There is a snake in the grass
Chapter TextLily's POV
The boys are being stupid again. Lily can feel it. At least Remus and Sirius got their shit together, that was a long and agonizing year. And no one died or gone insane this year, although Neville was in danger….He did recover completely, but she is still a bit worried about his mental state.
Harry has been home for a few days and it amuses Lily to no end how he is still thinking that she doesn't know that Selena is no ordinary snake. She is pretty sure she saw a garden snake bow to her once. Her son is the apple of her eye, but is no wonder why he is not in Ravenclaw.
But today she has other problems to deal with. She has called in a family meeting, there is something wrong with her boys and she is going to find out what. She asked Molly to take Harry in for a few hours while she takes care of things, they are prone to get loud.
The first one to arrive is as always Severus. He refused her invitation multiple times now, but he ran out of excuses. He arrived by Floo, he had a look on she hadn't seen in years and that she didn't miss at all.
"I arrived. What is the matter, Lily, you said is something about Harry?"
"I actually need to talk about that when everyone gets here"
"Everyone?"
"What is he doing here?" Sirius's voice boomed from the front door. He wada wearing his leather jacket and Remus was behind him still taking the bike helmet off.
"I think we all need to talk" Lily said.
"I have nothing to say to him"
"Sirius!" Remus admonished.
"Fine, have you or have you not gave an interview about how Moony is a danger to society?"
"I did!" Severus said grave.
"See? End of conversation right there!"
"He is right, you know" Remus voice chimed in unhelpful.
"What? Moony…" Sirius turned to his boyfriend fired up.
"Silencio!" Lily cast.
Three pairs of eyes turned to her surprised.
"Much better! Now, why did you do that?"
"Like Remus said, he is a danger" Severus said not looking any of them in the eyes.
Lily sighed long suffering.
"I have Veritaserum tea and I am not afraid to use it"
"The Death Eaters are back"
Sirius flailed his arms, most definitely forgetting that he is a wizard and can probably counter charm that. Remus cast silently for both of them.
"What?"
"Peter Pettigrew came to me and said he wants to be the new spy"
"Peter!? He was the one that told us about the article as well" Remus said turning to Sirius.
"You can't possibly think… Wormtail!?"
"Is always the quiet ones"
"And we believe Severus, who we know for sure was a Death Eater over one of our oldest friends?"
"Oldest yes, but best? He hasn't been here in a long time…They only time he came to visit was to give us bad news and set someone up!"
"But he is Peter; he doesn't have what it takes! He would never betray James like that!"
"James is not here" Lily said in a small voice.
"What else do you know?" Sirius turned his glare towards Severus.
"That Lucius is one as well"
"Not news!" Sirius glared.
"They are distrustful of me, think I am getting to close to …"
"Us" Lily whispered "That is why you haven't been in all summer"
"My involvement with them is what won us the war last time!"
"But they already suspect you!" Lily protested.
"Do you think you can be the spy again?" Remus asked.
"I need Pettigrew to fail for that"
"Absolutely not!" Lily protested.
"It may make the difference between us winning or losing "Severus explained.
"But what about the risks?"
"I am a target to them either way. How well do you think they will take to a turncoat?"
"There is any mark activity?" Remus asked.
"None, but they must have something planned…I knew the trial was a big deal, but they lost that"
"Yes, Draco is with Narcissa, but Lucius has the next week" Sirius said.
"Do you think he is in danger?" Lily asked worried.
"I don't think so…Lucius is a lot of things, but he will not kill his son"
"They are a lot of way you can hurt someone without killing them, especially in a pureblood family" Sirius said dark.
"I do not want to see you go through that again" Lily turned to Severus.
"Is the only way I can protect you and Harry"
"No is not!" Lily's eyes were burning. "I am not…losing anyone else"
"I am not in danger"
"At the first sign of trouble" Remus added.
"I will let you guys know. I can't stay for long" Severus turned to the fireplace again.
"Take this!" Sirius said and offered him a mirror from his pocket.
Remus looked surprised. Lily got closer; it looked like a compact mirror.
Severus took it.
"I changed them a bit so you can use them at Hogwarts, I intended to give them to Harry, but you need it more"
"Be safe!" Lily called after him.
With a small nod Severus was gone.
"You will both keep an eye on him!" Lily turned to her friends.
"About that, we worked on some cool new stuff now that Remus is home more" Sirius said.
Remus fidgeted. He had no new kids this summer, since the article was out. Molly still sent her kids and he had Harry and Draco, but no other's returned.
"So when we were in school, we made this map that shows you where everyone is in Hogwarts at any time" Sirius explains excited.
"You had what!? No wonder James was such a stalker" Lily shivered.
"So I confiscated it last year from some students and bought it home" Remus said and got something from his pocket.
"We were thinking of using the same enchantments, but for specific individuals. So instead of tracking hundreds of people in a relatively small area, we can trace one person, but on a bigger scale" Sirius explained.
"Can we actually do that!?" Lily asked surprised.
"Hey, this Marauder brain only evolved over time" Sirius winked.
"When can you be done?"
"Last time we needed a few years…"Remus sighed" We need some of Harry's blood to do the binding, he will be the first one we will track!"
"Let me get it!"
"You have his blood already!?" Sirius asked.
"Do you know how many healing and tracking spells I can do with that? I am not risking his safety for anything"
Lily was exhausted after a 12 hour shift and all she wanted was to get a good night sleep. She had closed the Floo, so she had to apparate in the village and then walk the rest of the way. She nods her head absentminded at people she thinks are her neighbors, most nod back.
She opens the door to the house. Since they updated the wards, she has to tap her wand to the door every time and then bite her finger and tap it in. They debated using a Secret Keeper, but opted out in the end. The house was unploted and that curved all the unwanted company. Maybe they need to move now that Voldemort is back again.
As soon as she walks in, she is greeted by noise, nothing new Remus has been stealthily babysitting by continuing his lessons with Harry on the Patronus Charm.
"I am home!" She calls as she puts her coat on the rack.
"Expecto Patronum!" She heard Harry cast from the living room." Look, Remus I did it, I finally did it!"
No response from Remus. Intrigued she stepped into the living room.
Harry is smiling wide and petting his Patronus, a stag…Lily feels a stab in her chest. She understands now Remus's reaction.
"That is great, Harry!" Remus said regaining his composure.
"That was your dad's as well" Lily said from the door.
The deer rushed over to her and nuzzled her hand. She moved over to pet it, slightly smaller than James's, a young buck with small horns, but she knew it would grow masterfully.
"Was it?" Harry asked excited.
"Well, that concludes are lesson for today," Remus said ruffling Harry's messy hair.
"Thank you!" Lily smiled warmly.
"You are always welcomed."
"Now go home to your husband," Lily teased merrily.
Remus rolled his eyes.
"Go to bed! Bye Harry!" He waved and is out the door.
"Dinner?" Lily yawned.
"Can we order from the Chinese place again?" Harry asked excited.
"Of course!"
The stag dissolved into a thin mist as Harry got distracted by food. Lily watched the place where it was a few seconds ago, she was not ready for that today.
Lily was pretty surprised to get a letter from Hogwarts, it was not unusual to get them since every august she got one with Harry's supplies and his grades at the end of the year and a lot of letters from Minerva about his behavior and disciplinary actions taken against him, but it was only July. She opened the letter.
Dear Lily,
I am hoping my letter finds you and your family well.
I am writing to let you know the TriWizard Champion is programed for this year. In light of recent events we decided to send letters to all parents/guardians of the students and get their consent on their children taking part in the game.
This year, only people that are 17 and older can participate in the actual games, but there will also be a Yule ball celebration and some tasks may require the help of friends of the contestants. You have a magical formal to sign your approval in for the Yule.
For any other questions to not hesitate to contact me,
P.S.: You should start Harry on dancing lessons since the Yule is a formal ball. My suggestion is Sirius Black since he was quite skilled in school.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Lily reread the letter.
"You okay, mum?" Harry asked from the door of the kitchen.
"Yeah, just a letter from Minerva McGonagall"
"I didn't do anything this time!"
"I am pretty sure even you can't cause trouble while out of school"
"Is that a challenge?" He smirked.
"Merlin no" Lily laughed. "I will go for a quick visit though, are you good?"
"Yeah, I can Floo to Sirius"
"Okay, shouldn't take long I will pick you up from there!"
"Sure thing!"
Lily opened the Floo connections. They've taken to keep it close most of the time and open it only when it was needed. Lily let Harry through and made sure he pronounced the destination correctly before stepping it in herself.
Normally, Hogwarts doesn't have a direct Floo, but teachers have their own to communicate with family or travel without using the Express. Lily had very rarely used Severus's, but she still had access to the wards.
She appeared in the living room of his chambers.
"What? Lils? Is everything alright?" Severus greeted her.
"Yeah, just got a letter from Minerva about the TriWizard Turnament"
"I was just finishing up mine…Right, she should have only sent for her own house"
"Maybe she is finally getting tired with me!"
"No way, that women's level of nagging tolerance…She was the Head of House of James and Sirius!"
"True and they were terribly obnoxious growing up!"
"So you came to bring the form personally?"
"No! I actually want a chat with the Headmaster, is he in?"
"He is actually!"
"Great!" Lily grinned menacing and strut out of the room.
Severus knew better than to follow her.
She got to the office pretty fast since Dumbledore had the same password.
"Ms. Potter, what a surprise!" He smiled.
"Headmaster!" She bowed her head.
"Is there a reason you are bursting into my office?"
"Yeah, I actually got the information about the TriWizard Tournament. I understand that the contest is for people above 17 only, is that a part of the magical bonding contact?"
"No, we can't change the contact itself, but we did put an age restricting spell around the goblet"
"So you are obligated to write your own name?" Lily persisted.
"No…"
"So someone younger can be chosen since the bonding contact is not changed in itself"
"Technically, my dear, but…"Dumbledore started.
"I want you to sign a magical contact that states that my son will not get involved in the Tournament"
"No one here wants Harry harm, who would put his name in the Goblet?"
Lily glared "You have children whose parents are known Death Eaters!"
"None have hurt Harry so far!"
"Quirell, Lockhart with his negligence, Tom Riddle's ghost, not mentioning that last year we had literally Dementors and Neville was abducted from school grounds!"
"In each of these cases, there was a teacher there making sure Harry was alright!"
"Remus or Severus…And one of them will not be here!"
"We asked Alistair Moody to teach this year, he is an incredible Auror!"
"I am sure he is, but he is a lousy teacher!" Lily argued.
"Ms. Potter!"
"Please, humor me with this little thing!"
"Of course!" Albus sighed.
"Perfect!" Lily grinned.
Sirius was thrilled to teach the boys how to dance when Lily proposed the idea to him.
"This is great, I haven't used the ballroom in ages!"
"You have a ballroom!?How come I haven't seen it when we cleaned the house out?"
"Well is one of the rooms you can summon when needed"
Lily widened her eyes.
"Why not just teach them in the living or dining room?"
"The flooring" Sirius said simply. "He needs some new shoes though"
"New shoes?"
"Lily, we are taking this seriously"
The fact that Sirius didn't added a pun to her name at the end of that surprised Lily more than anything else.
"Okay"
Harry liked the new squeaky shoes, more than the idea of dancing lessons at least.
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because you do not want to be the only one that doesn't know how to dance"
"Ron doesn't!"
"Molly told me she is teaching all of the boys actually"
"What about Draco and Neville?"
"Neville knows and Draco will join you"
"He is?" Harry's eyes lit up.
"Yes, now came we get a move on!"
"Fine" He sighed long suffering, Lily is pretty sure he got that from Remus.
Remus is the one that opens the door for them. He is wearing a white button down and some nice slacks.
"Thank god you are here, Sirius is a nightmare" He stage whispers to Lily.
"Nothing new then" Lily grined.
Remus rolled his eyes and led them inside the house. The ballroom was at the far end of the house with an access door at the bottom of the main staircase. Lily can't help, but be amazed by it once in, first of all, the room is huge, seems like a perfect square from what she can saw. It had tables and chairs in a corner and in the middle a circular dance ring. Sirius was waiting in the middle of it, he was wearing some dark red formal robes and he had his long dark hair in an elegant braid. Draco was waiting on a chair as far away as he could get.
Harry ran straight to him.
"You clean up well" Lily told the impromptu-teacher.
"You…Look exactly the same as you always do"
"Didn't got the memo it was a formal attire type of deal"
"It was implied" Sirius raised his chin defiantly. Lily was amazed at the peek into the Black pureblood heir side of her friend.
"Close your mouth, Lily" Remus whispered to her amused.
"Why should I dress up? I am only observing anyway"
"I need a dance partner as well"
"You have one" She point to Remus.
"I don't dance!" He said cheerily.
"Tried everything to convince that one, everything" Sirius winked at her.
"I will step on your feet!" Lily hissed lowering her voice.
"Promises, promises" Sirius grinned.
"Okay, boys, we are ready!" Remus called.
Draco and Harry walked over to them. Remus retreated to one of the chairs.
Sirius puts his hand on Lily's waist. The boys wrestle a bit over who is going to lead.
"Harry, let Draco he had some lessons before" Sirius called.
Harry frowned, but let's Draco take the lead.
"Okay, now, you move in a box shape, medium steps, so the lady can follow. Remus!"
Remus started the music, from a timely gramophone.
"And 1,2,3" Sirius started moving.
Lily had danced before, not on many occasions a classic waltz, but she does know her steps. Sirius is very elegant and he moves swifly, James had been a great dancer as well, Lily reckons is a pureblood thing.
She checked on the boys, Harry didn't inherit his father dancing skills, he steps on Draco's feet two times, elbowed him in the stomach once and manage to fully trip both him and Draco three time in the span of 3 minutes.
Draco frowned annoyed, he is very graceful and even if he messes up some of the steps moves pretty naturally.
"Partner change" Sirius announced and he spins her into Draco while he takes Harry's hand.
Harry does marginally better dancing with Sirius.
Draco seemed relieved he is not dancing with Harry anymore. Lily tried to hide her smile.
"You are a wonderful dancer, Madam Potter"
"Thank you, Draco! But as I keep telling you, you can call me Lily"
Sirius swept Draco away and gives her Harry. He stepped on her feet after 2 minutes that was progress.
They danced for a solid 2 hours, the boys are exhausted. Lily decided is time they break for dinner. She was too exhausted to cook, but Kratcher did it for them, since he really likes Draco. Harry and Draco are in the library whispering over some book, so Lily walked into the ballroom to call Remus and Sirius for dinner.
She stopped in the door. The music is quieter now and Sirius and Remus are slow dancing. Lily watches them with a big smile on her face. They can eat later.
Lily was secretly hoping Harry will get less hyper active over his birthday over the years, but so far it had not been happening. He still woke her up before it was even daylight yet and was buzzing with energy the whole way through.
They were having only a few people over this time; it was hard to keep the secret with more people around. Sirius went insane and bought all of them tickets to see the Quiddich World Cup Finale in August, he bought a ticket to each of the Weasley kids, Harry, Draco, Neville, Lily and Remus, once he started he couldn't stop apparently.
Lily herself wasn't very keen on going, she was never a fan of sports and the prospect of a free evening with some tea and a book sounded much better than the loud spectacle Sirius was offering. She was counting on the hype from tonight to break it to him gently.
People have started to show up and she got lost into the bustle of hosting. She was serving some more tea when she heard a piercing shriek from the living room.
"Is someone hurt?" She asked panicked.
Something came barging in and collided with her.
"Sirius brought me tickets to the Quiddich World Cup Finale. Can I go, please mum?"
"I don't know, with a scream like that you would be a risk to the other spectators"
Harry turned his big green pitiful eyes on her, they would have worked better if she didn't know the "I know I am getting what I want" glint in it from the mirror.
"Yes" She sighed.
Harry hugged her again.
"Are you coming too, right?"
"Actually…"
She could feel Sirius glaring at her from the door.
"I have a shift I need to cover that night"
Harry seemed disappointed, but didn't push it.
"Do you?" Remus whispered in her ear once the guests have calmed down.
"I do now"
"I am not a big fan, but I am still going"
"Because your boyfriend would have pouted till the rest of time otherwise"
"He is very convincing" Remus smirked.
"I hate you both" Lily sighed "I regret I even rooted for you guys!"
Sirius had tried to get her to come a few more times, but to no avail. She did get a new nurse to switch the shift with her by sheer intimidation alone. Sirius has also rented a tent that he was using, for the night of the game, because he was a drama queen.
Lily's shift started normally. She visited Frank and Alice in the Mental Ward, they no longer recognized her, but they seem to enjoy her presence never the less. She always leaves them feeling empty and powerless, but she still visits them at the start of each shift.
She was almost halfway through her night shift when the first patients came in, minor lacerations, bruises, some broken limbs in the commotion. She wanted so bad to apparate on the field and make sure her family was okay, but there were people there needing her.
She tried to focus at the task at hand and not think about them, Sirius and Remus will protect the kids, they have done before. She was treating someone with a severe laceration on the arm when Sirius's Patronus found her.
"We're all safe! The Dark Mark have been cast, we are all at the hideout!"
Lily didn't know if she should feel relieved or not, on one hand everyone was okay, but on the other….they cast the Dark Mark on the sky, at a public highly secured event….How powerful were the remaining Death Eaters?
After 30 minutes of running around like a headless chicken, Alistair Moody was brought in. She only knew him from the Order, haven't actually talked to the man in a long while.
"What happened?" She asked the nurse.
"He was hurt during the attack tonight. He was found after the battle, unconscious"
Lily cast a diagnosis charm, Moody had a fractured hip and his magic core was drained. She started quick work on the Auror. He was still not awake when she finished her shift.
She finally left in the morning. She apparated on Grimmloud Street and walked to the house, the wards let her in. She found Remus in the kitchen making cups of tea, his usual coping mechanism.
"Have you slept at all?"
"No" He sighed and took a seat. "Have you?"
"A lot of people came in, nothing serious though"
"Harry got separated in the chaos, me and Padfoot found him by smell in the end"
"What about the location spell?"
"Not fully working yet, we should have concentrated on that…Dancing lesson" Remus puffed.
"Everyone is okay" Lily said.
"Because Harry reeked of fear and made his scent stronger"
"Remus! I knew he would be safe because you were there!" Lily holds his hand over the table.
"Too late to steal him, Rose" Sirius's voice ringed from the door.
"I don't know, I am still hoping"
"Is everyone still sleeping?" Remus asked.
"Yes, the boys are all in the same room, decided not to disturb them"
"How is the hospital?" Sirius asked.
"Standing, no critical cases"
"Dora let me know that the wand that cast the Morsmodr, belongs to Bertha Jenkins."
"Bertha?" Remus asked.
"She disappeared at the end of last year…I guess we know…now…"
"This is all a show of strength, to intimidate us and nothing more" Sirius said.
"Is working" Lily shivered. "Moody was brought in at the hospital"
"Is he okay?" Remus asked worried.
"He is, but he is still sleeping, I had to put him under, his magical core was drained"
The days after the attack on the camp were hectic and reminded Lily of the First Wizarding War. From what Dora was telling them, they found the wand that cast the spell, only that it was in the possession of a house elf.
The family, a pureblood one, stated that the elf did the spell herself. Bollocks, but technically they do have magic of their own. Even Kratcher swore at that one. Dora told them that since no one protected the elf, she was released, against her will, according to Dora and now is homeless.
Lily and Remus wrote a letter to Dumbledore personally and asked him to take the elf in at Hogwarts. Lily has only seen her once, when Dore brought her in to send her to Hogwarts. She was shivering uncontrollably and whimpering; she only talked to Kratcher and clung to him before she got to go.
Dora pried her away and let her gently into the Floo.
"Will she be okay?" Kratcher surprised them all by asking.
"Yes, the elf at Hogwarts will treat her kindly" Remus said.
"Good. I will make breakfast now"
"He does have a soul" Sirius whispered amazed.
Remus elbowed him under the table.
"Isn't there a department for helping magical creatures?" Lily asked looking down into her now cold coffee.
"Is one for the Regulation and Control" Remus said dry.
"Pureblooded bigots" Sirius hissed.
"You know, the muggles have this structures, non-governmental organizations that serve different causes, I studied some when I had my degree, had a muggle medicine class"
"How do they work?" Remus asked.
"Well, usually they have founders that are rich, or taking donations, charity galas and events"
"What are you thinking of?" Sirius asked Remus after a few moments of silence.
"Do you want to found me?"
"Always, but what is this about? You want to make an organization?" Sirius frowned.
"I want to make a help center for magical creatures"
"This is not only about Winky is it?"
"There are a lot of werewolves out there...after the war. I never thought I could be in a position to actually do something for them, but maybe I am now" Remus's eyes were shining.
Sirius held his hand.
"I am happy to be your sugar daddy, Moony"
"Sirius!" Lily exclaims trying to hold in all her laughter.
"We can offer shelter and maybe help, counseling, a willing ear, some hot meals"
"Medical help!" Lily piped in.
"I could never…Your schedule is busy enough!" Remus said remorseful.
"I think is a wonderful idea and I would gladly help"
"You are a treasure!"
"Do not go glistening eyes on her, I am the sugar daddy here"
"I would never!" Remus turned to him and kissed Sirius square on the lips.
Lily is surprised, Remus continued to throw ideas for his plan, but Sirius is completely silenced, Lily can't say she minds.
As the first step, Remus secured the place. Sirius said they could use Grimmlaud, but Remus refused. Said that the people they help may be dangerous and is better to keep them away from the kids.
They got a place in Diagon Alley, three stories up, had a shop at the bottom, used to be a candy shop when Sirius was a kid, but have been closed for many years now. They do not know what to use the store part for now, but they will figure it as they go along.
The first week all they did was cleaning. Since the boys were home, they helped along and Molly lend a hand quite often with her children. Lily have never seen that much dust in her life. When they were done, the floors were all smelling of bleach.
The adults could have used spells for cleaning, but since the kids couldn't they decided to all clean the muggle way. Lily was never more grateful to be a witch more than by the end of that day. Her hands were red and puffy and even her hair was smelling of cleaning products.
"I do not want to ever live as a muggle!" Draco said and threw the last bucket out.
"Is a good experience!" Sirius said.
They were all lying in the old shop, outside the sky was close to dusk and the crows on Diagon was thinning.
"What for?" Draco asked.
"To understand what they go through every day, that they have it way harder than us!"
"Or that being muggle is not that bad" Remus said glaring at his boyfriend " I feel more accomplished doing all that by myself"
"And it honestly cleans better, I am never satisfied by the cleaning spells, most are sloppy" Molly added.
" So you do all your cleaning by hand, Mrs. Weasley?" Draco asked politely.
"Uhm...most of it" Molly mutters.
"Why don't you get a house elf? My father has a lot of them at the Manor"
"You know, that is not very easy to get one, most came along the line since the Magic Creatures wars through pureblood families" Remus explained.
"But some were banished, or released"
"Well, they are, but they did have lives before the wizarding world engulfed them. They are related to goblins actually" Remus explains.
"But goblins are not working for us" Harry added.
"No they are and they were never slaves either, but we did had a lot of Goblins War to get to that"
"So, Professor" Draco slips without noticing "What about the house elves, did they fought us as well?"
"They were a much peaceful nation, they mostly use natural untamed magic, so is harder to concentrate their magic even if they are in danger. The first wizards promised them to lend some of their magic to the elves, keep them safe and give them a home…So they signed a magical contract" Remus explained.
Lily was as fascinated as the kids, she doesn't remember learning that in Hogwarts.
"So the house elves were tricked?" Harry asked.
"But we do lend some of our magic to them and give them a home" Draco frowned.
"Technically, they are treated as slaves" Harry raised his voice.
"Okay, Hermione" Draco glared at Harry.
"She is right, you know?"
"I heard some elves went insane after being released" Draco said.
"Because they were used to it…Muggles named this Stockholm syndrome" Remus said and started to explain the concept.
"Beauty and the Beast" Sirius whispers under his breath.
"That is horrible" Draco and Harry said at the same time after Remus was done explaining.
"Stop scarring the children, we need to go" Sirius said and touched Remus on the arm.
"Oh yes, I am sorry I got carried away" Remus said and rises.
They usually close the shop and walk the way to the Leaky from where they Floo. Lily was standing back chatting with Molly. She did hear though, Draco told Remus the story of Dobby and if he thinks the house elf is okay. Remus reassured him he is.