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Lily had been debating exits with her team for what felt like hours.
"Look – this one is near the chocolate fountain – excellent for a diversion."
"What're you gonna do? Throw it at them?"
"If it comes to that."
Lily buried her head in her hands.
"Alice," she said. "Please don't throw chocolate fountains at Death Eaters. I know you had fun with the marshmallows the last time, but everyone else was trying to get burned sugar out of their hair for weeks. Your team mates will literally murder you if you try it with chocolate."
Alice Longbottom made a face at her. "It's called improvisation, Lily. There's a whole class on it when you do Auror training."
"How is it improvisation when you're planning it ahead of time?"
Alice stuck out her tongue. So much for maturity.
Her team was small – herself and four others. James, of course. Alice Longbottom. Dorcus Meadowes. And Remus, who was in a corner, looking generally concerned.
Alice had finished Auror training only a month ago, but Lily had known her at Hogwarts. She was sweet, passionate and brave, and loved by most. She also had a regrettable habit of assaulting Death Eaters with sweets. The marshmallows had just been the icing on the cake.
Once, she'd enchanted a whole box of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum to tie up a Death Eater. It had taken a lot of Scourgify's and Magical Mess Remover to get him clean enough for Azkaban.
"We have to assume it'll be a fairly small force," Lily said, going back to her notes. "They wouldn't be able to smuggle many more through without notice. Dorcus has been checking members of the Black and Malfoy families against the names of those attending the conference, in the hopes that we might find some that aren't directly affiliated with the Death Eaters. At this point, the best bet is Polyjuice Potion, so Marlene and Moody's Aurors will be doing lots of security checks. We'll mostly be staying in the background and keeping an eye on things. And a word – please don't use any particularly nasty curses. War has a political side too, and if it gets around that we're using especially brutal curses, we're done for."
She felt a flutter of unease at the last part. It would be so easy to keep the secret for the rest of her life. She was a good liar. So was James. And Gideon was loyal to both of them, and grateful enough to Lily for saving his life. She was safe, but… But. It would be a secret that would weigh the three of them down for the rest of their lives.
She would never be able to take another deep breath. There would be dreams drenched in green, and lumps in her throat from unsaid words. It would be such a heavy thing to carry, this secret, and it would carve itself a home in her heart.
Lily shook her head.
"I have the list of delegates," Dorcus said, passing her some parchment. "The green checkmarks let you know if we're considering them suspicious. We'll do basic security checks on them all, of course, but mostly we'll just keep a closer eye on them during the event."
There were a lot of green ticks.
"Right," Lily sighed. "It's going to be a long night."
By the time the conference arrived, Moody had been snapping at so many people with such frequency that more than one younger member had been reduced to tears. After Frank Longbottom was berated loudly for choosing the wrong dress robes to blend in with, Marlene had taken him aside and had a quiet word with Moody, leaving him looking slightly shaken.
Lily wished she knew what she'd said.
The pep speech before they headed to the Ministry was not encouraging.
"There will be blood," Moody said solemnly. "There will be death. If someone falls, keep fighting. I don't care if it's your spouse, or your best friend, you keep cutting those damn Death Eaters down and cry later, got it?"
There was a quiet murmur of assent, and Lily spotted Dumbledore in the corner in magnificent purple dress robes, looking faintly bemused.
"Let's go," Moody said.
The ceremony was taking place in the Atrium – and it had been decorated gorgeously. The midnight blue ceiling was draped in gauzy silver fabric, and enormous candelabras floated in midair, bobbing gently from time to time. The lights had been dimmed, creating lots of cozy nooks around the space where you could sit and chat, and Lily saw that more than a few of them were full. It didn't at all resemble the stodgy diplomatic event she'd been envisioning.
The group of witches and wizards were dressed to the nines, milling around and sipping brightly colored drinks that wait staff handed out.
Lily and her group were stopped at the entrance by an Auror who looked them over closely.
"Ve are ze delegation vrom Bulgaria," James announced in a very loud and very bad accent.
The Auror rolled her eyes. "Tone it down Potter – don't attract too much attention."
James beamed and Lily squeezed his hand quickly before letting go.
The second they made it into the main party, Lily was accosted by a tall, handsome, blonde, man wearing a loud purple bow tie.
"Did I hear that you're the folks from Bulgaria?" the wizard asked in an American accent. He had a friendly smile, and his eyes were kind. His bowtie had penguins on it.
"Er – yes, vhat is I," Lily said, struggling to keep a straight face. She was fairly certain that the Bulgarian thing was Moody's idea of a joke.
"Henry Goldstein," the man said, offering his hand.
"Erm – Zlatka Petrova. It iz a plee-sure."
She scanned the hall carefully, making a note of everyone. That man with his hand in his pocket, was he reaching for a wand? She relaxed as he pulled out a handkerchief.
"So, Ms Petrova. What do you think of Ms Jun?"
"Her stance on ve Muggleborns iz good to zee. We ought to embrace our deefereences."
Henry Goldstein gave her a careful once over. "I agree with you completely, Ms Petrova. I think you and I should get on pretty well."
Lily smiled at him somewhat awkwardly. She could see Alice hovering by the chocolate fountain, Dorcus checking names off a list, and James telling jokes in his dreadful Bulgarian accent. She couldn't spot Remus anywhere.
"I must ve going," Lily told him. "I believe I zee a friend ov mine."
Henry Goldstein smiled back at her, his eyes neutral. "Of course, Ms Petrova. Enjoy the party."
Lily ducked back into the crowd. It was a nightmare. There were at least a hundred people there, dressed in brightly colored silks and velvets. When would the Death Eaters reveal themselves? Would it be a muttered spell, Asami Jun toppling into a horrified crowd? Or would it be a massacre, Death Eaters throwing off cloaks and sending Killing Curses into the group?
She shook her head, heading for James. He was gesticulating grandly to an amused looking Canadian witch, who was sipping mulled wine as James talked at her.
"Come, Aleksandar," Lily hissed. "I must speak to you."
James waved goodbye to the witch.
As she tugged him into a secluded alcove, she dropped the accent.
"Asami Jun won't be appearing until later in the evening, for the ceremony. For now, we just have to mingle and act natural."
James nodded. "Alright. And the Death Eaters said 8 o'clock, right?"
"Right."
The curtain in front of their alcove was swept aside, and James tensed, reaching for his wand, before Lily recognized a French delegate. She seized the front of James' robes, and kissed him firmly, trying to ignore the snicker from the French wizard.
He dropped the curtain, and Lily released James.
"We're working, Evans, try to be professional," James told her indignantly, straightening his robes.
Lily whacked his shoulder.
He looked ready to make another comment when he paused, frowning.
"What is it?"
James hushed her.
Lily listened, and heard a low murmur of voices coming from the closed off vestibule near their alcove.
"-perfect plan, itoshī anata. After the attack, I'll be viewed as a hero, and in the perfect place to take down the Confederation from within. After tonight, it'll all be over, don't worry."
It was a woman's voice, low, silky smooth, and confident. It sounded familiar.
There was a woman's worried murmur, but she was speaking Japanese.
"Don't be silly, they won't suspect a thing. The Order of the Phoenix has already warned me about the attack."
Lily had heard the voice before.
A.N. Thanks for reading!