Chapter 12 - Lily's Secret Chamber

One week, they tried to sneak into the Transfiguration classroom, and got caught by Hermione who demanded to know what they were doing there; another week, and it was the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom - and boy, was that a bad idea. They decided to stay away from classrooms at that point and settled on the seventh floor corridor, but it still didn't help matters, because they kept on running into Lily there for some reason.

James couldn't help but start feeling some sympathy for Al and his months of meeting Scorpius in secret.

"At least no one thinks we're trying to get away to fight," Colleen said with a wicked grin.

They weren't doing what everyone thought they were doing, of course. Not that James would have minded, but they had more important things on their minds - namely, the Disillusionment charm. It was just the two of them - Lorcan and Lysander, thoroughly shaken by the Death Eaters' escape, changed their minds about skiving off to Hogsmeade. "It's too dangerous!" Lorcan insisted, and for once, Lysander was on his more cautious brother's side.

Colleen said one evening that she thought she and James saw these things differently, because of their fathers. He wasn't sure he agreed, but he was sure that he wanted to be able to get out of the castle every once in a while.

So here they were, more than a month after the beginning of term and into their attempts to master the charm, and they were still getting nowhere.

Colleen now looked at James critically. "Let's try this one more time," she said.

"What's the point?" he moaned. "It's useless. It's too much for us. Dominique was right. We should concentrate on O.W.L charms."

Colleen raised an eyebrow. "That's not like you, giving up," she said.

"Yeah, but I'm hungry and tired and I've had bloody enough of this rubbish. It's obviously not going to work, and we still have a chance to make dinner."

Colleen didn't seem disheartened; if anything, she looked even more amused. "Well, we could," she said reasonably, "and then stay tomorrow in the castle and try to have a Valentine's Day date with Lorcan and Lysander, or we could try this one more time and maybe actually manage to get out of the castle on our own."

"Fine, fine," he muttered. "That's blackmail, just so you know."

"A-ha," she said, and cast the spell.

He didn't realise what was happening at first. He thought Peeves must have found them, and spilt cold water on his head. He could feel it - something cold and wet trickling from his head and down his neck. "Aargh!" he said and looked up to find Peeves.

The poltergeist wasn't there.

He raised his wand, to cast some spell that would force Peeves to reveal himself, when he noticed that his hand was transparent.Only then did he look at Colleen, and saw her pupils wide in surprise.

She did it.

He whistled. "You are amazing," he said. "Truly, completely - amazing!"

"It's like..." she looked at him, then blinked. When she moved her head this way and that, he could see that actually, she wasn't looking at him at all. She was only looking in his direction. She shook her head as if trying to shake off a spell or a fly. "It's like... I can see you. But at the same time - I can't! I know you're there. But if I didn't know I don't think I'd be able to see you at all. Even now, all I see is like - like a contour. This is so weird." She shook her head again. "Now I just need to figure out the counter curse."

"What? You don't know how to counter it?"

"Well - I read about it - I know how it's done in theory - but this is the first time we've succeeded! How was I supposed to practice it before I managed to Disillusion you?"

She had a point, James had to admit, and still, he felt himself starting to panic. What if he was stuck? What if she won't manage the counter curse? How would he explain it to the teachers - Professor Longbottom was bound to ask why he was trying this kind of magic, and Dad...

Dad! He was so deep in thoughts that he didn't realise they weren't alone anymore. "Hi, Colleen," Dad said. He didn't say anything to James, and despite himself, James found himself smiling. The charm really was working.

"Hi, Professor Potter," Colleen said, half-horrified, but, as James could see, also a bit amused.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just about to go to the common room," she answered airily.

Dad gave her a strange look. "Isn't the Ravenclaw common room on the other side of the castle?" he asked.

"The other side of the...? Yes, of course, but I need to give something to - to get something from James," she corrected herself hurriedly when she realised she had nothing in her hands she could claim to give him.

"Alright," Dad said, and if he suspected something, he said nothing, but continued on his way.

As soon as he disappeared from sight, James started talking excitedly, all worry forgotten. "Did you see that? Did you see how he didn't even notice I was standing there?"

"You don't sound worried anymore about the counter curse," Colleen said.

"That's 'cause I'm sure you'll be brilliant with it as usual. Come on, give it a go," he urged her, and she tried, despite her obvious doubts. She succeeded in the third attempt, just as James was starting to get worried again. He felt again the feeling of water going down his collar - but this time it felt warm, not cold. And then, he could see his hand again.

"Excellent," he said. The next hours passed with James finally mastering the charm, and then the two of them started planning what they would do tomorrow. But before they could go on their date, they had to get through the entire day. And that turned out much harder than they had imagined.

As it turned out, Colleen's brother Michael and Roxanne had started dating. When morning came, it became obvious it would be impossible to walk the corridors that led from the Gryffindor common room anywhere near Ravenclaw tower without sneezing. James wasn't sure what Michael Thomas considered to be romantic, but he couldn't see how Roxanne would date him much longer if it involved covering the walls of Hogwarts with flowers.

If James thought the decorations had done all the damage they could, he was proven to be mistaken very, very loudly over breakfast, when Priyanka Finnigan and Marcus Macmillan got into a huge - and very loud - fight. He wasn't quite sure how Michael's decorations figured into the equation, but they came up in the shouting match quite often. The shouting match itself continued until Professor Longbottom came down and told them not to be so loud - the result of which was Priyanka bursting in tears and rushing out of the room, followed by her sister Trishana, and not before she threw Marcus a particularly dirty look. Marcus, confused, sat down at the table again and started shouting at the first years.

The flowers, thankfully, were gone by noon. Dominique and Alice Longbottom had declared them 'thoroughly unromantic' and got rid of the whole lot, to the cheers of the rest of the school. Upon reflection, James thought that he shouldn't have been so surprised to see them kiss afterwards. After all, what was more romantic than getting rid together of the failed romantic gestures of other people?

That was when Colleen caught up with him. "You're not going to fill the room with flowers, right?" she asked.

"Not unless you're going to shout at me like Priyanka did," he answered and tried to kiss her, but she evaded him.

"Later, got classes now," she said.

"You sure you don't want to skive off the last period?" he asked hopefully, but he knew it was a lost cause. Colleen's last class if the day was Muggle Studies, and she wasn't going to miss a class with her father. Even if it meant James had to sit through Double Potions.

As he made his way to the dungeons, he decided that no matter what, he would not be given detention today.

He listened to every word Professor Malfoy said. He did not say a thing to Lysander, all through the class, all two, long hours of it. He followed the instructions in his book to the letter. When he finished, his Draught of Peace was simmering lightly and definitely purple, if not the gentle shade of lilac the book claimed it should be. Professor Malfoy passed around and continued without comment, which, in James's mind, was akin to the declaration of defeat on his professor's part. He had brewed his potion well enough that even Malfoy could find no fault.

"You know," Lysander said when they left the classroom, "I'm starting to think I should sit far away from you on Potions. You actually did well today."

"Oh, to hell with that, who cares about potions anyway. All I was trying to do is - "

"Not land yourself in detention, yes," Lysander said, then lowered his voice. "Don't go. It's dangerous. The goblins attacked the school twice on Christmas."

"Yeah, and that only means they don't want to attack the school when kids are here! We'll be safe, goblins don't want anything with us."

Still sceptical, Lysander bade him goodbye and left for the Great Hall. James, on the other hand, rushed to the sixth floor, where Colleen was already waiting.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

"Had to make sure not to get detention in Potions," he told her, and then continued to tell her the tale of his successful Double Potions class, only to earn much the same reaction as he did from Lysander a few moments before. "Can we forget about Malfoy?" he asked irritably. "Let's go and have some fun!"

"Alright," she said, then cast the Disillusionment charm. Much like yesterday, he could feel the feeling of cold liquid crawling down his head and neck, and when he looked at himself, he couldn't see a thing.

"You next," he said, and Colleen aimed her wand at herself and repeated the incantation. Now he could see the charm in action - in front of him, Colleen was becoming harder and harder to see. He imagined, at first, that the charm might follow the tingling sensation, that wherever it went Colleen would disappear, and that he would be subjected to a startling vision of a half-invisible Colleen. But instead, she just faded into the background.

"This is so bizarre," he said, once she had completely disappeared - almost completely. It was like she had said yesterday - he could still see her, just about. More because he expected to see her than anything else.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go to Hogsmeade."

They climbed down the stairs to the third floor. It was harder than they had expected - there were kids running around the corridors everywhere, and they had to pay attention all the time and make sure no one was going to bump into them, no one was going to step on their toes, and that, under no circumstances, would anyone realise they were there. There was the chance that, if anything like that happened, Peeves would be blamed. James had learned more than four years ago that Peeves was everyone's obvious, natural scapegoat, and the poltergeist took the job happily and with zest. But their invisibility wasn't complete, and he didn't want to take any chances that they would be seen by someone less keen to blame Peeves than the average Hogwarts dweller.

Eventually, they made it to the statute of the one-eyed witch. Colleen looked around, then James, and when they were sure there were no unwanted eyes watching them, James pulled out his wand and whispered Dissendium. The statue opened up to reveal the tunnel to Honeyduke's.

It was only the second time they had taken the tunnel, but already it seemed much shorter and friendlier than it did the previous time. In no time at all - even though his watch insisted it took twenty minutes, just like last time - they were at the end of the tunnel, and on the other side was the Honeyduke's cellar. They climbed out and left the shop quickly.

Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day was different to Hogsmeade in October. The last time they were there, it looked dark and cold and abandoned. It might have been the hour - this time, it was still early when they walked into Hogsmeade. But more likely it was the day - while there were no flowers around, there were decorations of hearts everywhere, from the chocolate ones on display at Honeyduke's to Madam Padifoot's simply revolting café.

"Let's not go there," James said in disgust as he saw just how pink the place was.

"God, no," Colleen agreed. "Let's go to the Hog's Head."

"So romantic," he commented, but she just shrugged. "The only place we won't get told off, remember?"

They had removed the Disillusionment charm as soon as they walked out of Honeyduke's, and were now walking down the street like any other couple. Colleen held James's hand, and they walked side by side to the very unromantic Hog's Head.

James was a little worried as they approached the dingy pub. After all, Mum certainly was not pleased to hear Mundungus Fletcher had allowed them to go in there. She might have talked to the barman, and if she had, he would probably prefer to give up the few Sickles they would pay him and kick the both of them out. Perhaps, he mused, she didn't tell him anything - perhaps she forgot, as that was the day the Death Eaters had escaped; perhaps she thought they wouldn't try to go there again, not with goblins and Death Eaters and what-have-you.

James felt slightly guilty as they walked into the Hog's Head and encountered no resistance from the owner, who was too busy tending to other customers to even notice them. He was a Prefect; he was old enough to know better. It really was irresponsible of them to go into Hogsmeade.

But it was Valentine's day, and they weren't allowed to leave the castle at all since September, and it was just a one-time thing, he told himself. After this one time, he would never do it again.

Probably.

They sat down in a small table by the window. Even Mundungus Fletcher had attempted to put some of the spirit of Valentine's day into the pub. It wasn't pink - thankfully - and it wasn't any cleaner - unfortunately - but there were some odd decorations that, if James closed one eye and tried to convince himself very strongly, he might believe were hearts.

Next to him, Colleen giggled. "Look," she pointed at something. James suspected it was supposed to be a cherub. He didn't ask.

"Look," Colleen said again, but this time she was no longer giggling. For a moment, he thought she was talking about the cherub - she was pointing at the same direction - but then he realised what he was seeing. It was the same table the goblin had sat at when they first came into the Hog's Head in October, but this time it wasn't one goblin there. There were at least a dozen of them, sitting there, huddled together and whispering.

"How can he let them stay here?" James muttered to Colleen. "How can he allow them to be here, after they helped Death Eaters?"

"Maybe he doesn't know," Colleen answered. "Your dad didn't want it publicised, did he? I know it was in theProphet, but he denied everything, and until the Ministry says something..."

"Well, everyone knows they attacked the school twice during the holidays," James refused to be placated by Colleen's logic. "They're a danger to wizards and everyone knows that!"

"Not according to your father," she said, but quietly. James didn't answer. He didn't feel like fighting about his father's annoying belief in the goblins now.

"There's the barman," he said instead. The barman - Mundungus Fletcher - was walking straight towards them, in sure steps. Good, James thought, and started to think what he should order. Something special. Would he let them get away with ordering Firewhiskey? No, that might be pushing it. But perhaps... just a bit of wine...

But Mundungus Fletcher didn't come over to take their order.

"Sorry, you two," he mumbled and sounded genuinely regretful. "Can't let you sit here. Your dad will kill me!" He started muttering then. "After all we've been through together, after everything I've done for him, and how does he repay me? Threatening me! In my own pub! And anyway - " the mangy bartender stopped muttering and addressed the two of them again, "s'not safe for you to be here. Goblins might be lurking about."

James stared at Mundungus. He couldn't possibly be serious? "There are goblins right here!" he said.

"Oh, this lot is alright," the barman dismissed them without a second thought. "Won't hurt a fly. Known them for years. But yeah, I dunno, thinking maybe I should kick the lot out. They're friendly enough but there are others out there. Can't tell which is which, can you? All look the same. Look at you with those beady eyes of theirs and their toothy smiles, 'Sure Mr Mundungus, we're just doing our business Mr Mundungus.' Lurking about. Attacking people..." He frowned. "Don't tell me you haven't heard? Although, you probably wouldn't hear, would you, they don't tell you nothing in that school of yours, just pointless stuff like spells you'll never use, nothing about the real world..."

"What are you talking about?" James stopped the man's muttering.

"Just last night. Another attack. Wussname, that Ministry fella."

"What Ministry fella?" Colleen asked sharply.

"Will Jones," the bartender said.

"Who?" James replied, but Colleen gasped. "What? Who is it?"

"It's Tamsyn's father! So that's why she wasn't in classes today..."

"Oh." All spirit of argument had gone out of James. It wasn't that he didn't realise that the goblins' attacks were serious, but the idea that they could attack someone from the Ministry - and the father of someone he knew - made the danger so much more real.

"You really should go back to school, Potter," Mundungus said again. "Save us both the trouble."

"Come on," Colleen said in a defeated voice. "Let's go."

"Yeah..." They got up to leave. James threw one last glance at the goblins, who were still huddled in the corner. They didn't look so harmless and innocent to him, but arguing with Mundungus Fletcher was unlikely to achieve anything - least of all him allowing them to stay in the pub.

"Some Valentine's day date this turned out to be," he said.

"Don't worry. If we leave right now, we could still make the end of dinner," she said in a hopeful voice. Then they finally exited the pub, and she paused. "Do you think we should perform the Disillusionment charm now?" she asked in an unsure voice.

"Does it matter? We could probably find a place next to Honeyduke's, no?"

"Yeah, but - " she hesitated. "I don't know, I was thinking about what the barman said. About goblins, lurking..." she looked around, as if expecting a goblin to jump at them from a dark corner.

James considered this. She was probably right. It was unlikely that a goblin would jump at them at Hogsmeade - but then, last year, he would have thought it impossible for goblins to attack the village. Six months ago he thought it impossible that they would attack a teacher. And until tonight, he never even considered the possibility of goblins attacking parents of his classmates. And if he were absolutely honest with himself, he wasn't at all sure they'd be able to fight them off. "Yeah, that's a good idea," he said, and Colleen performed the charm on the both of them.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, even after they had gone into Honeyduke's and entered the secret tunnel - without alerting anyone or setting off any alarms. Something about being invisible like that made talking seem inappropriate. He opened his mouth once or twice, tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to him - nothing that seems to fit the situation. So he remained silent. Next to him Colleen was just as quiet. It left James all the time in the world to think.

"Do you think this war will ever be over?" Colleen blurted all of a sudden next to him.

James thought of the conversation during Christmas. "I don't know," he said. It sounded better than saying no, which was, basically, what his family had said. "It's been going on ever since the end of the War. More than twenty years... I guess no one's going to end it soon."

"You'd have thought your father could have ended it already," she said quietly. "I mean, if anyone can..."

"Then maybe it can't be done."

They reached the end of the tunnel, the one-eyed witch statue. "Hold on," Colleen said. She was in front of him, and went up to check the corridor around. "Okay, coast is clear."

They slipped out of the statue, and Colleen performed the counter spell.

"Um." James looked around the abandoned corridor. "Feel like going to dinner? Maybe there's some pudding left..."

"Oh, alright," she said. They took one of the staircases that led directly to the Great Hall.

James was about to enter the Great Hall - and hope there was some of Hogwarts' wonderful chocolate fudge still - when Professor McGonagall called his name. "Potter!" she said. He turned around in surprise - it wasn't very often that they got to see Professor McGonagall.

"Oh, you and Ms Thomas are out of dinner, excellent," she said, mistaking their proximity to the Great Hall to mean they had just left dinner, rather than just starting it. "Mr Potter, I need to ask a favour of you, seeing as you're a Prefect. There's an old witch who needs to be escorted around the castle. She's a bit blind, so she can't wander around on her own. Please show her around, she will tell you where she's going." Professor McGonagall said all of that with one breath, not allowing James to explain that he didn't have dinner at all.

"Oh, there she is - Mrs Hornby! Mrs Hornby! Here, please!" Professor McGonagall waved her arms around, trying to catch the attention of elderly Mrs Hornby.

Mrs Hornby was a small, wizened witch, with wispy white hair, sporting a flowery Muggle-style dress and thick glasses, with lenses that looked more like the bottom of a bottle than glasses. In addition to being almost blind, she also leaned on a walking stick, and now started walking - extremely slowly - towards McGonagall and James.

He opened his mouth to say something to Colleen, but she just shrugged in helplessness, and mumbled that she would see him later. Before he could call after her, McGonagall turned to him again.

"Oh, where's Ms Thomas? Never mind, never mind. Mrs Hornby, this is one of our prefects, James Potter."

"What's his name?" Mrs Hornby almost shouted.

"James," James volunteered. "James Potter."

"Potter, you said?" Mrs Hornby shouted.

"Yes, Mrs Hornby, Harry Potter's son," McGonagall said, almost as loudly. James looked for a rock to hide under, but, having failed that, tucked at Mrs Hornby's sleeve.

"Mrs Hornby, I'll get you where you need to go," he said loudly and with resignation. "Please come with me."

"Yes, you're in good hands, just go with Potter," McGonagall said, slightly too eagerly. James suspected she was looking for an excuse to get rid of Mrs Hornby. Who wouldn't?

"I need to find a lavatory, boy," Mrs Hornby said all of a sudden. James didn't know where to bury himself. He was saddled by Professor McGonagall - for this?"

"Er, I'm sure one of the girls could help you..." he started.

"What? No, boy! A specific one!" Mrs Hornby said. "Should be in the second floor!"

"I think there's a girls' bathroom there," he mumbled, and started leading old Mrs Hornby towards the general direction of the second floor.

"You're probably wondering why would an old woman such as myself come all the way to Hogwarts just to go to the lavatory," Mrs Hornby half-shouted. James could feel himself reddening with embarassment. "Not really," he mumbled. He didn't think she heard him.

"I had a friend here at Hogwarts," she explained. "She should still be at that lavatory."

"I'm sure she is," he told Mrs Hornby absently, and directed her away from the swamp on the Defence corridor.

Mrs Hornby didn't even notice the swamp, and just rattled on. "Oh, how we teased her - and then she died. And I thought, well, I'm not getting any younger, you know?"

"Sure, Mrs Hornby," James answered automatically.

"Of course I'm not. No one's thought about that potion yet, oh, no, they'll make a potion to make your eyes change colour and your hair grow and that would allow you to grow extra limbs or become a dragon but what really matters, no one bothers with!"

"Yes, Mrs Hornby."

"So I thought I should see her again. We didn't depart on the best of terms," she lowered her voice now, as if whispering a secret to him. It would have been more effective had she not been shouting still. "I teased her, oh, so many years ago - and then she died! She could never really forgive me for it. So here I am. Better make amends while I still have the chance, I think."

"Yes, Mrs Hornby."

They made it to the second floor bathroom. "Oh, that's the place!" Mrs Hornby said happily. "Now, don't you go in, young man," she said sternly - as if James even considered that option. "I will be a while, you just wait for me here, yes?"

"Yes, Mrs Hornby." That had to be a record of bad luck. At least, he was soon rid of Mrs Hornby, who went into the bathroom to talk to her dead friend. To himself, James really, really hoped her friend was a ghost, and not a dead body, still left in the bathroom. With Hogwarts, one could never know.

He stood at the door of the bathroom in boredom for a minute or two. He couldn't believe his luck - he was supposed to have a date with Colleen. Instead he was there, he had missed dinner, and now he was forced to wait for an old lady to get out of the bathroom. And all of a sudden, from the tip of his eye - it was Lily, he was sure of it. He'd recognise her plaited red hair everywhere. But it was already late - the first years were supposed to be in the common room soon. And she was out here in the corridors. Where was she going at this hour, all on her own?

Mrs Hornby forgotten, he left the door of the bathroom and followed his sister.

Lily climbed up a staircase, and he climbed up after her. He thought she would notice him, but she was deep into her own thoughts and never realised she wasn't alone. When she went past the one-eyed witch statue, he tensed - was it possible she had discovered the passage to Hogsmeade? But no, she acted completely oblivious and kept on going. Climbing up, fifth floor, sixth floor... all the way to the seventh floor, she climbed and he went after her.

On the seventh floor she became nervous. All of a sudden, she was looking around. He hid behind a suit of armour just in time. Lily stared for a while at where he had stood not a moment ago, then continued walking. He followed, but made sure to stay a bit further behind.

He needn't have bothered - Lily stopped in front of the tapestry of the trolls in tutu. He thought she had noticed him again, but she didn't turn to look at him. Instead, she turned to the opposite wall, and paced in front of it three times.

Where before there was nothing but a wall, a door now appeared. Lily reached for the handle.

"Lily," he said, and she jumped.

"James!" she nearly shouted at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just going to ask you the same question."

She looked down at her hand, which was still clutching the door handle.

"You have no business spying on me!" she said in indignation, and between her flaming red hair and the red hue her face had acquired, she looked like an overly ripe tomato.

"You have no business wandering around the castle this late, Lily," he said. "You should be in the common room." And then he remembered - this wasn't the first time Lily had wandered into this part of the castle. She had disturbed Colleen and him several times in that very corridor, when they were trying to master the Disillusionment charm. "Why do you keep on coming here, anyway? What's beyond that door?"

"None of your business!" she retorted so fast and so loud that he knew she was hiding something. He crossed his arms and stared at her. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's behind that door," he said.

"There's nothing behind that door, James."

"Then open it and let me see."

She didn't move.

"That door wasn't there a moment ago, and it wasn't there when Colleen and I - well, it's not usually there. How did you open it, anyway?" he asked.

"You need to think of what you need," Lily said, jumping on the opportunity to divert the conversation into safer grounds. "And then you walk past it three times - and it appears."

"And what were you thinking of?" he asked. She didn't answer.

"I want to know why you keep on coming back to a door that isn't there all the time."

"If I open the door, will you go?" she asked finally, in a resigned voice.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On what's behind the door."

"I told you," she said, sounding annoyed. "There's nothing behind the door."

He said nothing and she, after sighing theatrically, opened the door.

To James's great surprise, she was right. There was nothing behind the door. Not quite nothing - there was a room there, a small and smelly room that looked as if a great fire had once burnt it. But the room itself was completely empty, except for another door on the other side. "See?" Lily said triumphantly. "Empty. Now go away."

"No."

"I showed you what's in there!"

James's arms were still firmly crossed. "You didn't show me what's beyond the other door," he said.

Before, Lily was flushed and red. Now, all the colour disappeared from her face. "It's my thing, James," she said. Her voice shook. "It's not your business what's behind that door."

"Tough," he said. It wasn't just curiosity now. Lily wasn't the secretive type, and while it wasn't impossible she would become so red while being caught doing something wrong, she wasn't the kind of girl who would be scared to tell the truth. Her face, her expression, her voice... they all told James one thing. He had to find out what was beyond that door, not to satisfy his curiosity but for Lily's sake.

"I told you," she said in a small voice. "I already told you what's in there."

"When?"

"On Hallowe'en."

Hallowe'en? When did he talk to Lily on Hallowe'en? What happened on Hallowe'en, he tried to remember. Hallowe'en was when... when the Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban. But when did he talk to Lily?

And then he remembered. Lily, withdrawn, sitting in the corner, and he tried to convince her to go to the feast, didn't he? And she had a book, she was reading, reading about -

"Voldemort?" he said, unable to stop himself. She didn't respond. "Show me," he said. She didn't move.

James walked to Lily and crouched before her. He was a lot taller than she was - she was eleven years old and a bit short, while he was nearly sixteen and almost as tall as Dad these days. But he wanted to look her directly in the eye, and he wanted her to see him. "Lily, whatever is there beyond that door, I'm going there. Whether you like it or not. You can come with me and show me around. Or you can stay here. But you can't stop me from looking."

Lily averted her gaze from him. She looked almost on the verge of tears. Eventually she nodded, and opened the door. There was total darkness inside. He couldn't see a thing. "It's down, under the school," she said. "It's like a slide here."

"Okay. You want to go first?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

She jumped into the darkness. James shook his head. He must be out of his mind, he thought, and jumped in after her.

A minute or two - and a ride down the weirdest slide he'd ever been to - later, and he was in a huge chamber. Lily had already lit up her wand, and in the pale wand light he could see the chamber - huge statues, a snake's skeleton - and the ghost of a boy.

"Is that him?" he asked, willing his voice to sound less scared and more reassured. Lily nodded. "That's Tom," she said quietly.

The ghost saw him, and raised his head. James recognised the boy. He had seen photographs of him, in history books... Lily was not wrong. It really was him. Tom Riddle. Voldemort.

"What's that?" Voldemort hissed. "Who is this? Why did you bring him here?"

"I decided to come," James said, pretending to be brave. "I want to know what you want with my sister."

Voldemort no longer looked angry - in fact, he looked almost pleased. "Sister..." he said thoughtfully. "Which Potter are you, then?"

"I'm James. James Sirius Potter. And I know who you are."

"And still you follow your sister to meet me," Voldemort's smirk turned nasty. "Intelligence was never much of a Potter trait, but you two... you're setting records for stupidity even your father didn't break."

"Don't listen to him," Lily said all of a sudden, and James was surprised that her voice was, once again, full of confidence. He himself felt his throat had gone so dry that he did not trust himself to speak. "He's just putting up a show. It makes him feel better, talking about Mum and Dad like that, but if you ignore that he can be quite useful."

"Useful? Whatever for? Merlin's pants, Lily, what on earth are you getting from coming here?"

"Information," she looked directly at him. She didn't avert her gaze this time. "You keep complaining about how we're not told anything. Well, I found someone who's willing to tell me things."

"Someone - that's Voldemort!" he pointed at the ghost, who just smirked. "You can't believe a word he says!"

She shrugged. It was so strange. There she was, behaving normally, behaving as if this was just any other conversation, any other argument with her older brother - and all the while, they were in the presence of the most dangerous wizard of all time. "You need to filter all the insults and megalomania and hateful nonsense about Muggle-borns and Dad, of course," she said. "But what he says checks out. Like Cedric Diggory. He told me about Cedric Diggory before George did. And he told me more. Everything George said, he said before. So yeah, pretty useful."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," James declared.

"You are simply weak, James Potter," the ghost interfered. "You're too afraid to listen to me. Your sister - she has fire. She doesn't mind taking a risk to gain what she wants." The ghostly boy looked at Lily almost hungrily. It made shivers run down all over James's spine. "She knows what she wants and she comes to get it, despite difficulties. You? You're like your father," Voldemort laughed a derisive laughter. "You're not willing to do what it takes to gain your goals. Exactly like your father. Did you know he never actually killed me? He wasn't willing to get his hands dirty, even if it meant getting rid of me. Do you know which spell he cast, that last battle? Expelliarmus." The ghost laughed. "He counted on luck, your father. He doesn't know how to end a war. Isn't that the problem you're facing right now?"

"Enough!" James shouted at the - thing. "We're going, Lily."

"No."

"Yes," he said. "If I have to drag you out of here, I will."

She gave him a loathing look. He could do it, of course - he was much stronger than she was. Lily must have realised it too, as she started walking towards the other end of the chamber, away from the ghost. Relieved, James followed her. He walked through the door without giving the ghost a second look. Lily said nothing.

She said nothing as she showed him the exit, and she said nothing when they were back at the Hogwarts corridors. As soon as they were back in the school, she started walking away from him, towards Gryffindor tower.

"Lily!" he called after her. She didn't stop. "Lily!" he shouted again, then ran to catch up with her. Once again, his age and height turned to an advantage - he could block her way.

Her expression was full of venom. "So I didn't talk to him tonight," she told him. "Doesn't mean I can't go back there to talk to Tom another time. You can't follow me forever."

"No, I can't. But I can tell Mum and Dad what you've been up to."

Now she looked horrified. "You wouldn't!" she said.

"This is Voldemort, Lily! Voldemort. Not Tom. Not some poor ghost. Not some kid." He hadn't realised how angry he was, not until that moment. But now he was so angry that he couldn't stop shouting at her. "So get that 'Tom' nonsense out of your head. Call him by his name! Voldemort! This is who you've been talking to! And Dad needs to know he's here and I'm going to tell him right now!"

"You can't."

"Yes, I can. And I will."

"It's after hours. You'll get detention."

"I don't care." He stormed towards Mum and Dad's room - and now it was Lily who was following him.

"Don't tell them, James, please don't tell them."

"I have to. They need to know he's down there. They need to know students can find him."

"Maybe they already know," she tried. She didn't sound like she believed it herself.

"No way. No way they would let him stay there if they knew," he said, and they both knew him to be right.

"James... please don't tell them that I've been going there, please," she said. Her voice was full of fear. He stopped now to look at her. She was shaking, visibly shaking. There were tears running down her face.

"Oh, Lily," he said, and hugged her. "What were you thinking, going there?"

She didn't answer.

"I'll tell you what," he said now. "I won't go there now. I'll go tomorrow. And I'll think of something... I'll try not to tell them you're involved. Alright?"

"Thanks," she whispered.

"But you know, if they go down there, if they talk to him... he'll tell them. You know he will."

"Maybe they won't believe him," she said, her voice still small and miserable. "Maybe they'll say he's a liar."

"Maybe," he said. Whatever he told their parents in the end, James had the idea Lily would not be able to get out of it completely.

"James Sirius Potter!" Someone shouted just then. James turned in surprise. It was Hermione.

And they were out of their dormitories, after hours.

Next to him, Lily looked absolutely terrified. She wasn't terrified of getting detention from Hermione, he knew, but that, in an attempt to get out of another detention, he would turn her in. He had half a mind to do just that - this time, it really wasn't his fault. But he wasn't sure yet how to explain what was below the school without also explaining of Lily's involvement, and he had promised her he won't turn her in.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione, who had reached them by now, demanded. "And Lily, too! How irresponsible of you, James! What kind of example are you setting your little sister?"

"We didn't mean to break the rules!" he argued. "We just had to see Dad!"

"Why?"

James bit his tongue. "It's something we needed to talk to him about," he hazarded in the end.

"Well, if it's important, you can tell me," his aunt said. He looked at Lily, then at Hermione again. "No," he said in the end. "It's not that important. It can wait until tomorrow." Next to him, Lily breathed.

"Well," Hermione said angrily, "if it can wait until tomorrow then there's really no reason for you to be out here at this time of night. Twenty points off Gryffindor - each. And you're both going to receive detention. And don't think this will be the end of it, James. You don't seem to care about those detentions, do you? I've had it with your nighttime strolling, James Potter. Now go straight back to your dormitories and stay there until tomorrow, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," they both muttered and walked towards the tower. Lily said nothing until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, where she said the password and miserably disappeared into her dormitories. James followed her.

By the next morning, he still hadn't come up with a good cover story. He still had no idea how to tell the story without turning Lily in. He could say he found the room himself, he supposed. Or that he found it together with Lily. Or, perhaps, that Lily had found it, but not mention that she'd been there more than once. He was still considering his options when he walked into breakfast.

Mum wasn't sitting at the teachers' table. Neither was Dad. James sighed. What a day they found not to make it to breakfast. He sat gloomily next to the Gryffindor table. Perhaps, he thought, they'd come in later. He should wait for them. He chose to sit in one of the spots where the teachers' table was most visible, and from which he could also see the door the teachers always walked through. If they as much as put a finger into the room, he'd know. But breakfast had come and gone, and there was no sign of them.

Finally, he got up and left the table, a few minutes before the bell rang. His first class was Defence, but he didn't want to wait - especially as he would have to wait until the end of the lesson to talk to his father. He couldn't quite say 'Voldemort's ghost is hiding underneath the school' to the entire classroom. He went to his parents' room.

He knocked and knocked, but there was no answer. Where were they? He thought furiously. The anger rose in him. It was partially their fault, he thought. Dad's fault. If only he'd been reasonable, Lily wouldn't have felt the need to go to anyone who would talk to her, even when that person ended up being Voldemort. He would never have found himself in that situation in the first place. And neither would have Lily. He banged on the door. There was no reply.

The bell rang.

Angrily, he threw his bag on his back and trotted to the Defence classroom. He'll just have to wait until the end of the lesson. And if Dad dared give him detention for being late... he might just speak in front of the entire class and to hell with the panic that would ensue. That would be Dad's problem, not his.

But his father wasn't in the classroom when he arrived, wasn't sitting at his desk like he always did. James stopped, confused, and stared at the teacher's desk for a moment before proceeding to his seat next to Lysander.

"How come your father's late?" Lysander asked. "It's not like him."

"I don't know," James said, still frowning. "He wasn't at breakfast, either. And he's not in their room."

"Maybe something's come up again," Lysander said. "Another goblin attack or something."

"Maybe..." James said. There was the attack on Tamsyn's father, after all. But he didn't think this was the case. A goblin attack wouldn't explain his mother's absence, and she hadn't been at breakfast either.

He was about to tell this to Lysander when Hermione walked into the classroom. "Class dismissed," she said, and offered no explanation. No explanation, except - "James, pick up your bag and come with me."

Lysander stared at him. Everyone stared at him. He stared at Hermione for a moment, then packed his bag.

"See you," Lysander muttered. James didn't answer.

He expected Hermione to tell him what it was about when they left the classroom, but she remained silent, just walked down the corridor. He was unnerved. She did not say anything, did not even look at him. Last night she said detention wasn't going to be enough. They couldn't be expelling him, could they? "Hermione," he said, then corrected himself immediately. "I mean, Professor Granger-Weasley... what's going on?"

She didn't answer.

He couldn't be expelled. He just couldn't. He started to think of what to say to Hermione, how to convince her to give him another chance, but at that moment they stopped in front of another classroom. History of Magic. And Hermione popped into the classroom and asked Lily to come with her. And pick her bag. Lily wasn't going back to her class, either.

Lily walked outside of the classroom, confused, and her confusion turned to fear when she saw James. She was thinking exactly what he was thinking. They were going to be expelled. 'What's going on?' she mouthed to him, but he shrugged, trying to look less panicked than he felt. But the dread was rising in him. He couldn't be expelled from Hogwarts. He didn't sit his O.W.L.s yet! He would be unqualified! He wouldn't get to be a wizard... they couldn't... and Lily! She was only eleven years old! Surely they wouldn't...

And then they stopped in front of the Muggle Studies classroom and Hermione said, "Dean? I need Al Potter. Take your bag with you, Al," and Lily and James looked at each other with relief. They weren't being expelled. Al wasn't with them last night. It wasn't about last night at all.

But as Lily started smiling, doubt started rising in James again. If this wasn't about last night... why were the three of them pulled out of classes?

"Hermione..." he said. Now he noticed that she was looking harassed, tired, almost scared. "Did something happen?"

"Hold on," she said, the first thing she said to him since she took him out of the class, and showed them into the now empty Transfiguration classroom.

James thought about a different conversation yesterday now. He thought about Tamsyn Jones, whose father, an important man in the Ministry, had been attacked by goblins. He thought of his own father, who was nowhere to be found this morning, not at breakfast and not at his room and never made it to class...

"You need to take the Floo from here to St Mungo's," Hermione said.

"Is Dad alright?" the question burst out of him as soon as Hermione spoke. "Did the goblins attack him? Is he okay? Have they done something to Dad?"

Lily and Al were now staring at him, frightened. Hermione shook her head.

"Ginny."