SEE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE BOTTOM FOR DEDICATION
XX**XX
"I think I've done it" Lily said, as Sirius came down into the potions room that Lily had set up in the basement.
"You'll have to be more specific my love, your to do list is enormous" Sirius said, kissing her on the temple.
"Two horcruxes, no sword… Fiendfyre. That's the only way" she said.
"That's risky. We've spoken about this before" Sirius said.
"What if I can control it?" she said.
"There has only been a handful of witches or wizards in the history of time who have been able to control fiendfyre. And they used dark magic" Sirius said.
"Dark or light, magic is magic and if I have to tap into that to destroy Vold….." she begun.
"DON'T SAY THE NAME" Sirius shouted, before Lily could finish speaking.
"You-know-who, then I will" she said.
"And risk your soul?" he asked.
"My soul isn't what is at stake here Sirius, my soul is fine, as long as I'm doing what I do from a place of goodness" she said, arguing her point with determination.
"You don't know that" he said.
"I do. Sirius, I believe we all have a soul, I do. But I do not believe that magic has strict lines of dark ad light. There has to be some grey" she said.
"You're willing to risk your soul on that?" he asked.
"I'm willing to risk my life on that Sirius. To save the wizarding world? To save us? You? Our children? What about Josie?" she asked.
"I… I can't lose you Lily" he said, tears forming in his eyes.
Lily wrapped her arms around her husband, certain that his fear was valid and coming from a plac of love, not stubbornness.
"You won't lose me Sirius. Am I a smart witch or am I a smart witch? I cured werewolves. I tamed the beast that I Sirius Black. Come on. Have a little faith" she said, holding him by the shoulders and looking into his eyes.
"Make a vow" he said suddenly.
"A vow? A vow of what?" she asked.
"That if it's too much for you, for your magic that you'll stop" he said.
"No, Sirius, you know me. I won't allow it to take me away from you, from our kids. While Josie is out there somewhere lost to the Malfoys, I will not let some stupid little fire kill me" she said.
"I just… I want your word" he said.
"I only speak the truth Sirius. To you. My word has been given. Now please, if you don't mind, look over my notes and tell me what you think" she said, suddenly offended at the thought that she would lie, put herself in danger when her children needed her.
XX**XX
"The wards are in place?" she asked.
"As many as I could do" Sirius said.
"The ones you specifically mentioned and then some of my own" Harry said.
The three of them stood at the edge of a small island that was situated in the middle of nowhere. The Cup of Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin's locket in Lily's hands, ready to be destroyed.
"Good. Now, we've practiced, right? We know what we need to do?" she asked.
"Yes, mum, I get it. You hold the fire, I throw the cup and dad throws the locket" he said, putting his hand out for the cup.
Lily distributed the horcruxes to her husband and her son, who looked more and more like James every day. She blinked away a tear and inhaled a deep breath before releasing it slowly, something she was taught by a healer when she felt fear creeping upon her.
"I just…" she began.
"Don't. We'll talk when this is over" Sirius said.
Lily simply nodded and held her wand out directly in front of her.
"Remember the plan" she said.
"Disapparate if it gets too much and put in an anonymous tip to the Dark magic reversal team" Sirius said.
Lily narrowed her eyes, focused on the desolate island in front of her. It was chosen for this mission by Dumbledore long before any of them ever considered fiendfyre to destroy horcruxes. He would bring Lily here over the years while the children were at Hogwarts, teach her spells she had only ever dreamt of. He told her about the magical properties of this particular island and skilled her on the power of familiar magic in protection spells. She only hoped he was right and the bonds of magic between herself and Sirius, and herself and Harry were strong enough to draw on to stop the fire once if was started.
She held her breath and spoke in an even tone, "sacer ignis". She watched as crazed fire tore from the end of her wand and took on a life of its own. She spoke again "ne sacer ignis" and the fie that was still pouring from her wand stopped. She held her wand tight in her hand, aiming it at the fire that was dancing around the island, searching for something to engulf. She looked to Sirius and Harry and nodded, signalling to them to throw the horcruxes into the fire.
As the items flew through the air, the screaming sound almost deafened Lily, who was managing to barely maintain control of the fiendfyre.
It was taking so much of her magical energy to hold the raging beast at bay, however, once the horcruxes touched the earth, the fire moved on its own towards the screaming, towards the only thing it could sense to burn. The cup was first, almost combusting into screeches and horrified screams. From beneath the lames, Lily could see black ooze in the place where the cup once was and she was pleased to know that the plan, so far, was working.
As the flames targeted the locket, it also let out some sounds, but not the same screaming that could be heard from the cup. This time it was speaking.
"Lily Black. You have sacrificed your soul and it is mine for the taking. I own you, your hopes of a life beyond the war, your fears of losing everyone you love… They will all be for nothing. Your soul is mine, your dreams are mine, your fears are your own and you will live them, see them, experience them, every day of the rest of your life. I own you Lily Black, Lily Potter, Lily Evans…" the voice continued until the fire took hold and eventually destroyed it in an explosion within the fire itself.
Lily wiped tears away from her eyes, as she now worked to control the fire, make it smaller, extinguish it. She knew the incantation; she knew the wand movement. She had practiced, but now, somehow, she was frozen.
"Lily…" came the echoing voice of Sirius. She knew he was right there beside her, but the sound of his voice felt so far away. The bright red and orange of the flames were in front of her face, dancing, playing, taunting her. She was in a trance. They were begging her to let them free, allow them to run all over this island, find something to burn, to consume. Lily felt like allowing it. There was a part inside her that wondered what might happen if she were to let go, allow the world to burn at her hands.
"Mum, mum!" she heard Harry, her son. Her first-born child, now a man He would understand. He was there. Felt the green light race towards him, just as she had done 15 years ago. The euphoric feeling of death, the peace that she dreamt of. It wasn't freedom from war, it wasn't a happy, safe life. It was death. It was the briefest, most fleeting feeling she remembered experiencing when she was struck by the killing curse in Godric's Hollow years ago. She wondered if Harry had felt that or if he could remember. Death had chased her, her whole life and was now staring her directly in the face, side by side with the flames, begging, pleading for her to let go, to allow it to consume the island, to consume her… Harry… Sirius… Harry? She had fought for Harry her whole life, pleaded for his safety to the dark creature who had tracked them down and murdered her husband in their home. She would NOT give up; she would NOT surrender. She would fight, she would take control of this beast and diminish it, extinguish it, end it.
She summoned all of her magic and held her wand high, the flames, were shrinking and becoming smaller. The bright orange colour was fading to black. As Lily threw all of her magic into making the flames small, she fell to her knees, still holding her wand high above her head and muttered the incantation to extinguish the flames, which followed her command.
The blackness was blinding. There was no light, no sound. She vaguely felt herself being moved, but there was no way to tell if it was real or not. She felt the pull through her navel and wondered briefly if she were being apparated away. There was no sound and still no light. Had the world gone black? Or had Lily been overcome by the blackness of dark magic?
XX**XX
AN - A short chapter that i would like to dedicate to the incredible New South Wales Rural Fire Service, to the people who have lost their homes and their lives and to all of the emergency services working their asses off to save my country from the bush fire crisis that as taken over. You may not know this, but Australia is currently experiencing an incredible drought and has been in the brink of the hottest, driest fire season in more years than i can remember. Lives have been lost, houses have been destroyed, service men and women, who are mostly volunteers, are exhausted yet, they face another day of catastrophic conditions and expect to fight another battle that feels like its never ending.
People are being forced to flee to the beaches, to gather on the sand, to drive into the water for safety while this raging beast takes over the bush, the houses and the land. There are no words to describe the feeling of fear in the air. I haven't seen the blue sky or the yellow sun through the smoke in months. Its the middle of summer and you can barely see the sun. I am safe where i am, but can not leave. To the east of me is the ocean, to the south and to the west, the roads are all closed from the fires. There is no possible way to travel south. North is a major city which is accessible, at this stage, however, it is also surrounded by fires and burnt land and beyond that, there is no way out.
Please keep Australia in your thoughts. Particularly as we approach another day of hot, dry, windy conditions.