#snapshots of the war basically. finding dorcas. finding all of the lost soldiers

[saintchaser]

NOVEMBER I

a wet, fresh air, grey skies.

the morning had been cold when lily and james stumbled out of their rented apartment in london and down the stairs, their hands intertwined, gripping their wands.

they had become paranoid recently. death, death, death, it was a chant of upcoming doom, looming over their heads, following them. it made them restless, in their blood flow, pumped in their body by their heart, flooding them.

"surrey? james asked, looking up at lily. from what they had heard, it had been the last place where dorcas had been spotted.

remus hadn't told them much about that evening. he was on a mission with them, and only he came back, bruised and battered down and with a large, bloody gash on his stomach that lily had taken care of.

he hadn't spoken to them much after the incident. he just started taking more and more missions, ever since the spy had been announced. they still didn't know who it was. ever since that night remus and dorcas had spent together, it was almost like he wasn't himself anymore

dumbledore had told them that a small alley with a worn down factory surrey had been the last place they had been seen before they dissapeared, headfirst in the battle.

going after them would have been in vain, though. three weeks had passed ever since they hadn't come back. they were dead, everyone could feel it in their bones. still, they were clinging to the hope to get dorcas back. not the old, jovial dorcas that they had been before marlene's death; they'd never hope to see that side of them again. they missed even the somber, even more practical than usual dorcas. that dorcas was the one that would get them out of the war.

but they didn't even manage to get themselves out of it.

death, death, death.

"surrey." lily nodded and, gripping james' hand tightly, they apparated to the indicated location.

when they got there, the sky was cloudy, the air wet and heavy with dread. lily had already started walking to the factory, assuming that they were where dorcas was. the factory stood tall and grey, reminding her of the old pne in spinner's end.

"here," james whispered, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her in a narrow, cobbled alley. the both of them barely fitted there; dorcas must have been alone when they died.

at the end of the alley, someone was lying down on the ground. lily felt her knees weakening; james steadied himself up by propping himself against the wall.

"merlin, if dorcas will look the same as benjy..." he trailed off. "my stomach couldn't bear seeing that again."

there was a mutual understatement that the body at the end of the alley was dorcas.

"you can stay here if you want to." lily hadn't asked james. it hadn't been an order, either. she knew that he couldn't stand that kind of thing. made his stomach turns upside down. lily understood. she always would. "i can go check and call you to come to see if you want to and if it's not, you know..."

"yeah. okay." james nodded, taking a deep breath in, preparing for the worst.

death, death, death.

the alley was so short, lily only needed to take a few steps to get to the end, bright and so different from what was on the other side. in front of lily were shops, cafés, and people were just starting to come out of their houses, to start a new day.

like nothing was happening around them.

dorcas was lying at their feet. there was a thin streak of dried blood that had come out of their nose, possibly from how they had hit the ground when they had fallen. their face was expressionless; peaceful, in a way. they'd gone back to marlene, by her side, as they should've. they promised themselves.

death, death, death. imminent, slow death.

#death tw #murder tw #blood tw #snapshots of the war basically. finding dorcas. finding all of the lost soldiers #hc that marlene and dorcas had a very short period of time that they lived without the other (between their deaths i mean) #i gotta write other deaths as well but idk when... i haven't had much time recently 😭 #james potter #lily evans #dorcas meadowes #my writing #(first quote is from silvia plath)