I do not own Harry Potter or any of the people, places, or items mentioned. They all belong to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 2: Rachael McNolly

We had to have stood there for a good few minutes in silence, eyes reusing to abandon placement, retreating towards a friendlier glare. It was as if by only seeing him again that I was to recall the events of the Ministry even stronger –if it were possible- the stench of the newly cut flowers from the Potter garden getting at my chest, clawing its way through my lungs until water began to fill its way up the brims of my eye lids.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, from the way he spoke it appeared that he was only concerned with the fact that I had made my way to the border of his house, not that I was mistakenly carried here by no means of choice by our headmaster, his presence barely (if not at all) noticed.

"I see it to be none of your business why or why not I am here." It came out of my mouth so formal, my internal barrier striking up proving to be ever so useful.

He stepped forwards, lip curving up like a dog, eyes guiding up and down my figure, so judgmental, so coldly; as if I was merely a severed creature in which a animal had dragged in on its travels.

"I see it as my business being as this is my house, Evans."

As if on queue, Dumbledore intersected into the conversation that each minute was shedding its skin of politeness.

"Come now, this is not a time for an argument but one for an explanation. Please, everyone, take a seat as I am sure you are wondering why it is I have summoned you all today."

James and I nodded, brushing past each other. Bumping shoulders before we gained our place at the long dining table in the Potter house, sitting as far away from each other as it was physically possible. Following our swift movements, Mr and Mrs Potter sat opposite one and other, the squeaking of chairs against the rough wooden floor could be heard, the tapping of fingers as we waited for Dumbledore to begin.

It was on my brief glance around the table seeing that while there were many places occupied -Sirius contemplating which seat he should indeed choose, finally settling on the one next to James, who had his head in his palms- that there was one seat in particular that stood out. While the remainder of the lengthy ebony wooded table's matching chairs were shuffled inwards, the seat on my left, and a few seats down from the head of the table in which Dumbledore stood, remained unoccupied. That was, until now.

"Wait, wait I'm here! I'm here!"

There was by no means mistaking such a shrill, such a comically enduring call that could come from only one person that I knew and loved. Cassie. Blue haired, plump and wearing an array of band t-shirts Cassie.

My face hadn't once lit up since entering the Potter house, a small curve perhaps at the sight of Sirius, but when Cassie arrived, I could solemnly swear I felt overjoyed for the first time in months.

"You are late, Miss Clarke."

Cassie sighed, bending over and wiping her brow that appeared to be wet, along with the rest of her; the rain clearly not letting up for anyone.

"Tell me about it, Albus! The broom traffic this afternoon was crazy, I mean Siriusly!" At this she clicked her fingers and pointed to Sirius, gaining a clap from him at the other end of the room. "But I'll have you know, those twisted idiots had what was coming to them! Got their booties whooped by a girl."

She made her way over to the table, Dumbledore –along with the rest of the table- breaking their stony expressions for a second to appreciate Cassie's presence as she made her way into the seat next to me, sighing as she eased herself into the seat.

"So, have you told them about McNolly yet?"

Dumbledore eased himself into the chair at the end of the table, ignoring the wide-eyed looks given by the table of observers, James and I leaning in, our attention gained.

"What about McNolly?" I asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "Well, I was just getting to that actually. You see-" Dumbledore arose from his chair after only just sitting down, pushing it in and pacing across the floor, stroking his long silver beard as he went. "-as you all know, the search for Matthew McNolly has been happening ever since the schools temporary work experience ended. This search was carried out for several weeks in order to find McNolly and place him under arrest for perverting the course of justice and swaying between allegiances."

"Did you find him?" James asked, his voice stretching a little higher indicating a source of disappointment, gaining a glare from me.

Dumbledore's pacing slowly came to halt, facing the elongated table solidly.

"Yes. But not in the state we had hoped."

Dead. This is where my mind jumped, a conclusion that Dumbldore's grim expression lead me to believe.

"…is he…?"

"No. I'm afraid it's a much worse punishment than that."

I couldn't see how. The man had changed allegiances more times than I could count, messing with the minds of the good and the evil sitting back while he watched it all unfold, amusing himself with our lives that hung in the balance. I could see how that there could be any other punishment than rotting to death in a cell in Azkaban.

"How so?" Mr Potter inquired.

"At the present time, Mr McNolly is in the possession of Lord Voldemort and his Deatheaters."

Silence. Silence of the sickening kind.

"…In possession, sir?"

"It seems that they are torturing him for information revolving your ware bouts."

"Us?" James and I jumped, speaking in unison.

"Yes. But not only about your ware bouts." Dumbledore turned his back on us, placing his elegant fingers into his long purple robe, chest rising and falling, his half-moon glasses slipping to the end of his nose. "There is a secret in which they would like to know very much, and believe that McNolly is in possession of this secret."

"Is he Sir?"

"Not anymore. It has been passed on to another. And this, my friends, is where I need you to come in."

I turned to face Cassie; her humorous expression was wiped from her face, her eyes glowing in awe, confusion and intrigue. I guessed that my own face must have been a reflection.

"What do you mean?" Mr Potter got up from his chair."You mean you want us to go and find this so-called secret? Do we know where it is? Should I get the other Aurors on it?"

Dumbledore half turned around, waving his hands down at Mr. Potter, causing him to slowly lower in his seat again.

"Not you, Mr Potter. You."

He nodded in the direction of James and me.

I sat forward in my seat, like I had been jolted upright.

"What?!"

"Why us? We-I-we cant!"

"You can." Dumbledore placed his hands together, his soft voice colliding with that of James and I's protests. "And you will. It's probably no secret to the both of you that I asked the Auror department to place enchantments on Mr Parley and Mrs Hawks' house over the summer. However, along with these protections, I asked for the both of your houses to be protected over the summer also."

He had done what? It made sense. I hadn't really left the house all summer, and even when I had wanted to, there had been no disruptions, nothing out of the ordinary that I should have looked out for, because in reality, there probably was, but it was hidden. Or...or I was hidden. And by the look on James's face, he too seemed to have been a victim of the same fate.

"So, where is this secret? Or the person who has this secret, and why do we have to fetch it?"

The way James's asked it, sounded almost as if we were simply slaves of a higher power, 'fetching' this 'secret' like trained dogs would without another thought.

Dumbledore closed his eyes for a second, letting the tension settle like dust for, only reopening his eyes once things had calmed a little before reaching into his robe pocket, and pulling out a photograph. A moving one, of course. With this, he tossed it up into the air delicately, letting it twist and fold until it began to grow larger, gradually becoming nearly transparent.

It was a girl. A young girl at that. She had to be in her mid-teens, still had the fresh dewy skin of a teenager, and the slight array of pimples to match. Her blue eyes were a little close together, her nose only a little tilted upwards-but not too much- her lips full and healthy. Above her small forehead was a mass of thick chocolate brunette hair, chopped into fine layers that abruptly stopped at her collarbone. There was no doubt about it she had some charm to her, but what it was I couldn't quite tell you at this moment. It was if a part of me recognised her enough for there to be twinge in my memory, a spark that hit me was pulled away by the trail of questions that were to follow, lost in the flood.

"This is the person who the secret was passed onto."

We stared, watching her smile and raise her hands up, acting as if she didn't want her photo taken, yet was still portraying her glimmering smile over and over again.

"I know her..." I muttered to myself, my brain beginning to ache. "I'm sure I've seen her..."

Dumbledore raised his pale eyes above his spectacles again, letting them slide down his nose as his mouth curved to the side.

"This is Rachael McNolly." He waited, watching as we all began to utter under our breaths, shock picking out even more questions from our skulls. "Matthew's only daughter."

Then it hit me. During our Work Experience trial James and I had seen an article concerning the disappearance of Matthew McNolly and there was a photo. But in the photo, Matthew McNolly had two daughters and a wife too. So, why was it we only knew about this Rachael?

"That's not right. He has two daughters. I remember...from-from the article." I muttered, my finger pointing to the photograph.

James slowly began to nod. "Yeah, I remember it too."

Dumbledore sighed stroking his beard for a second before rummaging around within his beard until he found a small folded piece of paper. Taking a minute to read it, his eyes squinting a little he exclaimed "ah ha!" before getting up and tossing the paper into the air so it floated alongside the photograph.

"Neither the article nor I am incorrect. It appears Matthew did indeed have two daughters, but unfortunately both Rachael's twin and her mother passed a few years ago."

Things were different now. So different. How awful must it be to lose one child, yet lose your partner at the same time? Horrific. Horrific enough for you to do something stupid. Something reckless. Something stupid and reckless like joining a dark cause that you had no belief in. Something quite like the Deatheaters.

"So...? So what it is you would like us to do sir?" I asked quietly, twiddling my thumbs in my lap.

"Find the secret. Get it from McNolly's daughter and find out why it is wanted by Voldemort's followers. "

There was a sudden interruption, a clicking sound from the other end of the table. Sirius.

"Hold up, hold up. So, why can't you have Mr P here come and get it from her, if it's so important?"

"Good question Mr Black. To answer that, I'll say that this secret has not been placed upon Miss McNolly willingly. If anything she may not even know that she holds something so dear, the only way Matthew had to have done this was by using the Fidelius charm. This means that the secret cannot be forced out of her. It has to be willingly given. The Deatheaters will try to get close to her, but I want you to get there first."

"Be friends with McNolly's daughter?" I asked. "Use her?"

"Temporarily, yes. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't completely necessary."

"Where do we find her?"

Dumbledore let the hovering paper in the air unfold to reveal a new image, one a of a bulky looking muggle school, that looked to me as if it need a new coat of paint and a new attitude.

"St Adrian's School."

"A muggle school?!" James and I in unison. "She goes to a muggle school?!"

"Is she a-"

"No. No she is a witch—and a pureblood one at that."

"But, why is she not at Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "It appears that she opted out. She refused to have anything to do with magic after her mother and sister's death— which was caused by magic. A potion went wrong, I believe."

I blinked. I didn't know that you could choose not to go a to a magical school if you were a witch or wizard. I didn't think it was possible. Who would refuse to be taught by Professor McGonagall or the great Albus Dumbledore himself?

"Oh no." Suddenly Cassie piped up after the longest time she had ever been silenced. But was quickly introduced back to her old-self once she began laughing. "oh-my-Merlin's-beard this is too funny! He wants you to pose as muggles!"

"What?!" James and I in unison...again.

Dumbledore stood up again, pacing hands behind his back clearly thinking his mundane plan through.

"I don't quite know what you are laughing about Cassandra. You are to go with them." He smiled at Cassie.

"Huh?"

I got up out of my seat. "But sir, we have our seventh year coming up, we can't. And besides, he's a pureblood! He doesn't know the slightest anything about muggles!" I pointed at James.

"Hey! I do too!"

"Do not! You've slept through muggle studies every year in the past. It's a miracle you even know what a car is; let alone how to use a microwave!"

James face began to scrunch up, a defiant glance in Sirius's direction showed me he hadn't a clue what I had just said but was determined not to let me notice.

"I-I do."

"Enough." Dumbledore didn't need to shout, only wave in hands urging us to sit down. "Miss Evans, arrangements will be made about your seventh year. I doubt this shall take up the whole year, a few weeks in the least. But it needs to be done. Her life and the life of Matthew McNolly could depend on it. It's all whether you can agree to forgive what he has done and agree to help on this instance."

My chest began to rise and fall, closing my eyes for a second to block out any consistent light, or any thoughts that may interrupt my decision. Could I? Could I forgive him? I had to. His daughter hadn't done anything wrong, and by the looks of things I hadn't much of a choice.

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Mr Potter?" Dumbledore looked in James's direction.

After a short minute of silence James nodded.

"Then it's settled then. We shall make arrangements for your appearances to be altered and names to be changed."

Dumbledore began to get up, clicking his fingers as the pieces of paper above his head turned to ash, him taking the remained with his as he bid Mr and Mrs Potter a good day, heading for the door. But just as he reached the door, he stopped, half turning toward us.

"Oh and I do believe these are for you. It seems you have been expecting them."

He clicked his fingers, the ashes turning into two envelopes, one for me and the other to James. As my fingers unwrapped the seal, eyes gliding over the fine calligraphy. I knew exactly what this was.

"I do believe a congratulations are in order."

So, what have I learnt? I, Lily Evans was to go undercover in St Adrian's school -for muggles- along with James Potter to retrieve a secret from McNolly's daughter before Deatheaters did. Oh, and now it seemed I was Head girl at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry too, just to add to the complications.

"What is it James?" Mrs Potter looked over her sons shoulder.

He gulped, adjusting his glasses a little removing the letter from his eye line.

"I'm Head boy."

Things were about to get interesting. Very interesting indeed.

Author note: Thank you so much for the positive feedback on chapter one! I couldn't wait to show you all chapter two and I hope you liked it. It's a bit long, so sorry about that, but I thought that a strong explanation was needed.

Ickleblueeyedwitch.

P.S I'm not entirely sure about the Fidelius charm, but I added to it to aid to my plot along with the witch at a muggle school thing. I hope you don't mind!