Our``L.O.V.E.{ZANE}Brings//Us\\Back(Together)

[Lily Potter]

Tears streaming down her face again, Lily walked through the dim halls of Hogwarts, dreading the meeting she was about to attend. Yes, there was a boy involved in the meeting, but not the one she wished it was. Not Zane, the boy who had crushed her heart by getting a Dark Mark. It was the beater, well the one that beat her constantly, Mason Hollis. After the break up, the 6th year blonde had pulled her off to the side, telling her it would all be better. He hugged her saying he felt connected to her and, in her moment of weakness, she had allowed him to get control of her. The constant beating every night and day was getting to her. She watched Zane, avoiding him and his questions. He looked crushed, but not as totally broken as she felt.

Pushing through the wooden door, Lily made her way across the semi-lit lawns. It was around six o'clock. She absentmindly rubbed a huge bruise on the side of her face. She hadn't gotten to removing it yet and she hated having to explain to Mason why she removed it. She thought back to the last time he hit her, that morning to be exact. He had pushed her out of the Common Room then kicked her for tripping over the slightly raised area. She still had a huge black area just below her right breast. Her hand lingered on the spot for a moment, her eyes finally catching her abusive boyfriend. She smiled, the action as fake as fake could be. He looked mad, not a good sign.

"WHY ARE YOU LATE! I SAID SIX IT IS 6:05!" he yelled, punching her hand in the jaw as she got closer to him. She rubbed her jaw slowly, looking up at him. "You filthy bitch. You don't deserve anything. Go die in a hole." he spat, pushing her back. She glared at him, ready to end this relationship once and for all. He slapped her again, warning her not to look at him like that. "I'm tired of this, Mason! I'm done with you and your crap! Leave me alone! We. Are. Over!" she hissed, her eyes filling with tears as he punched her in the chest. She staggered backward a few steps as he removed his wand.

Before she could count to five, she was in the air, looking down at her ex. No one breaks up with me, Potter." he said, his voice low and deadly. He flung her back into a tree that lined the Forbidden Forest. She cried out in pain as she hit the tree and fell, breaking her leg, or so she thought when she heard the crack from below her. "Don't cry, hoe." the boy said softly, kicking her hard in the side. She held in the tears as he picked her up, making sure she was standing as he threw several punches hard in her face. She felt the blood flowing from her nose when she finally fell to the ground, hearing the soft chuckle of Mason. "Oh, now we are definitely over, bitch." he said.

Lily only let her tears fall as she heard the soft footsteps of the man as he left. She curled up into a fetal position with her left leg staying behind. The throbbing had taken up again as she moved the injured leg. "Nooooo...." she cried softly, feeling like she should just die already. Two boys gone, neither one of them wanting her back. She knew she'd have to get up sooner or later and get to the Hospital Wing, or else she might have worse injuries than she expected. She wasn't ready for that yet, she just wanted to cry, and cry then cry some more. Wiping the blood from her nose, she sniffled softly, feeling the blood pour again. "I just wanna die...." she moaned, closing her eyes.

[Zane Lestrange]

The last few days had all been a blur. Everything had blended into the next, nothing really sinking in. No definite records of anything which he had done over the last few days. Not that he really wanted to remember any of it. He did everything he could to try and forget about it, but it was impossible. Oh how Zane wished he had a time-turner, then none of this would ever of happened and he would still have Lily as his girlfriend and the trust of all his friends. But no. Life's unfair. So there was no time-turner on the horizon and no way he could see in which to win back Lily. He had felt empty ever since that day when Lily Potter had walked out of his life. Her final words to him still rang in his ears, like a endless chant, taunting him at the fact that he could never regain what he once had, "Just stay away, go jump in the Black Lake for all I care, and don't bother coming up".

The exact words, well I guess I deserved it. She doesn't deserve me. I lied to her, I don't even know why I did, I'm such a bad liar anyway...she knew straight away. I should have just told her the truth there and then, but I just didn't get the chance to explain. As soon as she saw it she freaked. And quite rightly too...I mean, she thought, well thinks, that I'm a member of the DE and that I've betrayed everyone. I haven't, and it tears me apart to even think about it. I'd never do that, I wouldn't be able to live with the sense of guilt, especially as I know that I'm doing the right thing here, standing up against Charlotte and the DE. I can't stand it anymore. I see her everyday and yet I can't talk to her, she just ignores me. But I know there's something wrong, she's looking quite battered and bruised, and I know she's not a clumsy person, or one to fall off her broom a lot. I just hope she's ok and that, no I can't even think it. She can't be happy, she's probably happier because she's left me, but ever since she started going out with Mason, she's been acting really strangely. I'm going to have to do something soon, because it doesn't look like anyone else cares. I care though. I want to help her, if she'll let me...

Zane was lying by the lake, staring up at the sky. The sun had begun to set about half an hour earlier and now it was just disappearing under the horizon, leaving a light orange and red hue just above the horizon. The rest of the sky had changed colour rapidly, no longer the ice blue it had been an hour earlier. The sky was now grey with the onset of darkness and the possibility of rain. He had been lying there for a good hour now, safely hidden from the path that led down to Hagrid's Hut, so there was no chance he could be spotted by anyone, unless they wandered off the path, of course. Spotting the first star in the sky, he sat up and looked around. The grounds were practically empty, with only a couple of third years loitering on the path near the greenhouses. He stood up slowly, stretching slightly, until he heard a shout across the grounds. He turned and saw that someone had just stormed past the third years, pushing one of them into a bush. That's Hollis. So where's Lily? Oh no, you don't think? And without a second's hesistation he started running.

He soon got to the edge of the forest, unsure whether he should proceed. After all, maybe Lily was up in the common room or in the hall or the library. Just because I've seen Hollis storming out of the Forest, it does not mean that Lily is still in there. He could have been practicing spells or something...I highly doubt that. He paused, catching sight of something in the corner of his eye, that glinted in the orangey light. Blood. He started running again into the Forest, think about it Zane...what's the possibility that that was Lily's blood smeared onto the tree? Like a million to one... you haven't thought this through very clearly have you? This Forest has some many animals in, the blood could have come from any one of them... He paused again, having reached an obvious fork in the Forest Path. That's when he heard it, Lily's voice.

"Lily? Where are you?" he called, running towards where the sound of her voice had come from. And then he burst out into a small clearing, and there she was. He ran over to her, kneeling beside Lily, "Lily, open your eyes," he said in a whisper unable to speak any louder. And then the adrenaline kicked in, Ok it looks as if she's broken her leg, episkey, ok that should do, it's not fully mended, I need to get her to the Hospital Wing, but I can't move her like this. "Lily, it's me Zane, open your eyes" He leant forward and kissed her softly on the forehead.

[Lily Potter]

The pain that Lily was feeling had nothing to do with her broken leg, the bleeding nose or the bruises that were starting to appear on her skin. That would have been great, to just have physical pain, but no. The pain which Lily was feeling was very much emotional. Only one thing kept her from finding a sharp rock to plunge through her aching heart. Zane. He wouldn't care really, but fevering seeing him again was just to much. She felt the tears falling down her face but no sound escaped her mouth. She was too nervous the Mason was watching her, waiting for her to sob so he could wail on her some more. Then, passing into a light state of sleep, the night replayed for the hundredth time that week.

The fire was crackling in the fireplace, casting a warm glow around the Common Room. Many couples were cuddled up on the couches and talking in hushed whispers. Then, the portrait swung open and in walked, holding hands and smiling as if there was nothing wrong in the world. Then, laughing at something Zane had said, they walked across and took up a vacant seat right by the fire. It had become know as their spot. The place they always sat. Cuddling up next to him, Lily reached for his hand, but before she could grab it, he pulled away as if not wanting to hold her hand. The words that she said were still clear in her head. "Zane? What is it? Did I do something wrong..?" she had asked, a nervous tone to the quiver in her voice. He had smiled, telling her everything was okay, that she'd done nothing wrong. There was something wrong with his words though, something not quite right. "Let me see you hand. Whats wrong. she said, her nervous tone replaced with one of pure annoyance. "Nothings wrong, Lily." Zane had said. He was a terrible liar, everyone knew it. She knew then something was way wrong. Grabbing his hand, she saw the mark. Her eyes filled with tears. "No......" she whispered, standing up. He grabbed her hand, his eyes pleading but she shook it off, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Just stay away, go jump in the Black Lake for all I care, and don't bother coming up". she had said, tears running faster down her cheeks. She saw the pain in his eyes before she turned away, seeking James or Teddy or anyone. Thats when she met Mason....

The dream ended then, at the thought of Mason and the shout of someone calling her name. She closed her eyes again, not wanting to have anyone near her. She only opened her eyes when she felt the heat of someone's body next to her, but only a wee bit open, she didn't want to see Mason over her, ready to beat her again. Then, with the pain coming to it's peak, she heard Zane telling her to open her eyes. After her awful experience with Mason, she'd learned not to disobey an order. Her eyes flew open as he kissed her softly on the forehead. Tears still falling from her eyes, she looked up at him for a moment before pushing up on one elbow. "Where is he? Leave Zane. He'll hurt you too.... No wait, I didn't mean that. He doesn't hurt me.." she whispered, punching herself inwardly for giving away his secrete. She'd be getting it now.

"Zane, I'm sorry... About the other night... I didn't mean it, I was just nervous and scared." she said softly, her eyes frantically searching the clearing she had no memory of entering. "Where are we?" Her mind hadn't been the same after the day she'd been attacked by Brendon Keaton, not fully remembering everything that had gone on. Sometimes, she woke up thinking it was that day again. Trying to stand up, she felt the terrible pain below her. "Ow! Shit!" she hissed, looking up at Zane. "I've missed you...." she said softly, looking away swiftly, not wanting to make eye contact if he hadn't forgiven her. It really was my fault, I should have listened.... She waited, not knowing what to do, her eyes still looking around the clearing for Mason. "Is he..... Gone?"

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[Zane Lestrange]

"Shhhh," he whispered softly, "he's gone. You're safe now." Lily's words swam around and around inside his mind. Mason had hurt Lily, over and over again, and he, Zane, had done nothing about it. Why didn't I see it? I had no idea. I could have stopped this, if I hadn't been so reckless in the first place. If I had just refused and walked away none of this would have happened. Lily would never have met Mason and...I'm going to have to find him and make sure that he never hurts Lily again. It's all my fault. I should have been there, protecting Lily from things like this and people like that. I'm going to have to break this somehow, there must be a way. Somewhere. I just can't keep on hurting Lily, even if I did get the chance to explain, I'd never...oh what's the use even thinking about it? Ok let's get back on task...

"We're in the Forbidden Forest, Lils," he said quietly, as he started to clear the blood from her face and fix her broken nose. A moments silence, as he finished clearing the blood, before speaking once more, "I've missed you too." He stroked her hair, trying to reassure her, but knowing full well that he couldn't give her all the medical attention she required. "He's gone, and won't be coming back any time soon. But more importantly, we need to get you to the Hospital Wing," he said, glancing into her eyes which seemed to be riddled with pain and guilt. He wanted to tell her everything, everything from the point at which things had gone off the rails, but now really wasn't the time was it? Well I can't move her yet... He smiled at her, wishing for her pain to just disappear. His thoughts tunred back to a few nights earlier.

There walk from the Room of Requirement was peaceful and strangely quiet. They had walked hand in hand down the corridor, speaking softly and exchanging comments about Quidditch and the new batch of recruits, as James had called them. The portrait swung open and they walked inside, steps matching perfectly. He said something about one of the second years who had been using a school broom that seemed to have been bewitched to follow James' broom everywhere, and listened to Lily's laugh. He smiled as he saw their usual place was empty. Everyone seemed to have their own place in the common room and this was theirs. Zane and Lily's place. He put an arm around Lily as she cuddled close to him before reaching for his hand. He quickly moved it out the way, hoping to have done so without Lily noticing, but instead she questioned whether she had done something wrong. "No, of course not. Everything's ok," he said quietly, trying to avoid eye contact. "Nothing's wrong Lily," he turned to look her straight in the eyes as he said this. Big mistake. She moved to quickly, spotting the mark before he had chance to hide it, as he had been doing for the past few days. Lily had stood up, he reached for her hand, "Lily please, I can explain," and then he saw the tears roll down her face. He felt that gut wrenching feeling when Lily said her final words again, I've lost her. He put his head in his hands as Lily left the room. His lips forming the words, he had longed to say, anything that would make it all better. "Lily, I love you."

Flashback over, he twirled a strand of her hair around his finger, before stroking her face softly. "Lily, I'm so sorry. You had every right to be scared. I should have told you straight away, I'm sorry. I didn't have much choice. It's not what it looks like. I'm not in the DE, never am and never will be, you of all people know how much I hate evrything they stand for." He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "It's a bond of sorts between the two of us, Nikita and myself, I mean. It works on the same principle as the coins, but somehow, we're connected. And I'm already paying the price for it...we...how do I say this?...feel each other's pain, if that makes sense. Rowen used the cruciatus of Niki and I got the full force of it too. You see how dangerous it is? I've tried everything, looked through all the books, written to famous wizards asking for help and nothing. But I know the answer is out there somewhere, after all all charms have counter-charms, except unforgivables..." His voice trailed off, hoping that Lily would understand that he would give anything to reverse it and that he loved her more than anything else in the world.

[Lily Potter]

Everything was over. The feeling of anguish and fear she felt everyday she saw Mason. The guilt she kept bottled up when she saw Zane. Everything was over at those few words. You're safe now. She felt like crying, telling him everything was not fine. Telling him that'd she knew she'd hurt the most important person on her life and she couldn't forgive herself. She wanted to be fine, go back in time to make this vanish. But no. Life isn't that easy, it is terribly hard. So she couldn't kiss him or hug him or even understand why she felt so terrible. All she could do was listen. "I'm not safe, Zane. He'll know you know that he hit me. He'll get me for it, I know. Trust me." she whispered, tears in her eyes.

Looking around as Zane explained where they were, Lily sighed. "I guess I look amazing? I normally take care of the cuts and scrapes. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you like this." she said, still not looking at him. She remembered the stomach twisting feeling she'd had when one of her friends had conveyed what Zane had whispered when she left. I love you. The words wouldn't be big to some, but to Lily, they meant that all her years or waiting, watching and working had really worked out. "I don't think I can make it, Zane. Just leave me. I'll get in somehow... Man, I just noticed that you've always come to my rescue. Sorry 'bout that." she said again. Mason had really gotten to her, hadn't he? Saying she was sorry for being beat up? Man, this would be a tough one to get out of. "He'll come back later. He will know to find me, and he will hit me again." said Lily, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lily cringed away from Zane as he touched her face. It wasn't that she didn't want him to touch her, it was merely a reflex she had devolped over the few days prior. "Sorry... You don't need to be sorry, Zane. It was my fault. I should have stayed and listened, but I was too scared. I was being a baby. Don't blame yourself." she said, having learded that everything was all her fault from Mason. Shake it off, Lily Potter. Don't think about him anymore. She had to keep reminding herself that Mason would hurt her anymore. He'd never hurt another girl if it was up to her. "Nikita... Snape? You and her have a Dark Mark that connects you? Well, isn't that something... Well, not the pain part. I forgive you, Zane. Don't worry about it." she finished, reluctantly reaching her his face with the hand that wasn't covered in her blood. She put her hand on his cheek, feeling better than she had since they'd broken up. "I'm sorry..."

[Zane Lestrange]

Zane watched Lily, carefully noting all the cuts and bruises that needed attention. He looked into her eyes as she began to whisper, unsure of what to say in response. She's not safe? What? I don't understand. I'm here now, no one in their right mind would harm her now, would they? Well if that's the case, he'll have to get past me first, I'm not letting him anywhere near Lily and I'm sure James and Ted will help me. He won't get Lily for it, not even in his dreams. I'm not having anything like that ever happen again. Maybe if I'd...well it's no use dwelling on the past, what's done is done, but I'll have to make sure that it doesn't repeat itself."He won't Lils, trust me," he said quietly, wiping away a tear that had rolled down her cheek.

"Hurt me like this?!? Look at yourself, you're the one who's hurt, I'm fine, don't worry about me," he said with a small smile, which was soon replaced by a slightly confused look. "What do you mean? I'm not going to leave you here, not after what's just happened. I'll never leave you Lily," he paused the smile reappearing on his face, "and now look, you made me sound like a character from those cheesy muggle films you used to watch...well I wouldn't have to come to your rescue if you just kept out of trouble..." With this, he stood up and started pacing around the clearing, searching in a few bushes and scouring the mounds of leaves. He listened to Lily's words, muttering the occasional "hmm", in places where she paused to allow him to respond.

"Aha!" he said, as he disappeared into a bush for a few seconds, and then reappearing with a stirdy looking branch in his hand. He quickly pulled off the excess twigs and fashioned it so that it resembled a splint. Returning to Lily's side and kneeling down, just as she reached out her hand, Zane smiled, "yeah that's the jist of it, it's complicated...and don't be sorry, it's not your fault" He placed the branch down next to Lily's broken leg, "this might hurt a bit, I'm sorry, I'll try and make it as pain free as possible," he quickly pushed the splint towards her leg, and bound the leg to it using a quick non-verbal spell. "I'm really sorry, I know that hurt, but we need to keep your leg straight," he whispered, taking her hand in his and kissing it lightly. "Right let's get you cleaned up a bit," he started to clean all the blood from her hand and on her face.

[Lily Potter]

Lily watched as the boy in front of her thought. Though it looked as if he was having a hard time unravling her words, she kept quite. She wasn't quite because she wanted to let him think, it was just that, well, her head hurt and all the stress was really getting to her. Everything seemed to be going down hill. Albus, dead. That Bishop kid, dead. Some kid the Lucy hung out with, dead. The brewings the Aiden was going to murder Corliss Malfoy's unborn child. The worst part though, that she had actually allowed Mason to hurt her. She had let him brainwash her and she didn't even attempt to tell anyone. Why was everything like this. Why couldn't everyone just get along and love one another? Why was there a damn war on their hands? All this and more circled through Lily's head as she watched Zane, hardly hearing his reassuring words as he hand swept away her tears. "Promise me that if he does you won't do anything stupid. Promise?" The last thing she wanted was to be hurt and have to deal with Zane getting even with Mason.

She smiled up at Zane, glad that she had him back in her life. "Zane, I'm sorry that I didn't listen. I know that I hurt you and that I really don't deserve you. I'm.... sorry." she said, biting her lip to hold back the tears. She was Lily Potter, the tomboy. The one that never cried. It seemed, in the past few weeks, that crying was coming easier. She didn't like that one bit. "Don't say that, Zane. You're leaving next year, and you really can't promise me that some beautiful girl won't come along and steal your heart from me." she whispered softly, her eyes bruning as she looked away. She blinked them away quickly, wishing Zane had never see her vry. Hell to her tough facade, it was crumbled now. "Hey now! Those movies were not cheesy! You watched them with me! So did Teddy and Jam!" she said, the strained tone jetting away as she teased him.

Though she tried not to worry as Zane walked back with a slipt shaped twig, she knew in her heart that tears were leaving their burning tairl down her cheeks. "Okay, I'm ready." she said, bracing herself as he popped her leg into place. Her body seared with white hot agony as the thing tightened around her leg. She didn't cry out or scream, she just sat there, tears running down her cheeks and her fingers digging into the soft soil. She didn't relax until she heard Zane's soft words. "Its fine, you did what you had to do." she whispered as she felt the dried blood being pulled from her face. "You know, no matter what I do, or what other people say... I really do love you." she whispered again. Though he never would fully understand what that meant to her, she knew her heart was his and there was no going back.