Lily Evans Potter does Manhattan. (lilspotter) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2013-11-13 14:45:00 |
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The lifts at least worked mostly like what she remembered from Muggle England, even though it had been a long time since she’d utilized one. It had been a long time since she’d been anywhere but Godric’s Hollow, and particularly her residence in Godric’s Hollow, and when she’d first arrived in this place, she’d honestly thought she was dead. The medical examination that the people in uniforms had given her, had proven otherwise, and despite the fact that a sort of frantic numbness had kept her from soaking in every single aspect of what they had been saying about what was happening to her. And then when they’d told her that there were people here who would now her she wasn’t certain what she’d been expecting - James maybe? Or Remus. But not… a supposed daughter-in-law, or Dorcas who was… dead. But it certainly had looked like Dorcas, and they had said she was from a series of books, and that the year was 2013 - it might seem like some giant trick, but Lily couldn’t imagine why it would be that. The elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the lobby and looked around at the shops. It was all shinier, brighter, and just different than what she was used to. The number of people around was almost overwhelming, and as she saw a lady with a pram walking by on the sidewalk outside, she felt a lump in her throat: Harry. She shook some sense into herself and walked towards the sign that said ‘Sam’s Bar & Grill’. If Dorcas wasn’t here… if it was some giant trick… then well, she’d have to deal with that wouldn’t she then. But assuming that people were telling her the truth and this was as odd and time-turner-y as the Rory person had suggested - then Dorcas had clearly been here for a while and she would know… the what and the why. And there Lily saw her across the room and she had to stop herself from running across the room. Cool. She needed to know it was Dor and not some imposter. She raised a hand in greeting as she walked nearer her supposedly deceased best friend. It had been several months since Dorcas had been in Lily’s place and she could still remember all too well how overwhelming it could be. It was surreal, finding yourself so far in the future, in a new city where everything was so strange, not to mention the unpleasantness of the journey and the fact that so many people you’d never met knew who you were. With all the comings and goings lately, it felt like she was constantly welcoming people back who didn’t even know her and she was grateful that wasn’t the case with Lily. Even if they were from different times again - and it was hard to say, just from talking with her on the network - there was still a familiarity and Dorcas found that comforting. Of course, she rather hoped for less of a gap that the last two times. The Lily who had greeted her on her arrival in this place had only been 15 and then when she’d disappeared and come back, it had been the 17 year-old version of her friend. Lily was still Lily, but 4 years was quite a gap and when Dorcas finally caught sight of her in the flesh, she let out of sign of relief. While she couldn’t be sure of the exact age, this was the Lily she remembered from home, from before she’d found herself in New York. As soon as Lily was close enough, Dorcas jumped up and threw her arms around the redhead, hugging her tightly. “I swear to Merlin, I am going to spellotape you to the place this time. Or use a permanent sticking charm. Or something. You are not allowed to leave me again, all right?” Lily welcomed the hug even though she didn’t know exactly what to make of it. The person in front of her certainly looked like Dorcas, even though Dorcas had been killed several months prior - but that was in 1981, and this was New York City and 2013. Not that this statement in and of itself made anything make any more sense, but when one began to piece it together with some of the things people had told her it might make sense. Even so Lily couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t some ridiculous experiment going on here, or if she’d died and not quite made it to heaven, or if she’d been confunded. She felt confunded. “I was here? No you mentioned that didn’t you?” Lily gave Dorcas a hug and then stepped back. “I’m so confused, but first, you have to tell me, when we were fifteen and I was in tears over having failed an exam in transfiguration, what did suggest that I do?” It had been the secret question they always asked each other to ensure they were actually who they said they were, and considering all of the other things that had happened thus far, Lily really wanted to know this. Dorcas nodded. “I know this is all very confusing. It’s the Tesseract - no one ever remembers having been here before. My boy-” She broke off, nodding her head when Lily brought up the secret question. She couldn’t say she blamed her. As bad as things had been for them at home, they’d all been trained to check to make sure their friends were who they claimed to be instead of a polyjuiced Death Eater and this situation wasn’t much less suspicious. It all seemed like an elaborate prank at first. And coming through felt so much like dying. She couldn’t blame Lily at all for needing to be sure. “Oh, that’s easy. I told you to streak through the common room, that way you’d be so embarrassed you wouldn’t be thinking about the exam,” she answered with a smirk. She had been joking at the time and, in her defense, she had offered some legitimate help afterwards. After reminding her that Potter was ace at Transfiguration and would probably be willing to tutor her, of course. Lily was one of her best mates, but that didn’t mean she didn’t relish a chance to tease her. Lily relaxed slightly at the response. Only Dorcas should have known that and even if their lives were ‘public knowledge’ surely not every single little detail would have been. “I still say that while it might have kept my mind off of the transfiguration marks, it would have been an utterly rubbish idea with Sirius and James both in our house.” She reached for a chair and sat down. “I was here before?” Lily asked as she sat down. “You mean, like I was here before? But I don't remember it at all. Is that typical?” She had a dozen questions, and none of them seemed to be particularly easy answers. “But you’re here from August, and Ginny - she was saying that she’s married to Harry when he’s grown up I assume?” “Oh, I think they both would have appreciated it,” Drocas countered. Of course, she had known at the time that Lily would never do it, but the point had been distraction. Which had worked for at least half a minute, so behold her success. Dorcas nodded at Lily’s next questions. “That’s the Tesseract. When you leave here, you have no memory of ever being here. It’s assumed that you return to the exact point you were taken from and it also seems like a part of you stays behind, because no one is noted as missing in their home worlds. You’ve been here three times in the time since I arrived. Each time, you’ve arrived a little bit older. James was here for a while - twice, actually - and so were James and Remus. Marlene and Emmeline, too. They’re all gone, though.” Dorcas hesitated, unsure of how much to tell her friend all at once. She knew it could be quite a bit to take in. “Ginny is from many years in our future. Harry was here, too, at a couple of ages, actually. The first time, he was 15. He left and re-appeared as a grown man with children of his own. They were also here for a time. He’s brilliant, Lils. I wish you could remember knowing him at that age.” “Ha! Them appreciating it was never in question,” Lily said with a grin. It’d been a while since she’d thought of those times, and perhaps that had been part of the point of the secret question - beyond the fact that only Dorcas would know the answer to it, it harked back to a time when things weren’t quite as dark as they had been. “James was here?!?” Lily brightened. “Do you think he’ll come back? I mean, do you think any of them will?” She realized she wasn’t even certain what that meant so she stopped for a moment and considered. “So the tesseract thing - it brings us here from our own home, and then drops us in this tower, in what did they say it was 2013? And it can take us back home, but we have no memory of being here? Is that about right?” Dorcas nodded. “Yeah, that’s about it,” she said. “They might come back, they’ve all been here more than once before. They won’t remember being here, but it would be nice to have them around again.” She didn’t say it in so many words, but Dorcas really missed having them all here. She’d grown used to having a number of her mates around - Marly, James, Sirius, Lily. She was glad Lily was back, that was such a relief, but she still missed the others. As selfish as it seemed, she wished they were here. “I feel like I’m reading one of those science fiction novels that my Dad used to keep around,” Lily admitted. “Or maybe I’m in an episode of Doctor Who, or something. This is incredibly bizarre. I think if you weren’t the one telling me this, I’d think everyone was crazy. You’re certain I’m not dreaming, or having some sort of mental breakdown? I have been holed up in a house with James and Harry for months without much in the way of visitors, and that might be enough to make anyone a little nutters.” A waitress came over and she ordered a drink, and then turned her attention back to Dorcas. After she left she added. “Why does no one remember being here before? When I was here from? Was it from later?” Dorcas nodded. “I didn’t believe any of it, either, until Sirius confirmed it. It does seem like something out of a novel or a film, doesn’t it?” Dorcas shook her head and paused to place her own drink order. Hers wasn’t free, of course, but friends didn’t let friends drink alone? Seemed like as good an excuse as any. “No one’s really sure, but it’s something about the Tesseract. It’s from, well, not from Earth, believe it or not. It had some bizarre kind of magic, like nothing I’ve ever felt before. That’s what’s brought us all here and it seems to wipe our memories when it does send us back. Some people even wake up with new memories here. SHIELD has researchers studying it, but I’m afraid what we don’t know about it is a lot more than what we do know. Dorcas knew that was likely to frustrate Lily as much as it had her, but she didn’t have any better answers for her friend. “You were younger, both times. The first time you were around 15, then when you came back, you were 17. The last time James was here, it was shortly after you’d had Harry, so that was a bit awkward.” Lily nodded. “It still seems like science fiction a bit, but unless I’m dreaming I think the only conclusion to really draw is that it must be real. I looked at the list of people in the tower and I recognised some of the names from comics, and films and stuff - which I suppose lends some credence to this theory.” She’d also seen Severus’ name, but she realized she wasn’t ready to ask about that. “That must have been dreadfully awkward for James,” she made a face and was grateful when the drinks arrived and provided a distraction. “And for me too, I suppose. I mean, at seventeen - well.” Lily took a drink and frowned and asked the question she didn’t entirely want to ask but didn’t dare not to. She would trust Dorcas to be honest with her, and she wasn’t certain she could trust anyone else in this place. “If Harry was here, from when he was older, and the Ginny that spoke with me is his wife, then there must be information about my future here, isn’t there?” "I think it was, a bit. You both seemed to handle it all right, but I can't imagine it was easy for either of you." Dorcas shook her head. Relationships in this place always seemed to be so complicated. Even though she was happy with Oliver here now, a part of her worried he'd be sent back again. She'd seen similar happen to others she knew here. It was just all so tenuous. She was grateful, too, for the arrival of their drinks. It allowed her to take a moment before set answered Lily again. "Yes, there is. There's information about all if our futures." Dorcas paused, not sure how to proceed. "I'm afraid it's not all very good, either." Once again, Dorcas paused. She didn't know how much to tell her friend. "Lily, what's the last thing you remember before you came here?" “Well, it’s James,” Lily admitted. “And me. It’s not as if either of us are likely to beat ourselves up over something we can’t control, or be too bothered by it for very long, are we?” Dorcas’ next words gave Lily pause though, and her mind immediately flew to the fact that she and James had heard something. He’d gone to investigate and she’d gone to find Harry in case they needed to run. Her mouth was dry as she glanced back at Dorcas and she looked down at the drink. “Um, James and I were sitting at home in Godric’s hollow watching the telly and wishing we could be at a Halloween party,” she smiled at the memory of the banter the two of them had been throwing back and forth earlier in the evening, when we thought we heard something - but the house has been under the Fidelius Charm, still we thought we should check on it and James went to do that and I went to find Harry. I hadn’t quite reached him when there was a blue light, and at first I thought maybe I’d died, but then I was here and James isn’t and Harry isn’t and I’m worried about them now.” Dorcas nodded as she tried to collect her own thoughts. She hadn’t been there for that night. Her own death had been two months prior and everything she knew of what had happened had come to her second-hand from Sirius after she’d arrived here. Was she really the right person to tell Lily when she hadn’t even lived through it? But there wasn’t really anyone else, no one who had been there. If Sirius had been here- Or Remus- but they weren’t and Dorcas didn’t want her to find out from someone who was a stranger to her. “There’s not easy way to say it. Sirius- he told me about that night when I arrived here, about everything he knew of what had happened. You and James- He found you, Lils. Peter was a traitor. But Harry came through it all right. You saved him and he grew up and he beat You Know Who for good.” That last part had come from others, not Sirius, but Dorcas knew it to be true. Lily froze in place as Dorcas continued. It was at once a shock and also not - because she and James had both been worried about something like that happening. She managed to swallow and breathe both and she moistened her lips. “Harry’s all right though? But James and I don’t make it?” “I -” She had no idea what to say, so she reached for the drink suddenly wanting to down the entire thing - a bizarre desire for Lily Potter who tended to only ever sip at her ciders and beers and never really drink any of them all the way through. “All right. So. The whole, thinking I was dead when I first came through wasn’t such an odd thought to have was it then? What about Peter?” She realized she had no idea what had happened to Peter. Something must have happened to him because he was their Secret Keeper. Voldemort must have figured it out and come after him. “Yeah.” Dorcas sighed softly. This wasn’t news you actually relished giving, but it had to be done. Better the truth come from her than someone else. “James didn’t have a wand, so he didn’t stand a chance. You Know Who.. took care of him and then he came after you and Harry. You- you died to protect Harry and it gave him some kind of protection. When he tried to kill Harry, the curse rebounded back onto him.” Peter. Dorcas had to take a deep breath to calm herself. Her fists clenched just thinking about what he had done. “Peter was a traitor. He was a Death Eater, Lils. He had us all fooled. He told You Know Who where you were and then when Sirius figured out what had happened.. Well, he went to confront Peter. That’s when Peter faked his own death, and set Sirius up to take the blame for all of it.” That was almost the worst part of all of it, though maybe it was Dorcas’ affection for Sirius that made it so. She hated thinking that everyone had believed him to be guilty. The only ones who would have stood up for him had been gone. Sirius not only lost his best friends, he ended up in prison, believed to have been the one to do them in. It made her angry just thinking about what he’d gone through. “What?” Lily honestly didn’t know exactly what to say to that. “No. Peter?” She sat there gaping at Dorcas trying to make some sense of it. Peter a Death Eater? They had so frequently sat through naming sessions. People who they knew were Purists, people who they suspected of using Dark Arts and Dark Magic, people they were certain couldn’t be trusted. Peter was none of those things. He certainly couldn’t have been a Purist. They would have known something, surely. And Peter had never particularly shown interest in the Dark Arts. And they had trusted him… “I don’t understand how -” Lily swallowed and forced her mind to focus, or tried to. “Sirius - Wait, what happened to Sirius?” Dorcas could only nod. She’d had trouble wrapping her mind around it, too. Pete had them all so fooled. None of them would have thought him capable of it. “He went to Azkaban,” Dorcas answered her quietly, staring down at her drink as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. “They thought he’d gotten you and James killed, and there was this streetful of Muggles- Pete blew it up in his escape, so Sirius took the fall for that, too. No one found out he was innocent until- well, it was too late by then.” Dorcas still could only imagine how it had been for their friend, but it broke her heart. “It was a right mess, but it did get sorted for Harry, at least,” she added, trying to put a brighter spin on things. He grew up and got married - his wife is a lovely girl-woman, she’s been here as many times as you have. More, I think, actually. They have three fantastic children and he’s happy.” It wouldn’t erase everything else that happened, but Dorcas hoped it would make Lily smile to know it had turned out all right for her son, at least. Lily nodded, feeling slightly heart-sick. Pete a spy? Sirius in Azkaban? And she and James dead? It was entirely too much to really comprehend. But the news that Harry turned out all right, that he had children and a wife and was happy - it was, as best as could be expected under the circumstances, something that gave her reason to smile just a bit. She reached for the drink and took a rather large gulp. All of this news might just turn her into a drinking person - at least for the moment. “What about Remus?” She realized suddenly that Dorcas hadn’t mentioned him. Had at least one of their friends made it through all right? “Remus made it through the war,” she answered, relieved to not be giving awful news for once. She didn’t really know the particulars of what might have happened later, but she did know Remus got through everything that happened to the rest of them. “I mean, I don’t know all of it, but I know he was all right in the time Sirius was here from originally. He even taught at Hogwarts for a while and he was able to get to know Harry.” She paused briefly, just long enough to take a drink, before adding, “He was here for a while, a few times, just like the rest of you, but he disappeared around when you and James did the last time.” Lily took another drink and left her hands on either side of the glass. So Remus was alive at least. that was something. It wasn’t a lot, but she could cling to it she supposed. It wasn’t nearly as much as she would have liked though. “This is all - I don’t even know Dorcas. I don’t know how to. You said Harry was here before? And I was here before. So Harry might come back?” In all of the information that she’d gathered, she realized that this was the thing she could possibly hold on to. That her little boy, or not so little boy if it were, would come through the tesseract and she’d get to see him and meet him and interact with him again. That would be the best thing in the world - especially after everything she’d just been told - and she would hold onto that and try not to focus on everything else Dorcas had just told her even if the pieces were screaming in her mind and making her want to burst into tears. “Books. Books were mentioned.” Dorcas nodded. “Yes, he might, I think there’s a very good chance of that, actually,” she said, smiling because at least that was something positive she could say. She didn’t know if he would, but it was something to hope for, at least. Dorcas was trying to hold onto that, too, especially with how she missed all their other friends, Marly and Sirius, especially. After taking another pull at her drink, she nodded again. “Yes, I know it’s bizarre, but in this world, we have always been thought of as fictional characters from a series of books. There are films, too, based on the novels. They’re all told from Harry’s point of view from right around his eleventh birthday through his final year. I haven’t read them, myself, but I know some of the others from our world have.” “From Harry’s point of view?” Lily considered this and took another drink of the beverage in front of her. “I might have to then…” Based on everything that Dorcas had told her about this place it seemed like it might be essential to understanding more of what she’d learned - and if nothing else, she’d get to understand Harry… Get to know him a bit… “I’ll have to think about it,” she added taking a deep breath to settle her emotions. “All right, tell me more about this place. Not about us, our or future, but it’s safe here, yeah? No Death Eaters? And what’s New York City like? And this phone they gave me… it seems to do everything, honestly, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before and I was born a Muggle!” Glad to have something positive to talk about, Dorcas settled in and started to tell Lily everything about where they were. Saying it was safe might have been a little bit of a stretch, but she tried to focus on the good stuff - like the fact that You Know Who wasn’t here and how brilliant all the technology was and everything she’d been up to in the last several months. It had been nearly a year for Dorcas since she’d seen this version of Lily and they had a great deal of catching up to do. |