"Only the dead have seen the end of war."
– Plato
Prologue
Her heart was beating in her chest, so loud that Lily feared that he'd discover that she was following him. But the dark haired boy continued down the dark and quiet corridors, hopefully too nervous himself to notice her. Every time he turned a corner and Lily had to do the same, she held her breath out of fear of what might be waiting for her around the bend. The Cloak of Invisibility only kept her from discovery as long as she didn't run into anyone on the other side.
Finally, he seemed to have reached his destination. He stopped by a door that didn't look any different from any other, but when he suddenly opened it and slipped inside - his robes flying behind him - there was left no doubt about this being the place. The heavy sound of the door slamming shut echoed down the deserted corridor,
Lily silently cursed. Damn it all! He'd closed the door behind him. How was she supposed to get in now? Even at Hogwarts, doors didn't open up by themselves and that would be exactly what it would look like, if she continued the pursuit with the Cloak on. Anxiously, she slipped the cloak of and hid it behind a suit of armor that she prayed wouldn't wander off and reveal the cloak, before she got back.
She held her breath while sneaking closer. Behind the door Lily could hear muffled voices, but the barrier of stone and wood between whoever was on the other side of the wall and her, made it impossible to hear what they were talking about. Lily pulled her wand from her robes and tightened her grip around the willow wood, while she inched closer still. Soon she recognized the voices as male - and one female? It sounded like most of the voices were angry. There was obviously a discussion going on behind the door and somebody in there was definitely not happy.
Just a little further and Lily would be able to touch the door. Maybe she should turn around, though. Without the invisibility cloak she'd be caught immediately if one of the voices would think to open the door. Because, obviously, it was a classroom they were in and not another corridor as Lily had originally thought it to be. Nervously, she bit her bottom lip. Maybe she should really turn around? If not to get back to the safety of the Common Room, then at least for the invisibility cloak?
A sudden cry from the other side of the door made Lily jump. That voice had been young - a first year, maybe? But what would a first year do down in the dungeons at a time like this? Merlin, Lily shouldn't even be down here now and she was a sixth year! Careful not to make any noise, Lily snuck the rest of the way up to the door. Quietly, she whispered a charm and lightly let her wand hit the door. Suddenly the wood was see-through - at least from Lily's perspective, allowing her to see whatever was going on, on the other side.
The sight made her gasp. Loud, too loud! The persons on the other side of the door turned too fast for Lily to react and before she could run away, the door was thrown open and someone grabbed her arm - the one holding her wand! Brutally, Lily was hauled into the room and the door was shut behind her.
"Who is this?!" The man holding Lily yelled at the others in the room and shook her violently, the grib on her arm uncomfortably tight. "Well?!"
At first the room was completely silent. Then someone made a small whimpering sound and Lily looked over towards the sight, that had made her gasp in horror to begin with. Because in the room wasn't only Severus, whom she had been following. No, there was also five first- and second year students, all terrified, with bruises all over and tears in their eyes. And around them, covered in long dark robes and their wands pointed at students, were Death Eaters. Their faces hidden behind the horrifying masks that Lily only had seen before as illustrations in the Daily Prophet, but she now was forced to stand face-to-face with, they now surrounded her and the other Hogwarts students. One of the kids whimpered yet again and a Death Eater wacked the boy hard in the back of his head, a blow that would've knocked the boy over had one of the others not caught him.
The Death Eater holding on to Lily shook her again. "Speak up! NOW!"
Finally, Severus stepped forward. "Lily," he asked, paler than she'd ever seen him before. "What are you doing here?"
