Written for the QLFC Season 6 round 7. Chaser 1 - Write a story inspired by Charlie's Angels III: Full Throttle

Optional Prompts: 11 - (word) limitless; 12 - (word) aftertaste; 15 - (genre) angst

Dumbledore's Demons: Witnesses are Complicated

Dumbledore looked over his glasses at the three young men in front of him. They were his top agents, and the only ones he would trust with this mission. And yet, he was wondering whether this would prove to be too much, even for the Demons, to handle.

"Your next mission is of utmost importance. There was another attack overnight, on a family in Surrey. Four adults were killed, however, there was one survivor - the youngest daughter of the family, a young woman approximately your age. I have received intelligence that she was the true target of this attack and that the perpetrators of this crime intend to finish the job. Your mission is to retrieve the girl and place her into witness protection. You must know where she is at all times, and protect her at all costs. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Of course Sir."

"We'll be right on it Sir."

With that, Agents Moony, Padfoot and Prongs stood, saluted, and walked quickly out of his office to find their latest charge. Dumbledore sighed, hoping he hadn't just doomed all four to death.

Lily sat in the tiny tearoom at the police station, trying to ignore the acrid aftertaste of blood and bile on her tongue. Trying to ignore the memories of her parents' screams, the look of terror on he sister's face. She wouldn't wish that fate on anyone, not even her horrible brother-in-law. And yet fate had descended anyway. And she was left, sucked into what felt like a limitless pool of grief, fear and guilt.

She didn't know how long she sat there, cradling a cold cup of tea while staring at the too-white walls. It felt like forever and just a few seconds all at the same time - before the sound of approaching feet startled her out of her reverie.

"Excuse me, Miss. Lily isn't it?" At her tentative nod, the man continued. "I am Agent Moony, and these are Agents Padfoot and Prongs. I am so sorry for your loss. I know you don't want to think about this right now, but we need to get you somewhere safe before you are attacked again. We've been charged with your protection, and I promise we will do anything in our power to keep you safe."

Lily felt numb as she allowed herself to be helped out of her chair, and steered out to the back carpark and into a car. She vaguely noticed that Agent Padfoot walked past the car to a motorbike, on which he tailed them during their journey. Lily had a faint feeling she knew Agent Prongs but put it down to shock. She didn't know whether she slept, or was just caught up in her thoughts. Lily barely remembered the journey, only that she came to her senses when the car stopped, and she realised they had pulled up in front of a small country cottage. So this was to be home now. She wasn't sure if anything could ever replace the home that she had just lost.

A week later, Lily once again found herself nursing a cup of tea, thinking about all that had changed. For one thing, she was no longer known as Lily. Agent Padfoot had gently explained to her that in order to protect her fully, they needed to alter a few details about her life. And so they had named her Rose - supposedly to fit with the flower theme - and died her hair black. She was wearing tinted contacts to hide her noticeable emerald eyes. And the Agents had found her a job at the local bookstore, which she would start tomorrow.

Her head was constantly reeling with all of the new information, not to mention the memories of what had happened to her family. Between flashbacks and fear of forgetting something important and giving herself away, she was getting very little sleep. And to top it all off, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she knew Agent Prongs.

It was during another sleepless night that it finally came to her - of course, she knew Agent Prongs. Of course, she had been assigned an agent whom she had detested since she was eleven years old. Of course, one of the men protecting her had been the tormentor of her first ever friend.

For Agent Prongs was James Potter, the most popular kid in her year at high school. The only person who could rival her in grades. The star of the football team. And a bully.

For years Prongs had tormented Severus, the only friend she had had growing up. She had blamed him for the breakdown in her relationship with Severus; claimed he was the reason that Severus had started to hang out with the wrong crowd. But now, now she just wasn't sure about anything.

Agent Prongs was kind and caring, could lift her out of her darkest moods, and made her feel safer than she had in years. Agent Prongs was always the first to check in with her in the morning, and the last to leave at night. Potter had been arrogant, Prongs was quietly confident. Potter had been a notorious prankster, not caring who bore the brunt of his jokes. Prongs knew just when she needed to laugh.

And then there was Severus. They hadn't been able to determine exactly who it was that mounted the attack on her family, but Lily was sure she had seen him there. The men may have disguised themselves with dark hoods and masks, but Lily had known Severus since he was six. She knew how he held himself, how he walked, what his breathing sounded like when he was nervous. Plus, he was the only one who knew where she lived. They had moved when things started getting dangerous, and she had thought she could trust him with her location. Apparently, she was wrong.

As she lay there in the dark, she didn't know what to think. She had spent years loving Severus and hating Potter. But now she knew that she loathed Sev for what he had done. And while she wasn't sure she loved Prongs, she definitely didn't hate him either. Why was life never easy?

Weeks went by, and Lily finally started to feel like maybe she was safe here. There had been no sign that people had matched Rose Jenkins with Lily Evans, and she slowly found that she was enjoying her new life.

Apart from the persistent nightmares, her biggest worry was what to do about Prongs. Ever since her revelation about his identity, she had felt herself becoming more and more attracted to him. She didn't know much about witness protection, but she was pretty sure the witnesses weren't supposed to fall in love with their protectors. But if she was to see him every day for the foreseeable future, something needed to be done. She wasn't sure how much longer she could control herself in his presence.

She had just resolved that she would confess her feelings the next time she saw him when he came hurtling through her door, glasses askew, hair wild and a look of fear on his face.

"Lily, I mean Rose! You have to get out of here, they found you!"

Her welcoming smile quickly slipped from her face, replaced with a look of shock and terror. Here? Were they here? After everything that had been done to protect her, she'd still been found?

"Run, now! We're going to try to hold them off, but you have to run!"

She wasn't sure where she was meant to run to, but as soon as she approached the back door she realised it was pointless. Her little cottage had been surrounded.

She whirled back around, yelling to Prongs that she couldn't get out. But before she could reach him the air was filled with the sound of gunfire. She was rooted to the spot as she watched Prongs battle with a man who had gotten inside - Severus, it had to be Severus. Through the window, she could see Moony and Padfoot taking on even more of them. She screamed as Moony was shot in the leg, and then watched in horror as he got back up and kept fighting.

"Don't worry, I've had worse," he yelled through the window as he ran past. She was sure it was meant to reassure her, but somehow it just made her more frightened.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, she suddenly felt a gun against her head.

"Don't move. We've got you now girlie." The voice was low and gruff, and she recognised it as one of the men who had tortured her parents.

This was it. All of their plans, their coverups, they were all for nothing. Those three young men had risked their lives for her, and now she was going to die anyway.

Just as suddenly as the gun had appeared it was torn away. At first Lily was too terrified to look up, but when she did, she saw Prongs on the ground, wrestling with her would-be murderer. Severus was tied up in the kitchen, and as she turned once more she realised that the fight outside had stopped. She was safe.

The fight on the floor was over quickly with the arrival of Padfoot and Moony. And as soon as Prongs stood up, she knew what she had to do.

Ignoring his questions of; 'are you ok?' and 'do you need anything?' she launched herself at him, capturing his lips with her own. And much to her relief, she felt him responding in kind, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss.

So caught up in each other were the pair, that they didn't hear Padfoot turn to Moony and whisper, "Well this complicates things."