A/N: Sorry this took so long! Hope the wait was worth it?

Chapter 10

Forever

Flashes from her dream returned as James gazed at her intently from the fireplace. But the cold feeling that crept up Lily's spine dissipated as his mouth melted into a half-smile, and he moved slowly towards her, flinching with every move.

"What happened to you?" She questioned kindly, searching his eyes.

James blushed and lowered his eyes. "Well, you see—I kind of—" He took a deep breath and jutted his chest out a bit, a defiant look in his eye. "It looks worse than it is. But when I saw those Slytherins, I knew there would be trouble. So I tried to sneak up behind them—"

"—And managed to get caught in a pack of hysterical girls," Sirius snorted with laughter as he made his way towards them from across the Common Room.

"Padfoot, do you mind? That is not what happened."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, that is not all that happened. They only scratched me up a bit. But what I was saying is that I stumbled straight into your friend, Snivellus. He wasn't too pleased. While the rest of his Death Eater friends gawked up at the Death Mark, he cursed me from behind…" James winced as he moved the bandage on his arm.

Lily gasped. A gaping wound, almost s-shaped still shone crimson against the smooth skin of his arm.

"You should have seen the other bloke," James grinned. "I think he was aiming for my back, but missed. Figures. Anyway, I lost it. Got rid of his wand and went after him the old-fashioned way. He got me in the eye, but I think I knocked him out with one to the jaw."

Lily was stunned that Snape would use Sectumsempra on James without provocation. Something told her that James wasn't being completely truthful, but she let it slide for now. There were other things to worry about.

"What was that about anyway?" Sirius mused. "Sort of taking it to the next level, aren't they?"

"They're suicidal to do that at Hogwarts," James declared, slumping into a chair.

"I don't think they really had a choice," Lily joined in. "Did you hear Regulus' voice? It wasn't him; I don't think he had control of his actions." She paused, turning to look out the window. Rain was falling against the windowpane, the grey clouds in the sky hiding any sign of the abnormal. She could feel it in the air; that feeling that something big was coming, that this was only the beginning and it was only going to get worse. He was out there.

"Voldemort," she whispered

A warm hand squeezed her shoulder. "Lily, don't worry too much about this. It's just a stupid prank," James tried to hide the worry coating his own voice.

Lily's green eyes flashed. "Don't give me that, Potter. You know what's happening better that I do. He's coming, isn't he? And no one's doing anything about it. Who's going to protect us Mudbloods when he does? Who will look out for our families?" She challenged him fiercely, daring him to look away, to contradict her.

Surprisingly, he held her gaze. In a low voice that Lily could only hear, he confidently answered her questions.

"I will."

The rest of the holiday passed without incident. The majority of Slytherins had taken refuge in their snow-covered mansions, and that was just fine with the rest of Hogwarts. Lily received a box of chocolates from Honeydukes from Remus, a poorly drawn card from Peter, and a rather ugly Christmas jumper that spontaneously burst into carols from an embarrassed Sirius.

Still, Lily treasured the thought.

As the holidays came to a close, Lily decided to take on the pile of homework awaiting her. One evening, sitting at a table in the Common Room, surrounded by books about werewolves, ancient runes, and the ethics on transforming a person into a toad, Lily gasped as a little red box tied with a green and gold bow floated towards her from the portrait hole. As the glittering box landed lightly on the table in front of her it began singing a rather dramatic version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Lily sat, staring as the box sprouted little legs and proceeded to do back flips across the table. Finally, on its last quavering note, it launched itself at her face. Lily ducked in panic, and it slammed into the wall behind her and onto the floor, quivering occasionally.

Convinced that it would not attack her again, Lily knelt beside it and smiled. Whoever had sent this had certainly put a lot of effort into it. Ripping the wrapping paper back, she found a blue velvet box that contained a gold locket on a thin chain. As she opened it, the tiniest phoenix popped its head up, chirping lightly as it unfolded its wings.

"Oh, you little thing," she cooed, as the figurine flew in circles around the locket. She picked up the locket and the phoenix nestled inside it once more, leaving a trail of gold dust in his wake. She clasped it carefully around her neck, smiling, as the warmth of the metal against her skin seemed to spread, enfolding her in an invisible embrace.

Lily searched everywhere for James, finding him, finally, flying high above the Quidditch pitch, Sirius tailing him closely as he headed to score in one of the golden rings framing the field.

The sun shining on her face, Lily had to smile as Remus dived for the quaffle and was sent spiraling on his broomstick as an over-eager Peter tried to block him. She walked slowly towards one of the stands and made her way to the wooden stairs to climb to the top. A cold wind blew off the lake, causing her to wrap her wool coat more tightly around her. Her Gryffindor scarf blew away ahead of her, and Lily hurried to catch up with it as it threatened to blow over the edge of the stair railing. Reaching for its frayed eyes, she heard it; a soft chuckle that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Lily turned slowly, one hand holding her scarf too tightly and the other instinctively reaching for the wand inside her robes.

His face was different; still thin, still sharp in the corners, but his dark blue eyes were fierce in a different way, his mouth wasn't twisted into his usual menacing scowl. Lily's hand stopped reaching for her wand as he smiled, almost kindly.

"Looking for someone?" he inquired in a whisper. His eyes lingered for a moment on the gold locket around her neck.

Lily looked at him curiously. "I could ask you that same thing."

"I come here to think," he answered bluntly.

"New hobby?" Lily retorted.

His eyes flashed in the stream of sunlight that found its way through the railing. And then, most unexpectedly, he laughed, a real laugh, and combed his fingers through his silky black hair in a manner reminiscent of James. "All right, Evans," he said softly. "I deserve that."

Lily had no idea what was happening. Was this still the same boy who had been possessed by You-Know-Who? Who had conjured the Dark Mark in front of Dumbledore?

Regulus Black continued to watch her speculation calmly; his glance stealing occasionally to the gold heart nestled on her collarbone. "Present?" he asked, motioning to it.

Lily instinctively reached up to clasp the locket in her hand. "Yes," she answered cautiously. "It's from a friend."

Regulus frowned. "Him?" he nodded to the Quidditch field, where James and his friends were still zooming around.

Lily nodded, hesitantly. Well, she wasn't quite sure yet. There had been no card. But who else could it be? Regulus' attention returned to observing her, as if he could read her thoughts. He stepped towards her slowly, his gaze never leaving hers. As the sun set on the horizon, more golden light flooded the narrow staircase. But as he neared, the locket seemed to glow with a light of its own, heat radiating against her skin.

"You," Lily whispered. Letting the locket fall from her fingers as if it had burned her, Lily tried to hide her confusion and the strange urge to rip the locket from her neck and drop it into the lake. Regulus noticed this, and his face darkened against the bright sunlight.

"Lily, I've tried to explain, to tell you—"

She backed away slowly. Inside the pocket of her robes, she was grasping her wand with white knuckles. Her other reached up the locket and unclasped it.

"No!" Regulus hissed, his face now desperate. "Please, just listen. Don't shut me out. Not yet."

"So what, Regulus? Is it cursed? Does the phoenix turn into a snake at night? Would it poison me in my sleep? What? Not brave enough to kill a Mudblood in person?" Lily raged against the thoughts she had considered, that he was normal, that he was good. How could she have been so thick to accept a gift without knowing whom it was from?

"Listen," he hissed, more fiercely this time, his wand pointing at her. "Who do you think you are to assume you know everything about me? I bet my brother has filled your pretty little head with stories about his evil little brother, hasn't he?"

Lily remained silent, slowly taking her own wand out of her pocket. But she couldn't get anything past Regulus. He noticed her motion, and he seemed to realize what he was doing. He lowered his wand, and once again met Lily's gaze. "I though you of all people would understand the danger of labels," he continued. "You always try to see the best in Snape. Why can't you see that I need you to give me the same benefit of the doubt?"

Lily's temper flared. How dare he guilt-trip her? "I don't owe you anything, Regulus. You've given me no reason to give you any benefit. Remember that time on the train? What about this summer? A week ago? Do you have a twin, I don't know about? Because that would explain a lot." She made to descend the wooden stairs back to the field, but he grabbed her wrist almost by reflex. Lily whipped her wand out and pressed in against his neck. "How do I even know this is really you? Where is your master, Regulus? Is he listening in?"

He looked slowly from her wand, back to her face, and let go of her arm. "You need to be careful who you trust," he declared, his features more serious than Lily had ever seen them. "Just because Potter and my brother are blind doesn't mean you have to be."

Lily turned her back on him and made her way down the stairs, hearing his light footsteps behind her.

"He will betray you," Regulus muttered, as if commenting on the weather.

Lily scoffed. "Who?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wormtail," Regulus hissed.

Lily gaped at him. "How do you know that name?"

Regulus ignored her question. "Whether he's acting of his own accord, I don't know. But all the same, Lily, just don't trust him. Sirius already dismissed my warning as an attempt to split the dream team…" he paused. "Is that what you think?"

Lily turned to look at him, squinting against the bright sunlight. A genuine worry played across his face, as his dark blue eyes, unusually clear and bright, seemed to implore her to believe his incredible words. She didn't respond, and instead started walking towards the opposite end of the field, where James, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter were talking excitedly.

As she walked away, she heard him whisper her name, his voice too close, as if his mouth were speaking in her ear. At the same moment she realized she was still holding the locket. Her fingers stroked the smooth metal, and suddenly, as if written by a tiny, invisible quill, a word appeared, etched into the golden surface of the heart: Forever.

The one word glinted even though the sun was well below the horizon. Regulus' voice whispered again, "I would never hurt you, Lily."

She turned, expecting to see him smirking at her, making fun of her. But, like the sun, he was gone.