XIV.
Lily awoke and looked across the hall for James—he was gone. Lily's breath caught in her throat—Voldemort had him somewhere upstairs…
She hated the powerlessness she had in her cell the most—even more than the lack of food or separation from Hogwarts. When one of her friends was hurt, she couldn't hug them or help them physically, and she knew for a fact that it helped.
Her mind turned, once again, to the letter they had sent so long ago. It had been over two weeks—the longest two weeks of her life. Hopefully the owl had reached Hogwarts, and Dumbledore was organizing a rescue mission. She wasn't sure how they would get them out, but there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would try.
There was noting to do, so she decided to go to sleep again. Just as she was drifting off, she heard the footsteps that usually announced the arrival of a Death Eater. She awakened instantly, and looked down the hallway. Malfoy junior was walking towards her, levitating James ahead of him. He looked bad, if the circumstances were normal. But compared to what she was used to seeing, he looked about average.
What's happening to me? she thought angrily, It's pretty bad when you start to think that broken bones, cuts, scrapes, and bruises are normal…resigning herself, she sat back down to keep vigil until the Healing Death Eater arrived.
Half an hour later, he came down, grumbling as usual. Lily didn't see what he had to complain about—she was sure that he got three square meals a day and that he got to move around more than her six-by-eight cell…
He healed James and left. James woke up half an hour later. "Where am I?" he asked groggily
"Take a guess," Lily said sarcastically.
"It's just…I had one of those funny dreams again."
"Really? What was happening?"
"Well, I was in the Gryffindor common room again, and everyone seemed to be in the middle of a party." he explained.
"Party?"
"I heard someone say, 'They're alive!' Maybe they got our letter!"
"Did Sirius look happy?"
"Yeah, he did! They must have gotten it! There's no other explanation!
Lily smiled half-heartedly. She had not truly smiled for weeks, since the letter had successfully been sent. She suspected that she would not be happy until she was reunited with Hogwarts and its inhabitants…
"Why the long face?" James asked.
"Geez, let's think," Lily said sarcastically, "We're in a Death Eater's dungeon, we get disgusting food every two days, we get tortured by the Dark Lord Voldemort regularly, I'm worried sick about my friends, and they're worried sick about me! Is that good reason to not look particularly cheerful?"
"I guess it is," James said thoughtfully.
"Of course it is, Potter!" Lily snapped, and walked over to the corner to sleep.
"What's with the 'Potter' deal going on, Lily?"
"Same reasons as earlier," she said angrily, and laid down, "plus the lack of a proper bed."
"Ah."
"If I had anything to throw at you," Lily said, "I would use it. Luckily for you, my cell is completely empty."
James snorted, and Lily put herself in the most comfortable position she could, and fell asleep. James stared at her. He hoped they got out of there soon, for Lily's sanity…
The staff of Hogwarts was grimly silent the next day, Remus noticed. Sure, it was Friday and all, but even Slughorn didn't have his usual gusto during lessons.
"What do you reckon is wrong with them?" Sirius asked Remus, confused, "They're all quiet-like…"
"I dunno, but if anything happens, they'll tell us."
At the end of Potions, Remus and Sirius walked up to Slughorn. Thinking that it would be better if he spoke, Remus said, "Professor, are you all right? You and the rest of the teachers have been really off today…"
"Oh, yes, I'm fine…" Slughorn said in an off-hand voice. "Actually, I want to ask you boys something—do you still have your Polyjuice Potion from last term?"
"Yeah, a flask…" Remus said slowly, "Why?'
"I would like to keep it," he said, "So, if you could bring it to me, I'd really appreciate it. And if you could get your friends' too, that would be even better…"
Remus nodded numbly and left with Sirius. "What does he need with our Polyjuice?"
"I dunno, did you add my hair to the whole flask or just to the one vial?"
"Just the one. We can get James', and Lily's and her friends'…and Frank's too." Remus listed off.
They went up to their dormitory, grabbed their Potions, asked for the girls', and proceeded down to Slughorn's office.
"Thank you boys so much! I knew I could count on you!" he beamed at them. Sirius looked taken aback—Slughorn had never smiled at him.
"Professor," Remus said carefully, "can you tell us what you need the Potion for?"
Slughorn looked sadly at them, "I'm sorry, boys, I really am. I would like to tell you, but I can't."
"You can't or you won't?" Sirius asked.
"Can't. I'm forbidden to do so."
Sirius looked surprised, "All right…"
"But thank you so much! You have no idea how important this is!" Slughorn said happily.
They nodded, left the office, and went down to dinner.
"It's been a strange week," Sirius informed Remus as he dug into his steak.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Remus said, rolling his eyes.
"It's been a strange week," Dumbledore muttered to himself. He was, once again, sitting behind his desk in his office waiting for his staff to arrive. They would have put their plan into action this weekend to get Lily and James out, but they had decided against it, and were instead going to carry it out on Friday, the twenty-second.
His staff filed in, looking unusually grave. "You all know why you are here," Dumbledore said, looking at each of them in turn. "If you would like to back out now, I would completely understand. You all are putting their lives on the line."
"We don't care," Sue Silez, the Defense teacher, said fiercely, speaking for the whole group. "If we die saving James and Lily, at least we'd be dying for a noble cause."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as the rest of the teachers nodded. "Very well, we must discuss our plan. Four of us, presumably the heads, correct?" they nodded, and he continued, "You will drink the Polyjuice Potion and become four Death Eaters. You will pretend to take them somewhere, when in fact you will be handing them Portkeys to Hogsmeade.
"The rest of us," Dumbledore said, gesturing around at the rest of the staff, "will cause a distraction so that they can escape safely. You will all have Portkeys for any wounded. As you know, the Ministry has refused to help us. I have been able to pull some strings in the Auror department, however, so we will have a small Auror force helping us.
"Are there any question?" he asked finally.
Minerva said, "What if Mr. Potter and Miss Evans want to join the battle for revenge? Knowing them, they would want to!"
"Do not let them at all costs. I want Voldemort to think that we are attacking the Manor to get rid of Death Eaters, not to free the prisoners."
Minerva nodded. When nobody else posed any questions, Dumbledore said, "And, do not let any students know about this. I have arranged with the ghosts to tell them on Friday morning that classes are cancelled, and that all students are to stay in their common room."
The teachers nodded. "You may go."
They once again filed out of Dumbledore's study in grim silence. Dumbledore put his head in his hands. Their plan was easier said than done…
Remus and Sirius sat in the Gryffindor common room, talking with Sarah and Laurie. They had already told the girls about the Potion, and they were all trying to figure out why he would need it in a hurry.
After exhausting all possible ideas, a very discouraged Sirius said, "I have no idea why they would need the Potion! They have no good reason to!"
Sarah had to agree. "I can't think of anything. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess."
So they waited, and saw nothing during that weekend, and most of the following week. All of the teachers were still at the staff table, but they all still seemed very subdued all the time. It didn't stop McGonagall from twenty points from Gryffindor when Sirius turned Snape's hair into a neon pink afro on Thursday, though.
"It suited him, though!" Sirius yelled at her retreating back, while the Gryffindors laughed.
"Drop it, Padfoot," Remus said, annoyed. "She already seems to be at her wit's end about something or other…"
Sirius sobered as the truth of his words sunk in. "I guess you're right, but Marauder's Promise that the first thing Prongs is going to do when he comes back is prank Snape!"
"Marauder's Promise," Remus repeated, and they performed the sacred 'Marauder's Promise' handshake, which included many slaps and shouts. Remus remembered the days when James had wanted it to include a howl, but he had then reminded him that they were, then, the only ones out of hundreds of students at Hogwarts that knew of his "furry little problem".
Remus sighed as the Sunday wore on. Sirius had started a snowball fight with some other students. What is taking James so long?
A figure in a black cloak descended the Grand Staircase into the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts in the early hours of the morning. He looked around approvingly at the thirty-odd figures clustered there. "Excellent…" he muttered, "All the Aurors are here?"
Receiving an affirmative answer, he said, "Good. I've arranged for the carriages to pick us up and bring us to Hogsmeade. Pass these Portkeys around, but only use them if somebody is critically injured and needs to go to St. Mungo's. Horace, I'm assuming you have the Potion? You will distribute it once we Apparate to the Manor. We don't want to make anyone in Hogsmeade panic at the sight of four Death Eaters there."
A rather wide figure nodded, and Dumbledore said, "Let's not waste any more time, out the doors!"
The group trooped out the door and toward the carriages waiting for them. Dumbledore shared a carriage with the four Heads as well as the Head Auror, Rufus Scrimgeour. It'll be a miracle if we pull this off…
Sirius woke up at 6:00, sweating. "That nightmare was horrible," he muttered to himself, "bunnies are evil!"
He walked over to the window to cool off, and saw what looked to be the carriages moving across the lawn, away from Hogwarts. Still not completely awake, he stared at them, but then shrugged and went back to bed. I can get another hour of sleep…" he thought tiredly.
Lily snorted as James began talking in his sleep. Arthur and Poppy listened, amused, to his mutterings.
"Snivellus…attack with Bludgers…haha…"
"Who's Snivellus?" Arthur asked.
"Severus Snape, James hates him," Lily answered.
"Haha…die Snivellly die…no Mudblood…" his face contorted in anger, "Lily…not Mudblood…"
Lily snorted again. "Defending me in his sleep…"
"Full moon…have fun Moony…"
"Full moon?" Arthur repeated, "Is he a…?"
"No, the full moon was about a week ago," Lily explained, "It's his friend."
"Wow," Arthur said, "and he's at Hogwarts?"
"Dumbledore let him in. They've got something set up so that he doesn't attack anyone."
"Sh!" Poppy said, and they listened once again to what James was saying.
"Yeah…Padfoot…move in…hate family…sure…"
"One of his other friends moved in with him because the rest of his family hates him. He's the only Gryffindor in their whole family line; the rest of them are in Slytherin." Lily translated.
"Wow…" Arthur said, "James has certainly picked the people that needed friendship the most…a werewolf and a family outcast…"
"Wazzat?" James said groggily, waking up at last.
"We were just discussing your sleep talking. You mentioned attacking Snape with a Bludger, me, Remus, and Sirius."
"Did I really? I'm liking the attacking Snivellus part, I'm going to have to do that when we get back!"
Lily rolled her eyes. "The first thing you're going to do is eat, I'd bet!"
James looked thoughtful. "Yeah, but after that…" he smiled evilly, "Snivelly is so dead!"
"Let's concentrate on getting out alive first," Arthur said reasonably, "Hopefully Dumbledore has an idea…"
A loud snore greeted this statement. James had, once again, fallen asleep.
"Short attention span if I ever saw it," Poppy said, "he wasn't awake for even a minute!"
"Well, it's dark outside," Lily said, glancing out of the small window, "I think I'll turn in as well."