A/N: Welcome back! I'm looking forward to this chapter. It's got Hagrid in it and I feel like we haven't seen him in aaages. So here he is...

Chapter Fifteen

Lily found herself walking down to Hagrid's on Saturday morning, a stack of toast in hand; the Hogwarts Gamekeeper was not famed for his culinary skills. The morning air was pleasantly fresh on her face and she smiled softly as she wandered through a patch of sunlight. She like the grounds like this. Silent and still, no students disturbing the calm, just her and nature. Even the Forbidden Forest looked inviting as the early morning sun streamed through the gaps in the leaves.

She let out a contented sigh. Absently, she started to munch on a piece of toast, watching the smoke rising out of Hagrid's chimney as she neared his hut. His home was always such a comforting sight to her. Sometimes she felt guilty for that; Lily knew she saw herself closer with Hagrid than her own parents. He just understood her without her having to explain herself; they lived in the same world, something that could not be said about Lily and her parents.

Knocking on the cabin door, Lily waited for Hagrid to answer. The door opened and he beamed down at her.

'Lily!' he greeted, stepping a little to the side so that she could enter. 'I've jus' put the kettle on. It'll be done in a mo'.'

'Sounds great.' Lily smiled and went to set the scrubbed wooden while Hagrid returned to the kettle. 'I see you liked the table cloth I got you.' she joked as she opened the cabinet to fetch two mugs. The table cloth she had gifted him for Christmas was folded away at the back of the shelf.

''Course I did.' he replied gruffly, and she grinned. 'I'm jus' savin' it fer special occasions is all. Don' really deserve me peelin' potatoes or sommat on it.'

'I suppose I should be flattered.' Lily mused, laughing as she set down two mugs. Hagrid shook his head, muttering to himself, making her laugh louder.

He poured the boiling water into a teapot, dropped to teabags into it and brought it over to the table. Taking a seat opposite her, Hagrid observed Lily serve them both helpings of tea. She was still smiling slightly, but he knew better than to take her a face value. Usually, when Lily visited him, she had something on her mind.

'You all righ', Lily?' Hagrid pried, accepting the mug of tea she presented him. 'Not too stressed abou' school, are yeh? I know them lot give yeh a lottta work.' he gestured vaguely in the direction of the castle, just visible out of his cabin window.

'You know,' Lily mused thoughtfully, a small, almost bitter, laugh bubbling from her. 'I think this is the first year where the most stressful thing in my life isn't school. Honestly, I almost miss last year.'

'Nah,' Hagrid leaned back in his chair, his beetle black eyes crinkling with benign amusement. 'Yeh wait till next year. Don' know how those seventh years do it meself.'

'Who knows?' Lily grimaced down at her mug. 'I think things outside school will get even worse.'

'I s'pose.' Hagrid nodded wisely. 'No point worryin' abou' it. Yeh can't predict the future. If somethin' 's s'posed ter happen, it'll happen.'

'Yeah…' She took a sip of tea, swallowing it before looking up at Hagrid. 'Is it wrong to be scared – now, I mean? We're just at the start…'

'No one's sayin' yeh've gotta be a Gryffindor all the time.' he told her kindly, reaching out a massive hand to rest it on her comparatively miniscule one. 'Yer human, Lily – sorta wouldn' be if you was never scared.'

Lily was silent for a moment. Her lip was trembling. Here with Hagrid she felt safe, she felt like she could show weakness. He had known her since she was a timid first year, getting lost in the grounds and found crying on his doorstep because she was so overwhelmed. At home, she had to make her time with her parents count so she didn't want to weigh that time down with them. With her friends, she didn't know why, but there was a limit to how much she shared with them. Some things were better left bottled inside.

'I met Greyback over Christmas.' she whispered and then, as if that sentence had been a flood barrier before leaving her mouth, the tears came pouring out of her eyes. She brought her hands to her face and started sobbing, her shoulders shaking violently.

There was the screeching of Hagrid's chair as he went to go and comfort her. His massive form proved awkward for a hug, but Lily appreciated it nonetheless, clinging to him as she cried.

'I – I was so scared…' she confessed shakily, a damp patch growing on Hagrid's clothes. He squeezed her a little and though this crushed her slightly, Lily didn't care. The comfort of his presence was all she needed. 'I keep having nightmares… He won't leave me alone… I don't know why this time is so bad – it wasn't with Bellatrix.'

'It'll get better.' Hagrid told her kindly as her tears lessened a little. 'Righ' now that sounds a load o' codswallop but I promise yeh, it'll get better. Tha's all I can tell yeh. Yer strong, Lily. Yeh'll get through it, hard as it sounds. An' yer leg's better an' all! Tha's a start!'

'You promise?' Lily asked quietly, pulling a little away to look up at Hagrid, who was watching her with sad eyes.

'I promise.' He nodded slowly, smiling and letting go. Returning to his seat, he gestured that Lily drink some of her tea. She obliged, sniffing slightly.

'Sorry…' she murmured. 'I'm just a bit stressed at the moment.'

'Abou' Greyback?'

'That and some drama with my friends.' Lily sighed, drumming her fingers on the side of her mug. 'Dorcas says Mary's a Death Eater.'

Hagrid spat out the tea he had been about to swallow.

'Mary? As in your friend Mary? That lass that Mulciber tried ter do in a few years back?'

'Yes, that Mary.' Lily could almost smile at his reaction. 'Dorcas says she saw her hugging this other Death Eater at the protest and then – apparently – they helped her get to safety. And, well, Dorcas wouldn't lie but I can't believe that – I don't want to believe – that Mary would join. It doesn't make sense…'

'Don' have ter make sense.' Hagrid said darkly. 'Goin' ter the dark side don' have ter make sense. Them on the dark side, there's nothin' matters to 'em. They want power – a bit o' You–Know–Who's power. Some of 'em go mad with it – look at that nutter Bellatrix Lestrange! Mind, she was always a bit strange.'

'Yes, but, Mary's not like that. I've known her since first year. She's never…'

'Could've bin hidin' it. She'll've wanted mates. Being mates with yeh would've kept her safe – McGonagall wouldn' look fer a Death Eater in Lily Evans' group o' mates – an' Dumbledore neither.' Hagrid said that almost proudly and Lily cracked a smile as his beetle eyes watched her fondly. 'Yer the last person anyone'd think o' in with all that stuff. She's safe bein' mates with yeh.'

'So, you think Dorcas is right – that Mary's a Death Eater?'

'I'm sayin' if she's with You–Know–Who's lot, yeh shouldn' be surprised. Yeh don' need ter look like a Death Eater ter be one.' he elaborated, scanning her face. 'Not all of 'em look like Bellatrix Lestrange.'

'You're right.' Lily nodded slowly. 'Anyone could turn out to be a Death Eater.'

Her stomach lurched suddenly at that, as she thought of Professor Acranum's words.

You are doomed. You will die, betrayed by one you call a friend, defenceless against the one who wields the knife.

Was she fated to this scenario again and again? Would she spend the rest of her life wondering, waiting for another of her friends to betray her? Had Severus only been the start of a long, painful chain? Was she to lose Mary, then Dorcas, then Emmeline, then Hestia and finally Marlene? Except that, if Acranum was correct, one of them she would trust until the end, until they eventually murdered her.

'Lily?' Hagrid's voice cut through her rather panicked thoughts. Without realising it, she had started crying again. 'Yeh need ter talk ter Mary. Yeh won' find out nothin' jus' talkin' ter me. I wasn' there. I did'n' see nothin'.'

'But what if she lies to me?'

'Then, I reckon yeh'll know.' He smiled kindly at her. 'If sommat doesn' sound righ', it's not righ'.'

Yes, Hagrid was right. She had to talk to Mary; she had to talk to her alone, away from their other friends' glares. Only once she had heard Mary's version of events could she sort fact from fiction. There were two sides to every story after all. Lily only that that of Dorcas.

'Thank you, Hagrid.' Lily said quietly, smiling a little at him. He shrugged, smiling back, taking another sip of tea.

…

Now that she was actively seeking out Mary, her friend seemed impossible to find. After returning from Hagrid's, Lily had searched the Great Hall, their dormitory, the Library and now she was opening random classroom doors, hoping Mary might just be inside one of them. By some lucky coincidence, perhaps imparted by the great wizard Merlin, she was sat on one of the desks in Professor Flitwick's classroom.

'Mary!' Lily cried, almost singing her delight at finally finding her. In all honesty, she had missed lunch for her search and was now very hungry. 'I've been looking for you!'

'Oh – er – hello…' Mary was watching her with wide eyes. Her surprise was quite understandable; Lily had been avoiding her for the past few days after all, she had been avoiding all of her friends. 'I thought you weren't talking to me.'

'I – yes – about that…' Lily fumbled her words, unsure of exactly what she wanted to say now that she was actually here, speaking to Mary. 'I…'

'Not sure what to say to a Death Eater?' she sneered almost defensively. Her fists curled, but she remained sat on the desk, her eyes daring Lily to speak. 'Bet you couldn't wait to agree with Dorcas. Another one of your friends turns out to be a complete prick. Wonderful.'

'Mary, I –'

'Be honest, Lily,' Mary interrupted, her glower faltering as her eyes started to water. 'Was I that shitty a friend that the second Dorcas said anything bad about me you believed it? I know we're not best friends Lily, but we're friends – or at least we were – for over five years.'

'I'm sorry.' Lily mumbled, bowing her head. She couldn't stand to watch Mary cry tears partially caused by her ignoring her for the last few days. Even if Mary really was guilty.

'Oh, thanks.' Through her tears, Mary sent a very false smile that seemed to stab through Lily.

'It's just… I suppose it was… Why would Dorcas lie to me?'

'Who said she did lie?' Mary retorted. 'I'm not saying I didn't hug that Death Eater.'

'So what Dorcas saw is true?' Lily tested, tentatively taking a seat on the opposite desk to Mary, whose crying had suddenly intensified.

'… Yes.' she choked out, any previous mocking bravado gone. 'I – I… You have to understand, Lily, when I saw him, I didn't think – I didn't realise – that he was one of them. I was just so glad to see him. I was scared. I didn't know where any of you were. I was glad to see someone I knew.'

'And who were they?' Lily pressed, leaning forwards. This was what she needed to know. This was the part of the story that would tell her if Mary was innocent or not. If she could tell if her friend was lying. She shifted her sitting position slightly. Hagrid seemed to think she would be able to, and Lily trusted his judgement.

'My – my brother.' Mary whispered, her body seemingly shuddering at her own confession.

'Your brother?' Lily repeated, and Mary nodded.

'But you can't tell anyone! Not even Dorcas!' Mary's eyes widened imploringly, latching onto Lily's hands. 'Promise me, Lily. Merlin, if anyone found out – if my parents found out – he'd be arrested. He's my brother…'

'He's also a Death Eater.' Lily pointed out, trying to keep her voice mild as she glanced down at how tightly Mary was now clutching her hands. Lily was starting to lose feeling in her fingers. 'He kills people.'

'I know,' Mary was crying again, 'but what am I supposed to do? He's family. And my parents! If they found out their own son's gone and joined You–Know–Who. My mum's in a wheelchair because of Death Eaters, my gran's Muggle-born, and what about my dad? He's on the Wizengamot! He's dedicated his life to putting bad wizards behind bars, and then his son ends up being one of them. It'd be like if Barty Crouch's son turned out to be a Death Eater!'

Lily watched her. She didn't know Mary's brother very well. Liam MacDonald was five years her elder and had been a very quiet, studious Ravenclaw; he had kept himself to himself, never really having much to say to anyone, anyone except Mary. The two siblings were very close. But then Liam had been caught with a beaten up Muggle-born third year. Everyone had said Liam had simply come across them, then intending to bring them to the hospital wing, and moved on, but something had changed between the two siblings. Perhaps Mary had known something no one else did. At least, Lily had suspected that at the time.

Now, it seemed, whatever had really occurred was exactly what it had appeared at first. If Mary was telling the truth, and Liam was a Death Eater, then that previous incident looked a whole deal more suspicious on his account.

Mary had stopped crying. She was now watching Lily, a kind of wild desperation in her eyes. Lily bit her lip, mulling over everything.

'I believe you.' she murmured at long last.

'Thank you.'

Yay! Lily and Mary are friends again!

Anyway, let me know what you thought and have a great day!