Diclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: This is the final chapter of "Not Alone" and everything sorta comes together here. Thanx for reading, everyone, remember to review, blah, blah, blah. :D
Lily woke up once again in an unfamiliar bedroom and with an awful pounding in her head. The clock on the wall said three a.m. Lily stood up and crossed the room to the window. The view outside was familiar and told her that she was still in the Burrow.
Unable to get back to sleep, Lily went downstairs and into the kitchen. She froze when she entered the room. The table was strewn with newspapers and the chairs were pulled out in every direction, as if many people abruptly stood up and were in too big a hurry to push them back into place.
And last night came flooding back to her. Not all at once, in little bits and small images. The country sky. Peter yelling. The old cottage. James fighting beside her. James peeking at her to see if she was alright. The Death Eaters. Saving James. James screaming her name. A large rock thrown at her by magic. A dead man's face.
She sat down on the couch, frustrated. Who's face was it? It wasn't James; she knew that for sure. For a brief moment she worried that it was Remus, but then she remembered that if he were there, he would not be in his human form. She thought harder, concentrating until she saw his face clearly. She recognized him. Molly Weasley's brother.
Poor Molly. Lily knew she was the one that had to clean her and the other Order members up at the battle last night, and her brother was dead.
Then it all hit her. Everything she had been bottling up for the last few weeks, maybe even months, came out. She had never felt this lost before, this alone. So Lily cried.
She cried for Molly's brother, who would never see the sky again. For Molly, who was close to him and for Molly's unborn child who would never meet his own uncle.
She cried for her parents. She cried for the way they had to die, at the hands and mercy of a murderer, no time for goodbyes, they were probably dead before they realized what was happening. They had left her. They were the only things keeping her family together and they were gone.
Lily cried for Remus. Remus, who she thought she had loved, who had never loved in her return. Remus, who was burdened with the belief that he was a monster.
She cried for James's parents, among the first to disappear. She cried for James.
She cried for her friends she had no longer had from when she was young. For one friend in particular, the one who had lost his way. She cried for him knowing that she did not try to help him because he did not deserve help. If she had helped him, would he be different? She wondered if he ever stood a chance against what he had become. She wondered if he was out there tonight, fighting on the other side.
And everything seemed connected to one person. One evil man who's heart was so distorted it was barely human. Lily wept most bitterly for him, for the man they once called Tom Riddle. She cried, wondering what had made him this way; that had made him this monster. She cried for him, wishing that someone had given him love and compassion. She cried because she knew he would no longer accept it. She cried for the man they once called Tom Riddle, knowing if he were different, she would be too. If he were different, then she wouldn't have to cry for anyone at all. Lily had never felt this empty, this alone before. The emptiness threatened to swallow her.
And then someone was there, sitting next to her on the couch. Someone who put their arms around Lily and pulled her closer to them. At first, Lily thought that it was Lupin, but she knew that she wasn't quite right. Lupin's arms didn't feel so…strong and safe. Lupin's arms were never closed so tightly around her, they always hung around her loosely, giving her a chance to break free and run if she wanted. These arms did not do that. And Lily didn't want to run anyway.
She was still sobbing as she buried her head into the person's chest. She stayed there for an eternity or longer, shaking and crying in this person's arms. But she felt so warm and safe in theses arms, so untouchable, that she was beginning to calm down a bit.
She felt so much better, the emptiness that was going to swallow her earlier had disappeared, and in its place was a new, stronger feeling. A feeling that told her everything would be okay as long as she stayed where she belonged, right here in these arms. Someone was resting their cheek on her head. And Lily knew it belonged there.
Because of those arms wrapped tightly around her, clinging her body to their own, because of the warm cheek resting on top of her head, everything would be okay, despite everything.
Despite the fact that they were in the middle of a war and that people were dying. Despite the fact that everyone who had ever loved her and who she had loved had left her, leaving her alone. Well, almost everyone. She lifted her tear-streaked face upward and looked into the eyes of James Potter.
His face told Lily that they could fight side by side; that he would always be there to hold her and comfort her at three in the morning. He told her that he would listen to her troubles and that she didn't have to suffer alone, she would always have a friend. He told her all this without words.
And his face confirmed everything that she was now feeling. His face told her that she was, in fact, not alone.
A/N: Wow, its done. I can't believe it. Sure, it wasn't that long, but more than one teacher has told me that I have the attention span of a spastic squirrel (I'm not kidding.) I had Lily refer to Voldy as Tom Riddle because I think that she would not see him as this powerful evil monster, but more as this fragment of this unloved guy he used to be, Tom Riddle. Just letting you know, because apparently that confused some people. Please review and tell me if you were happy with how the story went. If you were happy with it, thank you. If you weren't, well, I'm sorry, go read someone else's fanfic. Thanks everyone for reading! (Now you just have to review)