The Life and Death of Lillian Hope Black-Snape

Chapter One

Attack on her First Day

Lillian Black,-called Hope by most of those that new her-whom had just finished school to become an Auror, was sitting outside of the Minister of Magic's office waiting on the decision that would change her life. Although she had always made O's on all her O.W.L.'s and top marks on all her N.E.W.T.'s at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she was still unsure she would get the job as the newest Auror. She knew it was going to take more than just good grades to become an Auror and hoped that her other achievements might help her get this job that she had wanted for as long as she could remember.

She stared nervously at the solid white wall on the opposite side of the hallway as she sat in a brown wooden chair waiting for the Minister of Magic and others inside his office, to make their final decision. Every once in awhile someone witch or wizard would walk by; some notice her and inclined their head to her or just said a polite hello. She would say hello back to them or just smile a polite smile to the passersby. A few even stopped to chat for a moment and wished her good luck before getting back to wherever it was they had been heading.

"Miss Black," a man's voice came suddenly as the door to the Minister's office opened causing Hope to jump a little. "Please come in now. We have made our decision."

She recognized this man's voice as belonging to an Auror, a very well respected one at that. His name was Frank Longbottom and he hadn't been an Auror for very long either. She knew his wife, Alice, very well also. They were both very respected among the Wizarding community.

Hope looked up at him as she stood up and walked towards the door, feeling like she was about to walk in front of a firing squad with a blindfold on. As she walked past him she heard him whisper, "Don't be so nervous Hope."

"Easy for you to say," she mumbled back to him before adding a kind smile before entering the room.

She looked around the rather large room, noticing the four chairs in front of the Minster's large black oak desk that seemed to be covered in papers all over the top of it. There was a stone fireplace behind the Minister's large Victorian type oak finished chair. There were pictures on the all four walls of Ministers of the past and a few famous and well-known witches and wizards as well.

There were around ten others in the room besides the Minister. Hope recognized a few of them, including one particular Auror by the name of Alaster Moody, known to some as Mad Eye, who had his flask with him as he always did. Though he was looking at the Minister with his back towards her, she knew he could see her do to the fact that one of his eyes was an electric blue magical eye, slightly larger than his regular eye. It could spin around 380 degrees and could see through the back of his own head, through walls, most solid objects, and even through Invisibility Cloak (cloaks that makes the wearer unseen).

"Ah, yes, Miss Black," said the Minister, who had just notice her presence among them. "It seems you have an impressive resume and very good recommendations. Your recommendation letters from Albus Dumbledore and Professor Murchbank-who both speak very highly of you-are exceptional. We have gone over your records, including all your O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s, and we have come to a very unanimous decision." He paused for a moment as he watched her carefully, as if studying her reactions. Then he glancing at Moody as he said, "Alaster here has agreed to take you on as his partner you could say." He looked back at the very nervous Hope. "He will help you to get settled in and get started as our newest Auror. Congratulations."

Hope was stunned, her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe it she had gotten the job. "W-wow than...thank you sir," she finally managed to say as she tried to processes the Minister's words through her complete shock of what she had just heard. The realization of what was said wasn't hitting her completely just yet.

"Congratulations Hope," said Frank, with a smile, as he shook her hand. "Alice is going to be thrilled. Shall you be the one to tell her or shall I?"

"Yes congratulations, Miss Black," said Moody, now standing next to her.

"Please call me Hope," she said, still not over the shock of getting the job.

"Ah yes, I remember," he growled. Then Mad Eye looked at Frank. "Frank, show her to our office please."

"Yes Moody," replied Frank just before he ushered Hope out of the office, where they started to walk down the narrow hallway. Noticing the look on his friend's face that he knew all to well from times before back when she was younger and attending Hogwarts. "You know, Moody volunteered to help you get started and have you working beside him without anyone even suggesting or bringing it up. Just between us, that's saying a lot about what he thinks of you."

She smiled over at Frank as they arrived at Moody's-and now her-office. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that Frank," she said finally. "I thought maybe that he had been picked and didn't really want to be my partner. I know he's not usually too thrilled about having someone else working with him like this. I just thought…"

"I know what you thought Hope," Frank said interrupting her knowing what his young friend was thinking and felt a change in subject was due. "So now who's going to be the one to tell Alice the good news?"

"You," Hope answered with a smile. "Tell her after you get home tonight. I want to be the one tell my brother, James, Lily, and Lupin first though."

"Of course," he said smiling back at her. "Sirius will be thrilled I am sure, as will the others be of course."

"I know," she replied with a giggle and walked over to take her seat at her new desk. She smiled even more thinking about what her brother's reaction would be. Although Sirius Black wasn't her real brother they still cared for each other as if they were blood related. His parents and took her in after her real parents were killed and she and Sirius became really close over the years. Although she was not as close with Sirius's younger brother she still cared for him as well despite his dark ways. Sirius mother had even gone as far to have Hope's last name changed to Black.

"Well, are you ready to get started?" Moody asked, causing her to and Frank both to jump a little. Though, by the sound in Moody's voice it felt more like a command than a question in Hope's opinion.

Frank gave Moody a nod and left the room as Hope answered with a simple, "Yes, sir."

"None of this 'sir' stuff," he growled. "You make me sound as if I'm too old for this job. Call me Alaster or Moody if you must. You know that by now."

"Sorry," she said with a slight frown feeling as though she had just made a bigger mistake than she really had. Her nerves were getting the better of her already.

"Don't worry," Moody said. "Now for your first day I won't start you out with anything to difficult. We will start you off by you joining me at the Leaky Cauldron to meet a wizard who claims to have information on a Death Eater."

"Okay," Hope replied, listening closely to what Moody was saying. They Disaparated out of the office and Apparated into the backroom of the Leaky Cauldron were the meeting was to take place.

A tall man wearing a dark brown cloak was waiting on them. "I thought you'd forgotten," the man said in a deep-almost bone chilling voice-but then his voice changed to more of a mix of angry and surprised voice as he added, "Who's that?" He then proceeded to point at Hope.

"This is my new partner," growled Moody, sounding a little more than impatient. "This is her first day as an Auror so I thought this would be a good start for her. So you say you have some information for me." He wanted to get right to the point of why they were there.

The man laughed evilly, giving Hope a sudden bad feeling that she and Moody had just stepped into something they hadn't bargained for, as he said, "Old man do you really think that I would tell you anything? I just said that to get you here-" He looked Hope over from head to toe. "-alone or so I thought." He then looked back at Moody. "Nevertheless, she doesn't look like much of a threat anyway."

When he looked at Hope again she felt as if something cold ran over her body. His eyes, she noticed, as she looked at him were dark, cold, and with an empty soul. Nothing was there as he stared at her, nothing but darkness. It gave her an uneasy feeling that her hand went into her dark blue cloak and gripped her wand tightly. She glared at the man for she HATED how he said she didn't "look like much of a threat" it mad her angry inside. Those words rang in her ears.

It was at that moment that Hope had noticed two other men Apparated into the room wearing masks. Hope recognized them instantly as the mask that the Lord Voldemort's followers wore. She immediately grabbed her wand as one of the Death Eaters in the masks said, "Thought you said only one would be here. Who's the girl?"

Moody had already sent a spell towards the man whom they had came to meet, but he moved out of the way just as a second before it would have hit him.

"Cruc-" one of the masked Death Eaters began, but Hope had already sent the full body bind curse at him and he fell to the floor before he could finish the Unforgivable Curse.

The other masked Death Eater seeing this shot a hex at Hope, as Moody dueled with the other man still. Hope dodged the hex by just a few inches as she shouted, "Expelliarmas!" causing his wand to fly out of his hand knowing that it was such a simple move to make that it would be unexpected to most. She quickly, before the masked Death Eater could reach his wand, shouted, "Stupefy!" This, however, caused the man to fall back into the wall hitting his head and knocking him out, not something normal for this kind of spell but with Hope's "special" powers, some of her spells where much stronger than they normally would be.

She looked over at Moody to make sure he was doing okay, not realizing, at first, that the spell on the other Death Eater had worn off. She turned around sensing movement behind her, her wand still pointed out in front of her. "IMPEDIMENTA!" she yelled, freezing the Death Eater with his wand half raised at her.

The other man, who had been dueling with Moody, ran towards this fellow Death Eater grabbing on to one but not being able to get to the unconscious one laying on the floor still. He Disaparated with the Death Eater nearest to him while leaving the other one behind on the ground.

"That was some very good fighting you just did," Moody said with a smile as he surveyed the unconscious Death Eater at his feet, knowing what Albus had told him about the young women's powers, never seeing it for himself until now. He bent down and removed the man's mask. "Lon Vestra! I should have known he had become a Death Eater. Let's get him back to the Ministry." It was always the shy ones you had to watch out for.

Later that night after she got off work, Hope walked up the steps to her brother's home, where she was staying until she could get a place of her own. She opened the door looking rather exhausted as she entered the living room.

"She's home," James yelled as he and Lupin stood up, but Peter however, remained seated. It was at James' words that Lily came running into the living room.

"Sirius will be in here in a minute," Lily replied smiling at Hope as she looked at her friend with her green eyes.

"Well?" said a voice from behind her.

"Well what?" she replied back frowning as she turned around.

"Don't 'Well what?' me," Sirius said smiling at his little sister. "Did you get the job or not?"

His smile now turned to a frown as James spoke to Hope, "If I know you as well as I know I do, I'd say you got it."

She turned to face James-who was like an older brother to her too, as was Remus Lupin-and smiled sheepishly at him as she replied, "Then you my dear friend would be correct."

"WHAT?" Sirius said, sounded overly excited. "You got the job?"

"Mhmm," she said with a nod and holding back a giggle. "I did."

"I knew you would get it Stripes," he said as he picked his sister up off the floor and spun her around.

"Put me down right now Padfoot!" she demanded with a little bit of a scream.

He did as his sister wished and put her back down, her feet now flat on the floor. "See I knew you would," he said as James, Lupin, and Lily all came over to them.

"Stripes an Auror," James said surveying her. "Well, I must say… I saw that one coming a long time ago. No Death Eater will stand a chance now with you as Auror and Order member."

"You've been telling me that since I was at Hogwarts," Hope replied with laugh remember back to the first time she ever dueled against him. She then let go of her brother to hug James.

"You should listen to me more often then," he laughed before letting go of her.

"Shut up Prongs," she laughed before she turned to Remus.

"I'm very proud of you," said Lupin as he hugged her.

"I knew you would be Moony," she replied with a smile as she let go of him. He smiled back at her as he moved out of Lily's way.

"The third Auror of our group," Lily said beaming at her. Lily and she had become more than best friends, almost like sisters, more and more every day.

"Yep, you, James, and now me," she said with a smile. Lily hugged Hope and then smiled as she stood beside James.

"Congratulations," murmured Peter as he grabbed his coat to leave.

"And where do you think you're goin'?" asked Sirius. "The party's just about to get started." Knowing he was now getting a look from Hope when he mentioned the party.

"I have to run some errands pretty early in the morning," he answered as he put his coat on and headed for the door and stopped for a moment as he added, "Besides I'm sure she doesn't want me here anyway."

"Why wouldn't she?" asked Sirius. "You're one of our best friends."

"No, one of your friends Sirius, not hers," he replied with a glance in Hope's direction.

"Of course I don't mind if you stay," Hope said looking at him. She knew she was lying, but he was one of her brother's best friends so she wanted to be nice. Truth was she had never really liked him much. She had never fully trusted him for some reason. There was just something about him she didn't or couldn't trust, but what it was she didn't know.

"See, she wants you to stay," James stated, even though he knew the truth, but he wanted his friend to stay anyway. He had known since back when they were at Hogwarts when Hope first confided in him that there was something about Peter that gave her the creeps and the feeling of untrustworthy when around him.

"I better get going," he said then added, "But maybe I'll come by some other time to celebrate with you guys."

"Alright," Sirius said, though there was a hint of disappointment in everyone's eyes, except for Hope's. After he heard the door close behind Peter he said, "I believe Alice and Frank will be here soon, along with a few of the Order members."

"Is there a Meeting tonight?" Hope asked. She hadn't remembered there being one and she was one that usually remembered. She had been a member of the Order of the Phoenix since her 17th birthday.

"No," her brother replied with a soft laugh. "We're celebrating your new job."

"Wait a minute," she said glaring at him when the words left his mouth. "When did you set this party up? Did someone tell you I got the job before I did? Did Frank tell you?"

"No, no one said a thing," he answered looking rather mischievous as he looked at her. "I knew you had to get the job, I mean they'd be crazy not to hire you! You're one of the best witches there is. I don't like to admit it, but you're stronger than me and James both and always have been." It was sad but true, although they had taught her everything they knew, she was still a stronger witch and a much faster learner than Sirius at times. "I have been planning this since you told me you applied."

"You're crazy do you know that Padfoot?" she said with a laugh as she hugged him around the waist again just before they heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," Sirius said, practically yelling knowing who it was already.

"Where is she," a woman's voice said from the entryway.