His Greatest Wish, by AndromedaMarine
A/N: In light of Queen Rowling's revelations about the Potter line, I just want to say (for future readers who ignore the original published date) that as of her announcement, Henry and Eleanor Potter are officially non-canon, and will stay that way. Who wants parents named Fleamont and Euphema?
47. Moments to Never Forget
A few days before Christmas, Severus and Lily Apparated to London to go shopping and visit the Morgana Center for Assault Survivors. Diagon Alley bustled with holiday shoppers bundled in thick cloaks and scarves to ward off the cold. Snowflakes drifted down over the city, turning everything white and sparkly. Lily wanted to visit the center last, in case it triggered an unwelcome emotional response, and Severus privately agreed with her. They finished their shopping by noon, at which point they meandered back to the Leaky Cauldron for hot Butterbeer and lunch with Frank and Alice, who were shopping that day too.
The girls hugged and the boys shook hands, and soon enough they were warming up and enjoying the food and drink. The Leaky Cauldron grew noisier as more people passed through with their holiday purchases, sometimes dragging upset children behind them.
"How are your parents doing?" Severus asked Frank.
"Mum's ferocious as ever," Frank chuckled. "She's always in and out of the Ministry, either on duty with the Aurors or complaining to someone about something. And dad just smiles and nods."
Augusta had always been a formidable woman to Severus, especially in his previous lifetime. "She still scare Sirius?"
"Only always. She thinks it's funny, but after being with us for so long he's mostly gotten used to it."
"That's good." Sev took a sip of Butterbeer. "Not that I was worried about him."
"Did you guys get all your shopping done?" Lily inquired.
"Not nearly," Frank answered before Alice could. "This one stops at every store window to inspect everything, especially the dresses and jewelry. We walked through Muggle London."
Alice blushed, but shot back with, "We could've gotten more ground covered if you walked faster than my grandmother."
Sev and Lily watched the play-fight with amusement, and it finished with Frank giving his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. Before they parted ways, Alice told Lily to expect an owl about plans later in the holiday. Their purchases shrunk and stored in Lily's magically-expanded purse, Prince and Evans emerged into Muggle London to walk to the Morgana Center. It took them about half an hour and three tube stops, but Lily had insisted on arriving the Muggle way.
The Morgana Center for Assault Survivors wasn't in an old closed up shop like St. Mungo's. It was in a beautiful brand new building that just had a sign reading "Permits Pending" to Muggles, while anyone with a magical core could see the big block lettering above the doorway.
"Sharp," Sev commented.
"Looks can be deceiving," Lily reminded him absently as she pushed open the door and walked in.
Like many public wizarding buildings, the Morgana Center was bigger on the inside. The doors opened into an airy reception foyer, where two witches and two wizards sat behind a massive, curved desk in the middle of the room. There was a waiting area to either side of the door, each tucked in an alcove to provide a modicum of privacy, and water stations set up like in Muggle medical offices. Platters of pastries sat on the counter in front of each receptionist.
On this cold pre-Christmas afternoon, there were two women and one man waiting, though they had separated themselves by gender to one or the other side. At the sound of the opening door, all four receptionists glanced up, and some confusion crossed their faces when they saw a man and a woman enter together, an occurrence that they hadn't come across as of yet.
"How can I help you?" asked the witch on the far right.
They approached the desk. "My name is Severus Prince, and this is Lily Evans. Lord Henry Potter—"
"Oh my goddess," the witch interrupted, "I know you both. I just didn't recognize you in person—forgive me, we didn't know you'd be visiting."
Bemused, Sev and Lily glanced at each other, and then back at the witch. The other receptionists whispered to each other for a moment before going back to work. "That's all right," Lily assured her. "I just wanted to see the facility, and meet with a counselor if one is available."
The witch glanced at both sides of the waiting room. "This is busy for us, believe it or not. Lord Potter only brought in sixteen counselors and therapists, eight each, and equally men and women. They're currently all with someone, but I will notify our director, and when she's finished with her business I can bring her to you. I can't guarantee a time, though you're both welcome to wait in our meeting room."
"Thank you."
She led them past the desk and through a door behind it, into a hallway that felt as airy as the foyer. "Just in here," she indicated a glass door with Evans Conference Room stamped on the plaque next to it. Lily didn't know whether to be insulted or honored, but she didn't say anything as the witch led them inside. "There are pastries on the table, please help yourself to them if you wish. My name is Annabeth, if you need anything while you wait." She indicated the plate on the table, and then left, leaving the door open.
Sev walked around the room, inspecting it, while Lily chose a seat that gave her an adequate view out into the hallway, ignoring the food altogether. "Thoughts?" he asked.
"This room is named for me."
"I saw."
"I don't know if I like it or hate it. That my name is in this place."
"Lord Potter wanted to honor you in some way, I imagine. You vetoed his naming the entire facility after you, else it would be the Evans Center."
"Are you defending him?"
"No. Just pointing out that you never made it clear that you didn't want your name anywhere in here."
Lily looked back at the doorway, thinking. "Will everyone know what his son did to me?"
Severus walked back around the table and sat in the chair beside her. "Not everyone. Everyone at Hogwarts right now already knows, and once the trial starts I imagine it will draw a lot of publicity, but like most things, it will fade from their memories. It's my hope that it eventually fades from ours."
"You are a treasure."
He kissed her hand. "As are you."
They sat in silence for nearly a quarter of an hour, until a tall woman in a pencil skirt and white blouse strode through the open doorway.
"Hello, I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Director Carmichael." She shook both their hands and sat across from them. "What can I do for you?"
There was a beat of silence before Lily spoke. "I'm not sure. I just wanted to come see what you do here…what kind of a difference you're making to the community."
Carmichael wasn't prepared for the vagueness of this question, and so she paused briefly before answering. "Annabeth mentioned you're the woman this facility was built for."
"We are in the Evans Conference Room," Severus pointed out, "though this place wasn't built for her. It was built because of her. More specifically, because of what she went through."
"What we went through," Lily corrected him. "Director, I'm sure you're familiar with what happened to us. It's been almost a year since the attack, and oftentimes I don't know if I'm actually all right."
"Forgive me for being blunt, but you will never be the person you were before the attack. Neither of you will. No one ever is, myself included."
Severus looked at her in surprise. "You were—" he cut himself off, realizing his tactlessness.
Carmichael inclined her head in confirmation. "Yes. Lord Potter's hiring guidelines are quite specific. 'Muggleborn and Squibs only, both male and female, with Muggle university degrees or licenses in therapy or psychiatry, who have themselves experienced assault, rape, or other similarly traumatic event.' Lord Potter doesn't parse words in this case. In the Muggle world he'd never get away with such discriminatory hiring practices, but in our world, for this purpose, it makes sense. "
"I think I understand," Lily said. "It's so you can relate, like really relate, because you know exactly what we went through, and it won't feel fake."
"Yes. That's exactly right."
Lily fell silent for a few moments. Then: "In your experience, how long does it take to feel at least close to normal?"
Carmichael studied Lily, and then she studied Severus. "It took over four years for me to trust men again. I did not have someone like Mr. Prince here, nor was I surrounded by male friends who felt more like brothers. You are a lucky one, Miss Evans, truly you are, to have such strong people to support you in your life. Might I ask you something?"
"Yes," Lily whispered. She clutched Sev's hand.
"Are you still experiencing night terrors?"
Severus turned his eyes on his girlfriend, he too curious about her response.
She nodded. "Two or three times a month."
"And a year ago?"
"Nightly."
Carmichael sat back in the chair, a gentle smile on her face. "That right there is evidence that you are getting better, and much faster than I did. Keep doing whatever you're doing, the both of you. And if you need someone to talk to at Hogwarts besides your friends and professors, a counselor is being installed to start after the holidays."
"Thank you."
"I have a final question," Sev divulged. "How involved is Lord Potter now that the center is up and running, successfully, it seems?"
"Little to none. The money he put toward the Morgana Center is no longer in his control, and after the initial hiring, he bowed out almost completely."
Severus and Lily left shortly thereafter, silently contemplating what Director Carmichael had told them. They turned on the spot to Disapparate, and reappeared a moment later in Severus's room.
"Is your mum still at the shop?" Lily asked.
"Yes. Is yours gone as well?"
"She said she'd be in Kingsbridge all day. It's only two, so I don't expect she'll be back for another couple hours."
Severus doffed his heavy winter cloak and hung it on a peg by the door before casting a quick drying charm on it, and a warming charm on himself and Lily. "And Petunia?"
"She told me last night that she and Cordon are babysitting the Weasleys until six."
"Good." Severus moved into Lily's personal zone of space. "I'd quite like to kiss you without worrying about an audience."
Lily tilted her head to meet his fiery gaze. "Oh?"
"May I?"
"Yes please," she breathed, and then his lips were on hers and her hands clung to his shoulders as if for life; they were passion and love and romance embodied. Eventually Lily's cloak and purse wound up on the floor at the foot of Severus's bed, onto which the two teens tumbled and held each other with the unspoken promise to never let go. They lay there for a while until Severus remembered the presents.
"We should wrap those presents before everyone gets home," he said. Lily quite enjoyed the rumble his voice made as it moved through his chest, and didn't move.
"Must we? I'm too comfortable to even move an inch."
Severus kissed her forehead and maneuvered so he could stand without Lily having to move at all. Instead, as he tried to climb over her, she wrapped her arms around his middle and tugged him off balance, ending with them lying front-to-front, with Severus Prince atop Lily Evans. "What are you doing?"
"Testing something." She wriggled, and Sev immediately lifted his weight. "No, lay back down. I can breathe just fine with you there."
"What are you testing?" Severus murmured, her face millimeters from his.
She smiled, and leaned up ever so slightly to kiss him. "I feel safe with you pinning me."
Surprised, he propped himself up on his palms. "But I'm not pinning you."
"With all your weight on me, I can't move. That's why I wriggled a moment ago."
"Ah."
Lily playfully swatted his arm. "Oh, go on then. The gifts won't wrap themselves."
"We need to find you a dress," Alice said by way of greeting when Lily appeared a few meters away down the alley. It was Boxing Day, and the shoppers were out in force, taking advantage of the post-Christmas sales.
"What? Why?" Lily looked down at herself. A dress? In winter? Absurd. They started walking.
"Not to wear this instant, of course. Sirius and I convinced McGonagall to give the Circle members—all the ones of-age—permission to Apparate into London at the end of January."
"What's happening at the end of January?" Lily asked, purposefully trying to forget that the end of January would be a year since the assault.
Alice looked at her with one eyebrow raised.
"Oh—my birthday!" Lily internally berated herself for completely forgetting that her birthday, too, was at the end of January. "Are we doing a party, then, in London?"
"Dinner," Alice answered.
"That sounds lovely."
"Good, now let's find you a dress."
Alice shrugged. "My mum took me shopping before Christmas and we already bought mine."
The two girls trolled the stores of London for the perfect dress, and finally came to the conclusion that a brief trip to France might be in order. In a few moments they were walking through the eighth arrondissement in Paris, along the Champs-Élysées, to a boutique Alice had read about in a high-end Muggle fashion magazine.
Lily slowed to a stop outside the door. "Alice, are you sure about this? I haven't got any Francs, just pounds."
Alice breezed into the boutique. "Not a problem. I changed for both at Gringotts last week. I'll take care of it, Lily, just find a dress you like and don't worry about what it costs."
Slightly suspicious but not wanting to question her best friend's motives, Lily browsed, and an hour later the girls Apparated back to London with a dress. But they weren't finished, as Alice led them to one of the jewelry stores she'd passed with Frank on the way to the Leaky Cauldron the week before.
"We'll need matching earrings, a necklace, perhaps a bracelet…" Alice was already peering into the display cases as Lily looked on, amused.
"Why do I need all that?"
Alice turned a wounded gaze on her best friend. "Honestly, it's your last birthday at Hogwarts with all your friends, and you don't want any jewelry. Un-believable," she scoffed, her tone clearly sarcastic.
"Oh, all right. If you insist." Lily went off to examine specimens in another case, and it was only a few minutes later that she heard Alice calling for her.
"Lily, will you come over here for a moment?" Alice asked from across the store. "I found a pair of earrings that would go smashingly with the dress we bought." This trip into Muggle London had further solidified Alice's impression that no one did it better than the Muggles when it came to fashion, since the Wizarding World had long been stuck wearing obnoxious robes, even to formal events when dresses were just so much nicer.
Dutifully Lily joined her friend. "Oh, these are gorgeous!" she gushed, one hand on her chest.
"And they exactly match the dress. Look at the color! We're getting these… Now…bracelet and necklace…"
And so the shopping went. Alice took all the purchases home, making the point that Sev shouldn't see her new adornments (or the dress, for that matter) until the actual dinner, with which Lily agreed. She Apparated back to Ottery St. Catchpole, stopped by the Otter Café to get a coffee to go, and walked home through the gentle snowfall.
The coffee warmed her hands as she walked, despite the warming charm over her clothing. She almost couldn't believe how different her life had unfolded compared to Sev's first experience, but here they were: Voldemort and Greyback dead, Umbridge but a mere bad memory, and Potter—Lily faltered in her gait, and she looked around. A park bench was a few paces away; she went to it and sat. Potter was her last visible hurdle. They hadn't gotten a trial date yet; as a bureaucratic machine, the Ministry was bound to be slow unless chivvied. Could she even call him 'Potter' anymore, if he'd been disinherited to such an extreme? She took a sip.
Yes, she decided. He'll always be Potter to her, despite her brief episode when younger where she actually called him James. Who cares if Lord Henry Potter takes offense to it? He sired him.
The wind gusted and found its way between her cloak and her jumper, and Lily Evans decided to continue home, all her thoughts on her life as she knew it now.
Sunday morning found Lily and Petunia in the Otter Café, in the furthest booth from the door, with coffees and pastries in front of them, and a Muffliato protecting their conversation. Their third Christmas without their father was difficult, though not as much as the first or even the second. Lily battled with the feelings of guilt over having a good time without her dearly missed dad, but the real reason she and Petunia were down here had to do with their personal lives.
Petunia Evans had been madly in love with Cordon Diggory for a while now, she was pursuing her teaching certificate at university, and through her connection to the Wizarding world, wanted to open a small primary school at which pre-Hogwarts children could learn about the Muggle world, among other useful subjects. With Lily so often at school, or off with Severus or at the Weasleys' during summers, Petunia really hadn't gotten her rightful chance to gush to her sister about her steadily progressing life, and in turn hear about her sister's.
"How are you liking Exeter?" Lily asked after taking a sip.
"It's wonderful! My classes are challenging but not terribly so, and I enjoy watching the other students and wondering how they go through life without ever knowing a whit about magic." She sighed. "I realize I was one of them not too long ago, but the past few years I think…have been good for us. Despite all the heartbreak."
"He'd be proud of you."
Petunia smiled, her eyes glassy. "So, how are you and Sev?"
Lily didn't answer for a moment as she thought about the man who had changed the world to save her life. "I can't imagine my life without him," she finally told her sister, unashamed of her deep attachment to Severus Prince. "He's done so much for me and our friends, and he's so selfless and humble about it. He doesn't want praise, just recognition and respect. That's part of why I love him so much."
Petunia could sense there was more to it than that, but being sisters didn't mean they couldn't' have secrets. "I've always—well, no, that's not true. After we moved here I began to see that he's a proper man. I suppose that realization helped when I dumped Vernon, and again when I started seeing Cor."
"Speaking of Cordon," Lily interjected, "I see him occasionally at school, but we never talk about you. How is your relationship going?"
Petunia thumbed the promise ring Cordon had given her a bit over a year ago and her lips pulled into a smile. "Really well, I think. He's itching to graduate."
"I think at this point we all are. Sev and I have to apply for training in our specialties soon, though acceptance depends on our N.E.W.T scores."
They talked for a while about that: how Lily was applying to train as a Healer, and how Severus would get his Potions Mastery and spend his life researching and inventing new potions. When they exhausted this track of conversation, Petunia redirected them back to the subject of Lily's relationship.
"I—I feel bad bringing this up, I do, but I want to be certain. Are you all right? I mean…after what happened in—in January?" Lily, who hadn't expected this topic to come up while having coffee with her sister, froze for a moment, and Petunia saw it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that." The elder sister looked down at her cup in embarrassment.
"I am better than I was, by far," Lily replied as she carefully thought. "It will still be a while before—well, I won't ever be the same, but I'll find a new normal. With Severus by my side, it all seems so much easier. He is my rock."
"I hope he sticks around. I've become quite fond of him," Petunia said as a joke, but Lily interpreted it differently.
Her face quite serious, the younger Evans daughter said, "I have no doubt that I'll spend the rest of my life with Severus."
"Really?" Petunia asked, not surprised, but wanting her sister to be sure.
"Oh, absolutely. It's like I said before: I can't imagine a life with anyone else."
"Does Sev feel the same?"
You have no idea, Lily thought. He loves me so completely he changed time and reality itself to save my life. But, of course, Lily could say none of this to her sister. "Have you met the man?" she asked sarcastically, and Petunia laughed, breaking the tension, and Lily laughed with her.
"I'm glad for you, Lily, I truly am." Petunia expressed and she reached across the table to squeeze her sister's hand. "And I have no doubt that father would be proud of you, too."
Severus Prince turned eighteen on January 9th, 1978. The Circle of Seven gathered in the Room of Requirement, tasking Cheery and some other elves to provide the food, and Sirius to supply the Butterbeer. Nothing short of a party occurred, and it was well past curfew before they snuck back into Gryffindor Tower.
The following day, Remus found Severus down by the Black Lake, hands shoved in his pockets, his cloak swaying and billowing in the wind, his hair buffeted up to elegantly frame his face. They shared a brief glance before Remus took up the stance as well, following Severus's line of sight to the mountains in the distance.
"I love her," Severus said abruptly.
"We all know that," Remus said, pointing out the obvious.
"I know. I haven't shouted it from the turrets, so to say. I'm not a very vocal person."
"Not unless you're tearing somebody a new one. I learned long ago to never get on your bad side."
The corner of Severus's lip quirked upwards as he turned his head to glance at Remus. "Was it the fangs? I swear I'm not a vampire."
"No," Remus replied with a chuckle, but he sobered pretty quickly. "It was how protective you were—are—of Lily, even when she didn't want you to be. And, of course, what happened to the people who crossed you."
An eyebrow went up.
Remus ticked them off on his fingers. "Voldemort, Greyback, Umbridge, Potter—" his voice faltered. "Especially Potter."
Severus didn't dignify this with a response, and looked back over the lake. "I did what I had to."
"That's my point. You're strong, both physically and emotionally, and you stand by your values. Lily is lucky to have you. We all are." Remus moved close enough that their shoulders touched, and he nudged his friend. "What did her mum say?"
"I almost can't believe how well she took it. I know it's a bit obvious now, but I think she's known for a long time. She gave her blessing."
"I guess I'm not surprised. I mean…your history with Lily is incredible—almost unbelievable. Her mum knows that you two have something more special than usual."
Sev smiled, and took in a breath. "I know she'll say yes, but I'm still a nervous wreck about it. Besides that, though…I want to ask you now. Will you stand with me?"
Remus turned his gaze back over the lake, at the distant, snowcapped mountains, his mind filling with the memory of sitting in the Room of Requirement, learning about Severus's deeply complicated past. "I would be honored."
On Sunday afternoon, the day before Lily's birthday, Alice told Lily the plan.
"All right, so I've double-checked with McGonagall, and we're still good to have the dinner in London. We'll Apparate around a quarter to six, since the reservations are at six and the Apparition point is a few blocks from the restaurant. Which means we should start dolling up right about now."
Lily loved her friend. She really did. But… "It's only two—is it really going to take us three hours and three quarters to get ready to go? It's literally just putting on a dress and some jewelry."
"Oh, Lily, my dear, it's your eighteenth birthday, and we're celebrating it by going to a fancy dinner in one of the classiest districts of Muggle London…and you think you just need a dress and some jewelry." Alice straight up laughed. "I'm going to do your makeup. And your hair. And your nails. After I'm done with you, not even Severus will be able to find his voice."
Alice, as usual, was true to her word. While it didn't take the whole time, it did take a while, but by the time they were ready to go Lily had transformed from her usual pretty self into a gorgeous young woman who would draw the gaze of every man (and woman) in her path. Lily didn't question Alice's motives since she genuinely liked what she was doing. They donned their thick black cloaks, warm scarves, and gloves, and met Jackie in the Entrance Hall to walk down to the gates together.
"Where are the boys?" Lily asked.
"Already there," Jackie answered.
"They all left without us?" Lily said, a little hurt that Severus hadn't waited for her.
"Sev's the one who made the reservation," Alice replied. "He needed to be there beforehand to make sure everything is ready."
"Oh."
The walk down to the Hogwarts grounds gates didn't take long, and Lily was surprised to see Renly waiting for them just beyond the boars.
"Renly?"
"Hi girls," he said cheerfully. "I'm nowhere near old enough to come with you, which is a shame, but I thought I'd be your send-off before you arrive in lovely London without those of us lacking Apparition licenses." Renly, at fourteen, was already taller than all the girls in the Circle, and so when he gave her a hug, nothing about it felt awkward. "Happy birthday."
She hugged him back, grinning. "Thank you, Ren."
Shortly thereafter the three girls turned on the spot, and reappeared in Muggle London a few blocks from the restaurant. The cold winter wind blew against them, and they were all glad to be bundled up. When they reached the restaurant, Alice held open the door for Lily and Jackie to enter, and then she followed.
Lily stopped in her tracks, and Jackie barely avoided running into her. Alice quickly maneuvered to take Lily's cloak, scarf, and gloves, which she did without any resistance.
The entire restaurant was empty, except for a table in the center with a single candle lit and Severus standing behind it, dressed to the nines, looking more elegant than Lily had ever witnessed in her life. Behind him to his right stood Remus and Sirius, and on his left, Frank and Peter. Alice and Jackie stood on either side of Lily.
"Sev—what—did you reserve the entire restaurant?"
Severus grinned. "I did."
Alice nudged Lily to move forward, and she slowly walked to the table illuminated by candlelight. She saw Remus and Sirius exchange a tiny nudge and grin.
Severus rounded the table and stood with his hands behind his back. Lily stopped a few feet away from him, the silk of her deep blue dress swishing deliciously against her smooth legs, wondering what was happening. "Lily…it seems like I have known you for my entire life. I once had a terrible nightmare wherein our paths split entirely, and upon my waking I knew I could never let that happen. You inspire me to be a better man, and absolutely nothing would make me happier, more complete, than if you shared the rest of your life with me." He dropped to one knee, his hands emerging from behind his back with a black velvet box.
Lily covered her mouth in surprise, tears pricking the backs of her eyes.
Severus Prince opened the box, revealing a stunning Celtic white-gold ring sprinkled with diamonds, and deep red garnet perched at the center. "Lily Rose Evans, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"
Lily let out a sob, and all but flung herself into Sev's arms. "Yes, oh holy Morgana yes!" She kissed him in earnest, feeling him smile beneath her lips. When they broke apart Sev plucked the ring from its bed and slid it neatly onto Lily's left ring finger. "I love you Severus Prince," she murmured, admiring the ring before looking up to meet the gaze of her now-fiancé.
Their friends burst into applause and congratulations, all of them obviously having prior knowledge of what was coming, but Lily didn't care. She was going to marry her best friend, and that's all that mattered.
The birthday-and-congratulations-you're-engaged dinner that followed was one of the best nights of Lily's life. She did wish Regulus, Emily, and Renly could have come, but she understood why they hadn't, and there would be other celebrations in the future that they would be at. After the dinner, the eight friends Apparated back to Hogwarts, full of life and laughter and love. Lily felt as though she could ride this high for years.
The trial for James began in March. Severus attended with Sirius and Frank as witnesses, along with Madame Pomfrey and Lord Henry Potter. As both Rose and Petunia, being Muggles, could not attend, Eileen did in their place. Lily too came, though as per their previous decision, she did so beneath the Cloak of Invisibility, retrieved from Renly the week before.
As in most high profile cases, the Minister herself acted as the moderator, or judge, though the true vote would come from the Wizengamot itself. When James had been escorted in and forced to sit in the single chair before the courtroom, the Minster called for silence, and began. "James Henry, formerly known as James Henry Potter, stands accused of attempted rape, assault, and perjury." From there she objectively described the crimes of which he had been accused, her tone emotionless and factual, and finished by asking him his plea.
James Potter would have had an army of barristers at his back, but this was not James Potter. This was James Henry, no longer a member of the Potter line, and as such Henry Potter had not provided the boy who was once his son with one. His additional warning to Dumbledore about providing help had also dealt a blow; James was now at the mercy of the Wizengamot with nothing more than the suspicious grace of a pro bono public defender on his side. And as such, he wasn't sure if the free barrister would actually do him any good.
"Not guilty," his lawyer submitted, and the distaste among the courtroom, both among its audience and voting members, was almost palpable. Lily stared at James from beneath the cloak, her gaze fire and anger and burning rage, but she could do nothing to him now, just as he could no longer touch her.
What followed was quite a blur to Lily, afterwards. Both the defense and the prosecution called their witnesses, though they only made it through a few before the day was done. Because of this, the trial lasted for several weeks, during which time Sev tried his best to keep Lily's focus on the N.E.W.T.s, and not the outcome of the trial against her attacker. And, for the most part, it worked. She made progress with spells that had previously given her difficulty, and the same tactic worked with Sirius.
The recounting of her ordeal was laid out during the trial through witness testimony, mainly from Severus, Sirius, Frank, and Madame Pomfrey, and a memory provided to the court from Severus, which was the memory he'd shared with Lily of the attack itself. Others were questioned, about James's character during school, but the final blow came from his parents, whose simple act of cutting him out sent waves through the magical community, as the Potters had widely been regarded as doting parents who defended their son from every scourge.
On April ninth came judgement day. On this day, Lily did not wear the Invisibility Cloak. She entered the courtroom with Severus and the rest of the audience, dressed in her school robes, her wand up her sleeve and her engagement ring clearly visible to anyone who cared to look. She and Severus sat three rows back from the front, far enough that it would take some looking for James to see them, though not with much difficulty. Just like every court date before, James, once he was seated, immediately searched out Severus in the crowd to stare at him. This time, though, he did a double take when he saw Lily seated beside Severus, her posture perfect, her red hair cascading down over her shoulders, her expression haughty. He had not expected to see his victim in attendance.
The Minster banged her gavel and spoke to the Wizengamot members. "The testimony has been heard, the witnesses questioned, and the memories viewed. You were given yesterday to make your decisions. All in favor of punishment?"
James stared in horror as every single hand in the voting section of the courtroom, except three, went up. He didn't fail to notice that the three in question had previously been associated with Dolores Umbridge, but that fact failed to be relevant since they were outweighed by every other voting member of the Wizengamot.
Minister Bagnold looked down on the accused, her expression clearly in favor of the result. "Sentenced to one year in Azkaban, with no appeal."
The courtroom audience sat behind a wall of Patronuses cast by the Aurors standing around the room. Following Bagnold's sentence, a set of doors to the side opened, admitting a single Dementor.
"When he's released, no one will help him. It's something of an unwritten rule," Severus muttered to Lily. "If he's not dead they'll just drop him somewhere in the UK, most likely along the coast, without even a cloak to his name."
Lily frowned, glaring down at her doomed attacker. "No parole, no one to make sure he never does anything bad again?"
Severus pursed his lips. "No, not with Lord Potter having disinherited him and forbidden Dumbledore to intervene. He hasn't any friends left, and for good reason. Don't worry though, love. Azkaban will purge any thoughts he might have of trying for revenge."
Lily watched as the Dementor approached James Henry, who was as pale as a sheet, and shaking. "Serves him right."
"Yes. It does." He flexed his right hand, as if making the motion of the Avada Kedavra curse, though Lily didn't know it.
Three Aurors, along with the Dementor, took James Henry away, and at last the trial was over.
A/N2: This is late (sorry) because I discovered Skyrim, and also got sick. We're getting close to the end! Chapter 48: Winds of Change will post between November 11th and 18th, 2015.