Part 3
Late July
Wood Family Lodge (The Order of the Phoenix Headquarters)
Lily was staring.
"Are you sure about this?"
Lily continued to stare at the mirror, seeing Mary's hands toying with her long crimson locks. She quirked her mouth, toying with the scissors in her hands before sighing and handing them to Mary.
"It's too long," she answered. "And bright— Moody said bringing me on surveillance missions is like bringing a traffic cone out."
Mary nodded, taking the scissors and bringing them to Lily's mane of red curls.
It had grown, reaching her lower back. James had always liked it long.
Lily watched as Mary cut the first lock, the hair falling limply to the floor.
She looked down, eyes rooted to her lap as Mary went to work. Within minutes, the floor was covered in a sea of crimson. Hearing a knock at the door, Mary paused.
"Come in?"
The door opened and Lily turned, seeing Marlene standing in the doorway. She snorted, walking into the room and sitting on the vanity in front of Lily.
"Taking Moody's advice to heart?" she asked, reaching for one of Lily's short locks. "Mary you're doing this all wrong— Merlin move over."
"How would you know how to cut hair?" Mary grumbled as Marlene took the scissors.
"I have three sisters," Marlene matched, getting to work.
"It needs to be practical," Lily said testily as Marlene began to artfully snip at her hair.
"Practical can look hot Lily," Marlene replied. "Exhibit your brother's delicious buzzcut."
"No one pulls that look off," Mary countered, reclining back on the bed behind the vanity. Lily didn't answer, waiting as Mary finished but frowned in the reflection.
"It's still too bright," she noted.
"I could try some of the styling spells Marcee uses," Marlene offered. Lily nodded in agreement, watching as Marlene took her wand out and hit Lily's hair with a charm. It was like water poured over her head, darkening the crimson locks to a deep auburn. But as the hair darkened, her curls straightened out into straight, taut locks.
She looked at her reflection.
She looked different.
Marlene had cut her hair into its shortest length to date, with the ends barely reaching the curve of her shoulders. The rest had been layered with the shortest section cutting around Lily's cheekbones.
"You look hot Lily," Marlene declared, dropping the scissors and vanishing the hair on the ground.
"Much more practical," Lily assessed.
"We've got five minutes till the meeting," Mary noted.
Lily nodded and led her friends down the dark mahogany halls of Wood Lodge. As they neared the parlor, which had been cleared out into a meeting room, she could hear voices growing louder. Lily stepped inside, fighting the urge to smile at the large crowd.
"Let's get this meeting started," Regina Wood declared from the front. She stood at a long table with Moody, Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore, and the Prewitt parents. Lily slinked into one of the middle rows of benches, looking around at the crowd.
They were the Order of the Phoenix, an undercover group started by Dumbledore to combat the growing threat of Voldemort. The members came from all sorts of backgrounds, including Mark McKinnon and other sturdy-faced aurors near the front, and Molly Weasley, a housewife pregnant with her fourth child.
Lily's mother had been a spy for the Order for years.
Jules had been an agent since Luke's death.
And now she'd joined up too.
Albeit, Lily wasn't allowed on any of the intensive missions, primarily serving to help with healing in the headquarters and low-grade surveillance work. She had yet to get a lick of battle, given that she'd joined less than 2 months ago. She was itching for a mission that took her out of simply watching the ministry entrance or patching up another gash.
Regina ran through updates from the previous meeting, outlining upcoming missions of interest as well.
"We've been tipped off there's to be a gathering at Nott Manor," she announced. "There are rumors that many of them will be gathered— this could be a chance to identify more known death eaters and confirm some suspicious we've had. Unfortunately, the Manor grounds have some restrictive charms on them."
"What type?" Mary asked in a low voice.
"Blood magic," Lily replied in a bitter tone. "Only purebloods can get onto them."
"You're right girl," a voice announced from the front. She looked up, meeting Moody's wild gaze. "For those of you who didn't hear, only purebloods get onto the grounds of Nott Manor."
The crowd broke into conversation as they tried to assess who could go on the risky mission.
"What about your brother?" Mary whispered.
"He's still in Greece," Lily replied. Her mother and brother had left days ago, trying to beseech aid from the Greek Ministry of Magic in the coming war. The meeting began to break up and she hung around, looking through the crowd for—
"Everett."
Lily swallowed, facing the magic-eye of Alastor Moody with an apprehensive look.
"Sir," she said.
"You'll be on this one," he said. "You… Andromeda Tonks and Wood."
"Regina?" she asked with a frown.
"The son," Moody growled. "You'll head out tonight."
Lily nodded, trying to process that she'd been assigned to her first major mission.
"Don't look too thrilled," Moody barked. "Odds that your family is there are high."
She hadn't seen her father or Jason in over a month, not since her mother and her left with nothing other than a note left in the entry hall of the house.
She turned to see that Marlene and Mary were both distracted, speaking with the Prewitt twins and Alice Prewitt their cousin. Fabian caught her eye, giving her a soft smile and Lily nodded back.
She wasn't close with the other Gryffindors and recent graduates like Marlene and Mary were. When the Vances through their allegiance to the Dark Lord, Marlene had fallen into step with their other classmates, Lily a third-wheel thanks to spending most of her sixth year joined at the hip to James Potter.
"New look?"
She looked up and smiled at the friendly face of Andromeda Tonks. In another lifetime, the Blacks had wanted an engagement between Andromeda and Jules. But that was before Andromeda had denounced the family to marry a muggleborn. Now she and Jules were just friends.
"Less noticeable," Lily quipped.
"Perfect timing for tonight," Andromeda replied. "Let's find Wood and start planning."
That night, in the pitch darkness of night, Lily rolled her eyes as Michael flinched when her shoulder brushed against his.
They were hardly on good terms.
"Sorry," she muttered. He ignored her, eyes glued on the massive Manor in front of them.
"Be quiet," he snapped. "Just do the bloody spell so we can leave."
Lily fought the urge to flinch back as she took her wand out.
'Incari," she said, a bird zooming over from the woods to her. She held her hand out, instructing the creature, and used a spell Jason and her often used as kids to eavesdrop on their parents. the bird flew up to one of the open windows in the Nott family's glass dining hall.
"Nifty trick," Andromeda noted. Lily smiled in return. Before she could speak, a voice sounded from her wand as the bird listened to the conversation inside.
" They're getting more numbers," someone said. "We need to take their purse strings away."
"That's Abraxas Malfoy," Andromeda muttered. Lily nodded, glancing back to the dining hall and debating whether it was worth rising from the hedge they were disguised into to get a glance and see if anyone she knew was there.
" Prewitts, Longbottoms, McKinnons— I want all of them turned," he snarled.
"Longbottoms and Prewitts are not worth it," someone replied. "They're as gone as the Woods."
"Then it's kill on sight," Malfoy declared. Lily's arm prickled up in goosebumps and she glanced at Michael. His face was tense.
The men broke into further talk of missions and plans for a few minutes before she heard the scraping of a chair against the floor.
"All of you shut up."
Lily's heart fell into her gut. She knew that voice.
"What are you on about Potter."
"Jason Everett used to use this charm," James announced. Lily's pulse turned to thunder.
"We need to leave," she hissed.
"So we could eavesdrop on the Gryffindor quidditch practices," he continued as Lily gave her companions a panicked look. "Avadra kevedevra."
A brilliant green light leaped towards the window where her bird was perched.
"Run," Lily exclaimed, rising and breaking into a sprint. They couldn't apparate on the Manor's grounds, with pureblood families often using charms to ensure only selected individuals could. The pair followed her and Lily cursed, stumbling back as she heard the pop of apparation in front of them.
"Leaving so soon?"
Lily stared warily at James, his face illuminated by the lights from the Manor stretching out into the gardens. She could see more death eaters coming and shakily brought her wand up.
"You don't want to test me," James snapped, giving them a long look. "It's better if you cooperate— especially if you want Wood or Andromeda to make it through the night."
"James," she said calmly. He was playing with his wand, eyeing her like a wolf. "I've been meaning to tell you something."
"What?" he asked gruffly. They were trapped and he knew it. Lily smiled.
"Reducto," she shouted, the spell hitting the ground in front of him. Death eaters were thrown back as Michael grabbed her wrist and the trio sprinted through the debris. Lily waved her hand through the air, coughing as dirt filled her mouth.
" We need to get to the boundary," Michael shouted. She ran beside him and Andromeda rushing towards the woods. But Lily tripped, her foot catching in one of the holes made by her explosion and her wand flying out of her hand into the debris.
" Go! I'll catch up," she ordered him, trying to free herself from the hole in vain. But it seemed to fill with dirt and stone, effectively trapping her. "Michael please— they'll kill you and Andromeda!"
He leaned down to help her and cursed as a spell shot towards them.
"Leave," she screamed. Andromeda gave her a panicked look and Lily nodded. "I'll be fine run!"
The pair took off into the woods and Lily wrestled against her ankle, crying out as she realized she wouldn't be able to free herself. She continued to struggle as a wand pressed into her neck.
"That was a mistake," James said, his voice dark. Lily looked up, meeting his eyes as death eaters surrounded them as the world went dark.
Everett Family Beach House
Lily woke with a groan, reaching for her pulsing head only for her hands to stop short. She swallowed, looking through the dimly-lit room and seeing that her wrists were surrounded by thick iron manacles that were attached to each other.
"Miss is awake!"
Lily looked through the darkness and blinked as the light was turned on.
"Dippy?" she said, scrunching her eyes. She was in her old bedroom at Everett Manor. In the distance, Lily could hear the crash of waves.
"They said to bring you down when you woke," Dippy exclaimed, forcing Lily up. Lily stumbled against the elf's strong grip, unable to balance with her hands as Dippy helped her into a dress and walked her down the hall.
"How did I get here?" she asked groggily.
"Dippy saw Mr. Potter bring you," the elf replied, leading Lily down to the stairs. "Hours ago."
The house was lit but felt like a ghost of itself.
Lily shivered as she walked past a family picture.
"Who's down there?"
Dippy ignored her question, bringing Lily downstairs towards her father's study. She froze in the doorway, seeing Jason, James, Charlus Potter, and Bellatrix Lestrange. She was forced towards the seat in the middle.
"Where's dad?" she asked, pointing the question at Jason. He ignored her, unable to meet his gaze as he kept his eyes glued to the wall behind her. Lily jutted her head towards Bellatrix. "What's she doing here."
"You're really not in a place to be asking the questions," Charlus sneered, looking at her like she was vermin. "I always knew you'd cause more trouble than you were worth."
"I'm here for the interrogation," Bellatrix purred, moving towards her. Lily squirmed back as the woman stopped in front of her, bringing her cold hands around Lily's face. "What will it be? I don't think you've ever felt the cruciatus curse."
Lily continued to squirm against her as Bellatrix laughed.
"No torture," Jason interrupted. "You know the deal— in and out get what you want."
Bellatrix frowned, making a noise of annoyance as she continued to hold Lily's face in one hand. Lily tensed as she took her wand out
"What are you—"
A shock tore through her when Bellatrix ripped into her mind. Lily cried out, as Bellatrix tore into her memories, ravaging her privacy. She pressed into the previous events of the night and Lily felt pain wrack her as Bellatrix tried to break through the wards placed on all Order members.
Dumbledore made them himself, serving as the only person who could undo the wards that bound all of their memories associated with the Order. Bellatrix continued, plowing into other memories and ravaging her privacy.
Lily watched, unable to do anything, as she went back in time, past her joining the Order. She tried to stop as Bellatrix came to memories of James. Bellatrix laughed, staring down memories of them in the heads dorm, in bed, having sex and Lily gritted her teeth.
Suddenly Bellatrix veered somewhere else, going for memories of her mother. Lily slumped forward as she pulled out abruptly. She gasped for air, chest heaving as Bellatrix patted her head.
"Same wards as the rest," she declared. "But I found exactly what I need… amongst other things."
Bellatrix strode from her, pausing in front of James.
"It seems Lovely Lily has been rather naughty with little Potter," she drawled. Lily looked up, watching as James glared at the older woman.
"You can leave now," Jason interrupted. "This is a family matter now."
"We're practically family," Bellatrix returned. "Merlin knows I've heard enough complaints from your sister that the stress of this whole debacle caused her miscarriage."
Lily gaped at her, unaware that Petunia has miscarried the baby she'd written about all those months ago.
"Go," Jason repeated. Bellatrix shrugged, flouncing out of the room. Lily managed to regain her composure, falling back on whatever dignity she had left to glare at the three men.
"Remove these," she ordered, raising her bound wrists. Charlus snorted and Jason threw him a dirty look.
"I think we'll keep them on for now," Jason replied evenly before looking at James. "Do you… do you want a moment alone with her?"
Lily blinked, looking at James as he regarded her coolly.
Seeing him in the light Lily knew that he wasn't doing well. From his weary face to the tension in his shoulders, James looked older and graver than he had less than two months ago. She glanced down at his hands, pausing at the sight of the unblemished skin.
"No," he answered brusquely. "Charlus and I brought her here as a favor to you and your father… Nothing more."
Lily's mouth fell open.
Jason nodded.
"Well it's been a long night," he answered. "I wouldn't want to keep you longer."
She watched as Jason walked the pair from the room, James not even turning back to look at her and Charlus sneering one last time. He returned after a few minutes, his sleeves rolled to his elbows.
"What now?"
He ignored her, pouring himself a glass of whiskey from their dad's desk.
"What now indeed?" Jason repeated, downing it. "Dippy!"
The elf reappeared and Jason jutted his chin in her direction.
"Take Lily back to her room," he ordered.
"Jason," she said hesitantly. He didn't respond. "Where's dad?"
He ignored her as the elf led her from the room.
Everett Beach House
August
Lily was going mad.
She was left in her childhood bedroom for nearly a week with no one coming except Dippy leaving trays of food. She'd tried shouting and eventually screaming but still no one, neither her father nor Jason came. Besides the occasional visit from Quaffle trotting into the room, she had no company.
By the third night, Lily had attempted to jump out of her window, only for the wards around the house to propel her back inside.
On the seventh night of her confinement, she was boredly reading her old textbooks on the floor of her room when the door opened.
"I'm not hungry Dippy," she muttered.
"I didn't bring food."
Lily looked up, scrambling to her feet as James stepped inside. He was holding a bottle of firewhiskey in one hand and from the hazy look in his eyes, she could tell he was already drunk.
"What are you doing?" Lily questioned, watching warily as he moved to her bed and held out the bottle.
"Drink."
She eyed him and he scoffed.
"It's not poisoned Lovely," he sneered, taking a swig from it. Lily didn't respond, studying the scruff on his face and the ragged pants of breath he took.
"Why are you here?"
He ignored her, his gaze set on her form as he took another large gulp of the firewhiskey.
"Drink," he repeated. Lily approached him, accepting the bottle and taking a small sip of it. "Actually drink."
She took a larger gulp and he made a noise of approval.
"How did you get in?" she demanded.
"I walked through the door," James replied.
"I thought I wasn't allowed visitors," Lily elaborated. James smirked at her.
"No," he chuckled. "Anyone can visit you— I suppose no one has wanted to."
"So Emmeline could walk through that door?"
James took the bottle from her and drank more.
"Does that hurt?" he asked. "Lovely Lily finally brought to her knees because no one wants to see you."
"You're here," she returned in a snap. He shrugged and she took the bottle from him. "Why are you here?"
"Boredom," he answered. "Remus and Sirius are on missions… And your brother's actually taken up with Vance."
Lily paused at his statement.
"Emmeline would never," she scoffed. James didn't reply and she took another sip from the bottle, this time longer. "Do you know where my father is?"
Her room was warm and Lily reached for the mass of her hair, bringing it out of her face.
"What did you do to your hair?" James asked, watching the locks.
"It wasn't practical."
"For traipsing around battles and spying," he taunted. "You're rather shite at that— made it six weeks is it?"
Lily ignored his jibe, extending the bottle in James's direction. His eyes went down her body, pausing at her chest and she smirked.
"A photo would last longer Potter," she said snarkily. He met her eyes, taking the bottle and taking one long swig of it before dropping it to the ground next to Lily's bed. James turned to her, his eyes dark and Lily's skin immediately flushed. She knew that look and rose to her knees on the bed.
"James," she said cautiously. He moved, his hand hovering near her face.
"Lily," he breathed, bringing his mouth to her hairline. Her eyes fluttered shut as he held her face, bringing his other hand to her hip and grasping it through the thin fabric of her dress. Her breath hitched in her throat as his lips moved lower, hovering finally over hers. She closed the gap between them, bringing her lips against his and basking in the warmth of James's arms.
He tasted of the cinnamon in the whiskey and something sweet and distinctly James.
A noise of relief escaped her lips as she kissed him, James responding feverishly to her touch. Lily's hands moved up, winding into his dark locks and tugging on them as James let out a moan against her lips.
He acted immediately, lifting her and forcing her down to the bed. Lily couldn't stop another moan from escaping her lips as James unforgiving ran his hands over her body, almost painfully squeezing her breasts as he reached for the dress straps.
"You're wearing too much," he said, breaking the kiss. Lily nodded eagerly, feeling him tug the straps down and wiggled the dress lower for him. James made a noise of approval, shoving her dress until it pooled at her waist. he lifted her again, swiping it off with her underwear and leaving Lily naked on the sheets.
He brought his lips to her nipples, nipping down on one and squeezing the other tightly. Lily jolted against him, unused to James being so rough as his stubble scratched over her breasts.
"Jamie," she moaned, trying to wriggle her hips against him. He stopped her, his free hand forcing her hips into the bed until she couldn't move beneath him. Lily frowned, trying to pull him up to kiss her and James ignored her motions, his grip tightening on her as he moved up, biting her neck. "Oh!"
His pace became fervent and Lily tried to pull the buttons of his shirt open but James made a noise of annoyance, forcing her hands away and restraining them above her head. a groan escaped her lips as James brought his hand to her core, swiping it over her folders.
"Good," he said, the first words he'd said. "You're soaking."
Suddenly he turned her over roughly. An oomph of surprise escaped her lips as James forced her up onto her knees and bent her down to her elbows. He brought his fingers to her clit, teasing it and causing Lily to inhale sharply.
She heard him taking his belt off and tried to turn only for James's hand to come to her back, forcing her head down. She tried to catch her breath only for James to slam into her. Lily fell forward, collapsing on her elbows as he filled her whole, pulling out almost entirely and repeating the action.
Stars pressed into her vision as he continued for over ten minutes and she struggled back to her elbows. James groaned, one hand still on her hip, using it to angle himself into her and the other coming to her neck, gripping it as he worked himself over her.
'Yes," she cried, feeling her orgasm building. James's hand roamed to her breasts, giving them another hard squeeze as he worked his unforgiving pace. Lily let out a moan of appreciation that turned to a scream as he slammed into that perfect spot in her. Her orgasm began to explode over her and Lily felt him curse and tense up behind her.
James's grip on her hip became painful and she reached back, trying to loosen it as he suddenly pulled out of her. Lily collapsed into the bed, feeling sweat drip down her back and James's cum from inside her. She forced herself to turn, frowning at him as James rose off the bed from his knees, bringing his pants up and buckling his belt.
"I didn't finish," she pointed out, looking at him with a pout. This had never happened before, James always determined to milk an orgasm from her before he would release. He looked up at her with a shrug, straightening his shirt.
"Maybe next time," James said coolly, reaching for his wand. Lily gaped at him, scrambling into a sitting position. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a vial and tossing it on the bed next to her.
"What is this?" she asked, fingering the vial numbly, unable to grasp the unfamiliarity of what had just happened.
"Contraceptive potion," he replied. Lily's mouth fell open. In the months they'd been together she'd always been the one to focus on the contraceptive, James once even pouting while she'd used a contraceptive charm and asking what the problem was with having a baby then. "Can't have any bastards roaming around— wouldn't look good for the Potter family."
Lily's eyes went wide as saucers as he crossed his arms.
"Take it."
She numbly pressed the vial to her lips, swigging it down and James nodded.
"Good girl," he said, before turning to the door. Lily finally snapped when she heard him begin to whistle.
"What the fuck was that Potter?" she demanded, scrambling for her thrown-aside dress and sliding off the bed. She forced the dress on and tried to follow him out the door but was stopped by the wards on the frame. She called his name again and James didn't respond, continuing down the hall whistling.
AN: I apologize for the delay on this chapter. I've finished outlining the rest of the story, which will stretch into December of Lily's seventh year and consist of about 4 more chapters. As ever thankful for the reviews!
R&R