This story is a fan-created work of fiction and is not sold or distributed for profit. J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Bloomsbury Press, and Warner Bros. retain all intellectual copyrights for the Harry Potter series and all characters therein. Any characters found in this story that are not property of Harry Potter are created by the author. No copyrights were harmed in the making of this story. Stay classy friends.
A Matter of Timing
Chapter One
Of Surprises and Sabbaticals
When Lily Evans opened the creaky, paint-flecked door of her flat that Saturday afternoon, she expected to see Timothy Alder standing in front of her with a box in hand and a rude expression. She expected to trade insults and unreturned items after their break-up five days (seven hours, thirty-three minutes) ago. She expected to stand in a corner and seethe at the sight of him in her bedroom as he touched things he no longer had any right to touch.
She did not see Tim.
Instead, Albus Dumbledore was waiting politely on Lily's doormat for her to invite him in.
To say she was in shock was a little less than the truth. Lily hadn't showered that morning, her dark red hair was in a sloppy bun at the nape of her neck, and she was still clad in her baggy pyjama bottoms. Nothing about her appearance said "presentable."
"You look wonderful," Dumbledore said politely.
"Er…" She looked around wildly. "Would you, er, like to come in?"
"Indeed I would," he said.
It was as if she'd invited him to enter the most prestigious home in all of Great Britain, and when he stepped over the threshold into her dingy little flat it was with the utmost reverence. The headmaster didn't even seem to notice the piles of books on the floor, the strewn pillows, or the other various items tossed haphazardly around the place.
He did, however, wave his wand to remove some broken glass from a chair before sitting down.
Lily gasped when she saw this. "Professor, I'm so sorry," she rushed to say. "I was—there was something—never mind that."
She raised her own wand and set about tidying up the usually impeccable sitting room, repairing the vase she'd shattered and setting her possessions to right.
"If I might inquire as to the state of your home…" Dumbledore began with some concern.
"Oh, er, I haven't been here for a few days. I only just got home last night. Tea?" she suggested in an effort to distract him.
"Please, and with sugar."
When Lily found her way to the kitchen, she spent a few seconds cursing herself before tapping the kettle with her wand. She hadn't meant to make her sitting room such a mess when Timothy had dropped her so horribly. Her hands had just kept grabbing things and throwing them at his head. If she'd known the most powerful and respected wizard in the world might be stopping by…well, she might have cleaned up a bit.
The kettle whistled, and she Summoned tea bags and chinaware. The china was a bit dusty—for an English girl, Lily was woefully lax in her teatime habits.
"Sorry, I haven't anything that nice," she apologised when she emerged from the kitchen.
"My dear Miss Evans, there's no need to put yourself out on my account," Dumbledore told her. "Please, sit."
She moved to the chair across from him and waited for him to speak.
The headmaster took an agonisingly long sip of tea, and she watched him all the while.
"How have you been?" he inquired.
"I've been…well." It was true, in a general sense.
"I understand you recently won an award from the Committee of Experimental Charms for your invention."
"That I did," Lily said, a bit of pride shining through.
Dumbledore took another sip. "I've actually come to talk to you about a pair of very different offers. The first concerns Professor Flitwick."
"Is he alright?"
"He's perfectly fine," the headmaster reassured her. "Except he has become a little worn out after teaching for thirty years. Filius has confided in me that he truly loves teaching and he isn't quite ready to retire, so he has decided to take a sabbatical and explore the Andes Mountains in South America."
Lily blinked, unsure if she'd heard him correctly.
"A sabbatical?"
"He wishes to study the ancient Incan charms; apparently some of them are immensely powerful," said Dumbledore with a light smile.
She tried to wrap her head around that idea, and when she did a faint flood of jealousy ran through her. Studying Incan magic was something she'd wanted to do for ages. In fact, it was Flitwick who had sparked the idea in her in the first place.
At last she managed, "That's unexpected."
"I suppose it might be to you, yes," agreed the old headmaster. "You've not been around for our new batch of students."
"Are they…" Lily felt bad saying this, "Er, particularly dim?"
He laughed. "No, no; rather bright, I daresay. We've just got a few troublemakers on our hands."
"And—I'm sorry, but I don't understand why you're telling me all of this."
"I'm here to ask if you'll step in as Charms professor while Filius is away, of course," he said, as if her question was quite ridiculous.
Lily wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly.
"Charms professor?"
"Filius wouldn't take anyone else," Dumbledore told her with a twinkle in his eye. "And I have to support him wholeheartedly on his choice. You've become a rather commendable witch in the last seven years, Miss Evans. Not to take away from your time at Hogwarts, of course."
"Professor—"
"Miss Evans, you are no longer my student," he interrupted her kindly. "Therefore, you are most welcome to call me Albus."
She fidgeted. "I don't know if I'm quite comfortable with that, sir," she said honestly.
"If you take the job, perhaps you'll grow to be comfortable with it," Dumbledore suggested.
Charms professor? Her? Lily couldn't fathom the reasoning. Yes, perhaps she was Gryffindor Prefect for her year, and yes, perhaps she'd done tutoring on a regular basis for Charms, and yes, she did get awarded Head Girl, and maybe, just maybe, she had the ability to manage the Head Boy and Prefects…
But she'd never dealt with snotty, sullen, hormonal teenagers on a grand scale. That was vastly outside her skill set.
"They'd eat me alive," she confessed.
In a most un-Dumbledore manner, the headmaster snorted in amusement.
"It's true," insisted Lily. "I was never any good with my peers at that age; it took me six years to make more than one friend at Hogwarts, and that was only after I called my first friendship quits. And besides, I'm Muggle-born; there's no way some of the students will ever respect me—" She had no good reason for outlining all of her flaws and defects for him, but Lily felt as if she should go through all of them in a detailed list.
He didn't allow her. "As I remember it," Dumbledore said over the sounds of her rambling excuses, "you were a responsible, relatable Head Girl many of the younger students looked up to, not to mention your peer group. It's one of the reasons I appointed you Prefect and Head Girl in the first place."
She stared.
"Furthermore," he continued, "while I don't wish to sound callous, teaching students does not always mean befriending them. A professor needs to toe the line between work and fun. I learned best as a student not from the most lax professors but from the most insistent."
"I'm only twenty-four," Lily said in a small voice.
Really, she was five weeks away from twenty-five, but it was such a small difference and her point was still the same.
"I remember," Dumbledore chuckled. "And hopefully your students will notice as well."
"What do you—" she understood his meaning. "Sorry, you want teenage blokes to ogle me in class?"
"Young wizards are infinitely more likely to pay attention in class with you instructing them," he said with a mock air of solemnity. But Lily caught the wicked gleam in his eye and knew part of his comment was in jest.
"I haven't said yes," she reminded him. "I've a job at the Ministry. You know how important it is."
She was alluding to the war waging in the Wizarding world, the war between Lord Voldemort and his Followers. It had been going on for years, shortly after Lily had got out of school in fact, but in the last two years or so the manner had switched from stealthy and shrouded to an all out assault on wizards and Muggles alike. The death toll had been mounting and Lily had endured many sleepless nights pulling double shifts.
Dumbledore was well aware of Voldemort—or as most people called him, You-Know-Who. The kindly old headmaster was the greatest voice of the opposition and rumored as the only wizard the self-proclaimed Dark Lord ever feared. He should have known better than anyone that Lily's job with the Ministry was a position she should not give up lightly.
"I am aware."
"You…you understand, don't you?" Suddenly she felt terrible for protesting.
"I admire your devotion to the cause," Dumbledore said. "And that's the other matter I wished to discuss. Perhaps it will help convince you to take the first offer."
Lily sat up.
The headmaster took another sip of tea before saying, "In the last few years, I have been forming a resistance group, one that works mostly in secrecy and subterfuge. The Ministry can't be everywhere at once, as you well know, and—forgive me for saying this—they don't always have the best information."
She nodded. "I can attest to that, sir."
"I want you to join me."
"In this…group?" Lily held her breath.
"I call it the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore said proudly. "It has a rather grand ring to it, don't you think?"
"Er…yes, it's lovely," she answered.
He grinned at her expression. "Don't be mistaken, Miss Evans; our work has helped the Ministry more than many of the people working there know. Some of them do; you'd be surprised at who has joined the Order since its inception."
"And, for some reason, you want me to add to that number."
"You underestimate your own value," the headmaster told her. "Independent of your own impressive skill set, your position with the both the Muggle Liaisons office and the Magical Law Enforcement Squad is valuable to the Order. With your connections and resources we could gain more inside information on the Ministry's movements."
Lily stiffened. "I'm loyal to the Ministry, sir."
"What we do is largely in the Ministry's best interests," replied Dumbledore. "I understand your reservations but I can assure you I wouldn't ask you to do anything…untoward."
"How would I be able to assist you with my job if I'm teaching Charms at Hogwarts?"
"I require another professor among my ranks," he said bluntly. "With Filius gone, only Professor McGonagall, the gamekeeper, and I are among the Order at the school. If there were an attack I would need to rely on several of my professors to defend the students. And when the year is up your position in the Ministry will be restored and those connections I spoke of will become infinitely useful."
She frowned a little, thinking heavily on this new information. According to Dumbledore, there was a lot of good she could do in this specific group. She could make a difference, however small, in the war effort. But the idea of teaching at Hogwarts was still daunting. Lily wondered if the offers weren't mutually inclusive, if she could accept one but not the other. Somehow she doubted it.
"Could I think on it?" Lily asked tentatively.
"Of course," he said. "But I need your response by the twenty-third of the month or I'll be hard-pressed to find another substitute professor. You can send me an owl."
"That's in five days," she exclaimed.
"I urge you to think hard on your decision, then," said the headmaster. "And, I should hope this goes without saying, but this conversation needs to remain private."
Lily bit her lip. "Could I talk about the…official job offer?"
He nodded and stood. "Thank you for the tea—I think."
She stifled a laugh. "I promise next time I'll have better to offer."
With another twinkle of his eyes, Dumbledore swept out of the flat and left Lily to her thoughts.
The next day, when Lily came back into work, she stood in the Atrium for a minute and watched the flow of people as they went to the lifts or popped out of the Floo grates. For a few seconds they all appeared to be moving as one fluid being, all walking to the same step. There was unity and understanding, even with the chaos that soaked the air.
She eyed each individual face, wondering who was among Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. He'd said there were operatives inside the Ministry. Who did she suspect? And who would she least likely suspect?
Obviously Alastor Moody. Everyone knew he and Dumbledore were old friends. And Edgar Bones was likely, considering how he supported Dumbledore vocally at any given opportunity. But the rest? No, the faces of the Ministry were a mystery one way or the other.
Lily sighed and joined the throng headed up towards the second floor, where she officially worked, avoiding the Strip on her way.
It was not uncommon for Ministry officials to have two jobs. These days all hands were on deck. Lily's set were both related to her Muggle-born status. Her primary operation was serving on the M.L.E. Squad if there were attacks on Muggle areas. Her ability to understand Muggle reactions and technology made her a great asset to the team, especially when moving in stealth.
Her other responsibility? That fell in the same line. She worked closely with the Muggle Liaisons office to come up with Muggle-worthy excuses to some of Lord Voldemort's attacks, also moonlighting as public relations for the families of Muggle-borns and any other Muggles aware of the Wizarding world.
She had yet to meet the Prime Minister, though.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was, as usual, filled with people running around and owls flying everywhere. Lily narrowly avoided getting shoved to the floor by a set of Aurors passing through.
"There's a group of them!" one was shouting. "We've got to move, now! Get someone from Reg. and Control on hand!"
"I sent an owl already," replied another, this one a rather harried looking witch.
Lily watched them pass, a little confused at why the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was on call.
Someone came up behind her. "Giants," said Cassie Delaney in her ear. "Six, or so I heard. Might be less."
"Where?" Lily asked, her heart thumping a bit faster.
"Up in Scotland," Cassie told her. "A couple miles outside Hogsmeade. I think Dumbledore was the one who found them."
"That's frightening, that they're so close to the school," she said. "I mean, with their immunity to protective spells they might just get into the school grounds."
Her dark-haired friend shrugged. "Students went home Saturday; there's only a handful left for the winter hols."
"Still…"
The Aurors finally made their way out of the office and to the lift. Every face was tense; dealing with giants was far different than with the Followers. It took at least four Aurors working in conjunction to even affect one giant. She lifted her hand in a gesture of farewell and luck as the lift descended.
Cassie let out a breath and followed Lily as she made her way to her cubicle. "That's a way to start the morning off," she joked hollowly.
"Why aren't you with them?" Lily asked. "I'd have thought you'd relish a fight before breakfast."
"I'm not one for something that can step on me," the Auror said with a crinkle of her nose. "And besides, it was hand pick this round. My set didn't get called. I'm blaming Moody for that—I think he's soft on me or something."
"Moody doesn't know how to be soft," she retorted. In a softer voice, she added, "Hey, thanks for letting me kip on your couch the last few days. I just couldn't go back there, you know? Not after everything with Tim. I bought new sheets and all for the bed when I got home."
Her friend shrugged. "Fabian said I should. And since it's his flat and everything—"
"Don't tease, Delaney, I mean it," Lily warned. "Thanks."
"I kept telling you, you'd be well shot of him," said Cassie. "You didn't listen."
"Yeah, I know, you're always right and I should listen to you because otherwise I'll experience pain and misery beyond my darkest nightmares," she repeated dryly. "What's done is done, though. Bloody coward hasn't even stopped by to get his things. I chucked them all in the trash, so if he does come by he'll have a hard time getting the smell out."
"That's a Ravenclaw for you," Cassie told her with a grin. "No loyalty, no ambition, and certainly no courage."
Lily snorted. "You're prejudiced."
"On account of being Hufflepuff? Of course I am. We always got flak from the Ravenclaws for not being smart enough even when we beat them at tests."
They reached Lily's cubicle where both her owl Angelia and a set of letters, the Daily Prophet stacked atop them, were waiting for her. Angelia gave her a reproachful eye, expecting some kind of reward. Lily pulled a few treats out of her pocket and held them out for the tawny to take, looking back at Cassie to continue their conversation.
"You got flak from Barney Lowell; try not to generalise."
"I can't help it if he spoke for the rest of his House."
"No one holds a grudge like you, Cas. Wild Hippogriffs tremble at the sight." Angelia finished with the treats and flew over to her perch while Lily sat down. "Speaking of Hogwarts, though, I have to tell you—Dumbledore came by my flat yesterday."
"He…he did?" Cassie lost her composure for a second.
She frowned at this lapse in her friend's usually unshakeable front. "Yeah. He offered me a job at school."
This earned her a laugh. "What, as the new Defence professor?" said the Auror. "They haven't kept that position filled for more than a set of terms, so I hear. Not for a few years now. Must be some shoddy professor Dumbledore's been sorting through. You'll do good, I reckon. Good on you, Evans."
"Not Defence," Lily said, scowling at the thought. "Charms."
Cassie sat in the empty seat in the corner. "Why? What's happened to Flitwick?"
She began flipping through her mail and said, "Nothing. He's off to Peru for a year, and he wants me to step in. Isn't that barmy?"
"Actually," her friend said slowly, "I think it's perfect."
Lily raised her eyebrows.
"Honest!" Cassie insisted. "I mean, you were always great at Charms in school—beat me out of best marks in that class—and since then, well, your spell speaks for itself. You actually managed to get our side a little bit of advantage. I mean, granted, it's all secret and stuff because of infiltration risk, but the people who can actually use it get an edge on the Followers. I've used it a fair bit myself, saved my lovely round buttocks a couple of times."
"And saving your lovely round buttocks qualifies me as a good Charms professor, does it?"
"What better qualification is there?"
She sighed. "I don't think it's for me. I'm not the professor sort."
"Take the job, Evans," snapped Cassie.
"There's no way I can pull it off. No possible—hang on…" She paused at one letter.
"What?" demanded her friend. "What is it?"
"Muggle post," Lily said, on the whole rather distracted. "From my sister."
She'd given the blokes down in Muggle Liaisons Office instructions to send all Muggle post for her to her office ages ago on the off chance that Petunia might send her some sort of letter, although Lily had given up hope she'd ever receive contact from her sister again. The years after Lily left Hogwarts had only increased their dissonance rather than heal the wounds wielded by magic despite all her hopes to the contrary.
But here in her hand was a letter, stamped and sealed. It was a very nice one, too; the envelope was thick paper and cream-coloured, and lovely gold-inlaid letters addressing her as "Ms Lily Adelaide Evans" along with her last known address. She'd moved twice since then.
With eager hands she ripped open the envelope and pulled out a fancy…wedding invitation.
"She's getting married," Lily breathed. "Married! I don't even know the man."
"Who'd want to marry Petunia?" scoffed Cassie. She instantly looked contrite when Lily shot her a glare.
"It says here she's marrying a Vernon Dursley," she read aloud. "On June tenth of next year."
"Isn't that a bit soon to be sending out invites? I mean, what if she changes her mind in the next six months?"
Lily waved this off. "I can't believe she actually invited me." She looked up mischievously. "Be my date, love?"
Her friend snorted. "Fab won't stand for that."
"I can't go alone," she protested. "If I show up all by my lonesome, Petunia will make nasty remarks the whole time." Lily could see the smug, vindictive look on her sister's face already, knowing Petunia would take joy in the fact that she finally had something Lily didn't. And it would hurt.
She loved Petunia, she truly did, but her sister could be a truly bitter person sometimes. Part of that was Lily's own doing, and she knew that. She knew what being left out of the spotlight in favor of a brighter star could do to a person.
"How about this," Cassie proposed. "You take Gid, and Fab and I can double date."
"Brilliant," she said, considering the ever-entertaining Prewett twins. "Do you know where he is?"
"Both Gid and Fab are hunting down Peridenn. Crouch got a tip, wanted to get them on it."
For the first time all morning, even what happened with the giants near Hogsmeade, Cassie's face showed actual concern.
Lily and Cassie had been friends for a little over ten years now, and in that time she'd never seen Cassie so much as bat an eye at the legions of blokes fawning over her except for one Fabian Prewett. The road to their relationship had been filled with constant attempts on Fabian's part to woo his unshakeable coworker, winning her over after nearly a year of effort. Two years on, and Lily was half expecting Cassie's last name to change from Delaney to Prewett.
"He'll be fine," Lily reassured her friend. "Gid and Fab can't be taken down when they're together."
"I know." Cassie checked the clock. "I've a meeting with Moody. We'll talk later - and for Merlin's sake, woman, take the damn job at school." She gave Lily a quick squeeze on the shoulder before exiting the cubicle.
Lily grabbed a scrap bit of parchment and scribbled hastily, Gid— escort me to my sister's wedding, will you? –Lil. She stood and left her desk to drop the note off.
By lunchtime there had been three more sets of Aurors dispatched from the Ministry. One of them was sent to assist the group dealing with the giants, and when Lily heard this she wondered hollowly if one of their number had died. The other two were sent to deal with an attack in Diagon Alley. Since Lily was on call for Muggle-related incidents, all she could do was sit at her desk and hope Cassie's set would be alright.
Aurors worked differently than the Squad. A set of Aurors consisted of four, usually one senior and one third-year trainee or a newly graduated in the mix. The Squad operated in groups of eight, all with similar qualifications and given a specific task. One member was elected Squad Leader through Crouch, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Lily was part of First Muggle Squad. There were three squads for Muggle situations, but she'd managed to get into the lead group through persistence and skill.
With nothing to do—the most terrible part of a war—Lily sifted through her mail and listened in on the Auror offices to determine what was happening. She tried to find out if the Prewetts had caught Peridenn (one of Voldemort's Followers) or if the giants had been rounded up, but there was no news. Finally she gave up and headed down to the third level to check in with Gaius Horner, her unofficial boss.
The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes was only slightly less busy than the D.M.L.E above it. Technically, this department had no official bodies to go out in wartime situations, but the Muggle Squads reported to both Departments.
Mr Horner was hurriedly writing a letter with a ball point pen on regular paper, something Lily found most amusing. He glanced up when she knocked.
"There you are," he said in relief.
"Were you looking for me?"
"Yeah, I need you to drop this in the post, alright? The Muggle post. It's very important."
"What is it?" she asked curiously.
Mr Horner signed his name and tapped the paper, causing it to fold itself into a nice envelope. "Not for your eyes, Evans. I'm sorry, but—"
"But you can't say," finished Lily. "I know."
He smiled at her in apology. "I don't mean to be a stick-in-the-mud. The Minister doesn't have a lot of time on his hands right now to address letters to Muggle officials so he asks me, and I can't very well go around telling anyone who will listen–"
She held up a hand. "You don't need to explain it to me," she told him kindly.
Mr Horner gave her a wide grin. "You're one of the good ones around here, Evans. Is there something I can do for you?"
"Just wondering if there was something I could do for you," said Lily. "I'm getting restless."
"Hmm…well, after that letter I'd like you to head up to level one and give this communiqué"–he handed Lily a roll of parchment—"to the Junior Undersecretary. I need the Minister's response by the end of the day so make that clear. And if you're still free after that, get Maintenance to fix Weston's office."
"What's wrong with Weston's office?" she asked, and then winced at the tongue-twister she'd spit out.
"It's windy in there. Paper's flying everywhere, his owl in a tizzy, chairs falling over–"
"Shouldn't we get someone on that first?"
He shrugged. "Let the man try to fix it himself. It'd be good for him to lift a wand for something more than Summoning food for a change."
Lily gave him a reproachful look. "You're a bad man," she said. "Truly, positively—"
"Off with you," Mr Horner commanded with a playful air. "Go deliver my letter."
She sniffed delicately in his direction before leaving the office, letter in hand.
The post room was adjacent to the Muggle Liaisons office. Lily always found it amusing that Muggle post was classified under Accidents and Catastrophes because she couldn't think of anything more harmless. The worst someone could do was put confetti in an envelope.
But far be it from her to judge the Ministry's organization, though. She dropped the letter in the box, waved at a couple of the workers she recognized, and then mentally steeled herself on her way to the lifts to reach level one.
Several people shouted greetings as she made walked along the hallway to the Minister for Magic's offices. The closer she got, the higher ranked the officials were. By the time she could see the gold plaque bearing the inscription "Timothy Alder, Junior Undersecretary" on the door before her, no one was calling her name or smiling in greeting. They were all too busy acting self-important.
She knocked on the door, a sense of dread seeping into her bones.
"Come in," she heard Tim say.
Lily opened the door and paused in the doorway.
Tim leaned forward in his chair, a look of surprise and…was that relief or anxiety? She couldn't tell. She did see that he wasn't angry at her.
"Lily," he said softly. "I didn't think I'd see you for a while."
"Mr Horner wanted me to give you this communiqué for the Minister," she said brusquely. She walked forward to drop the sheet on his desk, and he stood.
"Please don't do that."
"Do what?"
Tim gave her a look, one she could actually read. "What you always do. When you pretend everything's fine when it isn't."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said firmly.
"Thus proving my point." His expression grew irritated. "We need to talk, Lil."
"I think we both already said everything we needed to say," Lily told him. She let the parchment fall to the desk, watching as it fluttered on the air rather than look her ex-boyfriend in the eye. "Mr Horner wants a response by the end of the day, if that's possible."
Before she could turn away, Tim grabbed her wrist. "You said everything you needed to say; I didn't get one word in."
She pulled away. "You got plenty of words in, Tim. If you recall, that's what broke us up."
"I love you."
"And that's a good reason to drop me, is it?" Lily had never been so angry at someone in her life—except for the once, with Severus.
Tim rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I mucked up."
"I'll say you did."
"Would you let me speak?" he snapped. She waited. "I was scared, Lil. I've never had these feelings for anyone before and I wanted to run away from them. I want you to know I'm sorry, and I really do love you."
Lily gaped. "Oh, no. You didn't just say that. You couldn't possibly have said that."
He frowned. "What are you talking about?"
She scoffed and turned away for a second, before facing him again and snapping, "For Merlin's sake, Tim, you told me you wanted to shag Mary Donovan from Reg. and Control! You also let slip you couldn't possibly marry me because I'm Muggle-born and you're only interested in pedigree. If you can't marry me in a hypothetical sense, then clearly you can't be with me in any sense."
"I was trying to push you away," Tim said hotly. "And it was horrible of me to say what I did. I can't make that right. All I can do is apologise but you won't let me!"
"And what?" She wanted so very much to hex him. "You apologise, and what? I forgive you, I take you back, we go through a year of heartache and torture and then finally decide to call it quits? Sorry, I'd like to skip a few exits on that highway if you don't mind."
Tim looked confused. "Highway?"
Evidence of his magical upbringing was never more apparent than when she spoke in colloquialisms. Lily sighed and didn't bother to explain.
"What I mean is I'd rather not go through all that."
"Despite what I said, I would like to marry you someday, and I've no interest in Mary Donovan." When Lily raised her eyebrows, he hastily added, "Sure, she's absolutely gorgeous and something would be terribly wrong with me if I didn't want to shag her, but my point is I wouldn't. Not when I'm with you. Not while I love you."
Lily felt her resolve weakening, but only a by little. "You dropped me."
"Yeah, yeah I did," he agreed. "I was afraid of my feelings for you, I was afraid of losing you because of your job—"
"Don't start on that again."
"I can't help it if I want you to be safe!"
"I've been on the Squad much longer than I've known you—"
"And if you haven't noticed things have gotten a lot more dangerous in the past two years—"
"Clearly I'm still alive and well—"
"Because you've been lucky—"
"We're not having this discussion—"
"We never have this discussion!" Tim exploded. He lowered his voice with apparent effort. "I won't apologise for caring whether you live or die. I worry about you every time I hear your squad is out and until I know you're back and safe I can't work, I can't do anything but sit and hope to anything you'll come home in one piece."
Lily bit her lip. "Tim, I have to do what I do." She didn't mention her job offer to him, one that would theoretically keep her out of the line of fire. "I can't just sit still and let the war go on around me. I can't do what you want me to do."
He let out a frustrated sigh. "I understand, I suppose. I hate it, but… I have no say."
"No," she told him. "You don't."
"I'd ask if I had a shot with you, if we could try again, but I already know your answer," he said.
"You hurt me," she reminded him. "I can't be with you after you hurt me like that."
"I know."
They took a moment to really look at each other. It occurred to Lily just how tired she was of Tim. The constant arguments—the same argument over and over, really—did nothing for her anymore. She was suddenly grateful for his horrible comments during their split.
She chuckled darkly and ran a hand through her hair. "No one gets under my skin like you do, you know. It's very frustrating."
Tim smiled flatly, ducking his head. "Perhaps it's not frustrating so much as a sign."
"Of what?"
"A sign that I'm the right man for you."
Lily rolled her eyes at that. "Don't count on it."
"What else have I got to count on?" he pointed out.
"Count on the smell your things will have when you fish them out of my garbage," she suggested.
His jaw dropped open. "What did you do?"
"Goodbye, Tim," she said with a vindictive smile. She left the office with a lot less anxiety than she carried going in.
In the most logical part of her mind Lily knew that going back into a relationship with Tim would be a mistake. She hadn't been able to be in her own flat because of all the pain he'd caused. Even while they were together she'd had a fair few nights of tears and fighting, and it didn't make sense to just leap back into a dynamic so explosive and unhealthy. That logical part of her said to stay out of something she would be better off without.
There was another part of her, and that part didn't think with her head. That emotional part of her wanted to go back to the familiarity of Tim and damn the pain and heartbreak. Despite whatever he'd said Lily still had feelings for Tim, the sort of feelings that didn't just go away on a whim.
But no, she couldn't think about that. She had to ask herself what Cassie would do in this sort of situation and then take a less violent approach. If Cassie were to punch Tim in the nose, which was the most likely thing to happen, Lily would have to keep a pointed distance from her former boyfriend. Getting dragged back in was not an option, not after all the dramatics.
And right at that moment, the solution came to her.
Hogwarts.
Up in Scotland, out of the way, five days a week teaching hundreds of children in Charms class, Lily could avoid seeing Tim for as long as she wanted to. That constant presence in her life would be quite suddenly absent. It was the best way for her to avoid temptation.
There were other factors to consider, though. Leaving the front lines of the war was something she wasn't keen on, for one. For another, she would be leaving behind Cassie and Margot Keller, two of her dearest and most valuable friends, to settle in a school surrounded by former professors. She was unlikely to make friends among that set of individuals, just as she was unlikely to call Dumbledore by his first name. And she could very likely fail to attend Petunia's wedding, as it was in the middle of exam time. She couldn't risk missing an opportunity to reconnect with her sister, no matter how slim the chance might be.
But giants near Hogsmeade today…she could be on the front lines more often than the Daily Prophet would have the public believe. The entire school could be in danger, and without her it would—what? She shook her head. The fate of Hogwarts did not rest on her shoulders.
Lily also had to consider one simple fact; she missed Hogwarts. She missed the castle's winding and playful corridors, the Quidditch matches and feasts, the ghosts and her old professors. She hadn't seen Hagrid in years, and she used to visit him nearly every month for tea. Merlin help her, Lily even missed Peeves the poltergeist, and that curmudgeonly old caretaker Apollyon Pringle. Every miserable experience she'd been through at school had washed away with time and all that remained was nostalgia.
It was silly to base her whole choice on reminiscing. She was an adult, and adults did not make decisions on fanciful whims. Lily's lease on her flat wasn't nearly up, and how could she afford her flat on a professor's salary? If she lived at the school, as professors did, who would look after her place while she was gone?
Any way she looked at it, there were no clear answers.
"Mrs Bloome, I understand your concern," Lily tried soothingly. She reached out a hand and covered the woman's fingers lightly. "It's enough to make any parent anxious."
Inwardly, she groaned.
The timid woman clutched her handkerchief all the more and her lip trembled. "Francine told me about him, and how he hates people like her, people who are…special. She's been having nightmares about that man hurting her - she doesn't feel safe."
Beside Lily, Peter Dagley shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "There's no denying You-Know-Who is dangerous," he began. "After all, he's bested many of our law enforcement officers, and after nearly six years he's still not been apprehended—some people say he can't be killed—"
"Dagley," Lily interrupted as Mrs Bloome's eyes grew infinitely wider and more fearful, "perhaps some nice chamomile tea would do us all good."
After a pointed look from her, Dagley finally understood he was doing very little good by speaking. He cleared his throat and headed out of the sitting room toward the kitchen, surreptitiously pulling out his wand to start the water for tea, and Lily suppressed a sigh of relief.
Dagley was her official partner. If there was ever something that didn't require their full Squad, it was just the two of them. Usually they were the ones who visited Muggle homes, mostly because he was half-blood with a Muggle father and understood the world and she an outright Muggle-born - but he wasn't so adept with fragile people. This wasn't the first time he'd nearly sent someone into hysterics.
She liked Dagley quite a lot, but the man had his faults.
For the first active mission she'd been assigned to since last Friday, Lily hadn't expected it to be taking care of a distraught mother. Mrs Bloome's daughter, Francine, had only just started at Hogwarts, and the impressionable first-year had come home with tales of Voldemort and the havoc he wreaked across Britain. Lily couldn't exactly blame the small girl (were she in Francine's situation she might be just as terrified), yet the woman she sat across from was not the type she'd want to scare.
The morning light was stunted by the blinds, yet the bright, cold sunshine of winter shone through the window. Tuesday had started off much better than Monday for the Ministry, given that no major attacks had been launched anywhere in the country before lunchtime, and for that Lily was grateful.
She turned her attentions fully to Mrs Bloome once Dagley had left the room. "I apologise if he scared you."
"Oh, my daughter has already told me everything," the woman sniffled. "She gets that newspaper, you see."
"The Daily Prophet, you mean?"
"Yes, that one. The one with all the moving pictures." Even with her fear, Lily could see the wonder on Mrs Bloome's face at magic most witches and wizards took for granted.
"Mrs Bloome," Lily said cautiously, "what else has Francine told you?"
The handkerchief was in danger of ripping. "She said there are things like zombies, and giants, and monsters called Dementors," recounted the woman. "She said that many of the murders on the telly are because of this man, and how dangerous he is…" She let out a tiny sob.
"Shhh," soothed Lily.
After a deep breath, Mrs Bloome said, "I just don't know how I can let my daughter continue going to that school. I know she loves it there, but…"
Lily nodded sympathetically. "I know how terrible this all is. Believe me, I do. But what Francine didn't tell you is that Hogwarts is the most protected place in all of Britain. Nothing and no one, not even You-Know-Who, can break through the magical barriers around the school."
"Really?" asked the woman, shocked.
"I promise," she said. "I went there for seven years, and in that whole time nothing bad ever happened to me."
That wasn't strictly true, but Lily wasn't keen on explaining the one-time circumstance to a total stranger. Not to mention it wouldn't help her convince the woman of the security of Hogwarts.
Mrs Bloome relaxed by the smallest margin. "The school, though, it's all the way up in Scotland - so far away from help if anyone should need it—"
As Dagley came in with a tray of china and a steaming teapot, Lily reminded Mrs Bloome, "Wizards can travel across the country in the blink of an eye. There's no worry about distance in these situations. And even if help wasn't accessible, all the professors at the school are very good at their jobs."
I might be one of them, Lily added silently.
"Sugar?" Dagley asked quietly.
Lily waved him off. "And on top of all that, Professor Dumbledore is there."
"The Headmaster?" Mrs Bloome asked in confusion.
"Yes," she said. "Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in the world."
"Dumbledore's grand," agreed Dagley, finally on firm ground with this conversation. "There's no besting him. He's already defeated one Dark Wizard in his lifetime, and You-Know-Who's terrified of him. No way You-Know-Who will show up at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's Headmaster."
Mrs Bloome let out a cautious smile. "Oh, I didn't realise."
They both smiled at her. "Not to worry," assured Lily. "We both know how strange this whole experience can be."
"I just want to know my daughter is safe," she replied, finally releasing the handkerchief from her stranglehold and picking up her tea to take a dainty sip. "If I had known how dangerous all of this was, I might not have let her even attend Hogwarts in the first place."
"Of course." Lily nodded.
"And I worry about her, staying here over holidays."
"If it will help, I can put your house on a special watch list," she offered.
Dagley opened his mouth in surprise. "That's not -"
"Going to be a problem," Lily finished, smiling over her clenched teeth as she ground her heel into his toe. Dagley let out a grunt of pain, and Mrs Bloome looked at him curiously before looking back to Lily.
"That would be such a help," she said gratefully.
"Think nothing of it," Lily told her, her heel poised to attack Dagley's foot in case he spoke again. "Now, we really must be going."
As they stood, Dagley leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Evans, you can't just…" Whatever he was going to say she couldn't do, and Lily had a fair idea of what that was, was lost as Mrs Bloome shook both their hands and lead them to the door.
"Thank you so much for coming by," Mrs Bloome said for the fourth time that morning. She handed the pair of them their coats and scarves.
Lily smiled warmly. "Anything we can do, you just send another letter," she promised as she tugged on her gloves. She nodded and smiled and exchanged light pleasantries as she wound her scarf around her neck and pulled on her coat, all the while making sure Dagley didn't say a word.
Finally, Mrs Bloome opened the door to say goodbye, and Lily grabbed her partner's arm as soon as the door shut behind them and dragged him from the porch to the sidewalk hastily.
"Evans, you've got a grip like a dragon," he grumbled once she let go, rubbing his arm discontentedly.
"Are you thick?" she hissed. "Did your mum drop you on your head when you were little?"
"Me?" Dagley was affronted. "You're the one who promised her special treatment that we can't afford to hand out!"
Lily sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Of course I told her that! The thought of protection will do more good for her than actual bodyguards, you prat. That woman needs to be reassured, not frightened to death. Well done, by the way."
He stared. "You lied to her?"
"Obviously."
"How is that any better?"
She started walking down the sidewalk to their car. "If she believes she's safer, that's all that matters."
Dagley matched her stride, saying, "That's really low, Evans."
"The ends justify the means," Lily grumbled, despite how wrong it felt to lie to that frightened woman. It was for her own good, she reminded herself firmly. Without hearing people could look out for her, Mrs Bloome would have kept her daughter home for the next term, and possibly put Francine in more danger.
Her partner shook his head. "You're cold." He didn't sound altogether upset.
Lily shrugged. "Only sometimes. If anything, what I did today was a kindness. That little girl's not the only one having nightmares."
They reached the Ministry-issued car and Lily opened the driver's side door before Dagley could reach it. He grimaced and headed around.
"Let's grab lunch," he offered.
"It's ten-thirty."
"Brunch, then. I know a nice little place not ten minutes from here. My treat."
She stared over the car at him. "Are you asking me on a date?"
Dagley snorted, perhaps too dramatically. "A…a date? What? No, not at all. I would never…completely unprofessional…" He trailed off and tapped his fingers on the car awkwardly. "If I was, hypothetically, what would you say?"
She couldn't help but smile a little. "Dags…"
"I know, I know," he said, throwing up his hands. "You're not interested. I just heard about Alder, though, and I thought 'why the hell not?' So, that was my go at it."
"You heard about Tim?" Lily's heart sank. Did everyone know about Tim dropping her? She was so embarrassed—what if they knew about the Mary Donovan comment? She couldn't stand it if everyone knew about that. Maybe she shouldn't worry what her coworkers thought of her, but she couldn't help it.
"Er, yeah." Dagley looked uncomfortable. "Sorry if you didn't want to talk about it."
"Oh, it's fine."
"Sure?"
She nodded. "I should have realized…the gossips don't stay at school, after all."
He smiled sympathetically. "Brunch is still on the table, if you like. Just as a partners' brunch. Not a date."
"Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that," Lily said, and slid behind the wheel of the magically enhanced car.
The remainder of Tuesday was much the same as Monday, and Wednesday was quite similar to them both. Lily had no field work on those days, instead spending her time filing reports for the D.M.A.C. and vacillating between taking the Charms job and staying with the Ministry.
Neither of the Prewetts had returned since Monday morning, something that caused Cassie a significant amount of stress. Lily wasn't exactly calm, either; she liked Gideon and Fabian both, she worried for their safety and had to reassure not only herself but Cassie as well that the twins were some of the best Aurors around.
"But what if something went wrong," Cassie snapped at lunchtime on Thursday. "What if something awful happened and–"
"Stop that, you'll scare the civilians," said Lily.
They sat at a small corner table of the Leaky Cauldron, and while her warnings weren't entirely unfounded, no one could hear them from this position. Cassie groaned and buried her face in her hands, her fingers lacing through that thick, dark brown hair in frustration.
"I can't stop thinking of it, Lil," she admitted, voice muffled. "Every time I close my eyes I keep seeing all these horrific things happening to him."
"What would you do if I got back together with Tim?" Lily asked.
It worked. Cassie dropped her hands and stared. "Don't you bloody dare."
She shrugged. "Thought that would catch your attention."
Cassie gaped at her for a few seconds. "But you're not serious, are you? You're not so daft as to actually—"
"I'd like to hope I'm not so daft as that," said Lily. "But he makes a strong case for himself, you know. Very convincing."
"Lily Evans, if you so much as smile in that man's direction I will never speak to you again."
"Promise?"
"I'm being completely serious here," Cassie warned. "Don't think I'm not."
"Oh, I know." She grinned.
Cassie gave her a murderous glare that, were it used on someone who hadn't experienced it on a weekly basis, might have made her faint away. Instead Lily maintained her winning smile and took another bite of her chicken sandwich.
She wasn't really serious about getting back with Tim, at least not yet. The man had a horrible way of getting under her skin when she was vulnerable. Her main focus was keeping her friend from succumbing to nerves and the best way she knew to do that was through shock tactics.
Music played from the speakers placed all around the pub, a soothing jazz tune with a uniquely Wizard touch. Lily much preferred Muggle jazz but she didn't mind the song playing now. She amused herself by watching the people at the bar and making up life stories for them. If she thought it could help she'd ask Cassie to join in, but considering the mood the Auror had dropped to the stories would run along very dark lines, and she wasn't interested in hearing about grisly deaths.
There was quiet for a minute as they both ate, but the sounds of people around them made the air less tense and full of fear. Even though Diagon Alley was virtually empty as repairs from Monday's attack were being made, the Leaky Cauldron was still a place for witches and wizards to gather and talk of the latest news.
Sometimes Lily thought the tendency of humans to gather in large groups while under attack was the greatest weakness of their species, magical or no. Voldemort's followers often attacked areas with large numbers of people, after all - though she did have to admit they were loath to touch the old pub-and-inn so far. It hardly mattered, though, since Diagon Alley was hit nearly every month. She'd heard most of the residents in the lower part of the street had relocated by now.
One person in particular caught her interest; a man with long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. He looked to be around her age, if not a little older, and the little she could see of him was quite handsome. She half considered walking over and introducing herself but ultimately decided against it. Still, Lily hadn't flirted with anyone since the beginnings of her relationship with Tim and she missed the simple fun of it.
"Do you think one of them might be injured?" Cassie burst out.
Lily sighed. "Would you stop that?"
"No, I will not! My ruddy boyfriend's not been heard from in over three days," she snapped, but she didn't sound angry so much as scared.
"Your humanity is showing, love," Lily said dryly.
"Oh, is it?" Cassie released a deranged laugh. "That's unexpected, because my emotions are completely under control."
She leaned forward. "Cas, I'm only going to say this once more; you need to get yourself together and stop acting like a normal human being. Not only is it scaring the hell out of me, it's also not helping you at all. Now put on your Auror front and stop being such a helpless bint."
Her friend stared. "If I were attracted to birds I'd shag you atop the table this instant."
Lily had heard this declaration before. "Go on, I dare you." She raised her eyebrows, taunting her friend to make good.
"I hate when you call my bluffs." Cassie slumped in her seat.
"And I hate sleazy come-ons." They smiled at each other.
"Alright, you've made your point," she admitted. "Merlin knows I'd rather never admit myself wrong and you right but consider this my concession. I never knew you were so keen on my complete lack of feminine softness, though. You've played that close to the chest."
"I hate being obvious," Lily replied.
They were on the verge of breaking into full-fledged witty banter when the jazzy tune suddenly crackled with static. Lily's heart dropped into her stomach, because the only way a magical radio could encounter static was if someone deliberately interrupted the program. Judging by Cassie's expression she wasn't the only one who'd come to this conclusion.
The entire pub grew quiet as the static grew in sound. Lily glanced over and saw that Tom the bartender had turned up the sound dial, and all the patrons had ceased movement. The light air she'd been so grateful for earlier escaped the room faster than oxygen into a vacuum. Not even glasses clinked against tables. Everyone was staring at the radio as if watching the box would make the message come through sooner.
Finally a voice crackled through. "This is an emergency announcement." The words were spoken with a melancholy mood."I, the Minister for Magic Cailean McKinnon, must express to the public that an attack has been made on the town Ottery St. Catchpole one hour ago. Sixteen wizards and witches are dead, including two Aurors who gave their life to protect others. Twenty-three Muggles were also killed."
Silence became a sound. Lily's ears rang with the oppressive absence of noise.
"We at the Ministry offer our condolences to all the families, both Muggle and magical, who have experienced losses this day. There are no words to…" The Minister's voice broke. "To make right this terrible day."
Cassie reached over and grasped Lily's wrist. "He said two Aurors," she whispered, her voice tight with fear. "Two Aurors, Lil."
All Lily could do was hold her friend's hand and pray that the casualties were not the Prewett brothers - though the death of any Auror was cause for grief.
"I have reports from some of the survivors that three masks of the Followers were torn off in the attack. We now know their identities. I urge caution to anyone connected or in the proximity of Marcus Avery, Theodore Nott, and Evan Rosier, Sr. These men are dangerous and serve V… you know of whom I speak. However, I beg the public to remain calm in light of this new information."
The Minister's words came in good timing; the pub's silence had broken with mutters and whispers at the names, and more than a few gasps of surprise. Lily and Cassie weren't so shocked. There was a long list of names Moody had posted in the Auror briefing room listing all suspected Death Eaters, and all three names were near the top. Hearing them broadcast over the WWN was merely confirmation. All the same, Marcus Avery had been a schoolmate of theirs, even if they hadn't gotten along, and it was an unpleasant confirmation to hear.
"I ask all of you to take a moment of silence for the lives lost today, especially for two of our protectors, Kenneth McKinnon and Dorian Diggory. We honor these men and the lives they managed to save today."
There was quiet, then static, and then the jazz resumed, now irritatingly whimsical.
Cassie dropped her head against the table, pulling Lily's hand to her forehead. "I shouldn't feel so relieved, but I do," she murmured.
Lily stroked back the other woman's hair. She too felt that mixture of relief and guilt for that same emotion. She hadn't known Diggory at all, and Kenneth McKinnon only in passing. Her heart did go out to the Minister, though, for losing his cousin.
"Ottery St. Catchpole…" Cassie mused. She then shot straight up in her seat, grey eyes wide. "The Weasleys live there. Oh, Merlin—you know Arthur Weasley, don't you? Down the hall, the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office? His wife just had their third child five months ago. She's Gid and Fab's younger sister."
"You think his wife—" she began.
"No, no, they live outside town. What I mean to say is Arthur Weasley's brothers were in the town proper."
They exchanged wide-eyed looks. Neither wanted to be the first to say it aloud.
Lily's appetite had vanished. She stood and dropped her napkin on the table, Cassie following suit hastily. Both felt the need to get back to the Ministry. Lily looked over at the blonde man at the bar (she didn't know why she looked his way) but saw that he had gone.
Quiet filled the D.M.L.E.
Both women walked through the corridors with some trepidation, not wishing to disturb the scarce stillness. Occasionally eyes looked up and Lily would share a glance with an Auror or a Squad member, whether she knew them or not. The look in everyone's eyes bound them all together.
Lily felt, as she knew everyone else did, a sense of utter helplessness in the face of the Minister's announcement. If only she had been there—perhaps she could have made a difference. Perhaps she could have saved a life that had been lost.
She wanted to find Tim. She wanted his arms around her, telling her this wasn't her fault even if she didn't believe him. And she hated that she wanted it so badly.
In a flash of morbid curiosity, she began to consider what sort of Muggle-worthy excuse she would come up with this time. A rampaging hippo was the only thing she could think of at the moment. How could she explain away something so horrific? The combined death toll of wizards and Muggles reached thirty-nine. That was a lot of death for a small town like Ottery St. Catchpole. A lot of details to explain away.
Suddenly she was very tired. She was tired of lying to people who deserved the truth. She was tired of making ugly things look nice and neat and organized. She was tired of this part of her job, no matter how much she liked defending Muggles from dangers they couldn't comprehend.
Lily had finally made her decision.
She squeezed Cassie's arm, letting her friend know she was leaving. Cassie nodded, her face a mask of stone. She left and headed back to the lift so she could go down to level three. Walking back by herself was somehow more oppressive - the eyes upon her made her feel self-conscious in a way she was unused to.
The creaking of the lift was a nasty contrast to the muted contemplation on the level. Lily winced when the gears ground to a stop. Until she'd heard the lift in such a way she'd never even noticed the loudness of it, nor had she even cared. Grief, she'd discovered a few years back, had a way of heightening sound.
The D.M.A.C. was, as usual, a weaker version of the level above it, except this time there was less silence instead of less chaos. Mutterings filled the offices.
When she looked out the windows, Lily saw storm clouds. There was sun when she left the Leaky Cauldron, though the air was cold and the light too bright against the snow on the ground, so she had to assume it was courtesy of the Maintenance staff. She stopped and stared out the window though she knew she was underground. Somehow the cold gray of the low clouds was perfectly in tune with her feelings.
Vaguely she wondered if the Minister for Magic was feeling the same as her and everyone around her. Or was he feeling more than they? Was he numb to reality, the same way she'd gone numb when her parents had died?
Death of this magnitude always reminded her of that day.
She'd been sitting with them at in an outdoor restaurant, in the middle of July. The sun had shone pleasantly and warmly against her skin, and Lily had practically felt freckles growing on her skin as they sat there. Her mother had had the same fair skin, though her hair was brown unless shone heavily on by the sun, and she'd worn a large brimmed hat that Lily had coveted. Her father had had weather-beaten skin after years in the armed forces, serving in the Second World War in his youth, and he didn't fear the sun…
Lily shook her head to clear herself of the memory.
Three and a half years had passed since the first major attack of Lord Voldemort, and Lily had more or less come to terms with the events of that day. The "less" was what had prompted her to get on the front lines of the war and join First Muggle Squad, so that she might save families the way she'd not been able to save her own.
She began heading to Mr Horner's office once more, questioning her split-second decision only a little. The need to fight was still there, but there were so many good reasons for going to Hogwarts… and joining Dumbledore's Order might provide her with more front line opportunities than she could have imagined.
Mr Horner was sitting at his desk, head in hands. He glanced up when she knocked on his doorframe.
"Evans," he said with relief. "I was just about to owl you."
"You were?"
He nodded and rubbed his face distractedly. "I take it you heard?"
"I was lunching in the Cauldron; we caught the Minister's address there."
"You don't really get used to these sorts of things," mused Mr Horner, and she knew he wasn't speaking so much to her as speculating aloud. "Years of this now, and every time it happens it's just as horrible as the last. Perhaps it's even more awful, I don't know."
She knew what he was saying. "What's the situation?" she asked.
"Hmm?"
"The town," Lily clarified. "What's happening in the town?"
Mr Horner glanced down at his hands for a second before saying, "Second Muggle Squad is cleaning up Ottery St. Catchpole, and Medi-Wizards are on site as well. They would have called in First Squad but all the Followers are gone by now."
Lily looked down. "I should have been available. First Squad should've been called in."
He closed his eyes and shook his head wearily. "There was no warning. Diggory and McKinnon were only there to visit friends."
"The Weasleys?"
"Yes. Charles Weasley and his wife are dead."
She sighed; words seemed useless and, quite honestly, worthless at this point.
Mr Horner pulled a roll of parchment from his desk and picked up a quill wearily. He looked at her mournfully. "We need to come up with something…I don't know how, but the Muggle press needs a viable cover story—"
It was just as Lily had suspected. She was required to cover up the massacre with some creative and "believable" reason, and once again her choice was confirmed indubitably. She held up a hand and Mr Horner stopped talking.
"I should've told you this earlier, but last Sunday Albus Dumbledore offered me a temporary teaching job at Hogwarts," Lily began. His eyes widened slightly. "I wasn't sure whether I wanted to take it or not, but now I am."
"So…you're leaving?" asked Mr Horner in surprise.
"For the next two terms," she confirmed. "I'll be available for the summer, but I want to take this job. I need to take this job."
"Evans–"
"I should probably get a letter of resignation ready," Lily mused aloud, "or something explaining my leave of absence. Which is better, do you think?"
Mr Horner sighed deeply. "Evans… I don't know what you expect me do to about it. I'm not exactly your boss anymore."
Lily bit her lip, thinking. "I have to let Mr Crouch and Miss Bagnold know. And I'm sorry, sir, but I can't help you with this one. You'll have to find someone else. I just…can't."
"This is one of your responsibilities in this Department—"
"Sir, this is one of the reasons I'm taking the job," she interrupted.
Mr Horner frowned. "You can't just skive off on your job, Evans. Even if it's unpleasant."
"Have Dagley help you; he's good at things like this."
Before he could mount a response Lily turned and exited the doorway of his office. His voice was lost to her among the mutterings of the cubicles around her. She headed up to the second level again, this time to write a letter and send Angelia to Hogwarts.
Edit Jun 8 2015: I've recently done some grammar and punctuation updates for this chapter and the two succeeding it, in case anyone has noticed anything different. Cheers!