Lily kept finding "excuses" to leave the house. Perhaps they were out of milk, or maybe she just wanted to go for a walk. Sometimes, Sirius would transform and join her, but most of the time she'd sneak out when he was asleep. She didn't want him to worry, after all.
Things were going well, or somewhat well. The Death Eaters should have broken out of Azkaban by now, but they had not. Perhaps Voldemort was taking stock of his Horcruxes, or something just as dire was keeping him occupied. On the other hand, Harry started his Occulmency lessons a month too soon, and ended them almost immediately- he should have started this month and had until the end of term to be somewhat familiar with it. Now he would be at Voldemort's mercy unless Albus could cajole Severus into trying again.
Lily crossed the street to the newsstand to buy a paper, settling on the Times, and two bars of Secret and a packet of Cadbury Astros. She always enjoyed collecting discontinued candy, it made a nice souvenir.
She opened the paper and lazily read the business section at the newsstand, unable to shake the feeling she was being watched. She folded the paper, tucking it under her arm as she placed her hands in her pockets, holding tight to her wand as she briskly walked into her flat.
She felt the whir of a spell fly past her and blast the door, shattering into millions of splinters
Lily turned around to find herself surrounded by three Death Eaters, and Wormtail who was not in robes.
Lily jumped out of the way of the next blasting hex, and sent a hex their way, shattering his knee from the inside as he toppled over in pain, then sent a stunning spell. She quickly cast a shield against a spell from the other side. She disarmed the other two by shattering their wrists, then stunning them. Her father would be disappointed in her more violent impulses, but it was fast.
Wormtail raised his wand and shouted, "Avada…" only for Lily to summon a teapot and chuck it at his head, causing him to fall over bleeding. She summoned his wand and placed it in a drawer as Wormtail crawled forward, trying to grab it, groaning in pain.
"Has it really come to this, Pete?" Lily asked.
"What did you expect would happen? You killed his familiar." Wormtail spat, blood running down his mouth.
Lily pointed her wand at him and he flinched.
"Don't kill me Lou, please. We can work something out, can't we? I could talk to my Master, he would want someone like you on his side."
Lily frowned. "You know Pete, James always believed in you despite everything and I don't know why. He thought when it came down to it you would be capable of change."
"I am, I could help you, Lou. You'll see," he begged.
"I'll give you a ten minute head start." Lily replied.
Wormtail turned into a rat, ready to retreat when Lily jumped forward, stunning him instantly.
She lifted the stunned rat off the ground, and placed it in her pocket. As casually as she could, and began to enact her plan.
"I see you did not book an appointment Miss Pruitt." Amelia Bones noted as Lily sat in front of her desk. "Honestly, I'm not sure how you entered my office without one."
"I am here to right wrongs, and I will only take a moment of your time." Lily replied as she placed a cage on Bones's desk.
"You're here to offer me a rodent? I'm not in need of any potion ingredients."
"Better, I'm here to turn in the unregistered Animangus Peter Pettigrew."
Lily removed the rat (currently drugged with enough Dreamless Sleep to keep him sedated for a while) and placed him on the floor. She cast a Hominem Revelio and watched as Bones gasped in astonishment.
"This is the perpetrator of the explosion that killed twelve Muggles in 1981, and a spy for You-Know-Who himself as you can see from the Dark Mark on his forearm." Lily said, lifting his sleeve.
"Are you sure it's him?" Bones asked, her voice shaking in disbelief.
"How else can you explain it? Polyjuice does not work on dead hair. And you can keep him in a holding cell if you do not believe me. Having a Dark Mark in itself is considered an arrestable offense if I'm correct."
"You are." Bones replied stiffly. She pressed a button under her desk, and her assistant, a young man in his twenties, rushed into the room. When he saw Wormtail's body on the floor, he gasped.
"Please call the Auror department to send someone. I think we will be here for a while. And please escort Miss Pruitt to a holding cell for questioning."
Lily gaped at her. "Excuse me?"
The assistant grabbed her by the arm and escorted her to a glass booth with a thin wooden bench inside. Lily felt she had sat the for a long time, possibly hours, until a tall burly man with brown hair entered the cell.
"Good evening, Miss Pruitt. I'm Auror Robards. I'd like to ask you a few questions."
"Go ahead," Lily acquiesced, folding her arms.
"How did you come in contact to the supposed Mr. Pettigrew?"
"Are you not convinced it is him? Because I went to school with him, and I can assure you, it's him."
"We will verify his identity in time. But how did you become acquainted with him?"
"He, and a few other individuals in Death Eater robes barged into my flat and tried to kill me. I stunned them in self defense. I left them at my flat but by now they've probably fled. Pettigrew was the only one I recognized because he was not wearing robes. Surprised, I brought him here to stand trial for his crimes."
"Mr. Pettigrew was a war hero." Robards said.
"But he was not! He was a spy for You-Know-Who! He framed Sirius Black and framed him for the explosion. There is even record of a letter from James Potter himself intimating such information that was dismissed."
Robards frowned. "Is this true?"
"Yes, I have the letter with me."
Lily pulled out a copy the letter from her coat pocket and handed it to him, which he snatched. He skimmed it, keeping an eye on her as he read.
"I'm keeping this," Robards declared.
"Please do. Is there anything else I can answer for you?" Lily asked.
"You are free to go for now, but you will be asked to return as a witness to the trail of our Joe Bloggs, possibly Peter Pettigrew. Do you have any information on the whereabouts of Sirius Black? You mentioned his name."
Lily shook her head. "I'm afraid not, I was hoping you knew."
"Were you close to Mr. Black?" Robards asked.
"We were schoolmates, just like I was with Pettigrew. He was a nice chap. He deserved a proper trial." Lily said pointedly.
"And he'll get one, if he turns himself in," Robards replied. "If you do find anything, please send a tip. You'll be helping him as well as us. If he's really innocent, he has nothing to worry about."
Lily stood up, and walked towards the door of her cell. "I'll keep that in mind."
When Lily returned to Grimmauld, she didn't know if she should tell Sirius, or if it would only provide false hope.
"Where were you?" Sirius asked as she walked through the door. "You were gone for ages."
"I went for a candy run," Lily said. "Also has a run-in with Peter. I sent him over to the Aurors. It's out of our hands now."
"What!" Sirius screamed. "Are you hurt? How did this happen? Are you out of your mind?"
He ran over to her and grabbed her arms, examining her body for cuts or bruises.
"How could you do this? You didn't even tell me anything!" He said as he held her tightly.
"I thought you'd be happy. We're going to bring him to justice."
"But you could have died! I doubt he ambushed you on his own."
Lily sighed. "It was a bit of a scrape, but I got by. Really, I had more trouble with Amelia Bones and the Aurors not wanting to believe me."
Sirius let go of her and looked at her face to face. "But did they believe you?"
"We'll see. There's going to be a trial either way and I'll have to testify. So he might be sentenced for something. But to overturn your sentence they want you to turn yourself in." Lily said.
Sirius snorted. "Not bloody likely."
"Even if it means clearing your name?" Lily asked. "We've come so far."
Sirius looked unsure. "I can't go back there."
"It won't be for long," Lily said. "And worse comes to worse, we'll break you out again."
When word got out about Pettigrew's return from the dead, the papers had a field day. The Prophet started to speculate how he could have faked his death, and how if it really was him. When the identification test results leaked and proved, yes it was Pettigrew, the story took on a life of its own that not even the Ministry could curb. Since it wasn't directly related to the return of Voldemort, the Ministry didn't try too hard to suppress it anyway, possibly hoping it would die down on its own.
The Quibbler suggested that Pettigrew was such a successful spy because he used an army of hyper intelligent rats to control the government at all levels, giving direct power to You-Know-Who. Lily hoped the paper hadn't started becoming the de facto news source of the resistance yet.
The Prophet suggested he and James Potter were in cahoots to frame Sirius Black, both working as double agents. They were still on the track of discrediting Harry Potter any way possible, even suggesting James had also faked his own death. Lily sent a rather neatly wrapped basket of hippogriff dung to Skeeter for that one.
As the weeks passed, editorials and pieces about Sirius Black were being published at a rate unseen even during his arrest from both sides. The traditionalists were asking why the heir to a family as illustrious as the Blacks was shuttered away on such circumstantial evidence without trial, especially highlighting Crouch's scandal from last year. The progressives were wanting a harder stance on punishing former Death Eaters who they felt escaped justice. The tide was turning in Sirius's favor. But still he was unwilling to turn himself in, well aware that it could still go horribly wrong.
The day of the trial arrived, and Lily sat in the Wizengamot chamber, waiting to be called as a witness. Reporters had waited outside the atrium, swarming her as she went in.
"Miss Pruitt, is this Mr. Pettigrew?" Tiberius Ogden, one of the high seats on the Wizengamot asked.
Albus was noticeably absent, having been ousted as Chief Warlock due to his statements of Voldemort's return and Lily felt incredibly small and alone.
"Yes," she replied, staring at the man chained in front of them. He wasn't looking at her, he was staring at his manacled hands.
"And how did Mr. Pettigrew achieve in faking his death?"
"He is an animangus, sir. I assume after cutting off his finger, he transformed into a rat and hid away." Lily replied.
"Have you seen him transform before?"
"Multiple times."
"And you never thought to report an unregistered animangus?"
"I did not, I was not from Britain and was unaware of the severity of such an action. But that does not take away that Pettigrew was still a spy for a You-Know-Who, and killed those Muggles."
"Were you a witness to the event the plaintiff is accused of have caused?" He asked.
"No, but I was."
Lily turned towards the door, and she could hear the murmurs as Sirius walked into the chamber.
"My name is Sirius Black, and I have come here to act as a witness, and to officially turn myself in."
Ogden murmured with a few of the other high members of the Wizengamot as Aurors grabbed Sirius, placing chains around his hands and dragging him to a bench on the other side of the chamber. One Auror sat next to him, his wand pointed at Sirius's chest.
"Very well, Mr. Black. We accept your request and you may act as a witness to the trial."
Sirius recounted the night that he was betrayed, down to his arrest. He confirmed that Pettigrew was an animangus, so was he and James Potter as well. He talked about how Pettigrew had manipulated their trust and betrayed their friendship, all for his own fear and ambition.
Sirius finished, and was escorted back to his seat. There was a brief recess, and Lily stared longingly at Sirius throughout the whole silent waiting period. Sirius leaned over and mouthed, "I love you."
Lily sniffed, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.
The Wizengamot shuffled back to their benches, sitting down. Griselda Marchbanks called order and began to speak.
"Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Black. Given the evidence and Mr. Potter's letter, which has been authenticated at Gringotts, we must conclude that Mr. Pettigrew did commit the offenses he is accused of and must receive the highest sentence, the Dementor's kiss at Azkaban. Mr. Black, you are exonerated of the crimes you were sentenced for and we offer our sincerest apologies for this injustice. You are free to go, but you must report weekly to an assigned Auror to note your whereabouts and register as an animangus. You would have received an additional sentence for felony escape but frankly, your previous tenure of incarceration has served it in spades."
Sirius shook in surprise. He bowed his head. "Thank you."
Despite himself, he wept openly.
When the trial had adjourned, Lily ran to him, kissing him deeply on the lips. "You did it, I'm so proud of you."
Sirius kissed her back, smiling. "We did it."
They watched as Pettigrew was escorted away by the Aurors.
"It's really over."
"I still wish I could have killed him," Sirius replied, hatred laced in his voice.
Lily touched his face, turning it to her. "We did it the right way. The way Harry wanted it. Jamie would have wanted it this way too."
Sirius didn't say anything, but grabbed her hand and kissed it.
When they left the courtroom, they were blinded by the flashing lights of reporters and curious onlookers, eager to get a glimpse of the once notorious Sirius Black, and the mystery woman on his arm.
"Sirius! Care to comment on Pettigrew's spying for You-Know-Who?"
"Was James Potter a spy as well? Did you know?"
"Sirius! Any plans for the future?"
"I can answer that one!" Sirius exclaimed. "I am going to start the process to formally adopt my godson, along with my partner. Until that's settled, we ask for privacy and thank you for your support in these trying times."
He waved to the reporters and dragged Lily away, stunned at what he said.
"Are you out of your mind!" Lily exclaimed as they left the Ministry.
"We had talked about this," Sirius said. "Once I cleared my name we would adopt him."
"I didn't think you would make it public until the process was finalized. Think about how much danger you're putting Harry in without the blood protection."
"He'll still have it, you'll be there." Sirius said. "And he knows, I told him how you were related to James."
"But you had no right to tell him that! That's private!." Lily replied. It was beginning to rain. She could feel the droplets running down her face.
"What isn't private with you? You are always hiding things from me. Why can't you tell me the truth?" Sirius demanded. The rain was steadily pouring down.
Lily apparated then back to Grimmauld. "Alright." Lily said as she sat him down on the couch. "You are right. You deserve to know the truth. It's long overdue."
When she finished, Sirius just stared at her.
"Well?" Lily asked, biting her lip.
"So, all this time you lied to me." Sirius said, his voice hollow.
"No, no. I didn't lie. Well, yes, I sort of did. But how could I explain myself in a way that doesn't sound insane? I just frequently and spontaneously time travel?"
"It does sound insane," Sirius agreed. "So when are you from exactly?"
"I was born in 2008."
"Merlin." Sirius gasped. "You aren't even anything now are you? But you're here."
"That's time travel for you." Lily shrugged.
"But you were seventeen when we were, you went to school with us!" Sirius shouted.
"That was a coincidence. I tend to drop into any era at any given time. I just happened to be the same age as you at that time." Lily explained.
"So how did you enroll? And what about your parents moving from Hong Kong?" Sirius asked incredulously, running his hand through his hair.
"Albus helped me with that. I needed a place to stay, so he let me finish my schooling for as long as I stayed. I was lucky I stayed the year. Usually I phase out before then. As for Hong Kong, it was far enough away to explain my unfamiliarity with the local people or customs of the time, and no one would be able to out me as an imposter as easily from there as opposed to Beauxbatons."
"Why would Dumbledore help you?" Sirius probed.
"I spent a summer with his family, we became close friends, and I guess he took pity on me." Lily replied.
"When was this?"
"How old was I or the time period?" Lily asked.
"The second one."
"1898."
Sirius swore. He stood up and started pacing.
"So all these things you've been doing. You've been meddling with what's supposed to happen, haven't you?" Sirius demanded angrily, "The Horcruxes, Wormtail, trying to set up Remus with Tonks, you are trying to change things!"
"That last one does happen, I just thought they should have more time together." Lily said weakly.
"Until what?" Sirius asked, shouting at her.
Lily didn't answer.
Sirius stopped pacing. "Did you know? About James and Lily? How they were going to die?"
"I tried to stop it. I did everything I could…" Lily pleaded.
"But it wasn't enough, was it?" Sirius said bitingly. "Would James have been so fond of you if he knew you could have saved him?"
"I told him everything. We worked together to try to stop it. We still failed." Lily said. She could see Sirius bubble with rage.
"But you didn't tell me." He said quietly. "Both of you kept it from me."
He looked at the fireplace. "He knew, and he still went along with my plan for the Secret Keeper?"
"James wanted to save everyone. Including Peter. He believed he had the capacity to have a change of heart and that he too could be saved. That's why he wanted to do the broadcast warnings, he wanted to save as many lives as possible from succumbing to the Death Eaters. I told him the attacks that had been recorded in the future, and we even planted bugs in some of the strongholds for the ones we might have missed. If that radio still worked, you could tune into the Malfoy's living room if you wanted to."
"You know about that too?" Sirius asked. "Why am I still surprised."
"It was James's idea but we talked through some of the mechanics." Lily answered.
Sirius put his hands on his head. He looked back up at her. "I don't think I even know you at all, Louisa. Is that even your name?"
"No, it isn't."
"Then what is it? I suppose I have a right to know that by now?" He spat.
"It's Lily. Lily Luna Potter."
Sirius laughed, it sounded unhinged. "Of course it is. You're Harry's daughter."
"Yes."
"Did James know? Oh who am I kidding? He probably did. Not like he ever wanted to tell anything to me, his best friend."
"I already risked too much telling him, I couldn't tell you, Sirius! I never thought I'd see you again, and then I did and it was just so overwhelming and amazing, I didn't want to lose you!" Lily screamed desperately.
Sirius gave her a hard stare.
"Sirius, I'm sorry. I really cocked it up, I know. But I love you so much. I can't lose you again, not now when we can really be together," Lily pleaded, tears stinging her eyes. She felt lightheaded, the room was beginning to spin.
"I think I would like you to leave."
"Sirius.." Lily cried.
"Just go." Sirius said firmly.
Lily nodded, bursting into tears. She grabbed her coat and ran out the door, feeling nauseous as her limbs felt dense, then lightweight. As soon as she hit the pavement, she knew she was spiraling.
She ran to the bus stop, hoping to catch her breath. She hyperventilated as her vision blurred, growing cloudy as the colors seemed so bright.
She closed her eyes tightly, slowing the dots of color to spiral around in the blackness.
When she opened her eyes, she was in the same bus stop. But everything was different. The corner kebab shop had turned into an artisanal cafe, and the beeper store a vape shop. Lily felt the dead weight of her phone buzz back to life in her coat pocket.
She fumbled for her phone and stared grimly at the date. She was back in the present.
