my granddaughter."

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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-21 12:20 am UTC (link)
He echoed her laugh, letting it wash away some of his nerves, some of his worry that this was somehow a joke, or worse, or that he had lost his mind or having a very elaborate dream.

Shaking his head, he gently took her hand into both of his and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "Don't.. be sorry. It was ... well, when you sacrificed yourself for me, that's what kept me alive. It was old, powerful magic."

His lips twitched into another smile when she mentioned being a grandmother, "Which makes you possibly the youngest grandmother in the world. I would hope so, anyway. We've got too older boys as well."

He swallowed, knowing he should probably tell her that Sirius and Remus had both been killed in the war, but perhaps she still needed time to let this sink in. He couldn't imagine how she was going to process all the information he had to tell her.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-21 12:34 am UTC (link)
Lily pondered over the words, and she nodded slightly. "I wish it could have saved ..." She dropped her eyes again. Well, he'd likely know what she meant with that. "It just ... all happened so fast. He never had a chance," she breathed as she clasped her hands together in her lap.

"Did ... did Sirius raise you then? Did he do a good job of it? He was your godfather," she murmured, though if he'd been raised by Sirius, surely he knew that. "Is he still around? He's got to be around somewhere. Remus, too," Lily continued. Because the idea that her husband and her closest friends were gone was ... not something she was willing to deal with.

There had to be something familiar in this world, didn't there? Something for her to cling to. Having her son was wonderful and amazing, but he was a grown man with his own family. Surely he didn't need her intruding on that.

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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-21 03:30 am UTC (link)
He looked away for a moment when she directly asked about Sirius and Remus once more. Returning his gaze to her, he shook his head sadly, rubbing a hand against the scruff on his chin.

"Everyone thought Sirius was your secret keeper," he began softly, "he went after Peter after you two were killed, but Peter managed to make it look Sirius was still behind it all. Sirius ... went to Azkaban. I was raised by your sister and her husband."

He squeezed her hand softly, but plunged on, "He escaped later so I at least got to know him, but he was killed by Bellatrix during a battle." That was one of the few events he still felt some shame and regret over. If he had just used the mirror...

Shaking his head, he inhaled and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry, but Remus was also killed in the war. He was my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in third year. He was brilliant at it," he murmured with a sad little smile. "He got married and had a son named Teddy. He and his wife were both killed in the battle where Voldemort was defeated, though. Teddy's my godson."

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-21 03:42 am UTC (link)
Lily was silent for a long moment, gazing down at their joined hands. She swallowed a few times and while she had so many questions, she simply didn't have it in her to ask anything else.

They were all dead. Sirius, Remus ... and James. "I hadn't wanted ... not Peter. I didn't trust him," she said. "Not really. There was always something a little ... I don't know. But James and Sirius thought it was brilliant, and there was no arguing with them." Though now ... she wished she'd pushed a little harder.

She did manage a little smile when he mentioned Remus had been a teacher. "Really. Even with ..." She hesitated. "Well, his furry little problem?" That was somewhat of a silver lining, if the world was tolerant enough to let werewolves teach.

The fact that he had a kid though ... Lily wanted to meet him. She could at least tell him stories about his father, if the boy was interested. Boy ... he was likely an adult by now as well, and that was disconcerting.

Lily tightened her grip slightly on Harry's hand, and she knew they should move on to more practical things - like living arrangements, and she'd have to find a job, and ... start her life without any of her friends. "Is the Order ..." she trailed off. Would he even know about that? "Well. The Order ... of the Phoenix. Did ... do you know if that's around?"

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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-21 04:26 am UTC (link)
"Well, Dumbledore hired him anyway. There was still a lot of prejudice and he only taught for a year because of it. It's gotten a bit better now, but.." he trailed off and shrugged his shoulders. Sadly, he doubted they'd ever see a complete lack of prejudices whether it be about werewolves or blood status, but they could work to keep improving things.

"Oh, there's a potion now too. The Wolfsbane. It allows werewolves to keep their mind when they transform," he added with a little smile.

When he felt her grip on his hand tighten, he squeezed hers gently in return. "The Order is mostly inactive now. There hasn't been a threat like Voldemort, so it hasn't really been needed. Which isn't to say things are perfect now, but I like the think the Aurors are in better shape and the Ministry as a whole... Kingsley Shaklebolt is Minister. There was a lot of rebuilding the Ministry after we won the war."

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-21 04:58 am UTC (link)
Mostly inactive, which meant she was going to have a tough time getting in touch with anyone she knew. And anyone she knew would be ... forty-two years older than she recalled them being. Or dead.

She imagined any money that had been in James' vault had been transferred to Harry, so that was out as an option. Not that she doubted he'd help her, but she wouldn't lean on him any more than she had to.

Though she did have to wonder if this was perhaps temporary. A fluke, and she'd be dead again by morning. It was a disturbing thought, but this was unprecedented, wasn't it? Who had ever come back from the dead before?

It was good to hear things had been quiet, peaceful, but she wasn't really sure what she'd do here, now. Live, she guessed. Her mind roamed back to school to her friends, and she had to wonder what had become of all of them. Her thoughts shifted briefly to Severus, but it wasn't as though she could count him among her friends and she exhaled softly.

"Would you mind horribly if ... if I stayed here? Just for a night or so, until I can figure something else out. I don't want to impose on your family ..." Even though it was her family as well. She simply didn't know any of them.

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[info]bears_the_scar
2010-03-21 05:46 am UTC (link)
Harry was startled by her question, not because he didn't want her to stay here, but because she thought she could in any way impose on him. He'd honestly been planning on offering to let her stay, but she had asked before he could.

"Of course you can stay here. Merlin, you wouldn't be imposing at all," he smiled reassuringly. "We have an extra room that doesn't get used much at all. You're welcome here as long as you like."

Inhaling deeply, he blew out a thoughtful sigh. "We'll figure this out." He needed to owl Ginny and ... he didn't even know. What was the procedure when someone came back from the dead? The ministry would need to know, in case it wasn't an isolated incident.

He wanted to offer her money, as well, but didn't know how to without it sounding ... strange or something. He didn't want it to sound like charity because it wasn't. Rightfully, the money he'd used from their vaults was hers.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-03-21 05:56 am UTC (link)
Lily wanted to protest that she wouldn't stay very long, but she didn't know what the world was like anymore. She wasn't even sure she had the skills to get a job, let alone one that would pay enough for rent and necessities.

She need a wand, too, she realized, and she wondered how much that was going to cost. She missed her wand; it had been simple, but it had been hers since the August of her eleventh year.

There was a lot she was going to have to settle out, and she really didn't have the energy to do it just then. Really, she wanted to find some time alone, preferably somewhere quiet and dark, to just try to process all of this.

If she was an isolated incident, she wondered if she'd become some sort of media circus. But if she wasn't an isolated incident ... then James would come back here, too. She thought she'd like to be here in the event that happened.

"Thank you," she said softly, simply, squeezing his hand again and offering him a light smile. She imagined if there was tea being made, it was getting cold, and she thought she'd had enough of the question and answers for now. The answers led to more questions, more things she needed to sort out, and she was so very tired.

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