Chapter 6: Raid
Once they were back at Godric's Hollow, Sirius bade them all goodbye. He informed them he was going to meet his brother.
"Be careful Sirius. Shouldn't one of us go with you?" Lily asked him anxiously.
"No. It'll go better if it's just me and Reg." Sirius replied.
"Be very careful." Hermione warned, giving him a hug.
"When am I not?" SIrius grinned.
"All the time." Remus chuckled.
"That's not...I am always...Ok...You might have a point." Sirius conceded. They all laughed. James clapped him on the back. He kissed Hermione briefly and then left. Regulus had agreed to meet him by the Shrieking Shack once again. He strode up to the familiar building and saw his brother leaning casually against the wall, arms folded across his chest. It stuck Sirius how regal Regulus looked in the sunlight, looking down towards him his face expressionless.
"Hi Reg." He started, hoping to break the ice.
"Sirius." His brother's tone was cold, but there was a faint hint of hope. He quickly cast a few spells around the area and then turned back to face Sirius. "Severus and I have agreed that we will help you defeat the Dark Lord. He has also agreed to give me occlumency lessons where and when possible."
"That's great Reg." Sirius smiled warmly.
"He has also asked to borrow Kreacher for a task. I do not know what he needs him for, only that he requires a House Elf. I'm sure it is to do with his Horcruxes, I will know more once Kreacher returns. He left this morning."
"He is probably testing the protection on Kreacher. House Elves are more disposable than humans to Mouldyshorts." Regulus shot him a dark look at the nickname.
"It's a possibility. If that's the case, I will have Kreacher show me where it is and I can recover the horcrux." Sirius was alarmed. That's what had happened before and Regulus died.
"That's a bad idea Reg. I should take Kreacher. If it goes wrong and Voldemort finds out you are involved then he will kill you. He may not like it but Kreacher does have to listen to me too."
"If you are there he will know you found out through Kreacher. And the Dark Lord will know you would not have known to ask Kreacher about it except through me so I will be killed anyway. Not going will not spare me brother."
"Then at least take someone with you. Kreacher can give you an idea of what you will face, but two is always better than one."
"You would go with me?" Regulus looked unsure. At that moment Sirius remembered that his brother was only eighteen and he, Sirius, had not been there to help him through most of his life.
"Yes, Reg, I would go and help you. We can redeem the name of Black together."
"Our parents will be rolling in their graves." Regulus gave a wry grin. Sirius chuckled. "I cannot stay long or my presence will be missed. I will send Kreacher to you to inform you of what he has discovered. Send me a message through him of when we are to go hunting. If you do not hear from me assume that I agree to the time and place. I will let you know if it is not possible."
"Sure thing. We also need you and Snivellus to try and get a hair of both Lucius Malfoy and Rudolphus Lestrange if possible." Regulus looked at him, bewildered.
"You want to change into them? Why?"
"Helps for spying purposes. Our dear cousin Bellatrix and her husband are pretty close to Mouldyshorts so it makes sense to be him. And Malfoy is just a slimy git, but he has a lot of monetary influence."
"That can't be the only reason." Regulus eyed him shrewdly.
"As Rudolphus is close to him it makes sense that he would be most likely to know of any objects that could potentially be horcruxes even if he doesn't know exactly what they are." Sirius explained.
"Alright, I'll try my best." Regulus agreed.
"Thanks. Remember to keep up your occlumency practise. Stay safe." Sirius reached out to embrace his brother, and then thought better of it, settling on a handshake.
"I will. Stay safe yourself Sirius. It's good to have you back." He admitted, again looking as young as he really was, before the empty, cold mask of the Death Eater he had been was back. Sirius nodded and then they both separated and disapparated.
Meanwhile, Lily and Hermione had been sorting out the next steps of the animagus potion. It was halfway done now and it was an ugly shade of green exactly as James said it should be. Remus came down to see them. He had just got in from work. He looked grave as James came in behind him, his eyes a little red as if he had been crying. James immediately wrapped an arm around Lily.
"We have some bad news." He said. His voice was croaky.
"What is it James?" Lily asked tentatively.
"There was a Death Eater attack in Cokeworth this morning. The Dark Mark was found over muggle dwelling." Remus told them. Lily gasped.
"Cokeworth?" Her eyes were wide, the colour draining from her face. James nodded. Her eyes flickered between James and Remus. "No! You're wrong?" She cried.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked, looking worried and confused.
"Lily, I'm so sorry. Sirius has been called to the scene. He sent a patronus saying no survivors." Remus managed before Lily collapsed into James' arms sobbing. James held her close and stroked her hair, looking miserable himself as a single tear trickled down his cheek. Picking her up bridal style, James took Lily to the front room and laid her on the couch.
"I'm going to put Harry to sleep." James announced, disentangling himself from Lily, who barely seemed aware of her surroundings, and picking up the baby who had been playing in the corner with a stuffed dog.
"Lily's parents were murdered in the attack." Remus explained to Hermione in an undertone.
"Oh No." She gasped. She knew that both Lily and James' parents had died before Voldemort had been defeated but she had never really given much thought as to when they must have died. James came back then and went straight back to Lily's side, pulling her against his chest. She simply sobbed but said nothing. Hermione and Remus felt like outsiders and that they should give Lily time to grieve in peace, so told the couple they were going back to Sirius' and Remus' apartment. Hermione gave Lily a hug before she left with a promise that if she needed anything, she was only a floo call away. Remus clapped James on the shoulder and gave Lily a squeeze. They disappeared and both collapsed into the nearest available chairs.
"Was James close to Lily's parents?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Yes. When his own parents died of dragon pox just before the end of our seventh year, Lily's parents were there for James during that summer while he tried to find his feet. They let him stay with them until he could bear to go back home and helped him make all the necessary arrangements."
"That's so sweet of them." Hermione gave a small smile.
"Yeah. It really strengthened James and Lily's relationship. Both her and her parents were his rocks. He asked her dad for permission to marry Lily out of respect for them. He found out about that tradition through muggle films that she made him watch."
"Did you know them?"
"Not really. I only met them at James and Lily's wedding. They were really lovely people though." Remus looked wistful. Just then Sirius came through the fireplace looking miserable. He started when he saw Remus and Hermione. "We're giving them some time." Remus explained.
"Good. I imagine they are both wrecks. I wish I could help." Sirius moaned.
"You know James, he prefers to grieve alone. We should go back tomorrow to check on them." Remus sighed.
"Yeah. It's my day off tomorrow maybe we could all go out." Sirius suggested.
"That's a good idea." Hermione smiled weakly.
"How bad was it?" Remus asked, looking like he really didn't want to know.
"Their house and the two either side were the only ones affected. They would have destroyed the whole neighbourhood but the raid was led by Travers. Benjy Fenwick was trailing him at the time and was able to notify the Aurors and Dumbledore in time to stop anymore damage. Travers is now in custody but we didn't catch anyone else. Two Death Eaters were killed though we we suffered no losses. Gideon Prewett took a nasty gash to the head but the healers say he will be fine in a day or so. Total of seven muggles dead, including Lily's parents." He gave his report in a clinical, almost dead tone but his voice broke at the end. Hermione got up and sat next to him on the sofa, snuggling against his chest. He held her tightly and buried his face in her hair.
"Are you ok?" She asked quietly.
"Not really. It's one thing seeing the aftermath of these raids, but when it's people you know…" He trailed off knowing she understood. She squeezed his arm and he held her tighter.
(A/N I'm soooo sorry. I am alive, and I haven't given up I promise. My laptop broke and then I was on holiday. I'm all back with everything fixed. Up next animagus transformation, so this is you last chance to vote.)