You Were too Young to Die

Chapter 16

VEILLER TARD

( Staying up late )

James was holding his wife´s waist and Sirius´s shoulder. As for Lily, she was trying to made a way among the compact crowd.

It was Halloween, on October the 31^st.

Everything was all right.

James stopped in front of the shooting gallery of the carnival organized at Godric´s Hollow for Halloween. He exclaimed :

" Sirius, I bet I burst more balloons than you ! "

" We shall see about that ! " Padfoot resumed laughing.

They both took a carabine and began to play. Lily looked at them a while then went away with Harry until the displays of alive stuffed animals. She went for a walk between the talking bumper cars which made some sorts of odd comments and the haunted house which wasn´t. She finally returned towards the men. James and Sirius was always aiming. Finally, there weren´t any balloon in the cages. The fairground person told to James :

" I´m not sure you will win your gamble. "

" I´ve lost ? " James asked.

" No, I don´t think. There is level on point. "

Lily looked at them smiling :

" There is always level on point between you two ! "

Les lueurs immobiles d´un jour qui s´achève

La plainte douloureuse d´un chien qui aboie

Le silence inquiétant qui précède les rêves

Quand le monde disparu l´on est face à soi

***

Lily was licking her fingers, sticky with orange-coloured cotton candy and candy apple (A/N : You know, in France, you say " pomme d´amour ", so in litteral translation it´s " apple of love ", it´s more romantic than in English...), then proposed a game. James followed her to the stand. Sirius kept Harry in his arms while both lovers was chuckling in the the fairground entertainer´s shack, inflating mischievous balloons. Some had the shape of pumpkins, others of ghosts, some were ticklish, a part changed of colour and the last ones shouted if you touched them.

Sirius smiled staring at James and Lily. They were so happy at this moment...

Harry, in his arms, was moving tightening his arms towards his parents.

Sirius thought that somebody wanted to kill this happiness.

Ces paroles enfermées que l´on n´a pas pu dire

Ces regards insistants que l´on n´a pas compris

Ces appels évidents ces lueurs tardives

Ces morsures aux regrets qui se livrent à la nuit

***

Harry began to snivel in his mother´s arms. She tried in vain to rock him but nothing was any good. She eventually said :

" I´m going to come home. Harry is tired... "

James hurried to add that he would accompanied her. She tried to persuade him to stay but he didn´t give up. Sirius was then invited...

***

The evening was cheerful. Sirius did stupid jokes but Lily burst out laughing at each.

" This calls back to me our evenings at Hogwarts " she noticed.

" We really enjoyed ourselves at school " James resumed. " Do you remember when we have create the Marauders´ map, Padfoot ? "

Ces visages oubliés qui reviennent à la charge

Ces étreintes qu´on rêve on peut vivre cent fois

Ces raisons-là qui font que nos raisons sont vaines

Ces choses au fond de nous qui nous font veiller tard

" Of course, that had lasted more than a year, but we had laughed and laughed... Especially when Peter confused the Willow with the Blind Witch. "

" The Marauders´ map ? " Lily repeated without understanding.

" It´s a card of the castle that indicates your position and the position of those who are walking in the corridors... It was very handy when we went out without license and when we wanted to avoid crossing McGonagall´s way ! "

" Have you always got it ? "

" No " James finished. " Filch confiscated it to us when we were in fifth year. We tried to get back it but he saw us. "

***

Lily was still laughing when the door closed on Sirius.

" I am going to bed, honey " she declared.

***

He snuggled up to her and whispered :

" You see, everything is all right sweetie. We don´t risk anything. "

" But I am afraid James. Afraid. You know, people say women know exactly when they are going to die. They feel the death coming. It´s what happens to me... "

Les frissons où l´amour et l´automne s´emmêlent

Le noir où s´engloutissent notre foi nos lois

Cette inquiétude sourde qui coule en nos veines

Qui nous saisit même après les plus grandes joies

" You have really morbid thoughts. "

" No, I feel something. Something which oppresses me, which suffocates me... "

James caressed her hair :

" We have a good Secret Keeper. "

" Of course but... I am afraid James. Afraid for you. Afraid for Harry. Afraid of the future. "

" You don´t have to be afraid my little darling. I´ve said it to you one day, you must believe in the future. If you believe in it Lily, then everything will be all right... "

Ces solitudes dignes au milieu des silences

Ces larmes si paisibles qui coulent inexpliquées

Ces ambitions passées mais auxquelles on repense

Comme un vieux coffre plein de vieux jouets cassés

***

Everything was quiet. Lily and James have been already sleeping since some minutes. In the garden nothing moved. Trees were not even shaken by the slightest breath of air.

A night like all the others.

But in the room of the first floor, a young lady with auburn hair and pale skin was moving in her sleep. Suddenly she woke up in start. She put a hand on her breast, trying to slow down the beating sound of her heart. She was trembling. Finally, she put her head on the pillow but kept her eyes opened and her ears in wait.

But no noise came to disturb the quiet silence of the house.

Far away, a bell tower stroke the half hour.

Half past nine ?

Yes, certainly.

She flutters her eyelashes then closed her eyes.

Nothing would come to disrupt her sleep henceforth, wouldn´t it ?

Ces liens que l´on secrète et qui joignent les êtres

Ces désirs évadés qui nous feront aimer

Ces raisons-là qui font que nos raisons sont vaines

Ces choses au fond de nous qui nous font veiller tard

She turned to James who slept peacefully beside her and envied his deep sleep.

Some minutes later, she had fallen asleep again, a hand putting on James's arm and the other one on the sheet. You can´t stay up eternally, even if you have the feeling that you would have had to take advantage of these minutes so precious which fly away when you sleep.

Because maybe tomorrow will never come.

Then it will be too late to regret not having stayed up late.