Lily decided that Virginia was the most beautiful area she had ever seen. Soft mountains guarded her, the air was crisp, and magic was free. However, Bones knew she was here, so she'd have to move on.
"Montana's where ya'll wanna go," suggested a souvenir shop cashier. "Nice and open. You and yer group can go thur."
Lily left the shop grateful, but with ears grated by the harsh Southern accent.
"I heard ye in there," said an elderly man, standing by the door. "Running from You-Know-Who?"
Lily regarded him without speaking.
The man shrugged under her scrutiny. "Most Brits are, and only wizards would walk around a place like this wearing that," he said, gesturing to her designer outfit. Seeing that she wasn't going to respond, he leaned closer. "Most of them go to a big colony in Salem. Think it's funny—ironic like. I'd head there." He winked and limped away.
Lily inspected her chipped nail polish and murmured to her two- and three-dimensional serpent companions, "I know where we're not going, then."
There were dual hisses of agreement.
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"Ginger snap?" Dumbledore asked cheerily.
Severus looked at the proffered candies in distaste. "No thank you, Headmaster."
Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Have you had any correspondence with Miss Evans?"
"No sir. Have you?"
"Not exactly. Professor Bones spoke briefly with her in London, but she's vanished again," Dumbledore answered readily.
"And she's safe?"
"From what Professor Bones would see, yes. Now, Mister Snape, I need to ask you why she left. Was she all right?"
"As much as usual," Severus replied evasively. He really didn't want to five away things she didn't want known. Though the feeling was, apparently, no longer mutual, Lily was Severus's best friend.
"That doesn't help, Mister Snape, and you know it," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling in amusement.
"I'm sorry, sir," Severus said delicately. "I shouldn't say more."
"But you know more," Dumbledore said. "Severus, you do realize why you are a spy, correct?" At Severus's silence, he said, "We need you to give us information to help win this war."
Angered, Severus stared stoically at the wall above the Headmaster's head. "If you don't help us," Dumbledore said seriously, a resigned flavor in his voice, "we won't have much evidence in your favor should you get arrested."
Severus felt the blood drain from his face and he tried to calm his breathing.
"Could you give me a few reasons why she might have run?" Dumbledore asked, pleasant tone back.
Though he hated to admit it, Severus was intimidated. "I'm sure you already know it all," Severus stalled.
"Please tell me anyways."
"She probably felt guilty about Fairfield," Severus offered. The Headmaster nodded for him to continue. "The Dark Lord probably did something that scared her," he said tentatively.
"You were there, correct?" Dumbledore verified.
"At first," Severus admitted, "but when she revealed herself we were all sent away."
"What did Voldemort do? Surely you found out somehow," Dumbeldore said calmly.
"Well, I'm sure the Cruciartus was employed at some point," Severus muttered.
Dumbledore frowned slightly. "I don't think so," he said, "she didn't mention that."
"Why would she?" Severus challenged. He regained his calm demeanor. "What did you ask?"
"Why, what had happened, of course. Everything important," Dumbledore said, oblivious to the point Severus was making.
"She obvi- She didn't think it was important," Severus told him. "How would that affect the war? It wouldn't stop you from making her go in again." There was a bitter sting in Severus's last words. They had promised not to make her a spy, but she had sent in and hurt anyways.
"I'll look into that. Anything else?" Dumbledore asked, shuffling a paper on his desk.
Severus paused. "He also… He also announced her engagement."
Dumbledore's froze. "Pardon?" He met Severus's eyes. "Surely she would have told us that."
Severus resisted the urge to scowl or shout. "She obviously didn't that her future mattered to his war. Is that all, Headmaster?" Severus asked icily, rage boiling inside him.
"Yes," said the Headmaster, not really focused on the conversation anymore. "Thank you, Mister Snape."
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Who needs magic? Lily asked herself, speeding down the highway in her new BMW. "Woohoo!" she shouted into the night.
Onyx, curled in the passenger seat, groaned. "I'm hungry."
"So are you," the Mark reminded Lily. "Pull over, get food and let our brother hunt."
Now that the Mark mentioned it, Lily noticed her stomach growling. She found herself a little while later in a small burger joint, sipping on a chocolate milkshake and eating a greasy cheeseburger.
"I do not like American food," her tattoo told her.
"I think I do," Lily muttered thoughtfully, taking another bite.
"This is a bloody waste of time!" exclaimed a voice. Lily froze. "Everywhere, 'e says. Check the moon!"
"Not yet, thank goodness," another said. "I think she's somewhere near. Just not here. What self-respecting wizard would be caught dead here?"
"I dunno. Besides, we don't even know what she looks like," the first said. There was a crunching sound. "These fries are amazing…"
The voices came from the bar, only meters from Lily. At least she had the hat she had gotten from the man in London to cover her traitorous hair.
"Let's go," groaned the second. "She'll be in Brazil by now."
"Nuh uh," objected the first. "I wanna eat my fries." Lily closed her eyes. Should she risk drawing attention to herself by leaving? Or should she let them walk right by her? "Besides," the man continued, "if the Order did get her, she'd be back in England."
"Take the fries wit ya," said the second, irritated.
The two rose and trudged towards the door. Lily busied herself by squeezing ketchup packets onto her plate.
"Hey!" said the second. Lily looked up cautiously. An enormous man was looking down at her, scrutinizing her. "Can I have a few of those?" he asked, gesturing to her abundant ketchup packs.
"Go ahead," she said, smiling weakly.
"Thanks," he said. "Hey, Joe, wait up!" He hurried to catch up to his partner.
"He is an idiot," the Mark mentioned once he was out of the door.
Lily had to agree.
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Lily strolled through the house: one bedroom, one bathroom, in a nice, small Muggle town. All the necessities were there. So why was she so unsure?
Don't stop, said a voice in her mind. Her own voice, for once. Run.
Lily slinked back into her sleek car and slammed the gas pedal.
Onyx, well fed if the lump in his middle was anything to go by, looked up, disgruntled by the sudden motion. "Not here?" he asked.
"No," Lily replied off-handedly. "A little farther."
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"And to all of you who are not students, meet at ten for an attack," the Dark Lord hissed.
"Milord?" asked a man, head bowed.
"Yes Abarax?" he acknowledged calmly.
"Where?"
The Dark Lord whirled on him, immediately suspicious. "Here! Why is the location of the Muggles important? They are Muggles either way."
"Of course, milord," murmured Malfoy.
"Any leads on the Stunner?" Voldemort hissed. "Report to me after the meeting," he told those who stepped forward. "First I wanted to ask a question to our Hogwarts students."
A group of shorter Death Eaters stepped forward. "Do any of you thick-headed dimwits recall what I said would happen if the Stunner vanished again?"
There was complete silence in the small field.
"Well?" Voldemort asked. "No one can remember?" Still no answer. Cowards. " I believe it entailed certain punishments…" He allowed the words to sink in a moment before saying, "However, I will give you—all—one week to locate her. Do not bother returning her to the school.
"Last for us to discuss," he continued, "Our little visit on Sunday. Why were no intruders captured?" He paused. "No answer, Duff?" he asked, whirling on a random follower.
"N-n-no, m-milord," he stammered, sinking into a bow.
"Crucio!" Voldemort watched the man writhe on the grass, a smile twitching at his pale lips. When the spell wore off, Duff was sobbing. "Don't cry," Voldemort said, disgusted. "Crucio!"
Finally the man settled for screaming. "Good," Voldemort murmured. He turned back to the Hogwarts students. "This is what awaits you should the Stunner not be at my side in one weeks side. Dismissed."
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America did have quite a variety of climate. After a sweltering ride through an endless desert, Lily and her serpentine companions were in the dense city of Phoenix.
Street lights flickered under the bright stars overhead, illuminating the slight girl in the silver BMW. She was suppressing yawns; she'd have to pull over and sleep soon.
Sitting at a red light, Lily looked sideways as a car revved its engine. The teenager in front grinned at her and raised his eyebrows, smacking his lips.
Lily raised an eyebrow and revved her engine in return. "To the next stoplight," she called to him.
His grin widened and his grin widened. "Let's go, babe," he replied.
The light turned green and they were off, streaks on the road.
Hood down and red hair streaming over the back of her silver car, Lily felt quite free. Adrenaline raced through her veins as she flew by the other cars, barely avoiding hitting one van.
The other car stayed near her, but the boy looked furious as the reached the next light with her in the lead.
She stopped on the other side of the light, smirking. He fishtailed and skidded to a halt next to her. "Sweet ride," he said. "Wanna go again?"
Lily shook her head. "No thanks," she replied.
"We can raise the stakes," he offered. "How about a date?"
"And if I win?" she asked.
He grinned. "That was for if you win."
Lily laughed. "Not going to happen, mate." She slammed on her gas pedal and screeched down the street, leaving a baffled American behind.
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"I apoligze for disturbing you, Headmaster," Severus said stiffly.
"That's perfectly all right, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore said jovially, their disagreement of earlier ignored.
"There's going to be an attack on Muggles tomorrow night at ten," Severus burst.
"Where?" Dumbledore asked.
Severus paused. "I don't know. I apologize again, Headmaster."
"That's all right, Mr. Snape, no need to apologize. Is that all?"
Severus nodded once and turned heel to leave the office.
"Are you… okay?" Dumbledore asked behind him.
Severus paused, thinking of the inevitable night of pain in seven days if Lily was still on the loose. "Yes, I'm fine, Headmaster."
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"You are dismissed, Weseman," Lord Voldemort said. The man bowed, quaking, and Disapparated.
Voldemort paused, and then cursed a nearby tree into a million pieces. So that was it! The Order had smuggled Velisna out of school, then, when she tried to escape and reach to him with Dark magic, she had been captured by American Aurors and given back to the Order!
Voldemort growled and picked up a leftover mask, ripping it apart. They would pay.
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The Pacific really wasn't that great, Lily pondered at its edge. All cliffs and seals. Maybe she'd go back across the States. Or maybe into Canada. Or down to Brazil. Her options were limitless; except for return to Europe. The thought of her home country made the open wound of Fairfield's death throbbed horribly and Lily put a hand to her heart, trying to contain her own wild feelings.
She shook her head, grabbed Onyx (who had been eyeing the seals hungrily) and jumped back into her car. Keep running.
