"I want to form another group," Chris declared as he entered the small library where he had summoned the most talented of his followers. The chatter in the room died out almost immediately as all eyes turned to Chris in the doorway. His two guards remained behind him, but close enough to interfere should his life be threatened in anyway.

Near the fireplace on the other side of the room, Lily kept her eyes on the page she was reading and did not peer up at Chris until she had finished. Only then did she rise to her feet and bow her head slightly, though it was barely noticeable. Across from her, Albus sipped dark wine from his glass, keeping his eyes on Lily for a moment before he turned to Chris as well. He was gauging their relationship, wanting to know when he needed to start fending for himself in the harsh world he and Lily had found themselves caught up in.

"Why?" Lily responded through the silence when no one else was daring enough to do so.

"To carry out the tasks which are too sensitive for me to entrust to anyone else." Chris answered as he neared Lily. He slipped his fingers around her hand before he turned to other men who had gathered around the pair.

"Do you have a task in mind of is this preparations for the future?" Albus asked, and Chris shifted his gaze to him.

"I have one in mind." Chris answered vaguely before he glanced over all the men in the room. "I don't need you." He said as he rose his hand to a man standing near Albus. "And you may leave as well." He added as he dismissed another. After a few more eliminations, only five, including Lily and Albus, remained in the room. "Yes, this is a good group."

"What is that you need of us?" A man Albus and Lily knew as Damien asked. He was tall, much taller than Albus, and larger as well. Unfortunately, his brute force was his only talent, but neither Albus nor Lily would ever point it out. They simply allowed Chris to think what he pleased.

"I want you to carry out an attack." Chris answered as he peered at the four men then his eyes fell on Lily. "On the old Ministry building."

Lily felt her stomach drop at the words, but her discomfort did not show on her face, nor did it on Albus'. The men, including Damien, stared at Chris with confusion. James had done an exceptional job at concealing his headquarters in plain sight keeping its location as secret as possible.

"Sir, do you think that is necessary?" One of the other men asked. He was smaller than Damien, and closer to the size of Albus, and instead of relying on intimidation, he possessed skill. He wasn't nearly as athletic as Lily and Albus, and therefore could not match their speed and agility, but he certainly could match them with spells and power.

"Do you doubt me, Ethan?" Chris asked in a somewhat of a teasing manner. When no answer came, Chris laughed as he walked to one of the oversized arm chairs, pulling Lily with him. As he sat, he pulled Lily to his lap and allowed her to settle against his body before he peered up at the men. They had taken steps closer to Chris and surrounded the couple.

"Rumor has it Potter is running his operations out of the underground floors of what used to be the Ministry building." Chris answered.

"Did a prisoner tell us?" Damien asked.

"A spy." Chris answered.

Lily kept her eyes casted downward, but Albus was focused on Chris and appeared as interested in the new piece of information as the other men. Of course, the revelation was not new to the siblings, but they could not afford to act accordingly.

"You want us to attack or verify?" Sander rose an eyebrow at Chris, already enjoying his new assignment.

"I want Potter dead." Chris answered strongly. He was perfectly aware of Lily and Albus' connection to James, but the two had long ago made it clear they did not identify with James as a brother. At least that had been what they had convinced him of. Chris was not talented enough in the art of reading people to known Albus and Lily had spun a well told lie and were capable of upholding it to death. To Chris the words were perfectly acceptable and he couldn't so much as guess at the stinging they caused in the hearts of the siblings.

"Just him?" Damien wanted clarification and Lily's eyes turned up to him.

"Are you under the impression you're capable of doing anything more?" She snapped and Albus turned to her, a warning stare in his eyes. Chris, however, rose his eyebrow in interest as he looked to Lily then to Damien.

"Do you have an idea of what to expect?" Chris asked, choosing his words carefully. He had never accused Lily and Albus of siding with their brother in any way, and was certain not to do so at that moment. If the thought had ever crossed the minds of the other men in the room, they kept silent about it as well.

"James will not back down from you because you look scary." Lily responded simply. Before she continued, she turned her gaze back to Damien. "He's far more powerful than you give him credit for and he's certainly more intelligent than you. That's quite frankly the only thing the three of us share." Lily answered simply, careful not to sound so defensive of her brother. Albus relaxed at her comment, knowing it was enough to solidify them as worth of Chris' trust.

"How powerful?"

"I suppose that depends on how stupid you are." Lily replied, but turned her eyes away from him when Chris touched her shoulder. She turned her eyes to Chris, keeping her face straight. Albus was more than satisfied that Lily had managed to play her part perfectly without revealing too much about James.

"I don't suppose you have an idea on how to approach him?" Sander asked, his voice remaining calm and collected, a harsh contrast to Damien's overly confident tone.

"Of course not." Lily replied with a scoff. "I haven't seen the man in years. You have a much idea of how he attacks than I." To an extent she told the truth. She hadn't seen James in years, but she knew James' tactics could not have changed too much over time. After all, they've worked so far. No reason to change something Chris can't stop just yet.

"Well, from what my spies have gathered, James Potter will be leading a small group of men on an attack against me in ten days. I want you five there at the old Ministry building to greet them." Chris explained. Lily looked to Albus and they glanced at one another for a moment before Albus broke the eye contact to look to the other men. Lily put a gentle smile on her lips before she turned to Chris.

"Well, the five of you are all quite talented, and I'm sure you'll be able to work something out." Chris said as he placed his hands on Lily's waist and motioned for her to stand. After she had gotten to her feet and stepped to the side, Chris stood and pulled Lily to him for a kiss. Albus watched the pair, as did the other men, but he knew Lily had never been one to show affection so openly. With Chris, however, he was sure it didn't matter. Though he had never really asked her, and she had never really said, he remained under the impression that Lily did not harbor any romantic feelings towards him.

"You can start working now," Chris said as he turned back to the men. He took a few steps towards the door but turned back to Lily before he reached his guards. "When you're finished, come to my room."

Lily only nodded as she forced her eyes to him. Though she did not like to show affection in public but could manage it with a man she didn't care for, she never appreciated public declarations of her personal or romantic life. Without a verbal response, Chris turned and left the room and Lily shifted her eyes to Albus. He knew she was annoyed even without her having to say so.

Without looking in his direction again, Lily waited for the sound of the door clicking behind him before she turned to the other men in the room. She wasn't quite sure how trusted she was among the men but she was certain she would find out soon enough. In the past she'd proven her ability and skill but she doubted the three men staring at her could remember that far away. Ethan, however, seemed to be the type to be able to recall anything should it benefit him in some way.

"I think we should just attack head on." Damien declared in the silence. Lily shut her eyes tightly as she took a breath in order to temper her mood. Albus cleared his throat as he took a seat in one of the armchairs. He, too, chose not to respond to the outrageous idea, and it was left to Ethan to respond to it.

"No," Ethan said simply before he sat on the table near the fireplace. Lily sat in the armchair Chris had sat in moments before, and was across from Albus. Ethan was between them, leaving Damien and the last man, called Logan, to sit on the couch across from Ethan.

"That is a terrible idea," Ethan added with a sigh before he turned to Albus. "I think a nice fire will do the trick in drawing them out."

"We should just go in." Damien added and Lily turned to him.

"What is wrong with your thinking process?" She snapped and Albus chocked on his wine as he laughed. Ethan found himself smiling but Damien only glared at Lily. To him, Lily was a woman and did not belong among the ranks of the Divisions' most talented. She was just a woman who had Christopher Adler at her beck and call, and by some miracle had kept him much longer than other woman.

"I don't suppose you have a better idea." He replied but his response did little to redeem him from Lily's demeaning comment.

"Any idea I have does in fact include survival." Lily answered before she faced Albus and Ethan, both of whom were entertained by the pair. "Five of us will be killed eventually if you raid a possible head quarters of the revolutionaries. We have no idea how many people are in there."

"You don't know how many people will be with him either." Damien responded.

"His attack with fifteen men is much less than the possible hundreds in the building." Lily replied before anyone else to could point out the flaw in his thinking. "Besides, we may not even have to draw them out if we're there before they start their attack."

"That could be hours of waiting." Logan commented, but Lily kept her eyes forward. Only Albus and Ethan turned towards him.

"We should stake out the building the night before." Ethan concluded. "At best, only Potter and his men will come out and we'll have at most twenty to fight off."

"Against four it'll be a bit challenging." Damien commented.

"Don't be ridiculous," Lily turned to him with narrowed eyes. Albus hadn't seen her blue eyes shine with such intensity in years, but part of him wished it hadn't been anger that had brought it out in her. "You can at least cont yourself as half a person."

Before he could respond, Lily had risen to her feet and turned away from the men. With more grace than the four possessed all together, she seemed to float towards the door, her dress and cloak flowing behind her. She exited the room before the silence could be ended, but of course she knew Damien was not nearly clever enough to even give her a challenge should he bring a battle of wits around them.

Albus and Ethan knew it too, but they had derived far too much entertainment to save him from himself. Of the four, only Damien had made the mistake of under-estimating the woman. Albus, of course, had a much better idea than anyone, but Ethan was not foolish enough to think Lily had only a sharp tongue. It might've been a year since she last saw front line battle, but Lily's wand point was certainly sharper than her remarks.