The next Wednesday, Lily was struggling to get through the quiz McGonagall assigned them. There were no seats left, and she was forced to sit next to Hermione. The other girl was still stone-faced, and seemed absolutely miserable, but she at least didn't try to talk to Lily. She still had words for Hermione, but she wasn't willing to get into it in front of so many people. She didn't think she'd be able to hold herself back if Hermione tried to talk to her again.

That wasn't her issue, though. The main problem was, try as she might, the answers all seemed to fade from her mind as she attempted to write them. She'd get halfway through a description, just to forgot what she was talking about entirely. That only made her feel worse. She thought she was getting better.

"Quills down," McGonagall said at last. "Leave your papers where they are, Mr. Weasley is here to escort you back to the common room."

Lily glanced towards the back of the classroom, where Percy stood with his hands perched behind his back, his nose held upwards to assert his dominance over the much smaller students. Most of the class was already packing up, Ron looking glum in the back where he was sitting next to Dean and Thomas. Lily didn't know if that was because she couldn't sit nearby, or if he'd failed the quiz. Then again, Ron was studying a lot, lately, and was even starting to give her a solid competition. She was pretty sure she failed it, at least. She left half of it blank. She just couldn't focus.

Lily hesitated as she considered joining the rest of the Gryffindors heading towards the exit. She glanced back at their Head of House, or, perhaps she should say, the new Headmaster. The Governors were set to approve a new one within the week, from what she'd heard. McGonagall made the official announcement of Dumbledore's sacking on Monday, over a somber supper. Of course, most of the school already knew by that point, since it was practically all the Slytherins were talking about. Malfoy, in particular, was especially giddy, since it was his father that led the charge.

Lily sighed, then approached the emerald clad woman. McGonagall was especially irritable lately, and she didn't want to have this conversation, but she did make a promise to do so.

"Professor?" Lily started nervously. "Can I have a moment?"

"I will escort Miss Potter, myself, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall called to the waiting Prefect.

"Yes, Professor," Percy called back. "Come along, you lot, and don't try to lag behind."

"What did you want to talk about, Miss Potter?" McGonagall asked shrewdly. "I'm afraid I don't have time for a long chat, as I must meet with the Governors later today."

"It's, err-" Lily stammered out as she rubbed the back of her head. "I suppose it's just better to show you, actually."

Lily reached into her robe pocket, on her right side, and pulled out the Invisibility Cloak shyly. McGonagall let out a gasp, then quickly took it into her own hands. Lily hoped she wasn't about to get it confiscated. She hadn't even gotten a chance to use it yet, with Mad-Eye still patrolling the school.

"You found the cloak?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, Professor."

"And where did you find it, if I may ask?"

"It was with Her-"

Lily stopped herself, ever so slightly, and McGonagall clearly noticed. But, still, even though she couldn't stand Hermione anymore, she still didn't want to see the other girl get in trouble, and she was pretty sure this might just be an expellable offense.

"Err-," Lily stammered again in an attempt to hide it. "It was with my cat, Professor, in his cage. I forgot I put it in there, to keep it safe, and I, err- forgot to bring the cat with me, you see, so I just- I never checked it again, Professor, until last night."

McGonagall stared at Lily for a long, long time. Lily did her best to look the older woman in the eye, even if it absolutely terrified her to do so. She really couldn't take another scolding from McGonagall, she simply didn't have it in her to do so.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Potter," she said at last, "For sheer stupidity. The loss of your cloak is what has driven our investigation into the Chamber of Secrets, and to make such a blunder has irrevocably cost us a lot of time. You understand this?"

"Yes, Professor," Lily said with a sad look downwards. "I'm sorry. I've never felt so stupid before."

"I suppose this explains your shoddy work today," McGonagall said as her eyes flickered towards Lily's nearby paper. "No doubt you were working up the courage to come forward."

Lily kept silent; she felt that was a better excuse than what she had prepared.

"Very well, Miss Potter," McGonagall said with a sigh. "But absolutely do not sneak out after hours, or I will see you expelled myself, I promise you that. We still have a monster in our midst, after all, until the culprit is caught. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor," Lily answered again.

"I should just confiscate it from you this moment, Miss Potter," McGonagall said sternly. "But I am choosing to trust in you. That trust will not be extended again, should you break it."

"I understand, Professor," Lily said yet again.

"Before we go, Miss Potter, I was told you were given the Sorting Hat by Professor Dumbledore. Do you still have it on you?"

"Err," Lily said sheepishly. "I- not with me, no. Do you need it back?"

"No," McGonagall said quickly. "I don't pretend to know all of the Headmaster's plans, Miss Potter, but if he gave it to you, he had a reason to do so. Make sure you keep it on you at all time. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Hermione had it?" Ron whispered harshly in their corner of the common room.

"Shh!" Lily glanced around, trying to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. "She did. That's why she'd been so weird, lately, she was worried about how I'd react."

"That snake," Ron said meanly. He glanced around the room himself, trying to find her. "No wonder she isn't showing her face down here. She's lucky I'm not a girl, I can't get to her up there."

"And you won't be getting to her anywhere," Lily said in another harsh whisper. "I'm mad at her, Ron, but I don't want you going and harassing her."

"What?" Ron asked. "Lily, she-"

"She took my father's cloak, Ron, yes, I know. But she already has to live with me, she'll be miserable enough. Just leave her alone."

"Fine," Ron agreed reluctantly. "But if she tries talking to me, I'm not going to go pretending we're still friends."
"That's fine," Lily said. "I don't think she will, though. I don't think she's said a word to anybody since Valentine's."

"Can't believe Lockhart did all that," Ron said.

"I noticed you running straight out of there," Lily said with a smile. "Scared of girls, Ron?"

"Terrified," Ron admitted.

McGonagall was no longer watching over their Quidditch practice. She was, quite simply, far too busy to do so. Instead, she entrusted the duty solely onto Wood. Lily didn't know why the other Captains weren't trusted with the responsibility, but, then again, one of them was Montague. Lily wouldn't trust him with holding her quill between notes. He'd probably eat the thing out of spite.

Katie was ignoring Lily, which hurt her feelings a bit. She understood, though. She accidentally left her down in the Great Hall all day, waiting for Lily to come back, while she was stewing angrily in the Gryffindor Tower. She tried explaining the issue, but Katie kept walking away every time she tried to approach. She hoped that ended soon.

At least Wood was excited to be out here. With the new brooms Lily bought half the team, they were looking unbeatable, now that they'd already done their match against Slytherin. So long as the Snakes didn't smash their own games, they were the clear favorites for taking the cup.

"Keep your head in the clouds, Lily," Wood called out as he flew by. He was helping the Chasers run drills right now, correcting their positions and trying to run interference. Ron seemed to be having a good time. He was playing far better all around, now that he'd gotten his first game out of the way.

Lily had to shake her head to get out of the funk she was in. She was supposed to be chasing after her personal Golden Snitch. Lily didn't know why, but it seemed to know when she was on the Quidditch field, and would behave like a normal Snitch. It also knew when practice was over, somehow, and would return if she hadn't caught it yet. She kept meaning to ask Katie about it, but she had to wait for the other girl to become friendly again first. Such was life.

She really wanted to play well for the next game. This was Wood's second to last year, and she didn't want him to leave without a cup. If she could help make that happen this year, the more the better. Wood didn't say it, but they all knew he was worried about the scouts for the professional teams. They wouldn't approach anybody until their seventh year, but they'd all heard how nervous Wood sounded whenever the topic came up.

Once practice was over, Wood gave them the usual pep talk, telling them all what he thought they were excelling at and what he thought needed more work. Lily needed to stop being so easily distracted, apparently, and to stop worrying about what the Chasers were doing every few seconds, but was otherwise great.

Ron needed to work on his confidence issues, since he fumbled the ball more than everybody once he made a single mistake. Wood suggested learning Cheering Charms, and applying them before a game started to keep himself in good spirits. Lily didn't know how legal that'd be in a real league, but made a mental note to learn the spell anyway. A few seconds later, and she was wondering what she was supposed to be remembering, and then was worried about what she was supposed to be working on.

Alicia didn't receive any pointers, other than to continue improving in general. She seemed proud of that fact, and Lily could have sworn she finally saw the girl smiling about something. Katie was told to spend more time focusing on the Quaffle, and less time checking on the Seeker. Lily didn't know if that was quite fair; everybody seemed really distracted when she got knocked off her broom by one of the bludgers. It was only natural, considering she was two for two on near death experiences during a Quidditch match.

Fred and George, of course, were ordered to stop fooling around so much, and to focus on actually playing the game. Lily thought that was a bit unfair. They always performed really well in any actual match. She was pretty sure they just didn't want to hurt any of their friends. They mostly just knocked the Bludgers at each other. That, of course, did not include Ron and Lily, as they were considered family and, therefore, free game. Lily was just honored to be included in that sentiment, even if her chest was sore from all the hits she took.

And, of course, Wood ended the session by asking for criticisms about his own play.

"Stop being such a git," Fred offered.

"Okay, thanks, Fred," Wood said. "I was hoping for something a bit more useful than that, though."

"Stop being such a prat."

"Thanks, George, but, err, how about we hear from someone else?"

"Stop watching the girls so much."

"Yeah, Oliver, we know it's hard, but you don't have to-"

"Okay, that's enough from the twins," Wood said. "Anyone else?"

"You should practice more," Lily offered.

"Okay, thanks, Lily!" Wood said with an enthusiastic point in her direction. "Err- what, exactly, do you mean by that, though?"

"You keep watching over all of us too much during practice," Lily said. "You should tend the goal more. Block more shots."

Wood considered it for a moment. "Okay, I'll consider it. Anybody else?"

"You shouldn't worry so much about what everybody else is doing," Alicia said. "That's why you let goals in at all, you're too busy watching everybody else to make sure we aren't in trouble."

"Well, to be fair," Wood said sheepishly as he ran a hand through his short hair, "Half you lot would get yourself killed if I didn't call a timeout."

"I appreciate it, Oliver."

"Not a problem, Lily. I'll keep it in mind though, Alicia, you're right. Katie? Ron? How about you two?"

Ron's ears turned a bright red as he heard his name. Lily was pretty sure he wasn't paying attention. She could hear his stomach growling from where she was standing, and they were on completely different ends of the lineup.

"No complaints here, Oliver," Katie offered as she nudged Ron with her elbow.

"R-right," Ron agreed.

"Then let's go get some lunch," Oliver said with a clap of his hands.

"Sod off, Lavender," Lily practically shouted. She was really glad they were in the dorm, rather than down in the crowded common room. They could probably still hear the argument down there, but at least she didn't have to deal with them looking at her.

"Just talk to her, Lily!" Lavender shouted back as she gestured to Hermione's closed curtains. "We all hear her crying at night, and we know you are the reason! Just apologize!"

"No," Lily said out of spite. "Sod off, Lavender. She knows what she did."

"Lily," Lavender said as she crossed her arms. "You shouldn't treat her this way. She cried half the year because of how much she missed you, and now you go and break her heart on Valentine's Day?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lily asked. If anybody should be upset about that, it should be Katie, and she was upset.

"We saw you walk out with her," Lavender said to a gesture to her clearly embarrassed friend. "You two-"

"Lav," Parvati said gently with a hand on her friend's arm. "We shouldn't be talking about this, maybe Lily doesn't know. We didn't actually see what they were talking about."

"Fine," Lavender said hotly. "But you should apologize, Lily, before you break her heart any further."

"No," Lily said again as she closed the curtains around her own four poster. "Goodnight."

"Lily, she won't talk to any of us! Just apologize, and get over yourself!"

"Good night, Lavender."

"The Mandrakes will be arriving this weekend," McGonagall announced to a rowdy Great Hall audience on Thursday night. Lily clapped along with the rest of the audience with a huge smile on her face. Ron looked particularly relieved as he glanced over to the empty seat where Neville should be sitting.

"I must ask you all to follow the restrictions for just a bit longer," McGonagall said after the Hall quieted down. "Yes, they will be lifted once we find the culprit. Yes, we are hoping the petrified students will have new information for us. But, no, it is not a guarantee. I'm afraid I must tell you all the truth; if this doesn't lead to capturing the individual responsible, then it is entirely possible that Hogwarts will be shut down."

"Shut down?" Fred called from down the Gryffindor table. Lily heard smatterings of similar disapproval from around the hall, a sentiment she quite shared. She had no idea what she'd do without Hogwarts. She was still waiting on Dumbledore to write her back about the state of her guardianship.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, shut down. Need I remind you all of the predicament we are in? Should things go well, Alastor Moody will be leaving us after this weekend. Let us hope this is all behind us soon."

"Can't wait for Malfoy to get caught," Ron muttered. The food finally appeared before them all, now that McGonagall was done speaking, and he was already piling chicken onto his plate. Ron ate chicken a lot, Lily noticed. He hardly touched any other meat. She grabbed a steak, herself. Hogwarts didn't serve those very often.

"Ah, before you go," Lockhart announced at the end of his Thursday class, "I must have a word with you, Lily."

"You go on ahead, Ron," she said. She set her bag back down on the desk, anticipating a longer meeting. She had a feeling she knew what this one was about.

"I don't want to leave you with him," Ron whispered.

"Ron, I'll be fine, just go." She wasn't going to get into this again, not now. She was tired of the same old argument. Lavender didn't even bother looking in her direction as she passed by, although Parvati mouthed a silent "sorry." They were still mad at her for ignoring Hermione, who was already waiting patiently by Ignatius Pebblebrook, who was their escort today.

"Lily, come on," Ron tried again. "Just forget about him, something isn't right here."

"Ron, go, or I'll curse you," Lily muttered threateningly. She patted her robes for an extra effect. She really didn't want to actually draw her wand on him. Of course, she patted the side holding the Sorting Hat, but he didn't need to know that.

"Fine, go ahead, then." Ron stormed off angrily, joining the rest of the class. Ignatius started off, pushing his glasses up his nose again. He'd lead the Ravenclaws to their dorm, first, since they were closest, then take the Gryffindors to the top floor.

"You wanted to speak to me, Professor?" Lily asked sweetly once they were alone.

"Yes, Lily," Lockhart said with his award-winning smile. "I got the latest contract from Flourish & Blotts, and need your signature."

"That's what I thought it was," Lily said with a satisfied smile. "Did your publisher like my cover, Professor?"

"Loved it! Asked if you'd be interested in doing a few more."

"I don't know," Lily said as she bit her lip. "I only did the one because you asked me to, Professor, I don't know about another one. Just that one took a really long time."

"Perhaps we'll just make it a Lockhart exclusive, then!" Lockhart laughed as he placed his arm around Lily's shoulder. She almost shied away from his touch, but that reaction worried her more, and she tried to ignore it. She had no reason to mistrust Lockhart.

"Professor," Lily said as they went up the stairs towards his office. "Err- Are we still doing the signing if- if Hogwarts closes?"

"Why, of course!" Lockhart said in a faux shocked tone. "And if one of us should become indisposed, remember, Lily, that the other is still required to attend. I would not worry about Hogwarts, though, dear."

"Why not Professor?"

Lockhart smiled confidently. "Even if the petrified students can't identify the attacker, it is no matter. I happen to know exactly where the Chamber of Secrets is."

"You do?' Lily said as her mouth fell open, "Professor, where-"

Lockhart tutted, his finger wagging three times. "Can't be telling any students, now, can I? You'd try to enter yourself, for certain, and we can't have that. No, Lily, best to keep it a secret for the moment. Worry not, though; Professor Lockhart is on the case!"

"Off your rocker, Heiry?" Malfoy said with a sneer.

"Give it back, Malfoy," Lily demanded, thrusting her outstretched hand once more.

"Or what?"

Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward, surrounding either side of Malfoy. He was a good head shorter than the both of them; even Lily was taller. Still, though, she didn't think she could take all of them in a fight. Maybe one of them, if it was just Malfoy. She'd need magic for all three.

"My wand," Lily demanded once more. "I saw you pick it up. Give it back."

They were in the Transfiguration classroom, with the rest of Gryffindor. McGonagall had to step away, and asked a Slytherin Prefect to watch the class. He, unfortunately, had been in charge of escorting the Slytherins down from Charms, and he was currently doing his best to ignore Lily's situation.

"This?" Malfoy said as he stepped back. He took Lily's Vinewood wand from his robes, dangling it in front of her. Lily tried to snatch at it, but Crabbe and Goyle shoved her back wordlessly, and she fell to the ground. Ron quickly grabbed at her, trying to catch her, but she sank between his legs, much to Malfoy's amusement.

"I'm only warning you one more time," Lily growled from her far worse position. "Give it back, Malfoy."

"Fine," Malfoy said. He tossed the wand at Lily, and she snatched it out of the air before it could clatter onto the ground. "Wouldn't want you sending your Basilisk after us, now, would we?"

Lily smiled back at him. "You'd like that, wouldn't you, Malfoy? You couldn't take me without your little friends, there. Really think you could take a Basilisk?"

Malfoy sneered at her. "Lose it again, Heiry, and I'm snapping it next time. Should have been expelled, anyway, sending your monster after all the Mudbloods. Not that I blame you. Shame you spared Granger, though. We all could have used a laugh."

He walked away, laughing about something with his two goons. Lily swore under her breath as Ron helped her back to her feet.

"You should have punched him," Ron said. His face was red from his own anger, and Lily briefly wondered why he didn't try to help her.

"Forget it, Ron," Lily said as she watched the sniveling monster walk back to the rest of his friends. "He wouldn't be worth the effort."

"What's with the 'Heiry' thing?" Lavender asked from nearby. It seemed she was being friendly, again, if only for the moment.

"Probably thinks it's clever," Lily grumbled.

"Lily, Penelope said in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. "Do you- do you mind if I speak to you? Won't take a moment."

"Sure," Lily said with a shrug. Ron shrugged back, then went ahead into the portrait hole. He was the last straggler. He and Lily tended to stick to the back of crowds, these days.

Penelope leaned close, something that made Lily feel embarrassed. She didn't back away, though.

"You-" she started. "You didn't- didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Lily's face turned red. She'd been worried this was coming.

"No," she said quickly, "But- but Ginny figured it out, and she wouldn't believe me when I said nothing was happening."

"Bloody hell, Lily," Penelope said with a long sigh. "Well, I should just thankful it stayed a secret as long as it has, I suppose. Try to avoid Percy, if you can. He was more upset about it than I was."

"Why were you two keeping it a secret, anyway?" Lily asked. She was relieved that Penelope wasn't upset with her.

"We're Prefects," Penelope said snidely. "He didn't think it'd be proper. You better get on inside, Lily, I have to finish my patrol."

"Finally," Ron said as he splayed out on the couch. "I am doing nothing this weekend."

"Can't do nothing, Ron," Lily said as she dropped her heavy bag on his legs before sitting down at the end. "We have Quidditch practice."

"Cancelled," Ron said with a grin. "Katie told me earlier. Wood said all practices are canceled this weekend, since they're bringing back the petrified people."

"Oh," Lily said sadly. "Katie told you, huh?"

"Yeah, before we went down to breakfast. Thought you already knew, to be honest."

"No, I didn't know," Lily said. What did it matter, though? She tried to push whatever this sudden feeling was back down into her chest, where she wouldn't have to think about it. She had enough to deal with, considering the pounding in her head. It was getting worse, today, and she was on edge from it.

"What do you suppose she's doing?" Ron asked. He nudged his head towards the direction of the portrait hole, and Lily followed his gaze. Hermione was standing by the exit, staring over in their direction, unmoving.

"Who cares?" Lily said rudely. She rubbed at her temples, trying to quell the headache that was brewing.

"Mate," Ron said quietly. He sat up, placing a hand on Lily's shoulder. "Maybe you should forgive her after all. I don't know how much longer I can take her moping about, watching us from across a room."

"No," Lily said. She could feel her nostrils flare. The pounding in her head grew worse. "Forget it, Ron. She doesn't deserve it, not after what she did."

"I tried," Ron said with a nervous shrug. "Just can't stand her staring at us all the time, is all."

"I can tell her to sod off, if you want me to."

"No, I don't think there's any need for that. Why'd she take the cloak, anyway?" Ron asked. "I still don't get it. She knew how important it was to you, and she'd never use it herself."
Lily snorted. "Tom probably told her to do it. He had her thinking I was a bad influence. Besides, I think she did use it. She let slip on the train that she'd been spying on the Slytherin common room, and they never noticed her. Can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner."

"Tom? Who's that?"

"Oh," Lily said. She had the grace to blush, at least. "It's, err- her diary. It talks. That's why I asked you about them over the Holidays."

Ron's face lit up from the recognition. "Oh! I was wondering about that. How'd you find out about him?"

"She bloody sent the thing to me," Lily said with another laugh. "Claimed she finally convinced him to talk to me. I think she thought he'd apologize for her and we'd all be friends together. Tried to convince me Hagrid was behind the attacks."

It was Ron's turn to snort. "Hagrid? Sure, he likes to keep monsters, but even he wouldn't touch a Basilisk!"

"She thought it was an Acromantula, actually," Lily said. "Could you imagine a spider petrifying people? Got into a fight about it after the Dueling Club, when I told her it was a Basilisk."
"Hang on," Ron said as he realized something. "How did the diary know all this, anyway? Hermione couldn't have known. None of us did."

"His creator was there, Ron," Lily said as if it was obvious. "He has his memories."

Ron sat in silence for a long moment as he stared at Lily, who suddenly felt a bit nervous. Her head felt like it was almost splitting open.

"Lily," he said at last, "Diaries don't get memories. Just the personalities. Their minds automatically wipe when they're given to a new owner. It's part of the enchantments."

Lily stared back at him. The pain in her head multiplied rapidly as she realized something was horribly, terribly wrong, even if she couldn't say what it was.

"Hermione!" She called out as she jumped up from the couch, whipping her wand form her robes. She turned every direction, wand outstretched, as she looked around for any sign of bushy hair.

The common room was empty. Hermione was gone.

"Where'd she go?" Ron asked. Lily knew, even if she didn't want to say it. She could tell by the pain in her scar. She felt like she might throw up. Why didn't I see it sooner?

"We have to go," Lily said. She hit Ron's legs, trying to get him moving. "Come on, Ron, we have to go."

"She probably just went up to the dorm," Ron said. He crossed over to the girl's stairs, sticking his head through the threshold. "OI, LAVENDER, IS HERMIONE UP THERE?"

"NO," Lavender shouted back down. Ron swore under his breath as he ran over to where Lily was standing by the portrait hole. She had her free hand planted firmly over her scar. She could hardly take the pain. And, still, she didn't know how she hadn't figure it out sooner.

"You don't think-"

"Ron, something's wrong," Lily said. Her hand clamped down harder on her scar as her breathing became ragged. "We need to hurry. Verdimillious."

Her wand lit up at the incantation, held by her shaky fingers, shooting bright green sparks. Her eyes stung to look at them, as if they were suddenly very weary. Her whole body felt covered in a cold sweat, and her grip was loose. She felt like she might be sick at any moment.

"Let's go, then," Ron said. He threw his arm around Lily's shoulder as he pushed her out, following closely behind. They walked quickly, ignoring the Fat Lady calling after them. Hermione wasn't on the Grand Staircase as they made it, but Percy was, and he was clearly upset to see them.

"What are you two doing out here?" He asked shrewdly.

"We need to see McGonagall, Percy," Lily said quickly. She could feel the sweat coming down her face. "Please, we have to hurry."

"She's in the Hospital Wing," Percy said with his nose in the air. "They've finished the Potion. The mandrakes arrived early. You're all supposed to be in your common rooms."

"Stuff it, Percy," Ron said as he pushed past for the both of them. "We don't have the time for this, just follow along."

"Well, really, now-"

"Percy, please," Lily said. She was finding it hard to breath, now, her eyes watering from the pain in her forehead.
"It'll be alright, Lily," Ron whispered to her. "Just hang in there, we'll get there soon."

"Potter!"

Mad-Eye came around the corner from below, his false leg clunking as it hit each step. Both eyes were locked onto her wand, and she let the spell fall now that they were safe.

"I'm sorry, sir," Percy said, "I tried to get them back to the common room, but-"
"Is it happening now, Potter?" Mad-Eye asked. He grabbed onto both of Lily's shoulders, moving Ron out of the way, as he stared directly into her eyes.
"Yes," Lily said, swallowing to keep the bile down. "Sir, I- we know who's doing it."

"Good," Mad-Eye said. He dragged Lily forward, leading her down the steps. "Tell me who, Potter, I'll find them before they can open the Chamber."

"Sir, what was- what was You-Know-Who's real name?" She should have asked sooner. She should have known.

Mad-Eye stopped short. "Voldemort? What's that matter, Potter? Dumbledore ordered me not to-"

"Please, sir," Lily repeated. "I- it's important, just in case I'm wrong."

Mad-Eye stared at her a few seconds longer, and then spoke the two words she so desperately did not want to hear.

"Tom Riddle."