Warning: There's some violence in this chapter.


Chapter 7. The Boy Who Disappeared

The doorbell rang at around ten o'clock the next morning, loud and shrill, wrenching Lily from her sleep. Clara began to cry at the noise, having never heard it before. Lily thumped her head on the pillow, praying that whoever was at the door would leave.

The doorbell rang again, longer this time. Clara's crying intensified. Lily pulled herself out of bed, donning her slippers and robe. She reached into Clara's crib and hugged the baby to her chest. "Hush, now," she whispered, opening the door to her bedroom and going towards the front door.

The bell rang for a third time, this time draining on for several seconds before stopping. "Yes, yes, I'm coming!" Lily exclaimed at the door.

Footsteps thundered down the stairs. "If it's that Muggle mailman, lost again, I'm going to do something I'll regret," Sirius was muttering. Then he caught sight of Lily, trying to console Clara.

Lily carefully handed him the child and briskly opened the front door.

There, on the doorstep, stood a pretty young woman with elaborately curled blonde hair. A crocodile-skin bag hung over her shoulder. In her hand she clutched a notebook bearing the design of a quill and letters spelling out 'Daily Prophet Reporter.' In her other hand she clutched a brand-new, acid green quill.

"Erm, hi," said the girl, eyeing the scene before her. Lily was looking at her, eyebrows raised, while Sirius did his best to console Clara, who was rapidly calming. "I'm Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Reporter."

Lily still said nothing, merely tipping her head in a What's-your-point type of motion.

"Erm," the girl started again. "I was hoping for an interview..."

"Why?" asked Lily.

Rita looked desperate. "Because I have to get off the cosmetics page!" she exclaimed. Then she bit her lip, looking slightly ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry," she immediately apologized. "I meant, I'd like to get an insider's look at the true Sirius Black and his friends."

Lily looked hesitant.

"Oh, let her in, Lil," Sirius said from behind her. "I wouldn't want to write for a cosmetics page, either," he added to Rita.

Lily opened the door further, still eyeing the girl like she was an insect. "Do you want Remus, as well?" Lily asked stiffly. "I can wake him."

Seemingly for the first time, Rita took in the tousled appearance of the two adults in the room. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's all right," Lily responded, shaking herself slightly and trying to figure out why she took such an immediate dislike to the young blonde. She headed down the hallway to get Remus out of bed, despite the fact that Rita hadn't asked her to. She wanted someone else sane present.

Once they were all settled at the kitchen table with cups of tea in front of them, Rita opened her notebook and placed her quill on the page, where it balanced ominously.

"You have a Quick-Quotes Quill?" Remus asked, looking a bit envious.

Rita nodded, smiling shyly. "My mum got if for me for my birthday," she said.

"You said you wanted to talk about Sirius?" Lily prompted.

"Yes, erm..." Rita flipped open her notebook to the first blank sheet of parchment. "Mum said you have to test the Quill. Erm...testing...my name is Rita Skeeter, junior Daily Prophet reporter." The quill immediately sprang into action:

Stunning blonde Rita Skeeter, eighteen, who shows incredible promise in the field of reporting—

"Stop!" Rita said firmly to the quill. "It always does that, I don't know why."

Lily, Remus, and Sirius were all looking at her with mingled expressions of mistrust and slight amusement.

"Right, well. Let's get started. Mr. Black, how do you feel about the entire Wizarding community believing, until yesterday, that you were a traitor and kidnapper?" Rita seemed more in her element now, gazing avidly at Sirius.

"Er—" started Sirius. "I suppose they had every right to. I mean, Lily and James and I were the only ones that knew about the switch of Secret-Keepers."

Rita tipped her head, her eyes now alight with a curious fire. "Yes, but how did you feel?"

Lily was watching the quill as it skated across the paper:

Black's devilishly handsome face is unsuited to hiding the pent-up rage inside him as he struggles to avoid answering a question that might bring him to tears—

Lily glanced at Sirius, who was still trying to explain that he harbored no ill will for the community at large. She tried to see any pent-up rage inside him, tilting her head from side to side.

"Ms. Potter, you look incredibly confused by Mr. Black's statements. Perhaps you have a different story?"

"What?" Lily asked, glancing at the blonde. "No, no, he's telling the truth."

The quill splashed a tiny dot of ink on the table with its furious writing:

Potter's face shows obvious signs of recent Memory Modification. Perhaps the accusations of one Bartiamus Crouch could have foundation in truth, something which surely the Auror Office should look into—

"Miss Skeeter," Lily said, gazing into the girl's eyes. "Control your quill."

Rita glanced down and read what the quill had been recording. "Sorry," she said. Lily narrowed her eyes. Quite apart from her original apologies of waking them up, Rita did not seem the least bit ashamed.

Remus stepped in hastily, trying not to laugh at the bordering-on-murderous look on Lily's face. "Is there anything you'd like to ask me, Miss Skeeter?" he asked.

Rita smiled. "Of course, Mr. Lupin. You are a registered werewolf at the Ministry, and therefore quite unable to get a job. You are financially dependent on Black and have been for some time. It was he, for example, that paid for you to get this house, as the records indicate."

Remus' expression was stony.

"He didn't ask me for that money," Sirius said. "I was just helping out a friend."

Rita was still watching Remus, who met her gaze evenly.

"I'm waiting for a question," Remus said.

"Did you break Mr. Black out of prison for the money?"

Remus stared at her. "Pardon?" he asked, sure he hadn't heard correctly.

"Did you assist in Mr. Black's escape from Azkaban so that you could continue to lean on him financially?" Rita rephrased.

"No," Remus answered, voice shaking slightly from his anger. He glanced at the quill as it furiously wrote:

Although Lupin denies the charges the beautiful Ms. Skeeter brings against him, his answer is unconvincing. He feigns deafness at first in order to buy himself more time and his voice shakes with hidden emotion as his eyes well up with unshed tears—

"How dare you?" Lily demanded.

Rita looked as innocent as she could. Lily's eyebrows contracted angrily. Sirius and Remus had similar expressions of extreme dislike on their faces. She glanced at the quill, which was still furiously skating across the page:

All three almost-convicts have the look about them of someone insane. Anyone in their presence would fear for their safety. Perhaps, then, it was unwise for them to be released from, if not an eternity in Azkaban, then at least some mandatory treatment at St. Mungo's—

"Get out," snarled Sirius.

Rita deflated. The aura about her as she had interviewed them subsided. "I'm sorry," she apologized, sounding sincere at last.

Lily rose and, juggling Clara to her left arm, walked to the front door and opened it.

Rita, seeming cowed, got up obediently and slipped her notes and quill into her bag, snapping it shut loudly and scurrying toward the door.

"And, Miss Skeeter?" Remus called as she was about to leave. The girl whirled on her heel to face him. His expression was demure. "That kind of writing may be acceptable on the Cosmetics page, but when you are writing for other aspects of the paper, it is considered misrepresentation."

Rita nodded mutely.

"You should get a new quill," Sirius advised.

A flash of anger crossed Rita's face, which she quickly hid. "Yes, well," she said. "The editor says we ought to write a story that people will read, never mind—" She quickly stopped.

"Never mind the truth?" Lily supplied, voice quiet, controlled, and incredibly frightening.

Rita turned tail and fled down the walk.

Lily shut the door. She cradled Clara back and forth in her arms. "You can choose whatever career you want," she said to the little face. "But you can't be a reporter. Reporters are nasty."

Clara blinked curiously up at her mother.

Sirius heaved himself up from the table. "That's going to be an interesting article to read," he said tiredly. He yawned. "What time is it?"

Remus glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchen. "Nearly noon," he responded.

Sirius sighed. "Too late to go back to bed, then, I suppose. I'm going to get dressed," he said, heading back towards the attic stairs.

Lily sank down in his unoccupied chair. "Remus," she said heavily. "Can't our lives be a little boring for a while?"

"Probably not," Remus responded. A tap at the window brought Remus to his feet to collect the paper from the delivery owl. "Oh, look, the news of our acquittal has reached the papers." He tossed the paper to Lily. She caught it clumsily with one hand.

BLACK CLEARED!

Black and his two compatriots successfully plead their case to the Wizengamot!

Lily scanned the article. "Makes us sound like a bunch of heroes," she said. She continued reading. "It says the community 'calls for the return of Auror Black to the squad.' Sirius wasn't an Auror, was he?"

"No," Remus responded. "He expressed some interest in it in school, but towards the end he decided to put more of an effort into the Order. Gotta love the press for trying, though."

Lily nodded absently. "Do you think he wants to go be one? He probably could, with all this positive press."

"I dunno," Remus responded, disappearing into the kitchen to pour himself more tea. "You'd have to ask him. The way I figure it, the Ministry is not going to be able to hold up against Voldemort very much longer. Being an Auror might eventually turn into being a Death Eater."

"The same could be said for any Ministry job, I suppose," Lily said, wistfulness in her voice.

Remus caught her tone. "Do you want to go back?" he asked.

"I don't know," Lily said. "I was less than a year into the Unspeakable training period. I didn't get much experience. I hadn't even chosen a Project yet."

"Well," Remus reasoned. "I can't see any reason why you shouldn't go back to work. I mean, the Ministry hasn't fallen yet."

Lily smiled and glanced down at Clara, who was suckling on her finger happily. "I can think of a reason," she said pointedly.

"Maybe when Clara's older, then."

Lily looked downcast. "Maybe. I hope...Remus, I hope things stay the way they are. But
I don't think they will. Not with Voldemort everywhere. Not with us out of hiding."

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Remus said. At Lily's skeptical look, he defended, "Hey, I'm an optimist."

Lily laughed.

Loud thundering came from the stairs. Sirius emerged from the hall. "What's so funny?"

"You, Padfoot," Remus said with a grin. "We're always laughing at you."

Sirius approached the table. "Don't be a prat, Moony," he said. He knelt next to Lily and stroked Clara's face and directed his speech to her. "Who's a pretty little princess?"

"Me," Remus said dryly, taking a seat.

Sirius sent him a murderous glance.

"Well, I'll go get dressed, now," Lily said. She stood and handed Clara to Remus, saying, "Have a kid."

Remus rocked the baby back and forth. "Look at you," he cooed softly. "So tiny. So beautiful."

Lily smiled fondly at the two men bent over her child and disappeared into her room to change clothes.


"Pleasant to see you, Lily."

"And you, Professor," Lily responded, sipping the tea she had been offered.

"Call me Albus, please, Lily," Dumbledore said kindly.

"Albus," Lily tried. "I'll try to remember."

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Mostly to thank you for what you did for us at the trial," Lily said. "We could not have done it without you."

"I very much doubt that," Dumbledore said. "You had truth on your side. I merely expedited the process."

"Well, thank you," Lily said.

"You are very welcome," Dumbledore said. "I also, have something for you. Something I borrowed from you many months ago and have not had the chance to return..."

Dumbledore held out the silvery fabric.

"I don't want it," Lily said firmly. "Use it for the Order, give it to someone—anyone—who'll have use for it. I don't want it."

"It is yours—"

"No, It was James's," Lily corrected. "And I don't want it."

Dumbledore set it down. "Very well. I will keep it for someone who may later have need of it." His eyes twinkled.

Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Fine. I don't want to know who."

"You will know in time, anyway," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Now, I think you said that you wished 'mostly' to thank me with this visit. What is your second order of business?"

Lily set aside her tea and leaned forward earnest. "I deserve to know," she said. "I deserve to know why Voldemort came to our cottage that evening."

"As I told you when I sent you into hiding, Voldemort was searching for Harry," Dumbledore said.

"But why?" Lily asked. "What was the prophecy? The exact wording?"

"It is of no consequence," Dumbledore said. "What it spoke of will not come to pass. The world has taken a different course."

"I want to know," Lily said.

"I will not tell you," Dumbledore said.

"Why not?"

Dumbledore looked sad. "I fear, Lily, that the knowledge may destroy you."


Sirius meandered down Diagon Alley. He knew it wasn't wise to linger on the streets in troubled times like this, but today was a special day. His first day of freedom. There were two things he had to do today, and both of them had been a long time coming.

But first things first.

The bell tinkled on the shop that he chose to enter.

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander," he said. "I'm here to buy a wand."


On Saturday evening, Severus Snape sat in his classroom, arranging lesson plans for the next week. He kept glancing at the clock, hoping each time that he had been working long enough to warrant quitting for the night. He wanted to go over to Lily's again to see Clara, as he had been doing at least twice a week for the past month.

Alas, when he checked the clock every few seconds, time moved slower and slower. Several times, Severus got up to check that it had not been tampered with.

He let out a long sigh as he wrote directions for Monday morning's first years on the blackboard.

"Forgetfulness Potion," said a thoughtful male voice from the door. "Aren't your first years forgetful enough already?"

Severus jumped slightly and whirled to look at the newcomer. He glared. "What do you want, Black?" he demanded roughly.

"Hello to you, too, Snape," Sirius said cheerfully. "Grumpy as always, then?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Insufferable as always, then?" he said, imitating Sirius' tone mockingly.

Sirius nodded gravely, carefully hiding his broad grin. "I'm afraid so," he said.

"What do you want?" Severus reiterated.

Sirius, sensing the end of his moment to joke, assumed a more serious demeanor. "I need to talk to you."

"Is Lily all right?" Severus asked quickly. "And Clara?"

"What?" Sirius asked, confused. "Oh, yes, of course. Why wouldn't they be?"

Severus shook his head in an I-don't-know motion. "There's nothing else that would bring you here, Black. Unless, of course, you came only to torture me. Which, I admit, would impress me. Don't you usually prefer the odds of four on one?"

"That's why I'm here," Sirius blurted without thinking about it.

"To torture me?" Severus clarified. He sneered. "I think you'll find it a little harder than you did when we were in school." He reached inside his robes for his wand.

"No," Sirius said, remaining shockingly calm. He pulled out his wand with his off hand and threw it on Severus' desk. Severus eyed the wand. Clearly new. Spruce by the look of it. "All yours."

Severus smiled wickedly. "You place yourself at my mercy?"

"I trust Dumbledore, and Dumbledore trusts you," Sirius said calmly. "I didn't come here to hurt you, Snape. I came to apologize."

"For what?" Severus said sharply.

Sirius looked down. "Can I sit?" he asked. Severus nodded jerkily. This time, Severus made no attempt to stop his guest from sitting in the uncomfortable chair. Sirius settled himself down."Sna-Severus," Sirius began, stammering over using Severus' given name. "I came to apologize for everything that James, Remus, Peter, and I did to you during school."

Severus was quiet for a moment. Then, "What makes you think an apology can make up for what you did?"

"I don't," Sirius said quickly. "It can't make up for it. But it could help. It could set us on the path to making up for it."

Severus would have snorted in hilarity if it wasn't for the uncharacteristically serious look on his long-time nemesis' face.

"I'm sorry, Sn—Severus," Sirius said into the silence. "The things we did to you were inexcusable. We probably should have been expelled for what we did."

Severus didn't hurry up and nod, but he didn't disagree, either.

"Especially..." Sirius paused for a moment, gathering his courage. "Especially what I did to you during our seventh year. And what I almost did to you. For that, I am most sorry."

"You..." Severus trailed off. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say.

When Severus didn't speak any more, Sirius said, "I have no right to ask you to accept my apology, Severus, no right at all. But I will, anyways, for Clara's sake."

"For Clara's sake?" Severus repeated quietly.

"I don't want her to grow up with two surrogate fathers that don't speak to her godfather. It wouldn't be good for her," Sirius said.

Severus stared at him. "You...have done a lot of growing up since our school days, Black," he said carefully.

Sirius grimaced. "Azkaban does that to you," he said.

They looked at each other for a moment or two.

"I accept your apology, Black," Severus said. Before Sirius could get elated, he amended, "I don't forgive you. But I accept your apology."

Sirius nodded. "Okay," he said. He got up to leave. Then he remembered. "Oh. Moony—I mean Remus—asked me to convey his most sincere apologies as well. He wanted me to tell you that if you want to hear his apology in person, he will be only too happy to oblige as soon as his babysitting duties are over."

"Babysitting?"

"Yes, Lily is having tea with Molly Weasley this evening, so Remus is alone with Clara," Sirius explained. "Otherwise he would have come along. Shall I tell him to come see you personally?"

Severus hesitated. It had been nice to see Sirius so humbled for once. But, to be fair, Remus had hardly ever joined in his friends' tormenting of Severus. Finally he shook his head. "Only if Lupin wants to," he said. "I don't need him to apologize. It's not his fault he's a werewolf and almost killed me."

Sirius nodded. "Goodbye, Severus," he said. Again, his voice twisted oddly as he tried to casually use 'Severus' as opposed to 'Snape'. He turned to leave.

"Black?"

Sirius wheeled around to face Severus again. "What?"

"Call me Snape," Severus said, saying it as though angry, but really just trying to reserve Sirius' sanity by not forcing him to call his old nemesis by his first name.

"Thank you," Sirius rushed, a broad grin of relief spilling over his face. "Lily wanted me to use your first name. Thank Merlin you don't care."

Severus shrugged. "Yes, well."

Sirius turned to go. When he reached the door, he turned and said. "Do you want to come by later? Molly's sending some leftovers with Lily, so..."

"I would like that, Black," Severus said.

Sirius nodded matter-of-factly. "Good. See you later, Snape."

Severus smiled slightly as Sirius left. He glanced back down at his desk, and the smile faded slightly.

"Black!"

"What?" reverberated a voice from the hall.

"You forgot your wand."

Quickly approaching footprints sounded, accompanied by Sirius' muttered swears.


"Well," Lily said as she put down The Daily Prophet. "You'd think, with a war on, that the papers might find something new to print."

Sirius glanced up from his corn flakes. "It can't be as bad as Skeeter's article," he said reasonably.

"Oh, no, it's not," Lily said. "That was the only one that made us sound crazy, anyway. The others are all very complimentary: 'resolute in the face of trials...braving the horrors of Azkaban...' et cetera, et cetera."

Sirius grinned. "I was rather brave, wasn't I?"

Lily threw the paper at him.

Remus emerged from Lily's room carrying Clara. "I think she's hungry, Lily," he said. Lily stood to take Clara, laughing slightly as Sirius pulled the paper out of his bowl of corn flakes.

"Pumpkin juice, Moony?" he offered, holding up the jug to his friend.


Augusta Longbottom staggered out of the fireplace in Professor Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore rose to his feet in alarm.

"Professor," she choked out. "He's not breathing." She held out the bundle of dirty blankets to him.

Dumbledore swept around the desk and took Neville from the old woman's shaking arms. "What happened?" he asked swiftly.

"We hadn't had much food," Augusta whispered. "We got some carrots...I know he wasn't supposed to eat much hard food, but it was all we had! He started...choking...and then he stopped..."

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and aimed it at the boy. "Anapneo," he said calmly. Neville's airway cleared and he gasped in a breath.

"Thank Merlin," Augusta whispered. She reached inside her tattered robes and pulled out a sheaf of dirty, crumbling parchment. "Their last will and testament," she said. "Take it."

Dumbledore frowned. "Augusta, what has happened over the last nine months?"

The old woman shook her head. "Now he's safe," she whispered hoarsely.

Then she collapsed on the floor, dead.


"Lily!" called a voice from the fireplace at Remus' house around midnight. "Remus! Sirius!"

From three different corners of the house, sounds of response were heard at the urgency in the voice. Lily, whose room was the closest to the living room, was the first to reach the fireplace.

"Professor," she greeted curtly, falling to her knees to speak to Dumbledore's head more easily. "What's happened?"

"Wait a moment, my dear, for your friends," Dumbledore said.

Within a minute, Remus and Sirius were also in front of the fireplace, clad in dressing gowns and slippers.

"There has been a development with the Longbottom Family," Dumbledore said.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked breathlessly. "I thought Augusta and Neville were on the run."

"They were," Dumbledore said. "Would you please come to my office immediately? I can discuss more in person."

"All of us?" Remus asked.

"Yes, Remus, all of you. Though, it might be a good idea to get a temporary sitter for Clara. I don't know how long this will take," Dumbledore said.

Sirius got up. "I'll Floo her over to the Weasleys', Lil," he offered.

Lily nodded. "We'll be right there, Professor."


Remus and Lily sat tensely in front of Dumbledore's desk, waiting anxiously.

"Sirius should be here any minute," Lily said for the fifth time, just to fill the heavy silence.

No one responded. Neville was in a corner on a blanket on the floor, playing happily with some blocks.

The flames of the fireplace turned green suddenly, and Sirius spun into view. He stepped neatly out of the fireplace and brushed the soot off his robes. "Sorry I'm late," he said briskly. "Molly and Arthur were in bed when I arrived."

"That's all right, Sirius," said Dumbledore. "Take a seat." He gestured to the open chair on Lily's left.

Sirius sat, and all three guests turned silent eyes to Dumbledore.

"Augusta Longbottom is dead," Dumbledore said simply. Ignoring the cries of shock from the listeners, he went on. "She arrived here shortly after eleven o'clock, Neville was in distress, I helped him, and then Augusta gave me this."

Dumbledore gestured to the dirty sheaf of parchment on his desk. He opened it gingerly.

"What is it?" Remus asked, leaning forward to get a better look.

"The Last Will and Testament of Alice and Frank Longbottom," Dumbledore said. He turned the page to them and pointed out an area. "This part talks about Neville. It says that, in the case of their deaths, Frank's mother, Augusta, should take custody. However, there is a clause that states in the case of her death, the next candidate would be—"

"—James and Lily Potter of Godric's Hollow," Lily finished, reading ahead. She was shaking slightly. Sirius reached out and took one of her hands.

"So that's it, then?" Sirius asked. "We just take Neville and Floo home?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "It's not quite that simple," he said. "I have a hunch—and my hunches are usually accurate—that the Ministry has been infiltrated by Voldemort. Specifically, the Magical Transportation department."

"So?" Sirius asked.

"So Voldemort knows that Neville Longbottom has been transported by the Floo Network into Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained. "As such, we must get him out, quickly and quietly, so that Voldemort does not have time to act."

"What do we have to do?" Lily asked in a business-like manner.

"I have ordered one of the school carriages up to the gates. I have warded the carriage with as much magical power as I can, and I have no fear that, with the three skilled wizards and witches he shall have to protect him, that once in the carriage and to your home, he will be safe. Your home is warded?"

"Of course," Remus said.

"Why can't we Apparate?" Sirius asked.

"Because," Lily answered for Dumbledore. "We can't Apparate off Hogwarts grounds."

Nobody said anything else.

"Time is of the essence," Dumbledore said.

Lily got up. She dropped to her knees in the corner where Neville was playing. "Neville, you've got to come with us now, okay? Come with Aunt Lily." Lily brushed the brown hair off Neville's face fondly.

"No now!" Neville pouted, brandishing his blocks at Lily. "I pwaying!"

Lily smiled weakly. "I know you're playing, baby, but we've got to go now. There will be lots of blocks at Uncle Moony's house, okay?"

Neville looked slightly swayed. He tipped his head at Lily. "'Kay," he said doubtfully. "Lots of blocks?"

"More than you could imagine," Lily answered.

Neville smiled happily. He held out his arms. "Me up!" he exclaimed.

Lily scooped him up and settled him on one hip. "You'll have somebody to play with at home, too," she said as she walked toward the exit of Dumbledore's office. "Her name is Clara. She'll have to grow up a little first, but pretty soon, you can teach her how to play with blocks."

"Me teach?" Neville asked curiously.

Lily hitched him up a little on her hip. "Of course," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "That's what older brothers do for their little sisters."

Neville giggled as Lily tickled his chin with her free hand. Remus and Sirius, following close behind Lily, shared a private smile.

Dumbledore also followed them down the halls and towards the exit. "Miss Randovski?" he said to a passing first year. "Please tell me that is not a Fanged Frisbee."

The girl quickly whipped the offending object out of sight. "It's not, sir," she said unconvincingly.

"Do not let me see it again," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "And it is past curfew; you would do well to get back to Ravenclaw Tower."

"Yes, sir," the girl said, and she took off down the hallway.

Dumbledore turned back to Remus, Sirius, and Lily, who were waiting patiently a little ways down the corridor. "I apologize," he said to them with a smile. "Sometimes I wonder why I even venture out of my study at all; I am nearly always side-tracked from my purpose."

Lily, Remus, and Sirius all assured Dumbledore that it was nothing, that there was plenty of time. Voldemort wouldn't be able to assemble an attack that quickly.

As they reached the Entrance Hall, they were again halted as Minerva McGonagall came towards them, dragging a flame-haired boy by the ear and shouting at him. It took them all a moment to realize when she started to address Dumbledore instead of the boy.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THIS BOY DID THIS EVENING?" she demanded of Dumbledore. When the headmaster raised an inquisitive eyebrow, she thundered, "CHARLES WEASLEY! TELL THE HEADMASTER WHAT YOU JUST DID!"

Charlie muttered something unintelligible.

"SPEAK UP!"

Charlie looked at his feet. "I put Bulbadox Powder in Maynard Yupely's...ya know..." he trailed off meaningfully, looking sheepish. "Sorry."

"SORRY! SORRY! YUPLEY'S NETHER REGIONS ARE COVERED IN BOILS AND YOU SAY SORRY? YOU THINK YOU'RE SORRY, NOW, BOY! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN SORRY! SORRY WILL COME AFTER A MONTH'S DETENTIONS, YOU HEAR?"

Sirius was trying his hardest not to laugh. "It's so much more fun when she's not shouting at you," he whispered to Remus.

Even Lily was trying hard to keep a straight face. "Professor," she said to Dumbledore. "You deal with the...ahem...boils. We'll get Neville home safely."

"Are you sure?" Dumbledore asked, leaving McGonagall to rant to no one but the small, cowering Weasley in front of her.

"Of course, sir," Lily said. She hugged Neville tighter. The boy had his arms tight around her neck. He was watching the proceedings with a certain interest, but seemed to be rapidly boring of the conversation as his eyes began to blink more slowly and more frequently.

Neville leaned into Lily's ear as they walked away from the continued shouting match. "I syeep now," he whispered, and put his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes.

"Okay, sweetie," Lily said quietly as they reached the front doors.

Joking and laughing quietly, the three friends and the newest addition to their family made their way across the grounds.

"Feels just like old times, huh, Moony?" Sirius said, looking to be in high spirits.

Remus smiled. "If only Prongs were here," he said.

"Lily's here, she's a Potter," Sirius argued. "You'll fill in for James, won't you, Lil?"

Lily glowered jokingly at him. "As if," she said. "Let's hurry up; Neville's getting heavier by the second."

The trio sped up. Neville seemed not to notice, still sleeping soundly on Lily's shoulder, making small suckling noises.

"Do you want me to take him?" Sirius offered as Remus grasped the wrought-iron handle of the front gate.

Lily snuggled the sleeping boy closer. "No, I'm fine."

Remus pulled open the gate. "Ladies first," he said gallantly. Lily smiled and walked through. She stopped abruptly, so abruptly that Sirius, behind her, nearly ran her over.

"What's up, Lil?" he asked.

Lily's hand twitched toward the back pocket of her jeans, where her wand resided. "I thought I saw something move, over there," she said quietly, indicating the trees along the path. "Let's just get in the carriage. Where did Dumbledore say it was supposed to be?"

"Right outside," Sirius said. He glanced around, squinting to see though the dim early dawn light. He lit his wand and walked toward the thick patch of trees in which Lily had seen motion.

Remus, still standing by the door, holding it open, made to let it go in order to follow Sirius.

Sirius stopped suddenly and whirled around. The pale glow of his wand illuminated his face, which was filled with an expression Lily had never seen on Sirius before, but she had no difficulty placing it. It had been on James' face when Voldemort had shown up at their cottage. It was complete and utter terror.

"Don't close that—!" Sirius shouted to Remus, but it was too late. The door swung shut and locked with a small click. In that same moment, a jet of bright orange light emerged from the trees and struck Sirius in the small of the back.

With a BANG, Sirius flew upwards and forwards towards the wall. With a sickening crunch, he hit it hard, headfirst and twenty feet up, and crumpled to the ground in a terribly still heap.

Remus was at Lily's side in a moment, wand drawn and at the ready. Without quite knowing how, Lily's wand was also in her hand. "Lumos!" she exclaimed, and flicked her wand to nonverbally send the orb of light toward the trees.

Her breath stopped in her chest. More than two dozen Death Eaters approached in masks and robes, wands drawn and pointed at the pair.

"Stupefy!" cried Remus in terror. "Stupefy!"

Answering curses flew back from the ranks of Death Eaters. Lily screamed, "Protego!" but Remus wasn't as quick. Lily's eyes widened as Remus was hit with a dozen curses at once. "Remus!" she shouted as he fell backward with a scream of pain.

Forgetting momentarily the crowd of Death Eaters, Lily fell to her knees beside him. He was unconscious—or was he. . . Lily shook her head. He couldn't be dead. Neither Remus nor Sirius was dead.

She got back to her feet and raised her wand, still clutching Neville. The boy was awake now, watching with wide, fear-filled eyes. "Wha happen?" he asked Lily, tightening his arms around her neck.

"Avada—" started one of the Death Eaters, stepping forward.

"No," said a calm, cold voice from behind the ranks. "You might hit the boy. I must be the one to finish the boy."

Lily's heart froze in her chest. She knew that voice. "Stand aside, you silly girl! Stand aside!" Memories of that night replayed in her head. "You," Lily whispered.

Voldemort laughed coldly. "Yes, me," he said. "Again. And you, again, standing between me and the person I want to kill. And again, a choice. Put the boy down."

Lily stared at him. She gathered up her courage. "I will not let you murder another child before my eyes," she said flatly.

"Don't be rash, Potter," Voldemort said coercively. "You aren't even related to the boy. I could hit you. And what about your one true love? Severus?"

Lily ground her teeth. "I'm not putting him down," she said resolutely.

"As you wish. Avada Kedavra!"

Lily was falling, falling, black was filling her vision. Something heavy landed on top of her.

And Lily Potter knew no more.


(A/N) Yes. I'm evil. But feel free to tell me how evil I am for leaving nasty nasty cliffhangers with a review! Thanks to all for reading and those who've reviewed. The response so far has been wonderful.