Chapter 22: Pieces and Parts

Lily and James didn't have long to wait before it was their turn to stand before the altar and say 'I Do.' The winter following Remus and Mary's wedding, the former Head Boy and Head Girl of Gryffindor House held a quiet marriage ceremony on the Hogwarts grounds, by the Black Lake. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore presided over marrying the couple.

As she listened to James recite his vows, Lily couldn't help but sweep her gaze out over the congregation, over all her friends and family who were here – including her Matron of Honor, Mary MacDonald-Lupin, who was already heavily pregnant with her and Remus's first child.

In the slight distance was the oak tree – her favorite tree under which she had spent many a warm day with Severus by her side.

Severus… Lily hadn't heard from him since graduation, and as she thought of him now, she felt an odd pang in her heart. It had hurt her to not write out an invitation to her wedding to him, though she had briefly considered it before deciding against it. Even if she was the one to extend an olive branch, giving him one too many chances at this point felt like she would have been enabling him. And besides, it wasn't as though Sev would have shown up to support her anyway, not with her choice of husband. Severus and James hated each other, and probably always would. Still, it was to her future spouse's credit that he had held Lily all night as she cried over not being able to have her best friend – former though he might be – at her nuptials.

Then James was lifting her veil, and Dumbledore was pronouncing them man and wife. Beaming, Lily leaned in and kissed her husband deeply, eliciting cheers.

Sirius, the Best Man, chose that moment, to muscle his way in and hug James, prompting Lily to laugh radiantly.

Severus lowered his hood, wand clutched tightly as he moved out of the shadows. Two figures materialized on either side of him, one quite tall while the other was relatively petite. Female? Perhaps, though it really didn't matter unless…

Unless it was Lily.

Lily in Death Eater robes? A few months ago, the idea would've been absurd. She'd despised the Dark Lord and everything he stood for. Of course, she couldn't have known that Voldemort was hardly the tyrant the Wizarding world believed him to be. He was generous, even kind to his followers, never one to strike out indiscriminately. True, a handful of Muggleborns had been killed over the past few months, but only those who posed a direct threat.

It was hard to think of Lily now. Severus had read the announcement of both her engagement and then her marriage to that ape Potter in The Daily Prophet. He hadn't received so much as an invitation, not that he had been expecting one. And frankly, he was glad for it. The pair deserved each other.

It was his heart that committed blasphemy, whispering the impossibility that no, Lily most certainly did not deserve James Potter. She deserved someone better.

He shook his head to clear it. She doesn't deserve me. That chance is gone now.

"Our raid on Diagon Alley was a success. The Mudblood shopkeepers have been disposed of."

"What did they do, my lord?"

"They poisoned one of our own."

"How?"

"He tried to purchase Dreamless Sleep, not realizing they'd replaced it with something far more noxious. It's a good thing you had us well supplied with antidotes – otherwise, he'd be dead now."

"I'm glad I could be of service, my lord."

"Do you see, Severus? This is why it is so important to keep our bloodlines pure. Too many Mudbloods are horrendously flawed, unworthy of the world we're trying to create. Their magic is weaker, their morality easily corrupted. That is the price of having not just one but two Muggle parents."

"My lord, I agree, though I do wonder…"

"Yes?"

"Could there be any exceptions?"

Voldemort hesitated. "Well, I suppose there are always exceptions. If a Mudblood was suitably talented, fully committed to our cause? I might permit them to join our ranks."

Severus had seized the opportunity he'd been given, telling the Dark Lord all about Lily. He'd emphasized her considerable talent with charms, explaining that her skill with potions was equal to his own. The latter was a slight exaggeration, but Voldemort didn't need to know that. If he just gave her a chance, surely he'd realize how exceptional she was.

"She's also a capable duelist, my lord. There are few who can beat her, even among Purebloods."

"Impressive," Voldemort said. "And she's a friend of yours?"

"She is… someone I value."

"Someone you desire?"

Severus hadn't responded, though of course, there was no need to. Voldemort had already come to his own conclusions, nodding slightly as he'd leaned back in his chair.

"Well, Severus, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to make her an offer. If she's as powerful as you claim, we could certainly use her talents."

Would Lily accept such an offer? He couldn't be sure, though he chose to be optimistic. If she'd just agreed to one meeting with the Dark Lord, she would've seen that she had nothing to fear from him. True, she was impossibly stubborn, but if anyone could inspire a change of heart, it was Voldemort.

It came as a surprising shock when Voldemort took Severus aside and told him he had made an offer to the new Mr. and Mrs. James Potter.

"Both of them?"

"The Potters are a powerful pureblood family, Severus. To have the Mudblood's husband, the heir to such a powerful fortune, would be a boon to our cause. Money, contacts. Plus, it is a return on my investment, outweighing the drawbacks of recruiting someone of less noble blood."

Severus supposed that made sense. He just hoped that he would have to suffer alongside James Potter for long, should the recruitment actually go ahead, which he still wasn't sure it would.

A private meeting with the Potters was to take place at Voldemort's secret hiding place – a dilapidated farmhouse – in Hay-on-Wye that very night.

Within minutes of their arrival, everything went wrong.

Severus should have known her interest wasn't genuine, despite the reply missive she had hastily written back to the Dark Lord appearing quite sincere. The Potters had tipped off the Order and brought nearly all of their forces with them. Voldemort fled with the Lestranges and the Malfoys, leaving Severus to command the rest of his faithful.

"Purebloods, to me!" Severus called, even as chaos reigned across the wheat fields. Several hundred yards away, he spotted Lily, her red hair billowing behind her like a banner, as she spun and slashed with the best of them. She was fierce, she was passionate, she was beautiful…

And, Severus realized with horror, she was about to be cut down by Augustus Rookwood.

"NO!"

Everything was so helter-skelter, Severus decided to take the risk. Keeping his aim steady while deliberately moving parts of his body to make the casting look wild, he flicked his wand at Rookwood and cried, "Avada Kedavra!"

The jet of green light blasted across the expanse, blinding Severus for a moment. He heard a woman's drawn-out scream, followed by a grunt.

Another piercing wail made him open his eyes. Lily's fine head of red hair was bobbing back and forth, keening over the sprawled and broken body of a beautiful woman, her belly great with child. Several feet beyond, Rookwood was rolling away, leaving Severus to surmise that whoever had gotten in the way had partially fallen on the Killing Curse's intended target.

That is when, gazing back at the body of the dead woman, Severus recognized her: it was Mary Lupin, nee MacDonald, one of his former friends.

Across the wheat fields, Severus watched as a panicky Remus broke into a dead sprint to reach Lily and his wife. Rookwood frantically Disapparated, and as Severus looked around, he happened to lock eyes with a rabid James Potter, now stalking towards him dangerously, having clearly seen everything.

Severus didn't overstay his welcome. Turning on the spot, he Disapparated.

Back at the safety of Malfoy Manor that night, Voldemort was jovial at the news that Mary MacDonald-Lupin had been murdered. It wasn't recompense nearly equal to the heavy losses the Death Eaters had incurred, but in the Dark Lord's eyes still a victory.

"Oh, what Galleons I would have paid to see that monster keening over his bitch, his mate!" Riddle chortled. "I understand her womb was filled with pups! What say you, Lucius? Would you have babysat the cubs?"

The room rippled with laughter. Severus stayed quiet, biting his lip. No one appeared to realize that it was the spell from his wand that had killed the striking Gryffindor, never mind that he hadn't actually been aiming for her. Rookwood himself apparently had no idea how close he had come to being betrayed by one of his own allies.

It had all happened so fast, Severus hadn't seen what happened. But he could guess: like him, Mary had probably seen that Lily was in danger and moved to engage Rookwood, intervening so as to distract him. The timing had been all off, and she had waddled right into the path of a Killing Curse.

Voldemort led his faithful in a toast, and Severus waited what he felt was a comfortable ten minutes before taking his leave.

"I think I shall retire, my Lord."

"But dear Severus, are you quite all right?"

"My Lord is gracious to ask after my health. Nevertheless, I am quite tired. Good evening to you."

Severus knew from careful espionage that the Order treated the home of one Arthur and Molly Weasley, nicknamed "The Burrow" as an informal re-grouping place. When he Apparated on the front lawn, the lights were on, cozy and inviting.

Within minutes, light was spilling across the grass as all four Marauders charged right for him. Remus at the head of them, wand pointed and twitching, eyes bloodshot and his voice a wild shriek of grief.

"I'm gonna kill you, Death Eater!"

Severus barely had his own wand out before Black was punching him full in the face. His head reeled back with a CRACK!, blood spurting from his nose as Potter and Pettigrew proceeded to jump him. He felt his wand confiscated, ripped away.

"Hold the bleedster down!" James hollered, as he and Peter kept him pinned. Remus circled Severus like the wolf that he was.

"Any last words before I send you to join my bride in the afterlife?"

"Remus," Severus panted, the copper tang of blood dribbling from his upper lip and into his mouth. "You must listen…. Give me a chance to explain…."

"What about Mary?! Did you give her a chance? DID YOU?!"

"STOP!"

And then Lily was dashing across the lawn in a nightdress, looking so terribly beautiful it made Severus's heart ache.

"Get back inside, Lily!" her husband growled.

"So I can let you serve as judge, jury and executioner? We'd be no better than his Death Eater buddies then!"

"Lily," Remus sighed. "This man…"

"I know what he did, and I know how he has wronged you, Moony." With that, Lily's green eyes flashed towards him, though the fire in them dimmed just enough. "But I would like to hear it from him. Let him try and explain himself."

Severus's eyes shifted up to the threshold of the Burrow, where in the doorway he could see Albus Dumbledore himself, watching the group curiously.

"It was an accident, all right?" Severus got out. "Augustus Rookwood was taking aim at Lily and I shot the Killing Curse to drop him. Mary must have seen the danger posed to Lily and tried to intercept too and she got in the way!"

"A likely story!" Sirius growled every bit like the dog that he transformed into.

"It's the truth. There's nothing more I can say."

By now, Albus had stridden forward. "Very well. Severus, you know there are ways that we can tell if you are lying. I give you the option to submit yourself to Veritaserum, or to hand over your memory of the killing of Mrs. Lupin which will then be analyzed in a Pensieve which Mrs. Weasley has on hand. Take your pick."

"Shove Veritaserum down the bastard's throat!" Peter squeaked with rage.

"It is Severus's choice, Peter."

"Pensieve," Severus decided quickly was the lesser of the two evils. Telling them his version of events was pointless, even if the Veritaserum did show he was telling nothing but the truth, Potter and his mates would still find some way to doubt it. But if he could show them….

"James, hand Severus back his wand so that he may extract the memory."

For a second, Potter looked as though he was going to disobey Dumbledore's direct orders. Then he looked at his wife.

"James…" she crooned gently.

James finally released Severus to perform the memory extraction. Holding the silvery wisp out, Dumbledore capped it in a vial with a smile.

"Won't be a moment. Molly, my dear, if you aren't too busy with your little ones, perhaps you could show me to your Pensieve?" Turning back once, Dumbledore fixed the Marauders with a hard stare. "Don't let him leave, but don't touch him until I say so. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yessir," the four men mumbled.

The minutes seemed more like agonizing hours. In all that time, Severus kept his gaze fixed on Lily to keep himself calm. His ex-best friend was staring at him both curiously and sadly.

"Lily….." he tried pleading with her. "It was an accident, you've…. you've gotta believe me."

Before long, Dumbledore was back. "James, Peter, release Severus and let him go."

James nearly dropped his own wand. "But, sir…..!"

Lily's head swiveled from Dumbledore to Severus. "So he's telling the truth. He was trying to kill his own ally…. to protect me….?" She peered at Severus, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Why?"

"Severus's reasons are his own, Lillian, and in any case, do not matter now. Severus, you are free to go…"

"Like hell I'm going to let my wife's killer get away….!"

"Remus – you have had a very trying night. But revenge is not our way. At the very least, I would implore you to give Severus a sporting chance."

Severus didn't need to be told twice. As soon as James and Peter had released him, he Disapparated from the place.

"If any of you go after him, I shall know," Dumbledore spoke severely to James and his friends, before sweeping back inside. Lily watched him go, her mind a jumbled mess.