"Mister Potter, Miss Evans, I would understand your refusals." Dumbledore stood in the Potters' kitchen with his elegant hands resting on a long slab of granite counter top.
Both Lily and James stood opposite the elder man, side by side. The others had left.
"Sir," James started out slowly, "I would have no problem throwing myself in there, but I have reserves about Lily returning too quickly."
"I can see that very well," Dumbledore said smiling gently at the two, "We need a pair that collaborates well together. Miss Evans, you have unique relations with a specific Death Eater and-"
"I haven't seen him in ages, Professor," Lily blurted out, "Please forgive me for interrupting, but I don't see how this could accomplish anything." She paused, "It just sounds absurd to me."
Dumbledore walked around the kitchen's center island to look out one of its large windows. "Miss Evans, I think you underestimate the feelings that these men have for you."
James took a glance at Lily's face to see her reaction; unfortunately for him there was no reaction to be seen. Dumbledore must have noticed something, however.
"Miss Evans, I have complete confidence in you two," said Dumbledore as he continued to walk around the kitchen looking at a few of the Potters' old pieces of china. "Did you know, James, that I broke one of your mother's china mugs almost twenty years ago?"
James shook his head, "No, sir."
"I was over to celebrate your father's retirement from the Ministry. Your mother was serving tea when she also made an announcement that she was pregnant with you." He laughed, "I was so shocked; I dropped the mug and it broke into three pieces."
Lily and James looked to one another.
"I repaired it of course," Dumbledore added. "I'm glad to hear that you kept it all after she died."
"You know my mother wouldn't have had it any other way, Professor."
"Yes," Dumbledore said with a sigh, "I am very sorry for your losses." His gaze fell onto Lily, "I am sorry to the both of you."
"Professor," Lily started crossing her arms over her chest, "You said that you would understand my refusal."
"Yes, I will. You both have been through a lot since you graduated and I would completely identify with you wanting to take it easy at the present time." His eyes fell, "I only wanted to explore all of our options as it seems that the attacks are getting closer to muggleborn students."
The sun was hidden behind a blanket of clouds that rolled in from the east. The Potters' home had a vast field in the back and the farthest corner still had some sunlight hitting hit. It was almost noon and the Potter home was still gray and cold.
"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said looking out the window again, "Together you and Mister Potter will be doing the Order a tremendous deed." He seemed to glide over to her side. "You know as well as I that Severus Snape does not want to continue what he is doing." James turned away. "You alone could convince him to leave the Dark Lord's faction."
"Sir, I already said, Severus and I have not talked to each other in over a year." Lily's voice lowered. She spat, "I want nothing to do with him and what he has done." James's eyes widened at her tone with their past professor.
"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said, "You seem tired." He gracefully put his hand on her shoulder and said, "I will let you sleep and think it over with Mister Potter until tomorrow."
"No, Professor—"
"Call me Albus, Lily,"
"Professor," she continued, "I want to help you and the Order, but I cannot do that."
"Miss Evans, James will be by your side. Severus sees you as a positive reinforcement and having him on our side will not only give us his talents, but we will gain valuable information."
"I can't even guarantee he will speak with me." She took a breath, "And what kind of person am I if I use him for information?"
"Lils," James said softly, not even looking her in the eyes, "He owes you."
"And we will try to prevent more killings." Dumbledore took off his crescent moon shaped glasses and sat them on the counter. "Miss Evans, I just need you to ask him. You are the only soul that he will listen to."
The few trees in the field started to sway with the wind and a few rain drops hit against the glass.
"I'll speak with him," said Lily, reluctantly.
James put his hand on the small of her back, "I'll come with you."
Oooooooooooooooooo
"You should have gotten some sleep," James said as he and Lily walked down a rain-dampened cobbled street outside London.
"I'm fine." Lily tightened a scarf around her neck. "Hopefully this won't take long."
They continued down the street watching the dark and dingy buildings flanking the sides go by. The gutters along the sidewalks were littered with trash and mud and the only foliage to be seen were the weeds that snaked through the cracks in the cobblestones. It was dusk; Lily and James had waited too long to start their journey.
"Alright," Lily said bringing their journey to a halt, "We're here."
James looked ahead to the house Lily was staring at. It was definitely not picturesque in his opinion. The two windows it had facing the street were no larger than a person's head. The front door was a deep shade of grey and it looked about as old as Professor McGonagall. Not exactly an inviting or cozy home in the least. It looked like a home for Severus Snape.
"Well," he said, "We should get this over with."
"You should stay here," Lily said as she faced him.
James staggered, "Stay here? What—outside?"
"Yeah," Lily played with the heel of her shoe in the mud, "I'll only take a few minutes."
"So, you're going to go into that house alone," he paused, "With Severus Snape, a Death Eater."
She sighed, "James, its Severus. I'll be alright."
"Exactly, it's Snape." James took hold of Lily's arm, "I don't want you alone in there."
"I will be fine," she said gently. Seeing the look of defiance on James's face she said, "Just give me a few minutes. If you hear me scream you can come right on in and save the day. You know he won't take too kind to you." She giggled and poked him in his chest.
"Hurry up," he sternly said, "I'll be right outside the door."
Without a word Lily left his side and took two steps to the front door and knocked five times. She waited there for a while, but Lily knew that Severus always took a while to answer the door. She knew he always looked out the side window to her right to peer out on the visitors he had, and soon enough she saw his eyes look down to her. She tried her best to look enthusiastic and smiled.
Again, it took him a while, but soon the door creaked open and Severus Snape stood before her.
"Hello, Sev," she said quietly. He did not reply. "How are you?" She seemed to sound genuine enough from James's point of view.
"What are you doing here?" Snape's voice was raspy and his eyes were searching the road behind her.
"I came to see you."
"Really," he said sounding skeptical still searching the street. Apparently James had hid in the shadows down the side of the house.
"Well," Lily said looking away from Snape's dark eyes, "I wanted to talk to you about something important."
He looked nervous but moved out of the doorway, "Come in."
After that, James watched her disappear into the darkness of Snape's living quarters, promising himself that if he heard any distressing noise he would break the door down.
Walking inside, Lily felt relieved to know that Severus hadn't changed his house too much. There weren't skulls on his mantle or the Dark Mark painted on the walls.
"It's been a while," Snape said standing still while Lily roamed his living room.
"I know." She finally took a seat on his dark green couch that seemed oversized for the small room.
"Can I get you anything?" Snape asked looking a little more pale than usual.
She looked up, "Nothing, thank you."
An awkward second passed by and then Snape took a seat in a chair opposite her.
"How have you been, Sev?"
"Alright, I guess." Severus leaned back into the chair. "You?"
"Alright," Lily said nodding while crossing her leg. She took a breath, straightening her back, "Look, Sev, I came here to ask you a few questions."
"I had a feeling. You look tired," he said quietly looking to the table that separated them.
"Sev, I know that you partake in certain events by the word of a certain person, and recent happenings have led me here looking for answers."
"Lils," he said gently, "just say it outright." She remained silent. "I am a Death Eater and I report to Lord Voldemort. Go ahead."
"I—I just want to know where Avery is hiding."
"Avery?"
"Yes, Avery. I want to know where he is."
Snape sat up in his chair, "Why, Avery?"
"Be—because he," Lily stammered, "He is responsible for killings in Surrey."
"Oh," Snape said leaning back again, "The attack on the muggles in Surrey is why you're here."
"Yes, I mean, we need something, Sev. I hate seeing innocent people die because of this stupid blood war." Her tone was calm and even as if they were talking about laundry detergents.
"I haven't seen you in eleven months and you want me to just divulge everything on your plate so you can be Dumbledore's little retriever."
"Sev," she said folding her hands, "I didn't come here to argue with you. Quite frankly, I didn't really want to come and see you at all."
His jaw dropped suddenly, "Lily why are you in my house?"
"I'm sorry, Sev. I want to punish Avery for what he did."
He laughed slightly, "Punish him?"
"Yes. He killed two children and terrorized the entire neighborhood. I cannot let someone like that repeat his actions."
Snape sat still and his face darkened. The sunlight no longer leaked in through the small windows. The air in Snape's home felt stuffy and hot.
"So," she said readjusting her position on the couch, "I just want to know where he is."
Snape did not move.
"Sev," she urged on, "Tell me where to find him."
He looked into her eyes and the connection scared her a bit. "I knew about the attack."
"Sev, I don't want to get into the details—"
"Lily," he said, "I did not know about the children until after."
"Does it matter? He killed children, Sev." She looked to the ceiling trying to recover, "He hunted them down and killed them point blank." She snapped at him raising her voice, "Tell me where he is!"
"Why did you come back?" he asked over her.
"What?"
"Why did you come back here?" They were both yelling now.
"You were the only person I knew that could—"
"No," he said standing to his feet, "Why didn't you stay hidden? Damn it, you were safe there!"
Lily glared up at him as he towered over her. "I came back because this whole thing has to stop. People are dying now, innocent people are dying!"
He walked around the table and leaned down to her face, "You still don't know what you are talking about. Do you?"
Their eyes met in a tense standstill. His gaze was searching her face for fear, rejection, and even disappointment. She replied in anger, "You will never change."
"You shouldn't have come back, Lily. This war will consume you. You were safer in London."
"Until when?" She stood up to him, nose to nose, "Would I be safe for the rest of my life? Would I ever see my friends again? I would have to spend my whole life running and hiding. I would never have a family or a real job," she held her hands up, "What kind of a life is that?" She yelled at him like she never had before, "Is that what you want for me?"
His whole body seemed to shrink in her eyes, "No."
"How could you?" She asked, her eyes pleading with him, "How could you support them?" She really should have slept a few more hours. Fighting with Severus was testing her patience. She screamed at him, "How could you? After all you meant to me!"
"I—"
"No," she choked out, trying to stay calm, "I will find Avery by myself and I will not stop until Voldemort is dead or I am!" She pointed her finger at him, "This war has to stop!"
"Lil—"
BANG! At that precise moment Snape's front door flew open and hit against his wall creating a nice sized hole in the drywall where the doorknob punched through. James stood in the doorway with the light from the streetlamps illuminating his outline.
A somewhat overdramatic entrance; nonetheless, James Potter had made it clear that it was time to leave.
Snape's face turned to stone, "Potter."
"Snape." James looked to Lily whose face was almost red in frustration, "Let's go."
She sighed and straightened her hair. Walking towards the door Snape's voice stopped her.
"Lily, I don't know where Avery is right now." She shook her head and continued towards James and the door. "Lily," Snape called catching up to her at his entryway. He reached out to grasp her forearm ever so gently and said softly, "There's another attack to take place in forty minutes at this address." He handed her a scrap of parchment with a house and street scribbled in his own handwriting, "If you get there soon you should be able to set up."
Lily looked at him and back down to the parchment, "Will Avery be there?"
He nodded, "We will all be there eventually." He saw her tighten her jaw. "Don't go alone."
"She won't," said James who stood in the street.
Ignoring the comment, Snape whispered to her ear, "The Dark Lord will be there." Snape pulled her closer to him, "They know not to harm you but I cannot promise anything for Potter. Voldemort will abandon the attack if he thinks the area has been compromised."
She twisted her arm free putting on her best attempt at chivalry, "I guess I will be seeing you again tonight then, Sev."
"Be careful," he said.
She smiled at him once more and went to the street. James stood waiting for her with anticipation and confusion etched into his face.
She increased her pace and again wrapped her scarf more securely to her neck, "We have thirty minutes to get to this address, and we will need everyone there as well. Voldemort will make an appearance."
