A/N: 'Ello, 'ello, 'ello... I'm in a really good mood today! We're almost at 20 followers! Thank you guys so much for reading this story! I really enjoy writing it so I'm glad you guys enjoy reading it! By the way, sorry for uploading this late but I've been really busy with family stuff.

Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter Eleven

Tears were running down her cheeks, mingling with the grime and blood to make the scratches there sear with pain. The hand she had around her wand trembled uncontrollably, preparing itself for one final, desperate spell when the cupboard inevitably opened. Not that it would have made a difference if she had had fifty wands with her. Greyback would be far quicker grabbing her than she would be firing a spell.

A painfully drawn out scraping sound made its way along the door. Lily shivered. She could hear him fumbling about in the gap beneath the cupboard. This was a game to him. He knew exactly where she was. Hearing him straighten, Lily's heart rate sped up, readying itself for an escape that was impossible to achieve. She had cornered herself by hiding in here.

His hands fastened around the handles of the cupboard door. His foul breath was already pushing itself inside, floating before her face, taunting her of her fate.

'Oy, Greyback!' a gruff voice shouted from the door. 'Act like a wizard for once and come help we get these blood traitors. We're leaving soon and I want some kills. You can raid Ollivander's later.'

There was a snarl from just outside Lily's hiding spot. Then, Greyback turned, striding from the shop, kicking over the spindly chair by the door for good measure and slamming the door behind him.

Lily waited a second before nudging open the cupboard doors. Gingerly, she climbed out, reaching out and holding onto the shop counter for support; she was shaking so badly she couldn't stand without it. Tears were still streaming from her eyes and she looked around for Mr Ollivander. The wandmaker was getting to his feet and, with a flick of his wand, had the blinds come down over the shop window.

'I'm afraid I don't know any healing spells.' he said quietly, brushing himself down and focusing on her with his pale, moon-like eyes. 'But I think we could both do with a cup of tea.'

'Yes, thank you.' Lily mumbled, following him into the back room with a great deal of effort. Moving seemed to abate her trembling somewhat, but all her injuries were singing with pain, making their presence known. She thought her leg injury from before might have started bleeding again, and she knew that the scratches on her face and the cut on her midriff must be in a similar state.

'Is Earl Grey agreeable?' Mr Ollivander inquired, shuffling over to a teapot in the corner of the room that stood on an isolated table. Using his wand, he conjured boiling water, directing it into the teapot.

'Earl Grey's fine.' Lily said, hobbling over to a rickety old chair and carefully lowering herself into it.

Mr Ollivander added two tea bags to the teapot and stirred the liquid for a moment. Then he summoned a small table and another chair over to where Lily sat and came over. Conjuring two tea cups, he poured Lily some and she took it, murmuring her thanks.

'I'm sorry for hiding in your shop.' Lily burst out after a moment of silent tea drinking. 'I wasn't thinking. I could just as easily hidden outside somewhere.'

'Think nothing of it, Miss Evans.' he assured her, taking a sip of tea. 'We must band together in such times.'

'… I suppose so.' Lily agreed, staring into the depths of her tea. 'I still shouldn't have – I mean – he'll come after you now…'

'There are some wizards who possess an excellent memory and carry out every single threat they ever make.' He replaced his tea cup on the table and leaned back in his chair, observing her with his silvery eyes. 'Fenrir Greyback is not among them.'

'But –'

'I am a wandmaker, Miss Evans.' he interrupted patiently. 'My craft is just as valuable to his side as it is yours. I imagine there would be severe repercussions for him should he kill one – I doubt he would truly risk it.'

Lily said nothing in response. She wasn't quite sure she shared Mr Ollivander's view on the matter. He raised an excellent point but, then again, Greyback did not strike her as the kind of person who thought of consequences. The Daily Prophet had reported only last month that Greyback was behind a series of gruesome murders, where the victims had turned up in alleyways, their bodies half eaten.

From the next room, they heard the shop bell chime. Mr Ollivander got to his feet, gesturing that Lily remain where she was. Her hand made towards her wand.

'I'm afraid we're closed – Euphemia!'

Mr Ollivander returned to the back room, followed by the witch who had led the protest. Euphemia, that was her name. Even her name was grand.

'Galloping Gorgons!' she exclaimed, her eyes taking in the state Lily was in. Compared to Euphemia's wonderful clothes and her hair, which had remained in an elegant bun, Lily felt her own appearance must have seemed even worse. There she was, caked in dirt and blood, when Euphemia, who too had been fighting, might as well have stepped out of a grand ballroom for a breath of air so unscathed did she look. 'I was worried when I saw Greyback coming out of the shop and – well, goodness me. Dear, are you all right?'

'Just a bit injured.' Lily replied, feeling rather shy in the presence of such a stately individual. 'I'll heal.'

Euphemia crossed the room in two gliding strides and gently tilted Lily's head so she could get a better look at the claw marks Greyback had left in her cheek. A hiss of air escaped her lips.

'I could clean this for you, dear.' she told her, and Lily nodded obediently. 'My husband's the one who's good at healing with magic – but he's galivanting around somewhere with Dumbledore at the moment – I could make a potion, but I imagine you just want to go home.'

'Thank you.' Lily muttered, wincing as Euphemia poked her cheek with her wand, casting a non-verbal spell on her injury.

'Do you have any healing books at home – I would say a potion or paste would work better with this?' Euphemia asked, eyeing her in a rather hawk-like fashion.

Lily reached into the pocket of her ripped coat and fumbled about. Marlene had given it to her last Christmas and the pockets had Undetectable Extension Charms in them. Eventually, she found the book she had bought in Flourish and Blotts earlier that day. Euphemia examined it.

'This one will do.' She rifled through the pages, folding down a few of interest. 'I'll take you home myself if you wish and we can collect some ingredients from my house to take with you.'

'I need to see my friend first.' Lily said. 'I want to check she's all right – and I left my stuff at hers.'

'You came with Nellie Price, didn't you?' Euphemia checked and Lily nodded.

'Did they all –'

'Yes, they all got out.' Euphemia smiled kindly. 'I accompanied Marlene to The Leaky Cauldron myself – you were all separated I think.'

'We were.'

'Well, Garrick,' Euphemia began, clapping her hands and smiling over her shoulder at the wandmaker, who had hovered behind her, unsure of what to do with himself. 'I think I'll take this young lady home. Thank you for looking after her.'

'It was no trouble.' He bowed and Euphemia helped Lily to her feet.

Holding on tightly to her arm, she said, 'we'll be Apparating if that's all right.'

And then, feeling as if a hook had latched onto her stomach, Lily was yanked out of Mr Ollivander's back room.

…

There was pandemonium in Marlene's house when Lily arrived; Nellie almost fainted at the state of her and had to be caught by Steve before she fell over. Marlene looked as if she might vomit. Most of the others had already gone home, but Dorcas was just visible through one of the doors, lying on a sofa, an ice pack pressed to her face.

Lily asked to have a shower and then went into the bathroom, collecting her change of clothes along the way. A knock on the door had Marlene bringing in fresh bandages and towels, which she left by the sink before leaving. Once satisfactorily clean, Lily turned off the shower and stepped out, wiping away some of the condensation on the mirror to look at the injuries Greyback had left her with. His nails had scraped far deeper into her skin that she had realised but the cut on her midriff wasn't as bad she had feared. Thankfully.

Drying herself, Lily applied her new bandages and then changed into the outfit that would convince her parents she had just been at a party. Packing her old clothes into her bag, Lily placed her used towels in the washing basket next to the sink and left the bathroom.

Euphemia was waiting for her in the hallway. Her eyebrow raised itself at Lily's clothes.

'When you said you had a spare change of clothes, I was imagining something more comfortable.' she remarked as Nellie bustled in, Marlene trailing after her.

'Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry you had to go through that.' Nellie fussed, hugging her goodbye. 'And with Fenrir Greyback of all people.'

'Don't worry about it.' Lily replied dismissively, hugging Marlene as well and calling goodbye to Dorcas, who waved lamely from the other room, before stepping outside with Euphemia.

Euphemia was still watching her clothes disapprovingly.

'My parents think I'm at a party.' she explained, guilt seeping through her.

'Do you often lie to your parents?'

'All the time.' Lily whispered as they crossed the boundary between Marlene's house and the area free of the Anti-Apparition Jinx. Euphemia didn't say anything to that but grabbed onto Lily's arm and they Disapparated.

…

They materialised in what was clearly Euphemia's kitchen. It was the kind of place Lily's own mother would have loved to live in. Everything was aged but in a beautiful way. The Victorian stove looked so homely and even if the bubbling cauldron sat comfortably on it was not something that Mrs Evans would ever use, Lily could imagine her mother in a place like this. Mrs Evans loved old buildings. The facilities were Victorian or Edwardian but the building itself was clearly far older, Tudor perhaps.

Lily took a seat at the scrubbed wooden table while Euphemia bustled over to a shelf of all sorts of dried plants and herbs.

'We'll have to keep our voices down.' Euphemia informed her conversationally. 'My son doesn't know about the protest and I don't want him to find out I was there until the papers come out tomorrow. James can be quite reckless, especially since Sirius is staying here – I don't trust him or Sirius at these kinds of events yet.'

'J-James?' Lily stammered, her heart pounding suddenly.

'Yes, James.' Euphemia smiled over her shoulder. 'He's in his sixth year at Hogwarts – as I imagine are you.'

'So you're Euphemia Potter?' Lily checked slowly, her mind praying that James didn't find them here. If this was his house and she bumped into him, things would be awkward. They might get on at school, but outside of school was a very different matter.

'I am indeed. I'm sorry,' she chuckled. 'I suppose I never actually introduced myself.'

'Neither did I…' Lily mumbled, looking down at the table.

'Unfortunately for you, I knew you already. As soon as I saw your red hair and green eyes, I knew you must be Lily Evans.'

'How did you –'

'You can be quite the topic in my house sometimes.' Euphemia said vaguely, coming over to the table, her arms full of ingredients. 'Here, dear, I think this is everything you'll need.'

'Thank you.' Euphemia conjured a paper bag for her and deposited the ingredients in it, smiling at her. Then she froze.

'Don't you dare come in this kitchen, young man!' she called suddenly, and Lily heard the sound of someone stopping just behind the kitchen door.

'But, mum,' an all too familiar voice whined. 'I just want a snack.'

'Come back in half an hour. I'm wrapping your Christmas presents in here.' Euphemia replied tartly, winking at Lily. Lily bit back a laugh as she heard James huff from the other side of the door.

'Fine.'

Laughing to herself, Euphemia indicated that the leave and Lily obediently took her arm as well as the bag of ingredients. Telling Euphemia her address, Lily braced herself and they Disapparated.

…

Mr and Mrs Evans were waiting for her as soon as her keys unlocked the front door. She had barely shut it behind her when her mother pounced on her.

'What on earth happened to your face?' she demanded, rounding on her daughter, a steely glint in her eye.

'There was a fight.' Lily lied tiredly, trying to get passed her mother. 'I tried to split it up and they didn't like it.'

'I thought you said Marlene was throwing the party. What kind of people do you hang out with that would do that to anyone?' Mrs Evans folded her arms, unimpressed by her daughter's response.

'Mary brought some of her cousins – they're a bit rowdy.' Lily improvised, not looking at her mother.

'But –'

'Mum, just don't.' she said softly. 'I don't want to talk about it.'

She cut around her mother, forced a smile in her father's direction and then disappeared up into her room. Collapsing onto her bed, Lily stared up at her ceiling, tears starting to prick in her eyes. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this up; what she hadn't taken into account before was the injuries she might gain. She couldn't hide those, and her parents weren't stupid. It wouldn't be long before they started prying and, truthfully, Lily couldn't remember all the lies she had told them. One contradiction and the game would be up.

'Fuck…' she murmured, rolling over and preparing for a restless night.

So what did you think? Did you like Euphemia? I was actually a bit nervous to write her. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted her to be like for ages when I was first planning this story. But I went for her personality being like this. Is it good?

Make my day and leave a review :)