Chapter 52

Lily had only caught a momentary glimpse of Severus as Death Eaters attacked Bill and Fleur's Wedding. How they had found out about the event was still unknown to her, but Sirius had dragged her inside the house and floo'd before she'd had a chance to do anything. Apparating with her baby was impossible, especially at five months. Kingsley's patronus had arrived just moments before the Death Eaters crashed the party. Everyone had scattered, Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming to Grimmauld moments after they had arrived by floo.

"Is everyone okay?" Harry asked, looking at his mother's swollen belly.

"Everything is fine." Lily assured him.

"The Death Eaters know we are going to be here, we can't stay." Hermione told them.

"Oh no," Lily sat down hard. "I can't apparate. I don't know what to do."

Lily burst into tears. Sirius pulled her into a warm hug.

"We need a safe house." Harry sighed.

"Potter Mansion," Sirius looked up at Harry meaningfully. "It's probably dusty but it hasn't been used since James' parents died."

"Will the Death Eater's think that we are staying there."

"There's no way, hasn't been used in years. If I pop in here every so often they'll believe that we are staying here." Sirius nodded at him. "Take your mother and go, I'll meet you there with our things packed."

Harry ushered Lily to the fireplace, flooing with her to the mansion. Hermione and Ron followed after them one at a time.

The place was overly dusty, Hermione waved her wand and removed the bulk of it. Lily pulled a sheet off the couch in a large sitting room and collapsed on the soft cushions. Ron started collecting materials to start a fire, after Sirius would arrive. Harry started looking around the mansion, locating a large dining room and kitchen and too many bedrooms to count on the second floor.

Hermione was still working on cleaning the main living room as best she could with magic when Harry returned. Sirius still hadn't arrived and Lily was starting to get worried. Just as Harry was contemplating going back to Grimmauld Place to check on Sirius he appeared in the fireplace. He stumbled out, Hermione vanishing the ash.

"I went and bought groceries before coming here. Figured I would make a show of getting plenty of food before coming here. We were going to need things to eat anyway." He set the groceries on the uncovered coffee table. He pulled several bags from his bag, which contained their clothes and research material.

"It's been ages since I was last here." Lily looked around the high ceilinged room.

"Same here, feels weird being back." Sirius peered out into the hall. "I keep expecting Euphemia to start yelling for James and I to help with chores."

"What rooms should we stay in? The whole second floor is full of them." Harry looked around the room.

"The third room on the left from the main hall was James' room, I would suggest staying away from that one. The largest room is at the end of the hall when you turn right from the main hall, Lily will stay in that room." Sirius told them. "Any of the others are fine."

"How long can we stay here?" Ron asked, starting the fire.

"As long as we possibly can, if we have to go on the run I'd rather that Lily already has the baby."

"I agree, it wouldn't be safe for my baby sister to be born in a tent in the middle of nowhere."

"I'll start fixing dinner," Sirius volunteered.

"Let's start figuring out what we're going to do about these horcruxes," Hermione decided. Harry sat down on the other couch, pulling one of the books toward him.

-oOo-

The flash of red Severus had seen while attacking the Weasley house after the fall of the Ministry of Magic, had made him think of Lily and he was sent to weeks prior in his mind. He had lost his cool and accidentally hit one of the Weasley twins with a rogue spell. Frustrated at his own ineptitude, he tried to remember anything he could about Lily. She had looked different, but the flash hadn't offered much more than that momentary lapse in conversation.

Severus resigned himself to his temporary position of watching the Black house, the original location for the Order of the Phoenix. He kept hoping that in one of the windows he would see Lily walking around the house, but so far he had only seen Sirius occupying the place. He had considered charging in a number of times just to see Lily again, but he was scared of getting hexed.

Eventually, his post was recalled as Voldemort worked through the overtaken ministry to place him as Headmaster of Hogwarts. He had no desire to go back, especially after what he had done the previous June. Most of the professors definitely didn't trust him, but he had a desire to protect the students who would return to the school. He had to protect them, for Dumbledore.