Lily shivered, and stepped gingerly into the kitchen. It wasn't often one found a pleasant murder scene of course, but this one was particularly unpleasant. Perhaps Voldemort was trying to send a message to the Goblins – Gideon claimed that this family was related to the founder of Gringotts through a distant cousin, but…even if that was the case, this murder seemed spectacularly gruesome.
During her first year working for the Order, Lily might have felt faint, or sick, upon seeing such a case; now, however, she could walk through it easily. Admittedly, she had a feeling she'd be waking James up in the middle of the night again, but he was well used to it by now.
Even the babies had been killed.
There was nothing here that would help them, and Lily looked at Fabian, who was examining a curse mark on the back door. "I think," she said, "We should get going."
Fabian glanced at her quickly. "You worried about the Aurors?"
Lily tapped her wand against her mouth thoughtfully. "A little. Their response times have been getting quicker, and…I just don't think we should advertise that we're here. Crouch has been making noises…"
"About unwanted allies and vigilantes, yeah…" Fabian said, "I read that editorial too. Do you want to get the other two?"
Just as he said the words, Lily heard a loud crash from the next room, and a moment later, Gideon saying, "A little help please?"
The dining room wasn't quite as covered in blood as the kitchen, thank goodness, but it was nonetheless something of a mess. This wasn't helped by the fact that Dorcas had what appeared to be a large snake clamped to her right upper leg. She was flailing about the room in way that seemed likely to do even further damage to the furnishings
"What happened?" Lily asked.
Gideon grinned, and said, "I think it's one of the traps Potter was talking about."
Lily sighed, though listening to Dorcas swearing gave her a strong urge to laugh. "How many times do I have to say it – call him James. He hates it when you do that."
"Why do you think I do it, then?"
Lily shook her head. She got on very well with Gideon and Fabian, but they did seem to take a certain demonic pleasure in winding James and Sirius up. Most of the time it was very entertaining (it was always enjoyable to see Sirius taken down a peg or two) but it could make meetings rather tense. Besides which, from a couple of things Dorcas had said, Lily rather thought Sirius misinterpreted their reasons.
She didn't quite understand the antagonism between them, but had long ago chalked up to some male thing that would forever be beyond her comprehension. After all, Gideon and Fabian were a lot of fun, even if they occasionally crossed the line.
The two were identical twins, except for Fabian's earring – both were tall, and rather stocky. One couldn't call them good-looking exactly, but they had such cheerful-looking faces, that one couldn't help but look forward to seeing them. They'd gone out together a few times – Lily and Dorcas usually ended up drunk, but it was good to get an opportunity to relax.
Dorcas sat down on battered chair, panting slightly. "Does it hurt?" Lily asked.
"Not really – it's not comfortable. I can't exactly move much."
Lily looked at Gideon – he seemed to share her apprehension, for he said, "I think we need to get moving. Didn't James think the Death Eaters do it to catch people?"
Dorcas' face paled, and she nodded sharply. Gideon looked around, but thankfully they were still alone. "Right," he said, "Fabian you need to get a tip-off to the Aurors. They'll be here soon, and they won't know." Fabian nodded, and with a sharp crack, he was gone. "Dorcas, I'll take you to St. Mungo's. Lily?"
She shook her head. "I've to get back – I'll let Dumbledore know."
Dorcas nodded, "Tell them all what happened, will you?"
A moment later, Lily was standing outside her own home. She and James were living not to far from his mother, in a decent sized house. Vanishing sickness was a funny thing, and Elizabeth Potter had hung on for nearly two years now. James had explained that the crisis could come at any time, but…until then, she enjoyed remarkably good health for a woman with a fatal illness.
Their house was…well, in her saner moments, Lily sometimes wondered if she and James had gone mad. Even though it wasn't especially large, it was, for lack of a better word, her dream house. Most of it was perfectly normal (well, normal for wizards) but in return for letting him have a miniature quidditch pitch in the backyard, James had helped Lily put up a cinema on the second floor. She wasn't sure Remus would ever forgive her for making him sit through all of "Gone With the Wind" the previous Christmas (though she was sure she'd seen tears in his eyes at the end.)
With a wave of her wand, Lily had conjured a Patronus, which she sent off to Dumbledore with all possible speed. It shouldn't take more than three or four minutes to reach him. That done, she took a deep breath and tried to shake off the images of that goblin family… Roisín and Kumar were coming over, and it wouldn't do to seem depressed.
Sighing, Lily opened the front door, pausing briefly to check her reflection in the mirror. She had quite a knack for getting streaks of dirt on her face, but thankfully today she looked almost presentable. She could hear voices, and she made her way down to the kitchen, which had somehow become the most used room in the house.
Roisín and Kumar sat at the kitchen table, chatting with James and Sirius, and rose to greet her as she entered. Lily had always found them an interesting pair to look at; Roisín was one of the Black Irish, with such dark skin and hair that she looked more like a Spaniard, while Kumar had drooping eyes and an elegant manner that ought to have belonged to a maharajah.
She had barely time to say hello, when Sirius, who was sitting at the other end of the table, said, "Where's Dorcas?"
Lily blinked. "She had a bit of an accident – she's in St Mungo's. I'm fine by the way."
He seemed annoyed. "Why didn't you go with her?"
"I have company – as you know – and, Gideon said he'd take her."
Sirius swore loudly, and said, "Gideon?"
"Yes, Sirius – Gideon!" Lily couldn't quite keep a mocking tone from her voice, but he ignored her and raced for the door. She looked at James questioningly, but he shook his head, and said, "Remus said he'd test my defensive charms – I won't be long."
Shaking her head, Lily sat down and said, "Sorry about that; it gets a bit hectic around here sometimes."
Roisín smiled. "Not to worry, Lily. Will Dorcas be all right?"
"Oh, she'll be fine. It wasn't anything serious – just difficult. Hopefully it won't take too long."
Kumar looked relieved, and Roisín took his hand without looking. "The thing is, Lily," she said, "Part of the reason we came was…well, we have some news."
Lily leaned back in her seat, preparing herself for a shock. Last time they'd said those words, they'd been planning a combination Catholic and Indian wedding (which was certainly…a sight), and the time before that they'd informed her that they'd been in love since they were twelve, and although she had a suspicion as to what was coming, there was no knowing what especial flare Roisín and Kumar would add to it.
She wasn't disappointed. Kumar cleared his throat, and said, "We're going to have a baby – in India."
She couldn't help herself. "What!...I mean, congratulations, that's wonderful, but…what?"
Roisín looked at her understandingly, and said, "Well, actually…we're having twins."
"Oh. Of course." Lily sounded even more pole-axed than she'd expected. "Did James get you coffee?"
Kumar eyed her. "It's all right, Lily," he said.
"It's just…why are you leaving?"
Roisín sighed and said, "We don't have much of a choice, really. I mean, we have thought about this, Lily, and…with things the way they are…"
"So you're just going to run?"
They both seemed stung at this comment, and Lily made placatory movements with her hands. "I'm sorry," she said, "I just don't understand why you have to leave."
Kumar stared at her, and Roisín said, "We're about to have children and…it's too dangerous, Lily. We haven't married into one of the most powerful pureblood families like you have – and…Kumar has family in Delhi, so…"
"But…" Lily couldn't help herself – she knew that what they said made sense, but…she didn't want to lose another friend.
Roisín sighed. "Think about it, Lily," she said, "They still haven't caught whoever it was that murdered Marlene, and wasn't that friend of Dorcas' killed not so long ago?"
"Caradoc Dearborn, and…we don't know he's dead."
Kumar raised an eyebrow, and Lily sighed. She already knew that she wouldn't be able to change their minds. "But, how will you live?" she asked.
Roisín grinned, pride beaming from every feature. "Kumar's been made Ministry Liaison to India."
"Oh. Well, that's…well done. I'm really happy for you."
In fact, Lily felt suddenly desolate inside, and although they talked for several minutes, there was a definite chill in the air. Lily knew it was probably her fault, but…it seemed like she had no friends of her own left. Of course, Dorcas was still around, and Dorcas was wonderful, but…Marlene was two years dead, Roisín and Kumar were leaving, she'd lost touch with Ann, Arnold Peasegood had joined Crouch's faction in the Ministry, and Gaspard was always up to his ears in research.
There were times when she couldn't help but feel jealous of James and his friends. It had used to be that she was glad that, even if her group wasn't quite as close-knit, she had more, and more varied, friends than he did, but now…
Roisín and Kumar made their apologies, and stood to go. Collecting herself, Lily asked, "When will you be leaving?"
Kumar sighed, and said, "In two days."
"So soon?"
Roisín's face was very dark as she said, "We've received several…threats, so, we think it's best to go as soon as possible."
Lily bit her lip and said, "I'm sorry. You're doing the right thing."
"Thanks, Lily. I'm sorry we couldn't stay longer, it's just…if we don't see her, could you tell Dorcas we said goodbye?"
"Of course," she said, "But we'll see you again. Once this is all over."
Kumar nodded, and they both hugged her before Flooing out. The sun was about to set outside the window, and Lily shivered. She didn't like this one bit.
Slowly, she made her way outside. She had just time to make out two figures attempting to play Quidditch, when James landed right in front of her. Surprised, Lily jumped back nearly a foot, hardly hearing him say, "They went off pretty sharpish."
Something in her face must have tipped him off, for he got off his broom and said, "What's the matter?"
Unable to keep a sob from her voice, she said, "They're leaving."
James wrapped his arms around her, and Lily buried her head in his chest for a moment. Things never seemed to get any better, and now…she sniffled slightly, and James brushed a strand of hair from her brow. He kissed her forehead and said, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she said, "It's just hard."
He held her tighter, if that was possible, and said, "I know."
"They're having a baby…babies – that's why they're going."
James drew back slightly, and she could see a look of joyful incredulity of his face. "So, there are going to be two Patils running around someday soon?"
Lily shook her head. "They won't be walking for at least a year, so…not exactly soon, but, yeah."
She felt slightly worried – for several months now, she'd gotten the impression that James wanted a baby, and knowing him…she was almost certain he hadn't thought it through. It wasn't a good time to be bringing a child into the world…and yet, Lily had had enough close encounters over the last year or two to realise that, if not now…they might never get another chance.
Lily sighed and moved closer to him. It was a beautiful evening, and she didn't want to think about any of this any more. Smiling a little, she said, "What was Sirius so annoyed about before?"
James moved backwards to get a good look at her face, and said, "He doesn't trust Gideon."
"What?"
James repeated himself loudly, and Lily said, "Yeah, I heard you, but nothing you say makes any sense."
He glared at her. "Why not?"
"Because…why wouldn't he trust him?"
James rapped lightly on her skull with his knuckles. "Well, gosh, Lily, let me think…Gideon's single, you lot spend a lot of time together – him and Dorcas don't seem a little cosy to you?"
She pulled away from him. "Don't be ridiculous," she said flatly.
"It's not ridiculous, Lily."
She started to walk back towards the house. "It is ridiculous, James. That should be obvious. Maybe you're both too dim to see it, but Gideon hasn't got over his girlfriend yet – remember the one that was murdered by Death Eaters? And, as for Dorcas, she's been in love with Sirius since before he even bothered to look at her, so I don't know where he's got the idea…"
James caught her arm and said, "Look forget I mentioned it, all right? It's not about her, he just…he doesn't want Gideon to get the idea that she's available."
Lily rolled her eyes; she would have argued more, but she saw Dorcas and Sirius walking towards them. She was limping slightly, and Sirius had slung an arm around her shoulders. Lily called out, "How are you feeling?" as Remus and Peter landed behind her.
Dorcas laughed and said, "Well, still feeling a little tender, but…it could be worse."
Sirius snorted. "I can't believe you got caught in one of those traps – maybe we shouldn't have made so much fun of you, Wormtail."
"I said that," Remus said with a certain touch of asperity. Sirius at least had the good grace to look somewhat embarrassed.
Peter however, merely shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Remus. I've to get going anyway."
Lily grinned. "Are you meeting Rita again?"
Rita was Peter's girlfriend, a Muggle from Southampton. As Lily understood, she'd be going to college in York within the next few weeks, and thus they were spending as much time together as possible. None of them had actually met Rita, and James had taken to suggesting that she didn't actually exist. It didn't matter how much Lily told him off, if Peter ever got 'difficult,' the question of Rita's reality was raised.
With that in mind, Lily couldn't really blame him for keeping her well away from his friends. She'd seen pictures, and Rita seemed like a perfectly pleasant young woman, though not endowed with the world's best haircut.
There was a lot of joking and laughing, which Peter took with, mostly, good grace. Eventually, however, he left, ignoring Sirius' final jab at him.
The rest of them camped out in the kitchen, snacking out of the large fruit bowl. James and Remus started throwing apple-cores at each other at one point, but Lily was quite happy to ignore them while she made coffee. She was a little worried about Remus actually – he didn't really seem to have made any kind of life for himself.
He had a low-level position in the Ministry, and it seemed highly unlikely that, as a registered werewolf, he would ever get anything better. Lily knew, for a fact, that one or two witches had asked him out, but he turned them all down. He had no real friends apart from, well…them and a couple of other members of the Order.
It was just…sad. Remus deserved to be happy, or at least as happy as anyone could be in the middle of a war. A piece of flying fruit hit Lily's ear, and she glared at James. "You two," she said, "Are making a mess of my pristine kitchen."
"Yeah…Lily, when was the last time you actually cooked?"
She glared at her husband. "Unlike you," she said, "I wasn't brought up with an easy fix on hand every minute. We had to work for a living."
As she set the coffeepot down, James pulled her onto his lap, nuzzling her neck. Sirius groaned. "Could you two please get a room?"
Lily looked at him incredulously. "This is our house."
"Oh…yeah. Sorry."
Dorcas sighed – she was staring out the window. She looked pensive, and Lily said, "What's the matter?"
"It's just…I saw Dermot in St Mungo's."
"Oh," Lily said, "How is he?"
She hadn't seen Dermot since Marlene's funeral – he'd looked as destroyed as a person could. Afterwards, she'd tried to contact him, but she never got a response. Lily had a feeling the reminder was just too painful – she couldn't imagine…if she lost James.
Dorcas shook her head. "He didn't talk to me – I think he saw me, but…"
"Yeah – I know. Don't you see him at work?"
Dorcas shook her head. "A grunt like me? No, he's upstairs with the designers – if I was in the Apprentice programme, then maybe, but…"
Dorcas had been offered a place, but, due to her work for the Order, she'd had to turn it down. She still worked as a test flier, but Lily could tell she wasn't particularly happy with the situation. Neither of them were – Lily hadn't exactly planned on working for the Dark Arts Defence League for the rest of her life, but until the situation changed she was stuck.
"Maybe," she said, "You could be the new Flying teacher."
Dorcas chewed on her lower lip. "Maybe," she said, "I don't know…"
"Come on – you could be the female version of Professor Swinburne."
Sirius' head snapped up. "What was so special about him?"
"Oh," Dorcas said, "Didn't you know? Lily fancied him something rotten."
"I did not!"
"Lily, please."
"He was handsome, that's all."
James looked disgusted. "You fancied a teacher! What did I marry into?"
"Don't be ridiculous – he was really nice to me."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Just how nice?"
"That's disgusting, that's just not nice…you know, it's beneath you, Sirius."
"Well – you still haven't answered the question."
Lily momentarily wished she had made her coffee Irish, but waved the thought away. There had been times when she and James had polished off several bottles of wine in order to blot out the things they'd seen, but it only postponed the nightmares, and unless she'd seen something truly horrific Lily didn't touch alcohol. Unfortunately, the poor murdered goblin family wasn't that bad.
Dorcas was giggling, and she said, "We used to call him Professor Swoonburn, since Lily liked him so much."
Sirius' eyebrows had disappeared under his fringe. "Just how old were you again?"
"Fifteen! I was fifteen… Well, almost. Anyway, he was scared of me, I think… Maybe he liked boys."
Sirius poked Dorcas in the stomach. "You're having a lot of fun laughing at Lily."
Dorcas couldn't keep a bubble of a laugh out of her voice as she said, "Well, it was funny. She…she used to…she used to…ask him for help on her essays."
The three men shared equally bemused looks, and Sirius caught Dorcas' chin in one hand. "Now," he said, "Maybe you can actually answer the question. Why is that funny?"
"Well," Dorcas said, "She did practically teach me Defence in fifth year. It's not like he was all that good."
"I see," Sirius said. He wore a particular smirk that always signalled something irritating. "Anyway, you've a right nerve, slagging her off, when you were so far gone for Shacklebolt."
Dorcas moved her head sharply, shaking off his hand. "I never fancied Kingsley," she said, "I've told you that."
She stood up and marched over to the sink, pouring herself a glass of water. Lily eyed her curiously – Sirius was clearly only teasing, and Dorcas usually handled it pretty well. In fact, she put up with his more exuberant qualities much better than Lily did.
Remus coughed, seeming to feel a need to clear the air, and said, "So Gideon got you to the Hospital all right then?"
Dorcas sighed, with that particular sigh Lily was used to hearing whenever one of the twins became a little…difficult. "Well," she said, "He did insist on getting every single bruise and cut I had checked out but…you know what he's like."
Lily nodded – she did indeed know what Gideon was like. Bobby had been killed by a slow acting curse, one the Healers failed to detect until it was too late. Sirius looked irritated, and said, "He gets too forceful altogether."
Dorcas met Lily's eyes for a moment, and they both started to laugh. James stared at her, joggling her up and down on his knee, but Lily could hardly draw breath between gales of laughter.
Sirius had an odd look on his face, and he eventually said, "What is it?"
Dorcas gasped. "Forceful!"
James and Sirius looked equally baffled, but Remus had a particularly shrewd look on his face, and Lily rather suspected he knew what they were laughing about.
"Yeah, Meadows, forceful. What's so funny about that?"
Lily laughed. "Oh," she said, "You don't know, but…" she snorted with laughter, "But you should be very glad that you are."
"Lily!" Dorcas looked outraged.
"Sorry," she shrugged, "But you know it's true."
"Still, you're not supposed to say it."
James sighed. "I'd find this scandal much more interesting if I had the slightest idea what you're talking about."
Remus' mouth was twitching, and Lily ruffled her husband's hair – she felt very comfortable. "Don't worry," she said, "You never will know, because we'll never tell you, but…it's good."
James frowned, and he probably would have said more, when a large owl swooping through the open window interrupted them. It landed in front of Sirius on the table, and with a certain amount of trepidation, he took the letter.
All the light seemed to leave the room as he read it; Lily had never seen him look so angry. He threw it to James, before walking towards the window – Lily rather thought she heard him swear under his breath.
The letter bore signs of having been written hurriedly – there were several blots, and a few scratched out words. The writing itself looked rather familiar – not the same as Sirius' forcible scrawl of course, but similar. The words seemed to loom out of the page in the same way.
Sirius,
It's been years since I've heard from you, and I don't imagine you're particularly sad about that. I wouldn't even have tried, but I found a box of your old stuff the other day, with a couple of photos, including one of that girl you used to be mad about (I hear you're living together now? Is that true?) It reminded me of a few things, and…with everything that's been happening, I wanted to talk to you.
I can't say much, and probably you'll ignore this – perhaps Mum is right, and you have turned your back on the family – but I think I need your help.
Yours,
Regulus
James walked over to his friend, but Sirius ignored him. After a moment, he said, "Burn it."
Dorcas made an involuntary movement, as though she wanted to touch him, but he didn't notice. His jaw clenched, staring out the window, he said, "He always was an ungrateful little brat, and…after the things he's probably done, I don't want to get anywhere near him."
A moment later, he had Disapparated. James looked at Dorcas, and she said, "You go. I'll be waiting – tell him for me."
James kissed Lily quickly on the mouth, and left, Dorcas following him. Once again, she and Remus were alone, and it was a moment before she could gather herself enough to say, "So? Do you want to watch 'Jaws'?"