Overprotected

Chapter 9: Christmas Eve Raid

The next day was Christmas Eve, and Lily Evans was up as the sun was rising. She quickly made her way to her dormitory to change into a fresh set of robes. Before even the Head Master was up, Lily was once more outside of the protective wall so the castle. Sometime pulled her to the exact spot that she had been standing in the day before, and once more, Molly found her there.

Molly hadn't seen Lily on the couch when she had left her, she wasn't in her dormitory (as far as the seventh year Prefect could see – having knocked for five minutes), and she wouldn't be found in the Great Hall, so Molly turned to the only other place she'd be: outside. Sure enough, through the large windows in the Entrance Hall, Molly could see a bright spot of red against the blinding white snow. Deciding there was only one thing she could do, Molly opened the oak doors and also stepped out into the cold.

"Lily! Lily!" she called. "Lily, come inside."

"But Luke's not here yet." The younger girl didn't even flinch when she heard her name being called.

"He'll never find you out here, dear. You're better off in the Common Room. It's the first place he'll check."

"He'll go to Dumbledore's office first."

"Then why aren't you stalking there?" Molly had finally reached where Lily was standing and put her hand gently on the other girl's shoulder. Lily's cloak was soaked through, and it was beginning to become icy.

"He had to come past here."

"No, he doesn't. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to get into the castle. If the Headmaster's expecting him, he won't just be walking hip-deep through the snow."

"Well, you'll tell him where I am then, won't you, Molly?"

"Sure, Lily. Here, as long as you take – and eat – this." Molly handed her a stack of warm toast wrapped in a napkin.

"If you say so." Lily knew she probably wasn't going to eat; she wanted to see her brother too much. Any of the boys would have known that, and in a way, Molly may have too. However, it cheered Lily slightly to know that the place still felt like home even if none of her boys were there.

Molly turned to leave. "I'll tell him where to find you. Don't kill yourself."

However, Lily didn't answer. She just kept staring off into the distance in the direction of Hogsmeade.

It was nearing late afternoon when Luke even did arrive at Hogwarts. Molly had been out to see Lily a few more times since breakfast to try to convince the younger girl to come inside. "Luke probably won't even come this way," she had said every time, and she was right. Luke got into the castle without anyone but Professor McGonagall seeing him. She just looked at him gravely and told him that the Headmaster was expecting him.

Even after being away for four years, Luke still remembered the way to the Head Master's office (actually, he was pretty sure he could still find any part of the castle). The stone gargoyle still looked exactly the same, and it swung open to the same password that Luke had used on his first visit. He walked down a flight of stairs and rapped lightly on the double doors that led into the inner office. "Come in" was the brief reply. Luke stepped inside to find the Head Master standing behind his desk.

"Hello, Luke," Albus Dumbledore greeted with less energy than usual.

"Hello, Professor."

"Now, none of that. You're not in school anymore, Luke. I'm not your teacher or your Headmaster. Please, won't you sit down?"

Luke came over to the desk and sat, as the older man. Most of the portraits that had been sleeping previously were woken up. They didn't mind though – because of the occasion – and moved in closer to hear.

"We can't express to you our sorrow, Luke, over what happened. The news just arrived, and it's been kept quiet here. Lily doesn't know yet, as you requested."

"Thank you." Luke looked worn out, and he sounded tired. "I just don't want her to hear it from an owl. Especially when there's no one here. I assume James, Sirus, Remus, and Peter went home for the holidays."

"Yes, I believe they did. How is she going to take the news?"

Luke sighted and ran his hand down his face. "I'm not sure. They didn't exactly have the best relationship." He handed the Headmaster the last letter Lily had written him. Albus read it quickly then handed it back. "You see? I'm not really sure what she'll do. That's one of the reasons I wanted to tell her; I want to be there when she hears."

"And how's Petunia?"

"She at our Aunt and Uncle's house right now. I have custody over her, but if she came to me, she'd be taken out of school and away from all her friends. I don't think she needs the change of environment right now. Besides, after what happened, and how it happened, I'm not her favorite person."

"Yes, I suppose one can only expect that."

"Cant I go find my sister, now?"

"Yes, of course, Luke. We'll all be here for anything."

"Thank you." Luke got up, and just as he was making his way to the door Albus called out once more.

"Don't do anything rash, Luke. Revenge seems like it will lessen the pain, but you still have a family to care for."

Still with his back turned, Luke nodded and then exited the office. His feet automatically took him to his old home in the Gryffindor Tower, and that's when he realized that he didn't know the password. In his grief and his haste to see Lily, he had forgotten to ask the Head Master. Luckily, he saw Arthur Weasley walking down the corridor at that very moment.

"Hey! Hey, Arthur!" Luke called.

Arthur stopped walking rubbed his eyes and then rushed over.

"Luke," he said with disbelief. "Luke, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see Lily. Dumbledore said I could drop by for a bit so I decided to. Only, I forgot to ask him for the password."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Arthur told the Fat Lady the password and they both climbed inside. Luke finally felt like he was home. "Molly's been waiting for you all day."

"Why?"

"I don't know. There she is, there. I'm sure she'll tell you herself when she notices us."

At that moment, upon hearing voices, Molly did look up. She got up and met the two boys (now pretty much men) half way across the room.

"Hello, Molly," Luke greeted as Arthur kissed her.

"Hey, Arthur, hello, Luke. You sister's been waiting for you for the last two days. She's right outside the Entrance Hall. You can see her hair clearly against the snow. I told her to wait in here, but she wouldn't listen."

Luke looked slightly alarmed. "Thanks, Molly," he called as he rushed out of the Common Room. He practically ran down to the Entrance Hall, thoughts running crazily through his head with him.

Lily. Why, Lily? Why couldn't you have just waited inside, in front of the fire, with a good book like anyone else would have? If you get sick…I'm not spending the whole time I'm here in the Hospital Wing.

When he got to the Entrance Hall, he threw the doors wide open, and sure enough, he saw the red of Lily's hair visibly against the snow. He kept running toward her.

"Lily!" he called without breaking his stride. "Lily!"

She flinched but didn't turn, perhaps thinking it was a figment of her imagination. Luke just kept on running and shouting until he reached where she was standing.

"Lily," he tried once more. "Bean, come on."

"Luke!" she cried, suddenly turning and wrapping her arms around him. He held her tight. "Oh, Luke. I was so afraid that it wasn't you. I've been waiting for you for forever, and…and you weren't coming…"

"Shh, Lily. It's okay. I'm here now. Sweet Merlin, Bean, you're frozen! Let's go back to the castle."

Lily tried to take a step but nearly collapsed into Luke's arms. He gently scooped her up and carried her all the way to the castle and right into the Gryffindor Tower. Molly and Arthur were by this time gone, and the Common Room was empty. Luke set Lily down, and her feet automatically took her to the chairs she always sat in with James, Sirus, Remus, and Peter. She took a seat and looked at Luke expectantly. He followed her over but stayed standing.

"So how was the raid?" she asked, matter-of-fact-ly, like it was not big deal.

"You okay, Bean? Warmer now?" he asked, trying to delay his response.

However, Lily would not be sidetracked. "How was the raid?" she asked again.

Luke took a deep breath as he prepared himself for the words that had to come. "Lily. Lily, it's Mum and Dad… It was in our neighborhood. They…well, they didn't make it."

"But how was the raid? Did we loose anyone? Were any of the Death Eaters there?"

"Lily! Didn't you hear me? Mum and Dad are gone! They're dead, Lily!" He had said it for the first time, and the weight was too much. He slumped over into the chair right across from Lily. "Petunia's fine, though. I was able to convince her to stay away, but Mum and Dad, they just wouldn't leave. I told them to go away for Christmas, but they insisted on staying home. They wouldn't let me save them."

Lily watched her brother break down in front of her eyes, and she suddenly felt drained. The world had come crashing down upon her, and she couldn't take it alone. Silently, she crawled into the chair next to Luke and buried her face in his shoulder. He put his arms around her and pulled her close as if his brotherly love could protect her from the world.

"I'm sorry, Luke," she murmured softly, crying steadily while he tried to support her.

"No, no."

No one knows how long they stayed there. It's one of those moments where time has no measurable affect, and they took advantage, just a brother and a sister trying their best to help the other deal with the fact that they no longer had parents. Luke stared off into the fire while Lily just cried. However, soon enough, her sobs grew quieter and her breathing fell back to a regular rate. She was asleep, and Luke realized it too.

"Come on, Lily," he said while picking her up. "Time for bed. Where's your dorm?"

She pointed to the Boy's Dormitory, to the door that clearly read "Fifth Years." Luke lifted his eyebrows in question but didn't say anything. Instead he forced his feet to travel the familiar path, and he entered the room. Looking around, he saw all of the signs that four boys lived in the room and asked:

"This isn't your room, is it?"

She shook her head and pointed to the door that led to her own sleeping area.

"But you're not going to sleep in there tonight, are you?" He knew her too well.

She shook her head "no", and Luke put her into the bed she pointed to. Forgetting that she wasn't five anymore, he tucked her in and kissed her gently on the top of the head like each of their parents used to do. As for himself, Luke laid down in the bed right next to where Lily lay, figuring the owner wouldn't mind if it was just for a couple of nights. That bed was Sirus'.

As soon as Lily's head hit the pillow, she took and a deep breathe and let the familiar smell wash over her. The last of her tears dried, and she felt better than she had all day. The odor wrapped around her like comforting arms, and she was able to finally rest. She had chosen James' bed.