Chapter Nine: Christmas at War

Lily had arrived too early. She had known when she left the house for Diagon Alley that she would be much too early, but after more than a week at home on holiday, she'd been anxious to get away from Petunia. And so, with that nagging voice in her ear, she had donned her winter coat and new hat, along with her too-big borrowed gloves, and she'd left. The apothecary would not open for at least forty five minutes, but the morning was crisp and beautiful and Lily didn't mind the wait. Across the street from Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, she chose a rusty old bench underneath the overhang of a very large, snoozing Flutterby bush.

The Christmas decorations were still hung throughout Diagon Alley, but they were looking a bit tired, as though more than ready for the holiday season to be packed away. There wasn't yet much activity to watch, so Lily reached into her bag and pulled out a battered magazine. She opened up to the dog eared article that Georgina had recommended: Which Wizard for Which Witch – How to know if your wizard is the magical one for you! It was complete with a quiz which indicated that Georgina's crush on Elmer Parsons was sure to lead her to lifelong bliss. Lily smiled to herself, thinking that Georgina would praise a pile of Glumbumble dung if it encouraged her to fancy Elmer.

Someone sat beside her, and Lily hurried to fold the article shut, hoping they hadn't seen what she was reading. Lily was surprised when she looked up to find that it was James Potter. He didn't look remotely interested in her magazine. He looked…vulnerable. More so than Lily had ever seen him.

James was gazing off into space, or maybe he was watching that Pride of Portee banner flapping in front of the Quidditch shop. Either way, he seemed very intent on it.

"I didn't sleep last night," he told her. "I spent most of the night in the Leaky Cauldron, but I walked for a while in front of the shops. Did you know that the junk shop is open twenty four hours a day? I didn't know that." He made a face, like he just couldn't believe it. "But a few minutes ago I came around the corner, by Eeylops, and I saw you sitting over here, pretty as a picture, and I thought, 'I must be hallucinating. I've been awake too long.' And then I thought, 'Well, sweet Merlin – if I'm hallucinating I may as well go over and talk to her.' And so here I am." He looked down at her, and his mouth curved into the smallest little grin.

Lily wasn't sure whether she ought to be worried about him, or laugh at him. Perhaps a little of both was in order. She could only look at him though, at his brown leather coat and at his messy hair sticking out at odd angles from under his hat, and at his red eyes, and the general openness of his face - an openness which hadn't been present in several weeks. It was like he was so tired that he had just stopped trying to pretend that everything was okay. Like he didn't care who saw that he was hurting.

"Is this normal for you?" he asked. "Reading in public places at early hours in the middle of winter?"

She glanced down at her magazine and shoved it into her bag. "I'm waiting for the apothecary to open up. I have to see how much Christmas money I've got left after I buy some supplies I need."

"Potions supplies with Christmas money?" James gave her a bemused look. "That doesn't seem right."

"I'll use the rest to get some new gloves."

"What's wrong with those you're wearing?"

"Nothing at all except they aren't mine," she said. "I really like them, though. I'd shrink them to fit if I thought Sirius would let me keep them."

"Sirius wouldn't care," he told her. "They aren't his."

Lily frowned with confusion.

"They were mine." He drew a bare hand out of his coat pocket to prove it. Mortified, Lily gasped and started to pull them off, but James stopped her, resting his hand over hers in her lap. "I want you to keep them." She tried to argue but he wouldn't listen. "They never looked good with this coat anyway," he told her, and his eyes crinkled. The coat and the gloves were clearly a matched set.

As cold as it was, Lily's face heated up. She was embarrassed by the whole incident, and her blushing increased as James didn't remove his hand from hers. He didn't appear to notice.

The last week or so of school, since her visit to the boys' dormitory, James had made a clear effort not to hide away so much. He still hadn't talked to her a great deal, but Lily often found James sitting near her in the Great Hall or in the Common room, and sometimes walking beside her between classes when Richard wasn't around. She was proud of him for trying.

"Is there anyplace where, when you go there," he said, "you just feel wrapped up in complex layers of memories?" He was staring off into space again. "This place is like that for me. I keep expecting to see my mother coming out of a shop, or my father talking to some wizard on the corner and calling out to me to find out where I've been. Every stone has a memory attached." He took a slow, deep breath and exhaled a puff of steam in the chilly air. "We used to come here all the time, and my dad just couldn't resist stopping by his old office - right there between the Quality Quidditch Supplies and Slug and Jiggers' Apothecary."

Lily saw a painted sign in the window. Bowman and Potter, Legal services for Wizard businesses.

"They kept his name on the sign after all these years," James said. "I kept expecting to come by one day and see they'd changed it, but they never did. I guess I never told you, my dad went into business with his best friend after they finished Hogwarts – Mycroft Bowman. From what I hear, they were a first class riot." He smiled a bit at the memory and let his eyes follow after an aged wizard hobbling down the opposite side of the road. Lily watched the man as well – he looked so tired. "After Mycroft died, his son took over his share of the business. My dad always said that he only retired himself because Dick Bowman annoyed the hell out of him, but I think he just didn't have the heart for it anymore. Still, Dad couldn't resist stopping by the office every time we came here."

James gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and Lily turned her palm up, lacing her fingers with his.

His words were so soft that Lily could only just hear him. "I wish I could go back and do so many things over." His voice cracked a little, but he continued. "I keep replaying in my mind all of the times that I fought them, or avoided them so that I could be with my friends. Do you have any idea how often I found fake excuses for why I couldn't spend time with them?" His face was contorted with internal pain.

Lily stroked the back of his hand. "My mother had a temper like mine," she told him. "Can you imagine the two of us in the same house? I wish I could forget all of the horrible arguments we had over things I can't even remember now. Those shouting matches still haunt me at times. But it doesn't help to remember that. I've got to treasure up the good things, like how she always forgave me afterwards."

James looked at her for a moment. "I can't remember the last time you were in a high temper."

She shrugged. "I guess I learned something."

"And I thought it was just that I didn't annoy you so much."

"Maybe that, too."

They smirked at each other and Lily laughed a little; she felt really joyful that he had chosen to confide so much in her. It was good for both of them.

Without warning, James leapt from his seat and dragged Lily by the hand deep into the middle of the Flutterby bush behind them. He held her close against his chest while he drew a cluster of quivering branches in front of them.

"James, what are you – "

"Shh!" James was straining to see something across the street. Lily tried to look around his shoulder, but couldn't make anything out through the leaves.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

"I saw something through the window of the apothecary. It looked like people wearing black masks over their heads. That's what Death Eaters wear."

Lily paled somewhat. "What should we do?"

"I'm going to get a closer look."

"Are you crazy?"

James let go of Lily and reached up into his coat, drawing out a tightly rolled lump of silvery grey fabric. He unfurled it and draped it over his shoulders. Lily gasped when she saw what it was – an Invisibility cloak. She had never seen one in person.

"I'm going with you," Lily said.

"You're staying here."

"Don't be stupid. That can hide both of us, and you'll need help if you're going to do anything but look at them."

"Lily –"

But she had already taken hold of the cloak and wrapped it around both of them, a determined look on her face.

"Fine, but stay close so your feet don't stick out, and you have to follow my instructions. This is dangerous."

Emerging from the bush, they hurried over to the apothecary and bent to look into the window. Sure enough, three Death Eaters stood inside, wands drawn on poor Mr. Jiggers, the shopkeeper. He looked ready to faint.

"We've got to help him."

"That big one is watching the door. Come this way." James led her along the side of the building to a very narrow back door. The doorstep was broken, and it had the distinct look of a door never used. James reached for the handle, but Lily stopped him.

"Look at those hinges," she whispered. "They're all rusted out. Won't they make a racket?"

James slipped his arm out of the cloak and flicked his wand. A small shower of oil sprayed out of the tip and all over the hinges.

Lily pointed her wand at the hinges as well. A Silencing charm would be good insurance. "Quietus Lamnia," she whispered.

James grinned at her with appreciation and eased the door open. One of the hinges came off, but it didn't make a sound. They crept inside and across a storage room that was cluttered with bunches of feathers and barrels of slimy creature parts. Urgent voices could be heard in the shop.

"Take a look," a very deep voice said. "Make sure it's the right stuff." A chill tingled down Lily's back as she recognised that deep voice from Snape's conversation in the Prefects lounge.

She and James inched into the shop. James held Lily close against him, and she craned her neck to look around a mould-covered barrel filled with dead hedgehogs. A large Death Eater stood lookout by the door. Another, the speaker, held Mr. Jiggers at wand point.

The third Death Eater was much smaller than the others; he stood at the counter peering into a gold box. "I need the handling documents," he said, and snapped the box shut.

Beside her, Lily could feel James stiffen when the third Death Eater had spoken. She knew the voice as well, and swallowed a groan. Without a doubt, it was Severus Snape.

"You heard him!" the deep voice shouted. "Get the papers."

Mr. Jiggers fumbled through a rusty file cabinet, casting nervous glances at the wand held to his neck. "Kappa, kappa heart, kappa liver, here it is…" He finally drew out a short parchment and passed it to Snape, who read it, nodded, and slipped it into his pocket.

"It looks authentic." Snape slid the gold box from the counter and the weight of it pulled his arms almost to the floor. Hitching it against his chest, he stood upright.

Lily shoved James back into the storage room and pulled his head down, whispering in the softest voice she could manage. "Snape won't Apparate with that. We have to block the exit."

He drew even closer and placed his lips against her ear. "We'll seal it from out front to catch them by surprise and buy some time." Lily's senses reeled at his nearness, at his warmth and the rich scent of cigars emanating from his shirt collar. She inhaled a deep breath, and then bit her lip – this was no time for wayward hormones.

James tried to draw her toward the back door with him, but Lily resisted. Someone needed to stay put to help Mr. Jiggers. What followed was a short, mostly silent, argument between them that ended with James leaving Lily sulking outside the back door of the apothecary with the Invisibility cloak. He was going to sneak around to the front and seal the door before going for help, and he wanted her to stay hidden. Lily didn't like the arrangement at all.

As soon as he was out of sight, Lily hurried back into the shop only to discover that Mr. Jiggers was in the midst of a pitiful plea for mercy.

"I won't tell a soul! Please don't hurt me. My lips are sealed!"

"Oh, I know that," said the deep voice. "Consider this a bit of insurance. Crucio!"

Lily thought she was going to vomit. The sight of the poor man writhing and screaming was more than she could stand. She crouched to the floor and, from underneath the edge of the cloak, she aimed her wand at a jar above the head of the deep-voiced man. Success! The jar exploded and twitching Billywig larvae cascaded over the top of his head and shoulders. Mr. Jiggers' screams stopped and were replaced by the Death Eater's shouts of agitation. The big Death Eater tried to open the front door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Someone's coming," he said. "It's a trap! Let's move."

"Back to the inn, now," the deep voice said. "Let's go."

"I'm not Apparating," Snape said. "It'll ruin the liver."

"Floo, then! Be quick!"

The two Death Eaters Disapparated on the spot, leaving Snape behind. He ran to the fireplace and sifted through the assorted junk on the mantle. While he searched for the Floo powder, Lily doused the flames with a jet of water from her wand. Snape rounded on her, firing a blind curse that just missed her and burst apart a crate to her left. His eyes darted about the room before he ran for the back door. Lily sent a trip jinx his way, but he saw the sparks and dodged it.

By the time she could fire off another spell, he had performed an excellent Shield charm and was out the back door. Lily barged out the door after him and sprinted down the side of the building. By the time she got to the front of the store, Snape was running at top speed down Diagon Alley.

"James!" Lily shouted. She pulled the cloak off her head and shouted again.

James hurried over from the front door and Lily pointed down the road. "Snape got away with the box. I couldn't stop him." And with that, James took off after him. "Wait, James! I didn't mean that you should…" But he paid her no heed. Lily yanked the cloak off of her shoulders and groaned, torn as to what she should do. That short sprint had left her out of breath already, and Mr. Jiggers needed help inside. She would have to count on James to watch out for himself for the moment. Lily turned and jogged back into the shop through the rear.

Mr. Jiggers had fallen between the counter and his file cabinet, and except for the shallow rise and fall of his chest, he wasn't moving.

"Ennervate," Lily said, but the spell had no visible effect. Lily swore under her breath.

The front door creaked open and Lily spun around, wand ready. A middle-aged man stood there, holding his wand and scowling. "What's going on here?" he demanded.

Lily released the breath she was holding. It was Dick Bowman, Richard's father. She lowered her wand.

"Lily Evans? Is that you?" Mr. Bowman hurried towards her. "James Potter just stuck his head in my office and called for help over here." As he came closer, he caught sight of the injured man on the floor. "Arsenius!" He knelt by Mr. Jiggers and tried to bring him around.

"It was Death Eaters," Lily told him. Her blood was racing and her head was starting to feel dizzy. She leaned against the counter. "They stole something, and then they cursed him. I couldn't stop it." Lily rubbed her face.

More wizards began to file into the shop, drawn by the commotion.

"We've got to get this man to the hospital," Mr. Bowman announced. "Brackenbury! Give me a hand with him."

"Better take this girl here, too, Dick," said a wrinkled little witch standing at Lily's elbow. "She's got a nasty gash on her arm."

Lily wondered who she was talking about until the witch took her by the arm. Looking down, Lily saw the blood trickling down her sleeve. The room began to spin. Snape must have been a luckier shot than she'd realised.

"Has anybody seen James?" Lily asked. "He ran off after…after that Death Eater."

"He did what?" said Mr. Bowman, startled.

"He chased after him. Down Diagon Alley. I'm really worried about him."

Mr. Bowman began shouting orders to the onlookers. "McVicar, help Brackenbury get these two off to St. Mungo's. Rice, alert the Aurors that there's been an attack and that a Death Eater may still be loose in Diagon Alley. Tell them that James Potter is missing as well. Hurry! Come with me, Hardwicke. We're going to see if we can't track the boy down."

Lily felt herself pressed towards the fire – someone had started it up again – but she wasn't seeing too well. The next thing that Lily knew, she was looking at a white tiled ceiling and the grim face of a Mediwitch leaning over her. Her nametag read, "Fiona." Lily blinked a few times in an attempt to gain her bearings.

"It's about time you came around."

Author's Note: New setting, new attitude from James (what's up with him?), new action and plot development. Lots of stuff to talk about - please do! Tell me what you think. I'll answer questions on my livejournal - link from my author page. Thanks so much for reading!