Title: Glass Hearts
Rating: PG-13
Summary (of chapter): Lily is called to the Order of the Phoenix to save someone's life.
Before Lily knew it, it was August. James, Sirius, and Alice had passed the Aurors tests - no one had any doubt that they would. They had the month off before training officially began, and Lily knew the three of them would be with the Order as much as they were needed.
One evening early in the month, Alice came to Lily's for dinner. "Thanks for inviting me," she said. "It's nice to know life can be normal like this."
Lily smiled, stirring the stew on the stove. "Yeah," she said. "So, hey, my mum has been sick for a while. I didn't think she'd be able to eat with us, but she's out of bed today. I just don't want you to think it's weird that she's in her pajamas or anything."
"Oh, of course not," Alice said, shaking her head.
Lily's mum came downstairs wearing comfortable clothes. "Hello, Alice," she said, her voice hoarse.
"Hello, Rose," Alice said. "Lily said you've been sick for a wihle."
"Yes," Rose said, sitting at the kitchen table. "Nearly a month. The doctors can't quite figure out what it is."
Lily bit her lip. "Mum, maybe you should visit St. Mungo's."
Rose sighed. "We'll see," she said, waving her hand.
The three of them sat down at the table with stew and bread. Lily's dad came home from work. He came to the table to kiss Rose on the cheek. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Good," Rose said with a smile. "Come eat with us."
Edward nodded to Alice and Lily, then walked upstairs to change. "But really, mum," Lily said. "I think the Healers could help."
"Don't worry about it, Lily," Rose said. "The medicine I'm on now is helping."
"Hardly," Lily said, narrowing her eyes.
"Aren't there laws about secrecy and such?"
"Yeah, but I've been working there all summer and last summer, too. I know all the Healers there and -"
Suddenly, a flash of silver cut Lily off. A boxer Patronus said in an urgent tone, "Lily, we need you at Headquarters right away!"
"What was that?" Rose asked.
Lily stood up. "It was Dorcas," she said, her mind racing over all the horrible possibilities. "I'm sorry, mum, but we have to go."
"It was nice seeing you again," Alice said as she picked up her jacket.
"Well, be careful!" Rose exclaimed as they left.
Lily led Alice up the steps. "Dad, Alice and I have to go," she called from her room. "We'll see you soon!" She looked at Alice. "We can Apparate from in here."
Alice nodded, looking serious. "I'll go first," Lily said. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and Disapparated.
She Apparated into the middle of the caves that served as the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters. There was a small commotion on the table across from the fireplace. Lily ran over; there were three people surrounding Caleb Dearborn, who was bleeding from the head.
"Lily," Dorcas exclaimed, "we can't take him to St. Mungo's. There's a warrant out for his arrest, and Malfoy really wants him."
Lily pushed past Gideon Prewett, taking her wand out. "What happened?" she asked.
"I didn't see it," Gideon said. His left eye was swollen and his shirt was torn. "We were outnumbered by the time I saw him, I just grabbed him and got out of there."
The wound was deep, and it traveled from the top of his forehead down to the middle of his ear. It was evident it was a magical wound. "He's lost a lot of blood," Lily said, looking at his stained shirt. She Conjured up a towel and began dabbing his head. "This is deep, too."
She Conjured up some dittany. She applied it to the wound. Suddenly, Caleb started shaking. "What's going on?" Caleb's brother Caradoc asked from the other side of the table.
Blood started to come out of Caleb's mouth. "What the hell is going on?" Caradoc yelled.
"I don't know," Lily exclaimed. "Is he allergic to dittany?"
Caleb began coughing, blood splurting up out onto his chin. "Oh, shit," Lily said. She performed a spell to calm his nerves, but he continued shaking. She moved the tip of her wand to the wound and removed the dittany. He slowly stopped coughing and his body stilled. "Shit. . ."
Lily Conjured up a bowl of water. She started to clean the wound with the towel. She moved the tip of her wand to the top of the wound and started to mend it together. She could see how the magic had worked on the skin. She heard the voices around her, but she tried not to listen to what was going on around her. She concentrated on Caleb, trying to feel his cells through her magic.
Slowly, the wound began to close. Without the dittany, his skin was scarring. She made sure that it was clean inside. With certain spells, Caleb would jump, but Caradoc put his hand on his shoulder, calming him. She wasn't sure about the magical implications of the wound. If she knew more about the spell. . .
Finally, the wound was a slightly pink line of raised skin. She finished cleaning off the blood. "He should be all right, unless the spell was a poisonous form of Sectumsempra," she said.
"What happens if it was?" Caradoc asked.
Lily frowned, remembering the last patient who was the victim of poisonous Sectumsempra. "The poison will spread through his blood and he'll die while in a coma," she said.
"Well, how do we know?" Gideon asked.
"He should wake up in a few hours," Lily said. "If not, then we have to find the poison and search for the antidote."
Caradoc ran a hand through his hair. He cleared his throat, meeting Lily's eyes. "Will you, uh, stay here for the night?" he asked.
Taken aback, Lily slowly nodded. Caradoc was the opposite of his brother: quiet, surly, and terse. Asking Lily for a favor was unlike him. Lily looked down at Caleb, knowing she would do anything to keep Petunia safe.
"I'll stay, too," Alice said from Lily's side.
"You sure?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Alice said.
Dorcas looked at Lily with a concerned look on her face. "Will you be all right?" she asked. "Do you want us to stay, too?"
"No," Lily said with a shake of her head. "You guys should go home. Gideon, do you want me to fix that eye?"
"Oh, I'll do it myself," Gideon said, waving his hand. He looked at Dorcas. "Can I drop by your house for a little while?"
"Of course," Dorcas said. "Lily, if you need anything, just call me. I'll drop by tomorrow morning, all right?"
"All right," Lily said.
Soon, Dorcas and Gideon were gone. Caradoc pulled a chair up and sat next to Caleb, a worried look on his face. Lily picked up the towel, stained with Caleb's blood, and the bowl of water. She walked to the small kitchen and poured out the water. She performed a cleaning spell on the towel and then wetted it again. She walked out to the table where Caleb lay.
Lily felt his temperature with the back of her hand. "No fever," she said. "That's a good sign." She wiped his face clean once again, removing all traces of blood. She cleaned his shirt, as well. He looked better already - the color seemed to be returning to his face. Her stomach was tying itself into knots - she feared the poison.
Lily sat on the small couch on the other side of the room next to Alice. "I hope he's all right."
Alice patted Lily's hand. "Me, too."
Lily's stomach started growling a half hour later. Alice offered to go get the three of them some food. Caradoc said he wasn't hungry. "I'll be back soon," Alice said.
She Disapparated. Lily shifted uncomfortably, realizing that she and Caradoc were alone. She hardly knew Caradoc, but it didn't seem like he liked her very much. The silence in the caves was awkward. Lily turned on the radio next to the couch and tuned into the WWN.
"When should he wake up?" Caradoc asked.
Lily bit her lip. "If he's not up by midnight, I'll take a sample of his blood."
Caradoc looked at the clock on the mantle. Four hours.
Alice Apparated back into the caves with food from The Leaky Cauldron. "I brought you some, too, just in case," she told Caradoc.
"Lily. Lily, wake up."
Lily stirred awake, finding Alice and Caradoc over her. "It's twelve-thirty and Caleb's still asleep," Alice said worriedly.
Lily got to her feet, rubbing her eyes. She walked over to Caleb. His face was pale, beads of sweat on his forehead. She took her wand out, putting the tip on the inside of his elbow. She Conjured a flask and began drawing blood. It looked normal. "I need to go to St. Mungo's to test this," she said. "What was the arrest for?"
"Death Eaters crimes," Caradoc scoffed. "Moody tried to stop it, but Malfoy knows how involved he is."
"All right," Lily said. "If he wakes up, just wait until I come back."
"What if you're not back in an hour?" Alice asked.
It could take at least forty-five minutes for the blood test - provided she could get in without any problems. "Wait an hour and a half," Lily said. "If I'm not back yet, come to St. Mungo's for me."
Alice nodded, turning to look at Caleb. Lily Disapparated to the staff entrance at St. Mungo's. Inside, the nightly welcome witch, Victoria, looked at her questioningly. "You working tonight?" she asked.
"I just need to check on something," Lily said lightly. "Is anyone in the lab?"
Victoria looked at her map and shook her head. "It's empty."
"Thanks," Lily said. She walked to the lift and swiped her staff card to go to the basement. In the lab, she found the clipboard of potions to test for poisons. She went to the most recent - Poisonous Sectumsempra. She took a flask and signed the clipboard. Healer: Lily Evans. Reason: Research. Date: August 6th, 1978.
She carefully poured the purple potion and the blood into a small cauldron. The reading on the flask read, Allow thirty-five minutes. Black indicates positive. Purple indicates negative.
Lily walked around the lab, looking at different things. The lab had always interested her. Cupboards upon cupboards lined most of the walls. Bookcases with all sorts of books took up the entire left wall. There were cauldrons everywhere, a few refrigerators, jars of potion ingredients. It smelled like the dungeons at Hogwarts, strange, musty, mysterious.
Thirty-five minutes later, Lily fought back bile as she gazed down at the black liquid swirling almost menacingly. She sent her Patronus to the caves with this message: His blood was positive for the Poisonous Sectumsempra. I'm going to search for the antidote.
She imagined her doe Patronus carrying the news and Caradoc's face, crestfallen, shocked. She pushed the image out of her head, walking back to the Poisonous Sectumsempra test potion. According to the research, Walter Emerson had been researching the potion for the last three weeks.
She looked over his notes - This potion brings death after three days by slowly breaking down the immune system and organs. Responds positively to crushed ginger and nettles, negatively to the bezoar. Antidote questionable - no one to test on. When added to black blood, it returned to normal color and tested negative for P.S. Brew crushed ginger and nettles for two hours, add chopped hellebore slowly. Three clockwise stirs, put cauldron over fire for one hour. Three counterclockwise stirs, then add 6 eyes of newt. Give potion thirty minutes - no more, no less. Inject 5mg into bloodstream. Patient should respond within five hours.
Lily started to look through the cupboards for the four ingredients. She found the eyes of newt, crushed ginger, and hellebore. After searching the room three times and attempting two Summoning Spells, she was convinced they didn't have nettles.
She looked at the clock - it was nearly one-thirty. She sent another Patronus to the caves, then left the basement with the three ingredients and a copy of Emerson's notes.
Diagon Alley was completely empty when she arrived. The moon was nearly full, bathing the closed storefronts and cobblestone rode in soft light. As she walked towards the opening for Knockturn Alley, she pulled her wand out of her pocket. If James knew where she was. . .
She kept her eyes and ears open, her heart pounding as she walked down a few cement steps. She could hear voices coming from an open pub a few storefronts away. She pulled her hood over her head before pushing through the door into the pub.
The pub was dark and smoky. A WWN was playing with the murmur of the men there. There were about twenty-five people scattered around, and most of them were men. Lily avoided eyes as she walked to the bar. A bartender walked over to her. "You want something?" he asked.
"Are there any apothecaries open?" Lily asked.
"It's two in the morning," the bartender scoffed. His large nose cast shadows on his face.
"I'm just looking for nettles," Lily said.
The bartender raised his eyebrows. "Hey, Snape!" he called.
Lily felt her heart slam against her chest. "No, it's all right -" she began.
Before she could start to walk away, someone had joined them. Lily couldn't bring herself to look at him, but stared at the bartender while he spoke. "The lady's looking for nettles," he said.
"Nettles?" his familiar voice reached her ears. "It's nearly two in the morning. What could be so important?"
Lily looked at Severus. His dark eyes met hers, a flicker of astonishment crossing his face. "It's for an antidote," she said quietly.
The bartender walked away, leaving the two of them alone. Lily knew that Severus could help her, but she didn't know how far she was willing to go to find the last ingredient. "An antidote?" Severus repeated. "For what kind of poison?"
"Sectumsempra," Lily said.
"I have some at my house," he said.
Lily stared at him for a moment. "How much do you want for it?" she asked. She hadn't brought any money with her, but she could get some.
Severus shook his head. "I'll give it to you," he said, "if you just come over -"
"I'm not coming to your house," Lily cut him off.
"Do you want it or not?" Severus asked, anger seeping into his voice.
"You can't bring it back here?" She motioned with her hand to the pub, which was not a place where she would feel comfortable waiting. She definitely wouldn't feel comfortable going to Severus's house, either.
Severus turned away as he said, "Maybe the apothecaries will have it when they open tomorrow morning."
"Wait," Lily said. She winced, knowing he was winning these stupid mind games he played. "I'll come."
He met her eyes for just a moment before turning to walk out of the pub. He led her out of Knockturn Alley and out of Diagon Alley. Everything was still and dark. She sent Alice a Patronus while Severus's back was turned. They walked through The Leaky Cauldron, devoid of life.
Severus walked quickly; Lily kept her walk to a jog to keep up with him. Neither of them spoke as they walked through town.
Severus's flat was small and had the look and feel of a new home. It was evident he had only recently moved in. Lily wondered why he hadn't moved out last summer when he was of age. There were a few pieces of furniture scattered throughout the living room and kitchen. He had one bookcase completely full of a variety of titles - Moste Potente Potions, The History of Grimmelwald, Quidditch Through The Ages. Severus walked to one of the closed doors, beckoning Lily to follow him.
They walked down a few concrete steps into a small circular room that Severus had changed into a potions lab. There were two fridges, jars and cupboards, and different cauldrons. She wondered what sort of potions he brewed for Voldemort in this room.
Lily stood by the door, holding her wand in her hand, while Severus moved to the wall on the left. He pulled out a small jar full of nettles. "Perhaps I should brew this antidote for you," he said.
"No," Lily said. "No, thank you, I'll just take the nettles."
Severus looked up at Lily. "It's a very complex poison, Sectumsempra."
"I don't know why you're offering to help."
"I wouldn't want someone's blood to be on your hands," Severus said. He kept eye contact with her. Lily felt like he was looking into her soul. She looked away, knowing Severus had been studying Legilimens as soon as he had figured out about it.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Lily said shortly. "Can I just have the nettles?"
Severus didn't respond; the silence stretched out between them. Lily started to feel uncomfortable - maybe she should just leave. They had to have the ingredient somewhere at St. Mungo's, why wouldn't they?
"Are you marrying Potter?" Severus asked.
Lily looked at him in astonishment, not expecting him to say anything about James. "Yes," she said. The news of their engagement had flown through the school like wildfire.
"You know that'll just put you in Voldemort's path," Severus said. Lily almost winced, surprised that he was brave enough to say his name. "He doesn't like Potter or his parents."
Lily pursed her lips. "Well, it's a risk I'm willing to take."
"I think you should rethink it. Voldemort wouldn't mind a Muggleborn in his ranks -"
"What? You're actually suggesting -"
"Come on, Lily," Severus said. "You're smart enough to see that Potter's side is losing. Voldemort knows that you have more to offer him than mindless crooks like -"
"I can't believe this," Lily said, almost wanting to laugh. "You think half of those Death Eaters wouldn't think twice before killing my family or my best friends or my fiance?"
Severus scoffed. "And you think that they're worth anything?"
Lily stared him incredulously.
He rolled his eyes. "Your idiot sister? She hates you. And your. . .your fiance," he spat the word out bitterly. "How long has it been since you started dating? Eight months? Long enough for him to love you more than himself? Your mum will be dead soon -"
"Shut up!" Lily said angrily. It frightened her that he knew her mum was sick, but her anger burned over her fear. "The only reason you say that is because you don't have anyone."
Severus glared at her. She felt horrible for saying it, but then was angry at her own guilt. "And the only reason you're angry is because they are all you have," he said. "What if they all left you? You'd be nothing, no one. You'd have no power over anyone else, which I know you love so much. And that makes which of us the weaker one?"
Fuming, Lily held out her hand. "Give me the nettles. I'm leaving."
"Who is it for, your precious Potter?" Severus spat. "Or maybe one of his disgusting friends -"
"Oh, like you don't know who already," Lily said. She walked across the room and reached for the jar. Severus pulled it out of her reach, meeting her eyes with a challenging look on his face. She clenched her teeth. "Give it to me or not, Severus, I'm leaving."
Lily dropped her arm and stood there. She kept eye contact, abandoning her fear of him seeing into her soul. She would count to ten and then she would leave his house with or without the nettles. She thought of Caleb, lying still and helpless in the caves, and of Caradoc at his side, his head in his hands.
Once she got to nine, Severus held out the nettles. Lily took it from him. "Thank you," she said. She backed away from him; she had seen him hit Sirius and James in the back with spells one too many times. She walked up the steps and left the house as quickly as she could.
"How did you find all the ingredients?" James asked.
Lily tucked her hair behind her ear. "Three of them were at St. Mungo's," she said. "The fourth one I found at Knockturn Alley."
Alice met her eyes, smirking a little bit. Lily had sent her Patroni through her journey, even as she had been walking with Severus Snape to his house. Caleb now sat on one of the couches in the Order of the Phoenix caves, drinking pumpkin juice, a faint scar on his head.
"I'll be indebted to you forever," he had said after they explained everything.
"No, only until you save her life," Alice had pointed out.
Lily continued to answer James's questions while Alice and Caleb drank pumpkin juice quietly. "I would have helped at any time," James said.
"I know," Lily said. "I was fine, though. I was never in any danger."
"Knockturn Alley at two in the morning?" James asked. "Who gave you the last ingredient?"
Lily shrugged, drinking her pumpkin juice. "Someone at the pub."
James stared at her for a moment. Alice wondered if he sensed something, but he brushed it off. "You're amazing, you know that," he said.
Lily gave James a small smile. "Thanks."
"Truly amazing," Caleb repeated. He raised his goblet to Lily before drinking.
Alice drank to her, as well. Lily shook her head, blushing a little bit.
A/N: Lily, the hero!
Next up: You hear that? It's the sound of wedding bells! =D