Thanks for the reviews, morgyp04, Nupurlath, earthbibble, AshJaz, and Pratha. Much appreciated!

morgyp04: Nice, I hope you have a good success rate with that! This chapter title is unusual, though.

Nupurlath: Yes, it surely feels like the end of an era! I hope the update lives up to your expectations!

earthbibble: I love cliffhangers! And yes, I do plan to keep continuing this story – I do want to get to the epilogue eventually, lol!

AshJaz: Well, James chastised her with the exact same thing. She did acknowledge that it was a bit risky, but Lily is pretty skilled with magic – she would've thought of something had Remus returned (as a werewolf), and James and Sirius would've managed to stop him. She is a Gryffindor, after all – prone to moments of recklessness!

Pratha: I remember, good to have you back! Thank you so much for your kind words, that made my day! I'm sorry you're having a hard time, the world is a difficult place right now – but there is a silver lining. Keep fighting. If you need to talk, don't hesitate to drop me a DM. In the meantime, here is another chapter. Feel better!

Hi everyone, here is chapter thirty-three. Readers, please review. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All (well, most, anyway) characters are from J K Rowling's brilliant best-selling series.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Deus ex machina

Lily came to, and realised at once that she was lying on the ground. She tried moving her hands and legs, but couldn't – she realised that a Full Body-Bind Curse had been placed on her. The air smelled damp and musty, but it had a hint of saltiness in it, rather like the seaside. She seemed to be in a dark, windowless room, with only a dim source of light somewhere away from her. A silent groan escaped her, and she closed her eyes as she tried to remember how she'd gotten there…

"Good luck!" she shouted as she waved goodbye to James, Liz and the rest of the Hogwarts Quidditch team as they prepared for departure. James gave her a final cheery wave as the portkey activated and the team took off, followed soon by Professor McGonagall, Professor Slughorn and Madam Hooch. "Well – that's that," said Dumbledore. "Miss Evans – please gather the Prefects, I need to give them some additional instructions. Please come to my office at the earliest."

"Yes, sir," she said, and with a nod, started walking briskly towards the castle. She sent word to the four House common rooms for the Prefects to meet her in the Great Hall, and was soon leading them towards the Headmaster's office. "Acid Pops," she said to the gargoyle once they arrived, and it sprang aside to reveal the familiar circular staircase. She led the Prefects into Dumbledore's office, and he promptly conjured enough chairs for everyone to sit down (she noted that the office seemed to be magically enlarged for this meeting).

"Thank you all for coming," said Dumbledore. "Your instructions are similar as they were for when we visited Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, but there are a few more things that you need to know." He paused, then continued, "The Triangular Quidditch Tournament final is under the threat of an attack from Lord Voldemort's followers." He ignored the collective gasp from the prefects. "Therefore, the seventh-year Prefects from each House will be responsible for the students from their House. Considering that some of the Prefects are part of the team, the Prefects in charge of discipline are as follows… Mr Lupin, for Gryffindor; Miss Norton, for Hufflepuff; Mr Hathaway, for Ravenclaw; and Mr Snape, for Slytherin." He paused again as the four Prefects in question nodded in acknowledgement. "The four of you shall oversee the students from your respective Houses. The fifth- and sixth-year Prefects will assist you. One stand has been reserved for Hogwarts students only, which is where you will be sitting. Once you arrive at the stadium, two Aurors will escort you to your seats."

"Just two?" interrupted Roger Hathaway, raising an eyebrow.

Dumbledore smiled. "Two per House, Mr Hathaway," he said, and Lily raised her eyebrows. Eight Aurors for the students? Wasn't that a bit excessive?

"The Ministry wishes to take no chances," continued Dumbledore, speaking as if he'd read her mind. "These eight Aurors will be in charge of you all, and it is your responsibility to assist them before the match. Once seated, however, you may enjoy the match – the Aurors will be the ones primarily responsible for you."

"What sort of security measures are being taken for the stadium, sir?" enquired Karen Norton. "Considering that it was attacked three years ago?"

"There are Muggle-repelling Charms, Anti-Appration and Anti-Disapparation wards, and several protective enchantments on every inch of the stadium, Miss Norton," said Dumbledore. "There will also be a full contingent of twenty-five Aurors and a hundred Hit Wizards and Witches for the security of the stadium. Oh, and it will be your responsibility to ensure that there is no tomfoolery by your charges – Miss Evans, for the duration of the match, the students' discipline is your ultimate responsibility," he added to Lily, who nodded. I suppose I'll be assisting the Aurors, she thought purposefully.

"That's all, then," said the Headmaster, and stood up; everyone else followed suit. "There is no reason for you to not be able to enjoy the match – I'm quite sure that given the Hogwarts team's form, they are favourites to win the inaugural edition of the competition."

"Hear, hear!" a Ravenclaw fifth-year Prefect shouted, and the others cheered. Dumbledore gave them a benign smile, and the Prefects began to file out of the office. Snape tried to catch Lily's eye, but she ignored him as always; she lingered, and once the last of the Prefects had gone, she asked Dumbledore, "Er – Professor? Is the possibility of the threat to the 3QT final being a blind being considered? As in – are other high-profile targets under protection, too?"

"A question I raised with Minister Minchum, Miss Evans," said Dumbledore, smiling as he indicated for her to sit down. She obeyed, and he sat down in front of her. "We have received disturbing intelligence reports… In addition to the villages attacked on New Year's Eve, the regional Ministry Offices – that is, in Tickenham, Glasgow and Dublin – are also under threat. There are other important sites such as Diagon Alley, Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters, and Hogsmeade, too… Essentially, any Wizarding village or prominent landmark in Britain and Ireland can be attacked," he finished sombrely.

Lily shook her head, her fingers tightening around the wand in her pocket. "Can nothing be done, Professor?" she asked.

"The Ministry force of Aurors, Hit Wizards and Witches is stretched quite thin," said Dumbledore. "Despite that, the Ministry is providing maximum security to the tournament final… There will be students and foreign witches and wizards in attendance tonight. Besides, the final has been threatened explicitly…"

"Then what about the other targets?" Lily asked.

"The Minister has been weighing two possible approaches – one proposed by Mr Potter, and the other by Mr Crouch, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Mr Potter's superior. Mr Potter is in favour of despatching a small number of Aurors to each potential attack site, and if one gets attacked, others at the closest places can come in as reinforcements."

"That sounds solid," Lily said, nodding. "It will even ensure that the alarm is raised faster."

"Precisely," said Dumbledore. "However, Mr Crouch is in favour of protecting only the priority targets – which have been identified based on intelligence gathered – while a contingent of Aurors remains at the Ministry. If a target other than the priority targets is attacked, the Ministry contingent will be sent there first, followed by others."

"Does Mr Potter's plan also involve a contingent of Aurors at the Ministry?" enquired Lily.

"Yes," said Dumbledore shortly. "The Minister weighed both approaches, and opted for the second."

"But – didn't he ask you to weigh in, Professor?" Lily asked, astonished. "The second approach leaves some targets open!"

"No – he did not," said Dumbledore, and Lily could sense the hint of irritation beneath the Headmaster's calm façade. "However, I have a few Order of the Phoenix members who will be patrolling the sites that the Ministry declined to cover. I only hope that will be enough."

"Me, too," said Lily, shivering slightly. The prospect of any Wizarding place in Britain being under threat was scary, indeed…

"You must be wondering why I'm saying all this to you, Miss Evans," said Dumbledore, surveying her through his half-moon glasses with that familiar, penetrating stare. She blushed slightly, and said, "Well, sort of… I mean, this seems like top-secret stuff, doesn't it?"

"It is," agreed Dumbledore. "However – in a week, you will graduate, and this shall become your battle, too. I'm merely trying to give you a glimpse of what you might be asked to do for the Order – that may, perhaps, help you understand why you've been learning such advanced magic from Emily Walcott."

"Right," said Lily, nodding. The Order's mission was dangerous, and the thought of being called upon to do something similar in future chilled her to the bone as much as it exhilarated her. And it was likely to get worse as time passed…

"Well – that's all, Miss Evans," said Dumbledore, and Lily stood up, recognising the dismissal. "Keep a close watch on your charges tonight, and let's all hope that the threat by Lord Voldemort is an empty one. Take care."

"Thank you, Professor – I won't let you down," she responded, and with a small wave at the Headmaster, she walked out of the office, immersed in her own thoughts… I hope nothing untoward happens tonight, she thought, but she knew that it was futile – there would certainly be an attack somewhere tonight, she was sure of it. What better opportunity for Voldemort to make a move when the Ministry was busy elsewhere? It was quite unlikely that they'd attack the stadium again, considering that it had been partially destroyed three years ago… But they would attack something, wouldn't they?

She turned a corner and collided into someone; what was more, the other person seemed to have been walking faster than she was, for they fell right on top of her as she fell back. "Ow – get off!" she exclaimed, and the other person stood up. To her intense dislike, it was none other than Mulciber – someone she hated with all her heart.

"Watch where you're going, Mudblood!" he spat. "Urgh, thanks for sliming up my robes – I'm going to have to take a bath now!"

Lily sprang to her feet, wand drawn. "Say that again," she said, her voice shaking with suppressed rage.

"Bet you enjoyed that, didn't you?" said Mulciber, with a bestial sort of grin. "Must've been the most action you'd have gotten this week –"

Silencio! thought Lily, and Mulciber was struck dumb at once. Glaring at her, he raised his own wand, but she was too fast; Levicorpus! she thought, and he was immediately suspended mid-air by his ankles. She Disarmed him quickly, and threw his wand down the corridor. "Not so brave without your wand, are you?" she taunted savagely. The night he'd tried to Imperiuse Liz flashed before her eyes, and an evil grin came to her face as she hit upon an idea to scare the daylights out of him. She gently ran her forefinger down his face, from his chin to his forehead, and whispered, "Now, now… You were worried about how little action I might be receiving, weren't you? How about – I use a Spell that results in you not being to provide 'action' to anyone else, ever?" she asked, placing undue emphasis on 'action'. "How does that sound, creep?"

She felt a savage, deranged pleasure at the sheer terror in his eyes. She had no idea whether a Spell to induce impotence in a man existed, much less whether its effects were permanent… But clearly, neither did he, which made this all the more fun. She laughed mirthlessly. "How about a Permanent Impotence Charm, Mulciber?" she said softly. "I've never tried it before, and you certainly seem like a viable candidate… I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

Mulciber struggled some more, his dark eyes absolutely terrified now. He swung back from her, and tried unsuccessfully to let himself down to no avail. Smirking, Lily said, "There, now… If you ever – ever – do, to someone else, what you did to Liz that night – well, you know what will happen. Are we clear?" She gave him a scorching glare, and he nodded vigorously. "Coward," she spat, before starting to walk away. She'd have loved to leave him there, suspended in mid-air – but she was the Head Girl, and she couldn't exactly do that. Sighing, she let him down, and he fell to the ground in a heap; however, he scrambled to his feet at once, and began looking for his wand. Lily smiled; his wand was at her feet, and she kicked it as hard as he could, in the direction opposite to where he was standing. "Oops," she said, and with a final smirk and wave at the furious boy, she turned the corner and began walking briskly towards Gryffindor tower with a rather unfamiliar air of self-satisfaction. She had to help Remus coordinate…

A few hours later, she was sitting between Remus and Peter, cheering yet another goal from the Whites – scored by James, this time. The injury to Gary Robins had been rather scary, but Liz proved to be up to the task; she was scouting efficiently for the Snitch, with Black protecting her, and she made it a point to be a total nuisance to the Beauxbatons Seeker Maria Alves by blocking her and cutting across her whenever she could.

"It's two-forty to fifty now!" exclaimed Peter. "Even if that Alves girl catches the Snitch, we'll win!"

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Pete," said Remus dryly, but Peter's spirits were simply too high. Ignoring Remus, he cheered and clapped as James cheekily kept possession of the Quaffle by switching it from his right hand to his left behind his back. "Yeah – that's it, come on, Prongs!"

"Look at Liz!" Lily exclaimed, having seen her best friend go into a speedy dive. "Go, Liz!" she shouted, and the other Hogwarts students around her screamed and clapped and began to egg Liz on – but Alves was on her tail. Black immediately hit two Bludgers at her, giving Liz a clear advantage, and Lily's eyes remained glued to her best friend as the crowd cheered yet again. "Bond scores!" boomed Diggory. "It's two-fifty to fifty for Hogwarts – and oh, my, just look at the Seekers go!"

Lily gasped, and it seemed like the crowd gasped with her, too, as Liz suddenly changed direction. "The Snitch changed its course!" someone shouted from behind her, and it seemed like Alves had the advantage now… Lily watched, heart in mouth, as Liz and Alves sped towards each other at right angles, neither one of them slowing down – and Lily let out another gasp as Liz suddenly turned her broom to hang upside-down off it. She couldn't help it – she grinned. She'd seen this move before, back in their fourth year… The Sloth Grip Roll, wasn't it?

The crowd 'oohed' and 'aahed' as Liz avoided her opponent by a tiny, tiny margin, righted herself, and rose steadily, her first raised in triumph. "Huntington's caught the Snitch!" Diggory boomed, but his announcement of the winner was drowned in the massive, ear-splitting roar let out by the crowd. Peter, Remus and Lily engulfed each other in a hug, and continued to jump for joy as the Hogwarts students around them cheered and applauded their team. They had won!

She continued clapping as the Hogwarts team shook hands with their opponents, before proceeding to jump up and down again in excitement as the Hogwarts team flew up to perform a lap of honour around the Quidditch pitch, sending the crowd into a frenzy once again. She blew kisses at her boyfriend as he flew past her, hoping that he'd notice – to her relief and happiness, he did, and reciprocated the gesture as Diggory announced, "Will the players and the referee make their way to the Top Box – it's time for the presentation."

Remus and Peter were talking animatedly in front of her, as the other students around her continued to cheer excitedly. She was just about to join Remus and Peter when it happened; without warning, she felt a jerk near her navel, and she was suddenly speeding through the air… She couldn't even scream; it seemed like the air had solidified inside her lungs. She had no clue what was going on, but the sensation wasn't unlike travelling by portkey…

Her feet slammed onto the ground, and before she could react, she was hit by a jet of red light. Everything went black.

With an effort, Lily opened her eyes. She still couldn't move a muscle, but she'd figured out how she'd ended up here… It was Mulciber, she thought savagely. He must have done something… That's the only incident out of the ordinary throughout the day. I distinctly felt a jerk near my navel just before coming here… It had to be a portkey! Did he slip something in my robes? Something nondescript – like a small stone? She couldn't remember checking her pockets for anything, so it was a plausible theory.

Well, that doesn't matter as much as how I'm going to get out of here, she thought. I need to break this Body-Bind Curse… But she wasn't sure if she could do it. She could perform a Summoning Charm and a Shield Charm wandlessly, but breaking a Body-Bind Curse would be much more difficult… Well, I must, there's no other option, she thought firmly. She couldn't even survey the room she was in – it was only dimly lit. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate… Little by little, she thought as she started trying to get the fingers of her right hand moving. It was hard work, but she focused like she never had in her life, fighting hard against the panic that was threatening to overcome her…

Where was she? How much time had passed since she'd arrived? Her eyes filled with tears of rage and distress. Where was James? Did these people who had left her like this – she gulped – want to kill her? Was earlier today the last time she would see James? No, said a strong voice in her head. No – that's not going to happen. James and I, we're meant to be together… Meant to get married, have beautiful children, and grow old together, and spend the rest of our days together in blissful happiness…

She could see her heart's desire in her mind's eye, and it gave her strength to keep trying hard. Her efforts were rewarded after two of the longest minutes of her life, and she moved her little finger by just a bit… Buoyed by the movement, she continued trying, and after about what felt like ten minutes, her right hand was suddenly mobile. Accio wand! she thought immediately… She wasn't going to waste time breaking the Curse completely. Nay, she'd rather Summon her wand and do it…

She felt something in her hand, and her fingers closed immediately on a familiar wand handle. Finite! she thought, and felt a surge of relief as the Body-Bind Curse was lifted. Heart hammering, she sprang to her feet and looked around… The small torch in one corner the only source of light in an otherwise dark room, and the ceiling was quite low; she could touch it by simply raising her arm. A cellar of some sort, then… Lumos! she thought, and the tip of her wand lit up. She waved it around, and realised that her hunch was right – she was in a cellar. What was more, she wasn't alone…

There were four other bodies on the ground, and Lily fought back a wave of nausea as she bent down to examine the nearest one. She sighed with relief as the horrified but hopeful eyes of Melissa Knight stared back at her, and she quickly unfroze the other girl and helped her to her feet. "What happened? What're we doing here, Lily?" Melissa asked, her voice full of fear.

"Dunno," said Lily, "But we seem to have arrived here via portkey… Incidentally, did someone bump into you sometime earlier today, Melissa?"

"Well – now that you mention it, yeah," replied Melissa thoughtfully, examining her pockets. "Wand's not here," she added, closing her eyes and extending her left hand forward… Within seconds, her wand had returned to her. "Nice," said Lily appreciatively, and Melissa snorted. "I dunno where we are, but I'm certainly glad that this cellar isn't warded against the Summoning Charm! Also – what sort of idiot takes our wands and fails to destroy them? I was sure that my wand was as good as gone!"

"Well – for once, I'll take stupidity over intelligence," said Lily wryly. "What were you saying about bumping into someone?"

"Oh – right," said Melissa, wrinkling her forehead. "It was just before I took one of the portkeys to London, I think – that Slytherin bloke with a rather hard face, what's his name? Oh, yes – Avery," she added, nodding. "Definitely him."

"They did this," said Lily furiously and decisively. "Mulciber bumped into me… He must've slipped something in my robes. I can't find it, though."

"Me, neither," said Melissa, shrugging. "I checked my pockets and found nothing – not even half of the chocolate slab I'd been saving for after the match!" She looked genuinely disappointed, and Lily suppressed a chuckle despite their predicament. "C'mon – let's help the others," she said, and Melissa nodded. Lily proceeded to lift the Body-Bind Curse off a boy whom she recognised as a Ravenclaw sixth-year she'd seen once or twice at a Slug Club party. What was his name again?

"You all right?" she asked the boy kindly, and he nodded as he rose unsteadily to his feet looked around quickly. "Where are we?" he whispered, and Lily shook her head. "No clue," she said, "A cellar of some sort… Do you have your wand?"

"Nope," said the boy ruefully. "I had it when we left Hogwarts, but I must've dropped it somewhere –"

"Nah, it was probably taken when they placed us under a Body-Bind Curse," said Lily, shaking her head. "I'll Summon it back in a jiffy – let me revive the others first." The boy nodded, and she added, "What's your name?"

"Dirk Cresswell," the boy replied, and Lily nodded. He sat down and said, "Er – I'm feeling a bit dizzy, you won't mind if I sit down for a few minutes, right?"

"No," said Lily, "Give me a moment, Dirk, and I'll Summon your wand." She walked off to where another boy lay, and lifted the Body-Bind Curse off him. "Aren't you Walter Hopkins?" she asked as the light from her wand-tip focused on the boy's face. The Hufflepuff nodded and said, "Thank you, Head Girl – do you know where we are?"

"No," she said shortly, "D'you have your wand with you?"

He checked his pocket quickly, and predictably, shook his head no. "I'll Summon it in a minute," she said, "Go and sit with Dirk over there." The boy obeyed, and Lily turned to Melissa, who had revived the final student with them – she raised her eyebrows as she recognised the boy. It was none other than Donnie Martin, the former Gryffindor Seeker. He appeared to have a newly-healed cut on his head. "You OK, Donnie?" she asked with a bit of concern, and he nodded. "I'm all right, Melissa healed me," he said, with a cheery smile at the other girl. Lily couldn't help but smile at Melissa, too; there was something about Donnie's smile that was infectious, and she couldn't help but feel a bit of the load lift off her shoulders.

"He doesn't have his wand, either," supplied Melissa. "Should we Summon them?" She raised her own wand.

"Not yet," said Lily distractedly; her mind was in overdrive, trying to make sense of their predicament. Everyone here was a Muggleborn – it seemed that everyone had been slipped a portkey at some point during that day, then. Their wands had been taken but not destroyed, something she couldn't make sense of; why would one keep the wands of their prisoners? They wouldn't have known that she knew wandless magic… She decided to skip that question for now. She considered sending a Patronus message to James and Dumbledore, but she had no idea where she was – what could she even say? How much time had passed? Would people be looking for them by now? Hmm – I must check if I can Apparate out of here, she thought. Closing her eyes, she silently tried to Disapparate; as expected, she couldn't. There was no fireplace, which meant that their only way out was –

"Yeah, we have to fight them," she said, shaking her head. "You can't Apparate in or out of this place – I think it has similar wards as Hogwarts."

"But how did we get here? And what's going on?" asked Dirk Cresswell, who was being helped to his feet by Walter Hopkins. "All I remember is suddenly being transported into a bunch of wizards with cloaks before being Stunned –"

"You and Lily were Stunned first," supplied Donnie Martin. "Then they Stunned Melissa – then you, Walter. I was last – and I tried to break free by punching one of the surrounding men in the face, but he had his mask on – someone must've hit me, too, 'coz I don't remember how I got this." He tenderly touched the cut on his forehead. "I don't remember anything else, though…"

"How did you get a punch in so quickly?" asked Walter, looking rather impressed.

"I'm a brown belt in Karate," said Donnie proudly. "Speed – they teach the importance of how quick one has to be, so much so that self-defence is a reflex. I knew we were in trouble, and I dunno what I was thinking, punching one bloke when there were so many of them – but I'd recognised that I was in danger, and reacted instinctively."

"Nice," said Dirk appreciatively. "Gave 'em the old one-two, you did!"

"Just the one," Donnie replied ruefully. "It could've been two, but I got Stunned before that…"

Lily and Melissa exchanged a quick glance before Lily said, "All right… Well, we've been up for nearly twenty minutes, and no one's come to check on us – yet. I have a plan… I'm sure they'll send someone to check in soon, and we must jump them. That's right – overpower them, and get them to tell us where we are! Then – we can alert Professor Dumbledore!"

"How?" asked Walter, and Lily grinned. "We have our ways," she said mysteriously. "Now – which of you can duel?"

Three raised hands greeted her, and Dirk Cresswell said, "Oh, I'm rearing to go at them – dunno what Spell they used on me, but I tell you, constant dizziness is difficult to work with. Are you Summoning our wands back now, Lily?"

"In a minute," said Lily. "Whoever's in charge of keeping them might not notice two wands gone –" she held up her wand, and Melissa followed suit, "—but if we Summon them all, they just might notice that. And we can't take that chance – not yet."

"Better to err on the side of caution," added Melissa, nodding. "So – should we just wait for someone to come down here?"

"Not quite," said Lily. "Let's use some time to re-energise ourselves – we'll have to battle at our hardest if we're going to fight our way out of here, wherever that is. Can't do that on an empty stomach – I dunno about you, but that Cauldron Cake in London during the match feels awfully long ago to me."

"Ah, did you have to mention food?" said Donnie, patting his stomach, which gave a huge rumble. Lily grinned. "With this spell, you don't need to eat in order to gain energy. Now – the three of you, hold still. You had better sit down – I'm going to re-energise you, so remain seated for the next few minutes."

"Wicked!" exclaimed Walter, while Dirk and Donnie just looked at her in awe. They obeyed, and Melissa said, "Let me cast some protective enchantments." Lily smiled her thanks, and pointed her wand at Walter, who was closest. "Energise!"

"Woah," said Walter, and Lily knew that it was because he could feel his body flooding with energy. He sat still to let the process continue unimpeded, and Dirk Cresswell looked at her interestedly. "This Spell has its basis in English," he said, "Not many do!"

"It was invented rather recently – perhaps a century or so ago, Dirk," explained Lily. "The inventor was a British witch – I forget her name – but she received an Order of Merlin, I think. I suppose she chose to forego using Latin as the base of her Spells."

"Yeah – Latin's much stronger magically, right?" asked Dirk as Lily pointed her wand at him. "Precisely," she said, "The older the language, the stronger is the magic that originates from it. If someone had invented a similar Spell with Greek or Latin – my guess is that it'll take less time to completely re-energise oneself, see?" He nodded, and she continued, "Now – hold still. Energise!"

Dirk closed his eyes, and Lily continued towards Donnie. "Now, you," she said, and he nodded. "Where does this energy come from, Lily?" he asked curiously. "I mean, there's a Muggle law that states that the amount of energy in the entire universe is constant – energy can't be created or destroyed, see? It only changes forms!"

"That's right," said Lily, smiling; Emily had touched upon this concept when she'd taught them the Re-energising Charm. "The living things around you, Donnie – that's your source. That's what draws the energy into you – only a little bit from every living thing, so little that it's barely noticeable. Of course, the more living things there are around you, the quicker the process will be."

"So – why eat, then?" asked Donnie. "I mean, theoretically, we eat to gain energy, right? If we can gain energy this way, why eat at all?"

"Because," said Melissa, who had apparently finished casting protective Spells, "The chemical energy in the food, if not consumed, won't be used – it'll just remain there. If everyone tried to do that, the effect of the Charm will be greatly diluted – 'coz the Charm only allows you to draw a certain fraction of someone or something else's energy. Simply put, if you're drawing energy for re-energising, there are limitations. Protective enchantments are up, Lily," she added, and Lily smiled. "Thanks," she said, before turning back to Donnie. "Now, Donnie, hold still like these two," she said. "Energise!"

As the three boys sat still, Lily stood up. "We had better energise ourselves, too," she said softly, and Melissa nodded. "I'll stand guard," she said, "Sit down, I can perform the Charm on you."

"That's fine, I can –" said Lily, but Melissa cut her off. "It's the least I can do," she said, and Lily grinned. "All right," she said, and sat down. "Energise!" whispered Melissa, and Lily closed her eyes as she felt something course through her veins. Her strength was returning… The Re-energising Charm worked best when one held themselves perfectly still; it was still effective otherwise, but less so. She hoped that Melissa's protective enchantments would hold while they gained enough energy…

Ten minutes later, Lily and the three boys were on their feet. Melissa grinned with relief, and said, "Good – my turn."

"Yeah," said Lily, and began to walk towards the door, her wand raised. "Nice earrings," Melissa complimented as she passed, "James gave 'em to you?"

"Yup," said Lily, before suddenly smacking her forehead. Melissa was by her side at once. "What – you all right?" she asked urgently.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," said Lily quickly. "I've just been monumentally stupid…" Ignoring the confused faces of her companions, Lily tapped both her earrings with her wand thrice. The others let out a collective gasp, and she felt the earrings heat up momentarily before going back to normal. "They glowed!" exclaimed Walter. "The diamonds glowed!"

"Why did they glow?" asked Dirk curiously.

"They have a Location Detection Spell on them," explained Lily. "I'm sorry for not using them sooner – I'd forgotten about them, see? Anyway – if I tap both of them thrice, the caster of the Location Detection Spell gets a general idea of where I am – within a two-mile radius, I believe. It's not much, but it does narrow down the search area."

"And James cast the Spell, didn't he?" asked Melissa, looking suitably impressed.

"None other," Lily responded fondly. "I only wish I'd thought about this earlier… But we can expect reinforcements sooner rather than later, I think. Slight change of plans, then – we remain hiding, and let them come to us, but we fight to stall for time. The more time we buy for James and the others to find us, the better…"

"Right," said Melissa, and sat down, her blue eyes full of hope. "Give me a few minutes…"

"Of course," said Lily, and drew her wand again. "Energise!"

"That feeling's great, eh?" said Donnie. "Just feeling something going through your body…"

"It's something else, all right," agreed Walter, and Dirk nodded, too. Lily grinned and said, "Yes, it certainly is… Now, boys," she added briskly, "Stand back, away from the door. I'm going to wait there… If anyone comes to check in on us, we don't attack them – I'm just going to immobilise them, and we'll see if we can gain more information."

"Right," chorused the boys, and moved away from her. She took her position at the door, keeping her wand-tip alight to keep the others aware of where she was. She pondered over what she had to do and wondering where James was… Had he received her general location? What was he doing? Was he gathering people at that very moment, people to help them get out of here? I think I should give him some more information, she thought. Raising her wand, she thought of what she wanted to tell him before thinking, Expecto Patronum! The silver doe shot out of her wand, but soon formed a shapeless jet of silver light and faded away into nothingness as it passed through the walls of the cellar. Thank Heavens that Patronuses can pass through walls, she thought, sighing with relief. Help should be on the way soon…

A distant sound alerted her, and she extinguished her wand-tip with a quick mental Nox! She stood there, wand raised, hoping that someone would be on their way to check in on them… Her prayers were answered when the door swing open, and she sprang into action at once. Silencio! she thought, pointing at the door; another flick of her wand caused it to slam shut noiselessly. The loss of light from the outside distracted the man who had entered the room, and Lily seized the opportunity to shoot a full Body-Bind Curse at him. A loud thud told her that she had hit her mark. She sprang forward, non-verbally lighting her wand-tip, and stared into the hard eyes of the fallen man, eyes which stared right back at her with a mixture of astonishment and horror.

She bent forward quickly and searched the man; to her relief, she found not just one wand, but four. "Take your wands," she commanded the boys, who had come up to her by then, and they obeyed. The extra wand she immediately snapped in two; the two pieces crackled momentarily, rather like an electric spark, before going silent. She wasn't going to make the same mistakes as these goons…

"You can release him," came Melissa's voice, and Lily turned to the other girl whose face was set. She looked ready for battle, and she pointed her wand at the man on the floor. "I've strengthened the Silencing Charm on the door, so no one will hear him if he screams – and if he does, I'll just Stun him," she added, giving the man a threatening look. Lily nodded, and unfroze the man with a quick Finite!

The man sprang to his feet and dashed to the door at once, but Lily quickly felled him with an Impediment Jinx which blasted him off his feet; he landed squarely on the floor, unable to move. "Right," said Lily briskly, "Who are you, and why have we been brought here?"

"I'm not saying anything," the man said sullenly.

"Talk," snapped Lily, jabbing him rather hard with her wand. Her patience was running dangerously low. "Now!"

The man's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Never," he said with relish, his smile turning into a grimace. "How dare you destroy my wand, filthy Mudblood!"

Lily jabbed him harder with her wand, but felt a hand on her shoulder before she could do anything else. "If I may," said Donnie, and she turned to face him. "I can get him to talk." He rubbed his knuckles gently, and for the first time, Lily noticed several scars on them. Donnie followed her gaze and said quietly, "I break bricks as part of my training… In my third year, I asked Professor McGonagall if she could conjure bricks for me to practice on every weekend, and she agreed. Hammer-fist – that's what I want to be." He turned to the thug, who was showing the first signs of unfreezing, and Lily could see the fire in his eyes. She re-applied the Impediment Jinx on the thug, and Donnie said, "Now, you creep – listen well, 'coz I'm only going to say this once. We were brought here, Stunned, Disarmed, and kept captive – therefore, by rights, you're our enemy, and we should treat you as such. You have one chance to answer her questions, or experience just how nasty Karate can be." He raised his fist. "I can break your nose with a single punch," he added, "And I assure you – I won't hesitate."

Lily stared at Donnie, who it seemed had completely transformed from the cheery (if not diffident) ex-Seeker into a young man with a purpose – and from what she could tell, a mean, mean punch. "I'd listen to him if I were you," she said evenly to the man, who just stared at Donnie with growing fear and apprehension. "I'd like to see you try," he said nonetheless, and to her surprise, suddenly broke free of the Impediment Jinx and attempted to tackle Donnie (who was closest) in order to take his wand. "Stupefy!" Lily yelled, but she needn't have, for in a swift, fluid motion, Donnie neatly sidestepped the man, and kicked his jaw, hard, with his knee. The man was unconscious before Lily's Spell hit him, and he slumped to the floor, insensible.

"Sorry," said Donnie, "It's reflexes… I know you wanted to interrogate him, Lily, but he just attacked me –"

"Don't worry about it, that was brilliant!" she exclaimed, impressed. The others followed suit, and Dirk patted Donnie's back in admiration. "Now," said Lily, "I'll revive him – but I have a better idea." She extended a left hand, and quickly conjured a rope. "Nice – I still have trouble with the non-verbal bits," said Melissa, taking the rope from Lily, and proceeding to tie the man's hands. "It's all credit to James," said Lily, mentally thanking her boyfriend as she conjured another rope, with which Walter tied the man's feet together.

"Ugh, I hope I didn't break his jaw," said Donnie, grimacing as he examined the unconscious man's face. "I hit him pretty hard."

"Nah, the jawbone is pretty strong," said Walter, standing up to admire his handiwork. "Helps us bite and chew a lot of hard stuff, doesn't it?"

"That's the jaw muscles, Walter," said Dirk, rolling his eyes. "Not the bones! The jaw muscles are the strongest ones in the human body!"

"Well – let's find out if Donnie did break his jaw," said Lily, suppressing a little grin as she pointed her wand at the man's chest. "Rennervate!"

The man's eyes snapped open, and he immediately groaned. "Now – talk, or else it's going to be a lot worse," said Donnie threateningly. "Where are we?"

"N-Nott Manor," stuttered the man, his eyes filling with tears, presumably due to the pain in his jaw. Lily's companions visibly relaxed, though she didn't. How could she verify that the man was speaking the truth? An idea came to her – there was no time to waste. "Punch him again, Donnie," she commanded. "He's lying – I can tell." Donnie gave her a surprised look, but obeyed; he raised his fist, and the man exclaimed, "No – don't punch me! We're in Carrow Manor – it's on the Cornish Peninsula, I swear!" He closed his eyes tightly before groaning again.

Lily grinned. "Thank you," she said, before Stunning the man once again. "Ferula," she whispered, and conjured some bandages around his jaw. "Mobilicorpus," she whispered, levitating him into a corner of the cellar before straightening up. "Right," she said briskly, "We know where we are now, so I'll send another message to Dumbledore and James. With luck, they should be here soon…"

The silver doe erupted from Lily's wand once again, and gracefully scampered out of the room. "Are Patronuses sentient, Lily?" Dirk asked curiously. Lily was just about to answer when a voice came from the other side of the door, causing them to raise their wands simultaneously. "Albertus, are you in there? What's taking you so long, mate?"

Lily raised a finger to her lips, indicating to the others to remain silent, and extinguished her wand. She and Melissa protectively stood ahead of the younger boys, wands pointed at the door; as it swung open, they shot two quick Stunning Spells at the new arrivals. To their horror, however, their Stunners were quickly repelled. "What the hell –?" snarled an uncouth voice, and even as Lily and her companions continued to rain Spells on their opponents, the room became brighter – it seemed as if someone had activated the Luminescence Spell on the walls, a Spell that Lily knew was a fixture in Wizarding homes. Three men came into view, their faces furious; it seemed as if one of them had blocked all the Spells they'd cast while another one had brightened the room.

"How did they get loose?" exclaimed the third man, just as Lily let lose another barrage of Spells; next to her, Melissa and the boys did the same, and the two men were reduced to defending. "Doesn't matter – warn the others, hurry!" shouted one of the men, managing to send a jet of blue light towards Lily, who blocked it easily. No! she thought as the third man bolted – he would raise the alarm, and they would have to deal with a much more potent force of Death Eaters. Well, can't worry about that now, thought Lily as she let lose a powerful Fire Wave in the direction of the men, and took careful aim as they were busy parrying it. Visico! she thought, and a jet of yellow light shot from her wand; it found its mark, and one of their opponents fainted – energy suddenly flooded through Lily's veins, and she grinned. I love the Energy Drain Curse, she thought as the second man looked up in confusion; he'd managed to ward off Lily's Fire Wave, but he could do nothing against Melissa's well-aimed Stunner. Like his comrade, he too fell over in a heap, unconscious.

"Come on!" exclaimed Lily, "That third bloke will bring reinforcements – we need to get out of here, NOW!"

"Just a sec!" called Melissa, and levitated the two unconscious thugs to the same corner as the first. "Ropes?" she said, and Lily immediately conjured a few lines of rope; the boys proceeded to tie up the two goons quickly, and the five of them walked briskly out the door, their wands raised. "That was incredible," gushed Dirk, as they swiftly climbed a flight of stairs; there was another door at the end of it. "You two didn't even need us – I'm pretty sure none of our Spells even hit them!"

"They didn't," said Lily wryly. "But you forget – you're dealing with Death Eaters here, people who are seasoned with using Dark Magic!" They came to the door, and Lily raised her wand again. "Stand back!" she commanded, "I'm going to blow this door open!" She didn't care about attracting attention, considering that the other Death Eaters in this Manor would be aware of their escape from the cellar now. "Confringo!" she yelled, and the door burst into pieces; a quick Shield Charm from Melissa prevented any of them from being hit by shrapnel. "Thanks!" said Lily, and they quickly jumped through the entrance to find themselves in a spacious and beautiful drawing room – which was empty, much to their surprise.

"Who the hell keeps the cellar entrance in the drawing room?" Melissa asked derisively. "It's pathetic!"

"Not our problem," said Lily, and raised her wand again as she heard shouts from elsewhere. "We've been breached!" someone screamed from not too far away, and Lily realised why this room was empty – it had to be because James had arrived with a load of people, right? "Secure the prisoners!" the voice continued, and Lily was galvanised into action. "Can't allow them to come here!" she shouted, "Colloportus!" The door to the drawing room slammed shut with a weird squelching noise, and Lily turned to the others. "When they come in, we must attack them – fight our way out of here, and join the others!"

"What others?" asked Walter, nonplussed. Dirk rolled his eyes and said, "Didn't you hear them, Walter? They've been breached, which means some of our lot has arrived to help! We have to fight them if they enter this room!" He looked towards his right, and grinned. "Or – we could escape," he added, and Lily followed his gaze; her heart leapt with hope as she spotted the fireplace in the room. "Excellent!" she exclaimed.

"We'll need Floo Powder," said Melissa, but Lily was already moving towards the fireplace. "Guard the door!" she commanded, and Melissa obeyed; Lily heard her whisper protective enchantments as she peered into the small the pot next to the fireplace. She nodded; as expected, there was Floo Powder in it. This was obviously another fixture in Wizarding homes; something she knew due to her frequent visits to Liz's and James's… She pointed her wand at the fireplace, and said, "Incendio!"

Flames began to crackle merrily in the fireplace, as if they'd been burning for hours… "Come on, you need to get out, boys!" she shouted. "Go – go to the Leaky Cauldron, that fireplace is definitely open. You can go to Hogsmeade from there – Tom the barman will help you. Go!"

Dirk and Walter nodded, and Walter stepped forward. "Thank you, Head Girl," he said gratefully, before scooping up a handful of Floo Powder and throwing it in the flames, which turned emerald green. He stepped into the fireplace and screamed, "Leaky Cauldron!" before vanishing from view. With a 'thank you' to Lily, Dirk followed suit.

"Go, Donnie," Lily said, but the younger Gryffindor hesitated. "What about you and Melissa?" he asked urgently.

"We'll follow you," she said reassuringly. Donnie nodded, and suddenly did something rather surprising – he pulled her into a hug. "Thank you," he whispered, and Lily was touched. She awkwardly patted his back, and said softly, "You're welcome… Now, go. Hurry!"

"Yes ma'am!" he said, and giving her a military salute, imitated he stepped into the fireplace and vanished amid the emerald green flames.

A loud crash made Lily turn towards the door in alarm; she spotted Melissa flying backwards through the air just as two hooded and masked figures came into the room. "No!" she shouted, and sent a powerful Pushing Jinx their way; they were promptly pushed out of the room, and she re-sealed the door. "Melissa!" she shouted, sprinting towards the other girl, who quickly got to her feet, much to her surprise. "Cushioning Charm," she explained, "The wall was as soft as feathers."

"Nicely done," said Lily appreciatively. "Now – you should go, too – I'll follow!"

"OK! See you on the other side!" said Melissa, and she gave Lily a little grin before proceeding towards the fireplace. Just as she was about to throw the Floo Powder into the fire, however, there was another almighty crash, and the door opened again. "Go – go – go!" Lily yelled, and engaged the newcomers in a duel with a swipe of her wand; however, the two goons pointed their wands towards her right, and she dived downwards just in time as the fireplace was hit by a powerful Blasting Curse. Coughing, she blew the dust away with a nonverbal Air Spurt (Ventus!), and stood up to battle the two masked thugs who had their wands pointed at her. She ignored them and stared at the fireplace, fighting the nausea threatening to overcome her… Had Melissa escaped? Or – had she – no, she couldn't have. She had to have gotten out in time…

"I knew you were trouble, Mudblood," said one thug, his voice rough and gravelly. Lily quickly turned to him. "It's going to be my pleasure to deal with you –"

"Quiet!" the other one exclaimed. "Our instructions are very clear!"

"Yes, yes – I'm not going to kill her," the first one said dismissively, and Lily seized on their momentary distraction to quickly and non-verbally put a Disillusionment Charm on herself. "Hey – where did she go?" the first man exclaimed, but the second man was already in action; he cast what Lily anticipated would be a Spell lifting Disillusionment Charms, and she used the split second before she'd be revealed to shoot off a volley of fireballs at the two Death Eaters. She could feel the Disillusionment Charm being lifted, and thought, Lumos Intensum! The bright white light temporarily blinded the Death Eaters, and she used the opportunity to reenergise herself with a quick Energy Drain Curse on one of the goons. The other man, however, was up to the task, and they traded Spells for a few seconds until the force of one of his Spells knocked her off her feet. She landed heavily on her backside, struggling desperately to keep her wand pointed at her opponent, but to her surprise, he crumpled in front of her before she could fire off a Spell. Her pulse quickened as she recognised the person who came into view.

"James!" she exclaimed, and sprang to her feet. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly, unwilling to let him go… Everything she'd repressed during the past couple of hours came right to the surface, and she couldn't help shedding a few tears of relief… "You came," was all she said though, and he drew back. "Always," he declared, "I have your back, Lil – never forget that!" He raised his wand, and a stag erupted from his wand and sped out of the door. She presumed that he'd alerted someone that he'd found her.

"You got my message, then?" she asked, and he nodded. "That and the earrings told me where you were," he said, with his familiar crooked grin. "We didn't wait around once we came to the Manor, we just stormed it like Mad-Eye said… Attack first, ask questions later!"

"Mad-Eye?" Lily repeated, nonplussed.

"Alastor Moody – he's a highly accomplished Auror, one of the best, and a member of the Order of the Phoenix," supplied James. "He and Emily led the charge, backed up by some other members of the Order and some of our classmates – I Disillusioned myself and sneaked around, looking for you, while the others kept the goons in the house busy, see? Well, now that I've sent them a message – we need to get out of here, immediately," he said urgently, talking faster than usual. "Where are the other students who were with you?" he added, looking around as if he'd just realised that she was the only one he'd found.

"I sent them to the Leaky Cauldron," said Lily, fear running through her veins again. "But, James – Melissa –" she couldn't even complete the thought. What if –?

Almost on cue, a silver sparrow streaked into the room and halted in front of Lily. "Lily! I escaped, but where are you?" it said in Melissa's voice, and Lily's shoulders sagged in relief. She quickly responded with her doe Patronus, informing the other girl that she was fine, that James had found her, and that they were getting out at the earliest.

"There," said James, "She's fine – we need to leave, come on!" He grabbed her hand, and they exited they exited the room together. They kept their wands up, and Lily could hear shouts and bangs growing closer as they walked… They must be coming up to where the others were, then. She clutched James's hand harder… They'd have to fight their way out, there was no doubt about that. "Two of those goons destroyed the fireplace before I could leave," she said, "Are we going to get out of this Manor through the door?"

"No, we're going to use one of the fireplaces here," said James tersely. "I nicked a pouch full of Floo Powder, that should suffice…

They entered the next room and froze; there three separate duels were going on, with Claire Palmer and Sirius Black fighting two of those. "C'mon!" exclaimed James, and he went to Black's aid at once; Lily jumped into action next to Claire, and promptly fired off her signature Spell at her opponent – the Fire Wave. She dodged a couple of Unforgiveable Curses that shot straight through the Fire Wave, and Claire took the moment to aim a Stunner right at the man's legs. He crumpled over, unconscious.

"Thanks, Lily," said Claire, panting. "He was starting to overwhelm me, you came in the nick of time! You all right?" she added, her blue eyes concerned.

"Yeh, I'm fine – thank you for rescuing me," said Lily warmly. "Here, I have an idea… Drain this goon of his energy, go on!"

"Er – all right," said Claire, with a little frown, but obeyed Lily nonetheless. A few seconds later, she grinned at her, apparently revitalised. "That was a good idea!" she exclaimed. Lily grinned and looked around; James and Black had been victorious, and were making their way towards them, followed by – Fabian Prewett. "All right, Lily?" he asked cheerfully, and smiled back. "I'm fine," she said, "Thanks for coming to our rescue!"

Fabian nodded at her before saying, "C'mon, you lot – we need to leave, we can get out through here." He pointed to the fireplace, and Lily nodded. James handed him the pouch of Floo powder, and with a quick "Incendio!", lit a fire in the fireplace. Fabian raised his wand, and an opossum shot out of his wand before vanishing. "I've informed the others that you're with me – where are the other students?"

"They got out," said Lily, and Fabian grinned. "Well, we should follow them," he said, "C'mon – let's go!"

Just as he turned to the fireplace, however, he crumpled to the floor, blood gushing out of his thigh. "Look out!" shouted James, and fired off a Spell towards the door, where two more masked goons were standing. "Go – go!" James yelled as he blocked two Curses headed towards them. Lily joined him, Black came to his other side, and the three of them began to battle the two goons. "Claire, take Fab and GO!" James hollered. "He needs Healer attention, GO!"

Claire looked as if she didn't want to, but obeyed; she vanished in a flash of green flames. Lily focused on the battle at hand; it was hard work, and she desperately held on, blocking everything she could as she searched for an opening… Suddenly, and idea came to her. "Scutum Elementis!" she screamed, and the Fire Shield engulfed her, James and Black. They dodged a couple of Unforgiveables which penetrated the Shield, while James and Black kept the pressure up on their opponents… "Watch this!" James said, and with a grin, Transfigured a sofa behind the Death Eaters into a lion. Their momentary distraction was all that was needed; James and Black simultaneously drained both thugs of their energy, causing them to faint immediately. Lily extinguished her Shield and expelled a tired breath of air as James stopped the goons from becoming lion prey by Transfiguring the giant feline back into a sofa.

"Nicely done, mate," complimented Black, and James exchanged an overhead clap with him before pointing his wand at Lily. "Consanesco," he whispered, and Lily felt some of her tiredness vanish… "Thanks," she said, and James nodded. "C'mon, we need to get going," he said, and they went back towards the fireplace. Lily stood guard this time as Black stepped threw a handful of Floo Powder into the flames, gave them a thumbs-up, and shouted, "Leaky Cauldron!" before vanishing.

"Right, then – your turn," said James, and Lily smiled. "Together?" she asked, and he grinned back at her. "Sure!" he said, and grabbed her hand as they threw Floo Powder into the flames, which turned emerald green…

In the days to come, Lily would rue this moment as the time when she and James let their guard down with danger temporarily at bay, and how dearly it cost them.

"No, look out!" screamed James suddenly, and Lily realised a second too late that a Curse was headed right for them. James pushed her out of the way, and she fell back, looking on in horror as the Curse hit the fireplace, blowing it apart – a wandless Shield Charm in the nick of time prevented debris from hitting her, and a sick feeling came to her stomach as it dawned on her James had probably been too close to the explosion.

"No! JAMES!" she yelled, and uncaring of any unfriendly Spells that may come her way, she sprang to her feet and immediately ran to where he lay. He wasn't moving, and there were several cuts on his face… However, what made her heat nearly stop was not his unnatural stillness, but the way his legs were bent at a horrible angle. No, said the firm voice in her head as she futilely tried to revive him, tears streaming down her cheeks. He had a pulse, but it was erratic… If he didn't receive Healer assistance soon, he was as good as –

"NO!" she screamed. "Consanesco!"

His breathing became a little easier, but other than that, there was no change. She turned to her attackers – there were two more of them, with their wands pointed at her. Her tearful eyes flashed with rage; oh, she was going to make them pay…

"The game's up, Mudblood!" said one of the thugs, taking off his mask. It was a man with a pale, pointed face… "You and your boyfriend are feisty, I like that. But the Aurors left you behind – another one of their botched operations, wasn't it?"

She remained silent, her wand raised defiantly. "Well," continued the thug, "Our instructions were clear – that you wouldn't be harmed. Your blasted friends got away, but it was so chivalrous of you to remain behind…"

He was mocking her, and her anger went up a notch. "Why shouldn't I be harmed?" she spat. "I'm nothing more than an animal to you, aren't I?"

"Instructions," said the goon, shrugging. "I don't question them –"

Suddenly, he crumpled to the ground. His partner looked behind them in confusion, only to go down at the next second. She drew in a sharp breath as someone else entered the room, stepping over the bodies of the two goons, her wand raised…

"Emily!" she exclaimed with mingled relief and disbelief. "I thought you went back!"

"Old habits die hard – as an Auror, I conducted a final sweep after every operation," said Emily, an intense look in her doe-soft brown eyes. "Lily – are you all right?" she asked, her voice worried.

"I'm fine," she said urgently. "But James – he needs help – he – he –" She took in a deep breath to compose herself. "He's in a bad way, Emily," she said softly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "You must help me –"

Emily raised her wand, and a silver wolf shot out of it. "I've just sent for reinforcements," she said. "I'm sorry, Lily – we should've checked sooner if anyone had remained behind. Fabian said he was getting you out –"

A sudden crash caused them both to wheel around; no one was there, but Lily heard heavy footsteps heading closer towards the living room. "Heads up!" Emily shouted as four Death Eaters burst into the living room. "Hello!" one of them taunted, but he was felled by a Curse from Emily immediately. With a slash of her wand, she began to duel the other three Death Eaters. "Heal James now!" she yelled.

"I tried, but I couldn't!" Lily shouted back as she raised a Shield Charm to counter a couple of Curses heading her way.

"Torrensum!" Emily cried, and a powerful torrent of water suddenly shot towards the Death Eaters, who were pushed back out of the living room. She made her way to James immediately. "Stand guard, they'll be back!" she commanded, and Lily hastened to the door. A couple of Spells shot through it as she reached it, and she jumped out of the way to dodge them. She sent a volley of Spells through the door, hoping she'd at least hit one of them…

"I've fixed his legs," called Emily, "I'll need at least ten more minutes to heal him fully, however –"

Just then, Lily was pushed back into the room and away from the door, and she hit the wall. She could only look on, winded, as the three Death Eaters returned to the living room, their wands raised. Simultaneously, they fired separate Curses at Emily, who deflected two of them successfully – but was hit by the third. She gave a little scream of pain as blood began to flow from a cut on her hand. Shaking it off, however, she yelled, "That does it – Scutum Elementis!"

A Water Shield immediately surrounded Emily. Lily struggled to her feet, watching as the Shield simply absorbed all the Spells that were fired at it; however, a couple of jets of green light made their way past it, with the second one missing Emily by inches. To her shock, the three Death Eaters began to shoot jets of air at the Shield to break it, and it began to shake and shudder… "No!" she yelled, and raised her wand. "Scutum Elementis!"

Her Fire Shield engulfed the Water Shield, absorbing the jets of air and growing stronger in the process. Panting and exhausted, her Gryffindor scarf sopping wet, Emily gave Lily a swift smile before proceeding to attack the three Death Eaters with a barrage of powerful Curses, rendering them unable to use any Unforgiveable ones… Lily watched in wonder as one by one, the Death Eaters fell to Emily's skilful spellwork, until finally, they were the only ones left standing. Lily quickly extinguished her Shield and let out a huge breath; she was feeling as if she'd just run five miles. She caught sight of the six Death Eaters who were lying in a heap in front of them, and shook her head… "You never cease to amaze me, Emily," she said in admiration.

"I was trained to do this for a living," Emily responded, proceeding to bind and gag all the Death Eaters and Levitating them into a corner of the room. "Safe to say I'm good at what I do." Her voice carried a dry note, and Lily chuckled slightly, turning around to her… Catching sight of James's unconscious form on the floor, her fears returned in double measure. "Emily," she said softly, "You must continue – continue to heal him. Please…"

"I'm on it," Emily replied reassuringly, bending over to examine James. "He suffered a back injury – a spinal one, based on my earlier Diagnostic Spell," she said gravely. "I'm going to need you to stay alert for signs of trouble while I revive him – I'll need ten minutes at least. And where are the bleeding reinforcements?" she exclaimed in frustration.

Lily shook head as her heart dropped to her stomach, but she also felt hope rising in her chest. Once James was revived, they could concentrate on getting out of here – though how they were going to do that, she didn't know. The fireplace exits were destroyed, and judging by the fact that there was no sign any reinforcements, the Aurors had to be outnumbered. Perhaps they were outside the Manor, trying to get past possible Death Eater reinforcements? This was Carrow Manor, after all – quite likely the Manor of a Death Eater. She shook her head; there was nothing she could do about that. She began to walk around Emily and James in a circle, chanting, "Salvio Hexia… Protego Totalum… Cave Inimicum…"

She could feel the power of her protective enchantments as they whooshed out of her wand. She could hear Emily muttering something complex with her wand raised over James and felt heartened; her former DADA teacher had it under control. On an impulse, she pointed her wand at Emily and whispered, "Consanesco!"

The Health-Restoration Spell took effect, and Emily gave her a quick nod of thanks before continuing to work on James. The minutes trickled by slowly, and Lily forcibly pushed down her worry the Auror reinforcements… How long would it take for them to get to her, Emily and James? Was Dumbledore here yet? And what would be their way out?

"Done," said Emily, and gave Lily a reassuring smile. "Rennervate," she added, pointing her wand at James, who opened his eyes and sat up just as Lily walked up to them briskly. "Ugh," he moaned, "What the hell happened? I feel like a hippogriff sat on me –"

Lily swooped down on him, and kissed him passionately. It was the second time that night that she'd thought she's never see him again, hale and hearty… She put her feelings of joy, relief and love for him mingled with fear, anger and despair into the kiss. She wasn't going to lose him – no way!

Emily cleared her throat, and Lily and James broke apart. Lily's face was the same shade as her hair as she helped her boyfriend to her feet, and Emily laughed softly. "You'd best re-energise yourself, James," she advised, "We're going to have to fight our way out of this bloody Manor."

"All right," said James, and non-verbally Summoned his wand. "Thanks, Emily… Energise!" he added, raising his wand, and stood in silence, closing his eyes as his strength began to flow back into his body. Lily regarded him fondly… She was ecstatic that he was back with her, completely fine after that horrible injury just minutes earlier.

A set of footsteps caught Lily's attention, and she immediately pointed her wand at the door. Her worst fears were realized as Bellatrix Lestrange came into view, flanked by three other Death Eaters. She took one look at the pile of bound bodies in the corner, and said disdainfully, "Filth – unable to take care of teenagers! They wouldn't have gone far – Weston, go and check the drawing room, then come back here!"

One of the Death Eaters left, and Lily and Emily stood in the room, wands raised as James silently re-energised himself… They were invisible and inaudible to their opponents, thanks to Lily's defensive Spells, but if Bellatrix decided to investigate further, she'd break through their Spells sooner or later. Lily cursed silently; the disadvantage of her barrier was that the moment she used a Spell from the inside, it would shatter immediately, leaving them exposed. She stood there silently as Bellatrix strode towards the six unconscious Death Eaters… Emily raised her wand, ready to strike, but Bellatrix simply spared the unconscious goons a bored glance before walking back towards the door. "Their own fault that they were beaten," she said to one of her companions, who said nothing. Leave, prayed Lily mentally. Just leave…

"No one in the drawing room," came a voice; the fourth goon had returned. "Are we sure they're still in the Manor?"

"Of course they are, Weston," snapped Bellatrix. "We have a whole bunch of their lot outside, trying to get in – why would they be there if one of their own wasn't here?"

"She's right," said one of the other Death Eaters. "Where's your brain, Weston – in your arse?" He laughed cruelly, and Weston flushed.

Lily felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around; it was James, and his wand was at the ready. He gave her a nod and a reassuring smile, indicating that he was ready to fight once again… They looked at Bellatrix, who was saying, "They can't be very far." She frowned in concentration before her eyes widened. "Unless –" she raised her wand, and Lily immediately felt a gentle sort of force against her barrier. Bellatrix's lips twisted into a cruel smile, and Lily immediately knew that they'd been found – Bellatrix would shatter her barrier at any second now. She only had a split second to react –

"NOW!" screamed Emily, and James and Lily each aimed a Stunner at the Death Eaters. The next second, Lily's barrier vanished, but their Spells found their mark; two of the goons fell, but Bellatrix managed to keep Emily's Stunner at bay. "Well, well, well," she said, her smile growing even more cruel, "Emily Walcott, the disgrace of the Parkinsons!"

"Bellatrix," Emily acknowledged coldly, staring at her former best friend stoically. Lily attempted to Stun Bellatrix's companion, but he deflected her jet of light rather easily… "There she is, the Evans Mudblood!" cackled Bellatrix. "The Dark Lord will be pleased that you're still here with us!"

"And what does he want with me?" snapped Lily.

"Damned if I knew," said Bellatrix, lazily deflecting another jet of light from James. "Don't interrupt, Potter," she said dangerously, sending a jet of blue light at him that he dodged with difficulty. Turning to Lily again, she continued, "The Dark Lord has his reasons for being interested in you, Mudblood… I know better than to ask!"

"Who cares?" shouted Lily. "Voldemort can burn in hell!"

Bellatrix's accomplice hissed with anger, and a deadly smile appeared on Bellatrix's face. "I'm going to make you wish you'd never insulted the Dark Lord, Mudblood," she said softly, and sent a jet of purple light in her direction – Lily raised her Shield Charm, but the light bounced harmlessly off another Shield Charm instead. "You have to go through me to get to her," said Emily quietly. "I have a score to settle with you, Bella…"

"Likewise," said Bellatrix, facing Emily. "Yaxley," she added, "Take care of these scum – make sure they don't escape. In the meantime –" she turned to Emily, "—for you, it's time to die, just like your boot-licking husband! Did you know that he screamed for his Mummy right before I killed him?"

The colour drained from Emily's face, but Lily, James, and even Yaxley watched in surprise as Emily's lips curled into a dangerous grin. Lily recognised that grin at once… It was a grin of bloodlust, of brutality, of ruthlessness – the calm before the storm. She gulped; she knew that Emily would not be holding back, and that this was going to be a duel to the death.

Emily whispered something, and suddenly, she began to duel Bellatrix with a swipe of her wand. Lily couldn't hear a thing, however – a stray Spell from Bellatrix came their way before dissipating abruptly, and she understood; Emily had cast an Obice Shield (the same one Lily had last encountered while trying to help Professor Malfoy masquerading as Professor Burke in Hogsmeade) to keep her and James protected from what would surely be a horrific duel… A jet of red light missed her by inches as James dragged her out of the way. "OI!" he screamed, "We've got trouble! Focus!"

"Right!" Lily yelled back, and turned to their opponent. She sent a couple of Stunners at him, but he simply Disillusioned himself, and began to attack them… Even with her and James's advanced training, he was still a match for them combined, thanks to his advantage. James kept casting the Charm to lift the Disillusionment Charm, but Yaxley was too fast, meaning that James's Charm kept missing. "Dammit!" he exclaimed, "Even that Accuracy-Enhancing Charm isn't working – must be 'coz I have nothing to aim at! And I can't muster up the concentration required to sense his presence!"

Lily kept casting the Shield Charm to protect herself and James, looking desperately for an opening to Disillusion herself, but Yaxley's Spellwork was top-notch. "This isn't working!" she exclaimed in frustration, catching a glimpse of Emily dodging a Killing Curse from Bellatrix with a one-legged twirl before retaliating with simultaneous Curses from her eyes and her wand. "We need a new approach! I have an idea – get to the corner!"

"All right!" he shouted, and they backed away, still defending, into a corner of the room, which was now showing signs of substantial damage. "What now?" he demanded, and she grinned. "Watch this!" she exclaimed. Non-verbally, she cast the Spell to power up the subsequent offensive Spells her wand would cast. Then, as James repelled another jet of light from Yaxley, she screamed, "Flammunda Furorem!"

A bright orange, all-consuming wave of Fire erupted from her wand and began spreading throughout the room. Unable to penetrate the Obice Shield, it spread to the other parts of the room with double vigour, and Lily let out a triumphant, "Ha!" as she heard a strangled yell from about ten feet away from them. "Now, James!" she yelled, and the flames throughout the room abruptly vanished; however, they remained in place around a human outline, and James quickly lifted the Disillusionment Charm off Yaxley, whose skin looked red, raw and burnt. He let out another yell of pain as Lily cast an Energy Drain Curse at him, causing him to promptly fall to the ground, unconscious.

"Wow – what the hell was that?" exclaimed James in wonder, and Lily couldn't help but grin. Now wasn't the time, however… "I'll explain later, let's help Emily!" she shouted, but at that very moment, she heard a BANG as Emily was thrown into the wall behind her… "No!" Lily exclaimed as the teacher slid to the floor – and didn't get up.

"NO – EMILY!"

Lily bounded straight towards their fallen teacher, kneeling by her side… "No, please," she whispered, checking to see if Emily was breathing. She wasn't, and Lily's heart dropped to her stomach. Pulse, she thought quickly, but James had already pressed his thumb to her wrist. A second later, he turned to her, his teeth clenched, his eyes tearful, his hazel eyes showing fury mingled with extreme grief…

But it couldn't be. It just couldn't be… Emily Walcott, teacher extraordinaire, carrying the knowledge of magic from Brazil, India, Japan, and Australia, simply couldn't be –

But as Lily's frenzied brain searched frantically for another possibility to explain Emily's unresponsiveness, her eyes caught sight of the teacher's doe-soft, still-beautiful brown eyes, which stared without seeing. Her face was contorted with pain, and her mouth was half-open, as if she'd been in the process of crying out. Tears flowed thick and fast from Lily's eyes as she slowly faced what she'd been trying to deny…

Emily was dead.

"Shame," came a cold voice, "She was a good friend once – she'd have done well to join the Dark Lord."

Lily turned in the direction of the voice, wand raised. Bellatrix was standing a few feet away, her wand pointed directly at them; she looked winded and exhausted, and she swayed slightly on the spot where she stood, panting. Emily had clearly fought valiantly, and it must've been Bellatrix's possible lack of involvement in any duels before she duelled Emily that had given her a slight advantage – Emily had already been weakened following multiple duels, hadn't she? Lily's brain simply refused to let her acknowledge the possibility of Bellatrix's superior skill…

"MURDERER!" yelled James abruptly, enraged beyond measure. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, YOU BITCH!"

Before Lily could stop him, he sent a volley of Curses in Bellatrix's direction. I hope she's too tired to fight, thought Lily desperately, but there was no such luck; Bellatrix managed to deflect most of James's Curses, and even managed to send a couple in Lily's direction that she dodged just in time. "No, look out!" she screamed as one of Bellatrix's Hexes hit James, who was thrown backwards; Molliare! thought Lily, and the Cushioning Charm softened the impact for James, who slid to the floor, winded. "That does it!" she yelled furiously; springing forward, she powered up her offensive Spells non-verbally and braced herself… She had no idea what the repercussions would be of using the Furorem Spell so soon after she'd last used it, but she didn't care. "Flammunda Furorem!" she screamed, and launched a full-power Fire Wave in Bellatrix's direction.

"Ooh, so you like it hot!" shouted Bellatrix, with an insane, high-pitched giggle. "Take this!" she added, and let loose Fire Wave of her own – but it was different from Lily's. It was stronger and much more sinister, and it morphed itself into the form of a crocodile before beginning to consume Lily's Fire Wave. Fiendfyre! thought Lily desperately, wondering how on earth she would counter those incredible flames, which were spreading around in the room, burning the walls – Lily heard a sound of breaking glass, and realised that the window had shattered. A blast of the warm night air hit her, and it was all she could do to keep her Fire Wave going, even as she felt her strength beginning to ebb away… I can't keep this up, she thought, closing her eyes, her face contorted in concentration. I'm barely able to keep that Fiendfyre at bay, as it is… She did all she could to keep it away from herself, James, and Emily's body, but it was inching towards them slowly. Was this it, then?

"Tempestas!" came a voice from behind her, and her Fire Wave suddenly increased in strength. "Yes!" she yelled in relief as James stood next to her, his face a picture of concentration… "Keep it up, we can beat her!" he shouted. Buoyed by his encouragement, she concentrated harder, until her Fire Wave was able to consume the Fiendfyre. Lily caught a look of fear on Bellatrix's face as she extinguished her Spell and reacted just in time to stop the powerful flames from burning her to a crisp, falling backwards in the process.

Expelling a huge sigh, Lily and James extinguished their Waves simultaneously, and advanced on their fallen opponent together. Bellatrix struggled to her feet slowly; exhausted, hair dishevelled, she was still managing to sneer. "Going to finish me off, then?" she panted.

Lily didn't even deign to reply as she reached Bellatrix, who was halfway in the process of raising her wand. Abandoning all restraint, she transferred her wand into her left hand, and with a feral scream, punched Bellatrix right on her nose. She felt the woman's nose break as she fell backward, screaming in surprise and pain, and James kicked her loosely-held wand away from her. "Murderer!" he spat, raising his wand and pointing it directly at her. The next second, she was unconscious – James had clearly Stunned her.

"C'mon, we need to leave," said Lily, hurrying back to where Emily's body lay. She tenderly closed the fallen Auror's eyes and mouth before wrapping her Gryffindor scarf more snugly around her neck. With a non-verbal Mobilicorpus, Emily was floating in the air next to her.

"Let's go, then," said James, and stepped towards the door, ignoring the unconscious Bellatrix on the floor. Lily resisted the urge to kick her in the ribs as she followed James, but they'd barely made it to the door when they were blown back yet again. No, what now? Lily thought in frustration as she flew backwards, but she hit the wall only softly, and remained standing as Emily's body plopped down on the floor next to her. James had clearly used a Cushioning Charm on them both…

Three people entered the room, and Lily's eyes went to the man in the middle immediately, for he was the only one not wearing a mask… She felt terror, only terror as she gazed unblinkingly at the man's face, which was whiter than a skull, with slits for nostrils on a non-existent nose. But what terrified her the most were his livid scarlet eyes, which stared back at her with contempt and fury. There was no mistaking who it was…

Lord Voldemort, she thought, horrified.

Voldemort looked away from her to glance at the unconscious Bellatrix, and nodded to one of his companions; the Death Eater waved his wand, and Bellatrix's nose stopped bleeding. A few seconds later, she was back on her feet, panting. "Master," she said, her voice barely audible, as she looked at Voldemort with reverence and worship. "Thank you, Master…"

"You did well, Bella," said Voldemort, staring directly into her eyes – was he performing Legilimency? "I see that you managed to kill that worthless Auror… But these two overpowered you, didn't they?"

"I was weakened, Master," said Bellatrix, and Lily sensed the undercurrent of fear in her voice. "It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been weakened –"

"Nonetheless, you did enough, Bella," said Voldemort. "I expect better in future, however…"

"Of course, Master – thank you," said Bellatrix, an insane smile of relief on her face as she took her position next to the man who had healed her, swaying as she walked.

Voldemort turned to stare at James, and Lily hoped that he was performing Occlumency, too, as she raised her own mental shields… "James Potter," said Voldemort, tilting his neck slightly as he surveyed them through his pitiless red eyes. Lily's terror went up a notch.

"It's Riddle, isn't it?" James snapped, not a trace of fear in his voice. "Tim Riddle?"

Lily shuddered; what the hell was James doing, goading Voldemort like that? Did he have a death wish? Oh, no! she thought as a sudden realisation hit her… James doesn't think we're going to get out of this alive, does he? He wants to go down fighting! She quickly stole a glance at Voldemort, whose face betrayed fury.

"You dare –?" said the Dark Lord softly, and Lily sensed more danger in the undercurrent of lividity in Voldemort's hiss than if he'd shouted. She decided to ready herself for a fight, but she was too weak, just about managing to stand steadily… Energise! she said mentally – she was exhausted, and she knew that she wouldn't last two minutes if forced to battle now. But she could help James fight with full force, if only he could stall for a few more minutes…

"Oh, my mistake," said James, and actually laughed – a mirthless, out-of-control sound that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. "Tom, not Tim – that's right, Tom Riddle. Bit rich of you to mislead this lot, isn't it, by calling yourself a pureblood?"

Lily clutched James's arm harder as she felt some of her strength beginning to return. James squeezed her shoulder reassuringly as Voldemort's lips curled into a mirthless smile. "So – you've fallen prey to the lies perpetrated by that old fool?" he hissed, evidently referring to Dumbledore.

"Lies, don't make me laugh, Riddle," spat James, non-verbally repelling a couple of Stunners sent his way by Voldemort's Death Eaters – clearly in retaliation for him insulting their beloved Master. "Stop," Voldemort commanded, "Do not interrupt!"

Lily stole a glance at Bellatrix, whose beautiful face was alight with an ecstasy quite unlike Lily had ever seen before, and she had no doubt that it was because she'd successfully bested Emily Walcott in a fight to death. No, said the strong voice in her head. I can't think about Emily right now… She stole a glance at her former teacher, who lay still on the floor right next to her. Tears filled her eyes again, and she gripped her wand tighter as she felt more of her strength flow into her body – the Re-energising Charm was working perfectly.

Voldemort was speaking again. "Your father has been a thorn in my flesh, boy," he said, addressing James, "But a worthy adversary, indeed, even though his blood isn't as pure as theirs." He glanced sideways at Bellatrix, and the two masked Death Eaters who flanked him. "You are brave, just like him… And your Mudblood is a feisty one, too!" Voldemort's eyes met Lily's again, and she felt reassured that her Occlumency shield was up. She looked away as Voldemort continued, a trace of amusement in his cold voice, "Even as we converse, she re-energises herself, readying herself for a fight!"

Lily's heart leapt; how had he known? It seemed that like Dumbledore, Voldemort, too, could sense magic… Her grip around her wand tightened even more; she wasn't at hundred percent yet, but she could certainly put up a good fight with the strength she had now. She raised her wand slowly and silently, but Voldemort and his goons did not strike.

"The two of you will be valuable additions to my ranks," Voldemort said matter-of-factly in his snake's hiss. "I'm prepared to overlook your impure bloodline, Lily Evans –" his lips curled mockingly as he spoke her surname aloud, "—in favour of your magical abilities. Your skill with Potions is unrivalled, I hear? And defeating my dear Bella is no mean feat, either…" He glanced sideways at Bellatrix, who looked appropriately chagrined. "A skilful potioneer such as yourself would have a lot to gain from joining me…"

Lily stared at him in disbelief. Really, was he so delusional that she would even think of joining him? Luckily, James took over. "We'll join you when the Chudley Cannons win the bloody League," he said evenly. "Don't hold your breath, Riddle."

Voldemort smiled mirthlessly once more, and James repelled another wave of Hexes and Curses from the Death Eaters by casting an Air Shield this time. "I told you – not to interrupt!" snapped Voldemort, and with a wave of his wand, one of the masked Death Eaters was writhing in pain on the ground. "The pain shall be much worse next time, Lucius," said Voldemort softly, as the Death Eater's mask came off, and Lily stared into the contorted face of Lucius Malfoy.

"So," said Voldemort, and Lily quickly focused on him. "You have made your choice, then…" He raised his wand. "On your own head – be it."

Lily defiantly raised her wand higher as she felt her strength return completely. She mentally prepared herself to battle as James said, "No one's going to think much of you, Riddle – murdering a couple of teenagers, pah!" He snorted. "You only think you're the strongest, but you're nothing – nothing – compared to Albus Dumbledore!"

"Is that so?" challenged Voldemort, as his Death Eaters made noises of anger. Lucius Malfoy quickly scrambled to his feet, and James said proudly, "That's right! You're afraid to attack Hogwarts – because you're scared stiff of Dumbledore! You don't stand a ghost of a chance against him!"

"You'll pay for your insolence, boy!" snarled Voldemort, but before he could throw a Curse at them, he was distracted – and the reason was fairly obvious.

A beautiful phoenix was flying towards them, entering the room through the broken window… As it cried out, Lily's heart filled with hope. "Fawkes," she breathed in recognition as Dumbledore's pet phoenix came to a halt in front of her and James, but remained airborne – without needing to beat its magnificent wings.

"A phoenix?" Voldemort exclaimed, his red eyes narrowed in – confusion, of all things. Lily had no idea how Fawkes had found them, but her heart began to beat faster… She knew that phoenixes had their own form of apparition, and if Fawkes had been able to come here, then surely, he could –

"A wise witch once taught me," said James, his quiet voice full of menace, "Discretion – is the better part of valour. NOW!" he screamed, and grabbed on to the phoenix's talons; Lily non-verbally moved Emily's body within her reach and grabbed her arm. Two jets of green light sped towards them, but James, having anticipated that, quickly conjured a gigantic box around himself, her, Emily's body and Fawkes. The box burst into flame as the Killing Curses made contact with it, and Lily only caught a glimpse of Voldemort's livid face as she, James, Emily's body and Fawkes vanished in a blinding, all-consuming flash of flame.

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Author's Note:

I feel exhilarated and sad at the same time – this is the first time I've killed a character off, a character who I'd fleshed out myself. The full impact of Emily's death will hit Lily in the next chapter, which is likely to be the last one in this story. Thank you for following this story regularly!

The chapter title, 'Deus ex machina', is a Latin phrase meaning 'God from the machine'. It pertains to a plot device in which an unsolvable problem or an impossible situation is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the occurrence of something unexpected or unlikely (thank you, Wikipedia). The timely arrival of Fawkes will be explained in the next chapter, though you Potternerds definitely would've figured it our by now (hint: Chamber of Secrets)! If you did, leave your answer in the reviews!

Wherever you are, wear a mask, and stay safe.

Cheers,

FlashOfFlame